WASHINGTON — A robotic lander built by a private company was bound for the moon on Monday in an attempt to make the first U.S. lunar soft landing in half a century, after launching to space aboard a new Vulcan rocket debuted by a joint venture of Boeing and Lockheed Martin. Space robotics firm Astrobotic’s Peregrine lunar lander launched toward space at 2:18 a.m. EST from Cape Canaveral, Florida on the first flight of Vulcan, a powerful rocket that had been under development for a decade by the Boeing-Lockheed venture United Launch Alliance (ULA). Vulcan’s debut launch appeared to go as planned, with its second stage booster reaching orbit some 15 minutes after liftoff carrying Peregrine deeper into space. Peregrine is set to land on the moon on Feb. 23 with scientific payloads aboard that will seek to gather data about the lunar surface ahead of planned future human missions. It marks the first trek to the moon’s surface as part of NASA’s Artemis moon program.

Majority of Filipinos disapprove of Marcos admin's inflation response — Pulse AsiaMarketgoers buy what they need at the Marikina Public Market in Marikina City (November 5, 2021). Taming inflation remained the most urgent national concern, with 72% of Filipinos saying it is an issue that the Marcos administration must address immediately. "The only national urgent concern cited across all geographic areas and socio-economic groupings is controlling inflation," Pulse Asia said in a poll released Monday. The polling firm noted that inflation was a concern of the majority of Filipinos across all geographic areas and income brackets. Admin's performanceThe Pulse Asia survey showed the Marcos administration enjoyed majority approval ratings on seven issues, with the highest on protecting the welfare of OFWs (78%).

A 30-year-old man was arrested in Wong Tai Sin for taking upskirt photos on Monday morning. Around 7 am today, a man was heading up the escalators at Yuk Wah Street, located in Wong Tai Sin, and is suspected to have taken an upskirt photo of a 14-year-old girl. Police were alerted to the scene, and after a preliminary investigation, a 30-year-old man surnamed Mak was arrested for "unlawful recording or observation of intimate parts." He is currently remanded under police custody, and the case has been handed over to the Wong Tai Sin police district for follow-up.

A driver was injured after he crashed the car into an open channel to avoid a dog in Yuen Long early Monday morning. The security camera footage of the accident went viral today, showing that a stray dog was loitering around with no people nearby. Later, a Tesla approached at a high speed and it was suspected the driver saw the dog and attempted to avoid it by turning sharply. However, the car rammed into the fence nearby, dropping down to the open channel afterward. The stray dog did not suffer any injuries.

NEW DELHI: India's top court ruled on Monday that 11 murderers convicted of a gang rape that drew global outrage but who were released early must return to jail. Bilkis Bano and two of her children were the only survivors among a group of Muslims attacked by a Hindu mob in the western state of Gujarat in 2002 during one of post-independence India's worst religious riots.

DHAKA: Sheikh Hasina won a fifth term as Bangladesh's prime minister on Sunday, officials said, following an election boycott led by an opposition party she branded as a "terrorist organization." Hasina's ruling Awami League "has won the election," an Election Commission spokesman told Agence France-Presse (AFP) in the early hours of Monday morning after a vote that initial reports suggested had a meager turnout of some 40 percent.

The trial of Jimmy Lai Chee-ying, who is accused of conspiring to commit foreign collusion and publish seditious material, enters its seventh day on Monday, with the prosecution reading out the admitted facts at the West Kowloon Magistrates' Court. The admitted facts included background information on the three companies under Apple Daily's parent company Next Digital – Apple Daily Limited, Apple Daily Printing Limited, and AD Internet Limited, as well as the positions and roles of the defendants, including Lai, within Apple Daily and Next Digital. The prosecution also read out details of the defendants’ arrest and their communication records through phone messaging applications. The defense also told the court it intended to play video evidence in court after the admitted facts had been read, which would take four to six days. The court will decide later whether to accept this request.

