World

Ukrainian forces pull back from part of strategic eastern town

By Anastasiia Malenko KYIV (Reuters) - Ukraine's military said on Thursday its troops had pulled back from part of Chasiv Yar in the eastern Donetsk region, a day after Russia said its forces had taken control of a district in the strategic town. Chasiv Yar stands on high ground. If Russian forces establish full control over the town, they could potentially use it as a staging post to advance

China committed to peaceful development, defensive policy, says Chinese foreign ministry

BEIJING— China is committed to peaceful development and a defensive policy, and does not pose a threat, a spokesperson for the Chinese foreign ministry said on Thursday. A prominent Philippine senator said on social media that she has knowledge of a Chinese plan to target her country with hypersonic missiles, though the national security council said it was […]

Find out who Vladimir Putin really is

As the world reacts in horror and disbelief to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the man who ordered the military attack, President Vladimir Putin, is being widely condemned for what's been described as a dangerous and unprovoked act of aggression. But who is this man from Leningrad who grew up to become one of the most powerful men in recent history? Click through and find out more about Vladimir Putin's life and career.

Michelle Troconis, convicted for helping her boyfriend murder his wife, claims to be a ‘scapegoat’

Marcos wants faster e-visa transaction for Indians

MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ordered a study on how the government can establish faster e-visa transactions for Indians. The Presidential Communications Office (PCO) on Thursday said Marcos made the directive during the 6th meeting with the Private Sector Advisory Council (PSAC) Tourism Sector Group in Malacañang on Wednesday. The president noted in the meeting that faster e-visa processing for Indians would help boost...

Zamboanga City gov’t suspends firecracker distributor permit after blast

ZAMBOANGA CITY — Mayor John Dalipe suspended the business permit of Jonathan “Jojie” Chua, operator of the Next Step Fireworks Shoppe, whose stockpile of fireworks exploded on Saturday, killing five people and hurting 38 others. Chua had secured a sole proprietorship in selling, dealing, and distributing all types of pyrotechnics in this city. He also owned the old firecracker shop at Veterans Street here that caught fire and left two people...

6 arrested in separate anti-gambling ops in Angeles City

Authorities nabbed six individuals in separate anti-gambling operations in Angeles City, Pampanga, the Angeles City Police Office reported Thursday. Two of the suspects were arrested in Barangay Sto. Rosario, Angeles City on early Thursday morning. The police also seized two P1 coins used as toss coins and the bet money amounting to P1,072 in different denominations. In another operation on Wednesday evening, the police arrested four suspects in...

Girl killed in school bus crash 'was wearing seatbelt'

Jessica Baker, 15 was killed along with the driver of the bus when it crashed on the M53 last year.

Ex-cop among 7 persons of interest in missing beauty pageant bet, Israeli BF case

A former police officer is among the seven persons of interest in the disappearance of a beauty pageant contestant and her Israeli boyfriend in Central Luzon, the Philippine National Police's (PNP) Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) said on Thursday. Interviewed on Super Radyo dzBB, CIDG chief Police Major General Leo Francisco said authorities have yet to communicate with all of the persons of interest. "Pito ang POIs natin...

Ukraine might have just destroyed a very expensive air defense system

Cebu City Council: 2 councilors reject posts; majority seats filled

CEBU CITY, Philippines – Two minority councilors declined their newly nominated committee posts, while majority members filled their respective seats during the reorganizational session of the Cebu City Council. City Councilors Mary Ann Delos Santos and Jose Lorenzo Abellanosa rejected their committee nominations on July 3. The session saw members to various committees, with some positions remaining unchanged and new chairpersons appointed...

Arrest after man stabbed in altercation

A man, 45, has been taken to hospital with serious but not life-threatening injuries, police say.

Man, 34, appears in court charged with murder of girl, 17, in shooting

Tanesha Melbourne-Blake (pictured) was socialising with friends when she was gunned down from a Vauxhall Meriva people carrier in Tottenham, north London.

Woman admits murdering her parents

Virginia McCullough pleads guilty to killing her mum and dad, whose bodies were found at her home.

