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A 7.8-magnitude earthquake in the southern Philippines on Monday killed at least 31 people, according to provincial authorities, after toppling buildings and sparking tsunami warnings across the region.National disaster authorities said at least a dozen people were still missing, while 134 had sustained injuries. Philippine authorities urged people in affected coastal regions to move to higher ground after the offshore quake hit south of General Santos, a city of about 720,000, where at least nine were killed. A series of powerful aftershocks rocked the area from about two hours after the first quake, according to the United States Geological Survey, with the largest measuring 6.5 magnitude.Punzalan, the Sarangani disaster chief, told AFP that more than 2,000 people evacuated due to a morning tsunami warning were now awaiting a green light to return to their homes.”(Authorities) are still assessing the situation now if it will be OK to send them home,” he said.A notice from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center had said tsunami waves were possible along the coasts of the Philippines, Indonesia, Palau, Taiwan and Papua New Guinea. But by mid-afternoon, the Philippines and other countries had cancelled their warnings. Related Story Source link
Rescuers assisting Jaslinda Saludin (second left) after she was found in a forested area in central Malaysia’s Perak state. (AFP) The rescue of a Malaysian hiker found alive after two weeks missing in the wilderness was hailed as “a miracle” by a friend yesterday, as authorities ended a massive search that gripped the nation. Indigenous Malaysians found a battered Jaslinda Saludin late Saturday in a forested area near the small town of Tapah, in central Malaysia’s Perak state, some way from where she was first reported missing, local papers said. Jaslinda, 49, described as an experienced hiker, was last seen two weeks ago while undertaking the Trans Spencer Chapman trek, an arduous 34-kilometre (21-mile) slog along the treacherous Titiwangsa mountain range. She departed alone from a rest camp for an ascent of Gunung Batu Putih, also known as White Rock Mountain, before being reported missing. Her disappearance made front-page news in the Southeast Asian country and triggered a major search involving helicopters, local indigenous Malaysian communities, and a crack team from Malaysia’s Fire and RescueDepartment. She was discovered on Saturday afternoon by local fishermen, saying she survived by drinking from rivers and eating berries and other forest plants.“When we heard that she had been found safe, it felt like our prayers had been answered. It is truly a miracle,” said her friend, Hishammuddin Ahmad.After her rescue, Jaslinda was taken to hospital. Source link
US President Donald Trump said yesterday he will call Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to urge him not to retaliate against Iranian missile strikes on Israel, news outlet Axios reported.“I am going to call Bibi right now and tell him not to retaliate,” Trump was quoted as saying by Axios journalist Barak Ravid in a phone interview, using the Israeli leader’s nickname. “Each of them had their fun. Israel had its strike and Iran had its strike. We don’t need another one,” Trump said, according to excerpts of which Ravid posted on X.Israeli military chief Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir however vowed that the military would strike Iran “with force” upon receiving orders, after the Islamic republic fired missiles at Israel. Yesterday’s missile barrage was Iran’s first against Israel since an April ceasefire took hold in the Middle East war, and Trump voiced concern it could set back negotiations.“The Iranian strikes didn’t hurt anybody. Hopefully Israel is not going to retaliate. If Bibi strikes them back it’s just gonna keep going like the last 47 years, or the last 3,000 years,” the US president said. “We are very close to a final deal with Iran. It is going to be a good deal. I don’t want it to blow up because of what is happening now,” he added.Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guards called yesterday’s attack a “warning” after Israel struck Beirut’s southern suburbs earlier in the day, threatening wider strikes in the event of repeated aggression. An April 8 ceasefire had halted major hostilities between Iran, Israel and the United States.But efforts to turn the truce into a settlement have repeatedly stalled, and yesterday’s launches were sure to further dampen hopes for a lasting peace as the war reached its 100th day. In a separate interview with Fox News, Trump said the Iranian strikes were not going to help negotiations, which were “very close” to reaching an agreement.