Greenbelt (United States) (AFP) – The James Webb Space Telescope — soon to become the most powerful ever to be launched into space — after technical and weather delays is set to take off on Christmas Day from the base in France’s South American department.
Shanghai (AFP) – Shanghai residents head to Christmas markets to soak in the festive atmosphere amid the light displays and performances.
Hong Kong (AFP) – Hong Kong’s oldest university launched an overnight operation Thursday to dismantle and remove a statue commemorating those killed in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square in the latest blow to academic freedoms as China cracks down.
Stockholm (AFP) – A Swedish company has come up with a microchip that can be inserted under the skin so that users can carry their Covid passports in their arm.
London (AFP) – UK Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, announces measures to support businesses as the Omicron Covid-19 variant sweeps through the country.
La Palma Island (Spain) (AFP) – The eruption of the Cumbre Vieja volcano on the Spanish island of La Palma is the first since 1971, and the longest on record on the island. While the eruption has been the source of destruction and displacement, for scientists it is also a unique opportunity to learn. Around 70 experts have been monitoring the volcano and examining the rare and valuable data spilling out from it.
Mataró (Spain) (AFP) – Neil Harbison is a self-described cyborg artist whose technological implants allow him to perceive things beyond the capability of a regular human. Despite seeing the world in greyscale, he can ‘hear’ colour thanks to an antenna which vibrates according to colours it detects. Now, he is testing out a new device designed to allow him to physically feel the passing of time.
Santiago (AFP) – The streets of Santiago erupted in celebration Sunday after leftist millennial Gabriel Boric became Chile’s youngest-ever president-elect with an unexpectedly large victory over his far-right rival in a polarizing race.
Cebu (Philippines) (AFP) – Typhoon Rai, the strongest typhoon to hit the Philippines this year, ravaged the southern and central regions of the archipelago, knocking out communications and electricity in many areas, ripping off roofs and toppling concrete power poles.
Rome (AFP) – Once the stomping ground of Italy’s greatest directors and actors, from Federico Fellini to Sophia Loren, Rome’s renowned Cinecitta film studios are planning a much-needed makeover for a new era. Dubbed the ‘Hollywood on the Tiber’, Cinecitta was at the heart of the golden age of Italian cinema and now hopes to regain some of its former lustre thanks to European Union post-pandemic funding.
