Life

Carbon credits: a contested tool to fight deforestation

by Mathilde DUMAZET Agence France Presse Paris, France (AFP) — Planting trees or safeguarding tropical rainforests have become popular tools for companies seeking to offset their carbon emissions and proclaim their commitment to the environment. However, recent scandals have cast a shadow over the carbon credit industry, revealing a landscape rife with opportunities for greenwashing. Walt Disney, JP Morgan Bank and other major corporations have been accused of purchasing carbon credits from forest protection projects […]

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SpaceX Dragon crew to blast off for ISS

Washington, United States (AFP) — A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is scheduled to blast off early Monday for the International Space Station carrying two NASA astronauts, a Russian cosmonaut and the second Emirati to voyage to space. The SpaceX Dragon Crew-6 mission is set to lift off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 1:45 am (0645 GMT). Weather conditions are expected to be near perfect. The Crew Dragon capsule, dubbed Endeavour, is scheduled […]

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Blame the warmth: Famed skating rink in Ottawa won’t open this year

Montreal, Canada | AFP | The Rideau Canal Skateway, the world’s largest open-air ice rink and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, will not open this year for the first time in its history because of a mild winter, managers confirmed Friday. “Despite our best efforts, the weather got the best of us for the first time in our history,” the Ottawa facility said on its Twitter account. “We share everyone’s disappointment,” it added in a […]

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Russia launches empty ship to ISS to replace damaged capsule

  Moscow, Russia | AFP | An uncrewed Russian Soyuz capsule took off early Friday from Kazakhstan for the International Space Station to eventually bring home three astronauts whose return vehicle was damaged by a tiny meteoroid. The Soyuz MS-23 vessel lifted off successfully from the Russian-operated Baikonur Cosmodrome, live video broadcast by ISS-partner NASA showed. Though the capsule is scheduled to dock with the ISS early Sunday Moscow time, it is not expected to […]

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First blizzard in a generation in Los Angeles

Heavy snow fell in southern California on Friday, as the first blizzard in a generation pounded the Los Angeles area, with heavy rains threatening flooding in other places. Breathless television weather presenters more used to delivering a same-every-day forecast of warm sunshine found themselves knee-deep in the white stuff as the region grappled with its worst winter storm for decades. Major roads were closed as ice and snow made them impassable, including sections of Interstate […]

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Facebook, Instagram roll out paid subscription in Australia, New Zealand

  Facebook and Instagram began a week-long rollout of their first paid verification service on Friday, testing users’ willingness to pay for social media features that until now have been free. Facing a drop in advertising revenues, parent company Meta is piloting a subscription in Australia and New Zealand before it appears in larger markets. The service will cost US$11.99 on the web and US$14.99 on the iOS and Android mobile platforms. From Friday, subscribers […]

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Meta unveils more cautious approach to ChatGPT frenzy

Facebook-owner Meta on Friday unveiled its own version of the artificial intelligence behind apps such as ChatGPT, saying it would give access to researchers to find fixes to the technology’s potential dangers. Meta described its own AI, called LLaMA, as a “smaller, more performant” model designed to “help researchers advance their work,” in what could be seen as veiled criticism of Microsoft’s decision to release the technology widely, while keeping the programming code secret. Microsoft-backed […]

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Global wildlife contaminated by ‘forever chemicals’

by Linnea Pedersen Agence France Presse Paris, France (AFP) — From pandas to sea lions to tigers, hundreds of wildlife species across the globe are contaminated by potentially harmful “forever chemicals”, according to a review of hundreds of peer-reviewed studies. Over 300 wildlife species showed traces of the nearly indestructible synthetic chemicals, according to a report from the Environmental Working Group’s (EWG) PFAS Project Lab. The mapping of over 125 peer-reviewed scientific studies is the […]

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Warhol in the desert: flamboyant art icon pops up in Saudi

  by Robbie COREY-BOULET Agence France-Presse AL-ULA, Saudi Arabia (AFP) — Andy Warhol’s iconic portraits of stars such as Marlon Brando and Dolly Parton are on display in the Saudi desert, at a show intended to reframe the kingdom’s forbidding reputation. The first exhibition in Saudi Arabia for the Pop Art giant is a tribute to the late artist’s obsession with celebrity, and his seeming ability to predict the rise of contemporary influencer culture. At […]

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One billion users, but bans mount up for TikTok

by Jules BONNARD Agence France-Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — TikTok’s breakneck rise from niche video-sharing app to global social media behemoth has brought plenty of scrutiny, particularly over its links to China. The European Commission is the latest organization to ban the app from its equipment, following similar moves in the United States. So is TikTok a spying tool for Beijing, a fun app, or both? – Under pressure – Global action against TikTok, owned […]

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Death toll from China mine collapse rises to four, dozens still missing

Beijing, China (AFP) — The death toll from a collapse at a coal mine in northern China rose to four on Thursday, state media reported, as the search for dozens still missing resumed after a massive landslide hindered progress overnight. More than 50 people were trapped when a 180-metre-high slope gave way at the open-pit mine in the Inner Mongolia region’s Alxa Left Banner area at around 1:00 pm (0500 GMT) on Wednesday, according to […]

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Heavy snow snarls travel as winter storms hit US

by Huw GRIFFITH Agence France-Presse LOS ANGELES , United States (AFP) — Powerful winter storms lashed the United States on Wednesday, with heavy snow snarling travel across wide areas, even as unusual warmth was expected in others. Blizzards expected to dump up to two feet (60 centimeters) of snow swept across a vast band of the country from the West Coast to the Great Lakes, grounding flights and knocking out power to tens of thousands. […]

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