International

“If you want more, you have to come to New York” – PPO Conductor at the Carnegie Hall Send-off Concert

  By Caesar Vallejos EBC Correspondent “If you want more, you have to come to New York,” Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra (PPO) Conductor Olivier Ochanine told the audience at the Cultural Center of Philippines who clamored for an encore at the send-off concert last June 10 for its Carnegie Hall performance in the USA. “Thank you for coming to energize us,” he said. The PPO is leaving on Monday to perform in one of the best […]

Libyan forces claim port in Islamic State stronghold of Sirte

  (Reuters)  Forces aligned with Libya’s unity government said on Friday they had taken control of the port of Sirte, making further gains in Islamic State’s North African stronghold. Brigades largely composed of fighters from Misrata advanced this week to the perimeter of Sirte’s city center, after launching a counter attack against Islamic State last month and driving the militant group back along the coastal road between the two cities. The brigades are part of […]

ACT cancels entrance exam in South Korea, Hong Kong after test leak

  (REUTERS) The ACT college-entrance exam was canceled Saturday for all test-takers in South Korea and Hong Kong in the latest example of how an East Asia cheating epidemic is roiling American higher education. The incident marked the first known cancellation of the high-stakes exam for an entire country, according to ACT spokesman Ed Colby. ACT Inc, the Iowa-based nonprofit that operates the test, said it halted the test after discovering that it had leaked […]

Wal-Mart wage hike to $15 an hour would cost it $4.95 billion: study

    (REUTERS) Wal-Mart Stores Inc would have to spend an additional $4.95 billion if it were to raise the minimum wage for its hourly employees in the United States to $15 per hour from the current $10 per hour, according to an estimate by the UC Berkeley Center for Labor Research. As the country’s largest private employer, Wal-Mart employs nearly 1.5 million people in the United States. Of that, 1.1 million are hourly employees, […]

President Obama formally endorses Senator Hillary Clinton

QUEZON City, Philippines – In a web video, President Barack Obama formally endorsed presumptive Democrat presidential nominee after meeting with Senator Bernie Sanders. (Eagle News Service Described by Jay Paul Carlos, Video Editing and Uploaded by Vince Alvin Villarin) https://youtu.be/Pfkb1FqZ730

Obama is ‘fired up’ for Clinton as Democrats seek to unify party

  (REUTERS)  U.S. President Barack Obama formally endorsed Hillary Clinton’s White House bid on Thursday and called for Democrats to unite behind her after a protracted battle with Bernie Sanders for the party nomination. U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts also backed Clinton on Thursday, telling MSNBC’s “The Rachel Maddow Show” that presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump was “a genuine threat to the country.” Clinton, the presumptive Democratic nominee, said it “means the world” […]

Clinton tells Trump: ‘Delete your account,’ fueling Twitter war

(Reuters)  The U.S. presidential election battle between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump has barely begun but their Twitter war is on. After receiving President Barack Obama’s endorsement on Thursday to succeed him in the White House, Clinton, who this week clinched the Democratic nomination for the Nov. 8 election, tweeted she was honored to have his support and “fired up and ready to go.” Trump, who has made extensive use of Twitter during his insurgent […]

U.S. researcher contracts Zika during experiment: media

(REUTERS)  A United States laboratory researcher was back at work after contracting the Zika virus by pricking herself with a needle during an experiment last month, broadcaster ABC News said on Thursday. There is no vaccine or treatment for Zika, which is a close cousin of diseases such as dengue and chikungunya, and causes mild fever, rash and red eyes. An estimated 80 percent of those infected have no symptoms. The unidentified researcher at the […]

Russia: We will respond to entry of U.S. naval vessel into Black Sea

  (REUTERS)  The Russian Foreign ministry said Moscow would respond to a U.S. naval ship’s entry into the Black Sea with unspecified measures, saying it and other deployments were designed to ratchet up tensions ahead of a NATO summit, the RIA news agency reported. Russian state media reported that the USS Porter, a U.S. naval destroyer, entered the Black Sea a few days ago on a routine deployment, a move it said raised hackles in […]

Swiss fighter crashes in Netherlands ahead of air show

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AFP) — A Swiss fighter crashed and burst into flames in the Netherlands Thursday after hitting another jet during a training session before an air show, officials said. “Two Tiger F-5E plans from the Patrouille Suisse collided this afternoon during a training flight for an air show in Leeuwarden,” the Swiss defense ministry said. The pilot from the aerobatics team of the Swiss air force ejected to safety, Dutch and Swiss officials […]

Hackers selling stolen Twitter log-in data

SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Tens of millions of stolen Twitter credentials evidently lifted from web browser programs were put up for sale online, according to a search engine devoted to leaked data. Twitter on Thursday was adamant that its computer systems had not been broken into by hackers, and that it was not the source of any account information being hawked on the Internet. “We are confident that these usernames and credentials were […]

New debris images examined by MH370 search team

SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Images of three new pieces of debris are being examined by Australian search teams looking for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, they said Friday. One of the items washed up on remote Kangaroo Island off Australia’s south coast, while the other two were reportedly found in Madagascar. “The ATSB has been advised and has received photos of the item (on Kangaroo Island),” a spokesman for the Australian Transport Safety Bureau, which […]