Mexico’s president downplays drug cartel violence

MEXICO CITY — Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador thanked Guatemala on Friday for helping the nearly 600 Mexicans who have crossed into Guatemala to escape drug cartel violence, but also minimized the violence that drove them there. In his first comments since the refugees fled earlier this week, the president went on to add that Mexico is a large country, and like many other parts of the world, “there are conflicts.” “Our (political)...

Marcos: ‘Do everything’ to open classes July 29

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Friday urged schools to reopen as scheduled next week “as much as possible,” even if teachers have to meet their students outside classrooms as a consequence of the recent typhoon, which damaged some school buildings and turned others into emergency shelters. He ordered the Department of Education (DepEd) to “do everything” to start classes on Monday, July 29, for school year 2024-2025. READ: Marcos: Start of...

'No untoward incident' in PH's first resupply mission in Ayungin under new China deal

The Philippines resumed its resupply mission for its small navy contingent in Ayungin Shoal Saturday without "untoward incidents," the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Saturday, a week after it signed a provisional arrangement with China "It was the first RORE mission conducted under the ambit of the understanding reached between the Philippines and the People’s Republic of China on principles and approaches for the conduct of RORE...

PCG: No cargo spill from sunken tanker

The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) on Friday has deployed floating barriers and dispersants to contain the little engine oil from the tanker that sank in the waters off Limay town in Bataan province early Thursday. Rear Adm. Armand Balilo, spokesperson for the the PCG, said there was no leak yet from the 1.4 million liters of industrial fuel that the Philippine-flagged oil tanker “MT Terra Nova” was carrying. He said what the PCG started...

Kim calls for 'people's paradise' on Korean War anniversary

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called for the building of a "people's paradise", as Pyongyang marked the anniversary of the end of the Korean War on Saturday. Kim said on Friday that it was the "sacred mission and duty of our generation" to "reliably defend our ideology and social system" and "build a people's paradise", according to Pyongyang's Korean Central News Agency.

China's foreign minister warns Philippines over US missile deployment

BEIJING (Reuters) -Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has warned the Philippines over the U.S. intermediate-range missile deployment, saying such a move could fuel regional tensions and spark an arms race. The United States deployed its Typhon missile system to the Philippines as part of joint military drills earlier this year. It was not fired during the exercises, a Philippine military official

Arrests made in drive-by shooting investigation

Hertfordshire Police says it is treating previous incidents of targeted violence as connected.

Open exhibition returns for 'biggest year yet'

The "largest open exhibition in the North West" returns with the promise of the "biggest year yet".

Blinken criticises China's 'escalating actions' at sea ahead of Wang meeting

By Simon Lewis VIENTIANE (Reuters) -U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, shortly before meeting his Chinese counterpart on Saturday, urged Southeast Asian countries to help address challenges including Beijing's "escalating and unlawful actions" in the South China Sea. Blinken also called the civil war in Myanmar "heartbreaking" and stressed to foreign ministers of the Association of

We're talking about Secret Service after Trump shooting. Why aren't we talking about guns?

Guns like the one used in the Trump assassination attempt is a favorite for mass shooters. Why haven't we banned it?

Hungary to allow nuclear plant to exceed Danube water temperature limit

BUDAPEST (Reuters) - Hungary is planning to allow the temperature limit for a section of the Danube which receives cooling water from the Paks nuclear power plant to be exceeded for security of supply reasons, the energy ministry said in a statement on Friday. The plant's four reactors operate by using the water of the Danube to cool its operations. Currently, according to the regulation, the

Think La Niña, Marcos tells Filipinos

LUCENA CITY—Despite the troubles brought about by the supertyphoon and enhanced southwest monsoon, President Marcos urged Filipinos and government officials to intensify their preparations for the La Niña phenomenon. “We have to prepare for the next flood. This is the first typhoon within the La Niña phenomenon. There’s a long way to go. So, we have to prepare. Let’s think about preparing,” Mr. Marcos told national and Quezon government...

