News

Comelec looks set to hit goal of 3M new voters

MANILA, Philippines — Less than three months after it started accepting applications, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) said on Wednesday that more than 2 million people have registered to become voters—more than two-thirds of its targeted 3 million new voters for the 2025 midterm polls. In a Viber message to reporters, Comelec Chair George Erwin Garcia said that as of April 16, a total of 2,082,744 registration applications had been...

Luzon, Visayas grids still on red and yellow alerts on Thursday

MANILA, Philippines — National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) raised red and yellow alerts in Luzon and Visayas for the third straight day today, April 18, due to the unavailability of several power plants. In an advisory, NGCP said a red alert status will be up in the Luzon grid from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. Before that, the Luzon grid will be placed under yellow alert from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., and from 10...

Police arrest six, seek three others in Canada's largest gold heist

By KyawSoe Oo and Ismail Shakil BRAMPTON, Ontario (Reuters) - Canadian and U.S. authorities said on Wednesday six people have been arrested and three more are being sought in connection with what they called the largest gold heist in Canadian history -- a cargo of over C$22 million ($16 million) in gold and currency. The suspects, including two Air Canada employees, forged an airway bill to

Rape victim's frustration over attacker's parole

"Elizabeth"'s rapist was recalled to prison in January after breaching his parole conditions.

Scholars file complaint against CHEd chief before Ombudsman

TEN indigenous student scholars from South Cotabato filed a complaint against Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) Chairman Prospero de Vera III before the Office of the Ombudsman for failing to release their living allowances for three school years starting in 2021. De Vera has already been under fire for failing to make use of a P10.3 billion fund meant for free tuition and living allowances of government scholars under Republic Act 10931 or...

Manila Water service cutoff set in Taguig, Marikina this April

MANILA, Philippines — Manila Water customers in some areas of Taguig City and Marikina City will experience temporary water supply interruption from April 18 to 19 and April 24 to 25 due to scheduled maintenance activities. The water company on Thursday advised affected residents to reserve water for their use as maintenance works will be carried out on the following: Taguig City – April 18, 10 p.m., to April 19, 4 a.m. Parts of Barangay New...

Gatchalian asks CHEd: Probe ‘sale’ of degrees to foreign students

MANILA, Philippines — Senator Sherwin Gatchalian on Thursday asked the Commission on Higher Education (Ched) to investigate and sanction people involved in the alleged sale of diplomas or degrees to foreign students in the country. He made the call following reports that some Chinese students in Cagayan are paying P2 million to obtain their degrees. “CHEd must impose appropriate penalties or sanctions on HEIs (higher education institutions) and...

Solon wants clarity in Bukidnon clash

MANILA, Philippines — Gabriela party list Rep. Arlene Brosas on Wednesday slammed the Armed Forces of the Philippines over the circumstances surrounding the death of a New People’s Army (NPA) leader in Bukidnon province, calling it an extrajudicial killing in violation of international humanitarian law. In a statement, Brosas pointed out that the body of Kaliska “Kal” Peralta, 33, bore signs of torture and abuse, which were concealed because...

Family homeless after builder abandons extension

A Rochdale family say they cannot return home after a builder abandoned their house part-finished.

Catholic bishops back Senate probe on mining, quarrying

MANILA, Philippines — Caritas Philippines, the social action arm of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), is supporting Sen. Risa Hontiveros’ call for a Senate investigation on the environmental and social impact of mining and quarrying activities nationwide ahead of the observance of Earth Day on April 22. San Carlos Bishop Gerardo Alminaza, vice president of Caritas Philippines, pointed to the critical need to address the...

China told: ‘Peace-loving’ nations won’t take US-PH-Japan meet as threat

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said the recent trilateral summit of the Philippines, Japan, and the United States should not be deemed as a threat “by any peace-loving country.” It explained anew that the goal of the historic three-way talks was to promote peace as it responds to the Philippines’ development needs. “It is the sovereign choice and decision of the Philippines to strengthen our alliance with the...

Meat plant throws away 1.8 tonnes of food

More than 1.8 tonnes of meat was thrown away earlier this month, a government minister confirms.

Most Americans think Trump really has committed crimes

Can Ukraine’s new drone campaign change the battlefield?

