The Philippines’ Department of Health (DOH) announced on November 25 that the country’s first instances of the highly contagious COVID-19 Omicron subvariant BQ.1 had been identified. The Department of Health noted that subvariant instances were discovered in the Cordillera, Ilocos, Calabarzon, Central Visayas, and Metro Manila areas. The location of one instance was uncertain. Between October 28 and November 18, …

Thursday, November 24, Indonesian officials battled to deliver help to thousands of people affected by a catastrophic earthquake in western Java, as rain-triggered landslides and challenging mountainous terrain hindered rescue teams’ operations. Monday’s magnitude 5.6 earthquake in the town of Cianjur, approximately 75 kilometers (50 miles) south of the capital of Jakarta, resulted in the deaths of at least 271 …

On November 18, the world-famous Mistukoshi Mall in Japan welcomed customers from the Philippines for the first first time at its new location in Bonifacio Global City! Have you uttered kon’nichiwa yet? The contemporary shopping center with a Japanese theme isn’t quite finished yet, but it already features a number of popular establishments, such as Mendokoro Ramenba, a branch of …

The Philippines addressed a letter verbale to China requesting “clarification” over a recent incident in which Chinese coast guard personnel “forcibly collected” debris from Philippine Navy personnel in the West Philippine Sea. In an interview with CNN Philippines on Thursday, November 24, Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo confirmed the move, stating that the Marcos administration wanted to hear about the conflict …

Ritsu Doan and Takuma Asano scored late goals to give Japan a 2-1 victory over Germany in the World Cup on Wednesday, November 23. The four-time champions appeared to be cruising to victory thanks to an Ilkay Guendogan penalty, but they paid the price for missing opportunities. It was a replay of their 2018 World Cup nightmare when, as defending …

The office of Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in western Hiroshima prefecture discovered mistakes in receipts linked to a campaign expenditure report on Thursday, November 24, after a magazine highlighted suspected violations of election funding laws. The claims are a further setback for the prime minister, who has seen three cabinet ministers resign in the past month and whose public …

According to a statement released by the firm on Wednesday, all paid activity on Twitter associated with Volkswagen brands have been suspended until further notice. Following Elon Musk’s takeover of the platform, Volkswagen, which owns Audi along with VW, Seat, Cupra, Lamborghini, Bentley, Ducati, and Porsche, announced earlier this month that it had recommended to the brands that they pause …

The Verge got a recording of an internal Twitter meeting in which new owner Elon Musk participated. Musk discussed his plans for “Twitter 2.0,” specifically its messaging functions, during a meeting on November 22, according to the site. Musk stated that he desires encrypted texting, video chats, and voice calls. Musk was quoted by The Verge as saying, “We want …

Dune: The Sisterhood, the prequel series to Denis Villeneuve’s blockbuster Dune films, has begun filming, as confirmed by director Johan Renck. Renck shared a photograph of Frank Herbert’s Dune novel on Instagram on Tuesday, November 22 in honor of the production’s launch, along with one of the book’s most famous quotes: “I must not fear. Fear destroys the intellect. Fear …

Friday, November 18th, Trend Micro revealed that they had found a worldwide spear-phishing effort conducted by a China-based threat actor, with a particular focus on Asia Pacific nations including Myanmar, Australia, the Philippines, Japan, and Taiwan. Spear-phishing is a sort of phishing that is highly targeted. According to Trend Micro’s definition, whereas phishing strategies may rely on technologies that transmit …