Page 9 - Philippines

Philippines' coast guard ship, supply boat hit by Chinese vessels: Official

A Chinese coast guard ship and an accompanying vessel rammed a Philippine coast guard ship and a military-run supply boat Sunday off a contested shoal, Philippine officials said, in an encounter that heightened fears of an armed conflict in the disputed South China Sea. A top Philippine security official told The Associated Press there were no injuries among the Filipino crew members and an assessment of the damage to both vessels was underway. The official said that the two incidents near Second Thomas Shoal, where China has repeatedly tried to isolate a Philippine marine outpost, could have been worse if the vessels were not able to maneuver rapidly away from the Chinese ships. The official spoke on condition of anonymity due to a lack of authority to publicly discuss the matter. China's sweeping territorial claims in the South China Sea, including over islands closer to Philippine shore, have raised tensions and brought in the United States, a longtime treaty ally of the ...

X tests $1 fee for new users in Philippines, New Zealand to target spam

Elon Musk's social media platform X has begun charging a USD 1 fee to new users in the Philippines and New Zealand, in a test designed to cut down on the spam and fake accounts flourishing on the site formerly known as Twitter. The company said late Tuesday that it has started trying out the annual subscription method for new and unverified accounts. The program, dubbed Not a Bot, won't apply to existing users. It's not clear why it only applies to New Zealand and the Philippines or why those countries were chosen. This new test was developed to bolster our already successful efforts to reduce spam, manipulation of our platform and bot activity, while balancing platform accessibility with the small fee amount, the X support account tweeted. It is not a profit driver. Since Musk bought X a year ago, he has introduced a slew of changes such as renaming the platform and gutting its workforce including its content moderation team. Outside watchdog groups say the changes have allowed

Venus Remedies gets marketing approval for 6 chemo drugs from Philippines

Pharma major Venus Remedies on Monday said it has received marketing approval from the Philippines for six key chemotherapy drugs. The approved drugs include bortezomib, cisplatin, doxorubicin, docetaxel, fluorouracil, and paclitaxel, which are crucial for cancer treatment, according to a company statement. With this, Venus Remedies has secured 525 marketing approvals for its oncology products across 76 countries, it said. This achievement marks a significant step towards achieving the company's goal of emerging as the top oncology medicine supplier from India in Southeast Asia, said Saransh Chaudhary, chief executive officer, Venus Medicine Research Centre. "While oncology drugs account for 157 of our 205 marketing authorisations in the ASEAN region, we are banking on these product registrations from the Philippines to pave the way for faster approval of these drugs in other Southeast Asian countries as well," Chaudhary added. The company will further extend its operations to oth

Philippines raises $1.3 billion from sale of retail dollar bonds

The government sold its maiden retail dollar bonds in October 2021, when it raised $1.6 billion

Philippine boats breach a Chinese coast guard blockade in a faceoff

Two Philippine supply boats breached a Chinese coast guard blockade in the South China Sea on Wednesday in a recurring confrontation near a disputed shoal some fear could spark a larger security crisis that could draw in the United States. Two Philippine coast guard ships escorted the smaller supply boats, but it wasn't immediately clear whether the ships were blocked by the Chinese coast guard from coming closer to the Second Thomas Shoal, where a small contingent of Filipino marines has stood guard for years aboard a long-marooned but still actively commissioned warship, the BRP Sierra Madre. China also claims the shoal and has surrounded it with its coast guard ships and militia vessels to prevent the Philippines from delivering construction materials that Beijing fears could be used to reinforce the Sierra Madre and turn it into a permanent territorial outpost. Despite attempts by a significant number of China coast guard and Chinese maritime militia vessels to block, harass, an

US deepening intelligence cooperation with Asian countries to counter China

The web of relationships also includes trilateral partnerships among the US, Japan and South Korea, and one encompassing the US, Japan and the Philippines, the officials said

