Life

2020 one of three hottest years ever recorded: UN

by Robin MILLARD Agence France-Presse GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — This year is on course to be one of the three warmest ever recorded, the United Nations said Wednesday, as the UN chief warned the world was on the brink of “climate catastrophe”. The past six years, 2015 to 2020, are set to make up all six of the hottest years since modern records began in 1850, the UN’s World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said in its provisional […]

Romania’s mining heartland faces up to post-coal future

by Mihaela RODINA and Ionut IORDACHESCU Agence France-Presse PETROSANI, Romania (AFP) — In the large, dark locker room of southern Romania’s Lonea coal mine, 20-year-old Liviu dons his uniform and helmet before embarking on a six-hour shift in a vanishing industry. “I found this job interesting because you retire faster, when you reach 45 years old,” Liviu tells AFP before descending 400 metres underground in an elevator dubbed “the birdcage” by his fellow miners. But whether […]

Viral trash: French Covid clean-up nets mounds of masks

by Guillaume Bonnet and Joseph Schmid Agence France-Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — After two months of trekking across France, a French-British duo have completed their campaign to stop mask litter during the coronavirus crisis, having picked up every discarded face covering they spotted while walking to Paris from the Mediterranean city of Marseille. Edmund Platt, a British environmental activist, and his French friend Frederic Munsch set off on October 1 to follow the high-speed TGV […]

AI program DeepMind, untangles one of biology’s great challenges

by Kelly MACNAMARA Agence France-Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — For decades scientists have been trying to figure out how to swiftly predict the twisting, tangled shape of proteins — and from there unravel a greater understanding of the machinery of life itself. This week an Artificial Intelligence program created by Google sister firm DeepMind was shown to have virtually cracked the challenge, forecasting the way in which proteins contort into three dimensional structures in the […]

Putin orders ‘large-scale’ vaccinations to start next week

MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — President Vladimir Putin told health officials Wednesday to start widespread vaccinations next week, adding that Russia has produced close to two million doses of its Sputnik V vaccine. The announcement came on the day Britain approved the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for a rollout starting next week. Last week Russia reported interim test results showing Sputnik V was 95 percent effective, rivalling international competitors for efficacy. Sputnik V — dubbed after the Soviet-era […]

Chinese probe lands on Moon to gather lunar samples

BEIJING, China (AFP) — China landed a probe on the Moon on Tuesday, said Beijing’s space agency, which aims to bring back to Earth the first lunar samples in four decades. China has poured billions into its military-run space program, with hopes of having a crewed space station by 2022 and of eventually sending humans to the Moon. The latest mission’s goal is to collect lunar rocks and soil to help scientists learn about the […]

Maradona’s doctor investigated for involuntary manslaughter

  BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AFP) — Diego Maradona’s personal doctor was on Sunday being investigated for involuntary manslaughter four days after the Argentina legend suffered a fatal heart attack, prosecutors in San Isidro near Buenos Aires reported. Police raided Leopoldo Luque’s surgery and home in search of possible evidence pointing to negligence, according to television images. The probe was triggered by concerns raised by three of Maradona’s daughters Dalma, Giannina and Jana over the treatment […]

EBC-NET 25 makes its mark as “Ang Daigdig Ko’y Ikaw,” its first-ever romantic drama series premieres tonight at 8 p.m.

Watch how love overcomes challenges even amid the virus pandemic (Eagle News) – The first-ever romantic drama series of Eagle Broadcasting Corporation’s NET25 premieres tonight, Saturday, at 8 p.m. with “Ang Daigdig Ko’y Ikaw” with a storyline that incorporates life under the new normal. Set in the scenic and historic Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar, with breathtaking views and cultural vistas that take pride in the Filipino heritage, NET25 makes its mark in Philippine television. […]

What is it like to take part in a vaccine trial?

  by Leila MACOR Agence France Presse A key facet of the global mad scramble by Pfizer, Moderna and other pharma groups to develop a viable coronavirus vaccine is the recruitment of tens of thousands of volunteers willing to participate in clinical trials. AFP’s correspondent in Miami, Leila Macor, took part in such a trial organized by US biotech firm Moderna, which announced Monday that its experimental vaccine was nearly 95 percent effective. Why did […]

Mysterious ‘obelisk’ in US desert draws wild theories

LSO ANGELES, United States (AFP) — A mysterious metal “obelisk” found buried in the remote western United States desert has inflamed the imaginations of UFO spotters, conspiracy theorists and Stanley Kubrick fans around the world. The shiny, triangular pillar — which protrudes approximately 12 feet from the red rocks of southern Utah — was spotted last Wednesday by baffled local officials counting bighorn sheep from the air. Landing to investigate, Utah Department of Public Safety […]

World’s deepest diving pool opens in Poland

  MSZCZONOW, Poland (AFP) — A 45.5-metre (150-foot) deep diving pool with artificial underwater caves and Mayan ruins, the world’s deepest such structure, opened near Warsaw this weekend. The complex, named Deepspot, even includes a small wreck for scuba and free divers to explore. It has 8,000 cubic metres of water — more than 20 times the amount in an ordinary 25-metre pool. Unlike regular swimming pools, Deepspot can open despite coronavirus restrictions in Poland […]

Growing antimicrobial resistance as dangerous as pandemic: WHO

by Robin MILLARD Agence France Presse GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — The World Health Organization warned Friday that growing antimicrobial resistance is every bit as dangerous as the coronavirus pandemic — and threatens to reverse a century of medical progress. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called the issue “one of the greatest health threats of our time”. Resistance is when bugs become immune to existing drugs — antibiotic, antiviral or antifungal treatments — rendering minor injuries […]