Fierce battles ahead at JPGT South Pacific

DAVAO, Philippines – A fiercer, more competitive chase for top honors and ranking points across four age categories looms in the ICTSI Junior PGT Mindanao Series when Leg 2 of the regional tour gets underway on Tuesday at the South Pacific Golf and Leisure Estates. Commanding victories defined the kickoff leg of the four-stage series last week, with five of the seven age titles decided by an average winning margin of 17.6 strokes. However, two...

UN says 51 million Filipinos ‘food insecure’

About 51 million Filipinos experienced moderate or severe “food insecurity’’ from 2021 to 2023, making the Philippine situation the worst in Southeast Asia, according to a United Nations study. The UN’s latest report on the State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World showed that the country had the highest number of moderately or severely food-insecure individuals in the region, comprising nearly half of the 115.8 million people facing...

Philippine forces sail to hotly disputed shoal without incident for first time since deal with China

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Philippine government personnel transported food and other supplies Saturday to a fiercely disputed shoal occupied by a Filipino navy contingent but closely guarded by Beijing’s forces in the South China Sea and no confrontations were reported, Philippine officials said. It was the first Philippine government supply trip to the Second Thomas Shoal, which has been the scene of increasingly violent confrontations between...

Officers remain at scene of security alert near Dungiven

Police say the area is likely to be closed for some time and cordons are in place.

Mumbai heavy rains: Three-storey building collapses in Navi Mumbai; 2 rescued, search underway for missing

The incident occurred in Shahad-Belapur Village around 5 am, leading to a large-scale rescue operation involving teams from the Fire Brigade and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF).

Meralco: 73,000 still without power

The Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) said power restoration works continued, with the number of its consumers affected now down to around 73,000, as of 3 p.m. Friday. In a statement, Meralco said the remaining consumers hit by service interruptions were mostly in Metro Manila and Bulacan. Some areas in Rizal, Cavite, Laguna and Batangas were also affected. Of the total affected consumers, more than 57,000 were in flooded areas. READ: 4 Luzon...

DENR: Bataan oil spill might affect Bulacan, Cavite, Pampanga

Environment Secretary Maria Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga on Saturday told President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. that the oil spill caused by the sunken MT Terra Nova in Bataan might affect Bulacan, Cavite, and Pampanga. In a situation briefing on the effects of Super Typhoon Carina and the Enhanced Southwest Monsoon in Malolos, Bulacan, Yulo-Loyzaga showed Marcos a diagram from the Biodiversity Management Bureau identifying coastal and marine resources and...

Forest City: Inside Malaysia’s billionaire real estate complex turned ‘ghost town’

'Damage is not a solution, education is a must'

A week on, the BBC returns to Harehills to see how the area is recovering from a night of disorder.

Officers on poignant ride for fallen colleagues

The 17 riders are wearing bracelets to commemorate their former colleagues who died while on duty.

Scotland's papers: Findlay threat and 'battle' for GB energy

A 'plot' to kill a Tory leadership candidate and cities competing to be the base for GB Energy make the papers.

Paris Olympics launched by historic river parade

A historic boat parade down the River Seine launched the Paris Olympics with spectacular French flair Friday, as the City of Light welcomed the world’s greatest athletes for a sporting extravaganza. Braving torrential rain, some 300,000 people lined the river banks to cheer on the armada carrying competitors past the city’s iconic sights: the Eiffel Tower bearing the five Olympic rings, the Louvre and Notre Dame Cathedral. The wildly ambitious...

Torregosa completes golden treble in final PRISAA Nat’l appearance

TAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol— Artjoy Torregosa, one of Cebu’s premier long-distance runners, concluded her collegiate athletic career on a high note, making her final appearance at the PRISAA Nationals a memorable one. Representing Central Visayas at the 2024 National Private Schools Athletic Association (PRISAA) Games, Torregosa achieved a remarkable feat by securing three gold medals, and a new meet record. Her extraordinary performance earned her...

Families pay tribute to four friends killed in crash

Andrei Tudorov, Lyuben Gogov, Narcis Titianu, and Ioan Toma died when their car hit a tree.

