Overseas | ABS-CBN News

US piles on South China Sea pressure with carrier strike exercises

Liu Zhen, South China Morning Post
Jan 13 04:42 PM | Updated Jan 13 05:24 PM

The United States has sent an aircraft carrier strike group to the South China Sea where a Chinese aircraft carrier Shandong exercised two weeks ago. Read more »

S. Korea to deploy Pfizer COVID pills as omicron spreads

Hyonhee Shin, Reuters
Jan 13 03:38 PM

South Korea will begin treating COVID-19 patients with Pfizer's antiviral pills as concern mounts over the spread of the Omicron variant. Read more »

Chinese city says omicron outbreak due to New Year celebrations

Holly Chik, South China Morning Post
Jan 13 12:39 PM

The omicron variant of the coronavirus started circulating in the northern Chinese port city of Tianjin during the three-day New Year holiday, health authorities said, as the city of 14 million launched a second round of mass testing. Read more »

Australia COVID-19 infections hit record amid runaway Omicron

Reuters
Jan 13 10:35 AM

Australia on Thursday reported its biggest COVID-19 pandemic caseload: 147,000 new cases. Read more »

US lays out case against 'unlawful' China maritime claims

Agence France-Presse
Jan 13 10:21 AM | Updated Jan 13 11:26 PM

The United States on Wednesday laid out its most detailed case yet against Beijing's "unlawful" claims in the South China Sea, rejecting both the geographic and historic bases for its vast, divisive map. Read more »

China steps up construction along disputed Bhutan border

Devjyot Ghoshal and Anand Katakam, Reuters
Jan 13 09:26 AM

China has accelerated settlement-building along its disputed border with Bhutan, with more than 200 structures, including two-storey buildings, under construction in six locations, according to satellite image analysis conducted for Reuters. Read more »

Experimental clip-on device finds virus particles in air

Reuters
Jan 13 08:10 AM | Updated Jan 13 08:18 AM

An small experimental device designed to be attached to clothing may be able to tell whether the wearer has been exposed to SARS-CoV-2 particles in the air. Read more »

Swiss slash quarantine, hoping Omicron is 'beginning of the end'

Agence France-Presse
Jan 13 07:13 AM

Omicron could be the beginning of the end of the pandemic, the Swiss government said Wednesday as it slashed quarantine times and prolonged restrictions to control the Covid-19 variant. Read more »

US COVID deaths rising, but likely due to delta: CDC

Reuters
Jan 13 04:48 AM

CDC director Rochelle Walensky said US COVID-19 cases, driven by the fast spreading omicron variant, are expected to peak in the coming weeks. Read more »

Londoners call on UK PM to quit over lockdown 'party’

Agence France-Presse
Jan 13 03:49 AM

Johnson was urged to step down after he apologized in parliament for attending a drinks gathering in his Downing Street office during lockdown. Read more »

Japan’s daily COVID cases top 13k, 1st time in 4 months

Kyodo News
Jan 13 02:18 AM

Japan's count of reported daily coronavirus cases exceeded 13,000 on Wednesday, as a sixth wave of the pandemic spread throughout the country. Read more »

Cambodia shelves first ASEAN meeting over attendance 'difficulties'

Prak Chan Thul, Reuters
Jan 12 08:53 PM

Cambodia said on Wednesday it had postponed a meeting of foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations scheduled for next week. Read more »

"Hero Rat" ng Cambodia, pumanaw na

ABS-CBN News
Jan 12 07:40 PM

Daan-daang buhay ang nailigtas ng dagang si Magawa dahil sa galing niya sa paghahanap ng mga nakabaong landmines. Read more »

Mga ostrich, nagtakbuhan sa kalsada

ABS-CBN News
Jan 12 07:37 PM

Nakawala umano ang mga ostrich sa isang farm. Read more »

Kim Jong Un seeks more 'military muscle' after missile test

Cat Barton, Agence France-Presse
Jan 12 04:43 PM

Pictures in state media showed Kim using binoculars to observe the second missile launch by the nuclear-armed nation in less than a week. Read more »

Indonesia starts booster dose amid Omicron spread

Reuters
Jan 12 03:15 PM

Indonesia kicked off its COVID-19 booster program for the general public on Wednesday. Read more »

Twin pandas born in Tokyo zoo make public debut

Kyodo News
Jan 12 02:54 PM

The twin giant pandas born at Tokyo's Ueno Zoological Gardens last year made their public debut Wednesday. Read more »

Xi Jinping says to show 'no mercy' in corruption fight

William Zheng, South China Morning Post
Jan 12 01:25 PM

President Xi Jinping warned the Chinese Communist Party’s top provincial and ministerial officials not to waver on anti-corruption efforts and to strictly follow Beijing’s strategic decisions as his administration prepares for a crucial party congress slated to convene this year. Read more »

US Senate bill to sanction Chinese officials blocking coronavirus origins probe

Owen Churchill, South China Morning Post
Jan 12 10:47 AM | Updated Jan 12 11:08 AM

Sixteen Republican sponsors want to investigate whether the virus somehow escaped from an infectious diseases lab. The bill has no support from Democrats, who have accused Republicans of fueling anti-Asian racism in the US with coronavirus rhetoric. Read more »

Canadian province seeks to tax the unvaxxed

Agence France-Presse
Jan 12 10:43 AM

The Canadian province of Quebec will impose a new health tax in the coming weeks on those who are not vaccinated against Covid-19. Read more »

HK suspends classes due to Omicron outbreak

Peter Parks, AFP
Jan 12 09:56 AM

Children are escorted from school in Hong Kong as the city announced the suspension of all kindergarten and primary schools on Tuesday. Read more »

How is Israel confronting the Omicron wave?

Ben Simon and Yasmin Zaher, Agence France-Presse
Jan 12 07:22 AM

Israel is now confronting an unprecedented caseload fueled by the Omicron variant, with more than 37,000 new cases reported Tuesday. Read more »

North Korea says it tested hypersonic missile

Agence France-Presse
Jan 12 06:43 AM | Updated Jan 12 07:33 AM

Hypersonic missiles travel at speeds of Mach 5 and higher and can maneuver mid-flight, making them harder to track and intercept. Read more »

US on 'threshold' of living with COVID: top scientist

Issam Ahmed, Agence France-Presse
Jan 12 06:33 AM

Though omicron causes severe cases at a lower rate than delta, it is reaching more people because of its extreme infectiousness. Read more »

North Korea launches ‘more advanced’ missile

Josh Smith and Hyonhee Shin, Reuters
Jan 11 10:54 PM

North Korea appeared to test-fire a ballistic missile on Tuesday that may be more advanced than a "hypersonic" one it launched less than a week ago. Read more »