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The ongoing mass protests in Myanmar have paralyzed the country's Covid-19 response, as many health workers are on strike and testing efforts on hold. CNN's Ivan Watson reports.

MANILA, Philippines --- Only 17 percent of the 22.9 million target beneficiaries of the P1,000 aid for people in areas under an enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) have received the assistance, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) said. According to DSWD, reports from the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) showed that 3.999 million beneficiaries have already received the P1,000 per head assistance --- a huge bulk of which are Metro Manila residents with 2.944 million. The assistance was initiated by the government as the law requires areas under ECQ --- the most stringent lockdown measure available --- to compensate affected residents. An ...

Keep on reading: DSWD: 17% of target ECQ aid recipients given assistance as of April 14

The pandemic has not been kind to electronic music. With nightclubs forced to close their doors to comply with health restrictions, fans and artists have turned to music streaming platforms to keep the beat going. Will 2021 be remembered as the era of the kitchen rave? While it was obvious long before COVID-19 that the dance music industry relies heavily on live events, the pandemic has forced industry professionals to confront this dependence. The latest edition of the annual IMS Business Report has noted that electronic clubs and festivals have probably lost 75% of their income in 2020, which roughly amounts to $3.3 billion. DJs and artists have not been spared as their earnings...

Keep on reading: Deprived of night clubs, electronic music lovers seek solace on streaming

MANILA, Philippines---Leading budget airline Cebu Pacific will wind down call center operations as more passengers tap online booking options coupled with the success of its chatbot "Charlie".   The budget carrier said in a statement that call center operations and hotline numbers will be discontinued by May 1 this year.   It was not immediately clear how many call center employees will be affected.   CandiceIyog, Cebu Pacific vice president for marketing and customer experience, said the segment was outsourced and managed by a third-party agency.   "Prior to the finalization of termination, we have made sure that all affected agents were reass...

Keep on reading: Cebu Pacific to wind down call center operations by May 1

Rafael Nadal said Wednesday he had no fears about contracting COVID-19-19 after Daniil Medvedev tested positive for the virus following a practice session with the Spaniard ahead of the Monte Carlo Masters. Second seed Medvedev withdrew from the tournament after Monday's test result and went into isolation. He is being monitored by ATP medical staff as a precaution. "I was not worried because I practiced with him, but I was never close to him," Nadal said after his 6-1, 6-2 win over Federico Delbonis in his opening match. "Of course, when this kind of stuff happens, it's not good. But I felt sorry for him more than for me because, well, everything can happen." https://twi...

Keep on reading: Nadal ‘not worried’ about COVID-19 infection after Medvedev practice

MANILA, Philippines---Kai Sotto, who was once signed with the G League Ignite team, trained with former NBA All-Star Amar'e Stoudemire in Miami. Stoudemire's trainer Felix Flores posted an Instagram story of Sotto and the Brooklyn Nets player development assistant working out together. Sotto is technically a free agent after parting ways with Ignite but is still registered with the Gilas Pilipinas program. Stoudemire, meanwhile, is part of Nets head coach Steve Nash's staff while still wrestling with the idea of playing for Maccabi Tel Aviv in the Israeli Basketball Premier League. Despite being unsigned, Sotto found ways to stay active in the sport of basketball and last played in...

Keep on reading: Kai Sotto trains with with Amar’e Stoudemire

A Canadian politician has apologized after being spotted in a state of undress during a parliamentary video call on Wednesday.

Italian police recovered a stolen Roman statue after off-duty officers noticed it in a Belgian antique shop almost a decade after it was looted from an archeological site, according to authorities.

A leading cricket journalist has said the England cricket team were wrong to stop kneeling in the midst of the Black Lives Matter protests and the struggle against racism last summer.

SAN ANTONIO, Zambales---The Philippines could face a fish shortage amid reports that as much as 240,000 kilos, or more than 260 tons, are illegally taken daily by Chinese fishing vessels that had massed in the West Philippine Sea, a grassroots environmental group said on Thursday (April 15).   Citing a report by the National Task Force for West Philippine Sea (NTF-WPS), the Homonhon Environmental Rescue Organization (Hero) said the Chinese ships found around the Union Banks and Pag-asa Islands were at least 60 meters in length and each capable of catching at least 1 ton of fish every day.   "The Chinese fishermen have been overfishing, depleting our marine resources...

Keep on reading: ‘Worse than invasion’: China ships poach 240,000 kg of fish daily in PH seas, says group

Cryptocurrency backers have spent years insisting that bitcoin, ethereum and other digital coins could revolutionize the world of finance. Finally, they're getting their moment.

