RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (AFP) — The coronavirus death toll in Brazil surpassed 20,000 on Thursday, after a record number of fatalities in a 24-hour period, the health ministry said. The country is the epicenter of the outbreak in Latin America, and its highest one-day toll of 1,188 pushed the overall death tally to 20,047. Brazil has now recorded more than 310,000 cases, with experts saying a lack of testing means the real figures are […]
Other News
President Duterte sacks OCD official for “lack of trust, confidence”
(Eagle News)–President Rodrigo Duterte has fired a deputy administrator from the Office of the Civil Defense. In an interview over GMA 7 on Friday, May 22, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said Assistant Secretary Kristoffer Purisima was sacked due to “lack of trust and confidence.” Roque said Purisima’s office is at the forefront of giving aid during calamities, including the COVID-19 pandemic. According to Roque, another official has submitted an irrevocable resignation. He did not however […]
Frontal system affecting extreme N. Luzon
(Eagle News)–A frontal system is affecting extreme Northern Luzon. The Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration said Batanes, Cagayan including Babuyan Islands, Apayao, and Ilocos Norte as a result will have cloudy skies with isolated rainshowers or thunderstorms. Flash floods or landslides during severe thunderstorms are possible. Metro Manila and the rest of the country, on the other hand, will have partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rainshowers due to localized thunderstorms. PAGASA […]
France’s daily virus toll dips to 83, no sign of second wave
PARIS, France (AFP) — The number of coronavirus deaths registered in France over the last 24 hours dipped to 83 on Thursday, as a top doctor said he was not seeing a second wave of infections despite the country easing its lockdown. The latest deaths in hospitals and nursing homes brought France’s total toll from the pandemic to 28,215, the health ministry said in a statement. The trends remained optimistic, with 49 fewer people in […]
Cyclone toll hits 95 as Bangladesh and India start mopping up
by Sam Jahan with Sailendra Sal in Kolkata SATKHIRA, Bangladesh (AFP) — India and Bangladesh began a massive clean-up Thursday after the fiercest cyclone since 1999 killed at least 95 people, leaving a trail of destruction in its wake. Cyclone Amphan flattened houses, uprooted trees, blew off roofs and toppled electricity pylons, while a storm surge inundated coastal villages and wrecked shrimp farms vital to the local economy. The United Nations office in Bangladesh estimates […]
4.4-magnitude quake hits Davao Occidental
(Eagle News)–A 4.4-magnitude earthquake struck Davao Occidental early Friday, May 22. The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said the quake, which struck at 3 a.m., had its epicenter 264 kilometers southeast of Sarangani. It had a depth of 38 kilometers. No damage to property nor aftershocks were recorded.
MIAA releases list of operational commercial flights for Friday, May 22
(Eagle News)–The Manila International Airport Authority has released its list of operational commercial flights. MIAA said the list was for Friday, May 22: Flight schedules may be subject to changes. Earlier, Cebu Pacific said it was extending the cancellation of its flights to May 31. The airline said this was in view of the modified enhanced community quarantine imposed on Metro Manila starting May 16 amid the COVID-19 pandemic. All flight operations are concentrated in […]
US warns China against ‘highly destabilizing’ Hong Kong move
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States on Thursday urged China to respect Hong Kong’s autonomy, warning that its proposed national security law for the city would be “highly destabilizing” and face global opposition. “Any effort to impose national security legislation that does not reflect the will of the people of Hong Kong would be highly destabilizing, and would be met with strong condemnation from the United States and the international community,” State Department […]
US military will no longer ban COVID-19 survivors from serving
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The Pentagon on Thursday announced that the US military would no longer bar people who had been hospitalized with COVID-19 from serving in its ranks. Defense Department personnel head Matthew Donovan said he had “rescinded” rules on the matter, which the military had put in place in early May out of concern over long-term respiratory damage from the disease. “There was some interim and draft guidance… that I rescinded,” Donovan […]
Palace tells DOH, “We’re still on first wave” of COVID-19; says local virus transmission is part of wave
(Eagle News) – Malacanang said that the country is still on the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, refuting an earlier pronouncement by Health Secretary Francisco Duque III that the country is actually on its “second wave” of the disease. Another health expert, Dr. John Wong had also said that the Philippines is already on the second wave which reportedly started in the first week of March, which is also considered the country’s first […]
New US jobless claims slow to 2.43 mn in latest week
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Another 2.43 million US workers were put out of work last week amid the coronavirus pandemic, according to government data Thursday, bringing the total since mid-March to a massive 38.6 million. The Labor Department data on new first-time claims for unemployment benefits for the week ended May 16 was another decrease from prior weeks as the rate of new filings continued to slow, but the job losses remained among the […]
Astra gets $1 billion from US to fund coronavirus vaccine
by Roland JACKSON / Ben PERRY LONDON, United States (AFP) — British pharmaceuticals group AstraZeneca on Thursday said it had secured more than $1.0 billion from the United States to help fund production of its coronavirus vaccine. AstraZeneca is partnering with University of Oxford to develop and distribute a vaccine being trialled in the UK. It comes amid concerns that the United States — which has the world’s highest official death rate from COVID-19 — […]





