LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — Nigeria is slashing its fine on MTN, Africa’s largest telecommunications operator, by more than a third to $3.4 billion, and the CEO of the embattled Nigerian subsidiary has resigned, the company said Thursday. The South Africa-based MTN Group also announced major management changes to strengthen oversight and regulatory compliance across all … Continue reading
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are trading modestly lower and European markets fell sharply after the European Central Bank announced stimulus plans that were less aggressive than investors were expecting. The Dow Jones industrial average was down 44 points, or 0.3 percent, to 17,685 as of 11:55 a.m. Eastern time. The Standard & Poor’s … Continue reading
BERLIN (AP) — The European Space Agency launched a rocket Thursday to carry two cubes of gold and platinum almost a million miles from Earth so scientists can see how they’ll behave in a freefall — at a cost of more than $450 million. What may sound like a frivolous enterprise is actually the prelude … Continue reading
LAS VEGAS (AP) — A father’s bid to keep his 20-year-old daughter on life-support at a Reno hospital after doctors declared her brain-dead is pending before a Nevada state court judge. Beyond the family attorney’s claim on Wednesday that the cost of caring for Aden Hailu (AY’-dehn HEHL’-oo) is driving hospital efforts to pull the … Continue reading
WASHINGTON (AP) — The House on Thursday overwhelmingly approved a 5-year, $305 billion bill that boosts highway and transit spending and assures states that federal help will be available for major projects. Senate approval was expected to follow later in the day. The bill, approved by 359 to 65 vote, doesn’t include as much money … Continue reading
NEW YORK (AP) — An American woman sentenced to 20 years in a Peru prison for conspiring with the Latin American nation’s No. 2 leftist rebel group in the 1990s returned to New York on Thursday, smiling as she walked through the doors at Kennedy Airport with her uncle. Lori Berenson, 46, has been living … Continue reading
DIAMNIADIO ISLAND, Senegal (AP) — The place where Fatou Faye’s kitchen once stood is now outlined with short branches of mangroves, a small and perhaps futile attempt to prevent the sea from destroying the rest of her house. The rising sea levels pushing into the waters of Senegal’s Saloum Delta threaten to carve the rest … Continue reading
BERLIN (AP) — Governments’ emissions-cutting pledges ahead of a global conference in December are a good step toward achieving an international global warming goal, but they aren’t yet enough, the U.N. climate chief said Friday. The plans submitted by 146 countries for the climate conference in Paris could cut average global emissions per capita of … Continue reading
BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Thousands waving Catalan independence flags rallied Thursday in support of regional acting President Artur Mas who was being questioned at a Barcelona court for holding a symbolic referendum on secession from Spain. Some 400 pro-independence mayors and independence party leaders joined Mas and his government councilors as he walked parade-style to … Continue reading
MOSCOW (AP) — Russia has finalized a contract for the delivery of advanced air-defense missile systems to Iran, the head of a Russian state-controlled industrial conglomerate said Monday. Sergei Chemezov, the head of Russian Technologies, the holding company that includes the Rosoboronexport arms trader, said Monday on a trip to Dubai that “the contract with … Continue reading
DETROIT (AP) — Owners of 482,000 diesel Volkswagens and Audis in the U.S. are eligible for $1,000 in gift cards and vouchers as the automaker strives to placate customers dismayed by an emissions-rigging scandal. VW announced the offer Monday. The car owners have been in limbo since mid-September, when VW admitted the cars are equipped … Continue reading
“Unstoppable: Harnessing Science to Change the World” (St. Martin’s Press,) by Bill Nye The science is clear and the warnings are dire: Man-made climate change is happening and will adversely affect human life on this planet. Both the effects of climate change and the political obfuscation stalling meaningful education and action to create a better … Continue reading
PUERTO VALLARTA, Mexico (AP) — Record-breaking Hurricane Patricia appeared to leave remarkably little damage as it moved rapidly inland over mountainous western Mexico early Saturday and weakened to tropical depression status, though authorities warned it could still cause deadly floods and mudslides. Patricia, which peaked as the strongest hurricane on record in the Western Hemisphere, … Continue reading
WASHINGTON (AP) — If carbon dioxide emissions continue at their current pace, by the end of century parts of the Persian Gulf will sometimes be just too hot for the human body to tolerate, a new study says. How hot? The heat index — which combines heat and humidity — may hit 165 to 170 … Continue reading
NEW YORK (AP) — As another election season heats up, researchers are engaged in a battle of their own over voter behavior: Can it really be swayed by whether the local college football team just won or lost? Five years ago, researchers drew attention with data suggesting that a win within 10 days before Election … Continue reading
Spartan Echo 