Category: VOA

Earlier this year, Taiwanese semiconductor giant TSMC announced that it was delaying the opening of a computer chip plant in the U.S. state of Arizona because of a shortage of specialized workers. But during a visit to Taiwan this week, Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs told officials that the project is back on schedule and should have no further delays. From Phoenix, Arizona, Levi Stallings has our story. Voice of America

The U.S. has committed to providing an additional $116 million in aid to people impacted by humanitarian crises in Myanmar, Bangladesh and the surrounding region. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement on Thursday that the package aims to provide critical resources to nearly one million Rohingya refugees living in Bangladesh, many of whom fled genocide in Myanmar, and to more than a million of their Bangladeshi hosts. According to ACLED, an international data mapping group, Myanmar in 2022 was by far the worst country in terms of…

Indonesia has restored one of the biggest coal-fired power plants in Southeast Asia to near full capacity, its operator told AFP Friday, after it was ordered to slice output to curb pollution in capital Jakarta. The Suralaya coal-fired power plant in Java island’s Banten province nearly halved production starting August 29 as the country geared up to host Southeast Asian leaders, as well as US, Chinese and Japanese officials at a regional bloc’s summit. Just ahead of the September 3-7 ASEAN talks, the megalopolis of about 30 million people was…

SYDNEY —  Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese Thursday announced the government will conduct a yearlong inquiry into the country’s approach to COVID-19, but opposition politicians say the limited scope and powers of the inquiry will make it “a complete waste of time.” International border closures made Australia a fortress for much of the pandemic. It had some of the world’s longest and toughest lockdowns. Australian efforts to contain the virus were some of the most restrictive in the world, with residents of Melbourne spending more time in lockdowns than almost…

China, Russia and the United States have all built new facilities and dug new tunnels at their nuclear test sites in the last few years, reports CNN, citing satellite images that show the new construction and increased vehicle traffic coming in and out of the sites. The images were “exclusively” obtained and provided by a prominent analyst in military nonproliferation studies, according to the CNN report Friday. “There are really a lot of hints that we’re seeing that suggest Russia, China and the United States might resume nuclear testing,” the…