Binay, Cayetano trade barbs at Senate hearing

MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Nancy Binay walked out of the Senate inquiry on the construction of the new Senate building in Taguig City after trading barbs with Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano on Wednesday. Cayetano, Senate committee on accounts chair, launched an inquiry after Senate President Francis Escudero decided to suspend the project, citing the surge in the building’s price tag from P8.9 billion to P23.3 billion. Binay, who as former chair of...

Exclusive-Firms weigh removing Taiwan staff from China after death penalty threat

By Laurie Chen BEIJING (Reuters) - Some foreign companies are considering moving Taiwanese employees out of China after Beijing said it could impose the death penalty on "diehard" Taiwan independence separatists, said four people familiar with the matter. The new guidelines have caused some Taiwanese expatriates and foreign multinationals operating in China to scramble to assess their legal

DA: ‘Large-scale’ trial of P29/kilo rice for vulnerable sectors to launch July 5

The Department of Agriculture (DA) is set to launch a mass trial of the P29 per kilo rice program on July 5 at 10 locations in Metro Manila and Bulacan and is aimed at providing affordable rice to vulnerable sectors. At a press conference in Quezon City on Thursday, DA Assistant Secretary Genevieve Guevarra announced that the “large-scale” trial of selling aging National Food Authority (NFA) buffer rice stock will be done simultaneously in 10...

Hezbollah launches big attack on Israel, sonic booms rattle Beirut

By Laila Bassam and Maayan Lubell BEIRUT/JERUSALEM (Reuters) -Lebanon's Hezbollah launched a big rocket and drone attack at Israel on Thursday and threatened to hit new targets in retaliation for the killing of a top commander, in the latest surge of violence in the steadily worsening conflict across the border. Sparked by the Gaza war, the conflict between Iran-backed Hezbollah and Israel has

Guernsey school 'welcoming and inclusive' says Ofsted

Inspectors said Vauvert school was rated as "good" with a "broad and balanced" curriculum.

Vietnamese nabbed for making scene at Naia

MANILA, Philippines — Authorities arrested a Vietnamese woman at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) on Monday for unruly behavior. In a statement on Wednesday, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) identified the woman as Ban Thi Van, a 19-year-old Vietnamese who initially presented herself for immigration clearance to board a Cebu Pacific Air flight to Hanoi. Upon inspection, however, the BI said Ban “aggressively snatched” her passport...

Education reform group urges DepEd to focus on marginalized learners

MANILA, Philippines — A network of civil society organizations has called on newly appointed Education Secretary Sen. Sonny Angara to prioritize the marginalized and out-of-school learners to ensure all Filipinos have fair access to education. In a statement on Wednesday, the Civil Society Network for Education Reforms, or E-Net Philippines, said that this can be done by strengthening distance learning initiatives and building community learning...

Six arrested in connection with stampede in north India, police say

By Sakshi Dayal NEW DELHI (Reuters) -Indian police said on Thursday they had arrested six people over a stampede at a Hindu religious event in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh this week in which 121 people were killed. The incident occurred on Tuesday in the village of Phulrai Mughal Garhi in Hathras district where about 250,000 people had gathered to listen to preacher Suraj Pal Singh, also

House in final stages of preparations for Sona, says Velasco

MANILA, Philippines — The House of Representatives is in the final stages of its preparations for President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s third State of the Nation Address (Sona), House Secretary General Reginald Velasco said on Wednesday. In a statement, Velasco said the House is ready to host the Sona, with the Batasang Pambansa renovations nearly complete. “We are ready to adjust to accommodate our partners from the Office of the President (OP) and...

Imee Marcos Uncovers Alleged Chinese 'Hypersonic Missiles' Plan

The senator caused quite a stir on social media as she claimed that there was a Chinese plan in place to target the Philippines using hypersonic missiles.

China hypersonic missile attack: 25 areas in PH possible targets

MANILA, Philippines — Twenty-five areas in the country could be possible targets of possible hypersonic missile attack. That is according to Senator Imee Marcos as she warned about this due to the increase in Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (Edca) sites and the brewing tensions in the West Philippine Sea. READ MORE: Chinese Coast Guard: Philippines to blame for ship collision at WPS China monster ship leaves El Nido, passes Scarborough...

Man who flew €8.4m of cocaine to Ireland jailed for 11 years

A man who flew €8.4m worth of cocaine from France into Ireland has been jailed for 11 years.

