Author: Gulf News Week

NASA said Friday it’s revamping its Artemis moon exploration program to make it more like the fast-paced Apollo program half a century ago, adding an extra practice flight before attempting a high-risk lunar landing with a crew in two years.The overhaul in the flight lineup came just two days after NASA’s new moon rocket returned to its hangar for more repairs, and a safety panel warned the space agency to scale back its overly ambitious goals for humanity’s first lunar landing since 1972.Artemis II, a lunar fly-around by four astronauts, is off until at least April because of rocket problems.The…

NEW YORK (news agencies) — European drug regulators on Friday endorsed a new and simpler treatment for sleeping sickness, in what could be a giant boost to efforts to eliminate the disease.A European Medicines Agency committee gave its nod to acoziborole, made by Sanofi. The decision is seen as a crucial step to making the medicine available in Congo, the country with the most sleeping sickness cases, and paving the way for its use in other African countries.The product’s proponents say three of the pills, taken together as a one-time dose, are an easier and far more accessible treatment than…

NEW YORK (news agencies) — A blood-red moon will soon grace the skies for a total lunar eclipse — and there won’t be another until late 2028.The spectacle will be visible Tuesday morning from North America, Central America and the western part of South America. Australia and eastern Asia can catch it Tuesday night. Partial stages of the eclipse with small bites taken out of the moon can be seen from Central Asia and much of South America. Africa and Europe will be shut out.Solar and lunar eclipses happen due to a precise alignment of the sun, moon and Earth.…

WASHINGTON (news agencies) — The head of the Food and Drug Administration plans to start offering bonus payments to agency drug reviewers who complete their work ahead of schedule, the latest in a flurry of changes to longstanding norms and procedures.FDA Commissioner Marty Makary described the effort as a pilot program during a staff presentation Thursday, saying the first quarterly bonus payments would start going out to employees around August. media obtained slides and a recording of the presentation.“My job as your commissioner is to be your advocate and to fight for you,” Makary told FDA staffers, adding that getting…

Fresh violence shatters relative calm as Israel and Hamas trade accusations over truce violations; more than 600 Palestinians reported dead since October agreement. GAZA CITY – At least five Palestinians were killed in Israeli airstrikes on Friday, Gaza’s civil defense ministry reported, marking the latest deadly incident to test the resilience of a US-brokered ceasefire now in its second phase. The civil defense agency, which operates as a rescue force under Hamas authorities, told AFP that an airstrike in central Gaza during the early hours of Friday killed two people and left one seriously injured. Hours earlier, a drone strike in…

The world’s No.1 Mini LED brand and Olympic partner unveils technology engineered for high-speed action, targeting UAE viewers who demand stadium-like clarity at home. CREEK TIMELASE – As the demand for larger, more immersive screens surges in the UAE, TCL is setting a new benchmark for how fans experience live sports at home. The world’s leading Mini LED brand and official Worldwide Olympic Partner is showcasing its QD-Mini LED technology as the ultimate solution for capturing high-speed action with uncompromising clarity. With consumers increasingly prioritizing precision and consistency in large-screen viewing, TCL is addressing the unique challenges that live sports present…

The Indian Prime Minister leverages visual platforms to connect directly with citizens, leaving global leaders—including the US President—far behind in the digital race. SHARJAH, UAE – Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has achieved a historic social media milestone, becoming the first world leader to surpass 100 million followers on Instagram, the platform announced on Thursday. Modi’s massive digital footprint places him firmly at the top of the global political leaderboard, with a commanding lead over his international counterparts. US President Donald Trump, who ranks second, trails with 43.2 million followers—less than half of Modi’s count. The ranking underscores a strategic shift…

Overnight air and ground assaults shatter fragile ceasefire, pushing neighboring nations to the brink of full-scale conflict. SHARJAH, UAE – Pakistan has declared an “open war” against the Taliban administration in Afghanistan following intense overnight strikes that targeted militant hideouts in major Afghan cities, dramatically escalating months of cross-border tensions. The operation—described by Pakistani security sources as involving both air and ground forces—struck what Islamabad claims are headquarters and ammunition depots belonging to the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) along the volatile frontier. The strikes mark the most serious deterioration in relations between the nuclear-armed neighbors in years, threatening to completely unravel the…

NEW YORK (news agencies) — Humans and Neanderthals cozied up from time to time when they lived in the same areas tens of thousands of years ago. But we don’t know much about who got with whom, or why.A new genetic analysis offers some ancient gossip: The pairings were more often female humans with male Neanderthals.How exactly this happened remains a huge question mark. Did human women venture into Neanderthal populations, or were the Neanderthal males drawn to larger human enclaves? Were these interactions peaceful, confusing, secretive or even violent?“I don’t know if we’ll ever get a definitive answer to…

WASHINGTON (news agencies) — The vast majority of organ donations once came from people who were brain-dead. Now they’re increasingly coming from people who died when their heart stopped beating, a major shift that can boost transplants but also raises public confusion, researchers reported Thursday. What’s called donation after circulatory death, or DCD, jumped dramatically in a short period: It accounted for 49% of all deceased donors in the U.S. last year, up from 2% in 2000.Technology has helped overcome barriers to using those organs — ways to keep them from deteriorating as the heartbeat winds down — spurring this…