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Detained Philippines ex-President Duterte wins mayoral race in his home city

Detained Philippines ex-President Duterte wins mayoral race in his home city

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte was elected as mayor in his home city by a landslide, official results showed Tuesday, despite his detention by the International Criminal Court.
The Davao election board proclaimed Duterte won the race for Davao mayor, with the official tally showing that he garnered over 660,000 votes, or eight times as many as his closest rival. Elated supporters chanted 'Duterte, Duterte' when the result was announced.
His youngest son, Sebastian, the incumbent mayor of Davao, was declared Davao vice mayor. His eldest son, Paolo, was reelected as a member of the House of Representatives, and two grandsons won in local races, an indication of the family's continued influence.
'Duterte landslide in Davao!' his youngest daughter Veronica posted on Facebook
Partial unofficial results showed at least five candidates backed by the Duterte family were also among those leading the race for 12 Senate positions, in a stronger-than-expected showing in
Monday's midterm elections
. Pre-election surveys had indicated only two of them would emerge victorious.
The results come as a boost for Duterte's daughter, Vice President Sara Duterte, ahead of an
impeachment trial
in the Senate in July over a raft of charges including alleged misuse of public funds and plotting to assassinate President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., his wife and the House speaker.
Sara Duterte is considered a strong contender for the 2028 presidential race. But if convicted by the Senate, she will lose her job and will be disqualified from holding public office forever. To be acquitted, she needs at least nine of the 24 senators to vote in her favor.
Results of the Senate race will be known in a week. Apart from the five Duterte-backed candidates, the others leading in the top 12 included five others endorsed by Marcos and two opposition candidates.
While the senate race outcome was encouraging for Sara Duterte, the jury is still out on how the impeachment trial will go for her, said Jean Franco, a political science professor from the University of the Philippines. If damning evidence were raised against her, Franco indicated it could hurt her chances of an acquittal.
The Senate race unofficial results also showed that support for Marcos, whose approval rating fell in April, is dwindling and could turn up surprises in the 2028 elections, Franco added.
In a statement, Marcos thanked Filipinos who voted, saying 'our democracy has renewed itself — peacefully, orderly and with dignity.'
'We may not have won every seat, but our work and mission continue,' he added.
The impeachment and Rodrigo Duterte's arrest and transfer to the tribunal in The Hague came after Marcos and Sara Duterte's ties unraveled over political differences and their competing ambitions. Duterte supporters slammed Marcos's government for arresting and surrendering the former leader to a court whose jurisdiction his supporters dispute.
Nicknamed 'the Punisher' and 'Dirty Harry,' Duterte served as Davao's mayor for two decades before becoming president. He has been in the custody of the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands, since March, awaiting trial for crimes against humanity over a
brutal war on illegal drugs
that left thousands of suspects dead during his 2016-2022 presidency.
Under Philippine law, candidates facing criminal charges, including those in detention, can run for office unless they have been convicted and have exhausted all appeals.
Sara Duterte had told reporters after voting Monday that she was in talks with her father's lawyers on how he could take his oath as mayor despite being behind bars. She had said the vice mayor would likely be the acting mayor.
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Thailand and Cambodia to Meet for Ceasefire Talks
Thailand and Cambodia to Meet for Ceasefire Talks

Newsweek

time17 minutes ago

  • Newsweek

Thailand and Cambodia to Meet for Ceasefire Talks

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President Donald Trump played a role in the lead-up to the ceasefire talks, speaking separately with both leaders on Saturday. In recent months, the administration has also been engaged in diplomatic efforts between India and Pakistan, as well as Israel and Hamas. What To Know Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim invited Thai and Cambodian leaders for talks on Monday, and both sides have accepted. Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet and Acting Thai Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai are expected to attend, according to the AP. Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister/Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn on Sunday in a call to deescalate tensions. "The United States is prepared to facilitate future discussions in order to ensure peace and stability between Thailand and Cambodia," State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said in a Sunday statement. 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The Thai Armed Forces reported there have been 51 civilian casualties and 111 military casualties. More than 131,000 people have evacuated in Thailand, while over 37,000 have fled parts of Cambodia. The latest Thailand-Cambodia border dispute dates back to 1907, when a map drawn during French colonial rule in Cambodia marked a boundary still cited by Cambodian officials today. Thai officials dispute this demarcation and claim territory beyond it, including ancient Khmer-era Hindu temples, such as Preah Vihear, despite two International Court of Justice rulings favoring Cambodia's claims. Local villagers help unloading supplies donated by a charity for refugees from a truck, as they take refuge in Wat Phnom Kamboar, Oddar Meanchey province, Cambodia on July 27 amid the fighting between Thailand and... 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Cambodia's Ministry of Information wrote in an X post: "Despite repeated commitments to ceasefire, Thailand continues to violate its own promises. After initially agreeing to halt attacks following discussions with the Malaysian Prime Minister on 24th July 2025, Thailand resumed firing. Last night, 26th July, even after reaching another ceasefire agreement with U.S. President Donald Trump, the Thai military launched heavy weapon attacks on Cambodian territory. Moreover, Thailand is breaching its agreement with the United States, the very supplier of its weapons, by using these arms under false pretenses and in inappropriate conditions." Thailand's Government Public Relations Department wrote in an X post: "Cambodia attacked civilian homes in Surin on 27 July, 4:30 AM, followed by a disinformation campaign. Thailand condemns this violation of international law, calls for cessation, & reserves the right to self-defense. International community is asked to condemn these inhumane acts."

