It’s fun to imagine a world without cash.Liberated from the burden of physical currency, consumers could make purchases from the convenience of a mobile device. Every transaction would come equipped with fraud protection, reward points and a digital record of its time and location. Comprehensive tracking could help the Internal Revenue Service reclaim billions of tax dollars lost to …

  Kigali / AFP In a major step toward curbing global warming, world envoys reached an agreement on Saturday to phase out potent greenhouse gases used in refrigerators and air conditioners. Under the amendment to the 1987 Montreal Protocol on protecting the ozone layer, rich countries are to take action sooner than developing nations. The agreement was greeted by applause …

  Mogadishu / AFP A week of violent clashes between rival forces in northern Somalia has killed 11 people and forced more than 50,000 to flee, the UN humanitarian agency said on Saturday. Tensions between the rival regions of Puntland and Galmudug soared last month after Galmudug said 13 of its soldiers were killed in a misdirected US airstrike which …