Breaking News, Latest Philippines Headlines, World, Entertainment, Politics, Weather & Video News
MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — One of the developers of Russia’s Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine announced Friday that India-based drugmaker Hetero will produce over 100 million doses of the jab. “Hetero, one of India’s leading generic pharmaceutical companies, have agreed to produce in India over 100 million doses per year of the world’s first registered vaccine against the novel coronavirus infection -– Sputnik V,” the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) said in a statement, adding […]
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — South Korea reported its highest daily number of coronavirus cases since March on Thursday, with a surge of new infections sparking fears of a major third wave. Officials announced 583 new cases after several weeks of fresh infections ranging between around 100 and 300. The latest cases have mostly been clusters at offices, schools, gyms and small gatherings in the greater Seoul area, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency […]
BEIJING, China (AFP) — Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday congratulated Joe Biden on his US election victory, state media reported. In his telegram, Xi said both countries should “stick to no conflict or confrontation, mutual respect, (and) the spirit of win-win cooperation” in order to promote the “noble cause” of world peace and development. Xi’s message came more than two weeks after several other major countries had congratulated Biden. US-China relations have hit historic […]
PUDUCHERRY, India (AFP) — Tens of thousands of people in southeastern India fled their homes on Wednesday, out of the path of a cyclone due to slam coastal areas after midnight, bringing with it heavy rain. Nivar, classified as a very severe cyclonic storm brewing in the Bay of Bengal in the north Indian Ocean, was expected to pack winds of 120 kilometres (75 miles) per hour and gusts of up to 145 kilometres per […]
MAHABALIPURAM, India (AFP) — Local Indian authorities banned public gatherings and closed shops as more than 1,000 rescue personnel mobilized against a powerful cyclone barrelling towards the southeastern coast, bringing heavy rains and strong winds. Cyclone Nivar is set to cross the coasts of Tamil Nadu state and the small territory of Puducherry as a “very severe cyclonic storm” late Wednesday, the Indian Meteorological Department said. Parts of Andhra Pradesh, a coastal state north of […]
TAIPEI, Taiwan (AFP) — Taiwan began construction on a fleet of indigenous submarines on Tuesday, the latest move by the out-gunned island to bolster its defences against increasingly bellicose threats from Beijing. Democratic Taiwan lives under the constant threat of invasion by communist China, which views the self-ruled island as part of its territory and has vowed to one day seize it, by force if necessary. Beijing has piled on military, economic and diplomatic pressure […]
BEIJING, China (AFP) — China on Tuesday launched an unmanned spacecraft to bring back lunar rocks — the first attempt by any nation to retrieve samples from the Moon in four decades. A Long March 5 rocket carrying the Chang’e-5 probe, named after the mythical Chinese moon goddess, blasted off from the Wenchang Space Center on the southern island province of Hainan at 4:30 am (2030 GMT Monday), the official Xinhua news agency reported. Beijing […]
BEIJING, China (AFP) — Staff at Shanghai’s biggest international airport are facing mass testing after a small outbreak of Covid-19 in the city was linked to several cargo handlers, with plans underway to vaccinate high-risk workers. Life in China — where the virus first emerged late last year — has largely returned to normal following strict testing and harsh lockdowns, but there has been a series of sporadic local outbreaks over recent months. Shanghai has […]
BEIJING, China (AFP) — Nearly a million people have taken an experimental coronavirus vaccine developed by Chinese company Sinopharm, the firm said, although it has not yet provided any clear clinical evidence of efficacy. China has been giving experimental Covid-19 vaccines to people including state employees, international students and essential workers heading abroad since July. Sinopharm’s chairman told media this week that nearly a million people have now received their vaccine for emergency use, […]
by Abhaya SRIVASTAVA Agence France Presse NEW DELHI, India (AFP) — India’s coronavirus caseload passed nine million on Friday, as hospitals in the capital New Delhi came under increasing pressure and graveyards began to fill up. The world’s second-worst-hit country has now also registered more than 132,000 deaths from the disease, according to the latest official figures, which are widely seen as understating the true scale of infection. India has seen a drop in […]
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AFP) — President Xi Jinping pegged China as the pivot point for global free trade on Thursday, vowing to keep his huge economy open and warning against protectionism. Buoyed by the signing of the world’s largest trade pact over the weekend, Xi said the Asia-Pacific is the “forerunner driving global growth” in a world hit by “multiple challenges” including the pandemic. He vowed “openness” to trade and refuted any possibility of the […]
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan is on “maximum alert” after logging a record number of daily coronavirus infections, the prime minister said Thursday, though no immediate restrictions are planned. More than 2,000 cases were recorded nationwide on Wednesday, with nearly 500 in the capital Tokyo alone. While small compared to figures seen in some other countries, the numbers represent a sharp rise in cases for Japan, where testing is often less wide-scale than in other […]
