Breaking News, Latest Philippines Headlines, World, Entertainment, Politics, Weather & Video News
BAMAKO, Mali (AFP) — Al-Qaeda’s North Africa wing has confirmed that its Algerian chief Abdelmalek Droukdel is dead, according to SITE, the US watchdog for extremist groups. France said early this month that its forces killed Droukdel in northern Mali near the Algerian border, where it says the group has bases it uses to carry out bombings and abductions of Westerners. “After nearly two weeks, AQIM (Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb) has officially acknowledged the […]
by Jing Xuan Teng with AFP bureaux BEIJING, China (AFP) — China imposed travel restrictions on nearly half a million people near its capital on Thursday to contain a fresh coronavirus outbreak as deaths surged in other parts of the world. The threat of a second wave hitting China, which had largely brought the virus under control, and rising tolls in Latin America and South Asia underscore the global challenge in slowing down the pandemic […]
OTTAWA, Canada (AFP) — Canada will soon roll out a COVID-19 tracing app for smartphones, developed with help from BlackBerry and Shopify, it was announced Thursday, as the number of cases topped 100,000. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told a daily briefing it will be “crucial” to increase testing and contact tracing going forward as pandemic restrictions start to be gradually eased. As part of that effort, he said “a mobile app that will notify users […]
LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — California’s Governor Gavin Newsom on Thursday ordered all Californians to wear face masks in public in a bid to stem the spread of the coronavirus. “Science shows that face coverings and masks work,” Newsom said in a statement. “They are critical to keeping those who are around you safe, keeping businesses open and restarting our economy.” His order came following a decision last week by officials in Orange County, […]
NEW DELHI, India (AFP) — China has freed 10 Indian soldiers seized in a high-altitude border clash in the Himalayas which left at least 20 Indian soldiers dead, media reports said Friday. The release follows several rounds of talks between the two sides in a bid to ease tensions after the battle on Monday, in which scores of troops from the two sides fought with nail-studded batons and hurled rocks at each other. The 10 […]
TEHRAN, Iran (AFP) — Iran test-fired a “new generation” of cruise missiles Thursday, the navy said, in the first such military exercises since 19 sailors were killed last month in a friendly fire incident. The armed forces’ website published pictures of the drill in the Gulf of Oman showing missiles being fired from a warship and the back of a truck, and a vessel exploding out at sea. A statement said both short- and long-range […]
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japanese prosecutors on Thursday arrested the country’s former justice minister — a close ally of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe — and his lawmaker wife over allegations of vote-buying during her electoral campaign last year. The scandal is the latest headache for Abe, who has seen his approval ratings sink over his handling of the coronavirus crisis and faced criticism over alleged attempts to name a favoured candidate to the role of […]
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan’s government on Thursday urged citizens to install the country’s first coronavirus-tracing app when it launches this week, pledging that the system would not invade users’ privacy. The smartphone app, which like those in many countries relies on Bluetooth tracking and the permission of users, will launch on Friday. “This is an important tool to protect your lives, so please install it,” Yasutoshi Nishimura, the minister in charge of the government’s […]
by Jing Xuan Teng and Laurie Chen BEIJING, China (AFP) — Travel restrictions were placed on nearly half a million people near Beijing on Thursday as authorities rush to contain a fresh outbreak of the coronavirus with a mass test-and-trace effort and lockdowns in parts of the Chinese capital. Another 21 cases of the virus were reported in the past 24 hours in Beijing, the National Health Commission said, taking the total number to 158 […]
NUR-SULTAN, Kazakhstan (AFP) — Kazakhstan’s 79-year-old former president and official ‘Leader of the Nation’ Nursultan Nazarbayev has tested positive for the coronavirus, a statement on his official website said Thursday. “Currently, the First President of Kazakhstan is in self-isolation. Unfortunately, the last test… for the coronavirus infection showed a positive result. There is no cause for concern,” the statement said. The statement said that Nazarbayev is “continuing to work remotely.” Strongman Nazarbayev, who turns 80 […]
by Patrick GALEY PARIS, France (AFP) — The novel coronavirus is twice as infectious within households than similar diseases such as SARS, with a substantial number of additional infections spreading before a COVID-19 sufferer shows any symptoms, according to modelling released Thursday. Researchers based in China and the United States said their findings could have profound impacts on reducing the number of new infections as the pandemic progresses. Using data on 350 COVID-19 patients and […]
by Robin MILLARD GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — The World Health Organization decided Wednesday to halt trials of hydroxychloroquine as a potential treatment for hospitalized COVID-19 patients, finding it did not reduce the mortality rate. A decades-old malaria and rheumatoid arthritis drug, hydroxychloroquine has been at the centre of political and scientific controversy. It has been touted as a possible treatment for the new coronavirus by high profile figures, including US President Donald Trump. The drug […]
