Category: Politics

Philippines

Sara Duterte Impeachment Day 21: Her Own Defense Lawyer Takes the Witness Stand — and the ₱112.5M DepEd Fund Trail Is Back in Focus

MANILA, Philippines — Day 21 of Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial is poised to put an unusually significant witness at the center of the Senate courtroom: a lawyer who has been helping defend Duterte but who also worked closely with her when she headed the Department of Education. Attorney Michael Wesley Poa, a former DepEd official who served as Duterte’s chief of staff and spokesperson, is scheduled to be presented by the House prosecution panel as it continues building its case

September 2, 2026

Business

Japan Wants Hypersonic Missiles Under the Sea — But One Decision Could Push Its Defense Strategy Into Uncharted Territory

TOKYO — Japan is preparing to take one of its biggest military technology leaps in decades: putting hypersonic strike weapons beneath the waves. But behind the futuristic missiles, submarines and unmanned underwater vehicles lies a much bigger question — one that reaches far beyond Japan’s rivalry with China. How close could these new capabilities eventually bring Japan to possessing the building blocks of a sea-based nuclear deterrent? For now, the answer requires an important distinction.

September 2, 2026

Business

Trump’s Venezuela Oil Deal Puts the U.S. Near 65 Billion Barrels—But the Real Battle May Be Over Who Controls It

WASHINGTON/CARACAS — The Trump administration is defending a sweeping new oil agreement with Venezuela that could give the United States unprecedented influence over a huge portion of the South American country’s petroleum industry—but the deal is already facing questions over sovereignty, transparency, legality and how quickly it can actually deliver cheaper fuel to Americans. U.S. officials said Tuesday that the agreement is designed to advance American energy security, weaken Chinese and Rus

September 2, 2026

Philippines

Fire Hits Manila Vice Mayor Chi Atienza’s City Hall Office Before Dawn — But Investigators Still Have One Big Question

MANILA, Philippines — A predawn fire damaged the kitchen area inside the Office of Manila Vice Mayor Angela Lei “Chi” Atienza at Manila City Hall on Wednesday, September 2, triggering an emergency response before most government workers had arrived for the day. The blaze struck the vice mayor’s office on the second floor of the historic city government building, according to reports from ABS-CBN News and other local media outlets. ABS-CBN reported that the kitchen inside the office sustained da

September 2, 2026

Politics

US Launches Fresh Strikes on Iran as Tehran Retaliates, Raising Fears of Wider Middle East War

WASHINGTON/DUBAI — The United States launched a new wave of strikes against Iran on Tuesday, September 1, triggering a rapid Iranian military response and pushing the already volatile Middle East conflict into another dangerous phase. The renewed fighting marks the most serious escalation in weeks after roughly a month of relative calm between Washington and Tehran. According to Reuters, US forces targeted Iranian military capabilities including air-defence systems, radar installations, mariti

September 2, 2026

Politics

Carney Tells Trump to Get ‘Serious’ Before Canada Restarts Trade Talks — But the Biggest Fight Is Still Ahead

Canada-U.S. trade tensions are entering a more dangerous phase, with Prime Minister Mark Carney refusing to return to negotiations until Washington adopts what he calls a more constructive approach — while billions of dollars in tariffs, critical industries and the future of North American trade hang in the balance. OTTAWA — Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has delivered one of his clearest warnings yet to the United States: Canada is willing to negotiate, but it will not rush back to the ta

September 2, 2026

Politics

Trump-Kim Summit Could Happen ‘At Any Time,’ Seoul Says — But Pyongyang Just Drew a Nuclear Red Line

SEOUL — Nearly seven years after Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un last met face-to-face, speculation about another extraordinary US-North Korea summit is suddenly back — and South Korean intelligence officials believe the possibility should no longer be dismissed. South Korea’s National Intelligence Service told lawmakers on September 1 that a meeting between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un should be considered possible “at any time”, pointing to what it described as s

September 2, 2026

Business

Goldman Sachs, Bank of America and 19 Financial Giants Are Building a Dollar Stablecoin — What Happens Next Could Reshape Global Payments

A group of 21 major financial institutions, including Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Citi and Deutsche Bank, is moving ahead with plans to launch a jointly backed dollar stablecoin in the first half of 2027 — a move that could bring traditional banking giants deeper into the rapidly expanding digital-asset economy. The financial institutions plan to establish a new company in the second half of 2026, subject to closing conditions, to support issuance of the stablecoin. The initial product is e

September 2, 2026

Philippines

Sandiganbayan Drops Bonoan From ₱573-M Plunder, Graft Cases — But One Separate Case Still Keeps Him in Court

MANILA, Philippines — Former Public Works and Highways Secretary Manuel Bonoan has been removed as a co-accused in major plunder and graft cases linked to the alleged ₱573-million flood-control kickback scheme involving Sen. Jinggoy Estrada, clearing the way for prosecutors to potentially use the former Cabinet official as a key witness. But the ruling does not mean Bonoan has been completely cleared of every case connected to the controversy. The Sandiganbayan Fifth Division voted 2-1 to gran

September 2, 2026

Philippines

Romualdez Camp Says Recantations Have Weakened Flood-Control Case — But Ombudsman Says 42 Witnesses Are Still in Play

MANILA, Philippines — The legal battle surrounding former House Speaker and Leyte Rep. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez has entered a potentially decisive phase, with his lawyers arguing that a series of witness recantations has badly weakened the flood-control corruption case against him — while the Office of the Ombudsman insists the investigation is far from collapsing. At the heart of the dispute is a simple but critical question: When a witness changes his story, does that destroy the original t

September 1, 2026