THE PHILIPPINES ARE GETTING SANDWICHED BY SIDE-TO-SIDE SUBDUCTION MOVEMENT

 THE PHILIPPINES ARE GETTING SANDWICHED BY SIDE-TO-SIDE SUBDUCTION MOVEMENT

Heads UP #Philippines

Look at these seismic pressures along the trenches, from the Cotabato trench, the Negros trench, and now the Philippines trench.

Just like I warned you a few days ago. The Sunda plate is a microplate but larger than any other microplate, and this plate subducts eastward beneath the Philippines Mobile belt along the Negros and Cotabato trenches.

The pressures on the tectonic plate should have to be balanced, so this is expected on the Negros trench and the Philippines trench to get an earthquake.

A stress energy after a large earthquake can transfer to neighboring trenches. When a large rupture occurs, a stress can transfer not just to the neighboring trenches but to a fault system due to continuous collision between the Sunday plate and the Philippines Sea plate.

Stay Alert Mindanao, Visayas and Luzon for more possible earthquakes

Global Disasters News

Is it good to eat banana in the morning?

 

Theresa Belvis

 · 

Medical PractitionerMay 30

Every day, my grandmother would put slices of bananas into her porridge before consuming it, without any fear of anything related to the ongoing nutritional debate because at her age, there were none.

My grandmother lived until she turned ninety-one. During her life, she managed to make her cardiovascular system be better than those who were decades younger than her. Every year during an appointment with a doctor, he pointed that out as one of the puzzles he would never be able to solve. However, she always told him that she had not stopped eating her fruits.

I found out the following years about how smart her idea was because it is precisely what modern-day research tells people should eat. Namely, she never ate her bananas alone. Instead, she always consumed them together with some other products she could find in her pantry, such as some nuts or seeds or even a small spoon of peanut butter.

Thus, she was unknowingly providing her body with all the essential nutrients needed to keep her healthy and energetic. The potassium provided by that daily banana helped maintain her cardiovascular system healthy for decades. In addition, she was receiving sufficient amounts of magnesium needed for good muscle and nerve activity, which made her be sharp in mind and energetic in the last two decades of her life. Moreover, due to the consumption of underripe bananas, she was supplying her gut bacteria with resistant starches.

What genuinely nourished people across generations was never complicated or expensive. It was simply real food eaten with the kind of practical wisdom that grandmothers carried instinctively before nutrition became an industry. Natural foods used with genuine knowledge have healed real people from the inside out. That knowledge is worth finding.

Rentenerhöhung im Juli 2026: Das ändert sich für Millionen Rentner

Stand:17.06.2026, 14:30 Uhr

Von: Alexander Riedel

Im Sommer warten Millionen Rentner auf freudige Nachrichten zu ihren gesetzlichen Altersbezügen. Auch in diesem Jahr fällt das Plus wieder hoch aus. Das gilt ab Anfang Juli.

Berlin (KNA) – Für rund 21 Millionen Rentnerinnen und Rentner bringt der 1. Juli eine Erhöhung ihrer gesetzlichen Altersbezüge. Doch nicht alle erhalten zum gleichen Zeitpunkt mehr Geld. Die Deutsche Rentenversicherung verschickt von Mitte Juni bis Ende Juli dazu Briefe. Die Katholische Nachrichten-Agentur (KNA) beantwortet die wichtigsten Fragen zur Rentenanpassung:  

Artikel der KNA

Dieser Beitrag stammt von der Katholischen Nachrichten-Agentur (KNA).

Um wie viel steigt die gesetzliche Rente?

Ab dem 1. Juli steigen die Renten um 4,24 Prozent. Das ist innerhalb von fünf Jahren zum vierten Mal eine Anpassung von mehr als vier Prozent. Für eine monatliche Rente von 1.000 Euro bedeutet das ein Plus von 42,40 Euro. Für die rechnerische Standardrente nach 45 Beitragsjahren mit einem durchschnittlichen Verdienst würde die monatliche Rente laut Bundessozialministerium um 77,85 Euro im Monat steigen.

Was ist die Grundlage für die Rentenerhöhung?

