Foreign

US surgeons make history with pig heart transplant into man

US surgeons make history with pig heart transplant into man

January 11, 2022, 2:22 pm

TRENTON, Canada – US surgeons made medical history by transplanting a pig heart into a human and the patient has survived three days so far, doctors said Monday. The transplant, conducted at the University of Maryland Medical Center, was a desperate highly-experimental operation agreed to by… Read More

US urges immediate release of Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi

US urges immediate release of Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi

January 11, 2022, 11:07 am

WASHINGTON – The US called on Myanmar's junta to "immediately release" opposition leader and former civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi after she was sentenced to yet another prison term by a military court. Suu Kyi was sentenced on Monday to four more years in jail on charges related to… Read More

Death toll in canyon wall collapse in Brazil rises to 10

Death toll in canyon wall collapse in Brazil rises to 10

January 10, 2022, 11:04 am

BUENOS AIRES – The death toll in southeastern Brazil, where a canyon wall collapsed on speedboats in a lake, rose to 10 on Sunday, according to local authorities. The Minas Gerais Fire Department, in a statement, said the bodies of two more people who were missing were found. Officials also said… Read More

EU, US execs discuss Russia’s military build-up around Ukraine

EU, US execs discuss Russia’s military build-up around Ukraine

January 9, 2022, 1:21 pm

ANKARA, Turkey – EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken discussed Russia’s military build-up around Ukraine during a telephone call Saturday. The call came ahead of a Jan. 10 US-Russia meeting on security in Geneva. They reaffirmed the EU and US support… Read More

Myanmar’s junta leader agrees to support Asean peace effort

Myanmar’s junta leader agrees to support Asean peace effort

January 9, 2022, 12:05 pm

ANKARA, Turkey – The head of the military junta in Myanmar has agreed to support peace efforts of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) in the country, an official statement said. This came during a meeting between Min Aung Hlaing and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, who was on a… Read More

US logs more than 1M new daily Covid-19 cases

US logs more than 1M new daily Covid-19 cases

January 5, 2022, 2:00 pm

WASHINGTON – More than 1 million coronavirus cases were reported in the US, a record single-day number, amid the rapid increase of the new Omicron variant, according to Johns Hopkins University. The Maryland-based school registered 1,082,549 new cases on Monday. The US currently has 56.1 million… Read More

Canadian court awards $107-M to families of Iran plane crash

Canadian court awards $107-M to families of Iran plane crash

January 4, 2022, 9:47 pm

TORONTO – A Canadian court on Tuesday awarded USD107 million (PHP5.35 billion) to the families of the people who died when a Ukraine International Airlines plane was downed almost two years ago. The lawsuit was filed by the families of six Canadian citizens who lost their lives aboard Flight… Read More

2021 deadliest year as 4,404 migrants died trying to reach Spain

2021 deadliest year as 4,404 migrants died trying to reach Spain

January 4, 2022, 1:27 pm

OVIEDO, Spain – More than 4,400 migrants perished while trying to reach Spain in 2021, making it the deadliest year on record, according to a report released on Monday. The total number of victims – 4,404 – is up 103 percent from 2020, Spanish NGO Caminando Fronteras said in its report, as… Read More

World's oldest living person celebrates 119th birthday

World's oldest living person celebrates 119th birthday

January 3, 2022, 9:22 pm

TOKYO – The woman considered to be the world's oldest living person turned 119 on Sunday. Tanaka Kane was recognized by the Guinness World Records as the world's oldest living person in 2019, when she was 116 years old. Residing at a care facility in Fukuoka, southwestern Japan, Tanaka… Read More

580K Covid-19 cases new record-high in US

580K Covid-19 cases new record-high in US

January 2, 2022, 7:29 pm

WASHINGTON – The United States has set several new records in Covid-19 indicators as the pandemic enters its third year, and health experts have warned of a "tidal wave" in 2022. The country shattered daily Covid-19 cases record again as over 580,000 daily cases were recorded nationwide on… Read More

