Author: WWC NEWSDESK

Philippines

Ateneo de Zamboanga Is Tightening Vehicle Checks After the Deadly School Shooting—But What Investigators Found About the Campus Entry Raises Bigger Questions

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines — Ateneo de Zamboanga University is preparing a major security overhaul following the deadly August 18 campus shooting, introducing stricter vehicle inspections, tighter identification checks and expanded surveillance as administrators confront questions over how firearms were brought inside a supposedly secured school. University president Fr. Ernald Andal, SJ, said the tougher procedures will begin Monday and will apply across Ateneo de Zamboanga University campuse

August 23, 2026

Business

Singapore Woman Left With Extensive Leg Bruising After Pai Sha Wellness Treatment

SINGAPORE — A 46-year-old woman who visited a wellness centre in Serangoon hoping to ease years of shoulder and neck pain says she ended up struggling to stand after an unfamiliar treatment left large areas of her legs covered in dark purple bruises. The incident has drawn attention not only because of the dramatic bruising, but also because of a key issue that emerged afterwards: how much should customers be told before agreeing to unfamiliar wellness or traditional treatments? According to r

August 23, 2026

Philippines

DOH Eyes Training More Health Workers for Mental Health Care—But Can It Solve the Philippines’ Specialist Shortage?

MANILA, Philippines — With too few mental health specialists serving a population of more than 115 million, the Department of Health (DOH) is considering a major expansion of the country's mental health workforce—by training and accrediting other healthcare professionals to provide early-stage support. Health Secretary Edwin Mercado said the government is studying a “task-shifting” or task-sharing approach that would allow properly trained healthcare workers to help with initial mental health i

August 23, 2026

Singapore

Woman Called Police on Her 60-Year-Old Bus Driver Boyfriend Over S$400—But What Happened to His Passengers Turned Their Dispute Into a Court Case

SINGAPORE — What began as a dispute over time and S$400 escalated into a police call, a halted public bus service and a four-day jail sentence for a 28-year-old woman who falsely accused her bus-driver boyfriend of theft and assault. Tang Pei Si, whose name has been transliterated from Chinese-language reports, pleaded guilty on Aug. 21 to making a false police report after a confrontation involving her 60-year-old boyfriend, a bus captain working from Hougang Bus Interchange. She was sentenced

August 23, 2026

Philippines

₱49.7-M Drug Haul Uncovered Across 3 Provinces—But the Biggest Discovery Was in Kalinga

MANILA, Philippines — Nearly ₱50 million worth of suspected illegal drugs and marijuana were seized or destroyed by Philippine National Police (PNP) operatives in separate anti-drug operations conducted in Iloilo, Lanao del Sur, and Kalinga, authorities said. The combined value of the confiscated and destroyed drug-related items was placed at approximately ₱49.7 million, according to the PNP. The operations involved suspected shabu and large-scale marijuana cultivation. Iloilo operation yield

August 23, 2026

Philippines

After a Record 31-Hour Traslación, Quiapo Church Makes Major Moves for Nazareno 2027

MANILA, Philippines — With millions of devotees expected to once again fill the streets of Manila, Quiapo Church has begun early security and logistical preparations for Nazareno 2027, following a historic Traslación this year that lasted nearly 31 hours. Church officials are now working with government agencies to address crowd control, security and logistical challenges months before the annual Feast of Jesus Nazareno, as organizers seek to make one of the country's largest religious gatherin

August 23, 2026

Asia

Tokyo Was Jolted by a 5.9 Earthquake Before Dawn—But What Happened to the Capital’s Train Network Came Next

TOKYO, Japan — A magnitude 5.9 earthquake jolted eastern Japan before dawn on Sunday, August 23, shaking buildings across the Tokyo metropolitan region, injuring at least five people and forcing railway operators to suspend services while crews inspected tracks and infrastructure for damage. The earthquake struck at around 2 a.m. local time, with its epicenter in southern Ibaraki Prefecture, northeast of central Tokyo. Japan’s Meteorological Agency said the quake originated roughly 70 kilometer

August 23, 2026

Asia

This Is Our Home’: Indonesian Women Take on a Land Dispute That Could Change Pari Island’s Future

PARI ISLAND, INDONESIA — On a small island off the coast of Jakarta, a group of women is fighting to protect more than mangroves, beaches and fishing grounds. They are fighting for the right to remain in the place they call home. The Pari Island Women’s Group, a community organisation founded in 2017, has become a prominent voice in a decade-long dispute over land ownership on Pari Island in Indonesia’s Thousand Islands Regency. The group combines environmental work, community livelihoods and

August 23, 2026

Asia

Indonesia Just Sent 1,500 More Soldiers to Fight Borneo’s Wildfires—But the Bigger Danger Is Already Crossing the Border

JAKARTA/PALANGKARAYA — Indonesia is dramatically escalating its battle against raging forest and land fires across Borneo, deploying around 1,500 additional soldiers and six helicopters as thick smoke blankets parts of Kalimantan and pushes unhealthy haze across the border into Malaysia. The reinforcement was ordered by President Prabowo Subianto during a visit to fire-hit Kalimantan on Saturday, August 22, as Indonesia confronts one of its most serious wildfire periods in recent years. Cabine

August 23, 2026

Philippines

₱1.73-B Agricultural Damage: 50,000+ Farmers Hit by Habagat, Successive Storms

MANILA, Philippines — The damage and production losses suffered by the Philippine agriculture sector from the enhanced southwest monsoon or Habagat and successive tropical cyclones have climbed to ₱1.73 billion, with more than 50,000 farmers and fisherfolk affected, according to the Department of Agriculture (DA). The latest DA assessment, which includes the impacts of Tropical Cyclones Luis and Maymay and Tropical Depression Neneng, covered 40,954 hectares of agricultural areas and recorded ab

August 23, 2026