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An island province in the Philippines likened by Hollywood A-listers as "Emerald City" and "the most beautiful place" on the planet has been named the world's best island yet again. Palawan first received the distinction in 2013 after being voted the "Best Island in the World" on international magazine Travel & Leisure. This year, Palawan topped the list with a score of 93.71. Voters described Palawan as “every beach lover’s dream destination.” Palawan is known for its crystal blue waters, amazing dive spots, and a plethora of picturesque views. No wonder the island paradise has drawn a string of Hollywood...

BEIJING has sent the US a message in the skies above the South China Sea: Anything you can do, we can do too. It’s just flown a nuclear-capable bomber over Scarborough Shoal. The United States has conducted several B-52 bomber ‘freedom of navigation’ flights over the contested waterway in recent months, along with flights by surveillance and patrol aircraft. Beijing on Friday returned the favour. The People’s Liberation air force (PLAAF) at the weekend released photographs of one of its newest H-6K long-range nuclear-capable bombers overflying Scarborough Shoal on China’s Weibo social media service. The aircraft, based on a 1950s...

Drug addicts in jail cells and dealers' bodies littering the streets: 60,000 people turn themselves in to authorities in the Philippines after the president tells citizens to 'go ahead and kill' drug users Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte, dubbed 'The Punisher', has waged a war on drugs throughout the country After winning elections in May this year he has urged citizens to kill suspected drug users and dealers Police have confirmed killing more than 110 drug suspects since the president came to power Communications Office Secretary Martin Andanar said 60,000 drug dependents have surrendered to authorities By Max Margan and Nelson...

The Latest on an international tribunal's ruling on the case filed by the Philippines against China's claims in the South China Sea (all times local): 5:05 p.m. Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen is indignant at the U.N. arbitration tribunal's decision to deny China — and Taiwan — their maritime claims in the South China Sea. Although rivals, self-ruled Taiwan and China share the same territorial claims, pitting them against other claimants, chiefly the Philippines and Vietnam. The U.N. arbitration tribunal ruled in favor of the Philippines and said that the biggest feature in the Spratly Islands — Taiwanese-controlled Taiping or Itu...

If you'd randomly turned on a TV in Manila early evening yesterday, you'd probably have caught a rather dour gentleman named Perfecto Yasay telling viewers "restraint and sobriety" were the most important requirements of the moment. Without any other context, you might have thought he was delivering a eulogy. Maybe after some kind of upsetting murder, or after the country's notorious death squads ran amok. But Yasay is the Philippine Foreign Secretary, and he was delivering his country's first official response to a ruling on his country's challenge of China's claim to pretty much all of the South China Sea.

CITY OF MALOLOS—Policemen appear to have become targets of a wave of vigilantism across the country. The body of PO3 Michael Lee Manalad of the Malolos police was found on Thursday morning on a grassy knoll in the City of Meycauayan, strapped with the sign, “Pulis na pusher ’wag tularan (This policeman is a pusher. Do not emulate).” Manalad was in uniform when residents found him in Ubihan village at 12:47 a.m. His pockets contained sachets of suspected shabu (methamphetamine hydrochloride). A native of Basilan province, Manalad served in the mobile patrol unit of the Malolos police. Police said they...

Representatives of the trust which runs Pilgrim Hospital have travelled to the Philippines in a bid to fill nursing vacancies. Matron of Nursing at Pilgrim Hospital, Michael Brunton, was in the team from United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust (ULHT) who travelled to the islands on a 12-day trip to recruit registered nurses. The team returned having made 85 job offers to nurses, who it is hoped will fill vacancies at Boston,and the rest in Lincoln and 
Grantham The hospital currently has 92 vacancies for registered nurses. Interim Head of Nursing at Grantham Hospital John Boulton said the visit had been...

China is ready to start negotiations with the Philippines on South China Sea-related issues if Manila ignores an arbitration ruling expected next week on their long-running territorial dispute, the official China Daily reported on Monday.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Friday urged communist rebels to start killing drug traffickers, adding another layer to a controversial war on crime in which he has warned thousands will die.

