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Agence France-Presse Posted at Dec 28 2021 04:59 PM Workers in protective suits stand at an entrance to a university's residential area under lockdown following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Xian, Shaanxi province, China December 20, 2021. China Daily via Reuters/File Photo Workers in protective suits stand at an entrance to a university's residential area under lockdown following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Xian, Shaanxi province, China December 20, 2021. China Daily via Reuters/File Photo Hundreds of thousands more people were ordered to stay home in northern China Tuesday, joining millions under strict lockdown as authorities raced to contain a surge in Covid cases that have reached a 21-month high. China -- where the virus emerged two years ago -- has followed a "zero-Covid" strategy of tight border restrictions, lengthy quarantines and targeted lockdowns as Beijing prepares to welcome thousands of overseas visitors to Febru

Posted at Dec 28 2021 05:35 PM HONG KONG - Hong Kong health authorities said on Tuesday the city would tighten quarantine rules for air cargo crew to tackle the growing threat of the Omicron coronavirus variant. The global financial hub has identified several dozen Omicron infections via regular testing during quarantine but neither Omicron, nor other variants, have spread into the community in recent months. But some of the new infections with Omicron were detected among air crew, who had only been required to quarantine at home, unlike most other people returning to the city, who have to quarantine in hotels. The new measures require that returning air cargo crew spend three days in hotel quarantine before a period of home isolation. Most recent infections of air crew staff have been discovered in the first three days. "We expect most cases in the future to be of the new Omicron variant," said Edwin Tsui, controller of the Centre for Health Protection. "We have a

Simone McCarthy, South China Morning Post Posted at Dec 29 2021 01:38 PM Infection with the Omicron coronavirus variant can also strengthen immunity against the earlier Delta strain, reducing the risk of severe disease, according to a paper released by South African scientists. While Omicron has been shown to be highly transmissible and can evade some antibodies, after two weeks of getting symptoms, immunity to subsequent infections from the strain rose 14-fold, according to the authors led by Alex Sigal and Khadija Khan of the Durban, South Africa-based Africa Health Research Institute. A smaller improvement was found against Delta, they said. "If we are lucky, Omicron is less pathogenic, and this immunity will help push Delta out," said Sigal, who has previously found a two-dose course of Pfizer Inc and BioNTech SE's Covid-19 shot as well as a previous infection may give stronger protection against Omicron. Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends

Reuters Posted at Dec 28 2021 05:52 PM SYDNEY - Australia recorded another record surge in COVID-19 infections on Tuesday as an outbreak of the highly infectious Omicron variant disrupted reopening of the economy, while state leaders argued over domestic border controls. The country reported 11,264 new cases of the coronavirus in the previous day, according to a Reuters calculation of state figures, once again surpassing its peak of a day earlier, as it grapples with a planned reopening while the new variant rages. There were five COVID-19 deaths reported, taking the total fatalities to just over 2,200 since the start of the pandemic. Authorities did not specify whether any of the new deaths were related to the Omicron variant. The Omicron variant, which medical experts say is more transmissible but less virulent than previous strains, began to spread in Australia just as the country got underway with plans to reopen for good after nearly two years of stop-start lockdowns. With t

Reuters Posted at Dec 29 2021 02:07 AM | Updated as of Dec 29 2021 03:43 AM LONDON—Britain reported a record 129,471 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, a day after Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he would not bring in new restrictions to limit the spread of the virus this year. The data did not include figures for Scotland and Northern Ireland due to differences in reporting practices over the Christmas holidays. The 12,378 cases reported for Wales included data that would normally have been reported in previous days. The previous record high of daily infections was 122,186 on December 24. Johnson said on Monday he would not introduce new restrictions in England. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have all tightening their rules, as have other European countries facing a surge in omicron cases. British ministers are waiting for more evidence on how the health service is able to cope with high infection rates after early data suggested last week that the omicron variant carrie

