View and read the entire issue. Click below to view and read the PDF file of the 16-page Special issue of Eagle Broadcasting Corporation’s official newsletter “Interesting Times” Special-issue-2
Life
Bear necessities: cooler home for last polar bear in SoKor
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — The last polar bear kept in South Korea will be sent to Britain to escape the country’s stifling, humid summers and live out his days in more appropriate surroundings, zookeepers said Thursday, June 21. Tongki — a 23-year-old male named after a Japanese cartoon character of the 1980s — lives in a 330-square-metre (3500-square-foot) concrete enclosure at the Everland theme park outside Seoul. Born in captivity at a zoo […]
Dead plankton, stunned fish: the harms of man-made ocean noise
by Ivan Couronne Agence France-Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Human-caused ocean noise and its dangers to marine life are the focus of meetings at the United Nations this week, a victory for advocacy groups that have long warned of the problem. – What are the causes of ocean noise? The main human activity that causes noise is maritime shipping. Among the loudest sounds are explosions aimed at demolishing offshore oil platforms, though these events […]
Stress test: saliva swab detects workplace burnout
SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — A simple saliva test can show within hours whether someone on the job is overly stressed and at risk of burnout, researchers said Friday. Measuring levels of the anti-stress hormone cortisol at different times of the day more accurately reveals stress levels than more complicated measures, including blood tests, they reported in the peer-reviewed journal Scientific Reports. In experiments, scientists compared healthy workers with burnout patients diagnosed by psychologists. […]
Earth’s intact forests vanishing at accelerating pace: scientists
by Marlowe Hood Agence France-Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — Earth’s intact forests shrank by an area larger than Austria every year from 2014 to 2016 at a 20 percent faster rate than during the previous decade, scientists said Wednesday as the UN unveiled an initiative to harness the “untapped potential” of the land sector to fight climate change. Despite a decades-long effort to halt deforestation, nearly 10 percent of undisturbed forests have been fragmented, […]
With a billion users, Instagram takes on YouTube in video
by Julie Charpentrat Agence France-Presse SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Instagram said Wednesday it now has more than one billion active users, as it unveiled a new long-form video feature in a bid to attract “creators” like those on YouTube. It becomes the fourth Facebook platform to hit the billion-user mark, including the namesake social network with more than two billion users, and the messaging applications WhatsApp and Messenger. Instagram, which had some […]
Record 68.5 million people displaced worldwide: UN
by Nina LARSON Agence France-Presse GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — A record 68.5 million people have been forced flee their homes due to war, violence and persecution, notably in places like Myanmar and Syria, the UN said on Tuesday. By the end of 2017, the number was nearly three million higher than the previous year and showed a 50-percent increase from the 42.7 million uprooted from their homes a decade ago, according to a report by […]
Italy’s Osteria Francescana crowned world’s best restaurant again
BILBAO, Spain (AFP) — Italy’s Osteria Francescana was crowned the world’s best restaurant for the second time on Tuesday by an influential list compiled by British trade magazine Restaurant, beating out top eateries in Spain and France. Run by chef Massimo Bottura, the restaurant in Modena, Italy, overtook last year’s winner, New York’s Eleven Madison Park, in the “World’s 50 Best Restaurants” awards, which were handed out in Bilbao in Spain’s northern Basque Country, famous […]
In US, obesity, smoking more common in rural areas: study
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — People who live in rural areas of the United States are far more likely than city dwellers to smoke, be overweight, and face a host of related health concerns, researchers said Tuesday. Many chronic diseases are linked to obesity, including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, some cancers and arthritis, and researchers say understanding local trends can help them design better intervention strategies. The study in the Journal of the American […]
Facebook to offer interactive game shows on video platform
SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Facebook said Tuesday it is offering a series of new formats for its online video platform including interactive game shows, quizzes and polls. The new formats will be available to those creating video content on the social network, which is searching for a niche to compete against rivals ranging from Netflix to Google-owned YouTube. One of the features from Facebook will allow interactivity, which could be used for live […]
Global warming will make veggies harder to find: study
TAMPA, United States (AFP)—Global warming is expected to make vegetables significantly scarcer around the world, unless new growing practices and resilient crop varieties are adopted, researchers warned on Monday. By the end of this century, less water and hotter air will combine to cut average yields of vegetables — which are crucial to a healthy diet — by nearly one-third, said the report in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. A 7.2 Fahrenheit […]
Michelin Guides’ quiet American quits
PARIS,France (AFP) — The first non-French person to head the Michelin Guides said Monday that he is leaving the world’s most prestigious restaurant guides. American Michael Ellis said that he was joining the Dubai-based luxury hotel chain Jumeirah after seven years with the red guides. The soft-spoken Ellis, who previously worked for the French tyre maker’s motorcycle division, has expanded the guides to 31 editions in 30 countries. But there has been controversy about Michelin’s […]
