Philippine News

October 21 ------ Not even a week has passed since Emma Tiglao was crowned as Miss Grand International 2025, and she immediately got to work, gracing a show at the Bangkok International Fashion Week. Tiglao, who made a historic back-to-back win for the Philippines at the Miss Grand International tilt, started her duties by penning a heartfelt message to the Thai-based pageant organization on Instagram on Sunday, Oct. 19. “With a heart overflowing with gratitude. I am still in

October 21 ------ Marian Rivera Rivera donated P500,000 to Smile Train Philippines, a non-profit organization that provides free cleft lip and palate surgery to children in need. According to Aubrey Carampel's report on 24 Oras, Marian covered the P500,000 donation that was supposed to be part of the P1 million prize awarded to "Stars on the Floor" winners Dasuri Choi and Rodjun Cruz. Dasuri and Rodjun got the full prize after Marian stepped up with the donation herself for t

MANILA, Philippines, October 21 ------ Kapamilya actor JM de Guzman had high praise for his "What Lies Beneath" co-star Jake Cuenca, lauding his dedication and performance in the upcoming series. At a recent press conference, JM said he was deeply impressed by Jake’s passion and professionalism on set. “I would just like to take this opportunity to appreciate Jake dahil sa kanyang work ethic, sa passion sa paggawa ng role na ito. At kung may surprise man, sa tingin ko masu-su

October 21 ------ "Making the impossible, possible." These were the words of Will Ashley as he marked a major career milestone with his first-ever solo concert held at the New Frontier Theater on Saturday, October 18. In a post-concert message, Will expressed his gratitude to the team behind the show. "[Thank you] for making my dream solo concert come true. Maraming salamat po sa tiwala at paniniwala sa aking talento," he posted on his Instagram page. He also thanked his mana

MANILA, Philippines, October 21 ------ Diesel and kerosene prices are set to decline today, bringing much-needed relief to motorists. In separate advisories, Seaoil, Petron and PTT Philippines announced a rollback of P0.70 and P0.60 per liter for diesel and kerosene prices, respectively. Gasoline prices, meanwhile, are poised to increase by P0.10 per liter. The rollback was due to worries over a market surplus amid global oversupply and a weaker oil demand forecast, according

October 21 ------ The Philippine Society for Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (PSMID) reported that the positivity rate for influenza, or flu, in Metro Manila has increased to 42 percent in October, indicating ongoing community transmission in the region. In its Flu Task Force Report released, PSMID said it collated surveillance data from the Infection Control Committees of tertiary hospitals across Metro Manila. “Flu cases began to rise in August 2025 and have continued

MANILA, Philippines, October 21 ------ Minimum wage earners and domestic helpers in Cagayan Valley are getting an increase in their daily take-home pay starting Nov. 5. The National Wages and Productivity Commission (NWPC) said that under a recently approved order, workers in the agriculture and non-agriculture sectors will receive an increase of P20 and P40, respectively, in their daily take-home pay. The adjustment, as approved by the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productiv

MANILA, Philippines, October 21 ------ Lawmakers have begun making public their statements of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN), kickstarted by Senators Risa Hontiveros and Robinhood Padilla and by eight members of the opposition in the House of Representatives. In her SALN for 2024, Hontiveros declared a net worth of P18.986 million. Her assets, including both real and personal properties, amounted to P19.884 million, offset by P897,840 in liabilities, primarily a car

October 21 ------ The IMO’s Intersessional Working Group on the Reduction on Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Ships convened as scheduled today, October 20, as the shipping industry remains confused over last week’s decision to adjourn for one year the discussions on the Net-Zero Framework. Some participants are feeling relief while many were disappointed and pointed to the near-term uncertainties that everyone hoped would have been resolved. The working group, however, is going

October 21 ------ Cruise Iceland, which was set up to promote the country for cruise tourism, is warning that a government head tax imposed in 2025 is driving away the cruise lines. The group highlights that bookings for cruise ship port calls are down in 2026 and will further decline in 2027 unless the government reconsiders its position. Iceland saw a strong growth in its tourism business based on its successful promotion campaign. The Icelandic Tourism Board reports a tota

