Beijing — China has published baselines for a contested shoal in the South China Sea it seized from the Philippines, a move that's likely to increase tensions over overlapping territorial claims. The Foreign Ministry on Sunday posted online geographic coordinates for the baselines around Scarborough Shoal. A nation's territorial waters and exclusive economic zone are typically defined as the distance from the baselines. Both China and the Philippines claim Scarborough Shoal and other outcroppings in the South China Sea. China seized the shoal, which lies west of the main Philippine island of Luzon, in 2012 and has since restricted access to Filipino fishermen there. A 2016 ruling by an international arbitration court found that most Chinese claims in the South China Sea were invalid but Beijing refuses to abide by it. Ships from China and the Philippines have collided several times as part of increased confrontations, and the Chinese coast guard has blasted Philippine vessels with water cannons. China's move came two days after Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. signed two laws demarcating the government's claims in the disputed waters. A Chinese Foreign Ministry statement said that the delimiting of the baselines was in accordance with a U.N. agreement and Chinese law. "This is a natural step by the Chinese government to lawfully strengthen marine management and is consistent with international law and common practices," it said. The statement added that one of the laws signed by Marcos, the Philippine Maritime Zones Act, violates China's sovereignty in the South China Sea. "China firmly opposes it and will continue to do everything necessary in accordance with law to firmly defend its territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests," the Foreign Ministry said. China stakes claim to almost the entirety of the South China Sea. It has a series of disputes with several Southeast Asian nations including the Philippines and Vietnam over territory in the waters, which are part of a key shipping route in Asia.

MANILA, Philippines — A new typhoon barreled across an agricultural region in the northeastern Philippines on Monday after thousands were evacuated to safety while still struggling to recover from the devastation caused by three successive storms in the last three weeks. Typhoon Toraji slammed into northeastern Aurora province and was forecast to blow over the mountainous Luzon region, where President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. — just the day before — inspected the damage from the last storm and led the distribution of food packs to residents in Cagayan and Ilocos provinces. Marcos skipped this week's Asia-Pacific Cooperation forum in Peru to oversee recovery efforts from back-to-back storms. After making landfall in Aurora on Monday morning with sustained winds of up to 130 kilometers (81 miles) per hour and gusts of up to 180 kph (112 mph), the typhoon was expected to barrel northwestward across Luzon, weaken as it crosses a mountain range and then blow into the South China Sea. Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla on Sunday ordered the forcible evacuation of people in 2,500 villages expected to be lashed by Toraji, locally named Nika, warning that the rain-soaked Luzon mountains, valleys and plains were more susceptible to flash floods and landslides. With the typhoon approaching fast, there was little time to move large numbers of people to safety, he said. "We understand if some would want to stay, but we have to get them out," Remulla told reporters. The military said its disaster-response forces have been deployed near high-risk areas and were standing by for new contingencies. It added that it suspended combat drills in the north due to the weather. "Our commitment remains steadfast in safeguarding and assisting our countrymen specially in times of disaster," Armed Forces of the Philippines spokesperson Col. Francel Margareth Padilla said. Schools were shut down, inter-island ferry services and domestic flights were suspended in provinces in or near the path of the typhoon, the 14th weather disturbance to batter the Philippine archipelago this year. Forecasters said they were monitoring another brewing storm in the Pacific that could affect the country if it strengthens. The last two typhoons and a tropical storm caused more than 160 deaths, damaged thousands of houses and farmlands and affected more than 9 million people, including hundreds of thousands who fled to emergency shelters, after dumping from one to two months' worth of rain in just 24 hours in some cities and towns. Overwhelmed, the Philippines received help from Southeast Asian countries led by Singapore, along with longtime treaty ally the United States, to transport food, water and other aid to hard-hit northern provinces. The Philippine archipelago is often battered by typhoons and earthquakes and has more than a dozen active volcanoes, making it one of the most natural disaster-prone countries in the world. In 2013, Typhoon Haiyan, one of the strongest recorded tropical cyclones, left more than 7,300 people dead or missing, flattened entire villages and caused ships to run aground and smash into houses in the central Philippines.

