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by Andrew Beatty with AFP bureaus SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Australia’s leader called Wednesday for coronavirus immunizations to be mandatory, wading into ethical and safety debates raging around the world as the race to develop a vaccine gathers pace. Almost 30 potential vaccines are currently being tested on humans across the globe in hope of ending a pandemic that has now killed more than 775,000 people and infected nearly 22 million, according to an AFP […]
by Amélie BOTTOLLIER-DEPOIS PARIS, France (AFP) — For half a century scientists feared that the Somali elephant shrew had vanished from the face of the Earth. No one had seen so much as a whisker. But the tiny mammal with its probing trunk-like nose was quietly thriving in the arid, rocky landscape of the Horn of Africa, researchers said Tuesday. The elusive, insect-eating creature is neither an elephant nor a shrew. It is a sengi […]
NEW DELHI, India (AFP) — Heavy monsoon rains lashed New Delhi Wednesday, inundating roads and piling on misery for commuters in the chaotic Indian capital, as the death toll from the annual deluge across South Asia rose to nearly 1,300. The monsoon is vital to the densely populated region, revitalizing land and waterways amid scorching summers. But it also causes widespread death and destruction. In New Delhi, commuters battled through knee-deep waters and cars and […]
BEIJING, China (AFP) — Floods in mountainous southwest China have washed away roads and forced tens of thousands from their homes, with authorities warning Wednesday the giant Three Gorges Dam was facing the largest flood peak in its history. Footage on state broadcaster CCTV showed murky water lapping at the feet of the Leshan Giant Buddha — a 71m-tall figure carved into a cliffside in Sichuan province. CCTV said floods had not reached the Buddha’s […]
(Eagle News) — The Court of Appeals has denied Maria Ressa’s motion she be allowed to travel to the United States for a series of activities including the launch of a documentary. In denying the very urgent motion for permission to travel abroad by Ressa, who is out on bail pending her appeal of her cyber libel conviction by the Manila Regional Trial Court, the CA’s special fourteenth division noted that she failed to show […]
BANGKOK, Thailand (AFP) — A Thai court issued arrest warrants Wednesday for six pro-democracy activists involved in recent rallies that have seen frank discussion of the monarchy and calls for an overhaul of the government. The near-daily demonstrations by a youth-led pro-democracy movement have been largely tolerated by authorities so far, but police said Wednesday they now had warrants to arrest half a dozen of the most prominent protesters. They will be charged with “sedition, […]
(Eagle News) — The number of coronavirus disease 2019 cases in the country surpassed the 173,000 mark on Wednesday, Aug. 19, after the Department of Health reported 4650 additional cases on the same day. The DOH said of the 173,774 total COVID-19 cases, 57498 were active cases. Of these, 91.4 percent were mild, 6.5 percent asymptomatic, 0.9 percent severe, and 1.2 percent critical. The 4650 newly-announced cases were from tests done by 97 out of […]
(Eagle News) — National Capital Region Police Office chief Debold Sinas on Wednesday, Aug. 19, said he will be undergoing a three-day annual medical checkup. As a result, Police Brigadier General Nolasco Bathan shall sit as the NCRPO officer-in-charge from Aug. 20 to 23, or upon his return to work. Bathan is the deputy regional director for administration. According to Sinas, he will have his checkup at the Chinese Medical Hospital in Manila, and will […]
LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — A pair of eighth-seeded teams delivered stunning upsets in their playoff openers on Tuesday as the Portland Trail Blazers and Orlando Magic surprised the top-seeded Los Angeles Lakers and Milwaukee Bucks. Damian Lillard scored 34 points as the Trail Blazers toppled the West’s number one seeded Lakers 100-93 and Nikola Vucevic tallied 35 points as the Magic defeated the East’s top seeded Bucks 122-110 at Walt Disney World Resort […]
MANILA, Philippines (AFP) — Coronavirus cases in Asia-Pacific countries are now being driven by people under the age of 50 who may not know they are infected, the World Health Organization said Tuesday, warning of a “new phase” in the pandemic. Many have mild or no COVID-19 symptoms and risk infecting the elderly and other vulnerable populations, the WHO’s Western Pacific regional director Takeshi Kasai told a virtual briefing. “The epidemic is changing. People […]
NARITA, Japan (AFP) — A new team of experts left Japan for Mauritius on Wednesday with special oil-absorbent materials to help the clean-up of tonnes of oil that leaked from a Japanese-owned ship. “The oil leak from the stranded ship has caused severe damage to the people of Mauritius, the economy of which largely relies on tourism and the beautiful ocean,” environment ministry official Yukihiro Haisa told reporters before the departure. “I am terribly distressed.” […]
NOVO PROGRESSO, Brazil (AFP) — Indigenous protesters in Brazil defied a court order Tuesday and resumed a roadblock of a key highway through the Amazon rainforest, demanding help against the new coronavirus and an end to illegal mining and deforestation. Brandishing bows and wearing traditional feather headdresses and body paint, dozens of protesters from the Kayapo Mekranoti ethnic group have been blocking highway BR-163 through the Amazon rainforest since Monday morning. They briefly lifted their […]
