Philippine News

SEOUL, January 20 ------ South Korea and Italy agreed to expand cooperation in artificial intelligence, space, and the defense industry, pledging to confront “global challenges” at a bilateral summit in Seoul. President Lee Jae Myung hosted Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni for the summit at his office in the first visit by an Italian leader to South Korea in almost two decades. Speaking alongside the far-right leader following their meeting, Lee said the two countries would “fur

PARIS, January 20 ------ Countries including France and Britain are considering following Australia’s lead by banning children and some teenagers from using social media, but experts are still locked in a debate over the effectiveness of the move. Supporters of a ban warn that action needs to be taken to tackle deteriorating mental health among young people, although others say the evidence is inconclusive and want a more nuanced approach. France is currently debating bills f

January 20 ------ President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the government would adopt additional measures to support energy workers during the winter season. Russian strikes on energy infrastructure have, as usual, intensified across Ukraine as temperatures have fallen – causing blackouts across the country. Last Wednesday, Zelensky announced a state of emergency in Ukraine’s energy sector. In a video address posted on Telegram, Zelensky said on Monday that he had agreed with U

January 20 ------ Ukraine’s military intelligence and energy experts warn that potential Russian missile strikes on substations linked to nuclear power plants could trigger a major disaster. Serhiy Beskrestnov, a Ukrainian expert in electronic warfare known as “Flash,” said key substations that connect nuclear plants to the power grid are often located very close to reactors – sometimes within a kilometer (0.6 miles) and, in some cases, just 300 meters (984 feet) away. That m

WASHINGTON DC, USA, January 19 ------ President Donald Trump vowed to implement a wave of increasing tariffs on European allies until the United States is allowed to buy Greenland, escalating a row over the future of Denmark’s vast Arctic island. In a post on Truth Social, Trump said additional 10% import tariffs would take effect on February 1 on goods from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Finland, and Great Britain — all already subject to tariffs

JAKARTA, Indonesia, January 19 ------ A passenger aircraft carrying 11 people lost contact with ground control while approaching a mountainous region between Indonesia’s main island of Java and Sulawesi island, officials said. A search and rescue operation has been launched. The turboprop ATR 42-500 operated by Indonesia Air Transport was on its way from Yogyakarta to the capital city of South Sulawesi when it vanished from radar, said Endah Purnama Sari, a spokesperson for t

KYIV, January 19 ------ Ukraine's peace negotiators arrived in the United States for talks on details of a ⁠proposed agreement to end the four-year war with Russia, the head of the Ukrainian president's office said. Kyrylo Budanov said the delegation would meet with White House envoy Steve Witkoff, President Donald Trump's ‍son-in-law Jared Kushner, and ⁠US ‍Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll. "Ukraine needs a just peace. We are working to achieve results," Budanov, ⁠a former mil

MANILA, January 19 ------ Tropical cyclone Ada (international name Nokaen) has weakened into a tropical depression, the weather bureau said in its 5 a.m. bulletin. The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said Ada packs maximum sustained winds of 55 kilometers per hour (kph) near the center and gustiness of up to 70 kph. It was last tracked 380 km east of Casiguran, Aurora, moving northeast at 10 kph. No tropical cyclone wind s

BAKU, January 18 ------ Global losses from natural disasters fell to USD224 billion in 2025, nearly 40 percent lower than the previous year, but extreme weather events linked to climate change remain a serious concern, reinsurance giant Munich Re said Tuesday.   In its annual disaster report, Munich Re said the decline was partly due to the absence of a hurricane making landfall in the United States for the first time in several years. Despite the drop, the company described

WAKAYAMA, January 18 ------ Two new amphipod species with black-and-white coloring patterns like a giant panda have been found in the town of Shirahama, Wakayama Prefecture, western Japan. Some in the prefecture hope that the novel creatures would be a new local tourism resource after four giant pandas raised at Adventure World, a leisure facility in Shirahama, were returned to China last year. One of the black-and-white amphipods, which resembles a shrimp and measures 5 mm.

