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CLI allots higher capex, partners with Japan firm
Cebu Landmasters Inc. is hiking its capital spending to P14.5 billion this year as it gears up for growth and expansion following a strong financial performance in 2023......»»
Furlough looms for 1.8M federal employees
United States federal agencies started notifying 1.8 million workers of their temporary furlough with the impending shutdown of the government due to a congressional impasse on the budget. Funding for much of the federal government will expire at midnight on Saturday but lawmakers are mired in perennial deadlock on a new funding bill. A small group of hardline Republicans are demanding deep spending cuts on the budget but Democrats disagree. The American Federation of Government Employees said federal workers would go unpaid for the duration that there is no legislated funding but their salary will be retroactively paid when the new budget law is passed. “If there is a shutdown in just a few days, our service members would be required to continue working but would be doing so without pay, and hundreds and thousands of their civilian colleagues would be furloughed,” Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh said Thursday. The Treasury Department added that among other implications, “most core tax administration functions will stop” and more than half of the Internal Revenue Service staff will be furloughed. Anti-McCarthy protest Dozens of American teenagers occupied the office of the top Republican lawmaker on Thursday to protest against a looming government shutdown that they say will exacerbate the climate crisis. The Sunrise Movement, a nationwide youth environmental campaign, said around 30 of its members flooded inside House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s office while over a hundred more crowded the hallway outside. The group says 18 protesters were detained by police after refusing to disperse. McCarthy was not present during the protest at the Rayburn House Office Building, across the road from the US Capitol. The Sunrise Movement has voiced concerns over funding for emergency disaster relief and pro-climate provisions in Biden’s signature Inflation Reduction Act. “In my state, in Oregon, people are dying from wildfire smoke and extreme heat in the summers. People are dying in hurricanes across the country and climate disasters everywhere,” activist Adah Crandall, 17, from Portland, told Agence France-Presse. “The GOP has blood on its hands, and if it shuts down the government... and fails to continue providing the support that people need to literally stay alive, they should be ashamed of themselves,” she said. WITH AFP The post Furlough looms for 1.8M federal employees appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Respect the budget
A fair reminder should be issued to the caretakers of public finances and leaders in government that the Supreme Court had ruled that lump sum items such as the Priority Development Assistance Fund and the reallocation of funds in the budget such as in the Disbursement Acceleration Program scheme are unconstitutional. A 2013 decision of the high tribunal was very specific about the pork barrel as invalid, along with similar efforts in the legislature to accumulate discretionary funds. In 2014, the SC also thumbed down the Presidential pork barrel raised through the DAP. In the 2024 National Expenditure Program which is the Executive’s proposed budget submitted to Congress, P215 billion worth of flood mitigation projects were found to use methods that are suspiciously similar to the outlawed PDAF scheme. Based on SC’s landmark decision such budget items are also illegal. The SC ruling not only struck down the PDAF but also “various Congressional insertions” and other similar practices that allow legislators to “intervene, assume or participate” in any of the various post-enactment stages of the budget execution. The difference in the current maneuver is that the insertions are done in the NEP to skirt the “post-enactment stages” of the budget process as specified in the SC ruling. The spirit or substance of the decision was, however, all about removing the discretionary powers of Congress over, what the SC decision stated, as a Constitutional violation: “Such as but not limited to the areas of project identification, modification and revision of project identification, fund release and/or fund realignment, unrelated to the power of Congressional oversight.” The ruling basically disallowed the practice of insertions and realignment since it sought to re-establish check and balance between the legislature and the Palace as the pork barrel scheme is the Executive’s leverage to get members of the legislature to enact its priority laws. After the SC ruling, efforts to create new sources of legislative pork have been a yearly ritual in Congress that even resulted in friction between House leaders and the Department of Budget and Management during the early years of President Rodrigo Duterte. The DAP was created apparently to fill the vacuum created by the PDAF’s removal. Under the Palace scheme under the Aquino administration, savings were centralized under the DAP which was then used as a slush fund for legislators. DAP funds were used in the campaign to oust the late Chief Justice Renato Corona. The SC decision disallowed the following: * The withdrawal of unobligated allotments from the implementing agencies and the declaration of the withdrawn unobligated allotments and unreleased appropriations as savings before the end of the fiscal year and without complying with the statutory definition of savings contained in the General Appropriations Act; * Cross-border transfers of savings of the executive department to offices outside the executive department; and * Funding of projects, activities, and programs not covered by appropriations in the General Appropriations Act. The court also declared void the use of unprogrammed funds despite the absence of a certification by the National Treasurer that the revenue collections exceeded the revenue targets or non-compliance with the conditions provided in the relevant General Appropriations Act. Some P150 billion in public funds, from 2011 to 2013, were channeled to the DAP, which was done through the first two schemes that the SC declared as unconstitutional. The SC made a statement in junking the DAP and PDAF which was to outlaw the use of discretionary or lump sum funds in the budget that usually end up in the pockets of public officials. The P24 billion annual PDAF was a mere part of the huge Special Purpose Funds which in turn is just one of the many lump sums that make up as much as a third of the yearly budget. The ruling was consistent with the public clamor for the removal of all types of lump-sum items in the national budget. Undertaking budget maneuvers such as spending a ridiculous P215 billion for flood control has the obvious aim of providing legislators their pork allocation that contravenes the SC ruling on PDAF and public sentiment on the proper use of the budget. The post Respect the budget appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Trump arrested in Georgia racketeering case
