Philippines

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — A U.S. Marine convicted of killing a Filipino transgender woman was deported Sunday after a presidential pardon cut short his detention in a case that renewed outrage over a pact governing American military presence in the Philippines.

MANILA (Reuters) - Philippine authorities are investigating 57 foreign and local "persons of interest" potentially involved in a scandal at German payments firm Wirecard AG WDIG.DE, an official at the country's anti-money laundering agency said on Friday.

The Southeast Asian nation became embroiled in the collapse of Wirecard in June, with the payments firm initially claiming it kept $2.1 billion in two Philippine banks, which the central bank and the lenders denied.

MANILA, Sept 7 (NNN-PNA) – A 6.4-magnitude earthquake struck Davao Occidental province, in the southern Philippines, last night, the Philippine Institute of Seismology and Volcanology (Phivolcs) said.

The institute said, the offshore quake hit at a depth of 143 km, about 26 km southeast of Don Marcelino town, at 11:23 p.m. local time.

The institute said, the quake, which was tectonic in origin, can trigger aftershocks but not cause damage or destructive tsunami threat.

The quake was also felt in the cities of General Santos and some other nearby towns.

MANILA, Aug 28 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The United States military presence in Asia is needed as rivalry between Washington and Beijing intensifies, the Philippines’ foreign minister said.

The two powers are arguing over issues from trade to what the United States sees as aggressive moves by China’s armed forces, especially in the disputed South China Sea and around Chinese-claimed Taiwan.

“We have a balance of power situation,” Foreign Minister Teodoro Locsin said in an interview with ANC News Channel. “We need the U.S. presence in Asia”.

MANILA, Aug 19 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The Philippines said it has temporarily banned the importation of domestic and wild birds and their products from Australia after the presence of the highly pathogenic H7N7 avian flu virus was detected at an egg farm.

Australia, which accounts for less than 1 per cent of the Philippines’ poultry imports, has confirmed the outbreak at the egg farm in Victoria.

The ban covers poultry meat, day old chicks, eggs and semen, the Department of Agriculture said in its Aug 14 order made public on Wednesday.

MANILA, Aug 18 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The World Health Organization said it was concerned that the novel coronavirus spread was being driven by people in their 20s, 30s and 40s, many of whom were unaware they were infected, posing a danger to vulnerable groups.

WHO officials said this month the proportion of younger people among those infected had risen globally, putting at risk vulnerable sectors of the population worldwide, including the elderly and sick people in densely populated areas with weak health services.

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — A powerful earthquake struck a central Philippine region Tuesday, trapping a family in a collapsed house, damaging other houses and a seaport and prompting people to dash outdoors for safety.

Roads were cracked in Cataingan, the coastal town nearest the epicenter, according to Rino Revalo, a Masbate provincial administrator, and initial images of the quake aftermath.

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — A leading terror suspect who has been linked to beheadings of hostages, including two Canadians and a Malaysian, has surrendered after being wounded in battle, officials said Friday.

National police chief Gen. Archie Gamboa said Thursday night that Abu Sayyaf commander Anduljihad Susukan gave up after negotiations with police in southern Davao city, where he was served warrants for at least 23 cases of murder, 6 for attempted murder and 5 for kidnapping.

MANILA (Reuters) - Philippine scientists were set on Wednesday to meet representatives of the Russian research facility that developed a coronavirus vaccine, to discuss possible participation in clinical trials and access to its research data.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has lauded the vaccine and offered to be “injected in public” with the Russian COVID-19 vaccine, to allay public fears about its safety.

Manila, Aug 3 (AP/PTI) The Philippine president has agreed to place the capital and outlying provinces back under a lockdown after medical groups warned that the country was waging a losing battle against the coronavirus amid an alarming surge in infections.

Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said Monday that metropolitan Manila, the capital region of more than 12 million people, and five densely populated provinces will revert to stricter quarantine restrictions for two weeks starting Tuesday.