“We’re very close. I would say an agreement would be signed on Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday of this coming week. And now this takes place.” He urged Iran to “get back to the table and make a deal.”Trump also criticised Israel’s strikes on Beirut yesterday, saying he was “not happy about it.” The White House did not immediately respond to an AFP request for comment.Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) says it launched ballistic missiles at Ramat David Air Base, about 20km from the city of Haifa in northern Israel. It said the Israeli air base was the “source of aggressions” launched against southern Lebanon and the southern suburbs of Beirut.Iran has closed the western part of the country’s airspace until further notice, the semi-official news agency Tasnim has reported. To Page 11 Iraq also has temporarily closed its airspace and suspended air navigation, civil aviation officials are saying. Iran also suspended flights at Imam Khomeini Airport until further notice.The Syrian Civil Aviation Authority announced a temporary closure of the southern air corridors and the suspension of operations at Damascus International Airport for 12 hours as well. The IRGC says it accepted a ceasefire with the US on condition that it was “a ceasefire on all fronts”.But it said the US and Israel have failed to meet their commitment by launching attacks in Lebanon and “violating the ceasefire by repeatedly attacking Iranian shores and vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, the Sea of Oman and the Indian Ocean”. “Tonight’s operation was a warning,” the IRGC said in its statement, adding that, “if aggressions are repeated, the responses will be broader”.The Iranian foreign minister said he had spoken with officials from the UK, Turkiye and Pakistan “following Iran’s response to the repeated violations of the ceasefire in Lebanon” by Israel.Araghchi posted on Telegram that he spoke with British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper and Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan.He also said he spoke with Pakistan’s army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, who has played a key role in US-Iran mediation efforts. Source link
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un visited the naval destroyer Kang Kon to oversee a navigation test, state media said Saturday, stressing the need to enhance the navy's capability to deter a nuclear war.The Saturday report came as Beijing and Pyongyang announced Chinese President Xi Jinping will visit North Korea from June 8 to 9, after Xi hosted back-to-back summits with US President Donald Trump and Russia's Vladimir Putin last month.Kim has in recent years vowed to strengthen North Korea's naval capabilities, and in May last year oversaw the botched launch of the destroyer Kang Kon, which was later repaired and relaunched a month later. During the trip on Thursday, Kim stressed the importance of rapidly developing the naval force into a force ‘capable of reliably taking charge of a part of the nuclear war deterrent’, Pyongyang's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.Building a navy capable of delivering a ‘deadly blow’ to enemies above and below the water is a core goal of the ruling party's current five-year defence development plan, Kim said.The North Korean leader visited the vessel with top officials and his daughter, Ju Ae, images released by Pyongyang's state media showed. Since North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's 2019 summit with Trump collapsed over the scope of denuclearisation and sanctions relief, Pyongyang has repeatedly declared itself an ‘irreversible’ nuclear state.Kim has since been emboldened by the war in Ukraine, securing critical support from Moscow after sending thousands of troops to fight alongside Russian forces. Last year, Kim appeared alongside China's Xi and Russia's Putin at an elaborate military parade in Beijing — a striking display of his new, elevated status in global politics.North Korea plans to build a 10,000-tonne destroyer and develop secret underwater weapons. 'The Rodong Sinmun' newspaper, reporting on a naval test supervised by leader Kim Jong-un, said he ordered the navy to deploy the destroyer Kang Kon and another 5,000-tonne warship, the Choe Hyon, as soon as possible.The newspaper did not give further details. It is the first time North Korea has mentioned a plan to build a 10,000-tonne destroyer, said Hong Min, a senior analyst at South Korea's Institute for National Unification.Kim may be seeking to showcase the country's military capabilities ahead of Xi's visit, Hong said. Xi is making his first visit to North Korea in nearly seven years as Beijing looks to reassert ties with Pyongyang, its only formal treaty ally.Before the visit was announced, Kim on Thursday called for an ‘exponential’ expansion of North Korea's atomic arsenal during a visit to a newly operational nuclear material production factory.North Korea said in May 2025 that a 5,000-tonne destroyer had partially capsized during a launching ceremony in Chongjin port. Kim, who was overseeing the ceremony, condemned the accident and called it a ‘criminal act’ that could not be tolerated.After the ship was repaired at Rajin port, a second launching ceremony was held the next month, when the vessel was named the Kang Kon. Source link
