Month: December 2025
FACT CHECK: Will The Next Total Solar Eclipse be The Longest in 100 Years?
An article in Daily Galaxy and The Times of India claims the next total solar eclipse will be the longest in 100 years. Some social media posts even claimed the solar eclipse will plunge the sky into darkness for over six minutes as it crosses three continents. Rating: MOSTLY TRUE — with misleading claimsWhat’s true
Sinkholes Open Across Turkey — Prophecy or Warning From Climate Science?
MANILA, Philippines — Massive sinkholes, some plunging hundreds of feet into the ground, are tearing through central Turkey’s Konya Plain, unsettling farming communities and igniting online speculation that the phenomenon fulfills a biblical prophecy. On social media, some users have cited a passage from the Book of Numbers describing the earth opening and swallowing people as
Your Daily Coca-Cola Habit: What Really Happens After That First Sip
For many Filipinos, opening a cold can of Coca-Cola is almost second nature — a quick boost during lunch, a reward after a long day, or a staple at family gatherings. But behind the familiar fizz, health experts are raising renewed concerns about what regular soda drinking does to the body. A sugar hit —
Beyond the Beaches: Why the Philippines Is Redefining Paradise in an Age of Climate Crisis
MANILA, Philippines — For decades, the Philippines marketed paradise in a single frame: white sand, blue water, and the promise of escape. But in an era of intensifying storms, coral bleaching, and vanishing coastlines, the country is being forced to confront an uncomfortable truth — paradise is fragile. And if tourism is to survive, it
Festival of Lights: What Hanukkah Really Means—And Why it Still Matters
Hanukkah is often reduced to candles, gifts, and fried food. But behind the familiar rituals is a story of resistance, faith, and the enduring power of light in dark times. MANILA, Philippines — Each year, as nights grow longer in the Northern Hemisphere, Jewish families around the world light candles one by one on a
FACT CHECK: No, Trump Did Not Warn That the Sun Will Vanish at 3:47 pm on Sunday
A video circulating on social media shows U.S. President Donald Trump warning that the sun will disappear at 3:47 p.m. this Sunday. Rating: False WHAT’S GOING AROUND A short video clip has been shared widely on platforms like Facebook, TikTok, and X, suggesting that Trump issued a warning about the sun “vanishing” at a precise
Churches Are Thinning — And not Just Among Catholics
MANILA, Philippines — Kidapawan Bishop José Colin Bagaforo warned that fewer Catholics are attending Mass. His concern struck a familiar chord across Christian denominations. Once seen as a problem mainly for Catholic and mainline Protestant churches. It is now increasingly evident even among evangelicals, long regarded as Christianity’s most reliable churchgoers. Across countries and denominations,
Scientists Find Massive Hidden Rock Layer Under Bermuda. Why it Matters
Scientists say the real mystery surrounding Bermuda is buried deep beneath the ocean floor. Researchers have discovered an unusually thick layer of rock — about 20 kilometers (12.4 miles) — sitting below the oceanic crust under Bermuda, something that has never been observed anywhere else in the world. “Normally, you have the oceanic crust, and
A 30-Year-Old Sea-Level Forecast Turned Out To Be Right. Why That Matters Now
A sea-level rise forecast made nearly three decades ago — before today’s powerful computer models and artificial intelligence — has turned out to be strikingly accurate, underscoring both the reliability of climate science and the urgency of acting on it. In its 1996 assessment, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) projected that global sea
Cigarette Smuggling in Zamboanga Peninsula: Why the Crackdown Never Seems Enough
ZAMBOANGA PENINSULA – The latest seizure of ₱8.7 million worth of smuggled cigarettes off Ipil, Zamboanga Sibugay, is only the newest entry in a running tally that has come to define the region’s maritime problem: cigarette smuggling is not just persistent — it is systemic. For years, authorities have staged near-weekly interdictions at sea, hauling
Boatman arrested, P8.7 million smuggled cigarettes seized in Zamboanga Sibugay
ZAMBOANGA SIBUGAY, Philippines – Maritime police arrested a boatman and confiscated around P8.7 million worth of smuggled cigarettes off the province’s coast, authorities said on Friday, December 12. The Zamboanga Sibugay Maritime Police Station (Marpsta) identified the suspect only as “Al,” 31, a resident of Zone 2, Cawit village in Zamboanga City. Police said Al
Explainer | Anti-Political Dynasty Bill: Does It Need Charter Change?
MANILA, Philippines – A fresh debate could erupt after Ako Bicol Representative Alfredo Garbin Jr. warned that the long-delayed Anti-Political Dynasty Act cannot be enforced unless the Constitution is amended. The statement revived an old but unresolved question: Can Congress ban political dynasties using a simple law, or would doing so violate the Constitution? Here’s
