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(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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
by Mathieu CATAFARD Emilio Wawatie, a member of Canada’s indigenous Anishnabe community, says he grew tired of the stereotypical portrayal of his country’s indigenous peoples on the silver screen. So at age 18, he launched into a film career. “You don’t have to go back to black-and-white films,” the filmmaker says. “Not that long ago, aboriginals were represented as ‘wild Indians’ in popular cinema, a cliche perpetuated by whites.” Now 25, Wawatie is part of […]
CHENGDU, China (AFP) — Claiming to be the world’s largest building by floor space, the 1,760,000 square metres of the New Century Global Center are a monument to growing Chinese consumer power, packed with shoppers — and beach bathers a thousand kilometers from the coast. Home to hundreds of shops, restaurants, offices, a cinema and ice rink, the cavernous building in Chengdu, deep in southwestern China, also hosts a water park featuring a pool modelled […]
CHICAGO (Reuters) – U.S. researchers have found that Zika can attack special populations of brain cells in adult mice in the part of the brain involved in learning and memory, raising new questions about how the virus may be impacting millions of adults who have been infected with the virus. The findings, published on Thursday in the journal “Cell Stem Cell,” are the first to look at whether Zika can attack the same kinds […]
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AFP) – by Amelie BARON The United Nations’ belated acknowledgement it played a role in a cholera epidemic in Haiti that has killed nearly 10,000 people was hailed by victims’ advocates Thursday as vindication of their efforts to hold the world body accountable. The epidemic broke out in 2010 in the vicinity of a base housing UN peacekeepers, in an impoverished Caribbean country that previously had been considered cholera-free. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) – US motorcycle giant Harley-Davidson on Thursday entered a $15 million settlement with US authorities who accused the company of making and selling illegal devices that increased air pollution from its bikes. The company, the iconic American manufacturer of large and loud motorcycles, agreed to buy back and cease selling so-called “super tuners,” which improved performance but increased hydrocarbon and nitrogen oxide emissions. The company has produced and sold about 340,000 […]
KOLKOTA, India (AFP) — Looking remarkably unlined for his claimed 120 years, an Indian monk who says he is the oldest man to have ever lived puts his longevity down to no sex or spices, and daily yoga. Hindu monk Swami Sivananda was born on August 8, 1896, according to his passport. If true, his life would have spanned three centuries, but despite his apparent age he remains strong enough to perform yoga for hours […]
by Amber WANG TAIPEI, Taiwan (AFP) — Cheap instant “bubble tea” has become one of Taiwan’s best-known culinary exports — now a new wave of entrepreneurs hopes a high-end modern take on traditional brews will also be sipped worldwide. Taiwan has been producing tea for more than 200 years and a cup of the island’s famous oolong is obligatory for many visitors, but exports have been knocked by rising labour costs and bubble tea has […]
LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — The world’s “largest aircraft” embarked on its maiden flight on Wednesday, four days after a previous attempt was abandoned due to technical issues. The Airlander 10 — part plane, part airship — took to the skies amid cheers and applause from crowds gathered at an airfield in Cardington, central England. The successful flight comes 85 years after another airship — the ill-fated R101 — took off from the same airfield […]
