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MANILA, Philippines --- The Senate committee on finance approved Monday the proposed 2023 budget of the Department of Finance (DOF) amounting to P30.6 billion. The panel, chaired by Senator Sonny Angara, is expected to transmit the DOF's budget plan for next year to the plenary for final approval. Based on the presentation of Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno, the DOF's 2023 budget includes an allocation of about P4 billion for the modernization of the Bureau of Internal Revenue and Bureau of Customs. The DOF's proposed budget for next year is higher than its P26.7-billion budget for the current year. RELATED STORIES DOF: PH's foreign debts 'manageable' DOF: More ai...

Keep on reading: DOF’s P30.6 billion budget for 2023 approved by Senate panel

LONDON - The British government is expected to reverse the proposed scrapping of the highest rate of income tax that has sparked a backlash in the governing Conservative Party, the BBC reported on Monday. Finance minister Kwasi Kwarteng sent shockwaves through financial markets when he published a mini-budget on Sept. 23, cutting taxes including the 45p highest rate of income tax, in a "growth plan" to be funded by vast government borrowing. The government had stuck to the policy, even as the value of the pound and government bonds fell, but several senior lawmakers have stepped up their opposition to it at the party's annual conference which began on Sunday. On Sunday, form...

Keep on reading: UK to reverse cut to higher rate income tax – BBC

MOSCOW - Russian manufacturing activity grew at its fastest rate in 3-1/2 years in September, driven by rises in production, new orders and client demand, a business survey showed on Monday, though Western sanctions continued to weigh on export business. The S&P Global Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) rose in September to 52.0 from 51.7 in the previous month, climbing higher above the 50.0 mark that separates expansion from contraction to its highest point since March 2019. "Client demand was focused on domestic customers, however, as new export orders declined steeply," S&P Global said in a monthly survey. "The decrease in foreign client demand was attributed to the loss o...

Keep on reading: Russian factory activity expands at fastest rate in Sept since 2019 – PMI

MANILA, Philippines --- Local television networks and actors' guilds are encouraged to subject their artists to mandatory drug tests, said the Philippine National Police (PNP). PNP chief Gen. Rodolfo Azurin Jr. on Monday welcomed and echoed the recommendation of Surigao del Norte 2nd District Representative Robert Barbers to require actors to undergo drug tests before they are hired. This pitch came after actor Dominic Roco and four other drug suspects were arrested last Saturday during a buy-bust operation in Quezon City. READ: Actor Dominic Roco busted in QC drug sting "Sila iyong ina-idolize ng mga kabataan natin, mga kapwa Pilipino, so they should be drug-free. Kapag role mod...

Keep on reading: PNP urges TV networks, actors guilds to require drug tests for celebrities

BRUSSELS/STOCKHOLM - European telecoms providers are set to win their decade-long fight to make Big Tech pay for network costs, thanks to sympathetic EU regulators and the bloc's efforts to rein in U.S. tech giants, according to industry and regulatory sources, in the EU's strongest move yet to set a global standard. Deutsche Telekom, Orange, Telefonica, Telecom Italia and the big operators say it is all about a fair share contribution, especially as the six largest content providers account for just over half of data internet traffic. Alphabet Inc unit Google, Netflix Inc, Meta, Amazon.com Inc and other tech giants, however, reject the idea. Some dismiss it as an internet traf...

Keep on reading: European telcos set to win fight with Big Tech, could set global agenda

MANILA, Philippines---The South division pulled away in the fourth quarter to trounce the North, 109-92, in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League All-Star Game late Sunday at Batangas City Coliseum. Trailing at halftime and up to the start of the last 10 minutes, 75-76, the South leaned on Jaycee Marcelino, Cedric Ablaza, Kyt Jimenez and Mark Yee to turn the game around and reassert its mastery in the event. Marcelino put up 19 points, 7 assists and 3 rebounds and was named MVP. Ablaza and Jimenez tallied 17 points each. Jimenez capped the game with a triple from way out. Muntinlupa's Damian Lasco paced the North with 18 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals. ...

Keep on reading: MPBL All-Star: South beats North anew; Manny Pacquiao hits buzzer-beater in Executives game

LONDON - Global gas markets are expected to remain tight next year as Russian pipeline gas supplies dwindle and gas demand falls in Europe in response to energy saving measures and high prices, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Monday. Natural gas markets worldwide have been tightening since 2021 and global gas consumption is expected to decline by 0.8 percent this year as result of a record 10 percent contraction in Europe and flat demand in the Asia Pacific region, the IEA said in its quarterly gas market report. Meanwhile, global gas consumption is forecast to inch up by just 0.4 percent next year. In Europe, gas consumption has fallen by 10 percent in the fir...

