Philippine police have killed two people, including a woman on her way to hospital, after mistaking them for gunmen, authorities said Friday, the latest deaths at the hands of law enforcement under President Rodrigo Duterte.The incident occurred on Thursday night when police were called to a Manila suburb following an earlier shooting during an argument between residents.But they mistakenly opened fire on a van that they thought was carrying the shooter but which in fact was taking a woman in

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has ordered the military to suspend operations against communist rebels over Christmas, the government said Wednesday, despite ending peace talks and branding the insurgents "terrorists"."This unilateral ceasefire would lessen the apprehension of the public this Christmas season," Duterte's spokesman Harry Roque said in a statement, adding the government expects the rebels to make "a similar gesture of goodwill".The &quot

The commander of the Philippine Navy was abruptly sacked Tuesday in a surprise move which a legislator and news reports linked to a dispute about a contract for warships.Vice Admiral Ronald Joseph Mercado was replaced by Rear Admiral Robert Empedrad in compliance with "the instructions from higher authorities", said military spokesman Colonel Edgard Arevalo."The reason for this change of command will be explained in due time," Arevalo said in a statement.The navy spokesman

As China continues to transform disputed territory in the South China Sea into features capable of sustaining air and naval bases, Vietnam is also upgrading areas it occupies.Images taken by DigitalGlobe satellites in September show new facilities including a possible dry dock on West London Reef in the Spratly Island chain, around 680 kilometers southeast of Ho Chi Minh City, that could allow boats to stop for maintenance and patrol for longer periods.While the work is vastly outweighed by w

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte won martial law powers across the southern third of the country for one more year on Wednesday to combat Islamic militants and leftist rebels, as Congress brushed aside fears of a looming dictatorship.Duterte's request to extend martial law in the Mindanao region until December 31 next year and detain rebellion suspects there without charge was approved by 240 votes to 27 at a joint session of the Senate and House of Representatives.Asked by reporters

Fitch Ratings raised the Philippines sovereign rating in a boost for President Rodrigo Duterte’s economic plans, which include a tax reform that’s set to strengthen the fiscal outlook.The rating on the nation’s long-term foreign currency-denominated debt was raised one level to BBB with a stable outlook, Fitch said in a statement on Monday.

The Philippines' main Muslim guerrilla group staged a huge rally Monday at its southern headquarters that attracted Christians and rival rebels, in a joint effort with the government to reignite a stalled peace process.President Rodrigo Duterte was scheduled to speak at the event at the main base of the 10,000-strong Moro Islamic Liberation Front on Monday afternoon, with both sides hoping peace will help quell the rising threat of the Islamic State group.Muslims have been waging a rebel

At age 33 and raising six children in a slum named "Paradise Village", Myrna Albos is Exhibit A for the Philippines' serial family planning failures.The plumber's wife already had four children by the time a family planning law was passed in December 2012, but she had two more after opponents blocked it and the government health centre near her shanty ran out of birth control pills."I don't want any more (children). Sending all of them to school is an effort.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has cancelled all future peace talks with communist rebels waging one of Asia's longest insurgencies, in a blow to efforts to end the half century-long conflict.In a speech Tuesday night, Duterte criticised the insurgents over deadly attacks against soldiers and police while threatening to categorise them as a "terrorist" group.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has pledged two accused Russian drug traffickers will be detained in a "comfortable house", rather than his nation's badly over-crowded jails.Duterte made the commitment at a meeting late Monday with Russian Prime Minister Dmitri Medvedev on the sidelines of a regional summit in Manila."I would just like to say that we have a working functional justice system here and they will get a fair trial and that they will be detained in a comfor