US prices rose 3.4% in the year to July, slightly lower than the 3.5% in the year to June, new figures show. Energy remained volatile as the Middle East conflict has continued. While gasoline prices were down 2.9% in July compared to June, they were up 24.6% over the year. Month to month, inflation rose…
Google is rolling out a major feature expansion to “Ask Maps,” the conversational assistant embedded within Google Maps. The update introduces agentic capabilities that allow users to order food, book accommodations, and monitor public transit directly through natural language prompts, alongside deep personalization options driven by connected Google services. Read: SpaceX shares plunge after first…
Seattle police say they now believe at least three people were involved in a fatal shooting at a food festival on Sunday. Police initially said two suspects were thought to have been shooting at each other at the annual Bite of Seattle food festival at the Space Needle – one of the city’s most popular…
Across Africa last year, fewer people were uncertain about their ability to obtain adequate food or were forced to reduce the quality and quantity of what they ate. It was the first continent-wide improvement in food insecurity in a decade. The Hunger rate declined for the first time in nearly a decade, from 20.3 percent…
Addis Ababa — Africa must unlock its vast and largely untapped livestock potential to strengthen food and nutrition security and accelerate inclusive economic growth, experts told ENA. For millions of Africans, livestock is more than a source of food or income. It is the foundation of livelihoods, particularly for pastoral communities. Yet experts say the…
Debby Lawson, founder and COO of Fastizers, speaking during launch of the company’s Nibit brand. One Saturday in 2010, Gbola Lawson was knocking on the doors of small brick-and-mortar stores in Lagos – Nigeria’s megacity of roughly seventeen million people – trying to persuade shopkeepers to place cookies on their shelves. Although he held a…
China has become one of Africa’s largest development financiers. Since 2000, Chinese and other state-backed institutions have committed more than US$180 billion in loans to African countries. The money has been used to finance roads, railways, power stations, ports, water infrastructure and industrial projects. Agriculture has also become part of this expanding partnership. Food systems…
The UN’s International Maritime Organization (IMO) appealed on Monday for the urgent release of 44 seafarers held captive in Somali waters by pirates and armed robbers. The regulator which works to ensure safety at sea has recorded 24 attempted and actual incidents of piracy and armed robbery against ships in the Red Sea and the…
Innovation underpins the World Food Programme’s work in tackling hunger. Here we look at five innovations making a real difference on the ground. From artificial intelligence to digital registration and blockchain, the World Food Programme (WFP) is scaling practical innovations to help us reach more people, more efficiently. As humanitarian needs continue to outpace resources,…
The world’s food systems face real and urgent challenges. These include climate change, nutrition insecurity, food safety, and unequal access to markets. Research has produced practical solutions to each of these that could benefit hundreds of millions of people. Too few are moved into widespread use. For years, the development sector has flattered itself with…
