MANILA, Philippines: Vice President Sara Duterte said that the family would support any decision of her father, former president Rodrigo Duterte, if he decides to go back into politics. Her statement comes after the elder Duterte, in his "Gikan sa Masa, Para sa Masa '' program on SMNI News on Monday, said that he was open to a political comeback if his daughter is impeached over the use of confidential and intelligence funds. Vice President Sara Duterte. Contributed PhotoACT Teachers Rep. Francisca "France" Castro" claimed that there were moves in the House of Representatives to file an impeachment complaint against Sara Duterte over the transfer of contingent funds from the Office of the President to the Office of the Vice President in 2022. In a chance interview with reporters at the culmination of the National Reading Month in Quezon City on Tuesday, Duterte said that the family will "wholeheartedly support" his decision to run.

DEHRADUN, India: Forty-one Indian workers trapped in a collapsed road tunnel for 10 days were seen alive on camera for the first time on Tuesday as workers attempted to create new passageways to free them. ALIVE AND ANXIOUS Some of the 41 workers trapped inside a collapsed tunnel that was being built are pictured with an endoscopic camera lowered to their location in the Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand state, northern India on Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2023. "We will bring you out safely, do not worry," rescuers can be heard telling the helmet-wearing men trapped inside as they gather near the camera, video released by state authorities shows. It is hoped that a drone can also be sent down to assess the stability of the area where the men are trapped. "We have sent 24 bottles with meals and bananas to the trapped workers," top local civil servant Abhishek Ruhela told Agence France-Presse (AFP).

Hong Kong wushu athlete Leung Yu-hong won the city's first Sanda gold on Monday. On the final day of the 2023 World Wushu Championships held in Texas yesterday (Nov 20), the Hong Kong Sanda representative faced off against a Vietnamese rival Nguyen Man Cuoug at the 60kg men's Sanda final. Leung, who first defeated Spanish, South Korean, and Kyrgyz rivals in the first three rounds of the event, came face-to-face with a Vietnamese rival at the finals of the 60 kg Sanda event without even dropping one round. At the finals, he continued his hot streak by shutting out the Vietnamese rival with a game score of 2:0 helping the Hong Kong team win their first ever gold medal at the Sanda event. The Hong Kong team finished the 2023 Edition Championship with three gold, silver, and bronze medals respectively, and fourth on the total medal table behind Macau and ahead of Singapore.

Another transport group to continue PISTON strikeJeepney drivers are joined by groups in their protest during the second day of their three-day transport strike at the corner of Agoncillo Street and Pedro Gil Avenue in Manila on November 21, 2023. MANILA, Philippines — As the three-day transport strike launched by the Pinagkaisang Samahan ng mga Tsuper at Operator Nationwide (PISTON) ends today, another group, Manibela, will launch a similar activity from now until Friday. “We will stick to the original plan for a three-day nationwide strike on Nov. 22, 23, 24,” Valbuena said, referring to the supposed joint transport immobilization by PISTON and Manibela members. Tarlac and Cavite will also join the transport strike,” Valbuena added. Valbuena responded to a statement of the Land Transportation, Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) that a transport strike is not a solution to the problem pertaining to the deadline of the transport modernization.

For instance, a video of a pregnant lady driver and an irate vehicle owner at the T3 car park went viral many weeks ago. On the EDSA Busway, an MMDA operation against drivers entering the Busway reached the Philippine Senate where “Bong vs Bong” went viral on social media! Too many cars being allowed in the car park that forced drivers to block, illegally park or go around in circles until they get so mad and take it out on somebody. Car park owners and operators have gotten away with this abuse and lack of accountability. Any smart lawyer could have and should sue the car park operator at NAIA and the LTO for failure to do their jobs.

SILKYARA, India — The first images emerged on Tuesday of 41 men trapped for more than a week in a highway tunnel in the Indian Himalayas, showing them standing in the confined space and communicating with rescue workers. Efforts to bring out the 41 men have been slowed by snags in drilling through the debris in the mountainous terrain. Authorities are simultaneously working on five other plans to pull out the workers, including drilling vertically from the top of the mountain. The trapped men are low-wage workers, most of them from poor states in India’s north and east. “He said he is doing fine,” Sunita Hembrom, the sister-in-law of one of the workers trapped in the tunnel, Surendra Kisko, told reporters after she spoke to him.

BANGKOK: Thailand's economy grew less than expected in the third quarter (Q3) owing to still-weak exports, officials said on Monday, as the government pushes a stimulus program that includes cash handouts worth about $14 billion. The National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC) said gross domestic product grew 1.5 percent on-year in July-September, well off the 2.2 percent tipped by the NESDC and slower than the previous three months. The council said it now expected the economy to grow at the low end of a forecast 2.5 to 3.0 percent this year. New prime minister and former businessman Srettha Thavisin has promised a range of stimulus measures to spur the economy. He has also embarked on numerous foreign trips, seeking to attract much-needed fresh investment in the kingdom.