Olongapo starts water rationing due to lack of supply

OLONGAPO CITY —The local government has started rationing free water to residents of a village in this city who have been affected by the low water supply. The Olongapo City Information Center said Mayor Rolen Paulino Jr. facilitated the water ration in Barangay New Cabalan on Wednesday, April 17, with the help of the local Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (DRRMO). Paulino said the free water ration would be available every other...

Marcos orders MMDA to give grace period before e-trikes ban

MANILA, Philippines – President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ordered the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) to give e-bikes and e-trikes, as well as tricycles, a grace period before imposing the rule banning them on national roads. “Ngayong araw na ito, iniutos ko sa MMDA at sa lahat ng lokal na pamahaalan sa Metro Manila na bigyan ng palugit ang mga e-bikes, e-trikes at iba pang apektadong sasakyan na dumadaan sa ilang tukoy na daan sa...

Road closures on April 21 in Lapu-Lapu, Cordova, SRP, CCLEX

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Expect major roads in Mactan Island, South Road Properties (SRP), and the Cebu–Cordova Link Expressway (CCLEX) to be closed to traffic as the Ironman 70.3 Lapu-Lapu will unfold on Sunday, April 21, at the Mactan Newtown grounds. The Lapu-Lapu City Traffic Management System (CTMS) and the IronMan 70.3 Lapu-Lapu organizers already issued a traffic advisory for the race on Sunday. READ MORE: Lapu-Lapu City to close roads...

Ex-AFP chief urges Asean members to support PH fight vs China’s aggression

MANILA, Philippines — A former Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief is urging other Southeast Asian countries to support the Philippines in its fight against China’s aggression in the West Philippine Sea (WPS). Former AFP chief Emmanuel Bautista noted that while several of its western allies supported the Philippines, no other Southeast Asian nation has expressed similar sentiments so far. Bautista said that only 21 countries expressed...

Dubai: Floods submerge roads, affect airport after record rains

Dubai’s giant highways were clogged by flooding and its major airport was in chaos as the Middle East financial centre remained gridlocked on Wednesday, a day after the heaviest rains on record. Tailbacks snaked along waterlogged, six-lane expressways after up to 259.5 millimetres (10.2 inches) of rain, the most since records began 75 years ago, fell on the desert United Arab Emirates on Tuesday. READ MORE: ‘Iron Man’ pilots race in jet suits...

Trilateral pushback against China

Stripped of diplomatic verbiage and despite disclaimers to the contrary, there is no question the cooperation agreement entered into recently by the Philippines, the United States, and Japan is directed at China. While it is true that the leaders of the three countries discussed infrastructure and investment plans, e.g., the Luzon Economic Corridor and Open Radio Access Network programs in the Philippines, the principal objective of that...

Survey: Support for Duterte in senatorial race dips

FORMER president Rodrigo Duterte slipped into second place among contenders for the 2025 Senate race in the latest Publicus Asia survey results released on Wednesday. In its Pahayag 2024 First Quarter Survey, conducted from March 14 to 18 among 1,500 respondents, Publicus Asia noted "intriguing shifts in voter predispositions" amid the anticipation and speculation surrounding the 2025 senatorial elections. "Out of 54 names in the list,...

Play tells real-life story of one-punch killing

Killer Jacob Dunne hopes Punch will be a legacy to his victim, James Hodgkinson.

911 emergency lines are DOWN across multiple states

Cities as big as Las Vegas , as well as the entire state of South Dakota and locales in Texas and Nebraska announced the unprecedented outages on Wednesday night.

Drivers seriously injured in two-car crash

Two drivers are in hospital after the crash on the A170 between Pickering and Thornton-le-Dale.

BIZ BUZZ: Retail ‘sukuk’ bond sale?

MANILA, Philippines — For Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Eli Remolona Jr., financial conditions are now ripe for a domestic “sukuk” bond sale. At a press conference on Monday, Remolona said the government could make a killing with a local issuance of sukuk, a form of financing that is compliant with Islamic religious law that prohibits the earning of interest. While he noted that it is the National Treasurer who is in charge of...

Solomons' PM contender vows to abolish China security pact

A leading contender to become the Solomon Islands' next prime minister has vowed to rip up a security pact with China, as the Pacific nation began counting votes Thursday in a pivotal general election. With vote counting already under way, Kenilorea's comments highlight the stakes for Solomon Islands and the South Pacific region.

