News

Measles outbreak spreads to Oklahoma as US reports 41 new cases

ABS-CBN News
Posted at May 21 01:47 AM

The worst measles outbreak in the United States in 25 years has spread to Oklahoma, federal health officials said on Monday as they reported 41 new cases nationwide, raising the total number sickened this year to 880 people. Read more »

US Ambassador to China visiting Tibet this week

Reuters
Posted at May 20 02:11 PM

BEIJING - U.S. Ambassador to China Terry Branstad was scheduled to visit Tibet this week, a U.S. embassy spokesperson said, the first visit to the region by a U.S. ambassador since 2015, amid escalating trade tensions between Washington and Beijing. Read more »

Republican lawmaker says Trump engaged in impeachable conduct

Timothy Gardner, Reuters
Updated as of May 19 10:39 AM

Impeachment should be undertaken only in extraordinary circumstances, US Representative Justin Amash wrote on Saturday. Read more »

Pregnant US teen killed, baby taken from womb: police

Agence France-Presse
Posted at May 17 07:43 PM

Police in Chicago charged three people Thursday in connection with the murder of a pregnant teenager whose unborn baby was taken from her womb after her death. Read more »

Trump proposes immigration overhaul to favor skilled, English speakers

Agence France-Presse
Posted at May 17 05:06 AM

President Donald Trump called Thursday for radical immigration reform to favor skilled, English-speaking workers over the poorly educated and to shut the door on "frivolous" asylum claimants. Read more »

Trade frictions raise questions about China's fentanyl promise

Jonathan Landay, Reuters
Posted at May 11 05:47 PM

WASHINGTON - China has pledged to stem a flood of the synthetic opioid fentanyl onto America's streets, where it kills thousands of people a month, but US security experts are skeptical about whether Beijing is willing, or even able, to follow through. Read more »

FACT CHECK: No, these are not genuine photos of ex-US president Obama showing support for Duterte

Agence France-Presse
Posted at May 10 07:56 PM

The claim is false; the two photos in the composite image have been doctored from photos of Barack Obama in which he did not show visible support for Rodrigo Duterte. Read more »

PH, US, Japan, India group sail in S.China Sea show of force towards China: experts

Michael Joe Delizo, ABS-CBN News
Posted at May 10 01:49 PM

Experts on Friday hailed the recent naval drill of the Philippines, the United States, Japan, and India in the South China Sea that was seen as a flexing of muscles against China’s dominance in the contested waterway. Read more »

Billionaire Bezos unveils moon lander mockup, touts Blue Origin's lunar goals

Joey Roulette, Reuters
Posted at May 10 07:24 AM

Billionaire entrepreneur Jeff Bezos, founder of rocket company Blue Origin, unveiled on Thursday a mockup of a lunar lander spacecraft and discussed missions to the moon in a strategy tailored to the US government's renewed push to establish a lunar outpost in just 5 years. Read more »

North Korea fires more missiles, US announces ship seizure as tensions mount

Josh Smith and David Brunnstrom, Reuters
Updated as of May 10 07:04 AM

North Korea fired what appeared to be 2 short-range missiles on Thursday in its second such test in less than a week, and the United States said it had seized a North Korean cargo ship as tensions again mounted between the 2 countries. Read more »

PH, US, Japan, India navies sail together in disputed South China Sea

ABS-CBN News
Posted at May 09 06:33 PM

MANILA – Navies from the Philippines, the United States, India and Japan have sailed together for the first time for a maritime activity in the disputed South China Sea.  Read more »

US sinks Arctic accord due to climate change differences - diplomats

Simon Johnson, Reuters
Posted at May 07 09:56 PM

The United States has refused to sign an agreement on challenges in the Arctic due to discrepancies over climate change wording, diplomats said on Tuesday, jeopardizing cooperation in the polar region at the sharp edge of global warming.   Read more »

Beijing slams US warship sail-by in South China Sea

Agence France-Presse
Posted at May 06 10:36 PM

China said two US warships sailed near disputed islands in the South China Sea without permission on Monday in the latest US challenge to Beijing's territorial claims in the region. Read more »

Cracks appear in US bipartisan unity on Venezuela

Patricia Zengerle and Matt Spetalnick, Reuters
Posted at May 03 02:40 PM

WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump's tough approach to Venezuela has won broad support from both Republicans and Democrats in the U.S. Congress, but this rare display of bipartisan consensus is starting to show signs of strain as the crisis in the OPEC nation drags on. Read more »

Sexual assaults spike in US military, hit new record -Pentagon

Idrees Ali and Phil Stewart, Reuters
Posted at May 03 07:55 AM

The US Defense Department said on Thursday the estimated number of sexual assaults in the military climbed nearly 38 percent in 2018 compared with a survey 2 years earlier, data that critics say laid bare broken Pentagon promises of a crackdown. Read more »

US-China talks show progress on cloud computing: US Chamber official

Alexandra Alper and David Lawder, Reuters
Posted at May 03 07:25 AM

American negotiators locked in trade talks with China are likely to win more access to the country's cloud computing market than initially expected, but Chinese commitments to curb industrial subsidies will probably fall short of US demands, a US Chamber of Commerce official said on Thursday. Read more »

Ex-CIA officer pleads guilty to conspiring to spy for China

Reuters
Posted at May 02 01:30 PM

WASHINGTON - A former CIA officer has pleaded guilty to conspiring to pass U.S. defense and intelligence secrets to China, the Justice Department said on Wednesday, in the third such case in less than a year. Read more »

Russia calls US claim it told Venezuela's Maduro not to flee part of 'information war'

Reuters
Posted at May 01 06:45 PM

MOSCOW - Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday rejected a suggestion by Washington that it had persuaded Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro not to flee in the face of street protests, calling the assertion part of an information war. Read more »

US judge orders Chinese banks to hand over N. Korea records

Reuters
Posted at May 01 01:35 PM

WASHINGTON - A US district judge has ordered three Chinese banks to comply with US investigators' demands that they hand over records connected to the alleged movement of tens of millions of dollars in violation of international sanctions on North Korea. Read more »

China's vast fleet is tipping the balance in the Pacific

David Lague and Benjamin Kang Lim, Reuters
Posted at Apr 30 07:47 PM

TAIPEI - A generation ago, from mid-1995 into early 1996, China lobbed missiles in the waters around Taiwan as the self-governing island prepared to hold its first fully democratic presidential election. Washington forcefully intervened to support its ally, sending two aircraft carrier battle groups to patrol nearby. The carriers, then as now the spearhead of American power, intimidated Beijing. The vote went ahead. The missiles stopped. Read more »