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To generations of Filipinos, Nora Aunor was not just a film star – she was the embodiment of their hopes, hardships and quiet resilience.Celebrated as the Philippines’ one and only “Superstar”, the diminutive actress with a golden voice and uncommon charisma rose from poverty to become a national icon – not for her glamour, but for her ability to portray the unvarnished lives of ordinary Filipinos.“She was full of contradictions, simple yet complicated,” said screenwriter and long-time collaborator Ricardo Lee, who delivered one of the most poignant tributes following Aunor’s death on April 16 at age 71.Aunor was laid to…

Unlock the White House Watch newsletter for freeYour guide to what Trump’s second term means for Washington, business and the worldThe liquefied natural gas industry has warned the Trump administration it cannot comply with new rules aimed at forcing them to use US transport vessels by imposing levies on Chinese-built ships docking at US ports.It warns the rules published by US trade representative Jamieson Greer on April 17 could damage a $34bn a year export industry that is central to the president’s “energy dominance” agenda, according to lobbying letters sent by the American Petroleum Institute to the administration this week.…

Talks between the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and the United States to forge a “minerals-for-security” deal to help end violence in the country may threaten China’s mining dominance, but analysts say there are still many challenges ahead.In a proposal to cease hostilities in the country’s east, which worsened this year following the capture of strategic cities by the Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group, Kinshasa has offered the US access to its vast mineral resources.In exchange, the DRC is seeking security guarantees and military support from the US, and hopes to attract American investment to reduce its reliance on China.Under…

TOKYO: Toyota Motor said it is exploring the possibility of investing in a potential buyout of key parts supplier Toyota Industries – a buyout that reportedly could cost $42 billion. “We are currently exploring various possibilities, including partial investment,” the automaker said in a filing with the Tokyo stock exchange on Saturday following reports about the possible buyout. Bloomberg News reported on Friday that Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda and his founder family have proposed acquiring Toyota Industries in a possible 6 trillion yen ($42 billion) deal. Toyota Industries, which has a market value of 4 trillion yen, said in a…

Gestamp, one of the world’s top manufacturers of metal parts for cars, is pursuing acquisition opportunities in China’s automotive sector, where an excess of capacity threatens unprofitable assemblers and supply-chain vendors.The Spanish company, which supplies chassis and body products for clients like Volkswagen and Ford, is bucking the trend among international automotive firms that are disposing of their facilities in the world’s largest vehicle market amid fierce competition.“Not every company in China’s automotive industry is profitable today, so we think that in the future, there may be some consolidations,” Francisco Jose Riberas Mera, executive chairman of Gestamp, told the Post…

Gestamp, one of the world’s top manufacturers of metal parts for cars, is pursuing acquisition opportunities in China’s automotive sector, where an excess of capacity threatens unprofitable assemblers and supply-chain vendors.The Spanish company, which supplies chassis and body products for clients like Volkswagen and Ford, is bucking the trend among international automotive firms that are disposing of their facilities in the world’s largest vehicle market amid fierce competition.“Not every company in China’s automotive industry is profitable today, so we think that in the future, there may be some consolidations,” Francisco Jose Riberas Mera, executive chairman of Gestamp, told the Post…

At a mountainside cafe in southwestern China, Liao Shihao brews handfuls of locally grown beans into steaming cups of coffee, a modern twist on the region’s traditional drink.For centuries, Puer in Yunnan province has given its name to a type of richly fermented tea – sometimes styled “pu-erh” – famous across East Asia and beyond.But as younger Chinese cultivate a taste for punchy espressos, frothy lattes and flat whites, growers are increasingly branching out into tea’s historic rival.“People are coming to try our hand-drip coffee … and more fully experience the flavours it brings,” said Liao, 25. “In the past,…

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia launched a sweeping drone assault across Ukraine overnight into Sunday, targeting multiple regions, officials said, after U.S. President Donald Trump cast doubt over Russian President Vladimir Putin’s willingness to end the war.One person was killed and a 14-year-old girl wounded in the city of Pavlohrad in the Dnipropetrovsk region, which was hit for the third consecutive night, regional Gov. Serhii Lysak said. The attacks came hours after Russia claimed to have regained control over the remaining parts of the Kursk region, which Ukrainian forces seized in a surprise incursion last August. Ukrainian officials said the…

Geophysicist Zhigang Peng has been voted in as the next president-elect of the Seismological Society of America in Baltimore, making him the first Chinese-American to hold the position in the organisation’s 118-year history.A long-time professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology and graduate of the University of Science and Technology of China, Peng was elected at last week’s annual meeting of the society and is set to assume the presidency in 2026.“There have been some improvements, but still limited,” Yi Rao, a neurobiologist at Peking University, said.Peng is not alone in pushing boundaries. This July, virologist Shan-Lu Liu of Ohio…

The trend of companies offering flexible working arrangements to retain their top talent, far from a pandemic-era fad, is now a permanent fixture of the office property market, according to International Workplace Group (IWG).In addition, global economic uncertainty was shaping office-space demand, driving companies away from being tied to traditional office leases, said Marc Descrozaille, CEO for Middle East, Africa and Asia-Pacific with the Switzerland-headquartered flex-desk service provider.Descrozaille credited these trends with boosting system-wide revenue for the group by 2 per cent to a record US$4.2 billion in 2024. Operating profit grew 185 per cent to US$510 million.IWG, which operates…