Keep on reading: Global gas markets to remain tight next year amid supply squeeze-IEA

JAKARTA - Indonesia's inflation rate in September accelerated to its highest since October 2015 due to higher transportation costs following a fuel price hike, statistics bureau data showed on Monday. The headline annual inflation rate rose to 5.95 percent in September, up from 4.69 percent in August, but came in slightly lower than a 6 percent rate expected in a Reuters poll. The annual core inflation rate, which excludes government-controlled prices and volatile food prices, picked up pace in September to 3.21 percent, compared with 3.04 percent in August and 3.6 percent forecast by analysts. "September's inflation was mostly affected by the rise ...

Keep on reading: Indonesia inflation hits new 7-year high after fuel price hike

    WASHINGTON -- The United States will help Taiwan "develop the capability to defend itself" from a Chinese invasion, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Sunday, stopping short of President Joe Biden's vow to send troops to the island. "We're committed to helping Taiwan develop the capability to defend itself," Austin said in an interview with CNN. Washington has historically maintained a policy of "strategic ambiguity" on whether it would intervene militarily if Taiwan were attacked by China. Asked in an interview with CBS last month whether US troops would defend Taiwan, Biden said "yes," if it were "an unprecedented attack." Austin was asked by CNN...

Keep on reading: US defense chief vows to help Taiwan defend itself

MANILA, Philippines --- The Senate opened on Monday the investigation into Philippine offshore gaming operators (Pogos). The Senate committee on ways and means presided over by Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, looked into the activities of Pogos in the country amid the alleged spate of abduction cases linked to the industry. The panel discussed Senate Resolution Nos. 225, 227, and 229 filed by Senators Joel Villanueva, Gatchalian, and Grace Poe, respectively. Senators sought to weigh the benefits and social costs of Pogos. The Department of Justice earlier said that they would conduct summary deportations of over 40,000 Pogo workers, who are Chinese nationals. The Bureau of...

Keep on reading: Senate opens probe on Pogos

LAOAG CITY, Ilocos Norte --- At least 1.3 million residents in Ilocos had received one COVID-19 booster shot, the regional Department of Health (DOH) said Monday, Oct. 3. The DOH said 229,562 residents received a second booster shot among qualified individuals with a first shot. The region needs to inoculate 745,137 people to reach half of its target of one booster shot. The DOH said the region has 3,814,343 people fully vaccinated, or 88 percent of the 4.3 million targets. The agency had jabbed 84 percent of the 501,418 target elderlies. INQ RELATED STORIES Booster vax drive vs COVID-19 launched in Ilocos - INQUIRER.net DOH Ilocos ramps up COVID booster campaign...

Keep on reading: 1.3M residents in Ilocos get COVID-19 booster shot

  WASHINGTON -- President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden head to storm-ravaged Puerto Rico on Monday, in a bid to show solidarity with a US territory whose people have complained of neglect after past natural disasters. The high-profile trip will be the first of two this week for the Bidens, who head on Wednesday to Florida to assess the devastating damage caused by Hurricane Ian. Both Puerto Rico and Florida suffered numerous deaths, widespread power outages, dangerous flooding and grievous property damage from the recent hurricanes of rare intensity -- first Fiona, then Ian. No details of the Bidens' trip have been announced, though visits to disaster zones ar...

Keep on reading: Biden heads to storm-hit Puerto Rico

SINGAPORE - The yen breached the key level of 145 a dollar on Monday, for the first time in more than a week since Japan's intervention to prop up the currency, while sterling gave up some of its gains after a modest recovery at the end of last week. The yen bottomed at 145.4 to the dollar, and last traded down 0.1 percent at 144.9, in thin Asian trade on a holiday in China, South Korea and some Australian states. Monday's fall came after Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki's comments that Japan stood ready for "decisive" steps in the foreign exchange market if excessive yen moves persisted. Sept. 22 was the last time the currency had weakened below 145 to the dollar, after the Ban...

