Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi gestures as he arrives at Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) headquarters in New Delhi, India, June 4, 2024. REUTERS/Adnan AbidiIndian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was set to meet his allies on Wednesday to discuss forming the government, a day after his Hindu nationalist party lost its outright majority in parliament in a surprise election verdict. Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won 240 seats on its own in the general election, 32 short of the halfway mark in the 543-member decision-making lower house, according to official results announced late on Tuesday. The opposition INDIA alliance led by Rahul Gandhi's centrist Congress party won 230 seats, more than forecast. The INDIA alliance was also expected to meet on Wednesday in New Delhi, and discuss a future course of action.

A CONSORTIUM of Japanese businesses, led by NTT Docomo Inc. (NTT Docomo) and Space Compass Corp. (Space Compass), together with Mizuho Bank Ltd. and the Development Bank of Japan Inc., has committed to invest $100 million in Aalto HAPS Ltd. (Aalto), which manufactures and operates the stratospheric, solar-powered Zephyr high-altitude platform station (HAPS). The investment will be made through the Japanese Consortium's investment vehicle, HAPS Japan Corp. As a payload-agnostic platform, Zephyr can transform into a multifunctional tower in the sky to provide low latency 5G direct-to-device mobile connectivity services. Members of the high-altitude platform station (HAPS) Japan consortium, Aalto HAPS Ltd. and Airbus sign the Tokyo Stratospheric Declaration on May 29, 2024. In photo are (from left) Akihiro Hikuma of NTT Docomo Inc., Shigehiro Hori of Space Compass Corp., Samer Halawi of Aalto HAPS Ltd., and Jean-Brice Dumont of Airbus Defence and Space.

THE Department of Science and Technology-Science Education Institute (DoST-SEI), in collaboration with the Philippine S&T Development Foundation-Manila Inc. (PhilDev), has launched the Scholars Technopreneurship Training Program (STTP) in Cagayan de Oro City. Spanning from May to November 2024, this seven-month capacity-building initiative aims to equip DoST-SEI scholars with essential skills in technopreneurship, design thinking and innovative business, and venture planning. The culmination of the program in November features a pitching competition where participants will present their startup plans to industry experts and potential investors. AdvertisementVince Manglicmot of PhilDev delivered an engaging talk on the history and landscape of technopreneurship in the Philippines. Erica Cago, director of the Northern Mindanao Association of DoST-SEI Scholars, was also present to join the discussion.

The overall number of complaints about poor taxi services received by the Transport Department is on the rise for a third consecutive year, with a total of 1,006 cases in 2023 - a 75 percent increase compared to the previous year. The department said on Wednesday that the number of complaints received by the Transport Department against taxi drivers involved those of a more serious nature. They include overcharging, refusing hire and driving to a destination other than by the most direct practicable route. Complaints of various types have increased compared to the previous two years, with complaints of overcharging increasing by 1.2 times annually. In 2022 and 2021, the department received 574 and 464 complaints respectively, meaning the figure in 2023 has more than doubled compared to 2021.

Native garlic to raise local sufficiency to 20 percentAgriculture Undersecretary Cheryl Marie Natividad-Caballero said the DA is aggressively pushing garlic as one of the banner high value crops programs given its growing demand, both for household and processing use. “We want to bring back garlic as the ‘white gold’ of Ilocos region,” Caballero, who oversees the DA’s high value crops program, told reporters. The agriculture department is currently working out on its financial plan to determine the budgetary support requirement for the local garlic industry, Caballero said. The country’s garlic output last year declined by two percent to 5,765 MT from 5,884 MT in 2022, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority. About two-thirds of the annual garlic production in the Philippines comes from the Ilocos region, making it the country’s top producer of garlic.