Die jährliche Rentenanpassung wird von der Bundesregierung mit Zustimmung des Bundesrats festgelegt. Sie folgt der Entwicklung der Bruttolöhne. Zusätzlich gilt eine sogenannte Haltelinie für das Rentenniveau von 48 Prozent. Dieser Wert gibt vereinfacht gesagt das Verhältnis der Standardrente zu den aktuellen Löhnen an. Durch die Haltelinie soll sichergestellt werden, dass Rentner im Vergleich zur arbeitenden Bevölkerung nicht ärmer werden.

4,24 Prozent mehr Rente gibt es ab Juli. Im Durchschnitt haben Rentnerinnen und Rentner dann knapp 78 Euro mehr in der Tasche. © Julia Steinbrecht/KNA     Wie hoch wäre die Rentenanpassung ohne Haltelinie ausgefallen?

Die schwarz-rote Bundesregierung hat die Haltelinie bis 2031 verlängert. Ohne diesen Schritt würde bei der Rentenanpassung auch berücksichtigt, ob sich die Zahl der Rentner im Verhältnis zur Zahl der Beitragszahler in der Rentenversicherung erhöht hat. Laut Deutscher Rentenversicherung wären die Renten ohne Haltelinie nur um 4,05 Prozent gestiegen.

Wann wird die höhere Rente ausgezahlt?

Das hängt davon ab, seit wann Rentner ihre gesetzlichen Altersbezüge erhalten. Wer bis zum 31. März 2004 in Rente gegangen ist, erhält die höhere Rente für Juli bereits am 30. Juni. Wer erst ab dem 1. April 2004 in Rente gegangen ist, erhält den höheren Betrag erstmals am 31. Juli ausgezahlt.

Wie viel Rente wird im Schnitt gezahlt?

Die durchschnittliche gesetzliche Rente liegt deutlich unter der Standardrente, daher fällt auch das Plus im Schnitt geringer aus als die genannten 77,85 Euro. Laut jüngster Statistik der Rentenversicherung lag der durchschnittliche Bezug etwa aus Alters- und/oder Witwenrente nach Abzug von Kranken- und Pflegeversicherungsbeiträgen bei 1.289 Euro im Monat, wobei Frauen mit 1.194 Euro darunter und Männer mit 1.416 Euro darüber lagen.   

Zur ausgezahlten Durchschnittsrente kämen mit der aktuellen Erhöhung somit etwa 55 Euro hinzu. Eine gesetzliche Rente von mehr als 3.000 Euro im Monat erhalten nach den jüngsten verfügbaren Zahlen übrigens weniger als ein Prozent der Rentenbezieher.

Ist die Rentenerhöhung in Ost und West gleich?

Ja, seit 2023 gilt in ganz Deutschland ein einheitlicher Wert. Seitdem sind die sogenannten Rentenwerte in Ost und West zu 100 Prozent angeglichen. Die Rentenanpassung erfolgt bundesweit gleich. In der Vergangenheit hatte es in manchen Jahren deutliche Unterschiede gegeben.   

Rente im Ausland: Die zehn besten Länder für den Ruhestand

Fotostrecke ansehen

Muss die Rente versteuert werden?

Grundsätzlich ja, allerdings greift auch bei Rentnerinnen und Rentnern der Grundfreibetrag von aktuell 12.348 Euro im Jahr. Hinzu kommt, dass Renten abhängig vom Rentenbeginn steuerlich unterschiedlich behandelt werden. Bei Rentenbeginn bis spätestens Dezember 2005 gelten 50 Prozent der ersten Bruttorente als Rentenfreibetrag, der nicht versteuert werden muss.   

Dieser Freibetrag wird zu Beginn einmal berechnet und bleibt dann gleich, auch wenn die Renten angehoben werden. Jahr für Jahr fällt er für die jeweiligen Neu-Rentner zudem geringer aus. Für alle, die in diesem Jahr erstmals Rente beziehen, liegt er nur noch bei 16 Prozent der ersten Bruttorente. Ab 2058 muss die dann neue Rente grundsätzlich voll versteuert werden.

Was gilt für die Witwen- und Witwerrente?

Auch für Hinterbliebene steigt die Rente grundsätzlich zum 1. Juli. Hinzu kommt, dass sie mehr hinzuverdienen dürfen. Der Freibetrag steigt von 1.076,86 Euro auf 1.122,53 Euro. Für jedes waisenrentenberechtigte Kind kommen noch einmal 238,11 Euro dazu.  

