Philippine News

SINGAPORE, November 3 ------ Oil prices climbed in early Asian trade on Monday after OPEC+ decided to hold off production hikes in the first quarter of next year, easing rising fears of a supply glut. Brent crude futures rose 47 cents, or 0.73%, to $65.24 a barrel by 2336 GMT after closing 7 cents higher on Friday. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was at $61.43 a barrel, up 45 cents, or 0.74%, after settling up 41 cents in the previous session. The Organization of the Petro

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, November 3 ------ U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth urged Southeast Asian nations to stand firm and strengthen their maritime forces to counter China's increasingly “destabilizing” actions in the South China Sea. Hours later, he struck a notably softer tone online, saying that U.S.–China ties have “never been better” and that both sides agreed to set up direct military communication channels. Speaking at a Saturday meeting in Malaysia with his counte

LONDON, November 3 ------ Russia has in recent months attacked Ukraine with a cruise missile whose secret development prompted Donald Trump to abandon a nuclear arms control pact with Moscow in his first term as U.S. president, Ukraine's foreign minister said. Andrii Sybiha's comments are the first confirmation that Russia has used the ground-launched 9M729 missile in combat - in Ukraine or elsewhere. Russia has fired the missiles at Ukraine 23 times since August, a second se

SEOUL, November 3 ------ Two North Korean prisoners of war (POWs) held in Ukraine have pleaded to live in South Korea, a human rights organization told AFP. The prisoners made the request during an interview for a documentary film that the organization, Gyeore-eol Nation United, helped coordinate. Around 10,000 North Korean troops were sent in 2024 to fight for Russia in its war against Ukraine, according to South Korean and Western intelligence agencies. “The two (POWs) aske

ROME, November 2 ------ Pope Leo XIV urged Catholic teachers to focus less on pre-professional outcomes and more on educating students to have rich spiritual lives and use technology in ways that keep human dignity front and center. Leo issued a set of marching orders to Catholic educators during a special Holy Year celebration that has brought thousands of teachers, students, and administrators to Rome. The brief text, which Leo signed at a Mass for Jubilee pilgrims on Monda

LINUM, Germany, November 2 ------ In a spot outside Berlin that's usually a paradise for birdwatchers, volunteers have recovered nearly 2,000 dead cranes in recent days as bird flu has hit the migrating birds hard. Linum, a small village about an hour's travel from the German capital, is known in summer for its many nesting storks. In the fall and spring, it's a popular resting spot for thousands of cranes as they migrate between the Baltic and Nordic regions and southern Eur

SYDNEY, Australia, November 1 ------ Instagram owner Meta and other social media firms said on Tuesday they would comply with a ban on users younger than 16 years old, adding that they would start deactivating accounts once the law takes effect on Dec. 10. In parliament, Meta, TikTok owner ByteDance, and Snapchat owner Snap said they continued to believe the ban would not protect young people, but they would soon reach out to owners of more than a million underage accounts to

SINGAPORE, November 1 ------ The manufacturer of a popular Thai herbal inhaler has recalled a batch of the product after it failed health quality tests due to microbial contamination. Thailand’s food and drug administration (FDA) said on Tuesday (Oct 28) that a batch of Hong Thai Herbal’s Formula 2 brand of herbal inhaler failed to meet the required standards in microbial contamination tests, specifically microbial counts, combined yeasts and mold counts, and the presence of

NEW YORK, October 31 ------ The dollar gained after the US central bank lowered rates as expected, but Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell pushed back against market pricing for another rate cut at the December meeting. The rate cut drew dissents from two policymakers, with Governor Stephen Miran again calling for a deeper reduction in borrowing costs and Kansas City Fed President Jeffrey Schmid favoring no cut at all, given ongoing inflation. "The dissent from Schmid is hawk

TOKYO, October 31 ------ Japan's government saw that the economy in October was recovering moderately because of solid capital expenditures in a monthly report issued. The government report also reiterated its cautiously optimistic outlook that the economy, the world's fourth largest, is expected to recover gradually, led by improving employment conditions, but warned of downside risks from U.S. trade policies. "Although the impact of the U.S. trade policies is primarily affe

