Philippine News

ZAMBALES, April 29 ------ Filipino and American soldiers carried out an integrated air and missile defense (IAMD) exercise in San Antonio, Zambales, as part of the Balikatan Exercise 2026, highlighting their ability to counter evolving drone warfare threats and defend the country’s coastline. During the drills, troops launched drones from the ground to simulate hostile aerial threats. These were engaged by the Marine Air Defense Integrated System (MADIS) of the United States

MANILA, Philippines, April 29 ------ The excitement turned out to be short-lived. Nearly two weeks after President Marcos’ announcement of Zaldy Co’s supposed detention in Prague, the fugitive former lawmaker, who is at the center of the flood control scam, is again on the run. At a press briefing, Palace Press Officer Claire Castro confirmed that Co is no longer in the Czech Republic and that the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has received “reliable information” that he

April 29 ------ The UN Security Council convened on “The Safety and Protection of Waterways in the Maritime Domain,” under the agenda item “Maintenance of international peace and security.” The UN Security Council heard urgent appeals to restore freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz after disruptions since early March were highlighted to be harming global energy security, food supplies, and trade. Speakers condemned the use of one of the world’s most critical mar

April 29 ------ Following the BlueRights International Conference on the Protection of Health at Sea in March, organizer Prof. Dr Senka Šekularac-Ivošević is calling for holistic solutions to the current gaps in ensuring seafarers’ human rights are met. Frequent cases of crew abandonment, non-payment of wages, poor living conditions, and serious consequences for seafarers’ mental health demonstrate that the gap between regulations and reality remains significant. “Physical he

April 29 ------ Over the past week, 21-27 April, four incidents of armed robbery against ships in Asia were reported to the ReCAAP ISC. Four incidents of armed robbery against ships in Asia (two CAT 3 and two CAT 4 incidents) were reported to ReCAAP ISC. Two incidents occurred onboard ships while underway in the Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS) in Singapore Strait (SS). The other two incidents occurred onboard ships while at anchor in waters off Batangas City, Philippines and

April 29 ------ Analysts tracking shipping movement around the Strait of Hormuz are reporting that it appears the first laden LNG carrier escaped while the first Japanese VLCC also made the transit, raising some hopes that at least a few ships might be able to make the passage. However, overall traffic remains low as the U.S. and Iran appear to remain in a stalemate. The Panama-flagged tanker Idemitsu Maru (300,433 dwt) started moving on Monday evening. The vessel is loaded w

CAIRO, April 29 ------ Iran has offered to end its chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for the U.S. lifting its blockade on the country and an end to the war, while proposing that discussions on the larger question of its nuclear program would come in a later phase, two regional officials said. U.S. President Donald Trump seems unlikely to accept the offer, which was passed to the Americans by Pakistan and would leave unresolved the disagreements that led the U.S. a

LONDON, April 29 ------ Oil prices rose more than 3 per cent as stalled efforts to end the Iran war kept the Strait of Hormuz largely closed, constraining Middle East supplies, though the UAE's announcement that it would leave OPEC and OPEC+ trimmed gains. Brent crude futures for June climbed US$3.37, or 3.1 per cent, to US$111.60 a barrel by 1.36 pm GMT, after gaining 2.8 per cent to close the previous session at their highest since Apr 7. The contract is up for a seventh st

April 29 ------ President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukrainian intelligence has obtained internal Russian military documents showing that Russia’s General Staff acknowledges its inability to meet objectives set by the Kremlin, as Ukraine continues to degrade Russia’s offensive capacity. On Tuesday, in a statement posted on Facebook, following a briefing by Oleh Ivashchenko, head of Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence, Zelensky said Ukraine’s Defense Forces are inflicting irrecoverabl

KYIV, April 29 ------ Ukraine accused Israel of allowing the import of grain it says Russia stole from occupied areas, prompting a sharp exchange between officials. President Volodymyr Zelensky said a vessel carrying grain had arrived at an Israeli port and was preparing to unload, calling the trade illegal and warning of sanctions against those involved. Israel claimed that the vessel had not entered the port and had not yet submitted its documents. The MarineTraffic.com mar

