Philippine News

SAIPAN, Northern Mariana Islands, April 14 ------ A dangerous super typhoon in the Pacific Ocean is barreling toward a group of remote US islands. Super Typhoon Sinlaku is expected to make landfall today in the Northern Mariana Islands and bring destructive winds, widespread heavy rain and flooding, the National Weather Service said. Guam, a US territory with American military installations, also could see damaging winds beginning Monday and is under a tropical storm warning.

BENGALURU, April 14 ------ U.S. crude futures fell more than $1 in early Asian trade as traders balanced heightened supply risks linked to a U.S. blockade nL6N40V09S of Iranian shipping in the Strait of Hormuz with reports nL4N40W0L7 that Washington and Tehran were still open to talks after a tense meeting in Islamabad. U.S. West Texas Intermediate was at $97.76 a barrel, down $1.32, or 1.3 per cent by 2205 GMT, following a 1.5 per cent gain in the previous session. Source: c

April 14 ------ Peter Magyar, Hungary’s newly elected opposition leader, said that Ukraine alone must determine the conditions of any peace settlement with Russia, while also opposing Kyiv’s accelerated path toward European Union membership. “No one should tell Ukraine under what conditions it must enter peace or sign a peace treaty,” Magyar said in remarks to reporters. “We cannot ask any country to give up its territory. If they do, they would be considered traitors.” Magya

BERLIN, April 14 ------ Berlin hopes that the election outcome ​in Hungary means that ‌a 90-billion-euro ($103 billion) EU loan to help Ukraine can ​be released "very quickly," a ​government spokesperson said. The vote "means there is hope that aid for Ukraine can be released very quickly," the spokesperson said. "The German government is workign towards this - it is therefore looking forward with anticipation to the swift formation of a government in Hungary." Hungary vetera

LONDON, April 13 ------ The dollar jumped against other major currencies in early Asia trading as investors sought its relative safety after marathon talks between Washington and Tehran failed to yield a peace deal, plunging markets into a seventh week of uncertainty. President Donald Trump on Sunday said the U.S. Navy would start blockading the Strait of Hormuz nL1N40U07M, a choke point for 20 per cent of the world's daily energy supplies that Iran effectively closed since t

BEIJING, April 13 ------ China will implement a series of measures to enhance exchanges with Taiwan, Beijing said on the final day of a rare visit by an opposition party delegation from the self-ruled island. Kuomintang (KMT) chairwoman Cheng Li-wun is the party’s first leader to visit China in a decade, although she has faced criticism in Taiwan from those who accuse her of being too pro-Beijing. China cut off high-level contact with Taiwan after the 2016 presidential victor

KYIV, April 13 ------ Ukraine and Russia accused each other of violating a truce in place for Orthodox Easter thousands of times, as the war dragged on into its fifth year. Both sides had agreed to observe the ceasefire for the religious holiday, with Russian President Vladimir Putin ordering the truce more than a week after Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky proposed a halt to hostilities. "As of 7:00 a.m. on 12 April, 2,299 ceasefire violations were recorded. Specific

April 13 ------ Ukraine successfully conducted its 72nd prisoner exchange, bringing home 182 citizens from Russian captivity just ahead of the Orthodox Easter holiday. The swap resulted in the release of 175 military personnel and seven civilians, according to the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War. President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed the return of the defenders in a social media post, noting that the group includes warriors from the Armed Forc

TOKYO, April 12 ------ Japan has secured oil supplies to cover its demand until early 2027, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said. Speaking to reporters at the prime minister's office, Takaichi explained that this was the result of efforts to increase oil imports from the United States and from Middle Eastern countries that do not require shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, which is currently under a de facto blockade by Iran. In particular, oil imports from the United State

ISTANBUL, April 12 ------ A growing number of European countries are moving to limit minors’ access to social media amid rising concern over the impact of online platforms on young people’s mental health and well-being. From Greece to France, governments are either drafting or advancing legislation that would restrict access for users aged 15 or 16. While the approaches differ, the direction is increasingly clear: stricter controls, stronger age verification, and greater resp

