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PARIS, France (AFP) — A mysterious object roughly 800 million light-years from Earth detected using gravitational wave sensors is either one of the smallest black holes or one of the largest neutron stars so far discovered, scientists said on Wednesday. The Advanced Virgo detector at the European Gravitational Observatory (EGO) in Italy and two wave observatories in the US discovered the object last year and calculated it to weigh around 2.6 times our own Sun. […]
by Rob Lever Agence France-Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Amazon on Tuesday pledged to invest $2 billion in projects aimed at combatting climate change, stepping up efforts to reduce the carbon footprint of the tech giant and others. The Climate Pledge Fund will back efforts by startups and other firms in multiple sectors to “facilitate the transition to a zero carbon economy,” Amazon said in a statement. The initiative “will look to invest in […]
BEIJING, China (AFP) — China on Tuesday launched the final satellite in its homegrown geolocation system designed to rival the US GPS network, marking a major step in its race for market share in the lucrative sector. Footage from state broadcaster CCTV of the launch in southwestern Sichuan province showed the rocket blast off against a backdrop of lush mountains as a small group of onlookers filmed on their phones. The launch of the Beidou-3GEO3 […]
HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Skywatchers along a narrow band from west Africa to the Arabian Peninsula, India and the Far East witnessed a dramatic “ring of fire” solar eclipse Sunday. So-called annular eclipses occur when the Moon — passing between Earth and the Sun — is not quite close enough to our planet to completely obscure sunlight, leaving a thin ring of the solar disc visible. They happen every year or two, and can […]
by Sara HUSSEIN Agence France-Presse TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Scientists had nicknamed it “The Thing” — a mysterious football-sized fossil discovered in Antarctica that sat in a Chilean museum awaiting someone who could work out just what it was. Now, analysis has revealed the mystery fossil to be a soft-shelled egg, the largest ever found, laid some 68 million years ago, possibly by a type of extinct sea snake or lizard. The revelation ends nearly […]
by Pierrick YVON Agence France-Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — When human contact needs to be kept to a minimum, robots can save lives and factories. But when the coronavirus crisis is over, will they amplify job losses? It may be a mechanised arm pulling beers in a Seville bar, a dog-like dispenser of hand sanitiser in a Bangkok mall, a cooler on wheels that delivers groceries in Washington, or a vaguely humanoid greeter at a […]
by Rob Lever WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Electric bikes and scooters, dismissed before the pandemic as a curiosity or nuisance, are getting fresh traction in cities seeking new transportation options as they emerge from lockdowns. Some “micromobility” operators which cut back or shut down during the coronavirus lockdowns are now expanding to meet growing demands. Shared mobility operators Lime, Bird, and Ford-owned Spin report robust growth in cities worldwide, despite a near-shutdown of tourism, […]
by Tom BARFIELD Agence France-Presse FRANKFURT AM MAIN, Germany (AFP) — Germany on Wednesday said it aimed to become the world’s “number one” in green hydrogen technology, betting the fuel produced by renewable energy sources can both reduce carbon emissions and stimulate Europe’s top economy. “For reasons related to our competitiveness but above all to reach our ambitious climate goals”, ministers have agreed to pump nine billion euros ($10.2 billion) of government cash into the technology, Economy […]
by Dana Moukhallati Agence France-Presse DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AFP) — The first Arab space mission to Mars, armed with probes to study the Red Planet’s atmosphere, is designed to inspire the region’s youth and pave the way for scientific breakthroughs, officials said Tuesday. The unmanned probe Al-Amal—Hope in Arabic—is to blast off from a Japanese space centre on July 15, with preparations now in their final stages. The project is the next giant step […]
https://youtu.be/uV5AhzVpHaE MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — Two Russian cosmonauts aboard the International Space Station played chess against an Earth-bound grandmaster on Tuesday, in a celebration of the first such game half a century ago. Equipped with an electronic chessboard, cosmonauts Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner played in zero gravity against 30-year-old Russian former child prodigy Sergei Karyakin. The game was broadcast live and ended in a draw after about 15 minutes. It was organized by the […]
BANGKOK, Thailand (AFP) — A scurrying robot dog named K9 dispenses hand sanitizer to curious children and wary shoppers — one of the more unexpected measures Thai malls are taking as the kingdom relaxes virus restrictions. The hi-tech hound is controlled using 5G, a technology promising super-fast internet speeds with immediate reaction times that is still in the initial stages of roll out in Thailand. Mimicking an excited puppy, K9 roams around the popular Central […]
by Marlowe HOOD Agence France-Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — Falling fossil fuel demand coupled with mounting risk for investors could slash the value of oil, gas and coal reserves by two thirds, sending shock waves through the global economy, energy analysts warned Thursday. The value of projected profits for the sector could also fall by two thirds, according to a report from Carbon Tracker, a non-profit financial think tank focused on aligning capital markets with […]