Als die Rente mindernder Faktor kommt dagegen noch eine Sonderregelung zum Tragen: Seit Juli 2024 erhalten rund drei Millionen Rentnerinnen und Rentner einen Zuschlag zur Erwerbsminderungsrente. Dieser wird seit Dezember als Einkommen bei der Witwenrente angerechnet. Das wirkt sich aber erst ab dem 1. Juli auch bei der Auszahlung aus.  

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PHILIPPINES SURROUNDED BY MAJOR EARTHQUAKE-GENERATING TRENCHES, PHIVOLCS REMINDS PUBLIC

As recent strong earthquakes continue to raise concerns across the country, seismologists are reminding Filipinos that the Philippines sits near several active ocean trenches capable of generating powerful earthquakes and tsunamis.

According to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS), six major active trenches surround the country:

Manila Trench

East Luzon Trough

Philippine Trench

Negros Trench

Sulu Trench

Cotabato Trench

Experts have previously identified the Manila Trench, Philippine Trench, and Negros Trench among the offshore fault systems capable of producing earthquakes exceeding Magnitude 8.0 under certain conditions.

The advisory comes amid renewed public attention on earthquake preparedness following several significant seismic events recorded in different parts of the country in recent weeks.

While PHIVOLCS emphasizes that earthquakes cannot be predicted, authorities continue to encourage households, schools, and businesses to review emergency plans, prepare disaster kits, and familiarize themselves with evacuation procedures.

The Philippines lies within the Pacific Ring of Fire, one of the most seismically active regions in the world, making earthquake preparedness a continuing necessity rather than an occasional precaution.

Source: DOST-PHIVOLCS

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Does blood type matter? Why some people are mosquito magnets

 

Isabelle Cortes - Philstar.com

June 17, 2026 | 2:28pm

This close-up photograph shows a mosquito on human skin in Montlouis-sur-Loire, central France, on Oct. 21, 2022.

AFP / Guillaume Souvant

PARIS, France — Ever felt like mosquitoes bite you while ignoring everyone else? Scientists are now making progress in deciphering the complex chemical cocktail that makes particular people more enticing to these disease-spreading bloodsuckers.

"It's not a misconception — mosquitoes are attracted to some people more than others," Frederic Simard of France's Institute of Research for Development told AFP.

"But we are not all magnets all the time," the medical entomologist added.

A range of sensory cues can cause mosquitoes to pick one human over another — mainly the smell and heat our bodies give off, and the carbon dioxide we exhale.

Female mosquitoes — which are the only ones that bite — detect these signals with finely-tuned receptors, then choose their target accordingly.

"We have known for over 100 years that mosquitoes are attracted by the carbon dioxide that we exhale — this is the first signal that triggers their behavior" when they are dozens of meteRs away, Swedish scientist Rickard Ignell told AFP.

Within around 10 meters, "mosquitoes will start detecting our odor, and in combination with carbon dioxide," this attracts them even more, said the senior author of a recent study on the subject.

As they get closer, body temperature and humidity make particular humans even more enticing.

Doesn't matter 

However some popular theories on this subject do not hold water.

The idea that mosquitoes prefer particular blood types "has no scientific basis," Simard said.

"There have been some studies, but only involving very few people," he said. "Nor is it related to skin, eye or hair color," he added.

Odor, on the other hand, matters greatly.

"A soup of molecules produced by our microbiota is more — or less — appealing to mosquitoes," Simard explained.

Humans release between 300 and 1,000 different odorous compounds, research has shown, but scientists are only just beginning to understand which ones attract mosquitoes.

For Ignell's recent study, the researchers released Aedes aegypti mosquitoes — known for spreading yellow fever and dengue — on 42 women in a lab, to see which ones they preferred.

"We have shown that mosquitoes use a blend of odorous compounds (we identified 27 that the mosquitoes will detect, out of the possible 1,000) for their attraction to us," Ignell said.

The woman the mosquitoes most liked to bite — which included pregnant women in their second trimester — produced a large amount of a particular compound made by a breakdown of the skin oil sebum.

That even a small increase of this compound — called "1-octen-3-ol," or mushroom alcohol — made a difference came as a surprise, Ignell emphasized.

