Inquirer Breaking News

Federal Reserve policymakers may not be quite as eager to start cutting interest rates as soon as March after fresh data showed inflation ticked up in December. The consumer price index (CPI) rose 0.3 percent in December after increasing 0.1 percent in November, the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics said on Thursday. From a year earlier, consumer prices rose 3.4 percent, more than the 3.2 percent economists polled by Reuters had expected. U.S. central bankers want more confirmation that inflation is on a firm path toward their 2 percent goal before they reduce the policy rate, now in the 5.25 percent-5.5 percent range. READ: US interest rates in 'good place,' ...

Keep on reading: Fed rate cuts may wait as inflation ticked up in December

MANILA, Philippines --- A 22-year old woman was killed in a residential fire in Tondo, Manila on Thursday afternoon, police said. The Manila Police District said the fire occurred along the informal settlements along Mayhaligue St., Estero de Magdalena in Barangay 262, Zone 23. Citing Bureau of Fire Protection, the MPD said the fire began at 3:58 p.m. and was extinguished at about 4:28 p.m. READ: Fire in Manila in 2023 mostly happened in residential areas, says PIO READ: Fire hits residential block in Pandacan, 1 hurt -- BFP "During the clearing operation made by the BFP personnel, the victim was found lying sideways inside her residence," the MPD said in its report. Auth...

Keep on reading: 22-year old woman dead in Tondo residential fire

    MANILA, Philippines --- Former Office of the Vice President (OVP) spokesperson Barry Gutierrez has advised former president Rodrigo Duterte to stop avoiding the International Criminal Court (ICC) investigation, as he has nothing to fear if he has done nothing wrong. Gutierrez, who is also a former House lawmaker, threw back to Duterte on Thursday a line used to lecture suspected drug users and dealers during the height of the drug war --- if you have not done something wrong, why are you afraid? "Dadagdag ko lang ang isang nausong hirit noong nakaraang administrasyon: Kung wala kayong kasalanan, bakit kayo takot na takot?" Gutierrez, who was with OVP during ...

Keep on reading: Ex-OVP spox to Duterte: No need to fear ICC if he did nothing wrong

Jo Koysaid his joke at the 81st Golden Globe awards referencing Taylor Swift was actually directed towards the National Football League (NFL) using her cutaways to draw more viewers to watch the game. During an interview with the Los Angeles, California-basedKTLAlast Jan. 9, Jo Koy was asked for his reaction to Swift's serious, if not chilly, reception to his joke on her NFL game attendance. In that controversial spiel, he claimed the Golden Globes has fewer cutaways of Swift than the NFL, in which the camera panned to the singer-songwriter to catch her taking a sip from her champagne flute, seemingly unamused by his wisecrack. The Filipino-American standup-comedian clarified t...

Keep on reading: Jo Koy says joke on Taylor Swift was about NFL using her cutaways

MANILA, Philippines --- Germany is set to deliver additional drones for the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) to be used for its operations in theWest Philippine Sea (WPS) among otherfunctions, its spokesperson Rear Admiral Armado Balilo said on Thursday. Balilo told reporters that Germany will provide "additional drones that can be utilized in the performance of our functions, WPS operations included." Asked as to how many additional drones the country will provide, Balilo said: "around four or more." READ: Bongbong Marcos wants enhanced ties with Germany on climate change The PCG spokesperson said the drone delivery is part of the 129 million (P7.9 billion) initial assistance fr...

Keep on reading: Germany to deliver additional drones for PCG’s West PH Sea response

    PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES - Israel bombarded the southern Gaza Strip Thursday as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken ended a days-long regional tour aimed at preventing the Israel-Hamas war from spreading. His final stop in Egypt coincided with a hearing at the UN's top court over an urgent appeal for Israel to immediately suspend its military operations in the Gaza Strip. Adila Hassim, a top lawyer for South Africa which has brought the case against Israel, said Israel's bombing campaign aimed at the "destruction of Palestinian life" and had pushed Palestinians "to the brink of famine". In Cairo, Blinken met Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, whose ...

Keep on reading: Israel bombs Gaza as Blinken ends regional tour

MANILA, Philippines --- Vehicles were seen as the leading cause of air pollution in Quezon City, its local government found. According to the results of its Emissions Inventory posted on Thursday, mobile sources or vehicles accounted for 91 percent of criteria air pollutants and 66 percent of climate air pollutants. "Sa isinagawang Emissions Inventory (EI) ng Quezon City para sa Air Quality Management Project, natukoy na ang mga sasakyan ang pangunahing pinagmumulan ng air pollution sa ating lungsod," the Quezon City Climate Change and Environmental Sustainability Department said. (In the Emissions Inventory of Quezon City for the Air Quality Management Project, it has...

