(Eagle News) — Ninety Filipinos remain in Afghanistan, where the Department of Foreign Affairs is currently undertaking repatriation efforts. According to the DFA, so far, 79 Filipinos were requesting repatriation. The other night, two attempts were made to evacuate Filipinos via New Delhi and Islamabad but the efforts were unsuccessful because of the cancellation of all commercial flights. “As experienced by the groups last night, access to and even within the airport is very difficult, […]
Other News
Kabul evacuees touch down in UAE on way to new life in UK
by Mohamad Ali Harissi DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AFP) — Dozens of evacuees from Afghanistan waited nervously to board a Britain-bound Royal Air Force plane during a stopover in the United Arab Emirates on Thursday after fleeing the Taliban takeover. At Dubai’s Al-Maktoum airport, a steady stream of aircraft ferrying passengers from Kabul and onwards to Britain shuttled back and forth as London stepped up its evacuation efforts. Dozens of exhausted passengers waited at one […]
Tropical Depression “Isang” maintains strength but is unlikely to bring heavy rainfall: PAGASA
Cloudy skies, isolated rains expected instead due to easterlies (Eagle News) — Tropical Depression “Isang” has maintained its strength over the Philippine Sea east of extreme Northern Luzon. According to the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration, “Isang,” which is situated 1110 kilometers east of that part of the country, is unlikely to directly affect the weather condition and bring heavy rainfall in the country throughout the forecast period. The entire Visayas, Occidental Mindoro, […]
Guinea monitoring 172 contact cases of Marburg virus victim
DAKAR, Senegal (AFP) — Guinean health officials are monitoring 172 contact cases of a man who died of Marburg virus, Health Minister Remy Lamah said Thursday. West Africa’s first recorded case of the virus — which belongs to the same filovirus family as Ebola but is somewhat less deadly — was confirmed on August 9. The virus, which is carried by bats and has a historic fatality rate of up to 88 percent, was found […]
MIAA releases list of operational commercial flights for Friday, Aug. 20
(Eagle News) — The Manila International Airport Authority has released its list of operational commercial flights for Friday, Aug. 20: Flight schedules may change at any given time. MIAA advised passengers to secure confirmation of their flights as only those with the confirmation will be allowed entry into the airport. The travel ban on India and nine other countries has been extended. On Thursday, Aug. 19, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque announced Metro Manila and Laguna […]
Afghan woman news anchor stopped from working after Taliban takeover
KABUL, Afghanistan (AFP) — An Afghan woman journalist has said she was barred from working at her TV station after the Taliban took control of the country, and pleaded for help in a video posted online. Wearing a hijab and showing her office card, well-known news anchor Shabnam Dawran said “our lives are under threat” in the clip on social media. Under the Taliban’s regime from 1996 to 2001, women were excluded from public life, […]
I.Coast detects first bird flu cases since 2015
ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast (AFP) — Ivory Coast has detected its first cases since 2015 of the H5N1 bird flu in poultry farms, the government said Thursday. “Since July 20, high death rates among poultry were spotted in traditional and modern poultry firms in Mondoukou” east of the country’s economic hub Abidjan, Livestock and Fisheries Minister Sidi Tiemoko Toure said in a statement. He added that “laboratory analysis confirmed the highly pathogenic H5N1 avian flu virus”. […]
Capitol Hill bomb threat standoff ends as suspect surrenders
by Michael Mathes WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — A man who threatened to set off a bomb on Washington’s Capitol Hill surrendered to police Thursday, ending an hours-long standoff that rattled lawmakers still shaken by January’s pro-Trump insurrection. The incident triggered evacuations and a massive police response, and sent jolts of anxiety through a city that has spent months on alert, as political tensions soared following the deadly US Capitol riot. The suspect, an apparent […]
Israel to begin Covid booster shots for over 40s
JERUSALEM, Undefined (AFP) — Israelis aged 40 and over will be able to receive coronavirus vaccine booster shots starting this weekend, Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz said Thursday, as the country battles a spike in infections. Israel was one of the first countries to launch a vaccination drive in mid-December via an agreement with Pfizer to obtain millions of paid vaccine doses in exchange for sharing data on their effectiveness. The inoculation campaign was hailed as […]
Three more US senators test positive for Covid-19
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Three US senators from different political affiliations and different parts of the country said Thursday they have tested positive for the coronavirus. The lawmakers, who were vaccinated, are among the 71 members of Congress to be diagnosed with Covid-19 since the beginning of last year, according to the nonpartisan group GovTrack. “I’ve tested positive for a breakthrough case of COVID-19. I feel good but will isolate per docs instructions,” Senator […]
Johnson & Johnson announces new CEO
NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Alex Gorsky will step down as chief executive of Johnson & Johnson in January, ceding the role to longtime company executive Joaquin Duato, the health care giant announced Thursday. Gorsky, the CEO since 2012, is stepping aside “due to family health reasons,” according to a company press release, which said he will stay on as executive chairman. Gorsky oversaw development of the company’s one-shot Covid-19 vaccine. His tenure also […]
Metro Manila and Laguna placed under MECQ from Aug. 21 to 31; Bataan also under MECQ starting Aug 23
Religious gatherings to remain virtual in NCR, Bataan, Laguna (Eagle News) — Starting Saturday, August 21 until the end of the month, Metro Manila and the province of Laguna will be placed under Modified Enhanced Community Quarantine (MECQ). Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said on Thursday night, Aug. 19, that the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) approved to place the National Capital Region (NCR) and Laguna under MECQ from August 21 until August 31, 2021. “The […]