GENEVA, January 17 ------ The global unemployment rate is expected to hold steady in 2026, the United Nations said Wednesday, but cautioned the labor market's seeming stability belies a dire shortage of decent jobs.   The UN's International Labor Organization said the global economy and labor market appeared to have weathered recent economic shocks better than expected. But the ILO warned that efforts to improve global job quality had stagnated, leaving hundreds of millions o

BRUSSELS, January 17 ------ Earth logged its third hottest year on record in 2025, extending a run of unprecedented heat, with no relief expected in 2026, United States researchers and European Union climate monitors said.   The last 11 years have now been the warmest ever recorded, with 2024 topping the podium and 2023 in second place, said the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service and Berkeley Earth, a California-based nonprofit research organization. For the first time, g

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, January 16 ------ Iran closed its airspace to commercial flights for hours without explanation as tensions remained high with the United States over Tehran’s bloody crackdown on nationwide protests. The closure ran for over four hours, according to pilot guidance issued by Iran, which lies on a key East-West flight route. International carriers diverted north and south around Iran, but after one extension, the closure appeared to have expired, and

CARACAS, Venezuela, January 16 ------ The social network X was once again accessible in Venezuela on Tuesday, more than a year after users were blocked by deposed president Nicolas Maduro, who was captured by US forces last week.   Interim president Delcy Rodriguez updated her bio -- she served as vice president under Maduro -- and wrote: "Let us stay united, moving toward economic stability, social justice, and the welfare state we deserve to aspire to." Access remained spot

January 16 ------ Ukraine’s parliament on Wednesday appointed Mykhailo Fedorov as the country’s new defense minister, approving the move with 277 votes in the Verkhovna Rada.   Fedorov, formerly first vice prime minister and minister of digital transformation, immediately pledged to launch a full financial audit of the Defense Ministry, citing a Hr.300 billion ($7 billion) budget shortfall compared to last year. “My first task is a real audit of Defense Ministry finances, to

January 16 ------ Two million Ukrainians are currently wanted for alleged mobilization evasion, while another 200,000 servicemen are listed as absent without official leave (AWOL), Ukraine’s newly appointed Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said.   Fedorov made the statement during a speech in the parliament ahead of the vote on his appointment as defense minister. “I don’t want to be a populist – I want to be a realist. The Ministry of Defense is coming into my hands with a

TOKYO, January 15 ------ U.S. oil prices fell more than $1 in early Asian trade on Thursday after U.S. President Donald Trump said killings in Iran's crackdown on nationwide protests were subsiding, easing fears of supply disruptions and possible military action against Iran. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were trading at $60.78 a barrel at 2322 GMT, down $1.24, or 2 per cent, from the previous day's close. WTI had settled more than 1 per cent higher on Wednesday,

NARA, Japan, January 15 ------ South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi agreed to step up cooperation in areas including economic security, defense, and searching for the remains of Korean forced laborers. The two neighbors are both longtime U.S. allies, but their relations have frequently been strained by issues including disputes over their wartime history. "I believe cooperation between Korea and Japan is now more important than ever

January 15 ------ President Volodymyr Zelensky declared a state of emergency in Ukraine’s energy sector – prompting a review of Ukraine’s regional curfew rules and the establishment of an energy headquarters in Kyiv, among other special measures. In recent weeks, Russian missile attacks have created disasters verging on a humanitarian crisis by targeting energy infrastructure across Ukraine. Early Tuesday, a massive overnight Russian drone attack on Kryvyi Rih knocked out hea

January 15 ------ The European Commission presented a package of legislative proposals designed to secure €90 billion ($105 billion) in financial support for Ukraine in 2026 and 2027, advancing December’s political agreement by EU leaders. The loan, agreed by the European Council in December, is intended to cover Ukraine’s budgetary and military financing needs as the war with Russia approaches its fifth year and longer-term funding arrangements remain uncertain. The EU Commi