Heat index at ‘danger’ levels seen to strike 18 areas on April 18

MANILA, Philippines — Heat index at “danger” levels of 42 to 45 degrees Celsius were forecast to hit 18 areas of the country on Thursday, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said. The state weather agency said in an advisory that these areas are: Aborlan, Palawan – 45 degrees Celsius Dagupan City, Pangasinan – 44 degrees Celsius Puerto Princesa City, Palawan – 44 degrees Celsius Catarman,...

BSP unfazed by peso slump to 57:$1

MANILA, Philippines – The recent weakness of the peso is “not large enough” to upset inflation expectations and trigger any policy actions from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), Governor Eli Remolona Jr. said on Wednesday. At a press conference, Remolona said the local currency’s slump was “not a case of a weak peso, [but] a case of a strong dollar” as the greenback regained strength amid heightened tensions in the Middle East and...

Khor Al-Mukalla Waterway sa Yemen, umapaw dahil malakas na pag-ulan

Khor Al-Mukalla Waterway sa Yemen, umapaw dahil malakas na pag-ulan; 20-k indibidwal sa Georgia, nagprotesta vs. “Foreign Influence” bill; Painting ng Austrian Painter na si Gustav Klimt, nakatakdang ipa-auction

3 cities in PH have cleanest air in Southeast Asia

MANILA, Philippines — Three cities in the Philippines ranked among the cleanest in terms of air pollution levels in Southeast Asia, according to a 2023 international report on air quality. The Swiss air-monitoring company IQAir’s 2023 World Air Quality Report provides a global review of air quality, citing PM2.5 air quality data from 7,812 cities spanning 134 countries, regions, and territories for 2023. M2.5 concentration describes the amount...

Women’s bodies being turned into ‘battlegrounds’—UN

GENEVA, Switzerland — Women’s bodies have become political “battlegrounds,” putting at risk 30 years of progress on sexual and reproductive health for women and girls, the United Nations warned on Wednesday. Though maternal mortality rates and unwanted pregnancy rates have been steadily falling, progress is now slowing or even flatlining on key measures, said the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the UN’s sexual and reproductive health...

Tsunami alert after devastating volcanic eruption rocks nation

Indonesian stratovolcano Mount Ruang, in North Sulawesi Province, has erupted spectaularly five times in 24 hours.

Japan 'two-faced' for seeking closer ties while warning of China threat, Chinese state media says

BEIJING (Reuters) - An editorial in a Chinese state-controlled newspaper on Thursday admonished "two-faced" Japan for inaccurately portraying it as a regional security threat while chasing more stable bilateral ties, warning of Chinese measures if Tokyo acted recklessly. In his address to the U.S. Congress last week, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida called China's military actions "an

Malampaya gas deliveries rise as Luzon grid placed on alert status

MANILA, Philippines—The Malampaya offshore field was able to deliver more than its target gas volume to key power plants as the Luzon grid was placed on red and yellow alert status by the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP). Prime Energy Resources Development B.V. (Prime Energy), operator of Service Contract (SC) No. 38 which governs the Malampaya project, said gas supply to customers peaked at 290 million standard cubic feet per...

Explainer: What caused the storm that brought Dubai to a standstill?

DUBAI — A storm hit the United Arab Emirates and Oman this week bringing record rainfall that flooded highways, inundated houses, grid-locked traffic and trapped people in their homes. At least 20 people were reported to have died in the deluge in Oman while another person was said to have died in floods in the UAE that […]

DOTr ink pact with DILG, MMDA to crack down on colorum vehicles

The Department of Transportation (DOTr) has signed a tripartite cooperation agreement with the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) and Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) to intensify the crackdown on colorum vehicles as part of efforts to ease traffic in Metro Manila. In a news release on Thursday, the DOTr said the tripartite agreement was signed by Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista, Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos,...

Ombudsman sacks BFAR chief over P2-B transmitter deal

MANILA, Philippines — The Office of the Ombudsman has dismissed the head of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) after finding him guilty of grave misconduct in connection with the 2018 purchase of a monitoring system for fishing vessels that proved to be disadvantageous to the government. BFAR National Director Demosthenes Escoto was meted the penalty for his role in what state prosecutors described as an “anomalous scheme” in...

