NASA�s Mars 2020 rover set to hunt Martian fossils, scout for manned missions

A NASA robotic rover is nearing completion ahead of a journey next year to search for evidence of past life on Mars and lay the groundwork for the space agency�s mission to send humans into deep space. The US space agency on Friday showed off its Mars 2020 rover, whose official name will be chosen...

Facebook to prevent installation of its apps on Huawei phones

Facebook has decided to prevent the installation of its applications on Chinese-made Huawei phones, joining a pressure campaign underway by the United States government on the Chinese telecom giant. Facebook announced the decision on Friday, adding, however, that it will not affect users who...

Facebook chooses London for WhatsApp payment

Facebook has chosen London as its base for a payment system on WhatsApp, its mobile messaging service confirmed Wednesday, highlighting the capital�s attractiveness as a fintech hub despite Brexit strains. The Financial Times said that WhatsApp would hire about 100 staff, with most of the required...

Chinese smartphone manufacturer Oppo looks to Dubai as international launchpad

Chinese smartphone manufacturer Oppo on Wednesday unveiled its RENO line of devices and chose the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as the stage for the international launch. The company, which ranked 4th in worldwide sales in the final quarter of 2018, is now targeting the Middle East, and in particular...

Google targeting Press TV for challenging �US hegemony�: Journalist

Historian and journalist Brecht Jonkers says the unprecedented US pressure campaign against Iran and Google�s targeting of Iranian alternative media without prior notice are "intrinsically linked" and politically motivated. Jonkers was asked by Press TV on Friday about possible grounds for Google...

US intelligence says Huawei funded by Chinese state security: The Times

US intelligence agencies have accused Huawei of being funded by Chinese state security, adding to the list of allegations faced by the Chinese technology company in the West. The CIA accused Huawei of receiving funding from China’s National Security Commission, the People’s Liberation...

Instagram deletes pages of IRGC commanders after US blacklisting

Instagram has blocked the pages of commanders of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), over a week after the United States blacklisted the elite military force. The blocking spree by Facebook’s sister photo and video-sharing networking service began after the US designated...

Facebook spends $22.6 million to keep Mark Zuckerberg safe

Facebook Inc. more than doubled the money it spent on Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg�s security in 2018 to $22.6 million, a regulatory filing showed on Friday. Zuckerberg has drawn a base salary of $1 for the past three years, and his "other" compensation was listed at $22.6 million, most...

Scientists find likely source of methane on Mars

The mystery of methane on Mars may finally be solved as scientists have confirmed the presence of the life-indicating gas on the Red Planet as well as where it might have come from. In the 15 years since a European probe reported traces of the gas in the Martian atmosphere, debate has raged over...

US government seeks Facebook help to wiretap Messenger: Reuters

The US government is trying to force Facebook to break the encryption in its popular Messenger app so law enforcement may listen to a suspect’s voice conversations in a criminal probe, three people briefed on the case said, resurrecting the issue of whether companies can be compelled to...

Facebook �not aware of any abuse� of data by phone makers

Facebook has said that it does not know of any privacy abuse by cellphone makers who years ago were able to gain access to personal data on users and their friends. The social media leader said on Monday that it "disagreed" with the conclusions of a New York Times report that found that the device...

Facebook seeks to limit effects of new EU privacy law

If a new European law restricting what companies can do with people’s online data went into effect tomorrow, almost 1.9 billion Facebook Inc. users around the world would be protected by it. The online social network is making changes that ensure the number will be much smaller. Facebook members...

Indian Scientist Finds Way to See Wormholes in Space-Time

A wormhole is a theoretical passage that cuts through space-time, which could create shortcuts for long journeys across the universe. Indian physicist Rajibul Shaikh from the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research has determined that a certain class of rotating wormholes, which...

Moon Colonization: Why Do We Want It and What Technologies Do We Have?

Scientists are convinced that humankind is capable of turning the Moon into a space outpost: people have cosmodromes, heavy carrier rockets, space modules and lunar rovers. Sputnik reveals what is behind the human desire to conquer space and what challenges colonizers may face on the way. New...

Iran�s Leader, senior officials stop using Telegram messaging application

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has stopped using the Telegram messaging application in a show of support for domestic versions and in line with the country’s national interests. The website for the preservation and publication of the works of ...

