📰 News & Current Affairs

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Vaccines likely still effective vs UK COVID-19 variant DOH expert
An expert from the Department of Health (DOH) said that the efficacy of the current vaccines against COVID-19 will most likely not be affected by a new variant of the novel coronavirus in the United Kingdom. In a press briefing on Sunday, DOH-Technical Advisory Group’s (TAG) Dr. Edsel Salvana said that in case the new variant of the virus would have an implication on a vaccine’s efficacy, it would be gradual. “Wala pa tayong alam sa ngayon, if this affects it. But pinag-aaralan naman. Based on the number of mutations most likely hindi naman,” Salvana said. “Kapag nagiging resistant ang isang virus doon sa vaccine. Hindi naman 'yang biglang zero e. Makikita mo from 95 'yung sa Pfizer, magiging 85, magiging 70 so magiging gradual...
Snapdragon 480 5G is the first 4-series 5G chipset from Qualcomm
Qualcomm’s budget-friendly 4-series chipset line just got its first 5G SoC with the freshly announced Snapdragon 480. It’s bound to power more affordable 5G phones in the coming year. The chipset is built on the 8nm process and comes with an integrated Snapdragon X51 5G Modem-RF system with support for both mmWave and Sub-6 GHz networks. On the CPU side, we have the Kryo 460 performance cores based on the Cortex-A76 clocked at 2.0GHz alongside more power-efficient A55 cores working at 1.8GHz. The GPU is an Adreno 619. Qualcomm is boasting a two-fold increase in both CPU and GPU performance compared to the Snapdragon 460 chipset. AI tasks will be 70% faster thanks to the Qualcomm Hexagon 686 chipset. Chipset (process) Snapdragon...
Duterte says to end VFA if US 'can't deliver at least 20 million doses' of vaccine
MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte on Saturday night threatened to go through with ending the Visiting Forces Agreement with the United States if it fails to deliver millions of doses of US-made COVID-19 vaccine. The president's latest pronouncement follows the supposed botched negotiations with the US drugmaker Pfizer for 10 million doses and as his administration faces criticism of lagging behind in the global race to secure doses US firms Moderna Therapeutics and Arcturus Therapeutics are ready to supply four to 25 million doses of their vaccines beginning the third quarter of next year should the government find their proposals acceptable, Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Manuel Romualdez said in a statement...
Pinoys call out GMA News TV for airing ‘Pokemon’ instead of typhoon reports
GMA News TV is dodging criticisms after Filipino viewers noticed that it failed to provide round-the-clock reports about super typhoon Goni, which left much destruction in the Bicol region yesterday. Netizens noticed that instead of reporting about the typhoon, the news channel aired Pokemon XYZ and several soap operas. A Twitter user said that at 3pm yesterday, ABS-CBN’s Teleradyo reported the typhoon while GMA News aired a Thai show. Another Twitter user said that at 11pm yesterday, Teleradyo and cable channel ANC, also owned by ABS-CBN, reported the typhoon while GMA News TV broadcast a movie. State-owned media PTV 4 followed its regular programming. GMA News’ program schedule showed that its news programs are aired only in the...
Duterte on crazy killer cop: Feed him COVID-19
Abusive cops warned: There will be hell to pay MANILA, Philippines — There will be “hell to pay” for law enforcers caught committing abuses, President Duterte said as he threatened to “feed COVID-19 virus” to a policeman whose killing of an elderly mother and her son on Sunday in Tarlac sparked public outrage. Duterte, accused by his critics of being lenient on soldiers and policemen, said his promise to protect uniformed personnel does not cover those involved in crimes like murder. “Didn’t I say, ‘You do it right, I’m with you. You do it wrong, and there will be hell to pay.’ That’s what I said during my SONA (State of the Nation Address),” the President said in his weekly televised public address last Monday night. Calls for a...
