STRASBOURG, May 31 — A museum in eastern France on Sunday reported to police the theft of a banana that forms a core part of a multimillion-dollar artwork by Italian visual artist Maurizio Cattelan.

The missing fruit—which was taped to a wall to form the provocative work by Cattelan called Comedian—was noticed by a guard on Saturday to have gone missing.

The Pompidou-Metz museum, which is a branch of the famous Pompidou Centre in Paris, said in a statement it had lodged a criminal complaint for theft against persons unknown.

It also said it had replaced the banana.

It is not the first time damage has been dealt to the conceptual artwork, whose perishable banana centrepiece is replaced every three days to keep it contemporary.

In July last year, a visitor to the museum ate the fruit. But guards quickly intervened and stuck up a replacement banana.

Cattelan said at the time he was disappointed the hungry visitor had consumed only the banana and not the tape as well. The museum did not take legal action in that instance.

This time, though, it decided to make its criminal complaint because the perpetrator was unidentified, and therefore “there is no possibility of dialogue”.

It also said that “this is the second time this has happened” and it felt it was an issue of respect for the artwork.

Cattelan’s edible creation, which aims to question the notion of art and its value, has sparked controversy ever since it made its debut at the 2019 Art Basel show in Miami Beach with an asking price of US$120,000 (RM475,890).

A performance artist, David Datuna, ate Comedian at that 2019 show, saying he felt “hungry”.

But the work’s value has only risen.

Chinese-born crypto founder Justin Sun in 2024 forked out US$5.2 million for one iteration of the work, then days later ate it in front of cameras in Hong Kong.

As well as Comedian, Cattelan is also known for producing an 18-carat, fully functioning gold toilet called America that was offered to Donald Trump during his first term in the White House.

A British court in March found two men guilty of stealing it during an exhibition in 2020 in the United Kingdom, from an 18th-century stately home that was the birthplace of wartime prime minister Winston Churchill.

It was split up into parts and none of the gold was ever recovered. — AFP

Full-time job vacancies suitable for Hong Kong university graduates have plummeted by 60 per cent, as artificial intelligence (AI) sweeps through the city’s labour market, a minister has said.

Secretary for Labour and Welfare Chris Sun said on Wednesday that entry-level jobs vulnerable to automation have been hit hardest, with vacancies in administration dropping nearly 90 per cent over the three-year period and roles in information technology and programming falling by 80 per cent.

The number of full-time job vacancies suitable for university graduates shrank from 80,000 in 2022 to just 31,000 in 2025, the minister said.

The figures were derived from the Joint Institutions Job Information System, an online job search platform for students from Hong Kong’s eight publicly funded universities seeking employment, Sun said in his reply to enquiries by lawmaker Priscilla Leung.

“We all know the impact of AI is sweeping and global. We are all exploring how to help young people find jobs in a world changed by AI,” Sun told the Legislative Council in Cantonese.

Citing a survey by global consulting firm International Data Corporation, Sun said over 60 per cent of companies surveyed around the world had indicated they would cut entry-level positions in the next three years due to AI.

He vowed that the Labour and Welfare Bureau would analyse the impact of AI on Hong Kong’s overall labour market and specific industries.

Findings are expected to be released in the fourth quarter of this year as part of the mid-term update of the government’s Manpower Projections, he added.

He also said that, between 2025 and 2028, the eight University Grants Committee-funded universities will introduce 30 new academic programmes covering emerging sectors, such as AI, cybersecurity, and the creative industries.

Sun noted that, despite the drops in job vacancies, the unemployment rate among university graduates has not increased significantly.

The number of employed people aged 15 to 29 with a degree or above was about 268,000 in 2025, compared with 270,000 in the previous year, Sun said, citing government data.

Since OpenAI launched ChatGPT in November 2022, the use of generative AI chatbots and tools has become increasingly common across industries around the world.

Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee has pushed for expanding the applications of AI across government departments and social sectors. In his Policy Address last year, he said the authorities would promote “extensive and deep integration of AI” across industries.

During his annual budget speech in February, finance chief Paul Chan announced that he would chair a new “AI+ and Industry Development Strategy” committee.

The government will also provide “AI training for all,” embedding AI education at different levels of education and vocational training, Chan said at the time.

Eudaemonius posted a photo:

Eudaemonius posted a photo:

A Hong Kong couple arrested on suspicion of child neglect have said they were granted a birth certificate for their infant but will only be allowed to take him home once they are deemed “safe parents.”

Tsang Wai-bong and Kwan Pui-sin, the parents of a two-month-old infant, Danny, collected the birth certificate from the Immigration Department headquarters in Tseung Kwan O on Sunday, after initially refusing to undergo DNA tests to confirm their parentage.

The couple also told reporters outside the headquarters that they would be allowed to visit Danny for one hour this week and could take him home if they passed a parental assessment with government social workers.

“The social workers will assess our situation, including our ability to act as parents. If the social workers are satisfied with our performance and think that we are safe parents, we believe we can bring Danny home in no time,” said Tsang, Danny’s father.

