Philippine News

December 26 ------ Pope Leo has urged Ukraine and Russia to find the "courage" to hold direct talks to end the war during his first Christmas remarks to crowds in St Peter's square. He called for an end to conflicts around the world during his Urbi et Orbi address, which is traditionally delivered by the pontiff on Christmas Day to worshippers gathered in Vatican City. Speaking about Ukraine, the Pope said: "May the clamor of weapons cease, and may the parties involved, with

KYIV, December 26 ------ Ukraine won some concessions in the latest version of a US-led draft plan to end the Russian invasion, revealed by President Volodymyr Zelensky, though key questions remain over territory and whether Moscow could accept the new terms. The 20-point plan, agreed on by US and Ukrainian negotiators, was being reviewed by Moscow, but the Kremlin is unlikely to abandon its hardline territorial demands for full Ukrainian withdrawal from the east. Zelensky al

December 25 ------ Pope Leo XIV went on social media to suggest a "precious gift" this Christmas.  The Pontiff described it as a "more precious gift than any that can be bought." “Before the holy night of Christmas, find one person with whom to make peace. This will be a more precious gift than any that can be bought," said Pope Leo on X.  "Because peace is a gift found only in the heart,” he added. Source: gmanetwork.com

LONDON, December 25 ------ Britain's Prince William took his oldest son, Prince George, to a homelessness charity in London where the pair helped make Christmas lunch for people in need, Kensington Palace said. The visit was particularly poignant for William, heir to the throne, because his late mother Princess Diana had taken him to the same charity when he was 11 years old, an experience which inspired him to set up a program aimed at ending homelessness. During the trip to

NIIGATA, Japan, December 24 ------ The Japanese region of Niigata is expected to endorse a decision to restart the world's largest nuclear power plant a watershed moment in the country's pivot back to nuclear since the 2011 Fukushima disaster. Kashiwazaki-Kariwa, located about 220 km (136 miles) northwest of Tokyo, was among 54 reactors shut after a massive earthquake and tsunami crippled the Fukushima Daiichi plant in the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl. Since then, J

December 24 ------ The U.S. Powerball jackpot has climbed to an estimated $1.6 billion ahead, cementing its place among the largest lottery prizes in American history. The jackpot swelled after Saturday's drawing produced no winners, allowing the payout to climb. The next drawing was set for 10:59 p.m. ET on Monday (0359 GMT on Tuesday), with the odds of winning the jackpot 1 in 292.2 million. Players may choose between an annuitized payout of $1.6 billion over 29 years or a

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia, December 23 ------ More than half a million people in Cambodia have been displaced by two weeks of deadly border clashes with neighboring Thailand, Phnom Penh said ahead of regional talks aimed at easing tensions. The renewed fighting between the Southeast Asian neighbors this month, including with tanks, drones and artillery, has killed at least 22 people in Thailand and 19 in Cambodia, officials said. The conflict stems from a territorial dispute over

SYDNEY, Australia, December 23 ------ Australians fell silent in flickering candlelight on Sunday to honor the Bondi Beach shooting victims, marking one week since gunmen fired into crowds at a Jewish festival. A father and son are accused of targeting the beachside Hanukkah celebration, killing 15 people in the nation's deadliest mass shooting in almost three decades. From raucous city pubs to sleepy country towns, Australia observed a minute's silence at 6:47 pm (0747 GMT)

MIAMI, December 23 ------ A White House envoy said he held “productive and constructive” talks in Florida with Ukrainian and European representatives to end the nearly four-year war between Russia and Ukraine. Posting on social media, Steve Witkoff said the talks aimed at aligning on a shared strategic approach between Ukraine, the United States and Europe. “Our shared priority is to stop the killing, ensure guaranteed security, and create conditions for Ukraine's recovery, s

December 23 ------ The Ukrainian army is battling an attempted Russian breakthrough in the Sumy region, it has said, after reports Moscow forcibly moved 50 people from a border village there. That marks a renewed Russian advance in the part of the region largely spared from intense ground fighting since Ukraine regained land there in a 2022 counteroffensive. “Fighting is currently ongoing in the village of Grabovske,” Ukraine’s joint taskforce said adding the troops were “mak

