Philippine journalist Maria Ressa was freed on bail on Thursday following an arrest that sparked international censure and allegations she is being targeted over her news site's criticism of President Rodrigo Duterte.

Philippine journalist Maria Ressa, whose news site has repeatedly clashed with President Rodrigo Duterte, was arrested at her Manila office on Wednesday in what press freedom advocates branded an act of "persecution".Her detention on a charge of "cyber libel" is a dramatic escalation in government pressure bearing down on Ressa and her website Rappler, which was already facing tax evasion charges that could shut it down.It comes after Duterte has cracked down on high-profi

Investigators probing the Catholic cathedral bombing that killed 21 people in the Philippines' restive south said Monday a group tied to notorious Islamists Abu Sayyaf is the prime suspect.Two explosions tore through the cathedral on the Muslim-majority island of Jolo, killing worshippers at Sunday mass and security forces in an attack claimed by the Islamic State group.Authorities said the so-called Ajang-Ajang faction is a small band of several dozen that most likely carried out the bo

A decades-long push to halt the violence that has claimed some 150,000 lives in the southern Philippines culminated Monday with a vote on giving the nation's Muslim minority greater control over the region.The poll is the final step in a peace deal with the Catholic-majority country's largest Muslim rebel group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), which has been a key force in a separatist insurgency that has raged since the 1970s.Turnout was heavy in core areas of the propose

Henry Sy, who became a billionaire by parlaying a shoe store into the biggest retailer in the Philippines, has died. He was 94.He died in his sleep this morning, his daughter Teresita Sy-Coson and Jose Sio, chairman of SM Investments Corp. said. Sy had a net worth of US$7.2 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, making him the richest person in the Philippines.“This morning Mr. Sy passed away peacefully as a happy man,” Sio said.Sy’s company started as a shoe store in 1948.

Adventure tourism is gaining a strong foothold in ASEAN, a region which already enjoys a mature and well-developed tourism market.Blessed with jungles teeming with flora and fauna, an abundance of underwater life and a wide range of islands, mountains and cliffs to explore, Southeast Asia has world-class adventure destinations and has been marketed as such.The ASEAN Tourism Strategic Plan (ATSP) 2016-2025 states that adventure tourism should be promoted regionally.

2018 proved to be a tumultuous year for the region. Some ASEAN countries faced major challenges. For example, Indonesia was struck by disasters multiple times from earthquakes to a tragic plane crash to a devastating tsunami. Elsewhere, countries were navigating their respective democratic paths. Cambodia and Thailand saw its institutions challenged with Hun Sen winning an allegedly rigged election in Cambodia while Thailand’s junta continued to delay elections it promised to hold.

The United States has warned its citizens that security at the Philippines's main airport does not meet international standards, urging travellers to exercise "increased caution".The US Department of Homeland Security issued a travel advisory on Wednesday saying security at Manila's Ninoy Aquino International Airport was not "consistent" with International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) standards.

It has been just over 100 days since the Battle of Marawi, the military siege that lasted five months, from May to October last year. The Manila Times reported in October that over 47 civilians and around 970 militant terrorists were killed. Conflict between the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the coalition of Islamic State (IS) militants resulted in destruction of the city as a result of firefights, bombings and air strikes.

Last month, a report quoted Philippines Trade and Industry Secretary Ramon Lopez as saying that the construction of a 305-hectare integrated steel manufacturing plant in Mindanao, is expected to generate 50,000 jobs for Filipino workers.Set to be completed in six to seven years, the project will be carried out in three phases, and will consist of a port, an integrated steel mill with a capacity of 10 million tons, as well as an industrial park.Panhua Group, a Chinese steel company, will set u