October 21 ------ U.S. and Chinese officials are reporting that good progress has been made in the early phases for the launch of the first green shipping corridor on the Pacific. The sponsors of the project highlighted the progress during a conference in Shanghai while China’s Ministry of Transport also outlined steps it will be taking to expand green shipping. The concept for the corridor followed an agreement at the UN’s global climate conference in Scotland (COP26 in 2021

October 21 ------ French shipping colossal CMA CGM has marked the delivery of its newest container vessel powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG) as complete. As disclosed in a social media post, the CMA CGM Syracuse’s formal entrance to the Marseille-based maritime transport company’s fleet was officiated in South Korea on October 16. The ceremony was reportedly held at an HD Hyundai Samho yard. The vessel, which will be sailing under the French flag, boasts an overall length

HOUSTON, October 21 ------ Oil prices settled at their lowest since early May as investors weighed a potential global glut, with U.S.-China trade tensions adding to concerns about an economic slowdown and weaker energy demand. Brent crude futures settled down 28 cents, or 0.46%, at $61.01 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures settled down 2 cents, or 0.03%, to $57.52. Both benchmarks fell more than $1 earlier in the session, and both closed at their weakest levels si

SAN FRANCISCO, United States, October 21 ------ Popular internet services ranging from streaming platforms to messaging services to banking were offline for hours due to an outage in Amazon's crucial cloud network, illustrating the extent to which internet life depends on the tech titan. The disruption affected streaming platforms, including Amazon's Prime Video service and Disney+, as well as Perplexity AI, the Fortnite game, Airbnb, Snapchat and Duolingo. Mobile telephone s

KYIV, October 21 ------ Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said he would be ready to join Russian President Vladimir Putin and US counterpart Donald Trump at their summit in Hungary if he is invited. Trump and Putin said they would meet in the Hungarian capital, possibly in a matter of weeks, as the US leader continues to try to broker a peace deal to end the three-and-a-half-year war, triggered by Russia's 2022 invasion. "If I am invited to Budapest -- if it is an in

KYIV, Ukraine, October 21 ------ Ukrainians shared their disappointment that the U.S. may not provide Kyiv with long-range Tomahawk missiles, while work to repair the damaged power supply to the country's Zaporizhzhia power plant soothed other concerns surrounding Europe's largest nuclear plant. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met with President Donald Trump at the White House on Friday, after the U.S. leader signaled that Washington could provide Ukraine with the long

MANILA, Philippines, October 20 ------ The Meralco Bolts lost an 18-point lead but made key plays down the stretch to win their third straight game in the PBA Philippine Cup at the expense of Magnolia, 78-76, as they handed LA Tenorio his first defeat as head coach.   The Bolts, playing in their third game in five days, held on against the gritty Hotshots as they now turn their attention to their EASL game in Japan later this week. CJ Cansino continued his dazzling display th

October 20 ------ CARLOS Yulo booked a place in the vault and floor exercise final of the 53rd Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Jakarta, Indonesia on Sunday.   The two-time Olympic champion topped the qualification round of the vault with a total of 14.750, and finished second in the floor exercise with a score of 14.700. Yulo will first compete for the gold medal in the floor exercise on Friday, followed by the vault on Saturday.   The 25-year-old Yulo is only comp

MANILA, Philippines, October 20 ------ Not a few raised their eyebrows on the selection of teenager AJ Manas to the star-studded Team Asia side ahead of its title defense against the equally talented Team Rest of the World (ROW). “Hayaan ko na lang sila, basta ako gagawin ko na lang ‘yong best para ma-prove na karapatdapat ako rito,” the 19-year-old Manas confidently said last Wednesday.   True to his words, Manas anchored the Asian bets with a dominating 11-3 win over ROW to

October 20 ------ The stardust had barely settled over Dodger Stadium before the debate got under way. Was this the greatest performance by the greatest player in baseball history? Shohei Ohtani wrote another entry into his ever-expanding catalogue of the improbable on Friday, blasting three home runs and recording 10 strikeouts to send the Los Angeles Dodgers back to the World Series.   The Japanese superstar’s sensational display in a 5-1 victory that completed a series swe