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Mayor Guo suspension recommended to Ombudsman

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) recommended to the Office of the Ombudsman the issuance of a preventive suspension order against Bamban Mayor Alice Guo after the seven-man task force created to investigate her alleged links to the illegal Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO) in her town found "serious illegal acts which may have severe legal implications." "The DILG does not have the power...

2024-05-18T04:23:48Z

It’s official: Carlos out as chief of Wescom

PUERTO PRINCESA CITY—Vice Adm. Alberto Carlos, who supposedly confirmed that a “new model” arrangement to ease tension between the Philippines and China during the resupply of the troops at Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal, has been removed as chief of the military’s Western Command (Wescom). Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. on Thursday disclosed in a speech to Philippine Navy personnel stationed on Pag-asa Island that Carlos was officially...

2024-05-17T21:46:32Z

Biden Border Patrol officials probed for connections to tequila heir

President Joe Biden 's top Border Patrol officials attended booze-filled parties in the U.S. and Mexico on behalf of a tequila tycoon and international trade broker.

2024-05-17T21:36:36Z

Visayas grid placed on yellow alert — NGCP

MANILA, Philippines — The National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) on Saturday placed the Visayas grid on yellow alert due to a shortage in power supply caused by forced outages of some plants and others running on derated capacities. The grid has an available capacity of 2,681 megawatts (MW) and a peak demand of 2,377 MW. "One plant has been on forced outage since 2022, 2 since 2023, 2 between January and March 2024, and 14 power plants...

2024-05-18T05:39:02Z

Jury finds Honolulu's former top prosecutor and 5 others not guilty in a federal bribery case

HONOLULU (AP) — A jury found Honolulu's former top prosecutor not guilty Friday in a bribery case that alleged employees of an engineering and architectural firm bribed him with campaign donations in exchange for his prosecution of a former company employee. A U.S. grand jury indicted former Honolulu Prosecuting Attorney Keith Kaneshiro and five others in 2022. The indictment alleged that Mitsunaga & Associates employees and an attorney...

2024-05-18T00:52:46Z

Philippines to vigorously defend territory, president says

MANILA (Reuters) -Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said on Saturday the country will "vigorously defend what is ours", in a thinly veiled reference to mounting tensions with China over maritime disputes. The conduct against intruders disrespecting Philippine territorial integrity will be guided by law and the responsibility as a rules-abiding member of the international community, Marcos

2024-05-18T04:25:23Z

PISTON insists unconsolidated jeepneys not 'colorum'

Transportation group PISTON (Pagkakaisa ng mga Samahan ng Tsuper at Opereytor Nationwide) on Saturday maintained that those who failed to consolidate their public utility vehicles (PUV) into cooperatives should not be considered "colorum" and should not be flagged down. "Ang ating mga jeepney ay hindi po colorum sapagkat eto ay may lehitimong mga prangkisa. Ang ano lang dito, expired ang kanilang prangkisa sa kadahilanan na ayaw i-renew ng...

2024-05-18T05:00:27Z

Zubiri hits China bid to detain ‘trespassers’ in disputed waters

MANILA, Philippines — China’s new rule that would supposedly grant its coast guard the power to detain foreigners deemed “illegally crossing” its borders without trial is a violation of international laws, Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri said on Friday. In a radio interview, Zubiri said the South China Sea, including the West Philippine Sea “are freedom of navigation lanes.” “Clear violation of United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea...

2024-05-17T15:24:14Z

House bill creating Manila Bay Council passed on third reading

MANILA, Philippines — The House of Representatives passed on third reading a bill creating an agency to supervise the conservation of waters and fishery resources in Manila Bay. Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez said House Bill 10158, which was passed before the plenary on Wednesday, seeks to establish the Manila Bay Aquatic Resources Management Council that would "manage, control, and supervise all plans, programs, and initiatives to conserve...

