Philippine News

KYIV, June 23 ------ Ukraine's economy ministry has proposed raising state railway Ukrzaliznytsia's freight tariffs by 30% from August 1 to help stabilize the company's financial position, although steelmakers and agricultural producers warned this could make them less competitive. With the war with Russia now in its fifth year, rail remains a vital part of Ukraine's logistics network, carrying both freight and passengers. But increased spending on security and infrastructu

KYIV, Ukraine, June 23 ------ A Russian drone strike on the city of Sumy in northeastern Ukraine killed three members of the same family, including a 13-year-old boy, while a Ukrainian strike on a Russian industrial plant killed five people, officials said. Russia has pounded civilian areas of Ukraine with drones and missiles since its all-out invasion more than four years ago. Ukraine increasingly has struck back against oil facilities and military factories deep inside Ru

BURGENSTOCK, SWITZERLAND, June 22 ------ Iran’s delegation walked out of the Swiss venue where it held talks with the United States towards permanently ending the Middle East war, after Donald Trump threatened to strike the Islamic Republic over its support for Hezbollah. The negotiations to end a war that sowed chaos across the region and rattled the global economy are meant to trigger a 60-day period to settle broader issues that have dogged US-Iranian relations for decades

SYDNEY, June 22 ------ Australia will do all it can to curb any spread of H5N1 bird flu, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said, as the first mainland infection was confirmed in a seabird a day after being detected in a remote southwestern region. Until now, Australia has been the only continent without a confirmed mainland case, although the virus was detected in late 2025 on the sub-Antarctic territory of Heard Island, about 4,100 kilometers from continental Australia. “This

June 22 ------ THE Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southeastern Ukraine said that external power had been restored after the station had been obliged to rely on diesel generation for a time. A statement issued by the plant's Russian management on Telegram said the plant was operating normally after the transition back to external power. Radiation levels were normal. The UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, also reported the restora

KYIV, June 22 ------ Ukraine's stronger position in the war with Russia has yet to relieve the humanitarian ‌crisis felt by millions of displaced Ukrainians and worsened by a plunge in aid spending, the head of the International Rescue Committee said. Ukraine has slowed Russia's advances on the battlefield to a virtual halt in recent ​months, prompting G7 leaders to recognize at a summit last week that momentum in ​the war has shifted. Speaking during a visit to Ukraine, Davi

WASHINGTON, June 21 ------ U.S. health advisers are debating a new kind of flu vaccine, the first made with the same mRNA technology that was key to ending the COVID-19 pandemic. Moderna is seeking Food and Drug Administration approval of its new shot, dubbed mFlusiva, as an option for people 50 and older. The FDA advisory committee meeting is a step toward a final decision ahead of the winter flu season. Tens of thousands of Americans die from influenza every year, and o

GENEVA, Switzerland, June 21 ------ The space for freedom of expression is shrinking dramatically as many countries, abetted by new technologies and digital giants, suppress dissent and as artificial intelligence (AI) runs “amok,” a United Nations expert warned. Irene Kahn, the UN special rapporteur on the freedom of opinion and expression, said the ongoing conflation of state and corporate interests was weakening that freedom. “Freedom of opinion and expression, a fundam

PERTH, June 20 ------ Oil prices fell on the prospect of more supply returning to the market after oil tankers began to move through the Strait of Hormuz following the signing of the US-Iran interim peace deal. Brent crude futures fell 54 cents, or 0.68 per cent, to US$78.31 a barrel as of 1.46am GMT (9.46am, Singapore time). US West Texas Intermediate crude slipped 46 cents, or 0.60 per cent, to US$76.14 a barrel. The front-month July contract expires on Monday. The more

DAKAR, Senegal, June 20 ------ The Ebola outbreak in Congo and Uganda has claimed more than 200 lives in its first month and is the worst known outbreak at this stage, with up to 35,000 suspected potential contacts, Africa’s Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said. With 894 confirmed cases so far, the current outbreak is three times worse than a previous outbreak in Uganda in 2000, which had 281 cases at the same point, said Dr. Wessam Mankoula, a medical epidemiologi

