Philippine News

WASHINGTON DC, USA, January 19 ------ President Donald Trump vowed to implement a wave of increasing tariffs on European allies until the United States is allowed to buy Greenland, escalating a row over the future of Denmark’s vast Arctic island. In a post on Truth Social, Trump said additional 10% import tariffs would take effect on February 1 on goods from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Finland, and Great Britain — all already subject to tariffs

JAKARTA, Indonesia, January 19 ------ A passenger aircraft carrying 11 people lost contact with ground control while approaching a mountainous region between Indonesia’s main island of Java and Sulawesi island, officials said. A search and rescue operation has been launched. The turboprop ATR 42-500 operated by Indonesia Air Transport was on its way from Yogyakarta to the capital city of South Sulawesi when it vanished from radar, said Endah Purnama Sari, a spokesperson for t

KYIV, January 19 ------ Ukraine's peace negotiators arrived in the United States for talks on details of a ⁠proposed agreement to end the four-year war with Russia, the head of the Ukrainian president's office said. Kyrylo Budanov said the delegation would meet with White House envoy Steve Witkoff, President Donald Trump's ‍son-in-law Jared Kushner, and ⁠US ‍Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll. "Ukraine needs a just peace. We are working to achieve results," Budanov, ⁠a former mil

MANILA, January 19 ------ Tropical cyclone Ada (international name Nokaen) has weakened into a tropical depression, the weather bureau said in its 5 a.m. bulletin. The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said Ada packs maximum sustained winds of 55 kilometers per hour (kph) near the center and gustiness of up to 70 kph. It was last tracked 380 km east of Casiguran, Aurora, moving northeast at 10 kph. No tropical cyclone wind s

January 18 ------ EFREN "Bata" Reyes and Francisco "Django" Bustamante will banner the WNT Legends alongside fellow pool greats Earl Strickland and Ralf Souquet for a landmark three-day showcase at Gateway Mall, Quezon City, under the World Nineball Tour banner and in partnership with Puyat Sports. Daily play starts at 10 AM.   Designed as a celebration of legacy, rivalry, and personality, WNT Legends reunites four of the most influential figures the sport has ever known. Fro

January 18 ------ Dia Mate‘s yearlong reign as Reina Hispanoamericana will conclude next month, with the new queen set to be crowned at the end of the competition in Bolivia in February   Organizers of the international pageant announced the 2026 schedule on social media on Wednesday afternoon, Jan. 14, about a couple of weeks before the candidates are expected to arrive in Santa Cruz. “The excitement returns with a new edition of Reina Hispanoamericana 2026, which will be he

BAKU, January 18 ------ Global losses from natural disasters fell to USD224 billion in 2025, nearly 40 percent lower than the previous year, but extreme weather events linked to climate change remain a serious concern, reinsurance giant Munich Re said Tuesday.   In its annual disaster report, Munich Re said the decline was partly due to the absence of a hurricane making landfall in the United States for the first time in several years. Despite the drop, the company described

January 18 ------ The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) monitored 41 Chinese vessels in four key maritime features in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) during the first week of 2026, a figure higher than the recent weekly average of 25.   Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad, AFP spokesperson for the WPS, said monitoring from January 1 to 7 showed eight Chinese vessels in Bajo de Masinloc (Scarborough or Panatag Shoal), including two People’s Liberation Army-Navy (PLA-N) ships,

January 18 ------ The ReCAAP Information Sharing Centre (ISC) issued its 2025 annual report on piracy and armed robbery against ships in Asia highlighting that 132 incidents of piracy and armed robbery were reported to in 2025 - a 23% increase over the 107 incidents reported in 2024.   One hundred and eight of these were located in the Straits of Malacca and Singapore (SOMS), a 74% increase over 2024 numbers. This is the highest number of incidents recorded in the SOMS during

MANILA, January 18 ------ The Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) has restored the annual PHP20,000 Guaranteed Medicines Access Program (GAMOT) benefit for every member and dependent.   The state insurer, in a public advisory on Wednesday, said the benefit cap applies per calendar year and covers eligible outpatient medicines provided under the GAMOT program. It reminded members that "any unused GAMOT benefit from the previous year will not be carried over to the c