Investors as important as Microsoft and venture firm Thrive Capital "are making efforts to bring back Sam Altman," The Wall Street Journal reported, citing unnamed sources. Microsoft and Thrive are the two largest investors in OpenAI, but other investors are supportive of these efforts, the Journal said. BRING HIM BACK Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, speaks during The Wall Street Journal’s WSJ Tech Live Conference in Laguna Beach, California, on Oct. 17, 2023. Investors of OpenAI are working on getting Altman to return after he was fired by his own company citing their loss of confidence in him. Greg Brockman, one of OpenAI's co-founders, was pushed from the company's board in the shake-up Friday.

TURIN: Novak Djokovic claimed yet another record on Sunday with his seventh ATP Finals title, sweeping aside local hero Jannik Sinner 6-3, 6-3 in Turin and leaving tennis fans wondering when he will relinquish his tennis dominance. Serbia’s Novak Djokovic serves to Italy’s Jannik Sinner during the final match at the ATP Finals tennis tournament in Turin on Sunday, Nov. 19, 2023. To crown it with a win against a hometown hero in Jannik, who has played amazing tennis all week, is phenomenal," said Djokovic. Sinner was bidding to become the first ever Italian to win the Finals and looked like the right man to do it after his impressive group stage win over Djokovic. "We've seen today that there's still plenty to work on ... but we can look at the positives from this season," said Sinner.

MUMBAI — India’s capital re-opened schools and some building sites on Monday, amid signs of receding air pollution that authorities had deemed hazardous, although a toxic foam besmirched stretches of the Yamuna river flowing through New Delhi. The world’s most polluted capital resumed its annual battle on pollution this month, despite government pledges to improve. Monday’s air quality index (AQI) of 336 was down from Thursday’s level of 509, but still “hazardous”, Swiss group IQAir said. Those remarks followed Saturday’s revocation of emergency measures ordered on Nov. 5 to keep air quality from worsening, including a ban on all building activity, but which were eased after index levels improved. Delhi’s air pollution gets worse in winter, when wind speeds drop and cooling air traps pollutants spewed by vehicles, industry and farmers burning agricultural waste in surrounding states to prepare for new planting.

Three construction workers suffered burn injuries on Monday after an underground electricity cable was accidentally damaged during excavation work. The incident occurred at around 10 am this morning when a male worker struck and damaged a power cable at the Ching Tai Street site. It is understood that workers were repairing a manhole cover and accidentally struck the cable, leading to the explosion. The man suffered burns, while two other workers were also injured. Police have classified the case as an industrial accident and are investigating whether it was caused by human negligence.

Philippines vows not to surrender 'square inch' of territoryPhilippines Presdient Ferdinand Marcos Jr delivers remarks during the Philippines 123 Signing Ceremony during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders' Week in San Francisco, California, on November 16, 2023. MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos insisted his country would not give up "a single square inch of our territory", as Manila seeks to counter Beijing's growing assertiveness in the South China Sea. "As I have said before and I will say again, the Philippines will not give up a single square inch of our territory to any foreign power," Marcos said. "We will insist on the preservation of the sovereignty and integrity of the country while working closely with international partners." During their meeting last week, Marcos and Xi agreed that their disputes in the South China Sea should not be the "defining element" of their relationship, Marcos said earlier.

Comelec probing Smartmatic’s alleged meeting with a candidate’s team in 2022This file photo shows the Commission on Elections headquarters in Manila. This came after Sen. Koko Pimentel asked the Comelec whether it had been informed of the alleged incident between Smartmatic and the unnamed electoral candidate. Pimentel asked: “There are allegations that a certain camp of a certain candidate met with the owner of Smartmatic during the election period of 2022. Has this report reached the Comelec and has the Comelec investigated this report?”Marcos, who was speaking for the Comelec, answered in the affirmative: “Yes.”“The Comelec is saying that there is a pending disqualification case against Smarmatic from bidding in any Comelec exercise. I believe it also includes the allegations and charges against former Comelec Chair Andy Bautista,” Marcos said.

HMAS Toowoomba (File Photo)China said Monday its military has always operated in accordance with international law, after Australia said sonar pulses emitted by a Chinese warship "likely" injured navy divers. Canberra accused Beijing over the weekend of "unsafe and unprofessional" conduct at sea around the HMAS Toowoomba, a long-range frigate that had been supporting United Nations sanctions enforcement efforts within Japan's exclusive economic zone. But Beijing's foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning on Monday said "the Chinese military has strict discipline and has always conducted professional operations in accordance with international law and international practices". The Diving Medical Advisory Committee, an independent London-based organisation, has warned that sonar sound waves can cause divers to suffer dizziness, hearing damage and organ damage. The HMAS Toowoomba -- commissioned in 2005 -- is a long-range frigate packed with advanced surveillance capabilities and "world class" weapons systems, according to the Australian navy.

MADOK, who started that naughty talk about the impeachment of Vice President Sara Duterte? The constitutional provision has triggered speculation that some folks want VP Sara’s position, which is just a heartbeat away from the presidency. Certainly, the House super majority has the numbers to send an impeachment complaint against VP Sara to the Senate. This can render the impeachment of the VP into a move leading to MAD – mutually assured destruction – of the warring Duterte and Marcos / Romualdez clans. So perhaps the House denials of the impeachment talk are genuine, and the idea was floated simply to annoy the Dutertes.