Los Angeles (Reuters) – Chart-topping K-pop boy band BTS announced on Tuesday it will embark on a concert tour starting in April after the release of its first new album in more than three years. The tour launches in Goyang, South Korea on April 9 and includes 79 shows in Asia, the U.S., and Europe through July,...
Manila, Philippines – Chinese ships drove away Filipino fishermen from waters near Scarborough Shoal on Monday, Jan. 12, in what the military said was this year’s first incident of aggression in this atoll – maritime flashpoint. In a video filmed by the Filipino fishermen and released by the Philippine Coast Guard on Tuesday, Jan. 13,...
Cebu City councilors approved on Tuesday, Jan. 13, a resolution to declare a state of calamity in the aftermath of the deadly garbage landslide at the Binaliw landfill....
Metro Manila, Philippines – The Philippines said tensions in the West Philippine Sea are driven by China’s illegal and coercive actions, rejecting accusations that Manila is provoking incidents, but China, in its rebuttal, warned that the Philippines is being pushed to the brink of conflict. In a statement, the National Maritime Council (NMC) said Filipino...
Metro Manila, Philippines – The Philippines and the United Arab Emirates signed a free trade agreement Tuesday, Jan. 13, marking Manila’s first such pact with a Middle Eastern country and a major step in expanding its global trade links. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. witnessed the signing of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, or CEPA, alongside...
Metro Manila, Philippines – Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro slammed Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong over his remarks on hospital guarantee letters, questioning his claim that Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa made false statements about their use in government hospitals. Castro said Magalong wrongly accused Herbosa of lying after the mayor disputed the health chief’s remarks in...
Metro Manila, Philippines – The government is considering options to secure the return of former lawmaker Zaldy Co from abroad, including extradition or repatriation, Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla said Tuesday, Jan. 13. Remulla said while no formal directive has yet been issued to file an extradition request, authorities believe Co is overseas, possibly in Portugal,...
Metro Manila, Philippines – Henry Alcantara, a dismissed Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) engineer at the center of the flood control corruption scandal, is not recanting his earlier testimonies contrary to reports, his lawyer said. “Recent claims circulating on various news outlets and from certain social media personalities alleging that former Bulacan 1st...
The Department of the Interior and Local Government is investigating the “general leadership” of the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) and other top officials over corruption, particularly alleged equipment bid rigging, Secretary Jonvic Remulla said Tuesday, Jan. 13....
Metro Manila, Philippines – The interim government of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao said its parliament approved on third and final reading a law that reallocates seven parliamentary seats originally assigned to Sulu province to pave the way for the first regional legislative elections. According to the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA), Parliament Bill...
Optimism in punishing people in anomalous flood control projects declined in December, according to a poll released on Monday, Jan. 12....
Metro Manila, Philippines – Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong said it is time to abolish the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI), a body created to investigate corruption in flood control and major public works projects, after mass resignations left it unable to function and without clear backing from the executive branch. Magalong, who resigned in...
