Breaking News, Latest Philippines Headlines, World, Entertainment, Politics, Weather & Video News
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan will extend a coronavirus state of emergency in the Tokyo area by a fortnight, officials said Friday, less than five months ahead of the pandemic-postponed Tokyo Olympics. The emergency measure, which primarily calls for bars and restaurants to close from 8pm, was supposed to end on Sunday and has been lifted early in other regions. It has brought infections down in the capital but the rate of decline is slowing […]
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AFP) — New Zealand lifted tsunami evacuation orders covering large swathes of its coastline Friday, declaring “the largest waves have now passed” after a swarm of powerful offshore earthquakes. “All people who evacuated can now return,” said the National Emergency Management Agency, which ordered tens of thousands of residents to flee for higher ground after a series of tremors early Friday. © Agence France-Presse
by Danny KEMP THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AFP) — Europe’s drug regulator launched a rolling review of Russia’s Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine on Thursday, putting it on course to be the first non-Western jab used across the 27-nation EU. Russia quickly said it was ready to provide jabs for 50 million Europeans as soon as the shot gets the green light from the Amsterdam-based European Medicines Agency (EMA). Moscow has pushed Europe to follow the lead […]
LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — California will set aside nearly half of its next batch of vaccines for people living in its most disadvantaged zip codes, as concern grows over a yawning gap in the pandemic’s impact on rich and poor, Governor Gavin Newsom said Thursday. The policy comes as data shows low-income and minority groups in the nation’s most populous state are far more severely hit by Covid-19, and also substantially less likely […]
PARIS, France (AFP) — France placed the northern Pas-de-Calais region under weekend lockdown over the spread of Covid-19, the third area to be singled out for tighter restrictions as the government battles to avoid a third national lockdown. Announcing the measure, Prime Minister Jean Castex said that with more than 400 confirmed cases per 100,000 people the Pas-de-Calais had nearly twice the national average. The lockdown will start at 8:00 am on Saturday and end […]
WELLINGTON, United States (AFP) — Tens of thousands of coastal residents in New Zealand, New Caledonia and Vanuatu fled for higher ground Friday as a cluster of powerful earthquakes sparked a Pacific-wide tsunami alert. Warning sirens sounded across Noumea as authorities ordered evacuations amid fears that waves of up three meters (10 feet) were headed towards the French territory. “People must leave beach areas and stop all water activities, and should not pick their children […]
JOHANNESBURG, Madagascar (AFP) — Over 4,000 children have been hospitalized for malnutrition in southern Madagascar this year due to severe drought, Action Against Hunger said Thursday, as food insecurity spirals in the most vulnerable parts of the country. The Indian Ocean island nation is grappling with the effects of three consequence years of below-average rainfall compounded by the coronavirus pandemic. Most of the impact is felt in the impoverished Grand Sud region, where the majority […]
KUWAIT CITY, Kuwait (AFP) — Kuwait on Thursday announced a minimum one-month curfew aimed at curbing a sharp rise in coronavirus cases, after it recorded its highest daily infection count. Kuwait has since February 7 cut opening hours for non-essential retail shops and banned non-citizens from entering the country, but a steep increase in cases in the past week has forced the government to take more stringent measures. “There will be a daily curfew from […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States on Thursday tightened export controls on Myanmar, imposing its latest sanctions in response to the junta’s deadly violence against democracy protesters. Myanmar was reclassified into the same group as US adversaries Russia and China in the level of scrutiny for any sensitive technology or materials, with restrictions on any exports that could be put to military use. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the United States was […]
by Heather SCOTT WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The US labor market faces a lengthy recovery and the economy will not see maximum employment this year, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said Thursday. While he expressed hope about the restoration of jobs lost during the pandemic, Powell noted that millions of workers have left the labor force. “I think it’s not at all likely it would reach maximum employment this year. I think it’s going […]
WELLINGTON, United States (AFP) — New Zealand ordered coastal communities across swathes of the North Island to evacuate Friday after three powerful offshore earthquakes sparked tsunami fears in the Pacific nation. A 7.8-magnitude quake, which followed earlier tremors of 7.4 and 6.9 in the same region, struck at 8:28 am (1928 Thursday GMT) around 1,033 kilometers (640 miles) off the New Zealand coast, the US Geological Survey said. “People near the coast… must move immediately […]
AUCKLAND, New Zealand (AFP) — A 6.9-magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of New Zealand’s North Island Friday, the US Geological Survey said, triggering a tsunami warning from authorities. The USGS said the quake hit 180 kilometres (111 miles) northeast of the city of Gisborne at 1327 Thursday GMT (10:27 p.m. PHL time), at a relatively shallow depth of 10 kilometres. “Based on the preliminary earthquake parameters, hazardous tsunami waves are possible for coasts […]
