Raging war and nuclear fallout: Chernobyl 38 years later

April 26, 1986, was one of the worst days in human history due to the Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident. The disaster claimed the lives of over 25,000 people and released a mass of dangerous nuclear radiation over large areas of Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia. Decades after the Chernobyl disaster, the aftermath is still felt, and concerns about nuclear safety have escalated due to the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine. The Russian military even took over Chernobyl for a brief period on their way to invade Kyiv in 2022, reportedly causing US$130 million in damage to the site's equipment and endangering their own soldiers with radiation poisoning. Curious to see the site of the historical disaster and find out what's happening there today? Click through the gallery.

Romualdez calls on broadcasters to continue fight vs misinformation

MANILA, Philippines — Speaker Martin Romualdez called on broadcasters to continue their fight against misinformation and disinformation. Romualdez made the pronouncement after a video, dismissed by the Presidential Communications Office as a “deepfake” video, of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. supposedly ordering an attack on China surfaced online. “We recognize its indispensable role in our democracy – as a reliable source of truth and a...

Columbia leadership rebuked by faculty panel for police crackdown on protesters

By Julia Harte and Kia Johnson NEW YORK (Reuters) -Columbia University's embattled president came under renewed pressure on Friday as a campus oversight panel sharply criticized her administration for clamping down on a pro-Palestinian protest at the Ivy League school. President Nemat Minouche Shafik has faced an outcry from many students, faculty and outside observers for summoning New York

43% of Pinoys want PH to align with US in SCS dispute —survey

At least 43% of Filipinos are in favor of the Philippines aligning with the US in the ongoing dispute in the South China Sea (SCS), results from a survey of the Oculum Research and Analytics showed. Around 3,000 Filipino adults participated in the survey conducted from Feb. 21 to Feb. 29, 2024, through face-to-face interviews. It has a sampling error margin of ± 2 and a high confidence level of 97%. According to the poll, only 3% of the...

PNP revokes Quiboloy’s firearms licenses

MANILA, Philippines — Fugitive preacher Apollo Quiboloy must surrender his guns, after the Philippine National Police (PNP) yesterday revoked his license to own and possess firearms and his firearms registration. PNP chief Gen. Rommel Francisco Marbil approved the resolution of the Firearms and Explosives Office (FEO) following a review of the police Legal Service. He also approved the revocation of the firearms license of suspect Ingrid Canada,...

Former sheriff's deputy convicted of misdemeanor in shooting death of Christian Glass

DENVER (AP) — A former Colorado sheriff’s deputy was convicted of a misdemeanor on Friday in the shooting death of a 22-year-old man in distress who had called 911 for help after his car got stuck in a small mountain community. Andrew Buen was also charged with second-degree murder and official misconduct in the 2022 death of Christian Glass, which drew national attention and prompted calls for police reform focused on crisis intervention. But...

Car driver dies in crash with lorry

The 57-year-old driver of a mini died at the scene near Bingfield in Northumberland.

US returns ancient artefacts looted from Cambodia, Indonesia

New York district attorney accuses two prominent art dealers of the illegal trafficking of antiquities worth $3m.

Calamity state up in Bohol town as ASF cases spike

TAGBILARAN CITY — The municipal council of Dauis in Bohol declared the town under a state of calamity this week due to the growing cases of hog deaths caused by the African swine fever (ASF). “There is a need for vigilant control measures to avoid transmission of diseases to other hogs in nearby municipalities,” read part of the resolution of the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council that the council endorsed on Tuesday. With...

Sitoy-Cho’s lawyer says judge handling her case ‘biased’

LAPU-LAPU CITY, Cebu — The legal counsel of former Cordova Mayor Therese Sitoy-Cho described Mandaue City Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 55 Judge Ferdinand Tapado Rafanan as biased in handling the case of his client. Lawyer Edgar Gica also denied the allegation that his client ignored the invitation to attend an arraignment on April 23. “We can never disobey the law,” Gica said. Gica clarified that the case at hand is a criminal one filed by...

Sajid Javid says he would not replicate the NHS in another country

His tribute to the Australian model - in which everyone is entitled to free healthcare but the wealthy can either pay extra or take out private cover - will alarm those NHS supporters.