Ayungin arrangement will be honored, Manalo says after meeting China FM

Philippine Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo met Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on the sidelines of the ministerial meeting in Laos and both affirmed that a recently agreed arrangement in resupply missions in Ayungin Shoal will be honored, diplomatic sources told GMA News Online. The Philippines conducted a rotation and reprovisioning mission to the BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal on Saturday and "no untoward incident was reported," a...

30 things that you can't do in some countries

We all know that each nation has its own set of rules and laws, which are crucial to ensure a country's stability. However, certain things we take for granted in our daily lives are banned in some countries. Some of these laws are even considered normal by these countries' citizens, rarely causing problems with their popultations.

‘Sabotage’ on French rail network before Olympics: What we know

Arson attacks scrambled France’s high-speed rail network for tens of thousands of passengers on Friday, after what officials called premeditated acts of “sabotage” just hours before the Paris Olympics opened. Friday’s attacks were launched as the French capital was under heavy security ahead of the Games opening ceremony, with 300,000 spectators and an audience of VIPs expected at the event. READ MORE: Locked-down Paris nervously awaits Olympics...

My family went to help landslide victims and ended up dead

Meselesh Gosaye's home area in Ethiopia was hit by two landslides that buried hundreds under the mud.

Pagasa: LPA spotted east of Mindanao

A low pressure area (LPA) east of Mindanao was detected within the Philippine area of responsibility (PAR) but the chances of it becoming a tropical cyclone remained “low,” the state weather bureau said on Friday. In its 4 p.m. update, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said the LPA, located 900 kilometers east of southern Mindanao, was unlikely to intensify in the next 24 hours. But Pagasa...

Bangladesh authorities detain student protest leaders in hospital

Home minister says three student leaders taken into custody ‘for their own security’ and were being questioned.

School holiday 'boredom' blamed for 999 hoax calls

A police force is urging parents to educate their children about the dangers of making prank calls.

Zoo unveils plans for new African lion habitat

Colchester Zoo hopes the proposed development could pave the way towards a breeding programme.

FSB foils militant attacks in southern Russia, RIA reports

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) said on Saturday it had thwarted a series of planned militant attacks in the southern region of Dagestan, state news agency RIA reported. The planned attacks were allegedly aimed at police forces and an Orthodox Christian church. FSB said it had arrested three Russian citizens in the city of Kaspiysk and identified them as members of an

Divers attempt to reach sunken Philippine oil tanker

Divers will attempt Saturday to inspect the hull of a Philippine tanker carrying 1.4 million litres of industrial fuel oil that sank off Manila as authorities race to avert an ecological catastrophe, the coast guard said. It took months to clean up after a tanker carrying 800,000 litres of industrial fuel oil sank off the central island of Mindoro last year, contaminating waters and beaches of the island and devastating the fishing and tourism...

PNP, AFP recapture Baguio military stockade escapee

National Capital Region Police Office policemen and Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines servicemen recaptured a convict who escaped from the Baguio City military stockade last July 22. Quoting Bureau of Corrections Director General Gregorio Catapang Jr., Sam Nielsen reported Saturday on Super Radyo dzBB that the 30-year-old escaped person deprived of liberty was caught Friday in Makati City's Barangay Pio del Pilar. A...

France travel disruption expected to last for days

Thousands more passengers could face delays or cancellations after an arson attack on France's train network on Friday.

Nigeria courts convict 125 Boko Haram Islamist insurgents in mass trial

By Camillus Eboh ABUJA (Reuters) - Nigerian courts convicted 125 Boko Haram Islamist militants and financiers of a series of terrorism-related offences in a mass trial this week, the attorney-general's office said. A Boko Haram insurgency has killed thousands of people and displaced millions since it began in 2009, creating a humanitarian crisis in northeastern Nigeria and putting pressure on

Israel tells Gazans to temporarily vacate southern Khan Younis areas

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - The Israeli military told Palestinians to temporarily evacuate southern neighborhoods of Gaza's Khan Younis region so it could "forcefully operate" there, telling them to relocate to a humanitarian area in Al-Mawasi, a statement from the military said on Saturday. The fighting, more than nine months since the start of Israel's invasion of Gaza following the Oct. 7 attack,

