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MANILA, Philippines --- House Speaker Lord Allan Velasco on Tuesday endorsed Majority Leader Martin Romualdez as the Speaker of the lower chamber in the 19th Congress. During their meeting in Makati City, Velasco said that Romualdez' election as the Speaker of the 19th Congress "will ensure that the legislative agenda of the incoming administration will be pursued and completed." "Romualdez has my support and friendship," Velasco said. Velasco likewise thanked Romualdez for being a "steady partner and ally" in the 18th Congress. "His strong leadership and support as our Majority Leader were crucial to the passage of relevant and timely pandemic-response measures and the appro...

Keep on reading: Velasco endorses Romualdez as next House Speaker

  Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Tuesday that Finland and Sweden joining Nato would probably make "not much difference" as the two countries had long participated in the alliance's military drills. "Finland and Sweden, as well as other neutral countries, have been participating in Nato military exercises for many years," Lavrov said. "Nato takes their territory into account when planning military advances to the East. So in this sense there is probably not much difference. Let's see how their territory is used in practice in the North Atlantic alliance." RELATED STORIES   'Dancing, not war': Signs of normality in Ukraine's shattered Kharkiv...

Keep on reading: Russia’s Lavrov says Finland, Sweden joining Nato makes ‘no big difference’

The Iran-backed political and militant group Hezbollah has lost its parliamentary coalition majority in a Lebanese election that delivered significant gains to its rivals as well as to a protest movement that swept the country in a 2019 uprising, final results showed Tuesday.

MANILA, Philippines---Perennial title contender and crowd darling Barangay Ginebra was among the first teams to make personnel moves ahead of the Philippine Basketball Association's 47th season. The Gin Kings on Tuesday have agreed on a deal with Terrafirma to land Jeremiah Gray, the second overall pick of Sunday's Rookie Draft, in exchange forJaviGomezde Liao and incoming sophomore Brian Enriquez. Gray, who was drafted by league doormat Terrafirma, is currently nursing his knee in the United States, but head coach Tim Cone said that the 6-foo-5 forward's rehabilitation is but a small inconvenience to the club, which is on a mission to reclaim the Philippine Cup. "Jeremiah is a tale...

Keep on reading: PBA: Ginebra gets Gray from Terrafirma for Gomez de Liano, Enriquez

A House panel is set to hold a public hearing on Tuesday on "unidentified aerial phenomena," popularly known as UFOs, a high-profile moment for a controversial topic that has long been relegated to the fringes of public policy.

Trevor Anderson calls it a "lightbulb" moment for Jordan Spieth.

MANILA, Philippines --- Senator Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III on Tuesday expressed his disinterest in building "alliances" in the Senate, as well as his willingness to work as part of the Senate minority. "I'm not so interested in all of these alliances that they're building because I'm open to not belonging to the majority...I'm flexible enough to belongto the majority or to the minority but right now, I'm not really moving so that I will belong to the majority," he said on CNN Philippines' The Source. "If I get left behind, therefore, I will belong to the minority. Okay lang sa akin (It's okay with me)," he also said Set to end his second term as senator in 2025, Pimentel steer...

Keep on reading: Pimentel says open to joining Senate minority; political dynasties are legal

    MANILA, Philippines --- The camp of presumptive president Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. said Tuesday it will respect the independence of the legislative branch as it refused to comment on the current race for the next Speaker of the House of Representatives. This development came after several political groups and prominent individuals in the House have endorsed Majority Leader Martin Romualdez, cousin of Marcos Jr., as the Speaker for the 19th Congress. "I think we're still in the 18th Congress. For the incoming, we're not yet in the position to be making any comment on that since it will be presumptuous to join the fray," Atty. Vic Rodriguez, Marcos Jr.'...

Keep on reading: Marcos camp on Romualdez speakership bid: We respect House independence

MANILA, Philippines---Ahead of the May 9 presidential elections, pledges from foreign investors who wanted to avail themselves of tax and other perks for their forthcoming projects fell 54.1 percent year-on-year to P8.9 billion during the first quarter--also the lowest quarterly haul since the global financial crisis 13 years ago. The latest Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) data on Tuesday (May 17) showed that commitments approved by the country's seven investment promotion agencies (IPAs) from January to March dropped from P19.6 billion in the first three months of last year. IPAs give away fiscal incentives to qualified projects. Historical PSA data showed that the first-qua...