TAIPEI, TAIWAN — Taiwanese businessman Robert Tsao said on Monday he would sue in a Taiwan court senior Chinese officials over sanctions they had placed on him, saying he was seeking to counter China's intimidation of lawful activity. China, which claims Taiwan as its own territory, last month said it would punish and sanction Tsao, the retired founder of chipmaker UMC, for alleged criminal and pro-Taiwan independence activities. China's Taiwan Affairs Office said the "Black Bear Academy" that Tsao has helped fund was seeking to incite separatism that would endanger cross-strait ties. Tsao, one of Taiwan's richest men who has pledged to provide millions to two civilian defense training programs, told a press conference that China was threatening the lawful holding of political views in Taiwan, and his personal safety. The lawsuit will be lodged in a Taipei court against Song Tao, head of China's Taiwan Affairs Office, and also the office's spokesperson Chen Binhua. Taiwan courts have no jurisdiction in China and senior Chinese officials do not visit the island. China's Taiwan Affairs Office did not respond to a request for comment. Cheng Wen-lung, one of Tsao's lawyers, said they understood that neither Song nor Chen would come to Taiwan and there would be no way of enforcing any judgment, but the case was about sending a message to Beijing, given it has been seeking to use legal means to put pressure on Taiwanese persons it does not like. "Legally, we have to do this," Cheng said. "Taiwan is in a difficult spot, but we have to work hard. You cannot not do anything." Tsao's team is also looking at suing in a U.S. court under that country's Alien Tort Claims Act. China's announcement against Tsao came as the country's military staged a day of war games around Taiwan it said were a warning to "separatist acts." Taiwan's government rejects Beijing's sovereignty claims. UMC says Tsao has nothing to do with the company any longer having retired a decade ago.

HONG KONG — Merchants and consumers alike found the Singles' Day shopping festival Monday less shiny than in years past as e-commerce firms look abroad for growth. The annual event named by the numeric form of its Nov. 11 date was started by e-commerce platform Alibaba, which offered attractive discounts to entice shoppers to spend big. The extravaganza has since expanded to other platforms like JD.com and Pinduoduo in China as well as abroad. While Singles’ Day was previously a one-day event, shopping platforms in China now kickstart the festival weeks ahead to drum up sales volume. The festival has also traditionally been regarded as a barometer of consumer sentiment. But amid China’s lagging domestic economy, dragged down by a real estate crisis and deflationary pressures, consumers no longer go all out on purchases during the shopping extravaganza. “I only spent a few hundred yuan on daily necessities,” said Wang Haihua, who owns a fitness center in Beijing. Wang said that the prices offered on e-commerce platforms during Singles’ Day are not necessarily cheaper than usual. “They’re all tricks and we’ve seen through it over the years,” she said. Zhang Jiewei, a 34-year-old who runs a barber shop in Xi’an city, echoed Wang’s sentiments, saying that