Economy

The 2016 peace treaty, which ended decades of civil conflict in Colombia, has transformed the country into a birdwatcher's paradise. This agreement has liberated vast swathes of forests previously dominated by armed groups, making them accessible to wildlife lovers and researchers alike. For years, Colombia’s rich biodiversity was hidden behind the barriers of a long-running civil war. The nation’s forests, home to an astonishing array of bird species, were largely off-limits due to the presence of guerrillas and the associated dangers. However, the peace agreement has opened up these once-inaccessible areas, revealing a treasure trove of avian diversity. Birdwatchers from…

Shahjahan Bhuiya, who rose to fame by executing some of Bangladesh’s most notorious criminals in exchange for reduced sentences for his own crimes and later gained brief fame on TikTok, died on Monday in Bangladesh’s capital Dhaka. The National Police announced on Tuesday that the cause of his death, which occurred in hospital, had not yet been confirmed. Abul Kashem, Bhuiya's landlord, said he took Bhuiya to hospital on Sunday after Bhuiya felt chest pains. Last year, Bhuiya told local media that he was 74, but his national identity card, provided by Kashem, indicated that he was 66 at the…

Mosquito-borne dengue fever is spreading rapidly around the world, reaching record levels and even popping up in unexpected places. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is warning doctors in the United States to be on the lookout for cases, as the risk of infection has increased this year. Why the wave? Several factors are driving the increase in dengue. The Aedes a Egypti mosquito, which transmits the virus, thrives in warm, humid environments. Climate change is creating the ideal conditions for these mosquitoes to expand their range and become more numerous. Additionally, urbanization brings people closer to mosquito…

Longtime friends Martin Schwartz and Matthew Mandel enjoy a rare sports moment as Miami teams battle for the championship. Martin Schwartz and Matthew Mandel are living a dream come true. The lifelong friends and residents of South Florida hit the sports jackpot with the Miami Heat and Florida Panthers both making it to the finals, competing for the NBA and NHL titles simultaneously. Schwartz and Mandel, who have shared season tickets for both teams for years, have seen their fair share of ups and downs. They’ve endured tough seasons, like the Heat’s 15-win campaign in 2007-08, and watched away fans…

US mobile carriers AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile suffered an outage that impacted travelers in Europe. Many vacationers have lost access to essential phone functions such as data, calls and messages. Social media was buzzing with frustrated travellers from Britain to Turkey, unable to connect for 24 hours. The cause of the outage remains unclear, but appears to be related to an issue with a third-party provider used for international roaming. Carriers have acknowledged the problem: AT&T says its network is operating normally, but some international customers may experience outages due to an external issue. They are working with a roaming…

Each class would include around 15 fighters each, allowing top talent to face off against each other regularly. The move would effectively create a single boxing entity that would replace the sometimes chaotic and frustrating system of warring fight promoters and sanctioning bodies. The new entity would have the resources and fighters to stage high-profile cards around the world. And unlike many of the sports that Saudi Arabia has already attempted to revolutionize, professional boxing may be ripe for reinvention. The sport has lost its luster and some of its allure in recent decades and is currently run by a…

Concluding a years-long legal saga, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is set to return to Australia after pleading guilty to a single charge relating to the publication of classified US documents. The 52-year-old Australian citizen avoided a lengthy prison sentence by admitting guilt at a remote hearing in an American territory in the Pacific. This settlement marks a significant development in a case that has become a battleground for press freedom and national security concerns. From famous whistleblower to legal standoff Assange rose to prominence in the 2010s, when WikiLeaks published a series of sensitive documents exposing details of US military…

For many Americans, the rising tide of prescription drug prices seems like a relentless force, threatening to swamp family budgets and access to health care. While pharmaceutical companies often assume public responsibility, the web of influences on drug costs is much more intricate. Today we shine our spotlight on a critical, but typically hidden, player in this system: pharmacy benefit managers, or PBMs. Rebecca Robbins, a leading investigative journalist specializing in pharmaceuticals for the New York Times, will take us on a deep dive into the world of PBMs. We will explore their role as intermediaries between drug manufacturers, insurers,…

Mike Duggan and his hockey buddies were strapping on their gear one recent morning when their banter turned, as it often does, to the topic of joint replacement surgeries. Duggan, 74, the proud owner of an artificial hip, marveled at the sheer number of titanium body parts in the locker room. He nodded toward Mitch Boriskin, who was putting on a pair of skates along the opposite wall. “I don't think there's an original part to you,” Duggan said. Boriskin, 70, smiled. “Two fake knees, a spinal cord stimulator, 25 surgeries,” he began, as if he were reciting a sheet…

Last week, Israeli soldiers corrected the tracks of a tank near the Gaza border in southern Israel.Credit…Jack Guez/Agency France-Presse — Getty Images The intense phase of Israel's war against Hamas "is coming to an end," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a Sunday evening interview on Israeli television, though he stressed that this does not mean the conflict is coming to an end. .After the operation in Rafah, Gaza's southernmost city and the final hub of Israel's ground offensive, the prime minister said, Israel will continue to "mow the lawn" - a term long used in Israeli security circles to…