レアジョブ英会話 Daily News Article Podcast

Amazon has pledged to beef up the fight against fake reviews, Britain’s competition regulator said after an investigation into whether big online platforms are doing enough to crack down on phony online ratings for products and services. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said it secured the “undertakings” from Amazon, after getting a similar agreement earlier this year from Google to clamp down on rogue reviews plaguing the internet. The company promised to strengthen its existing systems for fighting fake reviews. It will also tackle catalog abuse, which involves sellers boosting star ratings for a product by hijacking good review...

The third United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC) opened June 9 amid rising pressure for nations to turn decades of promises into real protection for the sea. The weeklong summit came as just 2.7 percent of the ocean was effectively protected from destructive, extractive activities, according to the ocean advocacy nonprofit Marine Conservation Institute. That's far below the target agreed upon under the global “30x30” pledge to conserve 30 percent of land and sea by 2030. Atop this year’s agenda was a diplomatic race to ratify the High Seas Treaty. Adopted in 2023, the treaty would, for the first time, allow nations to establish marine protec...

Digital price labels, which are rapidly replacing paper shelf tags at US supermarkets, haven’t led to demand-based pricing surges, according to a new study that examined five years’ worth of prices at one grocery chain. But some shoppers, consumer advocates and lawmakers remain skeptical about the tiny electronic screens, which let stores change prices instantly from a central computer instead of having workers swap out paper labels by hand. Social media is filled with warnings that grocers will use the technology to charge more for ice cream if it’s hot outside, hike the price of umbrellas if it’s rainin...

More than 1,000 people gathered in a scenic Minneapolis neighborhood for an annual ritual—the sharpening of a gigantic No. 2 pencil. The 20-foot-tall (6-meter-tall) pencil was sculpted out of a mammoth oak tree at the home of John and Amy Higgins. The beloved tree was damaged in a storm a few years ago when fierce winds twisted the crown off. Neighbors mourned. A couple even wept. But the Higginses saw it not so much as a loss, but as a chance to give the tree new life. The sharpening ceremony on their front lawn has evolved into a community spectacle that dr...

A cheap, eco-friendly flooring system is helping to improve health and bring down construction costs in Uganda. The clay-based earthen floors use local earth instead of cement, helping to reduce carbon emissions, and when replacing traditional mud floors, help reduce dust as well as disease-causing pests. The Ugandan company racing to install it is EarthEnable, which specializes in this sustainable, affordable system. The flooring is a better option than more rudimentary materials used by those living in poverty, which tend to attract a lot of dust and pests that can damage health. “In the villages, people use cow dung to ma...

Everything from rusty typewriters to vintage cameras can be found at anthropologist Aditya Vij’s home in New Delhi. In an age of new technology and innovative products, walking into his home is like stepping into a time machine. Vij is an avid collector of artifacts, and over the decades, the self-proclaimed “history hunter” has gathered thousands of items that span centuries and documented their relevance and the impact they have had on society. Each collectible he has salvaged feels like a victory against time, Vij says, underscoring his belief that maybe one individual’s attempts can quietly resist their erasure...

Snack food maker Mondelez International is suing the Aldi supermarket chain, alleging the packaging for Aldi's store-brand cookies and crackers "blatantly copies" Mondelez products like Chips Ahoy, Wheat Thins and Oreos. In a federal lawsuit filed in Illinois, Chicago-based Mondelez said Aldi's packaging was "likely to deceive and confuse customers" and threatened to irreparably harm Mondelez and its brands. The company is seeking monetary damages and a court order that would stop Aldi from selling products that infringe on its trademarks. Aldi didn't respond to messages seeking comment. The U.S. branch of Aldi, which is based in Batavia, Illinois...

If more tennis players find themselves breathing easier, it might just be thanks to Carlos Alcaraz. The four-time Grand Slam champion has often worn a nasal strip in matches since last season and the sport’s other athletes took note. After all, if Alcaraz finds something useful on the court, their thinking goes, maybe it makes sense to give the adhesive bands a shot. Once associated with Pro Football Hall of Famer Jerry Rice and soccer stars like Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar, the bands, which essentially look like a Band-Aid worn across the bridge of the nose, are popping up on...

