Other News

Tennis: ‘No question that I’m feared again’ says Sharapova

NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Maria Sharapova made the US Open last 32 Wednesday, insisting she has instilled renewed fear into her rivals and rekindled the love from her fans. The former world number one and five-time major winner pulled off a 6-7 (4/7), 6-4, 6-1 win over Timea Babos of Hungary. It was her second three-set match, having seen off world number two Simona Halep on Monday in what was her first Grand Slam match since […]

Venice Film Festival opens with glitzy gala ceremony

VENICE, Italy (Reuters) — A gala ceremony and Alexander Payne’s “Downsizing,” a satire about shrinking humans to five inches tall as a solution to over-population and global warming, opened the Venice film festival on Wednesday (August 30). Payne and his leading stars, Matt Damon, Kristen Wiig and Hong Chao were given a warm applause ahead of the film’s world premiere in front of guests including Italian President Sergio Mattarella. Also on hand at the ceremony […]

Man arrested for causing wildfire in Northern California

BUTTE COUNTY, California (Reuters) — Authorities have arrested a 29-year-old man for causing a fast-moving wildfire that has destroyed 10 homes and forced the evacuation of some residents in Northern California, fire officials said on Wednesday (August 30). John Ballenger of the town of Oroville is accused of “recklessly” starting a campfire outside a designated area and allowing it to spread out of control, Cal Fire Butte County Chief Darren Read said in a statement. […]

6th place finish: PHL gets only 24 gold medals in SEA games closing; PHL to host 2019 competition

  (Eagle News) – The Philippines only managed to get 24 gold medals, finishing only at sixth place in the just concluded 2017 Southeast Asia Games, which was way below the country’s target and expectations for its players. The country collected 121 medals in all – 24 gold, 33 silver and 64 bronze medals – which was way below lead country Malaysia’s 323 medal haul consisting of 145 gold, 92 silver and 86 bronze medals. […]

Duterte to communists: Don’t buy bullets, firearms using 4Ps funds

(Eagle News) – Funds from the government’s Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program, or 4Ps, meant to benefit the country’s poor, have been discovered in a camp of the communist rebel group, the New People’s Army (NPA). President Rodrigo Duterte himself bared this in a speech on Tuesday, when he said that the Pantawid Pamilya funds, still inside the envelopes, were found inside one NPA camp. “They recovered from an NPA camp envelopes containing the Pantawid,” Duterte […]

Britain pledges £200M to help Nigeria fight Boko Haram

LAGOS, Nigeria (AFP) – Britain will give Nigeria aid worth £200 million over five years to help it cope with the brutal insurgency being waged by Boko Haram jihadists, the foreign ministry in London said Wednesday. Foreign Minister Boris Johnson visited Maiduguri, the capital of Nigeria’s northeast Borno State and epicenter of the Boko Haram organization, to meet some of those involved in the fight. The Islamist militant group has increasingly used child suicide bombers […]

Texas flood disaster by the numbers

HOUSTON, United States (AFP) – Monster storm Harvey hit the south Texas coast late Friday and then stalled, gushing torrents of rain over Houston, the country’s fourth largest city with six million people in the greater metropolitan area. The storm continues to pour rain as it heads slowly through neighboring Louisiana. How much rain? Up to 52 inches (132 centimeters) of rain fell from Saturday through Wednesday morning in parts of coastal Texas, and more […]

‘No way to prevent’ explosion at Texas chemical plant

HOUSTON, United States (AFP) – The operators of a flooded chemical plant outside Houston warned Wednesday they are dealing with a “critical issue” triggered by Harvey’s torrential rains and have no means to prevent a possible explosion at the site. As a precautionary measure officials had already ordered the evacuation of an area within 1.5 miles (three km) of the organic peroxides plant in Harris County, which is owned by French group Arkema. Rich Rowe, […]

EU warns Romania over judicial reforms

BUCHAREST, Romania (AFP) – Romania’s bid to overhaul its justice system could undermine the country’s efforts to stamp out rampant corruption, the European Commission’s representative in Bucharest said Wednesday. The reforms set out by Justice Minister Tudorel Toader last week would mean the president could no longer name senior prosecutors — including those attached to the anti-corruption directorate (DNA). They would also reduce the powers of the DNA itself, preventing it from investigating magistrates. “We are […]

House committee recommends replacing Bureau of Customs, filing of charges vs Faeldon, other officials

(Eagle News) — Pass a law replacing the Bureau of Customs, and file the necessary charges against individuals. These were some of the recommendations of the House committee on dangerous drugs, which wrapped up its inquiry into the P6.4-billion shabu shipment that entered the country via Customs express lanes. According to the committee, the “new revenue collection agency or instrumentality of government” that will replace the BoC should have a “different system of collection to […]

President Duterte to go after Lopez family’s holding firm

  (Eagle News) – President Rodrigo Duterte said that the government will next go after the holding company, Benpres Holdings which is now renamed as Lopez Holdings Corporation of the Lopez family – owner of the media network ABS-CBN corporation — because of their alleged unpaid debts to the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP). The President said this during the 23rd anniversary of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) on Wednesday, August […]

Harvey storm death toll reaches 33

HOUSTON, United States (AFP) — Authorities said Wednesday that 33 people are believed to have died directly or indirectly as a result of the punishing winds and heavy rain unleashed by Harvey on the Texas coast. Ten people have been confirmed dead in several counties in Southeast Texas, with “23 additional deaths potentially Harvey-related,” according to Tricia Bentley of the Harris County Medical Examiner’s office. Officials fear the death toll could rise further as floodwaters […]