Tech & Science Daily: Surveillance flights sent after Tonga volcano erupts

Plus, the Wordle clones being taken down by Apple
This satellite image taken by Himawari-8, a Japanese weather satellite, shows an undersea volcano eruption at the Pacific nation of Tonga (AP/Press Association Images)
AP
Rachelle Abbott17 January 2022

New Zealand and Australia are sending surveillance flights to Tonga to assess the damage after a huge volcanic eruption triggered a tsunami.

New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has spoken to Television New Zealand (TVNZ).

The eruption has covered the Pacific islands in ash, cut power and severed communications.

A problem with a new rocket designed to take astronauts to the Moon has been fixed by Nasa.

The giant Space Launch System has been getting prepared for its maiden flight in March but last month a glitch was identified with an onboard engine controller. It has now been replaced and all four engine controllers performed well in recent tests.

Apple has begun removing app-version clones of the ‘Wordle’ originally created by New York-based software engineer Josh Wardle.

It’s understood some of the apps taken down were charging subscription fees, while the web-based one you’ve seen posted all over social media is free.

Plus, the plea to register over 100 million appliances and the new study that says we’re currently going through the sixth mass extinction. How deep fakes are harder to spot than you think and why you shouldn’t pay too much attention to ‘Blue Monday’.

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