Life

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 […]

Jilted Fujifilm sues Xerox for $1bn after aborted merger

  TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japanese technology giant Fujifilm said Tuesday it was suing US firm Xerox, seeking more than $1 billion in damages after a merger between the two firms was scrapped last month. Fujifilm slammed what it said was a “unilateral decision to terminate without legitimate cause” the planned merger announced in January. The merger was shelved after a lawsuit by powerful shareholders Carl Icahn and Darwin Deason, who together own more than 15 […]

Apple fined millions for Australia false iPhone claims

  SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Apple was Tuesday fined Aus$9 million (US$6.7 million) by an Australian court for making false claims about consumer rights when refusing to fix faulty iPhones and iPads previously repaired by a third party. Customers of the US tech giant had complained to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) after an operating system update disabled their devices in a global issue known as “error 53”. The users were told by Apple […]

Video gaming addictive like crack: WHO

by Marlowe Hood Agence France-Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — Video gaming can be addictive in the same way as cocaine or gambling, the World Health Organization said Monday in a much anticipated update of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11). “After consulting with experts across the world, and reviewing evidence in an exhaustive manner, we decided that this condition should be added,” Shekhar Saxena, director of the WHO’s department of mental health and substance abuse, […]

US property crisis looms as sea level rises, experts warn

  by Kerry Sheridan © Agence France-Presse SARASOTA, United States (AFP) — Along sun-splashed shorelines in the US state of Florida, home prices are on the rise, developers are busy building new complexes, and listings just blocks from the beach describe homes that are “not in a flood zone,” meaning no flood insurance is required. But experts warn that ignoring sea level rise won’t prevent a looming economic crisis caused by water-logged homes that will someday […]

Mount Everest, the high-altitude rubbish dump

by Paavan Mathema and Annabel Symington Agence France-Presse KATHMANDU, Nepal (AFP) — Decades of commercial mountaineering have turned Mount Everest into the world’s highest rubbish dump as an increasing number of big-spending climbers pay little attention to the ugly footprint they leave behind. Fluorescent tents, discarded climbing equipment, empty gas canisters and even human excrement litter the well-trodden route to the summit of the 8,848-metre (29,029-foot) peak. “It is disgusting, an eyesore,” Pemba Dorje Sherpa, […]

Experts brew up advice on perfect cup of coffee

By Bobby Soriano New York Bureau NEW YORK (Eagle News) — Cup of joe. Morning brew. Kape. No matter what you call it chances are that either you or someone you know is an avid coffee drinker. But what goes into making a great cup of coffee? What can you do to improve the coffee you make at home? You will probably get a different answer from each person you ask. Industry experts were on […]