Breaking News, Latest Philippines Headlines, World, Entertainment, Politics, Weather & Video News
BEIJING, China (AFP) — China’s home-grown AG600, the world’s largest amphibious aircraft in production, took to the skies on Sunday for its maiden flight. The plane, codenamed “Kunlong” according to state news agency Xinhua, took off from the southern city of Zhuhai and landed after roughly an hour-long flight. With a wingspan of 38.8 metres (127 feet) and powered by four turboprop engines, the aircraft is capable of carrying 50 people and can stay airborne […]
by Kerry Sheridan Agence France Presse MIAMI, United States (AFP) — The world’s first-ever detection of two faraway neutron stars colliding, causing a massive blast that rippled through the fabric of space and time, was judged the scientific breakthrough of 2017, the journal Science said Thursday. The smashup of the two ultra-dense stars observed on August 17 “confirmed several key astrophysical models, revealed a birthplace of many heavy elements, and tested the general theory of […]
by Shaun Tandon Agence France-Presse NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Facebook announced a licensing deal Thursday with Universal Music Group, its first with a major label, as the social media giant promised more personalized, interactive music features for its two billion users. The move marks a new foray into music by Facebook, which, despite its global conquest, had been low-key in developing music functions compared with fellow tech titans Apple, Google and Amazon. Universal — home […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — NASA on Wednesday announced two finalists for billion-dollar robotic missions — one to explore a comet and another Saturn’s moon Titan — with a launch by the winner planned in the 2020s. “These are tantalizing investigations that seek to answer some of the biggest questions in our solar system today,” said Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate. Titan is Saturn’s largest moon, and is seen as one […]
MIAMI, United States (AFP) — An American woman has given birth to a healthy baby girl from an embryo that was frozen a quarter century ago, in what hospital officials say may be a world record. The baby, named Emma Wren Gibson, was born November 25, according to the National Embryo Donation Center (NEDC) in Knoxville, Tennessee, which revealed the birth announcement this week. The embryo was conceived by another couple and frozen on October 14, 1992. Tina Gibson, […]
SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Facebook on Tuesday added a way for people to know when their pictures are posted anywhere on the leading social network. The notifications will rely on optional new tools that tap into face-recognition capabilities and already suggest friends to “tag” in pictures uploaded to Facebook. Users will now get word when their images pop up at the social network, according to director of applied machine learning Joaquin Quinonero Candela. […]
NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — YouTube said Tuesday that it had sealed a licensing agreement with the world’s largest music label conglomerate Universal as the video behemoth explores creating a new streaming service. YouTube, which is part of Google, said it reached a long-term agreement with the Universal Music Group, months after a deal with competitor Warner Music. A joint statement did not specify the terms but hinted that the agreement would address compensation by YouTube, […]
MIAMI, United States (AFP) — SpaceX’s unmanned Dragon cargo ship docked on Sunday with the International Space Station, bringing supplies and experiments for the astronauts in orbit. “Dragon installed,” a NASA commentator said at 1326 GMT after the delicate, hours-long process of sealing 16 bolts joining the two craft was complete. At that moment, they were flying 250 miles above the North Atlantic. Earlier, as the Dragon arrived, the space station’s robotic arm, operated by […]
by Rob Lever Agence France-Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) m– US regulators voted Thursday on a plan overhauling rules for internet services providers. The action by the Federal Communications Commission is likely to end so-called “net neutrality.” Here are some questions and answers: What is net neutrality and why is it important? The concept dates back to the early days of the web, and requires internet service providers to treat all data equally — prohibiting […]
PARIS, France (AFP) — No alien signals have been detected from an interstellar, cigar-shaped space rock discovered travelling through our Solar System in October, researchers listening for evidence of extraterrestrial technology said Thursday. The object, dubbed Oumuamua, was spotted by several Earthly telescopes two months ago. Given its weird trajectory, surprised researchers immediately concluded it was from beyond our planetary system — the first interstellar object ever identified in our midst. The rock is thought […]
FRANKFURT AM MAIN, Germany (AFP) — German carmaker Daimler on Thursday delivered its first fully electric lorries to companies in Europe, as the global race to mass produce the first generation of “green trucks” heats up. Among the first customers for Daimler’s Fuso eCanter light-weight truck was express delivery service DHL, which said it would use its six vehicles to navigate Berlin’s inner city traffic. The keys to eight other eCanter trucks were handed over […]
by Kerry Sheridan Agence France Presse MIAMI, United States (AFP) — A solar system with as many planets as our own has been discovered with the help of NASA’s Kepler space telescope and artificial intelligence, the US space agency said Thursday. “Our solar system now is tied for most number of planets around a single star,” NASA said in a statement. However, none of the planets are expected to be hospitable to life. The eight-planet […]
