Chinese researchers have developed a catalyst that converts synthesis gas into sustainable jet fuel – an advance that could boost production, help meet net-zero carbon goals and yield a gross profit margin above 50 per cent. The team verified the efficacy of the chemical catalyst in a thousand-tonne pilot test and found that combining woody biomass-derived synthesis gas, or syngas, with the cobalt-manganese catalyst enabled the “highly efficient synthesis of jet fuel”. Based on a techno-economic...

MANILA, Philippines — No bettor won the ₱85.48 million jackpot in the Lotto 6/42 draw or the ₱40.17 million jackpot in the Super Lotto 6/49 draw on Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026, according to the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO). The Lotto 6/42 draw produced the winning combination 19-01-20-39-23-11, with a jackpot prize of ₱85.48 million.

MANILA, Philippines — Thin ashfall is expected to affect nearby towns following the minor volcanic explosion at Taal Volcano’s main crater on Thursday evening, Oct. 8, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said. In an advisory, Phivolcs said that it observed a minor phreatomagmatic eruption occurred at the main crater of Taal Volcano

The United States has downgraded Hong Kong to the lowest tier in its annual human trafficking report, citing shortcomings in prosecutions and victim identification, an assessment the city’s government rejected as “entirely unfounded”. The US State Department’s 2026 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report, released on Thursday, moved Hong Kong from the Tier 2 Watch List, where it had been listed for two consecutive years, to Tier 3. That places the city alongside mainland China and Macau among 20...

The Pentagon announced on Thursday a new multimillion-dollar initiative for “maintaining American leadership” in quantum computing capabilities amid accelerating competition between the US and China over the military application of advanced technology. In a press release, the Office of the Under Secretary of Defence for Research and Engineering, which serves as the US Department of Defence’s chief technology adviser, announced that the new initiative, worth around US$350 million, is aimed at...

MANILA, Philippines — Millions of pesos in insurance and investment products attributed to Vice President Sara Duterte and her husband, Manases Carpio, exceeded the amounts reported as “other personal properties” in their statements of assets, liabilities, and net worth (SALNs) every year from 2022 to 2025. The House prosecution team pointed this out on Thursday

Educational and cultural exchanges have become a new casualty of rising tensions between the Philippines and China. About 150 Chinese teachers have left the Philippines months after Defence Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jnr renewed warnings that such people-to-people ties could pose security concerns. Families of volunteer instructors have expressed safety concerns. Beyond disrupting classes and potentially harming tourism in the Philippines, this could further narrow interaction between the two...

SAN ILDEFONSO, Ilocos Sur— Two men were wounded after unidentified men shot them while they were riding an e-bike along Buttong-Darayday Road in Barangay Buttong in Laoag City in nearby Ilocos Norte on Wednesday (Oct. 7), police said. An initial report disclosed that the victims, both of legal age, are residents of Barangay Bengcag, also