James Patterson

Suffering through what has been described as an "unprecedented steep decline" of 30% during the unrest in Hong Kong, a struggling theme park is ending its controversial show featuring sea lions and dolphins. Leo Kung, the chairman of Ocean Park said, "Under the new plan, the Ocean Wonder show will cease.” The park is planning to replace the show with "underwater viewing opportunities”

Authorities from the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHILVOLCS) have warned that lava and ash spewing from Taal volcano could last for weeks. The Institute has also recorded 212 quakes since Sunday caused by magma flow that could lead to more eruptions.

The CEO of TAI, Temel Kotil is awaiting Malaysia’s response. There is already a “memorandum of understanding” signed last year between TAI and Malaysia.

Using some humor that is unique to the Philippines, President Rodrigo Duterte responded to critics accusing him of cronyism by saying he has “girlfriends” but not cronies.

Matt Kean, Australia’s minister of energy and environment, said over 2,000 pounds (1,000 kilograms) of sweet potatoes and carrots were dropped over different colonies since last week.

Protesters chanted “Sack the Prime Minister” at Scott Morrison for not taking global warming seriously and downplaying any role it may have had in the fiery disaster.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo had paid a visit to the area Wednesday where he had sent warships and fighter jets to assert Indonesia’s sovereignty in the region.

The exception is Iraq where the repatriation of Filipinos will still take place.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo told reporters, “There is no negotiation when it comes to our sovereignty.”

The guideline will effectively ban foreign teaching materials like textbooks and classic novels in all public primary and secondary schools.

During a speech on Monday, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said, “We have so many Filipinos working mainly in the Middle East. I am nervous. Iran seems to be hell-bent on a retaliation, which I think will come.”

Philippine Vice-President Leni Robredo has given President Rodrigo Duterte a failing grade on his brutal drug war that began with his election in 2016. "If this were an exam," she said, "the government's score would be 1 out of 100.”

Japan is in a precarious position because its only military ally is the U.S., but it gets the bulk of its oil from the Persian Gulf and has had a historically warm relationship with Iran.

The Wuhan health commission reported that seven of the 59 people affected were seriously ill, but no fatalities had occurred.

On Monday, Canberra's Air Quality Index (AQI) measured a whopping 340 on a scale of 500.

Malaysian Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah told reporters on Friday that the country will stand behind a December 12, 2019 claim made to the United Nations (U.N.) to stretch its boundaries beyond the normal 200 nautical miles.

The rescue of over 4,000 people from the Australian coastal town of Mallacoota, along with other evacuations, is being called by officials the largest peacetime evacuation in the country's history.

Indonesia has rejected China's claims over the northern Islands of Natuna off the coast of West Kalimantan and East Malaysia.

President Tsai Ing-wen said she had directed those involved in the rescue operations to “put their full efforts into the search and rescue to ensure all the people were safe”.

The new state law allows people of age 21 years and older to own 30 grams of cannabis flower, 500 milligrams of THC in pot products and 5 grams of cannabis concentrate.

Government employees, think tanks, or a university staff were typical targets but the Thallium group also went after networks that work on issues like nuclear proliferation and human rights.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called for his military and diplomats to prepare unspecified “offensive measures” to protect the country’s security and sovereignty.

Letters and numbers written in Korean on the outside of the hull indicate that the boat and its grisly cargo are from North Korea.

In what will end up as a sad footnote to an incredible rescue mission, a Navy Seal from Thailand who helped rescue a group of 12 boys and their football coach from a flooded cave in northern Thailand, has succumbed to a blood infection.   

In what appears to be a “tit-for-tat” move, the Philippine government said that it will remove a privilege known as the “visa-on-arrival” to American citizens if the USA government enforces a ban on Filipino officials who wish to enter the USA.

Duterte’s snub seems to center around Philippine Senator Leila de Lima, who is a staunch critic of the president and who has been in detention at the Philippine National Police Custodial Center since Feb. 24, 2017, on charges that she was involved in the illegal drug trade.

The timing of the broadcast error comes at a time of extreme tensions with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un warning of a possible “Christmas gift” in the form of a long-range ballistic missile test, leaving some in fear of a real bomb attack.

Duterte said, “I am prepared. I have communicated my desire that if the Rohingya in Burma want to migrate, I will accept them.”

One of those killed was a police officer who was electrocuted by a toppled electricity pylon while on patrol.