Malaysia rescues hundreds of tortoises from ‘Ninja Turtle Gang’

KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysian authorities have rescued hundreds of smuggled tortoises meant for sale in Southeast Asia, disrupting an international crime ring called the “Ninja Turtle Gang”, a wildlife official said Thursday. Abdul Kadir Abu Hashim, wildlife and national parks department director-general, said 400 tortoises worth 3.8 million ringgit ($805,084) bound for the lucrative exotic pet trade were seized during an operation by the police and...

Trudeau says he will stay on as Prime Minister after major election loss

Binay mulls filing ethics complaint vs Cayetano

MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Nancy Binay on Thursday said she was thinking about filing a complaint against Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano at the chamber’s ethics committee over his behavior during the inquiry into the new Senate building. Cayetano, who heads the Senate panel on accounts, accused Binay of disrupting Wednesday’s hearing on the allegedly ballooning cost of the new Senate building. The two senators traded barbs over the supposed cost of...

Fingerprints of Guo’s brother also find a match

MANILA, Philippines — The fingerprints of a Chinese boy who arrived in the country in 1999 have matched those of the younger brother of suspended Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo, Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian disclosed on Wednesday. According to Gatchalian, the results of the National Bureau of Investigation’s fingerprint analysis showed that Guo Xiang Dian was the same person as Wesley Leal Guo, one of Guo’s three siblings. READ: NBI findings prove...

Belarus frees 10 political prisoners but 1,400 remain, rights group says

By Mark Trevelyan (Reuters) - Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko has freed at least 10 political prisoners, rights campaigners said on Thursday, including a veteran opposition figure suffering from cancer. But the rare pardon still leaves some 1,400 people behind bars for political activity, most of them arrested after peaceful mass protests in 2020 and convicted on a range of charges

Is humanity ready? Unmasking the horrors of chemical warfare

The use of gas in warfare can be traced back to Antiquity. Though crude in their make up, these ancient chemical weapons proved very effective and provided new and deadly ways in which to dispatch an enemy. The widescale development of chemical weaponry began in earnest during the early years of the 20th century. In 1915, the first full-scale use of gas in war took place on the battlefields at Ypres in Belgium. By the Armistice, all sides involved in the First World War had used chemical weapons. The Chemical Weapons Convention of 1997 prohibits the large-scale use, development, production, stockpiling, and transfer of chemical weapons. And yet as recently as 2013 in Syria, chemical weapons have been deployed to devastating effect. Click through and follow this timeline of the development and use of chemical weapons.

Aussie dad learns his fate after he was caught with meth in Bali

Troy Andrew Smith, 49, appeared in Denpasar District Court on Thursday, where a panel of judges sentenced him.

Man targeted in Qatar Grindr 'sting' lodges appeal

Manuel Guerrero Aviña says he was convicted of drug offences "because I am gay".

Moscow is bombing and looting its own cities in Russia

According to the Washington Post, relying on internal Ukrainian intelligence documents, Russia has accidentally dropped unguided bombs on its own territory. The independent Russian medium Astra estimates that Russia has inadvertently dropped more than 100 bombs on its own territory and in occupied territories in eastern Ukraine over the past four months, this at a time when the use of slide bombs has increased sharply. Military expert Ruslan...

Army spox: US missile system to be removed from PH by Sept | INQToday

WATCH: The powerful US midrange missile system, which saw action in recent large-scale military exercises between Filipino and American troops, remains in the Philippines but will be "shipped out of the country" this September, according to a Philippine military official.

Marcos hopes improved Tacloban airport ready by 2026

President Ferdinand ''Bongbong'' Marcos Jr. on Thursday expressed hope that an improved Tacloban Airport could be ready in the next two years. Marcos made the remark during the distribution of the presidential assistance to farmers and fisherfolk in Palo, Leyte. ''Isa na nga po rito ang ating patuloy na pagsasaayos sa Tacloban Airport na nagkakahalaga ng higit dalawa at kalahating bilyong piso. Noong dinaanan namin, noong nag-landing kami sa ---...

Iranian-born Norwegian man gets 30 years for Oslo Pride shootings

Zaniar Matapour convicted on ‘terrorism’ and murder charges after attack that killed two people and wounded nine.