SHIKA, Japan: The death toll from Japan's New Year's Day earthquake jumped to 161 on Monday as snow complicated relief efforts with more than 2,000 people still cut off and many others lacking power or in crowded emergency shelters. Authorities said 103 people were still missing after the 7.5-magnitude quake that toppled buildings, sparked a major fire and triggered tsunami waves over a meter high in the central Ishikawa region.

SING TAO Previous NextFinancial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po says it might be time for the government to adjust public service charges amid an estimated HK$140 billion deficit in the last fiscal year. Chan said the government has put a lot of resources into fighting the pandemic, with public expenditure skyrocketing at the same time. "Many public services' charges have not been adjusted for a long time, and some services under the user pays principle are also far from covering the cost," Chan said. The government will also ensure the underprivileged will get appropriate support and basic public services under Hong Kong's social security system. In the long run, Chan believes, the key to increasing government revenue is a prosperous economic development.

MANILA, Philippines — Devotees of the Black Nazarene who will participate in the Traslacion on Tuesday should prepare for wet weather, state weather bureau PAGASA said. “Metro Manila will be partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated light rains on Monday and Wednesday, while partly cloudy to cloudy skies with possible rain showers on Tuesday,” the weather agency said. PAGASA also said that residents of Bicol region, Eastern Visayas, and Quezon province will experience cloudy skies with scattered rain showers and thunderstorms caused by the shear line from Monday to Wednesday. Partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated light rains are expected over the rest of Luzon. Meanwhile, easterlies will bring partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rain showers or thunderstorms over the rest of the country.

Green group calls for a smoke- and litter-free TraslacionCatholic devotees parade images of the Black Nazarene along Carriedo Street in Manila to receive blessings at the Quiapo Church on January 3, 2024. In a release Sunday, EcoWaste Coalition issued a call for strict adherence to Rizal Park’s “no smoking, no littering” policy. Millions of devotees are expected to visit Rizal Park for the vigil and solemn Mass, and Traslacion, or the procession of the venerated image of the Black Nazarene on January 9. “Keeping Rizal Park and the entire Traslacion smoke- and litter-free will be a huge challenge, but we remain hopeful that it can be achieved with the devotees leading the way,” said EcoWaste Coalition Ochie Tolentino. During the 2020 Traslacion re-enactment, EcoWaste Coalition found bins and bags at Rizal Park overflowing with mixed garbage.

KYIV: At least 11 people, including five children, were killed by a Russian missile strike on the eastern Ukraine town of Pokrovsk on Saturday, the regional governor said, as the bombardments intensify. Since late December, there has been an increase in the number of strikes in both Ukraine and Russia, with particularly heavy casualties, as the war triggered by Russia's invasion in February 2022 nears the end of its second year.

THE Asia-Pacific (APAC) region saw significant growth in 2023, and will likely remain the fastest-growing this year, an economist said. "The APAC economic outlook for 2024 is for continued rapid economic expansion, helped by resilient domestic demand in a number of large Asian emerging markets, including mainland China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia and Philippines," S&P Global Market Intelligence economist Rajiv Biswas said.

A seven-year-old girl fell to her death in On Tat Estate in Sau Mau Ping on Saturday, which led the mother to have a mental breakdown sending her to hospital. Paramedics provided the girl with resuscitation but in vain, and the girl was pronounced dead at the scene. It is understood that the girl Chan was diagnosed with autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder two years ago and had to see a doctor on a regular basis. Mok and Chan usually slept together in the living room to better convenience Mok when looking after Chan. Mok has another older daughter aged about 12 to 13, studying in secondary school, they also said.

IN its bid to achieve carbon neutrality, the leading mobility company and automotive manufacturer, Toyota Motor Philippines Corp. (TMP), signed a retail supply contract (RSC) with a local supplier to provide green-backed electricity for its manufacturing operations. This move would allow TMP to achieve 100-percent renewable energy (RE) ratio by supplying approximately 90 percent of the company's total electricity requirement, complementing the rest of RE sourced on-site from an existing 1.46-megawatt rooftop solar power system.