HK should ban Africa returnees amid new mutant Covid fear, says health expert
A health expert said Hong Kong should ban all returnees from African countries where the new mutant Covid strain has been detected. Two cases of the new Covid-19 strain raising alarm in southern Africa have been found in travelers arriving in Hong Kong earlier. The health expert also said the United Kingdom has already banned travelers from certain African countries with the new variant detected, suggesting the SAR follow suit. In Botswana - a neighbor of South Africa - the new variant has been detected in vaccinated people, Kereng Masupu, coordinator of the Presidential Covid-19 Task Force, said in a statement. The U.K. said late Thursday local time that it will temporarily halt flights from South Africa and five neighboring countries on concerns about B.1.1.529.
Source:The Standard
November 26, 2021 15:41 UTC
CBCP releases prayer for 2022 polls
CBCP releases prayer for 2022 pollsIn this photo taken on September 2, 2020, Catholics wearing face shields queue up to receive communion during a mass inside a church in Manila. MANILA, Philippines — The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines released a prayer for next year’s national and local elections that will be recited in Sunday Masses. The prayer, prepared by Archbishop Socrates Villegas, focuses on the values enshrined in the preamble of the Constitution. The Episcopal Commission on Liturgy recommended that the prayer for the 2022 polls be recited every first and fourth Sunday of the month. “It is suggested that it be said after the Post Communion Prayer of the Mass,” Valles said.
Source:Philippine Star
November 26, 2021 13:44 UTC
Vaccine czar thumbs down biz groups’ proposal on boosters
As of Wednesday, the NTF said the country still has more than 57.6 million doses of vaccine in stockpile. Currently, booster shots for fully vaccinated individuals only cover health-care workers (belonging to A1 priority group), senior citizens (A2) and select immunocompromised people (A3). The Department of Health (DOH) estimated booster doses for more than 18 million individuals belonging to these priority groups alone. More than 102,000 booster doses have been administered since the country started providing booster shots on Nov. 17. The private sector included 4.8 million doses of AstraZeneca, 2.1 million doses of Moderna and 500,000 doses of CoronaVac.
Source:Philippine Daily Inquirer
November 26, 2021 12:18 UTC
Philippines 'intently' monitoring new COVID-19 variant detected in South Africa
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines is keeping a close watch on a new COVID-19 variant that was detected in South Africa, Malacañang said Friday, as the country prepares to welcome back foreign tourists. Acting presidential spokesperson Karlo Nograles said the government is monitoring developments about the variant found to have a large number of mutations. “We are intently monitoring the situation. “We are in constant communication with the WHO and awaiting their advisories on whether it will be considered a variant of interest or a variant of concern,” he added. The decision to ease border restrictions comes as COVID-19 cases continue to decline.
Source:Philippine Star
November 26, 2021 11:02 UTC
Traslacion still suspended for 2022 amid pandemic threat
Traslacion still suspended for 2022 amid pandemic threatPhoto taken on Jan 9, 2020, shows devotees standing outside Quiapo Church during the first fiesta mass, signaling the start of Traslacion 2021. MANILA, Philippines — The annual grand procession of Black Nazarene devotees “Traslacion” will be suspended for the second consecutive year due to the pandemic, the Manila City government announced on Friday. Douglas Badong and other officials of Quiapo Church and the city government. The procession usually takes place from the Quirino Grandstand to the Minor Basilica or the Black Nazarene or Quiapo Church, but for 2021, the annual tradition was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead of the usual activities, it was announced that Quiapo Church would hold 15 masses, with only 400 visitors allowed for each mass.
Source:Philippine Star
November 26, 2021 10:04 UTC
HK detects new mutant variant, adds six imported cases
A new and likely more infectious Covid-19 mutant variant was detected from the two imported cases involved in the Regal Airport Hotel transmission case, health authorities said on Thursday. The center also reported six imported cases, including a one-year-old baby girl, two men and three women aged 17 to 45. Apart from the baby girl, the other five patients had received two doses of Covid-19 vaccine before. The baby girl and a 17-year-old girl traveled to Hong Kong on Sunday on flight EK384. The baby traveled from Bangladesh via the United Arab Emirates while the teenager traveled from Thailand.
Source:The Standard
November 26, 2021 09:28 UTC
Oz diplomatic snub looms for winter games
Australia is considering not sending any government officials to the Winter Olympics to be held in Beijing in February amid growing calls from lawmakers for an official diplomatic boycott, the Sydney Morning Herald said in a report yesterday. A diplomatic boycott would involve not sending a delegation of officials, but allowing athletes to participate. "A decision on [Australia's] representation at the Beijing Winter Olympics is yet to be made," a spokesperson for Sports Minister Richard Colbeck said. Australia is awaiting the decision by the Biden administration before it makes a call on a diplomatic boycott, the report in the Sydney Morning Herald said. Both the United States and Britain are close allies of Australia and the countries in September entered into a security partnership to help Australia build nuclear submarines.