2024-05-18T04:08:48Z

‘Overkill’, PCG says of China Coast Guard deployment for ‘Atin Ito’ convoy

MANILA, Philippines — Describing it as “overkill,” the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) on Friday said the deployment of China Coast Guard (CCG) vessels in Scarborough (Panatag) Shoal which was visited by a civilian convoy the other day was the biggest one so far. Commodore Jay Tarriela, PCG spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea, said there were 10 CCG vessels monitored during the entire duration of Atin Ito’s convoy in Panatag Shoal. “They were...

2024-05-17T17:09:33Z

Zubiri to ask telcos: Boost signal in Pag-asa

PAG-ASA ISLAND, Philippines — Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri is planning to talk to telecommunications companies to help boost their networks’ signal here. Zubiri was here on Thursday to lead a simple groundbreaking ceremony for the planned construction of a Philippine Navy barracks and a super rural health unit. As their group’s plane was approaching Pag-asa Island, some of them received a notification message on their mobile phone,...

2024-05-17T16:36:22Z

Queen Maxima to visit Philippines, to push financial inclusion

MANILA, Philippines — Queen Máxima of the Netherlands is scheduled to visit Manila next week in her capacity as United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development (UNSGSA). She is expected to stay from May 21 to 23 and meet with President Marcos and top finance officials. The visit will focus on advancing key foundational building blocks for financial inclusion – including connectivity, digital...

2024-05-17T16:36:25Z

Incoming Taiwan president Lai to pledge steady approach to relationship with China

By Yimou Lee TAIPEI (Reuters) - Taiwan's next president, Lai Ching-te, will pledge to secure stability by maintaining the status quo in the island's relationship with China in his inauguration speech on Monday, an incoming senior security official said. Lai, who succeeds President Tsai Ing-wen after having been her vice president for the past four years, will have to deal with a China that has

2024-05-18T02:35:11Z

Mega Millions winning numbers for May 17 drawing: Jackpot rises to $393 million

Mega Millions players, are you feeling lucky? The winning numbers are in for the May 17 drawing.

2024-05-18T01:02:43Z

Marcos: Better transport, infra mean more tourists

Boasting that “there is no place in the Philippines that is not beautiful,” President Marcos on Friday said he was eyeing a tenfold increase in the number of “balikbayan” tourists visiting the country. At the inauguration of a tourist rest area on the pristine beach at Barangay Saud in Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte, the President said the government would continue improving travel, transportation and tourist infrastructure to turn the country into...

2024-05-17T21:16:28Z

Israeli strike kills Palestinian militant, wounds eight people in West Bank

By Ali Sawafta RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) -A Palestinian militant was killed and eight other people wounded on Friday in an Israeli air strike on the Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian health ministry and Israeli military said. The armed wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) group named the killed man as member Islam Khamayseh. The Palestinian health ministry

2024-05-18T00:44:50Z

As Japan's yakuza weakens, police focus shifts to unorganized crime hired via social media

TOKYO (AP) — A senior member of yakuza was arrested for allegedly stealing Pokemon cards near Tokyo in April, a case seen as an example of Japanese organized crime groups struggling with declining membership. Police agents who were busy dealing with thousands of yakuza members just a few years ago have noticed something new: unorganized and loosely connected groups they believe are behind a series of crimes once dominated by yakuza. Police call...

2024-05-18T01:03:00Z

The Slovak assassination attempt photo that nearly got away

(Reuters) - It's every amateur photographer's nightmare: you spy a once-in-a-lifetime picture, and you forget to change your camera settings. But it can happen to a seasoned professional, too. Reuters stringer Radovan Stoklasa was one of the few people left in a makeshift press centre in the Slovakian town of Handlova about 40 minutes after Prime Minister Robert Fico had briefed reporters on a

2024-05-17T22:08:46Z

PH buying 5 patrol boats from Japan for Coast Guard

The government has agreed to buy five coast guard patrol ships from Japan, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said on Friday, as the country faces increasing Chinese aggression in the West Philippine Sea. Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo and Japanese Ambassador to the Philippines Endo Kazuya on Friday signed a P23.85-billion ($413.3 million) loan package under Japan’s Official Development Assistance (ODA), for the purchase of the boats as...

