The World Cup attracts billions of viewers across the globe, many of them in Africa. As the best footballers in the world battle it out to be crowned champion, Zaheer Cassim in Johannesburg explores how Africans are putting aside their differences and are backing all the teams from the continent. …
your ad hereIs Russia Using World Cup to Gloss Over Human Rights Crackdown?
Human rights campaigners say Russia is using the glitz of the football World Cup to try to gloss over its deteriorating human rights record. Opposition groups, journalists, LGBT communities and non-governmental organizations have all been targeted in a crackdown that has intensified over the past six years, according to campaigners. …
your ad hereRussian Fans Celebrate Once-maligned Team as Heroes
What a transformation. Russia’s World Cup soccer team, metamorphosed from national laughingstock to heroes of the motherland in less than a week. And no one is more stunned than their own fans. Chants of “Ro-see-ya! Ro-see-ya!” reverberated through the St. Petersburg Stadium and along the nearby wind-whipped shores …
your ad hereRecycling Rubbish into Revenue, Plan Brings Hope to Women in Jordan
Sameera Al Salam folds a discarded piece of newspaper into a long strip then loops it round her finger to form a tight circle, the first stage of making the upcycled handbags, trays and bowls the Syrian refugee hopes will help her earn a living. Al Salam, 55, was a …
your ad hereMotorists in Crime-ridden Caracas Seek Safety Through ‘Buddy’ App
Two men on motorbikes approached a broken-down vehicle in Caracas one day earlier this month in what could have been a nightmare scenario in one of the world’s most dangerous cities where roadside robberies and murders are an everyday occurrence. The men took up positions either side of the green …
your ad hereCities Face Dramatic Rise in Heat, Flood Risks by 2050, Researchers Say
In just 30 years, cities around the world will face dramatically higher risks from extreme heat, coastal flooding, power blackouts and food and water shortages unless climate-changing emissions are curbed, urban researchers warned Tuesday. Today, for instance, over 200 million people in 350 cities face stifling heat where average daily …
your ad hereAcross Asia’s Borders, Trafficking Survivors Dial in for Justice
When Neha Maldar testified against the traffickers who enslaved her as a sex worker in India, she spoke from the safety of her own country, Bangladesh, via videoconferencing, a technology that could revolutionize the pursuit of justice in such cases. The men in the western city of Mumbai appeared via …
your ad hereChina Calls Trump Threat of More Tariffs ‘Blackmail’
China calls President Donald Trump’s threat to slap more tariffs on Chinese exports to the U.S. “extreme pressure and blackmail” and threatens to retaliate. Beijing reacted Tuesday to Trump’s plan to impose tariffs on another $200 billion of Chinese goods “if China refuses to change its practices.” “China apparently has …
your ad hereAs DRC Grapples With Ebola, Guinea Keeps Up Its Guard
Just after a morning rain, Gourma Mamadou was shopping in this capital city’s crowded, open-air Kaloum market. The young man said he was well aware of the current Ebola outbreak simmering some 4,000 kilometers to the southeast in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where the World Health Organization reports …
your ad hereScan on Exit: Can Blockchain Save Moldova’s Children from Traffickers?
