Philippine News

NEW YORK, May 13 ------ Equity indexes dipped as US inflation climbed while oil gained for a third straight day and the dollar rose as hopes faded for a deal to get ships moving through the Strait of Hormuz. In April, US consumer prices (CPI) rose sharply for a second straight month, resulting in the largest annual increase in inflation in nearly three years, bolstering expectations that the Federal Reserve would keep interest rates unchanged for a while. The US war on Iran h

RIYADH/DUBAI, May 13 ------ Saudi Arabia launched numerous, unpublicized strikes on Iran in retaliation for attacks carried out in the kingdom during the Middle East war, two Western officials briefed on the matter, and two Iranian officials said. The attacks, launched by the Saudi Air Force, were assessed to have been carried out in late March, the two Western officials said. One said only that they were "tit-for-tat strikes in retaliation for when Saudi (Arabia) was hit." I

May 13 ------ The Kremlin said it was too early to discuss any concrete path to ending the war in Ukraine, despite Russian President Vladimir Putin claiming days earlier that the conflict was “coming to an end.” Speaking after Moscow’s scaled-down Victory Day parade on Red Square, Putin said the Ukraine war is “moving toward its end” but offered no details on what that would mean in practice. Asked about the remarks on Tuesday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said there were

GOTLAND, Sweden, May 13 ------ The war game scenario was this: One of NATO’s newest members, Sweden, was under threat by an unnamed country that was building up troops along the military alliance’s eastern border. And in an unusual twist, non-NATO member Ukraine was there to advise on drone warfare — and delivered a critical warning to the alliance. The Associated Press was allowed to witness the Swedish-led military exercise this week as Europe faces not only the threat of R

WASHINGTON/DUBAI, May 12 ------ US President Donald Trump said that a ceasefire with Iran was “on life support” after Tehran’s response to a US proposal to end the war made clear the two sides were still far apart on a number of issues. Iran has called for an end to the war on all fronts, including Lebanon, where US ally Israel is fighting Iran-backed Hezbollah militants. Tehran also demanded compensation for war damage, an end to the US naval blockade, a guarantee of no furt

PARIS, France, May 12 ------ Here is a roundup of which countries have confirmed or probable cases of nationals infected by hantavirus after the outbreak on the cruise ship MV Hondius, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Among living patients, seven cases have been confirmed, and an eighth is listed as "probable", according to the WHO, the UN health body, and certain national health authorities. In addition, three people have died, with two of those confirmed as

KYIV, May 12 ------ Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that fighting with Russia was ongoing despite a three-day US-brokered ceasefire, accusing Russia of not wanting to end the four-year war. Both Russia and Ukraine have accused each other of violating the ceasefire, announced by US President Donald Trump, for over three days from May 9. "There was no silence at the front; there was fighting. We have recorded all of this," Zelensky said in his daily address in the f

KYIV, Ukraine, May 12 ------ A contemporary art fair has been held in the Ukrainian capital with an unusual premise: That art can help a society come to terms with what war has made normal. “Holding the event during wartime means not waiting for a better moment, but working with reality as it is,” said Anna Avetova, director of the Art Kyiv fair. “In this context, art does not stand apart from life – it helps make sense of the present, preserve cultural continuity, and lay th

May 11 ------ Aramco, the world’s largest oil company, said its first-quarter profit jumped 25% as the Iran war disrupted oil supplies and raised prices. Dhahran, Saudi Arabia-based Aramco said it successfully shifted some oil exports to a pipeline to avoid the Strait of Hormuz, which has been disrupted by the war. On Sunday, the price of Brent crude, the international standard, rose 2.58% to to $103.91 per barrel. That’s below its heights above $119 during the war, but it’s

DUBAI, May 11 ------ An Iranian proposal sent to the United States through mediator Pakistan stresses the need for an end to the war on all fronts and the lifting of sanctions on Tehran, Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency said, citing an informed source. The proposal emphasizes the necessity of lifting sanctions by the US Office of Foreign Assets Control on Iranian oil sales during a 30-day period and ending the naval blockade on Iran, Tasnim added. Tasnim also quoted th

