Through a computer-simulated study, astronomers at Lund University in Sweden show that it is highly likely that the so-called Planet 9 is an exoplanet. This would make it the first exoplanet to be discovered inside our own solar system. The theory is that our sun, in its youth some 4.5 billion years ago, stole Planet 9 from its original star. An extrasolar planet, or exoplanet, is by […]
Simply telling people that their opinions are based on morality will make them stronger and more resistant to counterarguments, a new study suggests. Researchers found that people were more likely to act on an opinion — what psychologists call an attitude — if it was labeled as moral and were more resistant to attempts to change their mind on that subject. The results show why appeals to […]
The application icons of Facebook, Twitter and Google are displayed on an iPhone next to an earphone set in this illustration photo taken in Berlin, June 17, 2013. Reuters/Pawel Kopczynski/Files BRUSSELS – Facebook, Twitter, Google’s YouTube and Microsoft on Tuesday agreed to an EU code of conduct to tackle online hate speech within 24 hours in Europe. EU governments have been trying in recent months to get […]
By THOMAS ERDBRINK May 31, 2016 TEHRAN — A leading conservative was re-elected speaker of Iran’s Parliament on Tuesday, denying reformists a post they thought they had earned with a big win in February elections. In a mild surprise, an overwhelming majority of Iran’s lawmakers chose a conservative candidate, Ali Larijani, who has held the position since 2008. Mr. Larijani, 57, scion of a powerful Iranian family, is not […]
Gotta love the Mazda3. But something’s just wrong here: [embedded content] 0:14: The reflection in the passenger’s side mirror is correct. 0:15: The cop car is now on the right side of the Mazda… maybe in an emergency lane or something. But the problem is, that there’s no lane for the cop car to be in… unless the Mazda is now the oncoming traffic lane. 0:20: Then […]
Manama: Bahrain’s Court of Appeals on Monday toughened a sentence against Ali Salman, the secretary general of Al Wefaq Society, after it included a charge dropped last year by a lower court. Under the new ruling, Ali Salman will have to spend a total of nine years in jail after he was also convicted of the more serious charge of “promoting […]
Basma Abdel Aziz was walking in downtown Cairo one morning when she saw a long line of people standing in front of a closed government building. Returning hours later, Ms. Abdel Aziz, a psychiatrist who counsels torture victims, passed the same people still waiting listlessly — a young woman and an elderly man, a mother holding her baby. The building remained closed. When she got home, she […]
TEHRAN — In a sign of further tension between regional rivals, Iran will not allow its citizens to travel to Saudi Arabia for the annual Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca in September, Iran’s state television reported on Sunday. The decision, which means that tens of thousands of Iranians cannot make their spiritual journey to the main pilgrimage site of Islam, came after several failed rounds of talks between […]
JERUSALEM — In a politically fractious country troubled by monumental security challenges, Israel’s military has long served as an equalizer and unifier, a “people’s army” that, at least in the eyes of the Jewish majority, reflected the general interest. But the Israeli people, and with them the government, have shifted to the right amid an upsurge of Palestinian stabbings and other attacks. Now the military finds itself […]
Adec surveyed 31,109 public and private school students in Grades 6 to 12 (ages 10 to 20) during the second term of this academic year about their social media habits. Most students – 69.7 per cent – said they were on social media between one and five hours daily, while 3.3 per cent said less than an hour. Let’s block ads! (Why?) (via The National)
ABU DHABI // Temperatures will continue to incrementally climb today as light to moderate winds offer minor relief from the heat. Fair to partly cloudy skies are forecast across the country, except for in the eastern areas where more clouds may form this afternoon, with occasional periods of haze. Temperatures will range between 35°C and 40°C along the coast and between 40°C and 45°C inland. Those living […]
By TIM ARANGO May 28, 2016 BAGHDAD — American commandos are on the front lines in Syria in a new push toward the Islamic State’s de facto capital in Raqqa, but in Iraq it is an entirely different story: Iran, not the United States, has become the face of an operation to retake the jihadist stronghold of Falluja from the militant group. On the outskirts of Falluja, tens of […]
