Featured
Last news
Sea cows threatened with extinction
Dugongs -- large herbivorous marine mammals commonly known as "sea cows" -- are now threatened with extinction, according to an official list updated Friday.
Japanese billionaire Maezawa announces crew of artists for lunar voyage
Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa announced Thursday eight crew members who will join him for a journey around the Moon planned for 2023 on a SpaceX rocket that is still under development.
Webb telescope spies hidden stars in stellar graveyard
It was one of the first famous images revealed by the James Webb Space Telescope earlier this year: a stunning shroud of gas and dust illuminated by a dying star at its heart.
'Downton Shabby': US producer quits Hollywood to do up UK family pile
As a child, Hopwood DePree heard stories about the family owning an ancestral country home in England but always thought it was the stuff of legends.
Biodiversity talks open as UN chief calls for 'peace pact' with nature
High-stakes biodiversity talks opened in Montreal Wednesday, amid calls for a "peace pact with nature" to save the planet's species and ecosystems from irreversible human destruction.
Meta sees itself as dwarfed by 'Giant Tech' Apple
Facebook parent Meta may be in the Big Tech club but it sees itself as being dwarfed by "Giant Tech" company -- and corporate foe -- Apple, a top executive, Nick Clegg, said Wednesday.
Webb telescope promises new age of the stars
The James Webb Space Telescope lit up 2022 with dazzling images of the early universe after the Big Bang, heralding a new era of astronomy and untold revelations about the cosmos in years to come.
UN biodiversity talks open, billed as 'last chance' for nature
High-stakes UN biodiversity talks open in Montreal Wednesday, in what is being billed as the "last best chance" to save the planet's species and ecosystems from irreversible human destruction.
Energy crisis fuels renewables boom: IEA
The energy crisis is fuelling an acceleration of the rollout of renewable power, raising hopes for efforts to meet ambitious targets against global warming, the International Energy Agency said Tuesday.
The end is nigh? Climate, nuclear crises spark fears of worst
For thousands of years, predictions of apocalypse have borne little fruit. But with dangers rising from nuclear war and climate change, does the planet need to at least begin contemplating the worst?
Ireland marks 100 years since founding of Irish Free State
One hundred years ago on Tuesday, Ireland gained statehood in the midst of a bitter civil war.
US, EU meet with little progress on green plan tensions
US and European Union officials met for trade and technology talks Monday, but hanging in the balance are heightened tensions over American subsidies for its green industry that Europe considers anti-competitive.
UK warns British Museum over Parthenon Marbles
The UK government Monday stressed the British Museum is legally forbidden from breaking up its vast collection, after a report said it could possibly hand the Parthenon Marbles back to Greece.
Australia starts building 'momentous' radio telescope
Australia on Monday started building a vast network of antennas in the Outback, its section of what planners say will eventually become one of the most powerful radio telescopes in the world.
China astronauts return from Tiangong space station
Three Chinese astronauts safely returned to Earth on Sunday after six months aboard the Tiangong space station, state media quoted the country's space agency as saying, with their mission deemed a "complete success."
Macron caps US visit with New Orleans trip, meetup with Musk
President Emmanuel Macron on Friday visited New Orleans, a city emblematic of historic Franco-American ties, to promote the French language and conclude his state visit to the United States.
Prince William awards Earthshot prizes as US visit wraps up
Prince William honored climate change innovators during a star-studded ceremony in Boston Friday at the culmination of a US trip overshadowed by a race row and estranged brother Harry's Netflix series.
80 years since daring 'cockleshell' raid on Nazi ships in France
France marks next week the 80th anniversary of a daring World War II raid by British Royal Marines, who slipped past German patrols up the Gironde estuary to mine crucial supply ships.
Climate 'tragedy': Vanuatu to relocate 'dozens' of villages
Vanuatu is drawing up plans to relocate "dozens" of villages within the next two years, as they come under threat from rising seas, the Pacific nation's climate chief told AFP Thursday.
At NASA, France's Macron and US vow strong space cooperation
Paris and Washington pledged Wednesday to reenforce their cooperation in space, particularly on exploration and climate, during a visit by France's Emmanuel Macron to NASA headquarters alongside US Vice President Kamala Harris.
Archeologists find ancient Peruvian fresco, lost for a century
Archeologists have rediscovered a pre-Hispanic fresco depicting mythological scenes in northern Peru that they had only seen in black and white photographs that were more than a century old.
SpaceX postpones mission to put Japanese lander on Moon
SpaceX on Wednesday postponed by one day a mission to launch the first private -- and Japanese -- lander to the Moon.
China astronauts reach Tiangong space station
Chinese astronauts on Wednesday arrived at the Tiangong space station, where they completed the country's first-ever crew handover in orbit, state news agency Xinhua reported.
China launches crewed mission to Tiangong space station
China launched the Shenzhou-15 spacecraft on Tuesday carrying three astronauts to its space station, where they will complete the country's first-ever crew handover in orbit, state news agency Xinhua reported.
All regions experienced water extremes in 2021: UN
All regions of the world saw water extremes last year -- both floods and droughts -- and billions of people had insufficient freshwater, the United Nations said on Tuesday.
World's largest volcano erupts in Hawaii
The world's largest active volcano burst into life for the first time in 40 years, spewing lava and hot ash Monday in a spectacular display of nature's fury by Mauna Loa in Hawaii.
Hawaii volcano, world's largest, erupts for first time in decades
Hawaii's Mauna Loa, the largest active volcano in the world, has erupted for the first time in nearly 40 years, US authorities said, as emergency crews went on alert early Monday.
Australia falls short in Great Barrier Reef efforts: experts
Despite warnings, Australia's efforts to save the Great Barrier Reef still fall short of protecting the world's largest coral reef system from pollution and climate change, experts said Monday.
Activists file legal challenge over Finnish climate inaction
Environmental organisations in Finland on Monday filed a legal challenge accusing the government of breaking its own commitments to protect the climate, the first challenge of its kind in the country.
NASA Orion spacecraft enters lunar orbit: officials
NASA's Orion spacecraft was placed in lunar orbit Friday, officials said, as the much-delayed Moon mission proceeded successfully.
Carrefour still sells beef tied to Brazil deforestation: NGO
French retail giant Carrefour is still selling Brazilian beef products linked to destruction of the Amazon rainforest despite committing to end such sales, the US activist group Mighty Earth said Friday.
South Korean capital launches self-driving bus experiment
South Korea's capital launched its first self-driving bus route on Friday, part of an experiment which engineers said aims to make people feel more comfortable with driverless vehicles on the roads.