Features

  BOSTON / AP A circus is under fire for bringing back animal acts a year after earning praise from animal rights groups for dropping them to keep up with changing public attitudes. The Melha Shrine Circus, which has seven performances over four days scheduled for May in western Massachusetts, brought back performing elephants, tigers and dogs because that’s what ...

  JOHANNESBURG / DPA One of the most damaging pests in North and South America has reached Africa and is threatening the maize crop in many countries there. Experts are also warning that the fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda), the larva of the fall armyworm moth, could soon spread from Africa across the Mediterranean to southern Europe. “Whether this year, next ...

  Frankfurt / DPA Afram Shamoun, who for decades practiced medicine in Damascus, is now lying on a doctor’s couch in Frankfurt pretending to be a patient with knee problems. The 59-year-old is taking part in a course that prepares doctors qualified in other countries to take the exam to be able to practise in Germany. Today they’re going over ...

  JOHANNESBURG / AP The surprise was finding that people dependent on candles, batteries, kerosene and fuel for generators in countries without a secure supply of electricity spend more on power than solar options. The founders of Dutch company Lumos knew they could do better: In Nigeria, for the cost of powering a small generator for two hours they offer ...

  NEW YORK / AP The tech industry brought us self-driving cars, artificial intelligence and 3-D printers. But when it comes to racial and gender diversity, its leading companies are no trailblazers. Despite loudly touted efforts to hire more blacks, Latinos and women, especially in technical and leadership positions, diversity numbers at the largest tech companies are barely budging. In ...

  SCOTTSDALE, Ariz / AP Olga Korbut walks around the man-made lake in anonymity, despite the bright red warmup jacket with “Olga” in sparkly letters on her left shoulder. Korbut likes it here, this little suburban slice of nature, a place where she can get her body moving, listen to the birds, stroll alongside the dog walkers. Korbut stops at ...

  Bento Rodrigues / DPA The earth is a reddish colour, practically orange, and on deserted streets the soil, a kind of dry clay, is turning into a very fine dust. “The scene of the crime” – these are the words used by a former resident of Bento Rodrigues to describe the tiny community in south-eastern Brazil, which is now ...

  WASHINGTON / AP Even infants can have conversations with mom or dad. Their turn just tends to involve a smile or some gibberish instead of words. That’s a key lesson from programs that are coaching parents to talk more with their babies — and recording their attempts. At issue is how to bridge the infamous “word gap,” the fact ...

  Nuremberg / DPA In the old days, people used to complain that children were glued to the television. Now they worry that they’re even more under the spell of their smartphones and tablets. The toy industry first exploited tech and used apps to build out their business. But now they’re also looking to take advantage of the counter trend. ...

  Ibiza / DPA Victor Jordan is lacking a certain enthusiasm when he talks about his island. “When it comes down to it, it’s like any other rural property, only surrounded by water,” he says. Alegranza sits in the Chinijo archipelago, a nature reserve in the Canary Islands. In Spain, a few dozen families own islands. Most are not multimillionaires ...