Page 2 - Philippines

Philippines declares emergency after typhoon leaves 241 dead, missing

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr declared a state of emergency on Thursday after Typhoon Kalmaegi left at least 241 people dead and missing in central provinces in the deadliest natural disaster to hit the country this year. Kalmaegi left at least 114 people dead, mostly from drowning in flash floods, and 127 missing, many in the hard-hit central province of Cebu, before the tropical cyclone blew out of the archipelago on Wednesday into the South China Sea. The typhoon's onslaught, which affected nearly 2 million people, displaced more than 560,000 villagers, including nearly 450,000 who were evacuated to emergency shelters. Marcos's emergency declaration, made during a meeting with disaster-response officials to assess the typhoon's aftermath, would allow the government to disburse emergency funds faster and prevent food hoarding and overpricing.

Typhoon Kalmaegi kills 66 in Philippine province still reeling from quake

Typhoon Kalmaegi has left at least 66 people dead with 26 others missing in the central Philippines, many in widespread flooding that trapped people on their roofs and swept away scores of cars in a hard-hit province still recovering from a deadly earthquake, officials said on Wednesday. Among the dead were six people who were killed in a separate incident when a Philippine air force helicopter crashed in the southern province of Agusan del Sur on Tuesday while en route to help provide humanitarian help to provinces battered by Kalmaegi, the military said without providing other details, including what could have caused the crash. Kalmaegi blew away from western Palawan province into the South China Sea before noon on Wednesday with sustained winds of up to 130 kph (81 mph) and gusts of up to 180 kph (112 mph), according to forecasters. Bernardo Rafaelito Alejandro IV, deputy administrator of the Office of Civil Defence, and provincial officials said most of the deaths were reported

1 dead, thousands displaced as Typhoon Kalmaegi sweeps central Philippines

A fast-moving typhoon barrelled across central Philippines on Monday after slamming ashore overnight from the Pacific, leaving at least one person dead, causing flooding and power outages, and displacing tens of thousands of people, officials said. Typhoon Kalmaegi was blowing over the city of Sagay in central Negros Occidental province mid-morning with sustained winds of up to 150 kph and gusts up to 185 kph after making landfall around midnight in the town of Silago town in the eastern province of Southern Leyte. Kalmaegi, the 20th tropical cyclone to batter the Philippines this year, was moving northwestward at 25 kph and was forecast to start shifting away from the western section of the archipelago into the South China Sea later Tuesday. An elderly villager drowned in floodwaters in Southern Leyte, where a provincewide power outage was also reported, officials said in an initial report without providing other details. Ahead of the typhoon's landfall, disaster-response official

Thousands evacuate to safety as typhoon Kalmaegi nears eastern Philippines

Philippine officials ordered tens of thousands of people to evacuate to safer grounds and prohibited fishermen from venturing out to sea in an east-central region Monday as a typhoon approached from the Pacific. Authorities warned of torrential rains and potentially deadly storm surges of up to 3 metres (nearly 10 feet). Typhoon Kalmaegi was last spotted about 235 kilometres (146 miles) east of the town of Guiuan in Eastern Samar province, with sustained winds of up to 120 kilometres (74 miles) per hour and gusts of up to 150 kph (93 mph), and was forecast to slam into shore later Monday. It was expected to blow westward overnight and on Tuesday and batter central island provinces, including Cebu, which is still recovering from a 6.9-magnitude earthquake that hit on Sept. 30 and left at least 79 dead and displaced thousands of people after their houses collapsed or were severely damaged. Kalmaegi, locally named Tino, was forecast to further strengthen over the Philippine Sea before

Canada, Philippines to sign pact to boost drills, deter China's aggression

Canada and the Philippines, both staunch critics of China's increasingly coercive actions in the disputed South China Sea, were to sign a key defence agreement on Sunday on joint readiness drills and expand security alliances to deter aggression, Philippine officials said. Canada and other Western nations have been bolstering their military presence in the Indo-Pacific to help promote the rule of law and expand trade and investment in the region. The moves dovetail with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s efforts to build defence ties with other countries to help his country's underfunded military face a militarily superior China in the disputed waters. There was no immediate comment from China, which has accused the Philippines of being a troublemaker and a saboteur of regional stability over joint patrols and combat drills with the United States and other countries in the South China Sea. Beijing claims the waterway, a major trade route, virtually in its entirety despite a 2016 ...