January 18 ------ Not too long ago, Rob Deniel was just another boy in a Sta. Rosa, Laguna neighborhood — quiet, creative, and unknown to most, save for a few classmates and the four walls of his bedroom that echoed with half-written melodies. These days, it’s not uncommon for those same neighbors — not to mention listeners across the Philippines and beyond — to blast his songs on their speakers, completely unaware that the voice they’re humming along to belongs to the young

January 18 ------ This week, a US federal judge cleared Danish offshore wind developer Orsted to resume work on its nearly finished Revolution Wind project, which US President Donald Trump's administration halted along with four other projects last month.   The halt was costing Orsted $1.5 million a day, noted the judge. The project is now expected to begin generating power later this year. Also this week, Ireland-based clean energy company ETFuels joined the SASHA Coalition,

MANILA, January 18 ------ Rising Filipina tennis star Tennielle "Tenny" Madis is relishing the opportunity to compete in her first-ever WTA 125 tournament later this month. Madis and Filipina ace Alex Eala were granted wildcard slots in the inaugural Philippine Women's Open, since they are the top two-ranked players from the Philippines. "I'm so very grateful for the wild card. It's a great opportunity to compete at this higher level and gain valuable experience. So I see it

WAKAYAMA, January 18 ------ Two new amphipod species with black-and-white coloring patterns like a giant panda have been found in the town of Shirahama, Wakayama Prefecture, western Japan. Some in the prefecture hope that the novel creatures would be a new local tourism resource after four giant pandas raised at Adventure World, a leisure facility in Shirahama, were returned to China last year. One of the black-and-white amphipods, which resembles a shrimp and measures 5 mm.

GENEVA, January 17 ------ The global unemployment rate is expected to hold steady in 2026, the United Nations said Wednesday, but cautioned the labor market's seeming stability belies a dire shortage of decent jobs.   The UN's International Labor Organization said the global economy and labor market appeared to have weathered recent economic shocks better than expected. But the ILO warned that efforts to improve global job quality had stagnated, leaving hundreds of millions o

January 17 ------ Alexandra “Alex” Eala is set to face American Alycia Parks in her Australian Open main draw debut. Parks, 25, is currently ranked No. 100 by the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) and previously reached a career-high ranking of No. 40 in 2023.   She made her Grand Slam debut at the 2021 US Open and has enjoyed her best run at the Australian Open, where she reached the Round of 32 in 2024. In 2025, Parks competed in the Round of 128 at the French Open, Wimbledo

MANILA, January 17 ------ The Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) said there were more than 1,000 new enterprises that they registered for training programs, noting these helped students with their employment.    TESDA Deputy Director General Nelly Dillera said they want students to be employed immediately after graduating from Senior High School, most especially those under the Technical-Professional (TechPro) Track. Dillera said some of these studen

MANILA, January 17 ------ Two Filipino films are going to have their international premiere at the 76th Berlinale next month in Germany.   Actor Elijah Canlas, through a social media post, announced that his film "Rumaragasa (Raging)" will premiere at the Berlinale Panorama section on February 12-22.   "One of the toughest yet most rewarding journeys I’ve had working on a film for sure. Extremely honored to be an actor and co-producer for this. Will forever treasure the magic

January 17 ------ A set of amendments to key IMO treaties and Codes have entered into force on 1 January 2026. They include the following:   Preventing and responding to bullying, harassment and sexual assault Amendments to the Seafarers' Training, Certification and Watchkeeping Code (STCW Code) aim to prevent and respond to violence and harassment in the maritime sector, including sexual harassment, bullying and sexual assault.   The amendments are included in table A-VI/1-4

BRUSSELS, January 17 ------ Earth logged its third hottest year on record in 2025, extending a run of unprecedented heat, with no relief expected in 2026, United States researchers and European Union climate monitors said.   The last 11 years have now been the warmest ever recorded, with 2024 topping the podium and 2023 in second place, said the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service and Berkeley Earth, a California-based nonprofit research organization. For the first time, g