Featured News

Hong Kong in lockdown as Typhoon Haima nears

HONG KONG, China (AFP) — The usually frenetic streets of Hong Kong were deserted Friday as the city went into lockdown for Typhoon Haima, which has killed at least eight people in the Philippines. Flights were cancelled, roads were clear of cars and pavements empty, with schools and offices shut as the storm loomed southeast of Hong Kong. Trading on the city’s stock exchange was postponed and was unlikely to resume Friday. At 8:00 am […]

Duterte aligns self with China’s ideological flow, secures at least $13.5 billion in deals

  SAYING that the United States has “lost now,” President Duterte said he is realigning himself with the “ideological flow” of China as he announced his separation from the United States, both in the military and economic sense. Duterte was in Beijing, China where he is visiting with at least 200 businessmen to pave the way for what he calls a new commercial alliance. Both the Philippines and China have also agreed to resume bilateral […]

Philippines’ Duterte, in China, announces ‘separation’ from US

  BEIJING, China | AFP | — Philippines’ President Rodrigo Duterte declared his “separation” from longstanding ally the United States in Beijing on Thursday, as he rebalances his country’s diplomacy towards China. Duterte is in China for a four-day trip seen as confirming his tilt away from Washington and towards Beijing’s sphere of influence — and its deep pockets. “I announce my separation from the United States,” he said to applause at a meeting in […]

Iraq forces make gains against IS near Mosul

NAWARAN, Iraq (AFP) – by Wilson Fache with W.G. Dunlop in Qayyarah Elite Iraqi forces Thursday retook a town on the eastern edge of Mosul while Kurdish peshmerga opened a new front in the offensive to wrest back the jihadists’ last bastion in Iraq. Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi told an international meeting in Paris that the four-day-old offensive was “advancing faster than expected”. France and Iraq were co-chairing the meeting on the future of Mosul, […]

Duterte, Xi to restore talks on South China Sea dispute

  President Rodrigo Duterte and President Xi Jinping on Thursday (October 20) agreed to resume their talks over disputes and issues in the South China Sea, Chinese vice foreign minister Liu Zhenmin said. “The two presidents agreed that China and the Philippines will return to the track of dialogue and consultation to properly handle the South China Sea issue,” Liu said through a translator. “China is ready for discussions with friends in the Philippines on maritime […]

‘Abu’ member with P600K bounty nabbed in Basilan

(Eagle News)–  Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) member Ibrahim Akbar on Wednesday (October 19) was arrested  by government forces in a manhunt operation in Maluso, Basilan. Akbar, also known as Ustadz Atti Lintogan, Ustadz Atti, or Ustadz Namir, has a P600,000 bounty on his head. According to CIDG Region 9 chief Senior Superintendent Anthony Aberin, Akbar was involved in a bombing attack in Kidapawan City in 2006, and in the abduction of Spanish priest Bernardo Blanco […]

PNP execs admit excessive, unreasonable use of force during rally dispersal

(Eagle News)– National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) Director Chief Supt. Oscar Albayalde on Thursday (October 20) admitted that there were lapses committed during the violent dispersal of protesters in front of US Embassy. However, he insisted that the use of force cannot be considered as police brutality. “Not actually brutality, yung brutality naman is sobra, it is not the right word.  Maybe there was an excessive use of force, not necessarily brutality.  Kung brutality […]

Power, telcom services down in Northern Luzon

  (Eagle News)– The lash of Typhoon Lawin on Thursday has caused power interruption and disrupted telecom operations in Northern Luzon. The powerful winds from the super typhoon resulted in voice, call and data service disruptions in selected areas in Abra, Cagayan, Kalinga, portions of Ilocos Norte, and Apayao. Customers in the said areas will experience difficulty in accessing communication devices. Different technical teams from various telecom companies were already deployed to repair damaged facilities. […]

Updated: Super typhoon kills at least four in Philippines

  by Ted Aljibe Agence France Presse Ilagan, Philippines | AFP | — One of the most powerful typhoons to ever hit the Philippines killed at least four people as it destroyed houses, tore roofs off schools and uprooted giant trees on Thursday. Super Typhoon Haima struck late on Wednesday night with winds similar to those of catastrophic Haiyan in 2013, which was then the strongest storm to strike the disaster-prone Southeast Asian archipelago and […]

China never invaded a piece of PHL over generations—Duterte

  PHILIPPINE President Rodrigo Duterte praised China on Wednesday (October 19), setting aside its maritime dispute as the combative leader reconfigures his country’s diplomatic alliances. The Asian giant was “good”, he said. “It has never invaded a piece of my country all these generations,” Duterte added in an apparent comparison to the Philippines’ former colonial ruler the United States. “During the Cold War, China was portrayed as the bad guy,” he added. “And all of […]

Super Typhoon Haima barrels through northern Philippines

(Reuters) — Super Typhoon Haima, the strongest cyclone to hit the Philippines in three years, toppled power and communication lines, damaged houses and displaced thousands as it barrelled through the northern Ilocos region early Thursday (October 20) morning. Haima, a category 5 typhoon, made landfall in the northern province of Cagayan Wednesday (October 19) night. There were no immediate reports of casualties. Some villagers took shelter inside the public market as vendors sold their produce […]