A 65-year-old Filipino immigrant was walking down a street near Times Square in New York, United States (US) when a man, in broad daylight, suddenly kicked her in the stomach.She crumpled to the sidewalk. He kicked her once in the head. Then again. And again. He yelled an obscenity at her, according to a police official, and then said, “You don’t belong here.”As the violent scene unfolded in Manhattan, three men watched from the lobby of a nearby luxury apartment building.

The next time you attend a wedding or concert, visit a place of worship, eat indoors at a restaurant or even go to work, you may need to show digital proof of vaccination or negative COVID-19 test results.On Friday, New York became the first state in the United States (US) to roll out a vaccine verification app, often referred to as a digital vaccine passport. It's using IBM's Excelsior Pass app, which leans on blockchain and displays a personalised QR code to verify health status.

The Philippines’ air force has been conducting daily aerial patrols over Chinese fishing vessels moored near a disputed reef, the country’s defence chief said, as he repeated a call to Beijing for their withdrawal from the area.The diplomatic row was touched off earlier this month when some 220 boats were first spotted at the boomerang-shaped Whitsun Reef, west of Palawan Island.The Philippines ordered China to recall the vessels, describing their presence as an incursion into its so

The recent skirmish in the South China Sea (SCS) between the Philippines and China that some personalities belonging to the political opposition coined as a prelude to the Chinese invasion of the Philippines is a far-fetched, and exaggerated way of describing the incident. It can be recalled that in early March, around 200 Chinese fishing vessels were spotted anchored at Whitsun Reef, a disputed territory in the South China Sea (SCS), which had flickered apprehensions and anxieties i

Health officials have rolled out more than 500 million coronavirus vaccine doses around the world, according to an AFP tally on Friday, as European rows over hoarding and supply issues escalated dramatically.Despite the huge effort to get jabs into arms, the pandemic is still surging in Europe and Latin America – where Brazil has now passed 300,000 deaths and Mexico 200,000.And the rollout of vaccines is chronically unequal, with the United States (US) accounting for more than a quarter of th

United States (US) President Joe Biden on Thursday said he would prevent China from passing the US to become the most powerful country in the world, vowing to invest heavily to ensure America prevails in the race between the world’s two largest economies.Biden said he had spent “hours upon hours” with Xi Jinping when he served as vice president under former President Barack Obama, and was convinced the Chinese president believed autocracy – not democracy – held the key to the future.The Democ

United States (US) President Joe Biden said Thursday his "expectation" is to run for re-election in 2024, an apparent effort to douse speculation that the oldest person to assume the office will step down after a single term.The Democratic president also attacked Republican efforts to limit voting, describing the actions in dozens of states that would make it more difficult for millions of people to cast ballots as "sick" and "un-American."In his first extended g

The Philippine military ordered the deployment of more navy ships to the South China Sea Thursday amid a growing diplomatic row over a fleet of Chinese boats parked near a disputed reef.China claims almost the entirety of the resource-rich sea, and was accused by the United States (US) this week of efforts to "intimidate and provoke others" by parking its vessels near Whitsun Reef.Manila has ordered Beijing to recall 183 boats at the boomerang-shaped reef around 320 kilometres (175

The deployment of 220 Chinese vessels to the Julian Felipe Reef (aka Whitsun Reef), which lies in the Spratly Islands, well within the Philippines’ 200-nautical-mile Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), has once again alerted Southeast Asian nations to China’s ever-growing assertiveness in the South China Sea (SCS).Criticising this unilateral, aggressive act, Delfin Lorenzana, Philippine Defense Minister called on the Chinese ships to back off, claiming that they are violating his nation’s

These sad truths about mass shootings in the United States (US) are self-evident:1.    In a country with easy access to guns, there will be mass shootings.