Meteor shower, massive Sun to greet stargazers in 2022

Meteor shower, massive Sun to greet stargazers in 2022

January 1, 2022, 2:23 pm

MOSCOW – Stargazers will be able to witness the greatest activity of the Quadrantid meteor shower, as well as the New Year’s parade of planets and the largest Sun with the onset of 2022, head of the Department of Methodological Support of the Moscow Planetarium, astronomer Lyudmila Koshman,… Read More

Omicron surge dark reminder of India's harrowing virus wave

Omicron surge dark reminder of India's harrowing virus wave

January 1, 2022, 1:10 pm

NEW DELHI – As cases of the coronavirus omicron variant surge at an alarming pace, fears of a new coronavirus wave in India are growing by the day. Omicron infections have nearly tripled in less than a week, a stark reminder of just how vulnerable the country of some 1.4 billion people, which… Read More

WHO warns of ‘tsunami of cases’ from Omicron, Delta

WHO warns of ‘tsunami of cases’ from Omicron, Delta

December 30, 2021, 2:04 pm

GENEVA – The World Health Organization (WHO) cautioned on Wednesday that the more transmissible Omicron together with the currently circulating Delta variants might lead to "a tsunami of cases," putting immense pressure on national health systems. Recapping WHO's response since the onset of the… Read More

France sees record surge in daily Covid cases to nearly 180,000

France sees record surge in daily Covid cases to nearly 180,000

December 29, 2021, 3:37 pm

PARIS – France posted a new record for daily coronavirus cases Tuesday, registering nearly 180,000 infections in the past 24 hours. According to data released by the country’s public health agency, 179,807 cases and 290 fatalities were recorded. The previous high was registered on December 25… Read More

2 Save the Children staff members among 35 dead in Myanmar attack

2 Save the Children staff members among 35 dead in Myanmar attack

December 29, 2021, 2:59 pm

ISTANBUL – Save the Children, a global non-government organization (NGO), on Tuesday confirmed that two of its staff members were among the 35 people killed in an attack blamed on the Myanmar military. “It is with profound sadness that we are confirming today that two members of Save the… Read More

Latest Spider-Man movie tops $1B at global box office

Latest Spider-Man movie tops $1B at global box office

December 27, 2021, 9:39 pm

ISTANBUL – Spider-Man: No Way Home has become the first film during the pandemic to reach USD1 bllion at the box office worldwide. “Sony’s comic-book epic has eclipsed that milestone in a near-record 12 days, tying with 2015’s “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” as the third-fastest film to… Read More

Coronavirus cases in China see over 20-month high

Coronavirus cases in China see over 20-month high

December 27, 2021, 5:46 pm

ISTANBUL – The coronavirus tally in China hit an over 20-month high on Sunday as infections in the country kept rising in recent weeks. This comes as people are preparing to move to their homes during the upcoming New Year holidays and as Beijing prepares to host Winter Olympics. The National… Read More

World leaders mourn passing of South Africa’s anti-apartheid hero

World leaders mourn passing of South Africa’s anti-apartheid hero

December 27, 2021, 2:29 pm

JOHANNESBURG – Messages of condolences are pouring in from across the world, mourning South Africa’s anti-apartheid campaigner Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu who died Sunday at the age of 90. “I am deeply saddened to hear of the death of Archbishop Desmond Tutu. He was a critical figure in… Read More

South Korea pardons ex-president jailed for corruption

South Korea pardons ex-president jailed for corruption

December 24, 2021, 5:34 pm

ISTANBUL – South Korea on Friday pardoned former President Park Geun-hye, who was serving a 22-year jail term for corruption. The government said the move to release Park, who was impeached in 2017 and convicted of abuse of power, coercion and bribery a year later, will “help bolster national… Read More

Cambodia, Vietnam call for upholding int'l law in South China Sea

Cambodia, Vietnam call for upholding int'l law in South China Sea

December 22, 2021, 10:03 pm

ISTANBUL – Cambodia and Vietnam on Wednesday called for upholding international law in the disputed South China Sea, urging adherence to the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of Sea (UNCLOS). “The two sides reiterated Asean’s position on (the) importance of maintaining peace, security,… Read More