Other News

PNP COVID-19 cases reach 2314

(Eagle News) — The number of coronavirus disease 2019 cases in the Philippine National Police has risen to 2314. The PNP said the data was as of Tuesday, 6 p.m. Over 1000, or 1329, recoveries were recorded. Eleven deaths have been reported. The PNP said so far, there were 883 probable cases, and 2235 suspect cases. COVID-19 cases in the country have so far breached the 112,000 mark, with 6352 cases reported on Tuesday afternoon. […]

Doncic triple gets Mavs off mark, Clippers, Bucks fall

ORLANDO, United States (AFP) — Luka Doncic delivered a monster triple-double performance as the Dallas Mavericks bagged their first win of the NBA’s relaunched season in an overtime thriller against the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday. The 21-year-old Slovenian scored 34 points, with 20 rebounds and 12 assists as the Mavericks completed a 114-110 victory to get their campaign back on track in the Western Conference. Tim Hardaway Jr. and Kristaps Porzingis also came up big […]

SpaceX completes test flight of Mars rocket prototype

HOUSTON, United States (AFP) — SpaceX on Tuesday successfully completed a flight of less than a minute of the largest prototype ever tested of the future rocket Starship, which the company hopes to use one day to colonize Mars. “Mars is looking real,” SpaceX founder Elon Musk tweeted in response to a fan. The current Starship prototype is fairly crude: it’s a large metallic cylinder, built in a few weeks by SpaceX teams on the […]

Indonesia’s virus-hit economy contracts for first time in two decades

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AFP) — Indonesia’s economy contracted in the second quarter for the first time in more than two decades as it was slammed by coronavirus restrictions, with warnings that the recovery could be among the weakest in Southeast Asia. Output in the region’s biggest economy slumped 5.3 percent on-year in April-June, the statistics agency said. That marked Indonesia’s first contraction since the first quarter of 1999 during the Asian financial crisis nd puts it […]

JUST IN: Beirut blast killed more than 100: Lebanese Red Cross

BEIRUT, Lebanon (AFP) — A huge blast at Beirut port that devastated entire neighborhoods of the city has killed more than 100 people and injured over 4,000, the Lebanese Red Cross said Wednesday. “Until now over 4,000 people have been injured and over 100 have lost their lives. Our teams are still conducting search and rescue operations in the surrounding areas,” a statement said. © Agence France-Presse

Defying virus, Latvian ocean rower plans next adventure

by Imants LIEPINSH Agence France-Presse RIGA, Latvia (AFP) — After spending 140 days rowing across the ocean without seeing another human being, Latvian adventurer Karlis Bardelis has some valuable tips for those learning to cope with coronavirus lockdowns. Bardelis started his nearly two-year journey in Peru in July 2018, reaching French Polynesia after nearly five months and finishing in Malaysia in June of this year. Along the way, he was rammed by sharks off Papua […]

US announces ‘highest level’ visit in decades to Taiwan

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AFP) — The United States on Wednesday announced its “highest level” visit in decades to Taiwan, a move sure to infuriate China at a time when relations between Washington and Beijing are at historic lows. Washington’s trade office in Taipei confirmed that health chief Alex Azar would lead an upcoming delegation to the self-ruled island, which China’s communist leaders claim and have vowed to one day seize. “This marks… the first Cabinet member […]

Ammonium nitrate: fertilizer behind many industrial accidents

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Ammonium nitrate, which Lebanese authorities have said was the cause of the Beirut blast, is an odorless crystalline substance commonly used as a fertilizer that has been the cause of numerous industrial explosions over the decades. These include notably at a Texas fertilizer plant in 2013 that killed 15 and was ruled deliberate, and another at a chemical plant in Toulouse, France in 2001 that killed 31 people but was […]

Australia records deadliest day of pandemic so far

MELBOURNE, Australia (AFP) — Australia’s worst-hit state of Victoria reported 15 coronavirus deaths on Wednesday, including a man in his 30s, making it the country’s deadliest day of the pandemic to date. An outbreak in Melbourne, Australia’s second-biggest city and the capital of Victoria, has seen hundreds of new cases recorded daily in recent weeks, including 725 on Wednesday. The epidemic surge continued even though Melbourne has been under a stay-at-home lockdown for nearly a […]

Palace: President Duterte won’t fire PhilHealth chief Morales without evidence of corruption

(Eagle News)–President Rodrigo Duterte won’t fire PhilHealth chief Ricardo Morales unless there is evidence of corruption against him, the Palace said on Wednesday, Aug. 5. In a television interview, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said the President himself said this, noting that an investigation was already being conducted by the Senate and Undersecretary Jesus Melchor Quitain. “I think after the evidence are unearthed, the President will move and do the correct thing,” Roque said. Newly-resigned PhilHealth […]

PHL Navy redeploys troops to help man checkpoints in MECQ areas

(Eagle News) — The Philippine Navy has redeployed its troops to man checkpoints in areas that reverted to a modified enhanced community quarantine starting Tuesday, Aug. 4. The Navy said the teams were sent out to aid other law enforcement agencies in ensuring “an orderly and strict reimplementation” of quarantine guidelines to stem the transmission of COVID-19. Navy troops are also patrolling sea entry points,  airports, and swabbing facilities, the Navy said. The Navy said […]

Lebanon, small Mideast country mired in tragedies

BEIRUT, Lebanon (AFP) — Lebanon, a small multi-confessional country which endured a devastating 15-year civil war, has often been caught in the crossfire of regional conflicts. The tragic explosions at Beirut port on Tuesday struck with the country mired in its worst economic crisis for decades, marked by the collapse of its currency and angry popular protests. Lebanon has had more than 5,000 cases of coronavirus, with 65 dead. Between Israel and Syria The civil […]