WATCH: Inside Metro Manila Subway's Camp Aguinaldo stationMANILA, Philippines — Construction of the Metro Manila Subway Project is continuing, with excavation and structural works underway at key underground sites, including the Camp Aguinaldo station in Quezon City. The project is being implemented with financing support from Japan’s Official Development Assistance, in partnership with the Japan International Cooperation Agency. Once completed, the subway will run about 33 kilometers from Valenzuela to Parañaque, with 17 stations along the route. Travel time from end to end is estimated at around 40 minutes. The project aims to ease traffic congestion and reduce travel time across Metro Manila.

MANILA, Philippines — Construction of the Metro Manila Subway Project is continuing, with excavation and structural works underway at key underground sites, including the Camp Aguinaldo station in Quezon City. The project is being implemented with financing support from Japan’s Official Development Assistance, in partnership with the Japan International Cooperation Agency. Once completed, the subway will run about 33 kilometers from Valenzuela to Parañaque, with 17 stations along the route. Travel time from end to end is estimated at around 40 minutes. The project aims to ease traffic congestion and reduce travel time across Metro Manila.

If one has to name the most iconic and historic hotel in Hong Kong, it would be none other than The Peninsula. It marked a relatively "daring" move for the venerable hotel, Vuchot noted. Albeit a distinctively Hong Kong brand, The Peninsula commands a global footprint with 12 hotels in major cities, spanning from Tokyo to New York. Riding Hong Kong's tourism comebackTurning his gaze back to Hong Kong, Vuchot is greatly encouraged by its economic rebound. On policies aimed at stimulating tourism, Vuchot said the government's push to host more mega events locally is bearing fruit.

Singapore's Prime Minister and Minister for Finance, Lawrence Wong Shyun Tsai, said he believes collaborating with Hong Kong will foster growth and resilience for both Asian financial hubs. Meanwhile, Singapore is racing to capture more flows of bullion and boost its gold trading business, with Hong Kong also pushing to expand its gold market links with Shanghai. Chee Hong Tat, deputy chairman of the Monetary Authority of Singapore, announced plans last Friday to turn the city-state into a gold trading hub for Asia, with regulators and industry players working together to strengthen the market's trading, clearing and storage infrastructure. Chee said this move is not to place bets on price fluctuations in the short term, but to create the ecosystem for gold trading activity based out of Singapore. He believes that the gold exchange can become the new economic backbone of wealth management and asset management.

Price Watch: Oil, fuel monitor for Mar. 30MANILA, Philippines — Pump prices across Metro Manila vary widely by city, with differences of more than P20 per liter for some fuel products. As of Monday, March 30, the gap between the lowest and highest prices remains significant across gasoline, diesel and kerosene, reflecting uneven retail pricing across the capital. The wide price gaps come as fuel costs remain elevated following successive price increases driven by global supply disruptions. Oil firms have implemented multiple rounds of hikes in recent weeks, with diesel and kerosene posting double-digit increases as tensions in the Middle East continue to affect supply routes.

Netizens have condemned a driver for allowing a young child to sit on their lap and steer a vehicle through Tuen Mun on Sunday afternoon. ADVERTISEMENT SCROLL TO CONTINUE WITH CONTENTA video circulating online shows a boy, estimated to be three years old, holding the steering wheel of a black private car with dual Hong Kong-mainland plates as it traveled along Tuen Mun Heung Sze Wui Road toward Yau Oi Estate. The footage, lasting 1 minute and 42 seconds, was reportedly captured at 1:50pm in front of the Tuen Mun Law Courts. The child appeared to be unbuckled while sitting on the adult driver’s lap, with at least one other passenger visible in the back seat. Under Section 42 of the Road Transport Ordinance, it is an offense to allow an unlicensed person to drive a motor vehicle.

Since the United States and Israel attacked Iran, there has been a steady stream of overseas Filipino workers returning to the Philippines to get out of harm’s way. The Middle East is home to the largest concentration of OFWs and their dependents. The number of repatriates is low compared to the estimated two million Filipinos working or living in the region. It’s not the first war in the Middle East, and it’s unlikely to be the last. For such empowered Filipinos, working overseas would be an option rather than a necessity.

A man died in Mexico City's newly renovated Estadio Banorte on Saturday after falling from a box seat area shortly before the stadium's reopening match, security officials said. ADVERTISEMENT SCROLL TO CONTINUE WITH CONTENTThe accident occurred just as the venue, known as the Azteca Stadium, hosted a friendly between Mexico and Portugal. The match is intended to serve as a stress test for the facility after an around-the-clock construction push to meet Saturday's deadline. The stadium, scheduled to hold the opening ceremony on June 11, is to be the first to host matches in three different World Cups. He attempted to jump from the second-level box seats to the first level by climbing along the exterior of the structure before falling to the ground floor, they said.

