Philippines

Philippine volcano rains ash, violent eruption feared

Legazpi - Muslimchronicle

A giant mushroom-shaped cloud shot up from the Philippines' most active volcano on Monday, turning day into night as it rained ash on communities where tens of thousands have fled after warnings of an impending eruption. "Hazardous eruption imminent," the state volcanology agency concluded in its latest bulletin, saying Mayon volcano could blow up within days after two weeks of activity. Fine ashRead more

Philippines to deport Hamas ‘rocket scientist’

Manila - Muslimchronicle

The Philippines said Monday it would deport an elderly Iraqi man described as a scientist for Hamas and accused of helping the Palestinian militant group lob missiles at Israel. Iraq tipped off the Philippines about the presence of Taja Mohammad Al Jabori, who was arrested on Sunday, national police chief Ronald Dela Rosa told reporters. However, the arrest was dueRead more

Philippines’ main airport fires contractor over baggage thefts

Manila - Muslimchronicle

Manila airport fired a major contractor and announced a raft of new security measures on Friday after a spate of baggage thefts at the main Philippine gateway once derided as the world’s worst airport. President Rodrigo Duterte summoned airport authorities and the transport minister on Thursday and ordered them to put a stop to the thieving, Manila International Airport generalRead more

Philippines: deaths in vaccine row 'consistent with' dengue

Manila - Muslimchronicle

The Philippines said Thursday that some of the 14 children who died after receiving a controversial vaccine showed signs of "severe dengue", as investigators probe the drug whose use was suspended due to health concerns. More than 830,000 Filipino schoolchildren were injected with Sanofi's Dengvaxia vaccine last year in the world's first public dengue immunisation programme. But the country stoppedRead more

More than 30 bodies found, criminal probe

Davao - Muslimchronicle

Firemen Monday found the bodies of "around" 36 people after a deadly blaze at a shopping mall in the southern Philippines, a fire official said as the government launched a criminal investigation. The discovery raised to 37 the confirmed death toll from the NCCC shopping mall fire in the city of Davao on Mindanao island. The Davao region chief of the Bureau ofRead more

Philippines storm death toll tops 200

Davao - Muslimchronicle

More than 200 people have been killed and scores were missing in the southern Philippines Sunday after a tropical storm triggered severe flooding and landslides that also wrecked Christmas for tens of thousands of survivors. Tropical Storm Tembin lashed Mindanao island, home to 20 million people, on Friday with strong gusts and torrential rain, wiping out at least one mountainRead more

Philippines storm death toll climbs to 133

Manila - Muslimchronicle

The death toll from a tropical storm in the southern Philippines climbed swiftly to 133 on Saturday, as rescuers pulled dozens of bodies from a swollen river, police said. Tropical Storm Tembin has lashed the nation's second-largest island of Mindanao since Friday, triggering flash floods and mudslides. The Philippines is pummelled by 20 major storms each year on average, many ofRead more

Storm death toll in Philippines climbs to 133

Manila - Muslimchronicle

The death toll from a tropical storm in the southern Philippines climbed swiftly to 133 on Saturday, as rescuers pulled dozens of bodies from a swollen river, police said. Tropical Storm Tembin has lashed the nation's second largest island of Mindanao since Friday, triggering flash floods and mudslides. Rescuers retrieved 36 bodies from the Salog river in Mindanao on Saturday,Read more

Hong Kong woman ordered to pay abused maid $100,000

Hong Kong - Muslimchronicle

A Hong Kong woman jailed for six years for starving and beating her Indonesian domestic helper was ordered by a court on Thursday to pay more than $100,000 in damages for the "inhumane" abuse. Law Wan-tung was convicted of grievous bodily harm, assault, criminal intimidation and failure to pay wages in 2015 and is still serving a jail term afterRead more

'Casualties' as ferry with 251 aboard capsizes off Philippines

Manila - Muslimchronicle

A ferry with 251 people on board capsized off the Philippines on Thursday with reports of an unspecified number of "casualties", the coastguard said. The accident occurred off the town of Real about 70 kilometres (43 miles) east of Manila as the vessel sailed to the island of Polillo in rough weather, coastguard spokesman Armand Balilo told a news conference.Read more