Other News

Jordan summit still on after Iraq minister catches COVID-19: officials

  AMMAN, Jordan (AFP) — An Amman summit between Jordan, Iraq and Egypt will go ahead Tuesday, officials said, with extra precautions after Iraq’s telecommunications minister tested positive for COVID-19. Minister Arkan al-Shaybani and fellow Iraqi officials were tested upon landing in Amman on Friday and were put under confinement following the positive result, according to a statement by Jordan’s information minister Amjad al-Adayla. “This required implementing medical procedures put in place to protect the […]

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Georgia mourns after 17 killed in mountain mini-bus crash

TBILISI, Georgia (AFP) — Ex-Soviet Georgia on Monday announced a day of mourning after 17 people were killed when a mini-bus plunged 80 metres (260 feet) off a mountain road. Police said the accident took place on Sunday in the country’s Mtskheta-Mtianeti region in the Caucasus Mountains. The mini-bus “fell over a rocky slope” while travelling in the municipality of Dusheti, killing 17 people and leaving three seriously injured, the interior ministry said in a […]

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Cloudy skies, scattered rainshowers expected as SW monsoon affecting Northern and Central Luzon

(Eagle News)–The southwest monsoon is affecting  Northern and Central Luzon. The Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration said as a result, cloudy skies with scattered rainshowers and thunderstorms are expected in Batanes and the Babuyan Group of Islands. Flashfloods or landslides due to moderate with at times heavy rains are possible. Metro Manila and the rest of the country, PAGASA said, will have partly  cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rainshowers also due to […]

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Gold-hunting diggers destroy Sudan’s priceless past

by Sammy Ketz Agence France-Presse JABAL MARAGHA, Sudan (AFP) — When a team of archaeologists deep in the deserts of Sudan arrived at the ancient site of Jabal Maragha last month, they thought they were lost. The site had vanished. But they hadn’t made a mistake. In fact, gold-hunters with giant diggers had destroyed almost all sign of the two millenia-old site. “They had only one goal in digging here — to find gold,” said shocked […]

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Contaminated water sickens nearly 500 in China

BEIJING, China (AFP) — Hundreds of people in eastern China have been infected with bacteria which can cause dysentery after drinking contaminated water, state media said Monday, prompting the closure of a local water plant. Nearly 500 people in the rural town of Baoyi — about 550 kilometres (342 miles) west of Shanghai — have developed fever and diarrhoea since late last week. A report by the local government published Sunday found they have been […]

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COVID-19 cases in PHL reach 194,252 with additional 4,686 cases

(Eagle News) — The number of COVID-19 cases in the country topped 194,000 on Monday, Aug. 24, after the Department of Health reported 4,686 additional cases. The DOH said of the 194,252 cases, 59,200 were active, of which 91.5 percent were mild, 6.1 percent asymptomatic, 1.0 percent severe, and 1.4 percent critical. The 4,686 newly-announced COVID-19 cases were from tests done by 95 out of 109 labs. Of these, the DOH said 2519 came from […]

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OSG asks High Court to cancel oral arguments on anti-terrorism law

Suggests submission of documents instead (Eagle News) — The Office of the Solicitor General is moving for the cancellation of the oral arguments on the petitions against the Anti-Terrorism Law set in September. In calling for the same in its very urgent motion filed on Monday, Aug. 24, the OSG noted the “logistical restrictions and health threats posed by the COVID-19 pandemic,” and the provisions of the Internal Rules of Court and pertinent jurisprudence that […]

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Presidential Spokesperson Roque apologizes to President Duterte over “perpetual isolation” remark

(Eagle News) — Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque on Monday, Aug. 24, publicly apologized to President Rodrigo Duterte for saying he was “in perpetual isolation.” In a virtual briefing, Roque said he had made the “wrong choice of words” in his press briefing on Aug. 17. According to Roque, what he meant was that the Presidential Security Group “has been doing a good job at ensuring that there is social distancing between anyone who wants to […]

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PHL gov’t seeks help of religious leaders to address rise in suicide cases amid pandemic

(Eagle News) — The Philippine government is seeking the help of various church and religious leaders to “stave off” the rising number of suicide cases in the country amid the COVID-19 pandemic that has brought unprecedented economic difficulties and widespread infections that has resulted in almost 3,000 deaths in the country. Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra made the appeal after receiving information from the National Task Force against COVID-19 about the “alarming increase” in suicides since […]

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New Zealand extends Auckland lockdown as virus outbreak persists

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AFP) — Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on Monday extended a lockdown in New Zealand’s largest city, saying more time was needed to ensure a stubborn cluster of coronavirus infections was under control. Ardern said stay-at-home orders would remain in place across Auckland until at least late Sunday, instead of restrictions easing late Wednesday as originally planned. “These extra four days are believed necessary to allow us to move down a level in […]

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Palace: No gov’t initiative to impose toll fees on Edsa

(Eagle News) — The Palace on Monday, Aug. 24, denied the government was pushing for the imposition of toll fees on Edsa. “Wala pong ganung initiative sa pamahalaan ni Presidente (Rodrigo) Duterte,” Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said. According to Roque, if there was any proposal to that effect, “ibang Presidente po iyon.” Roque echoed the statement of the Department of Transportation on Friday, days after a news report quoted Transportation Road Sector Consultant Assistant Secretary […]

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Pompeo starts Middle East tour in Israel

by Guillaume Lavallee and Stephen Weizman JERUSALEM, Undefined (AFP) — US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo arrived in Israel on Monday to start a five-day Middle East tour focused on Israel’s normalising of ties with the United Arab Emirates and pushing other Arab states to follow suit. Pompeo, wearing a face mask in the colours of the US flag, was due to meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and in coming days also visit Sudan, Bahrain […]

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