Philippine News

WASHINGTON, D.C., July 20 ------ The United States launched new airstrikes to "punish" Iran after reporting the first US military deaths since renewing its hostilities with the Islamic republic. Iran's supreme leader vowed to teach the Americans "unforgettable lessons" as it struck infrastructure around the Gulf in retaliation for a week of intensifying US attacks, which Iran said had hit an airport, railway station and bridges. A month after the foes signed a now-abandoned p

LIMA, Peru, July 20 ------ A 5.5 magnitude earthquake shook the Andes region of Peru, killing at least six people, injuring more than 30 and displacing 300, authorities said. The U.S. Geological Survey reported the quake struck last Saturday, with its epicenter located 2 kilometers (1.24 miles) west-southwest of the city of Sicaya in Huancayo province. It was 10 kilometers (6.21 miles) deep. Peru’s National Civil Defense Institute said in a statement the total number of missi

July 20 ------ Russia has carried out a wave of ballistic missile and drone strikes on Ukraine, killing at least eight people and injuring dozens, officials say. Four people were killed in the north-eastern city of Kharkiv, and an elderly woman died in the capital Kyiv. There were two more fatalities in Zaporizhzhia in the south and one in Sumy in the north-east. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the raid on Kyiv was "one of the most massive ballistic attacks" since

July 20 ------ Ukraine has reduced ferry capacity in the Kerch Strait by 75% following a series of drone strikes targeting vessels operating between occupied Crimea and Russia, the commander of Ukraine's drone forces said. Robert "Madyar" Brovdi, commander of Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces, said the operation, dubbed "MoLoCHKa," was carried out over the course of two weeks and significantly disrupted ferry traffic across the strait. Operation "MoLoCHKa," an acronym that tr

WASHINGTON, July 19 ------ The Food and Drug Administration has approved a first-of-its-kind pill that can drastically reduce cholesterol in a way that's previously only been available with expensive, injectable drugs. The drug from Merck was OK'd on Thursday for patients with artery-clogging cholesterol that persists even after taking statins, the standard medications for cutting heart attack risk. Merck will market its pill under the brand name Lipfendra. It's the first

WASHINGTON, July 19 ------ An experimental drug might help slow early Alzheimer's disease in a markedly different way than today's treatments — by lowering levels of a brain protein called tau, researchers reported. Tau is one part of a toxic duo fueling Alzheimer's but prior attempts to develop drugs that can target the protein have failed. Two Alzheimer's drugs, lecanemab and donanemab, try to clear buildup of the better-known amyloid protein and can modestly slow cognit

PERTH, July 18 ------ Oil prices inched higher after the U.S. and Iran stepped up attacks across the Gulf, with their broken truce limiting oil flows out of the Strait of Hormuz and with Tehran asking the Houthi movement to stand ready to shut the Red Sea export route. Brent crude futures rose $1.05, or about 1.25 per cent, to $85.28 a barrel by 0118 GMT, and U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures rose $1.03, or 1.3 per cent, to $79.98 a barrel, erasing losses from the previo

NEW YORK, July 18 ------ Heavy, pungent wildfire smoke darkened skies in the US from the Great Lakes to parts of the East Coast, reducing visibility and prompting warnings that breathing the air outside could be dangerous. Officials in many cities urged residents to stay inside or wear masks outside as air quality reached unhealthy to hazardous levels, meaning it's unhealthy for anyone, regardless of health conditions. The smoke is coming from fires that are burning primari

SANAA, July 17 ------ Yemen's Houthis warned they will target Saudi Arabia's oil facilities and other infrastructure if conflict escalates between the two sides, days after the airport in the rebel-held capital Sanaa was struck. "All Saudi oil facilities and vital installations are targets for our missiles and drones if it gets itself involved in a full-scale aggression against our country and moves towards escalation," the group's leader, Abdul Malik al-Houthi said. On M

July 17 ------ The U.S. government is reviving a rule that could deny permanent residency to immigrants who use public benefits such as food stamps and Medicaid, the Department of Homeland Security said. The administration of President Donald Trump, determined to crack down on what it calls illegal immigration, says people seeking green cards should not be "public charges" who are primarily dependent on government subsistence. The change — announced in an official post by t

