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
INDIA UNDER 'JANATA CURFEW' TODAY The country is observing an unprecedented shutdown today following Prime Minister Narendra Modi's appeal for a 'Janata Curfew', where people have been urged to voluntarily stay indoors to check the spread of coronavirus. Public transport will be susp
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
CHANGE OF POLICY ON TESTING, HOSPITAL ADMISSIONSFacing repeated criticism, India has decided to change testing criteria forCOVID-19 to include all pneumonia cases, regardless of travel or contacthistory.In an advisory to hospitals on Friday, the government said: "No suspectedCOVID-19 patient sh
MORE RETURNEES INDICATE OUTBREAK IN CONTROL Despite the sudden jump in imported infections in the past few days, the number of inbound trips has been 120,000 on average a day since the World Health Organization declared the novel coronavirus outbreak a pandemic on March 11, which is an 80 percent d
ITALIAN DEATH TOLL OVERTAKES CHINA AS CORONAVIRUS SPREADS The death toll in Italy from the coronavirus overtook china’s on Thursday in a stark illustration of how the outbreak has pivoted toward Europe and the United States. Italy, with a population of 60 million, recorded at least 3,405 deat
NATIONAL GOVERNMENT CALLS THE SHOTS IN A CRISIS, NOT LGUS — DUTERTE MANILA — President Rodrigo Duterte in a public address on early Friday morning asserted the authority of the national government over local government units in times of crisis. In his address, the president appealed to
