WASHINGTON, DC, USA – Joe Biden said on Friday, June 5, he had secured the delegates needed to clinch the Democratic nomination and face Donald Trump in November's US presidential election.
"Folks, tonight we secured the 1,991 delegates needed to win ...

MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – After several lawmakers withdrew their yes votes for the anti-terror bill, opposition lawmaker Albay 1st District Representative Edcel Lagman urged Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano not to sign the enrolled anti-terror bill y...

CEBU CITY, Philippines – Central Visayas police denied accusations that it used excessive force when it dispersed  anti-terror bill protesters and that it violated an agreement that banned the military and police from entering the University of the Ph...

SAN FRANCISCO, USA – Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg on Friday, June 5, promised to review the social network's policies that led to its decision to not moderate controversial messages posted by US President Donald Trump.
The announcement, wh...

When humans all over the world were mostly quarantined, we noted how nature was “coming back” as if it had left us like a prodigal child. During quarantine, certain sounds of animals have been recorded to inhabit the break of dawn different from pr...

MANILA, Philippines – Quezon City announced that it will be giving tablets to 175,731 public high school students amid the coronavirus pandemic that has forced youths to spend at least part of the upcoming school year at home.
"The city government wil...

MANILA, Philippines – If there's something I never knew I needed until I found it (no, it's not love), it would be a box of fried lumpia, delivered fresh and crunchy, right to my doorstep.
Let's give cheese and cold cuts a break – a grazing board of d...

MANILA, Philippines – The National Youth Commission Employees Association (NYCEA) broke its silence Tuesday, June 2, when it voiced its concerns on the leadership of NYC chief executive Ryan Enriquez. 
In a statement addressed to the youth,  the emplo...

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil – President Jair Bolsonaro threatened on Friday, June 5, to pull Brazil from the WHO over "ideological bias," as his counterpart Donald Trump said the US economy was recovering from the coronavirus pandemic and Europe sought to ...

ALBAY, Philippines – Having tracking devices installed on commercial vessels serves as much needed support for local government units seeking to look after their municipal waters.
That's why The League of Municipalities in the Province of Romblon, and...

 

NEW YORK -- The United States braced Friday for massive weekend protests against racism and police brutality, as outrage soared over the latest law enforcement abuses against demonstrators that were caught on camera.

With protests over...

 

SEOUL -- North Korea has threatened to close a liaison office with the South as officials seethe over anti-Pyongyang leaflets sent across the border, saying further steps were also in the pipeline to make Seoul "suffer."

The warning is...

BEIJING --- China is advising its citizens not to visit Australia, citing racial discrimination and violence against Asians, in what appears to be Beijing's latest attempt to punish the country for advocating an investigation into the coronavirus p...

Actress Bela Padilla called out a netizen for telling entertianers to "shut up" regarding social issues, pointing out that they too have the right to voice their opinions.

Padilla answered one Twitter user with the handle @pattytagal after the l...

 

MANILA, Philippines --- A 69-year-old woman was killed while about 600 families were left homeless after a fire engulfed a residential area in Mandaluyong City early Saturday.

According to a report by the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP...

PUERTO PRINCESA CITY ---- A wounded Nicobar pigeon (Caloenas nicobarica), a critically endangered wild bird, was rescued by local authorities in Bataraza town in Palawan province, report said Saturday.

The Palawan Council for Sustainable Develop...

MANILA, Philippines --- Days after House members voted to pass the controversial Anti-Terror Bill on third and final reading, Albay 2nd District Rep. Joey Salceda has requested to withdraw his support for the bill and chose to register an abstention in...

MANILA, Philippines – On the eve of the lockdown of Metro Manila, Stella Cañete Mendoza returned to her backstage dressing room to pack the blouses, skirts, dresses, the shirt-and-jeans, and the headband she had meticulously plotted to help herself get...

The outbreak of the coronavirus has dealt a shock to the global economy with unprecedented speed. Following are developments Friday related to the national and global response, the work place and the spread of the virus.
Job concerns
--- Mall ope...

MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – Four soldiers were killed and 17 others were hurt during a clash with members of the Abu Sayyaf Group in Patikul, Sulu, on Friday, June 5.
Armed Forces of the Philippines Western Mindanao Command spokesperson Major Arvi...

MANILA, Philippines – 7-Eleven Philippines has jumped on the ube cheese pandesal bandwagon  as well, now serving the purple bread in select 7-Eleven stores nationwide.
The convenience store chain launched two new items on Wednesday, June 3: the Ube C...

MANILA, Philippines – Both competitive and recreational swimmers can start jumping back into the pool in general community quarantine (GCQ), but not in the way we remember it. 
The national federation Philippine Swimming Inc proposed its "Back to Swim...

