MANILA: A gunman shot and killed a journalist who was watching TV at a store in a central Philippine city, in a brazen attack in what has long been regarded as one of the world’s most dangerous countries for journalists.
Jesus Malabanan, a 58-year-old provincial correspondent for the Manila Standard newspaper, died while being transported to a hospital after being shot once in the head by one of two motorcycle-riding men Wednesday night at a family store he was tending in Calbayog city in Samar province, police and officials said Thursday.
The suspects escaped and a police investigation is underway to identify them and a motive for the attack.
Media watchdog groups condemned the killing, including Malabanan’s colleagues in Pampanga, a province north of Manila where he was based and worked for years as a news correspondent and as a stringer for Reuters.
A media protection body created by President Rodrigo Duterte strongly condemned the killing and vowed to arrest the killers. But Duterte himself has long been in the crosshairs of media watchdogs and human rights groups, which have repeatedly condemned him for fostering impunity among the police forces that have enforced his crackdown against illegal drugs and left thousands of mostly petty suspects dead.
Dozens of journalists have been killed or come under attack under Duterte and his predecessors. In 2009, members of a powerful political clan and their associates gunned down 58 people, including 32 media workers, in a brazen execution-style attack in southern Maguindanao province that horrified the world.
While the mass killing was later linked to a violent electoral rivalry common in many rural areas, it also showcased the threats faced by journalists in the Philippines. A surfeit of unlicensed guns and private armies controlled by powerful clans and weak law enforcement in rural regions are among the security concerns journalists face in the poverty-stricken Southeast Asian country.
Thirty-two of those gunned down in Maguindanao’s Ampatuan town were local reporters and media workers. It was the deadliest single attack on journalists in recent history, media watchdogs say.
A Philippine court found key members of the Ampatuan family guilty of the mass killings in 2019 but many more suspects remain at large.
Filipino journalist shot dead while watching TV in store
https://arab.news/rvt87
Filipino journalist shot dead while watching TV in store
- Jesus Malabanan is provincial correspondent for the Manila Standard newspaper
- A media protection body created by President Rodrigo Duterte strongly condemned the killing
Asharq Business with Bloomberg, Nasdaq to bring real-time US equities data to MENA
- Nasdaq to deliver exclusive real-time US equities market data
- Real-time updates fully integrated into Asharq Business’ data infrastructure and available across all platforms
RIYADH: Asharq Business with Bloomberg, the region’s leading business and financial news multi-platform channel, announced Tuesday a strategic three-year collaboration with Nasdaq, to deliver exclusive real-time US equities market data and updates to investors and decision-makers across the Middle East.
Through access to Nasdaq’s official data product, Nasdaq Last Sale (NLS), Asharq Business with Bloomberg will receive real-time last-sale trade updates and calculated insights across major US exchanges directly from the Nasdaq Market Center. The collaboration strengthens market transparency, enhances data-driven storytelling, and provides audiences and partners with deeper insight into global financial activity.
With a rapidly growing investor base in the region — and with Nasdaq serving as a primary destination for many Arab and regional investors — Asharq Business with Bloomberg reinforces its mission to deliver timely, accurate, and exclusive financial updates by integrating NLS data into its digital platforms, live markets coverage, and broader data ecosystem.
Leveraging its partnership with Bloomberg Media — which grants access to reporting from over 2,700 journalists and analysts worldwide — Asharq Business with Bloomberg continues to build on its reputation as the region’s most trusted and credible multi-platform business news source. The collaboration with Nasdaq underscores its commitment to providing reliable, data-backed content across social, digital, and streaming platforms, available for audiences anytime and anywhere.
Dr Nabeel Al Khatib, General Manager of Asharq News Network, commented: “It has been five years since the inception of Asharq Business with Bloomberg, and our audience has always been at the center of everything we do. We invest time and effort to understand what matters to them, ensuring we deliver data and stories that genuinely support informed decision-making. With growing regional interest in global markets, our collaboration with Nasdaq marks a strategic step toward offering a clearer, more comprehensive view of international financial activity. Through Nasdaq Last Sale, we aim to further empower our audience with transparent, real-time insights, strengthening their ability to navigate an increasingly interconnected global investment landscape.”
The Nasdaq leadership team added: “We are pleased to collaborate with Asharq Business with Bloomberg to broaden access to high-quality US market data in the Middle East. Through Nasdaq Last Sale, we aim to enhance transparency, support informed decision-making, and contribute to a more connected global investor community.”
