Home rental company Airbnb Inc ABNB.O said on Monday its non-profit arm Airbnb.org would offer free, temporary housing for up to 100,000 refugees fleeing Ukraine.  Chief Executive Brian Officer Brian Chesky and Joe Gebbia, the chairman of Airbnb.org, have sentletters to leaders of Poland, Romania, Germany and Hungary offering help to house the[Read More…]

MADRID, Feb 23 (Reuters) – Spurred on by soaring demand for seafood, a Spanish company plans to open the first commercial octopus farm next year but as scientists discover more about the enigmatic animals some warn it could be an ethical and environmental disaster.  “This is a global milestone,” said Roberto Romero,[Read More…]

HONG KONG, Feb 23 (Reuters) – Insurance agent Emily Kwong, 30, is struggling to home-school her five-year-old daughter and is worried she has learned nothing due to Hong Kong’s strict COVID-19 restrictions that have forced toddlers and teens into online classes.  Now plans by the government to close schools early in March are[Read More…]

LONDON, Feb 23 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – The risk of catastrophic wildfires is growing around the world as climate change fuels sizzling, tinder-dry conditions, increasing the need for fire-prone countries to adopt preventative measures, scientists warned Wednesday. Smart, proactive policies – such as setting fires at the end of rainy periods to[Read More…]

JOHANNESBURG, Feb 21 (Reuters) – South Africa’s health department said on Monday that it was changing COVID-19 vaccination rules to try to increase uptake, as inoculations have slowed and the country has ample vaccine stocks. The government is shortening the interval between the first and second doses of the Pfizer PFE.N vaccine from 42[Read More…]

WINDSOR, England, Feb 21 (Reuters) – After the shame of Prince Andrew’s U.S. sex abuse lawsuit and Prince Charles embroilment in a cash for honors scandal, Queen Elizabeth catching COVID-19 has rounded off a week of terrible news for the British royals. Buckingham Palace said on Sunday the monarch, who turns 96[Read More…]