he no longer trust Singles’ Day promotions as some merchants tend to raise the usual price of a product before offering a discount, giving consumers the illusion they are getting a deal. “I used to buy a lot two or three years ago and I even purchased a mobile phone (during Singles’ Day),” he said. “I stopped doing that following the pandemic because of less income. I am not going to buy anything this year,” Zhang added. Some experts say that Beijing’s recent stimulus measures have had little impact to boost consumer confidence. “People are not interested in spending and are cutting back on big-ticket items,” said Shaun Rein, founder and managing director of China Market Research Group in Shanghai. “Since October 2022, the weak economy means that everything has been on discount year-round, 11.11 is not going to bring in more discounts that the month before.” Rein said he expects low growth for the Singles’ Day shopping festival as consumers tighten their spending in anticipation of difficult economic times ahead. Categories such as sportswear and fitness, however, have been doing well as customers “trade down a Gucci bag for Lululemon sportswear,” he said. Platforms like JD.com and Alibaba, which operates e-commerce platforms Taobao and Tmall, previously used to publish the value of transactions made during the festival, but have since stopped revealing the total figure. While yearly growth used to be in the double digits, estimates of recent figures have dwindled to low single-digit growth. Syntun, a data provider, estimated that last year’s gross merchandising volume sales across major e-commerce platforms grew just 2% to $156.40 billion, a far cry from double-digit growth before COVID-19. Merchants who typically take part in the Singles’ Day shopping festivals say the costs of participation no longer pay off, amid high advertising fees and unsatisfactory sales. Zhao Gao, who owns a garment factory in eastern Zhejiang province, said that after paying advertising costs to e-commerce platforms he would only break even after sales. “The platforms have so many rules for promotions and customers have become more skeptical,” he said. “As a merchant, I no longer participate in the Singles’ Day promotions.” Another merchant, Du Baonian who runs a food company processing mutton in Inner Mongolia, said that overall sales in the past year have fallen 15% as consumers downgraded and reduced consumption. Du said that while he still takes part in the Singles’ Day promotions, the higher expenses do not typically generate returns because of sluggish sales. “We are seeing shrinking revenue, but advertisement on the platform can help us to maintain our leading sales position,” he said, adding that he was considering advertising on more e-commerce platforms to target more consumers. Meanwhile, e-commerce platforms grappling with a slowing domestic market have also turned to overseas markets to seek new growth, offering promotions like global free shipping and allowing merchants to sell globally with ease. Alibaba, for example, said in a blog post on its Alizila site that some 70,000 merchants saw sales double with global free shipping. In markets like Singapore and Hong Kong, new customers also doubled, Alibaba said.

