Philippine News

PARIS, June 11 ------ French President Emmanuel Macron said his Ukrainian counterpart would attend the G7 summit next week in France to "rebuild consensus" on support for Ukraine, while leaders of four Arab states would be invited for talks on the Middle East conflict. The invitees would attend sessions on Tuesday at the summit of the Group of Seven leading economies -- Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United States -- to be held in the French lakeside

KYIV, Ukraine, June 11 ------ A series of long-range Ukrainian attacks hit targets deep inside Russia on Wednesday, part of Kyiv's efforts to raise the costs of the war for the Kremlin by striking energy facilities and military industries. President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukrainian forces struck several military and energy infrastructure sites, including a military factory that he said supplied components for Russian drones and missiles. In a post on social media, Zelensky

June 10 ------ The United States launched strikes against Iran after President Donald Trump said Tehran had shot down a US Apache helicopter in the Strait of Hormuz, deepening doubts about prospects for peace between the two countries. “They shot down a helicopter, and we are responding as we speak,” Trump told ABC News. “I believe the response should be very strong, very powerful, and that’s what this one is.” Iran’s state media reported that Qeshm Island in the Strait of

NAIROBI/LONDON/GENEVA, June 10 ------ Nearly a month into one of the world’s largest ever Ebola outbreaks, medics in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo are struggling to secure basic equipment to stay safe and prevent further spread of the disease, according to more than a dozen doctors, humanitarian workers and public health officials. While major donors are surging funding, the size of the outbreak, reductions in pre-positioned stocks due to aid cuts, and logistical pro

TALLINN, Estonia, June 10 ------ Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met with Nordic and Baltic leaders who were in Estonia for a regional summit, a visit that comes amid friction over Ukrainian drones straying into the region in recent months. The drones have crashed into the chimney of a power plant in Estonia, hit empty fuel tanks in Latvia and been shot down by Romanian fighter jets stationed in Lithuania. Ukrainian officials apologized, saying the drones had been aime

June 10 ------ Ukraine and Latvia signed a new drone cooperation agreement, aimed at strengthening joint defense capabilities and expanding cooperation in defense production, President Volodymyr Zelensky said. According to Zelensky, the agreement was reached during his first meeting with Latvian Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs and represents a step toward deeper defense cooperation between the two countries. “We signed the Drone Deal. These are concrete steps to strengthen o

NEW YORK/LONDON, June 9 ------ The dollar eased but hovered near its highest level in nearly two months, after Iran and Israel agreed to halt attacks on each other following an appeal by U.S. President Donald Trump. The pause in strikes by both Iran and Israel lured investors into other currencies that had been dented after strong U.S. jobs data on Friday prompted traders to ramp up bets on a Federal Reserve rate rise this year. The attacks over 24 hours were the most direc

TEHRAN, Iran, June 9 ------ Iran and Israel said that hostilities between them had halted, after the two countries exchanged strikes that threatened to reignite the Middle East war. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that the "fire on that front is contained" hours after Tehran said it had stopped its military action. Tehran launched missiles at Israel on Sunday over Israel's ongoing war against Hezbollah in Lebanon. Israel then struck back, despite efforts

June 9 ------ US presidential envoys are ready to step up diplomatic efforts aimed at ending Russia’s war against Ukraine after a brief but “very positive” meeting in Moldova with President Volodymyr Zelensky. According to Zelensky’s official Telegram report, the meeting with Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner was during a stopover at Chisinau Airport, where the three discussed pushing forward diplomacy to end the war. “The conversation was very positive,” Zelensky said. “I am

June 9 ------ Ukraine’s Defense Ministry has authorized 30 companies to form private air defense groups, marking a major expansion of an already established experimental project that brings businesses directly into the country’s air defense efforts against Russian drone attacks. Officials say these units are already helping shield factories and critical-, as well as civilian-, infrastructures that are frequent targets. The project, first launched in November 2025, enables

