Entertainment

Notable People who died in 2024

Fire rips through former care home in Inverness

Six crews were sent to the blaze in the city's Clachnaharry area.

Nearly half of China’s major cities are sinking, researchers say

SINGAPORE — Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released on Friday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found 45% of China’s urban land was […]

Iran and Israel's open warfare after decades of shadow war

(Reuters) -Israel launched a strike on Iranian soil on Friday, sources said, in the latest of the tit-for-tat exchanges between the regional arch foes whose long-running shadow war has broken into the open. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had vowed his country would respond after Iran fired drones and missiles at Israel on April 13. Tehran's action, its first-ever strike on Israel, had

Bato wants whole-of-gov't probe on Chinese influx in Cagayan

Senator Ronald "Bato" dela Rosa called for a whole-of-government investigation into the reported influx of Chinese students in Cagayan province to check for possible "underlying motives." "Kung totoo man 'yan, dapat hindi nagpatulog-tulog 'yung ating mga otoridad. Dapat maimbestigahan 'yan para malaman natin at handa tayo kung anuman ang mayroon man yang mga underlying motives sa kanilang presensya d'yan. Dapat malaman natin," Dela Rosa told...

G7 identified "specific steps" to help Ukraine, Kuleba says

CAPRI, Italy (Reuters) - Foreign ministers from the Group of Seven (G7) major democracies have identified "specific steps" needed to help Ukraine fight Russia, Kyiv's foreign minister said on Friday, warning Europe would be engulfed by war if Russia triumphed. "We identified specific steps which Western partners will make to help Ukraine," Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba told reporters

Iran fires air defence batteries as sound of explosions heard near Isfahan

Iran fired air defence batteries early on Friday morning after reports of explosions near the city of Isfahan, the state-run IRNA news agency reported. It remained unclear if the country was under attack. However, tensions remain high in the broader Middle East after Iran's unprecedented missile-and-drone attack on Israel. One government official suggested sites may have been targeted by drones. US officials declined to comment as of early Friday, but American broadcast networks quoting unnamed US officials said Israel carried out the attack. The New York Times quoted anonymous Israeli officials claiming the assault. The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

At the world's end, Humza will pipe up: 'It's worse in Wales'

If you're wondering what went wrong with the Hate Crime Act, just know that everyone except Humza Yousaf is to blame.

Children among eight dead in Russia strike on Ukraine

Russia strikes two cities in Ukraine's central Dnipropetrovsk region, hitting the station in Dnipro.

P3.4-M suspected shabu seized in Cotabato City

Police seized suspected shabu worth around P3.4 million and arrested four drug suspects in a sting operation on Almonte Street, Poblacion 2, Cotabato City. One of the arrested suspects was identified as alias “Sampulna.” His alleged illegal drug activities covered the adjacent provinces, including the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), Cotabato City, and Davao City. He was detained in 2013 for drug-related offense in...

Eye on China: First batch of BrahMos missiles lands in Philippines from India

India has been looking at further expanding defence ties with the Philippines against the backdrop of growing global concerns over China's increasing military assertiveness in the South China Sea

China embassy: Issue vs Sino students reeks of ‘McCaRthyism’

The Chinese Embassy in Manila has accused Filipino politicians who are linking the influx of Chinese students in Cagayan province to the West Philippine Sea dispute of “inciting suspicion and hatred of China.” Without elaborating, it attributed the presence of the Chinese students in the country to “education exchanges and cooperation” between Manila and Beijing that had been “growing fast” in recent years. READ: Some Chinese students in Cagayan...

Israel 'strikes Iran' as explosions rock hostile state

Israel has conducted airstrikes on a target in Iran, US officials say.

Kenya investigates crash that killed military chief

Gen Francis Ogolla was in the west of the country when his helicopter went down killing 10.

Award for Manx civilians killed in public service

Families of those killed while serving the public are encourage to apply for the Elizabeth Emblem.

20 Chinese ships spotted moving around WPS territories

MANILA, Philippines: China's maritime militia conducted a major rotation in the West Philippine Sea covered by the country's exclusive economic zone (EEZ) on Friday morning. Retired United States Air Force Col. Ray Powell, director of SeaLight, a maritime transparency project that monitors and reports activities in the South China Sea, said at least 20 large Qiong Sansha Yu ships moved south. Powell said based on the automatic identification...

'We were shot at with BB guns' - roadworker

Construction workers in Salisbury report rising levels of abuse.

Marcos urges new PNPA grads: Use technology to fight crimes, serve Filipinos

President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. on Friday urged the 223 new uniformed personnel under the Philippine National Police Academy (PNPA) "Layag-Diwa" Class of 2024 to maximize technology in fighting crimes and serving the Filipino people. "Most of you were born when the internet was no longer in its infancy, and you were shaped to be tech savvy, digital natives. I challenge you to leverage that technology that you are familiar with as aids...

