Philippine News

January 13 ------ Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the world had to help Iranians build on protests to engineer change to free them from rule that brought evil to their own and other countries, including Ukraine. Zelensky, speaking in his nightly video address, described the nationwide protests gripping Iran as an “uprising”. He said the unrest showed that Russia had to rethink its close links with Iran, which have included its wide use of Iranian-made “Shahed

MANILA, January 13 ------ Overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) can expect wider coverage and better services from the government as the Department of Migrant Workers’ (DMW) budget for 2026 has increased by 34 percent. At a Palace briefing Monday, Undersecretary Bernard Olalia reported that the DMW’s allocation under the 2026 General Appropriations Act (GAA) rose to PHP11.745 billion from last year’s PHP8.76 billion. “For the Office of the Secretary, we have PHP7.46 billion, an in

WASHINGTON, January 13 ------ Reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander sparked defending champion Oklahoma City to victory while Anthony Edwards led Minnesota's last-minute fightback to beat San Antonio. Gilgeous-Alexander scored 29 points while adding eight assists and five rebounds in the Thunder's 124-112 home victory over Miami, improving the NBA's best record to 33-7 after outscoring the Heat 70-53 in the second half. "We locked in defensively. We were f

KYIV, January 13 ------ Emergency crews toiled to restore heat and power to beleaguered Kyiv residents, more than three days after Russian strikes on energy targets, and President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that new air attacks could be imminent. Officials said hundreds of apartment blocks in the capital remained without heat despite round-the-clock efforts by the crews. Humanitarian centers, dubbed "resilience points," were open for people to keep warm and charge electronic d

January 13 ------ THE Philippines salvaged a silver medal in the 2026 Asia-Pacific Men’s Lacrosse Championship in Wellington, New Zealand. It lost to world No. 4 Australia, 13-3, in the final but nevertheless won a medal for the first time since the tournament’s inception in 2004. The Philippines made waves in the competition, winning all three games of the group stage including a 10-9 overtime win over world No. 5 Japan. By also topping the group, the Philippines advanced to

LOS ANGELES, January 13 ------ The injury-hit San Francisco 49ers sent the reigning Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles crashing out of the NFL playoffs in a stunning wild card round upset. Niners running back Christian McCaffrey scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns and San Francisco's depleted defense shut down Philadelphia's offense to complete a famous 23-19 road win at Lincoln Financial Field. The 49ers -- who have been decimated by a deepening injury crisis that has

MANILA, January 13 ------ The Philippines rejected China’s claim that Manila is staging provocations in the West Philippine Sea (WPS), saying that protecting Filipino fishermen within the country’s maritime zones is part of its lawful duty and not an act of escalation. In a statement, the National Maritime Council (NMC) said tensions in the WPS stem from China’s “persistent illegal, coercive, aggressive and deceptive (ICAD) activities” in areas that fall within the Philippine

January 13 ------ The Philippine Embassy in Tehran has reported no affected Filipino in the escalating deadly protests in the Islamic state. According to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), there are around 823 Filipinos in Iran, and the majority of them are permanent residents, being spouses or children of Iranian nationals. “As of this writing, there have been no reports of any Filipino who have been affected in the protests in Iran,” DFA said. Iran’s Supreme Leader Al

January 12 ------ The European Commission is deliberating a potential ban on Filipino seafarers working on EU-flagged vessels, according to a report by Deutsche Welle. This consideration stems from longstanding concerns regarding the maritime training standards provided to Filipino seafarers, which are reportedly inadequate in meeting international safety criteria. The European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) has highlighted deficiencies in the training offered by Philippine ma

January 12 ------ After multiple warnings throughout the year about the dramatic increase in piracy around Singapore, the monitoring operation ReCAAP Information Sharing Centre, in its year-end report, highlights that the surge peaked at mid-year with the arrest of some perpetrators. It cautions that the rate remains high, however, while it is mostly low-level thefts. Overall, there was a 74 percent increase in reports of piracy and robbery in the area around the Singapore St

