PARIS, Jan 11, 2024 (AFP) – The world added 50 percent more renewable energy capacity in 2023 over the year before, the International Energy Agency said Thursday, predicting booming growth in the next five years. The United Nations-led COP28 summit concluded in Dubai last month with nearly 200 nations agreeing to a first-ever call for the world to transition away from fossil fuels. “The amount of renewable energy capacity added to energy systems around the […]
Life
Autonomous driving is ‘happening’, but slower than expected
By Elodie MAZEIN LAS VEGAS, Jan 11, 2024 (AFP) – To the believers, the oft-promised autonomous car revolution is “clearly happening” — they point to the myriad displays at the Consumers Electronics Show in Las Vegas that defy the industry’s bad headlines. “Companies are deploying robotaxis in larger scale than before and in more cities,” insisted Kersten Heineke, partner and codirector of the McKinsey Center for Future Mobility. Even “in times where money is scarce…we’re […]
Autonomous driving is ‘happening’, but slower than
By Elodie MAZEIN LAS VEGAS, Jan 11, 2024 (AFP) – To the believers, the oft-promised autonomous car revolution is “clearly happening” — they point to the myriad displays at the Consumers Electronics Show in Las Vegas that defy the industry’s bad headlines. “Companies are deploying robotaxis in larger scale than before and in more cities,” insisted Kersten Heineke, partner and codirector of the McKinsey Center for Future Mobility. Even “in times where money is scarce…we’re […]
At CES, tech knows if you’re sick and rocks babies
LAS VEGAS, Jan 10, 2024 (AFP) – CES, the annual high tech gadget extravaganza in Las Vegas, again delivers its wave of new inventions and cutting edge technology with artificial intelligence this year’s unavoidable buzzword. Here’s a look at some selected examples shown to the media, ahead of the official opening on Tuesday. – Mirror, mirror on the wall… – …who’s the healthiest of them all? Called “MagicMirror,” NuraLogix’s connected mirror scanned the face of […]
2023 hottest year on record as Earth nears critical 1.5C limit: monitor
By Rochelle GLUZMAN PARIS, Jan 9, 2024 (AFP) – The year of 2023 was the hottest on record, with the increase in Earth’s surface temperature nearly crossing the critical threshold of 1.5 degrees Celsius, EU climate monitors said Tuesday. Climate change intensified heatwaves, droughts and wildfires across the planet, and pushed the global thermometer 1.48 C above the preindustrial benchmark, the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) reported. “It is also the first year with all […]
TikTok owner ByteDance in talks to sell gaming arm
TikTok owner ByteDance is in talks with buyers including Chinese tech giant Tencent to sell its gaming arm, a company spokesperson said Tuesday, as it seeks to shed once-promising assets in the highly competitive sector. The discussions would see the firm sell Nuverse, a video game publisher that is a subsidiary of Beijing-based ByteDance. Nuverse was once viewed by the firm as a vital component in its bid to catch up with Tencent, a leader […]
CES gadget fest a showcase for AI-infused lifestyle
By Glenn CHAPMAN LAS VEGAS, Jan 9, 2024 (AFP) – From self-driving baby carriages to ChatGPT in Volkswagen cars, artificial intelligence is expected to be center stage at the CES gadget extravaganza that formally opens Tuesday in Las Vegas. The annual Consumer Electronics Show gathering boasts more than 3,500 exhibitors and is expecting some 130,000 visitors. Companies big and small hosted previews for the press through Monday, with AI an oft repeated mantra as they […]
Bottled water contains hundreds of thousands of plastic bits: study
Bottled water is up to a hundred times worse than previously thought when it comes to the number of tiny plastic bits it contains, a new study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences said Monday. Using a recently invented technique, scientists counted on average 240,000 detectable fragments of plastic per liter of water in popular brands — between 10-100 times higher than prior estimates — raising potential health concerns that require further […]
Private US lunar lander facing failure after ‘critical loss’ of fuel
By Issam AHMED A historic private mission to land on the Moon was facing near-certain failure Monday after the spacecraft suffered a “critical loss” of fuel, in a major blow to America’s hopes of placing its first robot on the lunar surface in five decades. Fixed to the top of United Launch Alliance’s new Vulcan rocket, which was making its first flight, Astrobotic’s Peregrine Lunar Lander blasted off overnight from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force […]
First US lunar lander in five decades blasts off on private mission
By Gianrigo Marletta with Issam Ahmed in Washington The first American spacecraft to attempt to land on the Moon in more than half a century blasted off early Monday — but this time, private industry is leading the charge. A brand new rocket, United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan Centaur, lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida at 2:18 am (0718 GMT) for its maiden voyage, carrying Astrobotic’s Peregrine Lunar Lander. “Successful #VulcanRocket staging, […]
Indonesian police halt truck with over 200 dogs bound for slaughter
Indonesian police have intercepted a truck carrying more than 200 dogs shackled and bound for the slaughterhouse, authorities said, in the latest victory for activists who oppose eating dog meat. The vehicle was detained late Saturday night in Semarang city on the island of Java, where the imperilled pooches were discovered in the bed of the truck with their legs and mouths bound. The authorities arrested five truck crew members, who will be charged under […]
Madrid wants masks worn in hospitals as viruses surge
MADRID, Jan 5, 2024 (AFP) – The Spanish government on Friday called for the wearing of masks to be obligatory in medical facilities as cases of flu and Covid-19 surge with the onset of winter. With the increase in respiratory infections, “we are calling” for the return of obligatory mask-wearing in hospitals and health centres, Health Minister Monica Garcia said on X, formerly Twitter. The minister said she would bring up the subject on Monday […]