Author: AFP

NASA scraps all-women spacewalk for lack of well-fitting suits

The US space agency NASA scrapped Monday a planned historic spacewalk by two women astronauts, citing a lack of available spacesuits that would fit them at the International Space Station. Christina Koch will now perform tasks in space Friday with fellow American Nick Hague — instead of Anne McClain as

2018 spike in energy demand spells climate trouble: IEA

A 2.3 percent jump in global energy demand last year outstripped the expansion of renewables and helped drive record-high greenhouse gas emissions, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said Tuesday. Fossil fuels satisfied nearly 70 percent of that growth for the second year running, with natural gas accounting for 45 percent

Tyrannosaurus rex found in Canada is world’s biggest

The towering Tyrannosaurus rex discovered in western Canada in 1991 is the world’s biggest, a team of paleontologists said Friday, following a decades-long process of reconstructing its skeleton. Nicknamed Scotty for a celebratory bottle of scotch consumed the night it was discovered, the T. rex was 13 metres long and

Plastic microparticles threaten unique Galapagos fauna

Armed only with gloves and large sacks, park rangers and volunteers are battling the scourge of plastic waste blighting the idyllic Galapagos Islands and their unique creatures. Tons of plastic waste wash up on the shores of the Galapagos islands where microparticles end up in the stomachs of species found

Boulder-sized sunfish washes ashore in Australia

A boulder-sized fish of a kind known to “sink yachts” has washed up on an Australian beach. The 1.8 metre specimen — believed to be a Mola Mola, or ocean sunfish — came ashore near the mouth of the Murray River in South Australia at the weekend. The enormous creature

Rare albino penguin makes debut at Polish zoo

A rare three-month-old albino penguin made its first public appearance at a zoo in the Polish Baltic port city of Gdansk, where its keepers claim it is the only one of its kind in captivity. The all-white African black-foot penguin was born on December 14, but zoo staff decided to

New blackout hits swaths of Venezuela

CARACAS: A new blackout hit many regions in Venezuela including much of Caracas on Monday, sowing alarm two weeks after a nationwide outage that paralyzed the country. The power cut in the capital occurred at 1:28 pm and knocked out electricity in the city center. Cellphone signals were also disrupted

Report: Hard-right Australian party sought NRA donations

SYDNEY: Australia’s hard-right One Nation party has been accused of seeking donations from US gun lobby group the National Rifle Association ahead of the upcoming general election, according to an Al Jazeera investigation. Secret recordings aired by the Qatar-based broadcaster showed members of Pauline Hanson’s party seeking $10-20 million in

Federer wary of Medvedev after last 16 victory

MIAMI: Roger Federer admits he faces a real battle to land the 101st title of his career with the in-form Daniil Medvedev next up after Serbian Filip Krajinovic was dispatched 7-5 6-3 on Monday at the ATP and WTA Miami Open. The Swiss superstar produced an excellent all-round performance despite

Report: Don forced students to write daughter’s thesis

SEOUL: A Seoul university professor forced students to write her daughter’s thesis to gain entry to an elite dental school, a government report revealed Tuesday, the latest scandal to hit South Korea’s hyper-competitive education system.  The professor, who teaches at Seoul’s Sungkyunkwan University, made her graduate students conduct a three-month