CDC recommends updated COVID shots for everyone older than 6 months
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recommended that everyone 6 months old and older should be given an updated COVID-19 vaccine for the 2024-25 immunization campaign, even those previously vaccinated against the disease. The agency’s recommendation on…
Russian satellite breaks up, forces space station astronauts to shelter
WASHINGTON — A defunct Russian satellite has broken up into more than 100 pieces of debris in orbit, forcing astronauts on the International Space Station to take shelter for about an hour and adding to the mass of space junk…
Afghan farmers grow poppies despite Taliban’s ban
Washington — Opium poppy cultivation in Afghanistan was down sharply last year, according to the United Nations and private sources, but the plants are being grown in most provinces despite a ban imposed by the Taliban. Some areas grow more…
Drivers in cities around globe facing more traffic jams, study finds
A survey of global traffic patterns 2023 released this week showed 78% of the world’s urban areas experienced worse congestion than a year earlier. The survey by INRIX, a data analytics company, found that only 19% of urban areas experienced…
News nonprofit sues ChatGPT maker OpenAI, Microsoft for ‘exploitative’ copyright infringement
Los Angeles — The Center for Investigative Reporting said Thursday it has sued ChatGPT maker OpenAI and its closest business partner, Microsoft, marking a new front in the news industry’s fight against unauthorized use of its content on artificial intelligence…
Meta must face lawsuit claiming it prefers foreign workers over US citizens
A U.S. appeals court on Thursday revived a software engineer’s proposed class action claiming Meta Platforms refused to hire him because it preferred to give jobs to foreign workers who are paid lower wages. The San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit…
South Korea will consider supplying arms to Ukraine after Russia, North Korea sign strategic pact
Seoul — South Korea said Thursday that it would consider sending arms to Ukraine, a major policy change that was suggested after Russia and North Korea rattled the region and beyond by signing a pact to come to each other’s…
Canada’s 2023 fires spewed more heat-trapping gas than millions of cars
WASHINGTON — Catastrophic Canadian wildfires last year pumped more heat-trapping carbon dioxide into the air than India did by burning fossil fuels, setting ablaze an area of forest larger than the U.S. state of West Virginia, new research finds. Scientists…
Indonesia aims to build cutting-edge spaceport but faces obstacles
Jakarta, Indonesia — Indonesia aims to launch 19 satellites into low-Earth orbit next year, part of an ambitious plan to move the country into the forefront of the world’s growing space industry and reduce its reliance on other countries for…
Busy with Ukraine war, Russia ignoring growing Islamist terror threat, experts say
While the world has been focused on Russia’s two-year war in Ukraine, Sunday’s attacks in Dagestan, a majority-Muslim republic in Russia’s North Caucasus region, were just the latest reminder of Moscow’s long-running conflict with radical Islamists. Gunmen in Dagestan’s two…