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President Biden said Wednesday that the US military is willing to fight nuclear-armed China on behalf of the Philippines after ships from the two Asian countries collided near a disputed, unpopulated island in the South China Sea. “The United States defense agreement with the Philippines is ironclad. Any attack on the Filipino aircraft, vessels or armed forces will invoke our mutual defense treaty with the Philippines,” Biden said during a joint press conference at the White House alongside Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. On Sunday, two of Manila’s military ships collided with a Chinese vessel that sought to block them...

South China Sea Collision This image released by the Armed Forces of the Philippines, shows a Chinese militia vessel, top, and Philippine coast guard vessel BRP Cabra as they approach Second Thomas Shoal, locally called Ayungin Shoal, at the disputed South China Sea on Sunday Oct. 22, 2023. (Armed Forces of the Philippines via AP) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ MANILA, Philippines (AP) — The United States renewed a warning Monday that it would defend the Philippines in case of an armed attack under a 1951 treaty, after Chinese ships blocked and collided with two Filipino vessels off a contested shoal in the South...

Manila said on Monday (Oct 23) that Chinese vessels "intentionally hit" Philippine boats at the weekend, escalating a diplomatic row over two collisions in the South China Sea. The countries have traded blame over Sunday's incidents near Second Thomas Shoal in the Spratly Islands, with both sides filing diplomatic protests and releasing videos to support their accusations. The two collisions happened during a Philippine resupply mission to troops stationed on a navy vessel that was grounded on the shoal in 1999 to assert Manila's territorial claims.

A China Coast Guard ship and an accompanying vessel yesterday rammed a Philippine Coast Guard ship and a military-run supply boat off a contested shoal, Philippine officials said, in an encounter that heightened fears of an armed conflict in the disputed South China Sea. A top Philippine security official said there were no injuries among the Filipino crew and an assessment of the damage to both vessels was under way. The official said that the two incidents near Second Thomas Shoal (Renai Shoal, 仁愛暗沙), where China has repeatedly tried to isolate a Philippine marine outpost, could have been worse if...

After being run out of Tarrant County for alleged election discrepancies in the 2020 vote-by-mail election, Heider Garcia is now running the elections office right next door in Dallas County. YIKES! Many Republicans in Dallas County are hoping Dallas Mayor and freshly-minted Republican, Eric Johnson, will bolster his newly discovered conservative brand by calling for Garcia’s removal and push for election integrity. Will he rise to the occasion? Star-Telegram: Tarrant County’s former election administrator is headed next door to Dallas County to run its elections. Heider Garcia resigned from his Tarrant County job in April, citing disagreements with County Judge...

Former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte, known for his colourful language, has suggested Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu crush Gaza and turn the Hamas-controlled territory into the “world’s biggest cemetery”, after escalating attacks from both sides left more than 2,000 people dead. Israel relentlessly bombarded the Gaza Strip with hundreds of air strikes after Palestinian militants last Saturday rained rockets on the Jewish state and gunmen stormed its cities, killing hundreds and abducting dozens, including foreigners. Duterte told broadcaster SMNI News that if he were Netanyahu, he would eliminate Hamas by razing the sealed-off enclave to the ground. “I will crush...

She claims to be the Queen of Canada, and now she's holding court in an abandoned school.Romana Didulo, a QAnon-inspired conspiracy theorist, leads a group of supporters who have spent the last few years traveling around Canada in motorhomes and other vehicles. Recently, the group moved into Richmound, a village of around 150 people in south-western Saskatchewan, and settled in at a former school. Ms Didulo and around 15 to 25 of her followers have been at the site for about a week, says Thomas Fougere of Community TV, a local independent news outlet based in nearby Medicine Hat. Soon...

Sept. 25 (UPI) -- The Philippines said Monday it would take "all appropriate actions" to remove a floating barrier it accuses China of erecting in a disputed area of the South China Sea, a move that threatens to further fray fraught relations between the Asian neighbors.

The Philippines has condemned the Chinese coast guard for installing what it called a "floating barrier" in a disputed area of the South China Sea, saying that it prevented Filipino boats from entering and fishing in the area. In a statement on X, formerly known as Twitter, Philippine coast guard spokesperson Jay Tarriela said on Sunday the floating barrier was discovered by Philippine vessels during a routine maritime patrol on Friday and measured around 300 metres. "The Philippine coast guard and Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources strongly condemn the China coast guard's installation of a floating barrier in the...

The Philippines has become the latest of China’s neighbors to object to its new national map, joining Malaysia and India in releasing strongly worded statements accusing Beijing of claiming their territory. China published a new version of its national map on Monday, as it has regularly done since at least 2006, to correct what Beijing has in the past referred to as “problematic maps” that it claims misrepresent its territorial borders. The Philippines said Thursday it “rejected” the map because of its inclusion of a dashed line around contested areas of the South China Sea that was subject to an...

