Technology

Colleagues gather at a cafeteria in the offices of Picsart, in Yerevan, Armenia.

Russia's war turns Armenia into a booming tech sector

Thousands of Russian tech workers have fled to Armenia, helping the country’s tech sector double in size and fueling dramatic economic growth over the last year.

Russia's war turns Armenia into a booming tech sector
A coal-fired power station in Witbank, South Africa , Monday, Oct. 11, 2021.

Scheduled blackouts roll South Africa into electricity crisis

Scheduled blackouts roll South Africa into electricity crisis
To get certified by the Starlight Foundation, Villa de Leyva, Colombia, plans to change its streetlights so they only point downward and use light bulbs with warmer colored temperatures.

This Colombian town is dimming its lights to attract more tourists to view the night sky

This Colombian town is dimming its lights to attract more tourists to view the night sky
Graphic of Chinese President Xi Jinping.

China’s tech weapons roll in to quell demonstrations, identify protesters

China’s tech weapons roll in to quell demonstrations, identify protesters
People carrying lanterns watch the sky at night during the annual Perseid meteor shower in El Escorial, outside Madrid, Aug. 13, 2015.

This Senegalese astronomer is helping NASA measure asteroids in space

This Senegalese astronomer is helping NASA measure asteroids in space
In this June 19, 2017, file photo, a person types on a laptop keyboard in North Andover, Massachusetts. 

'Ransomware Diaries:' Going undercover with the leader of LockBit

Jon DiMaggio, chief security analyst at Analyst1, spent more than a year inside LockBit private channels interacting with LockBitSupp and other members. He recently released a report called "Ransomware Diaries: Volume 1," that revealed how he infiltrated the group and what he learned while he was on the inside.

'Ransomware Diaries:' Going undercover with the leader of LockBit
Rescuers scour the crash site in the wreckage of a passenger plane in Pokhara, Nepal, Jan.16, 2023.

Flight data, voice recorders retrieved from Nepal crash site

Rescuers are still searching the debris of a passenger plane that crashed in Nepal's Himalayan foothills for three missing people, who are believed to be dead.

Flight data, voice recorders retrieved from Nepal crash site
The hydroponic tomato plants at Ráječek Farm rely on manufactured fertilizer to grow.

War in Ukraine sparks fertilizer crisis that may impact the future of global food production

Russia is the world’s largest fertilizer producer, but fewer Russian agricultural products are entering the global market due to the war in Ukraine. It’s changing how farmers and fertilizer suppliers are thinking about agriculture.

War in Ukraine sparks fertilizer crisis that may impact the future of global food production
An iceberg melts in Kulusuk, Greenland near the Arctic Circle, Aug, 16, 2005. A new report finds permafrost in the Arctic is thawing faster than ever before.

Critical permafrost research in Russia disrupted by war in Ukraine

Most of the world’s permafrost lies in Russia. Critical research looks at how melting permafrost contributes to global warming. But sanctions against Russia this year have disrupted field work and threatened collaborations among scientists.

Critical permafrost research in Russia disrupted by war in Ukraine
A masked couple ride an electric scooter by the Invalides memorial, in Paris, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2020.

Paris considers ban on e-scooters over safety concerns

The electric scooter revolution in the "City of Lights" may be about to go bust just as it takes off.

Paris considers ban on e-scooters over safety concerns
View of the Earth as seen by the Apollo 17 crew.

NASA’s iconic image of Earth still inspires 50 years later. Fmr astronaut Mae Jemison reflects on it.

Former NASA astronaut Dr. Mae Jemison, who now directs the 100 Year Starship Project, talks about the power of the "big, blue marble" image of planet Earth, taken 50 years ago.

NASA’s iconic image of Earth still inspires 50 years later. Fmr astronaut Mae Jemison reflects on it.
Delegates began to share their concrete visions on what they believe the future plastic treaty could look like at the first meeting of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-1).

Negotiators meet in Uruguay to map out global plastics treaty

With a 2024 completion deadline that was voted on in March, the future treaty aims to reduce plastics pollution on a global scale. Organizers plan to mitigate the costs and effects of plastic production as a whole and engage workers’ concerns within the industry.

Negotiators meet in Uruguay to map out global plastics treaty
This address is listed on an official police website back in China as an “Overseas Police Service Center,” but the locale appears abandoned. 

China has a police network that stretches across some 30 countries, NGO says

The Madrid-based nongovernmental organization Safeguard Defenders says that China has an extended police network in dozens of countries around the world, with the goal of coercing criminal suspects to return home to China. Beijing doesn't deny they exist, but says they are legitimate and used for legal purposes.

China has a police network that stretches across some 30 countries, NGO says
Funeral workers burry a coffin with an unidentified civilian body, who died in Bucha during the Russian occupation period in February-March 2022, during a funeral in Bucha, Ukraine

Digital clues and the stories Ukraine’s mass graves tell

There are two kinds of mass graves in Ukraine, the ones left after Russian executions, and the ones dug by local people to prevent disease or to protect the bodies. Now, there are efforts underway to document the graves and create digital records of the bodies, in order to identify them later.

Digital clues and the stories Ukraine’s mass graves tell
The walnut forests of southern Kyrgyzstan sprawl along the tops of steep hills. They are believed to be the largest natural walnut forest on earth.

Kyrgyzstan’s walnut forests dwindle with increased cattle farming, climate change

Climate change and increased cattle farming have created intense pressure on Kyrgyzstan’s walnut forest — the largest one on Earth. A new app helps herders to better monitor and manage their pastures in an effort to protect the walnut forests.

Kyrgyzstan’s walnut forests dwindle with increased cattle farming, climate change