President Marcos OKs DepEd’s basic education plan, other measures

MANILA, Philippines — The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Board, chaired by President Marcos, approved on Thursday three priority projects, including a medium-term basic education plan and a higher project cost for a world-class cancer center of the University of the Philippines-Philippine General Hospital (UP-PGH). Marcos approved the proposed Basic Education Development Plan (BEDP) 2030 and the MATATAG Agenda of the...

Canada province seeks to ban public hard drug use

British Columbia wants to "urgently" restrict where drugs can be used under its decriminalisation project.

Our population handicap

The Philippine national hunger problem would not be as hard to manage if there were not as many as 28 million families—the family, not the individual, is the Social Weather Stations hunger unit—to regularly provide with food. Nor would the traffic problem be as difficult if there were not as many as 10 million adults in the National Capital Region. Only 50 years ago, there were less than half as many to provide for. Everyone knows that...

This Is How Marikina Refuses to Sink in the Face of Floods

Vulnerability has given way to vigilance.

P15.5 billion calamity fund ready for El Niño

MANILA, Philippines — Government agencies can still tap over P15 billion in disaster funds to mitigate the impacts of El Niño, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) said yesterday. As of April 24, the DBM said the national disaster risk reduction management fund, more commonly known as the calamity fund, stood at P15.507 billion. Since the start of the year, some P4.99 billion has already been released from the total P20.5 billion...

Fish catch down since Balikatan – group

MANILA, Philippines — Fish catch around Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal has decreased since the start of the Balikatan exercises, which may have prompted the Chinese to send more vessels to the area and continue harassing Filipino fishermen, a local fishers’ group said yesterday. “The bullying of the Chinese coast guard continues and their number increased right after the Balikatan,” New Masinloc Fishermen’s Association president Leonardo Cuaresma...

Hamas says it received Israel's response to its ceasefire proposal

By Nidal al-Mughrabi CAIRO (Reuters) - Hamas said it had received on Saturday Israel's official response to its latest ceasefire proposal and will study it before submitting its reply, the group's deputy Gaza chief said in a statement. "Hamas has received today the official response of the Zionist occupation to the proposal presented to the Egyptian and the Qatari mediators on April 13," Khalil

Shapps says now is 'not the time or place' for Tory leadership battle

In an interview with The Times, Defence Secretary Grant Shapps said: 'Let him get on with the job. He's doing a great job, he's doing it under difficult circumstances.

UN warns Sudan paramilitary forces are encircling a capital in western Darfur, urges against attack

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Sudanese paramilitary forces are encircling the only capital they haven’t captured in the western Darfur region, the United Nations said Friday, warning that an attack would have “devastating consequences” for the city's 800,000 inhabitants. At the same time, the U.N. said, the rival Sudanese Armed Forces “appear to be positioning themselves.” U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres again called on the paramilitary Rapid...

80 fall ill due to 'food poisoning' after wedding in Maguindanao del Sur

About 80 people fell ill due to suspected food poisoning after attending a tribal wedding in South Upi, Maguindanao del Sur, according to a report on "State of the Nation." According to the Integrated Health Office, the victims complained of stomach ache and vomiting and many were brought to the hospital for treatment. It is possible that the food served was spoiled due to the hot weather. One of the dishes served was beniton, which is prepared...

Oil tanker damaged in Houthi missile strike

The Yemeni rebel group says its latest attack targeted the Andromeda Star.

Mega Millions winning numbers for April 26 drawing: Did anyone win $228 million jackpot?

Mega Millions players, are you feeling lucky? The winning numbers are in for the April 26 drawing. Here are the results for the $228 million jackpot.

Secret leaked document confirms Russia’s hybrid war against the West

GUIDE: How to Get Your Government IDs

Passports, licenses, and more.

‘Foreign actor’ seen behind President Marcos audio deepfake

MANILA, Philippines — A “foreign actor” is likely behind the audio deepfake of President Marcos where he supposedly ordered the Armed Forces to intervene if China poses a threat to the Philippines, according to the Presidential Communications Office. PCO Assistant Secretary Patricia Kayle Martin said the Department of Information and Communications Technology suspects a foreign actor is behind the deepfake. She did not elaborate. The government...