BEIJING, April 11 ------ Oil prices rose in early trading following attacks on Saudi energy infrastructure, and as markets evaluated the risk premium from the ongoing closure of the Strait of Hormuz, despite a fragile truce agreed between the U.S. and Iran. Brent crude futures gained 83 cents, or 0.87 per cent, to $96.75 a barrel as of 0100 GMT. West Texas Intermediate futures were up $1.04, 1.06 per cent, at $98.91 a barrel. "The initial wave of relief following President T

WASHINGTON, April 11 ------ The World Bank, International Monetary Fund, and the U.N. World Food Program warned that sharp increases in oil, natural gas, and fertilizer prices triggered by the war in the Middle East will inevitably cause rising food prices and food insecurity. In a joint statement issued after a meeting on the war, the leaders of the global institutions said the burden would fall most heavily on the world's most vulnerable populations, particularly in low-inc

CAIRO, Egypt, April 10 ------ Attacks on Saudi energy facilities have cut the kingdom's oil production capacity by around 600,000 barrels per day and the throughput on its East-West pipeline by about 700,000 bpd, Saudi state news agency SPA reported, citing an official source at the energy ministry. The attacks, including previous strikes on some facilities, also disrupted operations at key oil, gas, refining, petrochemical, and electricity sites in Riyadh, the Eastern Provin

LONDON, April 10 ------ European leaders remained on the sidelines of the US-Israel war with Iran but tried to make their voices heard to help shore up a shaky ceasefire, quell fighting in Lebanon, and reopen the Strait of Hormuz. The war has put Europe in an uneasy position, trying to maintain its support for the US as a key NATO ally and also withstand occasional blowback from US President Donald Trump for not joining in the fight and offering limited use of its military ba

April 10 ------ The United States has ignored compelling evidence that Russia has been assisting Iran in targeting American bases in the Middle East because it “trusts” Vladimir Putin, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said. In an interview with Alastair Campbell on The Rest is Politics podcast, Zelensky said he had repeatedly tried to alert the White House to Moscow and Tehran’s close military collaboration. He said Russian military satellites had mapped critical energy

April 10 ------ Kyrylo Budanov, the head of Ukraine’s Presidential Office, said that attacks on Russian oil terminals are strengthening Ukraine’s position in ongoing negotiations. Speaking at a briefing at the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities, Budanov said “definitely” when asked if recent intensified strikes on Russian energy were impacting the negotiation process. “They definitely are. That’s obvious,” Budanov said, according to state media Ukinform. Ukraine has r

SINGAPORE, April 9 ------ A global energy crisis sparked by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz amid the Iran-Israel-US war has disrupted lives across vast segments of Southeast Asia’s populations. Of the crude oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) passing through the strait, 84 per cent of crude and 83 per cent of LNG are bound for Asian markets, according to 2025 data from the US Energy Information Administration. As a result, oil prices have fluctuated rapidly since Iran’s e

SINGAPORE, April 9 ------ The head of a body representing global airlines said that even if Iran reopened the Strait of Hormuz, it would take months for jet fuel supply to recover given disruptions to Middle East refining capacity. Oil fell below US$100 per barrel after US President Donald Trump said he had agreed to a two-week ceasefire with Iran that was subject to the immediate and safe reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, which normally carries about a fifth of the world's

TEHRAN, Iran, April 8 ------ U.S. President Donald Trump pulled back on his threats to launch devastating strikes on Iran, swerving to de-escalate the war less than two hours before the deadline he set for Tehran to capitulate or else a “whole civilization will die.” Trump said he was holding off on his threatened attacks on Iranian bridges, power plants, and other civilian targets, subject to Tehran agreeing to a two-week ceasefire and reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, the

TOKYO, April 8 ------ A Japanese shipping firm said that an Indian-flagged tanker owned by its subsidiary had passed through the Strait of Hormuz and was en route to the South Asian country. Iran has effectively closed the Strait - a critical route for global crude oil and gas - in retaliation for US-Israeli strikes that began on Feb 28. The near-closing of the international artery has led to fuel shortages and soaring energy prices across the globe. A spokeswoman of Mitsui O