Former US president Donald Trump was arrested at a Georgia jail on Thursday on racketeering and conspiracy charges for trying to overturn the 2020 election results in the southern state. During a brief session lasting less than 30 minutes, the 77-year-old Trump was booked on 13 charges at Atlanta's Fulton County Jail, according to records published by the sheriff's office. Trump's height was listed by the jail as six foot three inches (1.9 meters), his weight as 215 pounds (97 kilograms) and his hair color as "Blond or Strawberry." Other defendants in the racketeering case who have surrendered to the Georgia authorities in recent days have had a mugshot taken. The billionaire has been criminally indicted four times since April, setting the stage for a year of unprecedented drama as he tries to juggle multiple court appearances and another White House campaign. In posts on his Truth Social platform shortly before leaving his New Jersey golf club for the flight to Atlanta, Trump said he was being arrested for "having the audacity to challenge a RIGGED & STOLLEN (sic) ELECTION." "This is yet another SAD DAY IN AMERICA!" he added. Trump was able to dodge having a mugshot taken during his previous arrests this year: in New York on charges of paying hush money to a porn star, in Florida for mishandling top secret government documents, and in Washington on charges of conspiring to upend his 2020 election loss to Democrat Joe Biden. But Fulton County Sheriff Pat Labat said standard procedure in Georgia is to take a defendant's photograph before they are released on bond -- set at $200,000 in Trump's case. The arrest comes one day after Trump spurned a televised debate in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, featuring eight of his rivals for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination -- all of whom lag well behind him in the polls. He still stole the spotlight, though, with all but two of the candidates saying they would support him as the party's nominee even if he were a convicted felon. During a pre-recorded interview with former Fox News talk show host Tucker Carlson -- which aired on social media at the same time as the debate -- Trump dismissed the criminal cases filed against him as "nonsense." Trump said the Justice Department had been "weaponized" under Biden to hamstring his White House bid. Court dates in election race A tight security perimeter was set up for Trump's booking at the Fulton County Jail, which is under investigation for a slew of inmate deaths and deplorable conditions. Fani Willis, the Fulton County district attorney who filed the sweeping racketeering case, had set a deadline of noon (1600 GMT) on Friday for Trump and the other 18 defendants to surrender. Trump and 11 others have turned themselves in so far. Former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows surrendered on Thursday and was released on $100,000 bond. Former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani, who served as Trump's personal lawyer when he was in the White House and vigorously pushed the false claims that Trump had won the 2020 election, was booked and released on Wednesday. John Eastman, a conservative lawyer who is accused of drawing up a scheme to submit a false slate of Trump electors to Congress from Georgia instead of the legitimate Biden ones, has also been booked and released. A few dozen supporters of the former Republican president gathered outside the jail, including Sharon Anderson who spent the night in her car. "I think this is a political persecution and now that's turned into a political prosecution," Anderson told AFP. Trump is the first US president in history to face criminal charges. His various trials, if they take place next year, may coincide with the Republican presidential primary season, which begins in January, and the campaign for the November 2024 White House election. Special counsel Jack Smith has proposed a January 2024 start date for Trump's trial on charges of conspiring to overturn the last election with a lie-fueled campaign that culminated in the January 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol by his supporters. Trump's attorneys have countered with a suggested start date well after the election -- April 2026. Willis, the Georgia district attorney, initially proposed that the racketeering case begin in March next year, the same month Trump is scheduled to go on trial in New York on charges of paying hush money to porn star Stormy Daniels. On Thursday, after one of the defendants asked for a speedy trial, she proposed that it begin for all 19 in October of this year, a move met with an immediate objection from Trump's lawyers. The Florida case, in which Trump is accused of taking secret government documents as he left the White House and refusing to return them, is scheduled to begin in May. The post Trump arrested in Georgia racketeering case appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
The legal woes of Donald Trump
