When he leaves the Oval Office this month, he will have safeguarded more of the ocean than any other president, and increased the amount of protected waters around the U.S. by 20 times. His administration has also worked to improve American fisheries, clamp down on illegal fishing, and create national policies for protecting the oceans. Such measures are vital at a time when the oceans are imperiled by many threats.

New solar technology is poised to provide cheap power to many of the 600 million people in Africa who lack access to reliable electricity. Innovation in “off-grid” solar power is becoming accessible to even the most remote communities for less than a half dollar a day. [...] The company received $50 million in financing from the U.S. government’s Overseas Private Investment Corporation, as part of President Obama’s Power Africa initiative.

Social media is, of course, not the sole, or even the most important, cause of this failure. But we argue that social media challenges democratic consolidation by accelerating and intensifying dangerous trends such as polarization, fear and dehumanization of rivals. The speed, emotional intensity and echo-chamber qualities of social media content make those exposed to it experience more extreme reactions. 

Though the Taliban has relied on technology for over a decade in the name of propaganda and public relations, its relationship with social media has only taken root in the last few years, in parallel with the rise of ISIS. Just as terrorist organizations in the Middle East have made Facebook pages, Telegram channels, and Twitter accounts, the Taliban has expanded the breadth and depth of its outreach to the international community in general and the news media in particular.

Satellites might be able to help stamp out global poverty by indicating where help is needed most, according to a team of U.S. researchers. The images from satellites could help governments and charities trying to fight poverty but who lack precise, reliable information on where poor people are living and what they need, said the researchers, based at Stanford University in California.

Fourteen talented students and teachers from the United States will travel to Tokyo, Japan for the third annual TOMODACHI Toshiba Science & Technology Leadership Academy, where they will team up with Japanese students and teachers. The week-long program is designed to foster closer ties between American and Japanese participants...

Thanks to the internet, tailor-made travel has never been easier: if you’ve dreamt of staying in a Super Mario-themed apartment, you can book one on Airbnb; if it’s a ride with a local you’re after, you can grab one on Uber. And when it comes to spending time with locals in their own homes [...] BonAppetour, the company serves as a platform that connects tourists with locals, who come together around the “home dining” concept.