Joel Rayl, MD, Internist with Summa Health Medical Group.

Smoke from the blazes, blamed on destructive agricultural practices, has sickened hundreds of thousands and blanketed neighboring countries.

The storm reached sustained winds of nearly 185 miles per hour on Wednesday. It is expected to weaken later, and its path remains uncertain.

The storm has caused at least one death and dozens of injuries, officials said. Schools have closed on the island and hundreds of flights have been canceled.

Authorities in the Philippines are investigating Thomas Markle, father of Meghan, the ⁠wife of Britain’s Prince ⁠Harry, the Philippine justice undersecretary said ⁠on Friday, after allegations he possessed child sexual abuse images. “Our Anti-Trafficking and Anti-OSAEC (online sexual abuse and exploitation of children) task force in Cebu is currently investigating the matter,” Nicholas Ty, Philippine justice undersecretary, said. Thomas Markle could not be immediately reached for comment but he...

Fatimah Zainal had already paid for her flights and accommodation when videos of the unrest in France made her jittery about the Paris leg of her European holiday. “The videos definitely made me panic,” said Fatimah, who plans to visit the French capital solo from October 31 to November 3 after travelling through Belgium. The press officer for an international organisation said the Malaysian government’s travel advisory gave her second thoughts, and changing her flight would cost up to an...

Indonesia’s warnings of curbing energy exports to countries it deems disrespectful amid regional tensions have put Singapore and other Southeast Asian buyers on notice, exposing the risks of relying on a neighbour increasingly protective of its resources. But analysts see little chance of Jakarta following through on the threat, given its own economic interests and the mutual benefits of regional energy cooperation, including the long-planned Asean Power Grid. On Thursday, Coordinating Minister...

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang is pitching the concept of “sovereign AI” in Kazakhstan – part of his global crusade urging nations to build domestic computing infrastructure using the firm’s chips – as the energy-rich nation emerges as a US-China battleground for artificial intelligence. Speaking at a fireside chat in Astana on Friday with Kazakh AI and digital development minister Zhaslan Madiyev, Huang said AI was reshaping every industry in a transformation that “affects every single person and...

Recent youth-led protests in New Delhi and other cities in India have fuelled allegations that they are connected to unrest in France and elsewhere in Europe, with an influential Hindu nationalist organisation warning of foreign forces seeking to destabilise societies. While analysts caution against concluding that foreign interference played a role in demonstrations in India, they say protesters in Europe and India share similar concerns, reflecting their mounting anger that education and hard...

Chinese artificial intelligence chip giant Cambricon Technologies reported a 147.7 per cent surge in third-quarter profit on Friday, as the country’s aggressive push to replace Nvidia chips continues to fuel high growth among local chipmakers. The Shanghai-listed chipmaker generated 1.4 billion yuan (US$210 million) in net profit for the three months ended September 30, up from 566.6 million yuan during the same period last year. Revenue reached 3.5 billion yuan, an increase of 104.5 per cent...

The Philippine government put a bounty on Friday on the head of the top enforcer of ex-president Rodrigo Duterte’s bloody anti-drug crackdown, nearly a year after the International Criminal Court (ICC) ordered his arrest. Former Philippine police chief and sitting Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa had mostly been in hiding for months before The Hague-based tribunal unsealed the November 2025 arrest warrant against him in May and put him into flight. The bounty comes just over a month before...

Paper straws, widely promoted as an eco-friendly alternative to plastic, may actually have a greater environmental impact than conventional plastic straws, according to a South Korean government-commissioned study that has renewed debate over whether switching materials truly reduces waste. The Comprehensive Study on Single-Use Straws, commissioned by South Korea’s Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment, was disclosed on Wednesday by opposition People Power Party lawmaker Kim Wi-sang, The...

The Philippines is turning to the United States to build its oil stockpile amid the global energy crunch, with observers saying the move could also serve Washington’s military interests and deepen strategic ties. A bilateral deal could deliver more immediate benefits than a broader Asean stockpile, which would entail coordination hurdles, analysts said, but questions remain over how quickly Manila could establish such a reserve and whether it would meaningfully reduce long-term dependence on...