OVERSEAS | ABS-CBN News

Variant accelerating India's COVID explosion: WHO top scientist

Nina Larson, Agence France-Presse
May 09 01:55 PM

A COVID-19 variant spreading in India is more contagious and may be dodging vaccine protections, contributing to the country's explosive outbreak, the World Health Organization's chief scientist said Saturday. Read more »

US wants COVID vaccine patent waiver to benefit world, not boost China biotech

Andrea Shalal, Carl O'Donnell and David Lawder, Reuters
May 09 01:42 PM

The Biden administration is examining ways to ensure that a waiver of COVID-19 vaccine patents to aid poor countries will not hand sensitive US biopharmaceutical technology to China and Russia, responding to a chorus of concerns, US and industry officials say. Read more »

Chinese rocket segment disintegrates over Indian Ocean

Agence France-Presse
May 09 01:09 PM

A large segment of a Chinese rocket re-entered the Earth's atmosphere and disintegrated over the Indian Ocean on Sunday, the Chinese space agency said, following fevered speculation over where the 18-ton object would come down. Read more »

S. Africa picks up first cases of coronavirus variant from India

Reuters
May 09 09:28 AM

South Africa's health ministry said on Saturday it had detected the first four cases of a new coronavirus variant that emerged in India and was responsible for a surge of infections and deaths in the Asian country.   Read more »

Myanmar junta designates shadow government as a 'terrorist' group

Agence France-Presse
May 09 08:26 AM

Myanmar's junta declared Saturday night that a group of ousted lawmakers running a shadow government would now be classified as "terrorists", as the military moves to tighten its grip over a country in turmoil.  Read more »

Times Square shooting leaves three injured including a girl

Agence France-Presse
May 09 08:05 AM

A shooting in New York's bustling Times Square has injured two women and a four-year-old girl, in an incident US authorities were still scrambling to understand, police said Saturday. Read more »

HK U-turn on COVID-19 jabs for domestic helpers: diplomatic row averted, but...

Lilian Cheng and Natalie Wong, South China Morning Post
May 09 07:30 AM

The rushed decision on mandatory testing and vaccination of helpers was ‘made without consultation’. The flip-flop episode shows that the government needs to think through new moves thoroughly, observers say. Read more »

Chinese rocket debris set for re-entry by Sunday - tracking centers

Reuters
May 09 01:01 AM

SHANGHAI - Remnants of China's largest rocket launched last week are expected to plunge back through the atmosphere late Saturday or early Sunday, European and US tracking centers said on Saturday. Read more »

Trump administration obtained phone records of journalists: Washington Post

Agence France-Presse
May 08 09:16 PM

The Trump administration secretly obtained the phone records of Washington Post journalists who reported on allegations of Russian meddling in the 2016 election, the newspaper reported Friday, prompting concerns over freedom of speech. Read more »

First patients in HK with COVID-19 variants arrested over providing misleading info

Kanis Leung and Christy Leung, South China Morning Post
May 08 09:09 PM

Hong Kong’s first two patients found locally with Covid-19 variants were arrested on Saturday over providing misleading information to authorities for contact tracing, the South China Morning Post has learned.   Read more »

China to restrict mobile app news notifications in internet clampdown

Reuters
May 08 08:34 PM | Updated May 08 08:35 PM

SHANGHAI - China's internet watchdog said on Saturday that it will ban some mobile app notifications and tighten regulations as the government ramps up a campaign to rein in the growing influence of internet companies over its citizens' daily lives. Read more »

Key Scottish election on knife edge as pro-independence party heads for win

Russell Cheyne, Reuters
May 08 07:04 PM

The Scottish National Party (SNP), which has vowed to hold an independence referendum that could tear the United Kingdom apart should it be returned to power, will find out on Saturday if it has won a majority in Scotland's parliament. Read more »

EU seeks 'concrete' US plan on lifting vaccine patents

Agence France-Presse
May 08 06:00 PM

EU chief Charles Michel said the bloc is ready to discuss a US proposal to lift patents on Covid-19 vaccines once the details are clear. Read more »

Pope Francis backs waivers on intellectual property rights for vaccines

Reuters
May 08 05:40 PM | Updated May 08 06:00 PM

Pope Francis on Saturday supported waiving intellectual property rights for COVID-19 vaccines, backing a proposal by U.S. President Joe Biden that has been rebuffed by some European nations, including Germany. Read more »

Hospital honors Fil-Am nurse who beat COVID-19 with room named after her

Steve Angeles, ABS-CBN News
May 08 05:38 PM | Updated May 08 07:18 PM

LONG BEACH, California - A hospital in Southern California honored a Filipino-American nurse who beat COVID-19 after eight months of being hospitalized with a room named after her.  Read more »

India hits 4,000 virus deaths in a day

Agence France-Presse
May 08 12:21 PM

India recorded more than 4,000 coronavirus deaths in a day for the first time, the government said Saturday.   Read more »

State of emergency in Japan extended as Olympics loom

Kim Kyung-Hoon, Reuters
May 08 11:20 AM

People wearing protective face masks, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, walk past closed shops in Asakusa district in Tokyo, Japan on Friday.  Read more »

US government announces clampdown on 'ghost guns'

Agence France-Presse
May 08 07:44 AM

The US Justice Department moved Friday to tighten firearms regulations and close loopholes that have allowed the rapid proliferation of untraceable, home-assembled "ghost guns." Read more »

Chinese COVID-19 vaccine Sinopharm gets WHO emergency approval

Stephanie Nebehay, Reuters
May 08 07:22 AM

GENEVA - The World Health Organization (WHO) approved a COVID-19 vaccine from China's state-owned drugmaker Sinopharm for emergency use on Friday, a boost to Beijing's push for a big role in inoculating the world. Read more »

US, Russia, China poke each other at UN Security Council

Michelle Nichols, Reuters
May 08 03:26 AM

NEW YORK - US Secretary of State Antony Blinken took a veiled swipe at Russia and China on Friday during a UN Security Council meeting chaired by his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, warning that the actions of some big powers portray impunity to others. Read more »

Biden says he's confident he can meet Russia's Putin soon

Reuters
May 08 03:05 AM

WASHINGTON - US President Joe Biden said on Friday he expected to be able to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin soon, adding that the time and place for their encounter were still being worked out. Read more »

Germany breaks 3rd coronavirus wave but warns against complacency

Femke Colborne, Agence France-Presse
May 07 11:01 PM

Germany seems to have halted a surge of coronavirus infections driven by the British variant, its health minister said Friday, cautioning however against lifting restrictions precipitously. Read more »

France to impose quarantines for arrivals from 7 more countries

Agence France-Presse
May 07 10:48 PM

France has ordered a mandatory 10-day quarantine for arrivals from seven additional countries in a bid to control the spread of Covid-19, a government source told AFP on Friday. Read more »

UN 'deeply disturbed' by Brazil slum killings

Agence France-Presse
May 07 08:15 PM

The United Nations voiced alarm Friday at a massive police operation in a Brazilian favela that left more than two dozen people dead, and urged an independent investigation. Read more »

Former Maldives president wounded in assassination attempt

Agence France-Presse
May 07 08:05 PM

Former Maldives president and current parliamentary speaker Mohamed Nasheed underwent more surgery Friday following an assassination attempt, as the country's leader vowed to bring the perpetrators to justice. Read more »