Tropical storm Fengshen kills seven, displaces 22,000 in Philippines

A tropical storm lashed the northern and central Philippines over the weekend, killing seven people after forcing more than 22,000 people to evacuate from flood- and landslide-prone villages. Tropical Storm Fengshen blew away from the main northern Philippine region of Luzon into the South China Sea late on Sunday. It currently has sustained winds of up to 65 kilometres per hour and gusts of up to 80 kilometres per hour, government forecasters said. The government's disaster-mitigation agency said seven deaths were reported. Nearly 14,000 people who evacuated remained displaced from their homes by Monday, the agency said. One person drowned on Saturday in Roxas City in the central province of Capiz, where high tide worsened flooding in many villages, officials said. Five people, including two children, died while they were sleeping when their hut was hit early Sunday by a huge palm tree that they had burned before to try to topple it for safety reasons in Pitogo town in the eastern

Philippines bets on visa-free entry, direct flights to woo Indian tourists

The Philippines is banking on visa-free travel and new direct flights from India to boost arrivals and deepen tourism links across South-East Asia

Best of BS Opinion: Starmer visit shows room for growth in India-UK trade

Today's Opinion pieces look at the potential for growth in India-UK trade, the hurdles to the Gaza peace plan, India's geopolitical opportunity, and Trump's hidden call for global change

Philippines wooing Indian tourists with visa-free travel, direct flights

The Philippines is pitching to become a leading tourist destination in South-East Asia for Indians, with initiatives like visa-free travel and direct flights, a senior Philippine official has said. In a significant step towards enhancing regional connectivity between India and the Philippines, Air India's direct flights from Delhi to Manila commenced operations from October 1, the official said. The Philippines launched visa-free travel for Indians in June, allowing for a 14-day stay for tourism. "Together with our visa-free regime for Indian tourists and resumption of direct flights between India and the Philippines after 10 years, we are ready to welcome you," Philippines Ambassador to India Josel F Ignacio said. This ease of travel with direct flight means that you do not lose a day. This will be an incentive for more Indians to travel to the Philippines," the senior diplomat told reporters. We know that for Indians with rising incomes, travel decisions are moderated by two ...

Chinese coast guard rams, damages Philippine vessel in South China Sea

A Chinese coast guard ship used a powerful water cannon on Sunday then rammed and slightly damaged an anchored Philippine government vessel off an island inhabited by Filipinos in the disputed South China Sea, said the Philippine coast guard. There were no injuries among Filipino crewmen of the BRP Datu Pagbuaya, part of the fisheries fleet that provides support to Filipino fishermen. The Chinese coast guard targeted Pagbuaya off the Philippines-occupied Thitu island in the latest flare-up of the long-simmering territorial disputes involving Manila, Beijing and four other governments. China did not immediately issue any reaction but has repeatedly restated its sovereignty and control over virtually the entire South China Sea, a major trade route, despite a 2016 arbitration ruling that invalidated its historic claims. That ruling has been rejected by China but supported by the United States and its Western and Asian allies. Pagbuaya and two other Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic ...

Second 6.9-magnitude quake hits southern Philippines near Davao Oriental

Two powerful offshore earthquakes struck the same region in the southern Philippines hours apart on Friday. The first one, a 7.4 magnitude quake in the morning, killed at least five people, set off landslides, damaged hospitals and schools and prompted evacuations of coastal areas nearby because of a tsunami warning, which was later lifted. The second one had a preliminary 6.9 magnitude. Philippine Institute of Seismology and Volcanology chief Teresito Bacolcol said that Friday night's earthquake that jolted Manay town in Davao Oriental province was caused by movement in the same fault line, the Philippine Trench, at a depth of 10 kilometres (6 miles). It wasn't immediately clear if it was a separate earthquake or an aftershock of the 7.4 magnitude quake. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., facing his latest natural disaster after a recent deadly quake and back-to-back storms, said the potential damage was being assessed, and rescue teams and relief operations were being prepared and .

