Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Climate Minister Chris Bowen had a viral hot-mic chat on November 15 at the COP31 summit. Albanese warned Bowen against keeping his phone near his heart. Bowen joked, "Arguably more important than a heart," as they discussed keeping devices away from their pants pockets.
Ankara [Türkiye], November 15 (ANI): Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was caught in an amusing hot-mic exchange with his Climate Minister Chris Bowen at the COP31 climate summit in Türkiye, after warning him against keeping his mobile phone close to his heart, only for the conversation to take an unexpected turn towards concerns about his other body parts.
The conversation between the two leaders, captured on camera during a break at the 31st UN Climate Change Conference (COP31), revolved around the possible health effects of keeping mobile phones in different pockets.
In the exchange according to a video posted by RT, Albanese first asked Bowen whether he was right-handed before advising him against keeping his phone in the left breast pocket of his blazer.
"You're right-handed?" Albanese asked.
"Yes," Bowen replied.
"You keep your phone here (Left chest pocket)?"
"Uh, generally, yeah," Bowen responded.
"Don't," Albanese cautioned.
When Bowen asked whether he should instead keep the device in the opposite breast pocket, Albanese explained that it should be kept away from the heart, citing concerns about possible interference with its rhythm.
"It should be on this — away from your heart. Because it's sending messages. It can interfere with the rhythm," Albanese said.
Bowen was seen jokingly described the phone's radiation as "a little bit of radioactive", to which Albanese agreed, saying, "Yeah. Like, it makes absolute sense."
However, the conversation took a humorous turn when Bowen revealed that he was more concerned about keeping his mobile phone away from his pants pocket.
"I'm more—frankly, speaking personally—I'm more conscious—I've stopped putting it in my pants pocket," Bowen said.
"Because of your d**k? Yeah," Albanese responded.
"Yeah, that's rather important," Bowen said, adding, "Arguably more important than a heart."
The exchange video, shared by RT, drew attention for the candid banter between the Australian Prime Minister and his climate minister during the international climate gathering.
A 2014 study available through the US National Institutes of Health examined the influence of direct mobile phone radiation on sperm quality. It reported lower progressive sperm movement and higher DNA fragmentation in the group exposed to electromagnetic radiation compared with the group that was not exposed.
The study's conclusions pointed to a correlation between mobile phone radiation exposure, DNA fragmentation and reduced sperm motility. (ANI)
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