Earthquake of magnitude 6.3 jolts Philippines, no loss of life reported

An earthquake of magnitude 6.3 on the Richer scale jolted the Philippines on Wednesday, the National Centre of Seismology (NCS) informed through a post on social media.The earthquake occurred at 16:51:49 IST on Wednesday, at a depth of 160 kms."Earthquake of Magnitude:6.3, Occurred on 04-10-2023, 16:51:49 IST, Lat: 5.34 & Long: 126.43, Depth: 160 Km, Location: Philippines," read a post on the official handle of NCS on X.Earlier in June, a deep earthquake shook parts of the Philippines, southwest of the capital. The 6.2 magnitude earthquake on Thursday morning near Hukay, about 120 kilometres (75 miles) below the earth's surface, the US Geological Survey said.Deep quakes are often widely felt but with less potential to cause major damage. Hukay is about 140 kilometers (87 miles) from Manila.Earlier, two strong earthquakes of magnitudes 6.2 and 4.6 struck Nepal on Tuesday, the National Centre for Seismology (NCS) reported, adding that the tremors were felt across large parts of ...

'Philippines not looking for trouble but will defend waters against China'

The Philippine president said Friday that his country does not want a confrontation but will staunchly defend its waters after its coast guard removed a floating barrier placed by China at a disputed shoal in the South China Sea. It was the first time President Ferdinand Marcos Jr has spoken publicly against China's installation of the 300-metre (980-foot) -long barrier at the entrance to Scarborough Shoal which was dismantled at his order. "We're not looking for trouble but what we'll do is to continue defending the maritime territory of the Philippines and the rights of our fishermen, who have been fishing in those areas for hundreds of years, Marcos said in response to a question at a news briefing in southern Surigao del Norte province. The latest flare-up between China and the Philippines in the South China Sea, one of the world's busiest trade routes, comes after Marcos decided earlier this year to allow an expansion of the US military presence in the Philippines under a 2014

Asian Games: Esport, Indian League of Legends team bow out in quarters

India's DOTA 2 team will begin their campaign against Kyrgyzstan and the Philippines in their opening group stage games on September 29

Philippines condemns Beijing for installing floating barrier in S China Sea

Bajo de Masinloc, also known as the Scarborough Shoal, is a small but strategic reef and fertile fishing ground 130 miles (200 kilometers) west of the Philippine island of Luzon

Women's Reservation Bill: Where else have seats been reserved for women?

Parliament special session: In 2018, according to the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) report, only 24 per cent of parliamentarians were women

Japan joins India, Philippines, Malaysia in rejecting Beijing's new map

Japan has joined India, the Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam and Taiwan to lodge protests against China over its new "standard map" for including the disputed Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea as part of its territory. Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told the media in Tokyo on Tuesday that Japan has lodged a strong protest to China through diplomatic channels over a new map released by Beijing last month. Tokyo urged Beijing to rescind the map because it has a description based on China's unilateral claims on the Senkaku Islands in southern Japan's Okinawa Prefecture, Matsuno has been quoted by the Japanese media. The map describes the Senkakus as the Diaoyu Islands, the Chinese name for the islands. The Japanese-administered islands in the East China Sea are claimed by Beijing. The islands are "indisputably an inherent part of Japanese territory, both historically and under international law," Matsuno said. Japan "responds in a calm and resolute way, based on i

Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam, Taiwan join India to reject China's new map

Governments in the Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam and Taiwan on Thursday joined India in rejecting China's new national map, issuing strongly worded statements accusing Beijing of claiming their territory. China published a new version of its national map on Monday to correct what Beijing has in the past referred to as problematic maps that it claims misrepresent its territorial borders. India on Tuesday lodged a strong protest with China over its so-called "standard map" laying claim over Arunachal Pradesh and the Aksai Chin, and asserted that such steps only complicate the resolution of the boundary question. The External Affairs Ministry also rejected China's claims as having "no basis". "Just making absurd claims does not make other people's territories yours," External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said while reacting to the Chinese move. The Philippine government on Thursday slammed China's 2023 edition of its so-called standard map that still shows swaths of Philippine feat

Philippines rejects China's 'standard map' claiming entire South China Sea

The Philippines called on China to act responsibly and abide by its obligations under UNCLOS and the final and binding 2016 Arbitral Award

