BEIJING, China (AFP) — China has unveiled illustrations of a Mars probe and rover it aims to send to the Red Planet at the end of the decade in a mission that faces “unprecedented” challenges, state media said Wednesday. China, which is pouring billions into its space programme and working to catch up with the US and Europe, announced in April it aims to send a spacecraft “around 2020” to orbit Mars, land and deploy […]
Life
DOH: Give children the best milk in the world
CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY (PIA) — Reiterating the need to breastfeed, the Department of Health in Region 10 reminds mothers to put their babies interest first. Dr. Jocelyn P. Torrecampo of DOH during the “Talakayan sa PIA” media forum held in Cagayan de Oro city on 19 August said pregnant women should do breast feeding because it’s the best milk, “while it’s economically wise, it gives the best start and protection to infants,” she added. […]
Australian unearths ‘beast’ of a truffle
SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — An Australian has uncovered what is thought to be the largest black truffle ever discovered in the country, a 1,511-gram (53.3-ounce) monster that could also be a world-beater. Stuart Dunbar said he had known since February that a truffle had been growing in the spot where it was found, but its ripening aroma in warmer weather meant he started digging last Thursday. He said he had no idea of the size of […]
Shaping Your Style: A Guide to Accentuating Your Best Asset
By Kristine Mariano (Eagle News Service, Washington DC) Have you ever struggled to find your style or the perfect clothing that fits your body? Have you ever wanted to create the wardrobe of your dreams but do not know where to start and what to get rid of? Do you want to know how to appreciate the body that you were blessed with? The first few steps in answering these questions are to identify, be […]
Disabled Afghan girl painter dreams of a bright future
KABUL, Afghanistan (Reuters) — Like many other young artists her age, 16-year-old Robaba Mohammadi dreams of holding international art exhibitions. The only difference — she draws not with her fingers but with her mouth. She was born with partial paralysis of her limbs and is unable to control her hands and feet, except for a few toes. Mohammadi came from a poor family in Ghazni province who moved to Kabul when she was three after […]
Most fatal type of stroke declining along with smoking rates
By Kathryn Doyle (Reuters Health) – The type of brain bleeding that causes the most lethal kind of stroke has declined substantially since 1998, possibly as a result of falling smoking rates, according to researchers in Finland. Bleeding in the space between the brain and the thin tissue covering it, known as subarachnoid hemorrhage, affects fewer than 200,000 people in the U.S. each year and represents about 10 percent of all strokes. About 50 percent […]
China opens longest glass bottom bridge in world
ZHANGJIAJIE, China (AFP) — Tourists who suffer from vertigo need not apply. The world’s highest and longest glass-bottomed bridge opened Saturday in China’s spectacular Zhangjiajie mountains — the inspiration for American blockbuster Avatar. Some 430 meters (1,400 feet) long and suspended 300 metres above the earth, the bridge spans the canyon between two mountain cliffs in Zhangjiajie park in China’s central Hunan province. Six metres wide and made of some 99 panels of clear glass, […]
NASA says 2016 heat to take its toll on Arctic Sea ice
(REUTERS) Record-breaking warm temperatures in the first half of 2016 have primed the Arctic for another summer of low sea ice cover, said NASA on Friday (August 19). “Globally it’s been the warmest year on record,” said NASA scientist Walt Meier from Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland “That’s resulted in an earlier melt of the Arctic sea ice and an opening of the ocean. And so we’re on track for one of […]
‘Alarming’ disparity in broadband connectivity within Asia-Pacific, UN regional study finds
(UNITED NATIONS) New findings by the economic and social development arm of the United Nations in the Asia-Pacific have revealed that nearly 75 per cent of the region’s broadband capabilities and access are concentrated in countries in East and North-East Asia while the Pacific subregion accounts for a mere 1.93 per cent. “As a result of this digital divide, millions of people are shut out from transformative digital opportunities in education, health, business and […]
Zika spreads to Miami Beach, U.S. expands travel warning
By Zachary Fagenson and Julie Steenhuysen MIAMI/CHICAGO (Reuters) – Federal health officials on Friday warned pregnant women not to travel to trendy Miami Beach after Florida confirmed that the mosquito-borne Zika virus was active in the popular tourist destination. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also suggested that pregnant women who are especially worried about exposure to Zika – which has been shown to cause the severe birth defect known as microcephaly […]
‘New port of call’ installed at space station
MIAMI, United States (AFP) – by Kerry SHERIDAN With more private spaceship traffic expected at the International Space Station in the coming years, two spacewalking US astronauts installed a special parking spot for them on Friday. Americans Jeff Williams and Kate Rubins floated outside the orbiting laboratory for a spacewalk lasting five hours and 58 minutes to attach the first of two international docking adaptors. The astronauts spent more than two hours tying down the adaptor, after […]
Local Zika spreads to tourist hotspot Miami Beach
MIAMI, United States (AFP) – by Leila MACOR Kerry SHERIDAN Five new cases of Zika have been found in the tourist hotspot of Miami Beach, signaling the spread of local transmission of a virus blamed for birth defects, officials said Friday. Pregnant women and those who want to become pregnant are urged to stay away from two areas — a 1.5 square mile (3.9 square kilometer) section of Miami Beach and a neighborhood north of […]