BEIJING, June 8 ------ Oil prices were up more than $2 a barrel on Monday after Israel on Sunday launched renewed strikes on Lebanon despite a truce between the two countries, eroding hopes for an end to the wider war and a restart to crude flows through the Strait of Hormuz. U.S. crude futures were up $2.10, or 2.32 per cent, at $92.64 per barrel as of 0013 GMT, while Brent crude futures rose $2.33, or 2.5 per cent, to $95.42 a barrel. That erased most of the losses from Fri

TAIPEI, June 8 ------ Taiwan's coast guard said its vessels were in a "standoff" with Chinese ships involved in an operation in waters southeast of the island democracy. Chinese state media reported on Saturday that the "law enforcement operation" was in response to talks between Japan and the Philippines to draw a boundary in waters to the east of Taiwan. China, which asserts Taiwan is part of its territory, called the talks "illegal" and has claimed exclusive control over t

LONDON, June 8 ------ A Russian drone strike killed three people waiting at a bus stop in southeastern Ukraine, an official said, as British Prime Minister Keir Starmer hosts the leaders of Ukraine, France, and Germany for talks on ongoing support for Kyiv. Another person was wounded in the drone attack in Balabyne in Ukraine’s southern Zaporizhzhia region, the head of the regional military administration, Ivan Fedorov, wrote on his Telegram channel. A separate drone strike d

June 8 ------ Since the start of Russia’s aggression in 2014, 8.5 million Ukrainians have left the country, according to the Ukrainian Parliament’s Commissioner for Human Rights, Dmytro Lubinets. Lubinets shared the data on Telegram following his participation in the World Ukrainian Summit. A staggering global challenge According to calculations provided by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), more than 5.7 million Ukrainians have fled the country since

June 7 ------ Residents of Gaza, south Lebanon, northern Israel and Kuwait were all under fire this week despite US-arranged ceasefires supposedly in force in their regions. Israeli airstrikes hit Gaza and Lebanon, with Israeli forces still actively deployed in both places. Hezbollah rockets struck northern Israel, and Iranian attacks targeted Kuwait’s international airport. The continued violence prompted US President Donald Trump to comment on Wednesday, June 3, that ceasef

TAIPEI, June 7 ------ The Taiwanese and Chinese Coast Guards were engaged in another tense standoff near the strategically located Pratas Islands at the top ​of the South China Sea, Taiwan said, the second ‌time in a fortnight that this has happened. China claims democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, a position the government in Taipei rejects. China has pressured Taiwan ​by increasing its military presence around the island over the past ​five years. Lying rou

HONG KONG, June 6 ------ The Japanese yen is testing the 160 barrier, prompting pushback from Japanese officials, while the U.S. dollar is on track for a weekly gain as Gulf tensions fuel safe-haven flows. The yen weakened to the critical 160-per-dollar mark briefly in early trades, hitting the level for the third straight session despite verbal warnings from authorities. The 160 level is widely seen in markets as a line in the ‌sand ⁠for potential official intervention. Japa

NEW YORK, June 6 ------ Oil prices and the dollar retreated as traders tracked conflicting developments in the Middle East war, while equity markets mostly rose despite a disappointing outlook from US chipmaker Broadcom weighing upon AI stocks. Iran reported "no tangible progress" in negotiations on ending the war, even as the US House of Representatives passed a resolution seeking to halt American military action. Israel, meanwhile, struck south Lebanon and threatened new at

June 5 ------ Lebanon and Israel have agreed to the implementation of a ceasefire, according to a joint statement with the US released by the State Department, following negotiations in Washington. The ceasefire is contingent on a complete cessation of fire by the Iran-aligned Hezbollah militia and the evacuation of all its operatives from the South Litani Sector, according to the statement. The two sides agreed last month to a ceasefire, but hostilities continued. Israel

TOKYO, June 5 ------ Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi stressed the need for island nations to strengthen cooperation over maritime issues. In her address at the opening ceremony of the Island States Ocean Summit in Tokyo, Takaichi said collaboration among like-minded countries is indispensable to achieving a sustainable ocean based on the rule of law, expressing Japan's intention to work more closely with other island countries to grasp the maritime situations and boo