Bring the heat: K/DA burning walls between gaming and pop culture

Inquirer.net - Nov 10, 2026

MANILA, Philippines – For the third time since its debut back at the 2018 Worlds in Incheon, South Korea, and the ALL OUT release back in 2020, Riot Games’ virtual K-pop group K/DA returned once again with another banger titled ‘FIRESTARTER’. Within two weeks since its release, the whole EP hit #1 on the worldwide

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Nov 10, 2026

Valencia City allots P140M as it gears up vs. El Niño

VALENCIA CITY, Bukidnon—The local government here has mobilized aggressive El Niño mitigation measures, shifting from broad blanket orders to data-driven, granular interventions and allotting a P140-million fund as state weather forecasters warn of a severe dry spell extending through mid-2027. The city has earmarked a flexible P140 million disaster management fund for next year, prioritizing

Nov 10, 2026

NEA to impose sanctions on electric cooperatives resisting solar push

MANILA, Philippines — The National Electrification Administration (NEA) will impose sanctions on electric cooperatives that resist the agency’s push to install solar home systems, its representative said Tuesday. During a hearing of the Senate committee on urban planning, housing, and resettlement, Sen. Francis Escudero said he was aware of electric cooperatives resisting the installation of

Nov 10, 2026

New cold storage facility helps Tarlac onion farmers protect harvest

SAN MANUEL, Tarlac — Tarlac has inaugurated a 10,000-bag onion cold storage facility in San Manuel to help farmers reduce postharvest losses and increase their income. The Metrobank Foundation (MBFI), in partnership with the Department of Agriculture and the local government of San Manuel, spearheaded the project. Tarlac ranks sixth among the country’s top onion-producing

Nov 10, 2026

Iligan college apologizes over alleged hijab ban on Muslim students

ILIGAN CITY — The Iligan Medical Center College (IMCC) has apologized amid backlash over allegations that Muslim nursing students were required to remove their hijabs during their capping ceremony and clinical duties. “It has never been the institution’s intention to cause hurt or make any member of its academic community feel excluded,” the college said

Nov 10, 2026

WATCH: Sara Duterte impeachment trial | Nov. 10, 2026

MANILA, Philippines — On Day 41 of Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial, the defense team is set to present its second witness, the city assessor of the Island Garden City of Samal. Samal City Assessor Engr. John Kenneth Enumerables is expected to testify on the property linked to Duterte and her husband, lawyer Manases

Nov 10, 2026

Cordillera farmers protest high costs, low prices, farm imports

BAGUIO CITY — Vegetable farmers and gardeners from the Cordillera brought their concerns over rising production costs, low farmgate prices and agricultural imports to national government agencies during a two-day mobilization in Metro Manila that began on Tuesday, Nov. 10. Organized by the activist Kanatengan Network, the delegation is scheduled to submit petitions and seek

Nov 10, 2026

OIL PRICE WATCH as of Nov. 10, 2026

MANILA, Philippines —Motorists are set to get some relief as gasoline prices plunge by P16.80 per liter Tuesday, Nov. 10, marking the first double-digit rollback since the Middle East conflict began in February. Diesel prices will also drop by P4.10 per liter, while kerosene will go down by P3.70 per liter. Based on the Department

Nov 10, 2026

16 short-form playwrights to face off in Seoul Players' 10-Minute Play Festival

Seoul's international theater community prepares for battle once again, as the 10-Minute Play Festival (10MPF) takes to the stage to find this year's top playwright. This will mark the 13th year of the contest, brought to the stage at Dulwich College in southern Seoul by Seoul Players, a not-for-profit, volunteer-run English-language theater group founded in 2001. For this year's contest, they received 410 submissions sent in March and April from 354 playwrights based all over the world. The number of submissions has exploded in recent years, peaking at more than 500 for last year's festival in just two weeks, before submissions had to be closed early. "Last year, one of the board [members] felt that many of the hundreds of plays we got were AI-generated," said Lorne Oliver, a producer for Seoul Players. He didn't disagree with the assessment, but he explained why it didn't affect their final decisions: "I just thought most of them were not up to snuff." He added, "We did not bother to run them through an AI check; we just went with the assessment results, since cream floats." This year, th

Nov 10, 2026

Korea's economy is booming. Why isn't President Lee's popularity?

