The eruption of a volcano near the Philippine capital has delivered a dazzling but highly dangerous spectacle since it began spewing superheated steam on Sunday.The Taal volcano's bursts of lightning and monster clouds of ash have drawn crowds of gaping observers, but also prompted thousands to flee from its fury.Here are five facts about the mix of beauty and terror that volcanoes produce: Lightning Large eruptions sometimes put on a stunning display of lightning strik

The Philippines was on alert Monday for the "explosive eruption" of a volcano south of Manila, which officials said could be imminent after a massive column of ash forced a halt to flights at the capital's main airport.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has threatened a government takeover of the capital's water services unless its two private utilities accept a new contract, his spokesman said Tuesday, an ultimatum experts warned could spook investors.Duterte's government will offer a deal to replace the one first crafted in the 1990s when Manila's troubled water system was privatised and which the president calls a "colossal rip-off", his spokesman Salvador Panelo said."Sho

Even with the positive growth observed in various sectors for ASEAN, it is not without controversy. Leaders in ASEAN have been grabbing headlines on a range of topics that go from publicly turning down president Trump to a genocide trial. The Malaysian Prime Minister, Mahathir Mohamad, has been rippling diplomatic tensions by criticising India’s treatment in Kashmir and its new citizenship law as well as upsetting Saudi Arabia by hosting the KL summit for Islamic leaders.

2019 proved to be a tumultuous year for the region. Some ASEAN countries faced major challenges. For example, Indonesia was, yet again, struck by disasters multiple times. But it was also a time when several countries were navigating their respective democratic paths.

The number of deaths from a powerful storm that hit the Philippines on Christmas has climbed to 41, authorities said Sunday, with tens of thousands still in evacuation centres.Typhoon Phanfone left the Philippines on Saturday after devastating several islands in the central Visayas, including popular tourist destinations, but the extent of the damage continued to grow as assessments came in.The death toll of 41 - up from 28 on Friday - included three boat crew who died after their vessel caps

The Philippines banned two US senators and threatened to introduce visa restrictions for Americans entering the country, the president's spokesman said Friday, if Washington pushes ahead with sanctions against Filipino officials involved in jailing a leading opposition leader.Senators Richard Durbin and Patrick Leahy were banned from entering the country after introducing a provision in the 2020 US budget that would prevent officials involved in the incarceration of Senator Leila de Lima

A typhoon that swept across remote villages and popular tourist areas of the central Philippines on Christmas day claimed at least 16 lives, authorities said on Thursday.Typhoon Phanfone, with gusts reaching 200 kilometres an hour, tore roofs off houses and toppled electric posts as it ripped through the central Philippines on Wednesday.Videos from the typhoon's path showed fallen trees and strong winds pummelling flimsy houses.

Typhoon Phanfone pummelled the central Philippines on Christmas Day, bringing a wet, miserable and terrifying holiday to millions in the mainly Catholic nation.Police said six people were missing as the typhoon leapt from one small island to another for the second day - crumpling houses, toppling trees and blacking out cities and towns, including in popular resorts like Boracay.At the height of the festive season on Wednesday, tens of thousands were stranded at shuttered ports or evacuation c

Typhoon Phanfone smashed into the central Philippines on Tuesday, leaving thousands of people unable to get home for the Christmas holidays and forcing many others to evacuate in the face of the onslaught.The tropical storm was upgraded to a typhoon shortly before it made landfall on Christmas Eve in the mainly Catholic nation, but early reports indicate there had been no casualties so far.It struck the southern tip of the impoverished island of Samar in the afternoon with gusts of up to 150