2 Chinese nationals nabbed inside home of alleged former gov't official

Two Chinese nationals believed to be linked to a Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) in Porac, Pampanga, were arrested in Tuba, Benguet. The Chinese nationals were nabbed during a raid by the Bureau of Immigration (BI) and the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC), according to Tuesday Niu's report on Super Radyo dzBB on Saturday. One of them had a working visa and was allegedly hiding an illegal alien, according to BI...

MRT-3 on heightened alert from July 27-Aug. 3 for 'Balik Eskwela'

The Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT-3) will be placed on heightened alert from July 27 to August 3 to ensure the safety of students as they head back to school. According to an advisory on Saturday, security and station personnel are on standby to assist students and other incoming passengers throughout the period. The MRT shall maintain its regular operating hours from 4:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. on trains departing from North Avenue, and 5:05 a.m....

Major Blow to Russia: Ukraine successfully disables vital equipment

Poverty rate in Eastern Visayas slightly drops – PSA data

TACLOBAN CITY — Poverty incidence in Eastern Visayas – one of the poorest in the country – has declined in the first quarter of this year. Based on the data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), the poverty rate in the region from January to March 2024 reached 26.19 percent – which means 26 out of 100 families were classified as poor. The figure, however, was an improvement from the 28.9 percent in January to March 2023. According to...

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...

Mega Millions winning numbers for July 26 drawing: Jackpot rises to $331 million

Mega Millions players, are you feeling lucky? The winning numbers are in for the July 26 drawing.

How El Chapo's son helped U.S. arrest fabled narco chief "El Mayo"

By Drazen Jorgic (Reuters) - As a propeller plane on Thursday whirred towards the U.S.-Mexico border to cross illegally, U.S. agents raced to meet it at a small municipal airport near El Paso, Texas, and arrest two men who were part of Mexican drug trafficking royalty. The son of jailed former Sinaloa Cartel kingpin Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman planned to give himself up upon landing. The other

Indian PM Modi likely to visit Ukraine in August, local media reports

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to visit Ukraine next month, a local media report said, his first visit to the country since its war with Russia began and just weeks after he met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow. Ukraine's embassy in New Delhi said it had no information to share immediately. There was no immediate response from India's foreign

Putin plays with fire in Finland

Finland suspects a Russian ship of violating its territorial waters, following several incidents between the two countries, which share a huge border after Helsinki joined NATO. Finland's defence ministry has said it suspects a ship of sailing off the coast of the Gulf of Finland in the eastern Baltic Sea. Relations between Finland and Russia, which share a 1,340-kilometre-long border, have deteriorated since Finland joined NATO in 2023. On 10...

French minister says foreign involvement not ruled out in rail sabotage

PARIS (Reuters) -France's interior minister said on Saturday he could not rule out foreign involvement in an attack that sabotaged signal stations and cables on the country's high-speed rail network, causing travel chaos on the opening day of the Olympic Games. Friday's pre-dawn attacks damaged infrastructure along the lines connecting Paris with cities such as Lille in the north, Bordeaux in the

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...

Officers cycle in memory of fallen colleagues

Surrey and Sussex police staff and volunteers ride 240 miles as part of the Police Unity Tour.

China's foreign minister warns Philippines over US missile deployment

BEIJING — 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 later said, without giving details on how long it would stay...

As Venezuela’s election nears, opposition figures face Maduro’s repression

Critics of Maduro’s government say they face roadblocks, arbitrary arrest and more as they campaign for the opposition.

Hungary’s nationalist leader warns of EU's demise and backs Trump in anti-Western speech

BAILE TUSNAD, Romania (AP) — Hungary’s nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said on Saturday that the European Union was sliding toward oblivion in a rambling anti-Western speech in which he warned of a new, Asia-oriented “world order” while throwing his support for Donald Trump’s U.S. presidential bid. “Europe has given up defending its own interests,” Orbán said in Baile Tusnad, a majority-ethnic Hungarian town in central Romania. “All...

NBI warns public vs. online lending scams

MANILA, Philippines — The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) cautioned the public against online lending scams on Friday following the arrest of a Chinese woman involved in an online collection scam that extorts money from borrowers through deceptive and coercive methods. “We have been receiving messages about cash loans. Let’s be careful. We should consider these a menace to society,” NBI National Capital Region Regional Director Rommel...

