A Philippine air force fighter jet carrying two pilots went missing during a night combat assault in support of ground forces who were battling insurgents in a southern province, officials said Tuesday.

The FA-50 jet lost communication during the tactical mission around midnight on Monday before reaching a target area. A search for the jet is underway.

«We are hopeful of locating them and the aircraft soon and ask you to join us in prayer during this critical time,» Philippine air force spokesperson Col. Ma. Consuelo Castillo said.

CHINESE NAVY HELICOPTER FLIES WITHIN 10 FEET OF PHILIPPINE PATROL PLANE OVER DISPUTED SHOAL

The other aircraft involved in the mission returned safely to an air base in central Cebu province, the air force said, without offering further details due to security reasons.

The incident happened in a southern Philippine province during an anti-insurgency mission against communist guerrillas, a Philippine military official told The Associated Press.

US FLIES JOINT PATROL WITH THE PHILIPPINES NEAR SHOAL REGION GUARDED BY CHINA

Two Philippine Air Force FA-50 fighter jets fly with two U.S. Air Force B-1 bomber aircraft during a joint patrol and training session over the South China Sea on Tuesday, Feb.4, 2025. (Philippine Air Force via AP)

It was not immediately clear if the other FA-50s would be grounded after the incident.

The Philippines acquired 12 FA-50s multi-purpose fighter jets from South Korea’s Korea Aerospace Industries Ltd. for 18.9 billion pesos, or $331 million, beginning in 2015. The acquisition was viewed at the time as the biggest deal under a military modernization program that had been repeatedly stalled by a lack of funds.

A Philippine Air Force FA-50, left, and U.S. Air Force F-16 fighter jet, right, fly in formation during the US-Philippines joint air force military exercise dubbed ‘Cope Thunder’ at Basa Air Base in Pampanga on April 11, 2024. (Getty Images)

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In addition to anti-insurgency missions, the jets have been used for various other activities, including major national ceremonies and patrolling the disputed South China Sea.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

OTTAWA, Canada — As new tariffs came into effect on Tuesday, analysts say that if Canada’s Liberal Party holds onto power, the party can thank President Donald Trump in part for such a reversal of political fortune.

Since Trump’s inauguration, Canada’s official opposition Conservative Party – once leading the governing Liberals by a wide margin – has seen their popularity in public-opinion polls gradually decline. 

An Ipsos poll released last week found that, for the first time since the Liberals won the last federal election in 2021, they’re ahead of the Conservatives by two points, with 38% popularity compared to the Conservatives at 36%. Six weeks earlier, the Conservatives were leading the Liberals by 26 points. A general election is expected to be called as early as this spring by Trudeau’s successor, who will be announced on Sunday.

Darrell Bricker, CEO of Ipsos Global Public Affairs, told Fox News Digital that he has never seen a party experience such a rapid and dramatic drop during his four-decade career in polling.

WHO IS PIERRE POILIEVRE? CANADA’S CONSERVATIVE LEADER SEEKING TO BECOME NEXT PRIME MINISTER AFTER TRUDEAU EXIT

He believes the Conservatives’ decline is attributable to two factors.

Justin Trudeau, whose personal popularity has plummeted since he became Canada’s 23rd prime minister in 2015, will step down as head of the Canadian government and Liberal Party on March 9; «And the threat from Trump to use economic force on Canada to bend us to his knee and possibly absorb us as a 51st state,» explained Bricker, about the president’s planned tariffs against Canada and his repeated references regarding annexation.

Throughout February, Nanos Research found the gap narrowing between the Liberals and Conservatives, who the month before were poised to form a «super-majority» government with as many as 240 members of Parliament (MPs) in an expanded 343-seat House of Commons that takes effect after the next general election.

«That’s completely out the window now,» said Nik Nanos, founder and chief data scientist of the Canadian polling firm, who also believes Trudeau’s imminent departure and Trump’s rhetoric against Canada have contributed to the Liberals’ bump in the polls.

The president «has effectively changed the ballot question from: Is it time for a change? – which was bad news for the Liberals – to who can best deal with Donald Trump, the new existential threat to the Canadian economy?» offered Nanos.

Mark Carney, the former governor of the Bank of Canada, officially announced his bid for the federal Liberal Party leadership in Edmonton, Canada, on Jan. 16, 2025. (Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

He explained that Canadian Conservative Official Opposition Leader Pierre Poilievre and his party played a part in the Liberals’ boost by «showing they were a little out of touch» in focusing on the Liberal government’s tax on carbon emissions and vowing to remove it while Canadians became increasingly concerned about Trump’s threats. 

«In hindsight, when the Conservatives had a 27-point advantage in our polling, it didn’t have anything to do with Pierre Poilievre being strong or liked, or the Conservatives being brilliant strategists,» said Nanos. «It all had to do with dislike of Justin Trudeau and people wanting change and the Conservatives being the agent of change.»

According to the Ipsos poll, 86% percent of 1,000 respondents said that they want a general election «immediately» to have a federal government «with a strong mandate» to deal with Trump’s tariff threat. 

Bricker said the Liberals’ lead in the polls, particularly in Canada’s most populous provinces of Ontario and Quebec, over the Conservatives could even widen should Mark Carney, the former governor of the central banks of England and Canada and the frontrunner in the Liberal leadership race, succeed Trudeau as prime minister.

INFLUENTIAL LEADER OF CANADA’S ONTARIO PROVINCE SEEKS TRUMP, MUSK MEETING: US ‘NEEDS US LIKE WE NEED THEM’

President Donald Trump signs an executive order in the Oval Office on Feb. 25, 2025. (Pool)

Veteran Canadian pollster Angus Reid said the latest polling by his company found that 51% said Carney and the Liberals were best suited to improve relations with the U.S., including on tariffs, compared to 35% who chose the Conservatives under Poilievre, who is seen by many Canadians as holding a «Trump-light agenda.»

From south of the border, the president has «eroded Conservative support because it completely changed the political dynamic in Canada, completely changed what could be considered the most important ballot question that was all about getting rid of some of the baggage from the Trudeau era,» explained Reid, founder and chair of the Angus Reid Institute.

«Now it’s one of defending the sovereignty and economy of the country.»

Another Angus Reid poll found that with Carney as Liberal leader, his party is virtually tied at 44% with the Conservatives, at 45% on voting intention. In Quebec, a Carney-led Liberal Party enjoys 31% support compared to the Conservatives at 22%.

Guests display a giant Canadian flag before a flag-raising ceremony on Feb. 15, 2025, in Toronto. (Yu Ruidong/China News Service/VCG via AP)

Reid said the annexation and tariffs issue especially resonates with Quebecers more than any other region in Canada.

Carney’s further challenge for Poilievre is that the former «on paper, looks like a Conservative,» said Nanos.

«The guy worked in the banking sector and the private sector, like Goldman Sachs, and chaired, until recently, large enterprises like Bloomberg and Brookfield [Asset Management]. He walks and talks like a Conservative.»

Carney, an Oxford-educated economist who has never held elected office, is expected to call a snap election should he be chosen as Trudeau’s successor.

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If the polling numbers continue to rise in favor of the Liberals, they could not only win the national vote in such a contest but form a majority government, added Reid. 

Currently, the Liberals have 153 MPs in the 338-seat House of Commons, which constitutes a minority government.

Imad Kabaja junto a un colega. Foto: Gentileza

¿Gaza convertida en la Costa Azul?