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SINGAPORE He was the first to discover a planet outside the solar system, but his work was dismissed for a decade before being rightfully recognised with the 2019 Nobel Prize in Physics.

Delivering the opening lecture of the 11th Global Young Scientists Summit at the Singapore University of Technology and Design on Tuesday, Professor Didier Queloz shared about his scientific journey as an astronomer.

He specialises in exoplanets, looking for planets that orbit sun-like stars outside the solar system.

The Swiss Nobel laureate was the harbinger of the exoplanet revolution, which has catalysed the discovery of more than 5,000 exoplanets to date.

Yet, even he and his supervisor, Professor Michel Mayor, doubted their own discovery in 1995.

Nobody was expecting a planet back then, so it was a big surprise when I saw the data. I found the planet and said: Whats going on? I thought something was wrong with the equipment, but after checking, I realised there really was something orbiting that star, Prof Didier, 56, told The Straits Times in an interview.

First I had to convince Michel that I was right, then the scientific community, which was really tough. For the next 10 years, nobody believed it, so it was a rough time for me as a young scientist, said Prof Didier, who was a PhD student at the University of Geneva at that time.

Only when the physics was more understood and established did people start to realise, oh, that guy did it.

Prof Didiers discovery of a class of giant gas planets closely orbiting their parent star, known as hot Jupiters, upset existing theories about the formation of the solar system and other planetary systems. Hot Jupiters contradicted predictions that only rocky planets orbit near the parent star, while larger gas planets do so further away.

Before his findings, theories were based only on observations made in the solar system. Astronomers are now working on theories that account for the migration of gas giants from outer to inner orbits.

The first shock was that the theory was incomplete, nobody would have guessed that planets such as gas giants could move around in their system. The second shock was that we (the solar system) may not be the dominant structure in the universe.

Prof Didier, who is currently a professor of physics at the University of Cambridges Cavendish Laboratory, plans to continue leading the hunt for Earth-like exoplanets that might support life.

However, current detectors are not sensitive enough to do so.

Im a bit upset by the fact that we have not found an Earth-like planet, so Im helping to set up a new kind of equipment to detect these exoplanets. I would also like to establish a chemical pathway for paving the way for looking for life on other planets. I have teamed up with chemists, geochemists, biochemists and earth scientists to collaborate in this area.

When asked what he feels is the main takeaway from his success, Prof Didier credited his obsessive curiosity that enables him to persevere with his beliefs and ignore the naysayers. He aims to continue probing for the next astronomical breakthrough.

We believed we were the centre of the universe. We believed everything was orbiting around us. We believed the solar system was this then we realised the universe is expanding and so on. Id expect that our next breakthrough will be one where we find life plenty in the universe, where we realise how boring and insignificant we are.

The summit, organised by the National Research Foundation and being held from Jan 17 to Jan 20, features lectures and panel discussions with 21 eminent scientists, including Nobel laureates and winners of the Millennium Technology Prize, awarded by independent foundation Technology Academy Finland. More On This Topic Once in 50,000 years comet may be visible to the naked eye Nasas Moon capsule Orion due to splash down after record-setting voyage

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Ukraine war: Zelenskyy warns partners not to let Putin ‘deceive’ them on ceasefire

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Ukraine war: Zelenskyy warns partners not to let Putin 'deceive' them on ceasefire

Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called on Ukraine’s partners to make sure Russia doesn’t “deceive” them over a ceasefire.

After breakthrough talks between Ukrainian and US officials in Saudi Arabia, Kyiv said it was ready to accept a proposed 30-day ceasefire with Russia.

But his nightly address on Wednesday evening, a day after the Jeddah summit, President Zelenskyy said, “we must move toward peace” – but issued a warning to allies.

“The key factor is our partners’ ability to ensure Russia’s readiness not to deceive but to genuinely end the war,” the Ukrainian leader said. “Because right now, Russian strikes have not stopped.”

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From Tuesday: Ukraine backs ceasefire plan

‘Calling Moscow’s bluff’: Sky News correspondents’ views as Ukraine accepts ceasefire deal
Who is the real estate mogul tasked with brokering peace in Ukraine?

The focus has now switched to Vladimir Putin’s response to the proposed ceasefire. President Trump said the US had received “some positive messages” adding: “We have people going to Russia right now”.

However, he warned Moscow: “In a financial sense, yeah we could do things very bad for Russia, would be devastating for Russia.”

More on Russia

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Will Russia go for ceasefire deal?

European defence ministers, meeting in Paris, said now was the time for Moscow to show it was serious about ending the war.

UK Defence Secretary John Healey was among those attending, and had a direct message for Russia’s president: “I say to president Putin, over to you, you want to talk, prove it.”

Mr Healey called on Russia to accept the ceasefire and end the war, adding, “the pressure is now on Putin”.

For his part, President Putin has been playing to his domestic audience with a visit to Kursk, where Russian troops finally seem to be gaining the upper hand against Ukrainian forces who seized territory in the Russian region last year.

