France approves antibody therapy for high-risk COVID-19 cases
PARIS — French health authorities have approved the use of an anti-body treatment made by AstraZeneca for high-risk people who show resistance to vaccines against coronavirus. The independent public health body HAS Friday night announced “a greenlight for the preventive use of Evusheld… for patients with a very high-risk of contracting a severe form of Covid-19”. Evusheld, which is made from a combination of two monoclonal antibodies, is administered in two injections. Monoclonal antibodies — which recognise a specific molecule of the target virus or bacteria — are synthetic versions of natural antibodies. For more information on COVID-19, call the DOH Hotline: (02) 86517800 local 1149/1150.
Source:Philippine Daily Inquirer
December 12, 2021 15:33 UTC
Nobel Peace laureate Muratov says war between Russia, Ukraine possible
OSLO –People in positions of power in Russia are actively promoting the idea of war, and conflict with Ukraine is now distinctly possible, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Dmitry Muratov said on Friday. Receiving his award at Oslo City Hall, Muratov said it was common in Russia to think that politicians who avoided bloodshed were weak, while threatening war was “the duty of true patriots”. “Moreover, in (the) heads of some crazy geopoliticians, a war between Russia and Ukraine is not something impossible any longer.”READ: Russia planning Ukraine offensive with up to 175,000 troops — news reportsU.S. officials have said Russia could soon invade Ukraine following a build-up of troops near the Ukrainian border. Muratov also said journalism in Russia was going “through a dark valley”, with over a hundred journalists, media outlets, human rights defenders and non-governmental organisations having been branded as foreign agents. “By giving this to journalists today, the Nobel committee is signalling a similar historical moment, another existential point for democracy,” she said.
Source:Philippine Daily Inquirer
December 12, 2021 07:39 UTC
Omicron makes third jab likely for everyone: David Hui
All Hongkongers should expect to get a booster jab, respiratory disease expert David Hui Shu-cheong said, as a joint research by two Hong Kong universities showed that the Covid-19 variant Omicron significantly reduces the effect of BioNTech vaccines. But the Omicron variant might make it necessary for all residents to get an extra dose, Hui said on a radio program on Sunday. Professor Malik Peiris, Professor of Virology at HKU, and his team isolated the Omicron variant earlier. They carried out tests to measure antibodies generated by BioNTech against the Omicron variant and the original SARS-CoV-2 virus. A similar test of another vaccine used in Hong Kong, Sinovac, is being conducted and the results will soon be available.
Source:The Standard
December 12, 2021 06:52 UTC
Israeli study finds Pfizer COVID-19 booster protects against Omicron
JERUSALEM – Israeli researchers said on Saturday they found that a three-shot course of the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine provided significant protection against the new Omicron variant. “People who received the second dose 5 or 6 months ago do not have any neutralization ability against the Omicron. “The good news is that with the booster dose it increases about a hundred fold. There is a significant protection of the booster dose. The Israeli research follows a study from South Africa that found the Omicron variant can partially evade protection from two doses.
Source:Philippine Daily Inquirer
December 12, 2021 03:12 UTC
CCP raises curtains with 'A Christmas Celebration'
The artists of the CCP present a brand new restaging of Divertissement from "Sleeping Beauty" and "Tuloy Ang Pasko: The 2020 Filipino Holiday Dance Celebration." The show also presents ‘Tuloy Ang Pasko,’ an all-original Filipino dance production. Meanwhile, "Tuloy Ang Pasko" is the all-original Filipino dance production created, filmed, and premiered online in 2020. This production is a celebration of Filipino song and dance presented for the first time live on stage. The production features music composed by National Artist Ryan Cayabyab, National Artist Levi Celerio, Felipe de Leon, Juan Silos Jr., Serapio Ramos, Andrei Dionisio, and Jose Javier Reyes.
