Life

Narwhals’ climate-vulnerable winter feeding crucial for survival: study

by Linnea Pedersen Agence France Presse Paris, France (AFP) — Narwhals are likely more dependent on fat reserves and abundant prey in climate-threatened winter habitats than previously thought, researchers said Wednesday, warning of severe risks posed by global warming. Scientists studying the long-horned marine mammals in the fjords off the eastern coast of Greenland during the summer found narwhals were largely unsuccessful in capturing prey. “(This) suggests that they could actually rely on the wintering […]

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SpaceX Dragon crewed flight to ISS pushed back 24 hours

Washington, United States (AFP) — US space agency NASA and SpaceX on Tuesday pushed back by 24 hours the launch of a Falcon 9 rocket that is to carry four astronauts to the International Space Station. NASA’s Stephen Bowen and Warren Hoburg, Russia’s Andrey Fedyaev and Sultan al-Neyadi of the United Arab Emirates had been scheduled to blast off for the ISS at 2:07 am (0707 GMT) Sunday. Liftoff of the SpaceX Dragon Crew-6 from […]

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Hidden Colombia canyon transformed from rebel route to tourist draw

LA URIBE, Colombia (AFP) — For years, the crystal clear river flowing between giant boulders served as a strategic guerilla route in Colombia’s bloody armed conflict. But today tourists bob happily down it in multi-colored inflatables, accompanied by birdsong and the rush of water. The Guape Canyon, a 35-meter (115-foot) deep natural wonder in the town of La Uribe in the southern Meta department, was hidden for decades by the fighting between Bogota and the […]

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US Supreme Court treads carefully on landmark tech law

The US Supreme Court on Tuesday heard arguments in a landmark case that could transform the internet by scrapping decades-old legal protections for tech companies, but gave no indication that a clear majority would opt to rework the law. In a two-and-a-half-hour session, the nine justices targeted their questions on better understanding the so-called Section 230, a US law that was signed in 1996 at the dawn of the internet era and before the creation […]

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Jane Fonda warns oceans are ‘dying’ amid UN treaty talks

United Nations, United States (AFP) — Actor and activist Jane Fonda on Monday warned that humanity is “losing the ocean,” as two weeks of negotiations begin at the United Nations on a treaty to protect the high seas. “The ocean provides us with 50 percent of our oxygen, and it feeds billions of people — and it’s dying,” the 85-year-old American icon told AFP in an interview. She is in New York to deliver a […]

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Meta subscriber plan risks digital divide, say critics

Paris, France (AFP) — Years after Facebook quietly removed a slogan that declared the site was “free and always will be”, parent company Meta announced on Sunday a paid-for subscription service that has already been widely criticised. Meta is following a well-trodden path to subscription services, with rivals from Reddit and Snapchat to Twitter and Discord already in the game. But critics raised deep concerns with the way Meta had chosen to structure its new […]

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Two endangered pink dolphins rescued from shallow Colombia river

BOGOTA, Colombia (AFP) — Two pink river dolphins, a mother and her calf, were rescued from a Colombian river where the endangered mammals were trapped in shallow water, the navy said. A navy video released on Monday shows several officers carrying the dolphins in a makeshift hammock, others checking the mammals’ condition and spraying them with water. Timing was critical. Experts moved the dolphins out of the river, quickly checked their condition on the riverbank, […]

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Alligator captured in New York park, possibly ‘cold shocked’

NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — A “very lethargic” alligator was captured in a New York park, city officials said Monday, likely released by its owner far away from the species’ warmer habitat in the southeast United States. The reptile was spotted Sunday morning in Prospect Park, a favorite place for Brooklyn residents to picnic and stroll with their pets, especially when winter temperatures are in the 50s Fahrenheit (10-15 Celsius) like over the holiday […]

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Regions in US, China most at risk for climate damage: report

PARIS, France (AFP) — Major industrial and economic centers in China and the United States are among the most vulnerable regions in the world to the increasingly destructive power of climate change-driven weather extremes, according to a comprehensive analysis Monday. The new findings underscore the urgent need for governments to focus on decarbonization and adaptation measures such as flood-proofing — and show the economic fallout from climate change could be grave and widespread. Nine of […]

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Digital video viewing to top traditional TV in US: forecast

San Francisco, United States | AFP | For the first time ever, US adults will spend more time this year watching digital video on platforms such as Netflix, TikTok and YouTube than viewing traditional television, Insider Intelligence forecast on Wednesday. In the historic first, the market tracker expects “linear TV” to account for less than half of daily viewing, dropping to under three hours while average daily digital video watching climbs to 52.3 percent with […]

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Users say Microsoft’s Bing chatbot gets defensive and testy

San Francisco, United States | AFP | Microsoft’s fledgling Bing chatbot can go off the rails at times, denying obvious facts and chiding users, according to exchanges being shared online by developers testing the AI creation. A forum at Reddit devoted to the artificial intelligence-enhanced version of the Bing search engine was rife on Wednesday with tales of being scolded, lied to, or blatantly confused in conversation-style exchanges with the bot. The Bing chatbot was […]

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Oops — US jet pilot misses mystery object with first missile

Washington, United States | AFP | It was more “oops” than “Top Gun” when a US fighter pilot roared up to fire a nearly half-million-dollar Sidewinder missile at a mysterious unarmed object in the sky over Lake Huron — and missed. US officials admit the would-be ace needed a second shot with one of the air-to-air missiles, which cost at least $400,000 a pop, when engaging the unidentified aerial object from an F-16 fighter Sunday […]

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