HAVANA, October 30 ------ Hurricane Melissa slammed into Cuba hours after causing devastation in neighboring Jamaica as the strongest-ever storm on record to hit that Caribbean island nation. Melissa hit the southern coast of eastern Cuba with maximum sustained winds of 120 mph (195 kph), the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said. Around 735,000 people were evacuated from their homes in eastern Cuba as the storm approached, authorities said. Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Cane

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, October 30 ------ Pakistan said that negotiations for a lasting truce with Afghanistan had "failed to bring about a workable solution", warning it would take steps to protect its people. Pakistan and Afghanistan have been holding negotiations in Istanbul aimed at securing peace after the South Asian neighbors' deadliest border clashes in years. The violence, which killed more than 70 people and wounded hundreds, erupted following explosions in Kabul on Oc

October 30 ------ President Volodymyr Zelensky urged US President Donald Trump, during the latter’s visit to Asia, to pressure Chinese leader Xi Jinping to cut his support for Russia when the two leaders meet. Trump promised he would discuss the Russian invasion of Ukraine when he meets Xi on Thursday in South Korea. “If President Trump manages to hold talks, make decisions, and reach an understanding with China to reduce imports of Russian energy, I think it will help all of

KYIV, October 30 ------ Ukraine is ready for peace talks but will not withdraw its troops from additional territory first as Moscow has demanded, President Volodymyr Zelensky said. In comments to reporters released, he said he was happy for talks to be held anywhere, except in Russia itself or on the territory of Moscow's close ally, Belarus. Plans for a summit in Budapest this month between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin were put on hold aft

NEW YORK, October 29 ------ The Japanese yen gained rebounding from seven consecutive days of losses against the U.S. dollar, after comments from a Japanese minister and U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent eased some concerns about more expansionary fiscal and monetary policy in the country. Japan's new economic revitalization minister, Minoru Kiuchi, said that Japan can boost its long-term potential growth by stimulating demand and keeping the labor market tight while bein

JERUSALEM/CAIRO, October 29 ------ Israeli planes launched strikes in Gaza after Israel accused the militant group Hamas of violating a ceasefire in the Palestinian territory, the latest test of a fragile deal brokered earlier this month by U.S. President Donald Trump. Local health authorities said the strikes killed at least 26 people, including five in a house hit in the Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip, four in a building in Gaza City's Sabra neighborhood, and

KYIV, October 29 ------ Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky says Kyiv needs European financial support to continue fighting Russian forces for another two or three years. Kyiv has been largely dependent on military and financial support from allies abroad to hold off Moscow’s army, which launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. “I emphasized this again to all European leaders. I told them that we are not going to fight for decades, but you must show that

MEXICO CITY, Mexico, October 29 ------ McLaren’s Lando Norris avoided early mayhem to cruise to a dominant Mexico City Grand Prix win and retake the Formula One championship lead by a single point from teammate Oscar Piastri. Australian Piastri, who started the race seventh and 14 points clear of the Briton, finished fifth after a virtual safety car in the last two laps denied him a shot at fourth after a thrilling chase. Charles Leclerc was runner-up for Ferrari, a hefty 30.

KINGSTON/HAVANA, October 28 ------ Hurricane Melissa began lashing Jamaica with violent gusts as the U.S. National Hurricane Center upgraded it to a Category 5 storm packing sustained winds of 165 mph, the largest on record to slam into the Caribbean Island. Cuba, the eastern Bahamas, and Turks and Caicos also lie in the expected path of the storm, which will make its way north and east towards Bermuda later this week. The hurricane is expected to stay well offshore of the Un

LONDON/MOSCOW, October 28 ------ OPEC+, the world’s largest grouping of oil-producing nations, is leaning towards a modest output boost in December, four sources familiar with the talks said, as they push on with monthly increases aimed at clawing back market share. Having curbed production over several years in a bid to support the oil market, the group, which includes Russia and Saudi Arabia, started easing those curbs in April. In a series of monthly increases, eight OPEC+