Washington, United States—Microsoft's Bill Gates was the unsurprising leader of the first Forbes list of the richest global tech billionaires, while Amazon founder Jeff Bezos saw his personal fortune surge.

The Forbes survey released Wednesday found US-based tech magnates made up 51 of the 100 richest people in technology, with 33 from Asia and eight from Europe.

The net worth of the 100 people amounted to $842.9 billion, according to the magazine. The minimum net worth to make the top 100 was $2 billion.

Gates, who has long been at or near the top of the world's richest individuals, led the group with an estimated worth of $79.6 billion, trailed by Oracle founder Larry Ellison at $50 billion.

The surprising number three was Bezos, who saw a gain of some $13 billion in his fortune this year with the rise of Amazon shares, and is now worth $47.8 billion, Forbes said.

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg snared the number four position with a net worth of $41.2 billion, followed by Google founders Larry Page ($33.4 billion) and Sergey Brin ($32.8 billion).

Alibaba founder Jack Ma was number seven with a worth of $23.2 billion, the wealthiest of 10 Chinese billionaires on the list.

Former Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer came in eighth at $22.7 billion, while Laurene Powell Jobs, widow of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs was number nine at $21.4 billion, and computer company founder Michael Dell was tenth with a worth of $19.4 billion.

Jobs was the richest of the seven women on the list. The average age is 53, or a decade younger than the average of all billionaires, Forbes said.

The youngest is Snapchat founder Evan Spiegel, who at age 25 is worth an estimated $2.1 billion. The oldest is Intel cofounder Gordon Moore, 86, whose estimated worth is $6 billion. 

Forbes said 94 of the tech moguls created their own companies, while three inherited their wealth, and three others inherited fortunes but have expanded them.

New Delhi, India—More than 50 years after they were scrapped in the Indian capital, trams are set to make a comeback on New Delhi's congested streets, a redevelopment official said.

The Delhi government is planning to bring trams, first introduced by India's British colonial rulers, to the old city where pedestrians compete for space with rickshaws, handcarts, cars and cows.

Government official Nitin Panigrahi, who will work on the project, said the aim was to encourage people to abandon cars for the trolleys as they travel between historic sights in Old Delhi. 

"The work will begin next year and the project will be commissioned in 2018," Panigrahi, deputy general manager of the government's Shahjahanabad (Old Delhi) redevelopment corporation, told AFP.

Delhi government ministers announced the plan during a visit to the walled old city this week.

Old Delhi is packed with businesses, markets and tourist attractions and its roads struggle to cope with the resulting crush of traffic.

But Panigrahi said the proposed 4.3-kilometre (2.6-mile) long tramway will be fenced off, allowing trolleys to move freely between the World Heritage-listed Red Fort, Jama Masjid mosque and the main railway station.

Heritage conservation expert A.G.K. Menon said the plan was long overdue and would add value to the historically and culturally significant area.

"This will certainly return some sense to the streets and boost tourism prospects in the area," Menon told AFP.

Delhi's trams started running in 1908, with more tracks laid after colonial rulers shifted the capital from then Calcutta to Delhi. But they stopped in 1964 partly because of rising congestion. 

A string of other cities also ran trams but only Kolkata, formerly Calcutta, still operates them.

Harare, Zimbabwe —China, which is accused of fuelling the trade in elephant ivory and rhino horn,  pledged equipment worth $2 million to curb poaching in Zimbabwe.

The funding came after Zimbabwe's wildlife became the focus of global attention with the killing of Cecil the lion, a well-known animal among tourists, by an American trophy hunter.

"By providing equipment for wildlife protection, China is willing to cooperate with our Zimbabwe friends to ensure that all of Africa's wildlife can survive," Chinese ambassador Lin Lin said at a news conference in Harare.

The equipment will include all-terrain vehicles, tents, telescopes, mobile radio sets and GPS tracking devices, Lin said.

China attracted criticism last month after importing 24 elephant calves from Zimbabwe. 

Zimbabwean authorities have defended the sale as a measure to raise funds for conservation, saying the country has too many elephants.

Poaching is a major problem in Zimbabwe with the parks and wildlife authority operating on a scant budget and often appealing for donations.

Last year, poachers killed scores of elephants after poisoning the environs of their watering holes in Hwange national park.

Early in July, Cecil the lion was killed outside Hwange park by US trophy hunter Walter Palmer using a bow and arrow.

The hunt provoked worldwide outrage after it emerged that Cecil was a well-known attraction at the park and was wearing a tracking collar as part of an Oxford University research project.

Rhino horn is prized in China for its supposed medicinal properties, while elephant ivory is highly valued in artworks or jewellery.

San Francisco, United States —IBM said  it was boosting the capacity of its Watson supercomputer, acquiring the medical imaging group Merge Healthcare for $1 billon.

