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The world-famous Ha'ikū Stairs along Oahu's Ko'olau mountain range, known as the "Stairway to Heaven," has been closed to the public since 1991, but you wouldn't know that from Instagram.

LEGAZPI CITY -- The Department of Agriculture (DA) in Bicol has confirmed on Thursday (Feb. 20) that results of tests conducted on pigs that died in Bombon town in Camarines Sur province were positive for African Swine Fever (ASF). Rodel Tornilla, regional executive director of DA, said in a statement that organ samples from dead pigs were collected last Feb. 10 at the village of Sto. Domingo. Samples were sent to the Animal Disease Diagnostic Reference Laboratory at Bureau of Animal Industry in Quezon City. After the report of swine mortality in the area, biosecurity measures had been implemented. Tornilla said that DA and the local government unit were doing all they can to prevent...

Keep on reading: ASF cases confirmed in Bicol

MANILA, Philippines -- Expect cold nights and even colder early mornings to continue due to a strong northeast monsoon or "amihan," the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said on Thursday afternoon. "May kaulapan lamang tayo dito sa may silangang bahagi ng Luzon at dito sa may ka-Bisayaan, dahil pa rin 'yan patuloy na epekto ng ating hanging Amihan dito sa malaking bahagi ng ating bansa," weather specialist Raymond Ordinario said during Pagasa's forecast. (Cloudy skies will prevail over the eastern part of Luzon and the Visayas because of the effects of amihan.) "So ibig sabihin nito sa mga susunod pang araw ay posible pa ring n...

Keep on reading: Cold mornings to persist in Luzon, Visayas due to strong Amihan

      MANILA, Philippines --- "Stay clear" of politicians engaged in grandstanding like former Senator Antonio Trillanes IV. President Rodrigo Duterte said this Thursday as he again lambasted Trillanes, one of his fiercest critics, for supposedly doing nothing for the country and for being ambitious. "Si Trillanes sige daldal hanggang ngayon. Alam mo kayo ang nasa...mga pulitiko basta pulitika lang," Duterte said during the joint graduation ceremonies of the Philippine National Police's public safety courses in Davao City. (Trillanes is still talking until now. You know these politicians know nothing but to engage in politics.) "You know you should...

Keep on reading: Duterte to public: Avoid people who are attention seekers like Trillanes

MANILA, Philippines---Swimmer Ernie Gawilan became the first Filipino to qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Paralympic Games due to his stellar performance in the 2018 Asian Para Games in Indonesia. Gawilan won the gold medalin the 400-meter freestyle (S7 class), 100m backstroke (S7 class), and 200m individual medley (SM7 class) in the continental meet to earn him qualification points. https://www.facebook.com/PhlSportsCommission/photos/a.141010595922256/2935170816506206/?type=3&__xts__%5B0%5D=68.ARA1m1LuByGWZ_TMG2_i4HBRJosVFuSlyRomLz3kq2JAIdihxyB1Zj5iRc06WlYhUepowmDApHFxm8dQWX1wePX6fFpQhoTXHD5GrlFCttxakNzGuV5CBhGCnr9lePbi0DF1NQaceErFTNL_MV5-MtOrMjZVNfI2Ry6m_06WVxhDlqI5MHNlrdMa_-Ki...

Keep on reading: PH swimmer Ernie Gawilan qualifies for Tokyo Paralympics

LEGAZPI CITY---The Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) in Bicol on Thursday announced that it would stop the processing of financial aid to hundreds of Bicolano Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) bound for Hong Kong and Macauafter the government recently lifted thetravel ban in these countries as a precaution against COVID-19. Rowena Alzaga, OWWA Bicol spokesperson, said the ban remained in force for OFWs travelling to China. These workers would be entitled to P10,000 in cash aid. She said OWWA statistics indicated that there were 137 registered OFWs in Bicol working in China, Macau, Hong Kong and Taiwan that were stranded here as a result of the travel ban. Data showed that ...