Philippine Coast Guard says oil leaking from sunken tanker

MANILA, Philippines – Some of the 1.4 million litres of industrial fuel oil inside a sunken Philippine tanker has started to leak into Manila Bay, the coast guard said Saturday, calling for a suspension of fishing in the waterway. The MT Terra Nova sank in bad weather in the busy waterway early Thursday, killing one crew member and leaving the country potentially facing its worst oil spill disaster. The oil slick has more than tripled in size...

Five people released after Bristol stabbing

A man in his 30s is being treated for injuries that are not currently believed to be life-threatening.

CCTV images released in footpath rape investigation

Police say the man pictured may have vital information in connection with the attack in Ascot.

Cyclist airlifted to hospital after serious crash

A woman is in hospital in a critical but stable condition, says police.

Boy,17, stabbed multiple times

Witnesses tell police five men attacked the boy before fleeing in a car.

DSWD: P70 million worth of aid given to calamity-hit families

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) said more than P70 million worth of assistance was distributed to families affected by heavy rains and floods in recent days due to Typhoon Carina and the strong southwest monsoon. DSWD spokesperson Assistant Secretary for Disaster Response Management Group Irene Dumlao said the aid given to distressed families included food packs, family kits, hygiene kits, laminated...

The pro-Palestinian student movement is alive and well

It has spread out across many fronts over the summer break but is getting ready to come back on campus.

Man arrested after eight geese found dead

Kent Police said eight birds were found dead, causing "considerable concern" in the community.

POGO ban shouldn’t be 'selective' —Bong Go

Senator Christopher “Bong” Go on Saturday appealed to the Marcos administration "not to be selective" in its move to ban Philippines offshore gaming operators (POGO) in the Philippines. The senator issued the statement after the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) chairperson Alejandro Tengco appealed to Malacañang that 12 of the 43 POGO companies in the Philippines be spared from the ban as these are customer service agents for...

Man attacked with bat in serious condition

The victim, aged 30, remains in hospital in a serious, but stable condition, police say.

Beijing and Moscow are working to influence Latin America general warns

This is Taiwan's secret weapon in case of an invasion from China

Sabotage at the Olympics: Russian revenge?

Friday morning five electricity installations of high-speed lines around Paris were set on fire in France. Military experts do not rule out that Russia was behind this sabotage. The sabotage, just before the start of the Paris Olympics, could be the work of groups affiliated with or inspired by Moscow, according to a Belgian military expert. "After all, Russia has been excluded from the Olympics, and may be taking revenge for that." Russia also...

The US and China air global differences as their top diplomats meet for sixth time since last year

VIENTIANE, Laos (AP) — The United States and China on Saturday renewed their mutual grievances as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and his Chinese counterpart held their sixth meeting since last year amid an uncertain political situation in the U.S. and growing concerns about China’s increasing assertiveness in Asia and elsewhere. Blinken and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met for roughly an hour and 20 minutes on the sidelines of an...

Ethiopia PM visits village hit by deadly landslide

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on Saturday visited a remote and mountainous village hit by the country's deadliest landslide which killed over 250 people. Officials are still trying to pinpoint how many people were killed when heavy rain on Sunday triggered a landslide that engulfed the tiny locality of Kencho Shacha Gozdi, about 480 kilometres (300 miles) from the capital Addis Ababa.

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...

"Conquer Ukraine would cost Russia 1.8 million dead or wounded soldiers''

Russia partially controls the regions of Kherson, Donetsk, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhya. Taking full control of those Ukrainian regions could cost Russia 1.8 million soldiers. That is the conclusion reached by the British army chief, General Sir Roly Walker. There are no official figures, but Western intelligence sources say as many as 1,000 Russian soldiers a day are injured or killed. Russian President Putin stated as recently as June that some...

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...

Marcos orders creation of Bataan oil spill task force

President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. on Saturday ordered the creation of an inter-agency task force that would address the oil spill from the sunken MT Terra Nova off Limay, Bataan. In a situation briefing on the effects of Super Typhoon Carina and the Enhanced Southwest Monsoon in Malolos, Bulacan, Marcos said the task force would be composed of the Office of the Civil Defense (OCD), the Department of Environment and Natural Resources...

COA flags Cebu City over P114.5M unliquidated funds to NGOs

CEBU CITY, Philippines— Over P114.5 million in fund transfers done by Cebu City to various non-government organizations (NGOs) and people’s organizations (POs) since 2009 remain unliquidated, according to the latest audit report by the Commission on Audit (COA). The unliquidated funds have translated into financial mismanagement and lack of accountability within the city administration, the audit agency said. The COA report, audit observation...