Keep on reading: Vehicles are leading cause of air pollution in QC

    MANILA, Philippines ---Unconsolidated jeepney operators who failed to join existing cooperatives or corporations will be tagged as "colorum" after January 31, the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) said on Thursday. According to LTFRB Chairman Attorney Teofilo Guadiz III, those who will not comply with the consolidation requirement past the end of the January extension given by the board will be strictly banned from plying their routes. "Lahat ng hindi nakapag consolidate, classified po na colorum kaya huhulihin na po," Guadiz said in a press briefing. (All those who have not consolidated are classified as colorum, so they will b...

Keep on reading: Unconsolidated jeepney operators considered ‘colorum’ after Jan 31 — LTFRB

    MANILA, Philippines --- Even with the start of the new year, some bays in the country have still tested positive for toxic red tide, the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) said on Thursday. According to the BFAR, four bays in Visayas and Mindanao have tested positive for Paralytic Shellfish Poison or toxic red tide beyond the regulatory limit. These bays are: Coastal waters of Dauis and Tagbilaran City in Bohol Dumanquillas Bay in Zamboanga del Sur Lianga Bay in Surigao del Sur Coastal waters of San Benito in Surigao del Norte The agency said that shellfish or alamang (small shrimp) gathered from the areas mentioned are not saf...

Keep on reading: BFAR: Red tide warning up in four bays in Visayas and Mindanao

MANILA, Philippines --- Nxled young setter Kamille Cal can't wait to set the place for Ivy Lacsina inside the court when the former National University teammates reunite and lead the Chameleons in the 2024 Premier Volleyball League (PVL) season in February. The Chameleons on Wednesday shared a video of Cal, who is excited to team up again with Lacsina for the first time since the UAAP Season 84 women's volleyball tournament in 2022. The young playmaker, who made her PVL rookie debut in the second All-Filipino Conference last year, admitted that she helped Nxled recruit her best friend Lacsina after F2 Logistics disbanded. "Somehow yes [our friendship contributed to her decis...

Keep on reading: PVL: Kamille Cal can’t wait for reunion with Ivy Lacsina

    MANILA, Philippines --- More than one hundred organizations filed their manifestation of intent to participate in the 2025 midterm elections , the Commission on Elections (Comelec) said on Thursday. The Comelec said that a total of 106 sectoral parties, sectoral organizations, political parties, and coalitions submitted their statements of intent to participate in the party-list system of representation elections for the 2025 national and local elections as of December 29, 2023. Each party list group was only allowed to file one manifestation of intent to participate, Comelec Chairman George Erwin Garcia told reporters. "'Pag more than one ibig sabihi...

Keep on reading: Over 100 party-list groups eyeing 2025 midterm polls

Iga Swiatek will be a hot favorite to win a first Australian Open when it begins on Sunday, but could face a stiff challenge from former champions Aryna Sabalenka and Naomi Osaka. AFP Sport highlights five women to watch at first Grand Slam of the year at the Australian Open 2024: Iga Swiatek The world number one is a four-time Grand Slam champion but has never been beyond the semi-finals at Melbourne Park. The Polish player rocketed back to the top of the rankings after winning her first WTA Finals trophy in November. She enjoyed a stellar season in 2022, recording 37 straight wins, but faltered last year, with her 75-week run as number one ending in September. Swi...

Keep on reading: Swiatek to Raducanu: Five women to watch at Australian Open 2024

  MANILA, Philippines --- Senator Imee Marcos on Thursday said he warned his brother --- President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. -- against the supposed destabilization plots against the administration, which she believes also "comes from the inside." In a radio interview, the senator said her brother sometimes gets irked when she advises him against these alleged destabilization efforts. "Napagsasabihan [at] kung minsan naiirita [siya] syempre. Ganyan naman ang papel ng manang, hindi ba? Sasabihin mo 'yung totoo. E palagay ko hindi naman pwede 'yung sistemang ganito. Mabait ang kapatid ko pero mahirap magalit kaya mag dahan dahan sila," said Marcos over DZBB....

Keep on reading: Sen. Marcos says she advised, cautioned President on destab plots

BEIRUT --- An Israeli airstrike killed an elite Hezbollah commander Monday in southern Lebanon, the latest in an escalating exchange of strikes across the border that have raised fears of another Mideast war even as the fighting in Gaza exacts a mounting toll on civilians. The strike on an SUV killed a commander in a secretive Hezbollah unit that operates along the border, according to a Lebanese security official who spoke on condition of anonymity in keeping with regulations. The commander, Wissam al-Tawil, was a veteran of the Iranian-backed Lebanese force who took part in the 2006 cross-border kidnapping of two Israeli soldiers that triggered the last war between Israel and ...