ADVERTISEMENTREAD: Tariff cut on imported rice: A gamble local farmers won’t takeAlthough rice prices would not drop drastically due to increasing world prices, Balisacan said the new tariff rates on rice and other products would “benefit everyone.”“With the tariff reduction from 35 percent, everyone will benefit from that, and this is crucial because world prices are still increasing. If we don’t reduce the tariff, with the increasing world prices compounded by the 35-percent tariff over and above that, prices and inflation will remain to be a very serious problem. With this, we expect those upward pressures and rice prices to ease,” Balisacan noted. READ: More cuts to rice tariffs urged to tame inflationInflation rose to 3.8 percent in April, of which nearly half (1.75 percentage points) was due to rice, data from the Philippine Statistics Authority showed. “Reduced rice tariffs paved the way for more rice imports, and yet rice prices have only gone up,” Cainglet said in a Viber message.

MANILA, Philippines — A total of 34 areas across the country registered “dangerous” peak heat indices or above 42ºC (degrees Celsius), said the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) on Tuesday. According to Pagasa, heat index refers to the “measure of the contribution that high humidity makes with abnormally high temperatures in reducing the body’s ability to cool itself.”ADVERTISEMENTA heat index ranging from 42ºC to 51ºC is considered part of the “danger category.”Once it reaches this point, the risk for various heat-related illnesses such as heat cramps, heat exhaustion, and even heat stroke during continued exposure increases. Based on Pagasa’s latest computed heat index, Maasin, Southern Leyte registered the highest peak heat index on Tuesday at 49ºC. In Metro Manila, Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) in Pasay City logged a peak heat index of 43ºC. Based on Pagasa’s latest computed heat index, the following areas registered a heat index of or above 42ºC:Maasin, Southern Leyte – 49ºC Virac (Synop), Catanduanes – 47ºC Roxas City, Capiz – 47ºC Catarman, Northern Samar – 46ºC Dumangas, Iloilo – 45ºC Dagupan City, Pangasinan – 44 Bacnotan, La Union – 44ºC ISU Echague, Isabela – 44ºC Iba, Zambales – 44ºC Sangley Point, Cavite – 44ºC Alabat, Quezon – 44ºC Cuyo, Palawan – 44ºC Iloilo City, Iloilo – 44ºC Catbalogan, Samar – 44ºC Tacloban City, Leyte – 44ºC Borongan, Eastern Samar – 44ºC Zamboanga City, Zamboanga del Sur – 44º Calapan, Oriental Mindoro – 43ºC Puerto Princesa City, Palawan – 43ºC Aborlan, Palawan – 43ºC Daet, Camarines Norte – 43ºC Legazpi City, Albay – 43ºC Masbate City, Masbate – 43ºC Juban, Sorsogon – 43ºC Dipolog, Zamboanga del Norte – 43ºC Naia Pasay City, Metro Manila – 42ºC Laoag City, Ilocos Norte – 42ºC CLSU Muñoz, Nueva Ecija – 42ºC Baler (Radar), Aurora – 42ºC Casiguran, Aurora – 42ºC Cubi Pt., Subic Bay Olongapo City – 42ºC Ambulong, Tanauan Batangas – 42ºC San Jose, Occidental Mindoro – 42ºC Mactan International Airport, Cebu – 42ºCREAD: Red Cross reminds public to stay hydrated amid high heat indexIn cases of emergency, Pagasa reminded the public to do the following:Move the person to a shady spot and lie him/her down with legs elevatedIf conscious, have them sip cool waterRemove clothing, apply cool water to the skin and provide ventilationApply ice packs to the armpits, wrists, ankles, and groinBring to a hospital immediately

Congress party supporters cheer as they follow proceedings of vote counting at their party headquarters in New Delhi, India, Tuesday, June 4, 2024. Some four hours into the counting, early leads reported by the Election Commission showed Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party comfortably ahead of the main opposition Congress party. Modi's National Democratic Alliance group was leading in 287 constituencies, while the opposition INDIA alliance, led by the Congress party and its main campaign leader, Rahul Gandhi was leading in 225. Meanwhile, supporters at the Congress party headquarters appeared upbeat and chanted slogans praising Gandhi, the party’s campaign face. His opposition, the INDIA alliance led by the Congress party, has attacked Modi over his Hindu nationalist politics.