In Japan’s spiritual heartland, tradition meets craftsmanship in miniature form. Artisans in Ise are preserving centuries-old shrine-making by handcrafting sacred replicas for modern homes. At the family-run factory Miyachu, the craftsmen produce Ise no Shinden—miniature shrines that faithfully replicate the main sanctuary of Ise Jingu, known for its unique construction technique called Yuiitsu Shinmei-zukuri. Its simple architectural design is said to have originated from ancient raised-floor granaries. The wooden structure is built with Hinoki cypress trees without using any nails, employing a traditional joinery method. Another distinguishing feature is a thatched roof made of Susuki grass, which craftsmen at M...

A three-year exercise program improved survival in colon cancer patients and kept the disease at bay, a first-of-its-kind international experiment showed. With the benefits rivaling some drugs, experts said cancer centers and insurance plans should consider making exercise coaching a new standard of care for colon cancer survivors. Until then, patients can increase their physical activity after treatment, knowing they are doing their part to prevent cancer from coming back. “It’s an extremely exciting study,” said Dr. Jeffrey Meyerhardt of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, who wasn’t involved in the research. It's the first randomized controlled trial to show a reductio...

A jury convicted a woman who sneaked onto a flight from New York to Paris without a boarding pass by slipping past security and airline gate agents at John F. Kennedy (JFK) International Airport last year. The short trial of Svetlana Dali concluded with a guilty finding on a stowaway charge by jurors in federal court in Brooklyn. Jury selection and opening statements were both held on May 20, and Dali took the stand on May 21. The judge did not immediately set a sentencing date. Dali faces up to six months in prison, according to her sentencing guidelines. To date, she...

The City of Greater Geelong is converting the municipality's green waste into compost, which is then used to grow produce at the botanical gardens. This produce is donated to a local social supermarket to help feed those in need. Every month, Hamdieh Mohmmadi buys food from this Geelong social supermarket by exchanging vouchers for groceries. “We save money for electricity, fuel and gas and home and kids,” explains Mohmmadi. Each year, across 57 of Victoria's 79 councils, around 750,000 tons of organic material are collected from green bins. By turning green waste into compost locally, the City of Greater Geelong is leading the way...

The beauty of the Scottish islands in the UK is world-renowned. The unspoiled nature of the islands is what draws many tourists here, but for some locals on Shetland, the sheer weight of visitors is beginning to take a toll. It’s putting pressure on local services such as transport and leaving residents unable to access other amenities. Many are fully aware of the financial benefits the visitors from the cruise ships bring, but it's a double-edged sword. The ships are a constant presence, and residents believe a balance needs to be struck. The Scottish government says it’s considering givi...

From arm stretches to gentle Pilates, a group of pensioners in Croatia are keeping active well into their later years. At the heart of it all is 95-year-old fitness trainer Djurdja Vukovic—still leading the way, and showing no signs of slowing down. Twice a week, she guides elderly women through a mix of light aerobics, stretching and Pilates—movements she’s honed herself over more than five decades. A former pharmaceutical engineer, Vukovic’s passion for movement began in 1964. She says she has made friendships that have endured beyond the gym. “For me, I found a haven here. … Because it’s not jus...

No Mow May encourages homeowners to stash the lawn mower each spring and let flowers and grass grow for pollinators and water retention. And if your neighbor’s lawn already looks like a wildflower field most of the time, it could be more intentional than passersby might assume. The movement has expanded to “Let It Bloom June” and the fall version: “Leave the leaves.” Conservation and horticulture groups say year-round low-mowing while selectively leaving native plants to grow can save huge amounts of drinking water and lead to lasting and impactful ecological changes. The movement is popularized by groups such as Plantli...

