NASA unveils schedule for ´Artemis´ 2024 Moon mission

WASHINGTON: NASA on Thursday unveiled the calendar for the "Artemis" program that will return astronauts to the Moon for the first time in half a century, including eight scheduled launches and a mini-station in lunar orbit by 2024.The original lunar missions were named for Apollo -- Artemis was his twin sister in Greek mythology, and the goddess of hunting, wilderness and the Moon.Administrator Jim Bridenstine confirmed that Artemis 1 will be an uncrewed mission around the Moon planned for 2020. Next will come Artemis 2, which will orbit Earth´s satellite with a crew around 2022; followed finally by Artemis 3 that will put astronauts on lunar soil in 2024, including the first woman.The three will be launched into space by the biggest rocket of all time, the Boeing-led Space Launch System (SLS), which is currently under development but has seen numerous delays and has been criticized in some quarters as a bloated jobs program.Affixed to its summit will be the Orion capsule, for which Lockheed Martin is the primary contractor.In addition to these missions, which will be all NASA´s efforts, there will be five launches carrying the building blocks of the lunar mini-station "Gateway" which will serve as a staging point for the Moon landing.These will be carried out between 2022 and 2024 by private space companies, which NASA will pay for their services.The orbital station will initially consist of a simple power and propulsion element and a small habitat module. In 2024, astronauts will stop there en route to the Moon.They will then descend to the surface on a lander.A part of the lander will remain on the Moon while the other part will take off and allow the astronauts to return to their station, where they will board the Orion capsule and return to Earth.Bridenstine said Thursday that NASA had chosen private firm Maxar to build the station´s first module, the power and propulsion element, which would rely on huge solar panels.In the coming months, NASA will have to decide on who will build the lander. Aerospace giants such as Boeing and Lockheed Martin are vying for the contract as are new players like Jeff Bezos´ Blue Origin."We´re not owning the hardware, we´re buying the service," said Bridenstine of the lander. "The goal here is speed. 2024 is right around the corner."He added: "Our goal is ultimately to move on to Mars and not get stuck on the surface of the Moon"

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Google and Android system start to cut ties with Huawei

San Francisco: US internet giant Google, whose Android mobile operating system powers most of the world's smartphones, said Sunday it was beginning to cut ties with China's Huawei, which Washington considers a national security threat.In the midst of a trade war with Beijing, President Donald Trump has barred US companies from engaging in telecommunications trade with foreign companies said to threaten American national security.The measure targets Huawei, a Chinese telecoms giant in Washington´s sights that is listed by the Commerce Department among firms with which American companies can only engage in trade after obtaining the green light from the authorities.The ban includes technology sharing."We are complying with the order and reviewing the implications," a Google spokesperson told AFP.The move could have dramatic implications since Google, like all tech companies, must collaborate with smartphone makers to ensure its systems are compatible with their devices.Google will have to halt business activities with Huawei that involve transfer of hardware, software and technical services that are not publicly available -- meaning Huawei will only be able to use the open source version of Android, a source close to the matter told AFP.Huawei will no longer have access to Google's proprietary apps and services, such as the Gmail email service.Huawei did not immediately respond to requests for comment.Huawei is a rapidly expanding leader in 5G technology but remains dependent on foreign suppliers.It buys about $67 billion worth of components each year, including about $11 billion from US suppliers, according to The Nikkei business daily.Huawei is the target of an intense campaign by Washington, which has been trying to persuade allies not to allow China a role in building next-generation 5G mobile networks.US government agencies are already banned from buying equipment from Huawei.Huawei founder and CEO Ren Zhengfei said Saturday that "We have not done anything which violates the law," adding the US measures would have a limited impact.

