by Jonah MANDEL Agence France-Presse GOLAN HEIGHTS, Undefined (AFP) — From biblical plague to modern day protein, one Israeli firm wants to make locusts a sustainable food choice in the Holy Land and beyond. As for whether or not the insects are kosher, the answer is not so simple. At Hargol Foodtech’s farm in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, a rectangular enclosure that once served as a chicken coop is filled with thousands of locusts, a […]
Life
Brazilian Amazon fires surge in July
by Joshua Howat Berger Agence France-Presse RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (AFP) — The number of forest fires in the Brazilian Amazon last month rose 28 percent from July 2019, satellite data showed Saturday, fueling fears the world’s biggest rainforest will again be devastated by fires this year. Brazil’s national space agency, INPE, identified 6,803 fires in the Amazon region in July 2020, up from 5,318 the year before. The figure is all the more troubling […]
Pandemic an ‘apocalypse’ for restaurants in US
by Jocelyne ZABLIT Agence France Presse LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — For Gabriel Gordon and his wife Lena, the small restaurant they opened 14 years ago in the coastal California town of Seal Beach was a dream project and the cornerstone of their future success. But this weekend, Beachwood BBQ, which had become a staple in the community, permanently shut down — yet another casualty of the carnage the coronavirus pandemic has unleashed on […]
‘One Good Thing A Day’ – Sending positivity through a chaotic world
by Alexandra Megia Eagle News QUEZON CITY, Philippines (Eagle News) — Life seems to be at a stand still. Coronavirus is still running rampant with no discrimination. For our safety and the safety of others, people have been confined to their homes for months at a time. With good reason. The coronavirus is reported to have affected 17.2 million people and claimed 671,000 lives. Black Lives Matter. Blue Lives Matter. All Lives matter. Does anything […]
Russia vows ‘promising’ virus vaccines in September
MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — Russia said Wednesday that it plans to begin production of two “promising” coronavirus vaccines in September and October as Moscow races to develop a formula before Western countries. At a meeting chaired by President Vladimir Putin, Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova singled out two vaccines under development by a research institute in Moscow and a lab in Siberia. “Today there are two vaccines that are the most promising,” Golikova said. […]
Senior Catholic nuns abusing power, says report in Catholic journal
VATICAN CITY (AFP) — Some senior nuns are abusing their power, including by denying sisters healthcare and warm clothes, a report in a Catholic journal said on Friday. The Jesuit review Civilita Cattolica said that the problem of abuse of power by nuns “has not so far had sufficient attention.” The abuse “mostly does not take the form of sexual violence and does not concern minors,” the journal noted. Some mother superiors cling to […]
Shell dives to $18.1bn Q2 loss on virus-hit oil market
LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Anglo-Dutch energy major Royal Dutch Shell posted Thursday a colossal net loss of $18.1 billion (15.4 billion euros) for the second quarter, blaming massive asset writedowns on the coronavirus-hit oil market. The performance, contrasting sharply with profit after tax of $3.0 billion a year earlier, was sparked by a huge $16.8-billion charge on chronic fallout both from COVID-19 and collapsing oil prices. The vast charge was taken “as a result […]
Azerbaijan villagers plead for water as vital river dries up
by Isgender GANBAROV with Emil GULIYEV in Baku Agence France-Presse BANKA, Azerbaijan (AFP) — The village of Banka in Azerbaijan should have plentiful supplies of water as it lies beside one of the country’s mightiest rivers, the Kura. But the river has shallowed dramatically this summer and has become contaminated with salty seawater, in what experts warn is an unfolding ecological disaster. “Our animals are dying. We don’t get water in time,” said farmer Maryam Hasanova, […]
Remembering World War 1: The first war where chemical gases were used as weapons
(Eagle News) – World War 1 which started on July 27, 1914, also known as the “Great War,” lasted for more than four years, during which time more than 20 million died and another 21 million were injured. World War 1 lasted until November 1918, and by accounts, some eight to nine million soldiers died in the “war to end all wars” as it was described then. On the other hand, about 13 million civilians […]
Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine worked well in monkeys: study
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US biotech firm Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine induced a robust immune response and prevented the coronavirus from replicating in the noses and lungs of monkeys, a study in the New England Journal of Medicine said Tuesday. The fact that the vaccine prevented the virus from replicating in the nose is seen as particularly crucial in preventing it from being transmitted onward to others. The same outcome did not occur when […]
NET25’s new show “Unlad: Kaagapay sa Hanapbuhay” gives hope in overcoming poverty
(Eagle News) — In this pilot episode of NET 25’s newest show, “UNLAD: Kaagapay sa Hanapbuhay,” the problem of poverty affecting people worldwide is tackled and just how people can be helped by giving them hope that there is still a solution to their problem. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, unemployment have surged not just in the Philippines, but all over the world. The program, hosted by actor Robin Padilla, shows that people should not lose […]
Highest-ever temperature recorded in Norwegian Arctic archipelago
OSLO, Norway (AFP) — Norway’s Arctic archipelago Svalbard on Saturday recorded its highest-ever temperature, the country’s meteorological institute reported. According to scientific study, global warming in the Arctic is happening twice as fast as for the rest of the planet. For the second day in a row, the archipelago registered 21.2 degrees Celsius (70.2 Fahrenheit) in the afternoon, just under the 21.3 degrees recorded in 1979, meteorologist Kristen Gislefoss told AFP. Later in the afternoon […]