Life

Ukraine scientists navigate lockdown to reach Antarctica

by Olga SHYLENKO Agence France-Presse KIEV, Ukraine (AFP) — Yuriy Otruba was preparing for his sixth scientific expedition to Antarctica when the coronavirus pandemic hit, shutting borders, grounding flights and locking down countries he needed to travel through. After repeated trips since 2009, the 34-year-old Ukrainian scientist feared this year’s journey would be impossible due to strict lockdown measures imposed throughout the world to contain the COVID-19 pandemic. The journey from Kiev to the Akademik Vernadsky […]

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Covid Marie, Corona and Lockdown: the newborns named after a pandemic

MANILA, Philippines (AFP) — First there was Corona Kumar, then Covid Marie: parents have taken to naming newborns after the coronavirus, apparently unperturbed by the prospect of their children being forever associated with a deadly pandemic. When Colline Tabesa gave birth to a healthy baby girl in the central Philippine city of Bacolod on April 13, she and the father John Tupas decided to mark the occasion with a show of gratitude. “This COVID-19 has […]

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Over 130 virus therapies under investigation: pharma group

GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — More than 130 therapies are being investigated as possible treatments for the coronavirus, a leading pharmaceutical industry association said Thursday. Unprecedented efforts to collaborate across the pharmaceutical industry have significantly accelerated the search for safe and effective treatments for the novel coronavirus, the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations said. “Over 130 COVID-19 therapeutics are under investigation,” IFPMA director Thomas Cueni told a virtual briefing, along with a number of pharmaceutical […]

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PHL gov’t starts intensive community-based clinical studies on VCO as possible cure for COVID-19

  (Eagle News) – Philippine government has started intensive clinical studies on the curative properties of virgin coconut oil on COVID-19 suspect cases in certain communities in Southern Luzon as it included VCO as a supplement in the daily treatment regimen of coronavirus patients at the Philippine General Hospital. The program involved several departments of the Philippine government including the Department of Agriculture through the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA), the Department of Science and Technology’s […]

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Virus pushes Indonesia zoo animals to brink of starvation

BANDUNG, Indonesia  (AFP) — Thousands of animals, including endangered Sumatran tigers and Bornean orangutans, are facing starvation at Indonesia’s zoos as the global pandemic pushes shuttered facilities toward collapse, officials say. Some 60 cash-strapped animal parks — home to roughly 70,000 creatures — across the Southeast Asian archipelago have been closed since mid-March and most say they have only enough food until the middle of May. “Most zoos relied on ticket sales so when they […]

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Volkswagen dealt EU court setback over diesel pollution

BRUSSELS, Belgium (AFP) — Volkswagen’s use of a device that can distort the results of pollution emission tests is prohibited by European law, an EU legal adviser warned Thursday, dealing a legal setback to the German auto giant. The technology “does not appear to be necessary to protect the engine against damage or accident and to ensure safe operation of the vehicle,” said Advocate General Eleanor Sharpston of the EU’s Court of Justice. The court is […]

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Thunberg donates $100,000 to support children during pandemic

UNITED NATIONS, United States (AFP) — Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg has donated a $100,000 prize she won from a Danish foundation to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) for use against the COVID-19 pandemic, the world body said Thursday. “Like the climate crisis, the coronavirus pandemic is a child rights crisis,” Thunberg, 17, was quoted as saying in the UNICEF statement. “It will affect all children, now and in the long term, but vulnerable […]

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DOH announces youngest, oldest COVID-19 survivor: over 2-week old baby and 95-yr old man

  (Eagle News) – A baby just over two weeks old who contracted COVID-19 is the youngest survivor of the virus. The Department of Health (DOH) announced the good news in a Facebook post, that said that the baby at 16-days old conquered the coronavirus disease. “Meet our youngest COVID-19 survivor!” the DOH said in its Facebook post. “Meet BABY SURVIVOR, a 16-day old baby who conquered COVID-19!” it added. The youngest COVID-19 survivor is […]

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COVID-19 to cause record emissions fall in 2020: IEA

by Patrick GALEY Agence France-Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — COVID-19 is expected to cause global energy emissions to fall a record eight percent this year due to an unprecedented drop in demand for coal, oil and gas, the International Energy Agency said Thursday. The IEA’s Global Energy Review was based on an analysis of electricity demand over more than 100 days, during which much of the world has entered lockdown in a bid to control the […]

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Washington state relaxes restrictions on recreational activities

Eagle News — Washington was the one of the first state to have reported cases of COVID-19, with the city of Seattle being the first to issue a lockdown in the United States. With 14,070 confirmed cases throughout the state of Washington, there’s a visible flattening of the curve. Because of these developments, Washington state government is confident in releasing and relaxing some of the lockdown restrictions when it comes to outdoor recreation. Although the […]

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Indian mechanic invents ‘social distancing’ motorbike

AGARTALA, India (AFP) — An Indian school drop-out has built a motorbike with a one-meter gap between the rider and the passenger to drive home the importance of social distancing in the coronavirus pandemic. Partha Saha, 39, bought an old bike from a scrap dealer, removed the engine and cut the machine in two before affixing a rod slightly longer than a meter (3.2 feet) to connect the wheels. “Now I can ride with my […]

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Despite virus outbreaks, US meat plants told to stay open

by Juliette MICHEL Agence France-Presse Video report by Eagle News International NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — US slaughterhouses are being forced to stay open on government orders despite deadly coronavirus outbreaks among workers, as authorities move to ensure supermarkets are fully stocked with meat. President Donald Trump signed the executive order on Tuesday under the Defense Production Act, a law designed for use in wartime to divert private business for defense and security needs. Several […]

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