Two border collies named Hercules and Ned have quite the spacious office at West Virginia's busiest airport. The border collies and their handler make daily patrols along the mile-long airfield to ensure birds and other wildlife stay away from planes and keep passengers and crew safe. Hercules is also the chief ambassador, soaking in affection from passengers inside the terminal while calming some nervously waiting to board a flight at West Virginia International Yeager Airport. Chris Keyser, the dogs' handler and the airport's wildlife specialist, said preventing a bird from hitting a plane "can make a difference for someone's life."...

Mayor Eduardo Paes issued a decree in mid-May establishing new rules for the city’s waterfront, saying he wants to preserve urban order, public safety and the environment, as well as promote peaceful relations between tourists and residents. The new measures came into force on June 1, and they outlaw food and drink sales, chair rentals, loudspeakers and even live music in kiosks without official permits. Also, beach huts are only allowed to have a number rather than the often-creative names many are currently known by. Some have welcomed the move to tackle what they perceive as chaotic activity on the be...

Naqi Rizvi loves the “absolute freedom” he feels on the tennis court. The 34-year-old blind tennis champion is on a mission to not only raise awareness but also elevate the sport into the Paralympics. The London resident, fully blind from the age of 7 because of congenital glaucoma, only took up the sport a decade ago and is now the No. 1-ranked men's player in the world for his category. Also an avid runner, Rizvi has completed two marathons, and although jogging with a guide is great, tennis offers more. "On a tennis court, I have absolute freedom because I know wher...

Bees are an essential part of our food chain, with more than three-quarters of global crops depending on pollinators. A new report for World Bee Day has highlighted emerging threats that mean the insects could struggle to survive. Without them, most of our crops would not grow. But the humble bee has been on the decline for decades. Pesticides and climate change have taken much of the blame for that downward trend. "If the decline in pollinators continues, we are going to see significant food insecurity, because the amount, the quality and the quantity of yield will reduce. But also...

Charlie Chaplin, Miss Piggy, grand opera spectacles and circus clowns—countless Showtime-inspired sand sculptures are emerging from the sand at the Hundested Sand Sculpture Festival in northeast Denmark. Launched in 2012 as a creative way to put the small seaside town of 8,000 on the tourist map, the Hundested Sand Sculpture Festival is now in its fourteenth year. Organizer Christian Warrer says, with so much going on in the world that is “not to laugh about,” they chose to explore a “funny” theme like Showtime. The sculptors have just days to complete their sandy masterpieces, but the festival runs till late October, so durabil...

Spain has ordered Airbnb to block more than 65,000 holiday listings on its platform for having violated rules, the Consumer Rights Ministry said. The ministry said that many of the 65,935 Airbnb listings it had ordered to be withdrawn did not include their license number or specify whether the owner was an individual or a company. Others listed numbers that didn't match what the authorities had, it said. Spain is grappling with a housing affordability crisis that has spurred government action against short-term rental companies. In recent months, tens of thousands of Spaniards have taken to the streets protesting rising housing and...

Midway while sailing across the Pacific with just his cat named Phoenix, Oliver Widger reflected on why he thinks his many followers—more than a million on TikTok and Instagram—are drawn to his story of quitting his 9-to-5 job and embarking on a journey from Oregon to Hawaii. “The world kind of sucks and, like, I don’t think I’m alone in how I felt with my work,” Widger, 29, told The Associated Press via Zoom. “You can be making $150,000 a year and you still feel like you’re just making ends meet … And I think people are just tired of that and...

After a wildfire decimated a California high school's newsroom, destroying its cameras, computers and archived newspapers spanning six decades, one of the first offers of help that its journalism adviser, Lisa Nehus Saxon, received came from the other side of the country. Claire Smith, founding executive director of Temple University's sports media center, had known Lisa Nehus Saxon since they helped carve out a place for women journalists in Major League Baseball more than 40 years ago. They'd supported each other through the days of being barred from locker rooms, and now, with much of Palisades Charter High School damaged, Smith...

