Foreign
Actors Hyun Bin, Son Ye-jin to tie the knot in March
February 11, 2022, 10:12 am
SEOUL – Star actor Hyun Bin and his on-screen partner in the hit drama "Crash Landing On You," Son Ye-jin, will get married next month after two years of dating, their agencies said Thursday. The couple plans to hold a wedding at an undisclosed place in Seoul next month with only their parents,… Read More
WHO seeks $16B from rich countries to narrow vax gap, fight Covid
February 10, 2022, 2:05 pm
GENEVA – The World Health Organization on Wednesday renewed its appeal to high-income countries to stump up USD16 billion (PHP800 billion) for its program to give lower- and middle-income nations equal access to vaccines, treatments, and personal protective equipment. The ACT-Accelerator is… Read More
World's biggest black diamond sold for $4.2-M in London
February 10, 2022, 12:46 pm
LONDON – The world’s largest cut diamond was sold for more than USD4 million (PHP200 million) at the UK’s famous auction house Sotheby’s on Wednesday. The extremely rare diamond, named “The Enigma”, was open for bidding from Feb. 3 to 9. The rare fancy black carbonado diamond weighing… Read More
Japanese princess hospitalized for Covid-19, pneumonia
February 10, 2022, 12:44 pm
ISTANBUL – The first member of Japan’s imperial family infected with the coronavirus has been hospitalized after being diagnosed with pneumonia. Princess Yoko, 38, was reported to have caught Covid-19 on Tuesday but the latest medical reports showed doctors diagnosed her with pneumonia,… Read More
South Korea reports record nearly 50K new Covid-19 cases
February 9, 2022, 8:24 pm
ANKARA – South Korea on Wednesday reported nearly 50,000 new COVID-19 cases, a new record driven by the highly contagious Omicron variant of coronavirus. During the past 24 hours, 49,567 new cases were confirmed, pushing the total caseload to over 1.13 million, the Korea Disease Control and… Read More
China decries US arms sale deal with Taiwan
February 9, 2022, 6:32 pm
ISTANBUL – China on Wednesday criticized the US arms sale to Taiwan, saying it will take measures to defend the territorial integrity of the country. “The Peoples Liberation Army will take all necessary measures to safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity, thwart external… Read More
German, French, Polish leaders meet to prevent war in Europe
February 9, 2022, 1:32 pm
BERLIN – The leaders of Germany, France and Poland urged Russia on Tuesday to back away from military threats and pursue a diplomatic solution to the Ukraine crisis. "Our common goal is to prevent a war in Europe," German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said at a joint news conference in Berlin with… Read More
5G, internet, AI on agenda for ITU Global Standards Symposium
February 8, 2022, 3:50 pm
GENEVA – Global industry leaders and policymakers will meet in Geneva at the end of February to discuss technical standards to drive sustainable development in fields such as 5G, the internet and artificial intelligence (AI), the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) said Monday. The… Read More
Ukraine's 'territorial defense' trains civilians amid tensions
February 6, 2022, 4:59 pm
KYIV, Ukraine – Ukraine’s reservist officers under the "territorial defense" structure hold weekly military and other training for civilians in preparation for any possible hitches amid an escalation of tensions. The latest training on Saturday in the capital Kyiv had more than 100 civilians,… Read More
WHO chief, Chinese premier discuss collab on Covid-19 origins
February 6, 2022, 4:48 pm
ANKARA – World Health Organization (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang met in Beijing on Saturday and discussed the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19 pandemic), including investigation on the origins of the virus. "We discussed #COVID19 and the need for an… Read More
SoKor’s new Covid-19 cases hit record 38,691 amid Omicron wave
February 6, 2022, 1:04 pm
SEOUL -- South Korea's daily virus cases hit another high Sunday, exceeding 38,000, as the highly transmissible Omicron variant rages across the country following a holiday season. The country reported 38,691 new Covid-19 infections, including 38,502 local cases, raising the total to 1,009,688,… Read More
US: More than 350K people without power, more outages expected
February 5, 2022, 1:16 pm
HOUSTON, TEXAS - A massive winter storm continues to pummel the US, leaving more than 350,000 people in the dark. Heavy snow, freezing rain, and ice brought down power lines across a 2,000-mile path from Arkansas and Tennessee, to Illinois and Ohio, to Kentucky and West Virginia. More than three… Read More
Highly virulent HIV variant discovered in Netherlands
February 5, 2022, 1:05 pm
LONDON - A highly virulent variant of HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) has been discovered in the Netherlands, a scientific study said on Thursday. Published in the journal Science, the analysis of more than 100 HIV patients revealed that those who contracted the variant, known as VB, had… Read More
EU proposes extension of coronavirus digital pass until 2023
February 4, 2022, 1:25 pm
BRUSSELS – The European Commission proposed an extension for EU digital coronavirus certificates until June 30, 2023. “The COVID-19 virus continues to be prevalent in Europe and at this stage, it is not possible to determine the impact of a possible increase in infections in the second half of… Read More
US military forces kill Daesh/ISIS leader in Syria raid: Biden
February 3, 2022, 10:03 pm
ANKARA – The so-called leader of the Daesh/ISIS terrorist group was killed in an operation by US military forces on Wednesday night, the American president said on Thursday. In a written statement, Joe Biden announced the counterterrorism operation in northwestern Syria "to protect the American… Read More
UN agency launches AI-powered platform to boost sustainable dev't
February 2, 2022, 7:56 pm
GENEVA – The United Nations’ specialized agency for information and communication technologies launched a new community platform Tuesday driven by artificial intelligence (AI) that aims to step up global collaboration on the use of AI to drive sustainable development. The AI for Good Neural… Read More
WHO chief warns of 'very worrying increase' in Covid-19 deaths
February 2, 2022, 1:41 pm
GENEVA – There is a “very worrying increase” in Covid-19 deaths around the world and preventing transmission of the virus is still paramount, the head of the World Health Organization said on Tuesday. Addressing a webinar, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said last Sunday marked two years since a… Read More
US bracing for massive winter storm
February 2, 2022, 12:56 pm
HOUSTON, Texas -- A winter storm is expected to wreak havoc on a nearly 2,000-mile swath of the US over the next few days, bringing heavy snow, ice, and bitterly cold temperatures. The National Weather Service issued winter storm watches and warnings Tuesday from as far south as Texas and New… Read More
World's longest 'megaflash' of lightning confirmed over US
February 2, 2022, 12:53 pm
ANKARA -- The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) confirmed on Tuesday two "megaflashes" of lightning, which set new world records for both length and duration, in North and South America. The record-breaking lightning bolt stretched 768 kilometers (477.2 miles) across parts of the southern US… Read More
EU, others condemn 'devastating effects' of coup in Myanmar
February 1, 2022, 9:49 pm
BRUSSELS – Top diplomats from the EU, US, UK, Albania, Australia, Canada, Korea, Norway, New Zealand, and Switzerland deplored on Tuesday the “devastating effects” of the military takeover in Myanmar that took place a year ago. “We strongly condemn the military regime’s human rights… Read More