ABU DHABI // It’s never too early to start learning about road safety. Over the past two weeks, thousands of youngsters have been getting instructions in the correct way to drive by taking mini pedal cars around a mock-up of a town centre, complete with road signs, pedestrian crossing, roundabout and traffic lights. My First Licence — I Know My Road Rules helped 3,000 children from nine […]
A Microsoft logo is seen on an office building in New York City in this July 28, 2015 file photo. Microsoft Corp announced more big cuts to its smartphone business on Wednesday. Reuters/Mike Segar/Files SHANGHAI Chinese users of Microsoft products are criticising the software company’s push to get them to mandatorily upgrade their Windows operating systems, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Friday. Posts critical of […]
We’ve been revisiting some 80s gems here at CarLust these last couple of weeks, and before we head into the ’90s, it feels right to share this period artwork that I’ve had stashed in my hard drive for some time now. Yes, they’re neither that many nor that hard to figure out for our seasoned veterans, but for the novice CarLust carspotter, it couldn’t be a more perfect […]
By NICOLA CLARK May 27, 2016 PARIS — A French naval vessel fitted with sophisticated underwater sensors raced on Friday toward the eastern Mediterranean Sea, as the window for locating the so-called black boxes of a downed Egyptian airliner rapidly closed. The ship is expected to arrive in the search zone early next week to help locate and recover the EgyptAir jet’s cockpit voice and data recorders. The recorders, […]
Film fanatics are sure to turn this book into an instant best-seller. The Godfather Notebook is a never-before-published collection of Francis Ford Coppolla’s notes and annotations on the Mario Puzo novel that became one of the most iconic films in cinema history. It pulls back the curtain on Coppola’s creative process as the then 32 year-old filmmaker prepared to make the most important film of his career. […]
This summer, Acer will begin releasing a number of new devices aimed at different types of users, including a new series of notebooks for business users and two new 2-in-1s for students and budget-conscious buyers. Taiwan-based Acer plans to showcase its latest releases at next week’s Computex expo in Taipei. It also plans to unveil its BeingWare vision for smart city and Internet of Things (IoT) applications. […]
Big Blue is teaming up with cloud communication platform Twilio to introduce two new offerings, IBM Watson Message Sentiment and IBM Watson Message Insights. Twilio, which functions as a communication tool for developers and businesses, will make both offerings available as add-ons through its recently announced marketplace, according to IBM. Developers who currently access Watson technology via Bluemix, IBM’s cloud platform, can also use the two new […]
The latest acquisition by Intel could give it a big leg up in the race to develop Internet of Things (IoT) and autonomous driving technology. The chipmaker signed an agreement yesterday to acquire computer vision software company Itseez Inc. The 11-year-old San Francisco-based firm will become part of Intel’s IoT Group (IOTG). “Intel is focused on delivering end-to-end IoT solutions addressing devices, wired and wireless networks and […]
Flowers without scent produce fewer seeds, although they are visited as often by pollinators as are flowers that do emit a scent. Scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology in Jena, Germany, made this surprising observation, when they studied tobacco plants that have been silenced in their ability to produce floral volatiles. The researchers showed that floral scent is crucial for successful pollination: Manduca sexta […]
Our excitement with and rapid uptake of technology — and the growing opportunities for artificial brain enhancement — are putting humans more firmly on the path to becoming cyborgs, according to evolution experts from the University of Adelaide. In their new book The Dynamic Human, authors Professor Maciej Henneberg and Dr Aurthur Saniotis chart the full scope of human evolution, with a look at the past, present […]
In the world of Harry Potter the young wizard undergoes two magical biological transformations: eating Gillyweed to grow gills in order to breathe underwater and drinking Skele-Gro to repair broken bones. Natural Sciences students from the University of Leicester have put these arcane medical practices to the test — and have concluded that a little magic might indeed be required in both situations to make them scientifically […]
MUMBAI India’s biggest conglomerate Tata Group launched an ecommerce venture on Friday, as it seeks to cash in on rising purchasing power in a market dominated by deep-pocketed international retailers and startups backed by global tech investors. The group said it developed its Tata Cliq website over a year and a half at a cost of “several hundred million dollars” to be a marketplace for inhouse and […]
