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The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) on Thursday, Jan. 20, provided assistance to 99 Badjaus who have been stranded at the Manila North Port Terminal since Jan. 17.

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BRAZZAVILLE, Congo – Cases of COVID have plummeted in Africa and deaths are declining for the first time since the Omicron-dominated fourth wave of the virus reached its peak, the UN said Thursday.

JAKARTA, Indonesia – Indonesia will push for the creation of a new global health agency while the country holds the presidency of the G20, President Joko Widodo said Thursday at the virtual Davos forum.

PARIS, France – France will begin a gradual lifting of Covid restrictions from February 2 amid “encouraging signs” that the wave of infections due to the Omicron variant is ebbing, Prime Minister Jean Castex said Thursday.

VIENNA, Austria – Austria’s parliament on Thursday approved making COVID-19 vaccinations mandatory for adults from next month, becoming the first European country to do so despite a wave of protests opposing the measure.

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina – For the first time since the start of the pandemic the coronavirus has reached an Argentine research base in Antarctica, causing the evacuation of nine unvaccinated staff who tested positive for COVID-19, an official said Thursday.

BOGOTA, Colombia – A car bomb detonated in Colombia overnight outside government offices and the seat of a human rights body, killing one person and wounded 20 near the Venezuelan border, authorities said Thursday.

The number of Filipinos not willing to be vaccinated against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has gone down, according to a Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey.

CLARK INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, Pampanga – 19-year-old Zara Rutherford became the youngest woman to complete a round-the-world flight all by herself inside the cockpit of her petite 325-kilogram Shark UL single-propeller plane Thursday, Jan. 20 in Belgium.

Vaccine skepticism among adult Filipinos continues to die down, according to the result of the latest survey of the Social Weather Stations on Thursday, Jan. 20.

Filipinos will see an end to the culture of impunity like the dreadful extrajudicial killings (EJK) that occurred during the war on drugs if Sen. Panfilo “Ping” Lacson is at the helm of the national leadership.

Russia’s COVID-19 vaccine Sputnik V has showed a “strong protection” against the highly infectious Omicron coronavirus variant, the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) and the Gamaleya National Research Center of Epidemiology and Microbiology said on Thursday, Jan. 20.

As talks about the forthcoming national debates heat up, PROMDI standard bearer Sen. Manny Pacquiao said he is looking forward to airing his stand on significant national issues with his rivals for the presidency.

MONROVIA, Liberia – A stampede killed at least 29 people at a religious event in the suburbs of the Liberian capital Monrovia, police said on Thursday.

VIENNA, Austria – Austria’s parliament on Thursday is expected to approve making Covid-19 vaccinations mandatory for adults from next month, becoming the first European country to do so.

A public health expert expressed his concern over Philippine areas with low coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccination rate and weak healthcare system amid the ongoing surge of infections.

Metro Manila’s coronavirus disease (COVID-19) growth rate has further dipped to -20 percent, but an OCTA research fellow reiterated that despite the decrease of infections, the region remains at critical risk.