
Philippines Wealth Fund to Invest in China-Backed Grid Operator
The Philippines' sovereign wealth fund will acquire a 20% stake Synergy Grid & Development Phils. Inc., giving the government a say in the management of the China-backed grid operator.
Maharlika Investment Corp. signed a binding agreement with Synergy Grid for an undisclosed amount, according to a statement from President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s communications office on Monday.
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USS Oscar Austin crew accepts combat award for Red Sea deployment
The crew of the destroyer Oscar Austin received military decorations for providing combat support to U.S. naval forces in the Red Sea against Houthi rebels, according to a Navy release. Sailors and other personnel aboard the vessel were awarded Unit Combat Action Ribbons after completing Austin's first forward-deployed Naval Forces-Europe patrol in the U.S. Sixth Fleet and Fifth Fleet, which operate out of Europe and Africa, and the Middle East, respectively. 'I'm honored to have assumed command of Oscar Austin during her first patrol as a forward deployed warship,' said Oscar Austin Cmdr. David Nicolas. 'Having served previously as the ship's executive officer, I feel immense pride in witnessing the growth and development of the crew in their preparation for and completion of Patrol One.' The vessel briefly visited the Mediterranean before joining the Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group as it battled missile and drone attacks from Yemen's Houthi rebels — an Iran-backed terrorist group — over several months. President Donald Trump's administration began conducting large-scale bombings against Houthi sites in Yemen on March 15, a shelling that ended in May after the U.S. claimed to have hit more than 800 targets. US strikes dozens of Houthi sites in Yemen as broader campaign begins Oscar Austin left its home base of Naval Station Rota, Spain on Dec. 11, 2024, to join the Republic of Cyprus National Guard and conduct signaling and maneuvering exercises alongside the Cyprus patrol vessel Commodore Andreas Ioannides. In April 2025, the Oscar Austin jointed Fifth Fleet operations, offering air and missile defense reinforcements to the Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group and serving alongside the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers Jason Dunham and Stout, as well as the Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser Gettysburg. Austin's efforts to defend the strike group while under fire from airborne threats notched the vessel's personnel Unit Combat Action Ribbons, which sailors proudly donned upon their return to Spain on June 10. The award is given to service members who participated in surface combat. Capt. Alexander Mamikonian, commodore of Destroyer Squadron 60, presented the crew with their ribbons. 'It was a pleasure watching them perform on patrol, but we're glad they're back home in Rota reunited with their loved ones,' Mamikonian said.
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10 minutes ago
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US diplomats ordered to leave Iraq embassy over unspecified security threats
U.S. missions in Baghdad and Erbil are evacuating most diplomats in response to unspecified security threats, according to one former and two current U.S. officials. The reason for the move, known as an ordered departure, was not immediately clear but comes after Iran's defense minister threatened to strike American bases in the region if negotiations over Iran's nuclear program fail. The order applies to all nonessential personnel in Iraq. "President Trump is committed to keeping Americans safe, both at home and abroad. In keeping with that commitment, we are constantly assessing the appropriate personnel posture at all our embassies. Based on our latest analysis, we decided to reduce the footprint of our mission in Iraq,' the State Department said in an emailed statement. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has also authorized the voluntary departure of U.S. military dependents across the Middle East, according to a defense official. The individual, and the two other U.S. officials, were granted anonymity because they were not authorized to speak about developing policy. The former official was granted anonymity to speak freely about sensitive information. President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff is expected to meet Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi this weekend for a sixth round of nuclear talks. Trump has repeatedly said he prefers diplomacy to military action, but said in an interview released Wednesday that he is less confident in a nuclear deal. 'I don't know,' Trump told the 'Pod Force One' podcast when asked about whether Iran would agree to a deal to cease its nuclear program. 'I don't know. I did think so, and I'm getting more and more — less confident about it.' Israel has also pressed Trump to greenlight a strike on Iran's nuclear facilities, which he has so far held off in a bid to let the negotiations bear fruit. Trump has said he wants a deal that will not allow Iran the ability to enrich uranium domestically, while Iran has said it will not agree to anything that would prevent it. Reuters previously reported on the evacuation order for diplomats in Iraq. The defense official said military service members will remain at bases but 'authorized eligible family members' will be able to leave at government expense. The official said it was a precautionary measure because of 'heightened threats in the region.' There are about 2,500 U.S. troops remaining in Iraq, many of them at the sprawling Al-Assad air base, which has in the past come under rocket attacks from Iranian-backed militias operating in Iraq. In a ballistic missile attack on the base last August, five U.S. service members and two civilian contractors were injured. Iran has targeted the base for years, injuring dozens of American troops in the process. Earlier this month, Witkoff sent Iran a proposal calling for a regional enrichment consortium aimed as a compromise between the U.S. and Iran's demands over Tehran's enrichment. Tehran has not formally responded to it. Trump is being fiercely lobbied by both hawks and isolationists in his party about how to deal with Iran. The hawks want to see the U.S. confront Iran's program more aggressively by backing or participating in a strike on Tehran's nuclear facilities while the restrainer camp thinks doing so risks the kind of war in the Middle East that the president campaigned against.
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Deal gets US-China trade truce back on track: Trump
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