Inquirer Breaking News

MANILA, Philippines --- The University of the Philippines School of Statistics (UP STAT) again warned the public about " kalye surveys" and online polls with unclear techniques, urging them to be critical of such audits or studies that may generate biased results. The UP STAT called out the "pervasive abuse" of survey methodologies by online content creators who share the output of their analysis on social media. "We have been observing these practices, including surveys not based on random sampling, such as videos of 'kalye surveys' being done by some vloggers and suspicious online surveys, especially on Twitter and Facebook," the faculty said in a statement Thursday. READ:...

Keep on reading: UP School of Statistics tells public anew: Be wary of ‘kalye surveys’

PARIS --- Striking workers again closed down the Eiffel Tower on Wednesday, the third day running that the landmark expected to be at the heart of celebrations for the Paris Olympics has been off-limits to visitors. A message on the tower's website also warned of more possible disruptions Thursday, if strikers continue their push for salary hikes and other concessions. "We apologize for the inconvenience," it said. One of the strikers' representatives, Denis Vavassori of the CGT union, has previously warned that their protest action "could go on for several days, even weeks."   READ: Eiffel Tower shuts down amid worker strike that demands for better pay and managem...

Keep on reading: Striking workers shut Eiffel Tower for third day running

Most focus on ChatGPT's and other tools' ability to generate text and media. Often, we ignore that we order these chatbots to do things by speaking with them. For example, ask, "ChatGPT, did you write this?", copy and paste a passage, and the bot will tell you if it made that text. Nowadays, this capability is part of many digital tools. Adobe's latest AI assistant is one of the most recent and interesting examples. It allows a user to "speak" with a PDF document to find a specific word or to summarize itself. Soon, this program could facilitate reading long documents like contracts and legislation. The best part is it will spread into other popular programs like Microsoft Word! H...

Keep on reading: Abobe AI lets you tell a PDF to ‘summarize itself’

MIAMI---South Florida rapper Kodak Black was freed from jail Wednesday, Feb. 21, after a federal judge sentenced him to time served for a probation violation, though a drug trafficking case from 2022 remains ongoing. US District Judge Jose E. Martinez in Miami handed down the sentence nearly two weeks after a drug possession charge was dismissedin neighboring Broward County, according to court records. Broward County Circuit Judge Barbara Duffy ruled earlier this month that prosecutors could not refute or negate the fact that the rapper, whose real name is Bill Kapri, had an oxycodone prescription filled by a pharmacy. Plantation police arrested Kapri in Decemberafter findin...

Keep on reading: Rapper Kodak Black freed from jail after drug possession charge was dismissed

    RIO DE JANEIRO --- Brazil's foreign minister called for reforms of the United Nations and other multilateral institutions Wednesday while criticizing their inability to prevent global conflicts, as his country kicked off its presidency of the Group of 20 nations. Mauro Vieira told fellow foreign ministers during opening remarks for a G20 meeting in Rio de Janeiro that the U.N. Security Council has been unable to prevent or halt conflicts such as those playing out in Ukraine and the Gaza Strip. "Multilateral institutions are not adequately equipped to deal with current challenges, as demonstrated by the unacceptable paralysis of the Security Council in rela...

Keep on reading: Brazil calls for UN reform as it starts its G20 presidency

Dominic Roque strongly dismissed a fake quote card which claims that he advised against choosing a girl who values wealth more than the love her partner can offer. Through his Facebook page on Wednesday, Feb. 21, Roque shared a screenshot of the post from an account under the name "Philippines No. 1." The account shared a photo of the actor alongside the false statement attributed to him that said he "should have known from the start" and that it was a "lesson learned." "Dominic Roque, nagpost sa X ng paalala sa mga boys na 'wag hahanap ng babae na dumidepende sa yaman," the caption of the fake quote card read. Roque belied this, writing on his page "FAKE NEWS!! FAKE NEWS...

Keep on reading: Dominic Roque denies speaking against women who value wealth more than love

  ABS-CBN Corp. will no longer sell the broadband business and other related assets of subsidiary Sky Cable Corp. to PLDT Inc. after both parties mutually agreed to abort the P6.75-billion transaction. The now cancelled sale transaction was signed in March last year. It secured regulatory approval from the Philippine Competition Commission last month. READ: PCC clears PLDT takeover of Sky Cable "PLDT Inc. and ABS-CBN Corp. have mutually decided not to proceed with the sale of Sky Cable to PLDT under the sale and purchase agreement signed by and among the parties in March 2023," the telco giant said in a disclosure on Thursday. The cable T...

