Featured News

Supreme Court IT consultant defends P250,000 monthly salary

(Eagle News) — The Supreme Court information technology consultant on Wednesday defended her supposedly hefty salary of P250,000 per month. Appearing before the House justice committee impeachment hearing against Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno, Helen Macasaet said the monthly salary was even lower than what she received in previous instances. She said the Government Service Insurance System, for instance, paid her as high as P925,000 monthly for almost two years. During that time, she said she […]

Dow ends down 4.6% after brutal session

NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Wall Street stocks endured a brutal session Monday, with the Dow seeing one of its steepest ever one-day point drops, as the heady bullishness of early 2018 gave way to extreme volatility. The Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled 4.6 percent to 24,345.75, having at one point plummeted nearly 1,600 points to hit a session low of 23,923.88. The broad-based S&P 500 dropped 4.1 percent to 2,648.94, while the tech-rich […]

Syria raids kill nearly 30, as war of words escalates over chlorine use

by Abdulmonam Eassa Agence France-Presse ARBIN, Syria – Regime bombardment killed nearly 30 people in a rebel enclave near Damascus on Monday, as Syria’s seven-year conflict left civilians paying a heavy price. Residents across several Syrian battlefronts have reported escalating bombardment and have accused Syrian troops of deploying toxic chemicals against rebel-held zones. The United States on Monday said there was “obvious evidence” of multiple chlorine gas attacks in recent weeks, including in the opposition-held enclave of Eastern […]

EU negotiator warns Britain: time to choose Brexit future

by Alice RITCHIE Agence France-Presse LONDON, United Kingdom – EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier warned Monday that Britain faced “unavoidable” trade barriers after Brexit if it also quit the bloc’s single market and customs union, urging Prime Minister Theresa May to make her choice. After talks with May and Brexit minister David Davis in London, Barnier repeated that the EU needed “clarity” on what they wanted from the future relationship. “Without customs union and outside the single market, […]

Maldives president declares emergency, former leader arrested

MALÉ, Maldives (AFP) – Maldives President Abdulla Yameen declared a 15-day state of emergency in the honeymoon islands on Monday, before heavily armed troops stormed the country’s top court and a former president was arrested in a deepening political crisis. The tiny tourist archipelago has been plunged into chaos recently, with the president pitted against the Supreme Court after he refused to comply with its Thursday order to release nine political dissidents. The tense standoff comes amid a years-long […]

Disgraced USA Gymnastics doc sentenced to another 40-125 years

by with Nova SAFO in Chicago / Rena LAVERTY Agence France-Presse CHARLOTTE, United States – Larry Nassar, the former USA Gymnastics doctor who sexually abused girls and young women for decades under the guise of medical treatment, was sentenced Monday to an additional 40 to 125 years in prison. Nassar already faced a lifetime behind bars for two prior sentences after pleading guilty to sexually assaulting women and girls in his role as a high-profile sports medicine […]

In court clash, Waymo says Uber decided ‘to cheat’ to get ahead

SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) – Two tech giants racing for a lead in autonomous driving clashed Monday in court as former Google car unit Waymo’s lawyer argued that Uber’s boss deliberately chose “to cheat” to get a leg up on competitors. The accusations flew in the opening day of a trial in which Google parent Alphabet’s Waymo division is seeking at least $1 billion over the theft of trade secrets from its self-driving car program. In opening remarks […]

Taguba camp says a gov’t official wants him dead; asks court to reconsider its decision on his detention in Manila City Jail

(Eagle News) — Citing threats to his life, Mark Taguba, one of the personalities charged in connection with the P6.4-billion shabu shipment mess, on Monday asked the court to reconsider its decision to have him detained at the Manila City Jail. In a very urgent motion for reconsideration filed before Branch 46 of the Manila Regional Trial Court, Taguba, through his lawyer, asked that he be  given detention in the National Bureau of Investigation detention […]

Escudero: President Duterte may not be summoned if hearing on his “bank accounts” pushes through

Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio, however, may be asked to attend, Escudero says (Eagle News) — President Rodrigo Duterte may not be asked to attend  a hearing on his “bank accounts” if that pushes through, Senator Francis Escudero said on Monday. Escudero, chair of the the Senate committee on banks, financial Institutions and currencies, said this was because compelling a President to do the same could result in a “constitutional crisis.” According to Escudero, the president’s […]

Sara Duterte-Carpio: “I’m starting to believe rumors Trillanes is hooked on something”

That “must have triggered” the senator’s “obsession” with the President, she says (Eagle News) — Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio on Monday said she was starting to believe “rumors” Senator Antonio Trillanes IV was “hooked on something” that triggered his “obsession” with her father, President Rodrigo Duterte. Duterte-Carpio made the statement after Trillanes filed a resolution calling for a Senate probe into what he said was the President’s and the Davao vice mayor’s ill-gotten wealth. […]

PAO, VACC file civil, admin cases vs Garin, others over Dengvaxia mess

(Eagle News) — The Public Attorneys Office and the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption on Monday filed cases against several individuals including former Health Secretary Janette Garin over the Dengvaxia mess. The administrative cases against Garin, Undersecretary Kenneth Hartigan-Go, among others were filed before the Quezon City Regional Trial Court. The P4-million civil case against those who spearheaded the dengue vaccination program and members of the board of directors and officials of Dengvaxia manufacturer Sanofi Pasteur and distributor Zuellig […]

Drilon to push for inclusion of anti-political dynasty provision in proposed BBL

By Meanne Corvera Eagle News Service Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon on Monday said he would push for the inclusion of a provision prohibiting political dynasties in the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law, a proposal a former Chief Justice said could be a “very good experiment.” “I am open to discuss the extent of the prohibition, but the anti-dynasty principle must be embodied in the BBL,” Drilon said in a statement. At a Senate hearing on […]