Laura was barely 18 when a palm reader told her she could make $180 a month working in beetroot farms in Russia — an attractive sum for a girl struggling to make a living in the town of Drochia, in Moldova’s impoverished north. That she had no passport, the fortune …
your ad hereTrump’s Tariffs: What They Are and How They Would Work
Is this what a trade war looks like? The Trump administration and China’s leadership have threatened to impose tariffs on $50 billion of each other’s goods. Trump has proposed imposing duties on $400 billion more if China doesn’t further open its markets to U.S. companies and reduce its trade surplus …
your ad hereIBM Computer Proves Formidable Against 2 Human Debaters
An argumentative computer proved formidable against two human debaters as IBM gave its first public demonstration of new artificial intelligence technology it’s been working on for more than five years. The new skills show that computers are getting better at mastering human language and speech. The computer made its case …
your ad hereCBS to Expand ‘Star Trek’ With Five-Year Deal for New TV Shows
U.S. broadcast network CBS will expand the popular “Star Trek” science-fiction franchise with new series, mini-series and animation under a production deal announced on Tuesday. CBS said in a statement that it had signed a five-year deal with producer Alex Kurtzman to supervise a range of new programming related to …
your ad hereDreaming of Farming Empire, Kazakhs Seek Management Tips from Genghis Khan
Kazakhstan is taking management lessons from warrior-emperor Genghis Khan as it seeks to conquer neighboring countries’ food markets, Deputy Agriculture Minister Arman Yevniyev said Tuesday. The Central Asian nation, whose territory was once part of the Mongol Empire, wants to more than double exports of foodstuffs and other agricultural products …
your ad hereKenya Seeks to Boost Girls’ Education by Providing Free Sanitary Products
Menstruation often means missing school for many girls in parts of Africa. But should the state provide sanitary products to girls who cannot afford them to prevent them from falling behind in their studies? That question continues to stir debate in several East African countries but especially in Kenya, where …
your ad hereUS Patent and Trademark Office Issues 10-Millionth Patent
The 10 millionth patent has been issued in the United States, almost 228 years after President George Washington signed the first one. The United States Patent and Trademark Office issued the newest patent Tuesday to the Raytheon Company, a defense contractor. Raytheon received the patent based on an invention by …
your ad hereOfficial: US Defending Itself Against China’s Economic Aggression
The top White House trade official says the United States is defending itself from China’s economic aggression after President Trump threatened China with new tariffs on $200 billion worth of imports. Trump announced Monday that he has asked the U.S. Trade Representative to identify more Chinese imports for additional tariffs …
your ad hereEgyptians Angered by New Austerity After Eid Feast
Many Egyptians hoped to ignore their economic hardship as they celebrated the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan. Instead, they were told they will have to tighten their belts even more. With the Eid al-Fitr feast in full swing, the government of President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi on Saturday …
your ad hereNick Hague Dreamed of the Stars as a Boy, Now He’s Heading to Space
As a boy growing up in Kansas, Nick Hague looked up at the stars and wanted to explore the unknown. In October, his dream will come true when he blasts off on a Russian Soyuz spacecraft to the International Space Station. Before rocketing into space from Kazakhstan on Expedition 57 …
your ad hereTrump: ‘We’re Getting There’ in NAFTA Talks with Canada, Mexico
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday progress was being made in slow-moving talks to update the NAFTA trade accord between the United States, Canada and Mexico, but he held out the prospect of striking bilateral pacts if a three-way deal could not be reached. “We’re trying to equalize it. …
your ad hereMichael Jackson Tribute Show Headed to Broadway in 2020
A musical inspired by the life of late pop singer Michael Jackson will open on Broadway in 2020, Jackson’s estate and its producing partner said on Tuesday. The story will be written by two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Lynn Nottage, according to a statement from the “Thriller” singer’s estate and Columbia …
your ad hereRussia to Slam Retaliatory Tariffs on US Imports
Russia has announced retaliatory measures in response to the U.S. move to impose tariffs on foreign steel and aluminum. Economic Development Minister Maxim Oreshkin said a statement on Tuesday Moscow has decided to apply retaliatory measures in line with the World Trade Organization’s rules to compensate for damage incurred by …
your ad hereOPEC Oil Ministers Gather to Discuss Production Increase
The oil ministers of the OPEC cartel were gathering Tuesday to discuss this week whether to increase production of crude and help limit a rise in global energy prices. The officials were arriving in Vienna ahead of the official meeting Friday, when they will also confer with Russia, a non-OPEC …
your ad hereUltra-Secure Lab in Gabon Equipped for Ebola Studies
At a research facility in Gabon, one isolated building stands behind an electrified fence, under round-the-clock scrutiny by video cameras. The locked-down P4 lab is built to handle the world’s most dangerous viruses, including Ebola. “Only four people, three researchers and a technician, are authorized to go inside the P4,” …
your ad hereRussia’s Record-Breaking $15 Billion World Cup Price Tag: What Does It Buy?
The World Cup in Russia is the most expensive ever – with the official price tag around $15 billion. The result: several huge new stadiums, railroads and upgraded airports, plus the chance to reboot Russia’s global image. So, will the tournament represent a good value for Russians? As Henry Ridgwell …
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