The Russian line is approaching Sumy from Kursk Oblast
Image:
The Russian line is approaching Sumy from Kursk Oblast

Dressed in camouflage, the Russian president called for his forces to defeat the enemy and completely liberate Kursk, in remarks reported by the Interfax news agency.

He also said enemy troops captured in the region will be treated as terrorists, as Russia’s chief of the general staff told Mr Putin that Ukrainian forces in the region are surrounded.

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Ukraine war: Zelenskyy warns partners not to let Putin ‘deceive’ them on ceasefire

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Ukraine war: Zelenskyy warns partners not to let Putin 'deceive' them on ceasefire

Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called on Ukraine’s partners to make sure Russia doesn’t “deceive” them over a ceasefire.

After breakthrough talks between Ukrainian and US officials in Saudi Arabia, Kyiv said it was ready to accept a proposed 30-day ceasefire with Russia.

But his nightly address on Wednesday evening, a day after the Jeddah summit, President Zelenskyy said, “we must move toward peace” – but issued a warning to allies.

“The key factor is our partners’ ability to ensure Russia’s readiness not to deceive but to genuinely end the war,” the Ukrainian leader said. “Because right now, Russian strikes have not stopped.”

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

From Tuesday: Ukraine backs ceasefire plan

‘Calling Moscow’s bluff’: Sky News correspondents’ views as Ukraine accepts ceasefire deal
Who is the real estate mogul tasked with brokering peace in Ukraine?

The focus has now switched to Vladimir Putin’s response to the proposed ceasefire. President Trump said the US had received “some positive messages” adding: “We have people going to Russia right now”.

However, he warned Moscow: “In a financial sense, yeah we could do things very bad for Russia, would be devastating for Russia.”

More on Russia

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Will Russia go for ceasefire deal?

European defence ministers, meeting in Paris, said now was the time for Moscow to show it was serious about ending the war.

UK Defence Secretary John Healey was among those attending, and had a direct message for Russia’s president: “I say to president Putin, over to you, you want to talk, prove it.”

Mr Healey called on Russia to accept the ceasefire and end the war, adding, “the pressure is now on Putin”.

For his part, President Putin has been playing to his domestic audience with a visit to Kursk, where Russian troops finally seem to be gaining the upper hand against Ukrainian forces who seized territory in the Russian region last year.

The Russian line is approaching Sumy from Kursk Oblast
Image:
The Russian line is approaching Sumy from Kursk Oblast

Dressed in camouflage, the Russian president called for his forces to defeat the enemy and completely liberate Kursk, in remarks reported by the Interfax news agency.

He also said enemy troops captured in the region will be treated as terrorists, as Russia’s chief of the general staff told Mr Putin that Ukrainian forces in the region are surrounded.

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Technology

Binance secures ‘largest investment ever’ in crypto as Abu Dhabi’s MGX pledges $2 billion

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Binance secures ‘largest investment ever’ in crypto as Abu Dhabi’s MGX pledges  billion

The Binance logo is displayed on a screen in San Anselmo, California, June 6, 2023.

Justin Sullivan | Getty Images

Emirati state-owned investment firm MGX announced a $2 billion investment into Binance, in what marks the cryptocurrency exchange’s first institutional investment and the “single largest investment” ever paird in crypto.

In a joint press release, the firms said the minority stake would be paid for in stablecoins, making it the “largest investment ever” paid in cryptocurrency. Stablecoins are a type of digital asset designed to hold a constant value, typically with a peg to a fiat currency. 

Abu Dhabi launched the MGX investment firm last year with a focus on AI technology. In September, MGX partnered with the likes of BlackRock and Microsoft to launch a more than $30 billion AI fund, but it had yet to invest in the cryptocurrency industry and blockchain sectors. 

“MGX’s investment in Binance reflects our commitment to advancing blockchain’s transformative potential for digital finance,” Ahmed Yahia, managing director and CEO at MGX, said in a statement.

The press release added that “by partnering with the leading industry player, MGX aims to enable innovation at the intersection of AI, blockchain technology and finance.”

Binance and MGX did not immediately comment on the size of the stake or what stablecoin would be used for the payment. Binance has not responded to an inquiry on whether the deal had been completed.

As part of the UAE’s broader ambitions to become a global technology leader, it has been growing into a regional crypto hub

Binance, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world, has grown its Middle East footprint as it faced regulatory hurdles and enforcement measures in other jurisdictions in recent years, 

According to the press release, Binance employs approximately 1,000 of its roughly 5,000 global workforce in the UAE. It adds that it now boasts over 260 million registered users and has surpassed $100 trillion in cumulative trading volume. 

Binance CEO Richard Teng is scheduled to take part in a panel session at CNBC’s CONVERGE LIVE in Singapore at 2:40 p.m. local time (2:40 a.m. ET) on Thursday.

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