Philippine News

March 10 ------ The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has expressed deep concern over the wellbeing and safety of seafarers operating in the Strait of Hormuz, as escalating tensions and ongoing disruptions in the region continue to affect maritime activity. According to the organization, approximately 20,000 seafarers are currently impacted, alongside cruise ship passengers, port workers, and offshore crews. While the disruption to global trade through one of the worl

March 10 ------ Amidst a more complex and uncertain operating environment, Singapore’s MPA is charting the long-term direction for Maritime Singapore. This includes developing strategies to seize growth opportunities and strengthen Singapore’s position as a key node in global trade, while continuing to drive innovation, accelerate technology adoption, and develop a future-ready workforce. MPA is developing the Maritime Singapore Master Plan, an industry-wide blueprint to guid

FRANKFURT, Germany, March 10 ------ The Iran war has put at risk some of the world’s most critical oil and gas infrastructure — the pipelines, refineries, and shipping terminals that keep energy flowing from the countries around the Persian Gulf to the global economy. Strikes by Iranian drones have disrupted operations, while the risk of Iranian strikes has effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, the conduit for some 20% of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas. Oil fiel

TOKYO, March 10 ------ Japan is preparing to deploy its first batch of domestically developed long-range missiles, with their launchers arriving at an army camp as the country accelerates its offensive capability in response to rising challenges in the region. The upgraded Type-12 land-to-ship missiles will be deployed at Camp Kengun in Japan’s southwestern prefecture of Kumamoto by the end of March, completing the process of deployment, Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara

KYIV, Ukraine, March 10 ------ Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that 11 countries had tapped Kyiv for help in how to counter Iranian drones being fired by Tehran in retaliation for US-Israeli strikes. Ukraine has to fend off nightly barrages of Iranian-designed Shahed attack drones launched by Russia, an ally of Tehran. They are now being used in strikes across the Middle East. "As of now, there are 11 requests from countries neighboring Iran, European states, and

March 10 ------ Talks aimed at ending the war in Ukraine have been postponed at the request of Washington, President Volodymyr Zelensky said. Originally scheduled for this week, the meeting has been postponed because, according to Zelensky, “the partners’ priority and all attention are focused on the situation around Iran.” Monday marks the tenth day since US and Israeli bombs rained down on Iran on Feb. 28, killing the nation’s supreme leader along with a number of other top

LOS ANGELES, March 10 ------ Victor Wembanyama scored 29 points as the San Antonio Spurs laid down a playoff marker with a dazzling 145-120 thrashing of the Houston Rockets. French superstar Wembanyama was one of six Spurs players to reach double figures as San Antonio bombarded Western Conference rivals Houston with a stream of 21 three-pointers. Wembyanama dominated at both ends of the court, fleshing out his stat line with four blocks and two steals in addition to eight re

INDIAN WELLS, March 10 ------ World number two Jannik Sinner took another step toward a first Indian Wells ATP Masters title, easing past Denis Shapovalov 6-3, 6-2 to reach the fourth round. After dropping just two games in his second-round opener against Czech qualifier Dalibor Svrcina, Sinner was caught napping to drop his serve in the opening game. He responded with confidence against a potentially tricky opponent known for producing winners. Sinner quickly recouped the br

March 10 ------ GEORGE Russell converted pole position into victory after a hard-fought Australian Grand Prix in 2026 season opener at Albert Park. The Mercedes driver secured the sixth win of his Formula 1 career, finishing nearly three seconds ahead of teammate Kimi Antonelli (+2.974s), who matched his career-best result from São Paulo last year. The result marked Mercedes’ first one-two finish since the 2019 Russian Grand Prix in Sochi, and the team’s first without seven-t

MANILA, March 10 ------ Up and coming Filipino gymnast Karl Eldrew Yulo wrapped up his debut in the senior level at the 2026 FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Cup Baku in Azerbaijan. Eldrew is the younger brother of two-time Olympic gold medalist Carlos Yulo. The 18-year-old gymnast came up empty-handed in the finals of his pet event, the floor exercise and the horizontal bar. Yulo finished seventh out of eight competitors in the men's horizontal bar on Sunday, after scoring 13.0

