Other News

Tokyo stocks rebound after US records

TOKYO, March 29, 2024 (AFP) – Tokyo markets opened higher on Friday after the Dow and S&P 500 closed at new record highs on Wall Street. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index added 0.48 percent, or 193.04 points, to 40,361.11 in early trade, while the broader Topix index rose 0.58 percent, or 16.03 points, to 2,766.84. “Tokyo shares are expected to start strong after the Dow and the S&P 500 hit all-time highs,” brokerage house Monex […]

PAGASA: Easterlies affecting eastern section of the country

(Eagle News)–The easterlies are affecting the eastern section of the country. The Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration said, as a result, Metro Manila will have partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rain showers and thunderstorms. Flashfloods or landslides during severe thunderstorms are possible. The rest of the country will experience the same conditions. According to the weather bureau, the entire country will have light to moderate winds and slight to moderate coastal […]

Russia sentences journalist to 2 years in prison, detains others

MOSCOW, March 28, 2024 (AFP) – A Russian court on Thursday sentenced a journalist to two years in prison for denouncing Moscow’s full-scale military offensive on Ukraine, as police in Moscow detained five other reporters over a 24-hour period. Russia has made on-the-ground reporting increasingly dangerous and illegal since it sent troops into Ukraine two years ago, arresting and fining those who defy the Kremlin’s narratives. A court in the western exclave of Kaliningrad said […]

Russian veto ends monitoring of UN’s N.Korea sanctions

By Amélie BOTTOLLIER-DEPOIS UNITED NATIONS, United States, March 28, 2024 (AFP) – Russia on Thursday blocked the renewal of a panel of UN experts monitoring international sanctions on North Korea, weeks after the body said it was investigating reports of arms transfers between Moscow and Pyongyang. The move was met with a flurry of criticism, including by Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, who took to social media to call the veto “a guilty plea” amid […]

Fallen crypto tycoon Bankman-Fried gets 25-year sentence

(AFP) — Disgraced cryptocurrency wunderkind Sam Bankman-Fried was sentenced to 25 years in jail on Thursday — a stunning descent for a figure who seemed poised to lead an emerging sector less than two years ago. US District Judge Lewis Kaplan said the defendant, who became known by his initials “SBF,” had shown no “real remorse,” even in his final pre-sentencing remarks in which the former billionaire rued “a series of bad decisions” but did […]

Ecuador prison riot leaves one dead, four injured

(AFP)  — At least one person was killed and four injured in an overnight prison revolt in Ecuador’s port city of Guayaquil, at the same facility from which one of the country’s most feared gang leaders escaped in January, the government said Thursday. Deputy security minister Lyonel Calderon said the toll was provisional pending a “complete review of the entire penitentiary center,” located in a city which has become a dangerous hub for the export […]

Russian military jet crashes into sea off Crimea: governor

(AFP) — A Russian military plane crashed Thursday into the sea off Ukraine’s annexed peninsula, the Moscow-installed governor of the city of Sevastopol said. “A military plane has fallen into the sea,” Mikhail Razvozhayev said in a post on Telegram, without giving the cause. Footage on social media showed a plane in flames falling out of the sky. Sevastopol, the historic headquarters of Russia’s Black Sea fleet, sits on the southern tip of Crimea, the […]

PBBM on recent Ayungin Shoal incident: ‘Filipinos do not yield’

(Eagle News)–“Filipinos do not yield.” President Bongbong Marcos issued the statement after another Philippine vessel on a resupply mission in Ayungin Shoal figured in an incident with the Chinese Coast Guard, leaving at least three Philippine Navy personnel injured and the Philippine vessel damaged. The Philippine government said two vessels of the China Coast Guard water-cannoned  the Unaizah May 4 (UM4) which carried the Navy personnel over the weekend. The UM4 was also carrying supplies […]

Landmark Australia, Tuvalu climate and security pact to go ahead

SYDNEY, March 27, 2024 (AFP) – Australia and Tuvalu are pressing ahead with a landmark treaty offering the Pacific Island’s citizens a climate refuge, quieting speculation about the fate of the pact. The 11-page treaty was tabled to the Australian parliament late Tuesday — offering Tuvalu residents the right to live in Australia if their homeland is lost to rising sea levels. The pact also commits Australia to defending Tuvalu in the face of natural […]

PAGASA: Cloudy skies, rain showers expected in parts of PHL

(Eagle News)–The easterlies are affecting the eastern section of the country. The Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration said, as a result, Cagayan Valley and Aurora will have cloudy skies with scattered rain showers and thunderstorms. Flashfloods or landslides due to moderate to at times heavy rains are possible. Metro Manila, meanwhile, will have partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rain showers or thunderstorms. According to the weather bureau, the rest of the […]

4.0-magnitude quake strikes off Davao Occidental

(Eagle News)–A 4.0-magnitude earthquake struck off Davao Occidental early Thursday, March 28. The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said the quake hit at 1:35 a.m. Its epicenter was 261 kilometers southeast of Balut Island. The depth of focus was 75 kilometers. No damage to property nor aftershocks were reported.