Forest fires caused by climate change are costing insurers more than ever, with the deadly fire that ravaged northern California the single most expensive natural disaster in 2018, Munich Re said in its catastrophe report Tuesday. The California wildfire that devastated the small town of Paradise in November caused losses …
your ad hereWe’re Techy, too! Deere, Tide Maker Head to CES Gadget Show
The companies founded by blacksmith John Deere and candle-and-soap-making duo Procter & Gamble may not be the hip purveyors of new technology they were in 1837. But they’re first-time exhibitors at this year’s CES gadget show, along with other unlikely newcomers such as missile-maker Raytheon, outdoorsy retailer The North Face …
your ad hereAt Consumer Electronics Show, Sensors and Robots are the Stars
More than 4,000 exhibitors from 155 countries are in Las Vegas this week for the Consumer Electronics Show, one of the year’s biggest conventions for companies to show off their latest technology. Michelle Quinn got a look at some of the products that are hoping to make a splash. …
your ad hereBurundian Entrepreneur Develops Line of Cosmetics to Prevent Malaria
Some 435-thousand people died of malaria in 2017, most of them in sub-Saharan Africa – according to the World Health Organization. An entrepreneur in Burundi has developed a line of cosmetics that keep mosquitos, which carry malaria, at bay. More from Arash Arabasadi. …
your ad hereZimbabwe’s Hospitals Turn Away Patients as Doctors’ Strike Drags On
Hospitals in Zimbabwe are turning away patients as a strike by doctors enters its sixth week. There is no end in sight to the strike, as President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government says it cannot meet the doctors’ demands. The Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals, Zimbabwe’s largest treatment center, is largely empty as …
your ad hereUS Expresses Optimism About Trade Talks with China
U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said there is “a very good chance” that the United States and China will reach a trade agreement. Ross told CNBC he is hopeful such a deal would address “all the key issues.” Working-level trade talks between the United States and China began Monday in …
your ad hereChinese Scientist Criticized for Risking ‘Gene-edited’ Babies’ Lives
A leading geneticist who ran the conference where a Chinese scientist said he had made the world’s first “gene-edited” babies condemned him on Monday for potentially jeopardizing lives and having no biology training. Robin Lovell-Badge, organizer of the November 2018 event where China’s He Jiankui made his controversial presentation, described …
your ad hereAfter a Tame Globes, Is a Less-Charged Awards Season Ahead?
The Golden Globe Awards looked like it had gone entirely back to frothy, bubbly business as usual, until Regina King did the impossible: She got the orchestra to stop playing her off. Not even Lady Gaga had that much power. King used her platform on stage accepting the supporting actress …
your ad hereMexico Fuel Theft Crackdown Sparks Shortages, Puts Govt. on Defensive
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Monday that his crackdown against fuel theft was yielding positive results, even as the intervention sparked severe fuel shortages in parts of the country and long lines of angry motorists. In a bid to eliminate years of mounting theft, state oil firm …
your ad hereSam Elliott Honored at Hollywood ‘Footprints’ Ceremony
Veteran actor Sam Elliott imprinted his hands and feet in cement on Hollywood Boulevard on Monday, as “A Star is Born” co-stars Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper shook off Golden Globes disappointment to join in honoring the 74-year-old’s long career. Known for his lanky physique, thick mustache and languid drawl, …
your ad hereIguanas Reintroduced to Santiago Island in Galapagos
A group of more than 1,400 iguanas have been reintroduced to an Ecuadoran island in the Galapagos archipelago around two centuries after they disappeared from there, authorities said on Monday. The Galapagos land iguanas from North Seymour Island were freed onto Santiago Island as part of an ecological restoration program, …
your ad hereFast Cars, Rickety Bridges as ‘The Grand Tour’ Returns
Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May return for a third season of their thrill-seeking motor show “The Grand Tour,” with plenty of fast cars and stunning scenery they hope will take viewers’ minds off the real world. The Amazon program follows the presenters as they test out all sorts …
your ad hereActor Spacey Does Not Enter Plea on Sex Assault Charge in Nantucket
