International

Philippines calls for urgency from China, ASEAN in negotiating South China Sea code

By Panu Wongcha-um VIENTIANE, Laos (Reuters) -Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr pressed Southeast Asian leaders and China at a regional summit on Thursday to urgently speed up negotiations on a code of conduct for the South China Sea, while accusing Beijing of harassment and intimidation. Speaking in Laos to leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Chinese Premier Li Qiang, Marcos said substantive progress was necessary and all parties must “be earnestly […]

Hurricane Milton leaves at least 10 dead, millions without power in Florida

By Brad Brooks and Leonora LaPeter Anton FORT PIERCE, Florida/ST. PETERSBURG, Florida (Reuters) -Hurricane Milton plowed into the Atlantic Ocean on Thursday after cutting a destructive path across Florida that spawned tornados, killed at least 10 people and left millions without power, but the storm did not trigger the catastrophic surge of seawater that was feared. Governor Ron DeSantis said the state had avoided the “worst-case scenario,” though he cautioned the damage was still significant […]

Ratan Tata, who put India’s Tata Group on the global map, dies at 86

By Abhirup Roy (Reuters) – Ratan Tata, the former Tata Group chairman who put a staid and sprawling Indian conglomerate on the global stage with a string of high-profile acquisitions, has died, the Tata Group said in a statement late on Wednesday. He was 86. Tata, who ran the conglomerate for more than 20 years as chairman, had been undergoing intensive care in a Mumbai hospital, two sources with direct knowledge of his medical situation […]

Extremely dangerous Hurricane Milton makes landfall on Florida’s west coast

By Leonora LaPeter Anton and Brad Brooks ST. PETERSBURG, Florida (Reuters) – Hurricane Milton made landfall on Florida’s west coast on Wednesday, striking a little sooner and further south than forecast, offering the state a glimmer of hope it might be spared the worst of the anticipated catastrophe. The storm made landfall around 8:30 p.m. EDT (0030 GMT) as a Category 3 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 120 miles per hour (195 kph) near […]

Category 5 monster hurricane Milton heads for Florida: millions ordered to flee

By Julio-Cesar Chavez and Evan Garcia TAMPA, Florida (Reuters) -Hurricane Milton barreled toward Florida’s battered Gulf Coast as an enormous Category 5 storm on Tuesday, triggering massive traffic jams and fuel shortages as officials ordered more than 1 million people to flee before it slams into the Tampa Bay area. Milton, which exploded on Monday into one of the most intense Atlantic hurricanes on record, was forecast to make landfall late Wednesday or early Thursday, […]

Philippines launches naval drills with allies as regional tensions simmer

By Mikhail Flores SUBIC, Philippines (Reuters) – The armed forces of the Philippines, the United States and four other countries began joint naval exercises off the coast of the Philippines’ northern Luzon island facing Taiwan in a display of naval strength amid rising tensions with China. Called “Sama Sama,” which means togetherness, this year’s drills, which involve almost a thousand sailors and personnel from Australia, Canada, France, Japan, the United States and the Philippines, are […]

South Korea, Singapore aim to become strategic partners next year

SINGAPORE (Reuters) -South Korea and Singapore have agreed to embark on a strategic partnership next year, marking the 50th anniversary of their establishment of diplomatic relations, the city state’s Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said on Tuesday. The two nations signed an extradition treaty and will look to deepen co-operation in fields such as artificial intelligence, defence and climate change, as well as upgrade their free trade pact. “The upgrade is not just a change in […]

Philippines’ Marcos signs law to revitalise country’s defense industry

MANILA (Reuters) – Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr signed into law a bill on Tuesday that aims to develop the country’s defence industry to reduce its reliance on imported sources and create equipment tailored to its security challenges. “It’s a logical move forward for a country that finds itself at the fulcrum of geopolitical shifts and volatilities. At its core this act is about cultivating a robust and sustainable national defence industry,” Marcos said after […]

Mexican mayor decapitated days after taking office in Guerrero

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – The mayor of the capital of Mexico’s violence-plagued state of Guerrero was killed on Sunday less than a week after he took office, the state’s governor confirmed. Alejandro Arcos was killed just six days after he took office as mayor of the city of Chilpancingo, a city of around 280,000 people in southwestern Mexico. “His loss mourns the entire Guerrero society and fills us with indignation,” Guerrero Governor Evelyn Salgado said […]

Philippines accuses China of assaulting Vietnamese fishermen in South China Sea

MANILA (Reuters) – The Philippines accused Chinese maritime officials on Friday of carrying out an “unjustified assault” on Vietnamese fishermen in the contested waters of the South China Sea, adding its voice to a fraught dispute over the confrontation. Vietnam said this week that Chinese law enforcement officers had beaten 10 fishermen and seized their gear while they were working last Sunday near the Chinese-controlled Paracel Islands, which Hanoi also claims and calls Hoang Sa. […]

Israel targets Hezbollah intel HQ in Lebanon, Iran says it will not back down

By Maya Gebeily and James Mackenzie BEIRUT/JERUSALEM (Reuters) -Israel said it had targeted the intelligence headquarters of Hezbollah in Lebanon overnight and was assessing the damage on Friday after a series of strikes on senior figures in the group that Iran’s Supreme Leader dismissed as counterproductive. The air attack on Beirut, part of a wide assault that has driven more than 1.2 million Lebanese from their homes, was reported to have targeted the potential successor […]

By mule and helicopter, volunteers deliver aid to Helene victims

By Karl Plume and Nathan Frandino ASHEVILLE, North Carolina (Reuters) – An army of private volunteers including mule drivers and helicopter pilots are helping deliver supplies and rescue stranded victims after one of the deadliest storms in recent U.S. history ripped through the mountains of western North Carolina. One week after Helene slammed into the Florida Panhandle and devastated wide swaths of half a dozen states, untold thousands remained cut off around Asheville, North Carolina, […]