Former US president Donald Trump is facing four criminal indictments, all filed since March -- with the Republican frontrunner in the 2024 White House race possibly navigating a series of trials as he campaigns. On Thursday, he was formally arrested on 13 counts in the southern state of Georgia in connection with his alleged efforts to interfere with the results of the 2020 election, which he lost to Democrat Joe Biden. Trump has already been indicted in federal court in connection with election interference in multiple states, and over his handling of classified documents, making him the first former US president to face federal criminal charges. The twice-impeached Trump has also been charged in New York with making election-eve hush money payments to a porn star. Here are the key cases involving the 77-year-old one-term president -- and others that could materialize: Georgia election meddling Trump stands accused in Georgia of pressuring state officials to overturn Biden's election victory -- incidents that were also referred to in a federal indictment. Evidence includes a taped phone call in which he asked Georgia's then-secretary of state to "find" enough votes to reverse the result. Fulton County's top prosecutor Fani Willis has charged Trump with 13 felony counts including violating Georgia's Racketeer Influenced And Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, as well as six conspiracy counts over alleged efforts to commit forgery, impersonate a public official and submit false statements and documents. Eighteen co-defendants also were indicted, including Trump's former personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, for pressuring local legislators over the result after the election, and Trump's White House chief of staff, Mark Meadows. 2020 election interference Special Counsel Jack Smith had already slapped Trump with four federal charges related to efforts to overturn the 2020 election results. Trump is charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States, as well as conspiracy to obstruct and obstruction of an official proceeding -- the January 6, 2021, meeting of a joint session of Congress held to certify Biden's election victory. He is also charged with conspiracy to deny Americans the right to vote and to have one's vote counted. The indictment mentions six co-conspirators but none are identified -- Trump, currently the frontrunner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, is the only named defendant. Trump supporters stormed the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, as Congress met to certify the presidential election results. Before what was ultimately a deadly attack, Trump delivered a fiery speech urging the crowd to "fight like hell." Classified documents Trump, in another indictment brought by Smith, is accused of endangering national security by holding onto top secret nuclear and defense documents after leaving the White House. Trump kept the files -- which included records from the Pentagon, CIA, and National Security Agency -- unsecured at his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida and thwarted official efforts to retrieve them, according to the indictment. Trump was initially charged with 31 counts of "willful retention of national defense information," each punishable by up to 10 years in prison. A count was added related to a classified document "concerning military activity in a foreign country." He also faces charges of conspiracy to obstruct justice, making false statements, and other offenses. The federal judge in the case has set a trial date of May 20, 2024, at the height of the presidential campaign. Stormy A New York grand jury indicted Trump in March over alleged hush money payments made to porn star Stormy Daniels. Prosecutors say the money was paid prior to the 2016 election to silence Daniels over claims she had a tryst with Trump in 2006 -- a year after he married Melania Trump. Late in the campaign, Trump's lawyer Michael Cohen arranged a payment of $130,000 to Daniels in exchange for her pledge of confidentiality, prosecutors said. That case, in which he faces 34 felony counts, is due to go to trial next March, in the middle of the Republican primary election season. Other probes Trump was found liable in a civil case for sexually abusing and defaming a former magazine columnist, E. Jean Carroll, in 1996, and ordered to pay her $5 million in damages. In New York, state Attorney General Letitia James has filed a civil suit against Trump and three of his children, accusing them of fraud by over-valuing assets to secure loans and then under-valuing them to minimize taxes. James is seeking $250 million in penalties as well as banning Trump and his children from serving as executives at companies in the city. Trump has denied all wrongdoing. The post The legal woes of Donald Trump appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
UK court concludes teenager behind huge hacking campaign
A UK court on Wednesday found a teenager responsible for a hacking campaign that included one of the biggest breaches in the history of the video game industry. Arion Kurtaj, 18, was described by the prosecution as one of the "key players" in the Lapsus$ group that hacked Rockstar Games in 2022 and published footage from its still unreleased "Grand Theft Auto 6". Following a two-month case at London's Southwark Crown Court, a jury unanimously concluded that Kurtaj, whom psychiatrists deemed unfit to stand trial, had carried out 12 offenses. They included carrying out an unauthorized act to impair the operation of a computer, blackmail, and fraud. Kurtaj also threatened Rockstar Games he would leak the hacked source code for its latest Grand Theft Auto releases onto internet forums. Grand Theft Auto 5, the last iteration of the game that revolves around heists and street violence, was released in 2013 and has since sold 170 million copies and generated some $7 billion in revenue. Kurtaj and a 17-year-old youth, whose name cannot be published because of his age, were also accused of hacking software company Nvidia in February 2022 and threatening to release its intellectual property. The 17-year-old was on Wednesday found guilty of fraud and blackmail. Prosecutors said the pair hacked the servers of broadband provider BT and mobile operator EE before demanding a $ 4 million (3.7-million-euro) ransom. Sentencing dates have yet to be fixed for either defendant. The post UK court concludes teenager behind huge hacking campaign appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Nothing can drag a Boholana down
