Other News

PHL gov’t deports 18 Japanese nationals involved in telco fraud

(Eagle News) — The Philippine government has deported 18 Japanese nationals who were arrested last year in Makati City for telecommunications fraud. The Bureau of Immigration said that the Japanese nationals were deported in two batches. Nine were deported on Monday, while another nine was deported this Wednesday, Feb. 26. Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente said that the nine Japanese were flown to Tokyo on Wednesday on board a Japan Airlines flight from the Ninoy Aquino […]

DFA chief meets with Oman foreign minister who noted positive contributions of Filipinos in country

(Eagle News) — Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr., visited Oman’s Minister Responsible for Foreign Affairs Yusuf bin Allawi, at the Foreign Ministry in Muscat, in his first official visit to Oman. The DFA chief, who was warmly received by his Omani counterpart, conveyed President Rodrigo Duterte’s message of condolences on the demise of the late Omani Sultan Qaboos bin Said, as well as the President’s congratulations to the new Sultan Haitham bin Tarik. During […]

Coronavirus cases emerging faster outside China: WHO

GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — There are now more new cases of the coronavirus reported each day outside China than inside the hardest-hit country, the World Health Organization said on Wednesday. “Yesterday, the number of new cases reported outside China exceeded the number of new cases in China for the first time,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told diplomats in Geneva, according to a written version of his speech. The UN health agency put the number […]

Pandemic: what does it mean and does it matter?

PARIS, France (AFP) — When does an epidemic become a pandemic? As the novel coronavirus continues its spread across the globe, what does the designation mean to world healthcare systems as they try to rein in the deadly disease? The World Health Organization has yet to declare the current outbreak, which originated in central China last month, a pandemic. It has indicated however that we should prepare ourselves for one. The WHO defines a pandemic […]

South Korea starts virus checks on 200,000-plus sect members

  by Kang Jin-kyu Agence France Presse SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — More than 200,000 members of a religious sect were being checked for coronavirus symptoms by South Korean authorities Wednesday, as US commanders reported the first case among American forces in the country. Most of South Korea’s novel coronavirus are linked to the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, an entity often accused of being a cult. After days of mounting public anger, the secretive Shincheonji […]

Malaysia’s Anwar says group of MPs back him to become PM

by M. Jegathesan KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AFP) — Malaysia was plunged into a bitter power struggle Wednesday as Mahathir Mohamad sought to form a unity government following his shock resignation, but old foe Anwar Ibrahim also pushed to become premier. The shock developments deepened a crisis that began when the ruling coalition — which included both men when it stormed to a historic poll victory in 2018 — fell apart after a failed weekend bid […]

Duterte says he accepts ABS-CBN’s apology, notes he won’t interfere in franchise issue

(Eagle News) — President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday, Feb. 26, said he “accept(s)” ABS-CBN’s apology for not airing his paid political advertisements in 2016. “I accept the apology, of course,” the President told reporters in the Palace, referring to ABS-CBN president Carlo Katigbak’s apology before a Senate panel hearing the network’s compliance to its franchise. President Duterte added  that he would not interfere in the network’s application for franchise renewal in Congress. Justice Secretary Menardo […]

Indian PM Modi calls for calm as Delhi riots kill 20

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for calm Wednesday, Feb. 26, after Delhi’s worst sectarian violence in decades that left at least 20 people dead. “Peace and harmony are central to our ethos. I appeal to my sisters and brothers of Delhi to maintain peace and brotherhood at all times. It is important that there is calm and normalcy is restored at the earliest,” Prime Minister Modi said in a tweet on Wednesday. He said […]

Down Syndrome no obstacle for aspiring French politician

by Antoine POLLEZ ARRAS,  France (AFP) — When the mayor of Arras, a town in northern France, asked her to stand as a candidate in upcoming municipal elections, Eleonore Laloux, who has Down Syndrome, did not hesitate. “I would like Arras to change, for there to be improvements… mainly with regard to cleanliness and respect, but also accessibility” for disabled people, the 34-year-old administrative agent and activist told AFP. “I am ready to make this […]

Katherine Johnson, black NASA mathematician, dies at 101

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Katherine Johnson, a ground-breaking black NASA mathematician whose life was portrayed in the movie “Hidden Figures,” died on Monday aged 101, the space agency said. Johnson’s calculations helped put the first man on the Moon in 1969, but she was little known until the Oscar-nominated 2016 movie that told the stories of three black women who worked at NASA. “She was an American hero and her pioneering legacy will never […]

Singapore charges man with virus for lying to health officials

SINGAPORE, Singapore (AFP) — A Chinese man infected with coronavirus and his wife have been charged in Singapore for lying to health authorities investigating whether they had passed the illness to others, officials said Wednesday. Singapore has recorded nearly 100 cases of the COVID-19 infection since the illness first originated in the Chinese city of Wuhan last December. With nearly 2,800 confirmed deaths and more than 81,000 cases worldwide, Singapore has banned the entry of […]

Bangladesh’s biggest zoo calls time on elephant rides

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AFP) — Bangladesh’s biggest zoo has called time on elephant rides following a long-running campaign by activists. The ban was quietly introduced last month, Dhaka zoo curator Nurul Islam told AFP, adding it would never been lifted. “We agree that these rides were not good for the animals,” Islam said, acknowledging the efforts of animal rights groups. “Elephant rides are a kind of animal abuse and cruelty towards the animal.” The zoo in […]