News

US-China divisions take center stage at APEC summit

Tom Westbrook, Charlotte Greenfield and Philip Wen, Reuters
Posted at Nov 17 02:08 PM

The United States and China swapped barbs over trade, investment and regional security at an Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit on Saturday, as growing fault lines among members suggested little prospect of consensus at the weekend meeting. Read more »

California searches for 1,000 missing in its deadliest fire

Terray Sylvester, Reuters
Updated as of Nov 17 11:41 AM

PARADISE, California - Recovery teams with cadaver dogs pressed on with their search for more victims in a flame-ravaged northern California town on Friday as authorities sought clues to the fate of more than 1,000 people reported missing in the deadliest wildfire in state history. Read more »

Balangiga bells to be refurbished before return to PH: envoy

ABS-CBN News
Updated as of Nov 16 05:51 PM

The United States will first refurbish the historic bells of Balangiga before returning these to the Philippines. Read more »

Pence says South China Sea doesn't belong to any one nation

Reuters
Posted at Nov 16 11:39 AM

US Vice President Mike Pence said on Friday the South China Sea does not belong to any one nation and the United States will continue to sail and fly wherever international law allows, comments sure to rile China which claims the strategic sea route. Read more »

North Korea's Kim inspects testing of newly developed 'tactical' weapon - KCNA

Reuters
Posted at Nov 16 07:20 AM

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspected the testing of a newly developed tactical weapon, calling it "another display of our rapidly-growing defense capabilities to the whole region," North Korean state media said on Friday. Read more »

U.S. formally returns historic Balangiga Bells to PH

ABS-CBN News
Posted at Nov 15 11:20 PM

The historic bells of Balangiga are officially coming home to the Philippines following a formal turn over ceremony in the United States.  Read more »

Duterte 'laughs' at reminder to fly to US after return of Balangiga bells: Locsin

ABS-CBN News
Updated as of Nov 15 04:54 PM

President Rodrigo Duterte "laughed" and "smiled" when he was told that he might have to fly to the United States after Washington agreed to return the Balangiga Bells to the Philippines earlier this week, a Cabinet official said Thursday. Read more »

Pence: Trump to meet North Korea's Kim in 2019, won't allow broken promises

John Geddie, Reuters
Posted at Nov 15 03:10 PM

US Vice President Mike Pence said on Thursday President Donald Trump plans to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in the new year but won't repeat past mistakes of allowing promises to be broken on pledges to end arms programs. Read more »

At least 56 killed, 130 missing in California's deadliest wildfire

Terray Sylvester, Reuters
Posted at Nov 15 02:08 PM

National Guard troops joined the grim search on Wednesday for more victims in the ruins of an incinerated northern California town while the death toll climbed to 56 in the most deadly and destructive wildfire in the state's history. Read more »

'Balangiga Bells, posibleng maibalik sa Pilipinas sa Disyembre'

ABS-CBN News
Updated as of Nov 15 08:50 PM

Matapos ang higit isang siglo, pormal nang isasauli ng Estados Unidos sa Pilipinas ang pagmamay-ari sa Balangiga Bells, na tinangay ng mga Amerikanong sundalo noong 1901.  Read more »

US lawmaker says Facebook cannot be trusted to regulate itself

Reuters
Posted at Nov 15 10:59 AM

Democratic US Representative David Cicilline, expected to become the next chairman of House Judiciary Committee's antitrust panel, said on Wednesday that Facebook Inc cannot be trusted to regulate itself and Congress should take action. Read more »

Pence says 'empire and aggression' have no place in Indo-Pacific

Reuters
Posted at Nov 15 10:43 AM

US Vice President Mike Pence told leaders of Southeast Asian nations on Thursday that there is no place for "empire and aggression" in the Indo-Pacific region, a comment that may be widely interpreted as a reference to China's rise. Read more »

Church ready for return of Balangiga bells, says Quitorio

ABS-CBN News
Updated as of Nov 15 01:04 PM

MANILA - The Saint Lawrence church, which originally housed the Balangiga bells before they were taken by American soldiers in 1901 as war booty, is ready to receive the relics.  Read more »

Pence presses Myanmar's Suu Kyi to pardon Reuters journalists-official

Reuters
Posted at Nov 14 06:21 PM

US Vice President Mike Pence pressed Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi "multiple times" on Wednesday to pardon 2 Reuters journalists jailed in her country, a senior White House official said. Read more »

Deadly 'megafires' the new normal in California

Andrew Hay, Reuters
Posted at Nov 14 09:56 AM

Paradise, California had long prepared for wildfires but only in its worst nightmares did it imagine the kind of "megafire" that last week destroyed most of the town and is becoming a common occurrence in the state. Read more »

U.S. begins process of returning Balangiga bells to PH

ABS-CBN News
Posted at Nov 13 10:45 PM

After more than a century, the Balangiga Church bells, which were taken by the US Army during the Philippine-American war, are home-bound. Read more »

No specific date yet for repatriation of Balangiga Bells, US Embassy says

ABS-CBN News
Posted at Nov 13 06:58 PM

The United States government has yet to set a "specific date" for the repatriation of 2 Balangiga Bells that were taken as war booties from Eastern Samar during the Philippine-American war, the US embassy here said Tuesday. Read more »

Oil falls after Trump urges OPEC not to cut supply

Christopher Johnson, Reuters
Posted at Nov 13 06:34 PM

Oil prices fell more than 1 percent on Tuesday, with benchmark Brent crude slipping below $70 per barrel and US crude under $60, after US President Donald Trump put pressure on OPEC not to cut supply to prop up the market. Read more »

Balangiga Bells, 'pauwi na' sa Pilipinas

ABS-CBN News
Updated as of Nov 13 07:53 PM

Sinimulan na ng Estados Unidos ang prosesong magbabalik sa Pilipinas ng tatlong Balangiga Bells na kinuha ng mga Amerikanong sundalo mula sa simbahan ng Eastern Samar noong 1901 Philippine-American War.  Read more »

Why US agreed to return Balangiga Bells after a century

ABS-CBN News
Updated as of Nov 13 07:13 PM

A change in "approach" about the significance of the Balangiga Bells was key in the return of war booty to the Philippines, a Filipino military professor involved in the repatriation of the items said Tuesday. Read more »