BEIJING --- The last British governor of Hong Kong criticized the Chinese government on Friday over proposed national security legislation, calling it part of an "Orwellian" drive to eliminate opposition in violation of the agreement on handing the...

…

MANILA, Philippines – The Duterte administration said it can't fully implement United Nations (UN) recommendations intended to improve the government's human rights record, as it soundly rejected conclusions of a UN report .
Presidential Spokesman Ha...

SAN PEDRO CITY ---- A suspected drug pusher was killed in a police shootout in Tanza town in Cavite province, authorities said Saturday.

According to a police report, members of the Tanza police carried out the buy-bust operation around 10:30 p.m. F...

 



 

WASHINGTON --- Protesters stirred by the death of George Floyd vowed Friday to turn an extraordinary outpouring of grief into a sustained movement as demonstrations shifted to a calmer, but no less determined focus on addressing...

 
 
LOS ANGELES, USA – NFL commissioner Roger Goodell admitted Friday, June 5, the league had been wrong to silence player protests as it responded to calls from a group of players to issue an explicit condemnation of racism.
In a video message posted ...

LUCENA CITY ---- A man was killed and his two children seriously wounded after two unidentified gunmen shot them while having dinner in Tiaong town in Quezon province on Friday, police said Saturday.

Lieutenant Colonel Dennis de Leon, Tiaong police ...

MANILA, Philippines --- The Philippines cannot "fully commit" the full implementation of the recommendations contained in a report by the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), given that the conclusions were "faulty,"...

LUCENA CITY ---- The second confirmed case of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Catanauan town in Quezon province is the husband of the first recorded virus carrier in the locality, Mayor Ramon Orfanel said on his Facebook page on Friday.

Orfanel sa...

WASHINGTON, DC, USA – The US Justice Department sued a Chinese company for selling nearly a half million fake and substandard N95 respirator masks to US buyers in April as the COVID-19 pandemic swept the country.
In a complaint filed in federal court i...

 

LOS ANGELES, USA – NBA players have requested further negotiations with league chiefs before signing off on plans to resume the season in Florida next month, a statement said on Friday, June 5.
The National Basketball Players Association said its ...

WASHINGTON--- Scores of retired military and defense leaders are denouncing President Donald Trump and accusing him of using the U.S. Armed Forces to undermine the rights of Americans protesting police brutality and the killing of George Floyd.

...

BACOLOD CITY, Philippines – Various youth groups, as well as members of the progressive groups and the diocese, went to the office of Bacolod Representative Greg Gasataya on Friday, June 5, to protest his vote on the anti-terror bill , which was said...

MINNEAPOLIS --- Minneapolis agreed Friday to ban chokeholds and neck restraints by police and to require officers to try to stop any other officers they see using improper force, in the first concrete steps to remake the city's police force since G...

 

Part 1
In many of his late-night public addresses on the COVID-19 situation, President Rodrigo Duterte’s obvious fixation with the New People’s Army has been apparent, oftentimes overtaking what the public have been expecting to hear from him.
And t...

 
 
MANILA, Philippines – Felicia ‘FeeNom’ Spencer will not be intimidated by anyone standing in front of her, even if it’s a living legend.
The Canadian brawler (8-1) is about to challenge the No.1 fighter in the women’s division,  Amanda ‘The Lioness...

OTTAWA, Canada – Prime Minster Justin Trudeau joined thousands on Friday, June 5, in taking a knee in front of Canada's parliament in solidarity with US protesters marching against racism and police brutality.
It marked a rare public outing for the Ca...

 

 

NEW YORK --- Another day of protests over the death of George Floyd brought more examples of New York City officials downplaying or denying the police department's rough treatment of protesters --- even when it was caught on vid...

MANILA, Philippines --- Most parts of the country can expect cloudy skies with a chance of rains for Saturday, the state weather bureau said.

In its 4 a.m. live weather update, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Admin...

WASHINGTON, DC, USA –  The coronavirus pandemic killed 922 people in the United States in the past 24 hours, according to figures released Friday, June 5, by Johns Hopkins University.
The latest deaths bring the total in the United States to 109,042, ...

MANILA, Philippines – As the Philippines began to ease coronavirus lockdown measures, the level of violence perpetrated against civilians rose near pre-pandemic levels, according to a report by an international conflict monitoring group.
Armed Conflic...

 
LONDON, United Kingdom – Double Oscar winner Cate Blanchett has revealed she had a lucky escape after suffering a cut to the head following a chainsaw accident at her home in southern England.
The Hollywood actor shared details about the near-miss w...

