Other News

2,000 evacuated after landslide in northern India

SHIMLA, India (AFP) — At least 2,000 people were evacuated on Friday after a massive landslide in India’s ecologically fragile Himalayan north blocked a major river, officials said. The people were evacuated from 13 villages in the Lahaul area of Himachal Pradesh state as a “preventative measure” in case of flash floods, a senior district official told AFP. Hundreds of tonnes of rocks and other debris slid into and partially blocked the Chenab — one […]

Soil from Mt. Mayon found to have potential antibiotic, anticancer properties – UPLB research

    Soil from from Mt. Mayon volcano has been found to host bacteria that has potential antibiotic and anticancer properties, according to researchers from the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB). The researchers identified a specific bacterial species from the soils of Mt. Mayon that has shown potential antibiotic and anti-colorectal cancer activities. “This specific bacterial isolate identified as Streptomyces sp. A1-08 has shown antibiotic activity against numerous potentially pathogenic microorganisms and anti-colorectal […]

Israel begins Covid booster shots for over 50s

JERUSALEM, Undefined (AFP) — Israelis aged 50 and over began receiving vaccine booster shots against the coronavirus Friday as part of a government bid to stem spiking infections driven by the Delta variant. The government announced on Thursday that it was offering third shots to people aged over 50, two weeks after launching a campaign to give the elderly booster jabs. “This is an important step in the fight against the Delta pandemic,” Prime Minister […]

Asian markets drop as traders eye Fed move, Delta spread

HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Asian markets fell Friday as a broadly positive week drew to a close with investors pricing in the likelihood that Federal Reserve officials will start withdrawing the vast financial support put in place at the start of the pandemic. The fast-spreading Delta virus variant, which is forcing governments to introduce containment measures, and the Chinese government’s campaign to tighten its grip on the world’s number two economy were also playing […]

Greece fires under control as reconstruction begins

ATHENS, Greece (AFP) — Fires burning for over a week that caused Greece’s worst ecological disaster in decades were finally placed under control Friday, the fire department said. “As of yesterday, there is no major active front, just scattered pockets,” a fire department spokesman told AFP. Rain and falling temperatures helped the fire-dousing effort, but crews remain on alert for possible flare-ups in hard-to-access ravines on the island of Evia and in the region of […]

Dutch lead charge for electric car stations

by Charlotte VAN OUWERKERK ROTTERDAM, Netherlands (AFP) — They are best known for bike-riding, but the climate-vulnerable Dutch are leading the way for electric cars with the largest number of charging stations in Europe. Teslas and other vehicles can be seen plugged in on practically every street corner thanks to a network of some 75,000 stations — nearly a third of the entire EU total. Investing to put enough charging stations in the reach of […]

21 dead as torrential rainfall batters central China

BEIJING, China (AFP) — At least 21 people died as heavy downpours struck central China’s Hubei province, authorities said Friday, weeks after record floods wreaked havoc and killed hundreds in a neighbouring province. China has been battered by unprecedented rains in recent months, extreme weather that experts say is increasingly common due to global warming. In Hubei, torrential rains caused power cuts and landslides, destroying hundreds of homes and forcing the evacuation of nearly 6,000 […]

Ship snaps in two off Japan coast, crew safe

TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — A cargo ship ran aground and broke into two off northern Japan, the coastguard said Thursday, with the crew of the Panama-flagged vessel taken to safety. Aerial images showed the separated stern of the Crimson Polaris tipped upwards and the other part of the stricken boat listing into the sea. A fuel leak from the ship has spread around 24 kilometers (15 miles), a coastguard spokesman told AFP, but the extent […]

South Korea commissions first SLBM submarine

SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — South Korea’s Navy received its first ballistic-missile-capable submarine on Friday to counter the threat of underwater missiles from the nuclear-armed North. Pyongyang has been developing submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) technology for years. It showed off four such devices at a military parade overseen by leader Kim Jong Un in January, with state media KCNA calling them “the world’s most powerful weapon”. Days earlier, Kim told a congress of his ruling […]

Tens of thousands urged to evacuate as heavy rain hits Japan

TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Tens of thousands of people were urged to evacuate on Friday as “unprecedented” levels of torrential rain hit western Japan, raising the risk of floods and landslides, the weather agency said. The downpours are forecast to continue for several days over a large swathe of the country, from the northern Tohoku region to Kyushu in the south. “There is a possibility that a grave disaster will occur” in the coming days, […]

DOH: 11 areas in Metro Manila under COVID-19 alert level 4

(Eagle News) — Eleven areas in Metro Manila are under the highest alert level 4 because of increasing COVID-19 cases and hospital bed utilization. Health Undersecretary Ma. Rosario Vergeire said these are: Las Piñas Malabon Makati Marikina Muntinlupa Navotas San Juan Pateros Quezon City Taguig Valenzuela According to Vergeire, Metro Manila is still at a high-risk case classification with its positive two-week growth rate and a high-risk average daily attack rate. Apart from these 11 […]

China rejects need for further WHO coronavirus origins probe

BEIJING, China (AFP) — China on Friday rejected the World Health Organization’s calls for a renewed probe into the origins of Covid-19, saying it supported “scientific” over “political” efforts to find out how the virus started. Pressure is once more mounting on Beijing to consider a fresh probe into the orgins of a pandemic which has killed more than four million people and paralyzed economies worldwide since it first emerged in the central Chinese city […]