Chinese coast guard blocks Philippine vessels near disputed shoal

As a US Navy plane circled overhead, two Philippine boats breached a Chinese coast guard blockade in a dangerous confrontation in the disputed South China Sea to deliver food and other supplies to Filipino forces guarding a contested shoal. Two Philippine coast guard vessels escorting the supply boats, however, were blocked by at least four Chinese coast guard ships for about five hours Tuesday in a tense standoff off Second Thomas Shoal. The dangerous encounter is the latest flare-up from the long-seething territorial disputes in the busy sea that involve China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei. It's regarded as an Asian flashpoint and has become a delicate fault line in the US-China rivalry. The Philippine coast guard invited a small group of journalists, including two from The Associated Press, to join its ships that secured the supply boats as part of a new strategy aimed at exposing China's increasingly aggressive actions in the South China Sea, which Beiji

US, Japan, Aus plan navy drills in South China Sea: Philippine official

The United States, Japan and Australia are planning a joint navy drill in the South China Sea off the western Philippines this week to underscore their commitment to the rule of law in the region after a recent show of Chinese aggression in the disputed waters, Filipino security officials said Sunday. On August 5, Chinese coast guard ships used water cannons against Philippine vessels in the contested waterway where disputes have long been regarded as a potential flashpoint and have become a fault line in the rivalry between the US and China in the region. The drill will include three aircraft and helicopter carriers sailing together in a show of force and undertaking joint drills. Their commanders are set to meet with Filipino counterparts in Manila after the offshore drills, two Philippine security officials told The Associated Press. Both spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not allowed to publicly discuss details of the planned drills. The US plans to deploy an ...

Venus Remedies gets market authorisations for cancer drugs from 4 nations

Pharma major Venus Remedies on Monday said it has received market authorisations for its key cancer drugs from Philippines, Paraguay, Georgia and Moldova. With this, the company has secured 506 marketing approvals for its oncology products across 76 countries. While Venus Remedies has secured marketing approval for topotecan from Philippines, it has also reinforced its position as a leading exporter of oncology drugs with product registration for irinotecan in Paraguay, docetaxel in Georgia and topotecan and irinotecan in Moldova, said the company in a statement. "This accomplishment is a decisive move towards achieving our goal of emerging as the top oncology medicine supplier from India in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region and further expanding the reach of our cancer drugs in South America and Eastern Europe. With these marketing authorisations, the company will be able to further extend its operations to new markets offering "advanced cancer treatment ..

Strong typhoon blows closer to northern Philippines, forces evacuation

A powerful typhoon blew closer to the northern Philippines on Tuesday, forcing thousands of evacuations and a halt to sea travel ahead of torrential rains and tidal surges up to 3 meters. The strongest winds at the storm's center are expected to remain offshore as Typhoon Doksuri barrels northwest off Cagayan and Batanes provinces, but they may hit outlying islands in the archipelago. The typhoon's 680-kilometer- (420-mile-) wide rainband could cause flash floods and set off landslides in northern provinces, the country's weather bureau said. Doksuri was last tracked 310 kilometers (193 miles) east of Tuguegarao city in Cagayan province with sustained winds of 185 kilometers (115 miles) per hour and gusts of up to 230 kph (143 mph), government forecasters said. The typhoon would also enhance seasonal monsoon rains in central and northern provinces. It was forecast to continue moving northwest on a track south of Taiwan that would make landfall in China later this week. Cagayan Gov.

Beyond Barbie: Hollywood's blurred boundaries & confused ethnic identities

Misrepresentation of borders and whitewashing of characters continues, with 87% American directors being white

India, Philippines decide to commence negotiations on bilateral trade pact

India and the Philippines on Thursday agreed to commence negotiations on a bilateral preferential trade pact and vowed to step up defence cooperation, especially in the maritime security domain, amid China's increasing muscle-flexing in the South China Sea. In the extensive talks between Secretary for Foreign Affairs of the Philippines Enrique A Manalo and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, the two sides also underlined the need for implementing the South China Sea verdict that was pronounced by a UN arbitration court in 2016. The defence and security ties between India and the Philippines are on an upswing. In January last year, the Philippines concluded a USD 375 million deal with India for the procurement of three batteries of the BrahMos cruise missile. A joint statement said both sides underlined that India and the Philippines have a shared interest in a free and open Indo-Pacific and emphasised the need for peaceful settlement of disputes and for adherence to internationa