A new report warns that wetlands are disappearing three times faster than the world’s forests, with serious consequences for all life on earth. The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands is a global treaty ratified in 1971 by 170 countries to protect …
An observatory in Barrow, Alaska, the most northerly astronomical outpost in the U.S., has become a key scientific instrument in studying climate change. Established in 1973, the Barrow Observatory is staffed year-round by two researchers who measure and track changes …
The United States and Japan have agreed to begin negotiations on a bilateral free-trade agreement, reducing the prospect that Washington might impose tariffs against another trading partner. “We’ve agreed today to start trade negotiations between the United States and Japan,” …
The ride-hailing service Uber has agreed to pay $148 million to settle claims that it concealed a massive data breach that exposed personal information of drivers and customers. In November 2016, Uber learned that hackers had accessed personal data of …
An estimated 80,000 Americans died of flu and its complications last winter, the disease’s highest death toll in at least four decades. The director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Robert Redfield, revealed the total in an …
After decades of disappointment in efforts to develop a malaria vaccine, researchers are starting to see promise in a new approach. While most vaccines trigger the body’s defenses to produce antibodies against a disease-causing germ, the new approach recruits an …
U.S. communications and social media titans are urging lawmakers to craft strong, uniform protections for Americans’ personal data without squashing innovation. The Senate Commerce Committee heard testimony Wednesday from Apple, Amazon.com, Google, Twitter, and AT&T executives at a time when …
Sometimes, all the hand sanitizer in the world cannot prevent the inevitable. College freshmen across the country are being introduced to a whole new world of pathogens and other infections at this time of year. It starts with just one …
Ford chief Jim Hackett on Wednesday ramped up his warnings about the tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump, saying his company was seeing profits slashed by $1 billion. Hackett said the global automaker could face more damage if the trade …
Somalia’s finance minister says World Bank grants to the government are a sign the country has “trustable leadership” again after decades of chaos and corruption. The World Bank said Tuesday it will provide $80 million in grants to Somalia’s federal …
The Federal Reserve on Wednesday raised a key interest rate for the third time this year in response to a strong U.S. economy and signaled that it expected to maintain a pace of gradual rate hikes. The Fed lifted its …
The Trojan Horse allowed the ancient Greek army to enter the city of Troy and defeat it. A similar strategy could help doctors destroy superbugs that are resistant to current antibiotics. The decreasing effectiveness of antibiotics is among the most …
The U.N. Conference on Trade and Development warns the world economy remains fragile, one decade after the collapse of the U.S. financial titan Lehman Brothers triggered a global economic crisis. In its report Trade and Development Report 2018: Power, Platforms …
The Trump administration is hoping Congress can come up with a new set of national rules governing how companies can use consumers’ data that finds a balance between “privacy and prosperity.” But it will be tricky to reconcile the concerns …
Trade conflicts, rising debt and the potential impact from rising interest rates in the U.S. will likely dampen growth in the coming year, the Asian Development Bank said Wednesday in an update of its regional economic outlook report. The Manila, …
Many materials change shape when exposed to heat, electricity or some other kind of energy. That change is usually random, but scientists are now learning how to direct that energy to turn the material into a predetermined shape. VOA’s George …
After losing his job with a foreign food company in March, Alexander Costa surveyed Brazil’s anemic labor market and decided to start selling cheap lunches by the beach in Rio de Janeiro to try and provide for his young family. …
When Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger sold Instagram to Facebook in 2012, the photo-sharing startup’s fiercely loyal fans worried about what would happen to their beloved app under the social media giant’s wings. None of their worst fears materialized. But …
An experimental GlaxoSmithKline vaccine could prevent tuberculosis developing in half of those who receive it, making it potentially the first new shot against the global killer in a century, researchers said on Tuesday. Given the failure of other candidates in …
The number of babies born infected with syphilis in the United States has more than doubled since 2013, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In a report released Tuesday, the CDC said the number of cases …
The Indian edition of dating app Tinder is testing a new feature which gives women an additional level of scrutiny before they allow men to start messaging conversations, with a view to rolling the function out globally. The “My Move” …
More than 11,000 people in Sudan’s eastern state of Kassala have been infected over the past month by Chikungunya, a debilitating mosquito-borne viral disease, but no deaths have been reported, a Sudanese official said Tuesday. Chikungunya is spread by two …
Music streaming services Spotify and Deezer joined European business and industry bodies in calling on EU regulators to take tougher action to curb what they say are the unfair practices of online platforms. EU governments are set in the coming …
When emergency tests showed the telltale right-sided pain in Heather VanDusen’s abdomen was appendicitis, she figured she’d be quickly wheeled into surgery. But doctors offered her the option of antibiotics instead. A new study from Finland shows her choice is …