To keep you updated with the latest news here and abroad, Yahoo Philippines is giving you a roundup of morning headlines. …
- PH grants visa-free privilege to 7 more countries
Travelers from seven more countries can now experience how fun it is in the Philippines without worry, as the government extended them visa-free privileges. …
- Things you need to know this morning, April 16
To keep you updated with the latest news here and abroad, Yahoo Philippines is giving you a roundup of morning headlines. …
FEATURED PHOTOS AND VIDEOS
The 127 engravings of people, animals and geometric shapes are the Southeast Asian nation's oldest known artworks, but encroaching urbanisation, vandals and the ravages of nature are growing threats. The artworks have been declared a national treasure, regarded as the best proof that relatively sophisticated societies existed in the Philippines in the Stone Age. "They show that in ancient times, the Philippines did have a complex culture. Museum scientists believe the carvings date back to …
- Philippines boosts MERS monitoring after UAE nurse scare AFP News
The Philippines said Saturday it was stepping up its defences against the deadly MERS virus, with the large numbers of Filipino workers in the Middle East seen as potential carriers. …
- Dane joins in Philippines' bloody Easter crucifixions AFP News
A Danish man joined eight Filipinos in re-enacting the death of Jesus Christ Friday by being nailed to crosses in a bloody annual Easter spectacle in the Philippines before thousands of surprised onlookers. But local residents were surprised to see the Dane, identified by a local tourism officer as 48-year-old filmmaker Lasse Spang Olsen, participate in an act restricted to Philippine citizens after a series of embarrassing incidents involving foreigners in the past. Onlookers were surprised …
- Top Asian News at 4:00 a.m. GMT Associated Press
JINDO, South Korea (AP) — There are no names listed as relatives huddle around signboards to identify bodies from a sunken ferry. Just the slimmest of clues about mostly young lives now lost. Many favored hoodies and track pants. One girl painted her fingernails red and toenails black. Another had braces on her teeth. As divers increasingly making their way into the ship, including a new entryway through the dining hall Monday, there's been a big jump in the discovery of corpses. And so more …
- Japan PM sends offering to war shrine Associated Press
TOKYO (AP) — Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe sent a religious offering Monday to a Tokyo shrine that honors the dead, including executed war criminals — long a source of tension with Japan's neighbors China and South Korea. …
- Grim work for families as more bodies discovered Associated Press
JINDO, South Korea (AP) — There are no names listed as relatives huddle around white signboards to identify bodies from a sunken ferry — just the slimmest of clues about mostly young lives now lost. Many favored hoodies and track pants. One girl painted her fingernails red and toenails black. Another had braces on her teeth. …
- President says ferry crew's actions 'tantamount to murder" AFP News
The actions of the captain and crew of a capsized South Korean ferry were "tantamount to murder," President Park Guen-Hye said Monday, condemning their "unimaginable" decision to escape while hundreds were still trapped in the sinking vessel. The weeping of devastated family members could be heard across the harbour on Jindo island as boats brought the most recently recovered bodies in from the nearby rescue site Monday morning. …
- Biden heads to Ukraine after violence erupts Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. Vice President Joe Biden is heading to Ukraine to meet with leaders of the turbulent country. …
- Cuba home woes endure despite real-estate reform Associated Press
HAVANA (AP) — The residents of 308 Oquendo Street were jolted awake in the middle of the night by violent shaking and a noise that they likened to a freight train, or an exploding bomb. …
- AP PHOTOS: Nicaraguan town drags chained 'Judases' Associated Press
MASATEPE, Nicaragua (AP) — For 130 years, the people of Masatepe have observed Good Friday by dressing up in colorful masks and costumes and dragging chained "Judases" through the streets of their town in western Nicaragua. …
(Reuters) - Apple Inc and Google Inc are wooing game developers to ensure that top game titles arrive first on devices powered by their respective operating system, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Both the companies are trying to lure game developers by offering premium placement to these games on their app stores' home pages and features lists, the daily said. Apple had struck a deal with Electronic Arts Inc last August to promote the game "Plants Vs …
- Iran, world powers to start work on nuclear drafts next month Reuters
