Duterte Allies Outperform in Early Philippine Senate Vote Count
Candidates backed by the vice president appear on course to secure four of the 12 Senate seats being contested, GMA News reported, with around 50% of votes counted. The tally from the Commission on Elections was delayed compared with the 2019 polls, and the final results may change.
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Washington Post
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The hypocrisy of recognizing Palestine but not Taiwan
Vincent C. Chen, a telecommunications consultant, serves on the advisory boards of two Taiwan-based organizations, the Taiwan Thinktank and the Foundation for Future Generations. Many Western democracies lining up to recognize a Palestinian state are in the process of conferring legitimacy on something that, legally speaking, doesn't yet exist. Meanwhile, an economically crucial and politically functional democratic state that Western leaders have vowed to aid in case of outside aggression — Taiwan — remains unrecognized. This kind of hypocrisy invites trouble.
News24
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‘Political prisoner' media mogul Jimmy Lai trial postponed as he faces life in prison in Hong Kong
A court hearing for jailed Hong Kong media mogul Jimmy Lai was postponed on Thursday due to bad weather, further lengthening a national security trial that began in 2023. The city's weather observatory hoisted the highest-level rainstorm warning for around three hours on Thursday morning, leading the judiciary to cancel hearings for the day. The 77-year-old founder of the Apple Daily newspaper is charged with foreign collusion under Hong Kong's national security law, which Beijing imposed following huge and sometimes violent pro-democracy protests in 2019. On Thursday, lawyers were expected to present closing arguments as Lai's trial enters its final stages. The judiciary said on Thursday that those due to attend postponed hearings should return on Friday. READ | Hong Kong leader backs same-sex rights bill, despite criticism from the pro-Beijing politicians The media tycoon has been kept behind bars since December 2020, reportedly in solitary confinement, with Western nations and rights groups calling for his release. Aside from the collusion offence - which could land him in prison for life - Lai is also charged with 'seditious publication' related to 161 op-eds he allegedly wrote. The tycoon gave spirited courtroom testimony over more than 50 days during the trial, fielding questions about his political ideology, management style and overseas contacts. Lai described himself at least twice as a 'political prisoner', which drew sharp rebukes from the three-judge panel. Hong Kong authorities have repeatedly rejected criticism related to Lai, saying in July that his case was 'handled strictly on the basis of evidence and in accordance with the law'. Tomorrow, closing arguments begin in Jimmy Lai's lengthy, unjust trial. For over 1,600 days, Jimmy Lai has been imprisoned — not for any violent act, but for speaking out, publishing the truth, and standing up for democracy. At 77 years old, he has spent much of that time in… — #FreeJimmyLai (@SupportJimmyLai) August 13, 2025 Antoine Bernard of Reporters Without Borders said on Tuesday that Lai's treatment 'exposes the authorities' ruthless determination to silence and suppress one of the most prominent advocates for press freedom amid Hong Kong's rapidly deteriorating media landscape'. Judges had previously indicated that a verdict could be reached by October. Thursday was the fifth time this year that Hong Kong issued the 'black' rainstorm warning, beating the previous record of three such warnings in a year.
Newsweek
an hour ago
- Newsweek
Map Shows Alaska's Natural Resources That Trump Could Offer Putin
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Newsweek has mapped the coastal areas around Alaska that could be part of an incentive deal President Donald Trump offers Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the war with Ukraine. Britain's Daily Telegraph newspaper reported that access to Alaska's natural resources—oil and gas—could be up for discussion when the leaders meet in Anchorage on Friday, as well as rare earth minerals in Ukraine and lifting some sanctions on Russia's aviation sector. A White House official told the Daily Telegraph that it would not comment on deliberative conversations that may or may not be happening. Newsweek reached out to the White House for comment. U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders' summit in Danang, Vietnam, on November 17, 2017. U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders' summit in Danang, Vietnam, on November 17, 2017. Why It Matters The Bering Strait separates Alaska from Russia where they are less than 3 miles apart. As well as being strategically important because of melting Arctic sea ice and expanding shipping routes, it could also be a gateway to considerable undiscovered oil reserves. Alaska's oil and gas exploration leases are concentrated on its North Slope facing the Arctic Ocean and in the Pacific-facing Cook Inlet connecting the Gulf of Alaska to Anchorage. In the 1980s, U.S. energy companies drilled into the Bering Sea looking for untapped reserves, but all of those wells have been abandoned and the area is strictly regulated because of environmental concerns. There has been angry online reaction to the unconfirmed report that Alaska's resources could be part of a deal with Putin. What To Know Trump will meet with Putin on Friday in Anchorage, where discussions are expected to focus on ending the war in Ukraine which has been raging for 3 1/2 years. The Telegraph said that U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and other senior administration officials are working with Trump to finalize economic proposals aimed at incentivizing the Kremlin to agree to a ceasefire. Among them are offering Russia opportunities to tap into the valuable natural resources in the Bering Strait that would bolster its interests in the Arctic region, which accounted for 80 percent of Russia's gas production in 2022. Discussions between the U.S. and Russia over cooperation in the Arctic started at the beginning of Trump's second term, with Bloomberg reporting in February that officials from both countries discussed economic cooperation in the region. Andreas Østhagen, research director of Arctic and ocean politics at the Fridtjof Nansen Institute, told Newsweek that the proximity of Alaska's location to Russia for Friday's summit sent a strong signal about the Arctic's importance for both countries. He said some of the motivation from the Trump administration to work with Russia stemmed from the idea that U.S.-Russia cooperation could then drive a wedge between the strengthening alliance between Moscow and China in the Arctic. He said there are known quantities of oil and gas in the Chukchi Sea north of the Bering Strait where there was potential to initiate exploration for strategic oil fields, which would require Russian and American companies to collaborate in some fashion, Østhagen added. Berlin-based energy industry expert Thomas O'Donnell told Newsweek that a potential Trump offer for Putin to exploit Alaskan resources was consistent with his Plan A, which offered the Russian president a chance to end the war with oil, gas, and mineral deals. The idea was to induce Putin not only to make a peace deal but to move away from China and back toward the West, but the plan has not worked, he said. Trump's newly approved arms for Ukraine and oil tariffs on India are Plan B, "but, if Putin makes a deal, I'm sure Trump will lavish Putin with investments and trade deals," O'Donnell added. The Telegraph also reported that the U.S. might offer the rare earth minerals in the Ukrainian territories Moscow partially occupied and lift export bans on parts and equipment needed to service Russian planes, many of which have fallen into disrepair. What People Are Saying Republicans Against Trump, on X: "The Telegraph reports that Trump plans to offer Putin access to Alaska's natural resources and sanctions relief if he agrees to a ceasefire Why reward an aggressor who has no interest in a real and lasting ceasefire? Outrageous!" Andreas Østhagen, research director of Arctic and ocean politics at the Fridtjof Nansen Institute, told Newsweek: "if you want to push this idea of collaboration with Russia, in the Chukchi Sea there's potential to initiate exploration." Berlin-based energy industry expert Thomas O'Donnell told Newsweek: "Trump's whole premise is to entice Putin to stop the war in a way that draws him away from China and towards the West." What Happens Next The Kremlin said that the Russian delegation accompanying Putin will include Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Defense Minister Andrei Belousov, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov and Russian Direct Investment Fund head Kirill Dmitriev. The Kremlin said that the main topic on Friday will be a settlement of the war in Ukraine, but economic cooperation and global security will also be discussed.