MANILA, Philippines, March 10 ------ The Department of Energy told motorists to brace for higher fuel prices as local oil retailers are set to implement double-digit hikes ranging from P17.00 to P24.00. In a press conference, DOE Secretary Sharon Garin explained that the oil price hikes will be implemented on a staggered basis this week. Here are the oil price hikes per retailer: Shell: P24.50/ per liter Petron: P19.20/ per liter Total: P20.20/ per liter Chevron: P17.50/

MANILA, March 10 ------ The Philippine peso weakened to a new historic low versus the US dollar amid global uncertainties stemming from the conflict in the Middle East. According to the website of the Bankers Association of the Philippines, the peso closed at P59.50 to $1 at the end of Monday’s trading. The peso even weakened to as low as P59.71 during intraday trading. This was lower than the previous record, which was P59.46 on Jan. 15 this year. Prior to the attack of the

MANILA, Philippines, March 10 ------ Telecommunication firms will offer free communication services to allow Filipinos to talk to their family members in the Middle East, President Marcos announced. “Further assistance (has) been initiated for our OFWs (overseas Filipino workers) in the Middle East,” he said in a Facebook post. “I have directed our telecommunications companies to provide free communication services between our OFWs and their families here in the Philippines,”

MANILA, Philippines, March 10 ------ As part of national energy-saving efforts, the local governments of Manila and Makati as well as the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) have implemented a four-day workweek. Manila city hall employees and MMDA personnel yesterday started working from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Workdays are shortened from Monday to Thursday. Personnel in public-facing and time-sensitive services requiring on-site presence are not affected, Mayor Isko Mo

March 9 ------ Seafarers must not be targets, says Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez after the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said it had received a report of an incident six nautical miles north of Oman in the Strait of Hormuz. Media reports indicate the deaths occurred onboard a tug assisting the container ship Safeen Prestige. Dominguez said: “I am alarmed and deeply saddened to hear of a deadly attack on a vessel in the Strait of Hormuz on 6 March 2026

March 9 ------ The International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) and the Joint Negotiating Group (JNG) have designated the Strait of Hormuz, Gulf of Oman and Persian Gulf as a Warlike Operations Area (WOA) following a review on 5 March by the IBF Warlike Operations Area Committee (WOAC). The designation upgrades the High Risk Area status applied to the Strait of Hormuz, Gulf of Oman and Persian Gulf on 2 March, reflecting the continuing and heightened threat to seafarers

March 9 ------ The U.S.-Israeli war on Iran has disrupted oil and natural gas exports from the Middle East and forced production stoppages from Qatar to Iraq, with Kuwait announcing cuts over the weekend. Analysts predict that the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia will also have to cut output soon as they run out of oil storage. Below are the main energy disruptions so far: PRODUCTION SHUTDOWNS Iraqi output collapses: the country's oil production from its main southern oi

March 9 ------ The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed to have struck an oil tanker for failing to abide by Iran's "closure" of the Strait of Hormuz. Iran declared the strait to be shut more than a week ago, and has repeatedly attacked vessels that attempt to operate it, including one boxship and one rescue tug. Eight seafarers aboard the tug may have lost their lives, though the outcome of the attack has not been confirmed. Industry sources confirm that a small

March 9 ------ IT only took Alex Eala two weeks to figure out the game of Coco Gauff and it carried her to the Round of 16 of the 2026 BNP Paribas Open. The 20-year-old Filipina was dominating the world No. 4, 6-2, 2-0, when the American retired after about 55 minutes of play with an undisclosed health issue to the surprise of a big crowd in Stadium 1 at Indian Wells. It became apparent as early as the first set that Gauff was dealing with an injury when she called for a medi

March 9 ------ THE Filipinas revived their bid for quarterfinals of the AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2026 after a 3-0 victory over Iran in their final group stage match in Gold Coast, Australia. Goals by Sara Eggesvik in the 29th minute and Chandler McDaniel in the 82nd on a rainy night at the Gold Coast Stadium gave the Filipinas their first win of the tournament following losses to powerhouse teams Australia and South Korea. The win put the Filipinas in third place in Group A with