Breaking News, Latest Philippines Headlines, World, Entertainment, Politics, Weather & Video News
BANGKOK, Feb 15, 2024 (AFP) – Bangkok city employees have been told to work from home to avoid harmful air pollution, as a layer of noxious haze blanketed the Thai capital on Thursday. City authorities asked for cooperation from employers to help workers in the city of some 11 million people avoid the pollution, which is expected to last into Friday. The air monitoring website IQAir ranked Bangkok among the 10 most polluted cities in […]
KYIV, Ukraine, Feb 15, 2024 (AFP) – Ukraine was under a nationwide air alert for over two hours on Thursday after the military warned that a group of bombers had taken off from a base in Russia. The Ukrainian air force reported that several Tu-95MS strategic bombers had left the Olenya airfield in Russia’s far north, prompting the alert to be issued. But it was lifted hours later, with the air force saying in a […]
WASHINGTON, Feb 14, 2024 (AFP) – The United States is facing a new and “serious” national security threat, top officials warned Wednesday, with two media outlets reporting it involves a Russian attempt to build a space-based nuclear capability. ABC News and The New York Times quoted unidentified officials saying that Russia was developing a nuclear, space-based anti-satellite weapon. According to officials quoted in the Times, Russia has not yet deployed such a capability. In public, […]
BEIJING, Feb 15, 2024 (AFP) – China condemned Taiwanese authorities on Wednesday after two Chinese nationals died in a boat accident while pursued by Taiwan’s coast guard. The Chinese boat was carrying four people when it capsized near the Kinmen Islands, throwing all onboard into the water, Chinese and Taiwanese authorities said. “The malignant incident severely harmed the feelings of compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Straits,” Zhu Fenglian, a spokesperson for China’s Taiwan […]
An American spaceship attempting a lunar landing will aim to launch early Thursday, the second private-led effort this year after the first ended in failure. Intuitive Machines, the Houston company leading mission “IM-1,” hopes to become the first non-government entity to achieve a soft touchdown on the Moon and land the first US robot on the surface since the Apollo missions more than five decades ago. Its hexagonal-shaped Nova-C lander named “Odysseus” is set to […]
By Andrew CABALLERO-REYNOLDS KANSAS CITY, Feb 15, 2024 (AFP) – One person was killed and multiple children were among 21 injured after a mass shooting at the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl victory rally on Wednesday triggered panic among huge crowds of fans. Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, which takes patients up to the age of 17, said it was treating 12 people — 11 of them children, nine for gunshot wounds — […]
SAN FRANCISCO, Feb 15, 2024 (AFP) – Cisco is cutting thousands of jobs as part of a restructuring plan, the computer networking giant announced Wednesday. About 5 percent of Cisco’s global workforce will be affected by the layoffs, the Silicon Valley-based company said while announcing its latest quarterly earnings figures. Cisco ended last year with nearly 85,000 employees, according to its website. Analysts say that tech layoffs could become a new normal for Silicon Valley […]
By Kelly MACNAMARA The Amazon rainforest is facing a barrage of pressures that might tip it into large-scale ecosystem collapse as soon as 2050, according to new research Wednesday warning of dire consequences for the region and the world. The Amazon, which holds more than 10 percent of the world’s biodiversity, helps stabilise the global climate by storing the equivalent of around two decades of emissions of planet-warming carbon dioxide. But stress from deforestation, drought, […]
By Juan RESTREPO, Juan BARRETO In freezing Antarctic waters, amid bobbing chunks of floating ice, the hums, pitches and echoes of life in the deep are helping scientists understand the behavior and movements of marine mammals. “There are species which make impressive sounds, literally like Star Wars, they sound like spaceships,” said Colombian scientist Andrea Bonilla, who is carrying out research with underwater microphones off Antarctica’s coast. The biologist from Cornell University in New York […]
Hackers linked to the governments in Russia, North Korea and Iran have turned to ChatGPT to explore new ways to carry out online attacks, OpenAI and Microsoft said Wednesday. OpenAI and Microsoft said accounts linked to hackers have been shut down as the companies increase efforts to thwart malicious use of the popular AI chatbots by state actors. Microsoft is a major financial backer of OpenAI and uses its AI technology, known as large language […]
Earth-bound surgeons remotely controlled a small robot aboard the International Space Station over the weekend, conducting the first-ever such surgery in orbit — albeit on rubber bands. The experiment, deemed a “huge success” by the participants, represents a new step in the development of space surgery, which could become necessary to treat medical emergencies during multi-year manned voyages, such as to Mars. The technology could also be used to develop remote-control surgery techniques on Earth, […]
By Daniel Funke and Anuj Chopra WASHINGTON, Feb 14, 2024 (AFP) – Influencers on X are monetizing misinformation about conflicts in the Middle East, leveraging the platform’s contentious policies that researchers say prioritize engagement over accuracy. Since Elon Musk’s turbulent 2022 acquisition of X, formerly Twitter, the site has restored thousands of once-banned accounts and introduced a paid verification system that critics say has boosted conspiracy theorists. X also rolled out an ad revenue-sharing program […]