They're 12 hours ahead of usTotal clip about twenty minutes

Indonesia is concerned that piracy in the Sulu Sea area, a major sea traffic corridor for the world's top thermal coal exporter, could reach levels previously seen in Somalia. "The moratorium on coal exports to the Philippines will be extended until there is a guarantee for security from the Philippines government," Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi told reporters. Indonesia supplies 70 percent of the Philippines' coal import needs, which Indonesian data shows stood at about 15 million tonnes, worth around $800 million, last year. Analysts say $40 billion worth of cargo passes through the Sulu Sea area a year, including...

The so-called Islamic State, or ISIS, released a video early on Wednesday in an attempt to recruit radical fighters in the Philippines and neighboring countries. Rita Katz, director of SITE Intelligence Group tracking the activities of ISIS, said the video targeting the Philippines was in five languages: Arabic, English, Filipino, Indonesian and Malay. Screenshots of the video taken by the agency show Filipino, Indonesian and Malaysian fighters urging their countrymen to join their ranks in Syria. But for those who could not reach the Middle East, the group also gave them an alternative. “If you can’t get to Syria, ‘join...

The US Navy is making its presence known in the heavily disputed South China Sea. It recently deployed two aircraft carriers along with about 140 aircraft and additional ships to conduct training exercises. This action comes as China and the Philippines await a decision from The Hague about whether or not the former can legally claim sovereignty over the South China Sea.

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A London-based advocacy group said Monday it documented 185 killings of environmental activists around the world last year, nearly 60 percent more than in 2014 and the highest since it began collecting data dating back to 2002. In a newly released report, Global Witness said Brazil topped the 16-country list with 50 environmental defenders slain in 2015, followed by the Philippines with 33 and Colombia with 26. The group says 116 were slain worldwide in 2014. Last year “was the deadliest year on record for killings of land and environmental defenders — people struggling to protect their land, forests and...

A small group of Islamist militants in the Philippines, known as Abu Sayyaf, has beheaded a second Canadian hostage in two months, authorities said Tuesday. “We strongly condemn the brutal and senseless murder of Mr. Robert Hall, a Canadian national, after being held captive by the Abu Sayyaf group in Sulu for the past nine months,” Herminio Coloma, a representative for the Philippines President Benigno Aquino, said in a statement, according to AFP. A head believed to belong to Hall, 58, was found Monday on an island near an Abu Sayyaf outpost.

If the 2016 presidential election in the United States is seen as a circus, then other countries around the world must be ready to join it. Across the globe, political groups teetering on the extreme are gaining public support. Much like as in the rise of Donald Trump in the U.S., local populations are seemingly fed up with current governance. The latest victim of this movement is the Philippines with its election of Rodrigo Duterte to its presidency. With just over 25 percent of its population living in poverty and a noticeable inequality gap, it is no wonder that resentment...

ZAMBOANGA CITY – A decapitated head was found in Jolo, Sulu, on Monday night, more than five hours after the Abu Sayyaf claimed it beheaded one of its captives—Canadian Robert Hall.

MANILA, Philippines – President-elect Rodrigo Duterte is considering implementing martial law in Sulu, Basilan and the entire Sulu Archipelago in an attempt to eliminate the Abu Sayyaf Group. The terrorist group has continually engaged in high-profile kidnappings throughout the southern regions of the Philippines – often abducting business owners and foreigners. Recently the group has begun decapitating its captives after ransom demands are not met. Duterte told reporters during his pre-election campaign that he would not hesitate to invade Sulu if the Abu Sayyaf Group does not surrender to his demands. ...

This case is unusual as it is rare for an Admiral to even face criminal proceedings Source: http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/San-Diego-Navy-Admiral-Guilty-Plea-Navy-Bribery-Scheme-382400401.html#ixzz4B8MhpHYZ Follow us: @nbcsandiego on Twitter | NBCSanDiego on Facebook A rear admiral in the U.S. Navy plead guilty to one felony charge in connection with a multi-million dollar bribery scheme that has led to the arrest or imprisonment of more than a dozen U.S. Navy officers and Pentagon employees. Rear Admiral Robert J. Gilbeau appeared in court Thursday in the downtown San Diego federal courthouse. Gilbeau entered a change of plea to one count of providing false statements to federal investigators and...