WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US President-elect Donald Trump got plenty of attention — but not the kind he was looking for — after a tweet Saturday calling out China for its seizure of an unmanned US naval probe. “China steals United States Navy research drone in international waters — rips it out of water and takes it to China in unpresidented (sic) act,” the real estate magnate wrote on his favorite platform. “Unpresidented” […]
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China to return seized US naval probe
BEIJING, China (AFP) — China said Saturday it would return a US naval probe seized in international waters, as it slammed the “hyping” of the incident as “inappropriate and unhelpful”. The unmanned underwater vehicle was taken around 50 nautical miles northwest of Subic Bay in the Philippines late on Thursday, according to the Pentagon, which called the capture unlawful and demanded its immediate return. The incident comes amid escalating tensions between China and the […]
Customs bureau seize P40 Million worth of smuggled rice
MANILA, Philippines (Eagle News) –Around 20 containers of smuggled rice worth of P40 million pesos were seized on Friday (December 16) by the Bureau of Customs (BOC) at the Manila International Container Port (MICP). According to the BOC Commissioner, Nicanor Faeldon, the sacks were first declared to contain “glutinous supplies”, but upon checking they found out that it held rice reportedly from Hong Kong which was the place of origin as declared in the documents. “I […]
Duterte lashes at US “hypocrites” on aid cut threat; directs repeal of VFA, EDCA
(Eagle News) — Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte announced on Saturday (December 17) that the United States military troops should be “prepared to leave” as previous military deals with the US would soon be abrogated following the US threat to defer millions of dollars in foreign aid to the country. In a speech past midnight Saturday (December 17) shortly after arriving from his four-day state visits in Cambodia and Singapore, a visibly tired but angry […]
Filipinos in Singapore cheer as orchid named after President Duterte
(Reuters) — Cheering Filipinos greeted Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte who had an orchid named after him at Singapore’s Botanic Gardens on Friday (December 16). The orchid was named Dendrobium Rodrigo Roa Duterte, as Singapore traditionally names orchids after visiting heads of state. The violet Duterte orchid is a “compact, robust and vigorous hybrid” according to Singapore’s National Parks Board. His supporters, most of them Filipinos, shook hands and took photos with Duterte […]
China, Philippine coast guards meet despite sea row
MANILA, Philippines (AFP) — The Chinese and Philippine coast guards met for the first time on Friday and agreed to move forward on maritime cooperation, officials said, as relations between Beijing and Manila warm under Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte. The two-day meeting in Manila on establishing a Joint Coast Guard Committee (JCGC) came just days after new images showed China had apparently installed defensive weapons on artificial islands in the hotly contested South China […]
China seizes US naval probe in S. China Sea: Pentagon
by Thomas Watkins Agence France-Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) – China “unlawfully” seized an unmanned US naval probe in international waters in the South China Sea, the Pentagon said Friday, a move sure to heighten tensions around Beijing’s military presence in the disputed area. The underwater probe was taken around 50 nautical miles (90 kilometers) northwest off Subic Bay in the Philippines on Thursday afternoon in a non-violent incident, Pentagon spokesman Navy Captain Jeff […]
Aleppo evacuation suspended, leaving thousands trapped
by Rim Haddad and Karam al-Masri Agence France Presse ALEPPO, Syria (AFP) – The Syrian government suspended the evacuation of civilians and fighters from the last rebel-held parts of Aleppo on Friday, leaving thousands of people trapped and uncertain of their fate. Russia, which helped to broker the deal with Turkey, said its operation was now “complete” with all women and children moved from the city. Ankara and a Syrian military source said the evacuation […]
Between guilt and outrage, West looks helpless over Aleppo
by Hui Min NEO Agence France Presse BERLIN, Germany (AFP) – The fall of Aleppo has unleashed a mixture of outrage and impotence in the West, in which fury at the relentless carnage has mingled with guilt over the failure to stop it. Even the European public — who marched in the millions over the siege of Sarajevo or against the Iraq War — stayed at home as the Russian-backed Syrian regime smashed the country’s […]
Duterte tells OFWs in Singapore, he’ll fire 2 top gov’t officials upon return to PHL
(Eagle News) — President Rodrigo Duterte said he would fire two ranking government official upon his return from his two-day state visit in Singapore. Speaking to the Filipino community in Singapore on Friday night (December 16) before his flight back to Philippines, the President assured the overseas Filipino workers there that he would stop corruption in government while he is the President of the land. “I will assure you, I will assure you, […]
Retired police officer files graft complaint vs 2 BI execs for extort try
(Eagle News) — Retired police official Wally Sombero filed a graft complaint before the Office of the Ombudsman against two deputy commissioners of the Bureau of Immigration for allegedly extorting money from Chinese gambling tycoon Jack Lam. Sombero filed the graft complaint against immigration commissioners Al Argosino and Michael Robles for bad faith, manifest partiality and gross inexcusable negligence for causing undue injury to government, punishable under Section 3(e) of the Ant-Graft and Corrupt […]
Philippine economy can withstand higher interest rate of US Federal Reserve
QUEZON City, Philippines (Eagle News) — Malacañang allayedfears of the business sector regarding the interest rate hike implemented by the United States Federal Reserve. According to Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez, the country’s macroeconomic fundamentals remain strong and that the Duterte administration has many massive infrastructure projects that will bring in needed cash.





