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    NEW YORK -Treasury yields and a gauge of global equities fell sharply after the Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged as expected on Wednesday but indicated it would not reduce them until inflation was "moving sustainably" toward its 2-percent target. The Fed took a major step toward lowering rates in coming months in a policy statement that tempered inflation concerns with other risks to the U.S. economy and dropped a longstanding reference to possible further hikes in borrowing costs. The dollar rose against the euro and other major currencies after Fed Chair Jerome Powell at a press conference said that a rate cut in March was not the U.S. central...

Keep on reading: Stocks, yields slide as Fed signals no rate cut soon

A Homo sapiens bone fragment from excavations at a cave site in the German town of Ranis provides new insight into the arrival of Homo sapiens in the region thousands of years earlier than previously known, is seen in a composite image, in this undated handout picture obtained by Reuters. Tim Schuler/TLDA/Handout via REUTERS Bone fragments unearthed in a cave in central Germany show that our species ventured into Europe's cold higher latitudes more than 45,000 years ago -- much earlier than previously known -- in a finding that rewrites the early history of Homo sapiens on a continent still inhabited then by our cousins the Neanderthals. Scientists said Wednesday they identified t...

Keep on reading: Bones from German cave revise early history of Homo sapiens in Europe

WASHINGTON ---The US Federal Reserve voted Wednesday to leave interest rates unchanged for the fourth straight meeting, while indicating it was moving toward future cuts -- but probably not before May at the earliest. The Fed confirmed in a statement that it was holding its benchmark lending rate steady at its 23-year high, between 5.25 and 5.50 percent. The central bank has a dual mandate to keep both inflation and the unemployment rate low, and has been heavily focused at recent meetings on reining in inflation, with an eye on its long-term target of two percent. On Wednesday, it said the "risks to achieving its employment and inflation goals are moving into better balance...

Keep on reading: US Fed holds key rate steady as Powell says March cut unlikely

United States officials said Wednesday they disrupted a sweeping Chinese cyber-spying operation that targeted critical American infrastructure entities and could be used against the US in a future geopolitical crisis. The operation, conducted jointly by the US Department of Justice and the FBI, weeded out malicious Chinese software from a network or "botnet" of hundreds of compromised US routers, both agencies said in a statement. The US and its key allies disclosed the Chinese campaign, dubbed Volt Typhoon, in May 2023 when analysts at Microsoft found it had targeted everything from US telecommunication networks to transportation hubs. As state-sponsored hacking becomes an ...

Keep on reading: US disrupts China hacking drive vs vital infrastructure – officials

MEXICO CITY --- The theft of the personal data of hundreds of journalists in Mexico, including addresses and copies of voter ID cards and passports, has raised fresh safety concerns in one of the most dangerous countries in the world for media professionals. After media reports, Mexican authorities on Monday said government computers were hacked on January 22 and promised an investigation. Officials said the personal data of at least 263 journalists, whom they did not publicly identify, was illegally accessed and released. The officials said an individual, whom they did not name, used a former government employee's account to take the data. The individual had a Spanish IP addre...

Keep on reading: Leak of journalists’ personal data raises security worries in Mexico

WASHINGTON --- The United States is actively pursuing the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with security guarantees for Israel and exploring options with partners in the region, the State Department spokesperson said Wednesday. Matthew Miller declined to give details on the department's internal work on the issue but told a news briefing the effort has been an objective of President Joe Biden's administration. "We are actively pursuing the establishment as an independent Palestinian state, with real security guarantees for Israel, because we do believe that is the best way to bring about lasting peace and security for Israel, for Palestinians, and for the regio...

Keep on reading: US actively pursuing creation of a Palestinian state – State Department

  The number of Chinese vessels spotted near Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal during Philippine resupply missions has "increased substantially" since 2021, with more and more military ships joining the swarm, according to a Washington-based think tank. In a report published on Wednesday, the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative (Amti) said that on average, just one Chinese ship was spotted at Ayungin during resupply missions in 2021, but this increased to about 14 ships in 2023. The Philippines, on the other hand, used only two to three vessels on average for resupply missions from 2021 to 2023, Amti said. Ayungin, an underwater feature about 195 kilometers off Palawan pro...

