6.6%The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) tracked inflation for the month of April at 6.6 percent. Our inflation rate is definitely easing. Nevertheless, the inflation rate for the first four months of the year still stands at 7.9 percent. This restrains growth, although it also cools the inflation rate. Meanwhile, all eyes are on the Monetary Board and the probability it could pause its interest rate hikes.

National security police officers on Friday seized the Pillar of Shame - an orange copper sculpture commemorating the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown - from the Kadoorie Centre in Shek Kong near Yuen Long, where it is stored, after the statue was said to be evidence in a subversion case, according to sources. The sculpture, originally displayed inside the University of Hong Kong’s Pok Fu Lam campus, where it had stood for over 24 years since 1997, was removed in December 2021, broken down into large pieces, and taken to the university's Kadoorie Centre. The university had cited legal risks and possibly safety following the removal. It is understood that the officers obtained a court warrant, arrived at the Kadoorie Centre this morning, and seized the sculpture - which they suspected was connected to a subversion case. Read more:"Pillar of Shame” creator wants to take his statue back, asks for protection from security lawPillar pulled down

ADVERTISEMENTThe group was responding to DOH officer in charge Maria Rosario Vergeire, who told a House hearing on appropriations on Thursday about the shortage of nurses needed to provide optimal patient care. “There are so many ‘plantilla’ positions at DOH… why don’t you hire unemployed nurses?,” Andamo asked. “The solution is so simple and it shouldn’t take [12] years [to] address understaffing and increase [nurses’] salary,” she added. Andamo, a retired community nurse, pointed out that there is no nursing “shortage,” only “understaffing” in hospitals as the country has “enough supply” of nurses. This understaffing could make health-care workers prone to errors, and would ultimately compromise the quality of care needed to achieve favorable health outcomes in patients, Andamo said.

Guo Wengui, once a business associate of former U.S. President Donald Trump's adviser Steve Bannon, was arrested in March. Federal prosecutors in Manhattan say he promised followers "outsized" investment returns but diverted much of their money to fund lavish lifestyles for himself and his family. Guo pleaded not guilty to 11 charges including securities fraud, wire fraud and concealing money laundering. The 52-year-old defendant, whose other names include Ho Wan Kwok and Miles Kwok, is a prominent critic of China's Communist Party. Bannon was arrested in a 2020 fraud case while aboard Guo's yacht.

President Marcos touts $1.3 billion investment pledges from US tripPresident Marcos is welcomed by a US official at Andrews Air Force Base as he arrives with his official delegation on May 1, 2023 for a five-day working visit in Washington. Twitter / Office of the PresidentWashington — President Marcos ended what he described as a “meaningful” and “constructive” five-day official visit here yesterday, promising to bring home more than $1.3 billion in investment pledges that can generate about 6,700 jobs. “We return to the Philippines with over $1.3 billion in investment pledges that have the potential to create around 6,700 new jobs for Filipinos within the country,” Marcos said. The provision requires the conclusion of a peaceful nuclear cooperation agreement for significant transfers of nuclear material or equipment from the US. “We see nuclear energy as an important part of the country’s future energy mix, both for ensuring supply and bringing electrical costs down,” Marcos said.

Huge relief for foreign medical graduatesThe internationalization of Philippine education and the human resources it produces is a phenomenon that has been there for the longest time. Indeed, with this development, the Philippines is full speed in embracing internationalization as an instrument for national development and a vehicle of shared human resources enhancement. To date, various foreign nationals coming from all over the world study in the Philippines. In the field of medical education, the country has its share of world-class medical colleges and universities as well as hospitals – both private and government – where the best possible exposure to clinical practice and internship is offered. Not only that, foreign medical graduates of Philippine medical colleges have excelled too in their respective countries.

(UPDATE) PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has ordered the creation of an interagency committee to prepare for the commemoration of the 125th anniversary of Philippine independence on June 12. In Administrative Order 8, the President said the committee will "facilitate the planning and execution of programs and projects" for the event. The committee will be headed by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) seconded by the Department of the Interior and Local Government. The committee's members are the Department of Tourism, Department of Education, Department of National Defense, Department of Information and Communications Technology, Department of Trade and Industry, Department of Budget and Management, Department of Labor and Employment, Department of Transportation, and the Metro Manila Development Authority. The funds for the event will be drawn from the NHCP and the participating government agencies.

In addition to Tarrio, Proud Boys members Ethan Nordean, Joseph Biggs and Zachary Rehl were convicted of seditious conspiracy – a plot to oppose the government with force – under a Civil War-era law. Dominic Pezzola, the only one of the five defendants who did not play a leadership role in the Proud Boys, was acquitted of the charge. The trial of the Proud Boys members was the longest of any of those arising from the Capitol attack, with the jury hearing about 50 days of testimony since January. ADVERTISEMENTDuring closing arguments, prosecutor Conor Mulroe said the Proud Boys viewed themselves as a “fighting force lined up behind Donald Trump and ready to commit violence on his behalf” in order to overturn his 2020 election defeat. Defense lawyers told the jury their clients had no plans to attack the Capitol and had traveled to Washington merely to protest.