Source:Manila Times
December 12, 2021 00:35 UTC
Eala, Sierra ousted in Junior Orange Bowl
Alex Eala US OPEN PHOTOFILIPINO tennis ace Alex Eala and Argentinian partner Solana Sierra bowed out in the Junior Orange Bowl Tennis Championship at the Frank Veltri Tennis Center in Plantation, Florida on Saturday morning (Philippine time). Eala and Sierra were ousted by the duo of Swiss Chelsea Fontenel and American Qavia Lopez, 6-3, 5-7, 10-2, in the quarterfinals of the girls doubles event. The match marked the conclusion of Eala's 2021 season as she also exited the Orange Bowl singles division, losing to Czech Kristyna Tomajkova, 3-6, 3-6, in the second round last Thursday. "I completed my 2021 tournament season today with a Quarter Finals finish in Doubles of the Junior Orange Bowl," wrote Eala in a Facebook post on Saturday. In the prestigious US Open last September, Eala reached as far as the girls doubles semifinals and the girls singles quarterfinals for the first time.
Source:Manila Times
December 11, 2021 23:21 UTC
(Video) Female driver arrested after unsecured vehicle runs into pedestrians in Lan Kwai Fong
A 44-year-old female driver was arrested following a traffic incident on Friday night where a car rolled backward down a slope in Central and hit eight people. Police later arrested the female driver for dangerous driving causing grievous bodily harm. As the helper and the employer got out of the car and were about to close the doors, the vehicle rolled backward because the driver didn't fully engage the handbrake. The car rolled backward down the slope for over 100 meters and hit several revelers standing at the door of a bar on the street. According to footage on the internet, the car rolled over at least one pedestrian and dragged the person along the road.
Source:The Standard
December 11, 2021 22:36 UTC
Indian police hold man for stealing Maradona’s watch
GUWAHATI, India — Indian police have recovered a stolen watch customized for star footballer Diego Maradona and arrested a suspect behind the alleged theft in Dubai, officials claimed Saturday. Police said they detained Wazid Hussain in the northeastern state of Assam and recovered a Swiss-made Hublot watch after he fled to India following an alleged theft in Dubai. They said the single edition watch, worth around $26,500, has a photo of the star engraved on its back and carries his signature with his jersey number 10. “Though there are many limited edition watches available this watch was customized for Maradona,” Sivasagar superintendent of police Rakesh Roushan told AFP, quoting information received from Dubai authorities. Police said the detained man denied the allegations, adding he had returned to Assam in August on the pretext of tending to his ailing father.
Source:Philippine Daily Inquirer
December 11, 2021 22:13 UTC
UsapangCancerTreatment: Putting cancer care on the national agenda
UsapangCancerTreatment: Putting cancer care on the national agendaMANILA, Philippines — The Department of Health, the Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Association of the Philippines (PHAP), MSD in the Philippines’ Hope From Within and AstraZeneca’s AZ Cares gathered national leaders, health experts and patients to discuss the national agenda on health care and cancer treatment access in #UsapangCancerTreatment, the third episode of the ‘Tita Hope Talks’ cancer conversation series. “We successfully included P620 million as cancer assistance fund into an overall P756 million for the cancer supportive care and palliative care access program in the 2021 national budget. Former senator JV Ejercito, who became instrumental in the passage of the law, urged fellow legislators to ensure the continuous implementation of the landmark cancer care law. “I hope that legislators will really fund the Cancer Control Act because cancer is very expensive to treat. It also mandated the creation of a Cancer Assistance Fund and the National Integrated Cancer Control Council.
Source:Philippine Star
December 11, 2021 21:03 UTC
Bulacan records only 141 active COVID-19 cases, lowest since last year
CITY OF MALOLOS–Bulacan has recorded its lowest number of active COVID-19 cases in one year with 141 logged on Friday. Last week, 519 active cases were recorded by local health officials in Bulacan. ADVERTISEMENTDr. Hijordis Marushka Celis, Bulacan COVID-19 Task Force vice chair, said the 378 have already recovered. Of the 141 active cases, 13 are admitted in hospitals, 28 are in quarantine facilities and 100 are in home isolation. Bulacan has recorded its lowest 467 active cases on December 16, 2020, Celis reported.
