MANILA (Reuters) : The deployment of the US military’s Typhon missile launchers in the Philippines was in line with Washington’s longstanding defense ties with the country, the Philippine armed forces said on Friday. “The primary objective of this deployment is to strengthen Philippine military readiness, improve our familiarization and interoperability with advanced weapon systems, and ..read more

WASHINGTON (AFP): US President Donald Trump will reach out to Kim Jong Un again, he said in an interview aired Thursday, calling the North Korean leader with whom he previously met three times a “smart guy.” The Republican had a rare diplomatic relationship with the reclusive Kim during his previous administration from 2017 to 2021 ..read more

MOSCOW (Reuters): Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said early on Friday that air defense units had intercepted three separate attacks by Ukrainian drones headed for Russia’s capital. Sobyanin, writing on the Telegram messaging app, said air defense units southeast of the capital in the Kolomna and Ramenskoye district had repelled one group of “enemy” drones, without ..read more

SEOUL (Reuters) : South Korea’s military said on Friday that it suspects North Korea is preparing to send more troops to Russia to fight Ukrainian forces, even after suffering losses and seeing some of its soldiers captured. “As four months have passed for the dispatch of troops for the Russia-Ukraine war, and multiple casualties and ..read more

DAVOS : United States President Donald Trump has delivered the first international speech of his second term, appearing via livestream before the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Thursday’s remarks, however, took a combative approach to international diplomacy, as he once again threatened tariffs against foreign competitors — and even allies like the European Union ..read more

(CNN): There are few moments as controversial in food history as the decision by a Canadian chef in the 1960s to put tinned pineapple on top of a ham pizza. When Sam Panapoulos created what he and his brother-slash-partner-in-crime dubbed Hawaiian pizza, it was a breach of Italian culinary protocol that would echo down through ..read more

CASTAIC (Reuters): Powerful winds and bone-dry conditions could pose a challenge to firefighters battling new wildfires in southern California on Thursday, including a blaze that swelled over the past day and forced tens of thousands of evacuations north of Los Angeles. The Hughes fire, about 50 miles (80 km) north of Los Angeles, grew to ..read more

ISTANBUL (AA) : The world’s largest iceberg, A23a, is drifting from Antarctica toward South Georgia, a remote British island renowned for its diverse wildlife. Now just 173 miles (280km) away, the iceberg risks grounding and breaking apart, potentially disrupting feeding grounds for penguins and seals, as seen with previous large icebergs. “Icebergs are inherently dangerous. I ..read more

LONDON (Reuters) : Britain launched an investigation into Apple and Google’s smartphone operating systems, app stores and browsers on Thursday, its second use of recently bulked-up regulatory powers to scrutinise big tech companies. CMA Chief Executive Sarah Cardell said more competitive mobile ecosystems could foster innovation and new opportunities across a range of services that ..read more

NEW YORK (Reuters) : PayPal will pay a $2 million civil fine over cybersecurity failures that led to the exposure of customers’ Social Security numbers, New York state’s financial services superintendent Adrienne Harris said on Thursday. The settlement followed a probe that found PayPal failed to both use qualified staff to manage key cybersecurity functions and ..read more