Top business leaders, lawmakers and others are urging Amazon chief executive Jeff Bezos to reconsider his decision not to move forward. That was with plans for a new headquarters in New York, to build an “exciting future” for the city.…
Category: Technology
BMW fined for diesel software error
Germany, Feb 25(AP/UNB) — Germany prosecutors have fined automaker BMW 8.5 million euros ($9.66 million) for lax oversight in installing defective engine software that led to excessive diesel emissions in 7,965 cars. The prosecutors said Monday they found no evidence…
Japan probe Hayabusa2 makes asteroid landing
A Japanese probe sent to examine an asteroid 300 million kilometres from the Earth for clues about the origin of life and the solar system landed successfully. Data from the probe, Hayabusa2, showed changes in speed and direction, indicating it…
NASA greenlights SpaceX crew capsule test to ISS
NASA gave SpaceX the green light to test a new crew capsule . By first sending an unmanned craft with a life-sized mannequin to the International Space Station yesterday. “We’re go for launch, we’re go for docking,” said William Gerstenmaier,…
Samsung launches folding smartphone, first 5G handset
Samsung unveiled a smartphone that folds open to be a tablet, becoming the first major manufacturer to offer the feature as it strives to stoke excitement in a slumping market yesterday. The South Korean giant also appeared to get the…
New Universe map unearths 300,000 more galaxies
The known Universe just got a lot bigger. A new map of the night sky published charts hundreds of thousands of previously unknown galaxies discovered yesterday . Using a telescope that can detect light sources optical instruments cannot see. The…
EVMs to be used in last phases of Bd UZ (sub-district) polls
Dhaka, Feb 18 (UNB) – Election Commission Secretary Helaluddin Ahmed on Monday said Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) will be used in the last three phases of the countrywide upazila elections. “The upcoming upazila elections will be held in five phases.…
NASA announces demise of Opportunity rover
During 14 years of intrepid exploration across Mars, it advanced human knowledge by confirming that water once flowed on the red planet . NASA’s Opportunity rover has analyzed its last soil sample. The robot has been missing since the US…
NASA to make final attempt to contact Mars Opportunity Rover
US space agency NASA will make one final attempt to contact its Opportunity Rover on Mars late Tuesday, eight months after it last made contact. The agency also said it would hold a briefing Wednesday, during which it will likely…
Farmers secure land and food thanks to ‘eyes in the skies’
BULAWAYO, Zimbabwe, Feb 11 2019 (IPS) – Six years ago while wondering how best to use her engineering skills, Tanzanian ICT entrepreneur Rose Funja decided to enter an innovation competition. Years later she has turned a digital idea into a viable…
Robot, know thyself; machines get more self-aware
New York, Feb 5 (AP/UNB) — Forget dreaming of electric sheep. Robots first need to figure out how to imagine themselves. One New York robot has done just that. It’s learned that it’s a robotic arm using a process of…
Problems noted at some centres where EVMs were used: CEC
Dhaka, Jan 30 – Chief Election Commissioner KM Nurul Huda yesterday said there were problems in some of the places where electronic voting machines (EVM) were used in the 11th parliamentary election on December 30 last year. He said, form…
Ethics for artificial intelligence
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, Jan 29 2019 (IPS) – Owing to our varied circumstances and experiences, there are contradictory tendencies to either exaggerate or underestimate the power and importance of artificial intelligence (AI) in contemporary society. Nor should we uncritically legitimize…
Toshiba unveils robot to probe melted Fukushima nuclear fuel
Yokohama, Jan 28 (AP/UNB) — Toshiba Corp. has unveiled a remote-controlled robot with tongs that it hopes will be able to probe the inside of one of the three damaged reactors at Japan’s tsunami-hit Fukushima nuclear plant and manipulate chunks…
Poll Shows Strong Opposition to ‘Killer Robots’: HRW
More than three in every five people responding to a new poll in 26 countries oppose the development of weapons systems that would select and attack targets without human intervention, Human Rights Watch said today.
SpaceX to lay off 10 percent of workforce
SpaceX plans to lay off 10 percent of its more than 6,000 employees, a source familiar with the decision said on Friday.
Preventing a new Euro-Missile Race
Next month, it is very likely the Trump administration will take the next step toward fulfilling the president’s threat to “terminate” one of the most far-reaching and most successful nuclear arms reduction agreements: the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty,…
16th Dhaka Int’l Textile & Garment machinery exhibition begins
The 16th Dhaka International Textile and Garment Machinery Exhibition began at Basundhara International Convention Centre (BICC) in the capital on Wednesday.
Space tech aid India’s Meghalaya to expand boro rice farming
In Meghalaya’s tough hill terrains that limit field visits, space technology is aiding the selection of areas that are suited for growing and expanding cultivation of boro rice which is sown in winter and harvested in spring/summer, officials said.
Green tech to aid UNHCR supply of safe water to Rohingyas
UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, and its partners have been turning to green and non-polluting technology, including solar power, to help provide safe and clean water to Rohingyas living in the crowded settlements in Cox’s Bazar district.
Faraway world Ultima Thule shaped like ‘snowman’
Four billion miles from the sun floats Ultima Thule, an icy celestial body that NASA scientists announced Wednesday is aptly shaped like a giant snowman.
NASA speeds toward historic flyby of faraway world
NASA counted down to a historic flyby of the farthest, and quite possibly the oldest, cosmic body ever explored by humankind on Monday.
India approves USD project to send humans into space
Indian government Friday approved a project under which humans will be sent into space for at least a week, officials said.
New technology moves “solar windows” closer to reality
Chinese scientists have said they have come up with a more efficient luminescent solar concentrator (LSC), which can be made into “solar windows” that turn sunlight into electricity.
NASA spacecraft hurtles toward historic New Year’s flyby
A NASA spacecraft is hurtling toward a historic New Year’s Day flyby of the most distant planetary object ever studied, a frozen relic of the early solar system called Ultima Thule.
3300 army men engaged to facilitate EVM use in Bd election
Around 3,300 members of Bangladesh Army have been engaged for providing various types of technical support, including training, for using Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) in polling stations of six constituencies in the 11th parliamentary elections.
Voters in 6 areas using EVMs to get smart NID cards
Voters of six constituencies, where electronic voting machines (EVM) will be used, will get their smart national identity cards before the election.
Aussie astrologers discover big bang relic
Aussie astrologers have discovered an ancient relic of the Big Bang, giving them a glimpse 13.7 billion years into the past, research revealed on Tuesday.
5G: A revolution not without risks
The recent diplomatic dust-up over Chinese telecoms company Huawei, one of the leaders in developing equipment for fifth-generation mobile networks, has demonstrated that this technology . Which promises to enable an internet of things and self-driving vehicles also poses risks.
Huawei executive gets bail in case rattling China ties
A Canadian court granted bail on Tuesday to a top Chinese telecom company executive wanted in the United States in a case .