OVERSEAS | ABS-CBN News

Black 'rock' from Italy volcanic eruption is part of exploded brain

Agence France-Presse
Jan 24 02:48 AM

It looks like a piece of rock - black, shiny and unexceptional.  Read more »

US to limit visas for pregnant women to curb 'birth tourism'

Agence France-Presse
Jan 24 02:30 AM

The United States said Thursday it would no longer issue temporary visitor visas to pregnant women seeking to enter the country for so-called "birth tourism." Read more »

Saudi Arabia denies case of coronavirus infection

Reuters
Jan 24 02:27 AM

RIYADH - A Saudi health ministry affiliate said on Thursday there were no cases of coronavirus in the kingdom, denying earlier reports of an expatriate resident being infected.   Read more »

Philippines ready to help Australia, DFA chief says

Willard Cheng, ABS-CBN News
Jan 24 01:13 AM

Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin, Jr. said the Philippines is ready to help Australia as it battles bushfires in parts of the country.  Read more »

India says nurse in Saudi not infected with China virus

Agence France-Presse
Jan 24 12:49 AM | Updated Jan 24 02:40 AM

[UPDATED] An Indian nurse working in Saudi Arabia has tested positive for coronavirus, but with a different strain from the one wreaking havoc in China, Delhi's consulate in Jeddah said Thursday. Read more »

Comedian who joked about Jesus leaves Russia fearing police probe

Reuters
Jan 23 11:08 PM

A popular stand-up comedian has temporarily left Russia for security reasons after police opened an investigation into one of his performances in which he cracked crude jokes about Jesus and the Orthodox Church, his lawyer said on Thursday. Read more »

After Singapore, Vietnam confirms 2 cases of new coronavirus

Agence France-Presse
Jan 23 10:44 PM

Two Chinese nationals in Vietnam have tested positive for the SARS-like coronavirus and are being treated in hospital, officials said Thursday.   Read more »

Epidemic response group starts work on 3 possible China virus vaccines

Reuters
Jan 23 10:39 PM

The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations said the plan was to have at least one potential vaccine in clinical trials by June. Read more »

Singapore confirms first case of new China virus

Agence France-Presse
Jan 23 09:46 PM | Updated Jan 23 11:01 PM

Singapore on Thursday confirmed its first case of the new SARS-like virus, which has killed 17 people in China and spread to multiple countries including the United States. Read more »

Int’l court orders Myanmar to protect Rohingya from acts of genocide

Stephanie van den Berg and Bart H. Meijer, Reuters
Jan 23 09:32 PM

A lawsuit, launched at the UN's highest body for disputes between states, accuses Myanmar of genocide against Rohingya in violation of a 1948 convention. Read more »

Equality won't happen by itself, says Finnish PM

Belinda Goldsmith, Thomson Reuters Foundation
Jan 23 08:33 PM

Finland's Prime Minister Sanna Marin called on Thursday for governments and companies to do more to ensure women were treated fairly, saying equality would not happen by itself. Read more »

Famed China SARS fighter returns to spotlight in coronavirus battle

Gabriel Crossley and Yawen Chen, Reuters
Jan 23 07:39 PM

Zhong Nanshan, despite his advanced age, was appointed to lead the National Health Commission's investigation into the new virus, which has rattled millions of Chinese who are traveling for the week-long Lunar New Year holiday, which starts on Saturday, and jolted global markets. Read more »

'End of the world': Wuhan residents react to quarantine

Hector Retamal and Sebastien Ricci, Agence France-Presse
Jan 23 06:59 PM

Some blamed people in Wuhan for eating wild animals. Read more »

China puts millions on lockdown at virus epicenter

Yawen Chen and Se Young Lee, Reuters
Jan 23 06:37 PM | Updated Jan 24 01:09 AM

BEIJING (2nd UPDATE) - China put millions of people on lockdown on Thursday in two cities at the epicenter of a coronavirus outbreak that has killed 17 people and infected more than 630, as authorities around the world worked to prevent a global pandemic. Read more »

Canadian air tanker crashes while fighting Australia bushfires, 3 dead

Byron Kaye and Colin Packham, Reuters
Jan 23 05:31 PM

SYDNEY - A Canadian-owned C-130 Hercules air tanker crashed while fighting bushfires in Australia's alpine region on Thursday, killing all three of its crew, authorities said.   Read more »

Top UN court to rule on Myanmar genocide case

Sara Magniette, Agence France-Presse
Jan 23 05:30 PM

Myanmar's civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi traveled to The Hague in December to personally defend her Buddhist-majority country against the allegations over the bloody 2017 crackdown against the Rohingya. Read more »

Japan should ban confiscation of foreign employees' passports, lawyer says

Sakura Murakami, Reuters
Jan 23 03:53 PM

TOKYO - The Japanese government should forbid employers from retaining the passports of their foreign workers, a lawyer said on Thursday after a Filipino woman sued her former employer for refusing to return her personal documents. Read more »

Aircraft fighting Australia bushfires loses contact, may have crashed

Sonali Paul, Reuters
Jan 23 03:37 PM

MELBOURNE - An aircraft fighting bushfires in Australia lost contact with ground control and may have crashed, officials said on Thursday, as soaring temperatures and strong winds fanned blazes in the country's southeast including one on the capital's doorstep. Read more »

10 missing after migrant boat capsizes off Indonesia

Agence France-Presse
Jan 23 02:40 PM

PEKANBARU, Indonesia - Ten people were missing after a boat carrying 20 migrant workers capsized off the coast of Indonesia's Sumatra island, a search and rescue official said Thursday.   Read more »

China shuts down transportation from Wuhan

Mark Schiefelbein, AP Photo
Jan 23 01:27 PM

Travelers in face masks walk past a display board showing a canceled flight from Wuhan at Beijing Capital International Airport in Beijing, Thursday.  Read more »

Last flight from Wuhan: 'Everyone was wearing masks'

Agence France-Presse
Jan 23 12:53 PM

SYDNEY, Australia - One of the last flights out of the epidemic-hit Chinese city of Wuhan was met by biosecurity officials as it landed in Australia on Thursday, as a global effort to contain the outbreak ramps up.   Read more »

Studies suggest role of bats, snakes in outbreak of China virus

Agence France-Presse
Jan 23 12:40 PM

A new strain of coronavirus that emerged in China may have originated in bats or snakes, according to genetic analysis of the virus that has so far killed 17 people.   Read more »

Nearly 600 infected with novel coronavirus; China locks down outbreak epicenter

Yawen Chen and Se Young Lee, Reuters
Jan 23 12:20 PM

BEIJING - China is putting on lockdown a city of 11 million people considered the epicenter of the new coronavirus outbreak that has killed 17 and infected nearly 600 people, as health authorities around the world work to prevent a global pandemic.   Read more »

At least one killed, several injured in Seattle mass shooting

Agence France-Presse
Jan 23 12:03 PM

LOS ANGELES, United States - At least one person was killed and seven others, including a child, were wounded on Wednesday after gunfire broke out in downtown Seattle near a popular tourist area, police and hospital officials said. Read more »

As intensity fades, Hong Kong protesters mull tactics

Jerome Taylor and Yan Zhao, Agence France-Presse
Jan 23 11:15 AM

A sharp dip in the frequency and ferocity of Hong Kong's pro-democracy protests has raised questions over the future of the leaderless movement, rattled by a spike in arrests and increasingly aggressive police tactics.   Read more »