May 11 ------ A US-mediated ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine appeared under serious strain, with both sides trading blame for weekend attacks. The three-day pause, announced on Friday by President Donald Trump, is part of a broader US-led push for peace that has so far failed to end the more than four-year-old war despite months of shuttle diplomacy. Three people were killed in Russian drone strikes on areas near the front line, and more than 200 battlefield clashes had t

May 11 ------ An AI-powered turret developed by a member of the Brave1 defense cluster has reached the battlefield, providing a high-tech solution to Russia’s increasingly sophisticated drone tactics. Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov released footage showing the system’s real-time combat performance against Russian UAVs. “For the first time on video – the real combat work of the turret against enemy drones,” Fedorov stated, noting that cooperation between Brave1 and the mili

May 10 ------ The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has transported oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical global oil transit route, with vessel tracking systems disabled, as tensions with Iran disrupt maritime routes and global energy flows. According to the report, the UAE and oil buyers have recently moved several tankers loaded with crude through the strategic chokepoint while turning off location trackers to reduce the risk of being targeted by Iranian attacks,

May 10 ------ The International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned of the risks to global financial stability posed by cyberattacks powered by advanced artificial intelligence tools, calling for greater international cooperation on the issue. "IMF analysis suggests that extreme cyber-incident losses could trigger funding strains, raise solvency concerns, and disrupt broader markets," the lender warned in a new report. The study's authors highlighted the risks posed by the highly inte

May 9 ------ Southeast Asian countries are aiming to better coordinate their responses to future crises, taking in lessons from the ongoing Middle East conflict that has squeezed energy and other supplies, and roiled regional markets. Foreign and economic ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) met to discuss the development of a “crisis communication protocol” at the ministerial level to ensure a “coherent, timely, and coordinated response” to crises.

WASHINGTON, May 9 ------ US President Donald Trump said he would give the European Union until July 4 to implement trade deal commitments before he raises tariffs on EU goods, including cars, to "much higher levels." Trump said in a Truth Social post that he issued the new deadline during a "great call" with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, in which the two leaders also agreed that Iran could never have a nuclear weapon. In a surprise move, Trump last Frida

May 8 ------ The US military said it carried out strikes on Iranian military targets after an attack on three American destroyers in the Strait of Hormuz, while Tehran accused Washington of striking first. The violence threatened to unravel a fragile truce in effect since April 8 that brought an end to weeks of US-Israeli attacks on the Islamic Republic, which has retaliated with strikes across the Middle East and by blocking the strait, a vital route for oil and gas shipment

THE HAGUE, Netherlands, May 8 ------ A total of 30 passengers left the hantavirus-stricken Hondius during its call at the remote British island of Saint Helena, the cruise ship's Dutch operator said. "Thirty guests disembarked MV Hondius on Saint Helena on April 24, 2026. This number includes the body of the guest who passed away on board MV Hondius on April 11," Oceanwide Expeditions said in a statement. The company added that all people who left the ship had been contacted.

May 8 ------ Ukraine struck Russian oil refineries in Perm, around 1,500 km (932 miles) away from the border. Russian officials acknowledged attacks on industrial sites, while local media confirmed the oil refineries were hit. Ukrainian forces later claimed responsibility for the attack. Perm is located in the Ural Mountains, the range separating Europe and Asia within Russia. Its distance from Ukraine makes the strike one of Kyiv’s rarer long-range attacks deep inside Russia

MIAMI, May 8 ------ Ukraine's top negotiator Rustem Umerov met his US counterparts in Florida in a bid to revive mostly frozen talks on ending Russia's invasion, Kyiv and Washington said. US-mediated talks on ending Europe's worst conflict since World War II have shown little progress since February, when Washington shifted focus to its war against Iran. "The Secretary of the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine will hold a series of meetings today with envoys of