Inquirer Breaking News

  MANILA, Philippines --- "The Senate should be independent." This was the remark of Senator Alan Peter Cayetano after the upper chamber referred the discussion of the Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF) bills to the panel of the administration's ally. Senate Bill No. 1670 and House Bill No. 6608, measures seeking the creation of the MIF, were referred to the Senate committee on banks, financial institutions and currencies. Senator Mark Villar, a known ally of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., chairs the panel that now handles the bills. Cayetano argued that the controversial bills should be taken up by the Senate committee on government corporations and public enterpri...

Keep on reading: Cayetano on Maharlika bill being endorsed to Marcos ally: Senate should be independent

COTABATO CITY -- Anti-narcotics agents and police authorities in Lanao del Sur arrested on Tuesday an alleged drug peddler and seized from him more than P3.4 million worth of suspected meth. Colonel Robert Daculan, Lanao del Sur police director, in his report to Brig. Gen. John Guyguyon, Bangsamoro region police director, identified the suspect as Samsodin Gundarangin Diarolah, 35, a resident of Barangay Pagalamatan in Balabagan town, Lanao del Sur. Diarolah was arrested at around 1 p.m. on Tuesday during an anti-drug operation along the Narciso Ramos Highway in Barangay Daguan, Kapatagan town where he set the handover of the illicit items bought by an undercover agent. The ...

Keep on reading: Alleged drug peddler falls with P3.4-M meth in Lanao del Sur

SINGAPORE/LONDON - The euro sat at a 10-month high against the dollar on Thursday, ahead of a European Central Bank meeting at which markets expect a half-percentage point rate increase, a day after the U.S. Federal Reserve slowed the pace of its rises to 25 basis points. The Fed also said it had turned a corner in the fight against inflation, its first explicit acknowledgment that price increases are slowing, underpinning market expectations that the end of the central bank's rate-rise campaign is near and cuts could follow. The dollar's most dramatic overnight dive came after Fed Chair Jerome Powell told a post meeting news conference that "the disinflationary process has started...

Keep on reading: Euro hits 10 month-high on dollar, as central banks chart divergent courses

HONG KONG, China -Markets were mixed Thursday, with investors unable to maintain an early rally despite a strong lead from Wall Street fueled by hopes the Federal Reserve's campaign of interest rate hikes could be close to an end. Tech firms led a surge in the Nasdaq and S&P 500 on Wall Street after the central bank unveiled its forecast quarter-point increase in borrowing costs but also noted progress in bringing prices under control. And while chair Jerome Powell warned officials would need "substantially more evidence" to be confident that inflation is on a sustained downward path, analysts said he appeared unmoved by market expectations for a lower "terminal rate". The d...

Keep on reading: Markets mixed as early Fed-fueled rally peters out

DAVAO CITY--The Davao Police Regional Office has announced that the driver responsible for the death of a 21-year-old working student in a hit-and-run incident on January 26, here has surrendered to authorities. The surrender comes after former President Rodrigo Duterte offered P500,000 cash reward to find the driver who escaped after the incident. Jester Yucosing, 40, gave himself up to the Traffic Enforcement Unit (TEU) of the city police on Tuesday after he was tagged asbehind the death of Ana Mae Talili, who died when the vehicle Yucosing was driving allegedly hit the motorcycle she was riding on. The accident happened along McArthur Highway in Davao. The report added...

Keep on reading: Driver in Davao’s hit-and-run case surrenders after ex-president Duterte offers reward

MANILA, Philippines---As the COVID-19 crisis restricted most activities in the last two years, socializing online has taken off, especially in the Philippines, where 77 percent of the population has become more engaging online than in real life.   Telenor Asia, an international telecommunications company, said this on Tuesday (Jan. 31) as it released the findings of its study, Digital Lives Decoded, that surveyed 8,000 consumers across eight markets in South and Southeast Asia.   Based on the results of the study, socializing online has "strengthened connections between people," stressing that overall, 66 percent of respondents engage more online than in real li...

Keep on reading: PH social media craze: 77% of Filipinos more engaging online than in real life

    SEOUL -- A 24-year-old woman was taken into custody by Incheon Police on Thursday on suspicion of neglecting her 2-year-old son at home alone for three days. The child was found dead. Investigation by Incheon Police Station found that the suspect left her home in Michuhol-gu, Incheon, at around 2 p.m. Monday, and returned at 2 a.m. on Thursday. Police took her into custody on suspicion of child abuse, after the suspect herself called the police and said her child was not breathing. The suspect did not state why she left her son alone at home, and just said that she is currently separated from her husband. Officials are conducting further investigation to fin...