North Korea, Belarus deputy foreign ministers agree to strengthen ties

By Hyunsu Yim SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korean officials met with a visiting Belarusian delegation and vowed deeper cooperation, as Pyongyang criticized the United States for trying to increase "lawless" sanctions pressure. Belarus' Deputy Foreign Minister Evgeny Shestakov and his North Korean counterpart Im Chon Il discussed bilateral cooperation in the sectors of economy and culture as well as

Philippine Coast Guard to send 6 vessels to ‘Balikatan’ drills

The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) will deploy six vessels, composed of four multi-role response vessels and two larger patrol vessels, when it joins this year’s “Balikatan” (shoulder-to-shoulder) exercises with American and other troops in Philippine and international waters starting next week. Rear Adm. Armand Balilo, PCG spokesperson, said on Thursday that the quasi-private agency would participate in “joint interoperability exercises” with the...

The problem with Duterte’s ‘What I remember…’

He should have written it down on a table napkin and shoved it into his pocket or undershirt. But former president Rodrigo Duterte, perhaps awed by China’s lavish reception accorded him, did not. So he does not have a written record of the “gentleman’s agreement” between him and China’s President Xi Jinping as regards the Philippines’ decrepit BRP Sierra Madre, the military outpost in the Philippines’ territorial waters in the West Philippine...

Meet the dangerous new long-range missile Russia is firing at Ukraine

DPWH halts P884 million Borongan seawall project

TACLOBAN CITY — The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has suspended the construction of a seawall at a coastal village in Borongan City in Eastern Samar in the wake of opposition from its residents and mayor. Edgar Tabacon, DPWH director for Eastern Visayas region, said he already directed the contractor to stop the P884-million project that was criticized by Mayor Jose Ivan Dayan Agda and residents of Barangay Lalawigan, a coastal...

Murder arrest after Waltham Forest stabbing

A man in his 30s died at the scene and police are trying to find and notify his family, the Met says.

Marcos among Time’s ‘100 Most Influential’

Citing his quest to “repair” his family’s image, as well as his post pandemic recovery efforts and stance against Chinese aggression in the South China Sea, Time Magazine has named President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. one of the “100 Most Influential People of 2024.” He was the third Philippine leader to make it to the list, after Benigno Aquino III (2013) and Rodrigo Duterte (2017). Aquino’s mother, the late former President Cory Aquino, was honored...

Ukraine 'could lose on battlefield by end of 2024', warns CIA Director

CIA Director William Burns admitted yesterday that without Western support Russian autocrat Vladimir Putin may be 'in a position where he could essentially dictate the terms of a political settlement'

Pakistan attack targets van carrying Japanese autoworkers

Police said three people were wounded in port city of Karachi but bomber and accomplice died.

Death in Malacañang, 1930

It is probably a professional bias, but each time I open the Inquirer online, I scroll to the grayscale page that is a reproduction of page one from the past. Yesterday, the front page story of choice from April 18, 1992 was a report on 14 penitents who were crucified in Kapitangan, Pampanga, an event which draws both the curious and devout each year on Good Friday. Then there was a story on the introduction of the “sablay” at the University of...

Nine women in 18 days. But it's not about us.

This story discusses domestic violence.It's not about you.Women. It's not about you.The man sprinting through a shopping centre dodging men to murder women? Not about you.Okay, so the Police Commissioner says it was a deliberate attack on you. The killer's father says he had a problem with you.But don't dare say it was about you.It was about mental health. Or ... Continued

UK MPs eroding public trust with 'carousel' of misbehavior

LONDON: From watching pornography in parliament to numerous sexual assault allegations, British lawmakers in the current parliament have engaged in a range of bad behaviour that experts say is eroding trust in politics. A MP suspended himself from the Conservative parliamentary party this week over claims he misused campaign funds, becoming the latest in a long list of Tories accused of misconduct recently. The scandals are leading to calls for...

‘Blatant aggression’: Reactions to US veto of Palestine’s UN membership bid

The vote in the 15-member Security Council was 12 in favour and two abstentions – the UK and Switzerland.

World urges ‘de-escalation’ after drones shot down over Iran

Escalation more than six months into Israel’s war on Gaza has raised fears of spiralling violence across region.

Three Filipinos dead in UAE floods: officials

Three workers from the Philippines have died in heavy flooding in the United Arab Emirates, Filipino officials announced, as the desert country struggled on Friday to recover from record rains. Middle East financial centre Dubai was particularly badly hit by the rain fall, the heaviest since records began 75 years ago.