Another clarification from DepEd: No need to buy alternate uniform

MANILA, Philippines — Teachers and nonteaching staff do not need to buy collared shirts that they can wear as alternate uniforms for summer, the Department of Education (DepEd) said on Wednesday. Michael Poa, DepEd spokesperson and undersecretary, told reporters that the agency’s April 11 memorandum on optional “comfortable clothing” amid rising temperatures nationwide said that any collared shirt used in the agency’s previous activities could...

CCLEX-Guadalupe ramp: P6B project set to boost Cebu’s economy

CEBU CITY, Philippines – Cebuanos can anticipate a significant impact on Metro Cebu’s economy following a substantial investment increase by a unit of Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. (MPTC) in the construction of the Guadalupe ramp. This ramp will connect the Cebu Cordova Link Expressway (CCLEX) to Barangay Guadalupe. Initially projected at P1 billion last year, CCLEX Corp. (CCLEC) President and General Manager, Engineer Allan Alfon, now estimates...

'Turd that can't be polished': SNP MP's blistering Commons rant about Rwanda bill

'I will vote against it at every opportunity because it is despicable.'

The Russian Orthodox Church declares ‘holy war’ against Ukraine and the West

Senate comment sought on Quiboloy’s petition to block arrest order

BAGUIO CITY, Philippines — The Supreme Court has directed the Senate to comment on the petition for certiorari and temporary restraining order (TRO) being sought by televangelist Apollo Quiboloy in relation to the upper chamber’s inquiry on alleged cases of human trafficking, rape, sexual and child abuse against the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) leader. At a media forum in Baguio City on Wednesday, Supreme Court spokesperson Camille Ting said...

Indonesia evacuating thousands after volcano erupts, causes tsunami threat

Indonesian rescuers raced to evacuate thousands of people Thursday after a volcano erupted five times, forcing authorities to close a nearby airport and issue a warning about falling debris that could cause a tsunami. - Tsunami warning - Authorities also warned of a possible tsunami as a result of the eruptions.

Hopes of rate cuts 'suffer blow' and Dubai deluged

Figures showing persistent UK inflation and Dubai's heaviest rainfall for 75 years lead the papers.

PH on China's 'bloc' allegation: 'Tension of region well known to all'

MANILA, Philippines: It is China's excessive maritime claims and aggressive behavior, including its militarization of the South China Sea (SCS), that raise tensions and undermine peace and stability in the region and not any "exclusive grouping." The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) stressed this in response to China's claim that the trilateral summit involving the Philippines, the United States, and Japan last April 11 "introduced bloc...

AFP checking implications of increasing Chinese students in Cagayan

MANILA, Philippines — The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) is looking into the “national security implications” of the reported surge of Chinese students in Cagayan, its spokesperson Col. Francel Margareth Padilla said on Wednesday. “We are looking at the national security implications to this,” Padilla said in a public briefing. She added: “We are conducting our internal investigation on the veracity of these reports.” Padilla also said...

Natalie Barr demands answers about the threats Australia faces

The Albanese government has been pressed by Sunrise host Natalie Barr for answers.

Russian missile barrage on Ukraine city kills 17

CHERNIGIV, Ukraine — Three Russian missiles crashed into Ukraine’s historic city of Chernigiv on Wednesday, killing 17 people as officials pleaded for more air defense systems from allies. Pools of blood gathered on the street at the scene of one strike, where rescuers searched for survivors in the rubble and carried away the wounded on stretchers, official images showed. As President Volodymyr Zelensky appealed for more help from Western...

China slams U.S. probe into its shipbuilding industry, says move is a 'mistake on top of a mistake'

China on Wednesday said it "firmly opposes" the U.S. investigation into its maritime, logistics and shipbuilding industries.

3 Mindanao towns under state of calamity due to El Niño

KORONADAL CITY, SOCCSKSARGEN, Philippines — Three towns in Mindanao have been placed under a state of calamity due to the impact of the El Niño weather phenomenon in farming-dependent local economies there. The local governments of the towns of Paglat and Datu Piang in Maguindanao del Sur province, and Surallah town in South Cotabato province declared the state of calamity as the prolonged dry spell destroyed farms and disrupted irrigation...