‘No retreat’: Key Trump ally urges continued US-China engagement on rare earths

South China Morning Post - Oct 2, 2026

US Republican Senator Steve Daines, a close aide to President Donald Trump and a key interlocutor between Washington and Beijing, has called on the two capitals to stay engaged and “not retreat” over differences on issues including rare earth supply chains. Daines told the South China Morning Post that both sides still had issues that predated Chinese President Xi Jinping’s state visit to Washington last week and that they would continue working on them after the summit. “So that’s again why...

Read full article

More News

Ultra Lotto 6/58, Mega Lotto 6/45 draw results on Friday, Oct. 2

Oct 2, 2026

MANILA, Philippines—No player won the Ultra Lotto 6/58 or Mega Lotto 6/45 jackpots on Friday, October 2, 2026, according to the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office. Ultra Lotto 6/58 draw result: 58-52-34-29-11-32 Jackpot prize: ₱353.31 million Mega Lotto 6/45 draw result: 04-24-16-14-43-39 Jackpot prize: ₱87.78 millio Minor games Draw schedule Ultra Lotto 6/58 draws are held

Dengue cases in QC top 5,000; weekly cases exceed alert threshold

Oct 2, 2026

MANILA, Philippines — Quezon City has recorded 5,589 dengue cases as of Sept. 24, with recent weekly cases remaining above the city’s alert threshold, the Quezon City Health Department said. The total was 35.01 percent lower than the number of cases recorded during the same period last year. The city also reported 24 dengue-related deaths,

Brazil’s Lula hails ‘bold’ Chinese investors as rival pitches rare earths to Trump

Oct 2, 2026

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva named China as a possible partner in his critical minerals plans, three days before Sunday’s closely fought election. Lula told Flow, one of the country’s most-watched podcasts, on Thursday evening that Brazil should stop shipping out raw ore. “We want to transform them here in Brazil,” he said of the minerals. Asked whether China fit into his plans, Lula said it could be a partner “bringing technology to us”, as could the United States. “[Donald]...

Legarda calls for shift from political attacks to transparency, reforms

Oct 2, 2026

MANILA, Philippines — Shifting from individual political attacks towards government transparency and comprehensive reforms has become more urgent in light of the ongoing oil crisis and worsening corruption that have taken an economic toll on the Philippines. “Corruption is more than a political issue. It’s a moral one. It’s the people who suffer from the

Internet outages hit parts of PH as undersea cable goes offline

Oct 2, 2026

[Updated Oct. 2, 2026, 10:22 p.m.] MANILA, Philippines — Several internet service providers (IPS) in the country are experiencing network issues and internet outages on Friday evening, Oct. 2. According to the University of the Philippines Diliman Network Helpdesk, one of the undersea cable segments between the Philippines and Singapore is reportedly offline. This caused

Man shoots then stabs to death house intruder in Bukidnon town

Oct 2, 2026

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY — A drunken challenge on Wednesday evening escalated into a fatal bloodbath after a Bukidnon man shot an alleged intruder six times before stabbing him in the neck Thursday afternoon, Oct. 1. Police said the 30-year-old victim, reportedly intoxicated, forced his way into the suspect’s residence in Barangay Kipaypayon, Quezon town

Firm linked to VP Duterte had fictitious head – Trillanes

Oct 2, 2026

MANILA, Philippines — An old food company with Vice President Sara Duterte as one of the shareholders used to have a fictitious president, former Senator Antonio Trillanes IV claimed on Friday. In his press briefing in San Juan City, Trillanes said that Duterte listed two business interests in her 2025 Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net

PhilHealth seeks to address double coverage of workers with HMOs, PHIs

Oct 2, 2026

MANILA, Philippines—Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) is seeking to address what it describes as “double coverage” among workers who contribute to the state health insurer while also receiving health maintenance organization (HMO) or private health insurance (PHI) coverage from their employers. PhilHealth said some members rely mainly on their private health plans for medical care

DepEd promotes over 3,000 teachers, principals in Cagayan Valley

Oct 2, 2026

MANILA, Philippines—The Department of Education (DepEd) on Friday said it has promoted over 3,000 teachers and principals in Cagayan Valley. It also hired over 1,000 new school personnel during the celebration of National Teachers’ Month. In a statement, DepEd said the mass-oath taking ceremony of the newly promoted and newly hired personnel was conducted at

Panama auditor targets ex-port regulators and CK Hutchison’s executives in canal probe

Oct 2, 2026

Panama’s comptroller general said on Friday that his office would send prosecutors more audit material on former executives of CK Hutchison’s local subsidiary next week, as part of a criminal investigation into the Hong Kong conglomerate’s annulled Panama Canal ports concession. Speaking at the Atlantic Council in Washington, Anel Flores said prosecutors had requested documents concerning Panama Ports Company (PPC), the operator of the Balboa and Cristobal terminals at either end of the canal...

Manila Water Philippine Ventures ramps up El Niño preparedness

Oct 2, 2026

MANILA, Philippines — As the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) forecasts a “very strong” El Niño that could persist until the first quarter of 2027, Manila Water Philippine Ventures (MWPV), the Non-East Zone subsidiary of Manila Water Company, is intensifying its preparedness measures across its service areas nationwide to help ensure a reliable

Government workers continue to push for P5,000 PERA

Oct 2, 2026

MANILA, Philippines—Government workers are pressing the government to raise the proposed increase in the Personnel Economic Relief Allowance (PERA) to P5,000, saying the P500 increase included in the proposed 2027 national budget is insufficient. The All Government Employee Unity has been pushing for a higher PERA, which has remained at P2,000 since its introduction in

‘No retreat’: Key Trump ally urges continued US-China engagement on rare earths

More News

Ultra Lotto 6/58, Mega Lotto 6/45 draw results on Friday, Oct. 2

Dengue cases in QC top 5,000; weekly cases exceed alert threshold

Brazil’s Lula hails ‘bold’ Chinese investors as rival pitches rare earths to Trump

Legarda calls for shift from political attacks to transparency, reforms

Internet outages hit parts of PH as undersea cable goes offline

Man shoots then stabs to death house intruder in Bukidnon town

Firm linked to VP Duterte had fictitious head – Trillanes

PhilHealth seeks to address double coverage of workers with HMOs, PHIs

DepEd promotes over 3,000 teachers, principals in Cagayan Valley

Panama auditor targets ex-port regulators and CK Hutchison’s executives in canal probe

Manila Water Philippine Ventures ramps up El Niño preparedness

Government workers continue to push for P5,000 PERA

Recommended

Dumaguete drug bust yields P7.8M worth of ‘shabu’

P510K worth of suspected shabu seized in South Cotabato town

Dinagyang main tribes competition returns to downtown Iloilo

Ilocos Sur town adopts 4-day onsite workweek to save energy

Bojie Dy says education still House’s priority, affirms commitment

Puerto Princesa braces for more grass fires amid super El Niño

Global life expectancy almost back to pre-COVID levels, says WHO

Suansing maintains: No pork in proposed 2027 budget

US man arrested over alleged $300 million scheme to smuggle Nvidia AI servers to China