Life

Fire engulfs National Museum, one of Brazil’s oldest

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (AFP) — A massive fire gutted the National Museum in Rio de Janeiro, one of Brazil’s oldest, authorities said Sunday, but no injuries were immediately reported. The cause of the fire, which broke out around 2230 GMT, was not yet known, according to local media. Television footage showed the building engulfed by a raging blaze that firefighters had not brought under control. The museum was founded in 1818 by King Joao […]

Apple expected to unveil new iPhones at September 12 event

SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) – Apple on Thursday sent out invitations to a September 12 event at which it is expected to unveil new additions to its money-making iPhone line-up. In typical enigmatic style, Apple offered scant clues to what it has in store for the presentation to take place in the Steve Jobs Theater at its spaceship campus in the Silicon Valley city of Cupertino. Invitations had the words “Gather round” under a […]

Global warming will make insects hungrier, eating up key crops: study

by Kerry SHERIDAN Agence France Presse TAMPA, United States (AFP) — Researchers have found a new way that global warming is bad for the planet: more hungry bugs. Rising temperatures will stimulate insects’ appetites — and make some prone to reproducing more quickly — spelling danger for key staples like wheat, corn and rice which feed billions of people, researchers said Thursday. And since these three crops account for 42 percent of the calories people […]

Space station reports ‘leak’, crew not in danger

MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — The International Space Station crew on Thursday was repairing a small “leak” most likely caused by a collision with a small meteorite, the head of the Russian space agency said, adding the incident presented no danger. “Overnight and in the morning there was an abnormal situation — a pressure drop, an oxygen leak at the station,” Roscosmos chief Dmitry Rogozin was quoted as saying by Russian news agencies. “A microfracture was found, […]

Global warming will make insects hungrier, eating up key crops: study

by Kerry SHERIDAN Agence France-Presse TAMPA, United States (APF) – Researchers have found a new way that global warming is bad for the planet: more hungry bugs. Rising temperatures will stimulate insects’ appetites — and make some prone to reproducing more quickly — spelling danger for key staples like wheat, corn and rice which feed billions of people, researchers said Thursday. And since these three crops account for 42 percent of the calories people eat […]

Unified Korea women’s basketball team trounce Taiwan to reach Asian hoops final

  by Alastair Himmer Agence France Presse JAKARTA, Indonesia (AFP) — A joint Korean women’s basketball team slammed Taiwan 89-66 to reach the Asian Games final on Thursday, helped by Las Vegas razzmatazz and some good, old, northern grit. Roared on by around 100 fans waving Korean unification flags, North Korean Ro Suk Yong joint top-scored with 17 points in a blow-out victory for the defending champions in Jakarta. The Koreans advance to face China […]

300 endangered turtles found dead on Mexico beach

MEXICO CITY, Mexico (AFP) — More than 300 sea turtles from an endangered species were found dead on a beach in southern Mexico, trapped in a banned type of fishing net, environmental authorities said. In Mexico’s second mass turtle death in as many weeks, the Pacific Ridley turtles (Lepidochelys olivacea) were found floating just off the beach of Puerto Escondido in the state of Oaxaca, their shells forming a bleak mini-island. “They had drowned at […]

Conch salad completes the Bahamian experience

By Tenny Tamulong EBC Florida Bureau NASSAU, Bahamas (Eagle News) — The combination of fresh sweet onion, chopped red tomatoes, green pepper, a pinch of salt to taste, a squeezed lime, orange and lemon juice, and most importantly, freshly-caught conch, make up the famous conch salad. This delicious meal has captured the heart of both tourists and locals alike. Conch salad is never missing when one visits the “Fish Fry”, an area in Arawak Cay […]

Bees get hooked on harmful pesticide: study

PARIS, France (AFP) — Bumblebees acquire a taste for food laced with a pesticide known to harm them, according to a study suggesting the chemicals pose an even greater threat to pollinators than previously thought. In experiments, researchers showed that bees initially put off by sugar water containing neonicotinoids — the most widely-used class of insecticide worldwide — soon started seeking them out to the exclusion of untainted food. The findings were published Wednesday in […]

Robot teachers invade Chinese kindergartens

by Elizabeth Law and Danni Zhu Agence France Presse BEIJING, China (AFP) — The Chinese kindergarten children giggled as they worked to solve puzzles assigned by their new teaching assistant: a roundish, short educator with a screen for a face. Just under 60 centimeters (two feet) high, the autonomous robot named Keeko has been a hit in several kindergartens, telling stories and challenging children with logic problems. Round and white with a tubby body, the […]

Facebook rolls out video service worldwide

PARIS, France (AFP) — Facebook said Wednesday it is rolling out globally its Watch video service, which has already been available in the United States for more than a year. “We designed the product not just in a mindless consumption but in order to get people engaged,” said Fidji Simo, Facebook’s vice president for video. Facebook launched Watch amid a shift in video viewing habits away from traditional television to online platforms including Netflix and […]

For first time in decades, astronaut quits NASA training

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — For the first time in five decades, a NASA astronaut candidate has resigned from training, the US space agency said Tuesday. Robb Kulin resigned from NASA effective August 31 for personal reasons, spokeswoman Brandi Dean said, declining to provide further details. It’s not an easy gig to get — some 18,000 people routinely seek the 12 spots that open each year. Kulin, who joined his class sounding upbeat, is the […]