JAKARTA: Indonesia's Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki erupted again on Wednesday, spewing ash clouds 2 kilometers (6,561 feet) above its peak as authorities raised the volcano's alert status to the highest level. Map of Indonesia locating Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki on the island of Flores. The Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation Center, or PVMBG, raised on Tuesday night Lewotobi Laki-Laki's alert level to 4 after it was raised to the second-highest level last week and imposed an exclusion zone of 4 to 5 km around the crater. He added that people should wear masks "to prevent the dangers of volcanic ash to the respiratory system." Indonesian authorities on Tuesday increased the alert status of Mount Marapi, located on the country's western Sumatra island, to the second-highest level and imposed a 4.5-km exclusion zone from its crater.

Causative verb. The English language has, in fact, evolved a special verb form to make people avoid acknowledging responsibility—if only for the moment—when caught in such situations. That verb form is the causative verb, which carries out an action that causes another action to happen. Factitive verb. Like the causative verb, another type of verb that exhibits peculiar behavior is the so-called factitive verb.

The family of overseas Filipino worker (OFW) Mary Jane Veloso and Migrante International gather on Mendiola Bridge near Malacanan Palace on Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024, seeking freedom for the jailed OFW in Indonesia. Veloso is serving a life sentence for drug trafficking. They appealed to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to discuss Veloso's case with Indonesian President Joko Widodo who is in the country for a three-day official visit. Video by Claire Mondares

Social workers to assess medical aid for poor — DOHMANILA, Philippines — The access of indigent patients to medical assistance rests solely on the assessment of social workers, the Department of Health (DOH) clarified Wednesday, after the agency was linked in the latest push to amend the Constitution. Marcos also alleged that districts that deliver a high number of signatures will reportedly get P10 million from the DOH’s medical assistance program. The DOH guidelines state that funds of the Medical Assistance to Indigent and Financially Incapacitated Patients (MAIFIP) Program cover medicines, services, and other medical products as prescribed by licensed physicians or health professionals. To avail medical assistance under the program, patients or their authorized representatives shall submit documents to the Medical Social Service or the designated officer of the health facility. The registered social worker of the health facility will then assess the eligibility of patients and process the medical assistance.

January 9 proposed as national feast of the Black Nazarene to VaticanA kid attempts to reach the glass which carries the Black Nazarene during the Traslacion on Jan. 9, 2024. MANILA, Philippines — The Archdiocese of Manila has petitioned the Vatican to officially recognize January 9 as the annual national feast of the Black Nazarene, as reported by the news division of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP News). (It is our prayer that when we meet again next time, the Church will designate January 9 as a national feast in honor of our beloved Black Nazarene.) RELATED: LIST: Route of the Black Nazarene for Traslacion 2024. If approved by the Vatican, the Feast of the Black Nazarene will be celebrated by all the churches of the Catholic Church in the Philippines.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo arrives in Manila on Tuesday for a three-day official visit to the Philippines. The plane carrying the Indonesian leader landed at around 8:05 p.m at the Villamor Air Base in Pasay City where he was warmly welcomed by Philippine government officials. Video by Malcañang Press Corps

MANILA, Philippines: ASIAN Games gold medalists Margarita 'Meggie' Ochoa and Annie Ramirez, along with Asian champion Carlos Yulo will be among the recipients of Major Awards in the San Miguel Corporation-Philippine Sportswriters Association (SMC-PSA) Awards Night on January 29. Ochoa and Ramirez accounted for half of the gold tally of Team Philippines in the 19th edition of the Asiad in Hangzhou, China by topping the women's 48 kg and -57 kg respectively, as jiu-jitsu scored a double in the continental showpiece.

As a result, to align our calendar with the Earth’s orbit, an extra day is added every four years at the end of February, known as Leap Day, accounting for the nearly 24 hours accumulated over that period. The newspaper’s name, translating to “Sapper’s Candle,” is derived from a comic book character in France who was born on Leap Day. Copies sell for 4.80 euros (around P291.50) per issue, and each Leap Day, the paper enjoys considerable popularity, selling about 150,000 copies. Extremely unlucky: In Scotland, there’s a belief that those born on Leap Day — also called “leaplings” — are destined for a life of hardship. Astrologers often associate those born under the Pisces sign, which includes Leap Day, with talents and good looks.