Keep on reading: Mother arrested for abandoning toddler to die at home

After his wife Heart Evangelista shut down separation rumors hounding their marriage, Sen. Francis "Chiz" Escudero exuded a "wonderful aura" during Wednesday's Senate plenary session, according to his fellow senators. Escudero was not able to evade the teasing comments from his colleagues, particularly Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri, Sen. Joel Villanueva, Sen. Loren Legarda and Sen. Grace Poe, who was the first to allude to Escudero's marriage. "Together with each and every member of this body, I would like to warmly welcome our colleague and my seatmate, Sen. Chiz. First time in a long time we've seen that smile in his face, with a wonderful aura," Poe said. "And I think ...

Keep on reading: Chiz Escudero teased by fellow senators over ‘wonderful aura’ during Senate session

  MANILA, Philippines --- A total of P2.589 million worth of onions have been sold from farmers' cooperatives and associations (FCAs) directly to industrial buyers in an effort to cut off middlemen dictating prices, said the Department of Agriculture (DA) on Thursday. "In line with his vision of increasing farmers' and fishers' income, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has directed the [DA] to directly link food producers to consumers and institutional buyers, thereby removing the middlemen," said the agency in a statement. The DA this in view of rocketing prices of onions, with some reaching as much as P700 per kilogram during the holiday season. READ: Onion prices ...

Keep on reading: P2.589-M worth of onions sold directly to buyers to cut off middlemen  — DA

    MANILA, Philippines --- The Bureau of Immigration (BI) on Thursday warned foreigners against social media scams on immigration services after receiving reports of an online racket offering to lift immigration blacklist status for a fee. This comes after Movement for Restoration of Peace and Order Chairperson Ka Kuen Chua testified during a Senate Public Order and Dangerous Drugs Committee hearing that there are offers on social media that charge P1 million to P5 million to lift immigration blacklists. According to Immigration Commissioner Norman Tansingco, the scam proliferates on Facebook and other messaging platforms like WeChat, which mainly caters to the...

Keep on reading: BI warns foreigners vs scam offering to lift immigration blacklist status

    MANILA, Philippines --- Authorities seized some P120 million worth of suspected crystal meth or "shabu" from a South African traveler at the Mactan-Cebu International Airport, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) said on Thursday. The suspect, identified as Pietro Aliquo, was arrested on Wednesday night after government personnel found the suspected drugs concealed inside his three briefcases. Aliquo flew into Cebu from Doha, Qatar. Customs officers spotted the suspicious baggage through their x-ray, prompting them to ask for the assistance of the PDEA airport interdiction unit. "A thorough check of the three items led to the discovery of a total...

Keep on reading: P120-M worth of ‘shabu’ seized from South African at Mactan airport

MANILA, Philippines--The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) has filed 74 tax evasion complaints with an estimated amount of P3.58 billion against delinquent individuals and corporate taxpayers. Ten revenue regions and the national office's Collection Enforcement Division filed 53 complaints at the Department of Justice (DOJ) and 21 complaints filed at the local prosecutors' office. "Ginawa natin yan dahil gusto natin mai-convey sa ating publiko, sa ating mamamayan na lalo na sa darating na tax filing season, siguraduhin natin na kapag nagfa-file tayo ng returns, bayaran natin ng tama ang karampatang buwis natin kung hindi ay sasampahan tayo ng kaso," BIR Commissioner Romeo "Jun" ...

Keep on reading: BIR files 74 tax evasion raps worth P3.58B vs firms, other delinquents

MANILA, Philippines --- Three people were found dead with gunshot wounds inside an abandoned car early Thursday morning in Pasay City. The National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) conducted an investigation and declared that two gunmen may have perpetrated the killing. In its initial report, the NCRPO said they found the bodies of the victims--two male and a female--lying inside a white Honda Civic with several gunshot wounds. The responding officers also reviewed the closed circuit television footage around the area in a bid to identify the perpetrators. Police investigators also lifted latent fingerprints on the car's surfaces in hopes to establish the identities o...