Keep on reading: ABS-CBN, PLDT cancel Sky Cable deal

Gilas Pilipinas begins its bid to qualify for the Fiba Asia Cup 2025 as the first window of competition kicks off on February 22. The national team looks to give coach Tim Cone a winning start in the Fiba Asia Cup qualifiers in a road game against Hong Kong before Gilas Pilipinas hosts Chinese Taipei at home on February 25. In the first window of the Asia Cup qualifiers, 24 games--including the Gilas assignments--are scheduled across four game days from February 22 to 26. Gilas Pilipinas schedule for Fiba Asia Cup qualifiers vs Hong Kong, Chinese Taipei How, where to watch Gilas games: buy tickets, watch on TV and live streaming Gilas Pilipinas' games against Hong Kong (Februa...

Keep on reading: SCHEDULE: Gilas Pilipinas at Fiba Asia Cup qualifiers window 1

The age of artificial intelligence is here, merging AI into every facet of life. It is an amazing technology, but nothing is ever safe from errors. In response, our goal should be to address such issues immediately, not prevent future ones completely. More importantly, we should learn more about these bugs to prepare for their impacts.  The most recent and significant example is the ChatGPT bug OpenAI investigated on February 20, 2024, at 15:40 PST (February 21, 2024, 7:40AM Philippine Time). It caused the world-renowned AI program to answer baffling nonsense to users until the tech firm fixed the problem on February 21, 2024, at 08:14 PST (February 22, 2024, 12:14 AM Philippine...

Keep on reading: ChatGPT bug caused AI to spout nonsense

    SEOUL --- Almost 8,000 trainee doctors have walked off the job in South Korea to protest a government plan to admit more students to medical schools, and more are expected to join them. Trainee doctors say the government needs to address pay and working conditions first before boosting the number of physicians, while authorities say more staff are needed to increase healthcare services in remote areas and meet the growing demands of one of the world's most rapidly ageing societies.   Why are trainee doctors taking such radical action? Medical interns and resident doctors say they are underpaid and overworked and that their protest shows the system...

Keep on reading: Why are South Korean trainee doctors on strike over medical school quotas?

TOKYO ---Japan's efforts to rebuild its semiconductor industry are getting a shot in the arm as more and more Taiwanese chip companies expand here - not only to support a new TSMC plant but also excited about the Japanese sector's prospects. The influx comes amid shifting alliances and priorities in the global chip industry as the United States pushes to limit China's progress in cutting-edge semiconductors and strengthen partnerships between its allies. Fabless chipmaker Alchip Technologies, which specializes in customized chips known as application-specific integrated chips (ASICs), is illustrative of the China decoupling trend. In 2022, the bulk of its research and develo...

Keep on reading: Taiwan chip firms flock to Japan as China decoupling accelerates

TOKYO ---Japan's factory activity extended declines and service sector growth eased in February, surveys showed on Thursday, suggesting business conditions were worsening as the economy struggles to emerge from recession. The flash au Jibun Bank Japan manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) fell to 47.2 in February from 48.0 in January. The headline index has remained below the 50.0 threshold that demarcates growth from contraction for nine straight months. "The Japanese private sector economy saw the slight improvement at the start of the year all but evaporate during February, as business activity broadly stagnated," said Usamah Bhatti at S&P Global Market Intel...

Keep on reading: Japan’s Feb factory activity extends decline as conditions worsen

Signage is seen outside of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) headquarters in White Oak, Maryland, U.S., August 29, 2020. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/File Photo The U.S. Food and Drug Administration warned consumers on Wednesday against using smartwatches or smart rings that claim to measure blood glucose levels without piercing the skin, regardless of manufacturer or brand.  The health regulator said it was working to ensure that manufacturers, distributors and sellers do not illegally market unauthorized gadgets that claim to measure blood glucose levels. READ: Apple to sell some watches without blood oxygen feature after US court ruling The devices are different from sm...