Just days before Mexico hosts the World Cup’s opening match, thousands of people packed the capital’s main thoroughfare Saturday in a bid to set a new record for the largest-ever human wave.The tradition of the wave was popularized in Mexico’s soccer stadiums during the 1986 World Cup to cheer on the home squad, and it has grown into a global phenomenon.Locals rallied to the cause early Saturday, donning national football jerseys and waving flags as they danced to loud music and stretched their arms and legs.Standing in the front row of a crowd stretching two kilometers (1.2 miles) down the iconic Paseo de la Reforma, a wide avenue that runs through the heart of Mexico City, Sally Aviles expressed confidence in a new record.“I say we’re going to break it. There are already so many of us, and we can do it!” said the 31-year-old content creator.“We’ll make it happen because we’ve always done it — at every game, in every stadium.”Joining the crowd were women dressed in lavish gowns and wearing skeleton masks in the style of “catrinas,” iconic figures tied to the country’s Day of the Dead holiday.Members of the La Sonora Santanera orchestra pumped out tropical rhythms while a master of ceremonies guided the mass movement.“Attention! We drop to our knees, bend and spring up as fast as we can. Hands way up!” she shouted.On cue, the front row stood with arms raised and then knelt, while those behind repeated the motion in succession until the entire crowd swayed like swells on an ocean.“I couldn’t miss out on being part of this wonderful event, on showing the world what Mexico is really like — the atmosphere, the love, the unity, the peace,” said Gloria Fragoso, 55, wearing a traditional headdress.Fragoso said Mexico is “more than ready” to welcome fans arriving for the World Cup, which is being co-hosted by Canada and the US.Gang violence has scarred Mexico for years, and authorities have vowed to boost security as the country hosts tournament matches in Mexico City, Monterrey and Guadalajara.Cultural authorities reported on social media later Saturday that the record for the largest human wave had been broken, without providing details.The Guinness World Records is to assess whether or not the record has been broken. Source link
* Movement fuelled by youth unemployment, exam paper leaks* Protesters demand resignation of federal education minister* Group has amassed 22mn Instagram followers since mid-May The founder of India’s viral Cockroach Janta Party led a street protest in New Delhi yesterday demanding the resignation of the federal education minister, taking the online youth movement from social media to the streets for the first time in a show of dissent against Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government. Abhijeet Dipke, 30, who has lived in the United States for the past two years and had not previously travelled to India since forming the movement, carried a copy of India’s constitution as he left New Delhi’s international airport for the protest site, greeted by hundreds of supporters chanting his name. The group, which has amassed over 22mn Instagram followers since launching in mid-May, is the largest online expression of dissent against the Hindu nationalist Modi’s 12-year rule, fuelled by persistently high youth unemployment. A few hundred protesters gathered near Jantar Mantar in central New Delhi as police barricaded some of the surrounding roads. The protesters shouted slogans demanding the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over recurring leaks of examination papers and errors in marking that have threatened to derail the careers of millions of students. Hundreds of thousands of students have joined the movement in just a few days, Dipke said at the protest site. “Cockroach Janta Party is not a planned party. This is a voice of those students that are angry with the government,” he said. Modi’s government has blocked the movement’s X account in the country, a move the group has challenged in a Delhi court. Senior cabinet minister Kiren Rijiju has accused the group of seeking followers from arch-enemy Pakistan and the “anti-India gang”, a slur used by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party against those it sees as unpatriotic. Dipke has publicly shared data showing about 95% of followers of the movement’s Instagram account are based in India, followed by countries such as the United States, home to large groups of overseas Indians. Political analysts say the group’s popularity has begun to dent Modi’s image despite his party’s recent victories in key state elections. Frustration among many Indians has deepened as rising fuel prices and gas shortages brought by the Iran war squeeze household budgets. India has nearly 400mn people aged 15 to 29, and generating non-farm jobs for them remains one of its biggest challenges, despite rapid growth. The urban youth jobless rate was nearly 14% in April. Many educated young people are also stuck in low-paid or insecure jobs that do not match their skills, economists say.