Thai officials said they seized 238 tons of illegally imported electronic waste from the United States at the port of Bangkok, one of the biggest lots they've found this year. The waste, which came in 10 large containers, was declared as mixed metal scrap but turned out to be circuit boards mixed in a huge pile of metal scrap, said Theeraj Athanavanich, director-general of the Customs Department. It was found in a random inspection. A U.N. report last year said electronic waste is piling up worldwide. Some 62 million tons of electronic waste were generated in 2022 and that figure is on track...

Nebraska is the first state to receive a federal waiver to ban the purchase of soda and energy drinks under the benefit program for low-income Americans, long known as food stamps. The move, announced by U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, would affect about 152,000 people in Nebraska enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, which helps families pay for groceries. "There's absolutely zero reason for taxpayers to be subsidizing purchases of soda and energy drinks," Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen said in a statement. "SNAP is about helping families in need get healthy food into their diets, but there's...

Potters from around the world showed off their latest creations at Ceramic Art London, the largest high-end ceramics show in the UK. Returning to the capital for its 21st year, more than 6,000 people were expected to visit to see some of the best ceramic creations on sale. Everywhere you look are beautiful ceramic creations, from functional vases, sculptural pieces, and abstract forms. One of the most striking artists to display this year was Lucy Baxendale, whose interactive display of fantastical monsters impressed the visitors. This friendly-looking ceramic tree monster has a surprise—if you dare to stick your hand inside it...

With its warm temperatures and intricate history, the Moroccan capital Rabat is seeing growth in its luxury tourism sector, with five new luxury hotel projects under construction. One hotel boss says they’re seeing an increase in guests from Asia, particularly Taiwan. Once the former palace of Sultan Moulay Slimane during the 18th century, then a military hospital from 1912, this grand property is now the Four Seasons Hotel Rabat. Spanning two hectares, the hotel boasts an architectural design that reflects Moroccan heritage. The hotel's buildings preserve design elements dating back to the sultan's era, such as carefully carved wooden ceilings. “The...

With Utah’s first-in-the-nation ban on fluoride in public drinking water having taken effect May 7, dentists who treat children and low-income patients said they’re bracing for an influx of tooth decay among the state’s most vulnerable. Republican Gov. Spencer Cox signed the law against the recommendation of many dentists and national health organizations who warned removing fluoride would harm tooth development, especially in young patients without regular access to dental care. U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. applauded Utah for being the first state to enact a ban and said he plans to direct the Centers for Di...

House Republicans want to set aside up to $5 billion a year for scholarships to help families send their children to private and religious schools, an unprecedented effort to use public money to pay for private education. The proposal, part of a budget reconciliation bill released in May, would advance President Donald Trump’s agenda of establishing “universal school choice” by providing families nationwide the option to give their children an education different from the one offered in their local public school. Nearly all households would qualify except those making more than three times the local median income. Supporters of private school...

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum described as "unfair" the decision by the Trump administration to suspend imports of Mexican beef cattle for 15 days due to the detection of screwworm in shipments. Sheinbaum, who has spent the past few months scrambling to offset tariff threats by U.S. President Donald Trump, said she hoped the suspension would not result in another economic blow for her country. "We do not agree with this measure," she said at her press conference. "The Mexican government has been working on all fronts from the very first moment we were alerted to the screwworm." The U.S...

As a Biden administration ban on so-called “junk fees” took effect in May, Ticketmaster said it would start displaying the full price of a ticket as soon as consumers begin shopping. Ticketmaster, long a subject of complaints about hidden fees and other issues, was among those targeted by the new rule, which was announced in December by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The rule requires ticket sellers, hotels, vacation rental platforms and others to disclose processing fees, cleaning fees and other charges up front. Ticketmaster said it agreed with the FTC’s action. “Ticketmaster has long advocated for all-in pricing to becom...

Liam and Olivia dominate. Still. The two names have, for a sixth year together, topped the list of names for babies born in the U.S. in 2024. The Social Security Administration annually tracks the names given to girls and boys in each state, with names dating back to 1880. In time for Mother's Day, the agency released the most popular names from applications for Social Security cards. Liam has reigned for eight years in a row for boys, while Olivia has topped the girls' list for six. Also, for the sixth consecutive year, Emma took the second slot for girls, and...

