Spotlight | ABS-CBN News

How security failures enabled Trump mob to storm US Capitol

Joseph Tanfani, John Shiffman, Brad Heath, Andrea Januta and Mark Hosenball, Reuters
Jan 08 04:43 AM

The bloody chaos inside the US Capitol on Wednesday came after the police force that protects the legislative complex was overrun by a mob of Trump supporters in what law enforcement officials called a catastrophic failure to prepare. Read more »

Roche, Sanofi arthritis drugs reduce death rates among sickest COVID-19 patients

Kate Kelland, Reuters
Jan 08 03:13 AM

LONDON - Treating critically ill COVID-19 patients with Roche's Actemra or Sanofi's Kevzara arthritis drugs significantly improves survival rates and reduces the amount of time patients need intensive care, study results showed on Thursday. Read more »

Survey shows nearly half of all Filipinos unwilling to take COVID-19 vaccine

ABS-CBN News
Jan 07 09:59 PM

A new survey in the Philippines reveals the hesitancy of many Filipinos to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Read more »

Chinese researchers’ device may detect COVID-19 infection in 10 minutes

Stephen Chen, South China Morning Post
Jan 07 03:27 PM

The sensing chip developed by a Peking University team fits a portable, laptop-sized device, and the scientists said it detected the Sars-CoV-2 viral gene almost instantly during their testing. Read more »

EXPLAINER: Can Trump be removed from office before his term ends on Jan. 20?

Jan Wolfe, Reuters
Jan 07 12:22 PM

The storming of the U.S. Capitol by supporters of President Donald Trump on Wednesday has prompted calls by some Congressional Democrats to remove him from office before President-elect Joe Biden is sworn in on Jan. 20. Read more »

Jeepney modernization: Road paved with difficulties, debt, danger

Mikael Angelo S. Francisco
Jan 07 03:12 AM

Even before COVID-19, jeepney driver Ernie Cruz had already been preparing to navigate a bumpy ride ahead of him: the Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program (PUVMP), or the jeepney modernization program.  Read more »

'COVID-19 variant may increase PH cases 15-fold'

ABS-CBN News
Jan 06 11:04 PM | Updated Jan 06 11:05 PM

Philippine scientists said they have yet to detect a local infection of the more infectious UK variant of the novel coronavirus. Read more »

Facing slow vaccine rollout, scientists weigh new tactics

Issam Ahmed, Agence France-Presse
Jan 06 02:36 PM

Should COVID-19 boosters be delayed? Could the dose levels be reduced, and would mixing and matching shots from different makers work just as well? Read more »

THROWBACK: Why devotees endure hardships, risk injuries for Black Nazarene

ABS-CBN News
Jan 06 07:16 AM | Updated Jan 08 07:01 AM

"Red Alert" presents a special episode on one of the Philippines' biggest religious celebrations, the Procession of the Black Nazarene. Read more »

South African variant unlikely to fully negate COVID vaccines, scientist says

Alexander Winning, Reuters
Jan 06 05:22 AM

JOHANNESBURG - A variant of the coronavirus first detected in South Africa is unlikely to completely negate the immunizing effects of vaccines, a researcher studying it told Reuters. Read more »

Geopolitics made pandemic far worse: expert

Nina Larson, Agence France-Presse
Jan 06 03:10 AM

GENEVA - Geopolitical tensions in play before the COVID-19 pandemic colored the international health response, dramatically deepening the crisis, a renowned political scientist and global health expert told AFP. Read more »

13 senators support Sotto's push to grant new franchise to ABS-CBN

ABS-CBN News
Jan 05 09:59 PM

More than a dozen colleagues of the Senate President supported his push to grant the shuttered media giant, ABS-CBN, a new broadcast franchise. Read more »

Inside China’s exhausting race to develop a COVID-19 vaccine

Zhuang Pinghui, South China Morning Post
Jan 05 01:26 PM | Updated Jan 05 01:27 PM

The race in China to develop coronavirus vaccines pushed researchers to near exhaustion and involved giving experimental shots to a state leader, according to a state agency’s account. Read more »

China speeds up building aircraft carriers but will its navy be trained for hi-tech ships in time?