Keep on reading: Q1 foreign investment pledges fall to lowest since 2009

Rabiya Mateo looked back at her experiences with Miss Universe, one year since she represented the Philippines in the global pageant. The actress and Miss Universe Philippines 2020 titleholder recalled her pageant journey while showing moments of herself at the Miss Universe competition, via her Instagram page today, May 17. Mateo can be seen in her Philippine flag-inspired national costume, in her yellow two-piece bikini for the swimsuit competition, as well as a series of candid selfies and glam shots throughout the pageant. "Rabiya Mateo, Philippines!" Mateo said. "Random photos and videos from my [Miss Universe] journey that happened exactly one year ago. Forever gra...

Keep on reading: Rabiya Mateo reminisces on her Miss Universe moments one year after pageant

Pliades Neo is a breakthrough in the Very High-Resolution (VHR) Earth observation domain, which will allow, once complete, to image any point of the globe, several times per day, at 30cm resolution. The constellation is made of four identical satellites, built using the latest Airbus' innovations and technological developments. Highly agile and reactive, they can be tasked up to 15 minutes before acquisition, and send the images back to Earth within the following hour. The Pliades Neo satellites have been entirely self-funded, designed and manufactured by Airbus. Smaller, lighter, more agile, accurate and reactive than the competition, they are the first of their class whose capacity wil...

Keep on reading: Pléiades Neo, the next generation Earth observation constellation for a promising future

HANOI -- Rubilen Amit staved off a mini rally by Singaporean rival Jessica Tan to handily win, 7-2, the women's 9-ball gold medal on Tuesday in the 31st Southeast Asian Games The Filipino former world champion quickly took a 3-0 in their final prompting Tan to call a timeout. When play resumed the 40-year-old Amit encountered a rough fourth rack where she scratched twice, allowing the Singaporean to take the next two racks. But there's no stopping Amit as she displayed composure worthy of an eight-time SEA Games champion. She next pounced on a missed corner 1-ball and rode on that momentum to claim her third 9-ball title in the biennial meet. It was the country's first...

Keep on reading: SEA Games: Rubilen Amit captures women’s 9-ball gold

MANILA, Philippines --- Data center platform firm Digital Edge will usher new energy efficiency standards to its data center market in Manila. The company announced that it will deploy Nortek's patented StatePoint liquid cooling technology in NARRA1, its data center under construction making the Digital Edge the first colocation operator to utilize the technology in Asia. "The use of this industry leading, sustainable cooling solution will enable Digital Edge to achieve its ambition to create the most energy and water efficient data center in the Philippines," the firm said in a statement. NARRA1, "set to be the largest carrier neutral facility in operational capacity" in th...

Keep on reading: Digital Edge to usher new energy efficiency standards to PH data center market

• Opinion: Putin's useful allies in Europe

Heart Evangelista appears to have expected a reward, a bag specifically, after cooking a satisfying dish --- but her husband, Gov. Francis "Chiz" Escudero turned her down. Evangelista treated fans to a glimpse of her cooking-bonding moment with Escudero, as shown on her Instagram page yesterday, May 16. Escudero helped the actress cook a recipe she got from her mom. "Needed to ask help from my husband at talagang nakakapagod 'to [pero] I'm not sure if matatawa ba ako or masi-stress sa situation," she said in a voice over, while flashing snaps of Escudero singing "Unchained Melody" in the background. ([I] needed to ask help from my husband because this is really tiring but I ...

Keep on reading: Heart Evangelista gets a ‘no’ from Chiz Escudero after asking, ‘Do I deserve a bag?’

MANILA, Philippines --- The Commission on Elections (Comelec) does not see a problem with presumptive vice president Inday Sara Duterte-Carpio holding her inauguration on June 19, even if the 1987 Constitution states that she can only assume office on June 30. Comelec Commissioner George Garcia said the Constitution does not state that an elected president and vice president should take oath at exactly 12 noon on June 30. "Two former presidents before took their oath at 11:45 a.m., not exactly at 12 o'clock so meaning to say, pwede naman parang mas maaga," Garcia said in a press briefing. (Two former presidents before took their oath at 11:45 a.m., not exactly at 12 o'clock ...

Keep on reading: Comelec: ‘No problem’ with Sara Duterte’s inauguration as VP ahead of June 30

A deadly cholera outbreak linked to contaminated drinking water has infected thousands of people in central Pakistan as the country grapples with a water crisis exacerbated by a brutal heat wave in South Asia.

The "RaceBird" is the first prototype craft for the E1 electric powerboat racing series.