There has been a strategic battle taking place in the South China Sea this year between China and the Philippines. As you probably know, China has laid claim to most of the South China Sea and over the past decade has been using a strategy called the cabbage strategy to gradually claim individual islands.The cabbage strategy involves surrounding islands with Chinese boats like the leaves of a cabbage. China starts with fishing vessels, dozens of which anchor around an island or shoal making it difficult for any other vessels to approach. Once that’s done, Chinese Coast Guard vessels move in...

An image posted on Facebook by a man who claims he served Stephen Paddock room service shows that the gunman was with a guest during his time at the Mandalay Bay hotel four days before the massacre took place. The receipt shows an employee named Antonio served two guests an “IRD_MB,” which means “In Room Dining, Mandalay Bay.” The table number is “32135” – which equates to Paddock’s room number (135) on the 32nd floor. Paddock ordered a burger, a bagel with cream cheese, a potato soup, one bottle of water and two Pepsis, suggesting that there was another person...

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — The Philippine government summoned China’s ambassador on Monday and presented a strongly worded diplomatic protest over the Chinese coast guard’s use of water cannons in a weekend confrontation with Philippine vessels in the disputed South China Sea, officials said. The tense hours-long standoff occurred Saturday near Second Thomas Shoal, which has been occupied for decades by Philippine forces stationed onboard a rusting, grounded navy ship but is also claimed by China. It was the latest flareup in long-seething territorial conflicts in the South China Sea involving China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei. The United...

On July 28, Fujian Province was struck by the year's most powerful typhoon, which brought with it strong winds and torrential rainfall that swept across the region. The province faced an unprecedented deluge, leading to severe flooding and presenting significant challenges to local authorities and residents.

Stone tools found in the Philippines show microscopic evidence of some of Southeast Asia’s oldest plant technology, dating back 33,000 to 39,000 years ago.Unlike stone tools, prehistoric technology that uses plant fibres (like textiles and woven baskets) rarely survive very long in the archaeological record before breaking down. This is especially true in the tropics.In Southeast Asia, the oldest artefacts known to date made from plant fibres are about 8,000 years old...Stone tools found in Tabon Cave on the Philippine island of Palawan, are nearly 40,000 years old. Etched onto their hard surfaces are the microscopic marks of damage produced...

Officials have raised the alert level due to various seismic events being recorded. Smoke rises from Mayon volcano as seen from Daraga, Albay province in the Philippines Mayon has increased chances of lava flows and a potential for explosive activity within weeksImage: Caroline Francis via REUTERS Authorities in the Philippines on Friday began evacuating around 10,000 people living near the Mayon Volcano after volcanic earthquakes and hundreds of rockfall events were detected. Mount Mayon is situated in the eastern province of Albay, some 330 kilometers south of the Filipino capital of Manila. The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs)...

A former special education teacher at Española Valley High School pleaded no contest in state District Court in Tierra Amarilla to three charges stemming from an incident in which she was accused of sexually assaulting a teenage student. Makana Masacayan, 26, was arrested in June of last year and initially was charged with fourth-degree criminal sexual penetration, fourth-degree criminal sexual contact of a minor, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, and enticement of a child. ---------- Masacayan appeared in court wearing a mask and stood next to her attorney, Dorie Biagianti Smith, while entering her plea. She accepted a...

Mission impossible ? Declare it isn't so ! For you are My Joseph and Daniels that will always go !!! Being the spear head and sword I can always count on, Deep behind enemy lines defeating and then carrying on, Bringing the spoils of the enemy, Back to the righteous for all to see, You move with the force of water in the form of The Lord as an invisible mirage, My spirit is your camouflage, Returning from battle with nothing left undone, I AM as your shield of Virtue that the cross has already won, Now to their surprise...

Overcrowding at Santo Tomas caused the Japanese to establish another civilian internment camp at Los Baños, some 25 miles southeast of Manila, in May 1943. The Japanese sent 800 young men, internees from Santo Tomas, to make the 40-acre site of the abandoned agricultural college habitable. Nash recalled the five-hour train ride in overcrowded, stifling boxcars: “As we stopped at different stations, they [the Japanese guards] would open the doors to let just a little air in. It was suffocating and maliciously unhuman.”On arrival at Los Baños, the internees found primitive conditions; almost everything that could be carried away had...

The U.S. recommitted to a security pact with the Philippines on Monday as concerns grow about China’s influence in the Pacific. Both President Joe Biden and leader Ferdinand Marcos Jr alluded to pressure from Beijing in a White House visit. The trip marks a sharp turnaround after a decade of icier relations with Manila. "The United States also remains ironclad, remains ironclad in our commitment to the defense of the Philippines, including the South China Sea. And we are going to continue to support the Philippines' military modernization goals." A joint statement said new guidelines for stronger military ties meant...