New species of frog found in Colombia-Venezuela border areas

Scientists have discovered a previously unknown species of frog in border areas between Colombia and Venezuela. The multi-colored frog, which also has a distinctive song, was found in the Perija mountain range shared by the two countries over the past decade. The new species, living in rivers and...

EU issues ultimatum for Facebook to answer data scandal questions

The European Union has issued an ultimatum for social network giant Facebook to explain how the US-based firm would deal with the aftermath of a recent scandal that involved the loss of private data of its users. In a Tuesday letter addressed to Facebook’s chief operating officer Sheryl...

Germany demands answers from Facebook over data breach

Justice Minister Katarina Barley said the Cambridge Analytica scandal bombarded users with hate speech. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has been called to answer questions in the UK�s criminal probe into the data breech. Germany�s Justice Minister Katarina Barley said on Thursday that she was seeking...

Climate change could wipe out over half of wildlife in Earth�s forests by 2100: Study

Over half of the wildlife in the world’s most biodiverse areas could vanish by the end of the century if efforts are not exerted to combat climate change, a new study predicts. According to the results of a new research, conducted by the World Wildlife Fund, University of East Anglia and...

British scientist Stephen Hawking dies at age 76

The world-renowned British scientist, Stephen Hawking, has passed away at age 76, a family spokesman says. Hawking was one of the brightest stars in the firmament of science, whose insights shaped modern cosmology and inspired global audiences in the millions. His family released a statement...

Vodafone, Nokia to bring LTE into space by installing first 4G network on Moon

The Earth’s sole natural satellite, the Moon, will get its first mobile network next year as Vodafone Germany and Nokia plans to bring the Long-Term Evolution (LTE) into space by installing a 4G network on our closest celestial neighbor, enabling high-definition streaming from the lunar landscape...

New model suggests contrary to dominant model Moon emerged before Earth

A new theory has suggested a different source of origin for the Moon, the Earth’s sole natural satellite, which seems to stack up well against the dominant giant impact model. It says unlike the favored former theory, our rocky moon formed before our cosmic home emerged in its current appearance. The...

Google to use balloons to give Puerto Rico cell service

The US Federal Communications Commission said late on Friday it had approved Alphabet Inc�s application to provide emergency cellular service to Puerto Rico through balloons. In the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, Puerto Rico has struggled to regain communications services. The FCC said on Friday that...

Nobel Prize in Literature goes to Kazuo Ishiguro

The 2017 Nobel Prize in Literature has been awarded to British author of Japanese origin Kazuo Ishiguro, best known for his literary work "The Remains of the Day". "It�s a magnificent honor, mainly because it means that I�m in the footsteps of the greatest authors that have lived,” the 62-year-old...

Apple unveils iPhone X in major product launch+VIDEO

Apple Inc on Tuesday rolled out its much-anticipated iPhone X, a redesigned product of glass and stainless steel with an edge-to-edge display that Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook called "the biggest leap forward since the original iPhone." The phone features wireless charging, an infrared...

Powerful Hurricane Irma poses increasing threat to Florida

Hurricane Irma is headed to the US state of Florida, posing an increasing threat to the area, as the Southern state of Texas is still reeling from Hurricane Harvey. Irma, the most powerful hurricane to threaten the Atlantic coast in more than a decade, has expanded into a devastating force with maximum...

Americans cheer as rare total solar eclipse marches across country

The moon blacked out the sun on Monday as the first coast-to-coast total solar eclipse in the United States in nearly a century began over the West Coast, while millions of Americans looked skyward in wonder through protective glasses, telescopes and cameras. After weeks of anticipation, the sight...

EU hits Google with 2.4bn euro fine

The EU hit Google with a record 2.4-billion-euro fine Tuesday for illegally favoring its shopping service in search results, in a fresh assault on US firms that risks the wrath of President Donald Trump. Hard-charging European Commission competition chief Margrethe Vestager said the tech giant "abused...

NASA discovers 10 more Earth-size planets

NASA revealed Monday 10 new rocky, Earth-sized planets that could potentially have liquid water and support life. The Kepler mission team released a survey of 219 potential exoplanets -- planets outside of our solar system -- that had been detected by the space observatory launched in 2009 to scan...

Scientists develop artificial womb for premature babies

Scientists in the United States have developed a fluid-filled womb-like bag known as an extra-uterine support device that could transform care for extremely premature babies, significantly improving chances of survival. In pre-clinical studies with lambs, the researchers were able to mimic the...