MANILA, Dec 3, 2023 (AFP) – Defence ministers for the Philippines and France vowed Saturday to pursue an agreement that would allow them to deploy troops to each other’s territories, the latest such deal sought by the archipelagic nation located in the strategic South China Sea. Speaking following a meeting in Manila, Philippine Defence Secretary Gilbert Teodoro and his French counterpart Sebastien Lecornu said they agreed to seek authorisation from their respective presidents and relevant […]
International
Flights resume at Munich after snow, trains still disrupted
MUNICH, Germany, Dec 3, 2023 (AFP) – Flights resumed at Munich airport on Sunday, a day after they were suspended due to snowfall, but disruption to rail traffic in parts of southern Germany was set to continue. Germany’s second largest airport said on its website that flights resumed at 6:00 am (0500 GMT) but added that some “disruption to air traffic” would continue and advised passengers to check with their carriers well in advance before […]
N. Korea spy satellite operator to report findings to military: KCNA
SEOUL, Dec 3, 2023 (AFP) – The office operating North Korea’s newly launched spy satellite will run as a military intelligence organisation, state media said Sunday. Pyongyang successfully put a military spy satellite into orbit last month and has since claimed it was providing images of major US and South Korean military sites. It has not yet disclosed any of the satellite imagery it claims to possess but warned on Saturday that any attack on […]
Philippines says more than 135 Chinese boats ‘swarming’ reef off its coast
By Allison JACKSON MANILA, Dec 3, 2023 (AFP) – The Philippines said Sunday more than 135 Chinese vessels were “swarming” a reef off its coast, describing the boats’ growing presence as “alarming”. The Chinese boats were “dispersed and scattered” within the boomerang-shaped Whitsun Reef, which the Philippines calls Julian Felipe Reef, around 320 kilometres (200 miles) west of Palawan Island, the coast guard said. Whitsun Reef is more than 1,000 kilometres from the nearest major […]
Hikers evacuated as Indonesia volcano spews ash tower
PADANG, Indonesia, Dec 3, 2023 (AFP) – A volcano in western Indonesia erupted Sunday, belching a column of ash around three kilometres into the sky and forcing the evacuation of dozens of hikers, officials said. Mount Marapi on the island of Sumatra, with a peak of 2,891 metres, is on the third-highest alert level of Indonesia’s four-step system and authorities imposed an exclusion zone around its crater. There were no immediate reports of damage or […]
Magnitude 6.6 aftershock causes panic in southern Philippines
By Ara Eugenio and Cecil Morella MANILA, Dec 3, 2023 (AFP) – A magnitude 6.6 earthquake hit the southern Philippines on Sunday, the US Geological Survey said, a day after an even more powerful quake in the same region killed two people and triggered a tsunami alert. The latest earthquake — one of several strong aftershocks felt in the region since late Saturday — hit at around 6:36 pm (1036 GMT) at a depth of […]
US, UK, Australia defense chiefs tout deep space radar, AI in joint deal
By Josh EDELSON MOUNTAIN VIEW, United States, Dec 2, 2023 (AFP) – The defense chiefs of the United States, Australia and Britain met in California on Friday, touting high-tech co-operation on deep space radar, AI and quantum computing systems aimed at bolstering their armed forces in the face of growing global threats, including from China. The three men huddled in Silicon Valley — the heart of the US tech sector — to build on the […]
US Commerce chief warns against China ‘threat’
SAN FRANCISCO, Dec 2, 2023 (AFP) – US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo on Saturday urged lawmakers, Silicon Valley and US allies to stop China from getting semiconductors and cutting-edge technologies key to national security. Speaking at an annual national defense forum in Simi Valley, California, Raimondo called Beijing “the biggest threat we’ve ever had” and stressed “China is not our friend.” The world’s top two economies are locked in a fierce commercial and geopolitical rivalry, […]
Over 100 Rohingya refugees land in Indonesia, 2 more boats at sea
By Chaideer Mahyuddin SABANG, Indonesia, Dec 2, 2023 (AFP) – More than 100 Rohingya refugees, including women and children, landed in Indonesia’s westernmost province on Saturday, officials said, but locals threatened to push them back to sea. Hundreds more of the mostly Muslim Rohingya from Myanmar were trapped on board another two unseaworthy vessels adrift in the Andaman Sea, according to the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR). The latest arrival comes after more than 1,000 […]
North Korea threatens to ‘destroy’ US spy satellites
SEOUL, Dec 2, 2023 (AFP) – North Korea warned Saturday it would “destroy” US spy satellites if Washington tries “any attack” on its space asset, after Pyongyang launched its first military eye in the sky last week. A spokesman for the North’s defence ministry said it would consider such a move a “declaration of war”, according to a statement carried by the state-run Korean Central News Agency. The statement came after a US official’s remark […]
Israel strikes Gaza as pressure mounts to protect civilians
By Adel Zaanoun with Sebastien Berger in Jerusalem GAZA STRIP, Palestinian Territories, Dec 3, 2023 (AFP) – Israel carried out deadly bombardments in Gaza on Sunday as international calls mounted for greater protection of civilians and the renewal of an expired truce with Palestinian militant group Hamas. The Israeli army said it had conducted more than 400 strikes in Gaza since a ceasefire collapsed on Friday, with the Hamas government saying at least 240 people […]
President Marcos condemns bomb attack by ‘foreign terrorists’ in southern Philippines
MANILA, Dec 3, 2023 (AFP) – Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos condemned on Sunday a bombing attack by “foreign terrorists” on a Catholic mass in the southern Philippines that left at least three people dead. “I condemn in the strongest possible terms the senseless and most heinous acts perpetrated by foreign terrorists upon the Mindanao State University (MSU) and Marawi communities early this Sunday morning,” Marcos said in a statement. I condemn in the strongest possible […]





