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TOKYO, Dec 23, 2023 (AFP) – Japan approved Friday a record defence budget worth $56 billion for the next fiscal year, as tensions rise with China and North Korea. The 7.95 trillion yen ($56 billion) draft budget for the 2024-25 fiscal year was approved by the cabinet, in line with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s pledge to raise defence spending over the next few years. Japan has a pacifist post-war constitution, which limits its military capacity […]
By Shaun TANDON WASHINGTON, Dec 22, 2023 (AFP) – The United States said Friday it will impose sanctions on foreign banks that support Russia’s war in Ukraine, in a new bid to exert pressure on Moscow as it diversifies from the West to China. Under an executive order signed by President Joe Biden, the United States will slap so-called secondary sanctions against financial institutions that back companies already targeted for supporting Russia’s defense industry. “We […]
(Eagle News)–A 4.2-magnitude earthquake struck off Surigao del Sur on Saturday, Dec. 23. The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said the quake that hit at 8:49 a.m. was an aftershock of the 7.4-magnitude earthquake that hit the province on December 2. The epicenter of Saturday’s earthquake was 38 kilometers northeast of Hinatuan. The depth of focus was 30 kilometers. No damage to property nor aftershocks were reported.
By Mai Yaghi with Laurie Churchman in Jerusalem GAZA STRIP, Palestinian Territories, Dec 23, 2023 (AFP) – The UN Security Council on Friday demanded aid be rushed to Gaza “at scale” as the head of the World Health Organization warned of a looming famine in the besieged Palestinian territory. As Israeli bombs rained down on targets across Gaza, members of the UN’s top peacemaking council demanded “immediate, safe and unhindered” deliveries of life-saving aid. At […]
LONDON, Dec 22, 2023 (AFP) – British street artist Banksy revealed his latest UK street artwork Friday — only for two men to run off with it just hours later while being filmed by bemused onlookers. The installation, a traffic stop sign covered with three aircraft resembling military drones, was erected at an intersection in Peckham, south London, on Friday morning. An image was posted to Banksy’s social media just after midday. But shortly afterwards […]
Rest of Luzon affected by northeast monsoon (Eagle News)–The shear line is affecting the eastern sections of Luzon. According to the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration, the northeast monsoon is also affecting the rest of Luzon. As a result, PAGASA said mainland Cagayan, Isabela, Aurora and Northern Quezon, will have cloudy skies with scattered rain showers and thunderstorms. Flashfloods or landslides due to moderate to at times heavy rains are possible. Cordillera Administrative […]
(Eagle News)–President Bongbong Marcos vetoed two provisions in the 2024 General Appropriations Act—one involving a Department of Justice (DOJ) revolving fund and the other the implementation of the National Government’s Career Executive Service Development Program. According to the Presidential Communications Office, in vetoing Department of Justice (DOJ)-Office of the Secretary (OSEC), Special Provision No. 1, ‘DOJ Revolving Fund,’ Volume I-A, page 1119, the President said in his December 20 letter to Speaker Martin Romualdez and […]
(Eagle News)–There were no Filipino students hurt in the recent university shooting in Prague, the Philippine Embassy in Czech Republic said. According to the embassy, it has contacted a representative of the six known Filipino students at the Charles University, where a gunman killed at least ten people and wounded several others. Based on that, it “ascertained” that all six Filipinos “are safe and everyone is monitoring the situation closely.” The Philippine Embassy added Czech […]
(Eagle News)–The first semester 2023 poverty incidence in the country stands at 22.4 percent, the Philippine Statistics Authority said on Friday, Dec. 22, a decline from the 23.7 percent reported in the same period of 2021 according to the Palace. The PSA said the percentage translates to 25.24 million Filipinos with a per capita income that isn’t sufficient to meet their basic food and non-food needs, or 89526 less poor Filipinos. The PSA said on […]
By Zinyange Auntony Storm clouds are finally gathering over Zimbabwe’s biggest animal reserve, but it has come too late for more than 110 elephants that have died in a searing, extended drought. There is little that Simba Marozva and other rangers at the Hwange National Park can do except cut the tusks off the rotting corpses before poachers find them. With the black clouds in recent days promising life-saving rains, the rangers may not find […]
By Issam AHMED Watching someone cry often evokes an emotional response — but according to a new study published Thursday, human tears themselves contain a chemical signal that reduces brain activity linked to aggression. The research was carried out by the Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel, and appeared in PLOS Biology, a US science journal. Though it involved female tears, because women made themselves available as donors, it probably isn’t a sex-dependent effect, the authors […]
