Philippines

Move comes as haze from Indonesian fires makes Singapore and Kuala Lumpur the world’s most polluted cities.

Firefly, a Malaysian low-cost airline, has extended the suspension of its flights between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore through Wednesday as smoke from fires in Indonesia continued to blanket the region.

The announcement came as IQAir, an air quality monitor, ranked Singapore and the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur as the world’s two most polluted cities on Tuesday.

Firefly said in a statement that flights between the Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport (SZB) near Kuala Lumpur and the Seletar Airport in Singapore (XSP) have been cancelled up to Wednesday due to “weather and haze conditions”.

It called the action a “proactive safety measure”.

The fires, mostly on the Indonesian islands of Sumatra and Borneo, are the country’s most intense in 11 years. They have been spurred by El Nino, a weather pattern expected to be among the strongest in four decades.

IQAir, a Swiss air quality monitoring company, said Air Quality Index in Singapore stood at 199 on Tuesday and 183 in Kuala Lumpur. Readings above 150 are generally considered unhealthy, and those above 300 are classified as hazardous.

Firefly, a subsidiary of Malaysia Aviation Group, which includes Malaysia Airlines, first announced the flight cancellations on October 10, citing “low visibility” due to the haze conditions.

Firefly said that affected passengers were being rebooked on Malaysia Airlines flights between Kuala Lumpur International Airport and Singapore’s Changi Airport, subject to seat availability.

The Singapore government has reintroduced subsidised care for haze-related illnesses, as it last did in 2015, when smoke from Indonesian fires hung over the region for weeks.

In Malaysia, schools reopened in most states on Tuesday as air quality improved slightly, but they remain closed in three states, one federal territory and several districts.

Malaysia’s foreign minister, Mohamad Hasan, said on Monday that he would press for stronger regional mechanisms when foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) meet next month.

“We already have an ASEAN mechanism for natural disasters, but haze is not included or classified as a natural disaster,” he told reporters in Sepang, according to Bernama, Malaysia’s state news agency.

The Philippines, which chairs the bloc this year, confirmed that the issue would be on the agenda.

“It’s in the agenda,” Dominic Xavier Imperial, a spokesman for the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs, said of the November meeting, which will precede the 49th ASEAN summit in Manila.

Mohamad, the Malaysian minister, said Indonesia had deployed about 60,000 personnel to fight the fires, but thick smoke had grounded 34 aircraft, including planes and helicopters.

Remote terrain and limited water supplies have also hindered the effort, he said, and cloud seeding is not possible without suitable rain clouds. He acknowledged Indonesia’s efforts but urged more effective action, citing the toll on Malaysian communities.

Towering teenager Zhang Zhanshuo became the first swimmer in history to win seven golds at a single Asian Games, while on the track, Thai sprinter Puripol Boonson powered to victory in the 100m.

China’s Zhang, 19, scorched to the men’s 400m freestyle title in the pool in Tokyo on Friday in a Games-record three minutes and 41.28 seconds.

He sat on the lane divider after the race and slowly counted off on his fingers all seven medals he had won.

Zhang also won individual golds in the 200m, 800m and 1,500m freestyle events, as well as three relays.

He said, after wrapping up a scintillating campaign, that it had been the “perfect week”.

“I think the most important thing is to stay grounded and focused, because the Asian Games are not my ultimate goal,” said Zhang, who stands 198cm (six feet, six inches).

With the Los Angeles Olympics less than two years away, China won 30 of the 42 golds in the pool this week.

Their 13-year-old phenomenon Yu Zidi was the undoubted superstar, taking home three individual golds and all in Games-record times.

Not to be outdone, Japan’s 17-year-old Shin Ohashi shattered the men’s 200m breaststroke world record on Thursday.

Swimming, equestrian and diving are taking place in Tokyo, but the city of Nagoya and the wider Aichi prefecture are the main Games host.

The men’s and women’s 100m sprints, the blue riband events in track and field, took place in front of rows of empty seats in Nagoya.

China’s Chen Yujie streaked to a comfortable victory in the women’s final in a Games-record 11.06 seconds.

The men’s was won by 20-year-old Puripol, who burst out of the pack in the final quarter of the race to win in 9.90 seconds, breaking his Games record from earlier in the evening.

It was Thailand’s first men’s 100m gold medal since Suchart Jairsuraparp on home soil at the 1978 Bangkok Games.

‘Today was a miracle for me’

On the last evening of gymnastics, Carlos Yulo won the men’s vault for his second gold of the Games.

The double Olympic champion won floor gold on Thursday to complete his collection of major titles.

“I can’t believe it,” the Filipino said.

“In this whole Asian Games, I felt really stressed, but at the same time, I enjoyed what I did today. I really did my part.

“Today was really a miracle for me.”

There’s little time to celebrate, however, with the world championships next month.

South Korea edged China 85-80 in the semifinals of the women’s basketball, and will face hosts Japan for gold.

China had their giant centre Zhang Ziyu, 19, but it was not enough.

Zhang Ziyu stands 223cm (seven feet, four inches) and scored 22 points.

“She was tough to guard,” said South Korea’s Kang Lee-seul.

“We couldn’t defend her, but we focused on fast breaks and shooting more three-pointers.”

North Korea’s women were again in record-setting form on the weightlifting dais.

