Life

NASA space lasers to reveal new depths of planet’s ice loss

by Kerry SHERIDAN Agence France Presse TAMPA, United States (AFP) — NASA is poised to launch Saturday its most advanced space laser ever, ICESat-2, a $1 billion dollar mission to reveal the depths of the Earth’s melting ice as the climate warms. The half-ton satellite, about the size of a smart-car, is scheduled to blast off atop a Delta II rocket on September 15 from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The 40-minute launch window […]

SpaceX announces new plan to send tourist around Moon

  LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — SpaceX on Thursday announced a new plan to launch a tourist around the Moon using its Big Falcon Rocket (BFR), a massive launch vehicle that is being designed to carry people to deep space. “SpaceX has signed the world’s first private passenger to fly around the Moon aboard our BFR launch vehicle — an important step toward enabling access for everyday people who dream of traveling to space,” […]

Amazon’s Jeff Bezos unveils $2 billion philanthropic fund

  by Rob Lever Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, the richest person on the planet, said Thursday he was creating a philanthropic fund to help homeless families and launch preschools in low-income communities, committing an initial $2 billion to the cause. Bezos made the announcement on Twitter a year after asking for ideas on how he could use his personal fortune — now estimated at more than $160 […]

Apple to broaden iPhone lineup with more screen

by Glenn CHAPMAN Agence France Presse SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Apple on Wednesday was expected to unveil new iPhones, playing up eye-grabbing edge-to-edge screens in a bid to strengthen its position in a largely saturated global smartphone market. Apple has remained mum about revelations planned for the event at its spaceship campus in Silicon Valley, but the timing fits its pattern of annually introducing iPhone updates. In a first for Apple, the event […]

Climate extremes ‘key driver’ behind rising global hunger: UN

  by Serene Assir / Isabel Malsang Agence France Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — Extreme weather events were a leading cause of global hunger rising last year, with women, babies, and old people particularly vulnerable to the worsening trend, a UN report said Tuesday. Increasingly frequent shocks such as extreme rainfall or temperatures, as well as droughts, storms, and floods, helped push the number of undernourished people to 821 million in 2017, it said. That […]

Simple blood test may reveal your body’s inner clock

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Ever feel like it’s 7 am, even though the clock says 9 am? A team of researchers at Northwestern University said Monday they have designed a blood test that can measure a person’s inner body clock within 1.5 hours, an advance that may help personalize medical treatments in the future. The study was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), a peer-reviewed US journal. The “circadian […]

Celebrity designers team up with PHL Red Cross for “Tintura de Malabon” fashion show for Malabon indigents

  Celebrity designers and models collaborate with the Philippine Red Cross for a fundraiser fashion show, “Tintura de Malabon: A Revival,” on Sept. 22 at 6 p.m. to be held at the Solaire Grand Ballroom in Paranaque City. The fund-raiser was conceptualized to provide relief to families in Malabon affected by typhoons and to assist indigent patients in need of blood products. The fashion show for a cause is spearheaded by PRC-Malabon City Chapter Chairman […]

California commits to 100% clean electricity by 2045

by Marlowe HOOD Agence France Presse LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — California Governor Jerry Brown signed landmark legislation Monday committing his state to a 100 percent clean electricity grid by 2045. At least 20 countries and twice as many large cities have made similar pledges, but California — the fifth largest economy in the world — is by far the biggest jurisdiction to do so to date. “This bill and the executive order put […]

The Ocean Cleanup project sails out to sweep Pacific plastic

  SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — A supply ship towing a long floating boom designed to corral ocean plastic has set sail from San Francisco for a test run ahead of a trip to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. The ambitious project by The Ocean Cleanup, a Dutch non-profit group, hopes to clean up half of the infamous garbage patch within five years when all systems are deployed. After five years of preparation and […]

Ballet Philippines brings back Carmina Burana to CCP

  “Overwhelming!” – National Artists for Literature Bienvenido Lumbera “It’s fantastic, superb.” – Heritage Conservation Society Chairperson emeritus  Gemma Cruz Araneta Catch the final performance of Ballet Philippines’ Carmina Burana tonight, September 9, 8pm at the Cultural Center of the Philippines Main Theater. Carmina Burana (Songs of Beuren), a ballet based on a collection of Goliard poems discovered in a Bavarian monastery in the early 13th century is choreographed by the company’s Artistic Director and […]

EBC serves as venue for INC Templo Central Art Exhibit

  (Eagle News) — Eagle Broadcasting Corporation served as the venue of an art exhibit that marked the 70th year of the Iglesia Ni Cristo (Church Of Christ) Central Temple. The INC District of Central opened the exhibit entitled “Art Exhibit 2018: Templo Central @ 70” that runs from September 8 to 9, 2018 at the Ground Floor of the EBC Building in Quezon City. Aside from the paintings that featured the INC’s Executive Minister […]

Poor healthcare behind 6 out of 10 preventable deaths: study

by Hazel WARD Agence France-Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — Nearly six in 10 deaths from treatable conditions in low- and middle-income countries result from low-quality healthcare — a bigger killer than insufficient access to treatment, researchers said Wednesday. Every year, about five million people in these countries die as a result of sub-standard care, according to a report published by The Lancet medical journal. This was out of 8.6 million total deaths from treatable conditions, […]