James Patterson

Opinions will vary widely as to if President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw U.S. forces from Syria is an “abandonment” of Kurdish fighters in Syria or is a move to “set things straight” with the Turks. The situation has South Koreans worried that Trump might make a similar move in their country, where nearly 30,000 U.S. troops are stationed, leaving them vulnerable to attacks from North Korea.

Oct 16, 2019

General Oscar Albayalde, the Philippines' top police officer and enforcer of President Rodrigo Duterte's war on drugs, gave up his post on Monday over allegations that he sheltered some corrupt policemen under his watch six years ago.

Oct 15, 2019

An animated film titled “Abominable” produced by China’s Pearl Studio and the U.S.-based Dream Works Animation has been pulled from Vietnamese cinemas. The reason for the film’s ban is a scene showing China’s internationally contested Nine-Dash Line on a map giving China sovereignty of the entire South China Sea, some of which lie inside Vietnam’s exclusive economic zone.

Oct 15, 2019

The Philippine already has a smoking culture and lax laws that Juul can exploit to target teens, activists say.

Oct 14, 2019

China's President Xi Jinping has warned that any attempt to divide China will end in "crushed bodies and shattered bones.” While he didn’t mention any names, the comments, made during a state visit to Nepal, were seen as a warning to pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong.

Oct 14, 2019

At the elite Shatin Tsung Tsin Secondary School on Tuesday, about 100 students lined up around a basketball court and sang Glory to Hong Kong, the recently composed anthem of the protest movement.

Oct 12, 2019

In an amazing story of perseverance, 82-year-old Fedelina Lugasan from the Philippines says that all she wants to do is go home and try to find some family members after spending 65 years as a slave to a Filipino family that took her to the U.S. when she was a teenager. "I want to go home to Tacloban and find my family," Nanay Fedelina said.

Oct 11, 2019

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte and China’s leader Xi Jinping are like two people in a romantic relationship who will often overlook certain flaws in each other and only see the attractive features. Both countries could benefit from Duterte’s willingness to ignore Beijing’s aggressive actions in the South China Sea while Xi is gaining some leverage by ignoring the international response to Duterte’s bloody and deadly war on drugs.

Oct 11, 2019

As the US and China relationship grows more bitter each day, the Communist country announced its plans to place tighter restrictions on visas for US Nationals they consider linked to anti-China groups.

Oct 10, 2019

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has invited Russian oil giant Rosneft to conduct oil and gas explorations in various parts of the Philippines, including areas in the West Philippine Sea. This certainly will complicate matters as these are waters also being claimed by China.

Oct 10, 2019

Any major metropolitan city will have issues with traffic and for Manila, the largest city in the Philippines, this is especially true. For commuters, the term nightmare comes to mind especially after a breakdown in the city’s Mass Transit System.

Oct 09, 2019

Here are a few important things that you need to know about the crisis in Hong Kong, where protests are turning more violent by the day.

Oct 08, 2019

Video footage showed the attackers using hammers and steel bars to smash glass windows on the train and surveillance cameras on the train platform.

Oct 08, 2019

Some shopping centers closed, the city’s public transportation systems were operating at about 50% of their normal capacity and long lines at ATM machines and grocery store aisles had people both worried and angry.

Oct 07, 2019

Myasthenia gravis is a chronic autoimmune neuromuscular disease that causes weakness in the skeletal muscles responsible for breathing and moving parts of the body, including the arms and legs.

Oct 07, 2019

The purpose of Duterte's visit was to seek greater defense ties with Russia but some pictures of a somewhat disheveled Philippine President drew some attention on social media by Russian Twitter users.

Oct 05, 2019

Trump's corruption accusation may have led to Hunter Biden’s pictures being removed from BHR’s website, but his role with the firm is unchanged.

Oct 05, 2019

China claims the area under the “Nine-Dash-Line” that encompasses most of the South China Sea and largely ignores any EEZ in the region.

Oct 04, 2019

China’s October 1st celebration parade showcased three formations of drones in their debut appearance in a PLA parade on National Day.

Oct 04, 2019

The event was part of a ceremony marking South Korea’s Armed Forces Day that commemorates the military service of men and women.

Oct 03, 2019

Polio, the disease that left thousands of children crippled in the 1950s before a vaccine was developed, has made a comeback in the Philippines. The International Red Cross and its Philippine affiliate have sounded the alarm on the disease that was thought to have been eradicated almost 20 years ago. In the Philippines, a single case requires the government to declare a national outbreak.

Oct 03, 2019

The big questions are: Is the gas mostly carbon dioxide (CO2) or methane (CH4)? And, why is it potentially a “ticking time bomb”?

Oct 03, 2019

Tsang Chi-kin, an 18-year-old pupil of Tsuen Wan Public Ho Chuen Yiu Memorial College, was first sent to Princess Margaret Hospital with a serious lung injury, then transferred to Queen Elizabeth Hospital, where the bullet was removed.

Oct 02, 2019

The President admitted it would be difficult to stop hazing and enforce the law. He told the media prior to his official visit to Russia, "Frankly, you can't get rid of it.”

Oct 02, 2019

Human beings are no match against Mother Nature when she decides to vent her wrath as in Hurricane Katrina in August of 2005 or the tsunami that struck Japan in March of 2011. The only “defense” against these events is to get out of their way by leaving the area or seeking higher ground to evade floodwaters.

Oct 01, 2019

In 2012 China put the new rig’s smaller predecessor, the Haiyang Shiyou 981, into operation but moved it in 2014 when Vietnam claimed it violated its territorial rights.

Oct 01, 2019

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte is scheduled to take a chartered flight to Moscow on Tuesday to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who Duterte has called his “favorite hero”.

Sep 30, 2019

A user of the social media site Sina Weibo, the Chinese version of Twitter, has published a satellite image that appears to show U.S. aircraft carrier, the USS Ronald Reagan, surrounded by at least seven Chinese warships.

Sep 30, 2019

This is different from previous actions by Chinese boats and warships that have regularly passed through the Sibutu Straight near the Philippines under a veil of stealthiness with no notification to coastal authorities, a violation of international maritime law.

Sep 28, 2019