Author: Elizabeth Jenrola Oso

Thousands of people are expected to take to the streets of Manila on Sunday in a large-scale protest against alleged corruption in government-funded flood control projects. The demonstration, dubbed the “Trillion Peso March”, is named after a Greenpeace estimate that $17.6bn (£14bn) was misappropriated from climate-related projects in 2023. Organisers say the protest will highlight public anger over so-called “ghost” infrastructure schemes and the misuse of public funds. The date of the protest, 21 September, carries historical significance in the Philippines. It marks the anniversary of the day in 1972 when then-president Ferdinand Marcos declared martial law, ushering in a…

Indonesia will prohibit the construction of new hotels, restaurants and other commercial facilities on cleared rice fields and productive agricultural land in Bali, following the island’s worst flooding in more than a decade, which left at least 18 people dead. The ban, announced by Bali’s governor, Wayan Koster, comes after torrential rains triggered flash floods that swept through large parts of the island earlier this month. A state of emergency was declared on 10 September as floodwaters inundated homes, public buildings and infrastructure, displacing thousands of residents in Denpasar and surrounding districts. Environmental groups have long warned that the rapid…

President Donald Trump has suggested that television networks which cover him “negatively” could face government action, as controversy continues over ABC’s suspension of late-night host Jimmy Kimmel. Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on his return from a state visit to the United Kingdom, Trump claimed that major US networks were “97% against me”, though he offered no evidence for the figure, saying only that he had “read it someplace”. “Again, 97% negative, and yet I won easily. I won all seven swing states,” he said. “They give me only bad press. I mean they’re getting a licence. I…

The United States is attempting to regain control of Bagram airbase from the Taliban, President Donald Trump has said, in a move to reclaim a key strategic asset relinquished during the withdrawal from Afghanistan. Speaking at a joint press conference with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer at Chequers on Thursday, the president confirmed that negotiations were under way with the Taliban for American forces to reoccupy the site, once the largest US military installation in Afghanistan. He described Bagram as an important regional foothold due to its proximity to China. “One of the biggest airbases in the world. We gave…

Europeans whose sex characteristics do not fit typical definitions of male or female are facing a sharp and “alarming” increase in violence, according to the EU’s leading human rights body. Findings published on Tuesday by the Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) are based on responses from 1,920 people in 30 European countries who identify as intersex, a term covering those with innate variations in sex characteristics, including individuals who identify as trans, non-binary or gender diverse. The survey revealed that rates of violence and harassment against intersex people have risen steeply since 2019, particularly among those identifying as trans, non-binary…

The French president, Emmanuel Macron, and his wife, Brigitte, intend to present scientific evidence in a United States court to refute claims that the First Lady was born male, their lawyer has confirmed.

The families of four victims who perished in the Air India Flight 171 disaster have filed a lawsuit in the United States against aerospace giants Boeing and Honeywell, alleging negligence and a defective fuel cutoff switch contributed to the crash that claimed 260 lives. The aircraft, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, went down shortly after departing Ahmedabad for London on 12 June. The complaint, lodged on Tuesday in Delaware Superior Court, asserts that the locking mechanism for the fuel cutoff switch could be inadvertently disengaged or entirely absent, leading to a loss of fuel supply and thrust during takeoff. Boeing, which…

For now, Federal Reserve officials appear more focused on stabilising the labour market.

Donald Trump’s Aberdeenshire golf resort has breached sewage contamination limits on 14 occasions since 2019, according to documents released by the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (Sepa). The Trump International Golf Links, located on the Menie estate north of Aberdeen, comprises a 36-hole course, a five-star hotel, a whisky bar and two restaurants. The site operates a private sewage system that treats wastewater before discharging it into the ground via gravel beds in raised filter mounds. Groundwater samples taken from the site revealed repeated breaches of contamination thresholds, including four incidents in 2024 and one in the first half of this…

Former US President Barack Obama has denounced political violence in the wake of the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, describing the country as being “at an inflection point” Speaking at the Jefferson Educational Society in Erie, Pennsylvania, on Tuesday, Obama said that while political violence was “not new” in American history, it remained “anathema to what it means to be a democratic country”. Addressing the killings of Mr Kirk and Minnesota lawmaker Melissa Hortman earlier this year, Obama called both incidents “a tragedy” and criticised President Donald Trump for deepening national divisions rather than seeking unity. “There are no…