2021-01-31 14:40 By: GMW.cn
The world is now under great pressure to administer vaccines as an immediate measure to curb the worst pandemic in a century that still shows no signs of slowing down. In an effort to contain the pandemic, many countries are searching for deals to secure vaccine access.
According to data collected by Bloomberg based on interviews, company disclosures, news reports and government data, up to Jan. 30, 2021, 8.49 billion doses of Covid-19 vaccines have already been set aside, which would be enough to cover more than half of the world’s population if the shots were distributed evenly (considering most vaccines demand two doses).
Handout from Philippines Air Force
The United States is a “stabilizing force” in the disputed South China Sea and the Indo-Pacific region, the Philippine defense chief said Friday, adding that Manila was optimistic about a “new era” of ties with Washington under the Biden presidency.
Manila likely will keep pursuing an independent foreign policy, but is also expected to prolong a decades-old friendly relationship with the U.S. through dealings with the new administration in Washington, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said.
“As for our challenges ahead, the longstanding rivalry between the United States and China will surely continue to test our adeptness in balancing our relations with both countries,” Lorenzana told a forum organized by the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines (FOCAP).
Handout Philippine Air Force
The United States is a “stabilizing force” in the disputed South China Sea and the Indo-Pacific region, the Philippine defense chief said Friday, adding that Manila was optimistic about a “new era” of ties with Washington under the Biden presidency.
Manila likely will keep pursuing an independent foreign policy, but is also expected to prolong a decades-old friendly relationship with the U.S. through dealings with the new administration in Washington, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said.
“As for our challenges ahead, the longstanding rivalry between the United States and China will surely continue to test our adeptness in balancing our relations with both countries,” Lorenzana told a forum organized by the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines (FOCAP).
Sold into Syrian servitude, Filipina workers tell of abuse, rape and imprisonment Updated: January 24
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Print article DUBAI - Josephine Tawaging was being bundled off to the airport in a locked car, begging to be let out. She had traveled from her home in the Philippines a month earlier to find work in Dubai, the Middle East’s glitzy business hub, she later recalled. But her recruitment agency instead locked her in a dark and dirty dormitory with several other women, who soon learned they would all be sent to war-crippled Syria to be sold. As Tawaging, 33, was being driven to Dubai’s airport bound for Damascus, she protested one last time - and was slapped across the face. “They got angry with me and said, ‘if you don’t go, we’ll kill you,’ she said in an interview, recounting the ordeal in 2019. Today, she remains trapped in Syria.