By TED CORDERO, GMA News Published December 24, 2021 7:36pm Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA)-backed mobile app Abizo OFW has assisted another distressed overseas Filipino worker (OFW) to reach out to relevant authorities to help in her working situation in Kuwait. In a statement, Abizo OFW said Rosalyn Sencil, suffered distress from her employer in Kuwait who committed several violations in their contract. It said that Sencil has been looking all over social media and asking several Facebook groups and pages for help, until she came across the Abizo OFW app in her social media newsfeed. The Abizo OFW app is a mobile application that forms part of the POEA’s Global Monitoring Pilot Project. The app said it can track OFWs in need of immediate help and assist them every step of the way in processing their complaints. The app aims to track the accurate number of OFWs at any given time, as well as monitor information on their deployment location, employers, and wo

By GISELLE OMBAY, GMA News Published December 19, 2021 12:08pm Screencap image from OWWA video (Dec. 19, 2021) A total of 336 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) arrived in the Philippines from Kuwait on Sunday, the Department of Labor and Employment said. In a post on Facebook, the DOLE said the OFWs arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 1 at 10:30 a.m. “Ngayon po ang unang araw ng ating Pamasko at Bagong Taong salubong sa mga nanunumbalik na mga OFW. Kayo po ang kauna-unahan nating sasalubungin,” Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) Administrator Hans Leo Cacdac said. (Today is the first day of our Christmas and New Year program for returning OFWs. You are the first batch that we have welcomed.) Upon their arrival, the OFWs received pasalubong (souvenir items) and cash gifts from DOLE and OWWA.

Published December 29, 2021 1:20pm PhilHealth on Wednesday announced a one-month extension of the validity of all currently accredited health facilities, after a number of hospitals said they would no longer renew accreditation starting January. In an advisory, PhilHealth president and chief executive officer Atty. Dante Gierran said the agency will extend the validity of accreditation for all health facilities currently registered to January 31, 2022. Gierran said, however, that health facilities must have submitted their complete applications for accreditation in 2022 on or before January 31, 2022. “Applications received for continuous/renewal of accreditation beyond January 31, 2022 may result to a gap in accreditation,” PhilHealth said in the advisory. Seven private hospitals in Iloilo, along with the Far Eastern University-Dr. Nicanor Reyes Medical Foundation (FEU-NRMF), earlier decided to cut ties with PhilHealth over the delayed payment of claims. Private Hospitals Assoc

Published December 24, 2021 5:01pm A total of 354 stranded Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia have been repatriated, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Friday. According to the DFA, the OFWs arrived in Manila on Thursday through a special repatriation flight. "Knowing full well a Filipino’s yearning to be with their loved ones during Christmas, the government exerted its utmost to bring home our kababayan so that they could celebrate this season of cheer with their families,” Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Migrant Workers' Affairs Sarah Lou Arriola said in a statement. Arriola said the repatriates would undergo stringent facility-based quarantine, in conformity with the health protocols set by the Bureau of Quarantine, including RT-PCR testing for COVID-19. “The Philippine government upholds the One-Country Team Approach by continuously collaborating with the Department of Health, the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, the Depa

By RICHA ALLYSSA NORIEGA, GMA News Published December 15, 2021 4:19pm The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Tuesday urged overseas Filipinos in Europe to contact Philippine embassies in their areas for scheduled repatriation flights amid the Omicron COVID-19 variant threat. “We encourage our distressed kababayans in Europe to contact our embassies the soonest in order for them to join in this repatriation flight,” Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Sarah Lou Arriola said in a statement. According to Arriola, the DFA will also mount a chartered flight scheduled on December 23 to bring home more Filipinos from Europe in time for Christmas. “The chartered flight is primarily to aid our distressed kababayans in European countries which are on the [COVID-19] red list,” she said. “We will also extend the flight to distressed stranded Filipino passengers bound for the Philippines as a result of policies put in place to curb the effect of Omicron [coronavirus] variant,” she added. Mea

POPCOM projects slowest population rise in 75 years The Philippine population is expected to achieve a historic record in 2021, as the total number of Filipinos is projected to increase by only 324,000 for the entire year—just a 0.3% increase compared to 2020. According to the Commission on Population and Development, this annual “natural increase” is the lowest since the period between 1946 and 1947, when the population grew by 254,000. As such, Filipinos will number 109,991,095 at the end of 2021—lower by 2 million than earlier projections based on a 1.63% population growth rate or PGR. The natural increase in population, or natural population change, refers to the projection based on the number of births minus deaths in a particular time period. POPCOM made the computations based on the Philippine Statistics Authority’s (PSA) vital statistics preliminary reports for the period spanning January 2020 to August 2021. POPCOM also noted th

