Life

Facebook to launch independent body for calls on content

SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Facebook announced Thursday it is creating an independent body to make potentially precedent-setting calls on what content should be yanked from the social network. The announcement came as Facebook reported it has ramped up its ability to quickly detect “hate speech” and other posts violating community rules, with the leading social network under pressure from regulators in various countries and activists to root out abusive and inappropriate content. “I […]

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The Greenland’s giant crater

Videographic locating a huge meteorite crater discovered in Greenland. The crater is the first of its kind ever found there — or under any of the Earth’s ice sheets — and is among the 25 largest known on Earth.

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‘Robocop’ on patrol at Singapore summit

SINGAPORE, Singapore (AFP) — Hi-tech Singapore has deployed an autonomous robot with a swivelling camera for a head and flashing lights to patrol a summit venue — arresting the attention of amused passers-by who stopped to snap selfies. The white, four-wheeled buggy, measuring about five-feet (1.5 meters), trundled around the perimeter of a convention center in the city-state, providing additional security at a meeting of world leaders. The so far unnamed robot, decked out with […]

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Raindrops keep falling: Climate change makes storms worse – study

by Sara Hussein Agence France Presse TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Climate change is increasing the amount of rain that hurricanes produce, and as warming picks up storms will become increasingly wetter and windier, according to new research. The findings are based on extensive modelling that involved millions of computing hours on a supercomputer, and they show that climate change is already affecting the intensity of storms. “Climate change so far — from preindustrial to present […]

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Marie Antoinette pendant fetches $36 million, shattering estimate

by Ben Simon Agence France Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — A pearl and diamond pendant owned by Marie Antoinette before she was beheaded during the French Revolution sold for $36 million at an auction on Wednesday, shattering its pre-sale estimate of up to $2 million. The Sotheby’s auction at an ultra-luxurious hotel on the banks of Lake Geneva saw feverish bidding for a 10-piece collection owned by the ill-fated queen, featuring jewels unseen in public […]

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‘Super-Earth’ discovered orbiting Sun’s nearest star

by Patrick Galey Agence France Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — A “super-Earth” has been discovered orbiting the closest single star to our Sun, scientists said Wednesday in a breakthrough that could shine a light on Earth’s nearest planetary neighbours. Astronomers studied Barnard’s Star, a red dwarf just six light years away — practically in our back garden, galactically speaking — and noticed the presence of a “frozen, dimly lit world” at least 3.2 times heavier […]

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First supply trip to space since Soyuz failure poised to launch

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — A US spaceship loaded with supplies for the International Space Station is poised to launch Thursday, marking the first such trip since a Soyuz rocket carrying three people failed last month. At the last moment, NASA added some extra supplies for the three orbiting scientists, just in case. The next Soyuz launch, with three more astronauts on board — one Russian, one Canadian and one American — is planned for […]

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Two thirds of African cities face ‘extreme climate risk’

by Patrick GALEY Agence France-Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — Rapid population growth and poor infrastructure have put two out of three cities in Africa at “extreme risk” of the threats posed by climate change, according to a new analysis released Wednesday. With UN figures showing 86 of the world’s 100 fastest-growing cities are in Africa, experts warned nearly half of the continent’s GDP was exposed to the perils posed by our warming planet. The findings […]

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Surprise giant ‘corpse flower’ blooms at Indonesia farm

LABUHANBATU, Indonesia (AFP) — An Indonesian farmer was startled to discover a rare “corpse flower” blooming in his plantation on the island of Sumatra. Rosihan Anwar Hasibuan, a local palm oil farmer, said he came across the mystery flower when he was checking on his crops. “I saw a weird object,” he said. “I thought it was a ghost.” The Amorphophallus titanum flower is hard to glimpse because it can take up to 10 years […]

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‘Incomparable’ $50 mn pink diamond smashes record at Geneva auction

GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — An exceptionally rare pink diamond of nearly 19 carats fetched 50.3 million Swiss francs ($50 million, 44 million euros) at auction in Geneva Tuesday, Christie’s said, setting a new per-carat record for a stone of its kind. The Pink Legacy, which once belonged to the Oppenheimer family who for decades ran the De Beers diamond-mining company, was snapped up by American luxury brand Harry Winston, part of the Swiss Swatch group. […]

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Facebook shuts more accounts aimed at political meddling

SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Facebook on Tuesday said it shut down more accounts aimed at influencing the US midterm election and that it is exploring a possible link to Russia. “As we’ve continued to investigate, we detected and removed some additional Facebook and Instagram accounts,” head of cybersecurity policy Nathaniel Gleicher said in an update posted at the social network. While stressing the challenge of identifying the culprits, he noted that a website […]

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