Staff and shoppers return to 'somber' Sydney shopping mall 6 days after mass stabbings

SYDNEY (AP) — Shoppers and workers returned to a “really quiet” Sydney mall Friday, where six days earlier an assailant stabbed six people to death and wounded more than a dozen others in an attack that police believe targeted women. Westfield Bondi Junction mall near world-famous Bondi Beach had opened Thursday, although shops inside were closed, for a “community reflection day.” New South Wales state Premier Chris Minns described it as “the...

Foreign students may be subjected to intel probe —BI

Foreign nationals with student visas may be subjected to government intelligence investigation for activities that “appear to be inimical to the security of the State,” the Bureau of Immigration (BI) said Friday. Citing Executive Order No. 285, s. 2000, BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco on Friday said foreign students may be subjected to checks by the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA) and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI)....

EU Commission President calls on Israel, Iran to refrain from escalation

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called on Iran, Israel, and their allies to refrain from escalation in the Middle East after sources said Israel carried out an attack on Iranian soil on Friday. "It is absolutely necessary that the region remains stable and that all sides restrain from further action," von der Leyen said alongside...

Peter Dutton smiles cheesily with Australia's next Governor-General

Samantha Mostyn was announced as General David Hurley's replacement as the King's representative in Australia when his term ends on July 1.

China says Marcos gov’t broke ‘new’ Ayungin pact

China insisted it had reached an “internal understanding” and a “new model” to deescalate tension at Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal in the West Philippine Sea with the Philippines, but said that the Marcos administration “abandoned” it seven months later. The statement, made by the Chinese Embassy in Manila on Thursday, came a week after Beijing and former President Rodrigo Duterte confirmed they had a “gentleman’s agreement” to keep the “status...

Ukraine claims it shot down a Russian strategic bomber. Moscow says the plane crashed

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine’s air force claimed Friday it shot down a Russian strategic bomber, but Moscow officials said the plane crashed in a sparsely populated area due to a malfunction after a combat mission. Neither claim could be independently verified. Previous Ukrainian claims of shooting down Russian warplanes during their more than two-year war have met with silence or denials from Moscow. Meanwhile, Russian missiles struck cities in...

UK PM Sunak: Not right for me to speculate on reports of attack in Iran

LONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said he would not speculate on reports Israel had carried out an attack on Iranian soil on Friday. "It's a developing situation, it wouldn't be right for me to speculate until the facts become clearer and we're working to confirm the details together with allies," Sunak said. Sunak made the comments following a speech in central London. "

Ukraine has created a new unit dedicated to demining the country

Scotland's papers: Former SNP chief charged by police

Former SNP chief Peter Murrell being charged over embezzlement of party funds dominates Scotland's papers.

Anthony Albanese flags huge changes to HECS debt

On Thursday Mr Albanese promised to make HECS 'simpler and fairer'. The Prime Minister admitted that the average student debt has skyrocketed in the past three years.

Crime commissioners 'now part of the landscape'

The retiring PCC for Hertfordshire insists he's made a difference during his 11 years in office.

After their PM halts Ukraine aid, Slovaks dig deep to help

A crowdfunding campaign to buy artillery shells for Ukraine quickly exceeds its target of €1m (£850m).

IAEA confirms no damage made to Iran's nuclear sites in Israel's attack

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) confirmed on Friday there was no damage to Iran's nuclear sites in an alleged attack by Israel on Iran. The agency continues to monitor the situation very closely and calls for extreme restraint from all sides, stressing that nuclear facilities should never be a target in military conflicts, it said in ...

Zubiri, New Zealand PM discuss agri, security cooperation

Senate President Juan Miguel "Migz" Zubiri on Friday met with New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon to discuss agricultural and security cooperation. Zubiri hosted a luncheon for Luxon who was accompanied by Simon Watts MP, Minister of Climate Change and Revenue, and Paulo Garcia MP, New Zealand’s first Member of Parliament to come from Filipino descent, and a "sizeable delegation from New Zealand's business sector." “We are especially...

Bureau of Immigration, nilinaw na 1,000 lang ang mga Chinese national na binigyan ng student visa sa Cagayan

Bureau of Immigration, nilinaw na 1,000 lang ang mga Chinese national na binigyan ng student visa sa Cagayan

Israel attacks Iran, sources say, drones reported over Isfahan

By Humeyra Pamuk, Phil Stewart and Parisa Hafezi WASHINGTON/DUBAI (Reuters) - Israel has attacked Iran, three people familiar with the matter said, as Iranian state media reported early on Friday that its forces had destroyed drones, days after Iran launched a retaliatory drone strike on Israel. One source told Reuters the U.S. was not involved but was notified by Israel before the attack.

Ukraine says Russian strikes on Dnipropetrovsk region kill at least 8

(Reuters) - A major Russian missile attack on the central Dnipropetrovsk region killed at least eight people, injured 21 and damaged infrastructure facilities, local officials reported on Friday morning. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the attack damaged multiple storeys of a residential building and a train station in the regional capital, Dnipro, as he called for additional air