25/05/2026

MONDAY | MAY 25, 2026

7

Taiwan, China coast guards in standoff

o Screams heard from under rubble

PAMPANGA: clawed through the wreckage of a collapsed Philippine building yesterday which left 23 people missing, with authorities saying that screams were heard from under the rubble. The nine-storey building, under construction for more than two years, collapsed on itself early yesterday in Angeles City, about 80km north of Manila. The collapse also heavily damaged a nearby hotel, where two of the 26 people who were rescued had been staying, officials said. Rescuers conducting the initial assessment “heard someone crying out in pain” from under the rubble, said Maria Leah Sajili, the Bureau of Fire Protection spokesperson. The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority General Manager Nicolas Torre said they were sending rescue equipment and police dogs to aid the rescue. “We also deployed life monitors, listening devices and rescue spreaders to help the rescuers since debris need to be cut and lifted to locate people,” Torre said. Policemen and firefighters at the site said 23 people were possibly trapped in the site. The rubble was wrapped in green protective plastic sheeting common at construction sites. The cause of the collapse is yet to be determined. Earlier, delivery rider James Bernardo, 30, told AFP by telephone he had just dropped off food on the same street when the disaster occurred. “A few seconds later there was a loud noise in the area, and when I looked, I realised that (the building) Rescuers Balochistan yesterday, officials said, in the latest major attack claimed by separatists. The explosion killed at least 24 people and injured around 70, according to three provincial government and security officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity as they are not authorised to speak to the media. The attack was the latest in a series of strikes on trains, security forces and infrastructure in the mineral-rich province that borders Iran and Afghanistan, where Pakistan has launched counterinsurgency operations. The Baloch Liberation Army, or BLA, said in a statement to media that it carried out the attack and described it as a suicide bombing. Reuters could not independently verify the claim. The shuttle train was carrying passengers from Quetta’s cantonment area to connect with the Jaffar Express long-distance train when the blast struck near a railway track in the provincial capital, Pakistan’s Railways Ministry said in a statement. The explosion derailed the engine and three coaches, while two coaches overturned, it said, adding rescue operations were under way. – Reuters

TAIPEI: Taiwanese and Chinese coast guards were engaged in a tense standoff for the second day near strategically located Pratas islands at the top of the South China Sea, Taiwan’s Coast Guard said yesterday. Lying between southern Taiwan and Hong Kong, the Taiwan controlled Pratas are seen by some security experts as vulnerable to Chinese attack due to their distance, more than 400km, from Taiwan island. Taiwan’s Coast Guard said on Saturday it had spotted a Chinese Coast Guard ship heading to the Pratas and immediately sent its own ship which broadcast warnings and the two sides “engaged in an intense verbal confrontation via radio”. The Chinese ship broadcast that it was on a routine mission and that China had sovereignty and jurisdiction over the Pratas, the Taiwan Coast Guard said. “Please do not destroy peace. You should return and strive for democracy. That is the correct way to serve your country,” the Taiwan ship broadcast back, according to video provided by its coast guard. China’s Taiwan Affairs Office did not respond to a request for comment. A Taiwan Coast Guard official told Reuters the Chinese ship was 21 nautical miles to the northeast of the Pratas and the standoff was continuing as of yesterday afternoon. – Reuters ICC rejects Duterte release petition MANILA: Former Philippine president Rodrigo R. Duterte will stay detained at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague. The ICC Trial Chamber III issued the decision following the defence’s petition for Duterte’s interim release, citing his age and health condition. The chamber argued that Duterte’s health has been examined by three ICC-appointed medical experts, whose reports “do not contain any information that warrants” his interim release. It also noted that Duterte’s refusal to recognise the ICC’s jurisdiction “demonstrates at its lowest that the accused will not comply with any orders that might be made in respect of a release from custody”. “Taken together with his access to vast resources and contacts who may assist him in evading justice, the Chamber finds that, notwithstanding the Defence’s submissions regarding the accused’s health condition, there is a real and substantial risk that the accused could nonetheless abscond or obstruct justice, either on his own or through his associates,” it said. The trial chamber said Duterte’s physical condition and cognitive capacities“do not constitute factors which outweigh the risks outlined above”. – Bernama

Rescuers search for survivors at the site in Balibago, Angeles City yesterday. – REUTERSPIC

23 missing at collapsed Philippine building

had collapsed,” Bernardo said. “Thank God I’m safe.” A video clip taken by Bernardo and verified by AFP showed a giant pile of twisted steel beams, power pylons and slabs of concrete blocking the street. In the clip Bernardo can be heard

saying, “We thought it was an earthquake, but it turned out it was the building (collapsing).” City information officer Jay Pelayo said the nine-storey building’s walls and scaffolding had buckled, likely trapping people. “There are big chunks of

concrete, and we need equipment to lift them up” Pelayo said. Initial reports suggested 24 people had been rescued from the building site, as well as two from the hotel, the city government said. Pelayo said those rescued were in stable condition. – AFP

At least 24 killed in Pakistan train blast KARACHI: A bomb blast hit a shuttle train carrying Pakistani security personnel and their families in the southwestern province of

Residents gather after the blast near a railway track in Quetta. – REUTERSPIC