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by John Biers / with Glenn Chapman in San Francisco Agence France-Presse NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Apple — the culture-changing company behind the iPod, iPhone and iPad — hit another milestone on Thursday, becoming the first private-sector company to surpass $1 trillion in market value. Shares of Apple finished the formal Wall Street trading day at $207.39, topping the magic number two days after the California tech giant reported strong quarterly earnings. The […]
SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP)–Facebook on Wednesday set out to make money from WhatsApp with a scheme to connect businesses with customers via the smartphone messaging service. Facebook said it has been testing a “WhatsApp Business” tool for months with more than 90 companies including Uber and Singapore Airlines. “We’re introducing a solution for businesses that require more powerful tools to chat on WhatsApp and a new way for people to quickly start a […]
LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — Earth’s neighboring planet, Mars, is closer than it has been in the past 15 years, offering unusually bright views of the Red Planet’s auburn hues. “The Red Planet and Earth haven’t been this close since 2003, and won’t be again until 2035,” NASA said. Astronomers around the world trained their telescopes on the sky on July 31, when the Red Planet was 35.8 million miles (57.6 million kilometers) away. […]
by Pascale Mollard Agence France Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — The longest “blood moon” eclipse this century dazzled skygazers across the globe Friday, coinciding with Mars’ closest approach in 15 years in a thrilling celestial spectacle. As Earth’s constant companion slowly sailed across the skies, crowds gathered around the world to catch a glimpse of the rare phenomenon. Beside Lake Magadi, 100 kilometres (60 miles) southwest of the Kenyan capital Nairobi, young members of […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Twitter said Tuesday it had removed more than 143,000 apps from the messaging service since April in a fresh crackdown on “malicious” activity from automated accounts. The San Francisco-based social network said it was tightening access to its application programming interfaces (APIs) that allows developers to make automated Twitter posts. “We’re committed to providing access to our platform to developers whose products and services make Twitter a better place,” said […]
MENLO PARK, United States (AFP)–Facebook on Wednesday built on its campaign to prevent the platform from being used to spread dangerous misinformation, saying it will remove bogus posts likely to spark violence. The new tactic being spread through the global social network was tested in Sri Lanka, which was recently rocked by inter-religious over false information posted on the world’s leading online social network. “There are certain forms of misinformation that have contributed to physical […]
by Ludovic EHRET Agence France Presse BEIJING, China (AFP) — Along a quiet residential street on the outer edges of Beijing, a yellow and black cube about the size of a small washing machine trundles leisurely to its destination. This “little yellow horse” is an autonomous delivery robot, ferrying daily essentials like drinks, fruit, and snacks from the local store to the residents of the “Kafka” compound in the Chinese capital. Equipped with a GPS […]
by Ivan Couronne Agence France-Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The two companies leading the pack in the pursuit of space tourism say they are just months away from their first out-of-this-world passenger flights — though neither has set a firm date. Virgin Galactic, founded by British billionaire Richard Branson, and Blue Origin, by Amazon creator Jeff Bezos, are racing to be the first to finish their tests — with both companies using radically different […]
PARIS, France (AFP) — People who had lived with a fear of heights for decades became less afraid after virtual reality (VR) therapy that saw them riding a flying whale, researchers said Thursday. A specialised team that included psychologists and IT experts put confirmed acrophobes through their paces in a series of life-like VR simulations, after which all reported “a reduction in fear”, they announced. VR-based treatments, the team concluded, “have the potential to greatly […]
LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Britain’s data regulator has said it will fine Facebook half a million pounds ($660,000) for failing to protect users’ data, in an inquiry into whether personal information had been misused by campaigns on both sides of Britain’s 2016 EU referendum. An investigation by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has focused on the social media giant since earlier this year, when evidence emerged that an app had been used to […]
SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Facebook could face a hefty compensation bill in Australia after a leading litigation funder lodged a complaint with the country’s privacy regulator over users’ personal data shared with a British political consultancy. The social networking giant admitted in April the data of up to 87 million people worldwide — including more than 300,000 in Australia — was harvested by Cambridge Analytica. Under Australian law, all organisations must take “reasonable steps” to […]
SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — An ex-Apple engineer on Monday was charged with stealing secrets from a hush-hush self-driving car technology project days before he quit to go to a Chinese startup. Xiaolang Zhang was in custody for stealing trade secrets from the Apple project, according to a copy of the criminal complaint posted online. The charge is punishable by 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. “Apple takes confidentiality and the protection […]
