Other News

Kids, teachers ditch school as crisis engulfs Venezuela

(Reuters) Mariangel Caceres’ teachers, whose salaries do not buy enough food to live on, stopped showing up for classes early this year. The state school in the verdant Andean state of Tachira in Venezuela also had to cut back on providing meals due to nationwide food shortages. So when the leftist government in April decreed Friday school closings to save electricity, it was the last straw. “I left school a week after Easter,” said Caceres, […]

CIA’s Brennan: Islamic State to change tactics in coming months

(Reuters) The director of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, John Brennan, said on Thursday that the United States and its allies have made gains against Islamic State, but he expects the group to change its tactics to make up for lost territory. “To compensate for territorial losses, ISIL (Islamic State) will probably rely more on guerrilla tactics, including high-profile attacks outside territory it holds,” Brennan testified to the Senate Intelligence Committee.

Britain’s EU referendum campaigns suspended as lawmaker critically injured in attack

(Reuters)  A British Member of Parliament was in critical condition after being shot and stabbed in her constituency in northern England on Thursday, British police and media reports said, prompting the suspension of campaigning for next week’s EU referendum. Jo Cox, 41, a lawmaker for the opposition Labour Party and vocal supporter of Britain remaining in the European Union, was attacked as she prepared to hold a meeting with constituents in Birstall near Leeds. West […]

Polls show Britain’s EU ‘Out’ campaign pulls ahead as referendum nears

(REUTERS ) British support for leaving the European Union has surged, according to two telephone opinion surveys published a week before the June 23 referendum, with one pollster putting support for “Leave” at a more than three-year high. The Ipsos MORI poll of 1,257 adults across Britain from June 11-14 showed 51 percent of all voters wanted to leave the bloc and 49 percent wanted to stay. But, when filtered for those likely and registered […]

Clinton considering Warren, not Sanders, for running mate: WSJ

  (Reuters) Hillary Clinton is considering U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren for her running mate for the Democratic presidential ticket, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday, citing several people familiar with the process. Warren, a leading progressive voice among Democrats, is among those Democratic presidential candidate Clinton is vetting for the vice presidential position, the newspaper reported. Clinton’s rival Bernie Sanders is not, it added. Sources told Reuters earlier this month that Warren, who represents […]

British lawmaker in critical condition after attack

(Reuters)  A British lawmaker was in critical condition after an incident in her constituency in northern England on Thursday, British police said, with media reports suggesting she had been shot and stabbed. Media reports said Jo Cox, 41, who is a lawmaker for the opposition Labour Party, had been attacked as she prepared to hold an advice surgery for constituents in Birstall near Leeds. West Yorkshire Police said a 52-year-old man had been arrested by […]

Aquino vetoes bill on tax condonation for water districts, add’tl compensation for nurses

  PRESIDENT Benigno S. Aquino III has vetoed a bill that seeks to condone unpaid taxes of local water districts, and another bill that seeks to increase the compensation of nurses that might have an impact on the country’s tax collection system and health care. According to Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa, Jr., the President has informed Congress, through the Senate President and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, that he has vetoed House Bill […]

Video game makers finding their way in virtual worlds

LOS ANGELES , United States (AFP) — Wizards duel and players transform into tribal warriors and fierce jaguars — welcome to the world of virtual reality at the annual Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) video game industry gathering. Virtual reality games got very real at E3 this year as studios show off titles tailored for Rift, HTC Vive, PlayStation VR, and Galaxy Gear VR headsets. “It feels like VR is everywhere and dominating the industry right […]

Yen soars as BoJ holds fire on stimulus

TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — The yen surged Thursday after the Bank of Japan held fire on fresh stimulus measures, as fears over Britain’s future in the EU pummel financial markets around the world. Japan’s currency powered to 103.55 against the dollar, its strongest level since the summer of 2014, as the central bank voted to keep a massive 80 trillion yen annual asset-buying plan unchanged, despite the weak economy. The unit was at a more […]

Ombudsman prohibits Purisima and Napeñas from holding gov’t posts in the future

QUEZON City, Philippines – The Office of Ombudsman ordered the permanent disqualification from public office of former Philippine National Police Chief Alan Purisima and Special Action Force Director Getulio Napeñas.  This was after Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales agreed to the filing of charges of graft against the two due to their involvement in the Mamasapano massacre where 44 members of the PNP-Special Action Forces were killed. Morales also directed that the two former police officials would […]

Japan man arrested for killing father with chopstick

TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — A Japanese man who stabbed his father to death with a chopstick was arrested on Thursday, police said. Michikazu Ikeuchi, 51, admitted that he stabbed his 80-year-old father in the throat with a 30-centimetre- (12- inch) long wooden, cooking chopstick on Wednesday night after a quarrel at their home in Osaka, western Japan, according to police. “Ikeuchi told us he had tried to stop his parents from arguing and he did […]

President Aquino apologizes to Canadian PM

QUEZON City, Philippines – President Benigno S. Aquino III extended his apology to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau regarding the fate of the two Canadian hostages at the hands of the Abu Sayyaf Group. At the same time, President Aquino extended his thanks to Trudeau in respecting the Philippine government’s “no ransom” policy. According to President Aquino, the paying of ransom will result in the proliferation of terrorist groups, and that the “no ransom” policy was […]