Oh Kwang Ok set three world records on her way to women’s 57kg bodyweight class gold.

Oh lifted 104kg in the snatch and 134kg in the clean and jerk for a 238kg total – all world records to add to the two golds North Korea’s women won in the 49kg and 53kg classes this week.

North Korea has won four gold medals and two silvers in the six weightlifting events contested so far.

Published on 22/09/2026 – 11:54 GMT+2•Updated
12:00

The European Commission struck a trade agreement with the Philippines on Tuesday, stepping up its diversification strategy across the Indo-Pacific region.

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The deal comes more than a year after the US introduced sweeping new tariffs on many of its trading partners, prompting retaliatory measures and adding to global trade tensions.

Since then, the EU has been seeking new trade ties, recently concluding major deals with India, Australia and Indonesia.

“This agreement sends a clear signal that the EU is reinforcing its engagement with the Indo-Pacific,” EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič said on Tuesday.

“Half of global consumers are covered by European Free trade agreements. Nobody else has this advantage.”

“Squeeze on supply chains”

The new agreement will give EU businesses access to a market of 113 million people, and remove over 94% of customs duties. It will cover more than 97% of bilateral trade, including EU exports of machinery, medicines and medical appliances, as well as agri-products such as meat, pork, poultry and spirits.

Exports from the Philippines are dominated by semiconductors, integrated circuits and industrial machinery.

The deal should also facilitate EU investment in raw materials in the Philippines, as the EU seeks to move away from China, which holds a monopoly on key raw materials.

Bilateral trade in goods between the EU and the Philippines was €17.6 billion in 2025, while trade in services reached €10.3 billion in 2024. The stock of EU foreign direct investment in the Philippines amounted to €15.4 billion.

Šefčovič also said there was a “mutual interest” with countries in the wider Indo-Pacific area “to address the current global turbulence” and “the squeeze on the supply chains.”

Brussels says China has weaponised critical products for EU industry such as chips and rare earths in 2025, jeopardising whole sectors such as the car industry.

The Commissioner added that trade deals with Thailand and Malaysia were next on the EU agenda, with an agreement with Bangkok foreseen by the end of the year.

THE HAGUE, Netherlands: Former Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte is expected to appear in public for the first time on Wednesday since being transferred to the International Criminal Court 18 months ago to face ‌murder charges related ‌to his war on drugs.

Duterte, ​81, ‌served ⁠as president ​from ⁠2016 to 2022, before being charged with crimes against humanity for creating, funding and arming death squads that targeted narcotics peddlers and users. He was arrested and taken to The Hague in March 2025.

On Wednesday, judges will hear arguments about his health and ability to stand ⁠trial, which is scheduled to begin ‌in November. His lawyers have ‌argued that he suffers from cognitive decline ​and is not well ‌enough.

Duterte’s lawyer and family did not respond to ‌requests for comment.

ICC judges said in January that Duterte’s health was good enough for him to follow proceedings and requested his presence in court, rather than by video link from ‌the detention unit.

Duterte’s warrant says he was responsible for a widespread and systematic campaign ⁠that led ⁠to thousands of killings between 2011 and 2019, including when he served as mayor of the southern Davao city.

ICC prosecutors have said as many as 30,000 people may have been killed in the crackdown, the details of which were reported in a Reuters investigation.

According to police, 6,200 suspects were killed during anti-drug operations. Duterte said he instructed police to act in self-defense and told supporters he was ready to “rot in jail” ​if it meant ridding ​the Philippines of illicit drugs.

Published on
14/09/2026 – 16:42 GMT+2

EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič will visit Manila next week to finalise a trade agreement with the Philippines, the European Commission confirmed to Euronews on Monday.

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The agreement is nearing conclusion as Brussels has increasingly looked to the Asia-Pacific over the past year to diversify its trade ties.

Since the return to power of US President Donald Trump, the global trade order has been shifting, with the EU seeking new markets for its exports.

The latest round of EU-Philippines trade talks took place in May, with access to public procurement emerging as the final sticking point. An agreement would mark a shift for the Philippines, which has so far kept public contracts closed to foreign bidders.

The Commission told MEPs earlier this month that the rest of the agreement was ready. The aim is to lift trade barriers between both partners in most sectors.

An official from the EU executive also told MEPs that sanitary and phytosanitary rules for food products were “ambitious”, alongside automotive standards that would improve EU manufacturers’ access to the Philippine market. The official added that the EU and the Philippines were “complementary” in both industrial goods and agriculture.

The deal is an important one for Manila, which has been hit by US tariffs in 2025 and by the war in Iran, which heavily impacted energy prices in the country.

However, the Philippines also reached “upper-middle-income country” status in August, granted by the World Bank, which makes it a promising market — “One of the most dynamic economies in the East Asia Pacific region since 2010,” the World Bank said.

Bilateral trade in goods between the EU and the Philippines amounted to €16.8 billion in 2024. That same year, the EU was the Philippines’ fourth-largest trading partner, accounting for 7% of the country’s total trade in goods, while the Philippines was the EU’s 39th-largest trading partner, accounting for 0.3% of the EU’s total trade in goods.

After the Philippines, the Commission aims to conclude talks with Thailand, making 2026 a strong year for EU trade deals across Asia and the Pacific, with agreements already reached with Australia and India.