FRANKFURT: A German chemistry professor started on Monday a gruelling four-week solo swim down the Rhine river for the benefit of science and the environment.
Self-confessed “mad professor” Andreas Fath, who set off on his 1,231-kilometer (764-mile) adventure with a splash into Switzerland’s Lake Toma, plans to swim through Germany and France to reach the river’s mouth at the Dutch port of Rotterdam on August 24.
Sponsorship money raised by Fath’s 25-day journey will pay for a high-tech water analysis instrument worth over 100,000 euros ($130,000) for his University of Furtwangen with which he aims to test samples from the Rhine for pollutants.
Days before setting off, and after training for more than a year, Fath, 49, told AFP that he wanted “to show everything that’s in the Rhine” and find out where contaminants originate so they can be stopped.
Water samples will be tested for industrial chemicals, hormones, pharmaceuticals, pathogens and microscopic plastic parts, according to his website www.rheines-wasser.eu.
Fath, a married father of three from the southwestern state of Baden-Wurttemberg, said he started swimming at age eight and has taken a dip almost every day since.
“That’s where I relax, that’s where I’m weightless and in my own world,” he said. “That’s where I’m able to switch off in a wonderful way.”
In 2008 he swam 27 kilometers across Lake Zurich, taking six hours and 17 minutes, a record time in his age group, he said.
Despite his years of experience, he said he respects the Rhine for the tough challenges it will throw at him, including the “headache” of rocky stretches in the upper reaches and the “sporting challenge” of swimming 40 kilometers across Lake Constance.
German scientist starts 4-week swim down Rhine river
German scientist starts 4-week swim down Rhine river
Apple to update EU browser options, make more apps deletable
- iPhone maker came under pressure from regulators to make changes after the EU’s sweeping Digital Markets Act took effect on March 7
- Apple users will be able to select a default browser directly from the choice screen after going through a mandatory list of options
STOCKHOLM: Apple will change how users choose browser options in the European Union, add a dedicated section for changing default apps, and make more apps deletable, the company said on Thursday.
The iPhone maker came under pressure from regulators to make changes after the EU’s sweeping Digital Markets Act took effect on March 7, forcing big tech companies to offer mobile users the ability to select from a list of available web browsers on a “choice screen.”
The new rules require mobile software makers to show the choice screen where users can select a browser, search engine and virtual assistant as they set up their phones, which earlier came with preferred options from Apple and Google.
In an update later this year, Apple users will be able to select a default browser directly from the choice screen after going through a mandatory list of options.
A randomly ordered list of 12 browsers per EU country will be shown to the user with short descriptions, and the chosen one will be automatically downloaded, Apple said. The choice screen will also be available on iPads through an update later this year.
Apple released a previous update in response to the new rules in March, but browser companies criticized the design of its choice screen, and the Commission opened an investigation on March 25 saying it suspected that the measures fell short of effective compliance.
The company said it has been in dialogue with the European Commission and believes the new changes will address regulators’ concerns.
It also plans to introduce a dedicated area for default apps where a user will be able to set defaults for messaging, phone calls, spam filters, password managers and keyboards.
Users will also be able to delete certain Apple-made apps such as App Store, Messages, Camera, Photos and Safari. Only Settings and Phone apps would not be deletable.