Keep on reading: Yen weakens past key level, sterling pares gains

MANILA, Philippines --- Two women from overseas Filipino communities received major titles at the 2022 Mrs. Tourism pageant staged at the Montien Riverside Hotel Bangkok in Thailand on Oct. 2 Jacqueline Jensen Mochinaga from the Filipino community of Japan was crowned Mrs. Tourism-The Queen Mother, while Maria Victoria Landry from the Filipino community in the United States was proclaimed Mrs. Tourism International. Mochinaga was also hailed as "Most Friendly Mother" during the coronation ceremonies.       Meanwhile, host delegate Angkanang Shakira Bumrumsorn received the Mrs. Tourism Universe title, which Filipino queen Hemilyn Escudero-Tamayo w...

Keep on reading: 2 overseas Filipino women cop crowns in Mrs. Tourism pageant in Thailand

TOKYO - Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Monday vowed to take steps to cushion the blow from rising electricity bills and maximize the benefits to the economy from a weak yen such as by resuscitating inbound tourism. Dealing with rising inflation and the fallout from the yen's recent sharp falls will be among steps the administration will focus on, Kishida said in a policy speech to parliament, stressing that revitalizing the economy was his "top priority." "A big challenge Japan will face toward next spring is the risk of a sharp rise in electricity bills. We will take unprecedented, bold measures that directly ease the burden on households and companies," Kishida said. ...

Keep on reading: Japan PM vows to combat rising utility bills, benefit from weak yen

  LUCENA CITY --- A drunken pedestrian was in critical condition after a vehicle hit him early Monday along the Maharlika Highway in Gumaca, Quezon. The Quezon police reported that a vehicle bumped Rene Imperial, 54, while on his way home at 12:40 a.m. from a drinking spree in Barangay Rosario. The vehicle sped off. Rescuers brought Imperial to Gumaca District Hospital, but was transferred to Quezon Medical Center in his city due to his serious condition. The police were conducting more investigation to identify the vehicle and its driver. INQ RELATED STORIES Drunken man killed by train | Inquirer News Drunken man dies after train hits him in Lucena City ...

Keep on reading: Drunken man critical in Quezon hit-and-run

HANOI --- Health authorities in Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh City on Monday announced the country's first case of monkeypox, the state-run Vietnamnet newspaper reported, without giving any details on the patient.   RELATED STORIES: Bosnia reports first case of monkeypox infection---media First case of monkeypox confirmed in Finland ...

Keep on reading: Vietnam reports first case of monkeypox – state media

  SANTIAGO -- Located at the tip of South America, where the Pacific and Atlantic oceans meet, Cape Horn in Chile is the closest land mass to Antarctica and home to a unique ecosystem that scientists say is a natural laboratory to study climate change. Ricardo Rozzi, director of the almost-completed Cape Horn International Center (CHIC), said the area has at least 10 features - including the world's southernmost forest - which make the Cape Horn Biosphere Reserve ideal to monitor plant and animal life on a warming planet. "[Organisms] in the north are coming south, but what happens to the ones here in the south? Do they vanish? Do they not vanish?" Rozzi said. "That's t...

Keep on reading: Research center in Chile’s Cape Horn serves as climate change ‘sentinel’

    The military commissar of Russia's Khabarovsk region was removed from his post after half of the newly mobilized personnel were sent home as they did not meet the draft criteria, the region's governor said early on Monday. Russia's first mobilization since World War Two, declared by President Vladimir Putin on Sept. 21, has led to widespread discontent among officials and citizens over the way the draft has been handled, including complaints about enlistment officers sending call-up papers to clearly ineligible men. "In 10 days, several thousand of our countrymen received summons and arrived at the military registration and enlistment offices," Mikhail Degty...

Keep on reading: Half of mobilized men in Russian region sent home, commissar fired–governor

  OLONGAPO CITY --- Two most wanted persons in this city and nearby Zambales province were arrested during an operation on Oct. 1 and 2, police said. One of them, Bjhay Arevalo, of Barangay Old Cabalan, was tagged the 10th most wanted person in this city. Arevalo was arrested through a warrant issued for robbery and violence or intimidation. A local court recommended a P100,000 bail bond. Also arrested was John Francis Banang, tagged as the eight most wanted in Zambales. Banang of Barangay Asinan Proper in Subic town was wanted for two counts of violation of the Anti-Child Abuse Law. A court in Olongapo recommended a P200,000 bail bond. INQ RELATED STORIES I...

Keep on reading: 2 most wanted persons nabbed in Olongapo, Zambales