In Kenya, a new taxi hailing app developed by local taxi drivers is in its fourth month of operation in Nairobi. Dubbed BebaBeba by the Drivers and Partners Association of Kenya (DPAK), it was created to compete with Uber and other ride hailing apps. Rael Ombuor reports from Nairobi. …
your ad hereTranslation Apps and Devices Take Off As Travelers Look to Connect
How to communicate with someone who speaks a different language? It’s an age-old problem. But now with an explosion of translation apps and devices, Michelle Quinn reports that overcoming language barriers is becoming easier. …
your ad hereCritics Skewer Venezuelan President Over Feast as Country Starves
Videos of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro feasting on steaks at an upscale restaurant have sparked worldwide outrage on behalf of the poverty-stricken people of his country. One video show celebrity chef Nusret Gokce, also known as “Salt Bae,” carving meat for the president and his wife, Cilia Flores, at the …
your ad hereMexico’s Next Anti-money Laundering Czar Vows Action After ‘Shameful’ Odebrecht
Mexico’s incoming financial intelligence chief said it was “shameful” how little had been done about bribes that Brazilian construction firm Odebrecht executives said were paid to secure Mexican public works contracts, and vowed to reexamine the case once in office. Santiago Nieto will head the finance ministry’s Financial Intelligence Unit, …
your ad hereWhen the Music’s Over: Cities Suffer as Venues Fall to Developers
When Pearl Jam led 50,000 people in a chant of “Save the Showbox” in a Seattle stadium last month, the rockers confronted a question facing many cities: When do the cultural costs of a property boom become too high? The Showbox is an 1,100-person venue across the street from Pike …
your ad hereWinning Design for Phnom Penh Factory Worker Homes, a Model for Other Cities
An award-winning design for factory worker housing in Cambodia’s capital will serve as a model for homes in other cities in the rapidly-urbanizing country, according to the charity that will build 3,000 units based on the blueprint next year. The contest was hosted by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) …
your ad hereIn Hong Kong, Disposable Fashion Gets a Recycled Makeover
In Hong Kong, more than 340 tons of textile waste is dumped each day into the city’s overflowing landfills, according to the city’s Environmental Protection Department. But a new textile spinning mill, the first to open in this former textile manufacturing powerhouse in half a century, aims to reuse that waste, …
your ad hereArgentina’s Fernandez: ‘Dig Up My Home But You Won’t Find Illicit Funds’
Argentina’s ex-President Cristina Fernandez said on Tuesday that she never received corrupt payments and challenged investigators to scour her home region of Patagonia if they believed she had hidden cash, a day after she was indicted on graft charges. Using her immunity as a senator to refuse to answer any …
your ad hereVenezuela Doubles Down on Chinese Money to Reverse Crisis
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said Tuesday that new investments from China will help his country dramatically boost its oil production, doubling down on financing from the Asian nation to turn around its crashing economy. Already a major economic partner, China has agreed to invest $5 billion more in Venezuela, …
your ad hereUncontacted Tribes at Risk Amid ‘Worrying’ Surge in Amazon Deforestation
Illegal loggers and militias cleared an area three times the size of Gibraltar in Brazil’s Amazon this year, threatening an “uncontacted” indigenous tribe, activists said on Tuesday. Satellite imagery collected by Instituto Socioambiental (ISA), a Brazilian advocacy group, detected about 4,600 acres (1,863 hectares) of deforestation this year in the …
your ad hereEuropean Nations Plan to Use More Hydrogen for Energy Needs
Dozens of European countries are backing a plan to increase the use of hydrogen as an alternative to fossil fuels to cut the continent’s carbon emissions. Energy officials from 25 countries pledged Tuesday to increase research into hydrogen technology and accelerate its everyday use to power factories, drive cars …
your ad hereAudi Launches Electric SUV in Tesla’s Backyard
German luxury car brand Audi this week staged the global launch of a new electric sport utility vehicle on the home turf of rival Tesla, and highlighted a deal with Amazon.com Inc. to make recharging its forthcoming e-tron models easier. The Audi e-tron midsize SUV will be offered in the …
your ad hereSomali Girls’ Deaths Spur More Calls to End FGM
A spate of deaths of young girls from female genital mutilation (FGM) has renewed calls for Somalia to outlaw the tradition. Four girls, ages 10 and 11, from central and northern Somalia have died in the last three months after having been cut, and seven others are in hospitals, activists said. …
