Philippine News

HOUSTON, November 14 ------ Oil prices held largely steady after declining around 4% in the previous session as investors weighed concerns about global oversupply with looming sanctions against Russia's Lukoil. Brent crude futures rose 30 cents, or 0.5%, to $63.01 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude increased 20 cents, or 0.3%, to $58.69 a barrel, after a decline of 4.2%. "There should be considerable support to oil prices around $60/bbl, especially given there could

WASHINGTON, USA, November 14 ------ President Donald Trump signed legislation ending the longest government shutdown in US history, hours after the House of Representatives voted to restart disrupted food assistance, pay hundreds of thousands of federal workers, and revive a hobbled air-traffic control system. The Republican-controlled chamber passed the package by a vote of 222-209, with Trump’s support largely keeping his party together in the face of vehement opposition fr

LONDON/KYIV, November 14 ------ President Volodymyr Zelensky visited troops near Ukraine's southeastern front warning of the need to shore up the lines after losing ground in increasingly high-intensity battles far from Russia's main offensive in the east. Zelensky, whose government is reeling from a corruption scandal, said the situation near the village of Orikhiv was "one of the most difficult" on a sprawling front and that thwarting Russian forces there was key to shieldi

WASHINGTON, November 14 ------ The International Monetary Fund will soon begin a staff mission to Ukraine to discuss its financing needs and a potential new lending program, spokesperson Julie Kozack said underscoring the need for continued anti-corruption efforts in the war-torn country. Ukrainian Prime Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko on Thursday announced an audit of all state-owned companies, including in the energy sector, following an alleged $100 million corruption scandal t

TAIPEI, November 13 ------ Taiwan evacuated more than 8,300 people from coastal and mountainous areas and closed schools before a tropical storm brushes the southern part of the island on Wednesday. Fung-wong had super typhoon strength when it battered the Philippines on Sunday, causing flooding, landslides, power outages, and at least 27 deaths. Still holding tropical storm strength on Wednesday morning, it was expected to continue losing wind speed and size as it approached

SYDNEY, Australia, November 13 ------ Australia and Indonesia agreed to sign a new security treaty, which includes closer military cooperation, the two countries' leaders said after talks in Sydney. Canberra has drawn ever nearer to longtime ally Washington, bolstering its military in an attempt to deter the might of a rising China in the Asia-Pacific region. Jakarta has walked a more neutral path, wary of drawing too close to Washington and far less willing to needle Beijing

November 13 ------ Russia’s chargé d’affaires in Turkey, Alexey Ivanov, has claimed that Moscow remains “ready to resume direct negotiations with the Ukrainian side,” according to comments published by Russian media. “The Russian side has repeatedly emphasized that we are ready to continue direct negotiations with the Ukrainian delegation,” Ivanov said. “Our Turkish partners consistently stress that the Istanbul platform remains available to us, and these doors remain open.”

NIAGARA, Ontario, November 13 ------ Top diplomats from the world’s leading industrialized democracies have converged on southern Ontario, Canada, with Russia’s war in Ukraine dominating their agenda. Before pivoting to discuss trade spats and defense spending demands, G7 foreign ministers will meet with Ukraine’s top diplomat early Wednesday to coordinate fresh aid as Russia intensifies its winter assault on the country’s energy grid. The sense of urgency is palpable. Russia

BANGKOK, November 12 ------ Thailand's military said that "hostilities still remain" with Cambodia, a day after Bangkok suspended the implementation of a United States-backed peace deal over a landmine blast that wounded four troops. The deal, brokered by US President Donald Trump in October, was meant to wind down a conflict that peaked with five days of clashes in July that killed at least 43 people and displaced about 300,000 civilians on both sides. Both sides agreed unde

HANOI, November 12 ------ Three men swept far from Vietnam's coast by Typhoon Kalmaegi have been plucked safely from the surf after drifting helplessly for more than 40 hours, a rescuer and the wife of one of the survivors said. They were rescued in an operation involving three vessels scouring the waters off Vietnam's central coast, said a sailor aboard one of the rescue ships. Phan Hau, 40, whose boat pulled one of the three men to safety, told Agence France-Presse (AFP): "

