Beetles attack Baguio pines

BAGUIO CITY - The city government disclosed Monday that trees, particularly pines, in this mountain resort city are under attack by beetles.

The beetle species attacking the pine trees is the ips caligraphus.

The City Environment and Parks Management Office (CEPMO) reported that a number of pines and other tree species, especially those located in parks, are reportedly on the verge of dying due to bark beetle attacks, the CEPMO said.

Officials revealed that apart from pines, mahogany and eucalyptus trees being propagated under a program of the Regional Development Council (RDC) of Cordillera are also affected by beetle attack.

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Philippines' famed Boracay island under threat

AFP/File – A tourist sunbathes on the fabled beach of Boracay island. The Philippines' once pristine island …

Fri Jul 9, 5:58 am ET

The Philippines' once pristine island of Boracay has become extremely overdeveloped, with its famous beach now choked by sewage and too many bars, the country's new tourism minister said Friday.

In a candid interview with AFP, Tourism Secretary Alberto Lim suggested it was time tourists visited equally beautiful beaches in thecountry other than Boracay, which the government said drew 650,000 tourists last year.

"If you go to Boracay you'd love the beach, you'd love the night life and the good restaurants. But it's so dense, it's so dense," Lim said.

"It is now, you know, too commercial. It's become Phuket," he said, referring to the much larger Thai beach resort island.

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Oracle Paul the Octopus picks Spain over Netherlands to win World Cup

The "psychic" German octopus Paul, who so far has accurately predicted the winners, has picked Spain over the Netherlands in the World Cup finals. Will Spain win its ever first ever World Cup?

Paul, who has received death threats after correctly predicting Germany's stunning loss to Spain in the semifinals, has also selected the winner of the battle for third between Germany and Uruguay.
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Gulf of Mexico now worst accidental spill on record

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana (AFP) - – A Taiwanese supertanker skimmed oil from the Gulf of Mexico Saturday as the months-long disaster became the worst accidental spill on record.

Rough seas and strong winds continued to delay clean-up efforts, displace protective booms and push the oil deeper into fragile coastal wetlands, endangering wildlife preserves and the thousands of birds nesting there.

"This is going to be a very long and arduous clean-up operation in the days to come," said Coast Guard Admiral Paul Zukunft.

"I'm especially concerned with some of the wildlife habitats."

An estimated 35,000 to 60,000 barrels of oil per day has been gushing out of the ruptured well since the BP-leased Deepwater Horizon drilling rig sank on April 22, some 50 miles (80 kilometers) off the coast of Louisiana.

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Giant predatory whale named for 'Moby Dick' author

AP – This artists' rendering provided by the journal Nature shows a raptorial sperm whale Leviathan melvillei …

LONDON – Scientists have discovered an ancient whale whose bite ripped huge chunks of flesh out of other whales about 12 million years ago — and they've named it after the author of "Moby Dick."

The prehistoric sperm whale grew to between 13 and 18 meters (up to 60 feet) long, not unusual by today's standards. But unlike modern sperm whales, Leviathan melvillei, named for Herman Melville, sported vicious, tusk-like teeth some 36 centimeters (14 inches) long.

The ancient beast evidently dined on other whales, researchers said in Thursday's issue of the journal Nature. They report finding a skull of the beast in a Peruvian desert.

The researchers named it in tribute to the 19th-century author and his classic tale of the great white whale, which includes frequent digressions on natural history that punctuate the action.

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