Typhoon Matmo regains strength, heads toward Hainan, Guangdong in China

Matmo regained strength on Saturday morning, becoming a typhoon again as it left the Philippines and moved toward southern China's Hainan province, after it had earlier weakened into a storm. The typhoon had sustained wind speeds of 118 kph on Saturday, according to China's National Meteorological Centre. It is expected to strengthen further before it makes landfall on Sunday in Guangdong and Hainan provinces. Flights from Haikou, the capital of Hainan, will be cancelled starting Saturday night at 11 pm, according to the official China National Radio. The city also said classes will be cancelled and public transport and businesses will be shut on Saturday. Some train routes in Hainan province were cancelled Saturday and service will be suspended again on Sunday. China's national weather observatory issued an orange alert warning for the storm on Saturday. Matmo on Friday passed through the Philippines, where thousands of people were evacuated but no immediate casualties were report

Typhoon blows into Philippines, complicating disaster response after quake

A typhoon blew into the northern Philippines on Friday, complicating the country's disaster response to a deadly earthquake in a central province and two other recent storms. Typhoon Matmo blew into Dinapigue town in Isabela province from the Pacific with sustained winds up to 130 kph and was to blow northwestward over a vast agricultural valley and mountain provinces, where residents in some flood- and landslide-prone villages were evacuating. Schools suspended classes, and cargo and fishing vessels were prohibited from entering the rough seas along the path of the typhoon. It was expected to blow into the South China Sea on Saturday on a course toward southern China, Philippine forecasters said. Hong Kong's observatory said Matmo would pass by the territory on an expected path toward Hainan Island and the mainland's Guangdong province over the weekend. Matmo, locally known as Paolo, was the 16th tropical cyclone to hit the Philippines this year. The Southeast Asian archipelago ..

Rescuers search for survivors as Philippines earthquake kills at least 72

Rescuers used backhoes and sniffer dogs to look for survivors in collapsed houses and other damaged buildings in the central Philippines after an earthquake killed at least 72 people and injured more than 200 others. The death toll was expected to rise from the 6.9 magnitude quake that hit about 10 pm Tuesday and trapped an unspecified number of residents in the hard-hit city of Bogo and outlying rural towns in Cebu province. Sporadic rain and damaged bridges and roads have hampered the race to save lives. A dangerous quake On Wednesday night, rescuers in orange and yellow hard hats used spotlights, a backhoe and bare hands to sift through the rubble of concrete slabs, broken wood and twisted iron bars for hours in a collapsed building in Bogo city. No survivor was found. The earthquake occurred at a dangerously shallow depth of 5 kilometres and was centred about 19 kilometres northeast of Bogo, a coastal city of about 90,000 people in Cebu province where officials reported about

Strong earthquake kills 69 in central Philippines days after deadly storm

An offshore earthquake of magnitude 6.9 collapsed walls of houses and buildings late Tuesday in a central Philippine province, killing at least 20 people, injuring many others and sending residents scrambling out of homes into darkness as the intense shaking cut off power, officials said. The epicentre of the earthquake, which was set off by a local fault, was about 17 kilometres northeast of Bogo, a coastal city of about 90,000 people in Cebu province where at least 14 residents died, disaster-mitigation officer Rex Ygot told The Associated Press by telephone. The death toll in Bogo was expected to rise. Workers were trying to transport a backhoe to hasten search and rescue efforts in a cluster of shanties in a mountain village hit by a landslide and boulders, he said. It's hard to move in the area because there are hazards, Glenn Ursal, another disaster-mitigation officer told The AP, adding some survivors were brought to a hospital. Six people, including three coast guard ...

