Inquirer Breaking News

  You won't see anything new in Guy Ritchie's star-studded action-comedy "The Gentlemen," but its brash, bold and breezy development will keep viewers entertained. As noted by some observers, the filmmaker's irreverent mind-set quickly makes its presence felt as an "equal-opportunity offender for racist stereotypes." But, really, part of Ritchie's gift as a storyteller is the ability to bring the politically incorrect quirks of his dramatis personae to life. So, you'll hear some racially charged put-downs from his shady characters about people based on the color of their skin. As a filmmaker, his cinematic oeuvre is uneven for the most part, but when his movies work, th...

Keep on reading: Character, clever comedy take the wheel in star-studded actioner

  (First of 2 parts)   LOS ANGELES---"It was definitely a 21st birthday that I'll never forget," actress Isa Briones said about her milestone on Jan. 17, which she celebrated in a big way. The daughter of Jon Jon and Megan Briones was in Berlin for the Germany premiere of "Star Trek: Picard," the series where she is the female lead. Isa, who also graced the Los Angeles and London premieres of the show that marked the return of Sir Patrick Stewart to the iconic "Star Trek" series, added, "People kept reminding me. They were like, 'What was I doing on my 21st birthday? I was in Vegas getting drunk. You're actually walking the red carpet. You're hanging out with Pa...

Keep on reading: Fil-Am Isa Briones went from ‘Hamilton’ to a female lead role in ‘Picard’–and she’s just 21

        SANGLEY POINT, Cavite --- Despite President Rodrigo Duterte's recent threat to scrap the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) with the United States, the Philippine Navy said they will continue to train with their American counterparts until the issue has been resolved. "Maghihintay tayo until the VFA issue is resolved. We will continue to engage our closest allies in terms of training, capability upgrade. Tinutulungan naman tayo ng US (The US is helping us)," outgoing Navy chief Vice Adm. Robert Empedrad told reporters Wednesday. Last week, Duterte ordered to terminate the VFA with US -- a pact that allows American forces to train alongside Phili...

Keep on reading: PH Navy to continue training with US despite gov’t plan to scrap VFA

    MANILA, Philippines --- The Senate justice and human rights committee approved on Wednesday a measure seeking to establish a "very strong force" of marshals that would ensure the protection of judges in the country.   Speaking with reporters after he led a hearing on the proposed creation of the Philippine Marshals Service Unit, Senator Richard Gordon said the bill has been approved on the committee level. Gordon added that his panel is ready to file its report and present it on the Senate floor.   "The objective of the bill is to make sure that judges are no longer in peril. There will be a very, very strong force of...

Keep on reading: Senate panel OKs bill on PH marshals service for judges

    MANILA, Philippines --- The Senate justice and human rights committee approved on Wednesday a measure seeking to establish a "very strong force" of marshals that would ensure the protection of judges in the country.   Speaking with reporters after he led a hearing on the proposed creation of the Philippine Marshals Service Unit, Senator Richard Gordon said the bill has been approved on the committee level. Gordon added that his panel is ready to file its report and present it on the Senate floor.   "The objective of the bill is to make sure that judges are no longer in peril. There will be a very, very strong force of...

Keep on reading: Senate panels OKs bill on PH marshals service for judges

    MANILA, Philippines --- What happened to the unspent local disaster funds?   Senator Panfilo Lacson posed this question Wednesday during a Senate hearing on the proposed creation of a separate department to oversee disaster resilience and management.   The senator was asking about the unspent disaster funds, which were allocated to provinces, cities, municipalities and barangays for the local government units' local disaster risk reduction and management fund (LDRRMF) or provincial disaster risk reduction and management fund (PDRRMF).   "Ano nangyari dun sa pondo?" Lacson, who led the hearing as chair of the S...

Keep on reading: Lacson: What happened to unspent local disaster funds?

      MANILA, Philippines -- A lawmaker has revived a proposal for Filipinos to adopt a no-contact gesture of goodwill which would replace handshakes, following the rising cases of 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) in most part of the world.   Speaking during the Minority's press briefing on Wednesday, Marikina 1st District Rep. Bayani Fernando said that his House Bill No. 921 would encourage people to place a right hand to their chest and slightly bow, instead of making hand contact.   "This is actually to do away with the traditional handshake, ang reason ko no'n [my reason for this] is for reason of hygiene. It's as simple as putting ...

