Life

Over 5,000 NEU students graduate via online commencement exercises under “new normal”

(Eagle News) — With the theme, “Innovating to Cope with the #NEUNormal,” the New Era University announced the successful graduation of 5,366 students for the Academic Year 2019-2020 done through online commencement exercises. The NEU said that graduating pupils and students from Kinder up to the 18 colleges of the university’s main campus and its various branches successfully completed their education since Oct. 4, 2020. “The Commencement Exercises, with the theme ‘NEU Graduates: Innovating to […]

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India’s Modi lays foundations for renewable energy megapark

AHMEDABAD, India (AFP) — Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundations Tuesday for what he said would be the world’s largest renewable energy park, set to produce a massive 30 gigawatts of electricity. The vast project in the Kutch region of western Gujarat state spread over an area of 72,600 hectares (180,000 acres) — the size of Singapore — will contain solar panels, solar energy storage units and windmills. “The hybrid renewable energy park […]

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Australia’s Byron Bay beach shrinks as sand disappears

BYRON BAY, Australia (AFP) — Australia’s Byron Bay usually conjures images of bathers lounging on sunkissed shores, or blissed-out longboarders cruising along cyan-blue waves — but coastal erosion and lashing storms have reduced its seashore to a debris-strewn slither. The tourist hotspot’s main beach has been reduced to a thin strip by a sand-shifting phenomenon known as “headland bypassing”. Recent wild storms have then eroded it further. For more than six months, residents have watched […]

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Accounting for carbon footprint changes view of human progress: UN agency

UNITED NATIONS, United States (AFP) — Dependence on fossil fuels has an impact on the assessment of human progress, according to a report published Tuesday by the United Nations Development Programme that takes carbon footprints into account for the first time. The report presents world leaders with a choice: take “bold steps to reduce the immense pressure that is being exerted on the environment and the natural world,” or risk stalling humanity’s progress, said a […]

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China to open giant telescope to international scientists

by Ludovic EHRET PINGTANG, China (AFP) — Nestled among the mountains in southwest China, the world’s largest radio telescope signals Beijing’s ambitions as a global centre for scientific research. The Five-hundred-metre Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST) — the only significant instrument of its kind after the collapse of another telescope in Puerto Rico this month — is about to open its doors for foreign astronomers to use, hoping to attract the world’s top scientific talent. The […]

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Canada announces new Covid-19 aid package for developing nations

  OTTAWA, Canada (AFP) — Canada on Monday announced a Can$458 million ($380 million) aid package to help developing countries fight the coronavirus pandemic. Of that amount, Can$230 million will go to the UN children’s agency UNICEF to buy approximately three million treatments based on new therapeutic antibodies, once clinical trials are complete and approvals received, according to international development minister Karina Gould. “The faster we can get tests, treatments and vaccines out to people, […]

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ExxonMobil pledges emissions cut as investor campaign targets board

NEW YORK, New York (AFP) — ExxonMobil announced Monday it will reduce its emissions over the next five years bowing to growing public pressure from activists, including the Church of England, to make changes. The US oil giant said in a statement that by 2025 it will cut emissions from upstream activities, which includes oil drilling and extraction, by between 15 and 20 percent compared to the 2016 levels. It also will cut its flaring […]

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Solar eclipse plunges southern Chile, Argentina into darkness

by Alberto PEÑA PUCON, Chile (AFP) — Thousands of people turned their heads to the sky to watch a solar eclipse that lasted around two minutes on Monday as southern Chile and Argentina were plunged into darkness. Heavy rain had threatened to prevent star gazers in Chile from seeing the eclipse but at the last moment the clouds parted just enough for the phenomenon to be partially visible. “It was beautiful, unique. The truth is […]

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Massive outage hits Google services worldwide

  A massive outage knocked Google services including Gmail and video sharing platform YouTube offline across much of the globe Monday. Within minutes, social media sites were awash with hashtags including #googledown and YouTubeDOWN as hundreds of millions of internet users tried vainly to connect to the US search engine. Google indicated the outage had affected all of its services for the “majority” of users. The outage began at approximately 1150 GMT and by 1230 […]

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Health centre water crisis increasing virus risk: WHO

GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — One in four health centres worldwide lacks access to water, putting around 1.8 billion people at increased risk of contracting the coronavirus, the World Health Organization said Monday. The lack of this basic amenity endangers patients and staff alike at such centres, the WHO said in a joint report with the UN children’s agency UNICEF. The study was based on data from 165 countries. “Working in a healthcare facility without water, […]

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Storms help Australia contain UNESCO heritage island fire

BRISBANE, Australia (AFP) — Australian firefighters have managed to control a bushfire that burned more than half of the UNESCO world heritage-listed Fraser Island, around two months after a suspected illegal campfire sparked the blaze. The fire on the world’s largest sand island, off Australia’s east coast, destroyed large swathes of the isle’s forests before heavy downpours arrived over the weekend. “With the help of welcome rainfall and a massive response from crews, the fire […]

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World urged to move on ‘climate emergency’ after pandemic

by Jitendra JOSHI and Patrick GALEY in Paris Agence France-Presse LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — The United Nations on Saturday urged leaders to declare a global climate emergency and shape greener growth after the coronavirus pandemic, as nations took gloomy stock five years since the landmark Paris Agreement. Fast-growing China, the world’s biggest emitter, outlined limited new ambitions in green energy at a virtual “Climate Ambition Summit” addressed by more than 70 leaders. In the […]

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