Life

‘London patient’: second case ever of HIV remission

by Marlowe HOOD and Patrick GALEY Agence France Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — A second person is in sustained remission from HIV-1, the virus that causes AIDS, after ceasing treatment and is likely cured, researchers said Tuesday in what was hailed as proof that the condition could one day be cured. Ten years after the first confirmed case of an HIV-infected person being rid of the deadly disease, a man known only as the “London […]

‘After Neverland’: Oprah interviews men who claimed Michael Jackson abused them as minors

  NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Celebrity talk show host Oprah Winfrey waded into the Michael Jackson debate Monday, hosting an hour-long interview of the men who say the late superstar sexually abused them as minors. The special aired on HBO after the conclusion of the network’s presentation of a bombshell four-hour documentary entitled “Leaving Neverland,” which has thrown the late Jackson’s legacy into question nearly a decade after his death. Calling sexual abuse […]

Ocean heatwaves devastate wildlife, worse to come

by Marlowe HOOD Agence France Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — Invisible to people but deadly to marine life, ocean heatwaves have damaged ecosystems across the globe and are poised to become even more destructive, according to the first study to measure worldwide impacts with a single yardstick. The number of marine heatwave days has increased by more than 50 percent since the mid-20th century, researchers reported in the journal Nature Climate Change. “Globally, marine heatwaves […]

Google fights European copyright overhaul

  BRUSSELS, Belgium (AFP) — Internet giant Google on Monday urged the European Parliament to resist approving a planned overhaul of the bloc’s online copyright law that the company said would hurt Europe for “decades to come”. European lawmakers could vote as soon as next week on the landmark legislation that is intended to modernise copyright for the digital age but has set off a furious lobbying war in Brussels. Tech giants, artistic creators and […]

As the web turns 30, is it an ‘out-of-control monster’?

by Agnès PEDRERO MEYRIN, Switzerland (AFP) — Thirty years ago this month, a young British software engineer working at a lab near Geneva invented a system for scientists to share information that would ultimately change humanity. But three decades after he invented the World Wide Web, Tim Berners-Lee has warned that his creation has been “hijacked by crooks” that may spell its destruction. Berner-Lee’s old office at Europe’s physics lab CERN now looks no different […]

Full steam ahead for Austria’s night trains

by Sophie MAKRIS VIENNA, Austria (AFP) — It looks like a scene from the halcyon days of the railways: travelers finding their sleeper berth, turning on the reading light and stowing their cases under the bed. But it’s still a common nightly ritual at Vienna’s main station, where overnight train routes have endured in the age of low-cost flights — and are even expanding. From early evening onwards, the departures board at Vienna’s “Hauptbahnhof” station […]

SpaceX Dragon capsule successfully docks with ISS

by Ivan Couronne Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The demonstration mission of SpaceX’s new Crew Dragon capsule successfully docked Sunday on the International Space Station, passing a key test before it can begin taking US astronauts into space. The docking of the capsule, which has only a dummy on board, was concluded at 1051 GMT, nearly 250 miles (400 kilometers) over the surface of the Earth, NASA and SpaceX confirmed during a […]

INC volunteers unite to clean up city’s “Nature Park”

By Caesar Vallejos OPEN FOR BUSINESS, Eagle News Service The lush foliage of a serene oasis at the center of a highly urbanized environment turned more intense with the bright colored shirts worn by volunteers from the Iglesia Ni Cristo Locale of Visayas Avenue for its first Clean-Up Drive project. Clad in colors that represent their respective groups, around 200 volunteers, armed with cleaning gears, trooped to the Ninoy Aquino Parks and Wildlife Center (NAPWC) […]

Dragon capsule successfully separates from rocket: SpaceX

  CAPE CANAVERAL, United States (AFP) — SpaceX’s new Crew Dragon astronaut capsule was on its way to the International Space Station Saturday after it successfully launched from Florida on board a Falcon 9 rocket. With only a dummy named Ripley on board, the launch was a dress rehearsal for the first manned test flight — scheduled for later this year with two NASA astronauts. The rocket blasted off without incident at 2:49 am (0749 […]

UN warns of ‘complacency’ as measles cases soar worldwide

PARIS, France (AFP) — Just 10 countries were responsible for three-quarters of a global surge in measles cases last year, the UN children’s agency said Friday, including one of the world’s richest nations, France. Ninety-eight countries reported more cases of measles in 2018 compared with 2017, and the world body warned that conflict, complacency and the growing anti-vaccine movement threatened to undo decades of work to tame the disease. “This is a wakeup call. We […]

US music industry streams double-digit revenue growth

NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — The US music industry posted its third straight year of double-digit growth in 2018 thanks to continued surges in streaming, an industry tracker said Thursday. Revenues from recorded music jumped 12 percent to $9.8 billion in estimated retail value, according to the Recording Industry Association of America, with 75 percent of revenues coming from streaming. The RIAA said paid subscriptions of streaming services like Spotify and Tidal soared to […]

YouTube to block comments on most videos showing minors

  SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — YouTube said Thursday it will disable user comments on a broad array of videos featuring children to thwart “predatory behavior” after revelations about a glitch exploited for sharing of child pornography. The Google-owned video sharing service announced further steps to crack down on inappropriate comments a week after an investigation showing how comments and connections on child porn were being displayed alongside innocuous videos. “We recognize that comments […]