No pandemic, nor deadly natural catastrophe can bring down a Boholana: this is the living faith by which Lourdes Sultan, managing director of Travel Village Tours and Travel and owner of several vessels which comprise the Loboc River Cruise in Bohol, lives by. Sultan, a tour operator in Loboc for the past 35 years, is a perfect epitome of a resilient Filipina who did not falter while going through such major upheavals as typhoon “Odette” in 2021 that wrecked her vessels; the magnitude 7.2 earthquake in Bohol in 2013 and the perennial flooding in Loboc, and the global pandemic that shut down international borders, barring the arrival of tourists in the country. “The floating restaurant business here in Loboc started 30 years ago but in 2000, we decided to dwell in the floating restaurant operation. We used to have eight vessels, but after typhoon “Odette” hit us in December 2021, we are now left with four,” said Sultan in an interview. She said that pre-pandemic, there were 26 vessels plying the Loboc River serving foreign and local tourists, but the number was diminished because of the unfortunate wrath of natural catastrophes. Pandemic, ‘Odette’ challenge She said the strong earthquake in 2013, the declaration of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, and the pummeling of the province by typhoon “Odette” in 2021 were the worst challenges that her enterprise has endured. “The pandemic made us totally close operations. During that time, we tried to maintain and improve our vessels in preparation for the reopening of borders. Indeed, losses with Odette and the pandemic were in the millions,” she told the Daily Tribune. Aside from that, Sultan said operators of floating restaurants were also required by the local government to update their vessels, making them shell out additional costs. In 2021, Sultan said tourist arrivals trickled, as some restrictions were modified and eased by the Inter-Agency Task Force of the national government. “Even if we only cater to domestic customers, we were more hopeful back then. But amid the high hopes, typhoon “Odette” hit us on 16 December 2021—a strong typhoon during an enduring contagion. We decided to let go of some workers. But luckily, we hired them back when things got better in March 2022,” she shared. Typhoon “Odette,” that pummeled Bohol before Christmas Day, was considered by the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office as the worst ever to hit the province, prompting the Provincial Capitol to declare a state of calamity after incurring massive devastation on agriculture and infrastructure and inundated swaths to the island. Not yet pre-pandemic She said, however, that the tourism industry in Loboc is not yet in the pre-pandemic state, saying that foot traffic is only at 70 percent to date, even if they are fully booked during daily operations, especially weekends. “Revenge travel is real. The influx of domestic travelers is greater now compared to pre-pandemic. Aside from local tourists, European and Asian tourists are now coming back,” she said. As of July 2023, the Department of Tourism logged a total of 3,000,079 international visitor arrivals. On the other hand, the country’s inbound tourism receipts from 1 January to 30 June 2023 climbed to P212 billion or 502.02 percent higher than the P35-billion tourism revenue generated from the same period last year. Support for DoT program Sultan, also the president of the Bohol Federation of Travel and Tour Operators and an officer of the Bohol Provincial Tourism Council, said she is backing the DoT program Faith-based Tourism Circuits, as part of the department’s thrust to develop new tourism circuits and multi-dimensional tourism products. Last 14 to 17 August, the DoT Central Visayas, in partnership with the Provincial Government of Bohol, organized a familiarization tour of Bohol’s Faith-based Tourism Circuits, with the aim to promote and showcase Bohol’s historical and cultural assets specifically its century-old churches, heritage houses, religious landmarks and living cultural traditions. Through Bohol’s Faith-based Tourism Circuits, participants, including members of the media, visited some of Bohol’s heritage churches declared as National Historical Landmarks or cultural treasures and experienced a few of their inherent traditions such as Asin Tibuok, among others. The main highlight of the tour was the canonical crowning of the image of the Virgen de la Asunción of the Municipality of Dauis, officiated by Papal Nuncio Charles Brown last 15 August. “The direction is we do not want the churches to be just tourist spots, but for tourists to have a glimpse of the spiritual component,” according to Sultan. The post Nothing can drag a Boholana down appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Trump has 10 days to surrender
Former United States president Donald Trump and 18 others were charged Tuesday with racketeering over their attempt to overturn Georgia state’s presidential election result in 2020 and they were given 10 days to voluntarily surrender. “Rather than abide by Georgia’s legal process for election challenges, the defendants engaged in a criminal racketeering enterprise to overturn Georgia’s presidential election result,” Fulton County prosecutor Fani Willis told reporters. Willis gave the 19 individuals named in Monday’s grand jury indictment until noon of 25 August to voluntarily surrender. Trump, who is running for president next year, called the indictment a witch hunt in a post on his Truth Social platform. “Why didn’t they indict 2.5 years ago? Because they wanted to do it right in the middle of my political campaign,” his post read. The Trump campaign released a statement as the charges were being processed calling Willis, who is a Democrat, a “rabid partisan” who was “persecuting” the former president with “bogus indictments.” In response, Willis said: “I make decisions in this office based on the facts and the law. The law is completely nonpartisan.” The indictment is the fourth and latest against the 77-year-old Republican, compounding the legal threats he is facing in multiple jurisdictions which may imperil his bid for a second White House term. He was already federally indicted over the alleged plot to subvert the election and is also facing prosecutions over his alleged mishandling of classified documents and keeping allegedly fraudulent business records. The twice-impeached Trump was charged with violating Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced And Corrupt Organizations Act, as well as six conspiracy counts over alleged efforts to commit forgery, impersonate a public official and submit false statements and documents. He is also accused of lying in statements and filing fake documents, as well as solicitating public officials to break their oaths. Trump’s former personal lawyer and ex-New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani, who pressured local legislators over the result after the election, and Trump’s White House chief of staff, Mark Meadows, were among the 18 co-defendants. Giuliani faces 13 felony counts, including over accusations of harassment of two Fulton County poll workers. Other Trump allies were charged over the accessing of sensitive data from an election office in a rural county south of Atlanta, one day after the 2021 Capitol riot. Atlanta-area authorities launched the probe after Trump called Georgia officials weeks before he was due to leave the White House, pressuring them to “find” the 11,780 votes that would reverse President Joe Biden’s victory in the Peach State. WITH AFP The post Trump has 10 days to surrender appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Trump indicted for racketeering over 2020 election interference