Source:The Standard
November 26, 2021 07:12 UTC
South Africa detects new COVID variant with many mutations
JOHANNESBURG–Scientists in South Africa said Thursday they had detected a new COVID-19 variant with a large number of mutations, blaming it for a surge in infection numbers. The variant has also been detected in Botswana and Hong Kong among travellers from South Africa, de Oliveira added. South Africa has the highest pandemic numbers in Africa with around 2.95 million cases, of which 89,657 have been fatal. Neutralizing the variant is “complicated by the number of mutations this variant” contains, said one of the South African scientists Penny Moore. The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said it will soon meet South African experts to discuss the variant.
Source:Philippine Daily Inquirer
November 26, 2021 05:11 UTC
Pint-sized robots teach nursery students
Seoul has started trialling pint-sized robots as teaching aids in kindergartens -- a pilot project the city government said would help prepare the next generation for a hi-tech future. SEOUL: Seoul has started using pint-sized robots as teaching aids in kindergartens — a pilot project the city government said would help prepare the next generation for a hi-tech future. "The robots help with the kids' creativity," teacher Byun Seo-yeon told Agence France-Presse during a visit to the bright and busy Maru nursery in Seoul. The robots are undergoing trial in 300 Seoul nurseries and childcare centers, with the government recommending the program for children aged 3 to 5. "We believe having this experience in nursery schools will have a lasting effect throughout their youth and as adults," Han said.
Source:Manila Times
November 26, 2021 04:10 UTC
Tit for tat to defend Ayungin against China
Tit for tat to defend Ayungin against ChinaMatch China with water cannon. Those are among many creative ways to defend resupply missions to Philippine Marines in Ayungin Shoal. They were hosed by the China Coast Guard and they fired back using water cannons as well. “Its objective is to starve our Marines into leaving Ayungin,” international maritime lawyer Jay Batongbacal, PhD, told Sapol-dwIZ Saturday. In 2013 CCG combat helicopters repeatedly splashed seawater into Filipino rubber and wooden boats approaching Ayungin.
Source:Philippine Star
November 26, 2021 03:52 UTC
F2 Logistics claim maiden Champions League crown
F2 Logistics claim maiden Champions League crownLIPA CITY – F2 Logistics capped off a perfect title run in the inaugural Philippine National Volleyball Federation (PNVF) Champions League with a 25-20, 25-20, 25-22 win over Chery Tiggo Thursday at the Aquamarine Recreational Center Gym here. Dy was hailed as the first PNVF Champions League Most Valuable Player due to her consistent performance in the five-day, single-round robin tilt plus a Best Opposite Spiker citation. Iris Tolenada (Best Setter), Dawn Macandili (Best Libero) and Maraño (First Best Middle Blocker) also captured individual awards for F2. Petro Gazz’s Ces Molina (First Best Outside Hitter), Chery Tiggo’s Dindin Santiago-Manabat (Second Best Outside Hitter) and Maika Ortiz (Second Best Middle Blocker) were the other awardees. Tuguegarao Perlas settled for fourth place with a 2-3 slate while CPS (2-3) and Baguio (0-5) wound up at fifth and sixth, respectively.
Source:Philippine Star
November 26, 2021 01:05 UTC
CDO mayor unfazed as Sandigan sets trial on graft charges
The same allegations were the subject of various administrative charges against Moreno which were trashed by the Court of Appeals (CA) more than two years ago. Moreno and Pacuribot have been charged with 16 counts of violating the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act and falsifying public documents. Guibone, meanwhile, was co-accused in one of the anti-graft cases. Mordeno said Moreno, who is running again for Misamis Oriental governor in 2022, was unfazed by the Sandiganbayan ruling, adding that the mayor and his co-defendants are ready to present evidence to the anti-graft court to prove their innocence. Mordeno noted that the facts and circumstances of the cases before the Sandiganbayan are the same with the administrative cases which the CA already dismissed.
Source:Philippine Daily Inquirer
November 26, 2021 00:55 UTC
UN agency takes on synthetic drugs
2nd of three partsSEEKING to address a global crisis that has links to Asia, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) last week announced a new initiative against synthetic drugs. The strategy involves four "spheres of action": multilateralism and international cooperation, early warnings on emerging synthetic drug threats, science-informed health responses, and counter-narcotic interventions. Taking swift action against the synthetic drugs problem could ensure that others do not feel similarly abandoned, Waly said. A major challenge is that synthetic drugs are easy to make and intercepting them is difficult because the ingredients used to make them are legal. The chemical was bound for an area in northern Myanmar notorious for the industrial-scale manufacturing of synthetic drugs.
Source:Manila Times
November 25, 2021 22:09 UTC
Posing a tough guy image
The narrative was that LeBron James apologized to Stewart and "didn't want no piece" of him. Stewart looked the role of the tough guy, relentlessly wanting a piece of the King. There was a collective shock and awe with that scene because LeBron James was involved. If one player wanted to attack, his teammates would rally behind him and there would be a similar mentality from the opposing side. Star players are now their own brand, and losing one game due to "tough guy" plays may also cause them to lose money from the brands they endorse.
Source:Manila Times
November 25, 2021 21:42 UTC