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 […]
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SpaceX launches third batch of Starlink satellites
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 […]
China rules out SARS in mystery viral pneumonia outbreak
BEIJING, China (AFP) — China on Sunday said a mysterious viral pneumonia outbreak that has affected 59 people was not the flu-like virus SARS that killed hundreds more than a decade ago. The infection was first reported last week in Wuhan, a central Chinese city with a population of over 11 million — leading to online speculation about a resurgence of the highly contagious SARS virus. “We have excluded several hypotheses, in particular the fact […]
Superfast 5G on the slow road at gadget gala
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 […]
Popular Mideast app accused of spying back on Google Play
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. […]
China rules out SARS in mystery viral pneumonia outbreak
BEIJING, China (AFP) — China on Sunday said a mysterious viral pneumonia outbreak that has affected 59 people was not the flu-like virus SARS that killed hundreds more than a decade ago. The infection was first reported last week in Wuhan, a central Chinese city with a population of over 11 million — leading to online speculation about a resurgence of the highly contagious SARS virus. “We have excluded several hypotheses, in particular, the fact […]
Australia’s ‘insurance’ koala population halved by bushfires
by Glenda KWEK Agence France-Presse SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — At least half of Australia’s only disease-free koala population, a key “insurance” for the species’ future, is feared dead with more badly hurt after bush-fires swept through an island sanctuary, rescuers said Sunday. Kangaroo Island, a popular nature-based tourist attraction off the coast of South Australia state, is home to many wild populations of native animals including the much-loved koala, where the populated was estimated at […]
Barcelona bans older, most polluting cars
MADRID, Spain (AFP) — Barcelona imposed a ban Thursday on older, more polluting vehicles during most of the day in a bid to reduce air pollution in Spain’s second largest city. Gasoline-powered cars registered in Spain before 2000, and diesel-powered cars registered before 2006 are now banned from most city streets on weekdays between 7:00 am and 8:00 pm and face a fine of at least 100 euros ($112) if they violate the rule. All banned vehicles […]
US unveils partial ban on flavored e-cigarettes
by Ivan Couronne WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The US government announced Thursday it was banning most flavored e-cigarettes in a bid to curb the rising tide of youth vaping, but under industry pressure, it stopped short of the full ban promised in September by the White House. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said cartridge-based e-cigarettes in flavors other than tobacco or menthol would be illegal unless specifically authorized by the government. The change […]
China’s Huawei says ‘survival first priority’ after 2019 sales fall short
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. […]
Facebook fined $1.65 mn by Brazil
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, […]
2019 was hottest year on record for Russia
MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — This year was the hottest ever registered in Russia, the country’s weather chief said on Monday, as climate change pushes global temperatures to record highs. “This year in Russia was the hottest for the entire period of instrumental observations,” the head of the Gidromedtsentr weather service, Roman Vilfand, told Russian news agencies. He said Moscow’s average temperature for 2019 had hit 7.6-7.7 degrees Celsius (45.7-45.9 degrees Fahrenheit), beating the previous […]