Keep on reading: Solon wants to revive no-handshake gesture in view of nCoV scare 

  MANILA, Philippines--Senator Christopher Lawrence "Bong" Go said on Wednesday, January 29, that he will recommend to President Rodrigo Duterte the ban on flights and ship travels between the Philippines and China if this is necessary to prevent the entry of the novel coronavirus or 2019-nCoV in the country. Authorities reported that 132 persons already died of the 2019-nCoV and over 6,000 are infected in mainland China and abroad. "Kung saka-sakaling kakailanganin ay irerekomenda natin kay Pangulong Duterte 'yan. Araw-araw naman po may inter-agency (coordination). Nakatutok tayo dito, ang ating mga health officials, foreign officials. Antayin lang natin ang kanilang r...

Keep on reading: Bong Go supports possible China-PH travel ban to stop nCoV spread

  MANILA, Philippines---China has vowed for transparency on reports concerning the novel coronavirus or 2019-nCoV outbreak that has already claimed the lives of over a hundred people. This was among the results of a recent meeting between Foreign Affairs Assistant SecretariesMeynardo Montealegre andNeil Frank Ferrer, and Chinese Consul General Luo Gang, according to Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. In a tweet Wednesday, Locsin said that China is "implementing all measures to stop the spread of the virus" and that repatriation will only aid its spread. The top diplomat also said that China assured sufficient food supply and medical assistance for all inclu...

Keep on reading: Locsin says China vowed to keep coronavirus matters transparent

MANILA, Philippines --- Kiefer Ravena is honoring his longtime hero the best way he can. Ravena on Wednesday said he is switching his number to 24 as a tribute to the late great Kobe Bryant, who, along with his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven others died in a helicopter crash in California. "Be Epic. My Hero. The ultimate competitor. You had that a**hole gene in your DNA that made you a great leader. You pulled everybody up with you that's why the whole world respected you," the NLEX Road Warriors guard in the PBA wrote on his Instagram account. "I'll be wearing number 24 this year, Mamba. A salute to a legacy I will forever treasure. #Mamba #Mambacita," added Ravena, ...

Keep on reading: Kiefer to wear No. 24 as tribute to hero Kobe

Facebook said Tuesday a new tool allowing users of the social network to view and delete data it collects from third parties is rolling out to the estimated two billion members of the leading social network worldwide. The new feature, part of a stepped-up effort to improve privacy practices, allows users to see and clear "off Facebook activity" used for targeted advertising. Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said the tool offers "a new level of transparency and control" for the social network, which has been roiled by revelations in the past few years on how it collects and uses data. "We've been working on this for a while because we had to rebuild some of ...

Keep on reading: Facebook rolls out tool globally to clear third-party data

  MANILA, Philippines--- President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday said the government is ready to repatriate Filipinos in Wuhan but emphasized the need to place precautions to prevent the novel coronavirus from spreading.   "We are always conscious of our citizens there. If they are going home, we are ready to ferry them back to the Philippines but all precautions must be in place," Duterte said in an ambush interview.   "I said kung may mga sakit na may tama na, at gusto nang umuwi, nakakaawa naman kung hindi natin tulungan," he added.   Despite this, the President pointed out the lockdown being implemented in Wuhan where the deadly virus o...

Keep on reading: PH ready to repatriate Filipinos in Wuhan but precautions must be in place

Apple on Tuesday posted record results for the final three months of last year, delivering gains in sales of iPhones even as the company transitions to digital services and wearables. Net profit hit an all-time high of $22 billion on record quarterly revenue of $91.8 billion, the California tech giant said of the results which were far stronger than most analyst estimates. "We are thrilled to report Apple's highest quarterly revenue ever, fueled by strong demand for our iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro models, and all-time records for services and wearables," said Apple chief executive Tim Cook. Apple's net income in the holiday quarter ending Dec. 28 set a new record for the Cal...

Keep on reading: Apple delivers best-ever quarter, powered by iPhones, services

GENEVA --- Amid growing concern at the spread of a new virus outbreak in China, international sports have been postponed and Olympic qualifying tournaments are being taken elsewhere. The international ski federation on Wednesday canceled the first World Cup races scheduled for testing the mountain venue for alpine skiing at the 2022 Beijing Olympics. A men's downhill had been scheduled for Feb. 15 at Yanqing to start a two-race weekend. "Due to the outbreak and continuing spread of the Novel Coronavirus, FIS, the Chinese Ski Association and its Yanqing Local Organising Committee, have jointly decided to cancel," the races, FIS said in a statement. The federation said it would a...