    MANILA, Philippines --- President Rodrigo Duterte has appointed University of the Philippines Electrical and Electronics Engineering associate professor Dr. Franz Asunta De Leon at the Department of Science and Technology (DOST). In a statement Thursday, the DOST said De Leon was appointed as director of the agency's Advanced Science and Technology Institute (ASTI) which leads research and development in the fields of information and communications technology, microelectronics, and space technology. De Leon was sworn into office this Thursday before DOST Secretary Fortunato Dela Pea at the DOST-ASTI Building in Diliman, Quezon City. He replaces Dr. Joel Josep...

Keep on reading: Duterte appoints UP prof as head of DOST’s advanced science division

  COTABATO CITY---A former village chief of Datu Salibo town, Maguindanao province, who allegedly turned into a crime gang leader, was killed and four of his followers were arrested in a police operation on Wednesday (April 14).   Maj. Esmail Madin, head of the Maguindanao unit of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG), identified the slain suspect as Marcos Manunggal, former chair of Tee village in Datu Salibo town.   Manunggal allegedly heads an armed crime group with at least 20 followers operating in the towns of Datu Salibo, Shariff Aguak and Mamasapano towns.   Madin identified the arrested suspects as Arbaiya Bangkong Mus...

Keep on reading: Gov’t agents kill suspected Maguindanao crime gang head in gunfight

TAGBILARAN CITY---Two more persons died of COVID-19 in the province of Bohol.   According to Dr. Cesar Tomas Lopez, spokesperson of the province's Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases, the new fatalities were two senior citizens from Tubigon town and Tagbilaran City.   They died on Wednesday (April 14) while being admitted at the Governor Celestino Gallares Memorial Hospital.   As of Thursday, Bohol has 303 active COVID-19 cases.   "This clearly affirms the presence of the virus in the community," he said.   Lopez said the total COVID-19 cases in Bohol has reached 1,845 with 1,511 recoveries and ...

Keep on reading: 2 more dead of COVID-19 in Bohol

Actor Dennis Padilla revealed to fans that he recently tested positive for the novel coronavirus and underwent isolation, but that he has now fully recovered. Padilla only disclosed his ordeal last Tuesday, April 13, in an interview with the Philippine Entertainment Portal via DZRH, sharing that he spent 12 days confined at a hospital. In his first days in confinement, Padilla admitted that he was scared for his life, but prayed for recovery as he wants to be there for his children. "Talagang nung first, second, third day... kasi tinataas ko lang yung kamay ko. Sabi ko, 'Lord, hindi ko alam kung ito na yun.' Sabi ko lang sa Kanya, 'Sana mapagbigyan mo pa ako ng isa pang pagk...

Keep on reading: Dennis Padilla recalls surviving COVID-19 after 12 days in hospital

SAN ANTONIO, Zambales---Three women in their 50s have died in the province weeks after they got infected with SARS Cov2 and developed the disease that the virus causes, COVID-19, according to officials on Thursday (April 15).   Dr. Noel Bueno, provincial health director, said the new fatalities raised to 32 the COVID-19 death tally in the province.   The patients, who were from the towns of Palauig, San Narciso and Castillejos, acquired the virus between the second and last week of March.   Bueno also reported 10 new COVID-19 infections and nine recoveries.   The province now has 1,486 cases since 2020, 220 of these are active cases and 1,233 a...

Keep on reading: COVID-19 kills 3 more in Zambales

HONG KONG ---Hong Kong police displayed a cuddly bear mascot and unveiled a new goose-step march Thursday as the financial hub held a "National Security Education Day", part of its push to instill patriotism in a city chafing under China's rule. Beijing blanketed Hong Kong in a sweeping national security law last year in response to months of huge and often violent democracy protests that convulsed the international business hub. Thursday's education day, the first since the security law's imposition last June, saw activities held across the city that burnished the security forces and outlined the threats China perceives it faces in Hong Kong. At a morning ceremony attended ...

Keep on reading: Hong Kong marks ‘national security day’ with goose-steps and mascots

MANILA, Philippines --- Severe Tropical Storm Surigae may enter the Philippine area of responsibility (PAR) earlier than initially predicted, between Thursday night and Friday morning according to state meteorologists. Latest updates from the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) on Thursday afternoon showed that Surigae was last located 1,140 kilometers east of Mindanao. Surigae's sustained winds have increased to 95 kilometers per hour (kph) near the center, while gustiness has increased to 115 kph. It is traveling slowly north northwest, which may mean that it will produce additional strength as a result of its prolonged stay o...

Keep on reading: Severe Tropical Storm Surigae may enter PAR early, between Thursday night and Friday

The inspector general overseeing a probe into the United States Capitol Police's preparation for and response to the January 6 insurrection is set to detail critical lapses in planning, policies and procedures resulting in the catastrophic failure that killed five people, including one of their own, Officer Brian Sicknick.