Philippines

JOHANNESBURG — Africa’s confirmed coronavirus cases have surpassed 1 million, but global health experts say the true toll is likely several times higher, reflecting the gaping lack of testing for the continent’s 1.3 billion people.           While experts say infection tolls in richer nations can be significant undercounts, large numbers of undetected cases are a greater danger for Africa, with many of the world’s weakest health systems. The World Health Organization calls the milestone a “pivotal point” for Africa as infections in several countries are surging. The virus has spread beyond major cities “into distant hinterlands” where f…

Keep on reading: Africa passes 1M confirmed virus cases; true number far more

Telco giant PLDT Inc. appealed to the government to judge its performance by established standards on internet speed and coverage after it found itself on the receiving end of attacks by President Duterte during his penultimate State of the Nation Address last month. During a briefing with reporters on its first semester financial results on Thursday, PLDT chair and CEO Manuel V. Pangilinan (MVP) gave assurances service quality will improve. Last July 27, Duterte threatened to close down PLDT and Globe Telecom by the end of the year and seize their assets over lousy service quality, which he did not define. “We would like to agree with regulators as to what standards we will be …

Keep on reading: MVP urges gov’t to settle standards on decent internet quality