The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the Sunday church bombings on a southern island in the Philippines that killed at least 20 people, the deadliest attack in the restive region in years, Reuters reports.

A strong 6.9-magnitude earthquake rattled the southern Philippines island of Mindanao. The coasts of the Philippines and Indonesia are under threat of a possible tsunami effecting warnings from multiple agencies including the U.S.-based National Weather Service.

REFUTING domestic criticism that of its soft stance on China’s militarisation of the South China Sea, the Philippines said it was prepared to go to war with the country if any of its military personnel are harmed in the disputed waters.

The Philippines is taking “appropriate diplomatic action” to assert its claims in the South China Sea after Chinese bombers landed on islands and reefs in the disputed region, the foreign ministry in Manila said on Monday.

The Philippines on Wednesday cancelled an Australian nun’s missionary visa for engaging in political activity and gave her 30 days to leave the country, though she said she still hoped she could explain her mission and have the decision reconsidered.

IN a bid to save on taxpayers, Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte is planning to fly in a small aircraft to Singapore instead of a presidential charter flight to attend the 32nd Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) this April.

A group of judges and four court employees’ organisations called on Monday for the Philippines’ chief justice to step down and make a “sacrifice” to restore peace and order in the judiciary, a plea she strongly rejected.

The Philippines will allow an investigation into alleged human rights abuses in its bloody war on drugs, but not if it is conducted by the United Nations’ current special rapporteur on extrajudicial killings, a senior official said on Tuesday.

A Philippines new media company fiercely critical of the government has had its operating license revoked, in what critics say is a move to silence the press.

The Philippines’ chief volcanologist warned on Monday of a possible hazardous eruption at Mount Mayon “within weeks or even within days”, as magma continued to pile up at the summit of the Southeast Asian country’s most active volcano.

A government investigator into a blaze that led to the deaths of 37 staff at the southern Philippines offices of an American market research firm says there are indications of fire safety lapses that may have contributed to the tragedy.

A powerful storm that left a trail of death and destruction in the Philippines was downgraded to a tropical depression Tuesday and failed to make landfall in Vietnam. The storm was expected to dissipate over the Gulf of Thailand later Tuesday.

President Trump is winding down his lengthy Asia trip with an international summit and a trio of meetings with Pacific Rim allies, including his host in the Philippines who is overseeing a bloody drug war.

Riot police used water canon to prevent hundreds of protesters reaching the U.S. embassy in Manila on Sunday, just a few hours before the arrival of President Donald Trump in the Philippines for a regional summit and the last leg of his Asia tour.

Riot police used water canon to prevent hundreds of protesters reaching the U.S.

Riot police used water canon to prevent hundreds of protesters reaching the U.S. embassy in Manila on Sunday, just a few hours before the arrival of President Donald Trump in the Philippines for a regional summit and the last leg of his Asia tour.