WASHINGTON, D.C.: Chinese-based hackers seeking intelligence information breached the email accounts of a number of US government agencies, computer giant Microsoft said. Microsoft said Storm-0558 gained access to email accounts at approximately 25 organizations including government agencies. But the paper reported Wednesday evening, quoting US officials, that State Department email accounts and that of Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo were hacked. CNN, citing sources familiar with the investigation, said the Chinese hackers targeted a small number of federal agencies and the email accounts of specific officials at each agency. US Senator Mark Warner, chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, said the panel is "closely monitoring what appears to be a significant cybersecurity breach by Chinese intelligence."

DOTr slams transport strike set on SONA dayDrivers of traditional jeepneys wait for passengers at a terminal in Manila on February 3, 2023. MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Transportation (DOTr) yesterday insisted that it did not fail to address the concerns of public utility vehicle (PUV) drivers and operators, ahead of the scheduled three-day transport strike by a transport group. Manibela group president Mar Valbuena earlier in the week said they would have their second transport strike this year on July 24 to 26, with the first day set on the second State of the Nation Address of President Marcos. The DOTr accused Manibela of using the strike to “gain media attention and public sympathy.”“Their group is free to stage any form of protest. The DOTr, LTFRB and OTC are open and willing to hold dialogues with any group who has legitimate concerns and we vow to address such concerns through consultations and forum,” it said.

KATHMANDU — Nepal’s aviation regulator has banned helicopters from conducting “non-essential” flights, including those for sight-seeing, for two months after a deadly crash in the Everest region in which six people were killed. Five Mexican tourists and the Nepali pilot of a small helicopter operated by the private Manang Air company were killed on Tuesday when their chopper crashed while returning from viewing Himalayan peaks, including Mount Everest. ADVERTISEMENT“Non-essential flights like mountain flights, external load operations (sling flights) and showering of flowers by helicopters (will) be restricted till September,” the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) said in a Twitter post late on Wednesday. Nepal, which is in the midst of the annual June-September monsoon season, has formed an investigation committee to find out what caused Tuesday’s crash. Nepal’s worst air crash in 30 years killed 71 people in January, when a plane went down near the tourist city of Pokhara.

Doctors and nurses, IT professionals and blue-collar workers are sought after in Canada, immigration consultants said. Anna Tsim, immigration program director of Goldmax, told The Standard that manpower shortage is global, especially in medical and STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) professions. "It has been the trend that countries compete for technology advancements," Tsim said. The Canadian government has an updated list of preferred jobs for its skilled worker immigration schemes. It is estimated one-fifth of the country's construction workers are reaching retirement age as the industry struggles to fill a gap of 80,000 vacancies.

LONDON: Novak Djokovic reached a 12th Wimbledon semifinal and record-equalling 46th at the Grand Slams on Tuesday (Wednesday in Manila) as Elina Svitolina stunned world No. After dropping the first set, a fired-up Djokovic only allowed Rublev six points in the first five games of the second set. Rublev's spirit drained away and Djokovic claimed victory with his 42nd winner of the tie. I want to see her win the title," said Swiatek, who was playing in her first quarterfinal at the All England Club. On Court One, Pegula, still searching for a semifinal place at the majors, led 4-1 in the final set against 42nd-ranked Vondrousova.

A correctional services officer and Mirador Mansion in Tsim Sha Tsui. Previous NextSeven prison officers have been arrested for allegedly gang-raping a 31-year-old woman who got drunk at a party in Tsim Sha Tsui. One of the suspects is a CSD officer while another a first assistant officer and the rest second assistant officers. They went to Mirador Mansion, where they drank alcohol and played card games with the seven suspects. A preliminary investigation report accused three second assistant officers, Wong, 23, Mak, 31, and Chung, 27, of gang-raping the woman when she was unconscious, while officer Lam, 28, first assistant officer Tam, 38, and second assistant officers Yuen, 28, and Hui, 30, are accused of watching the acts and masturbating.

COA flags OCD over P60.8 million delayed projectsThe photo of the Commission on Audit's office in Quezon City taken on Aug. 17, 2021. MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Audit (COA) has called out the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) over the delayed implementation of various disaster mitigation projects amounting to P60.838 million. In its 2022 annual audit report on the OCD, the COA said eight projects remained incomplete or unliquidated as of Dec. 31, 2022 even if the funds were downloaded to the implementing agencies from 2017 to 2021. Audit records show that funds were downloaded to the implementing agencies on June 8, 2021, but the facilities remained uncompleted, with fund balances of P29.861 million and P12.458 million for the Libacao and Pagadian projects, respectively. The COA said the OCD agreed to the audit recommendation to coordinate with the implementing agencies for the immediate completion of the projects and reversion of unused funds to the Bureau of the Treasury.