Keep on reading: Cops find 3 people dead with gunshot wounds inside a car in Pasay

  HONG KONG -- Hong Kong leader John Lee unveiled on Thursday a promotion campaign that will include 500,000 free flights to lure back visitors, businesses and investors to the financial hub after more than three years of tough COVID-19 curbs. The "Hello Hong Kong" campaign was launched with dancers and flashing neon lights in the city's main convention centre, next to its famous harbor, with a backdrop bearing the slogan in various languages including Russian and Spanish. Lee, speaking in English, said the campaign would show that the city was open for tourism and was aimed at boosting business and investment in the Chinese special administrative region. "Hong Kong ...

Keep on reading: Hong Kong says ‘hello’ to woo back visitors after COVID-19

LONDON - Shell delivered a record $40 billion profit in 2022, the energy giant said on Thursday, capping a tumultuous year in which a surge in energy prices after Russia's invasion of Ukraine allowed it to hand shareholders unprecedented returns. The British company's record earnings, which more than doubled from a year earlier, mirror those reported by U.S. rivals earlier this week and are certain to intensify pressure on governments to further raise taxes on the sector. "We intend to remain disciplined while delivering compelling shareholder returns," chief executive Wael Sawan said in a statement on the first set of earnings since he took the helm on Jan. 1. Shell also posted...

Keep on reading: Shell makes record $40-B profit in tumultuous 2022

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bFwJbIxpOJg MANILA, Philippines --- The International Criminal Court's (ICC) investigation into the extrajudicial killings (EJK) during the previous administration is "not an issue to" Philippine sovereignty, said Senate Minority leader Aquilono "Koko" Pimentel on Thursday. This follows several officials calling upon the ICC to respect the countries' independence, with Department of Justice chief Jesus Crispin Remulla saying that he will prevent the ICC from imposing upon the Philippines, as the country already has its own judiciary. READ: Remulla: PH justice system working, ICC revival of 'drug war' probe an 'irritant' "This is n...

Keep on reading: Koko Pimentel says PH sovereignty ‘not an issue’ for ICC probe

NEW DELHI - India's Gautam Adani, the school dropout who rose to become one of the world's richest men, suffered a stunning defeat when his flagship firm withdrew a blockbuster share sale after an attack by a small U.S. investment firm over his business practices. The move came after Adani's companies lost nearly $86 billion in the stock market as investors bailed out on the tycoon who built a conglomerate spanning ports, coal mines, food businesses, airports and lately media. On Tuesday, the Adani group appeared to have fought back the attack by the New York-based short-seller Hindenburg and rallied investors behind the $2.5 billion share issue of flagship firm Adani Enterprises. ...

Keep on reading: Gautam Adani, one of India’s most powerful men, suffers a rare defeat

  MANILA, Philippines --- The United States vowed to provide assistance to the victims of the Davao de Oro earthquake, according to US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin III. "We're very sorry to learn that yesterday, there was an earthquake that happened in Mindanao," Austin said during his courtesy visit with President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. on Thursday. "We stand ready to help in any way that we can and again, I think our aid personnel are in the area and they stand ready to help to provide humanitarian assistance where and when possible. So please don't hesitate to reach out," he also said. A magnitude 6 earthquake struck New Bataan town inDavaoDeOroon Wedne...

Keep on reading: US vows aid to victims of Davao de Oro earthquake

BERLIN - German exports fell more than expected in December as high inflation and market uncertainty continued to weigh on Europe's largest economy despite fading supply chain problems. Exports fell by 6.3 percent on the previous month, data from the federal statistics office showed on Thursday. Analysts polled by Reuters had predicted a decline of 3.3 percent. Imports fell by 6.1 percent. Imports had been forecast to drop by 0.8 percent. In 2022 as a whole, exports were up by 14.3 percent from the previous year after calendar and seasonal adjustments. Imports rose much more strongly, by 24.3 percent, driven by increased energy prices due to the war in Ukraine. As a result...

Keep on reading: German exports down by 6.3% in December

Sandara Park looked back at her beginnings as a K-pop idol, narrating an instance when she was scolded after she did not press the elevator button for the head of a talent agency. Park, famously known by her stage name Dara, talked about this during an episode of "Unnies without Appetite" released on its YouTube channel on Wednesday, Feb. 1. Park, one of the hosts of the show, was doing a mukbang (a video that features a person eating a large amount of food and addressing the audience) with fellow South Korean singers Yoon Eun-hye and Hyojung, who opened up about their experiences as K-pop idols. "I got in trouble a lot, too," Park recalled, as translated by Korean media out...

Keep on reading: Sandara Park ‘got in trouble’ for not pressing elevator button for a company head