The Internet is like an ancient city, its latest incarnation resting atop ruins of so many civilisations
We all do it. Make little snap judgments about everyday strangers as we go about our lives. Without giving it a second’s thought, we sketch minibiographies of the people we pass on the sidewalk, the guy seated across from us on the train, or the woman in line in front...
Space tourism: Virgin Galactic boss Richard Branson flies his toy VSS Unity into outer space
The sky over the Spaceport America in southern New Mexico was afire with lightning last night. The storm was sufficiently fierce to postpone Virgin Galactic’s planned rollout of its twin airships, mothership Eve and a space vehicle called VSS Unity, from their hangar. The delay meant that lift-off for today’s...
US Congress demands unrestricted humanitarian relief to Tigray before $100m loan to Ethiopia is released
The US has been urged to withhold a loan to Ethiopian Airlines until the government in Addis Ababa meets some standards set out by the cessation of hostilities agreement reached in Pretoria, South African, in November. US Congressman Brad Sherman – in a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken...
Al Shabaab terror group claims to have killed two Kenyan police officers, one civilian in attack
Al Shabaab fighters have attacked a police vehicle in eastern Kenya, killing two officers and one civilian, police and the armed group said. The truck was travelling from Hayley Lapsset camp to Garissa town, around 120 km (75 miles) from the Somali border, when it hit an explosive device, police...
Cristiano Ronaldo expected to sign and play for Arabia’s Al Nassr for 7 years till he hits 45 years
Cristiano Ronaldo is reportedly closing in on a mega-money move to Al-Nassr and could officially put pen to paper today. Cristiano Ronaldo is expected to put pen to paper on a lucrative seven-year deal with Saudi Arabian outfit Al-Nassr at some point in the next few hours, according to reports....
Days after he survived censure for graft South African president urges his party to fight vice
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has urged his party, the ruling African National Congress, to fight corruption. “We have no choice, we either deal with corruption or we perish,” said Ramaphosa on Tuesday when he closed the ANC’s conference where he was re-elected its leader. “Corruption within our party is,...
Twitter struggles to cope with moderation of rapid shifts in online conversation, it’s likely to worsen with Musk
Twitter’s discovery algorithm (which surfaces heavily discussed or shared messages on people’s timelines) “prioritises a very particular type of content”, says Renée DiResta, who studies social networks and misinformation at the Stanford Internet Observatory in California. “People who maybe don’t necessarily have an institutional credential, but are adept at commenting...
How Twitter new owner’s tyranny touched off migration from the platform, in turn hit science hard
In November, Vince Knight decided he’d had enough of Twitter. After more than a decade on the social-media platform, Knight – a mathematician at Cardiff University, UK – was concerned about the site’s direction under its new owner, entrepreneur Elon Musk, who began laying off vast numbers of staff shortly...
Senegalese shot-stopper cold on Chelsea’s six-year contract extension citing lack of ‘enough respect’
Edouard Mendy has snubbed a six-year contract offer – because Chelsea are not showing him enough “respect” over wages. The Senegalese keeper is back training with his club since last week after reaching the World Cup last 16 – but there is still no sign of an agreement. Mendy, 30,...
Brazilian soccer legend to spend Christmas in hospital after he seemed to lose battle with cancer
Brazilian soccer icon Pele’s health has worsened and he will spend Christmas in hospital as he continues to battle colon cancer. Pele, 82, has been battling colon cancer since September 2021 and was hospitalised on November 29 for doctors to re-evaluate his treatment. The Sao Paulo’s Albert Einstein Hospital released...
