by Harumi OZAWA Agence France Presse YOKOHAMA, Japan (AFP) — Japan said on Tuesday it had completed tests on a coronavirus-riddled cruise ship docked near Tokyo, as those free of the disease hoped to spend their last night aboard before disembarking. The Diamond Princess has become a particularly virulent breeding ground for the new coronavirus, with at least 454 infections among the 3,700 passengers and crew — easily the second-biggest global cluster outside the […]
Other News
Bare-faced robbery: thieves steal 6,000 hygiene masks in Japan
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Thieves in Japan have made off with some 6,000 surgical masks from a hospital, with the country facing a mass shortage and a huge price hike online due to the coronavirus. Four boxes containing the face masks disappeared from a locked storage facility at the Japanese Red Cross hospital in the western port city of Kobe, a hospital official said on Tuesday. “We still have a large number of masks — […]
‘Jetman’ stuns with Iron Man-style flight over Dubai
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AFP) — Daredevil Vince Reffet has soared into the skies above Dubai in the latest “Jetman” stunt, taking off from the ground and climbing to 1,800metres (nearly 6,000 feet) in a feat reminiscent of Marvel’s “Iron Man” and hailed as a world first. Reffet and his collaborators, known as “Jetman”, have literally scaled new heights with the help of jetpacks and carbon-fiber wings, staging a series of aerial displays that send […]
Cloudy skies, rains still expected in parts of PHL
(Eagle News)–Cloudy skies and rains are expected in parts of the country today, Feb. 18. The Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration said Cordillera Administrative Region, Cagayan Valley, Bicol Region, Eastern Visayas, Aurora, Quezon, and Oriental Mindoro will have cloudy skies with light rains as the northeast monsoon continues to affect Luzon. Metro Manila and the rest of Luzon and Visayas, on the other hand, will have partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated […]
Coronavirus cases top 500 on cruise ship off Japan
by Harumi OZAWA TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Another 88 people aboard a cruise ship off Japan have tested positive for the coronavirus, authorities said Tuesday, as those free of the disease hoped they were spending their last night on board before disembarking. The new cases take the total from the Diamond Princess to 542 — easily the biggest cluster outside the epicenter in China — as the cruise ship has proved an especially virulent breeding […]
Cambodia PM defends ship docking despite virus diagnosis
SIHANOUKVILLE, Cambodia (AFP) — Cambodia’s strongman premier defended on Tuesday his decision to allow a US cruise ship to dock despite at least one passenger later being diagnosed with the deadly coronavirus, while authorities scrambled to track down hundreds that came in contact with her. The Westerdam was turned away by several Asian ports before Cambodia agreed last week to allow its more than 2,000 passengers and crew to disembark. But jubilation dimmed over […]
Asian markets fall as virus hits earnings, growth
HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Asian markets tumbled Tuesday after Apple warned the new coronavirus had hit output and demand in China, fuelling fears over the wider impact of the epidemic on corporate earnings and economic growth. Investors looked past a positive lead from European bourses to focus on the spiraling fallout from the virus that has so far killed more than 1,800 people and infected nearly 72,500, mostly in mainland China. As well as […]
DFA: Eight more Filipinos on board Japan cruise ship test positive for COVID-19
(Eagle News) — Eight more Filipinos on board the Japan cruise ship off Yokohama have tested positive for the novel coronavirus, the Department of Foreign Affairs said on Tuesday, Feb. 18. The DFA said the eight new cases, who were all crew members of the Diamond Princess, are now undergoing treatment in Japanese hospitals. On Monday, Feb. 17, the DFA said the number of Filipinos with COVID-19 on board the ship was now 27. Over […]
Qatar says, talks stall with Saudi to defuse Gulf crisis
by Gregory WALTON DOHA, Qatar (AFP) — Talks between Doha and Riyadh to resolve a two-year regional spat have stalled, Qatar’s foreign minister said, after a flurry of diplomacy late last year raised hopes the damaging rift was being healed. Saudi Arabia, along with its allies the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt, cut all diplomatic, trade and transport ties with Qatar in June 2017. The four governments accused Doha of backing radical Islamists, including […]
UK to repatriate citizens from ship quarantined off Japan
LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — The British government on Tuesday became the latest country to announce it will evacuate its citizens stranded onboard a cruise ship quarantined off Japan because of the new coronavirus. Britain said it would organize a flight to repatriate its nationals from the Diamond Princess vessel, where more than 450 people have tested positive for COVID-19. That follows the United States, Canada, Australia, Hong Kong, and South Korea all saying they […]
Senator Drilon seeks franchise extension of ABS-CBN until end of 2022
(Eagle News) – Senate Minority leader Franklin Drilon has filed a resolution seeking to extend the legislative franchise of media giant ABS-CBN until end of year 2022. Drilon, in the Senate Joint Resolution No. 11, said there was a need for more time to review the application for the renewal by ABS-CBN of its franchise which ends on March 30 this year. He said the lives of some 11,000 workers would be affected in case […]
Palace: OSG right in asking for gag order in quo warranto case vs ABS-CBN
(Eagle News) — The Palace on Tuesday, Feb. 18, said it was only right for the Office of the Solicitor General to ask for a gag order on the parties involved in the quo warranto petition filed against ABS-CBN. In a press conference, Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said in the first place, “parang nagiging emotional yung issue.” He added the case was already pending before the court, which means it “becomes sub judice.” “Tama naman […]





