The world has another ally in the war against microplastics. Just before Christmas, the Italian government voted to ban the tiny beads that show up primarily in beauty products by 2020. Italy joins a growing list of countries, the United …
Month: January 2018
In a surprise move, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reversed itself Friday and stopped the approval process for the proposed Pebble Mine copper and gold mine project in southwest Alaska’s Bristol Bay region. “It is my judgment at this time …
All coral reefs go through bleaching episodes, and these episodes of drought or extreme heat can hurt even the healthiest of reefs. But climate change means more heat, more often, and new research is showing the world’s reefs do not …
President Donald Trump’s “America First” policy on trade aims to reverse decades of lopsided exchange by withdrawing from international trade deals, renegotiating others and raising tariffs on foreign-made goods destined for the U.S. But, in a connected global economy, analysts …
Although long replaced by more efficient types of engines, steam-powered machines still have a certain appeal, and not just for museum-goers. In Britain, the country that gave us both the steam engine and the legendary off-road vehicle the Land Rover …
Alaska’s all-Republican congressional delegation three weeks ago praised Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke after he announced nearly all federal waters off the state’s coast could be offered for petroleum lease sales. But after hearing from critics who do not want drilling …
A U.S. trade commission on Friday handed an unexpected victory to Bombardier Inc. against Boeing Co., in a ruling that allows the Canadian company to sell its newest jets to U.S. airlines without heavy duties, sending Bombardier’s shares up 15 percent. The U.S. …
U.S. health officials say the flu outbreak this winter is on track to be one of the most severe in the past 15 years. In their latest weekly report Friday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said the …
President Donald Trump has warned that the United States will no longer tolerate unfair trade practices and will always put America first in future trade deals. Giving the closing speech at the World Economic Forum in the Swiss resort of …
Coincheck, a major cryptocurrency trading exchange in Tokyo, has been hacked into and has lost about $534 million worth of virtual money, national broadcaster NHK reported on Friday. Coincheck posted on its website on Friday afternoon that it had suspended …
One in four children and teens who get their blood pressure screened at routine checkups may appear to have hypertension, but that result often doesn’t hold up in repeat tests, a U.S. study suggests. Researchers examined data from electronic medical …
The mosquito-born Zika virus may be responsible for an increase in birth defects in U.S. states and territories even in women who had no lab evidence of Zika exposure during pregnancy, U.S. health officials said on Thursday. Areas in which …
Two of the largest mass vaccination campaigns against yellow fever ever seen in the world have begun in Nigeria and Brazil. Both campaigns, which are supported by the World Health Organization, aim to prevent the spread of the disease. Nigeria …
The Chinese government recently claimed that 98 major state-run industries have turned in the best industrial and financial performance in 2017 compared to the past five years. These companies, which have assets totaling $9 trillion, produced a remarkable profit of …
In a strong defense of his “America First” policies, U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday told a gathering of global business and political luminaries that the world would benefit from U.S. economic power and invited them to embrace his growth-oriented …
There’s money to be made planting trees, according to a new report. Around the world, an area larger than all of South America has been deforested, eroded, drained or salinized. Governments have pledged billions to restore hundreds of millions of …
Since late last year, Ugandan medical facilities have been grappling with a severe blood shortage. The crisis underscores a longer term struggle to get Ugandans to give blood. Halima Athumani reports for VOA from Kampala. …
According to the World Health Organization, 2.1 billion people do not have access to safe drinking water. Many of them rely on wells and streams, making testing the water for bacterial contamination of crucial importance. However, cheap and reliable testing …
North Korea shipped coal to Russia last year which was then delivered to South Korea and Japan in a likely violation of U.N. sanctions, three Western European intelligence sources said. The U.N. Security Council banned North Korean exports of coal …
Grocery shopping went a little nuts in France when a supermarket chain deeply discounted jars of Nutella. Aficionados of the chocolate hazelnut spread jostled and fought each other when the Intermarché supermarkets offered the treat at a 70 percent discount. …
Melinda Gates has launched a high-level international commission to spark new thinking on how developing countries can best harness new technologies to reduce poverty. The wife of Microsoft founder and philanthropist Bill Gates spoke at the launch of the commission …
U.S. President Donald Trump has questioned whether peace talks between the Israelis and Palestinians will ever resume. Trump made the remarks in a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, where he …
U.S. and Mexican unions will formally complain to the U.S. Labor Department on Thursday that Mexico continues to violate NAFTA’s weak labor standards, a move that they hope will persuade U.S. negotiators to push for stronger rules. The AFL-CIO told …
Puerto Rico’s governor submitted a revised fiscal plan overnight Thursday that estimates the U.S. Caribbean territory’s economy will shrink by 11 percent and its population drop by nearly 8 percent next year. The proposal doesn’t set aside any money to …