Deadlock at UN Environment Assembly in Nairobi shows it’s a complex problem without a single solution Project Syndicate | DAVID KEITH | Negotiations on geoengineering technologies ended in deadlock at the United Nations Environment Assembly in Nairobi, Kenya, recently, when a Swiss-backed proposal to commission an expert UN panel on …
Read More »Ridding space of old satellites and debris
Colorado Springs, United States | AFP | With constellations of thousands of telecommunication mini satellites expected to orbit Earth in the near future, the risk of space-debris collisions will grow. For Nobu Okada, it’s an opportunity. The 46-year-old Japanese entrepreneur founded the start-up Astroscale in Singapore in 2013 with the …
Read More »Range Rover Evoque 2019
Brit car-maker’s second Range Rover Evoque builds on old model’s success with similar looks, more advanced tech and hybrid power Land Rover has revealed its replacement for its fastest-selling model of all time, the 2019 Range Rover Evoque. Revealed at a converted brewery in east London’s ultra-cool Brick Lane, the …
Read More »Battle for space more stealth than Star Wars
Colorado Springs, United States | AFP | At tens of thousands of kilometers above the Earth, a Russian satellite slowly approached the French-Italian satellite Athena-Fidus in October 2017, a move France later denounced as “an act of espionage.” What is less widely known is that just a few days before …
Read More »Airbus flies into new era with change of boss
Paris, France | AFP | Frenchman Guillaume Faury took over as CEO of European aerospace giant Airbus on Wednesday, looking to benefit from the current troubles of rival Boeing and limit potential disruption from Brexit and US President Donald Trump’s trade threats. The 51-year-old will replace Tom Enders, who is …
Read More »Uber launches electric bikes, scooters in Paris
Paris, France | AFP | US ride-hailing group Uber said Wednesday that it would start deploying electric bikes and scooters for rent on Paris streets as soon as this week, joining a crowded market which city officials have vowed to rein in. Initially 500 of its Jump bikes and 500 …
Read More »Minister Azuba off to Canada to flag-off Uganda Airlines
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Minister of Works and Transport Monica Azuba will lead a team of managers heading to Canada to conclude ceremonial matters and flag off the new Uganda Airlines aircraft to Entebbe. She will join an acceptance team from Uganda Airlines that is already at the …
Read More »Grapes on Mars? Georgia winemakers aiming high
Tbilisi, Georgia | AFP | Georgia is immensely proud of its ancient wine-making tradition, claiming to have been the first nation to make wine. Now it wants to be the first to grow grapes on Mars. Nestling between the Great Caucasus Mountains and the Black Sea, Georgia has a mild climate …
Read More »France begins debating digital tax, defying US ire
Paris, France | AFP | French lawmakers on Monday began debating a new tax on digital giants such as Facebook and Apple that has angered the United States, with Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire boasting that France was proud to be in the vanguard of such a move. The United …
Read More »Uganda Airlines firms up orders for Airbus A330neo
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Uganda Airlines, the national carrier of Uganda, has firmed up its order for two A330-800 airliners, the latest version of the most popular A330 widebody airliner. They become only the second airline to own the new aircraft. Kuwait Airways is the only other customer …
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