Philippine News

December 17 ------ DAVE Ildefonso showed why he's the MVP leading the Abra Solid North Weavers past the Quezon Huskers, 94-85, in overtime and a sweep of the MPBL 2025 Season Finals at the Quezon Convention Center in Lucena City. Just hours after being awarded the league's highest individual honor, Ildefonso pumped in seven points in a closing 15-5 run that gave the Weavers a 3-0 sweep of the Huskers in the best-of-five championship series. Pasay handed Abra its lone loss, 70

BOSTON, December 17 ------ Cade Cunningham had 32 points and 10 rebounds to help the Detroit Pistons beat the Boston Celtics, 112-105. Caris LeVert and Tobias Harris each added 13 points for the Eastern Conference-leading Pistons, who won their fourth straight. Detroit also got even for a frustrating loss in Boston late last month. Jaylen Brown had 34 points, eight rebounds and seven assists to lead the Celtics. Derrick White scored 31 points as Boston lost its second straigh

December 17 ------ For the past 38 years, the Aliw Awards Foundation has celebrated and honored the country’s best live performers in theater, concert stage, and live events. The ‘Entertainer of the Year’ award is the most coveted recognition and has been handed to the country’s top artists. This year, the top prize was given to Kapamilya singer Jona, who also took home the Best Pop Artist award. Maki won the Best Director for a major concert award for his recent show ‘Kolorc

December 17 ------ When Bianca de Vera found out that she would be the lead star of a film, she broke down in tears at the Star Cinema office. At the time, she initially thought that she was in trouble. It turned out that it was an answered prayer. “I have been waiting for this for a long time. We were supposed to do a project before [with Star Cinema] pero hindi pa time ni God n’un,” she said during a Star Magic spotlight press conference. “Hindi siya natuloy and for a time,

December 17 ------ KZ Tandingan and TJ Monterde surprised the team behind their “Sarili Nating Mundo” concert by gifting them P100,000 each for their hard work. During a recent intimate gathering documented on Monterde’s TikTok page, the couple gave out scratch cards to each of their staff, saying that only one of them would win P100,000 and that the rest would take home prizes ranging from P5,000 to ₱ P50,000. But to the staff’s surprise, the cards all turned out to bear P10

December 17 ------ 'Sang'gre' actors Kelvin Miranda and Angel Guardian are closing out the year, gracing the cover of Rank Magazine's special Yearender series, The Statement Issue. As a year-end review, Rank Magazine's "The Statement Issue: A Year-End Cinema Series" focuses on Philippine cinema, highlighting the individuals who played crucial roles in keeping the local movie industry alive and vibrant. In an Instagram post from the magazine last Monday, December 15, they open

MANILA, December 17 ------ Naval and air units from the Philippines and the United States held the 10th bilateral maritime cooperative activity (MCA) in the West Philippine Sea (WPS), highlighting the country's growing capability to integrate with allied forces. The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), in a statement said the 10th bilateral MCA with the United States Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM) took place "specifically west of Zambales within the country’s exclusive

MANILA, Philippines, December 17 ------ The Philippine government has evacuated at least 126 overseas Filipinos so far amid the ongoing clashes between the troops of Thailand and Cambodia, according to Manila's ambassador to Thailand. These Filipinos were pre-emptively relocated "early" and were not caught up in the conflict, Ambassador Millicent Cruz-Paredes clarified in a briefing. "Their situation is good. They are not in danger. They are not caught up or involved in the f

MANILA, Philippines, December 17 ------ The United States and Canada have denounced China's dangerous assault on Filipino fishers last week after China Coast Guard vessels fired high-pressure water cannons and cut anchor lines during a confrontation near Escoda Shoal in the South China Sea. In separate statements, the US State Department and Canada's ambassador said the incident endangered civilians and added to concerns over China’s increasingly aggressive behavior in disput

MANILA, Philippines, December 17 ------ The Bureau of Immigration (BI) yesterday said that the two suspects – father and son – in the Bondi Beach mass shooting incident in Sydney, Australia visited and stayed in the Philippines for almost the entire month of November. According to the BI, both arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport on Philippine Airlines Flight PR212 from Sydney to Manila on Nov. 1, before boarding a connecting flight to the Davao International Air