Keep on reading: US FDA warns against using smartwatches to measure blood glucose

LONDON ---TheWorldBankwarned that high borrowing costs have "changed dramatically" theneedfor developing nations to boost sluggish economicgrowth. The multilateral lender's latest warning comes as international bond sales fromemergingmarket governments hit an all-time record of $47 billion in January, led by less riskyemergingeconomiessuch as Saudi Arabia, Mexico and Romania. However, some riskier issuers have started to tap markets at higher rates. Kenya recently paid more than 10 percent on a new international bond - the threshold above which experts often consider borrowing unaffordable. "When it comes to borrowing, the story has changed dramatically. Youneedtogrowmuch fa...

Keep on reading: World Bank: Emerging economies must grow ‘much faster’ to repay debt

College graduates may remember writing thesis papers for scientific journals. Most would begrudgingly perform research and organize their findings in papers to finish their courses and never do these again. Yet, we rely on these long, complicated texts to guide our actions and future research. Unfortunately, AI is risking the credibility of scientific research. Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology recently published an article featuring gibberish descriptions of anatomically incorrect mammalian reproductive organs. Moreover, illustrations featuring an unrealistically well-endowed rat became trending among scientists on X. In response, the publications retracted the content...

Keep on reading: Peer-reviewed article retracted for AI images

  Ottawa, Canada --- Millennials have overtaken baby boomers as the dominant generation in Canada for the first time, thanks to an immigration surge, the national statistical agency said Wednesday. The demographic change, noted last July but only now reported by Statistics Canada, also saw the proportion of the population aged 15 to 64 years increase -- easing concerns of a looming major labour shortage as large numbers of boomers retire. READ: Canada extends ban on foreign ownership of housing by two years "This change may benefit Canadian society by increasing the size of the working-age population, possibly helping to alleviate the pressures of sectoral labour sho...

Keep on reading: Millennials overtake baby boomers as Canada’s top generation

LUCENA CITY -- Three alleged members of the communist New People's Army (NPA), including a "revo-tax" collector, surrendered on Wednesday (Feb. 21) to government authorities in Quezon and Batangas provinces. The Army's 85th Infantry Battalion in Quezon reported that one alias "Kenjie" voluntarily submitted himself to Agdangan town Mayor Rhadam Aguilar on Wednesday morning in his capacity as chairman of the Municipal Task Force to End Local Armed Conflict (MTF-ELCAC) and localized peace engagement committee. READ: Alleged 50% 'cut' in rebel returnees' cash aid bared in Senate According to the report, the rebel returnee is a "finance officer" of the NPA Apolonio Mendoza Comman...

Keep on reading: Alleged NPA’s ‘revo-tax’ collector, 2 others yield in Quezon, Batangas

GENEVA , Switzerland ---Days before talks that could decide its future role in setting the rules for global commerce in an era of rising protectionism, theWorldTradeOrganization is snagged on what to do with its "non-meetings". That's what some jaded delegates at its vast headquarters on the banks of Lake Geneva in Switzerland have called the hundreds of unofficial negotiations taking place on fixing the WTO's dispute system as part of Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala's drive to make it "fit for purpose" by 2024. At least 100 ministers will gather in Abu Dhabi on Feb. 26-29 for the WTO's 13th ministerial conference once dubbed the "reformministerial". In a sign of wider ...

Keep on reading: World Trade Organization’s push for reform plagued by obstacles

WASHINGTON ---Boeing said on Wednesday it was replacing theheadof its troubled737MAXprogrameffective immediately, the first major executive departure since the Jan. 5mid-airpanel blowout of a new AlaskaAirlinesMAX9. Ed Clark, who had been with the planemaker for nearly 18 years, departed as Boeing has been dealing with its latest crisis and has vowed to bolster quality efforts. Katie Ringgold is replacing him as vice president and general manager of the737program, according to a memo seen by Reuters sent to staff by Boeing CommercialAirplanes CEO Stan Deal. The memo also listed other management changes including creation of a senior vice president position for quality and safet...

Keep on reading: Head of Boeing’s 737 MAX program leaves after mid-air incident

WASHINGTON ---The Biden administration is turning up the heat on China's top sanctioned chipmaker by cutting off its most advanced factory from more American imports after it produced a sophisticated chip for Huawei's Mate 60 Pro phone, three people familiar with the matter said. Late last year, the Commerce Department sent dozens of letters to U.S. suppliers to Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC), suspending permission to sell to its most advanced plant, said two people familiar with the matter who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the matter. While many companies had already stopped selling to SMIC South, as the uni...

Keep on reading: US targets China’s top chipmaking plant after Huawei Mate 60 Pro