Inquirer

BOAO -China is committed to opening up the world’s second-largest economy and delivering reforms that can help stimulate growth, Premier Li Qiang said on Thursday, adding that geopolitical tension would only hold back development worldwide. Li’s comments at an international business summit in the island province of Hainan, are his latest calls for Beijing to bolster its economic recovery in the face of strained relations with the United States and its allies over everything from Russia’s war in Ukraine to technology exports and Taiwan. His comments were delivered on a panel alongside the prime ministers of Malaysia, Singapore and Spain – which all have close trade and diplomatic ti…

Keep on reading: China committed to economic opening up, reforms, Premier Li says

SINGAPORE – The U.S. dollar was on the front foot on Thursday as receding concerns over the banking sector helped improve risk sentiment, with investors switching their attention to the Federal Reserve’s battle against inflation. The dollar index, which measures the currency against six major peers, rose 0.097 percent at 102.73, after gaining 0.19 percent overnight. The index though was on course to clock a 2 percent decline for March due to market tumult induced by problems in the banking industry. “The broader risk sentiment appears sustained as bank contagion concerns continued to fade and a rally in China equities grabs some attention,” said Christopher Wong, a currency strateg…

Keep on reading: Dollar advances as banking crisis fears ease

MANILA, Philippines — Noel Kampton and JM Ronquillo formed a potent combo as La Salle stunned Far Eastern University in five sets, 25-22, 25-27, 20-25, 25-21, 15-12, to boost its Final Four bid in the UAAP Season 85 men’s volleyball tournament on Wednesday at Mall of Asia Arena. Kampton uncorked 23 points built on 19 attacks, two aces, and two blocks, while Ronquillo had 22 points from 20 kills and two blocks to end the Green Spikers’ two-game skid. The hard-hitting pair propelled La Salle from a 1-2 match deficit and delivered the killer blows in the fifth set with Kampton nailing the game-clinching attack to end the two-hour and 48-minute game. “I told them in the fourth…

Keep on reading: UAAP: La Salle rallies past FEU to push men’s volleyball Final Four bid

MANILA, Philippines—Far Eastern University coach Tina Salak was honored to face her mentor Ramil De Jesus in the UAAP Season 85 women’s volleyball tournament. The Lady Tamaraws went down swinging against the Lady Spikers, 28-30, 12-25, 24-26, on Wednesday at Mall of Asia Arena. De Jesus, who just returned last Saturday after missing the first round, still ended up triumphant despite the grit shown by Salak’s young wards. Salak, the former national team setter who earned a Southeast Asian Games bronze medal under De Jesus in 2005, expressed her high respect to the 11-time UAAP champion coach. “Looking back on the experience I had with coach Ramil. For me, coach Ramil had…

Keep on reading: UAAP: FEU coach Tina Salak hopes she made mentor Ramil De Jesus proud

MANILA, Philippines — Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo on Wednesday encouraged prosecutors to stand firm on their commitment to truth and justice, stressing that they are the “gatekeepers of the judiciary.” Speaking at the 32nd National Convention of the Prosecutors’ League of the Philippines in Davao City, the Supreme Court’s top magistrate reminded them of their deeper role in the justice system than regular lawyers and officers of the court. “Judges rely on the cases you build, the evidence you gather, and the arguments you present in order to make informed and impartial decisions. Without your commitment to truth and justice, the criminal justice system would be rendered …

Keep on reading: Chief Justice Gesmundo says prosecutors are ‘gatekeepers of the judiciary’

MANILA, Philippines — Leila Cruz suffered an ACL injury in her right knee, ruling her out indefinitely for the remainder of the UAAP Season 85 women’s volleyball tournament. La Salle assistant coach Noel Orcullo bared that Cruz was diagnosed with an ACL injury after receiving her MRI result on Tuesday. “Sad to say, she got an ACL [injury],” said Orcullo after their 30-28, 25-12, 28-26 victory over Far Eastern University on Wednesday at Mall of Asia Arena. “We have to accept it. Although, she remains positive and accepted regardless of the outcome of her MRI,” he added in Filipino. https://twitter.com/INQUIRERSports/status/1641001089008046081 The opposite spiker injur…

Keep on reading: La Salle’s Leila Cruz suffers right knee ACL injury

NEW YORK — U.S. singer and actress Chloe Bailey, half of sister R&B duo Chloe x Halle, releases her debut solo album on Friday, a record whose message she says is: it is OK to show your vulnerable side. The 24-year-old, who has in the past faced an online backlash over her work and choice of outfits, has called the album, which she will take on a North American tour next month, “In Pieces”. “The message with this album is that it’s OK to not have it all together … because none of us are perfect and as well-kept as some of us might seem. We’re all in pieces. We all have things that have broken us down … We all have fears. We all have scars but it’s just who wears it th…

Keep on reading: Chloe Bailey, sister of ‘Little Mermaid’ star Halle Bailey, makes solo album debut with ‘In Pieces’

OTTAWA -Canada could fall into a “shallow recession” this year, according to a worst-case scenario outlined in the government’s budget on Tuesday, but Ottawa is planning for a slightly brighter outlook. Private sector economists surveyed by Ottawa forecast gross domestic product ranging from a contraction of 0.2 percent to growth of 1.6 percent. The government pegged economic growth at just 0.3 percent, rebounding to 1.5 percent in 2024 — both figures down from previous estimates. Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland’s budget presented 15 to 30 percent tax credits to spur investment in tidal and nuclear energy, as well as extraction of critical minerals for EV batteries — seekin…

Keep on reading: Canada forecasts lower 2023 growth, possible ‘shallow recession’

MANILA, Philippines—Kim Fajardo’s Premier Volleyball League career-high in points is special for her as it will serve as a testament that she still got it. The veteran setter orchestrated the Cargo Movers’ offense with 24 excellent sets and delivered a team-best four blocks and two aces including five attacks as they captured their first bronze medal in the Premier Volleyball League All-Filipino Conference. “Yung 11 points na yun special siya for me as an individual player kasi alam ko na nandun pa rin ako,” said Fajardo after their 23-25, 25-23, 25-23, 25-15 victory over PLDT in Game 2 of the battle for third series on Tuesday at Mall of Asia Arena. “Masaya ako kakabalik …

Keep on reading: PVL: F2 Logistics’ Kim Fajardo shows she still has it even after injuries

LEGAZPI CITY — The Philippine Army said on Tuesday that reports claiming four soldiers and Civilian Armed Forces Geographical Unit members died in a bombing in Placer town on Friday (March 24) were not true. In a press statement on Monday, March 27, Luz del Mar, the spokesperson for the NPA-Masbate, said they launched the operation at the military detachment in Barangay (village) Manlut-od at around 11 p.m., where three nipa huts were damaged. “Ang masa mismo ang nagkukusang ipabatid sa Hukbo ang mga pwesto at himpilan ng kaaway,” del Mar said in a statement on the website Philippine Revolution. (The community voluntarily offered information to NPA about the location of the…

Keep on reading: Army describes as fake news NPA report that 4 gov’t forces die in Masbate