Ukraine abandoned its constitutional neutrality to pursue EU and NATO membership only in 2019, years after Russia annexed Crimea and backed pro-Russia separatists in Donbas. NATO considered Ukraine’s membership after Moscow invaded Georgia, starting a war in Europe.

On June 25, 2018 I woke up to yet another social media trend – a news story with the bold and quite salacious headline “How Safe Are Customer Deposits At FCMB?” had taken over the digital airwaves. Between the shares and likes and comments, a storm in a cup had brewed to great proportions in […]

The Worrisome Trend of Sensational Social Media “Journalism” and the Impact On Legitimate Business Concerns: Recent Travails of FCMB, GTBank and First Bank

FCMB Bank (UK) Limited, an independently incorporated subsidiary of First City Monument Bank Limited (which is a member of FCMB Group Plc), has introduced its Personal and Business banking proposition in London, United Kingdom and Lagos, Nigeria at an impressive ceremony attended by the top echelon of the business community within and from outside the […]

FCMB Bank (UK) Limited Launches Personal and Business Banking Proposition to Deepen Inclusiveness

While Ukraine was on high alert for air attacks on Monday, the country’s top military commander said tens of thousands of Russian troops were ready to advance on the Kursk region. "Following the order of their military leadership, they are trying to dislodge our troops and advance deep into the territory we control," Ukraine’s General Oleksandr Syrskyi wrote on the Telegram messaging app. Ukraine launched an incursion into Kursk in August, taking control of a number of towns and villages in the border region. Meanwhile, at least six people were killed in air attacks in southern Ukraine – five in Mykolaiv and one in Zaporizhzhia, where a residential building was destroyed, regional governors reported. At least a dozen people were injured in Zaporizhzhia, including five children between the ages of 4 and 17. Earlier, the Ukrainian air force put the nation on high alert for a large-scale missile attack, reporting that a large number of bombers were taking off from Russia and heading to Ukraine. "The air alert is related to the launch of cruise missiles from Tu-95MS strategic bombers," the air force said on its Telegram channels. Power was cut to prevent further damage from attacks, and people were encouraged to seek shelter – including in Kyiv’s metro stations. But by 0630 GMT the missiles had not arrived. According to some Ukrainian military bloggers, the Russian bombers performed flights imitating the launch of missiles, Reuters reported. Report: Trump urges Putin not to escalate The Washington Post and Reuters reported that U.S. President-elect Donald Trump spoke to Russian leader Vladimir Putin and urged him not to escalate the war in Ukraine. Trump, calling from his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida on Thursday, reminded Putin of America's sizable military presence in Europe, the Washington Post reported. Sources familiar with the call told the newspaper Trump expressed an interest in further conversations to discuss "the resolution of Ukraine's war soon." Steven Cheung, Trump's communications director, did not confirm the exchange, saying in a written statement to AFP that "we do not comment on private calls between President Trump and other world leaders." The Kremlin on Monday denied that the conversation took place, and said Putin had no concrete plans to speak to Trump. "This is completely untrue. This is pure fiction, it's just false information," Reuters reported Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. "There was no conversation." Information from Reuters and Agence France-Presse was included in this report.  

warsaw, poland — Polish President Andrzej Duda marked Independence Day on Monday with a call for sustained U.S. commitment to Europe's security in view of Russian aggression in the region and argued that Ukraine's pre-2014 borders should be restored. Weighing on the minds of many is the war across Poland's border in Ukraine, and an expectation that Donald Trump's return to the White House will bring a change in the security situation in the region. Some fear Trump could end the U.S. commitment to NATO or make a deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin that could result in a permanent loss of territory for Ukraine and encourage Russia to attack other nations. Others believe Trump could persuade Putin to stop the fighting. Duda, who has had friendly relations with Trump, said in a speech in Warsaw that Europe will continue to need U.S. protection. “It is a pipe dream — as some people think — that Europe can ensure its own security today,” Duda said. He emphasized that the security guarantees of successive U.S. presidents are extremely important in times of resurgent Russian imperialism. “Today we have no doubts that for the security of Europe and the world, it is necessary to strengthen Euro-Atlantic ties,” Duda said. He said the territorial integrity of all countries, especially Ukraine, should be respected and it “must return to its borders from before the Russian attack, not only the one in 2022 but also the first one, in 2014." Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula in 2014 and launched its full-scale invasion in 2022. Later in a news conference, Duda said he had spoken to Trump and that they would meet before the inauguration in January. Duda spoke as Poland marked the 106th anniversary of its restored independence at the end of World War I after more than a century of being partitioned and ruled by Russia, Germany and Austro-Hungary. The date of Nov. 11 carries powerful weight for a nation where the trauma of losing national sovereignty endures. In Warsaw, tens of thousands of people took part in a march organized by nationalist groups that has sometimes seen violent clashes in past years but passed without major incident Monday. Organizers estimated turnout at 250,000 while city hall put it at 90,000. Police said they detained 75 people and seized banned items from participants, including pyrotechnic materials, knives, telescopic batons and brass knuckles. Jaroslaw Kaczynski, leader of the conservative Law and Justice party, which governed Poland from 2015-2023 and is seeking a comeback, joined the march with other party members.