Source:Philippine Daily Inquirer
December 11, 2021 20:44 UTC
CCP reopens live dance performances, launches open-air theater
CCP reopens live dance performances, launches open-air theaterMANILA, Philippines — Since March 2020, when the global pandemic closed theater productions to the public, Filipino dance artists have not returned to the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) main stage, until now — making one of the very first live shows after the lifting of quarantine protocols with "A Christmas Celebration." Dancing the five friends' younger selves are Earl John Arisola, Monica Gana, Jessa Tangalin, John Abadon, and Erl Sorilla. To ensure that everyone will have a safe theater experience, please read CCP's new normal health protocol at http://bit.ly/CCPNewNormalProtocol. This will be twin-billed with "Kabaligtaran ng Gunaw" by Jerrold Tarog, a short film based on a poem with the same title by Eljay Castro Deldoc. Also, the CCP encourages viewers who have no vehicles to bring their own mats to have a comfortable cinematic experience.
Source:Philippine Star
December 11, 2021 20:21 UTC
HK adds one imported case from the Philippines
Hong Kong reported one imported Covid case from the Philippines on Saturday without any Omicron case or local infection. She arrived in Hong Kong on November 28 from the Philippines on flight 5J272 and underwent quarantine at Rambler Garden Hotel in Tsing Yi. She had received two doses of Sinovac vaccine in the Philippines on June 25 and July 28 and remained asymptomatic. She carried a low viral load, and health authority has yet to determine whether she carries any Covid mutant strain. A total of 61 cases have been reported in the past 14 days, and all of them are imported cases.
Source:The Standard
December 11, 2021 07:55 UTC
DFA to cancel, dispose all unclaimed passports
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) will cancel and dispose all unclaimed passports that were scheduled for release before December 2020. In an advisory, the DFA said those who have yet to claim their passports that were scheduled for release before that period can claim them before Jan. 7 next year at the DFA Consular Office where they were processed. ADVERTISEMENT“Those who are unable to claim their passports at the respective DFA Consular Offices before 7 January 2022 must file a new passport application after securing a certificate of unclaimed passport from DFA Aseana or at the DFA Consular Office where they were processed,” the DFA said. —Tina G. SantosRead Next
Source:Philippine Daily Inquirer
December 11, 2021 06:15 UTC
Robredo: Lines open for consolidation of forces in 2022 elections
Robredo: Lines open for consolidation of forces in 2022 electionsPhilippine Vice President Leni Robredo poses for the media after filing her candidacy to join the 2022 presidential race, at Sofitel Harbor Garden Tent in Pasay, Metro Manila on October 7, 2021. MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Leni Robredo said Friday that she remains open to talking about the possibility of consolidating forces for the 2022 elections to ensure victory for the opposition. Prior to announcing her candidacy for president, Robredo had been focused on speaking to different non-administration politicians in the hopes of fielding a single candidate that would go up against President Rodrigo Duterte's anointed bets. This has left the opposition fractured and without a single candidate that could go up against Duterte's chosen candidate or against Marcos. Both Robredo and De Guzman have positioned themselves as opposition candidates, while politicians aligned with the administration have been flocking to the Marcos-Duterte tandem as the ruling Partido Demokratiko Pilipino – Lakas ng Bayan emerged without a standard bearer.
Source:Philippine Star
December 11, 2021 05:01 UTC
Despite parts declared unconstitutional, Anti-Terror Law still impedes peace — religious org
MANILA, Philippines — Even if some portions of the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) were recently declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court (SC), a religious organization believes it is still a major roadblock to peace. ADVERTISEMENTPEPP reasoned that there are still provisions in the law that would allow the Anti-Terrorism Council to designate individuals extra-judicially as terrorists. “[…] As a whole, the Anti-Terrorism Law still greatly impedes on the peace negotiations between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP). Certain alarming provisions in the law including the extra-judicial process in and power to designate terrorists, remain,” PEPP said in their statement on Friday. A peace that addresses the root causes of dissent and armed conflict and seeks their resolution through negotiation,” PEPP said.
Source:Philippine Daily Inquirer
December 11, 2021 04:46 UTC