As part of the assessment, social workers will inspect whether their living accommodation, at a hostel in Lai Chi Kok, is suitable for raising Danny, he said. If it is deemed unsuitable, the government will do its best to find an environment suited to caring for an infant.

Danny is now under a child protection order allowing the Social Welfare Department (SWD) to care for him instead of his parents.

Prior to the arrests, Danny had not had any medical check-ups since birth, which security chief Chris Tang said constituted child neglect when he announced the arrests on Tuesday. They agreed to undergo DNA tests and were confirmed to be Danny’s parents on Thursday.

The couple had said earlier that they practised “free births” and that their baby boy was born in Hong Kong around two months ago. His birth was not registered, although Hong Kong law stipulates that parents must register the birth of a newborn within 42 days of delivery.

Free birth, also called unassisted birth, involves a conscious decision to undergo pregnancy and give birth without professional maternity care or medical intervention. The trend has put the lives of mothers and babies at grave risk.

Their admission of practising “free births” gained widespread attention and sparked concern over Danny’s well-being.

Separately on Sunday, labour chief Chris Sun told journalists that Danny was in good condition in a care home and that social workers would continue to communicate with the two parents.

Tsang also said that he and his wife had signed documents authorising the government to send their DNA to Sweden, where their daughter Lily is now living with an adoptive family after Swedish authorities removed her from the couple’s care over health concerns in December 2023.

A Hong Kong couple have been arrested for child neglect after refusing to allow their baby boy, who was born without any medical record, to undergo a DNA test for birth registration.

Security minister Chris Tang told journalists on Tuesday afternoon that the couple, who said they were the parents of an infant named Danny, had been arrested in Cheung Sha Wan while the infant was sent to hospital for a health check.

Tang said the couple could not provide any medical records of the pregnancy or even a photo of the pregnancy to prove their parental relationship with the infant.

The baby had not had any medical check-ups since birth, which clearly constitutes child neglect, the security chief added.

The couple – identified by local media as Mr Tsang and Ms Kwan – caught widespread attention after they said online that the Swedish government had taken custody of their daughter, Lily, in 2023.

Saying they have not met their daughter since, the couple posted on their “Save Lily” Threads and Facebook accounts, appealing for the girl’s return to Hong Kong.

The couple said they practised “free births” and their baby boy was born in Hong Kong around two months ago.

Free birth, also called unassisted birth, involves a conscious decision to undergo pregnancy and give birth without professional maternity care or medical intervention. The trend has put the lives of mothers and babies at grave risk.

According to local media, the couple’s eldest daughter was born at home in Finland but died in infancy, and the Swedish government removed the second child, Lily, from their care due to health conditions.

In a written response to HK01, Linköping municipality in Sweden said that while it could not comment on a specific case, authorities would only apply to the court for a care order if the situation of a child was so severe that further protection was required and voluntary services were no longer sufficient to prevent harm to the child’s health or physical and mental development.

The infant Danny is yet to be registered in Hong Kong, although parents must register the birth of a newborn within 42 days of delivery. According to the Births and Deaths Registration Ordinance, it is a criminal offence for anyone to deliberately fail to register the birth of a child.

Speaking on Commercial Radio on Tuesday morning, Mr Tsang said he tried to register Danny’s birth within 42 days of delivery, but he did not want to submit DNA samples to authorities to verify the relationship between the couple and Danny.

Welfare minister Chris Sun told the press on Tuesday morning that authorities were aware of the case, but social workers could not find the couple after multiple attempts to visit them.

“We had been trying to contact the parents and family through various means since last Thursday. This included social workers making daily home visits – even waiting until nearly midnight on one occasion. We also tried to locate them at different times during the morning and afternoon, and left various contact details,” Sun said in Cantonese. “However, we were unable to reach them last week.”

Sun said social workers “established contact” with the couple only on Monday and tried to arrange a meeting with them.

For a few select evenings in the late spring and early summer, sunlight aligns with Manhattan’s grid. The city’s bustling streets are washed with golden light as the sun sets, while tourists and locals alike flood the streets to snap that perfect picture. This event is nicknamed Manhattanhenge and it will begin on May 28 and continue through July 12. 

However, you don’t need to live in the Big Apple to see a “henge” like Manhattanhenge. They actually pop up in a few places and a website called Hengefinder can help you find the closest henge.

Meet Hedgefinder

Data scientist and engineer Victoria Ritvo created the website, while software engineer John Pribyl built the accompanying app. Ritvo wrote about creating Hedgefinder in her blog, and details the three basic steps that scientists can use to find a henge. First, find the angle of the road, or its bearing relative to true north. Second, find the angle of the sun at sunset, or its azimuth. Third, find the dates when those two angles match. 

While you don’t have to do any of that high-level math, you can read about how Rivoto and Pribyl made their calculations. You simply put in an address or city and can get a calculation for the closet henge near you. 

“Having Hengefinder active means henges are now explorable outside of Manhattan, and I’ve been searching for them using the app,” Ritvo writes. “My favorite one so far, I haven’t actually seen. I’m intrigued by the Haarlemmertrekvaart, a canal which traces the southern edge of Westerpark in Amsterdam.”