Manila archdiocese starts calamity fund drive

Metro Manila’s Roman Catholic dioceses have started a donation drive for people affected by the heavy rains and floods brought by Supertyphoon “Carina” and the enhanced southwest monsoon. In a circular issued on Friday, Cardinal Jose Advincula, archbishop of Manila, said there will be a second collection during all masses on Saturday evening and for the whole day of Sunday in parishes, chaplaincies and mission stations of the archdiocese, which...

Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 883

As the war enters its 883rd day, these are the main developments.

DOH sends medical teams to evacuation sites

The Department of Health (DOH) dispatched on Friday medical teams to evacuation centers to ensure proper basic medical services. Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa said he ordered regional DOH offices to ensure the presence of the medical teams and coordinate with local disaster offices about areas that need health personnel. READ: Marcos wants medical teams at all evacuation centers “I have also instructed the emergency purchase of medicines for...

Water sources in BARMM’s flood-hit areas positive for E. coli

COTABATO CITY—Health authorities in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) alerted disaster response front-liners in flooded areas in the region to urge local residents to boil water they use for drinking and preparing food. The advisory followed the release of test results suggesting that water sources in many parts of Maguindanao del Sur and Maguindanao del Norte provinces and in the towns of the Special Geographic Area...

Risa Hontiveros: No letup in Pogo probe amid shutdowns

Despite an order from President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to shut down all Philippine offshore gaming operators (Pogos), a Senate committee that focused national attention on this Chinese-dominated industry will continue its inquiry into the impact of the business on the nation, the panel’s head, Sen. Risa Hontiveros, said on Friday. “It’s not over yet,” Hontiveros said in a statement. Arrest orders Alice Guo, the suspended mayor of Bamban, Tarlac,...

Wellspring apologizes to Puyat family, Abby Binay over 'Gil Tulog' campaign

MANILA, Philippines —The company behind an advertising campaign for a sleep supplement apologized to the family of the late Senate President Gil Puyat and to the Makati City government over a marketing strategy that involved changing the street name of Gil Puyat to "Gil Tulog." Tulog in Filipino means sleep. In a statement on Friday night, Wellspring said offending anybody was never its intention, and the wordplay in the campaign was used solely...

Heavy traffic on roads to Philippine Arena as INC celebrates 110th anniversary

MANILA, Philippines — In line with the 110th anniversary of the religious group Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) at Ciudad de Victoria on Saturday, roads along the Philippine Arena may experience heavy traffic and motorists were urged to take alternate routes. The event, which started at 6 a.m. this Saturday, is ongoing. "Please expect high volume of traffic in the area during this date. Motorists are encouraged to take alternate routes and allow more...

Central Luzon bears brunt of super typhoon Carina

MABALACAT CITY—Despite leaving the Philippine area of responsibility on Thursday, Supertyphoon “Carina” (international name: Gaemi) left 502 villages flooded in Central Luzon region, affecting 1.137 million people while claiming the lives of at least nine people. Carina enhanced the southwest monsoon (“habagat”) as it cut a path of destruction over Luzon, triggering landslides and floods at its peak early this week. Data from the regional police...

'PH-China ties can serve shared goals, regional peace'

MANILA, Philippines — Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Huang Xilian said the restoration of Philippine-China relations could serve the common aspirations of Chinese and Filipino peoples, as well as contribute to regional peace. In his speech during the 97th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) on Friday, Ambassador Huang said: "Let us remember the common aspirations of our two peoples, work together to...

Australia signs $1.4 billion deal to upgrade navy submarines

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia said on Saturday it had signed a A$2.2 billion ($1.4 billion) four-year contract with state-owned submarine builder ASC to upgrade the navy's Collins class submarines. The "sustainment contract" is part of a government pledge to keep the diesel-electric powered Collins-class fleet "a potent strike and deterrence capability", Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy said