Five things BBM did in two yearsOn June 30, 2024, Ferdinand “Bongbong” Romualdez Marcos Jr. finishes the first two years of his six-year presidency. Two, BBM has focused on the economy and infrastructure, the “Build Better More” (BBM) program. With 31.629 million votes on May 9, 2022, Marcos Jr. garnered 59 percent of the votes cast for president. In 2033, he predicts, “the Philippines will be a $1-trillion economy.” Filipinos will be trillionaires, in dollar terms. To entice private companies to undertake the 185 projects, BBM has shortened the processing time for unsolicited projects under the new Public Private Partnership (PPP) Code, from 26.5 months to 16.9 months for local PPPs and 14.9 months for national PPPs.

MANILA, Philippines — The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) called “problematic and unethical” the alleged order of a newspaper editor to hack websites. Citing the Journalists’ Code of Ethics, the NUJP said media practitioners should only resort to “fair and honest methods” of obtaining materials. One of the suspects tagged Manila Bulletin tech editor Art Samaniego for supposedly instructing him to hack websites and mobile apps to test their vulnerabilities. READ: 3 suspected hackers caught, tech journalist implicated“It would be problematic and unethical for journalists to instigate incidents — alleged hacking in this case — to have something to report about,” the NUJP said in a statement Monday. The NUJP, however, said Samaniego should be afforded the presumption of innocence and the right to due process.

PARIS — Though cocoa prices on the financial markets have soared, the rise is benefiting cocoa growers, bean processors, speculators and chocolatiers in unequal measure. This reduces the impact of cocoa price fluctuations — whether upwards or downwards. "Soaring prices have made production more attractive," David Gonzales, coordinator of the Peruvian Chamber of Coffee and Cocoa, told Agence France-Presse. Other smaller intermediaries may find it difficult to advance the funds needed to adapt to the higher prices. But as time goes on, rising raw cocoa prices will eventually hit their bottom line.

NEW YORK — Car dealerships across North America have faced major disruptions this week. CDK Global, a company that provides software for thousands of auto dealers in the United States and Canada, was hit by back-to-back cyberattacks on Wednesday (Thursday). For prospective car buyers, that may mean delays at dealerships or vehicle orders written up by hand, with no immediate end in sight. Car dealerships across North American have been struggling from recent cyberattacks. A Ford spokesperson said the outage may cause "some delays and inconveniences at some dealers and for some customers."

Navy man who lost thumb during Ayungin incident awardedPresident Ferdinand Marcos Jr. shakes the hand of Seaman First Class Underwater Operator Jeffrey Facundo during a ceremony in Puerto Princesa City, Palawan on June 23, 2024. MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. awarded the Philippine Navy servicemember who was injured in a confrontation with the China Coast Guard (CCG) near Ayungin Shoal the Order of Lapu-Lapu Rank of Kampilan on Sunday. Seaman First Class Underwater Operator Jeffrey Facundo, who lost a thumb during the clash in the West Philippine Sea, received the honor in a ceremony in Puerto Princesa City, Palawan. The chief executive awarded the Order of Lapu-Lapu Rank of Kamagi to 79 others who participated in the mission. Marcos lauded the Western Command troops for showing restraint when confronted by hostile Chinese sailors during their recent resupply mission to Ayungin Shoal.

Like Batanes, the Kaohsiung economy used to be centered on fishing. As of end-April this year, 720,000 people have already visited to attend 54 concerts, spending NT$2.3 billion (around P4.18 billion). Global brands that help raise the profile of Kaohsiung face similar risks, although on this, Beijing’s success is uncertain. * * *The problem faced by Kaohsiung shows Taiwan’s struggle against Chinese economic coercion. This isolation has kept millions of Taiwanese out of the global health loop and unable to quickly undertake preventive measures during outbreaks of deadly diseases such as SARS and COVID.

The national martial art was a key feature of the celebration in Dapitan City spearheaded by the local government. A player of the Doce Pares, Jalosjos urged the government to pay equal attention to promoting arnis, like any contact sports or martial arts. “Arnis is a national sport. To jumpstart the effort, the Dapitan City local government convened a national arnis competition that opened on Wednesday, in time for Rizal’s birth anniversary. Leovemar Cris Hamoy, an arnis coach, said for his students in Dapitan, the sport has become a way to protect children, both online and offline.

With much of the United States, Mexico, India and the Middle East suffering through blistering heat waves, worsened by human-caused climate change, several doctors, physiologists and other experts explained to The Associated Press what happens to the human body in such heat. AdvertisementDr. Neil Gandhi, emergency medicine director at Houston Methodist Hospital, said during heat waves anyone who comes in with a fever of 102 or higher and no clear source of infection will be looked at for heat exhaustion or the more severe heat stroke. The usual first suspect is heat stroke — critical increases in body temperature that cause organs to fail. But the bigger killer in heat is the strain on the heart, especially for people who have cardiovascular disease, Jay said. "Humid heat waves kill a lot more people than dry heat waves," Kenney said.