North Korea troops have begun fighting alongside Russians, a U.S. State Department spokesman said during a briefing on Tuesday. "Over 10,000 DPRK (North Korean) soldiers have been sent to eastern Russia, and most of them have moved to the far western Kursk Oblast, where they have begun engaging in combat operations with Russian forces," spokesperson Vedant Patel told reporters. A day earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukrainian troops were facing 50,000 troops, including 11,000 North Korean troops deployed by Russia to its Kursk region, although Moscow will neither confirm nor deny their involvement. U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke Tuesday with his Ukrainian counterpart Rustem Umerov “to discuss battlefield dynamics and provide an update on U.S. security assistance” for the Eastern European country, according to Pentagon press secretary Major General Pat Ryder. Ryder said, "the secretary reaffirmed President [Joe] Biden's commitment to surge security assistance to Ukraine." The Pentagon also clarified the amount of money that remains available for Ukraine's military assistance. There is about $7.1 billion left in the Presidential Drawdown Authority, which includes $4.3 billion approved by Congress in April, plus $2.8 billion that became available after recalculations. Additionally, there is about $2.2 billion available under the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative program. Ryder again underscored that the U.S. would rush aid to Ukraine and use all available funds. Ryder said the two defense leaders also talked about the implications of the thousands of North Korean troops now assessed to be mostly in western Kursk Oblast. Airstrike kills mother, children A Russia airstrike on Ukrainian President Zelenskyy’s hometown killed a mother and her three children and left 14 people wounded, officials said Tuesday. Interior Minister Igor Klymenko said rescue and recovery operations were complete after the residential building in Kryvyi Rig was hit a day earlier. The office of the prosecutor general said a 32-year-old woman and children who were 10 years, 2 years and 2 months old were killed. In Russia’s Belgorod region, a Ukrainian drone attack started a fire at an oil depot, regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov posted on the Telegram messaging app. He said a tank caught fire and 10 fire crews responded in the Starkooskolsky District near the Ukrainian border. The Russian defense ministry also said 13 Ukrainian drones were destroyed overnight, all in regions bordering Ukraine. Ukraine’s air force said it shot down 46 Russian drones overnight. In addition, Ukrainian’s military was “holding back a fairly large grouping of Russian troops – 50,000 of the occupier’s army personnel,” in the Kursk region, Zelenskyy said in his address to the nation Monday. “Our forces' strikes on Russian arsenals have reduced the amount of artillery used by the occupier, and this is noticeable at the front. That is why we need decisions from our partners – America, Britain, Germany – on long-range capabilities,” Zelenskyy said. “This is vital. The further our missiles and drones can hit, the less real combat capability Russia will have.” North Korea defense pact The forces in Kursk include 11,000 North Korean troops deployed by Russia to Kursk, Zelenskyy has said, although Moscow will neither confirm nor deny their involvement. State media in North Korea reported that country ratified a defense agreement with Russia on Tuesday, formalizing months of deepening security ties. The deal "was ratified as a decree" of leader Kim Jong Un, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said Tuesday. The notice comes after Russian lawmakers voted unanimously last week to ratify the deal, which President Vladimir Putin later signed. "The treaty will take effect from the day when both sides exchanged the ratification instruments," KCNA said. Putin and Kim signed the strategic pact in June, during Putin’s visit to North Korea. Material from The Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse was used in this report.

Germany's main political parties have agreed to hold a general election in February, following the collapse of the ruling coalition government earlier this month. As Henry Ridgwell reports, the vote could have big implications for Ukrainian military aid — just as Europe prepares for U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's second term.

Manila, Philippines — Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said the International Criminal Court (ICC) should 'hurry up' with its probe of his war on drugs, remaining firm in his defense of the brutal campaign as he said the investigation should start immediately. "I'm asking the ICC to hurry up, and if possible, they can come here and start the investigation tomorrow," Duterte said in a congressional inquiry on his war on drugs. "If I am found guilty, I will go to prison." According to police data, more than 6,200 people died in anti-drug operations under Duterte's presidency, during which police typically said they had killed suspects in self-defense. Human rights groups believe the real toll to be far greater, with thousands more users and small-time peddlers killed in mysterious circumstances by unknown assailants. "I assume full responsibility for whatever happened in the actions taken by law enforcement agencies of this country to... stop the serious problem of drugs affecting our people," said Duterte, who served as president from 2016 to 2022. The ICC last year cleared the way for an investigation into the several thousand deaths and other suspected rights abuses. The Philippines withdrew from the ICC in March 2019. Appeals judges at the ICC subsequently ruled prosecutors still had jurisdiction over the alleged crimes because they occurred when the Philippines was an ICC member.