On paper, Korea's economy looks strong. Fueled by a semiconductor export boom, the country's annual exports are projected to top $1 trillion for the first time this year, making Korea only the fourth country to reach the milestone, after the United States, China and Germany. Forecasts from eight major investment banks put Korea's real gross domestic product growth at an average of 3.5 percent this year, with some expecting growth as high as 4 percent. Per capita gross national income is also expected to surpass $40,000 for the first time, potentially placing Korea sixth in the world by that measure. By those numbers, President Lee Jae Myung's approval ratings should be soaring. The economy, after all, is widely regarded as one of the biggest drivers of presidential popularity. Yet that is far from the case. A Realmeter survey of 2,528 adults nationwide, conducted from Nov. 2 to Friday for the Asia Business Daily, put Lee's approval rating at just 35.9 percent. His ratings have hovered between the high 30s and low 40s since October, a sharp decline from 67 percent seven months earlier. More

Nov 10, 2026

String of drug busts shatters Korea's drug-free myth

A string of recent drug cases is eroding Korea’s lingering reputation as a drug-free country, highlighting how both Koreans and foreign nationals are being increasingly drawn into narcotics crime. The Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police said Monday that it referred 66 foreign nationals to the prosecution between March and October on charges including violating the Narcotics Control Act, with 30 of them being held in custody. Many of the suspects were Southeast Asian students who entered the country on D-2 student visas or D-4 language training visas. Of the seven separate cases, one involved drug manufacturing plans and another smuggling, while five involved distribution, purchase and use. One suspect set up equipment in a studio apartment to make ecstasy pills from powder and other materials smuggled into Korea, but was caught before obtaining them. Six others were arrested in succession after investigators found evidence that they had smuggled large amounts of ecstasy, ketamine and other drugs into Korea through international mail in March. They operated in isolated cells and took order

Nov 10, 2026

N. Korea tests new torpedo, eyes early 2027 deployment

North Korea has test-fired a new type of torpedo in the East Sea, state media reported Tuesday, saying it plans to deploy the system with its Navy in early 2027. The Academy of Defense Sciences, the Missile Administration and the Torpedo Weapon Research Bureau "verified the combat effectiveness" of the new high-speed torpedo system Monday, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said. The test was part of the "obligatory activities" of the defense research institutes to put weapons technology "on a highly-developed basis," it added. The North gave no further details on the torpedo's specifications. Pyongyang has been pushing to strengthen its naval capabilities with a string of weapons tests. Last month, it conducted an underwater test of a new high-speed, precision-guided torpedo that uses artificial intelligence (AI) technology, calling it a "significant" change in its naval capabilities. It also fired two types of strategic cruise missiles from what was presumed to be a 3,000-ton submarine in the East Sea. In June, it commissioned the 5,000-ton Choe Hyon destroyer in the West Sea, followe

Nov 10, 2026

N. Korea's nuclear power recognition demand could hinder prospects for Trump-Kim summit: ex-US official

North Korea's apparent demand to be recognized as a nuclear power could complicate U.S. President Donald Trump's efforts to arrange another summit with leader Kim Jong-un, a former senior State Department official said Monday. "I think my understanding, at least, is that the North Koreans have communicated to the United States that the only condition under which there could be consideration for a summit is if the United States accepted North Korea as a nuclear power," Kurt Campbell, former deputy secretary of state, said. Campbell made the remarks during a press briefing hosted by the Asia Group to preview Trump's upcoming trip to Asia, including the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit in Manila and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Shenzhen, China. "Given the current circumstances, I think that would be almost impossible for President Trump to accept," Campbell said, noting that it could face opposition from both Republicans and Democrats in Congress. "I don't think the political circumstances make it likely for anything other than maybe just a handshake of sort

Bring the heat: K/DA burning walls between gaming and pop culture

MORE NEWS

Valencia City allots P140M as it gears up vs. El Niño

NEA to impose sanctions on electric cooperatives resisting solar push

New cold storage facility helps Tarlac onion farmers protect harvest

Iligan college apologizes over alleged hijab ban on Muslim students

WATCH: Sara Duterte impeachment trial | Nov. 10, 2026

Cordillera farmers protest high costs, low prices, farm imports

OIL PRICE WATCH as of Nov. 10, 2026

16 short-form playwrights to face off in Seoul Players' 10-Minute Play Festival

Korea's economy is booming. Why isn't President Lee's popularity?

String of drug busts shatters Korea's drug-free myth

N. Korea tests new torpedo, eyes early 2027 deployment

N. Korea's nuclear power recognition demand could hinder prospects for Trump-Kim summit: ex-US official

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