WASHINGTON, DC, November 12 ------ In a surprise reversal that has alarmed Ukraine and its allies in the UN, the Trump administration is pushing to strip language from a resolution that affirms the country’s territorial integrity and condemns Russia’s occupation of Crimea and other regions, according to two people familiar with internal UN discussions. The annual resolution, submitted by Ukraine to the Third Committee of the UN General Assembly – formally titled: “Situation o

NIAGARA, Ontario, November 12 ------ US Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrives today in Canada’s Niagara region for a meeting of the Group of Seven (G7) foreign ministers, carrying the weight of President Donald Trump’s recalibrated approach to Russia’s war in Ukraine and a protectionist-tinged foreign policy agenda. Rubio is expected to press ahead with what the administration calls “President Trump’s peace initiatives in Ukraine and Gaza” while engaging allies on a wide sla

NEW YORK, November 11 ------ Oil prices settled higher as analysts focused on potential fuel supply disruptions from fresh U.S. sanctions and Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian refineries, although predictions of a crude supply surplus kept gains in check. Brent crude futures rose 43 cents, or 0.7%, to settle at $64.06 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures advanced 38 cents, or 0.6%, to close at $60.13 a barrel.   Fuel futures led gains in the oil complex

OTTAWA, November 11 ------ Canada has lost its measles elimination status after nearly three decades due to its failure to curb a year-long outbreak, the Pan American Health Organization said on Monday, a loss that also results in the Americas region losing the status.   Health experts last month predicted the Pan American Health Organization would strip Canada of its elimination status. The country has recorded more than 5,000 measles cases in nine of its 10 provinces and on

KYIV, November 11 ------ Ukraine's anti-corruption bureau said it was investigating the country's energy sector, alleging a $100 million kickback scheme involving the state nuclear power company. The state agency, which operates independently of the Ukrainian government, announced the investigation as Ukraine braces for winter with its power sector under frequent fire from Russia and facing regular outages.   It alleged in a statement published on social media that a "high-le

KYIV, November 11 ------ Ukraine and Russia issued conflicting accounts of fighting around Myrnohrad, an embattled town to the east of Pokrovsk, which Moscow's forces have enveloped from almost all sides. Pokrovsk has been a key target of Russia's troops in their slow drive westward to capture the Donetsk region, and fighting has gripped the area around Myrnohrad.   The Ukrainian military, in a statement on Facebook, said it had delivered supplies into Myrnohrad and rotated o

WASHINGTON, November 10 ------ U.S. airlines canceled more than 2,100 flights as Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned that air traffic across the nation could “slow to a trickle” if the federal government shutdown lingers into the busy Thanksgiving travel holiday season. The slowdown at 40 of the nation’s busiest airports is now in its third day and beginning to cause more widespread disruptions. The FAA last week ordered flight cuts at the nation’s busiest airports as

KUALA LUMPUR, November 10 ------ Hundreds were missing after a boat sank near the Thailand-Malaysia border, as 10 survivors and one body were recovered, the Malaysian maritime authority said. More victims might still be found at sea some three days after the sinking of the vessel, which left Buthidaung, Myanmar, with about 300 people on board, said First Admiral Romli Mustafa, the maritime authority director of the northern Malaysian states of Kedah and Perlis. Among the surv

KYIV, November 10 ------ Ukraine was scrambling to turn lights and heating back after Russian attacks targeting energy infrastructure reduced the country's power generating capacity to "zero." Moscow, which has escalated attacks on Ukraine's infrastructure in recent months, launched hundreds of drones at energy facilities across the country overnight. The attacks interrupted electricity, heat and water supplies in several cities, with state power firm Centerenergo warning gen

WASHINGTON DC, November 10 ------ A bipartisan group of US lawmakers has quietly introduced new legislation that would dramatically expand the scope of US assistance to Ukraine, shifting focus away from heavy military hardware and toward a sensitive new front: deploying US law enforcement and intelligence capabilities to help Kyiv locate and return thousands of prisoners of war, civilian detainees, and forcibly transferred Ukrainian children. The bill, H.R. 5962, was dropped