Canada announced Wednesday it won't block access to the popular video-sharing app TikTok but is ordering the dissolution of its Canadian business after a national security review of the Chinese company behind it. Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne said it is meant to address risks related to ByteDance Ltd.'s establishment of TikTok Technology Canada Inc. "The government is not blocking Canadians' access to the TikTok application or their ability to create content. The decision to use a social media application or platform is a personal choice," Champagne said. Champagne said it is important for Canadians to adopt good cybersecurity practices, including protecting their personal information. He said the dissolution order was made in accordance with the Investment Canada Act, which allows for the review of foreign investments that may harm Canada's national security. He said the decision was based on information and evidence collected over the course of the review and on the advice of Canada's security and intelligence community and other government partners. A TikTok spokesperson said in a statement that the shutdown of its Canadian offices will mean the loss of hundreds of local jobs. "We will challenge this order in court," the spokesperson said. "The TikTok platform will remain available for creators to find an audience, explore new interests and for businesses to thrive." TikTok is wildly popular with young people, but its Chinese ownership has raised fears that Beijing could use it to collect data on Western users or push pro-China narratives and misinformation. TikTok is owned by ByteDance, a Chinese company that moved its headquarters to Singapore in 2020. TikTok faces intensifying scrutiny from Europe and America over security and data privacy. It comes as China and the West are locked in a wider tug of war over technology ranging from spy balloons to computer chips. Canada previously banned TikTok from all government-issued mobile devices. TikTok has two offices in Canada, one in Toronto and one in Vancouver. Michael Geist, Canada research chair in Internet and E-commerce Law at the University of Ottawa, said in a blog post that "banning the company rather than the app may actually make matters worse since the risks associated with the app will remain but the ability to hold the company accountable will be weakened." Canada's move comes a day after the election in the United States of Donald Trump. In June, Trump joined TikTok, a platform he once tried to ban while in the White House. It has about 170 million users in the U.S. Trump tried to ban TikTok through an executive order that said "the spread in the United States of mobile applications developed and owned" by Chinese companies was a national security threat. The courts blocked the action after TikTok sued. Both the U.S. FBI and the Federal Communications Commission have warned that ByteDance could share user data such as browsing history, location and biometric identifiers with China's government. TikTok said it has never done that and would not, if asked. Trump said earlier this year that he still believes TikTok posed a national security risk, but was opposed to banning it. U.S. President Joe Biden signed legislation in April that would force ByteDance to sell the app to a U.S. company within a year or face a national ban. It's not clear whether that law will survive a legal challenge filed by TikTok or that ByteDance would agree to sell.

BUENOS AIRES — Three people have been charged in connection with the death of Liam Payne, a former member of musical group One Direction who died after falling from the balcony of his hotel room in Buenos Aires last month, Argentine prosecutors said Thursday. Prosecutor Andrés Madrea charged the three suspects, whose identities were not revealed, with the crimes of "abandonment of a person followed by death" and "supplying and facilitating the use of narcotics," the prosecutor's office said. Madrea also requested their arrest to judge Laura Bruniard, who ruled the three cannot leave the country. Payne fell from his room's balcony on the third floor of his hotel in the upscale neighborhood of Palermo, in the Argentine capital. His autopsy said he died from multiple injuries and external bleeding. Prosecutors also said that Payne's toxicological exams showed that his body had "traces of alcohol, cocaine and a prescribed antidepressant" in the moments before his death. Investigators said hours after Payne's death that he was by himself when he fell. But the prosecutors' office said Thursday that one of the people charged was often with the singer during his time in Buenos Aires. The second is a hotel staffer who allegedly gave Payne cocaine during his stay between October 13 and 16. And the third is a drug dealer. The charges in Payne's case bear some resemblance to the U.S. cases stemming from the death of Friends star Matthew Perry a year ago. The actor's personal assistant and a longtime friend are among those charged with helping supply him with ketamine in the final months of his life, leading up to his overdose on the anesthetic. Three young men were similarly charged in the opioid-overdose death of rapper Mac Miller in 2018. Local authorities gathered, among other pieces of evidence, Payne's cellphone records, material for forensics and testimonies. They are yet to unlock the singer's personal computer – which is damaged – and other devices that were seized. Payne's autopsy showed his injuries were neither caused by self-harm nor by physical intervention of others. The document also said that he did not have the reflex of protecting himself in the fall, which suggests he might have been unconscious. Prosecutors in Argentina also ruled out the chances of Payne dying by suicide. One Direction was among the most successful boy bands of recent times. It announced an indefinite hiatus in 2016 and Payne — like his former bandmates Zayn Malik, Harry Styles, Niall Horan, and Louis Tomlinson — pursued a solo career. The singer had posted on his Snapchat account that he traveled to Argentina to attend Horan's concert in Buenos Aires on October 2. He shared videos of himself dancing with his girlfriend, American influencer Kate Cassidy, and singing along in the stands. Cassidy had left Argentina after the show, but Payne stayed behind. 