"Mosquitoes are fascinating creatures," he added.

Beer makes you attractive 

Drinking beer has also been linked to attracting mosquitoes, because it raises body temperature, increases the amount of exhaled CO2 and changes skin odor, according to several studies.

For standardized research conducted in Burkina Faso, some brave volunteers drank beer, then several days later water, to see which mosquitoes preferred.

The Anopheles mosquito, which can spread malaria, was more enticed by the scent of the beer drinkers.

For a 2023 study in the Netherlands, 465 volunteers put their arms in cages filled with female Anopheles mosquitoes.

The volunteers who had drunk beer in the previous 24 hours were 1.35 times more attractive to the mosquitoes.

Discovering why mosquitoes prefer particular people has becoming a more pressing issue as climate change expands the range where they roam.

For example, the tiger mosquito, a vector for the chikungunya virus, is spreading into new areas. Last year, chikungunya reached as far north as France's Alsace region for the first time.

"This risk is affecting more and more people," Simard said.

So what can you do to avoid getting bitten?

Try loose-fitting clothing that covers your skin, mosquito nets and repellent, Simard advised.

"Try to eat light meals — and go easy on the alcohol," he added.

Valdez upbeat despite Alas loss

Veteran Alyssa Valdez, the face of the sport for more than a decade already, was holding back her tears while answering the question on why she took the challenge to lead Alas Pilipinas' campaign in the just-concluded 2026 AVC Women's Volleyball Cup in Candon City.

By Mark Rey Montejo

Published Jun 17, 2026 03:44 pm

Veteran Alyssa Valdez, the face of the sport for more than a decade already, was holding back her tears while answering the question on why she took the challenge to lead Alas Pilipinas’ campaign in the just-concluded 2026 AVC Women’s Volleyball Cup in Candon City.

“I’ve been asking myself bakit ko ginawa itong decision na ito sa volleyball career ko, and I think na actually lumabas was kung ano ‘yong love no’ng bata ako sa volleyball hanggang ngayon ‘yon pa rin ‘yong love ko sa pag-represent sa bansa,” said Valdez.

Her simple answer gained not only admiration but also much love and respect from men and women who chronicled the event for more than a week.  

“So, sarap sa pakiramdam, pero… hindi man naging maganda ‘yong resulta pero para sa mga bata magtuloy-tuloy talaga ‘yong fire nila to represent the country,” she added moments after the Philippines settled for eight overall in the continental joust following its 21-25, 12-25, 21-25 loss to Iran.

With the young and brightest opting not to join the PH squad, perhaps due to leadership squabble, Valdez and other veterans like Jovelyn Gonzaga, Ces Molina, Ara Galang, and Royse Tubino stepped up on the plate for the love and pride of serving the country though they are no longer as quick and strong as before.

It is their hope that the young members of the team – Alyssa Solomon, Thea Gagate, and Niña Ytang – will never get tired wearing the tricolors and play with passion and fire.

She also urged other rising stars to stay focused, dream big and not be affected by the outside noise that put the volleyball association in a bad light of late – again.  

“Para sa bawat atletang patuloy na nangangarap – lalo na sa mga kabataang nagsisimula pa lang, padayon tayo,” Valdez wrote on her social media post. 

“Sana hindi kayo mapagod, matakot, o sumuko sa pangarap n’yong magrepresent ng bansa sa kabila ng ingay at gulo sa paligid,” she added.

Valdez, a former Ateneo standout and longtime star of the Creamline Cool Smashers, also called for clarity amid the issues surrounding the path of the country's volleyball body, expressing hope for "leadership in all its forms" for betterment of the next generation.

“At a time like this, what the sport needs is not more division, but leadership in all its forms. Leadership that listens. Leadership that puts the welfare of athletes first. For the sports community, for the fans, for the country,” Valdez continued.

“Pero ngayon, higit kailanman, kailangan natin ang suporta ng volleyball community. Ngayon, hindi man pare-pareho ang paraan, ang mahalaga ay iisa ang hangarin – isang mas maayos, patas, at mas matatag na sistema para sa susunod na henerasyon ng atletang Pilipino,” she concluded. “Maraming salamat sa patuloy na naniniwala at magtitiwala.”