The wreckage of a 2019 McLaren involved in the fatal crash that killed two people in Orange County spontaneously caught fire while in storage.
Oct 19, 2026
DFA summons Chinese envoy over ‘may easily win’ West PH Sea remark The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Monday summoned Chinese Ambassador Jing Quan over his remarks that China “may easily win” in a confrontation in the West Philippine Sea. Marcos prefers diplomacy over declaring Chinese envoy persona non grata President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
MANILA, Philippines — Chinese Ambassador Jing Quan’s statement about the use of force, which was viewed by Philippine government officials as a threat, was not merely his personal opinion but reflected the position of the Chinese government. “They act very deliberately. Hindi pag-uugali ng ambasador ’yan, pag-uugali ng gobyerno nila ’yan (That’s not the ambassador’s
MANILA, Philippines — The Office of the Ombudsman on Sunday said it dismissed all administrative charges against a Santa Maria town mayor which stemmed from alleged lapses in securing ballot boxes from the 2022 elections. Santa Maria Mayor Ma. Rocelle “Cindy” Carolino was cleared of grave misconduct, gross neglect of duty, and serious dishonesty. On
BACOLOD CITY, NEGROS OCCIDENTAL, Philippines — The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has distributed P553.89 million in financial assistance to 53,829 sugarcane farmers and farm workers affected by the red-striped soft scale insect (RSSI) infestation across Negros Island as of Oct. 16. DSWD Regional Director Arwin Razo said Monday that the beneficiaries included
MANILA, Philippines — A prosecution witness told the Sandiganbayan on Monday that he personally saw four “maleta” (suitcases) in Co’s office back when he was still a businessman and not yet a member of the House of Representatives. Larry Bellen, who worked as an executive aide of ex-Ako Bicol representative beginning in 2018, made this
South Korea’s decade-old debate over female conscription resurfaced during a National Assembly audit this month, amid growing concerns that a shrinking draft-eligible population could undermine military readiness. During a National Assembly defense committee audit on Oct. 12, opposition lawmakers raised the issue, arguing that the time has come for a public discussion as the eligible male population continues to fall. Defense ministry data shows the pool of 20-year-old men eligible for service dropped from 332,000 in 2019 to 257,000 in 2022, and is projected to fall further to 228,000 by 2035 and 120,000 by 2043. Rep. Yoo Yeong-ha of the main opposition People Power Party said, "Now, we must officially put female conscription on the table. This will also require broad societal consensus." Rep. Chun Ha-ram of the Reform Party used the term “gender-equal conscription” — meaning mandatory service for both men and women — to call for a broader discussion on reforming the system. “If we continue wringing a dry towel without even considering gender-equal conscription as an option,
Homeplus, which narrowly avoided liquidation and resumed operations in August, is struggling to regain its footing as weak sales and stalled takeover efforts cloud its recovery, according to industry officials Monday. The uncertainty has also prompted a wave of voluntary resignations among employees. A major supermarket chain, Homeplus is currently undergoing court-led rehabilitation after struggling for years with the decline of the country’s hypermarket sector and consumers’ shift to online shopping. In July, the Seoul Bankruptcy Court briefly terminated the proceedings after the embattled retailer failed to secure the minimum 200 billion won ($150 million) in fresh funding needed to carry out its restructuring plan. Homeplus reversed that outcome only after obtaining emergency financing from Meritz Financial Group, its largest creditor, at the last minute. The retailer reopened all 67 of its remaining stores nationwide on Aug. 13, hoping to put its recovery back on track. Sales reached 10.63 billion won on the first day, followed by a daily average of 8.7 billion won over the nex
The US and China are racing to secure concrete investment deals ahead of their leaders’ meeting in Shenzhen next month, even as both sides engage in a contest over leverage in extending their broad trade agreement. Multiple sources told the South China Morning Post that intense negotiations would continue in coming weeks, with Washington and Beijing still facing hurdles to finalising a complex package of institutional frameworks and economic agreements. The sources, who spoke on condition of...
MANILA, Philippines — No bettor won the ₱284.69-million Grand Lotto 6/55 jackpot or the ₱15-million MegaLotto 6/45 jackpot in the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) draws on Monday, Oct. 19, 2026. According to the PCSO results, the Grand Lotto 6/55 winning combination was 14-52-49-39-35-05, with a jackpot prize of ₱284.69 million. No ticket matched all
Citing national security concerns, the US government has ordered federal civilian agencies to remove DeepSeek products and any third-party services developed using the Chinese artificial intelligence model from their information systems. In a notice made public on Monday, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) also barred agencies from acquiring DeepSeek products and services, including those developed by affiliated entities. The notice said that using the company’s products “may result in...
MANILA, Philippines — Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte said the city has no outstanding debt, highlighting the local government’s financial standing in her eighth year as local executive. Belmonte, in her State of the City Address on Monday, Oct. 19, declared that since the start of her stint in 2019, “we have continuously strengthened our
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has ordered that products from the Chinese AI startup DeepSeek be removed from federal agency IT systems and barred from government contracting. The order, which initially went out in July, was published on the Federal Register website Monday. It said DeepSeek’s AI models present “multiple threat vectors,” noting the...