Republicans trapped between Trump's Epstein secrecy and angry constituents
Republicans trapped between Trump's Epstein secrecy and angry constituents

Indianapolis Star

timean hour ago

  • Indianapolis Star

Republicans trapped between Trump's Epstein secrecy and angry constituents

What are you doing during your summer vacation? U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson apparently plans to spend his six-week break trying to get his story straight about the Epstein files fiasco. That's a daunting challenge for the Republican from Louisiana, who has flip-flopped from calling for "transparency" on the issue to sending the House home early on July 22 to shut down Republican attempts to release those files. But that's life when you unconditionally surrender the Article I powers that the U.S. Constitution grants Congress as a coequal branch of government to a scandal-prone presidency held by Donald Trump. If Johnson's vacation were a scary summer movie, we'd have to call it 'I Know What You Did With the Epstein Files.' Things don't look much better for the Republicans who are in control of the U.S. Senate. Trump wants that chamber to work through the summer break so it can rubber-stamp his nominees for various positions. If this also were a horror film, it would be a sequel – "No Way Out, Again" – because Trump did the same thing with a compliant Senate during his first term in 2018. So here are the options for congressional Republicans from now until early September: Go home and endure town halls with constituents angry about Trump's broken promise to release the Epstein files and the looming negative impacts of his signature budget bill. Or stay in Washington and answer a growing rush of questions as the Epstein news keeps beating like a "Tell-Tale Heart." Scary stuff, indeed. Johnson has served less as a speaker of the House and more like a servant to Trump's expectations. And that was working for him. He helped pass Trump's budget bill, which slashes health care for the working poor while offering short-term tax relief for some in return for permanent tax cuts for America's wealthiest people. He did that as well with Trump's "rescission" package, which canceled federal funding that Johnson's own House had previously approved. He and Trump were looking forward to a victory lap on all that, despite consistent polling that shows a majority of American voters don't care for it at all. Opinion: Indiana's economy has grown fangs — and it's feeding on taxpayers But the scandal surrounding Jeffrey Epstein, who has been dead for six years, will not pass away. Trump exploited conspiracy theories on the reelection campaign trail about his old cruising buddy, a convicted pedophile who died in prison in 2019 during Trump's first term while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. But then Trump, who promised while campaigning in 2024 to release the Department of Justice's files on Epstein, decided recently to keep them secret, enraging his own supporters and putting his Republican allies in Congress in a tight spot. Maybe it's just a coincidence that Attorney General Pam Bondi is reported to have briefed Trump in May that he is mentioned in those very files that his supporters want to see released. So Trump's in a tight spot, too. Johnson's slipshod response to the Epstein secrecy has been to advocate for transparency, which Trump doesn't want, and then revert to presidential servitude by trying to stamp out any attempts at transparency. This has provoked something we rarely see anymore – bipartisanship – as Republican and Democratic members of the House voted together to subpoena the Epstein files. This doesn't look like it will simmer down in six weeks. Republicans are hitting the road with a story that isn't selling well. A July 23 Fox News poll found that 67% of American voters think Trump's administration has not been transparent about Epstein, including 60% of the Republicans surveyed and 56% of Trump's so-called MAGA supporters. And then there's this: Fox News found that 4 out of 5 people in the survey said they were following the Epstein case. We're closing in on the end of July – vacation season – and these people are tuned all the way in on this. Opinion: Tariffs will cost families $2,500 this year — but wages won't rise to help Trump's budget bill was also underwater in the poll, with 58% disapproving and 39% in support. That makes for testy town halls, if the Republicans dare to hold them in the next six weeks. And that feels like a lose-lose scenario with the 2026 midterm elections looming ever larger. Face your angry constituents and be ready to go viral on social media, exactly the kind of things that would-be opponents mine for campaign commercials. Or duck and cover and get branded a coward, exactly the kind of thing that would-be opponents exploit for campaign commercials. 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China's famous Shaolin Temple leader is under investigation on suspicion of embezzling funds
China's famous Shaolin Temple leader is under investigation on suspicion of embezzling funds

San Francisco Chronicle​

timean hour ago

  • San Francisco Chronicle​

China's famous Shaolin Temple leader is under investigation on suspicion of embezzling funds

BEIJING (AP) — China's famous Shaolin Temple announced on Sunday that its abbot is under investigation on suspicion of misappropriation and embezzlement of project funds and temple assets. Shi Yongxin was alleged to have committed criminal offenses and seriously violated the Buddhist precepts by maintaining relationships with multiple women over a long period and fathering at least one child, according to a notice from the temple's authority on its WeChat account. The notice said multiple departments were conducting a joint investigation against Shi Yongxin, and relevant findings would be announced to the public in due course. The fame of the Shaolin Temple, based in the central Chinese province of Henan, has gone beyond a religious institution. It is also famous for its martial arts culture, or kung fu, which has been referenced in many movies and TV dramas, including the 1982 film "The Shaolin Temple,' starring martial arts superstar Jet Li. The news about Shi Yongxin, whose original name Liu Yingcheng, ranked top on Chinese search engine Baidu and X-like social media platform Weibo on Sunday night. Local media reported that the abbot had been hit by scandalous accusations in the past, including claims that he fathered several children and embezzled money. According to news outlet Caixin Global, provincial investigation reports exonerated him of all charges in 2016. Shi Yongxin entered Shaolin Temple in 1981 and became its abbot in 1999, according to the temple's website. Xinhua in 2015 reported that he was known as a 'CEO monk,' as one of the first Chinese monks to obtain an MBA, and he had sparked controversy for developing commercial operations like lucrative kung fu shows and merchandise.

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