America has sent five rovers to Mars—when will humans follow?

With its impeccable landing on Thursday, NASA's Perseverance became the fifth rover to reach Mars—so when can we finally expect the long-held goal of a crewed expedition to materialize?

source https://phys.org/news/2021-02-america-rovers-marswhen-humans.html

Floods cripple Indonesia's capital

Whole neighbourhoods of Indonesia's capital Jakarta and dozens of major roads were flooded on Saturday after torrential rains pounded the Southeast Asian city overnight.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-02-cripple-indonesia-capital.html

Airlines plan to ask passengers for contact-tracing details

The U.S. airline industry is pledging to expand the practice of asking passengers on flights to the United States for information that public health officials could use for contact tracing during the pandemic.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2021-02-airlines-passengers-contact-tracing.html

Southern cities hit hard by storms face new crisis: No water

Southern cities slammed by winter storms that left millions without power for days have traded one crisis for another: Busted water pipes ruptured by record-low temperatures created shortages of clean drinking water, shut down the Memphis airport on Friday and left hospitals struggling to maintain sanitary conditions.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-02-southern-cities-hard-storms-crisis.html

Google fires another lead AI ethics researcher

Google said Friday it fired a lead artificial intelligence ethics researcher, following controversy last year over the tech giant's dismissal of a Black colleague who was an outspoken diversity advocate.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2021-02-google-ai-protested-peer-departure.html