 

LOS ANGELES, USA – Michael Jordan said Friday, June 4, he is making a record $100 million donation to groups fighting for racial equality and social justice amid a wave of protests across the United States.
The NBA legend said in a statement his Jor...

OTTAWA--Prime Minster Justin Trudeau joined thousands on Friday in taking a knee in front of Canada's parliament in solidarity with US protesters marching against racism and police brutality.

It marked a rare public outing for the Canadian leade...

WASHINGTON, DC, USA –  President Donald Trump sparked controversy on Friday, June 5, calling it a "great day" for George Floyd, the man whose death in custody last week unleashed nationwide protests over police brutality against African Americans.
"W...

Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian announced his resignation from the board of the social media site and urged the board to replace him with a black candidate.

Ohanian, who is white, implicitly linked his move to protests around the globe over the...

VIENNA, Austria – Iran has now accumulated enriched uranium at nearly 8 times the limit of a 2015 deal and has for months blocked inspections at sites where historic nuclear activity may have occurred, the UN watchdog said Friday, June 5.
The Internat...

SAN FRANCISCO, USA  – Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian – who may be better known as the husband of tennis star Serena Williams – called Friday, June 5, for his seat on the board of the social news company to be given to a black candidate.
Ohanian said...

MANILA, Philippines – When the House of Representatives  railroaded  the passage of the anti-terrorism bill, lawmakers from Mindanao were  among the loudest voices rejecting the measure . 
House Deputy Speaker Mujiv Hataman argued that the bill's "bro...

 
One consequence of the public’s compliance with social distancing and quarantines during the COVID-19 pandemic is a sharp decline in most types of crime . It looks like people staying home made communities less conducive to crime.
Unfortunately, th...

OTTAWA, Canada – Canada added 290,000 jobs in May, a 1.8% rise, the government statistical agency said Friday, June 5, as restrictions to slow the spread of the coronavirus were eased and businesses started reopening.
But the jobless rate rose 0...

NEW YORK, USA – Bourses in Europe and the United States surged on Friday, June 5, following a surprisingly strong US jobs report, which markets viewed as validating recent equity gains and proving the economy is recovering.
The Labor Department report...

WASHINGTON, USA – The United States economy regained 2.5 million jobs in May and the unemployment rate dropped as coronavirus pandemic shutdowns began to ease, which President Donald Trump said Friday, June 5, was a sign the recovery from the crisis...

MANILA, Philippines – With Iloilo province suffering an economic loss of over P10 billion when it was on lockdown, the provincial government is hammering out a recovery and rehabilitation plan to help sectors hard-hit by the coronavirus pandemic .
Go...

GENEVA, Switzerland (UPDATED) – The World Health Organization on Friday, June 5, backed the use of fabric facemasks in places where the new  coronavirus is widespread and physical distancing is difficult, in a change of advice. 
As the deadly virus c...

WASHINGTON DC, USA – President Donald Trump asserted Friday, June 5, that the United States has made it through the worst of the coronavirus pandemic , after new jobs numbers showed a surprising increase in employment.
"We had the greatest economy in...

MANILA, Philippines – Business groups on Friday, June 5, urged the national government to focus on addressing the effects of the coronavirus pandemic instead of passing the "highly divisive" anti-terrorism bill that is now up for the President's sig...

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Education (DepEd) on Friday, June 5, said over 5 million students signed up during the first week of remote enrollment as the country's education system prepares to shift to a  distance learning approach. 
Acco...

 

PARIS, France – Rafael Nadal insisted on Thursday, June 4, tennis "cannot resume until the situation is completely safe" and if the US Open was being played this week, he wouldn't take part.
World No. 2 Nadal, who captured a fourth US Open and 19th ...

Today on Rappler:

Cops arrest 8 at anti-terrorism bill protest in Cebu City
Duterte to axe DOH staff over health workers' compensation but spares Duque
P1.3-trillion economic stimulus vs coronavirus 'not fundable,' says NEDA
Breaking with party, Repu...

MANILA, Philippines – President Rodrigo Duterte has appointed Leopoldo Vega, head of a public hospital in his hometown of Davao City, as health undersecretary.
Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque confirmed the appointment in a message to reporters on F...

MANILA, Philippines – Make It With You, the supposed TV comeback of Enrique Gil and Liza Soberano, will not be coming back on air even as other ABS-CBN shows make their return via cable and satellite TV.
Liza’s manager Ogie Diaz made the announcement ...

ILOILO CITY, Philippines – The daughter of slain activist Jory Porquia has joined calls to reject the anti-terror bill, warning that once it is passed into law, incidents like her father's death would be part of the new normal under the Duterte govern...