Keep on reading: OWWA ceases giving P10,000 in aid to OFWs bound for HK, Macau after lifting of travel ban

Melbourne, Australia --- Two people were killed when a passenger train traveling between Australia's two biggest cities derailed Thursday, with medics saying many were being assessed for injuries.   Emergency services said the train from Melbourne to Sydney came off the tracks near the town of Wallan.   Police confirmed two people died in the accident.   Ambulance Victoria said one person was flown to Melbourne in an air ambulance and "four people will be taken to hospital in a stable condition".   "A large number of people are being assessed but are not believed to be seriously injured."   Images posted on social media showed carria...

Keep on reading: 2 killed as train derails between Melbourne and Sydney in Australia

KORONADAL CITY--The Soccsksargen region remained free of COVID-19 after two persons who had been checked tested negative for the virus, according to a health official here. Tests made on a third person, however, have not been released yet. Arjohn Gangoso, health education and promotion officer of the Department of Health (DOH), said the third person was still being observed in a hospital in the region. Gangoso said the regional DOH office was still awaiting results of lab tests from the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine. The two who tested negative had been discharged. Of 60 persons being monitored by the Regional Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit in Soccksargen, 45 had comp...

Keep on reading: Soccksargen still free of COVID-19 as 2 persons checked for virus test negative

MANILA, Philippines --- President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday stood by Bureau of Immigration (BI) chief Jaime Morente amid the so-called "pastillas" scheme where immigration personnel allegedly receive bribes from Chinese nationals who enter the Philippines to work illegally in the country. Speaking at the graduation ceremonies of the public safety officers' basic and advance courses in Davao City, Duterte vouched for the character of Morente, who was a former city police director of the President's hometown. "Kahapon I terminated all kay [Bureau of Immigration chief Jaime] Morente. Apparently, si Morente mahal ko yan kasi chief of police siya dito. Mabait yan," Duterte said. (Y...

Keep on reading: Mahal ko ‘yan’: Duterte stood by BI chief Morente amid ‘pastillas’ scam

      MANILA, Philippines --- Police officers will search for other closed-circuit television (CCTV) footages that can show the recent murder of Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) official after finding three defective cameras near the crime scene, the Muntinlupa police said Thursday.   "We expanded the radius of searching of CCTVs that may capture the incident," Police Col. Hermogenes Cabe, Muntinlupa police chief, said when asked about updates on the CCTV cameras that captured the killing of BuCor legal service chief Frederic Santos.   Cabe said they will also look for other CCTVs that might show the direction of the motorcycle-riding ...

Keep on reading: Cops to expand search of CCTVs that captured BuCor exec’s killing

  ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia --- A rare and looted crown from the 18th century was returned to Ethiopia on Thursday after it was discovered in the Netherlands.   The Dutch government facilitated the handover "with the belief that it has a duty to restitute this important artifact back to Ethiopia," the office of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said, sharing photos of a smiling Abiy holding the ceremonial crown.   The religious crown went missing in 1993 and was discovered in Rotterdam in October.     Ethiopia, like many African nations, has been outspoken about its interest in seeing artifacts returned home from museums and private owners around ...

Keep on reading: Looted 18th century crown returned to Ethiopia after decades

LIBERTAD, MISAMIS ORIENTAL----One of four suspects in a clash last Monday with police in this town has been caught hiding among the bushes in a hilly part of the town. Lt. Col. Mardy Hortillosa, regional police spokesperson, said the suspect was arrested on Wednesday in a continuing pursuit operation by police and soldiers. Hortillosa did not release the name of the suspect, the second to fall after the clash last Monday. Civilians who witnessed the arrest and results of interrogation revealed the suspect's name as Micky Abellana, 29, of Tangub City also in Misamis Occidental. Abellana was among five men aboard a sedan from Cagayan de Oro City that was flagged down at a checkpoint he...

Keep on reading: Suspect in gunfight with cops at Misamis checkpoint captured

Steluta Duta was a teenaged orphan living on the streets when, one cold January day in 2002, she stepped through the door of a boxing gym in the town of Buzau and embarked on her unlikely path to becoming an elite athlete. Duta, whose first name means "little star", has fought for almost two decades in the ring, with every punch thrown bringing her closer to what she calls "a normal life, away from misery" and becoming an inspiration for others like her. Romania is one of the poorest in the European Union, with 38 percent of children at risk of social exclusion and poverty, according to Eurostat. Becoming a boxer "was my only chance, my gamble", Duta, a short woman with crop...

