Cuba’s street vendors are bringing back the pregon, the art of singing humorous, rhyming ditties with double entendres about the goods they are selling, with some modernizing the tradition by setting their tunes to reggaeton. The pregon is a centuries-old …
Month: September 2018
Even before U.S.-China trade tensions began escalating dramatically, foreign businesses who operate in China were warning about the impact tariffs could have. And now, according to a newly released joint survey from the American Chamber of Commerce in China and …
A new report by Transparency International suggests foreign bribery is alive and well. The report, by the Berlin-based, anti-corruption watchdog, suggests little has changed in recent years in the way governments enforce their anti-bribery laws. Today, only seven major exporting …
The United States will fall well short of its 2025 greenhouse gas reduction target unless major additional steps are taken, according to a new report. While U.S. states, cities and companies have promised to step up their efforts to fight …
Labor unions and social groups blocked streets in downtown Buenos Aires on Wednesday, with more marches planned over the days ahead over austerity measures proposed by the government and backed by the International Monetary Fund. Protesters are angry about the …
Apple’s polished iPhone line-up comes with tools to help users dial back their smartphone obsessions, amid growing concerns over “addiction” and harmful effects on children. An iOS 12 mobile operating system that will power new iPhones unveiled on Wednesday, and …
New data show a significant increase in the incidence of global cancer. The International Agency for Research on Cancer, part of the World Health Organization, estimates a rise in new cases of cancer to more than 18 million, including 9.6 million …
Apple Inc unveiled larger iPhones and watches based on the design of current models on Wednesday, confirming Wall Street expectations that the company is making only minor changes to its lineup. The world’s most valuable tech company wants users to …
The median U.S. household income reached $61,372 last year — its highest level ever, the U.S. Census reported Wednesday. The new median figure, meaning that half of U.S. families earned more money and half less, was a reflection of the …
A U.S. pharmaceutical executive is defending his price boost of a key antibiotic by 400 percent to almost $2,400 a bottle as a “moral requirement,” a claim that drew an immediate rebuke from the country’s drug regulatory chief. Nostrum Pharmaceuticals …
American teens’ use of electronic cigarettes has hit “epidemic proportions,” the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said in a statement released Wednesday. In what it called the “largest coordinated enforcement effort in FDA history,” the agency issued written warnings and …
The Turkish central bank is facing growing pressure to decisively hike interest rates at a meeting Thursday to defend an ailing currency and rein in double-digit inflation. But concerns remain over President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s grip on monetary policy. The …
The United Nations says the cholera outbreak in Zimbabwe is a “very dire situation” because there are now cases outside the country’s capital, where the government has declared a state of emergency. Zimbabwe’s health minister, Obadiah Moyo, is calling on …
California has experienced record heat waves and catastrophic fires this year and in previous years, leading climate experts to say it is likely to get worse. A recent state report blames global climate change, and California Governor Jerry Brown is …
California has experienced record heat waves and catastrophic fires in recent years, and climate experts say it is likely to get worse. A report released Aug. 27 by the state of California, the fourth in a series of assessments, puts …
South Korea’s unemployment rate hit an eight-year high in August as mandatory minimum wages rose, adding to economic policy frustrations and political challenges for President Moon Jae-in whose approval rating is now at its lowest since inauguration. The unemployment rate …
A group representing major internet companies including Facebook, Amazon.com and Alphabet said on Tuesday it backed modernizing U.S. data privacy rules but wants a national approach that would preempt California’s new regulations that take effect in 2020. The Internet Association, …
In Iraq, a major Middle East grain buyer, will cut the irrigated area it plants with wheat by half in the 2018-2019 growing season as water shortages grip the country, a government official told Reuters. Drought and dwindling river flows …
World hunger rose in 2017 for a third consecutive year, fueled by conflict and climate change, the United Nations warned on Tuesday, jeopardizing a global goal to end the scourge by 2030. Hunger appears to be increasing in almost all …
Whether at home or out and about, women the world over have long had to contend with threats to their physical safety. Now, a tech startup has designed a wearable device that can aid them in dangerous and life-threatening situations. …
Residents in a Bangkok neighborhood are trying out a renewable energy trading platform that allows them to buy and sell electricity between themselves, signaling the growing popularity of such systems as solar panels get cheaper. The pilot project in the …
An effort to create a safe haven for whales in the South Atlantic was defeated Tuesday at the meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) in Brazil. The proposal, which was introduced by Brazil in 2001, received support from 39 …
Leading philanthropists pledged hundreds of millions of dollars to rescue shrinking tropical forests that suck heat-trapping carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, on the eve of a global climate change summit in San Francisco. Nine foundations announced the $459 million commitment, …
Young people are driving the growth of businesses that benefit society and the environment, the organizer of a global gathering of ethical entrepreneurs said as it opens Wednesday. Some 1,500 people are meeting in Edinburgh as the 10th Social Enterprise …