Typhoon hits Hong Kong, China after killing dozens in Taiwan, Philippines

Typhoon Ragasa, one of the strongest storms to hit Asia in years, whipped waves taller than lampposts onto Hong Kong promenades and turned seas rough on the southern Chinese coast after leaving deadly destruction in Taiwan and the Philippines. In Taiwan, 17 people died on Wednesday after floods submerged roads and carried away vehicles in one county, and 10 deaths were reported in the northern Philippines. More than 2 million people were relocated across Guangdong province, the southern Chinese economic powerhouse, China's state-run Xinhua news agency said. A weather station in Chuandao town recorded maximum gusts of 241 kph (about 150 mph) at noon, a high in Jiangmen city since record-keeping began. State broadcaster CCTV said the typhoon made landfall along the coast of Hailing Island in Yangjiang city at about 5 pm, packing maximum winds near the center of 144 kph (89 mph). Violent winds battered trees and buildings, with torrential rain lowering visibility, video from Xinhua ...

Jaishankar meets Philippine counterpart Tess Lazaro on UNGA sidelines

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has met with his Philippine counterpart Tess Lazaro here and discussed bilateral cooperation in the UN and the Indo-Pacific region. Jaishankar, who arrived in New York on Sunday for the high-level UN General Assembly meeting, said he was pleased to meet Lazaro on the sidelines of the UNGA. "We followed up on the recent State Visit of President @bongbongmarcos to India. Also discussed our cooperation in the UN and the Indo-Pacific region," Jaishankar said on social media. Lazaro said her discussion with Jaishankar "reaffirms our 2 countries' commitment as Strategic Partners to actively develop cooperation in political, defence and security, the maritime domain, etc." Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos last month visited India for talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other top officials to boost cooperation in defence, trade and investment, agriculture, tourism, and the pharmaceutical industry.

Philippine police arrest 49 amid violent clashes at anti-corruption protest

Philippine police arrested 49 people suspected of hurling rocks, bottles and fire bombs at officers and blocking heavily guarded roads and bridges leading to the presidential palace Sunday while a peaceful anti-corruption rally took place in the capital, officials and witnesses said. The melee outside the country's seat of power unfolded while more than 33,000 other protesters rallied in a historic park and a democracy monument in Manila. They expressed outrage over a corruption scandal involving lawmakers, officials and construction company owners who allegedly pocketed huge kickbacks from flood-control projects in the impoverished Southeast Asian country that is regularly buffeted by storms and typhoons. The hourslong rampage by about 100 mostly club-wielding people, some of whom waved Philippine flags and displayed carton posters with anti-corruption slogans, wounded about 70 Manila law enforcers, according to the Manila police. Schools were cancelled due to the violence. Police

Thousands protest in Philippines against massive corruption scandal

Thousands of protesters took to the streets in the Philippine capital on Sunday to express their outrage over a corruption scandal involving lawmakers, officials and businesspeople who allegedly pocketed huge kickbacks from flood-control projects in the poverty-stricken and storm-prone Southeast Asian country. Police forces and troops were put on alert to prevent any outbreak of violence. Thousands of police officers were deployed to secure separate protests in a historic Manila park and near a democracy monument along the main EDSA highway, also in the capital region, where organisers hoped to draw one of the largest turnouts of anti-corruption protesters in the country in recent years. The United States and Australian embassies issued travel advisories asking their citizens to stay away from the protests as a safety precaution. A group of protesters waved Philippine flags and displayed a banner that read: No more, too much, jail them, as they marched in the Manila protest and ...

Tensions flare as Chinese, Philippine ships collide in South China Sea

China's coast guard accused a Philippine ship of deliberately ramming one of its vessels on Tuesday near Scarborough Shoal, a disputed territory that both countries claim in the South China Sea. A coast guard statement said more than 10 Philippine government ships coming from various directions entered the waters around the shoal, which is called Huangyan island in Chinese. It said it deployed water cannons against the vessels. The encounter came six days after China announced it was designating part of Scarborough Shoal as a national nature reserve. There was no immediate comment from the Philippines. The government in Manila said last week it was filing a diplomatic protest against the designation of a nature reserve at what it calls Bajo de Masinloc. China and the Philippines have clashed repeatedly around outcroppings in the South China Sea, which China claims almost in its entirety. The two countries are among several that have competing claims to territory in the waters, whic