your ad hereUkrainians Relive Bloodshed of Kyiv’s Maidan in Virtual Reality
A volunteer medic and the man whose life he saved. A lawmaker whose Facebook post calling for protests in Kyiv’s Maidan square helped bring down a president. These are some of the characters featured in a virtual reality reconstruction of the bloodiest day in the 2013-14 street demonstrations in Ukraine, …
your ad hereWill Flying Cars Take Off? Japan’s Government Hopes So
Electric drones booked through smartphones pick people up from office rooftops, shortening travel time by hours, reducing the need for parking and clearing smog from the air. This vision of the future is driving the Japanese government’s “flying car” project. Major carrier All Nippon Airways, electronics company NEC Corp. and …
your ad hereEU Investigates German Carmakers for Possible Collusion
European Union regulators have opened an in-depth investigation into whether automakers BMW, Daimler and Volkswagen colluded to limit the development and roll-out of car emission control systems. The EU Commission said Tuesday that it had received information that BMW, Daimler, Volkswagen, and VW units Audi and Porsche held meetings to …
your ad here‘Game of Thrones’ Takes Top Prize at Surprising Emmys
HBO’s record-breaking fantasy epic “Game of Thrones” stormed back onto the Emmys stage on Monday, winning the coveted best drama series prize on a night full of surprises, including an on-air marriage proposal that stunned the audience. The other big story of the Hollywood gala, television’s answer to the Oscars, …
your ad hereUN: A Child Dies Every Five Seconds, Most Are Preventable Deaths
An estimated 6.3 million children died before their 15th birthdays in 2017, or one every five seconds, mostly due to a lack of water, sanitation, nutrition and basic healthcare, according to report by United Nations agencies on Tuesday. The vast majority of these deaths – 5.4 million – occur in …
your ad hereChina Prepares Retaliation for $200 Billion in US Tariffs
China says it has no choice but to retaliate to U.S. President Donald Trump’s 10 percent tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese goods, risking a further escalation of trade tensions between the world’s two biggest economies. In a brief statement posted online Tuesday, China’s Commerce Ministry said, “To protect …
your ad hereMusic Brings Joy to Poor Children
In Baltimore, a free after school music program called OrchKids is being used as an instrument of change for children in underprivileged neighborhoods. In the past 10 years, more than 1,300 children have received free group music lessons, and free instruments, from flutes to trumpets to violins. The program was …
your ad here‘Mrs. Maisel,’ ‘Game of Thrones’ Win Top Emmy Honors
“Game of Thrones” and “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” won the top prizes at the Emmy awards on Monday on a night of upsets for the highest honors in television. HBO’s “Game of Thrones” was named best drama series, beating last year’s champion “The Handmaid’s Tale.” Amazon’s “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” …
your ad hereAfrica’s Youth Population, Poverty Spurs Gates Foundation’s Giving
Africa has the globe’s fastest-growing youth population as well as 10 of the poorest countries, a volatile combination that warrants making it “the world’s most important priority for the foreseeable future.” The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation lays out that argument in its second annual report on progress toward sustainable …
your ad hereADB Ramps Up Pacific Presence as Aid Donors Jostle for Influence
The Asian Development Bank said on Tuesday it is expanding its presence in the Pacific islands, at a time of competition for influence there, opening seven new country offices and expecting its loans and grants in the region to top $4 billion by 2020. The pledge from the Japan-led bank …
your ad hereAt Toronto Film Festival, ‘Popular’ a Relative Term
For a festival that can be a hotbed of Oscar-predicting hysteria, the scuttling of the “best popular movie” category by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences barely registered at the Toronto International Film Festival. Most were too in the thrall of the 254 feature films unspooling across …
your ad hereGOP, Dems Unite Behind Senate Bill Fighting Addictive Drugs
Republicans and Democrats joined forces to speed legislation combating the misuse of opioids and other addictive drugs toward Senate passage Monday, a rare campaign-season show of unity against a growing and deadly health care crisis. The measure takes wide aim at the problem, including increasing scrutiny of arriving international mail …
your ad here