Need to Know

March 19, 2024

Friends With Benefits

Philippines

American Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo recently joined executives from GreenFire Energy, Google Asia Pacific, Visa, United Airlines and KKR to announce $1 billion in investments in the Philippines. It was the latest good news between friends. American and Philippine leaders signed a mutual defense treaty...

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The World Briefly

November 29, 2023

Let’s Parley

Philippines

The Philippine government and the country’s communist rebels agreed Tuesday to restart peace talks in an effort to end the decades-long civil conflict that has killed tens of thousands of people in the Southeast Asian nation, Al Jazeera reported. Authorities will re-engage with the New People’s...

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The World Briefly

November 07, 2023

Killing the Messengers

Philippines

An unknown gunman shot and killed a radio host in the southern Philippines this week, an attack described as a “brazen killing” in a country considered one of the most dangerous in the world for journalists, Al Jazeera reported. Juan Jumalon, known professionally as “DJ Johnny...

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The World Briefly

September 13, 2023

Won’t Back Down

Philippines

A Philippine court acquitted Nobel laureate Maria Ressa and her news site Rappler on Tuesday of tax fraud charges, a ruling seen as another legal victory for the embattled journalist and the state of press freedom in the Southeast Asian nation, Reuters reported. Ressa, CEO of...

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The World Briefly

July 19, 2023

Making War

Philippines

The International Criminal Court (ICC) rejected an appeal by the Philippines to prevent the court’s prosecutors from investigating former President Rodrigo Duterte’s bloody “war on drugs,” CNN reported Tuesday. The court’s ruling came months after the ICC announced it would revive its investigation into possible “crimes...

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The World Briefly

June 02, 2023

SIMply Chaos

Philippines

A new law requiring all citizens to register their SIM cards under their legal names before July is causing an uproar in the Philippines, while tech analysts worry that the legislation is encouraging identity theft and fraud, Al Jazeera reported. Last year, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr...

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The World Briefly

April 12, 2023

Theater on the Pacific

Philippines

The Philippines and the United States launched their largest-ever military drills across the South China Sea on Tuesday, an exercise aimed at deterring China’s ambitions in the disputed waters, Al Jazeera reported. Known as the annual Balikatan drills, the event will have more than 17,600 soldiers...

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The World Briefly

March 29, 2023

No Free Pass

Philippines

The Philippines will sever contact with the International Criminal Court (ICC), the country’s president announced Tuesday, after the Netherlands-based tribunal rejected an appeal by the government to stop investigating former President Rodrigo Duterte’s controversial war on drugs, Al Jazeera reported. The ICC resumed its investigation in...

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The World Briefly

March 06, 2023

No Limits

Philippines

Philippine police on Sunday killed one suspect and arrested three others who are implicated in the murder of a provincial governor over the weekend, the latest attack targeting politicians and officials in the Southeast Asian nation in recent weeks, Agence France-Presse reported. On Saturday, at least...

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The World Briefly

February 15, 2023

A Valentine Gesture

Philippines

A mayor in the Philippines handed out extra pay to single employees during Valentine’s Day on Tuesday, in a show of gratitude for the extra hours they work and to say that “someone loves them,” Agence France Presse reported. Employees at General Luna town hall in...

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The World Briefly

February 03, 2023

Kiss and Make Up

Philippines

The United States reached an agreement with the Philippines on Thursday to receive access to additional military bases in the Southeast Asian country, the latest move by Washington to encircle China and counter its growing influence in the region, the Wall Street Journal reported. The agreement,...

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Need to Know

January 09, 2023

A Difficult Hand

Philippines

Controversially tough-on-crime Rodrigo Duterte is no longer president of the Philippines. But, in an echo of protests that occurred when Duterte was in power between June 2016 and June 2022, demonstrators recently took to the streets of the Filipino capital, Manila, to protest against violence...

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The World Briefly

January 06, 2023

Balancing Act

Philippines

China and the Philippines agreed to strengthen their economic ties and restart talks on oil exploration, following a meeting between both countries’ leaders as they try to mend relations over contested areas in the South China Sea, CNN reported Thursday. Chinese President Xi Jinping met with...

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The World Briefly

November 09, 2022

Better Benefits

Philippines

The Philippines lifted a ban on sending workers to Saudi Arabia this week after reaching an agreement with Saudi authorities to halt the exploitation of Filipino laborers in the oil-rich kingdom, the Associated Press reported. Last year, the Southeast Asian nation stopped sending workers to Saudi...

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The World Briefly

August 26, 2022

A Long-Awaited Return

Philippines

A tropical storm forced schools in the northern Philippines to shutter their doors this week, shortly after students around the country returned to in-person classes following two years of COVID-19 lockdown and Zoom-based class sessions, CNN reported. Tropical storm Ma On – known as “Florita” in...

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The World Briefly

May 11, 2022

And Here Come the Children

Philippines

The son of former dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr. won Philippine’s presidential elections this week, a victory that has raised questions about the future of the Southeast Asian nation’s democratic values and its stance against China’s increasing influence in the region, the Associated Press reported Tuesday. Ferdinand...

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Need to Know

May 09, 2022

It Runs in the Family

Philippines

Boxing champion Manny Pacquiao, a senator in the Philippines who is now running for the president, recently called on authorities to release Filipino Senator Leila de Lima from jail. As the Philippine Daily Inquirer explained, de Lima is one of many of current President Rodrigo Duterte’s...

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The World Briefly

May 04, 2022

Reversing Cock-ups

Philippines

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte banned online cockfighting amid an outcry over the industry following the disappearance of dozens of workers and concerns over the social impact of the betting sport, CNN Philippines reported Tuesday. Duterte said during an address that “e-sabong will end tonight” – referring...

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