“This movement will go nationwide,” Dipke said on Saturday. Source link
British Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Secretary David Lammy appears on BBC TV’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg in London, Sunday. (Reuters) BBC TV’s Sunday with Laura…
Taiwan needs to “spend smarter” on its defences and learn lessons from the Ukraine and Middle East wars on using drones to ensure the military balance with China, the de facto US ambassador to Taipei said yesterday.While Taiwan’s government has prioritised drones and other asymmetric systems for its military modernisation programme, the opposition-dominated parliament last month passed only two-thirds of the $40bn in extra defence spending President Lai Ching-te had asked for.The government is now trying to get the cut funds, which were for domestically made systems like drones and missiles, approved, to better deter China which views the democratically governed island as its own territory.The US has strongly backed Lai’s defence spending plans.Speaking at a forum in Taipei, Raymond Greene, director of the American Institute in Taiwan, said the US looks forward to further investments.”It is critical that Taiwan not only spend more on its own defence but also spend smarter. And there is no smarter way Taiwan can deliver deterrence right away than by investing in unmanned systems,” he said.”The conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East have demonstrated that drones are changing the character of warfare, offering enormous opportunities for Taiwan to re-establish the cross-Strait military balance.”The US has traditionally been Taiwan’s most important international backer and arms supplier despite the lack of formal diplomatic ties.But US President Donald Trump has rattled Taiwan after his meeting with China’s Xi Jinping in Beijing last month, saying that he is still considering whether to go ahead with a new arms sales package for Taipei worth some $14bn.The US, which is bound by law to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself, has said its policy towards the island has not changed, something Greene underscored.”Maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait is absolutely critical for the economic well-being of the US, Taiwan, and the entire world,” he said.”The US has made clear that we oppose any forced, compelled, or coercive change to the status of Taiwan.”Taiwan’s government rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claim, saying only the island’s people can decide their future.Shen Yu-chung, a deputy minister at Taiwan’s China-policymaking Mainland Affairs Council, said at a separate event on Saturday that “peace does not mean lying flat” and Taiwan must rely on deterrence through strength.Taiwan firmly opposes any attempt to change the status quo by force, he added.”This is not only a defence of Taiwan’s national sovereignty, but also a protection of the common interests of the Indo-Pacific region and democracies around the world.” Source link
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un welcomes Chinese President Xi Jinping to Pyongyang today, feeling in a position of strength with a firm ally in Russia, a nuclear arsenal and little apparent appetite to engage with Washington.For Xi, leader of the world’s second-biggest economy, the two-day visit to China’s neighbour, his first in seven years, is part of an effort to draw Pyongyang back into its orbit.Xi hosted Kim, among other leaders, at a massive military parade in Beijing last year, and the two countries have since resumed some passenger rail and air services.This week’s summit is likely to present a contrast to Xi’s first visit to the isolated state in 2019 — months after a meeting between Kim and US President Donald Trump fell apart over denuclearising North Korea and sanctions relief.XI’S VISIT ‘A BIG DEAL’ FOR NORTH AFTER ‘COMEBACK’Since then, Kim has forged closer military and trade ties with Moscow, bolstered by his dispatch of troops to fight for Russia in the Ukraine war, continued to build up his nuclear capabilities in defiance of UN sanctions and locked down the North