2024-05-17T21:40:20Z

Life is hard? ‘Haka-haka lang iyan,’ anti-poverty czar Gadon says

MANILA, Philippines — Presidential anti-poverty czar and disbarred lawyer Larry Gadon on Friday said that those who think life is hard are merely imagining things. “Sa totoo lang, iyong mga nagsasabi ng napakahirap ng buhay ay sila lang ang nagsasabi niyan, haka-haka lang nila iyan,” Gadon said at the Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon public briefing. (To be honest, those who say that life is very difficult are the only ones saying that; it is just in...

2024-05-17T11:44:53Z

Anger, anxiety, acrimony: Slovaks weigh what led to Fico shooting

(Corrects garbled word 'that' in paragraph 1) By Boldizsar Gyori, Kuba Stezycki and Jan Lopatka HANDLOVA, Slovakia/BRATISLAVA (Reuters) -Slovak opposition party leader Michal Simecka, who described an assassination attempt on Prime Minister Robert Fico this week as an attack on democracy, said on Friday that he, his wife and child had received death threats. His experience is not uncommon, a

2024-05-18T03:30:16Z

Sinister declassified CIA operations

The Central Intelligence Agency, better known simply as the CIA, has inspired fear, suspicion, and curiosity ever since its official formation in 1947. Before it was called the CIA, it was known as the Office of Strategic Services, and was responsible for some of the most covert operations during and after World War II. As the CIA, the organization has become notorious for an apparent disregard of federal and international law, and is suspected to handle some projects that even the president of the United States is unaware of. From toppling governments and staging false flag operations, to introducing one of the world's most addictive drugs to the US, the covert operations of the CIA that have come to light are, if nothing else, fascinating to read about. Intrigued? Read on to learn more about some of the CIA's declassified deeds.

2024-01-21T17:10:43Z

Migrants slam 'hotel king' who raked in £3.5m PER DAY for housing them

A lucrative contract to accommodate new arrivals has catapulted Graham King - dubbed 'the migrant hotel king' - into the Sunday Times Rich List with an estimated fortune of £750million .

2024-05-17T19:50:55Z

DOH: 12,000 killed on roads each year

An average of 12,000 Filipinos are killed every year in mishaps on the road, like car crashes and pedestrians getting hit by speeding vehicles. In an interview on Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon, Albert Domingo, assistant secretary and spokesperson for the Department of Health (DOH), lamented that fatalities in road accidents went up by 39 percent in 10 years from 2011 to 2021. “Road traffic deaths in 2011 were 7,938. This went up to 11,096 in 2021. Of...

2024-05-17T22:01:35Z

NYPD arrest suspect in assault on Steve Buscemi

Buscemi was punched in an apparent random attack last week in Manhattan's Lower East Side.

2024-05-17T22:03:00Z

David Miliband 'wants to be British ambassador to the United States'

Many in Westminster think David Miliband could do a David Cameron and become Sir Keir's foreign secretary in the Lords. But his ambitions are said to lie stateside.

2024-05-18T00:36:48Z

Ex-Aurora officials cite SC ruling vs Ombudsman

Former Aurora province officials Gerardo Noveras and and his son Christian Noveras continued to assail the Ombudsman’s recent ruling against them despite a Supreme Court ruling on the need for “substantial evidence.” The father and son cited the 2018 Supreme Court decision on the case of Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group vs Police Supt. Ermilando Villafuerte. The ruling stated that “conspiracy as a means of...

2024-05-17T22:01:34Z

Marcos, Sotto parties to forge alliance for 'genuine unity'

MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s Partido Federal ng Pilipinas (PFP) will forge an alliance with the Nationalist People's Coalition (NPC), led by former Senate president and party chairman Vicente Sotto III today, Saturday. Sotto said the NPC would ally with PFP in the run-up to the 2025 midterm elections. Sotto said the partnership was grounded on the two parties' desire for genuine unity, strength, and continued positive...

2024-05-18T02:53:31Z

PH to get $10-M ‘green climate’ grant

MANILA — The Philippines is set to bag a $10-million grant from the Green Climate Fund (GCF) to support the government’s capacity to address climate hazards, the Department of Finance (DOF) said. The GCF is an international fund under the global climate treaty, the Paris Agreement under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The fund was created to support low-emission development and climate resilience projects in developing...