1,500 students in Panay provinces receive P2,500 cash aid

MANILA, Philippines — A total of 1,500 students from provinces in Panay received P2,000 cash aid from a government scholarship program, said Speaker Martin Romualdez on Friday. READ: Romualdez vows aid for kin of seafarers killed in Houthi attack The students, all from Iloilo, Aklan, Antique, Capiz, and Guimaras, were granted financial aid under Integrated Scholarships and Incentives Program (ISIP) for the Youth, which was held at the West...

Xi tells Blinken US, China should be ‘partners, not rivals’

BEIJING, China – Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday told top US diplomat Antony Blinken that the world’s biggest economies should be “partners, not rivals” as the two sides pressed for headway on a range of concerns. Blinken, in China for the second time in less than a year, pointed to improvements in the relationship but urged greater action from Beijing on areas including curbing support for Russia. Meeting Blinken in Beijing’s Great Hall...

'I had no idea my son's body was buried in the garden'

Yvonne Valentine sat having a Christmas drink with her son's partner, unaware she had killed him.

Central Luzon teachers want remote work during extreme heat

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO — An accredited union of some 104,000 public school teachers in the Central Luzon region on Friday urged principals to stop requiring teaching and non-teaching personnel to report for work in schools when onsite classes are suspended due to dangerous heat index forecasts. “We hope they consider the welfare of their teachers in the same manner they value the safety of learners,” said Vilma Liyao, secretary general of the...

Marcos to Filipinos: Rise vs modern-day oppressors

MANILA, Philippines: President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Saturday called on Filipinos to "rise against our modern-day oppressors" and uphold patriotism as he joined the nation in commemorating the valor, bravery and boldness of Lapulapu and his men at the Battle of Mactan. In his message for the 503rd anniversary of the Victory at Mactan, Marcos said that Lapulapu's courage and love for the country only showed how "a force that is rooted in...

Town meeting in chaos after Satanic temple leader gives speech

Chaos erupted at the Ottawa County board meeting in Michigan when a member of the Satanic Church delivered an invocation to start the gathering.

Arrogant. Inadequate. Incapable. He is not fit to be First Minister

For Humza Yousaf's premiership, it is five minutes to midnight. He has lost his governing majority. His Green allies have turned on him as he turned on them.

Antony Blinken says China attempting to 'interfere' with 2024 election

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the U.S. has seen evidence that China is trying to 'influence' and 'interfere' in the November presidential election despite a commitment from leader Xi Jinping not to.

Marcos urges Filipinos to embrace Lapulapu's ideals, PH heritage

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Saturday remembered Lapulapu's bravery and encouraged Filipinos to embrace the hero's ideals and the wealth of Philippine heritage in the shift to "Bagong Pilipinas". “The challenge now for all, especially the youth, is to continue embracing his [Lapulapu] ideals and the wealth of our heritage as we realize a ‘Bagong Pilipinas’ that is built on the foundations of the liberty and freedom that he and all our other...

Australian police charge five teenagers in Sydney cleric's stabbing

(This April 25 story has been refiled to fix the name of Sydney suburb to Wakeley, from Wakefield, in paragraph 4) SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australian police said on Thursday they charged five teenagers with terrorism-related offences in investigations following the stabbing of an Assyrian Christian bishop while he was giving a livestreamed sermon earlier this month. The five boys, who were due in

Group opposes gov't decision to import fish

A fisherfolk group on Saturday expressed opposition to the government's decision to allow the importation of 25,000 metric tons of frozen fish for wet markets. In an interview on Super Radyo dzBB, Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamalakaya ng Pilipinas (PAMALAKAYA) said the importation would have a negative impact on local fisherfolk. "Yung apektado ng importation kami eh, yung mga maliliit na mangingisda. Kasi di hamak na mas mura naman talaga...

