Bongbong Marcos fights ill-health rumours with star jumps

The Philippine President challenged anyone questioning his fitness to join him in the gym. Copyright current_year BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking. Copyright current_year BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking. Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. performs a star jump. Watch: Bongbong Marcos fights ill-health rumours with starjumps Philippine president doing a star jump in the street Bongbong Marcos fights ill-health rumours with star jumps Philippine President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr fought rumours of his ill-health with a set of impromptu star jumps on 13 April. He challenged naysayers to "come and exercise with me" if they doubted his fitness. The president was diagnosed with diverticulitis, an abdominal ailment, in late January and briefly put on a strict soup-based diet, causing significant weight-loss at that time. BBC News Asia Business Correspondent Suranajana Tewari spoke to people taking to the streets of Manila. BBC News Asia Business Correspondent Suranjana Tewari reports from a petrol station in Manila. The impact of the US and Israel's war in Iran is starting to hit home - no matter where people live. A mayor in the Philippines has survived a rocket launcher attack on his vehicle in broad daylight. A weakened Typhoon Fung-wong is now passing over the South China Sea, after leaving two people dead in the Philippines. Footage from 9 November shows swells from Typhoon Fung-wong surging over houses and palm trees. Typhoon Fung-wong has made landfall in the Philippines, where more than 900,000 people have been evacuated. Floods have swept through towns, killing at least 85 people and leaving 75 others missing. At least three people have died, officials say. Residents sought shelter from high water on rooftops. At least 69 people are killed after it struck on Tuesday night with officials declaring a "state of calamity". The "king of storms" has forced the evacuation of nearly two million people from the southern Chinese province of Guangdong. Thousands of demonstrators took to the streets of the capital Manila, with some clashing with police. Local reports say at least 14 fire trucks were called to the fire in the residential area, resulting in an evacuation to two nearby centres. Watch: Chinese ships collide while pursuing Philippine boat The volcano on the Negros island spewed plumes of ash around 3km (1.8 miles) high into the air. The midterms will impact the future of President Marcos and his rival and VP, Sara Duterte. Organisers of the festival where a car ramming attack killed 11 people say they are "heartbroken". The BBC's Anna Holligan reports from The Hague, where former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has arrived. Manila says it will file a formal protest over the latest incident in the South China Sea. Around 1,000 houses were destroyed in the blaze, officials say, months after a similar incident in the Philippine capital. Asha Bhosle died in Mumbai on Sunday after being admitted to the hospital following a heart attack. K-pop stars BTS kicked off their marathon world tour in South Korea, with a heavy nod to their new album Arirang. The megastars kick off their grandest tour, the largest in K-pop history, in Seoul on Thursday after a nearly four-year hiatus. Min Aung Hlaing presided over his last military parade in Myanmar before he takes up the role of president. Drivers are queuing for hours at petrol stations in Myanmar as the Iran war continues to send shockwaves across the globe. Some 260,000 fans are expected to watch BTS perform together on Saturday for the first time since 2022. Eleven people were killed and dozens injured when a huge blaze engulfed a car parts factory in the central city of Daejeon. Senior Kashmir leader Farooq Abdullah escaped unhurt after the incident and the suspect is in custody. A young Japanese macaque at the Ichikawa City Zoo in Japan went viral, after videos showed him playing with a soft toy that zookeepers gave him for comfort. Wanted for multiple counts of theft, the suspect was caught outside a temple on the outskirts of Bangkok. A court is due to deliver its verdict in the insurrection trial of Yoon Suk Yeol. The BBC's Arunoday Mukharji explains why India needs to capitalise on the momentum. A Lakshmi goddess shrine at Bangkok shopping mall has become a place where young people come to pray for love. BBC South Asia correspondent Azadeh Moshiri visited Sheikh Hasina's former residence which is now a memorial for the student protesters killed in the 2024 uprising. It's the first election since the 2024 Gen Z uprising that toppled Bangladesh's long-serving prime minister Sheikh Hasina. The pro-democracy media tycoon was sentenced to 20 years in jail by the Hong Kong High Court. At least 31 people have been killed after a suicide bomber detonated a device at a Shia mosque, according to police. Correspondent Jonathan Head says the 'devastating' accident is an enormous setback for Thailand's efforts to modernise its infrastructure. Voters in Myanmar's election say the poll is taking place in a "climate of fear", the BBC's South East Asia Correspondent Jonathan Head reports. The meteor could be seen blazing through the night sky over Japan's Mount Fuji