OVERSEAS | ABS-CBN News

Fresh bloodshed in Myanmar, as UN set to meet on crisis

Agence France-Presse
Mar 06 12:04 AM

Despite an increasingly brutal crackdown by the military authorities that has seen more than 50 people killed, protesters took to the streets again. Read more »

Global coronavirus deaths fall, as rate of new cases worldwide stays steady

Agence France-Presse
Mar 05 11:46 PM

The decrease took place mainly in North America, the rate of new cases worldwide remained stable. Read more »

WHO: COVID origins report due out week of March 15

Agence France-Presse
Mar 05 10:48 PM

The report was originally due to be published in two stages: an initial summary in February followed by the full text. However, they will both now be released at the same time. Read more »

'Silence the arms': Pope urges end to violence on historic Iraq trip

Sarah Benhaida and Catherine Marciano, Agence France-Presse
Mar 05 10:08 PM

The 84-year-old is defying a second wave of the global pandemic and renewed security fears to make a "long-awaited" trip to comfort one of the world's oldest Christian communities. Read more »

China’s ‘two sessions’: key takeaways from the opening of the National People’s Congress

Teddy Ng, South China Morning Post
Mar 05 09:41 PM

Premier Li Keqiang kick-started China’s parliamentary session by outlining the economic growth target for the nation and pledging to stop foreign interference in Hong Kong. Read more »

Cheers and hope as doctor gets Nigeria's first COVID-19 vaccine

Camillus Eboh, Reuters
Mar 05 09:34 PM

"I am happy to be the first and I am happy I am not the last," the doctor, 42-year-old Ngong Cyprian, said. "I want everybody to be vaccinated."   Read more »

Pope Francis arrives in Iraq

Iraqi Prime Minister’s Press Office via AFP
Mar 05 08:55 PM

A picture released by Iraq's Prime Minister's Media Office on Twitter shows Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhemi welcoming Francis at Baghdad Airport on Friday.  Read more »

'COVID-19 deaths mas marami sa mga bansang marami ang matatandang overweight'

ABS-CBN News
Mar 05 08:36 PM

Mas marami ang namamatay sa COVID-19 sa mga bansang marami ang matatandang obese o overweight, ayon sa pag-aaral.  Read more »

Pagsigaw at pagkanta, puwede gamitin sa COVID-19 test?

ABS-CBN News
Mar 05 08:23 PM

Isang Dutch inventor ang nakagawa ng scream test para malaman kung mayroon kang COVID-19.  Read more »

Japan's tsunami survivors call lost loves on the phone of the wind

Mari Saito, Reuters
Mar 05 07:06 PM

Survivors say the unconnected phone line in Otsuchi town helps them keep in touch with their loved ones and gives them some solace as they grapple with their grief. Read more »

Pope Francis arrives in Baghdad for risky, historic Iraq tour

Philip Pullella and John Davison, Reuters
Mar 05 06:19 PM | Updated Mar 05 07:27 PM

Pope Francis headed to Iraq on Friday for his most risky foreign trip since his election in 2013, and said he felt duty-bound to make the "emblematic" visit because the country had suffered so much for so long. Read more »

Sinovac's COVID-19 vaccine may not trigger sufficient antibody response to Brazil variant -study

Reuters
Mar 05 05:34 PM

Sinovac Biotech's COVID-19 vaccine may not trigger sufficient antibody responses against a new variant identified in Brazil, a small-sample lab study showed. Read more »

China moves to eliminate Hong Kong opposition

Leo Ramirez, Agence France-Presse
Mar 05 04:23 PM

China moved Friday to grant itself veto powers over selecting Hong Kong's lawmakers, part of a campaign to eliminate dissent and ensure a "patriotic" government in the city following huge democracy rallies in 2019.   Read more »

Japan supercomputer shows doubling masks offers little help preventing viral spread

Rocky Swift, Reuters
Mar 05 03:11 PM

Japanese supercomputer simulations showed that wearing 2 masks gave limited benefit in blocking viral spread compared with one properly fitted mask. Read more »

YouTube removes five military-run Myanmar TV channels from platform

Reuters
Mar 05 02:37 PM

Alphabet Inc's YouTube has removed 5 channels of Myanmar's military-run television networks hosted on its platform in the wake of the coup in the Southeast Asian country. Read more »

WHO investigators to scrap interim report on probe of COVID-19 origins - report

Reuters
Mar 05 02:06 PM

No further information was immediately available about the reasons for the delay in publishing the findings of the WHO-led mission to the central Chinese city of Wuhan, where the first human cases of COVID-19 were detected in late 2019.   Read more »

New Zealand to lift coronavirus lockdown in biggest city on Sunday

Reuters
Mar 05 01:17 PM | Updated Mar 05 01:32 PM

ELLINGTON - New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the government will on Sunday lift a lockdown in the country's largest city of Auckland which was prompted by just one new case of the coronavirus.   Read more »

US-China tech war: Beijing’s main policy lender pledges US$62 billion to fund tech innovation

Celia Chen, South China Morning Post
Mar 05 01:12 PM

China Development Bank has earmarked financing to support strategic emerging industries and advanced manufacturing. The funding support for hi-tech innovation forms part of a state-orchestrated strategy to reduce China’s reliance on imported technologies. Read more »

Nine great apes in San Diego Zoo vaccinated for COVID-19

Steve Gorman
Mar 05 12:03 PM

LOS ANGELES - Nine great apes at the San Diego Zoo - four orangutans and five bonobos - made veterinary history in recent weeks as the world's first non-human primates known to be vaccinated against COVID-19, zoo officials said on Thursday. Read more »

Not this time

Joshua Roberts, Reuters
Mar 05 11:39 AM

Members of the National Guard patrol at the U.S. Capitol after police warned that a militia group might try to attack the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S. Read more »

Cuban-developed vaccine enters Phase III trial

Agence France-Presse
Mar 05 11:15 AM

A Cuban-developed coronavirus candidate vaccine entered into Phase III trials Thursday, the first shot developed by a Latin American country to get this far, the government said.   Read more »

Body of woman missing in Japan 2011 tsunami identified decade on

Agence France-Presse
Mar 05 11:02 AM

The remains of a woman who went missing in the devastating 2011 Japan tsunami have been found and identified, police said Friday, days before the 10th anniversary of the disaster. Read more »

In Florida yard, a ribbon flutters for every COVID-19 death

Leila Macor, Agence France-Presse
Mar 05 10:54 AM | Updated Mar 05 11:10 AM

When Cathy Tobias began tying a ribbon to a rope for each Covid-19 death in Florida, she had no idea her entire patio would end up being draped in color. Read more »

COVID-19 vaccine confidence grows as side effect worries fade

Reuters
Mar 05 10:33 AM

Confidence in COVID-19 vaccines is growing, with people's willingness to have the shots increasing as they are rolled out across the world and concerns about possible side effects are fading, a 14-country survey showed on Friday. Read more »

US blocks Myanmar ministries, military businesses from certain trade

Humeyra Pamuk and Alexandra Alper, Reuters
Mar 05 10:15 AM

The United States on Thursday unveiled new measures to punish Myanmar's army for its February 1 coup, blocking the ministries of defense and home affairs and top military conglomerates from certain types of trade. Read more »