Life

India leads world in pollution linked deaths: study

India leads the world in pollution-linked deaths followed by China and Nigeria, according to a report published Wednesday that estimated the global impact of contaminants in the air, water and workplace. The report by the Global Alliance on Health and Pollution (GAHP) found pollution to be the largest environmental cause of premature death on the planet, causing 15 percent of all deaths — some 8.3 million people. Among the ten countries with the most pollution […]

Australia beats hottest day record by full degree

  SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Australia set a record for its hottest day ever for a second straight day, with an average national maximum temperature of 41.9 degrees Celsius (107.4 Fahrenheit), a full degree higher than the previous mark, officials said Thursday. The Bureau of Meteorology said the new nationally averaged maximum was reached Wednesday, topping the 40.9 degrees hit Tuesday, which beat the previous record of 40.3 C in January 2013. As the heatwave […]

Instagram expands fact-checking globally

  SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Instagram on Monday announced it had gone global in its fight against misinformation, expanding its third-party fact-checking network around the world. The Facebook-owned social platform launched a fact-checking program in the US early this year. “Today’s expansion is an important step in our ongoing efforts to fight misinformation on Instagram,” it said in an online post. “Photo and video based misinformation is increasingly a challenge across our industry, […]

Vaping linked to rare lung disease: study

PARIS, France (AFP) — Doctors treating a patient with a rare lung disease usually caused by exposure to industrial metals say it may instead be the first case linked to vaping. Electronic cigarettes are sold as safer alternatives to traditional tobacco products and as aids to stop smoking. But they have been implicated in a growing number of recent deaths and health alerts, especially in the United States. Researchers at the University of California San […]

Toxic Sydney bushfire haze a ‘public health emergency’

  by Holly ROBERTSON Agence France Presse SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Australia’s biggest city is facing a “public health emergency” over the bushfire smoke that has choked Sydney for weeks, leading doctors warned Monday after hospitals reported a dramatic spike in casualty department visits. Hundreds of climate change-fuelled bushfires have been raging across Australia for months, with efforts to contain a “mega-blaze” burning north of Sydney destroying an estimated 20 homes overnight and fires near […]

UN chief calls climate summit a ‘lost opportunity’

by Marlowe HOOD / Patrick GALEY Agence France Presse Madrid, Spain (AFP) — A major climate summit wrapped up in Madrid Sunday with a compromise deal that left little to show, prompting UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to lament a “lost opportunity” to act. Almost a fortnight of COP25 talks just squeezed out hard-earned compromises from countries over a global warming battle plan that fell well short of what science says is needed to tackle the […]

The upside-down world of UN climate diplomacy

  by Marlowe Hood  MADRID, Spain (AFP) — Given the stakes — the survival of civilization, no less — it didn’t seem unreasonable to expect 196 nations gathered in Madrid to forge a global warming action plan to declare, in clear and simple language, that they would do a bit more, do a little better. COP25’s final declaration, for example, could have called on countries to foreshadow — preferably before the end of next year […]

Bono on U2’s first PHL concert: “It took us four decades… We should have been here every year”

  (Eagle News) – For what Filipino U2 fans said was a “once-in-a-lifetime concert,” they braved hours of traffic and long lines just to watch the legendary Irish rock band perform at the 55,000-seater Philippine Arena on Wednesday night, Dec. 11. The sound and sights of the first-ever Manila concert of the band which has won the most Grammys in history at 22 awards, more than lived up to fans’ expectations. The band that was […]

Ferrari plans electric car debut only ‘after 2025’

MILAN, Italy (AFP) — Italian sports car maker Ferrari is likely to launch its first fully electric model only after 2025, its boss said on Thursday, blaming insufficient battery technology for the wait. “We certainly are studying fully electric,” Louis Camilleri told reporters, but added that “for the current foreseeable future” hybrids were the preferred option. “My sense is the electric (car) will come out after 2025. The battery technology is not where it should […]

Tropical Indonesia’s tiny glaciers to melt away in a decade: study

by Dessy Sagita and Peter Brieger Agence France-Presse JAKARTA, Indonesia (AFP) — Indonesia’s little-known glaciers are melting so fast they could disappear in a decade, a new study says, underscoring the imminent threat posed by climate change to ice sheets in tropical countries. As the COP 25 summit wraps up in Madrid, nations are struggling to finalise rules for the 2015 landmark Paris climate accord, which aims to limit global temperature rises. Thousands of kilometres […]

First-ever U2 concert in the country at PHL Arena promises unique visual-aural experience for fans

  (Eagle News) – U2 at the Philippine Arena. The combination sets fans’ imagination on fire as the popular Irish rock band known for its socially relevant songs stages its first ever concert in the country at the 55,000-seater Philippine Arena. With lead vocals Bono, drummer Larry Mullen Jr., bassist Adam Clayton and guitarist “The Edge,” U2 promises a unique visual and aural experience, going by their previous concerts where the latest digital and visual […]

NEU sports official wins SEA Games bronze in Jiu-jitsu

  (Eagle News) — A ranking official of the New Era University sports department won a bronze medal in the Jiu-Jitsu Men’s 120 Kg (240 Lbs) category in the 30th South East Asia Games held at the Laus Convention Centre in Clark, Pampanga on Tuesday, Dec. 10. Peter Lawrence Meimban is part of the Philippine Team which won five golds, three silvers, and three bronze medals in Jiu-Jitsu. He fell to Noor Muhammad of Indonesia […]