O'Neill asks taoiseach to help return boy from Lebanon

First Minister asks Irish government to intervene and help Catherine Flanagan get her son David home.

Magat Dam released water, says irrigation exec

RAMON, ISABELA — Irrigation officials have started releasing water from the Magat Dam on Saturday morning to anticipate the bulk of heavy rains that would pour in the next few days due to the southwest monsoon (locally known as habagat) and the tropical depression that is predicted to enter the Philippine area of responsibility. Engineer Edwin Viernes, chief of the National Irrigation Administration-Magat River Integrated Irrigation System...

MMDA suggests waste incineration to ease Metro Manila's flooding woes

Amid the massive trash that was blamed for the massive flood brought by Typhoon Carina-enhanced Habagat, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) floated the idea of incinerating solid waste in the National Capital Region (NCR). At the Saturday News Forum, MMDA General Manager Procopio Lipana said incineration of solid waste is allowed in advanced neighboring countries such as Singapore, Korea, and Japan. “I think it’s high time to...

Cebu City Police’s new director is a lawyer, Bantayan native

CEBU CITY, Philippines – A new city director has been appointed to lead the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO). During the turnover ceremony on Friday, July 26, Police Colonel Antonietto Y. Cañete officially took over the post as the CCPO director. The ceremony, held at the Campo Sergio Osmeña, was attended by Police Regional Office in Central Visayas (PRO-7) regional director Police Brigadier General Anthony Aberin and Cebu Police Provincial Office...

DPWH: Replicating BGC cistern in densely populated areas challenging

The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) said on Saturday it was open to the idea of replicating the underground water impounding structure in Bonifacio Global City (BGC) to address perennial flooding in Metro Manila, but finding a suitable location proved to be difficult. “Yes, the DPWH actually contemplated [repeating] the best practice of BCDA in BGC,” DPWH Undersecretary Catalina Cabral said at the Saturday News Forum in Quezon...

Pagcor debunks document on immediate closure of Pogos

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor) hs debunked a memorandum ordering local government units in Metro Manila to terminate all activities of Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (Pogo) or Internet Gaming Licensees (IGL) by next month. The false document, with thePagcor and Bagong Pilipinas logos and dated July 26, claimed that “all local government operations groups are required to end these activities...

'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...

AFP members donate 'one meal' subsistence allowance for Carina, Habagat victims

Members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) are each making a "one meal" subsistence allowance donation to victims of Super Typhoon Carina and the Southwest Monsoon or Habagat. In a statement Saturday, AFP chief General Romeo Brawner Jr. said the donation was equivalent to one meal from their subsistence allowance, amounting to P50 per member. Brawner added that the AFP continues to deploy search, rescue, and retrieval teams in Metro...

Evacuees in Cainta receive aid from GMA Kapuso Foundation

Three evacuation centers in Barangay San Andres in Cainta, Rizal, were visited by the GMA Kapuso Foundation. According to a report on “24 Oras Weekend'' on Saturday, Cainta is currently in a state of calamity in the wake of tropical cyclone Carina, which intensified monsoon rains that flooded various parts of Luzon earlier this week. The evacuees were given relief goods, blankets, and mats. The relief distribution will continue on Sunday in...

Israeli military expands evacuation order for Gaza’s battered Khan Younis

Israel issues new orders as it widens ground invasion in southern Gaza that has displaced thousands of Palestinians.

Blinken chides Beijing's 'escalating actions' at sea, concerned over Taiwan

By Simon Lewis VIENTIANE (Reuters) -U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken criticised Beijing's "escalating and unlawful actions" in the South China Sea at a summit on Saturday, where his Russian counterpart said Washington has stoked anxiety in its plan for a nuclear deterrence with ally Seoul for the Korean peninsula. Blinken singled out China over its coast guard's hostile actions against U.S

Airport kick video family calls for end to protests

The family of a man who was kicked and stamped on by a police officer have appealed for calm.

15 public schools in Quezon City move class opening to Aug 1 and 5

MANILA, Philippines — Fifteen elementary and secondary schools in Quezon City have rescheduled their opening of classes for the School Year (SY) 2024-2025 to August. In a Facebook post on Saturday, July 27, the local government said most public schools in the city will push through with their SY 2024-2025 class opening on Monday, July 29, except for the following: To open on August 1 Sto. Cristo Elementary School Balumbato Elementary School...

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...