Other News

Japan PM defends school closure plan despite critics

by Kyoko HASEGAWA / Karyn NISHIMURA TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan’s prime minister on Friday defended his call for schools across the country to close over the new coronavirus, an abrupt decision that stunned officials and parents alike. The move, announced Thursday, came as the country stepped up its response to the outbreak, and the operator of Tokyo’s Disney resorts said its two parks would close for around a fortnight — the latest in a […]

Lacson: “Pastillas” scheme the result of greed and corruption, not of a lack of benefits

(Eagle News)–Senator Panfilo Lacson on Friday, Feb. 28, said the so-called pastillas scheme was the result of greed and corruption of unscrupulous Immigration personnel. “Suspension or termination of overtime pay and non-inclusion in the salary hike of other government employees should never be a reason for corrupt BI personnel to justify the illegal acts they commit to augment their income. That is crap, and I am not buying it,” Lacson said in a statement. He […]

President Duterte formalizes ban on vaping in public, sale of unregistered e-cigarettes

(Eagle News)–President Rodrigo Duterte has formalized the ban on  vaping in public and the sale of unregistered e-cigarettes. The President signed Executive Order No. 106 months after he said he would issue the ban on their public use and importation. Under the EO,all e-liquids, solutions or refills forming components of Electronic Nicotine and Non-Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS/ENNDS) or heated tobacco products (HTPs) have to register with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). All devices forming […]

Italy urges tourists not to cancel as confusion surrounds tally

by Ella IDE / Alexandria SAGE ROME, Italy (AFP) — Italy urged tourists spooked by the new coronavirus Thursday not to stay away, but efforts to reassure the world it was managing the outbreak were overshadowed by a sharp rise in case numbers. Hotel bookings have slumped and nearly a dozen cities in the north are in lockdown as the number of infections reached 650 and deaths hit 17 — by far the highest in […]

Earth captures new ‘mini moon’

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Earth has acquired a second “mini-moon” about the size of a car, according to astronomers who spotted the object circling our planet. The mass — roughly 1.9-3.5 meters (6-11 feet) in diameter — was observed by researchers Kacper Wierzchos and Teddy Pruyne at the NASA-funded Catalina Sky Survey in Arizona on the night of February 15. “BIG NEWS. Earth has a new temporarily captured object/Possible mini-moon called 2020 CD3,” likely […]

BTS cancel Seoul concerts as coronavirus spreads in S. Korea: agency

SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — K-pop megastars BTS on Friday canceled four concerts they were due to hold in Seoul in April, their agency said, as the coronavirus outbreak spreads in South Korea. The country has so far confirmed more than 2,000 cases of the novel coronavirus, by far the largest national total outside China, the origin of the disease. “We regret to announce” that the Seoul concerts have been canceled, BTS agency Big Hit […]

Duterte declares second week of every February National Hazing Prevention Week

(Eagle News)–President Rodrigo Duterte has declared the second week of every February as National Hazing Prevention Week. The President made the declaration in Proclamation No. 907, which was made available to the media on Friday, Feb. 28. Under the proclamation, the Commission on Higher Education would be in charge of activities that aim to strengthen the campaign against hazing and other fraternity-related violence. The President signed the Anti-Hazing Act of 2018 that complete bans hazing, […]

Nigeria confirms first coronavirus case, first in sub-Saharan Africa: minister

LAGOS, Nigeria (AFP) — Nigeria on Friday announced the first confirmed case of the novel coronavirus in sub-Saharan Africa. “The case is an Italian citizen who works in Nigeria and returned from Milan, Italy to Lagos, Nigeria on the 25th of February 2020,” Health Minister Osagie Ehanire said in a statement on Twitter. “The patient is clinically stable, with no serious symptoms, and is being managed at the Infectious Disease Hospital in Yaba, Lagos.” Prior […]

South Korea coronavirus cases pass 2,000: authorities

SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — South Korea reported 256 new coronavirus cases on Friday, taking its total — the highest in the world outside China — to 2,022, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. More than 90 percent of the new cases were in Daegu — the city at the epicenter of the outbreak in South Korea — and the neighboring North Gyeongsang province, it added, with no further deaths keeping the […]

Japan at ‘crossroads’ on virus outbreak, expert warns

by Sara HUSSEIN TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan is at a “crossroads” in its bid to prevent a major coronavirus outbreak and may need to reconsider the Olympics if domestic transmissions are not brought under control, an expert advising the government has warned. Norio Ohmagari, an infectious disease specialist, told AFP in an interview he believes measures being taken by the government can still prevent the virus from spreading more widely, but that the next […]

Alert level 2 maintained over Taal

(Eagle News)–An alert level 2 remains hoisted over Taal. The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said activity in the main crater in the past 24 hours has been characterized by a “weak emission of steam-laden plumes rising 50 meters high..” The Taal Volcano Network recorded 22 volcanic earthquakes that are “associated with rock fracturing processes beneath and around the edifice.” PHIVOLCS reminded the public that “sudden steam-driven or phreatic explosions, volcanic earthquakes, ashfall and […]

Two of three Japan repatriates brought to hospital test negative for COVID-19 — DOH official

(Eagle News)–Two of the three Filipino repatriates from the Diamond Princess who were brought to the hospital for symptoms of the novel coronavirus have tested negative for COVID-19. Health Assistant Secretary Maria Rosario Vergeire added in an interview over Unang Balita that only the laboratory test results of one repatriate are pending. She said all three are stable in a hospital. The three were among the 445 Filipinos repatriated from the Japan cruise ship, which […]