Two expatriate workers killed by drone attack on Iraq's Khor Mor - report

At least two expatriate workers were killed and two other people wounded after a drone attack targeted the Khor Mor gas field in Iraq's Kurdistan region on Friday, an advisor to the Iraqi Kurdish Prime Minister and a senior Kurdish political source told Reuters. Production has also been suspended, both sources added. The drone attack on the Khor Mo...

Loved ones await recovery of 2 bodies from Baltimore bridge wreckage a month after the collapse

BALTIMORE (AP) — A wooden cross is laden with Miguel Luna’s personal belongings — his construction uniform and work boots, a family photo, the flag of his native El Salvador — but his body remains missing after the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge. More than a month has passed since six members of a roadwork crew plunged to their deaths when a container ship lost power and crashed into one of the bridge’s supporting columns. Four bodies...

Beijing and many of China’s major cities are slowly sinking

Transport strike vs PUV modernization set for April 29 to May 1

Transport group PISTON announced on Saturday a three-day nationwide strike next week in protest of the public utility vehicle (PUV) modernization program and the looming April 30 deadline for consolidation of jeepney franchises. In a media forum in Quezon City on Saturday, PISTON deputy secretary general Ruben Baylon said the transport strike would start on April 29 and culminate on May 1, when their members will join marchers for Labor Day...

Baby orca free after month trapped in Canadian lagoon

Orphaned calf swims from British Columbia after several rescue attempts by First Nations community.

Painting by Gustav Klimt sold for $32 million after being lost for about 100 years

The "Portrait of Fräulein Lieser" by prestigious Austrian painter Gustav Klimt was estimated to sell between €30 million-€50 million.

BSP ready to defend weakening peso

MANILA, Philippines — The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is ready to defend the peso as the local currency sinks to 17-month lows amid a rallying US dollar, its governor said. In a statement on Thursday, BSP Governor Eli Remolona Jr. explained that the recent depreciation of the local unit was more of a case of strengthening dollar than peso weakness, as geopolitical risks, and shifting outlook on rate cuts in the United States trigger a...

Tough draw for Gilas Women in Fiba World PreQualifiers

Looking to scale new heights, Gilas Pilipinas’ path in trying to do that will begin in Rwanda this August when it battles higher-ranked teams in the Fiba (International Basketball Federation) Women’s World Cup Pre-Qualifying Tournaments (PQT). The Nationals have been bunched with Senegal, Hungary and Brazil in Group C of the showpiece that Mexico City is also set to cohost. “We are really excited to take part in this prequalifying tournament as...

DBM to review status of 830,000 government contractuals

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has committed to conduct a study on the current state of the 830,000 contract of service (COS) and job order (JO) workers in various government agencies nationwide. This follows the move of President Marcos to extend the engagement of COS and JO employees in government for another year. Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman lauded the decision as it will help in the security of...

Michigan man caught after attempting to flee US to Hong Kong after fatal building explosion, fire: police

Noor Noel Kestou, 31, attempted to flee the U.S. after the fatal explosion at his vape and smoke business, Goo Smoke Shop/Select Distributors, on March 4.

North Korea accuses US of politicizing human rights issues

SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea accused the United States on Saturday of politicizing human rights in the East Asian country, denouncing what it called political provocation and conspiracy. Pyongyang will make stern and decisive choices to protect its sovereignty and safety in response to Washington using human rights as a tool for invasion and hostile, anti-North Korea behaviour, state media KCNA

Bulacan is 17th province declared free of bird flu

Bulacan has joined the list of provinces declared free of bird flu as tests conducted on local poultry yielded negative results for avian influenza more than 90 days since the end of cleaning and disinfection operations and surveillance activities, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said. The DA said Bulacan was the 17th province to have fully recovered from highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI). Others are Camarines Sur, Davao del Sur,...

Mayor Binay worried over Taguig’s ‘lukewarm support’ to robotics team

MANILA, Philippines — Makati Mayor Abby Binay gave financial assistance to an elementary school once within Makati’s jurisdiction but is now under Taguig, and expressed worry of the latter local government’s “seeming lukewarm support.” The team, composed of two Grade 5 and two Grade 6 students, is set to compete at the 2024 VEX Robotics World Championship in Dallas, Texas in April from April 25 to May 3, 2024. According to Mayor Abby Binay,...