BEIJING, China (AFP) — At least 20 people were trapped after an explosion Friday at a government office in the southwestern Chinese city of Chongqing, according to state media. The blast occurred soon after midday and was caused by a “suspected gas leak” in an office canteen, the state-run People’s Daily reported, adding that rescue teams are en route to the site. © Agence France-Presse
Other News
Almost 100,000 children lost parents to Covid in Peru
LIMA, Peru (AFP) — Covid-19 killed at least one parent or primary caregiver for nearly 100,000 children in Peru, the country with the world’s highest coronavirus death rate, its government reported Thursday. “Unfortunately our country has almost 98,000 children who lost their father, mother or guardian during the pandemic,” said Peru’s Minister of Women Anahi Durand, citing figures published in the medical journal The Lancet. Peru leads the world in overall Covid deaths per capita, […]
North Korea says US boycott of Beijing ‘insult’ to Olympic spirit
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korea has slammed the US-led diplomatic boycott of February’s Beijing Winter Games, state media reported Friday, describing it as an “insult” to the Olympic spirit. Washington and some of its allies have announced a diplomatic boycott, citing China’s human rights record, in a decision that incensed Beijing. China is the main ally and economic benefactor of impoverished North Korea, which is suspended from competing in the Chinese capital. North […]
Japan space tourist eyes Mariana Trench trip after ISS
by Tomohiro OSAKI TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa said Friday his trip into space had given him a new appreciation for Earth, and he now hopes to plunge into the ocean’s forbidding Mariana Trench. Maezawa and his assistant Yozo Hirano spent 12 days on the International Space Station last month, where they documented life in space for one million YouTube subscribers. Speaking Friday for the first time since his return to […]
US snowstorm strands drivers for 24 hours or more
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The snow storm is over but the travel misery lingered: drivers on a major highway outside Washington reported Tuesday they were stuck in their cars in freezing weather for 24 hours or more. As families tried to return home from the long New Year weekend, I-95 in Virginia was dangerously icy, gas tanks were running low and for hours there was no help in sight, drivers said. Aerial footage showed […]
Britain faces hospital crisis as Covid cases top 200,000
by Jitendra JOSHI / James PHEBY LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — British hospitals have switched to a “war footing” due to staff shortages caused by a wave of Omicron infections, the government said Tuesday, as the country’s daily Covid caseload breached 200,000 for the first time. The 24-hour tally, after chalking up multiple records in the run-up to New Year, hit 218,724 and another 48 deaths were reported in the latest government data. Hospital admissions […]
Cloudy skies, rains expected due to northeast monsoon, easterlies
(Eagle News) — The northeast monsoon is affecting Northern Luzon. According to the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration, cloudy skies with light rains are, therefore, expected in Batanes. Ilocos Region, Cordillera Administrative Region, and the rest of Cagayan Valley, meanwhile, will have partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated light rains. Metro Manila and the rest of the country will have partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rain showers or thunderstorms, this […]
More cities from Luzon and Visayas placed under Alert Level 3 amid spike in COVID-19 cases
(Eagle News) — More areas in the country, particularly in Luzon and the Visayas regions, were placed under the higher Alert Level 3 following the noted increase in COVID-19 cases in these areas. Based on the latest resolution of the Inter-Agency Task Force, certain areas from the Cordillera Administrative Region, and Regions 1 to 7, were escalated to Alert Level 3 that would take effect on Sunday, January 9 until January 15. These are […]
Senators Lacson, Gatchalian test positive for COVID-19
(Eagle News) — Senators Ping Lacson and Sherwin Gatchalian have tested positive for COVID-19. The two lawmakers made the announcement in separate Tweets on Friday, Jan. 7. According to Lacson, the results were based on an RT-PCR test he took on Jan. 4, and which were released on Thursday night. He said he took the test after his son, whom he was exposed to, tested positive for the virus. “Immediately informed all my Jan 3 […]
Curry, Durant lead fan voting for NBA All-Star Game
NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry and Brooklyn Nets forward Kevin Durant led the first results of fan voting for the NBA All-Star Game announced Thursday by the league. Two-time NBA Most Valuable Player and three-time NBA champion Curry, who last month broke the NBA career record for 3-point baskets by sinking his 2,974th, set the overall pace by topping the Western Conference guards at 2,584,623 votes. NBA scoring […]
DOH checking “all passengers” from flights of 10 returning Overseas Filipinos confirmed to be Omicron cases
DOH urges passengers of said flights to contact DOH, their LGUs if they experience symptoms after arrival in the PHL (Eagle News) – The Department of Health is “verifying the test results and health status of all passengers” of the flights where the 10 Returning Overseas Filipinos (ROFs) who recently tested positive for the Omicron variant. In a statement, the DOH said that this is “to determine if there are other confirmed cases or […]
Calling Omicron ‘mild’ a mistake, warns WHO
by Robin MILLARD Agence France Presse GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — The Omicron variant of Covid-19 is killing people across the globe and should not be dismissed as mild, the World Health Organization insisted Thursday. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the record numbers of people catching the new variant — which is rapidly out-competing the previously-dominant Delta variant in many countries — meant hospitals were being overwhelmed. “While Omicron does appear to be less severe […]
