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(AFP) — Millions of pieces of man-made debris are currently orbiting the earth. This huge cloud of space junk is suspended between 800 and 2,000 kilometers above us. Since space exploration began in 1957, fragments from more than 5,000 space launches and 290 orbital explosions have been accumulating. Old rockets, satellites, tools lost by astronauts and even flecks of paint pose a serious threat to future space exploration, particularly manned flights and stations. Sensors carried […]
NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Google on Tuesday launched a new initiative, committing $300 million to help news publishers get more paid subscribers while stemming the flow of misinformation. The internet giant described the Google News Initiative as part of an “effort to help journalism thrive in the digital age.” The announcement in New York followed a series of commitments to help the troubled sector by Google, which has been accused by some in […]
BEIJING, China (AFP) — Self-driving cars will hit the roads in China “within three to five years,” the founder of Chinese internet giant Baidu, one of the world’s leading designers of driverless cars, said Thursday. That is a lot sooner than predicted by China’s information technology minister, who last week said it would only be a reality in 8-10 years, citing constraints related to security. “I’m more optimistic than him, I think it will come […]
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Top Japanese car makers said on Monday they were teaming up to nearly double the amount of hydrogen stations in Japan, as the car-mad country seeks to head off competition from China and Germany. Toyota, Nissan and Honda formed a joint venture with major gas and energy companies, including French industrial gases company Air Liquide, to build 80 new hydrogen stations in the next four years, to add to the 101 […]
by Reinnier Kaze Agence France-Presse DOUALA, Cameron (AFP) — Talking fast and dreaming big, William Elong shows off the first “made in Cameroon” drone at his sixth-floor workshop in downtown Douala, minutes from the economic capital’s Atlantic seafront. The 25-year-old, known as a high-flyer after being named one of Forbes’ most promising young Africans under 30, is enthusing about his new unmanned aerial drones and keen to promote his company and Africa as a place […]
by Erwan Lucas and Daniel Silva Agence France Presse BARCELONA, Spain (AFP) — The race to bring super-fast 5G wireless services to market is heating up with the first commercial deployments of the much-anticipated technology expected at the end of the year. Talk about 5G’s potential to pave the way to a world of self-driving cars, lightening-fast video downloads and smart cities have dominated the Mobile World Congress for years. But at the event in […]
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 […]
by Marlowe Hood Agence France-Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — Artificial intelligence could be deployed by dictators, criminals and terrorists to manipulate elections and use drones in terrorist attacks, more than two dozen experts said Wednesday as they sounded the alarm over misuse of the technology. In a 100-page analysis, they outlined a rapid growth in cybercrime and the use of “bots” to interfere with news gathering and penetrate social media among a host of plausible […]
by Julie Charpentrat Agence France-Presse SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Triumphant in online retail, cloud computing, organic groceries, and streaming television, Amazon founder and chief disruptor Jeff Bezos is turning his seemingly limitless ambition to health care. Amazon, launched as an internet bookseller nearly 24 years ago, has branched into offerings including voice-commanded speakers infused with Alexa artificial intelligence and original TV shows streamed online at its Prime subscription service. Health care now appears […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US mobile chipmaking giant Qualcomm on Tuesday raised its bid for Dutch rival NXP to an estimated $43 billion as the California-based firm moved to fend off a hostile offer from Singapore’s Broadcom. The new bid amounts to $127.50 per NXP share and aims to satisfy NXP shareholders who had expressed concern the Qualcomm bid was too low. By moving closer to a tie-up with NXP, Qualcomm could make it […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Artificial intelligence and its impact on weapons of the future has made US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis doubt his own theories on warfare. A question on the subject prompted the retired Marine general to give an impromptu seminar on his theory of war Saturday to reporters returning with him from a week-long tour of Europe. Recalling his own writings, he differentiated between the essential nature of war, which is unchanging […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Could the International Space Station become a commercial venture run by private industry? That is the wish of the White House, which hopes to end funding for the costly program within a few years, The Washington Post reported Sunday. The US plan, the paper said, involves privatizing the ISS, a low-orbit space station piloted by the US space agency NASA and developed jointly with its Russian counterpart. The station has […]
