The Philippines yesterday reiterated its "strong commitment" to the global fight against terrorism in a bid to appease allies who criticized its decision to withdraw its troops from Iraq to save a Filipino hostage held by militants.
"We will maintain our strong stand against terrorism in the face of this isolated event," presidential spokesman Ignacio Bunye said, referring to the hostage crisis involving truck driver Angelo dela Cruz, who was freed on Tuesday. However, he then acknowledged that the Philippines had agreed to the militants' demands.
"The release of Angelo was based on negotiations and on meeting the conditions [of the his captors]," he said.
Bunye said he did not foresee any long-term damage to US-Philippine ties.
"We will consider the United States as our big brother in the security arena," Bunye added. "Our long-standing and maturing relations with the United States will survive this hostage crisis."
Dela Cruz, a 46-year-old father of eight, was released unharmed a day after the Philippines pulled out.
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has said she does not regret her decision to withdraw the country's 51-member contingent in Iraq.
A fire caused by a burst gas pipe yesterday spread to several homes and sent a fireball soaring into the sky outside Malaysia’s largest city, injuring more than 100 people. The towering inferno near a gas station in Putra Heights outside Kuala Lumpur was visible for kilometers and lasted for several hours. It happened during a public holiday as Muslims, who are the majority in Malaysia, celebrate the second day of Eid al-Fitr. National oil company Petronas said the fire started at one of its gas pipelines at 8:10am and the affected pipeline was later isolated. Disaster management officials said shutting the
US Vice President J.D. Vance on Friday accused Denmark of not having done enough to protect Greenland, when he visited the strategically placed and resource-rich Danish territory coveted by US President Donald Trump. Vance made his comment during a trip to the Pituffik Space Base in northwestern Greenland, a visit viewed by Copenhagen and Nuuk as a provocation. “Our message to Denmark is very simple: You have not done a good job by the people of Greenland,” Vance told a news conference. “You have under-invested in the people of Greenland, and you have under-invested in the security architecture of this
Japan unveiled a plan on Thursday to evacuate around 120,000 residents and tourists from its southern islets near Taiwan within six days in the event of an “emergency”. The plan was put together as “the security situation surrounding our nation grows severe” and with an “emergency” in mind, the government’s crisis management office said. Exactly what that emergency might be was left unspecified in the plan but it envisages the evacuation of around 120,000 people in five Japanese islets close to Taiwan. China claims Taiwan as part of its territory and has stepped up military pressure in recent years, including
UNREST: The authorities in Turkey arrested 13 Turkish journalists in five days, deported a BBC correspondent and on Thursday arrested a reporter from Sweden Waving flags and chanting slogans, many hundreds of thousands of anti-government demonstrators on Saturday rallied in Istanbul, Turkey, in defence of democracy after the arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu which sparked Turkey’s worst street unrest in more than a decade. Under a cloudless blue sky, vast crowds gathered in Maltepe on the Asian side of Turkey’s biggest city on the eve of the Eid al-Fitr celebration which started yesterday, marking the end of Ramadan. Ozgur Ozel, chairman of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), which organized the rally, said there were 2.2 million people in the crowd, but
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