MANILA, Philippines — The Court of Appeals (CA) has affirmed its decision allowing homeowners of BF Homes in Parañaque City to regulate the entry of non-residents’ vehicles through five roads leading to the subdivision. In the motion, the HSAC insisted that the reclassification of the roads as commercial areas meant that they had become public roads and should be open to all vehicles. However, the CA ruled that El Grande and Aguirre Avenues remain private properties, despite their reclassification as commercial areas by virtue of a Supreme Court ruling in 2007, stressing that the SC did not declare them as public roads. The CA also affirmed the authority of the BFFHAI to regulate passage through the subdivision and village roads under the Magna Carta for Homeowners and Homeowners’ Association. The appeals court noted that BFFHAI has consistently explained that the fees collected are intended for the salary of security guards, maintenance of the roads and payment of real property taxes.

BloombergAn affiliate of Chinese state-backed developer Sino-Ocean (3377) is adding to a wave of debt extensions among Chinese builders by seeking to delay a coupon payment as liquidity worsens further in the real estate sector. Sino-Ocean Capital is proposing to set back its interest payment to October instead of April for its 6 percent dollar notes maturing in October, a consent solicitation document shows. The proposal would require approval from creditors holding at least 75 percent of the note's outstanding value, the document says. The development suggests weaker support from Sino-Ocean Group, China's 24th largest builder by sales, which holds a 49 percent stake in Sino-Ocean Capital, and raises questions about the ability of the major shareholder to service its own debt. Sino-Ocean Capital is also facing a winding-up petition in Hong Kong filed by Great Wall International Investment VIII, and a court hearing has been scheduled for June 7.

DUBONA, Serbia — A gunman was on the loose on Friday after killing eight people and wounding 13 others near Belgrade, local media reported, the second deadly mass shooting around the Serbian capital in two days. The shooting comes less than 48 hours after a 13-year old boy shot dead nine and injured seven at a school in Belgrade before turning himself in. Inside the village of Dubona near Mladenovac, a Reuters witness saw heavily armed police establishing a checkpoint and searching incoming traffic. Nation in mourningThe Balkan nation begins three days of official mourning on Friday following its first mass school shooting on Wednesday. RELATED STORIES5 killed, 20 injured in cafe shooting in Serbia13 people killed in shooting spree in SerbiaYour subscription could not be saved.

MANILA, Philippines — Share prices rallied back into the green yesterday after the US central bank hiked its key rate to a 16-year high but hinted at a possible pause to its streak of 10 consecutive rate increases. Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 index fell 0.7 percent on Wednesday after the Fed announced a 0.25 percentage point increase in its lending rate. The Fed dropped a reference to “additional policy firming” in its statement but stopped short of declaring an end to rate hikes. “The key takeaway, in my view, is that we are likely at or very near the end of the rate hike cycle,” Kristina Hooper of Invesco said in a report. Traders expect the Fed to start cutting rates as early as this year to prop up weakening economic growth.

(UPDATE) WASHINGTON: United States Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin 3rd assured President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. of the US military's support in dealing with China's aggressive actions in the South China Sea. Austin made the commitment during Marcos' visit to the Pentagon on Wednesday. Austin also echoed President Joe Biden's message that the US' commitment to defend the Philippines, as stipulated in the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty, "is ironclad." Austin and Marcos' meeting with key defense officials of both governments caps the Philippine leader's agenda to expand discussions on the defense pacts between Washington and Manila. The guidelines were presented to Marcos during his visit to the Pentagon.

LOS ANGELES: Carrie Fisher is receiving a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, a May the Fourth tribute to one of the "Star Wars" franchise's most beloved figures. Fans have long campaigned for her to receive a Walk of Fame star. Devotees worldwide celebrate with a variety of tributes, while retailers hold special sales on Star Wars merchandise. Fisher will be given the 2,754th star on the Walk of Fame. Walk of Fame stars are given to performers who are nominated and a $75,000 fee is now required to create the star and maintain it.

A 22-year-old man was arrested on Wednesday after a video taken by his wife showed her choking his Alaskan Malamute at their Shatin home. In the video, the man can be seen using the lid of a cage trying to suffocate the Malamute, with the animal’s neck stuck between the cage and the lid. It is understood the video was first shared by the man’s wife on a WhatsApp chat group, with the couple asking for tips to “educate” their pet dog. The video then circulated online, with a concerned citizen eventually filing a report to the police of the suspected animal abuse. Further investigation found evidence of animal abuse, leading to the arrest of the man on suspicion of cruelty to animals.