The Pew Research Center asked adult Internet users in 32 developing and emerging countries if they use social networks. Here’s a sampling of who said yes: Philippines 93% Venezuela 88% Indonesia 86% Egypt 78% China 58%
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Bird calls, after firefighters in Idaho rushed into a burning building when they heard voices calling “Help! Fire!” only to discover a pair of “talking” parrots. “There was nobody besides the birds inside,” said one fireman. “Smart birds.”
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Nearly 10,000 desperate refugees were rescued from overcrowded boats in the Mediterranean this week, a record high, but another 400 are believed to have drowned when one of the boats sank, also a record. Most of the migrants were from Syria or sub-Saharan Africa, fleeing war and poverty. European Union officials said some half-million people are massed in Libyan ports […]
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Portion of Americans who live in areas harmful levels of air pollution: 1/2 Number of the top five most polluted cities in the country that are in California: 5
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Percent increase in armed robberies at pharmacies since 2006: 81
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Percentage of the world’s 25 largest news organizations that have been targeted by state-backed hackers: 84
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About 25 percent of the world’s population, or 1.6 billion people, do not have electricity in their homes.
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Smarty pants, after Google developers announced that they were teaming up with Levi’s to make jeans with conductive fibers that could be used as touch screens, allowing users to answer the phone or send a text just by swiping their thighs.
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The 400 richest Americans have as much wealth as all 41 million African Americans.
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The suicide rate in South Korea has more than doubled in the past decade, the government said this week. South Korea has one of the highest suicide rates in the world; for citizens in their 20s and 30s, suicide is the leading cause of death. Some analysts say the act has become normalized by a spate of high-profile suicides, including […]
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