Watchdog raises alarm over PNP clampdown on 'fake news' vloggersMANILA, Philippines — Moves by the Philippine National Police to punish online content creators allegedly spreading disinformation to "destabilize" the Marcos administration should be viewed with caution due to the police's history of interfering with free speech, according to media watchdog Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR). "The report about the police's intent to interfere with the media and the public forum creates a climate of fear. Leaders of both the PNP and AFP have denied supporting a destabilization plan against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., with PNP spokesperson Col. Jean Fajardo saying that while content creators have the right to free speech, "we are also asking them to spare the PNP." The PNP said that it will file criminal complaints against the vloggers and ask social media companies Facebook and YouTube to remove the "fake" destabilization plot videos, Fajardo said on Saturday. In 2022, alternative news site Kodao Productions reported the Baguio City police's red-tagging of journalists as part of their counterinsurgency campaign.

WASHINGTON — A robotic lander built by a private company was bound for the moon on Monday in an attempt to make the first U.S. lunar soft landing in half a century, after launching to space aboard a new Vulcan rocket debuted by a joint venture of Boeing and Lockheed Martin. Space robotics firm Astrobotic’s Peregrine lunar lander launched toward space at 2:18 a.m. EST from Cape Canaveral, Florida on the first flight of Vulcan, a powerful rocket that had been under development for a decade by the Boeing-Lockheed venture United Launch Alliance (ULA). Vulcan’s debut launch appeared to go as planned, with its second stage booster reaching orbit some 15 minutes after liftoff carrying Peregrine deeper into space. Peregrine is set to land on the moon on Feb. 23 with scientific payloads aboard that will seek to gather data about the lunar surface ahead of planned future human missions. It marks the first trek to the moon’s surface as part of NASA’s Artemis moon program.

Majority of Filipinos disapprove of Marcos admin's inflation response — Pulse AsiaMarketgoers buy what they need at the Marikina Public Market in Marikina City (November 5, 2021). Taming inflation remained the most urgent national concern, with 72% of Filipinos saying it is an issue that the Marcos administration must address immediately. "The only national urgent concern cited across all geographic areas and socio-economic groupings is controlling inflation," Pulse Asia said in a poll released Monday. The polling firm noted that inflation was a concern of the majority of Filipinos across all geographic areas and income brackets. Admin's performanceThe Pulse Asia survey showed the Marcos administration enjoyed majority approval ratings on seven issues, with the highest on protecting the welfare of OFWs (78%).

A 30-year-old man was arrested in Wong Tai Sin for taking upskirt photos on Monday morning. Around 7 am today, a man was heading up the escalators at Yuk Wah Street, located in Wong Tai Sin, and is suspected to have taken an upskirt photo of a 14-year-old girl. Police were alerted to the scene, and after a preliminary investigation, a 30-year-old man surnamed Mak was arrested for "unlawful recording or observation of intimate parts." He is currently remanded under police custody, and the case has been handed over to the Wong Tai Sin police district for follow-up.

A driver was injured after he crashed the car into an open channel to avoid a dog in Yuen Long early Monday morning. The security camera footage of the accident went viral today, showing that a stray dog was loitering around with no people nearby. Later, a Tesla approached at a high speed and it was suspected the driver saw the dog and attempted to avoid it by turning sharply. However, the car rammed into the fence nearby, dropping down to the open channel afterward. The stray dog did not suffer any injuries.

NEW DELHI: India's top court ruled on Monday that 11 murderers convicted of a gang rape that drew global outrage but who were released early must return to jail. Bilkis Bano and two of her children were the only survivors among a group of Muslims attacked by a Hindu mob in the western state of Gujarat in 2002 during one of post-independence India's worst religious riots.

DHAKA: Sheikh Hasina won a fifth term as Bangladesh's prime minister on Sunday, officials said, following an election boycott led by an opposition party she branded as a "terrorist organization." Hasina's ruling Awami League "has won the election," an Election Commission spokesman told Agence France-Presse (AFP) in the early hours of Monday morning after a vote that initial reports suggested had a meager turnout of some 40 percent.