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China blocks all language editions of Wikipedia

BEIJING: Beijing has broadened its block of online encyclopedia Wikipedia to include all language editions, reported an internet censorship research group, ahead of the country’s most politically explosive anniversary.According to a report by the Open Observatory of Network Interference (OONI), China started blocking all language editions of Wikipedia last month.Previously, most editions of Wikipedia -- besides the Chinese language version, which was reportedly blocked in 2015 -- were available, OONI said in their report.AFP could not open any of Wikipedia’s versions in China on Wednesday."At the end of the day, the content that really matters is Chinese-language content," said Charlie Smith, the pseudonym of one of the co-founders of Greatfire.org, which tracks online censorship in China."Blocking access to all language versions of Wikipedia for internet users in China is just symbolic," he told AFP. "It symbolises the fear that the Chinese authorities have of the truth."Wikimedia Foundation, the non-profit organisation that hosts Wikipedia, did not immediately respond to AFP’s request for comment.China’s online censorship apparatus -- dubbed the "Great Firewall" -- blocks a large number of foreign sites in the country, such as Google, Facebook and The New York Times.Topics that are deemed too "sensitive" are also scrubbed, such as the 1989 crackdown on Tiananmen pro-democracy protesters which will mark its 30th anniversary on June 4.The expanded block of Wikipedia comes as Chinese authorities ramp up online controls and crack down on Great Firewall circumvention tools, such as virtual private network (VPN) software, under Chinese President Xi Jinping.In November, China’s cyberspace authority said it had "cleaned up" 9,800 accounts on Chinese social media platforms like messaging app WeChat and the Twitter-like Weibo that it accused of spreading "politically harmful" information and rumours.Chinese Twitter users have also told AFP that they have experienced intimidation from local authorities -- and even detention -- for their tweets.The latest move to block all versions of Wikipedia could be linked to online translation tools, which make it easy for Chinese users to read anything on Wikipedia, explained Smith.Images can also be considered taboo, he said."A picture is worth a thousand words, and there is no dearth of Tiananmen-related imagery on the Wikipedia website," Smith added.

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Facebook to curb livestreaming amid pressure over Christchurch massacre

PARIS: Facebook announced Wednesday it would tighten access to its livestreaming feature as New Zealand’s premier Jacinda Ardern and French leader Emmanuel Macron prepared to launch the global "Christchurch Call" initiative to tackle the spread of extremism online.Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg has been under intense pressure since March when a self-described white supremacist used Facebook Live to stream his rampage at two mosques in the New Zealand city of Christchurch, which left 51 people dead.The California-based platform said it would ban Facebook Live users who shared extremist content and seek to reinforce its own internal controls to stop the spread of offensive videos."Following the horrific recent terrorist attacks in New Zealand, we’ve been reviewing what more we can do to limit our services from being used to cause harm or spread hate," Facebook vice-president of integrity Guy Rosen said in a statement.Along with their counterparts from Britain, Canada, Norway, Jordan and Senegal, who will also be in Paris, Ardern and Macron will later issue the Christchurch Call to fight the spread of hateful and terror-related content.The largely symbolic initiative is intended to keep up the pressure on social media companies who face growing calls from politicians across the world to restrict the spread of extremism and disinformation on their platforms.Many countries have already tightened legislation to introduce fines for companies that fail to block offensive content, but experts say a new wave of regulation -- championed by France in particular -- could be looming.The political meeting in Paris will run in parallel to an initiative launched by Macron called "Tech for Good" which will bring together 80 tech chiefs to discuss how to harness technologies for the common good.The heads of Wikipedia, Uber, Twitter and Google will attend, but not Zuckerberg who held private one-to-one talks with Macron last week.The social network giant will instead be represented by its vice president for global affairs and communications Nick Clegg, the former British deputy premier.The Christchurch Call meeting is to get underway around 1400 GMT and finish with a press conference by Ardern and Macron at 1600 GMT.- ‘Horrifying new trend’ -In an opinion piece in The New York Times over the weekend, Ardern said the Christchurch massacre underlined "a horrifying new trend" in extremist atrocities."It was designed to be broadcast on the internet. The entire event was livestreamed... the scale of this horrific video’s reach was staggering," she wrote.Ardern said Facebook removed 1.5 million copies of the video within 24 hours of the attack, but she still found herself among those who inadvertently saw the footage when it auto-played on their social media feeds."(We’re) asking both nations and private corporations to make changes to prevent the posting of terrorist content online, to ensure its efficient and fast removal and to prevent the use of livestreaming as a tool for broadcasting terrorist attacks," she wrote in The Times.In Wednesday’s statement, Facebook acknowledged the inadequacy of its own systems."One of the challenges we faced in the days after the attack was a proliferation of many different variants of the video of the attack," vice-president of integrity Rosen said."People -- not always intentionally -- shared edited versions of the video which made it hard for our systems to detect."New Zealand officials said Ardern found a natural partner for the fight against online extremism in Macron, who has repeatedly stated that the status quo is unacceptable."Macron was one of the first leaders to call the prime minister after the attack, and he has long made removing hateful online content a priority," New Zealand’s ambassador to France, Jane Coombs, told journalists on Monday."It’s a global problem that requires a global response," she said.A French presidential source said it was time for tech companies to "anticipate how their features will be exploited."Firms themselves will be urged to come up with concrete measures, the source said, for example by reserving live broadcasting to social media accounts whose owners have been identified.