South China Morning Post The US Army is wrapping up early clinical trials on a vaccine it hopes will target all existing coronavirus variants. Named SpFN, for Spike Ferritin Nanoparticle, it has shown promise in non-human primate trials and early human trial results are expected "this month," according to a press release from the US Army Walter Reed Army Institute of Research released Thursday. The jab could also help protect against other coronaviruses beyond Covid-19, which could offer hope against future pandemics. The vaccine is designed on a new platform called "self-assembling protein nanoparticle." Unlike most currently available vaccines, which use mRNA to trigger the immune system, this shot would work by injecting a molecule that looks a little like a 24-faced soccer ball, according to defense One. Each face of the "ball" would carry a bit of the spike protein that can trigger the body to mount a protective immune response. This allows sc

Agence France-Presse Posted at Dec 23 2021 11:10 AM | Updated as of Dec 23 2021 11:20 AM WASHINGTON - Two studies from Britain published Wednesday showed COVID infections with omicron are less likely to result in hospitalization compared to the Delta variant, the latest research confirming a trend first identified in South Africa. The preliminary studies -- one paper from Scotland and the other from England -- were cautiously welcomed by experts, who nonetheless stressed that any advantage in milder outcomes could still be negated by the new strain's heightened infectiousness, which may still lead to more overall severe cases. "We're saying that this is qualified good news -- qualified because these are early observations, they are statistically significant, and we are showing a reduced risk of hospitalizations," Jim McMenamin, a co-author of the Scottish research, told reporters on a call. The Scottish paper examined COVID cases recorded in November and Decemb

Jamaine Punzalan, ABS-CBN News MANILA — The National Vaccination Operations Center (NVOC) said on Thursday it received more reports of wasted COVID-19 shots after typhoon Odette wreaked havoc in the central and southern Philippines. The health department earlier this week said around 100 vials of Pfizer COVID-19 were wasted after Odette knocked down power lines in Iloilo. "We are recording more wastage… We had to discard several na hindi tayo sure kung safe pa ba ibigay or not," said NVOC's Dr. Kezia Lorraine Rosario, when asked if the typhoon left more vaccine doses unusable. (We had to discard several vaccines because we were uncertain if they were still safe to administer.) Teams that checked storage facilities are due to return to the capital on Thursday and authorities hope to consolidate figures on vaccine wastage in the afternoon, Rosario said in a televised press briefing. She said vaccines could be considered wasted if they were submerged in floodwat

DFA: Europe-based Pinoys must contact embassy for repatriation By RICHA ALLYSSA NORIEGA, GMA News Published December 15, 2021 4:19pm The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Tuesday urged overseas Filipinos in Europe to contact Philippine embassies in their areas for scheduled repatriation flights amid the Omicron COVID-19 variant threat. “We encourage our distressed kababayans in Europe to contact our embassies the soonest in order for them to join in this repatriation flight,” Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Sarah Lou Arriola said in a statement. According to Arriola, the DFA will also mount a chartered flight scheduled on December 23 to bring home more Filipinos from Europe in time for Christmas. “The chartered flight is primarily to aid our distressed kababayans in European countries which are on the [COVID-19] red list,” she said. “We will also extend the flight to distressed stranded Filipino passengers bound for the Philippines as a result of policies put in place to

The NYC Council committee on parks and recreation voted 15-0 Tuesday (US time) for the co-naming of 199 thoroughfares and public places including that of "Little Manila Avenue." The full NYC Council is expected to vote on the co-naming Wednesday. Jimmy Van Bramer, New York City Council member for 26th district in Queens, shared that he is proud to have sponsored the co-naming of the street in the southwest corner of Roosevelt Avenue and 70th Street. “The #Filipino community in #Woodside and beyond deserve this recognition. Proud to have sponsored this street co-naming. ‘Little Manila Avenue’ becomes official tomorrow,” Bramer said in a Twitter post. This comes after residents launched a petition at Change.org for the installation of a street sign “Little Manila Avenue” at the intersection of 70th Street on the Southwest corner in Woodside, Queens, New York City. According to the petition, “Little Manila” is a home for members of the Filipino community to maintain connect