Alcatraz Landing is where tourists take a boat to visit Alcatraz Island, which was once a notorious federal prison that housed infamous criminals like Al Capone. Today, it is a national park and one of the most popular tourist attractions in the San Francisco Bay. “As I’m here today, looking around it seems like this is a great tourist attraction and it's making a lot of money for San Francisco in the Bay Area and I'd hate to see that go away if... if there was a different option that might have been better than reopening this prison instead of c...

Ethics Bowl may look superficially similar to debate—with two teams discussing a controversial or difficult topic—but they are actually very different. “So, Ethics Bowl more broadly describes an activity for students of varying ages to come together and approach these really challenging topics, ethical dilemmas,” says Leo Kirby, director of the National High School Ethics Bowl program, housed at the University of North Carolina (UNC) in Chapel Hill. “And the goal is to help them learn how to talk about those challenging topics deliberately, collaboratively, reach consensus.” In Ethics Bowl, teams are not assigned a specific position on an issue tha...

Shares of Deliveroo, the food delivery service based in London, are hitting three-year highs after it received a $3.6 billion proposed takeover offer from DoorDash. Deliveroo announced the bid after markets closed in Europe. The company also said that it was suspending a $133.5 million share buyback it had announced last March. Deliveroo said that its board has informed DoorDash that if a firm offer is made at the financial terms provided, it will recommend the bid to its shareholders. Deliveroo added that its board has decided to engage in talks with DoorDash about the possible offer and has given the company...

Rebel groups in Colombia are using apps like Facebook and TikTok to recruit children and young adults, and social media companies must do more to moderate content, the United Nations says. The U.N.’s top human rights official in Colombia, Scott Campbell, in an interview with The Associated Press, said more investment is needed in both automated tools and human moderators to take down videos posted by gangs and rebel groups that are targeting youth from marginalized communities. Colombian rebel groups such as the FARC-EMC are increasingly posting videos that glamorize life in their ranks and urge youth to en...

A climber airlifted with altitude sickness from near the peak of Japan's Mount Fuji returned to the slope and was rescued for a second time just four days later, authorities said. Officials urged people to be aware of the harsh conditions at the country's tallest peak during its off-season. The climber was identified only as a 27-year-old Chinese student living in Japan. He made an emergency call on April 22 and was airlifted after developing symptoms of altitude sickness, police said, adding that his climbing irons were also damaged. On April 26, he returned to the mountain's Fujinomiya trail about 3,000 meters (nearly 10,000...

Dr. Google is often on call for worried patients, but it may not give the best advice. Doctors say internet searches for medical information should be done cautiously, especially with artificial intelligence playing a growing role. Information from the right websites can teach patients about symptoms and prepare them for a doctor’s visit. But a poorly done search might inflame anxiety well before someone reaches the waiting room. It’s important to know the source of the information you find and to avoid trying to diagnose your health issue. “We’ve gotten so used to clicking on that first link,” s...

Amazon's first batch of internet satellites rocketed into orbit, the latest entry in the mega-constellation market currently dominated by SpaceX's thousands of Starlinks. The United Launch Alliance's Atlas V rocket carried up 27 of Amazon's Project Kuiper satellites, named after the frigid fringes of our solar system beyond Neptune. Once released in orbit, the satellites will eventually reach an altitude of nearly 400 miles (630 kilometers). Two test satellites were launched in 2023, also by an Atlas V. Project officials said major upgrades were made to the newest version. The latest satellites are also coated with a mirror film designed to scatter reflected sunlight...

Many Nigerians aren't able to access primary health care, according to numerous studies into the country's public health system. Now, an enterprising Lagos doctor has set up in a market to treat traders forced to prioritize work over their own health. In Nigeria’s bustling markets, where traders work from dawn to dusk, health often takes a back seat. Many market women and men prioritize their businesses over doctor visits, sometimes ignoring health issues until they become serious problems. Now, the traders have become familiar with another business plying for trade in the marketplace: Dr. Yetunde Ayo-Oyalowo, a health entrepreneur. Ay...