U.S. Marine Corp MGEN Eric Austin, U.S. Exercise Director Representative and Philippine Army MGEN Marvin Licudin, Philippine Exercise Director shake hands at the opening ceremonies of a joint military exercise between the United States and the Philippines on April 11, 2023. | Photo Credit: AP More than 17,000 Philippine and U.S. soldiers began their largest-ever … Read more
The death toll from Christmas flood and rain in the Philippines has gone up to 26, Manila Times reported citing the National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (NDRRMC) on Thursday. Northern Mindanao accounted for sixteen fatalities, followed by Bicol with five, Eastern Visayas with two, and Zamboanga city with two. According to the Disaster Management … Read more
CNN — An Australian man already sentenced to life in prison in the Philippines for human trafficking and rape has been given an extra 129-year sentence for sexually abusing children as young as 18 months, according to prosecutors. Peter Gerard Scully, his Filipina girlfriend Lezyl Margallo, and two accomplices were charged with 60 offenses that … Read more
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is set on Monday to fly over flood-submerged districts to inspect the damage after Tropical Storm Nalgae barreled across the Southeast Asian country over the weekend, killing at least 98 people. More than half the deaths were recorded in the southern autonomous region of Bangsamoro, often due to rain-induced landslides, … Read more
CNN — Residents on the small resort island of Polillo are accustomed to severe weather – their island sits in the northeastern Philippines, on the edge of the Pacific Ocean where storms typically gather strength and turn into typhoons. But even they were stunned by the intensity of Typhoon Noru, known locally as Typhoon Karding, … Read more
Hong Kong authorities have ordered about 170 people, including several officials, to be quarantined at a government facility on Friday after they attended a birthday party where two guests later tested positive for Covid, AP reports. Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam expressed disappointment on Thursday that government officials had attended the large party during the … Read more
The Asian Development Bank warned Tuesday that the highly mutated Omicron coronavirus variant could have a “substantial” economic impact, as it trimmed its 2021 and 2022 growth forecasts for developing Asia. Despite a sharp drop in infections and increased vaccination across the region stretching from the Cook Islands in the Pacific to Kazakhstan in Central … Read more
India’s rice exporters are gearing up to ship the grain to the Philippines from next month as the Southeast Asian nation has reduced the import duty on rice being shipped from India to 35% from 50%. Philippines is the second-largest importer of the commodity in the world. “We will be exporting non-basmati rice to the … Read more
In the Philippines, a second surge in Covid-19 cases is putting renewed pressure on the healthcare system. The country currently has the second highest number of cases in South East Asia behind Indonesia. And with one of the longest and hardest lockdowns in the world, a crippling recession has forced thousands on to the streets … Read more
Philippine and U.S. defence chiefs on Sunday expressed hopes to resume the joint “Balikatan” military exercise that was cancelled last year, as they discussed the situation in the South China Sea. Philippine Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana and U.S. Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin III also discussed in a telephone conference recent developments in regional security, according … Read more