Donald Trump was indicted Tuesday on charges of racketeering and a string of election crimes after a sprawling, two-year probe into his efforts to overturn his 2020 defeat to Joe Biden in the US state of Georgia. The case -- relying on laws typically used to bring down mobsters -- is the fourth targeting the 77-year-old Republican this year and could lead to a watershed moment, the first televised trial of a former president in US history. Prosecutors in Atlanta charged the Republican leader with 13 felony counts -- compounding the legal threats he is facing in multiple jurisdictions as a firestorm of investigations imperils his bid for a second White House term. Eighteen co-defendants were indicted in the probe, including Trump's former personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, who pressured local legislators over the result after the election, and Trump's White House chief of staff, Mark Meadows. "Trump and the other defendants charged in this indictment refused to accept that Trump lost, and they knowingly and willfully joined a conspiracy to unlawfully change the outcome of the election in favor of Trump," the indictment read. "That conspiracy contained a common plan and purpose to commit two or more acts of racketeering activity in Fulton County, Georgia, elsewhere in the state of Georgia, and in other states." With Trump already due to go on trial in New York, south Florida and Washington, the latest charges herald the unprecedented scenario of the 2024 presidential election being litigated as much from the courtroom as the ballot box. The Trump campaign released a statement as the charges were being processed calling Fulton County's chief prosecutor Fani Willis, who is a Democrat, a "rabid partisan" who was "persecuting" the former president with "bogus indictments." The twice-impeached Trump was charged with violating Georgia's Racketeer Influenced And Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, as well as six conspiracy counts over alleged efforts to commit forgery, impersonate a public official and submit false statements and documents. He is also accused of lying in statements and filing fake documents, as well as soliciting public officials to break their oaths. - Most serious threat - Georgia, which Biden won by fewer than 12,000 votes, presents perhaps the most serious threat to Trump's liberty as he leads the field comfortably for his party's nomination to bid for reelection. Even if he is returned to the Oval Office, he would have none of the powers that presidents arguably enjoy in the federal system to pardon themselves or have prosecutors drop cases. The harsh penalties associated with RICO cases can be an incentive for co-defendants to seek cooperation deals, and the statutes are usually used to target organized crime. Under federal law, anyone who can be connected to a criminal "enterprise" through which offenses were committed can be convicted under RICO. The broader Georgia law doesn't even require the existence of the enterprise. Atlanta-area authorities launched the probe after Trump called Georgia officials weeks before he was due to leave the White House, pressuring them to "find" the 11,780 votes that would reverse Biden's victory in the Peach State. Meadows, who is accused of trying to get a public official to violate his oath, was on the call. Willis empaneled a special grand jury that heard from around 75 witnesses before recommending a raft of felony counts in a secret report in February. She alleges that Trump's team worked with local Republicans on a scheme to replace legitimate slates of "electors" -- the officials who certify a state's results and send them to the US Congress -- with fake pro-Trump stand-ins. - Criminal intent? - Giuliani, who faces 13 felony counts, was being investigated over accusations of harassment of two Fulton County poll workers while other Trump allies were charged over the accessing of sensitive data from an election office in a rural county south of Atlanta, one day after the 2021 Capitol riot. Trump is already facing dozens of felony charges after being federally indicted over the alleged plot to subvert the election, and further prosecutions over his alleged mishandling of classified documents and keeping allegedly fraudulent business records. Authorities in Atlanta installed security barricades outside the downtown courthouse in anticipation of a potential influx of Trump supporters and counter-protesters in the latest case. Lawmakers investigating Trump's efforts to cling to power heard evidence in a series of congressional hearings last summer that would challenge his potential defense that he genuinely believed he had been cheated of the election. ft/sst © Agence France-Presse The post Trump indicted for racketeering over 2020 election interference appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Trump indicted for trying to overturn 2020 US election
Donald Trump was indicted on Tuesday over his efforts to upend the results of the 2020 US election -- the most serious legal threat yet to the former president as he campaigns to return to the White House. It is the third criminal indictment of the 77-year-old Trump since March and charges him with three counts of conspiracy and one count of obstruction. Trump, the frontrunner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, is already scheduled to go on trial in Florida in May of next year for allegedly mishandling top-secret government documents. The new charges, two of which carry maximum sentences of 20 years in prison, raise the prospect of Trump being embroiled in more legal proceedings at the height of what is expected to be a bitter and divisive presidential campaign. The indictment brought by special counsel Jack Smith accuses Trump of conspiracy to defraud the United States and conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding -- the 6 January 2021, joint session of Congress held to certify Democrat Joe Biden's election victory. Trump