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Blinken Arrives in South Korea to Attend Democracy Summit
Seoul, South Korea - U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived Sunday in South Korea on the first stop of a brief Asia tour also including the Philippines, as Washington moves to reinforce ties with two key regional allies.Blinken landed Sunday afternoon ahead of the third Summit for Democracy on Monday, an initiative of U.S. President Joe Biden, which Seoul is hosting this week.Before arriving in Se.....»»
FPRRD: Constitutional amendment works may have started thru Con-Ass
FORMER President Rodrigo Duterte called the eagerness of the Marcos administration to amend the 1987 Philippine constitution for term extension "kababuyan” (nastiness) after learning that President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. and his allies are now resorting to amending it through a Constituent Assembly (Con-Ass)......»»
Ukraine, allies slam Pope Francis’ ‘white flag’ comment
KYIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian and allied officials Sunday criticized Pope Francis for saying that Kyiv should have the “courage” to negotiate an end to the war with Russia, a statement many interpreted as a call for Ukraine to surrender. The foreign ministers of Ukraine and Poland, a vocal ally of Kyiv, condemned the pope’s remarks......»»
‘No longer Mindanao del Norte, at war’
From being adversaries, soldiers and combatants of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front are now allies in ensuring the success of the peace process in Mindanao as members of the joint peace and security committee......»»
West divided over seizing Russian assets - Bloomberg
France and Germany have warned that outright confiscation would reflect badly on the West's financial system A rift is growing between Western allies over confiscating frozen Russian assets to help Ukraine as they continue to argue over legal ways to use the immobilized funds, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday. &n.....»»
Trump wins South Carolina, swamping Nikki Haley in her home state
The lopsided outcome will bolster calls from Donald Trump's allies that Nikki Haley, Trump's last remaining challenger, should drop out of the race.....»»
Repression Increased in Asia in 2023, Human Rights Watch Says
Governments across Asia grew more repressive last year, emboldened by Western countries eager to curry favor with allies that might help check China's rise and taking increasingly brazen steps to silence their critics abroad, Human Rights Watch says in a new report.In its World Report 2024, launched Thursday morning in New York, the advocacy group takes stock of the human rights situation in more than 100 countr.....»»
Questionable initiative
The plot thickens as far as the reported attempts of administration allies to install highly-favored presidential kin, albeit a presidential survey laggard, as the next head of government of the land......»»
Repression Increased in Asia in 2023, Human Rights Watch Says
Governments across Asia grew more repressive last year, emboldened by Western countries eager to curry favor with allies that might help check China's rise and taking increasingly brazen steps to silence their critics abroad, Human Rights Watch says in a new report.In its World Report 2024, launched Thursday morning in New York, the advocacy group takes stock of the human rights situation in more than 100 countr.....»»
The Daily Guardian: Competitive Battle for Market Share Arises as U.S. Oil Production Soars
Title: Saudi Arabia Struggles to Stabilize Oil Prices Amid Rising US Production In a bid to support oil prices, Saudi Arabia and its OPEC+ allies.....»»
Israel, U.S., Iran’s allies inch closer to all-out war
Israel, U.S., Iran’s allies inch closer to all-out war.....»»
AFP ready for multi-nation patrols, exercises in West Philippine Sea
The Armed Forces of the Philippines is preparing for more joint patrols in the West Philippine Sea with the country’s allies, which may also shift from the current bilateral arrangements to multilateral patrols in 2024 and beyond......»»
VP Sara criticized for opposing peace talks
Vice President Sara Duterte’s opposition to the resumption of peace talks with the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) has not gained support from allies in the Marcos Jr. administration......»»
House supermajority backs Marcos on peace talks
Allies of President Marcos comprising the so-called supermajority in the House of Representatives have rallied behind his initiative to end the decades-long communist insurgency through fresh peace negotiations......»»
Marcos signs 2 pet bills – PPP code and Internet Transactions Act – into laws
Marcos was supposed to lead the ceremonial signing of the measures in a Malacañang event with his allies, but his COVID-19 illness prompted him to just do it in his residence while in isolation.....»»
Muslim Filipinos call for ceasefire in Gaza, Palestine
“The Western media and the allies of Israel and its main backer the US government keep saying Hamas is a terrorist group attacking Israel and Israeli settlers, but they consistently ignore the crimes of Israel against the people of Palestine. For 75 years and counting since the 1948 Nakba (catastrophe) when the US and the United Nations created Israel on Palestinian land, the agony Palestinians have been facing has been continuous and unending." The post Muslim Filipinos call for ceasefire in Gaza, Palestine appeared first on Bulatlat......»»
