At least 14 people were killed and 59 others injured in a bomb attack in a public market in the southern Philippines yesterday.
The explosion occurred at the meat section of the crowded public market in General Santos City, 1,050km south of Manila.
Three of those killed perished at the scene of the blast, with others dying in two hospitals where victims were rushed, according to the Red Cross and city police chief Superintendent Willie Dangane.
"The fatalities included two children, one of whom was a four-year-old boy," Dangane said. "The bomb was powerful because the market's ceiling was ripped apart."
Dangane said the stall where the bomb was planted was also "a total wreck".
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo condemned the attack and ordered authorities to hunt down the perpetrators.
"We condemn in the strongest possible term the attack," she said in a statement. "There is no justification whatsoever for this heinous deed."
Investigators have not yet determined the type of explosives used or identified possible suspects in the attack.
Lieutenant General Alberto Braganza, chief of the military's southern command, said troops have been dispatched to augment police forces in the area.
"Our troops are coordinating with the police to determine the type of explosive used in the attack," he said. "The troops were also alerted to guard against other attacks."
The last major attack was in April 2002, when 15 people were killed and dozens injured in a bombing at a crowded shopping mall.
That attack was blamed on al-Qaeda-linked Moslem Abu Sayyaf rebels, but officials said the regional terror network Jemaah Islamiyah helped plan, finance and implement the bombing.
Conflict with Taiwan could leave China with “massive economic disruption, catastrophic military losses, significant social unrest, and devastating sanctions,” a US think tank said in a report released on Monday. The German Marshall Fund released a report titled If China Attacks Taiwan: The Consequences for China of “Minor Conflict” and “Major War” Scenarios. The report details the “massive” economic, military, social and international costs to China in the event of a minor conflict or major war with Taiwan, estimating that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) could sustain losses of more than half of its active-duty ground forces, including 100,000 troops. Understanding Chinese
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday said it is closely monitoring developments in Venezuela, and would continue to cooperate with democratic allies and work together for regional and global security, stability, and prosperity. The remarks came after the US on Saturday launched a series of airstrikes in Venezuela and kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who was later flown to New York along with his wife. The pair face US charges related to drug trafficking and alleged cooperation with gangs designated as terrorist organizations. Maduro has denied the allegations. The ministry said that it is closely monitoring the political and economic situation
UNRELENTING: China attempted cyberattacks on Taiwan’s critical infrastructure 2.63 million times per day last year, up from 1.23 million in 2023, the NSB said China’s cyberarmy has long engaged in cyberattacks against Taiwan’s critical infrastructure, employing diverse and evolving tactics, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said yesterday, adding that cyberattacks on critical energy infrastructure last year increased 10-fold compared with the previous year. The NSB yesterday released a report titled Analysis on China’s Cyber Threats to Taiwan’s Critical Infrastructure in 2025, outlining the number of cyberattacks, major tactics and hacker groups. Taiwan’s national intelligence community identified a large number of cybersecurity incidents last year, the bureau said in a statement. China’s cyberarmy last year launched an average of 2.63 million intrusion attempts per day targeting Taiwan’s critical
AGING: As of last month, people aged 65 or older accounted for 20.06 percent of the total population and the number of couples who got married fell by 18,685 from 2024 Taiwan has surpassed South Korea as the country least willing to have children, with an annual crude birthrate of 4.62 per 1,000 people, Ministry of the Interior data showed yesterday. The nation was previously ranked the second-lowest country in terms of total fertility rate, or the average number of children a woman has in her lifetime. However, South Korea’s fertility rate began to recover from 2023, with total fertility rate rising from 0.72 and estimated to reach 0.82 to 0.85 by last year, and the crude birthrate projected at 6.7 per 1,000 people. Japan’s crude birthrate was projected to fall below six,
RSS