June 19 ------ While the 14-point framework, read out by U.S. officials, sets a temporary roadmap for de-escalation and opens a 60-day negotiation period to resolve key issues in a future final agreement. The MoU outlines a broad framework for ending hostilities between the United States and Iran, restoring regional stability and maritime access including the Strait of Hormuz, enabling major sanctions relief and release of frozen Iranian assets, and supporting a large-scale e

BRUSSELS, June 19 ------ European Union leaders debated new and tougher measures that could be needed to curb the bloc's growing trade deficit with China and its heavy reliance on the world's second-largest economy for rare earths and other critical supplies. EU diplomats say there is a gradual convergence of views among the 27 EU members that there is a problem with the goods trade deficit with China, which now amounts to some €1 billion ($1.15 billion) per day. The situa

BRUSSELS, Belgium, June 19 ------ Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called on European allies to step up help for Kyiv to down Russian ballistic missiles and speed up purchases of US weaponry. "We have the tools, and they are strong enough to put Russia on a path where diplomacy becomes the only choice," Zelensky told Kyiv's backers at a meeting in NATO's Brussels headquarters. "We all see that (Russian President Vladimir) Putin is now relying on one lasting thing: co

MOSCOW, June 19 ------ Ukraine launched its largest drone attack on Moscow in years, sparking fires in and around Russia’s capital, hitting a major oil refinery and forcing evacuations at the country’s largest airport, officials said. Agence France-Presse (AFP) reporters saw large columns of black smoke spreading over the capital’s southern skyline in dramatic scenes, while flames could be seen burning on part of an oil complex in the southern Kapotnya district. A strong, u

June 18 ------ US President Donald Trump and Iran's president signed a deal Wednesday meant to end the Middle East war, with Tehran agreeing to dilute its enriched uranium in return for large-scale economic relief. Trump put his signature to the memorandum of understanding during dinner with French President Emmanuel Macron at the Palace of Versailles following a G7 summit, a US official told AFP. "Just signed it," Trump told reporters as he emerged from the palace. Irani

NEW YORK, June 18 ------ Wall Street stocks finished decisively lower while the dollar rallied after the Federal Reserve raised its inflation forecast and projected an interest rate hike by year-end. The US central bank, as expected, kept interest rates unchanged as newly installed Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh announced plans to broadly review Fed monetary policy protocols with an eye towards updating the institution. Warsh was appointed by US President Donald Trump, who had

June 18 ------ Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said late on Wednesday he had spoken to U.S. President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron in a "coordinating conversation" at the close of the G7 summit in Evian. "This was an important coordinating conversation which could change a great deal," Zelenskiy wrote on Telegram. "I am grateful to President Trump for his attention to Ukraine ⁠and for his readiness to help bring peace closer. I am grateful to Em

June 18 ------ Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that he hoped closer ties and undertaking joint projects with India would make both countries stronger. Zelensky, writing on Telegram after meeting Indian Prime Minister ⁠Narendra Modi at the G7 summit in France, said there was "great potential" in "filling joint projects with more meaning". "It is important that the prime minister is interested in developing mutually beneficial ⁠relations with Ukraine and sees tha

TEHRAN, June 17 ------ Iran said that talks with the United States on its nuclear program and sanctions relief were likely to begin later this week, as US President Donald Trump said the Strait of Hormuz would “completely open” once the foes sign their deal. Officials say negotiations over a final agreement would take place in a 60-day window after the memorandum of understanding to end nearly four months of war triggered by US-Israeli strikes on Iran is physically signed.

NAIROBI/DAKAR, June 17 ------ The head of Africa's Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned that the Ebola outbreak in Congo could be the worst ever, saying that currently tens of thousands of contacts of those ill with the disease had not been traced. "If we don't stop the outbreak very soon it will be worse than what we had in West Africa and eastern DRC," Africa CDC Director-General Jean Kaseya told a virtual meeting of African heads of state in Burundi. He wa