The Philippines told the US on Tuesday it was quitting a pact key to their historical military alliance, triggering a six-month countdown to the deal's termination. Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte ordered his cabinet to give notice to quit the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) after voicing anger over Washington cancelling the visa of the official who led his internationally condemned drug war.The move also follows Duterte's repeated, unfulfilled threats to shrink or eve

Philippine government lawyers moved Monday to strip the nation's biggest media group of its operating franchise in what campaigners branded a fresh attack on press freedom under President Rodrigo Duterte.Duterte has repeatedly pledged he would stop the broadcast operations of ABS-CBN, which drew his anger during his rise to power in the 2016 presidential election campaign.The solicitor general's petition filed with the nation's top court alleges ABS-CBN violated provisions of i

The Philippines has reported the first death outside China in the virus epidemic that has killed more than 300 people and spread to 24 nations.The 44-year-old Chinese man who died in the Philippines was from Wuhan, the city that has been ground-zero for the epidemic.Here is what we know - and don't know - about him:Where he visitedThe man and a 38-year-old Chinese woman also from Wuhan, who authorities called his companion, flew from Hong Kong to the Philippines on 21 January.Health depa

Asian nations have sealed borders and clamped down on Chinese visitors as they try to protect themselves from a deadly virus epidemic.The outbreak has killed some 130 people in China, sickened nearly 6,000 and sparked progressively more urgent precautions around the region. Here are some key measures taken outside mainland China:Papua New GuineaThe impoverished island nation shut air and seaports Wednesday to all foreign travellers coming from Asia. The ministry of immigrati

A city in hoops-mad Philippines inaugurated on Sunday a new community centre and basketball court named in honour of Kobe Bryant - only hours before news of the NBA legend's death broke.Locals had hoped that Bryant - who died in a helicopter crash in California - would one day step into what they called the "House of Kobe", a court adorned with wall-sized murals of his likeness.Bryant has made at least five visits to the Philippines, always received by joyous crowds in a countr

An analysis of 65 countries has found that only 20 percent of the world's internet users enjoy "free" access according to international watchdog organisation, Freedom House. The remaining 32 percent are "partly free" and 35 percent are "not free", while 13 percent of users have yet to be assessed. The declining freedom of the internet in ASEAN highlights some serious concerns for its citizens in terms of privacy and ownership of data.

An explosive eruption of the restive Taal volcano no longer appears imminent, Philippine authorities said Sunday as they lifted most of a mass evacuation order but warned residents to remain ready to flee.Warning signs such as earthquakes have been steadily waning since Taal burst to life two weeks ago with plumes of ash and lava, forcing over 135,000 people into shelters over fears a massive blast was coming.The nation's seismological agency said steadily shrinking ash and gas emissions

Philippine authorities ordered a crackdown Monday on evacuees' daily visits to their homes in the danger zone around Taal volcano as scientists warned it could be "recharging" for a more powerful explosion.More than 110,000 people have taken refuge in evacuation centres since Taal burst to life a week ago, but many hard-hit towns have let residents back for hours each day to fetch items, feed livestock and clean up their houses."We are directing DRRMCs (civil defence offic

The recent Gender Gap Report 2020 released by the World Economic Forum (WEF) ranked Philippines 16th globally. The country boasts the smallest gender gap in Asia by far, even surpassing first world nations like Japan, Australia, Canada, and Switzerland. Among the four dimensions in which the report was based on, the Philippines performed strongly in three of them. In the Economic Participation and Opportunity dimension, 80 percent of the gender gap has been closed.

Ash spewed by a Philippine volcano is being mixed with plastic waste to make bricks in an inventive response to the country's persistent problems of pollution and frequent natural disasters.The Taal volcano burst into life nearly a week ago, sending towering dust columns into the sky and leaving nearby Binan city coated in fine grey powder.Environment officials did not just clean up the mess but decided to combine the ash with sand, cement and discarded plastic to form about 5,000 bricks