Keep on reading: Israeli strike kills elite Hezbollah leader in latest Gaza escalation

Sarah Lahbati unfollowed her husband Richard Gutierrez, his mom Annabelle Rama, his siblings Ruffa and Raymond Gutierrez on Instagram, a day after dating rumors involving the actor and actress Barbie Imperial arose. While Richard, Rama, Ruffa and Raymond can no longer be seen on Lahbati's following list, the four of them still follow the actress on the platform as of Tuesday morning, Jan. 9. Eagle-eyed netizens also noticed that Lahbati changed her Instagram name from "SLG"---which stands for Sarah Lahbati-Gutierrez---to "Sarah Lahbati." Sarah and Richard, who have been together for 11 years, share two sons together, namely Zion and Kai. ...

Keep on reading: Sarah Lahbati no longer follows Richard Gutierrez on Instagram

SINGAPORE - The dollar paused its rally on Tuesday, as traders reaffirmed their bets for a slew of Federal Reserve rate cuts this year on the belief that inflation in the U.S. is slowing sufficiently. In cryptocurrencies, bitcoin hovered near its strongest level since April 2022 on growing anticipation of imminent approvals of spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETF). The euro last stood at $1.0950, away from its recent three-week low of $1.0877, while the Japanese yen distanced itself from the 145 per dollar level following a broad decline in the greenback as U.S. Treasury yields slipped. The moves were partly driven by the New York Fed's latest Survey of Consumer Expectati...

Keep on reading: Dollar pulls back, bitcoin jumps ahead of ETF approval deadline

MANILA, Philippines ---There were fewer unemployed Filipinos in November last year, as the seasonal surge in economic activity during the Holiday season triggered increased hiring. A nationwide survey of 11,233 households showed there were 1.83 million Filipinos who were either jobless or out of business in November, down from 2.09 million recorded in October, the PSA reports. That translated to an unemployment rate of 3.6 percent, down from 4.2 percent in the preceding month. READ: PH unemployment rate down to 4.2% in Oct On an annual basis, the industries with the largest increase in employment were agriculture and forestry, construction, and transportation and storage. ...

Keep on reading: Jobless rate down to 3.6% in November —PSA

  MANILA, Philippines --- More than 1.3 million devotees flocked the Quirino Grandstand where the procession for the image of the Black Nazarene began. As of 5:00 am, Tuesday, the Quiapo Church Command Post said in its report that there are a total of 1,340,000 devotees in the grandstand. The image of the Black Nazarene was displayed there for the "Pahalik," during which devotees were allowed to touch and kiss the image. READ: Some Nazarene devotees figure in minor medical cases at Quirino Grandstand Manila Archbishop Jose Cardinal Advincula Jr. then presided over a "Misa Mayor" before the beginning of the procession. The carriage containing the Black Nazaren...

Keep on reading: Quirino Grandstand draws 1.3 million Nazareno devotees

BENGALURU - The Bank of Korea will keep its key policy rate unchanged at 3.5 percent for an eighth consecutive meeting on Thursday as inflation eases and until at least the third quarter despite some concerns around financial stability, a Reuters poll found. With inflation currently at 3.2 percent, above the central bank's 2 percent target, and the Korean won down around 1.8 percent against the dollar so far this year, the BOK is unlikely to change its hawkish stance anytime soon. However, Governor Rhee Chang-yong said in a New Year speech the BOK would adopt a "policy mix" to bring down inflation and needed to prepare for the possibility of financial uneasiness that may be tri...

Keep on reading: Bank of Korea to hold base rate on Jan 11 and not cut until Q3

MANILA, Philippines --- Black Nazarene devotees gathered around Quiapo Church on Tuesday as the Traslacion started its return journey to the famous shrine in Manila. The believers were awaiting the arrival of the holy image to Quiapo Church amid prayers. According to the Quiapo Church Command Post, approximately 11,500 people have assembled along streets around Quiapo as of 7:00 a.m. on Tuesday with the church itself reaching its maximum capacity. The crowd filled Plaza Miranda as they spread from the church. Large monitors were set up outside for the live streaming of events happening inside the religious building. READ: Nazareno 2024: Traslacion Live Updates of the Feast o...

Keep on reading: LOOK: Black Nazarene devotees gather around Quiapo Church