January 12 ------ Recent US boardings of oil tankers linked to Venezuela have prompted claims of piracy and illegality under international law. In reality, many of these boardings rest on a sound legal basis. Boarding vessels at sea is a routine naval activity permitted in limited circumstances under international law. This explainer outlines the international law governing maritime boardings and how it applies to the Venezuela cases. Boarding operations on the high seas, bey

January 12 ------ The UK’s Maritime & Coastguard Agency is reporting a busy night and efforts on Friday, January 9, to track containers after a severe winter storm crossed the region around the English Channel overnight. Warnings were posted for shipping as containers went overboard near the Isle of Wight. In meteorological terms, the storm became what is known as a bomb cyclone, where the storm rapidly intensifies. It, however, left local areas surprised by the ferocity. The

January 12 ------ Aspiring P-pop stars have a chance to showcase their singing and dancing prowess, as SB19’s 1Z Entertainment opened auditions for male and female trainees with the potential to make it in the industry. 1Z announced that it’s looking for a new set of trainees on its social media platforms and website, saying that aspiring “dancers, singers, rappers, or visual artists” are open to join. “Are you ready to unleash your creativity and take your artistic self to t

January 12 ------ Just days after announcing the return of the SexBomb Girls for rAWnd 3 and rAWnd 4 of their GET GET AW! The SexBomb Concert, the iconic OPM girl group, has added yet another show to their growing list. Responding to the nonstop clamor from fans, rAWnd 5 has officially been confirmed. The announcement was made by SexBomb’s powerhouse leader, Rochelle Pangilinan, through her social media accounts, immediately igniting excitement among longtime supporters of th

January 12 ------ The gripping performances of Benedix Ramos in “Bar Boys: The Musical,” “Next to Normal,” and “Dagitab” were recognized by the inaugural Manila Society of Theater Reviewers (MSTR) Awards, where he brought home the Emerging Artist plum. The MSTR Awards, composed of reviewers from the local theater scene and was founded in 2025, announced the winners chosen from 66 eligible productions that were held in the past year. According to the awards-giving body, winner

January 12 ------ Maris Racal has navigated a career that spans acting, music, and live performance while maintaining a notably pared-back personal routine. In recent appearances, she has spoken less about trends and more about consistency, confidence, and choosing practices that fit the realities of daily life. Her approach was evident in a recent appearance at Watsons Mall of Asia in Pasay City, where she was the featured guest at “InstaGlam with Vitress,” an interactive sh

SINGAPORE, January 12 ------ Oil prices extended gains on growing concerns that intensifying protests in Iran could disrupt supply from the OPEC producer, although efforts to quickly resume oil exports from Venezuela are limiting price gains. Brent crude futures climbed 31 cents, or 0.49%, to $63.65 a barrel by 0006 GMT while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was at $59.42 a barrel, up 30 cents, or 0.51%. Both contracts rose more than 3% last week to clinch their biggest wee

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, January 12 ------ Iran's theocracy pulled the plug and disconnected the Islamic Republic's 85 million people from the rest of the world. Following a playbook used both in demonstrations and in war, Iran severed the internet connections and telephone lines that connect its people to the vast diaspora in the United States, Europe, and elsewhere. Until now, even while facing strict sanctions over the country's nuclear program, Iranians still could ac

UNITED NATIONS, United States, January 12 ------ The UN Security Council will meet to discuss Ukraine, a revised scheduled showed, after Kyiv's mayor urged residents to leave the capital due to mass heating outages caused by Russian strikes. "The Russian Federation has reached an appalling new level of war crimes and crimes against humanity by its terror against civilians," Ukrainian ambassador Andriy Melnyk said in a letter to the Security Council seen by AFP. The latest str

KYIV, Ukraine, January 12 ------ A Ukrainian drone strike sparked a fire at an oil depot in Russia’s southern Volgograd region, officials said, after Russia launched a powerful hypersonic missile along with drones and other weapons that disrupted Kyiv's power supply and heating. There were no immediate reports of casualties, Volgograd Gov. Andrei Bocharov was quoted as saying in a Telegram post published on the channel of the local administration. The post did not specify the