April 28 ------ The Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC 84) has convened for its 84th session at IMO Headquarters in London from 27 April to 1 May 2026. Following a turbulent second extraordinary session of the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC/ES.2) in October 2025, which exposed divisions within the maritime community over the adoption of the IMO Net-Zero Framework, the IMO Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) now faces a busy week ahead. Aga

April 28 ------ Maritime activity across the Strait of Hormuz and surrounding corridors is beginning to recover, though it remains constrained by ongoing enforcement measures and sanctions-related disruptions, according to analysis by Windward. Transit volumes picked up on April 25 after several days of reduced movement, with all crossings taking place under full AIS visibility. At the same time, U.S. enforcement efforts have expanded beyond the Gulf. Overall, the operating e

April 28 ------ After multiple reports of increased activity last week near the coast of Somalia, EUNAVFOR Operation Atalanta confirmed today that it is monitoring three ongoing incidents. It is cautioning vessels within 150 nautical miles of the coast after the sudden surge in activity. The most recent incident started today, April 26, and has now been confirmed by Atalanta. A Turkish-managed general cargo ship, Sward, transporting cement, was hijacked in a position approxim

April 28 ------ After getting their cruise ships out of the Persian Gulf, two cruise lines elected to send their ships through the Suez Canal to speed their repositioning and return to commercial service. Most cruise ships, like other segments of commercial shipping, have been avoiding the Red Sea and Bab el-Mandeb due to the Houthis having menaced shipping and continuing safety concerns. The Suez Canal Authority reported that MSC Cruises’ MSC Euribia (184,000 gross tons) mad

LOS ANGELES, April 28 ------ The Houston Rockets routed the Los Angeles Lakers 115-96 to stay alive in the NBA playoffs as San Antonio's Victor Wembanyama made a triumphant return to put the Spurs on the brink of advancing. Amen Thompson scored 23 points to fuel the Rockets, who bounced back from a crushing overtime loss on Friday to cut the deficit in their best-of-seven Western Conference series to 3-1. The Spurs and the Boston Celtics took commanding 3-1 leads in their ser

April 28 ------ Gilas Pilipinas Women 3x3 will carry a spotless record into the quarterfinals round of the 2026 Asian Beach Games after sweeping the preliminaries. The Filipinas pulled off a 21-15 win over Kyrgyzstan to close out its Group C run with a 3-0 win-loss card and punch an outright playoff ticket. Tantoy Ferrer, a former UAAP champion out of University of Santo Tomas, led the show with eight points while Mikka Cacho and Gab Bade chipped in seven and five markers, r

April 28 ------ THE Cinderella run of Kevin Quiambao and Goyang Sono continues in the Korean Basketball League. What started as a surprise playoff push has now turned into a full-blown finals appearance after Goyang stunned and dethroned Carl Tamayo and the Changwon LG Sakers, 90-80, in the semifinals. The Skygunners, in their first-ever playoff run, punched their ticket to the championship round after completing a 3-0 sweep over LG Sakers, extending what has been a fearless

April 28 ------ Alex Eala has pulled the plug on her participation at the WTA125 Catalonia Open as she shifts her focus toward a higher-stakes tournament next month. The Filipina tennis ace will instead see action at the WTA1000 Italian Open set from May 5 to 17 in Rome as she looks to improve her fortunes in her clay-court swing. The upcoming Italian Open edition is expected to feature several high-profile players in the world like No. 1 and No. 2 stars Aryna Sabalenka and

MANILA, Philippines, April 28 ------ Every acting project brings a level of personal reflection, according to Sid Lucero, but not necessarily in the way one might expect from a faith-based series like “My Bespren Emman.” Sid joins the lead cast of “My Bespren Emman,” one of TV5’s TodoMax Primetime shows alongside “A Secret in Prague,” premiering tonight starting at 8. “Personally, always. All my projects naman,” the actor said when asked if the show sparked realizations in hi

April 28 ------ Kyle Echarri drew his main inspiration for his role in the Netflix film “18th Rose” from his sister, Isabella, who passed away in April 2023 due to a brain tumor at the age of 12. “To be honest, for those who don’t know my story, in 2023, my little sister, she’s my biggest inspiration for this whole film,” the actor shared at a presscon. “When direk (Dolly Dulu) pitched this film to me, una kong sinabi, ‘Direk, kaya niyo pala ako napili? It super hits home.’ I