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Virgin Galactic re-opens ticket sales for $450,000
Virgin Galactic, which last year flew its flamboyant founder Richard Branson to space, will re-open ticket sales to the general public starting Wednesday, for the sum of $450,000.
Plastic, chemical pollution beyond planet's safe limit: study
The torrent of man-made chemical and plastic waste worldwide has massively exceeded limits safe for humanity or the planet, and production caps are urgently needed, scientists have concluded for the first time.
Rocket set to hit Moon was built by China, not SpaceX, say astronomers
Astronomy experts say they originally misread the secrets of the night sky last month: it turns out that a rocket expected to crash into the Moon in early March was built by China, not SpaceX.
US billionaire announces three more ambitious SpaceX flights
US billionaire Jared Isaacman, who chartered the first all-civilian orbital spaceflight, announced Monday three more private missions with SpaceX -- which will include spacewalking and culminate in the first crewed flight of the next-generation Starship rocket.
US billionaire charters three more ambitious SpaceX flights
Billionaire Jared Isaacman, who chartered the first all-civilian orbital spaceflight, announced Monday three more private missions with SpaceX -- which will include spacewalking and culminate in the first crewed flight of the next-generation Starship rocket.
Stakes 'never been higher' in climate fight: IPCC head
The stakes in the fight against global warming are higher than ever, the UN's climate science chief said Monday as nearly 200 nations met to finalise what is sure to be a harrowing report on climate impacts.
Toshiba sets March date for vote on spin-off plan
Japanese conglomerate Toshiba said Monday it would hold an extraordinary meeting of shareholders on March 24 to vote on its plan to spin off its devices unit.
Nations to review harrowing catalogue of climate impacts
Nearly 200 nations kick off a virtual UN meeting Monday to finalise what is sure to be a harrowing catalogue of climate change impacts -- past, present and future.
Killed for witchcraft, Scotland's forgotten victims find a voice
Claire Mitchell and Zoe Venditozzi are fighting for pardons for all those executed for witchcraft in Scotland, the vast majority of whom were women, and for a memorial to those forgotten by history.
Swiss poised to ban nearly all tobacco advertising
Swiss voters appeared set Sunday to back a near-total ban of advertising for tobacco products but were expected to reject a blanket ban on animal testing.
Swiss vote on banning tobacco advertising, animal testing
The Swiss head to the polls Sunday to decide whether to ban almost all advertising of tobacco products and separately on a blanket ban on all animal testing.
Webb telescope spots its first star -- and takes a selfie
Star light, star bright, the James Webb Space Telescope has seen its first star (though it wasn't quite tonight) -- and even taken a selfie, NASA announced Friday.
Musk 'confident' of Starship orbital launch this year
Elon Musk delivered updates on SpaceX's efforts to develop its interplanetary Starship rocket on Thursday night, but stopped short of announcing a firm launch date for an orbital test or new missions, despite considerable buildup ahead of the rare presentation.
Las Llamadas: Uruguayan festival born from African struggle
As a little boy, Cesar Pintos -- now 86 -- played "drums" with his friends in the streets of Montevideo's black-majority neighborhoods, beating tin cans with twigs to ancestral rhythms brought to Uruguay by enslaved Africans.
Musk to give rare presentation on ambitious Starship rocket
Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk is set Thursday night to deliver an eagerly-awaited update on SpaceX's Starship, a prototype rocket the company is developing for crewed interplanetary exploration.
Luc Montagnier: HIV discoverer who ended a pariah
French researcher Luc Montagnier, who has died at 89, shared the Nobel medicine prize for his vital early discoveries on AIDS, but was later dismissed by the scientific community for his increasingly outlandish theories, notably on Covid-19.
Dozens of SpaceX internet satellites lost to geomagnetic storm
Up to 40 SpaceX high-speed internet satellites have been knocked out of orbit by a geomagnetic storm shortly after launch, but pose little threat to Earth as they burn up in the atmosphere, the company said.
Climate change fuels drop in Albania's migrant birds
Thousands of migratory birds have failed to make their annual visit to Albania's western coast this winter, experts say, pointing to climate change, overfishing and urbanisation as likely factors.
Climate change threatens Hadrian's Wall treasures in England
Nineteen hundred years after it was built to keep out barbarian hordes, archaeologists at Hadrian's Wall in northern England are facing a new enemy -- climate change, which threatens its vast treasure trove of Roman artefacts.
Soviet-era outpost helps Russia retain a foot in Norwegian Arctic
With its bust of Lenin, cultural centre and KGB offices, the abandoned Soviet outpost of Pyramiden may seem like a time-warped Arctic oddity but is valued by Moscow as it vies for clout in the warming region.
Israeli desert town aims to be medical 'cannabis capital'
In Israel's Negev desert, far from the skyscrapers of Tel Aviv, the town of Yeruham hopes to cultivate an international reputation as the country's medical cannabis technology powerhouse.
Plan to dismantle iconic bridge splits opinion in Rotterdam
An iconic steel bridge blocking passage to the sea for a superyacht built for Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is splitting sentiments along Rotterdam's windy quays, with opinions swinging between pride and dismay.
New 'highly virulent' HIV strain discovered in the Netherlands
Oxford researchers announced Thursday the discovery of a highly virulent strain of HIV that has been lurking in the Netherlands for decades, but because of the effectiveness of modern treatments, is "no cause for alarm."
'Moonfall' and the art of the disaster film cliche
Director Roland Emmerich knows a thing or two about the ingredients needed for a good disaster flick, having given the world "Independence Day", "2012" and "The Day After Tomorrow".
Mexican kayaker on mission to clean up floating gardens
As dawn breaks over Mexico City's floating gardens, Omar Menchaca paddles his kayak through a maze of canals collecting garbage left by visitors to one of the last vestiges of the ancient Aztec capital.
Wreck of British explorer James Cook's Endeavour found: researchers
The wreck of Captain James Cook's famed vessel the Endeavour has been found off the coast of the US state of Rhode Island, Australian researchers said Thursday.
For the 280th time, senator urges US to 'wake up' on climate
US senator Sheldon Whitehouse dusted off his dog-eared "Time to Wake Up" poster Wednesday to deliver his 280th climate speech in the upper chamber -- ending a year-long break from delivering weekly addresses urging lawmakers to mobilize on global warming.
Rotterdam to dismantle historic bridge for Bezos superyacht
The Dutch port city of Rotterdam said Wednesday it would temporarily dismantle an historic bridge to allow a superyacht built for Amazon founder Jeff Bezos to pass.
24 dead, dozens injured as flooding hits Ecuador capital
The heaviest flooding to hit Ecuador in two decades has killed at least 24 people in Quito, inundating homes, swamping cars and sweeping away athletes and spectators on a sports field, officials said Tuesday.
Corals doomed even if global climate goals met: study
Coral reefs that anchor a quarter of marine wildlife and the livelihoods of more than half-a-billion people will most likely be wiped out even if global warming is capped within Paris climate goals, researchers said Tuesday.
Greenland ice cap loses enough water in 20 years to cover US: study
Greenland's immense ice sheet has lost enough ice in the past 20 years to submerge the entire United States in half a metre of water, according to data released this week by Danish researchers.
In space race, Europe faces choice: passenger or pilot
As the race to send people to the Moon and beyond heats up, Europe faces calls to make a choice: Keep paying for seats on spacecraft or finally fly its own manned vehicle.