Asia Today: Duterte extends virus calamity status by a year

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — President Rodrigo Duterte says he has extended a state of calamity in the Philippines by a year to allow the government to draw emergency funds faster to fight the COVID-19 pandemic and harness the police and military to maintain order. The country has been under a state of calamity since March. The country now has more than 290,000 confirmed cases, the highest in Southeast Asia, with nearly 5,000 deaths. Duterte also lashed out at critics who say his administrat