Breaking News, Latest Philippines Headlines, World, Entertainment, Politics, Weather & Video News
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (AFP) — Brazil reported a record 1,349 coronavirus deaths in a 24-hour period Wednesday, the health ministry said, as the pandemic continued to take a grim toll on Latin America’s hardest-hit country. The figure brought the total death toll from the new coronavirus in Brazil to 32,548, with 584,016 confirmed infections — the second-highest caseload worldwide, after the United States. Brazil’s death toll, which has doubled in 17 days, is currently […]
LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — The NBA is finalizing details of a plan which is expected to be approved by the league’s Board of Governors on Thursday, paving the way for a return from the coronavirus shutdown. The board is poised to give the green light to commissioner Adam Silver’s return of basketball which would begin July 31 with a 22-team format, and end in mid-October with a champion being crowned, ESPN reported. The […]
by Joshua Howat Berger with AFP bureaus RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (AFP) — Researchers in hard-hit Brazil on Wednesday said they would begin testing a coronavirus vaccine developed in Britain, while across the Atlantic European nations began reopening borders in a bid to emerge from months of devastation caused by the disease. Authorities in Brazil — the latest frontline of the pandemic, with deaths and infections on the rise — imposed fresh restrictions in the […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Taking hydroxychloroquine shortly after being exposed to COVID-19 does not help prevent infection in a statistically meaningful way, scientists reported Wednesday following a clinical trial. The medicine has been touted by US President Donald Trump, who has said he used it as a prophylaxis against the novel coronavirus. But an experiment involving 821 people across the United States and Canada showed it did not work significantly better than a placebo […]
KUWAIT CITY, Kuwait (AFP) — Kuwait wants to slash the migrant proportion of its population from 70 to 30 percent, state media said Wednesday, with the prime minister vowing to “resolve the demographic imbalance”. Like its Gulf Arab neighbors, oil-rich Kuwait has a large foreign population mostly made up of Middle Eastern and Asian workers. Out of 4.8 million inhabitants, some 3.3 million are foreign nationals, said Prime Minister Sabah Al-Khaled al-Hamad al-Sabah. “The ideal […]
by Ella IDE ROME, Italy (AFP) — Italy reopened to travellers from Europe on Wednesday, three months after the country went into coronavirus lockdown, but few arrivals dimmed hopes of reviving the key tourism industry as the summer season begins. Gondolas are ready to punt along Venice’s canals, lovers can act out “Romeo and Juliet” on Verona’s famed balcony, and gladiator fans have the chance to pose for selfies at Rome’s Colosseum. But there were […]
BERLIN, Germany (AFP) — Germany will lift its blan`ket travel warning for European nations from June 15, Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said Wednesday, as the continent looks to further ease restrictions imposed to contain the coronavirus. “We have decided today that the travel warning for the named circle of countries will not be continued but replaced by travel advice,” Maas said, referring to EU nations plus a handful of countries in the region including Switzerland […]
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — South Korea on Wednesday issued emergency authorization for the anti-viral drug remdesivir to be used to treat coronavirus patients, paving the way for imports. The US authorized the emergency use of remdesivir in hospitals at the start of May, followed by Japan, while Europe has been considering the following suit. A South Korean government review of remdesivir research said it had proven “clinically meaningful” in cutting patients’ recovery times, the […]
NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — New York’s mayor Bill de Blasio on Tuesday extended a night-time curfew for the city until June 7 following outbreaks of violence and looting during anti-racism protests gripping America. The mayor added that the deployment of National Guard soldiers, seen in other protest-hit states and demanded by President Donald Trump, was not necessary, however. De Blasio told reporters that a 8:00 pm to 5:00 am curfew, due to come […]
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AFP) — A Malaysian university is considering using robots dressed in gowns and mortarboards to act as stand-ins at graduation ceremonies to prevent coronavirus infections — but students have blown a fuse at the idea. A video of the planned ceremonies released by the university shows two elegantly attired, waist-high robots being handed diplomas by high-ranking university officials. The students’ faces appear on screens mounted on the robots’ heads. Associate professor Engku […]
LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — The NBA is aiming to complete the 2020 season by mid-October, reports said Tuesday, as the league edges towards a return from the coronavirus shutdown. ESPN reported that according to a timeframe due to be voted on by NBA’s Board of Governors on Thursday, Game 7 of the NBA Finals would take place no later than October 12. The NBA and NBA Players Association are still finalizing the details […]
BAMAKO, Mali (AFP) — Teachers in the West African state of Mali went on strike Tuesday, the first day schools reopened after being closed for two months, over fears of inadequate protection against coronavirus. Details of the number of students affected were unavailable, but seven teachers’ unions are striking, officials said, in a move that will hit public primary and secondary schools, as well as teacher-training colleges. The government shut schools to curb coronavirus in […]