Keep on reading: Romanian boxer inspires girls to knock out poverty

Two people have died and a number of people are injured after a train traveling from Sydney to Melbourne derailed in Victoria, Australia on Thursday evening.

  MANILA, Philippines--NLEX guard Jericho Cruz will be playing for Guam in the 2021 Fiba Asia Cup qualifiers after making it to the team's final roster. Guam faces New Zealand at home on Sunday in the first window of the qualifiers. Its game against Hong Kong originally scheduled for Thursday was postponed due to the coronavirus outbreak. https://twitter.com/jerichoXcruz/status/1230327243315937280 Cruz was born in Pasig City but grew up in Saipan, which part of the Northern Mariana Islands along with Guam. He moved back to the Philippines and played for Rizal Technological University and Adamson before getting drafted into the PBA. He also represented the Northern Mar...

Keep on reading: Jericho Cruz play for Guam vs New Zealand in Fiba Asia Cup qualifiers

  NEW DELHI --- A bus collided at high speed with a truck on a highway in southern India early Thursday, killing at least 19 people, police said.   The bus driver was among the dead, but the truck driver survived the head-on collision, said police officer Sauranya, who uses one name. She said nine injured people were hospitalized and others were allowed to go home after treatment.   The accident occurred near Avinashi, a town in Tamil Nadu state. The state-operated bus was on its way to Thiruvananthapuram, the capital of Kerala state, from Bangalore in Karnataka state.   "We do not know if the truck driver dozed off or if there was a tire burs...

Keep on reading: Bus-truck collision on Indian highway kills at least 19

MANILA, Philippines - The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) has already sought the Department of Justice's (DOJ) legal opinion on whether ABS-CBN can continue to operate even after its franchise expires. Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said they have received a letter from the NTC last Tuesday asking for advice. "We got it (NTC letter) last Tuesday afternoon and we hope to reply by next week," Guevarra said. "The main question (asked by the NTC) is whether or not ABS-CBN may continue operating after the lapse of the franchise period, pending action by the Congress on the franchise renewal bills," he added. ABS-CBN's franchise will expire at the end of March. ...

Keep on reading: NTC seeks DOJ opinion on ABS-CBN’s operation after franchise expires

MANILA, Philippines -- The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) will conduct its own investigation on the killing of Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) legal division chief Frederick Anthony Santos, who was suspended for his alleged involvement in the good conduct time allowance (GCTA) irregularity. Spokesperson Jacqueline de Guia on Thursday said that CHR condemned the attack on Santos, urging government action to avoid further attacks on other suspended BuCor personnel. Santos was driving his Toyota Hilux along Katihan Street of Barangay Poblacion, Muntinlupa City on Wednesday afternoon when two assailants opened fire. He was on his way to fetch his daughter from her school. He sustain...

Keep on reading: CHR to probe killing of BuCor exec suspended in GCTA-for-sale scheme

MANILA, Philippines -- The country's first football team composed of athletes with cerebral palsy (CP) --- a brain condition that hampers muscle movement --- is set to participate in the 10th Asean Para Games this year. According to Danny Moran, head of the Henry V. Moran foundation which was tasked by the Philippine Sports Association for the Differently Abled (Philspada) to form the football squad CP Rascals, they were able to scout players for the team by visiting at least 12 cities. "Our search for players started in March last year after we were appointed by the Philspada to form a team to represent the country in the 10th ASEAN Para Games," Moran said in a statement on Th...

Keep on reading: PH’s 1st cerebral palsy football team sets sights on Asean Para Games

MANILA, Philippines---Brandon Vera is set to defend his ONE World heavyweight championship against Arjan Singh Bhullar more than a year after he last put the title on the line. The Filipino fighter headlines the ONE Infinity 2 card on May 29 at Mall of Asia Arena along with ONE World lightweight champion Christian Lee, who faces undefeated Iuri Lapicus on the same card. Vera (16-8) last fought in the heavyweight division when he knocked out Mauro Cerilli 1:04 into the first round of their Nov. 23, 2018 bout to retain his title. In October 2019, Vera moved down to light heavyweight to challenge for Aung La N Sang's light heavyweight title but lost to the Burmese Python via kn...

Keep on reading: Brandon Vera defense headlines ONE Infinity 2 card in Manila