Minnie Chan, South China Morning Post
Jan 05 01:13 PM

The accelerated construction comes as China faces both traditional and non-traditional security challenges, says analyst. Read more »

Will pandemic telework boost women's careers in Japan, South Korea?

Beh Lih Yi, Thomson Reuters Foundation
Jan 05 12:41 PM

COVID-19 could be a tipping point in the push to retain more women in the workforce in Japan and South Korea and for them to have families with new flexible work arrangements expected to stay, according to researchers and recruiters. Read more »

What we do and don't know about new COVID mutations

Amélie Bottollier-Depois, Agence France-Presse
Jan 05 10:30 AM

The emergence in Britain and South Africa of two new variants of Sars-CoV-2, which are potentially far more infectious versions of the virus, has prompted widespread concern. Read more »

COVID SCIENCE: Pediatric use of COVID-19 antibody drugs not advised by experts

Nancy Lapid, Reuters
Jan 05 07:06 AM

As of now, antibody therapies for COVID-19 should not be used to treat infections with the new coronavirus in children or adolescents, "including those ... at high risk of progression to hospitalization or severe disease," according to a panel of experts from 29 hospitals across North America who reviewed the available evidence.  Read more »

Julian Assange: WikiLeaks' controversial founder

Callum Paton, Agence France-Presse
Jan 05 04:56 AM

LONDON - The legal controversies surrounding the WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange are now in their second decade and the divisions between his supporters and critics remain as intractable as ever. Read more »

How close is Iran to producing a nuclear bomb?

Francois Murphy, Reuters
Jan 05 03:11 AM

Iran maintains that it has never sought nuclear weapons and never would. It says its nuclear work only has civilian aims. Read more »

FACTBOX: COVID variants cross the world

ABS-CBN News
Jan 04 11:33 PM

UK scientists expressed concern on Monday that COVID-19 vaccines being rolled out in Britain may not be able to protect against a new variant that emerged in South Africa and has spread internationally. Read more »

Love, tech, and online abuse of women in the time of coronavirus

Lin Taylor, Thomson Reuters Foundation
Jan 04 10:08 PM

LONDON - When Priya's boyfriend posted a nude photo of her online, he told her it would give her a confidence boost by making her an object of desire for other men. Read more »

Why Indonesia is vaccinating its working population first, not elderly

Stanley Widianto and Tabita Diela, Reuters
Jan 04 04:12 PM

As Indonesia prepares to begin mass inoculations against COVID-19, its plan to prioritize working age adults over the elderly, aiming to reach herd immunity fast and revive the economy, will be closely watched by other countries. Read more »

Coronavirus emerged in many places, Chinese foreign minister says

Ji Siqi, South China Morning Post
Jan 03 12:11 PM

China was first to identify the pathogen, but research suggests it was prevalent elsewhere, Wang Yi tells state media. Beijing is ‘resolutely against the politicization of the pandemic and labelling the virus’, he says. Read more »

COVID-19 response exec defends dilapidated Batangas hotel as quarantine facility

Job Manahan, ABS-CBN News
Jan 01 05:25 PM | Updated Jan 01 06:24 PM

A government official has defended the hotel in Batangas described by some balikbayan Filipinos and travelers from abroad as dilapidated and seemingly abandoned, saying that it is “acceptable” as a quarantine facility. Read more »

With little ado, a divided United Kingdom casts off into the Brexit unknown

Guy Faulconbridge and Kate Holton, Reuters
Jan 01 10:01 AM

After years of Brexit vitriol, one of the most significant events in European history since the 1991 fall of the Soviet Union passed with little fanfare: The United Kingdom slipped away, serenaded by the silence of the COVID-19 crisis.   Read more »