Divorce or D-groupWhen it comes to separation or divorce, the most convincing argument or appeal are tears combined with stories of betrayal, mental abuse or years of unrequited love and self-sacrifice. Legislators and activists would want us to believe that divorce is the only solution to a hopeless situation. Just look into the history of divorce in the US and Europe and you realize that it’s not as simple as filling in the blanks and filing a request for divorce. Churches and city halls conduct millions of marriage ceremonies but very few and regular free seminars on marriage, family planning and finance. The rich won’t let divorce come true, so let’s fix the marriages, the system and families instead.

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Transportation (DOTr) said on Tuesday that some portions of the Metro Rail Transit Line-7 (MRT-7) is expected to be operational by the fourth quarter of next year. According to DOTr Assistant Secretary Jorjette Aquino, the first twelve stations are located in Quezon City. ADVERTISEMENT“Inaasahan po natin na magiging operational ang first 12 stations by end of 2025,” Aquino said in a press briefing. (We expect that the first 12 stations will be operational by the end of 2025.) (We expect the two other stations, Stations 13 and 14, will be operational one year later.)

An executive director of a Tibet travel agency, surnamed Zhang, enjoyed the food and the view in the city. She added that the shopping experience in Hong Kong is also incredible and hoped the duty-free allowance for mainlanders could be increased from the current 5,000 yuan. A deputy general manager of a Harbin travel agency, surnamed Huang, said visitors from Harbin had to spend a night in Shenzhen before coming to Hong Kong. However, the opening of five-hour direct flights makes it more convenient and attractive for the citizens to reach Hong Kong. She said the expansion of the Individual Visit Scheme has led to a 20 percent increase in inquiries about visiting Hong Kong.

The government plans to expand the scope of application of the Sexual Conviction Record Check (SCRC) Scheme in three phases to cover the self-employed, volunteers, and all existing employees. He added that the volunteers, including the university orientation camp organizers, would be covered by the end of next year. When the first two phases are operating smoothly, the scheme will be extended to the existing employees and other self-employed individuals. Tang also added that there would be sufficient security measures at the fingerprint collection kiosks to ensure no foul play. The SCRC scheme enables employers of organizations or enterprises that engage persons in undertaking child-related or mentally incapacitated person-related work to request eligible employees to apply for sexual conviction record check in order to ascertain whether they have any conviction records.

BAGUIO CITY, Philippines — Abandoned or idle rice terraces in Ifugao province would be brought back to life under a new government strategy to sustain the granaries of the Cordillera, agriculture officials said. In other upland Cordillera towns, farmers carved out vegetable gardens by following the natural contour of the mountains. READ: Save the rice terracesThe new DA allocations would rebuild broken terraces and finance the reactivation of idle terraced farms to improve productivity, added Jennilyn Dawayan, DA Cordillera director. Outside the World Heritage Site, smaller rice terraces were converted into vegetable gardens to maintain the family businesses, Banaue Mayor Joel Bungallon had said in March. Jerry Dalipog employed chawwa to revive 341.7 hectares of idle terraces to supply a popular restaurant.

What books do you read and recommend? I’m a little embarrassed to admit that I don’t read investing books. I’m old, so I’ve obviously read some investing books over the course of my life, but I honestly don’t read a huge volume of investing books and curate an up-to-date ranked list of my favorites. I’ve read Kiyosaki’s Rich Dad Poor Dad enough to know that I didn’t want to read any more books from Kiyosaki, and I read Bo Sanchez’s My Maid Invests in the Stock Market enough to know that those books weren’t going to be of any help to me either. Mostly because I’ve never read a trading book that I’ve truly resonated with in its entirety, and certainly not enough to be able to recommend that book openly to the public.

While total numbers of voters were up, turnout appeared to be slightly reduced from the last general elections. Final voter turnout data will only be released after repolling in two stations in West Bengal state on Monday. "It shows the incredible power of voters of India," Kumar added, saying that there had been "no major incidents of violence". Analysts have partly blamed the drop in voter turnout on hotter-than-average temperatures heading into the Indian summer. At least 33 polling staff died from heatstroke on Saturday in Uttar Pradesh state alone, where temperatures hit 46.9C (116.4F), according to state election officials.