Korean border to stop the flow of escapees.North Korea has sought to flex its strength on the eve of Xi’s arrival, announcing plans on Saturday for a 10,000-tonne naval destroyer and reaffirming its status as a nuclear-armed state yesterday.”Having Xi visit Pyongyang is a big deal and the culmination of a good couple of ‘comeback’ years for Kim,” said Andrew Gilholm, an analyst at consultancy Control Risks.In 2019 Kim gave Xi a lavish reception that included thousands of people holding up placards that formed a picture of Xi’s face and the Chinese flag, and a performance of the song “I Love Thee, China”.But relations between the two have been strained at times, particularly over North Korea’s nuclear programme. Beijing has publicly opposed Pyongyang’s nuclear tests and called for it to give up its nuclear weapons.North Korea has been cautious about becoming over-reliant on China, with which it shares an 1,400-km (880-mile) border. Support from Russia is likely providing some balance.”North Korea is certainly gaining economically from what they’re able to provide militarily to Russia,” said John Delury, a senior fellow of the Asia Society. “That actually puts North Korea in a position where they may feel more confident to increase the volume of trade and investment with China.”PUSH FOR TOURISM, RED LINE ON NUCLEAR PROGRAMMEAny substantive outcome of the meeting is likely to be about economic cooperation, a regional diplomat said, as North Korea starts a five-year development plan that includes expanding tourism into a solid industry and building more housing.North Korea shut its borders to foreign tourists in early 2020 as it imposed some of the world’s strictest Covid-19 controls, cutting off a modest but important source of hard currency.Before the pandemic, Chinese tourists were the backbone of North Korea’s tourism industry, accounting for 90% of foreign tourists by some estimates. The first known leisure tourists allowed back after Covid were about 100 from Russia’s Far East in February 2024, according to Russian provincial authorities and a Western tour guide.North Korea has managed to make economic progress, Singapore’s foreign minister said after visit last month. He said Pyongyang appeared to have little interest in engaging with the US or South Korea.North Korea has rejected reunification with South Korea, which had long been a goal of both nations, divided since the 1950-1953 Korean War. South Korean President Lee Jae-myung, however, remains keen on dialogue and has asked Xi to assist his efforts.”Improving inter-Korean relations through the mediation of President Xi Jinping, we are hoping that President Xi would play that kind of role,” said Moon Chung-in, a professor at Yonsei University in Seoul who was national security adviser to a previous South Korean president.Kim has drawn some red lines, including on his nuclear programme. In addition to yesterday’s announcement, he called on Thursday for an “exponential” expansion of the country’s atomic arsenal. Yang Moo-jin, president of the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, said Kim was likely to continue expanding fissile-material production, increase and deploy nuclear weapons and emphasise the legitimacy of strengthening Pyongyang’s nuclear deterrent. “Kim is emboldened,” said Christopher Green, a Korea specialist at Leiden University in the Netherlands. “He feels able to publicly pursue a marked expansion of North Korea’s nuclear arsenal with a confidence that comes from knowing that as long as he doesn’t foment outright instability in the region, Beijing will not try to stop him.” Related Story Source link
Air Canada said Friday that it was suspending its service to Cuba indefinitely, citing “political and economic uncertainty” on the island facing intensifying pressure from US President Donald Trump.Canada’s national carrier, which in February announced a pause on Cuba flights until November, said it wanted to give customers more certainty regarding the prospect of future travel. “Given the ongoing political and economic uncertainty with respect to Cuba, Air Canada is indefinitely suspending service to the island,” the Montreal-based company said in a statement. Canadians made up a key portion of Cuba’s tourism sector, but that revenue has dried up as Washington has cut off fuel supplies and threatened to invade the island. Last week, Canada’s Blue Diamond Resorts announced it was shutting down its 62 properties in Cuba. The fuel embargo in place since January has left Cuba without diesel for generators used to bolster its crumbling power supply, resulting in power outages of up to 22 hours a day and shortages of tap water.With transport virtually at a standstill, the island is also running short on food and medicine, making it reliant on aid shipments from Mexico and China. Source link