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by Richard CARTER Agence France-Presse TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Virtual currency Bitcoin — or “digital gold” to its fans — has enjoyed a gravity-defying rise along with wild price swings, sparking fears it could be the latest financial market “bubble.” Bitcoin was worth just a few US cents when it began life in 2009 and last week changed hands for a staggering $17,000 despite having no central bank backing and no legal exchange rate. Here […]
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AFP) — Millions of Indonesian children are being vaccinated this week as the country responds to a widespread diphtheria outbreak that has killed dozens, officials said Monday. Some eight million children and teenagers across the Southeast Asian nation will receive the shot to prevent further spread of the disease which is caused by a bacterial infection. It can lead to breathing difficulties, heart failure, paralysis, and even death if left untreated. Widespread incidents of the […]
PARIS, France (AFP) — French baby-milk maker Lactalis and health authorities have ordered a major international product recall because of fears of salmonella contamination following 26 cases of children falling sick in France. Company spokesman Michel Nalet told AFP “nearly 7,000 tons” of production may have been contaminated, but the company is unable to say currently how much remains on the market, has been consumed or is in stock. One of the world’s biggest producers […]
by Marie Wolfrom Agence France Presse SEDERON, France (AFP) — Furtive, wily and the animal of fairy tales, wolves fascinate nature lovers, but they raise fears among French sheep breeders who are trying to save their flocks. Amid debate in France on a future policy towards wolves, the government is being asked to come to the aide of sheep farming. “In one night, we lost 10 percent of our flock,” said Claire Lapie, 32, a […]
by Ilgin Karlidag Agence France Presse OSLO, Norway (AFP) — Mankind’s destruction caused by a nuclear war is just one “impulsive tantrum away,” the winners of the Nobel Peace Prize, the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), warned on Sunday as the United States and North Korea exchange threats over the nation’s nuclear tests. “Will it be the end of nuclear weapons, or will it be the end of us?” ICAN head Beatrice Fihn […]
NEW YORK, United States | AFP) — Apple is in talks to buy the popular song recognition app Shazam as the tech giant tries to compete with streaming leader Spotify, TechCrunch reported Friday. The technology news site, quoting unnamed sources, said that the deal could be announced Monday with financial terms not yet clear. A spokeswoman for Apple declined comment. Since its founding in 1999, Shazam has offered a high-tech solution to listeners’ longtime agony […]
by Miwa Suzuki Agence France-Presse TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — A drone that hovers over Japanese employees and blares music to force them to go home was unveiled Thursday, as the country tries to reduce its notoriously long work hours. The “T-Frend” buzzes over those trying to work late, blasting out the strains of “Auld Lang Syne,” a Scottish tune typically used in Japan to announce that a store is closing. “You can’t really work when […]
MALINDI, Kenya (AFP) — Conservationists in the Kenyan town of Watumu are seeking the help of local residents to try to raise awareness of the dangers of plastic waste, which is posing a major threat to the marine ecosystem.
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — Naples’ pizza twirling joined UNESCO’s list of “intangible heritage” Thursday, securing the coveted status alongside a host of cultural treasures including a Saudi artfrom traditionally practised only by women. The art of ‘pizzaiuolo’ — which has been handed down for generations in the southern Italian city — was given the nod by the UN cultural body’s World Heritage Committee, who met on the South Korean island of Jeju. It comes […]
by Mariëtte Le Roux Agence France Presse NAIROBI, Kenya (AFP) — The world’s nations vowed Wednesday to curb plastic and chemical contamination of the air, soil, rivers and oceans, calling for a steep change in how goods are produced and consumed. Government envoys issued a political declaration outlining the path to “a pollution-free planet” at the third UN Environment Assembly (UNEA). “Pollution is cutting short the lives of millions of people every year,” said the […]
by Marlowe HOOD Agence France Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — Extreme heat sometimes forces hummingbirds to seek shade instead of foraging for food, researchers said Wednesday, warning that global warming could test the tiny birds’ capacity to adapt. With hearts beating more than 1,000 times a minute, hummingbirds need to feed constantly, which means they can ill afford to spend time dodging sunshine, according to a report in the journal Royal Society Open Science. “They […]
by Marlowe Hood Agence France Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — The UN’s forecast for global warming is about 15 percent too low, which means end-of-century temperatures could be 0.5 degrees Celsius higher than currently predicted, said a study released Wednesday. The prediction makes the already daunting challenge of capping global warming at “well under” 2.0 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) — the cornerstone goal of the 196-nation Paris Agreement — all the more difficult, the […]
