Category: Hot News

SYDNEY – New Zealand will ban TikTok on devices with access to the parliamentary network because of cybersecurity concerns, a government official said on Friday. TikTok will be banned on all devices with access to New Zealand‘s parliamentary network by the end of March, said Parliamentary Service Chief Executive Rafael Gonzalez-Montero. TikTok has come under increasing scrutiny due to fears that user data from the app owned by Beijing-based company ByteDance could end up […]

Large US banks injected $30 billion in deposits into First Republic Bank on Thursday, swooping in to rescue the lender caught up in a widening crisis triggered by the collapse of two other mid-size US lenders over the past week. Banking stocks globally have been battered since Silicon Valley Bank collapsed last week due to bond-related losses that piled up when interest rates surged last year, […]

WASHINGTON – More than 50 US agriculture and food groups on Thursday urged Congress to approve new legislation enabling the United States to negotiate more free-trade agreements, arguing that without them American agriculture was falling behind global competitors. The groups, representing a wide variety of US agricultural exports from corn to dairy, meat, fresh produce and other products, said efforts by President Joe Biden’s administration to open new agriculture export […]

Sanofi SA said on Thursday it will cut US list prices for its most-prescribed insulin product, Lantus, by 78% starting next year after similar moves by rivals Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly and Co. The French drugmaker will also extend its $35 out-of-pocket pricing program to all patients with commercial insurance using Lantus. The move […]

The United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) continued to walk a tightrope reaffirming its support for Ukraine in its war with Russia on Thursday while leaving the door open for Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete at Paris Olympics as neutrals. Presiding over his first meeting as USOPC president and chair, Gene Sykes began […]

THE PHILIPPINE government is trying to fast-track the arrival of a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) from Japan that will locate the source of the oil leaking from a sunken fuel tanker that experts said have affected as many as 20,000 hectares of coral reefs. The Transportation department and Coast Guard were also looking for an […]

THE PHILIPPINES needs a yearly budget of P100 billion to resolve a classroom shortage by 2030 that threatens its worsening education quality, according to a Department of Education (DepEd) official. The agency is looking for fund sources outside the national budget, Education Undersecretary Epimaco V. Densing III told reporters on the sidelines of a contract-signing […]

GOVERNMENT authorities must ensure that tax and other incentives provided under a new law on plastic waste management are properly implemented to encourage companies operating in the Philippines to stand by their obligations in helping address the plastic problem, an official of a non-government organization told a House panel on Thursday.  “These incentives would be […]

THE BUREAU of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) on Thursday said fish supply will not be affected in the immediate term by the recent major oil spill incident in Mindoro, citing sufficient catch from other parts of the country.    “We are in the peak season of fishing activity, so we expect to meet the high […]

PUBLIC transport cooperatives in Davao City will have to consolidate to establish a bigger entity that will be able to operate at least one of the networks under a new bus system, according to a city official.     Luzminda C. Eblamo, officer-in-charge of the City Cooperative Development Office, said they are working on forming a consortium […]

COTABATO’s local government is accelerating the expansion of the Central Mindanao Airport, which is currently in the land acquisition phase, along with the development of an agro-industrial park, the province’s governor said.   In her State of the Province Address on Tuesday, Gov. Emmylou “Lala” Taliño-Mendoza reported that the Provincial Legal Office has been able to […]

STATE-RUN Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) has approved a P400-million loan for the first level-2 hospital in the town of General Mariano Alvarez in Cavite.   Of the total, P278 million will partially finance the construction of the hospital while P122 million will cover the acquisition of medical equipment and machinery, DBP President and Chief […]

A BILL seeking to stop police discrimination against motorcycle riders by mandating uniform guidelines for checkpoints has been filed at the Senate.   Senator Rafael “Raffy” T. Tulfo filed Senate Bill 1977, citing information that police officers have allegedly been harassing and extorting money from riders.  He said cops have reportedly been stopping riders at “makeshift […]

THE COMMISSION on Human Rights (CHR) on Thursday supported a House bill that seeks to protect human rights defenders amid a communist task force’s concern that the bill will provide refuge for criminals and terrorists.   The CHR called for an “open and genuine dialogue” with stakeholders and human rights defenders to clear out any doubts […]

THE HOUSE ethics and privileges committee holds the authority to grant or deny the request of Negros Oriental Rep. Arnolfo A. Teves, Jr. for a two-month leave of absence, citing “security threats” against him and his family, House Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez said on Thursday.   “The Committee on Ethics has already acquired jurisdiction on […]

PHILIPPINE STOCKS dropped on Thursday, mirroring Wall Street’s decline, amid fears of a global banking crisis. The bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) went down by 61.19 points or 0.94% to close at 6,404.91 on Thursday, while the broader all shares index declined by 34.70 points or 0.99% to end at 3,443.82. “Philippine stocks fell, […]

THE PESO strengthened against the dollar on Thursday following a decline in global crude oil prices due to demand worries. The local currency closed at P54.86 versus the dollar on Thursday, rising by nine centavos from Wednesday’s P54.95 finish, data from the Bankers Association of the Philippines’ website showed. The peso opened Thursday’s session slightly […]

PRESIDENT Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. said on Thursday that the government is making gradual progress in fulfilling his campaign promise of bringing the price of rice down to P20 per kilogram. He was speaking at the launch of Bicol region’s first Kadiwa outlet. Kadiwa stores are government-supported centers promising lower prices because of their farm-to-consumer […]

THE Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) said it hopes to carry out an auction and awarding by May for the contract to build a P1-billion solar power plant project in New Clark City. “The BCDA aims to finalize the bidding and award the contract (of the solar photovoltaic power plant) in May this year,” […]