Keep on reading: Virus in China affects sports events, Olympic qualifiers

MANILA, Philippines---Metro Manila has the second-worst traffic congestion in the world, a report by location technology specialist TomTom (TOM2) showed. In its Traffic Index 2019--- a report detailing the traffic situation in 416 cities in 57 countries---TomTom said Metro Manila traffic took the second spot this year with drivers expecting to spend an average of 71 percent extra travel time stuck in traffic. The Indian city of Bengaluru topped the 9th edition of the annual TomTom Traffic Index with also 71 percent congestion level. The global average congestion level is 29 percent, TomTom said, adding that 57 percent of countries included in the study saw an increase in traffic...

Keep on reading: Metro Manila traffic is 2nd worst in the world—report

      SANGLEY POINT, Cavite --- The Philippine Navy is set to decommission 22 vessels in 2020, in what they say a move to save on maintenance costs and to make way for the entry of new assets in the future. Outgoing Flag Officer in Command (FOIC) Vice Admiral Robert Empedrad, who will retire on Feb. 5, said on Wednesday that the "aging" vessels are already expensive to maintain that they need to be put out of service. During the testimonial parade hosted in honor of the retiring Navy chief at Sangley Point in Cavite, Empedrad announced that the ships due for retirement this year include: patrol ships BRP Quezon (PS-70); BRP Miguel Malvar (PS-19); BRP Mag...

Keep on reading: Philippine Navy to decommission 22 vessels in 2020

MANILA, Philippines --- President Rodrigo Duterte said Wednesday the government is already "preparing for the worst" amid the novel coronavirus scare. Since it is a mysterious disease, the President said limiting the entry of people is what the government is preparing for by gearing up all ports. "We are preparing in all ports of entry. We have deployed almost all [including] regional and national port of entries... There is no vaccine and this is a mysterious disease and we are just preparing maybe for the worst," Duterte said in an ambush interview. Duterte said the front liners to address this are the Bureau of Immigration (BI), the Department of Health (DOH) and the Bureau o...

Keep on reading: PH preparing for the ‘worst’ over novel coronavirus outbreak

SAO PAULO --- For little Kobe Bryant growing up in Italy, the player that amazed him as a child was a skinny and half bald Brazilian guard that often beat his father's teams with long distance shots. Oscar Schmidt, one of basketball's all-time leading scorers with almost 50,000 points, played with Italian teams between 1982 and 1993. It was there that the son of Joe Bryant started going to courts to watch his father in action and, when possible, take a few shots himself. Kobe Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter and seven others died in a helicopter crash on a steep hillside in Southern California on Sunday, igniting a global wave of grief that includes Schmidt --- the idol turned ...

Keep on reading: Kobe’s boyhood hero Oscar Schmidt celebrates ‘annoying kid’

Google on Tuesday provided a look at efforts to put artificial intelligence (AI) to use for good, from protecting whales to breaking language barriers. The internet giant unveiled projects on AI work teams a week after Google chief executive Sundar Pichai urged a "proportional approach" to regulate the technology. Among demonstrations on Tuesday was a "bioacoustics" project using AI to help scientists, governments and nonprofit groups track endangered species. Two years ago, Google partnered with the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to track humpback whales by using AI to recognize the sound of whales in audio captured by underwater m...

Keep on reading: Google aims AI at whales, words and well-being

Not many years ago in a small, rural South Carolina town stood The Redneck Shop --- a racist emporium and Ku Klux Klan (KKK) museum housed in an old theater, where white supremacist neo-Nazis gave heil-Hitler salutes and flaunted swastikas and Rebel flags. That building, once the property of the Klan, now belongs to a black preacher and committed foe of racism who fought the group for more than 20 years. The Rev. David Kennedy plans to transform it into a shrine of reconciliation. How Kennedy, whose great-great-uncle was lynched in the community, got ownership of the old Echo Theater building from an ex-Klansman --- a man who once contemplated murdering Kennedy --- is the subje...

Keep on reading: Pastor’s fight against KKK becomes movie that may aid battle