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Marcos Jr proclaimed next Philippine president with huge win

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MANILA, Philippines -- Ferdinand Marcos Jr. was proclaimed the next president of the Philippines by a joint session of Congress on Wednesday following a landslide election triumph 36 years after his dictator father was ousted in a pro-democracy uprising. The Senate and House of Representatives also declared that his separately elected vice presidential running mate, Sara Duterte, had won by a wide margin. She is the daughter of outgoing President Rodrigo Duterte, whose turbulent six-year term ends on June 30. They will lead a nation battered by COVID-19 lockdowns, crushing poverty, gaping inequality, Muslim and communist insurgencies, crime and political divisions further inflamed by the May 9 election . With his 92-year-old mother, Imelda Marcos, his wife, family and siblings beside him, Marcos Jr.'s hands were raised by the Senate president and House speaker in a plenary hall bedecked with a huge Philippine flag to applause from the audience, which included diplomats. “I'm ...
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Russia takes steps to bolster army, tighten grip on Ukraine

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KYIV, Ukraine -- Russian President Vladimir Putin issued an order Wednesday to fast track Russian citizenship for residents of parts of southern Ukraine largely held by his forces, while lawmakers in Moscow passed a bill to strengthen the stretched Russian army. Putin’s decree applying to the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions could allow Russia to strengthen its hold on territory that lies between eastern Ukraine, where Moscow-backed separatists occupy some areas, and the Crimean Peninsula, which Russia seized in 2014. The Russian army is engaged in an intense battle for Ukraine’s eastern industrial heartland, known as the Donbas. In a sign that the Kremlin is trying to bolster its stretched military machine, Russian lawmakers agreed to scrap the age limit of 40 for those signing their first voluntary military contracts. A description of the bill on the parliament website indicated older recruits would be allowed to operate precision weapons or serve in engineering or medical position...
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Iran building collapse kills 14 as mayor and others detained

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TEHRAN, Iran -- Rescuers dug through debris Tuesday of a building collapse in southwestern Iran that killed at least 14 people, fearful that many more could still be trapped beneath the rubble as authorities arrested the city's mayor in a widening probe of the disaster. The collapse Monday of an under-construction 10-story tower at the Metropol Building exposed its cement blocks and steel beams while also underscoring an ongoing crisis in Iranian construction projects that has seen other disasters in this earthquake-prone nation. Video from the initial collapse Monday showed thick dust rise over Abadan, a crucial oil-producing city in Khuzestan province, near Iran's border with Iraq. The Metropol Building included two towers, one already built and the other under construction, though its bottom commercial floors had been finished and already had tenants. On Tuesday, an emergency official interviewed on state television suggested that some 50 people may have been inside of the ...
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Turkey's Erdogan threatens new incursion into Syria

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ANKARA, Turkey -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatened Monday to launch a new military operation in Syria to secure Turkey's southern border. Speaking following a Cabinet meeting, Erdogan said the aim of the operation would be resume Turkish efforts to create a 30-kilometer (20 mile) safe zone along its border with Syria. “We will soon take new steps regarding the incomplete portions of the project we started on the 30-km deep safe zone we established along our southern border,” Erdogan said. Erdogan did not provide further details but said the operation would begin after Turkey’s military, intelligence and security forces complete their preparations. Turkish forces have launched three major incursions into northern Syria, taking control of areas along the border in a bid to secure its frontier from threats from the Islamic State group and Kurdish militia group, the People’s Protection Units, or YPG. Turkey views the group as an extension of the banned Kurdistan Worker...
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