MOSCOW — The hundreds of flowers and candles laid in Moscow on Friday to honor the memory of Alexei Navalny, Russia’s most prominent opposition leader, were taken away overnight in black bags. Navalny’s spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh on Saturday confirmed his death, citing an official notice given to his mother, Lydumila. ADVERTISEMENTREAD: Who was Alexei Navalny and what did he say of Russia, Putin, and death? West ‘not our friend’At “Patriki”, or Patriarch’s Ponds, the centre of Moscow nightlife, many young Russians revelled away Friday night just hours after news of Navalny’s death. “It is sad of course when anybody dies,” Olga Kazakova, a Russian, told Reuters in central Moscow on Saturday.

HAVING hitched our wagon, so to speak, to Uncle Sam's caravan just when it is losing traction in the world, we may — like Ukraine — lose big and, God forbid, get crushed. The following year, Russia invaded Ukraine and annexed Crimea, with Western nations failing to intervene despite pledging to secure Ukrainian territory. RAND Corp., funded by the US military, published last July "How to Reverse the Erosion of US and Allied Military Power and Influence." Ironically, and perhaps providentially, America's recent decline in clout resulted precisely from its drive to stay on top. Weeks after the Feb. 24, 2022 invasion, Kyiv and Moscow forged a peace deal for Ukraine's neutrality and full Russian withdrawal.

98 dead, 9 missing in Davao de Oro landslideThis screengrab from AFPTV aerial video footage taken on February 7, 2024 shows the site of a landslide in Davao de Oro province on Mindanao island in the southern Philippines. MANILA, Philippines — Casualties from the landslide in Maco, Davao de Oro continue to rise as government officials abandoned all hope of finding live victims under the rubble. "As of 12 noon today, we have a total of 98 retrieved bodies which includes complete body parts and body parts," said Management of the Dead and the Missing (MDM) unit member Lea Añora in a press briefing this afternoon. "88 were complete body parts and 10 body parts... And we have 79 identified bodies and we still have 18 unidentified retrieved bodies." Among those who are still missing are from:immediate community : 4: 4 Maria-Socio General Services Inc. (MSGSI) : 4: 4 Apex Mining: 1The landslide occured in Brgy.

Millennials', Gen Zs' new love language: 3 out of 5 are 'willing to pay the price' for itMANILA, Philippines — These days, it is no longer enough to say "I love you" to show how much you love a person. Millennials and Gen Zs, particularly those in the Asia Pacific region including the Philippines, have found a new love language — shared travel experiences. Travel is the new love languageFor Millennials and Gen Zs, travel is now more than just a holiday and a reward for oneself after working so hard for a long period. It's no longer just a journey; it's the embodiment of a new love language shared experiences. Millennials also lean towards travel with their partners, while Gen Zs prioritize friend group travel.

Chinese vessels shadowed a Philippine boat that was delivering food and fuel to Filipino fishermen to allow them to spend longer at sea and catch more fish. (Photo: AFP/Ted ALJIBE)The Philippines on Saturday accused Chinese coast guard ships of "dangerous" manoeuvres after they repeatedly blocked a Filipino vessel delivering supplies to fishermen at a reef off the Southeast Asian nation's coast. The incidents happened near the China-controlled Scarborough Shoal on Thursday and Friday, several days after the Philippine Coast Guard made similar accusations against Chinese boats in the same area. The Datu Tamblot and the China Coast Guard vessels issued repeated radio challenges to each other, with each side accusing the other of encroaching into their territorial waters. On four occasions, Chinese coast guard vessels briefly blocked the Datu Tamblot by crossing its bow and stopping in its path as it neared the shoal.

Bitcoin’s fortunes are getting better as it is expected to keep rising after reaching a record-high $52,749. AFP PHOTOBitcoin's price has soared by more than 20 percent this month and more than tripled since January last year. Bankruptcies of several sector giants, especially the cryptocurrency exchange platform FTX, previously undermined investor confidence and caused Bitcoin's price to collapse over a year ago. Prior to this, and anxious to recover their stake when Bitcoin's price dropped, some investors made massive withdrawals from the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust EFT, which had accumulated more than $28 billion in assets. Bitcoin's creator Satoshi Nakamoto has limited the maximum number of bitcoins to 21 million.

MOSCOW – Russia’s most prominent opposition leader Alexei Navalny collapsed and died on Friday after a walk at the “Polar Wolf” Arctic penal colony where he was serving a long jail term, the Russian prison service said. “All necessary resuscitation measures were carried out, which did not yield positive results,” the prison service said, adding that causes of death were being established. “Russian authorities publish a confession that they killed Alexei Navalny in prison,” Navalny aide Leonid Volkov wrote on social media. “My sincere belief is that it was the conditions of detention that led to Navalny’s death,” Russian newspaper editor and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Dmitry Muratov told Reuters. Navalny long forecast Russia could face seismic political turmoil, including revolution, because he said Putin built a brittle system of personal rule reliant on sycophancy and corruption.

