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PARIS, France (AFP) — The European Union on Tuesday announced 200 million euros ($222 million) of funding for the Ariane 6 rocket launcher and for small and medium-sized space technology companies. Half the money is in the form of a loan for the new Ariane 6 heavy launcher programme, a collaboration between the European Space Agency program and the ArianeGroup. The other 100 million euros go towards a venture capital program to “support innovation and […]
VIENNA, Austria (AFP) – The first night train to set off for Belgium in 16 years departed from Vienna Sunday, carrying Austrian and European politicians who hope the new route can set an example as the continent tries to meet its climate targets. The carriages of the “OBB Nightjet” pulled out of Vienna’s main station punctually at 8:38 pm to the strains of a live band playing the EU anthem “Ode to Joy”, the slogan #loveyourplanet […]
KLANG, Malaysia (AFP) – Patrick Lee Scooping waste from a Malaysian river to stop it reaching the sea, a solar-powered barge named the “Interceptor” is the latest weapon in a global battle to rid the world’s waters of plastic. Trash is being dumped into seas and rivers in enormous quantities, polluting vital habitats, endangering a kaleidoscope of marine life and sullying once pristine tourist spots. Some eight million tons of plastics enter the world’s oceans […]
LAS Vegas, United States (AFP) — Hyundai announced Monday it would mass produce flying cars for Uber’s aerial ride share network set to deploy in 2023. The South Korean manufacturer said it would produce the four-passenger electric “vertical take-off and landing vehicles” at “automotive scale,” without offering details. The deal announced at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas could help Uber, which is working with other aircraft manufacturers, to achieve its goal of deploying air […]
by Issam AHMED WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — SpaceX on Monday launched its third batch of 60 mini-satellites into orbit, part of its plans to build a giant constellation of thousands of spacecraft that will form a global broadband internet system. A live broadcast by SpaceX showed a Falcon 9 rocket taking off without incident from Cape Canaveral, Florida at 9:19pm (0219 GMT Tuesday). The satellites are set to release about one hour after takeoff, bringing the […]
by Julie JAMMOT Agence France-Presse LAS VEGAS, United States (AFP) — It will be revolutionary when superfast 5G mobile networks come to our gadgets, cars and digital lives. But the road to 5G remains agonizingly slow at the massive Consumer Electronics Show opening this week in Las Vegas, where ultrafast products are expected to be few and far between. Backers of 5G tout a cornucopia of potential applications, but networks are still nascent, as are the […]
ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates (AFP) — The popular UAE-developed mobile application ToTok has returned to the Google Play Store after it was removed on claims it was being used for government spying, the company said Saturday. Google and Apple removed the app from their online marketplaces last month after The New York Times reported ToTok allowed the UAE government to track the conversations, movements and other details of people who installed it on their phone. […]
BEIJING, China (AFP) –Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei said Tuesday that “survival” was its first priority after announcing 2019 sales were expected to fall short of projections as a result of US sanctions. Chairman Eric Xu said Huawei — banned from working with American firms over national security fears — estimates sales revenue will reach 850 billion yuan for 2019 (US$121 billion) — up roughly 18 percent from the previous year, but much lower than initially expected. […]
BRASILIA, Brazil (AFP) — Brazil on Monday fined Facebook $1.65 million for improperly sharing users’ data in a case linked to the global Cambridge Analytica scandal. Facebook engaged in an “abusive practice” by allowing data from 443,000 users in Brazil to be unduly available to developers of the application “This is Your Digital Life,” according to the Ministry of Justice. That application — a psychological survey — collected personal data from millions of Facebook users worldwide, […]
Dubai, United Arab Emirates (AFP) — The United Arab Emirates on Saturday denied reports that a popular mobile application developed in the country was used for government spying. Apple and Google removed the ToTok app from their marketplaces last week following a report claiming it allowed the UAE government to track users’ conversations, movements and other details. But the country’s Telecommunications Regulatory Authority said in a statement that UAE laws “prohibit any kind of data breach […]
Pasadena, United States (AFP) — NASA’s Mars 2020 rover will head off for the Red Planet next year. But like Voyager, Galileo and Cassini before it, the mission’s epic journey began in a “clean room” in California. One of two ultra-sterile labs used for spacecraft assembly at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, on the outskirts of Los Angeles, the eggshell-white room was briefly and exceptionally opened to journalists Friday. “We need to keep the […]
by Jing Xuan TENG Agence France-Presse BEIJING, China (AFP) — China Friday launched one of the world’s most powerful rockets in a major step forward for its planned mission to Mars in 2020. The heavy lift Long March 5 rocket carrying a Shijian 20 test satellite payload blasted off from the Wenchang launch site on the southern island of Hainan at 8:45 pm (1245 GMT), a live-stream from state broadcaster CCTV showed. “After more than 2,000 […]
