Author: TECH

Older Americans can expect some important tax changes in 2026, largely due to provisions in last year’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA). One of the biggest changes is a new tax deduction that specifically targets seniors. Whether you’re a retired senior or still working, you’ll want to familiarize yourself with the changes and how they might affect your Social Security and retirement planning this year. Here’s a closer look: The main thing to know about the new rules is that individual filers who are at least 65 years old can claim an additional $6,000 tax deduction on their returns…

Bani getting alternative medicine treatment – Photo © Wildlife SOS The largest wildlife rescue organization in India has started using acupuncture to help elephants recover from chronic pain, nerve damage, and mobility issues after their years of captivity or hard labor. Their veterinary team sought training in alternative medicine so the techniques could be used alongside conventional veterinary medicine and found they boosted recovery rates when the usual treatments proved inadequate. Founded 30 years ago, Wildlife SOS now runs 12 rescue and rehabilitation centers across the country, including the Elephant Conservation and Care Centre in Mathura, where veterinarians were first…

Embrace who you are, and revel in it. Sometimes we try to show the world we’re flawless in hopes that we will be liked and accepted by everyone. But we can’t please everyone and we shouldn’t try. Take this to heart. You won’t find your worth in someone else’s approval — you find it within yourself, and then you attract those who are worthy of your energy. Because when you embrace who you are and decide to be authentic, instead of who you think others want you to be, all the new doors that open in your life will be…

Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced the setting up of a National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (Nimhans) in north India, thus focussing attention on the growing conversation around mental health in the country.The government will also upgrade the National Mental Health Institutes in Ranchi and Tezpur and redesignate them as Regional Apex Institutions.“To give a fillip to our commitment to mental health and trauma care, and to ease the financial burden of medical emergencies on families, particularly the poor and vulnerable, we are undertaking targeted interventions across institutions, infrastructure, and the workforce,” Sitharaman said, while presenting her ninth…

Deputy Chief of Staff (Administration), Nana Oye Bampoe Addo, has donated items to the Dzorwulu Special School in Accra as part of activities marking her 60th birthday. The donation, she said, was to draw attention to the need for stronger support for persons with disabilities and other marginalised groups. Nana Oye stressed the importance of education, describing it as the most effective tool for empowerment and transformation. “Supporting education, especially for children with special needs, is a moral duty and a patriotic responsibility,” she stated. On government interventions, the Deputy Chief of Staff said steps are being taken to improve…

As 2026 approaches, millions of Americans nearing retirement are asking a simple but important question: will their Social Security check be enough? For many, comparing their expec …

Singapore, one of the most water-stressed countries globally, has long grappled with water scarcity. In the 1990s, the Public Utilities Board (PUB) implemented a three-pronged strategy: harvesting rainwater, desalinating seawater, and reclaiming wastewater. This led to the creation of NEWater, a high-grade treated wastewater that has become a cornerstone of Singapore’s water sustainability efforts — and in 2018, the Singaporean brewery Brewerkz launched NEWBrew, a craft beer brewed with that very wastewater. At the 2024 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Baku, Azerbaijan, Brewerkz gave away cans of NEWBrew, and attendees were shocked by the contents of their cans. “I didn’t know. I was…

“Before I got sober, I reacted without thinking. Now, I pause, breathe and really consider what I’m feeling before responding.”In the journey of sobriety and long-term recovery, one of the most important skills to develop is emotional regulation. This foundational ability supports not only individual well-being, but also the capacity to build and sustain healthy, meaningful relationships. For many individuals struggling with addiction, emotional regulation has often been replaced by substance use. Drugs and alcohol can temporarily numb uncomfortable feelings or offer escape from stress, grief, or anxiety – creating a cycle of avoidance rather than resolution. As individuals enter…

How Social Security factors into your retirement planning depends on your goals and financial standing, but also your age. According to Yaqub Ahmed, global head of workplace, retirement and wealth at Franklin Innovative Research, Strategies and Technology, “Every generation and income cohort now faces a very different retirement reality, and our research shows that Social Security plays sharply different roles depending on both age and income level.” Depending on your generation, here’s how you should account for Social Security in retirement. “In my experience, Social Security shouldn’t be treated the same way for every generation or as if it’s a…

125 years ago, the African-American writer, poet, and playwright Langston Hughes was born on what would become the first day of Black History Month. Hughes became a prominent figure in the Harlem Renaissance, writing often for The Crisis, the official magazine of the NAACP, as well as a weekly column in a primarily black newspaper called the Chicago Defender. He was also one of the earliest pioneers of what would become jazz poetry. Rather than simply taking an anti-segregation stance in his work he focused often on the divisions and prejudices within the black community itself, as well as many…