Day: March 19, 2026

The Philippines, under President Rodrigo Duterte, formally announced its withdrawal from the International Criminal Court.

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has partially lifted the suspension of its rules on people’s initiative proceedings.

Acceptance of signatures for proposed national or local legislation has been allowed anew by the poll body, while maintaining the ban on initiatives seeking to amend the Constitution.

Qatar said Wednesday that Iranian missiles caused “extensive damage” at Ras Laffan Industrial City, home to the largest liquefied natural gas, or LNG, export facility in the world.

Qatar’s Foreign Ministry denounced the attack as a “dangerous escalation, flagrant violation of state sovereignty, and a direct threat to its national security and regional stability.”

For modern residents of the Levant, the “Red Sea Trough” usually brings a brief, dusty transition between seasons. But 127,000 years ago, this same weather pattern may have been the literal key to human history. A new study, led by Ph.D. student Efraim Bril, Prof. Adi Torfstein and Dr. Assaf Hochman from the Institute of Earth Sciences at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and published in Climate of the Past, reveals that during the Last Interglacial (LIG) peak, the Levant wasn’t just a dry bridge between continents, it was dynamic with more relatively wet conditions fueled by intense, localized rain. This shift in ancient weather likely provided the water sources necessary for early humans to successfully migrate “out of Africa.”

The United States has announced the release of 172 million barrels from its Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR). This measure is part of a joint action driven by the International Energy Agency (IEA), in which 32 countries agreed to release 400 million barrels of crude oil and refined products.

Henry Alcantara, the dismissed public works official who was among the first to be implicated in the flood control corruption scandal, but who was later admitted into the witness protection program, now has fewer criminal cases to worry about.

Sara Duterte News – Last 24 Hours Latest News About VP Sara Duterte Read moreMarch 11, 2026 Coverage: VP Sara Duterte Updates Refresh Loaded 33 unique stories from 20 working feeds using a 24-hour window. Last updated: March 19, 2026, 06:57 AM PHT. Sara Duterte impeachment raps advance; Evidence and witnesses next – Inquirer.net “”Sara…