Published December 15, 2021 3:20pm The Bureau of Immigration (BI) on Wednesday reminded departing Filipinos going abroad for the first time as fiancées, spouses or family members of foreign nationals to secure a required certificate from the Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFOs) before leaving. Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente urged the airlines to make sure that Filipinos who are going abroad must comply with the requirement. “This is not a new rule, but we deem it necessary to issue a reminder to all. Following policies set by different government agencies, Filipinos who are joining their foreign partners or spouses and other family members abroad as first time immigrants must attend a Guidance and Counseling Program from the CFO,” Morente said in a statement. The BI chief said the CFO certificates provide proof that they have attended guidance and counseling sessions administered by the CFO as mandated by the law. “Upon attending the sessions from the CFO, they are iss

By CONSUELO MARQUEZ, GMA News Published December 14, 2021 4:39pm The Senate on Tuesday approved on third reading the measure seeking to establish the Department of Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos (DMWOF). Voting 20-0-0, the legislators approved Senate Bill No. 2234, which seeks to protect the rights and promote the welfare and interest of overseas Filipino workers and other overseas Filipinos. Under the bill, the Department will absorb all functions and mandates of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration and will be the primary agency under the Executive Branch of the government tasked to protect the rights and promote the welfare of OFWs and other OFs. The following agencies will also be transferred to DMWOF: The POEA, as created under the Executive Act No. 247 and The Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos Act, as amended; The Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers’ Affairs (OUMWA) of the DFA as provided under The Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipin

Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr., Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Civilian Security and Consular Affairs Brigido Dulay, and Consul General Edgar Badajos led the ribbon-cutting ceremony on Friday. “The Philippine ePassport Renewal Center (PaRC) system supplements and strengthens the consular operations of our 94 embassies and consulates around the world,” Locsin said during the inauguration. “It radically reduces the pressure to get more things done faster and faster until more and more mistakes are made or the public is condemned to slower and slower service,” he added. The Philippine Consulate General in Los Angeles serves the largest section of overseas Filipinos in the entire region of the Americas, according to the DFA. The consulate has also been adopting new and innovative means to increase its capacity to deliver consular services to Filipinos, especially passport renewal. Locsin said the PaRC also operates for longer hours and even during the weekend, adding

By JAMIL SANTOS, GMA News The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Saturday reported that there are about 50 Filipinos in both Europe and South Africa who are still stranded amid the threat of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus. advertisement "So far we have more or less 50 Filipinos stranded in Europe," said DFA Undersecretary for Migrant Workers' Affairs Sarah Lou Arriola at the Laging Handa public briefing. "We just received word this morning from our post in South Africa that there are around 49 [stranded OFWs]," she added. "We want to make an appeal to our fellow Filipinos, please contact our embassies and consulates if you are stranded so we can help you," Arriola said as she disclosed that DFA posts in 20 embassies and consulates in Europe have already issued notices on repatriation flights for Filipinos. Repatriation from the Netherlands is already set for December 10 and 13, according to Arriola. Arriola said procedures will be m

The Quileste family was openly enthusiastic outside the airport as they waited to see the husband and father who had been working abroad for the last three years. “Mayakap lang siya ng mga anak namin (If our children can only hug him),” Dolly Parel, Quileste's wife, said in Jun Veneracion’s “24 Oras” report on Friday. “Namiss ko na si papa (I miss my father),” Sophia, Quileste's daughter, added. After the long wait, his family immediately ran to him as he arrived. However, they could only exchange warm smiles, as giving hugs was forbidden as Quileste had to be quarantined. “Mahirap, mahirap sa isang OFW tatlong taon na hindi nagkita tapos ganito pa. 15 days lang yung bakasyon ko,” Quileste lamented. (It is hard for an OFW arriving in the country after three years and will only have this. My holiday will only last 15 days.) “Makasama sana [siya] kaso may harang na pandemic, quarantine. Wala, tiis muna,” his wife said. (We had hoped to be with him. However, there is a pan

According to JP Soriano's report on "24 Oras", some of those who have been stranded were Filipino delegates to the World Fencing Association in Geneva. The delegates of the Philippine Fencing Association were supposed to fly back to the Philippines on November 30. However, the Philippines imposed a travel ban on the country and several others in the region over Omicron, said to be more infectious than other COVID-19 variants. The Filipinos may only come back home if the government sends a repatriation flight. Their airline provider advised them to fly to Paris, France, which is not included in the travel ban. But they need to stay there for 14 days before returning to the Philippines. Sally Aramburo, one of the stranded delegates, said they are willing to be quarantined in France for 14 days but her visa will already expire on December 15. "Ang visa validity ko is hanggang December 15 lang. Matulungan din sana kami na kahit mapaaga lang na let's say kahit

By JAMIL SANTOS, GMA News The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration is set to review the the Philippine Philippine Overseas Labor and Office (POLO) verification guidelines amid its temporary suspension of the processing and deployment of newly-hired household service workers to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. "Ito pong kautusan (temporary suspension) na ito ay upang repasuhin 'yung ating tinatawag na verification guidelines ng POLO," said POEA Administrator Atty. Bernard Olalia at the Laging Handa public briefing. (The temporary suspension's purpose is to review the verification guidelines of the POLO). Olalia cited the case of a household service worker in the KSA, whose employer's complete name and address were not indicated under the employment contract. The household service worker (HSW) was eventually transferred to a blacklisted employer. "Na-circumvent po nila 'yung verification rules natin. Nakita natin ang gap na 'yon kaya kinaka

Published December 2, 2021 1:52pm Philippine Embassy to Vienna Charge d’ Affairs Deena Joy Amatong on Thursday lauded Austria's government support to employers amid the COVID-19 pandemic which benefited the Filipinos there. "We are always in touch with the Filipino community here and are always checking in if they have been well. Fortunately, they are well since the Austrian government has implemented COVID-19 economic measures," Amatong said during the Laging Handa briefing. "There is a government-subsidized federal jobs program wherein the government aids the employers amid the pandemic," she added. A day earlier, the Philippines ranked last among 53 countries in the Bloomberg COVID-19 Resiliency Report ranking for the second straight month. Acting presidential spokesperson Karlo Nograles responded to this by arguing that the Bloomberg report lacked country-specific gauge and placed heavy importance on reopening progress. "We acknowledge that the

According to reports on GMA News’ Unang Balita, these schools prepared for the return of students to campuses after around two years of closure. In Quezon City, the Payatas B Annex Elementary School welcomed back over 100 students including 48 from Kindergarten and 64 from the Grade 2 Level, according to a report of James Agustin. Only 12 Kindergarten students are allowed per classroom and only 16 for Grade 2. The Kindergarten class is set from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. while the Grade 2 class is from 7 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. At least eight classrooms will be used at the Payatas B Annex Elementary School for the pilot face-to-face classes. Next week, Grade 1 and Grade 3 students will have their face-to-face classes. At the Pasig Elementary School, only 13 Grade 1 students and 14 Grade 2 students will participate in the pilot face-to-face classes, according to a report by Mariz Umali. The seats in the classrooms are assigned to specific students as they cannot switch chairs. In Taguig City,

For the first time, Indian fertility has fallen below replacement level DELHI When something happens earlier than expected, Indians say it has been “preponed”. On November 24th India’s health ministry revealed that a resolution to one of its oldest and greatest preoccupations will indeed be preponed. Some years ahead of un predictions, and its own government targets, India’s total fertility rate—the average number of children that an Indian woman can expect to bear in her lifetime—has fallen below 2.1, which is to say below the “replacement” level at which births balance deaths. In fact it dropped to just 2.0 overall, and to 1.6 in India’s cities, says the National Family Health Survey (nfhs-5), a country-wide health check. That is a 10% drop from the previous survey, just five years ago. This is big news not just for India but, seeing that its 1.4bn people are nearly a fifth of humanity, for the planet. The number of Indians will still grow, because many young women have yet to re

Background: The UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD), which operates under the authority of the International Convertion for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) has just issued a report on Singapore. Singapore signed the ICERD on 19 October 2015 and ratified it on 27 November 2017 and thus comes within scope of this convention. In 2021, Singapore was reviewed by the Committee (CERD) for the first time. TWC2 and HOME jointly filed a report. We were then invited to zoom-chat with members of the Committee (based in Geneva) at two sessions -- a formal one and an informal one. The Committee has now issued its report on Singapore. I am pleasantly surprised how specific the recommendations are with respect to migrant workers. Do note that the term "racial discrimination" in the convention is defined to mean "any distinction, exclusion, restriction or preference based on race, colour, descent, or national or ethnic origin which has

JOHOR BAHRU, Malaysia, Dec 5 (Reuters) - A short drive across the border from Dyson's new headquarters in Singapore is the boomtown built around its business: a Malaysian industrial area dominated by its biggest supplier, ATA IMS Bhd (ATAI.KL). ATA, one of Malaysia's top electronics manufacturing services providers, rode Dyson's success in high-end vacuum cleaners and air purifiers, supplying parts for a company that came to account for 80% of its revenue. Ten current and former employees, and a former ATA executive, say the growth came at an unseen cost: its mostly migrant work force worked up to 15 hours a day, were often asked to skip rest days to keep up with demand, and were coached to hide true working and living conditions from labour inspectors and Dyson. In interviews over the last two months, the employees also say ATA, which analysts say is Dyson's biggest global contract manufacturer, hired thousands of foreigners without work permits. After questions

MANILA, Philippines — Manila Mayor and 2022 presidential aspirant Isko Moreno has appealed to the national government to prepare for the threat of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus disease while keeping the country’s economy running. He said both the national and local governments should invest in medicines that could cure COVID-19 as well as in medical equipment and facilities, which could keep the disease at bay. “We should be buying Remdesivir, Tocilizumab, Baricitinib and Molnupiravir. Let’s stock on oxygen, build facilities. If used, then thank you. If not, we’d still be thanking. At least we are prepared,” he said in Filipino during his “listening tour” in Naic, Cavite yesterday. The city government previously procured around 40,000 capsules of Molnupiravir and over 6,000 tablets of Baricitinib. Both medications were given authorization for emergency use to treat COVID-19 symptoms. It has also built a field hospital at Quirino Grandstand, one that is exclusive for COVI

Pexels / Jeremy Wong MANILA, Philippines — The House of Representatives has passed a measure allowing women to retain their surnames after marriage. In plenary session earlier this week, congressmen decided unanimously to approve on third and final reading House Bill (HB) 10459 that seeks to give women the choice to retain their maiden surnames. A total of 227 congressmen present in session voted to approve the bill, which proposes amendment in Article 370 of Republic Act 386 or the New Civil Code of the Philippines. HB 10459, principally authored by nine congressmen led by Deputy Speaker Rufus Rodriguez and revision of laws committee chairperson Cheryl Deloso-Montalla, aims to provide equality between men and women by allowing married women to retain their maiden surnames. It upholds the right of married women to retain their maiden surnames even after marriage and provides married women options in the surname that they may use after marriage. Under the bill, a woman will be give

The law stripped away workers’ rights and entitlements as well as environmental protections, and it cleared the way for privatisation of the electricity sector. But last week the Indonesian Constitutional Court ruled that the law was unconstitutional, immediately suspended its most harmful features and gave the government two years to repair the law. The ITUC’s Indonesian affiliates, KSPI and KSBSI, have opposed changes to labour regulations in the law, with millions of working people joining nationwide strikes. Sharan Burrow, ITUC general secretary, said: “This is great news for the working people of Indonesia, and I congratulate the KSPI and the trade unions in Indonesia for this legal victory. “They will continue to have our full support to ensure that the government fulfils its legal obligations and completely dumps these wretched laws within two years. “As Indonesia assumes the presidency of the G20, the Indonesian government must sit down with the unions and agree

Shay Cullen Ever since the story of Adam and Eve, likely written by a man, some men have tended to blame women for male misfortunes, weaknesses and their tendency to violent behavior. Overwhelming research has shown that most violent acts- physical, sexual, psychological, emotional, and verbal- against women and children have to do with family relationships, including a present or past intimate relationship or the lack of a happy one. Violence in an intimate relationship comes mostly from the male partner that wants to assert his dominance and power of ascendency over his partner and children. Research has also shown that violence against women and children in a family is caused mostly by the male partner not having his desires, demands, urges, and needs satisfied by his female partner to his satisfaction. That causes a power struggle, the male asserting himself over the woman and children, leading to verbal arguments, jealously, disharmony, anger, and eventually physical violence or

Marius Zaharia and Renju Jose, Reuters HONG KONG/SYDNEY—Hong Kong expanded a ban on entry for non-residents from several countries as global health authorities raced to curb a potential outbreak of the Omicron virus, while Australia's cabinet will review on Tuesday containment steps after 5 tested positive. Singapore's health ministry said 2 travelers from Johannesburg who tested positive for the variant in Sydney had transited through its Changi airport. Omicron - first reported in southern Africa and which the World Health Organization said carries a "very high" risk of infection surges - has triggered global alarm, with border closures casting a shadow over a nascent economic recovery from a 2-year pandemic. [LINK: https://news.abs-cbn.com/overseas/11/29/21/who-initial-info-suggests-increased-reinfection-risk-due-to-omicron] Hong Kong is among the latest to expand travel curbs. In a late Monday statement, city authorities said non-residents from Angola, Ethiop

Laura Zhou, South China Morning Post Posted at Nov 24 2021 10:58 PM Defense chiefs agree to expand cooperation through strategic exercises and joint patrols in the Asia-Pacific, says Russian ministry China and Russia are edging closer to a de facto military alliance to counter growing pressure from the United States, with the Russian defence chief telling his Chinese counterpart that US aircraft activity near the country’s borders had increased. In a video call on Tuesday, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chinese Defence Minister General Wei Fenghe agreed to expand cooperation through strategic exercises and joint patrols in the Asia-Pacific, including the Sea of Japan and the East China Sea, according to Russia’s defence ministry. Shoigu said there had been a “significant intensification” in activities by US strategic bombers near Russia’s borders. “Over the past month, about 30 sorties have been made to the borders of the Russian Federation, which is 2.5 times more tha

Polina Nikolskaya and Anton Zverev, Reuters Posted at Nov 24 2021 11:07 PM MOSCOW - Russia announced progress in its Sputnik suite of COVID-19 vaccines on Wednesday, with a new version aimed at children and a nasal spray that President Vladimir Putin said he had taken as a booster. Putin said in televised comments that he had been re-inoculated six months after his initial dose of the Sputnik V vaccine because his antibody levels had dropped. He said the booster took the form of an injection, followed the next day by a powder sprayed into both nostrils. "That was all - I didn't feel anything. Nothing. Today, after these two procedures, I already did some sport in the morning," he said. Kirill Dmitriev, the head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), which invested in Russia's flagship vaccine and markets it overseas, said Russia would sell the nasal form to other countries next year. Research has been going on in countries around the world to develop nas

Francesco Guarascio and Jason Hovet, Reuters Posted at Nov 25 2021 04:05 AM BRUSSELS/PRAGUE—Coronavirus infections broke records in parts of Europe on Wednesday, with the continent once again the epicentre of a pandemic that has prompted new curbs on movement and seen health experts push to widen the use of booster vaccination shots. Slovakia, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands and Hungary all reported new highs in daily infections as winter grips Europe and people gather indoors in the run-up to Christmas, providing a perfect breeding ground for COVID-19. New cases have jumped 23% in the Americas in the last week, mostly in North America, in a sign that region might also face a resurgence of infections. The disease has swept the world in the two years since it was first identified in central China, infecting more than 258 million people and killing 5.4 million. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), the EU public health agency, recommended vaccine booster