Duterte wants to give out Beep cards for free
MANILA, PHILIPPINES President Rodrigo Duterte, a populist leader, makes another rosy promise as his ratings rise despite his handling of the COVID-19 crisis "It breaks your heart, really." Citing the plight of poor Filipino commuters, President Rodrigo Duterte said on Monday, October 5, that he will ask Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade to distribute commuter Beep cards for free. Duterte said this will ease the public's burden at a time when budgets are tight due to COVID-19. "Money is really hard to come by," Duterte said in his weekly recorded address. "Give the card free." Filipinos were supposed to pay P80 ($1.6) for each Beep card that will allow them to use the bus system along Metro Manila's main thoroughfare EDSA...
Huawei releases HarmonyOS 2.0 beta for select phones, still lets you roll back to EMUI 11
Huawei released the first version of its in-house operating system, HarmonyOS, which supports smartphones (the first version made its debut on a smart TV). The software is currently in beta and both users and developers are invited to try it out. The phones that are supported currently are: Huawei P40, P40 Pro, Mate 30 (and the 5G version) and Mate 30 Pro (and its 5G version). One tablet can install the new OS too, the Huawei MatePad Pro (Wi-Fi and LTE models, plus the 5G one). Many more EMUI 11 devices should be supported in the future, but the first beta version is limited to devices listed above. HarmonyOS 2.0 Beta can be delivered to those devices Over The Air, if you can sign up on this page (note: it’s in Chinese). If...
Philippines still free of new Covid strain
THE more contagious strain of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) had not reached the country so far, a health expert said on Thursday. “Based on our findings, the other variant detected in England is not yet here,” Dr. Jaime Montoya, executive director of Philippine Council of Health Research and Development of the Department of Science and Technology said in a press briefing. He added that the new variant emerged because the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 — the virus causing Covid-19 — was always mutating. “That is expected,” he said. “The question is if there are big or small changes in the virus’ behavior, if it becomes more deadly or cause complications.” Montoya noted that the new variant was found to be...
Lawyer: Video taker is best source to 'authenticate' Nuezca footage but other evidence can be used
The testimony of the person who captured the Gregorio murders in Tarlac on video will be strong evidence against Police Master Sergeant Jonel Nuezca, but other forms of evidence can also be used, a lawyer said Thursday. Philippine National Police chief General Debold Sinas earlier said the video taker seemed hesitant to testify in court. The primary source to "authenticate" the video, so it could be admissible as "object/real evidence," would be the one who took it, said National Union of Peoples' Lawyers (NUPL) president Edre Olalia. If the video taker is unwilling or unable to testify, the people who saw it being taken or those captured in the footage could also speak up, he said. But in this case, it could be admitted as...
China turns on its ‘artificial sun’ in quest for nuclear fusion energy
China on Friday made another step forward in its quest for clean energy through controlled nuclear fusion, as it commissioned its new “artificial sun” – a new generation nuclear fusion reactor research facility which operates at a temperature 10 times as hot as the sun. According to China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC), the HL-2M Tokamak apparatus is able to operate at 150 million degrees Celsius – almost three times hotter than the previous version called HL-2A. The ability to generate such ultra-high temperature is essential for the research of fusion process, replicating the way the sun produces energy using hydrogen and deuterium gases as fuels. The sun only operates at a temperature of 15 million degrees Celsius. The...
Ball dropped? Vaccine deal with Pfizer in progress, PH envoy says
https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1372292/lacson-asks-who-dropped-the-ball-on-pfizer-vaccine-deal MANILA, Philippines — Who “dropped the ball” in the delivery of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines? It was a Cabinet official who “keeps dropping the ball but… stays in the game,” Senator Panfilo Lacson told INQUIRER.net in a text message on Wednesday. “The coach refuses to replace him,” he added. Before this, Lacson asked Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. during a Commission on Appointments (CA) hearing for the nomination of two Philippine ambassadors earlier in the day who “dropped the ball” on the Pfizer vaccines. In response, Locsin, who attended the hearing virtually, said: “I think it’s enough that I really lost my temper...

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