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — The Federal Aviation Administration announced Tuesday that it will prohibit U.S. airlines from flying to Haiti for 30 days after gangs shot a Spirit Airlines flight. The United Nations also said it will suspend flights, "obviously limiting the flow of humanitarian aid and humanitarian personnel into the country."  The bullets hit the plane when it was about to land Monday in the country's capital, Port-au-Prince, injuring a flight attendant. It was part of a wave of violence that erupted in Haiti as the country swore in its new prime minister after a politically tumultuous process.  Life in much of Haiti's capital was frozen after the wave of violence, which came to a head when gangs shot the Spirit Airlines airplane Monday, forcing the airport to shut down. Photos and videos obtained by The Associated Press show bullet holes dotting the interior of a plane. A number of airlines suspended flights to Haiti through Thursday, but it was unclear how long closures could drag on.  Neither the former interim prime minister, Garry Conille, nor the newly inaugurated Alix Didier Fils-Aime commented on the violence.  But Luis Abinader, who as president of the neighboring Dominican Republic has cracked down on Haitian migration, called firing on the airplane terrorism.  "This was a terrorist act; the countries that are following and helping Haiti should declare these armed gangs as terrorist groups," Abinader said in a news conference.  On Tuesday, heavily armed police in armored cars outside the airport checked trucks used for public transportation passing by.  Schools were closed, as were banks and government offices. The streets, where just a day before gangs and police were locked in a fierce firefight, were eerily empty.  The sound of heavy gunfire was heard in the streets in the afternoon — a reminder that despite political maneuvering by Haiti's elites and a strong push by the international community to restore peace, the country's toxic slate of gangs kept its firm hold on much of the Caribbean nation.  The United Nations estimates that gangs control 85% of the capital. A U.N.-backed mission led by Kenyan police to quell gang violence struggles with a lack of funding and personnel, prompting calls for a U.N. peacekeeping mission.

The US-Philippines Alliance Fellowship

United States Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will visit Manila this week to "advance security objectives" and meet Filipino and American troops, the US State Department said on Wednesday, November 13.

The Philippines ordered evacuations ahead of Typhoon Ofel (international name: Usagi) on Wednesday, as the UN disaster office sought $32.9 million in aid for the country after storms that killed more than 150 people.

President Marcos has announced that the Philippines will participate in the 4th Global Ministerial Conference on Road Safety to be held in Morocco in February next year.

Furious about its government cowing to Russia and mishandling economic challenges, Ukrainian citizens have taken to the streets in record force.

Protests in Ukraine are now in their third month, with protestors showing no sign of letting up, despite the brute treatment they have received in clashes with security forces.

Ukraine's crippling 55 percent tax on private gas producers threatens to damage the economy, scare off investors and decimate gas production.

With oil prices tumbling and new oil projects being scrapped, Norway may need to begin building a post-oil economy sooner than it thought.