Tag Archives: Australia

Science and Environment

IN AUSTRALIA, IT’S RAINING SPIDERS!

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spidersGOULBURN, Australia (The Adobo Chronicles) – Many of us have heard the phrase, “It’s raining cat’s and dogs,” and it’s really more of a figure of speech.  We’ve also heard “It’s raining men,” but that’s a 1980’s hit song by The Weather Girls.

However, in Australia, when one says, “It’s raining spiders,” it really IS raining spiders.

Residents of Goulburn, Australia, awoke this month to find their town shrouded in eerie, silken webs, while millions of tiny spiders rained down from above, local news reported.

“The whole place was covered in these little black spiderlings and when I looked up at the sun it was like this tunnel of webs going up for a couple of hundred meters into the sky,” resident Ian Watson told the Sydney Morning Herald. His house looked like it had been “abandoned and taken over by spiders,” he added.Capture

Australia is known as a country for all seasons. You can do practically anything at any time of year.  There are four seasons (winter, spring, summer and fall) across most of the country and a wet and dry season in the tropical north.

With this latest phenomenon, however, Australia will add a fifth season during the time when spiders fall from the sky and the ground is blanketed by white spider webs.

The new season will be called Arachnoid season.

International, Law Enforcement

INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE LISTS BEST PRISONS IN THE WORLD, PHILIPPINES IS NO. 1

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imageThe Hague, Netherlands (The Adobo Chronicles) – The International Court of Justice (French: Cour internationale de justice; commonly referred to as the World Court or ICJ) has just released its 2014 list of the Top Ten Best Prisons in the World.

ICJ is the primary judicial branch of the United Nations. It is based in the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands. Its main functions are to settle legal disputes submitted to it by states and to provide advisory opinions on legal questions submitted to it by duly authorized international branches, agencies, and the UN General Assembly. 

This is the first year that ICJ is releasing the best prison list, based on an international survey it has commissioned to look at prison conditions in U.N. member countries.

The Philippines ranked No. 1 on the ICJ list, followed by Great Britain and Japan.

Reacting to the good news, Philippines Secretary of Justice Leila de Lima told reporters that her efforts to rid the country’s prison system of corruption and mismanagement have finally paid off. “We should treat all prison inmates with respect and dignity by providing them comfortable accommodations during their incarceration,” de Lima said.

Rounding up the top ten list are U.S.A., China, South Africa, Australia, Switzerland, New Zealand and Singapore.

(Michael Martin Navarrete Bello contributed to this report)

 

Film and TV, International, Music

THE X FACTOR REALITY SHOW’S NEW RULES: ONLY NATIVE-BORN CITIZENS ALLOWED

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Marlisa, left, and Rose Fostanes
Marlisa, left, and Rose Fostanes

Los Angeles California (The Adobo Chronicles) – The producers of the internationally-syndicated reality show The X Factor have issued new rules on eligibility for contestants. Henceforth, only native-born citizens will be allowed to join the singing contest in the country in which the show is being held. Only native-born U.S. citizens for X Factor America, native-born Australian citizens for X Factor Australia, native-born Israeli citizens for X Factor Israel, and so on.  The rules also state that both parents of the contestants must also be native-born citizens.

The decision came immediately after 15-year-old Marlisa Punzalan won the grand finals in this season’s X Factor Australia, beating fellow Australians Dean Ray and Brothers 3. Although Marlisa was born in Australia, both her parents were born in the Philippines.

Just months ago, a Filipina caregiver in Tel Aviv, Rose Fostanes, won the first X Factor Israel. Other Filipinos have figured prominently and became finalists in other reality singing competitions in the U.S., U.K., Bulgaria and other countries. Many will recall that Pinay singer Jessica Sanchez was runner-up in American Idol.

“We know Filipinos are among the best singers in the world, but we wanted to showcase other world talents and that’s why we have established X Factor in different countries outside of the U.S. or the U.K.,” the producers said.

The Philippines has its own X Factor syndicated show in Manila.