Big Tech wants data centers plugged into power plants; utilities balk
HARRISBURG, PENNSYLVANIA — Looking for a quick fix for their fast-growing electricity diets, tech giants are increasingly looking to strike deals with power plant owners to plug in directly, avoiding a potentially longer and more expensive process of hooking into…
UN relocates non-critical staff from North Kivu, DR Congo
The UN mission in DR Congo, MONUSCO, is relocating administrative staff and others in North Kivu that can continue performing their duties from elsewhere in response to the deteriorating security situation and intensifying hostilities involving the non-State armed group M23,…
Moldovan president visits Kyiv to talk energy, security
KYIV, UKRAINE — Moldovan President Maia Sandu visited Kyiv on Saturday for talks with Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy amid growing tensions in Transnistria, a pro-Russian separatist enclave of Moldova that neighbors Ukraine. The territory, which has a population of half…
App provides immediate fire information to Los Angeles residents
OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA — From his home in northern California, Nick Russell, a former farm manager, is monitoring the Los Angeles-area fires. He knows that about 600 kilometers south, people in Los Angeles are relying on his team’s live neighborhood-by-neighborhood updates…
Russian deepfake videos target Ukrainian refugees, including teen
New online videos recently investigated by VOA’s Russian and Ukrainian services show how artificial intelligence is likely being used to try to create provocative deepfakes that target Ukrainian refugees. In one example, a video appears to be a TV news…
Lunar New Year travel offers boost to China’s economic woes
China’s annual mass migration ahead of the Lunar New Year will peak with billions of trips anticipated during this year’s holiday, which begins Tuesday. An estimated 9 billion trips are expected. This year’s holiday lasts from Jan. 28 through Feb….
UN rights office raises alarm over escalating violence in occupied West Bank
OHCHR spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan added that the Israeli military operation in and around the Jenin refugee camp had involved “disproportionate” use of force, including airstrikes and shootings that reportedly targeted unarmed residents. “The deadly Israeli operations in recent days raise…
Human rights expert welcomes clemency for Indigenous activist Leonard Peltier
The Executive Grant of Clemency, signed on Sunday just hours before Mr. Biden left office, commutes Mr. Peltier’s life sentences to home confinement, allowing him to receive proper medical care and reconnect with his community, the Special Rapporteur said in…
DR Congo emergency: Fears that regional capital Goma faces attack
“We are deeply alarmed at the heightened risk of an attack by the M23 armed group on Goma, the capital of North Kivu, in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo…Any such attack on Goma risks catastrophic impacts on hundreds of…
Russia, Ukraine report large-scale overnight drone attacks
Officials in Ukraine say Russia launched a barrage of drones in an overnight attack Friday killing at least two civilians, wounding several others and damaging commercial and residential buildings. The interior ministry said two victims were killed by drone debris…