Y Combinator, the Silicon Valley technology startup-incubator that’s that offered early funding for Airbnb, Reddit, Genius, Twitch, and Dropbox, among others, has its eyes on a backing an even bigger potential disruption: basic income. This week, the company announced that its year-long feasibility study on basic income, using a few dozen people in Oakland, California, had come to an end. Its next logical step is altogether more ambitious...

The city of Flint saw fewer pregnancies, and a higher number of fetal deaths, during the period women and their fetuses were exposed to high levels of lead in their drinking water, according to a new research study that reviewed health records from Flint and the state. Fertility rates decreased by 12% among Flint women, and fetal death rates increased by 58%, after April 2014...

HBO has renewed “Last Week Tonight With John Oliver” through 2020. The renewal for Oliver comes a week after HBO extended its another comedy-current events show, “Real Time With Bill Maher,” through 2020. “Last Week Tonight” debuted on HBO in 2014, and has drawn strong critical praise since for its host’s satirical take on news, politics, and cultural issues. The show has been nominated for eight Primetime Emmy awards, and won two Creative Arts Emmys last weekend. Last year it won ...

North Korea has warned the United States that it will pay a "due price" if harsh sanctions against the country are agreed at a United Nations Security Council meeting on Monday. North Korea's Foreign Ministry said in a statement published on state media that if the US "does rig up the illegal and unlawful 'resolution'" it would respond in kind.

Australian researchers have found a breakthrough in manufacture of quantum computer. As the basic building blocks, this new type of qubit is able to facilitate large scale production of a quantum computer. However, the research is not one of its kind as far as manufacture of quantum computers is concerned. There are several ways to make one of these high-tech computers. Some may take up a few square feet, but to manufacture on a large-scale may requires thousands of square feet.

It’s strange to think of Russian President Vladimir Putin as a reliable source when it comes to geopolitical analysis. Yet when Putin talked about the US-North Korea nuclear standoff in a press conference on Thursday night, his assessment of the situation matched far more closely with what you hear from US experts on North Korea than anything that the Trump administration has said. Putin’s core point is that the central strategy of US policy under Trump, Obama, and Bush — attempting to pre...

It feels like it’s been months, rather than years, since the tech community last banded together in support of net neutrality, and achieved an unprecedented victory over broadband providers. And yet, once again, we are forced to fight for a more free, more fair internet, one where internet providers can’t use their positions in the market to crush competing services we use every day.

Teddy Junus – a wealthy north shore businessman who boasted of networking with Tony Abbott, Andrew Robb and Kevin Rudd – is accused of rorting the system for subclass 457 and 163 visas, taking between $15,000 and $310,000 from dozens of hopeful migrants, most of whom were left with nothing.

Is the term "google" too generic and therefore unworthy of its trademark protection? That's the question before the US Supreme Court. Words like teleprompter, thermos, hoover, aspirin, and videotape were once trademarked. They lost the status after their names became too generic and fell victim to what is known as "genericide."

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Torrents of water rushed through the streets of the Sierra Leone capital of Freetown on Monday, causing mudslides that killed hundreds and trapped hundreds more in their homes and vehicles, officials said. As many as 200 people were killed after heavy rains overnight deluged the city’s poor drainage system and created one of the most devastating floods Freetown has experienced.

Up to 200 survivors of the Grenfell Tower inferno are still living in hotels, while none of them have secured permanent accommodation. Two months on the from the tragedy, survivors have resorted to searching for new homes themselves out of frustration at the council’s rehousing efforts. Prime Minister Theresa May had pledged to ensure that survivors would be rehomed within three weeks soon after the deadly blaze on June 14.

It was announced this week that all slaughterhouses in England will have to install CCTV cameras, in a Government move to try to improve animal welfare on UK farms. As a lover of animals, you’d think I would be thrilled at this news. Instead I can’t help but continue to wonder why on earth we are killing animals in the first place. It shouldn’t be a question of whether or not it’s caught on camera.

Astronomers know that there are rogue, Jupiter-sized planets roaming the galaxy on their own, without a star to call home. But how many dark and lonely planets are out there? Six years ago, a study found that they might be so abundant, they outnumbered the stars two to one. The result had implications not only for how these dark planets might form, but also for the general messiness of the early years of planet formation.

PITTSBURGH—Calling it a perfect way to rapidly replenish essential nutrients after an intense workout, Heinz on Wednesday introduced a new quick-recovery sports ketchup to their line of food products.

There are currently no licensed vaccines or therapeutics available to combat Zika, although a $100m clinical trial is underway.

Jim and Tammy Fae Bakker ruled as king and queen of Christian televangelists — until their empire came crashing down. There were ugly sexual revelations, including hush money doled out to a sultry church secretary. And financial revelations exposing the obscene sums the unholy rollers spent on furs, diamonds and luxury cars. Then there were the criminal revelations. In 1989, Jim went to prison for defrauding the faithful of $158 million.

It's enough to make you wish for a blockchain. Oh, wait.