Keep on reading: Report notes increase in Sino vessels near Ayungin since 2021

The presence of Bennie Boatwright has allowed June Mar Fajardo to play a key secondary role in San Miguel Beer's march to the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Commissioner's Cup Finals. "I know what my role is within our team," Fajardo said in a short chat with The Inquirer while entertaining autograph seekers during the Philippine Sportswriters Association Awards Night last Monday at Diamond Hotel. Boatwright brought a different dimension to an already-deep Beermen lineup, forming a frontline tandem with the seven-time Most Valuable Player (MVP). San Miguel finally learned its opponent for the title series in Magnolia, which took care of business on Wednesday by stop...

Keep on reading: Magnolia will deal with San Miguel lethal big man duo in PBA finals duel

Trisha Tubu started her volleyball journey thinking it would only be for leisure. Little did she know that it would be the very thing that would help save her father's life. "It feels good that because of playing volleyball, I was able to help extend my father's life," Tubu said in Filipino in a video interview posted by Farm Fresh on its social media page. "And because of Farm Fresh, my family is now in a more [comfortable position] and I am happy that my father is now okay." "Actually, I never thought that I would be doing volleyball for a lifetime because this was just a hobby for me." After a promising rookie stint playing for Adamson, Tubu decided to forego her eligibil...

Keep on reading: In the name of her father: Tubu’s star rises with Farm Fresh

Manila Hustle 3x3 returns for a second season this weekend, looking to show the strides women's basketball has made thus far and show how much more the side of the sport could grow. A total of 16 teams duke it out at SM Mall of Asia Music Hall in Pasay City beginning this Saturday, with Gilas Pilipinas Women shaping up as an early favorite. "Last year was exciting. We had 12 teams, and there were a lot of points for improvement. This time, we said, [let's get] bigger and better," tournament director and Uratex owner Peachy Medina said in the kickoff presser at Microtel Mall of Asia in Pasay City on Tuesday. "We want everybody to be aware of how women's basketball has developed. ...

Keep on reading: ‘Hustle’ looks to showcase women’s hoops rise

  The national basketball program's road map for the next World Cup and Olympics cycle will be steeped in nostalgia. Erika Dy, the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas' (SBP) newly appointed executive director, said that the national federation picked the best practices from across eras of previous national coaches to determine the best course of action for the next four years. "We looked back at everything we tried to do before," she told the Inquirer on the sidelines of the Manila Hustle 3x3 kickoff presser on Tuesday. "If you remember with coach Norman (Black), we did a pool that stuck together for three years. We also had coach Chot (Reyes') style where he's got playe...

Keep on reading: Gilas program picking up lessons from the past, says Dy

MANILA, Philippines --- Party leaders and ranking members of the House of Representatives are set to file a resolution that would defend Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez from accusations hurled against him regarding Charter change (Cha-cha), noting that they support his leadership. During a press briefing on Wednesday, Majority Leader Manuel Jose Dalipe said that the House had a party leaders' caucus and an all-members' assembly to get their sentiments after heated exchanges between the House and the Senate. Dalipe said that the House resolution, a proposal made after the meeting, would be filed on Monday, Feb. 6. "We just had an all-member caucus, because some members wou...

Keep on reading: House leaders to file resolution defending Romualdez amid Cha-cha discord

MANILA, Philippines--Magnolia arranged a showdown with sister team San Miguel Beer for the PBA Commissioner's Cup title after ending the fairytale run of Phoenix, 89-79, in Game 4 of their semifinal series Wednesday at Mall of Asia Arena. The Hotshots made sure that there wouldn't be any collapse this time as they leaned on a strong first quarter anchored by Mark Barroca before their defense prevented the Fuel Masters from completing any of their comeback tries in the second half. Barroca finished with a conference-high 21 points as Magnolia won the best-of-five series, 3-1, to progress into the PBA Finals against the Beermen, who a few days earlier swept last season's Commissi...

Keep on reading: Magnolia ousts Phoenix to set up PBA Finals duel vs San Miguel

Magnolia feels the manner of how it won the first two games of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Commissioner's Cup semifinals is no reason for the Hotshots to feel that sweeping Phoenix is going to be moot and academic. "I think we will see a different Phoenix team this time," Paul Lee said after the Hotshots moved on the cusp of a Finals berth after recovering in the final frame to pull out an 82-78 win on Friday at SM Mall of Asia Arena. Their bid to put away the Fuel Masters starts at 3 p.m. on Sunday at the same venue as they aim to get back to the big league's grandest stage for the first time since the 2021 Philippine Cup. The championship matchup could be k...