Countries queue for joint Phl patrols
The Philippines is considering multilateral patrols with other nations by next year, aside from the country’s maritime cooperative activities with the United States and Australia, Armed Forces of the Philippines chief General Romeo Brawner Jr. said Monday. But even without its allies, Brawner said the Philippines will continue its unilateral maritime and air patrol in its exclusive economic zone in the West Philippine Sea amid China’s encroachment “as it is our responsibility.” “But the joint maritime and air patrols with our allies and our partners will continue, we just don’t know for now how frequent they will be and also maybe the extent of our patrols, but we are working on that. We are constantly talking to our allies and partners,” he said. Brawner said many countries have signified an interest in conducting joint patrols with the Philippines. “They are also very much willing to conduct and to continue conducting this joint maritime and air patrols with the US in the West Philippine Sea,” he noted. “Aside from the bilateral joint exercises and joint operations that we are doing, there are also some countries who are expressing their desire to conduct this joint maritime and air patrols not just bilaterally but multilaterally,” he added. Brawner said they have yet to start the planning and preparation for the multilateral patrols. The safety of all patrol participants is a top concern, he added. The Philippines last week held joint MAC patrols with the United States and Australia, with Chinese military assets constantly shadowing the allies, whether on air or sea. The AFP chief said China’s activities during the MCAs were as expected. “I don’t think it was unusual, in fact, it happened this year, in May of this year, when US aircraft were flying over the South China Sea and they also encountered Chinese PLA (People’s Liberation Army) aircraft circling them so this is not the first time this happened,” said Brawner. He cited the US-PLA encounter in relation to Sunday’s incident in which two Chinese fighter jets not only shadowed but encircled two Philippine Air Force turboprop Super Tucano planes. Despite the harassment of the Tucanos, Brawner described the joint Philippines and Australia patrol as a “very successful event” as the AFP was able “to achieve the set objectives” for the joint activity. For his part, Defense Chief Gilberto Teodoro Jr. confirmed the country’s possible iterations of the MCA with other nations. “All iterations are possible with friendly and allied nations, that’s within the multilateral relations that we discussed earlier,” he said. By doing so, Teodoro said, these multilateral activities are part “of the acceptance of the righteousness of our country’s position.”.....»»
Stock markets dip as US inflation comes into view
Stock markets drifted lower on Monday as investors eyed the release this week of key US inflation data that could guide Federal Reserve plans for interest rates going into the new year. Oil prices fell nearly two percent before bouncing higher and then sliding back lower as dealers awaited a delayed meeting of OPEC and its allies to decide over output levels. With Wall Street seeing little action at the back of last week owing to the Thanksgiving break, traders had few catalysts to drive action, though analysts were upbeat about the end of the year. "Although there isn't much buying interest at the moment, it's more notable that there still isn't much selling interest," said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O'Hare. The retreat in equities comes after a recent run-up across world stock markets fuelled by bets the US central bank has finished lifting interest rates as inflation comes down and the jobs market comes off the boil. Expectations that the Federal Reserve is done with hiking rates continued to weigh on the dollar Monday. The main focus this week is the release Thursday of the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index, the Fed's preferred gauge of inflation. "These numbers will be closely scrutinized for insights into inflation trends and their potential implications for monetary policy decisions," said SPI Asset Management's Stephen Innes. "While the current backdrop does not signify 'mission accomplished' in terms of addressing inflation, policymakers must now focus on planning for the next phase of the economic battle." Still, observers were upbeat about the outlook, with the latest weakness blamed on traders taking a breather after a strong month. Tony Sycamore, at IG Group, said early December could see some selling as investors "rebuild energy and (look) to set up for the end-of-year fireworks". Others said a drop in Wall Street's VIX "fear gauge" -- a measure of equity volatility -- to its lowest since January 2020 suggested investors were getting their mojo back. Eyes are also on developments at OPEC after the group and its allies, notably Russia, delayed a meeting aimed at agreeing production quotas, with some African countries said to be baulking at Saudi Arabian calls for more cuts. The group is thought to be close to reaching an agreement that could see the Saudis and Russia extend output reductions into the new year. OANDA analyst Craig Erlam said the OPEC+ group has shown in the past it usually can get a deal done, even if Saudi Arabia and Russia need shoulder bigger cuts. "But the question is how far they'll push it, given the recent trend in oil prices and increasing concerns around global growth next year," said Erlam. Crude prices have fallen in recent weeks as demand is seen coming down owing to slowing economies, particularly China's, and the Middle East conflict appears to not have expanded to include other countries in the region. Key figures around 1630 GMT New York - DOW: DOWN 0.2 percent at 35,338.58 points London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.4 percent at 7,460.70 (close) Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 0.4 percent at 7,265.49 (close) Frankfurt - DAX: DOWN 0.4 percent at 15,966.37 (close) EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 0.4 percent at 4,354.41 (close) Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.5 percent at 33,447.67 (close) Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.2 percent at 17,525.06 (close) Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.3 percent at 3,031.70 (close) Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0935 from $1.0922 Pound/dollar: UP at $1.2611 from $1.2585 Euro/pound: DOWN at 86.70 pence from 86.79 pence Dollar/yen: DOWN at 148.94 from 149.56 yen West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.1 percent at $75.44 per barrel Brent North Sea crude: DOWN 0.3 percent at $80.36 per barrel .....»»
Comelec probing Smartmatic’s alleged meeting with a candidate’s team in 2022
The Commission on Elections is currently investigating allegations that the president of Smartmatic met with allies of a presidential candidate during the campaign season of the 2022 national elections — a breach of electoral rules......»»
Who’s destabilizing who?
Allies of Speaker Martin Romualdez have been busy explaining why Pampanga Representative Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and Davao Congressman Isidro Ungab were stripped of their deputy speaker positions......»»