(AFP) — Since his return from the International Space Station last year, French astronaut Thomas Pesquet has been training to fly the Airbus “Zero-G” plane, which recreates the weightless conditions of space flight. As he prepares to start his new job he took part in a special flight with members of the public who’d paid 6,000 euros per ticket for an out-of-this-world experience. https://youtu.be/apcPtEXJ2SA
Life
Taiwan to ban disposable plastic items by 2030
TAIPEI, Taiwan (AFP) — Taiwan is planning a blanket ban on single-use plastic items including straws, cups and shopping bags by 2030, officials said Thursday, with restaurants facing new restrictions from next year. It is the latest push by Taiwan to cut waste and pollution after introducing a recycling program and charges for plastic bags. The island’s eco-drive has also extended to limiting the use of incense at temples and festivals to protect public health. […]
Record tourist arrivals in Paris in 2017
PARIS, France (AFP) — After two years during which Paris was scarred by terror attacks, tourists returned to the French capital in record numbers in 2017, hotel booking figures showed Thursday. Hotels in the Paris area received 2.9 million more foreign and French visitors compared to 2016, an increase of 9.5 percent that added 1.6 billion euros ($2 billion) to the sector’s coffers, the tourism committee for the Paris region said. “Tourism rebounded in spectacular […]
Mexican man, once the world’s fattest, dreams of walking again
by Ulises Ruiz with Jennifer Gonzalez Covarrubias in Mexico City Agence France-Presse GUADALAJARA, Mexico (AFP) — The folds of flesh on Juan Pedro Franco’s back sway heavily as he cranks the pedals of a modified bicycle with his arms, exercising to boost his already jaw-dropping weight-loss total of 250 kilos (550 pounds). Franco, who comes from northern Mexico, used to be the world’s fattest man. Guinness World Records certified the title after he weighed in […]
Hong Kong harbour gets star attraction with sculpture park
HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Hong Kong’s harbourfront is known for glistening skyscrapers and the sight of containerships navigating busy shipping lanes — but a new art project has added a giant pumpkin, a map of the stars and a pair of disembodied legs to the famous skyline. The Harbour Arts Sculpture Park, which officially opened on Thursday, is a collection of works by 19 local and international artists including Britain’s Antony Gormley and Tracey […]
All the wild horses are extinct: study
by Kerry SHERIDAN Agence France-Presse MIAMI, United States (AFP) — All the world’s wild horses have gone extinct, according to a study Thursday that unexpectedly rewrites the horse family tree based on a new DNA analysis of their ancestry. What most people thought were the last remaining wild horses on Earth — known as Przewalski’s horses — were actually domesticated horses that escaped their owners, said the report in the journal Science. “This was a […]
Large vessels are fishing 55 percent of world’s oceans
by Kerry SHERIDAN Agence France-Presse MIAMI, United States (AFP) — More than half the world’s oceans are being fished by large commercial vessels, particularly from China, according to the first view from space of global fishing practices published Thursday. The report in the journal Science used satellite data to track industrial fishing and found that 55 percent of the world’s oceans — and possibly more — are being exploited by big fishing operations. Some parts […]
Space-X lobs Spanish military satellite into orbit
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Elon Musk’s Space-X sent a Spanish military satellite into orbit Thursday in a hitch-less liftoff from California, extending the private space company’s record of successful launches. Space-X, which proved the utility of its massive Falcon Heavy rocket earlier this month, put up the Paz imaging satellite and two of the company’s own test internet communications satellites on a smaller Falcon 9 rocket. “Successful deployment of PAZ satellite to low-Earth orbit […]
‘Girl with Pearl Earring’ to undergo public examination
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AFP) — One of the world’s most famous paintings “Girl with a Pearl Earring” is to undergo a two-week scientific examination in front of curious visitors to the Dutch museum where it lives. The luminescent tableau painted by Dutch master Johannes Vermeer around 1665 was last examined in 1994 during a conservation treatment at the Mauritshuis museum in the centre of The Hague. “Although further restoration is not yet required, major advances […]
Global cybercrime costs $600 bn annually: study
by Rob Lever Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The annual cost of cybercrime has hit $600 billion worldwide, fueled by growing sophistication of hackers and proliferation of criminal marketplaces and cryptocurrencies, researchers said Wednesday. A report by the security firm McAfee with the Center for Strategic and International Studies found theft of intellectual property represents about one-fourth of the cost of cybercrime in 2017, and that other attacks such as those involving […]
Twitter sets crackdown on automated ‘bot’ accounts
by Glenn Chapman Agence France-Presse SAN FRANCICSCO, United States (AFP) — Twitter announced Wednesday a crackdown on accounts powered by software “bots” which can artificially amplify a person or cause and which have been accused of manipulating the social network during the 2016 US election. The San Francisco messaging platform said the move was intended to rid the service of spam-spewing automated accounts, and not aimed at people using the service according to the rules. […]
Weekend stargazer wins supernova ‘cosmic lottery’
by Marlowe Hood Agence France-Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — To say that Victor Buso was in the right place at the right time may be the biggest understatement in the history of stargazing. By pure luck, the amateur astronomer from Rosario, Argentina snapped the first before-and-after images ever captured of a star as it explodes in a brilliant flash of light and morphs into a supernova. Astronomers call this pivotal moment “shock breakout,” and have […]