LIVE UPDATES: Conflict in the Middle East (April 16, 2026)

WASHINGTON/JERUSALEM — Optimism grew on Thursday that the war in the Middle East may be near an end, with a key Pakistani mediator in Tehran and the administration of President Donald Trump talking up hopes for a deal that would open the crucial Strait of Hormuz.

Israel's cabinet met on Wednesday to discuss a possible ceasefire in neighboring Lebanon, a senior Israeli official said, more than six weeks into its war with Iran-backed Hezbollah. Trump said talks between leaders of both countries would take place on Thursday, while the Financial Times reported a ceasefire could be announced soon, citing Lebanese officials.

Ending the fighting in Lebanon was a key sticking point in earlier peace talks, along with how to deal with Tehran's nuclear ambitions.

Private sector workers’ pension fund Social Security System (SSS) on Thursday announced it is enhancing access to its existing programs to provide financial relief to members and pensioner amid rising energy costs, inflationary pressures, and the broader economic impact of ongoing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. 

In a statement, the SSS said its relief programs are expected to provide up to approximately P60 billion in financial assistance and benefit support.

The pension fund said its initiatives include policy enhancements to improve accessibility, and the early implementation of this year’s pension increase to provide timely financial relief to members, pensioners, and employers.

HONG KONG — The US dollar held near its lowest level since early March against major currencies on Thursday, as the White House's optimism over a peace deal with Iran buoyed sentiment and encouraged traders to shed safe-haven positions.

President Donald Trump said the US-Israeli war on Iran was "close to over," while the White House expressed optimism about a deal, saying more in-person talks would likely take place in Pakistan again.

Global oil price movements point to a possible rollback in pump prices next week, Energy Secretary Sharon Garin said Thursday.

In an interview over Super Radyo dzBB, Garin said current market signals suggest a downward trend in oil prices, although she stopped short of making firm projections.

“Mukhang may pag-asa (oil price rollback),” she said, noting that recent trading days showed favorable movement.

(There appears to be hope for an oil price rollback.)

A majority of the U.S. Senate backed President Donald Trump's military campaign against Iran on Wednesday, voting to block a Democratic-led resolution aiming to stop the war until hostilities are authorized by Congress.

The Senate voted 52-47 not to advance the war powers resolution, underscoring his party's continuing support for the Republican president's war policy more than six weeks after the U.S. and Israel launched air strikes on Iran on February 28.

It was the fourth time that Democrats have forced votes on similar measures since the war began. All of them have failed in the face of opposition from every Republican except Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky.

The Bureau of Immigration (BI) on Wednesday said it is optimistic that the high volume of international passengers will be sustained in the next few weeks amid the ongoing tensions in the Middle East.

In a statement, BI commissioner Joel Anthony Viado noted that figures for inbound and outbound passengers remain high despite flight disruptions caused by the conflict in the Gulf region.

He said BI frontliners processed a total of 782,344 passengers at all international ports of entry during the peak week.

US President Donald Trump posted an apparently AI-generated image of Jesus embracing him on Wednesday, two days after he deleted a post that prompted criticism that the Republican president had compared himself to Jesus.

The image, reposted to Trump's Truth Social account, shows Trump with his eyes closed, touching temple-to-temple with a similarly posed Jesus. Trump is standing behind a microphone, and behind him is an American flag. The original post had the caption: "I was never a very religious man .. but doesn't it seem, with all these satanic, demonic, child sacrificing monsters being exposed ... that God might be playing his Trump card!"