July 17 ------ President Volodymyr Zelensky named Yevhen Khmara, the Head of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), as acting Minister of Defense. Some analysts have questioned the legality of the move as it comes without parliamentary approval. Zelensky made the announcement in a statement following a meeting with Khmara on Thursday, citing Khmara’s experience in running long-range strike operations against Russia and managing personnel at the Security Service’s (SBU) “Alp

July 17 ------ Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces targeted 11 vessels linked to Russia’s “shadow fleet” in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, according to their commander, Robert “Madyar” Brovdi. The targets included five oil tankers, one gas tanker, three dry cargo ships, and two tugboats, Brovdi reported on Telegram. The attacks formed part of an operation dubbed “MoLoChKa,” conducted between July 6 and 16. Brovdi said Ukrainian forces had targeted 147 Russian vessels duri

CAIRO/DUBAI, July 16 ------ The U.S. struck Iran's coastal defenses and missile sites after reimposing a naval blockade of its ports, while Iran threatened to shut off more regional energy exports, saying it was engaged in an "existential war" with America. The latest escalation of attacks and counterattacks launched by the U.S. and Iran has kept the region on edge days after a fragile truce collapsed, raising the specter of a return to full-scale war, though analysts gener

TORONTO, Canada, July 16 ------ Toronto had the worst air quality of any major city in the world, the Swiss firm IQAir said, as Canadian authorities urged people to stay indoors. Toronto edged out the Democratic Republic of Congo's capital Kinshasa and New Delhi for air pollution, as wildfire smoke turned the skies a hazy yellowish-grey in Canada's largest city. "The biggest contributor to Toronto's spike in air pollution right now is wildfires, though the higher-than-avera

KYIV, Ukraine, July 16 ------ European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen went to Kyiv to mark Ukraine's annual Statehood Day, pledging continued military and financial support for the country's independence as it holds out against Russia's 4-year-old full-scale invasion. Ukraine's sovereignty has been threatened since Russian forces occupied Ukraine's Crimea in 2014 and Moscow illegally annexed the peninsula, followed eight years later by the all-out invasion of Fe

KYIV, July 16 ------ Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the CEO of state energy firm Naftogaz was "best prepared" to become Ukraine's next prime minister following a government reshuffle last week. Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko resigned as part of a government reshuffle ordered by Zelensky. Ukrainian media had named Sergiy Koretsky, the CEO of state energy firm Naftogaz as the frontrunner to replace her. Russia has struck Ukraine's energy grid each winter since i

BEIJING, July 15 ------ China's foreign ministry called the European side to be cautious in its words and deeds on the South China Sea and stop endorsing the "illegal ruling" to prevent impact on China-EU ties and cooperation. "Europe is not a party to the South China Sea issue and has no right to comment on China's legitimate territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests in the South China Sea," foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian told a daily press briefing

WASHINGTON, July 15 ------ Shares in IBM plunged 24 percent after the US tech giant released disappointing preliminary second-quarter results, blaming a shift in spending by customers due to expected higher prices for memory chips and other AI-related infrastructure. "We did not adapt and move quickly enough," IBM CEO Arvind Krishna said in a letter to investors. The company said revenue for the three months ending in June came in at $17.2 billion, up just one percent. A gl

July 15 ------ Donald Trump has announced that the United States will grant Ukraine a license to produce Patriot interceptor missiles. “It is a huge victory,” says Stefan Korshak, Senior Defense Correspondent at the Kyiv Post, in World Talks. However, he notes that building a production line and launching manufacturing will take at least a year. Korshak also points to the NATO summit’s commitment of €70 billion in support for Ukraine, describing it as a very substantial packa

July 15 ------ French President Emmanuel Macron said that France would allow Ukraine to produce French-designed cruise missiles, glide bombs, and air defense interceptors, marking the first time France has licensed the production of its weapons in Ukraine. President Zelensky and I agreed on a roadmap between our two countries, implementing what had been agreed in principle last November regarding our bilateral defense cooperation," Macron said during a news conference follo