Organised by hundreds of civic groups, including trade unions, anti-racism campaigners and Muslim representative bodies, Saturday's Together Alliance event was billed as the biggest in UK history to counter right-wing extremism. Protesters carrying placards with slogans like "no to racism" and "you cannot divide us" marched from near Marble Arch to Whitehall near the UK parliament for a planned rally featuring various speakers. Student Emily Roth told AFP there was "a global toxic climate and the UK is not fighting it". It noted 18 of those followed an alleged protest near the Together Alliance rally in support of Palestine Action, an activist group banned under anti-terror law. Anti-immigration figurehead Nigel Farage's hard-right Reform UK party, which has been leading in national polls for over a year, is predicted to perform well across the contests.

China conducted naval, air and coast guard patrols around the Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea on Sunday, its military and Coast Guard said. ADVERTISEMENT SCROLL TO CONTINUE WITH CONTENTThe Philippines marked the Scarborough Shoal as its exclusive economic zone, and China also claims the shoal as part of its territory. The patrols came after Beijing and Manila restarted high-level talks last week over the disputed waters and discussed oil and gas cooperation in the area. Recent maritime confrontations have heightened tensions, with the Philippines accusing Beijing of "dangerous manoeuvres" and deploying water cannon to interfere with its resupply missions in contested areas. The Philippine embassy in Beijing did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The risk of an expanded Iran war grew as Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis on Saturday launched their first attacks on Israel since the start of the conflict, as additional U.S. forces reached the Middle East. ADVERTISEMENT SCROLL TO CONTINUE WITH CONTENTWashington has dispatched thousands of Marines to the Middle East in the month-old war. Reuters has reported the Pentagon was considering military operations that could include deploying ground troops in Iran. Trump has threatened to hit Iranian power stations and other energy infrastructure if Iran does not open the Strait of Hormuz. Israel has targeted Iran's nuclear infrastructure.

President Marcos declares local holidaysMANILA, Philippines — President Marcos has declared special non-working days in five municipalities and one province to allow residents to fully participate in the celebration of their founding anniversaries in April. The Office of the Mayor of both municipalities requested that April 6 be declared as a special non-working day, in lieu of April 3, which falls on Good Friday, the proclamations stated. Meanwhile, Proclamation 1198 declared April 24 a special non-working day in Sulop town in Davao del Sur to mark its founding anniversary. Marcos declared April 27 a special non-working day in Montalban, Rizal through Proclamation 1201 for the commemoration of the town’s 155th founding anniversary. The people of Mountain Province will also observe a special non-working day on April 7 through Proclamation 1203 for the celebration of the province’s founding anniversary.

Iran vs USABrent crude closed last Friday at $112.57 per barrel – its highest weekly close since 2022 and up by 86 percent year-to-date. Despite an extended ultimatum from President Trump, Iran shows no sign of yielding. Within days, strait traffic collapsed by 97 percent. Diplomacy stallsPresident Trump has twice extended his ultimatum for Iran to reopen the strait, pushing the deadline to April 6. He gave Iran 48 hours to reopen Hormuz, then extended the deadline to five days, then ten.

Philippines, China begin talks on oil, gas explorationManila and Beijing convened back-to-back the 24th Foreign Ministry Consultations and the 11th Meeting of the Bilateral Consultation Mechanism (BCM) on the South China Sea on March 27 and 28 in Quanzhou City, in China’s Fujian province. MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines and China discussed “initial exchanges” on a potential oil and gas exploration in the South China Sea, as the two countries resumed the bilateral dialogue to manage disputes in the contested waters. Manila and Beijing convened back-to-back the 24th Foreign Ministry Consultations and the 11th Meeting of the Bilateral Consultation Mechanism (BCM) on the South China Sea on March 27 and 28 in Quanzhou City, in China’s Fujian province. The two sides explored preliminary steps toward oil and gas cooperation and emphasized the importance of stable energy and fertilizer access. “The Philippines emphasized the need for diplomacy and communication for managing differences at sea, and upholding international law, particularly the 1982 UNCLOS (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea) and the 2016 South China Sea Arbitral Award,” the DFA said.

9,000 cops deployed in Metro Manila for Holy WeekTheater group members reenact the Passion of Christ during a Senakulo in front of the Immaculate Conception Cathedral in Pasig City yesterday. MANILA, Philippines — Over 9,000 personnel of the National Capital Region Police Office have been deployed across Metro Manila to secure the observance of Holy Week, the NCRPO announced yesterday. We have more than 9,000 deployed to secure our countrymen,” Asilo said in an interview over dzMM. She said police would remain on alert until the end of the summer vacation, with additional personnel to be deployed if necessary. Asilo urged residents leaving their homes for the Holy Week break to secure their properties and coordinate with neighbors or barangay officials.