Former “House of Cards” star Kevin Spacey appeared in a Massachusetts court on Monday to face a criminal charge that he sexually assaulted an 18-year-old man after plying him with alcohol at a bar in Nantucket more than two years ago. The Oscar-winning actor did not enter a plea in …
your ad hereTesla Breaks Ground on Shanghai Factory
Tesla broke ground Monday on a new factory for its electric cars in China, the first of its factories to be located outside the United States. Chief Executive Elon Musk appeared at a ceremony alongside local officials on the outskirts of Shanghai to mark the start of the project. He …
your ad hereResearchers Offer Alternative to Knee Replacement
Here’s a simple statistic: by 2030, the number of knee replacement surgeries in the U.S. alone is expected to rise over 600 percent. But researchers at Ohio State University’s Wexner Medical Center are now offering an alternative that can relieve the pain and slow the osteoarthritis that most often leads …
your ad hereMobile DNA Analysis Device Helps Farmers Fight Crop Diseases
A leap in technology has allowed scientists to take their DNA labs out into the fields, so farmers can identify diseases quickly and tackle the problem before their crops die, or the virus spreads to neighboring farms. Faith Lapidus reports. …
your ad hereUS Gadget Love Forecast to Grow Despite Trust Issues
The trade group behind the Consumer Electronics Show set to start the Tuesday forecast that US gadget love will grow despite trust and privacy issues hammering the tech world. The Consumer Technology Association (CTA) predicted that US retail revenue in the sector would climb to a record high $398 billion …
your ad here‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ Wins Top Nod At Golden Globes
Golden Globes co-host Sandra Oh said she was afraid to take the job of co-hosting this year’s show with Andy Samberg, but she took it anyway. “I said yes to the fear of being on this stage tonight because I wanted to be here to look out at his audience …
your ad hereHuge Trash-Collecting Boom in Pacific Ocean Breaks Apart
A trash collection device deployed to corral plastic litter floating in the Pacific Ocean between California and Hawaii has broken apart and will be hauled back to dry land for repairs. Boyan Slat, who launched the Pacific Ocean cleanup project, told NBC News last week that the 600-meter (2,000-foot) long …
your ad hereUS Delegation Arrives in Beijing for Trade Talks
A U.S. trade delegation has arrived in Beijing. The group is in China to hold two days of talks, beginning Monday, focusing on how best to carry out an agreement reached by U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping to postpone new tariff hikes. On December 1, the …
your ad hereChina Upbeat Ahead of US Trade Talks, But Differences Large
China has sounded a positive note ahead of trade talks this week with Washington, but the two sides face potentially lengthy wrangling over technology and the future of their economic relationship. Both sides have expressed an interest in settling their tariff fight over Beijing’s technology ambitions. Yet neither has indicated …
your ad hereMaster of Miniatures Builds a Dream Mansion in Los Angeles
For some, castlelike mansions in Los Angeles are just pretty to look at and an unattainable dream. But for designer Chris Toledo, they are an inspiration. He makes exact, yet miniature copies of these magnificent houses. They have it all — in bathrooms, electricity, fireplaces and chandeliers. One day, Toledo …
your ad hereSaving Water, Growing Food in the Saudi Desert
In 2016, researchers at Saudi Arabia’s King Faisal University began sounding alarms that the nation is about a decade away from running out of groundwater. The situation is still dire, but some entrepreneurs are creating new ways to save every drop. VOA’s Kevin Enochs reports. …
your ad hereAt Major Tech Show, a Chance for Small Startups to Shine
Every January, tech insiders head to Las Vegas, Nevada where the biggest tech companies show off their latest devices at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES). Smaller start-ups also vie for attention at one of the largest tech gatherings of the year. Tina Trinh meets with a Brooklyn startup as they …
your ad hereGreen Technology Provides Safe Drinking Water for Thousands of Rohingya Refugees
Thousands of Rohingya refugees in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, now have safe drinking water thanks to a combination of green technology and sunlight. Cox’s Bazar has plenty of refugees. More than 900,000. Most have arrived in Bangladesh since August 2017, when violence and persecution by the Myanmar military triggered a mass …
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