Interestingly, much of Europe is left out of henge mania due to medieval street design. Amsterdam’s famed canals do offer an option, where sunlight can reflect off of the water. Henges may have been occurring twice a year for the past 400 years on the Haarlemmertrekvaart.

How henges work

The sun does not set in the same place every day. Its position changes along the horizon with the seasons. While the angle does not usually match the directions of a street, it will on a few days each year if the street is angled correctly.  

In 1997, the term Manhattanhenge was first coined by Neil deGrasse Tyson, an astrophysicist and director of the Hayden Planetarium at New York’s American Museum of Natural History. Tyson noted that the setting sun framed by Manhattan’s building was comparable to how the sun’s rays strike the center of England’s Stonehenge on the solstice. The Neolithic humans who built the stone circle in stages between 3100 BCE and 1600 BCE intended for the light to shine that way on the solstice. But the builders of Manhattan? Not so much.

Chicagohenge in Illinois and Baltimorehenge in Maryland both occur when the sunset  lines up with the grid systems in those cities around the spring and fall equinoxes in March and September. In Canada, Torontohenge occurs in February and October.

The post Manhattanhenge isn’t just for New Yorkers. Find a ‘henge’ near you. appeared first on Popular Science.

SINGAPORE, June 3 — A 55‑year‑old woman who repeatedly assaulted her domestic worker — including pulling off the helper’s headscarf in a lift — was sentenced today to four months’ jail and ordered to pay S$5,000 (RM15,567) in compensation.

CNA reported that Hasnah Hashim pleaded guilty to two charges of voluntarily causing hurt, while three other similar offences were taken into consideration for sentencing. The incidents took place in August 2024, when the victim, a 32‑year‑old Indonesian national, was employed in her household.

On Aug 23, 2024, the pair were returning from the market when the maid entered the lift first and pressed the button to close the doors. Hasnah managed to step in but became angry, grabbing the helper’s headscarf with both hands and yanking it down.  

According to the prosecution, the act caused pain when the victim’s hair was pulled and left her humiliated, as she wears the headscarf for religious reasons. The incident was captured on video and submitted to the court.

 Earlier Assaults Included Slaps, Pinching and Ear‑Pulling

The victim later reported the matter to police. A medical check revealed a bruise on her upper lip from an earlier assault three days before, when Hasnah slapped her for mistakenly placing tofu in the freezer.  

Other incidents that month — including hitting the helper with a mobile phone, pinching her thigh and twisting her ears — formed the remaining charges considered during sentencing.

The prosecution noted that the maid has been unable to secure new employment since the case began, as potential employers were concerned she might be required to testify. Her last drawn salary was S$882.

Prosecutors sought between four and six months’ jail and S$7,500 in compensation, while the defence asked for a three‑month term and S$1,000 compensation, citing Hasnah’s remorse and previous positive references from former helpers.

Senior District Judge Ong Hian Sun ultimately ordered S$1,000 for pain and suffering and S$4,000 for lost wages.

Under the law, offences committed against a domestic worker by her employer carry up to twice the maximum penalty for voluntarily causing hurt.

Police investigations into the case have concluded.

There’s a SMILE beaming down from high above Earth. On May 19, the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) launched a Vega-C rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana with a payload representing years of international collaboration. Known as the Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer (SMILE), the spacecraft will soon begin studying the sun’s immensely powerful solar winds and their relationship with Earth’s atmospheric safeguards.

You wouldn’t be reading this without our magnetosphere. The protective shield generated from deep inside Earth has protected the planet from the sun’s most destructive solar winds for billions of years. Without this barrier, life could never survive on what would be a barren, irradiated rock. But while it’s clear that the magnetosphere is Earth’s natural defense system against cosmic radiation and geomagnetic storms, astronomers still aren’t sure exactly how it works. 

“We are about to witness something we’ve never seen before—Earth’s invisible armor in action,” ESA director general Josef Aschbacher said in a statement.

Over the next month, SMILE will slowly increase its altitude with 11 engine burns before settling into a large elliptical orbit over the North and South Pole. Actual data collection will start in July using the spacecraft’s four tools, including a pair of X-ray and ultraviolet cameras. 

SMILE is the first mission to examine the magnetosphere with X-rays, and the UV equipment will capture the northern and southern lights for up to 45 hours at a time. By combining the two data sources, astronomers hope to gain a better understanding of how the planet is affected by the sun’s constant bombardment of solar winds and frequent coronal mass ejections. The project is planned to last three years.

“The evidence that Smile collects will help us better understand planet Earth and our Solar System as a whole,” explained ESA Smile project scientist Philippe Escoubet. “And the science it uncovers will improve our models of Earth’s magnetic environment, which could ultimately help keep our astronauts and space technologies safe for decades to come.”

The post SMILE spacecraft will use X-ray vision to study the northern lights and more appeared first on Popular Science.

Astrophotographer Andrew McCarthy had to wait for six days and 1.7 million photos before nailing his latest masterpiece: a Boeing 737 transiting the Sun.

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