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia, December 22 ------ Thailand carried out more airstrikes on Cambodia, claiming its jet fighters struck a warehouse where the Cambodian army had stored rockets that had been deployed to deadly effect in combat that began last week. that have been damaged by the fighting, with Thailand claiming Cambodian forces had used them as began last week. The two nations have been fighting over patches of territory along the border that both claim. Several disputed ar

DUBAI, December 22 ------ Abu Dhabi National Oil Company has secured $11 billion in structured financing to monetize future gas production from its Hail and Ghasha development, the state company said, after Russia's Lukoil exited the project. The deal, signed with partners Eni, opens new tab and PTTEP, opens new tab, involves 20 global and regional banks. It uses a "pre-export finance" model backed by future gas throughput, providing upfront cash years before first production

BRUSSELS, December 22 ------ European Union leaders agreed to provide a massive interest-free loan to Ukraine to meet its military and economic needs for the next two years, EU Council President Antonio Costa said, but they failed to agree to use frozen Russian assets to raise the funds. “We have a deal. Decision to provide 90 billion euros ($106 billion) of support to Ukraine for 2026-27 approved. We committed, we delivered,” Costa said in a post on social media. The money w

December 22 ------ Ahead of the late-night talks in Brussels, the UK government had indicated it was prepared to share the risks with European allies of using frozen Russian assets to aid Ukraine. What we've ended up with instead, as we've been reporting overnight, is €90bn for Kyiv via an interest-free loan from the EU. Belgium had been the most concerned about using Russian assets, as most of those frozen since the war began are kept there, and it feared potential future re

TOKYO, December 21 ------ Hundreds of people across Japan sued the central government, seeking damages for its “unconstitutional” inaction on climate change, the East Asian country’s first such litigation. The landmark lawsuit criticizes Japan’s “grossly inadequate” fight against the climate crisis, saying it jeopardizes the health and livelihoods of the approximately 450 plaintiffs. “We just submitted our complaint and evidence to the court, and our lawsuit has been official

VATICAN CITY, December 21 ------ Pope Leo XIV has sounded the alarm over the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the military, saying delegating such decisions to machines was a "destructive betrayal" of the principles that uphold civilization. "Further technological advances and the military implementation of artificial intelligence have worsened the tragedy of armed conflict," he said in his first message for World Peace Day. "There is even a growing tendency among polit

HONG KONG, December 20 ------ Asian markets sank after another sell-off on Wall Street as worries over the tech sector's colossal spending on artificial intelligence continued to dog investor sentiment. Hopes for an end-of-year rally have been dealt with a blow after the Federal Reserve last week hinted that it could pause its interest rate cuts next month, while more questions are being asked about the cash pumped into AI. While the US central bank's three successive rate re

SEOUL, December 20 ------ South Korea’s President Lee Jae Myung has said new livestreamed briefings in which he has dressed down officials might be “more entertaining than Netflix” as he seeks to boost transparency, in contrast to his more autocratic predecessor. Regular presidential policy briefings were long held behind closed doors, but Seoul has begun streaming them online as part of a push for more “direct democracy.” The move is a stark departure from the previous conse

WASHINGTON, December 19 ------ The Trump administration has announced a massive package of arms sales to Taiwan valued at more than $10 billion that includes medium-range missiles, howitzers, and drones, a move that is sure to infuriate China. The State Department announced the sales late Wednesday during a nationally televised address by President Donald Trump, who made scant mention of foreign policy issues and did not speak about China or Taiwan at all. U.S.-Chinese tensio

TOKYO, December 19 ------ The dollar held gains against its major counterparts as markets positioned for central bank decisions in Britain, Europe, and Japan. Sterling remained lower after an unexpected drop in UK inflation backed the case for a rate cut by the Bank of England. The yen trimmed losses from the previous session as the Bank of Japan starts a two-day meeting that is expected to result in a hike in policy rates to a three-decade high. The dollar took in stride com