Canada names first woman to lead military

OTTAWA — Canada’s prime minister announced Wednesday the appointment of Lieutenant-General Jennie Carignan as the first woman to lead the G7 and NATO member nation’s military. A highly decorated soldier and mother of four children, two of whom serve in the Canadian Armed Forces, Carignan will be promoted to the rank of general and take over from retiring General Wayne Eyre as chief of the Defense Staff at a ceremony on July 18. “I am confident...

Putin offers Kim Jong-un a poisoned gift

Two weeks ago, the Russian president visited North Korea. And he did not visit Kim Jong-un empty-handed. Vladimir Putin handed his North Korean counterpart a luxurious limousine: according to Reuters news agency, it was an Aurus Senat by Sollers, a "Russian Rolls Royce." The price of an entry-level Sollers model is around 500,000 euros. Imagine the two state leaders at the wheel of an imposing limousine, both with twinkling eyes. It was a...

West Philippine Sea: Navy's June 17 encounter with CCG incurs P60M damage | INQToday

WATCH: The damage resulting from China Coast Guard's violent encounter with personnel of the Philippine Navy on a resupply mission in the West Philippine Sea on June 17 amounts to P60 million.

Daughter, 36, admits poisoning father and stabbing mother to death

Virginia McCullough, 36, killed John, 74, and Lois, 75, (pictured together) at their home in Chelmsford, Essex, between June 17 and June 20, 2019.

Mystery of man who vanished nearly 22 years ago takes dramatic twist

Cold case murder detectives have made an arrest in the unsolved mystery surrounding the disappearance of a Scottish in Northumbria man more than two decades ago.

Burned body of Baguio City student found in La Union

Authorities recovered the burned body of a Baguio City student in a vacant lot in Bacnotan, La Union. According to the Thursday report on 24 Oras of GMA Regional TV One North Central Luzon's Jasmin Gabriel Galban, the 21-year old student from Pozorrubio, Pangasinan told his parents he would return to Baguio City on July 1, Sunday. His scorched remains, however, were found in Barangay Quirino on July 2 after a truck driver reported it to...

Moment predator teacher Rebecca Joynes arrested after sex with students

CCTV was also shown of Rebecca Joynes purchasing one of her students a £350 Gucci belt before going back to her flat in Salford Quays, where they had sex twice.

Arrests after reports of human trafficking

The arrests come after warrants were conducted at a number of addresses in Dorset, police say.

BI nabs Chinese, American fugitives in Metro Manila

The Bureau of Immigration on Thursday said it arrested two fugitive foreigners in separate operations in southern Metro Manila. According to a statement by the BI on Thursday, 32-year old Deng Hongfu, who is wanted for economic crimes in China, was arrested in Barangay Tambo, Parañaque City. Hongfu has a warrant from Chibi City in China after he allegedly ran an illegal business by selling stocks without proper permits since 2018. He has been...

Galvez bats for the creation of ‘Department of Peace’

MANILA, Philippines — A ‘Department of Peace’ should be created to carry on the gains made after the forging of peace deals with rebel groups, according to Presidential Peace Adviser Carlito Galvez Jr. Galvez, chief of the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity (OPAPRU), said this proposed department will replace the agency he currently heads. “We saw the best practices of other countries. They really have...

Journalists find feared and devilish hitwoman thanks to selfies

In September 2019, American Aimee Betro tried to shoot store owner Sikander Ali to death in Acocks Green, a suburb of the British city of Birmingham. She had her face hidden behind a hidjab and pointed her firearm at Skiander Ali and pulled the trigger. But the gun jammed. The following night, three more bullets were fired at his residence. Two days after the attempted assassination, Aimee Betro traveled back to the US. Since then, police had...

AFP demands P60M in damages from China for June 17 Ayungin incident

The Armed Forces of the Philippines is demanding P60 million in damages from China after its coast guard destroyed some equipment of Filipino Navy personnel during a resupply mission in Ayungin Shoal last June 17. “Sinira nila ;yung ating mga kagamitan (They destroyed our equipment) and when we estimated the cost of the damage, it's P60 million,” AFP chief General Romeo Brawner Jr. said in a press briefing after a command conference with...