AS COVID-19 GROUNDS CRUISE SHIPS, SOME 10,000 FILIPINO SEAFARERS NEED TO BE REPATRIATED MANILA – Some 10,000 Filipino seafarers are in need of repatriation after COVID-19 halted the operation of cruise ships worldwide, a crew service agency said Tuesday. Magsaysay Maritime Corp. i
XI'S DIPLOMACY PRIORITIZES SOLIDARITY, COOPERATION President Xi Jinping has used head-of-state diplomacy to call for the building of a community of common health for mankind amid the mounting global public health crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, observers said. China's experiences o
ABE: OLYMPICS COULD BE POSTPONED Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has said postponing the Olympic Games could become an option if it was not possible to hold it in its "complete form". He said the country might have "no option but to consider postponing the games", but added that cance
SPECIAL CONGRESS SESSION ON COVID-19 MANILA — Congress is meeting on Monday, March 23, for a special session to, according to a letter from the Palace, "authorize the president to exercise powers necessary to carry out urgent measures to meet the current national emergency relating t
CHINA SECURITIES WATCHDOG LAUNCHES INDEX SYSTEM FOR STAR BOARD China's top securities watchdog launched an evaluation index system of science and technology innovation for the country's Nasdaq-style sci-tech innovation board, or the STAR market, to facilitate the innovation-driven economic transfor
US BLAMES CHINA, RUSSIA AND IRAN FOR SPREADING 'DISINFORMATION' ON CORONAVIRUS S Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has blamed Russia, China and Iran for spreading "disinformation" on COVID-19 and carrying out coordinated efforts to "disparage" American attempts towards containing the fast-spreading c
HOUSE SETS HISTORIC TEXT VOTING AT SESSION MANILA - For the first time, House members are set to vote via text messaging and online video conferencing to replace floor deliberations to pass legislation needed to address the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The House leadership has appr
NATION SHOWS STRENGTH IN PANDEMIC BATTLE The strength of China's system, which enables it to pool all available resources to solve major problems, has helped the country address the health crisis caused by the novel coronavirus pneumonia outbreak, observers said. The all-of-government and all-of-s
OLYMPIC FLAME ARRIVES IN JAPAN AS CORONAVIRUS THROWS TOKYO GAMES INTO GROWING DOUBT A plane carrying the Olympic torch from Greece arrived on Friday on Japan's northwestern coast ravaged by a 2011 tsunami, but the welcome ceremony will have no spectators, amid worries the Games could be cancelled
DUTERTE TO LGUS: STAND DOWN, FOLLOW GUIDELINES MANILA — President Duterte has appealed to the nation to follow the guidelines laid down by the national government for addressing the new coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and for local government units to be united in the implementation of meas
