California regulators are considering a plan to charge a fee for text messaging on mobile phones to help support programs that make phone service accessible to the poor. The Mercury…
more ...Sports, Deaths Among 2018’s Top Google Searches
Sports, disaster and death were among the top searches on Google last year. Each December, the technology company releases it’s top trending searches of the year. Topics that drew the…
more ...Twitter CEO Acknowledges Suffering of Myanmar’s Rohingya Muslims
Twitter chief executive officer Jack Dorsey is under fire for failing to address the humanitarian crisis involving the Rohingya Muslims during his recent meditation retreat in Myanmar. Dorsey published a…
more ...Sustainable Tree Farming Means Better Lives for Kenyan Farmers
Wood consumption — including logging and the production of charcoal — is a leading cause of forest degradation in Africa. In some of Kenya’s coastal regions, recurring droughts have made the…
more ...Malaysian Ex-PM Slapped with New Charge Over 1MDB Scandal
Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak was charged Wednesday with tampering with the final audit report into a defunct state investment fund, adding to a long list of corruption allegations…
more ...Avianca Brasil Airline Declares Bankruptcy
Cash-strapped Avianca Brasil, the country’s fourth-largest airline, on Tuesday sought bankruptcy protection from creditors but reassured passengers that flights will continue. “Due to resistance from the lessors (of their aircraft)…
more ...In the Age of Social Media are GIFs the New Short Films?
If short films are shorter than feature films and commercials are shorter than both, what’s shorter than everything? GIFs. At 18 seconds or less, these micro-films are getting their time…
more ...Experts: Millions Invested But Gold Mining ‘Under-Exploited’ in W. Africa
Mining companies have invested at least $5 billion toward gold exploration in West Africa in the last decade but significant reserves are under-exploited, mineral industry experts said on Tuesday. Delegates at…
more ...US Treasury, USTR Reach Post-Brexit Insurance Accord with Britain
The U.S. Treasury and U.S. Trade Representative’s office said on Tuesday they intended to sign a new bilateral insurance agreement with Britain that will provide insurance market regulatory certainty and…
more ...As Finances Improve, Greece Scraps Pension Cuts
Greece’s parliament on Tuesday voted to scrap plans to cut state pensions, in a motion led by the left-led governing coalition hoping to shore up its flagging support ahead of…
more ...Big Drop Reported in Child Labor in Cambodia Fashion Factories
While the United Nations says child labor has fallen sharply in Cambodia’s garment factories, many informal subcontractors using children are escaping scrutiny, activists said Tuesday. Better Factories Cambodia, a U.N.…
more ...US Intelligence Official: China’s Hacking Against US on the Rise
A senior U.S. intelligence official said on Tuesday that Chinese cyber activity in the United States had risen in recent months, targeting critical infrastructure in what may be attempts to…
more ...Macron’s Concessions Set to Blow Out French Deficit
France will overshoot the European Union’s budget deficit ceiling next year without deeper spending cuts after President Emmanuel Macron caved in to anti-government protests. Macron announced wage increases for the…
more ...Argentina Convicts Former Ford Execs in Torture Case
An Argentine court on Tuesday convicted two former executives of a local Ford plant of involvement in the torture of workers during the country’s dictatorship in the 1970s, victims’ lawyers…
more ...Protesters Disrupt US Fossil Fuel Event at Climate Talks
Protesters disturbed a U.S.-sponsored event promoting fossil fuels on the sidelines of U.N. climate change talks on Monday. The event called “U.S. innovative technologies spur economic dynamism,” touting the benefits…
more ...Google CEO Tells Lawmakers Tech Giant Operates ‘Without Political Bias’
Google CEO Sundar Pichai insisted Tuesday before the House Judiciary Committee that he runs the U.S. technology giant without political preference. “We find that we have a wide variety of…
more ...Disney Again Makes History with Earning Above $7B for 2018
Walt Disney Studios is again ending the year on a high note, posting more than $7 billion in global box office earnings, thanks to hits such as “Black Panther” and…
more ...China, US Discuss Next Stage of Trade Talks
China and the United States discussed the road map for the next stage of their trade talks on Tuesday, during a telephone call between Chinese Vice Premier Liu He and…
more ...Goodyear Halts Tire Production in Venezuela as Economy Slips
Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. is halting production in Venezuela, making it the latest international corporation to abandon a South American nation in economic crisis, officials said Monday. Spokesman…
more ...US Diplomat: Russia Gas Pipeline to Boost Grip on Ukraine, Europe
Russia is seeking to boost its power in Europe and grip over Ukraine with the proposed Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline, the top U.S. energy diplomat said on Monday,…
more ...Study: Illegal Gold Rush Destroying Amazon Rainforest
A rise in small-scale illegal gold mining is destroying swaths of the Amazon rainforest, according to research released on Monday that maps the scale of the damage for the first…
more ...Chinese Court Bans iPhone Models in Patent Dispute
A Chinese court has ordered a ban in the country on most iPhone sales because of a patent dispute between iPhone maker Apple and U.S. chipmaker Qualcomm. The Fuzhou Intermediate…
more ...Musk Suggests Tesla’s New Chairwoman Won’t Rein Him In
Tesla CEO Elon Musk dismissed the idea that the company’s new chairwoman can exert control over his behavior. Robyn Denholm, an Australian telecommunications executive, was appointed chairwoman of Tesla’s board…
more ...Japanese Economy Experiences the Worst Downturn in Four Years
Japan’s economy contracted 2.5 percent in the third quarter of this year, July-September, which marks the worst downturn in the past four years. The revised data released Monday was more…
more ...ITU: More Than Half World’s Population Using Internet
The International Telecommunication Union reports that for the first time in history, half of the global population is using the internet. A new report finds by the end of the…
more ...More Than Half the World’s Population is Using the Internet
The International Telecommunication Union reports that for the first time in history, half of the global population is using the internet. A new report finds by the end of the…
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