Iran and world powers will begin work drafting a long-term settlement of Iran's disputed nuclear programme at expert-level talks in New York next month, the official state news agency IRNA reported on Sunday. During the May 5-9 meeting, the P5+1 world powers and Iran will start "writing draft of comprehensive agreements which will be a complex and difficult work," said senior nuclear negotiator Abbas Araghchi, according to IRNA. Hamid Baeedinejad, Director General for the Political and …
- Air strikes in Yemen kill 40 al Qaeda militants in two days Reuters
By Mohamed Mukhashaf ADEN Yemen (Reuters) - Air strikes in southern Yemen killed about 30 suspected al Qaeda members on Sunday, local tribal sources said, in the second day of strikes against militant targets in the country. On Saturday an air strike killed 10 al Qaeda militants and three civilians in central Yemen, a country that neighbours top oil exporter Saudi Arabia and is home to al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), one of the group's most lethal wings. Local and tribal sources …
- Japan PM sends offering to Yasukuni Shrine - Japanese media Reuters
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has sent a ritual offering to the Yasukuni Shrine, seen by critics as a symbol of Japan's past militarism, media reported on Monday, a move likely to further strain ties with China and South Korea. The offering from Abe, who visited the shrine in December, was sent just before U.S. President Barack Obama's three-day visit to Japan, which begins on Wednesday. Japanese media said Abe would not visit the shrine in person. Fourteen Japanese leaders convicted as …
- Deadly gun attack in eastern Ukraine shakes fragile Geneva accord Reuters
By Aleksandar Vasovic and Alissa de Carbonnel SLAVIANSK/YENAKIEVO Ukraine (Reuters) - At least three people were killed in a gunfight in the early hours of Sunday near a Ukrainian city controlled by pro-Russian separatists, shaking an already fragile international accord that was designed to avert a wider conflict. The incident triggered a war of words between Moscow and Ukraine's Western-backed government, with each questioning the other's compliance with the agreement, brokered last week in …
- 57 startups in Asia that caught our eye Tech in Asia
Here’s our newest round-up of the featured startups on our site this week. …
- 8 startup funding rounds in Asia last week Tech in Asia
The most recent winners include Japan’s Otaku Mode, Vietnam’s Appota, and China’s P2P lending platform Ppdai. Congratulations! 1. Otaku Mode | Japan Anime fan-site turned ecommerce portal Tokyo Otaku Mode ... …
- Music startup Beatrobo gets $1.1 million funding to reinvent the mixtape Tech in Asia
Japanese convenience store chain Lawson will announce its US$1.1 million series A investment in Tokyo-based startup Beatrobo. …
- 57 startups in Asia that caught our eye Tech in Asia
Here’s our newest round-up of the featured startups on our site this week. …
- 8 must-read tech stories in China this week Tech in Asia
China's biggest ever social media IPO - yes, Sina Weibo - was the hot topic of the week, but there were plenty more things happening too. …
FEATURED BLOGS
Rising number of trafficked fishermen alarms Tawi-Tawi authorities
By Jake Soriano, VERA Files Bongao, Tawi-Tawi—Tawi-Tawi authorities are alarmed at the growing number of fishermen from the Visayas who end up here after being recruited by human trafficking syndicates to engage in dangerous compressor diving. The latest case involves … Continue reading → More »
The return of Gigi Reyes
By Ellen T.Tordesillas This is going to be fascinating. Atty. Gigi Reyes, former chief of staff of Sen. Juan Ponce-Enrile who is included among those accused of plunder in connection with the misuse of Priority Development Assistance Fund, came back … Continue reading → More »
Viernes Santo in Kalibo
Photos by Little Wing Luna, VERA Files Text by Mitch Meñez Kalibo, Aklan--Viernes Santo or Good Friday is the most solemn of all the days in Holy Week. It commemorates the Passion and Death of Jesus on the Cross. The … Continue reading → More »
Hugas Dugo
Text by Kimmy Baraoidan, VERA Files Photos by Chris Quintana and Kimmy Baraoidan Pakil, Laguna--In the small town of Pakil, Laguna resides a group of men who call themselves Hugas Dugo. Most members of the group are residents of the … Continue reading → More »
Lenten procession more than just a spectacle
Text and photos by Kiersnerr Gerwin Tacadena, VERA Files Baliuag, Bulacan--This town is hosting what could be the country’s biggest Lenten procession consisting of more than 100 religious statues riding on carriages or carrozas. But concerns are being raised that … Continue reading → More »
Holy Week in Mt Banahaw: Mysticism meets Catholicism
Text and photos by Patricia Isabel Gloria, VERA Files Dolores, Quezon—Around this time each year, hundreds of devotees flock to Barangay Sta. Lucia in Dolores, Quezon on the slopes of Mount Banahaw to celebrate Holy Week. Here, mysticism meets Catholicism, … Continue reading → More »
Simbang lakad for Lolo Uweng
By April Anne Benjamin, VERA Files San Pedro, Laguna--For 14 Maundy Thursdays now, Inding Amoranto has prayed the rosary while walking the eight-kilometer distance from her house to the Shrine of Jesus in the Holy Sepulcher in the village of … Continue reading → More »