THE Supreme Court on Wednesday has announced the 14 local testing centers (LTCs) for the 2023 Bar examinations. San beda College-Manila,6. San Beda College-Alabang;7. In the Bar bulletin 4 series of 2023 released by the Supreme Court, San Beda College-Alabang was selected to be the national headquarters of the Bar exams. The RQN will be sent to the BARISTA account and registered email address of the examinee on July 20, 2023.

A 24-HOUR gun ban will be imposed in Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon), Central Luzon, and the National Capital Region (NCR) on July 24, the day President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. will deliver his second State of the Nation Address (SONA), the Philippine National Police (PNP) said on Wednesday. Around 22,000 security personnel will be deployed to secure not only the Batasang Pambansa complex where President Marcos will deliver his SONA but other areas in Metro Manila as well. The PNP said that so far, it had not received any intelligence reports on possible threats to security during the SONA. The PNP said protesters should not go beyond the designated areas to avoid problems with the flow of traffic. It added that it was open to assigning police personnel to the protesters so that the overall holding of the President's SONA would be peaceful.

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The film distributor has been asked to blur the controversial dash lines in the film starring Australian actress Margot Robbie as Barbie. Beijing claims almost the entire South China Sea, despite rival claims from other Southeast Asian countries including the Philippines, Malaysia and Vietnam. But after "meticulous" scrutiny of the film, Philippine censors were convinced that the "cartoonish map" did not depict the nine-dash line. The Department of Foreign Affairs said it appreciated the opportunity to watch "Barbie" to "ascertain if the depiction of the imaginary world map is inimical to the national interest". The Philippines' approval of "Barbie" coincided with the seventh anniversary of an international ruling that China's historical claims to the South China Sea have no legal basis.

BAGUIO CITY, Benguet, Philippines — Three activists, who asked the Supreme Court to protect them from state-led harassment last month, have been designated as terrorists by the Anti-Terrorism Council (ATC) on June 7 along with another Baguio-based colleague. A fourth CPA member, researcher Jennifer Awingan, was also tagged as a terrorist. Members of the CPA learned about the resolution from an ATC statement published in the July 10 issue of the Manila Times. The Supreme Court petition said many of the activists were subjected to false criminal charges and were exonerated. He and Molintas were included in the Department of Justice proscription case which would have designated them and 600 others as terrorists.

Hongkongers hoping to grab any of the 21,626 free HK Express flight tickets to 19 Asian destinations went through a "never-ending" wait yesterday. A total of 80,000 free flight tickets are being given away through different channels of HK Express, Cathay Pacific and Hong Kong Airlines. Both Cathay and Hong Kong Airlines had earlier given most of the free tickets to overseas visitors. The HK Express campaign began at 10.30am, with its website already experiencing heavy traffic hours before the launch. HK Express replied to the post, saying the queue arrangement was to ensure the stability of the server.

KABUL — The Taliban administration said on Tuesday all activities by Sweden in Afghanistan must stop after the burning of the Koran outside a mosque in the Swedish capital last month. The order was likely to affect the Swedish non-governmental organization, the Swedish Committee for Afghanistan, which has thousands of aid workers at work throughout the country in health, education and rural development. An Iraqi immigrant to Sweden burned the Koran outside a Stockholm mosque last month, causing outrage in the Muslim world. The Swedish Committee for Afghanistan did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the Taliban order. The Taliban administration did not provide details on which organizations would be affected.

At least one person was killed after an elevated road being built in Thailand’s capital collapsed, and two others were listed as missing, with rescue crews unable to access the site Tuesday for fear of a further collapse, authorities said. Another 12 people were injured in the accident on Monday, according to the department of disaster prevention and mitigation. It was not immediately clear what caused the collapse of the road on the west side of Bangkok, but Governor Chadchart Sittipan said it had been severely damaged and remained inaccessible. “Someone needs to be responsible for this, because this wasn’t something unpreventable.”Earlier this year, a construction worker was killed and four cars were damaged in a similar accident in Bangkok, when a slab of concrete fell from a raised road under construction. In that case, a frame being used to lift the slab snapped, causing the concrete section to fall to the ground below.