News

Is Japan's remarkable vaccine drive in time for Olympics?

After months of frustration and delay, Japan has hit the remarkable benchmark of 1 million vaccines a day. But with the Olympics set to start in less than a month, and only a small portion of the country vaccinated, a question lingers: Is it enough? The vaccination pace is quickening even as the young remain […]

Nigerian IT worker charged in multistate unemployment fraud

A Nigerian information technology worker has been indicted on federal wire fraud and identity theft charges, after authorities said he and his co-conspirators filed false claims for pandemic-related unemployment benefits in 17 states. Chukwuemeka Onyegbula, using the name “Phillip Carter,” was linked to at least 253 fraudulent filings for unemployment benefits, according to an indictment […]

Can pandemic recovery plan end Italy's years of stagnation?

The COVID-19 pandemic hit Italy especially hard, killing more than 127,000 people and sending the European Union’s third-largest economy into a devastating tailspin. Yet out of that tragedy may come solutions for decades-old problems that have held back growth and productivity — and with them, a new sense of stability for the euro, the currency […]

EU's Google ad tech probe part of bloc's antitrust crackdown

The European Union’s move on Tuesday to investigate Google over alleged antitrust behavior in the digital ad tech sector is the bloc’s latest crackdown on U.S. tech giants. Here’s a look at enforcement actions taken by the EU’s competition commissioner, Margrethe Vestager, in recent years, as well as actions by U.S. antitrust regulators and states. […]

U.S. authorities seize Iran-linked news websites

The U.S. department of Justice announced on Tuesday that it has blocked various major Iranian state-linked news platforms accused of spreading disinformation. The move comes as a form of retaliation of previous claims made by Washington that the sites have been attempting to influence the American elections, with many pundits arguing that it will intensify […]

From Biden to Congress, Big Tech is under mounting pressure

Without speaking a word or scratching a pen across paper, President Joe Biden drove up the pressure on Big Tech companies already smarting under federal and congressional investigations, epic antitrust lawsuits and near-constant condemnation from politicians of both parties. Biden last week elevated a fierce critic of Big Tech, antitrust legal scholar Lina Khan, to […]

Dirty laundry in space? NASA, Tide tackle cleaning challenge

How do astronauts do laundry in space? They don’t. They wear their underwear, gym clothes and everything else until they can’t take the filth and stink anymore, then junk them. NASA wants to change that — if not at the International Space Station, then the moon and Mars — and stop throwing away tons of […]

Security flaw found in 2G mobile data encryption standard

Cybersecurity researchers in Europe say they have discovered a flaw in an encryption algorithm used by cellphones that may have allowed attackers to eavesdrop on some data traffic for more than two decades. In a paper published Wednesday, researchers from Germany, France and Norway said the flaw affects the GPRS – or 2G – mobile […]

Foam containing 'forever chemicals' used against plant fire

A company hired to help extinguish a fire that gutted a northern Illinois chemical plant this week used foam containing toxic compounds that have tainted surface waters and groundwater across the U.S., officials said Thursday. The private contractor sprayed the foam for about three hours Tuesday at the Chemtool Inc. factory near Rockton, despite concerns […]

India says Twitter knowingly not complying with local laws

The standoff between the Indian government and Twitter escalated Wednesday when the country’s technology minister accused the social media giant of deliberately not complying with local laws. Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said Twitter has chosen “the path of deliberate defiance” when it comes to following new internet regulations that digital activists have said could […]