is also accused in the 45-page indictment of seeking to disenfranchise American voters with his false claims that he won the November 2020 presidential election. "Shortly after election day -- which fell on 2 November 2020 -- the Defendant launched his criminal scheme," the indictment, handed down by a grand jury in Washington, said. "The purpose of the conspiracy was to overturn the legitimate results of the 2020 presidential election by using knowingly false claims of election fraud," it said. Smith, a former war crimes prosecutor at the Hague, said the January 6 attack on the Capitol by Trump supporters was "an unprecedented assault on the seat of American democracy." "It was fueled by lies," Smith told reporters in brief remarks. "Lies by the defendant targeted at obstructing a bedrock function of the US government -- the nation's process of collecting, counting and certifying the results of the presidential election." Part of that plan, the indictment alleges, was to have then-vice president Mike Pence use his role as presiding officer over the January 6 joint session to throw out several states' votes. Pence ultimately refused, issuing a public statement saying that he did not believe the Constitution allowed him that power. As Trump's supporters later stormed the US Capitol, where Pence was in hiding, Trump tweeted that his vice president "didn't have the courage to do what should have been done." White House silence The White House on Tuesday maintained silence on Trump's historic indictment. Biden, who is seeking reelection next year, continued his beach vacation in Delaware, dining out with First Lady Jill Biden before seeing the film "Oppenheimer." Trump's campaign, meanwhile, issued a blistering statement, comparing his prosecution to "Nazi Germany in the 1930s" and stating that he had followed "advice from many highly accomplished attorneys" -- a likely line of defense at trial. The indictment mentions six co-conspirators but none are identified and Trump, who is to be arraigned on Thursday, is the only named defendant. The case is expected to be heard by US District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan, an appointee of former Democratic president Barack Obama. Smith said he is seeking a "speedy trial." Trump furious Trump lashed out at the special counsel, calling him "deranged" and accusing him of issuing "yet another Fake Indictment" to "interfere with the presidential election." "Why didn't they do this 2.5 years ago?" Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform. "Why did they wait so long? "Because they wanted to put it right in the middle of my campaign," he said. "Prosecutorial misconduct!" Trump has repeatedly attacked the investigation as a political "witch hunt" by the Department of Justice. Besides the classified documents charges, the former president also faces a criminal trial in New York for allegedly paying election-eve hush money to a porn star. Georgia prosecutors are also looking into whether Trump illegally attempted to overturn the 2020 election outcome in the southern state. As president, Trump was impeached by the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives for seeking political dirt on Biden from Ukraine and over the events of January 6 but he was acquitted by the Senate both times. Pence, who is competing against Trump in the Republican primary, said on Twitter -- now rebranded as X -- that Tuesday's indictment "serves as an important reminder: anyone who puts himself over the Constitution should never be President of the United States." The post Trump indicted for trying to overturn 2020 US election appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Lionel Messi signs contract with Inter Miami through 2025
Argentine superstar Lionel Messi has signed a contract until 2025 with Inter Miami, the Major League Soccer team announced on Saturday. The 36-year-old striker who sparked Argentina to a World Cup title last year in Qatar, is set to be unveiled by the team in a Sunday ceremony and expected to join Inter Miami on the pitch as early as Friday. "I'm very excited to start this next step in my career with Inter Miami and in the United States," Messi, who moves from Paris Saint-Germain, said in a statement. The seven-time Ballon d'Or winner's arrival in Miami has already caused a sensation and is expected to spark greater interest in the game and MLS across the United States. It's also hoped he'll revive the fortunes of a Miami squad at the bottom of the MLS Eastern Conference at 5-13 with three drawn. "This is a fantastic opportunity and together we will continue to build this beautiful project," Messi said. "The idea is to work together to achieve the objectives we set and I'm very eager to start helping here in my new home." Messi's debut match is planned for Friday when Inter Miami will host Cruz Azul in the Leagues Cup, a revamped competition between MLS and Mexican league squads. It's the biggest boost for the North American league since English star David Beckham, now a co-owner of Inter Miami, joined the Los Angeles Galaxy in 2007. He launched the MLS Miami squad in 2020 after years of trying to find a stadium site. "Ten years ago, when I started my journey to build a new team in Miami, I said that I dreamt of bringing the greatest players in the world to this amazing city, players who shared the ambition I had when I joined LA Galaxy to help grow football in the USA and to build a legacy for the next generation in this sport that we love so much," Beckham said in a statement. "Today that dream came true. "I couldn't be prouder that a player of Leo's caliber is joining our club, but I am also delighted to welcome a good friend, an amazing person, and his beautiful family to join our Inter Miami community. "The next phase of our adventure starts here and I can't wait to see Leo take to the pitch." World's greatest Inter Miami head coach Gerardo "Tata" Martino has managed Messi in two separate prior stints –- with FC Barcelona in the 2013-14 campaign, winning the 2013 Spanish SuperCup, and from 2014-2016 with the Argentine national team. Messi captained the Albiceleste to victory at the 2021 Copa America as well as the Qatar World Cup and has 103 goals in 175 appearances for Argentina. "We're overjoyed that the greatest player in the world chose Inter Miami and Major League Soccer," MLS commissioner Don Garber said. "His decision is a testament to the momentum and energy behind our league and our sport in North America. We have no doubt that Lionel will show the world that MLS can be a league of choice for the best players in the game." Messi is set for a glitzy arrival ceremony on Sunday at "The Unveil" with 18,000 expected to watch his first public event with his new club, followed by his first news conference with Inter on Monday and first training session with the club on Tuesday. "I'm honored to welcome Leo Messi and his family to their new home," Inter Miami managing owner Jorge Mas said. "We made a promise to build an ambitious club that would attract the world's elite players... a heartfelt thank you to our fans that never stopped believing. Together we will continue to turn dreams into reality." The post Lionel Messi signs contract with Inter Miami through 2025 appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Star gymnast Biles poised for August return to competition