The new group will be integrated into IBM's Watson Health platform, which sifts through vast amounts of research and medical data to help health professionals improve treatment.

"The planned acquisition bolsters IBM's strategy to add rich image analytics with deep learning to the Watson Health platform -- in effect, advancing Watson beyond natural language and giving it the ability to 'see,'" IBM said in a statement.

"Medical images are by far the largest and fastest-growing data source in the healthcare industry and perhaps the world. IBM researchers estimate that they account for at least 90 percent of all medical data today -- but they also present challenges that need to be addressed."

IBM plans to analyze cross-reference medical images against a deep trove of lab results, electronic health records, genomic tests, clinical studies and other health data -- which the company estimates represent 315 billion data points and 90 million unique records.

With the new platform Watson will be able to view medical images of a person at different times to detect changes or abnormalities.

"As Watson evolves, we are tackling more complex and meaningful problems by constantly evaluating bigger and more challenging data sets," IBM vice president John Kelly said.

"Medical images are some of the most complicated data sets imaginable, and there is perhaps no more important area in which researchers can apply machine learning and cognitive computing."

Vienna, Austria—A wallet lost 70 years ago by an American soldier in Austria during World War II was returned to its rightful owner thanks to a doctor who discovered the item in his late grandfather's farmhouse.

Josef Ruckhofer told AFP he had been renovating the house near the city of Salzburg when he stumbled across the leather wallet under a wooden plank in June.

Military identity papers revealed that the purse had belonged to Eligio Ramos, an American soldier from Texas whose battalion had been stationed in Austria in 1945.

The wallet also contained "family photos of a woman and child and old stamps, but no money", Ruckhofer said.

"Given that we've been commemorating the 70th anniversary of WWII this year, I thought it would be a nice idea to find the owner and maybe return his wallet, if he was still alive," he added.

After an online check of Texas phone directories failed to turn up results, Ruckhofer expanded his search to the whole of the United States. 

He eventually found a man in California whose name and birthday date matched those of the soldier.

"I sent a letter with a copy of the identity papers and a few of the photographs to that address, asking him to get in touch if he was the owner," the Austrian explained.

"After a week or so, I received an email from his son confirming that I'd found the right Eligio Ramos. He said he would be very happy if I could send him the wallet."

Ruckhofer learnt that Ramos had lost his wallet when he and his battalion spent a night at the Austrian farmhouse.

The doctor said he had not been able yet to speak to the American because he was in hospital.

"As it turns out, he is the only survivor of his battalion," Ruckhofer said. "Maybe we'll still find a way of talking directly to each other.

Washington, United States —It would be a shock, a terrible shock, to Elinor Dashwood and the other characters in "Sense and Sensibility," to see this happening.

Unbeknownst to her or author Jane Austen, it seems that hackers from the 21st century are appropriating text from the 19th century classic novel to spread malicious software.

Researchers from Cisco Security said in a report released  that literary passages are becoming a new way to hide malicious code that allow hackers unlawful entry into computers and networks.

"Adding passages of classic text to an exploit kit landing page is a more effective obfuscation technique than the traditional approach of using random text," said researchers in their mid-year security report.

"The use of text from more contemporary works such as magazines and blogs is another effective strategy. Antivirus and other security solutions are more likely to categorize the webpage as legitimate after 'reading' such text."

Cisco researchers said encountering references to Austen characters on a webpage "may be perplexing but not a cause for immediate concern."

Jason Brvenik, a Cisco engineer, said it remains a mystery about who is behind the literary hacking or why that novel was chosen over others.

"It is a seemingly random selection but it always from that book," he told AFP.

Still, the technique opens the door for dastardly exploits from computer hackers, according to Cisco.

Hackers can deliver a variety of malicious "payloads" through these tools, according to Cisco, including "ransomware," a growing technique that locks a user's files unless a ransom is paid.

The researchers said this is just one example about how hackers are innovating to find ways around computer protection.

"Hackers, being unencumbered, have the upper hand in agility, innovation and brazenness," Brvenik said.

"We see this time and again, whether it is nation-state actors, malware, exploit kits or ransomware."

New York, United States —Some 5,000 foodies and fashionistas gathered late Tuesday on the banks of the Hudson River in New York for the fifth edition of the "Diner en blanc" (Dinner in White).

Organizers of the pop-up picnic where attendees dress to the nines entirely in white chose the huge Pier 26 structure this time in the hip Tribeca neighborhood.

In accordance with tradition, organizers kept the location secret until the last minute.

Participants, all signed up ahead of time, brought their own food, along with tables, chairs, dishes, a white tablecloth, roses and hydrangeas -- all white, of course.

The uber-trendy picnic had a waiting list of 35,000 people who never made it to the event.

Under an open sky in blistering heat of 91 degrees Fahrenheit (33 Celsius), the crowd by kicked off the evening twirling their white napkins.

In retro style, men and women dressed with extravagant hats, mantillas, feathers and lace dresses.