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Amazon offers employees $10,000 to quit, launch delivery business

Amazon said Monday it was offering employees $10,000 to quit their jobs and become independent package delivery entrepreneurs for the online retail colossus.An Amazon statement said the latest incentive would also include three months of wages for employees who want to start their own delivery enterprise, and that they would be assured "consistent delivery volume" from the company.The move comes with Amazon seeking to reduce its dependence on services in the US Postal Service and Fedex. Amazon first launched the "delivery service partner" program in 2018, requiring employees to invest in their own start and estimating revenues for up to $300,000.Since last year, some 200 people have begun Amazon delivery startups, and the company said it expects "hundreds" more with the added incentives, available in the United States, Britain and Spain."We received overwhelming interest from tens of thousands of individuals who applied to be part of the delivery service partner program, including many employees," said Dave Clark, senior vice president of worldwide operations."We´ve heard from associates that they want to participate in the program but struggled with the transition. Now we have a path for those associates with an appetite for opportunities to own their own businesses."Amazon said it would offer access to the company´s delivery technology, training, and discounts on assets and services, including Amazon-branded vans and uniforms.

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Merkel's preferred successor says won't seek post before 2021

BERLIN: German Chancellor Angela Merkel´s preferred successor, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, said Sunday that she would not seek the top job before Merkel´s term ends in 2021.The woman usually dubbed "AKK" took over from Merkel as head of the centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) last December, while the chancellor said she wants to serve out her 2017-2021 term."The chancellor and the government were elected for an entire legislative term and the citizens rightly expect them to take seriously the commitment that came with the election," said Kramp-Karrenbauer."So I can rule out the possibility that I will work deliberately to seek a change earlier," she told the Welt am Sonntag newspaper.Rather, the CDU should work on a new policy platform and nominate its chancellor-candidate in the late autumn of 2020, she said.German media have been speculating for months over whether Germany´s veteran leader Merkel may leave earlier as head of her left-right coalition government.Under one scenario, her junior partners the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) could quit the "grand coalition" if they receive further election setbacks.Upcoming electoral tests are the European parliament elections this month and three state polls in Germany´s ex-communist east later in the year.In all those elections, the far-right and anti-immigration AfD could make further gains at the expense of the mainstream CDU and SPD parties.Kramp-Karrenbauer acknowledged that the coalition with the SPD "did not emerge smoothly and doesn´t always have an easy time cooperating".On her relationship with Merkel, she said that "on some days I speak more with her than with my husband".She stressed however that Merkel to her was neither a "personal friend" nor a "benefactor", and that instead they are "fellow travellers". "Our relationship is very good, just as it was before," Kramp-Karrenbauer told the newspaper.

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