BANGKOK, December 17 ------ Thailand is working out how to repatriate up to 6,000 citizens unable to return home through a major border crossing in Cambodia that was closed as fighting along the contested border extended into a second week, authorities said on Tuesday. The militaries of the Southeast Asian neighbors are clashing at several locations on their 817-kilometer (508-mile) land border, both have said, with no signs of abatement, despite international efforts to nego

DENVER, December 17 ------ Oil futures settled at their lowest level since February 2021 amid ongoing jitters surrounding oversupply and as the prospect of a Russia-Ukraine peace deal appeared to strengthen, raising expectations that sanctions could be eased. Brent crude futures settled down $1.64 a barrel, off roughly 2.71%, to $58.92 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude closed at $55.27, down $1.55, or 2.73%. "Brent has dropped this morning to below $60 per ba

BERLIN, December 17 ------ The U.S. has agreed to provide unspecified security guarantees to Ukraine as part of a peace deal to end Russia's nearly four-year war, and more talks are likely this weekend, U.S. officials said following the latest discussions with President Volodymyr Zelensky in Berlin. The officials said talks with President Donald Trump’s envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, led to narrowing differences on security guarantees that Kyiv said must be provided

THE HAGUE, December 17 ------ Europe launched an International Claims Commission for Ukraine in an effort to ensure Kyiv is compensated for hundreds of billions of dollars in damage from Russian attacks and alleged war crimes. The gathering in The Hague of dozens of leaders, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, coincided with a US-orchestrated diplomatic push to end the war in Ukraine that was triggered by Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022. "Every Rus

December 16 ------ London-based environmental, energy and engineering consulting company Ricardo is leading a study that investigates the feasibility of a green shipping corridor between Panama and Algeciras, Spain, aiming to decarbonize maritime trade and modernize global connectivity. The study is funded by EU delegations in Panama and Costa Rica and aims to deliver an understanding of the technical, financial and policy conditions required to make the Panama-Algeciras corr

December 16 ------ Iranian officials announced that they have seized yet another vessel they are accusing of smuggling diesel fuel. It is part of an increased effort to break the smuggling rings that Iran reports are working in the region and threatening its economy. Few details were released on the latest seizure, other than that their forces were working under a judicial order. They report that when they inspected the vessel in the Gulf of Oman, it was operating without “va

December 16 ------ The container ship ONE Continuity has pulled into port in the Canary Islands for assistance after losing about 50 boxes over the side in heavy weather, according to the local port authority. According to local TV station RTVC, the ONE Continuity was hit by heavy waves while transiting off the coast of Maspalomas, Gran Canaria, south of the island chain. The vessel lost about 50 containers off her stern in a stack collapse - all empties, according to the out

December 16 ------ Two players, MISC and China Offshore Engineering & Technology Company (China Offshore), have secured an approval in principle (AiP) from the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) for their concept of an ammonia floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) unit. The AiP for the ammonia FPSO design was received from the American Bureau of Shipping on December 2, 2025, in Shanghai, China. This floater solution is said to adapt proven onshore production techno

December 16 ------ “The Voice Kids” has named Sofia Mallares as its grand champion. Competing against Yana Goopio of Team Bilib, Marian Ansay of JuleSquad, and Giani Sarita of Benkada, Sofia offered a powerful performance of “The Prayer” during the finale on Sunday night, to emerge as the new winner, and coach Zack Tabudlo could not be prouder. The “Pano” hitmaker took to Instagram to celebrate her win, and to share how serving as a coach on “The Voice Kids” has become a full

MANILA, Philippines, December 16 ------ Actor Sandro Muhlach declared himself a world record holder after completing a bungee jump from the top of Macau Tower, plunging 764 feet. Muhlach, son of actor Nino Muhlach, shared footage of the jump on Instagram, calling the feat a bucket-list achievement. “Officially a world record holder!” Muhlach wrote in the caption, adding that he had finally ticked it off his list. “Dropping in from the top of the world! I officially hold the w