2024-05-17T18:35:33Z

DA regains control of crop insurance agency

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Agriculture (DA) has regained control of state-run Philippine Crop Insurance Corp. (PCIC), boosting its capacity to assist farmers and fisherfolk in case of natural calamities and diseases. President Marcos signed Executive Order No. 60, which transferred the supervision and control of PCIC back to the DA nearly three years after becoming an attached agency of the Department of Finance (DOF). “The PCIC is...

2024-05-17T18:35:34Z

College Tensions Reignite With Arrests at Penn, Chicago Campuses

Police removed protesters who were attempting to occupy buildings at the University of Pennsylvania and University of Chicago Friday night, as tensions over the Israel-Hamas War once again flared up across college campuses.

2024-05-18T04:10:45Z

Fierce fighting in northern Gaza as aid starts to roll off US-built pier

By Nidal al-Mughrabi CAIRO (Reuters) -Israeli forces battled Hamas fighters in the narrow alleyways of Jabalia in northern Gaza on Friday in some of the fiercest engagements since they returned to the area a week ago, while in the south militants attacked tanks massing around Rafah. Residents said Israeli armour had thrust as far as the market at the heart of Jabalia, the largest of Gaza's eight

2024-05-18T00:49:36Z

DND chief, 3 senators visit remote village in West PH Sea

PAG-ASA ISLAND—Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. accompanied three senators to this small island outpost to take stock of the situation in and around the West Philippine Sea (WPS). Teodoro, Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri, Senate Majority Leader Joel Villanueva, Sen. JV Ejercito were onboard a private plane that flew them here on Thursday when they received radio challenges from Chinese naval forces. “It’s so sad that while we are...

2024-05-17T21:55:22Z

Australians stranded in New Caledonia 'running out of food' amid civil unrest

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australians stranded in New Caledonia are rationing food as they wait for a way out of the troubled Pacific island territory, after riots that killed four people, a traveller from Sydney said on Saturday. "The kids are definitely hungry because we don't really have much option of what we can feed them," Joanne Elias said from a resort in the capital Noumea, where her family has

2024-05-18T03:24:43Z

A man investigated in the deaths of women in northwest Oregon has been indicted in 3 killings

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A man who has been under investigation in the deaths of four women whose bodies were found scattered across northwest Oregon last year has been indicted in two of those killings — as well as in the death of a woman whose body was found in Washington state. A grand jury indicted Jesse Lee Calhoun, 39, on second-degree murder charges in the deaths of Charity Lynn Perry, 24; Bridget Leanne Webster, 31; and Joanna Speaks, 32,...

2024-05-18T01:13:09Z

Rights groups slam conviction of activist tied to NPA

LUCENA CITY—Human rights advocates denounced the conviction of a children and women’s rights activist of the alleged crime of rebellion, saying that the court ruling contradicted a recent landmark decision by the Supreme Court against Red-tagging. In a statement on Friday, the Salinlahi Alliance for Children’s Concerns assailed the decision on Thursday by the Regional Trial Court Branch No. 266 in Taguig City, saying that its ruling against...

2024-05-17T21:46:33Z

Lotto Draw Results, May 17, 2024 | Ultra Lotto 6/58, Mega Lotto 6/45, 4D, 3D, 2D

Here are the winning lotto combinations of the lotto draw results for the 9 p.m. draw on Friday, May 17.

2024-05-18T04:31:07Z

Ang See: Tougher visa rules for Chinese not right solution

Tightening visa rules for Chinese tourists will not stop the influx of undesirable visitors if immigration officers can be bribed anyway, civic leader Teresita Ang See said on Thursday. “We already have a proper visa application process in place in our consular and embassy office abroad. That system ain’t broke,” said Ang See, a longtime anticrime crusader from the Filipino-Chinese community. “Instead, the problem lies with our bureaucrats here...