Keep on reading: Magnolia, 2-0 up in a battle of attrition with Phoenix, goes for a sweep of Fuel Masters for first title series slot

San Miguel reached for the door of the PBA Commissioner's Cup championship series on Friday night following its 106-96 dismantling of Barangay Ginebra in Game 2 of the semifinals. The Beermen will have a chance to turn the knob this Sunday, but skipper Chris Ross has been playing the game long enough to know that doing so is easier said than done. "We know firsthand how it is to be on that side," he told the Inquirer while shaking his head. Ross was a member of the fabled Beermen squad that came back from three games down to win the 2015 Philippine Cup against Alaska, so the defensive whiz knows all too well that such a task is doable. It would also be a mortal sin to cou...

Keep on reading: Beermen not about to take Kings lightly

Roger Gorayeb knows that his comeback in the Premier Volleyball League (PVL) will be challenging, to say the least, as he tries to build a competitive Capital1 squad three weeks before the Power Spikers plunge into action. "We do not need luck here---what I need to do is a miracle because the season will start in just a few weeks," Gorayeb said as Capital1 announced its entry to the PVL on Thursday. "We will start to train next week, so we will just have two weeks to practice. "This is huge for me, but everything is a challenge for me." With Capital1 racing against time to build a competitive team, Gorayeb opted to choose experienced players from a two-day tryout like Aiko U...

Keep on reading: Gorayeb eyes finish far from bottom

TAIPEI --- Swinging side-to-side to a Chinese ditty, Taiwanese teenagers and kids performed at a recent night market competition, showing off their loose-limbed moves while executing the viral "subject three" dance that has taken social media by storm. The competitors included young men in leather jackets and high-tops, siblings matching in denim jackets and sunglasses, and even dancers improvising with pop-and-lock hip-hop moves. But all stuck to the original spirit of the "kemusan" dance --- translated as "subject three" in Mandarin --- which calls for dancers to look like they are almost twisting their ankles, as they flick their wrists rapidly to traditional Chinese music m...

Keep on reading: Taiwan night market serves up viral dance

General Counsel Emeritus of the World Jewish Congress Menachem Rosensaft, right, signs a document representing a Muslim-Jewish peace initiative, with the Bosnian Grand Mufti Husein Kavazovic, at the Srebrenica Memorial Center, on International Holocaust Remembrance Day, in Potocari, Bosnia, Saturday, Jan. 27, 2024. (Photo by ARMIN DURGUT / Associated Press) SREBRENICA, Bosnia-Herzegovina --- Jews and Muslims from Bosnia and abroad gathered in Srebrenica on Saturday to jointly observeInternational Holocaust Remembrance Dayand to promote compassion and dialogue amidthe Israel-Hamas war. The gathering was organized by the center preserving the memory of Europe's only acknowledged gen...

Keep on reading: Bosnian Muslims, Jews call for peace on Holocaust Remembrance Day

Palestinians look at their neighbor's damaged house following an Israeli strike in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, Saturday, Jan. 27, 2024. (Photo by FATIMA SHBAIR / Associated Press) RAFAH, Gaza Strip --- Witnesses said three Palestinians were killed Saturday in an airstrike that Israel's military said was targeting a Hamas commander in southernGaza, less than a day after the International Court of Justiceordered Israelto do all it could to prevent death, destruction and any acts of genocide in the besieged territory. Israel's military will be under increasing scrutiny since the top United Nations court also asked Israelfor a compliance report in a month. The court stopped short of o...

Keep on reading: Airstrike kills 3 Palestinians in Gaza as Israel presses offensive

Actress Maricel Laxa said that it was while shooting the climatic ending of Prime Cruz's movie "GG" with son Donny Pangilinan that she realized her son is indeed "a gifted actor." The scene features an extremely emotional hug between the mother and son characters, Iya and Seth. "That was the scene where I forgot most of my lines, but I was amazed at Donny because he was very much in the moment. That's when I realized that he's really good. Nasabayan pala n'ya ako (He was able to match my performance). Mayroong pinagmanahan (He takes after me)!" Maricel told reporters during a short Q&A after the barkada esports-themed movie premiered at SM Megamall on Tuesday night. "I was ...

Keep on reading: Donny Pangilinan pays tribute to late grandmother in new movie