All is in accordance with the organizers' dictum.

Guests "must wear white and be dressed elegantly. Originality is encouraged as long as it stays stylish and denotes taste," the New York event's website says.

Guests delighted in their picnic contributions -- sushi, garden salads, salmon, deli meats, cheese and red fruit accompanied by champagne or wine provided by the organizers.

For those who are not avid cooks, American chef Todd English provided several options, including garlic and rosemary lamb, chicken Milanese with arugula and poached salmon with wild mushrooms and zucchini slivers.

After the dinner, hundreds of dancers took over a centrally placed stage.

"It's wonderful," said co-founder Aymeric Pasquier.

"It's always very difficult to organize such an event in New York, but this is what allowed us to launch the Diner en blanc internationally."

By midnight, all guests were due to leave the premises, taking their trash with them.

The yearly tradition dates back to an event 27 years ago in Paris at which organizers invited guests to all wear white so they could be easily spotted in a park.

This year, about 70 cities in more than 35 countries have or will see a Diner en blanc, from Paris to Johnannesburg and from Montreal to Tokyo.

About a hundred cities are on the waiting list, according to organizers.

Last year, the New York event took place at Nelson Rockefeller Park in southern Manhattan with a beautiful view on the Hudson.

In 2013, white chairs and tables were set at Bryant Park, a year after the event took place at the Lincoln Center. For its first edition in 2011, 1,200 people met in Battery Park.

Tokyo, Japan —Japanese whisky will be sent into space next month to test how time in a zero-gravity environment affects its flavour, one of the country's biggest drinks makers said

Samples of whisky produced by Suntory will be stored in the Japanese laboratory facility of the International Space Station for at least a year, with some flasks staying longer.

Researchers for the company believe that storing the beverage in an environment with only slight temperature changes and limited liquid movement could lead to a mellower flavour.

Suntory will send whisky aged for 10, 18 and 21 years as well as a number of other alcoholic substances.

Once they are returned to Earth, blenders will assess their flavours while researchers subject the liquids to scientific analysis, the company said.

"For the moment, we're not thinking about applying the study results to commercial products," a Suntory spokeswoman told AFP.

Whisky demand rocketed in Japan last year after national broadcaster NHK aired a period drama called "Massan," the true story of a Japanese entrepreneur and his Scottish wife who are credited with establishing Japan's first whisky distillery.

Sales also soared when Suntory's Yamazaki Single Malt Sherry Cask 2013 was named the best in the world by the prestigious Jim Murray's Whisky Bible 2015.

Washington, United States—How does a Republican candidate stand out from the other 16? Three days from their first debate, Ted Cruz decided to cook bacon on the barrel of an assault rifle.

Faced with a crowded Republican field and an omnipresent, flame-throwing Donald Trump hogging television cameras' attention, Republicans are running out of ways to draw attention to their candidacies.

In a minute-long video released Monday, the 44-year-old senator from Texas, decided not to address political issues. 

"There are few things I enjoy more than, on weekends, cooking breakfast with the family. Of course in Texas, we cook bacon a little differently than most folks," he said over music that could have been from the opening of an action film.

The video then shows the conservative candidate wrapping a slice of bacon around the barrel of an assault rifle and covering it in aluminium foil before emptying two magazines in a barrage of shots fired at an indoor target.

"There's grease coming down," Cruz declares, satisfied that the gun has gotten hot enough to cook the bacon.

Cruz is not the only Republican to release an odd video ahead of the first televised debate, to be held Thursday.

Senator Rand Paul, to cite just one example, recently tried to grab some attention with a video showing him taking a chainsaw to the 70,000-page US tax code.

At the end of Cruz's video he pries a piece of the bacon from the gun barrel with a plastic fork and eats it. "Machine gun bacon," he says, laughing.

Beijing, China—Chinese authorities have seized thousands of bottles of spirits laced with chemicals used to make erectile dysfunction drugs such as Viagra, officials said.

Two manufacturers in Liuzhou were found to be adding elements including sildenafil and tadalafil, the chemicals more commonly known by their brand names Viagra and Cialis, to their baijiu products, the local food and drug administration said in a statement.

Baijiu, or white alcohol, is a traditional Chinese spirit distilled from sorghum or wheat, with a distinctive flavour and high alcohol content.

The makers called their products "Kungfu Alcohol" and "Life-nourishing Liquor", among other labels, authorities in the southern region of Guangxi said at the weekend, adding they had seized more than 5,300 bottles and nearly 1,200 kilograms of additive chemicals.

China has a long history of brewing supposedly aphrodisiac medical drinks, traditionally produced with animal penises.

Sildenafil and other such chemicals are banned in food and drink under Chinese law, but reports of illegal additions have previously made headlines.

A brewery owner in the central province of Hubei was detained in August last year for adding sildenafil to his products, reports said.