2024-05-17T21:40:21Z

‘End of an era’: Ayala exits Manila Water

MANILA, Philippines — After a 27-year investment in a highly regulated utility, the Ayala conglomerate is unloading its remaining economic interest in Manila Water Co. (MWC) to tycoon Enrique Razon Jr.-led Trident Water Company Holdings Inc. for P14.5 billion. Building up group-wide cash reserves, Ayala Corp. and subsidiary Michigan Holdings Inc. are collectively selling their nearly 578 million common shares for P22.36 each. The price shows a...

2024-05-17T18:35:33Z

Argentine president begins unusual visit to Spain, snubbing officials and courting the far-right

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Even before kicking off a three-day visit to Madrid on Friday, Argentina's libertarian President Javier Milei stirred controversy, accusing the socialist government of bringing “poverty and death” to Spain and weighing in on corruption allegations against the prime minister's wife. In such circumstances, a typical visiting head of state may strive to mend fences with diplomacy. Not Milei. The brash economist has no...

2024-05-18T00:42:54Z

Alcohol abuse 'costs £27bn' and 'King's fighting spirit'

The public cost of alcohol abuse and the King's plans to travel for D-Day tributes lead the papers.

2024-05-18T00:49:04Z

Gunmen kill three Spanish tourists in Afghanistan's central Bamyan province

By Mohammad Yunus Yawar, Charlotte Greenfield and Ana Cantero KABUL/MADRID/DELHI (Reuters) -Three Spanish tourists were killed and at least one Spaniard was injured in an attack by gunmen in Afghanistan's central Bamyan province, Spain's foreign ministry said on Friday. Earlier on Friday, Taliban interior ministry spokesman Abdul Mateen Qaniee had said that three foreign tourists and one Afghan

2024-05-18T03:30:12Z

Has India’s Muslim population really exploded?

A new government report claims that India’s Muslim population share has grown 43 percent since 1950. What’s the truth?

2024-05-18T03:28:21Z

British Army sinks the Americans in bridge-building war game triumph

Faced with the daunting task of crossing an 156-metre stretch across the Drawa River in the west of Poland, the British troops created a makeshift ferry crossing in just 18 minutes.

2024-05-18T01:06:50Z

Increase in rabies deaths moves E. Samar to declare state of calamity

TACLOBAN CITY—The provincial government of Eastern Samar has placed the province under a state of calamity in a bid to contain the number of deaths caused by rabies, a viral disease transmitted to humans by infected animals, usually dogs and mainly through bites. Gov. Ben Evardone said the declaration approved by the provincial board was prompted by the recommendation of the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office on May 6. From...

2024-05-17T21:16:29Z

How this man's killer got 79 blades delivered to his door

Omar Khan's murderer was able to buy dozens of blades from an online store. What went wrong?

2024-05-18T05:19:34Z

MMDA advisory: Some Metro Manila roads to undergo reblocking, repairs

MANILA, Philippines — Some roads in Metro Manila will be closed from Friday evening until next week due to reblocking and repair works, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) said. The works will be carried out by the Department of Public Works and Highways in the following areas starting at 11 p.m. on May 17 to 5 a.m. on May 20: Caloocan City Regalado Avenue (northbound), going to North Caloocan Regalado Avenue (northbound), Outer...

2024-05-17T14:00:13Z

Qatari firm Baladna eyes dairy business in PH

MANILA, Philippines — Qatari agricultural firm Baladna is mulling over investing in a large-scale, fully integrated dairy facility in the Philippines, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said on Friday. Established in 2014, Baladna is Qatar’s largest dairy and beverage producer, supplying over 95 percent of the country’s fresh milk. The DTI said that Trade Secretary Alfredo Pascual had an engagement in Doha with company officials...

2024-05-17T18:20:26Z

Why is this small town mayor accused of being a Chinese spy?

The Philippines investigates a mayor as it faces increasing sea tensions with China.

2024-05-18T00:33:33Z

Canadian teen says he was fined $580 at McDonald's drive-thru for using app; police dispute

Mason Prima said he was fined $580 for opening the McDonald's app at a drive-thru in Saskatoon, Canada but police have rejected his story.

2024-05-18T00:29:11Z