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said on Sunday his country is not in the business of instigating wars and will always aim to settle disputes peacefully, amid escalating maritime confrontations with China. "In the performance of our duties, we will not resort to the use of force or intimidation, or deliberately inflict injury or harm to anyone," Marcos said. Beijing's actions during a routine Philippine resupply mission have been condemned by the United States, Britain and Canada. China claims almost the entire South China Sea, a conduit for more than $3 trillion of annual shipborne commerce, including parts claimed by the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei. In 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague said China's claims had no legal basis, a decision Beijing has rejected.

A 31-year-old man was arrested in Fanling during an anti-narcotic operation by police on Friday, in which officers seized 27 kg of suspected ketamine worth HK$12 million in the packaging of whey protein. Police said officers first intercepted the man surnamed So in a building at Luen Wo Hui and seized about 90 g of ketamine on him. They later escorted him to the unit he rented and further seized 27 kg of the drug. He will face two counts of drug trafficking and will appear at Fanling Magistrates’ Courts next Monday (Jun 24). Police warned that drug trafficking is a serious offense and the maximum penalty carries a HK$5 million fine and life imprisonment.

MANILA, Philippines — In response to the government’s upcoming concert dedicated to health workers, the Alliance of Health Workers (AHW) emphasized on Saturday that their sector requires solutions to pressing issues rather than just recognition and entertainment. ADVERTISEMENTREAD: Health workers give Marcos a ‘failed’ rating for first year in officeIn a statement, AHW Secretary General Cristy Donguines thanked President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos for the praise and recognition given to health workers. Health workers need immediate salary hike, job security, mass hiring of regular health workers to augment the severe understaffing in both public and private hospitals and release the unpaid benefits like Performance-Based Bonus (PBB) and Health Emergency Allowances (HEA) for private and LGU health workers,” Donguines said. She added that it is “crucial” for health workers to have their issues and concerns addressed, particularly amid the challenges brought by the recent COVID-19 pandemic and other health emergencies. ADVERTISEMENT“Organizing such concerts is a manifestation that Marcos Jr. administration is not taking seriously the people’s health and health workers’ welfare,” Donguines said.

Citizens are at the center of the energy issueConversations about energy have the tendency to sound technical and businesslike. Renewable energy, however, is a relatively new technology, thus expensive, inconsistent, and uneven across societies. Achieving an efficient way to produce renewable energy remains a challenge especially for economies like the Philippines. All these efforts to lower our carbon emissions and gradually increase our use of renewable energy hinge on the fact that extreme weather conditions affect vulnerable populations. To address these challenges effectively, there is a need for the immediate passage of the Philippine Downstream Natural Gas Industry Development Act and the Midstream Natural Gas Industry Development Act.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Apple on Friday said it would delay the rollout of its recently announced AI features in Europe because of "regulatory uncertainties" linked to the EU's new landmark legislation to curb the power of big tech. Apple earlier this month unveiled "Apple Intelligence," its suite of AI features for its coveted devices as it looks to reassure users that it is not falling behind on the AI frenzy. AdvertisementIn an effort to instill fair competition in Europe, the DMA sets out a list of dos and don'ts for the specially designated internet gatekeepers that include Apple. "Gatekeepers are welcome to offer their services in Europe, provided that they comply with our rules aimed at ensuring fair competition," the EU added. I was very surprised that we would have such suspicions of Apple being non-compliant," Vestager told CNBC.

TAIPEI — Taiwan's defense ministry said Saturday it had detected 41 Chinese military aircraft around the island in a 24-hour window, a day after Beijing said "diehard" advocates of Taiwan's independence could face the death penalty. China claims self-ruled democratic Taiwan as part of its territory and has said it would never renounce the use of force to bring it under Beijing's control. On Saturday, Taipei's defense ministry said it had detected 41 Chinese military aircraft and seven naval vessels operating around Taiwan during the 24-hour period leading up to 6:00 am (2200 GMT). "32 of the aircraft crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait," the ministry said in a statement, referring to a line bisecting the 180-kilometre (110-mile) waterway that separates Taiwan from China. On May 25, Taiwan detected 62 Chinese military aircraft around the island in a 24-hour window, the highest single-day total this year, as China staged military drills following the inauguration of Lai, who Beijing regards as a "dangerous separatist".

The amount of money flying around in these markets has, at times, rivaled that of real-world markets, which is obviously puzzling to most observers. For example, during the Dot-com Bubble just before the turn of this century, a lot of internet startups were fueled by ridiculously high stock prices. There are absolutely no fundamentals of utility underlying any of these things, yet they have soaring prices and have generated big, active trading markets. In a new video last week, he presented an idea that explains the insanity that seems to drive much of the world's markets. The ideology "views the entire system as a scam" and that financial markets should only be regarded in the same light as casinos.