NEW DELHI: Farmers blocked highways and held demonstrations in rural areas of northern India on Friday to demand for legislation that would guarantee minimum support prices for all farm produce. PROTESTING FARMERS Members of Center of India Trade Unions (CITU) shout slogans in support of a countrywide rural strike called by farmers in Jammu, India, on Friday, Feb. 16, 2024. AP photoThe farmers are camping on the border between Punjab and Haryana after being blocked by concrete and metal barricades. The protesting farmers are mostly from Punjab and Haryana and are relatively better-off than farmers in other Indian states. Farmers said a guaranteed minimum support price for other crops would stabilize their incomes.

A Philippine Coast Guard vessel.Photographer: Jes Aznar/Getty ImagesThe Philippines said it will respond to any “dangerous” maneuvers by China in a disputed South China Sea shoal, where Manila has started rotating vessels this month amid heightened tensions with Beijing. His statement was shared on X by Coast Guard spokesman Jay Tarriela. Beijing claims nearly all of the South China Sea, a vital trade route, including areas Manila says are part of its territory. Tensions between China and the Philippines have flared in the past months, with their vessels clashing in the disputed sea. Marcos’s administration has asserted maritime claims and protested China’s actions, while strengthening defense ties with the US.

THE highly anticipated Thailand Week is set to showcase the best of Thai merchandise at the Glorietta Activity Center in Makati City from Feb. 29 to March 3, 2024. Organized by the Department of International Trade Promotion (DITP) and Ministry of Commerce in Thailand through the Thai Trade Center in Manila, this annual event is the biggest trade show of Thai products in the Philippines, consistently bringing high-quality Thai products to the forefront for over a decade. Thailand Week 2024 is set to take place at Glorietta Activity Center from Feb. 29 to March 3, 2024. Under the theme "Discover excellence, trade with Thailand," the fair continues its tradition of highlighting the superior quality of Thai products. Over 80 companies, including Thai exporters and Philippine importers with Thai products, will participate in Thailand Week 2024.

Sulu residents led cops to lair of woman tagged as 'terrorist'Myrna Ajilul Mabanza did not resist arrest when policemen and soldiers arrived at her hideout and served her the warrants for her arrest. COTABATO CITY — The support of Muslim clerics in Sulu helped government operatives arrest the most wanted terrorist in the Bangsamoro region, linked to transnational terror groups. She was arrested Barangay Pasil in Indanan town in the province on Thursday. More than 500 Abu Sayyaf members in Sulu had surrendered in batches via local government units in the province since 2016, all reintegrated into mainstream society. “To all the civilians who helped work out the arrest of Mabanza, we are thankful,” Galido told reporters on Friday morning via text message.

MANILA, Philippines — A group that monitors sexual harassment cases in schools has called on the Department of Education to establish concrete anti-retaliation policies to protect victims when they file complaints against school authorities, including their teachers accused of sexual misconduct. New demands were drawn up during the gathering, which had “galvanized” student leaders from different schools to take action on the continued rise in sexual harassment cases in their own campuses, Enough is Enough (EIE) said in a statement. Based on its monitoring, EIE has recorded at least 61 incidents of campus sexual misconduct that have taken place. But “multiple cases … have either been dropped or remain unresolved” while several accused remain unpunished, the group said. Last year, EIE reiterated its call for DepEd to ensure that it takes action on all those accused of sexual harassment in schools, noting that fear of reprisal or humiliation has prevented several victims from speaking out.

NEW DELHI: India's main opposition Congress party said Friday that its bank accounts had been frozen by the tax department just weeks before the expected announcement of national elections. "We were told that the accounts of India's main opposition party have been frozen," Congress party spokesman Ajay Maken told a press conference. FROZEN FUNDS Congress party spokesman Ajay Maken addresses a press conference at All India Congress Committee (AICC) headquarters in New Delhi on Friday, Feb. 16, 2024. "When the principal opposition party's accounts have been frozen just two weeks before the announcement of the national elections, do you think democracy is alive in our country?" Congress party leader Rahul Gandhi, scion of the dynasty that dominated Indian politics for decades, was convicted of criminal libel last year after a complaint by a member of Modi's party.

Agri Rep. Wilbert Lee and former presidential candidate Leodegario 'Leody' De Guzman tells a press conference at the Club Filipino in San Juan City on Friday, Feb. 16, 2024, that the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) is viable enough to increase its case rates by as much as 30 percent. Lee cautioned, however, that PhilHealth should not act as an 'investment company' and should use its more than P400 billion in funds to serve needy patients. Video by Red MendozaGet the latest newsdelivered to your inbox Sign up for The Manila Times newsletters By signing up with an email address, I acknowledge that I have read and agree to the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

PARIS—Democratic standards across the world fell in 2023 amid the spread of wars, authoritarian crackdowns and declining levels of trust in mainstream political parties, the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) said on Thursday. While the number of countries categorized as democracies increased by two last year, the global average index score fell to 5.23 in 2023 from 5.29 the year before, its lowest level since the first study was published in 2006.W. The study said it was the first time that North America has not placed as the world’s highest-scoring region. Your subscription has been successful. Subscribe to our daily newsletter SIGN ME UPThe top three places in the index are occupied by Norway, New Zealand and Iceland, while the final three countries are North Korea, Myanmar and Afghanistan.