Gymnastics superstar Simone Biles is poised to compete in August for the first time since mental health and safety concerns cut short her Tokyo Olympics campaign, entering the August US Classic near Chicago. USA Gymnastics announced Wednesday that the four-time Olympic gold medallist was entered in the August 4-5 event, which would be her first since she withdrew from most of her events in Tokyo in 2021. "Registration...does not guarantee participation," USA Gymnastics warned in the statement. "Every athlete is at a different place in their season and career, and we will support each of them, wherever they are in their journey," said USA Gymnastics chief programs officer Stefanie Korepin. Biles electrified the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, where she won gold in team, all-around, vault and floor exercise as well as a balance beam bronze. She entered the Covid-delayed Tokyo Olympics in 2021 as a heavy favorite to win as many as five gold medals. She hadn't lost an all-around competition since 2013 and her build up to the Games included mastery of a daring Yurchenko double pike vault that had never before been seen in women's competition. However, she would depart Tokyo with only team silver and a balance beam bronze, however, her campaign cut short after she experienced the "twisties" -- the phenomenon in which gymnasts lose the ability to orientate themselves in mid-air. Biles withdrew from the team event after performing on one apparatus and later withdrew from the all-around competition and the finals for vault, uneven bars and floor exercise, saying at the time she needed to prioritze her mental health. Biles said in a video released after Tokyo that her problems had been building for a while. "I wouldn't even say it started in Tokyo. I feel like it was probably a little bit deeper-rooted than that," Biles said. "I think it was just the stress factor. It kind of built up over time, and my body and my mind just said no. But even I didn't know I was going through it until it just happened." "It just sucks," Biles said in the video. "But I know that I helped a lot of people and athletes speak out about mental health and saying no. Because I knew I couldn't go out there and compete. I knew I was going to get hurt." After the Tokyo Games, in September 2021, Biles testified before a U.S. Senate committee looking into FBI failures in investigating sexual abuse by former gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar. Nassar received a life sentence after pleading guilty in late 2017 and early 2018 to sexually assaulting women and girls while working as a sports medicine doctor at USA Gymnastics and Michigan State University. - Another Olympics? - In recent months Biles's popular social media feeds have featured not gymnastics but news of her personal life, including her marriage to NFL Safety Jonathan Owens, then with the Houston Texans, in April. When Owens signed with the Green Bay Packers in May she endeared herself to Green Bay fans by soliciting suggestions on what to see and do in the couple's new town. Biles has won 25 world championships medals, 19 of them gold, and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Joe Biden in 2022. Although she hasn't outlined her plans, the US Classic is roughly a year out from the 2024 Paris Olympics, and Biles has used the event to launch a comeback before. She returned to competition at the meeting in 2018, having taken a break after her stunning Rio Games campaign. bb/pb/nr © Agence France-Presse The post Star gymnast Biles poised for August return to competition appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Senators ponder new “Love the Philippines” slogan
Senator Nancy Binay on Wednesday expressed hope that campaigning for the country’s newest tourism slogan “Love the Philippines” will work out. In a statement, Binay lamented that rebranding initiatives, such as replacing the country’s tourism slogan, always have corresponding costs. Binay, who chairs the Senate Committee on Tourism, Cultural Communities, and Social Justice, said it would entail a considerable amount of money “to start and sustain a new campaign.” “Sa dami ng mga kailangang nating unahin at i-prioritize na pagkagastusan (with numerous priorities and other important matters we have to allocate our funds to), we don't have sufficient funds to finance a re-brand,” Binay said. According to Binay, accepting the new slogan is the only option left. “Kaso, nandyan na nga 'yan. 'Ika nga, 'pag love mo ang isang tao o bagay, tatanggapin mo anuman 'yung kanyang kakulangan, and willing ka pa rin bigyan ng chance—with the hope na mag-work out (The new slogan is already there. As they say, when you love someone or something, you accept their shortcomings and are still willing to give them a chance, with the hope that it will work out), ” she added. On Tuesday, the Department of Tourism officially replaced the "More Fun in the Philippines" slogan as it bared the country’s "enhanced" tourism slogan "Love the Philippines.” Senator Francis Escudero said the new slogan launched by the DoT is worth giving a chance as the Marcos administration strives to attract more international tourists in order for the country to recover economically from the effects of the recent Covid-19 pandemic. Escudero urged the Filipinos to support the new tourism campaign instead of throwing outright criticism. "The last thing I want is for our country and people to be seen bickering about our slogan in front of foreigners/tourists--our putative market. I refuse to be part of any such thing until we have given it a chance,” he said. Escudero cited how the previous campaign "It's More Fun in the Philippines,” launched in 2012, worked well for the country, generating more than 8.26 million tourist arrivals in 2019—just before the COVID-19 pandemic hit the Philippines in early 2020. This doubled the 4.47 million tourist arrivals in 2013. "While I believe in the saying 'if it ain't broke, why fix it?' I am willing to give it a chance," he said. He added that a slogan's effectiveness depends on many factors, such as the destination's unique offerings, target audience, and marketing strategy. Escudero assumed that Philippine tourism officials and partner agencies have taken into account the qualities of a good tourism slogan which should be “catchy, memorable, and convey a positive message that captures the essence of the destination.” "My personal favorite is 'Incredible India. This slogan, for me, works well because it is simple, memorable, and accurately captures the essence of the destination it represents,” he said. At the launching, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said his administration is adamant about “propelling the tourism industry forward by embracing the warmth of our people, the beauty of our land, and the rich tapestry of our culture.” The post Senators ponder new “Love the Philippines” slogan appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Wagner chief to leave Russia in deal to ease crisis
The chief of the rebel Wagner mercenary force will leave Russia and won't face charges after calling off his troops' advance on Saturday, Moscow said, easing Russia's most serious security crisis in decades. The feud between Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin and Russia's military brass came to a violent head in the past day, with his forces capturing a key army headquarters in southern Russia and then heading north to threaten the capital. Within hours of Prigozhin's about-face, the Kremlin announced he would leave for Belarus and Russia would not prosecute either him or the group's members. It had been a dramatic day of developments, with President Vladimir Putin warning against civil war, Moscow telling locals to stay off the streets and Kyiv revelling in the chaos engulfing its enemy. The tide shifted suddenly when Prigozhin made the stunning announcement that his troops were "turning our columns around and going back to field camps" to avoid bloodshed in the Russian capital. Prigozhin, who has feuded bitterly with Moscow's military leadership even as his outfit led parts of Russia's Ukraine offensive, said he understood the importance of the moment and did not want to "spill Russian blood". - Wagner troops cheered - By early Sunday Wagner had pulled fighters and equipment from Rostov-on-Don, where they had seized the military headquarters, said the regional governor. But before they left, dozens of residents were cheering and chanting "Wagner! Wagner!" outside the military headquarters they had captured. Authorities in the southern Lipetsk region announced the lifting of restrictions after earlier reporting Wagner fighters in their territory, where the local capital is just 420 kilometres (260 miles) south of Moscow. Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko said he had negotiated a truce with Prigozhin, drawing thanks from Moscow. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov later told reporters that the "criminal case against him (Prigozhin) will be dropped. He himself will go to Belarus." Peskov also said that members of Wagner who had taken part in what authorities termed an "armed rebellion" will not be prosecuted. "Avoiding bloodshed, internal confrontation, and clashes with unpredictable results was the highest goal," Peskov added. Kyiv revelled in the chaos that engulfed its enemy. "Prigozhin humiliated Putin/the state and showed that there is no longer a monopoly on violence," presidential aide Mykhailo Podolyak said on Twitter. While Russia claimed the rebellion had no impact on its Ukraine campaign, Kyiv said the unrest offered a "window of opportunity" as the nation pressed its long-awaited counter-offensive. - Moscow's warning - The United States and its allies publicly stayed on the sidelines as officials waited to see how the revolt would play out. US President Joe Biden spoke with the leaders of France, Germany and Britain amid concerns that Putin's control over the nuclear-armed country could be slipping. Moscow issued a stiff warning to the United States and allies to stay back. "The rebellion plays into the hands of Russia's external enemies," the foreign ministry said. Before Prigozhin's climbdown, Russian regular forces had launched what one regional governor called a "counter-terrorist operation" to halt the Wagner advance northwards up a main highway towards Moscow. In the capital, the mayor urged Muscovites to stay indoors and declared Monday a day off work. Security was tightened in the city centre, with armed men in flak jackets guarding the parliament building and Red Square closed off to the public. "I don't know how to react. In any case it's very sad this is happening," 35-year-old Yelena told AFP, declining to give her last name. The measures came after Prigozhin announced his troops had taken control of the military command centre and airbase in the southern city of Rostov-on-Don, the nerve centre of Russia's offensive in Ukraine. - 'A blow to Russia' - Responding to the challenge in a televised address, Putin accused Prigozhin of a "stab in the back" that posed a threat to Russia's very survival. "Any internal turmoil is a deadly threat to our statehood and to us as a nation. This is a blow to Russia and to our people," Putin said, demanding national unity. "Extravagant ambitions and personal interests led to treason," Putin said, referring to Prigozhin, who began building his power base as a catering contractor. Another Putin ally, Chechen strongman Ramzan Kadyrov, declared that he had dispatched his own units to help quash the Wagner rebellion. Armed Wagner fighters deployed around administrative buildings in Rostov and tanks were seen in the city centre. As the insurrection force headed north through Voronezh and Lipetsk towards Moscow, the capital's mayor announced that "anti-terrorist" measures were being taken. Critical facilities were "under reinforced protection", TASS reported, citing a law enforcement source. While Prigozhin's outfit fought at the forefront of Russia's offensive in Ukraine, he repeatedly blamed Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and Valery Gerasimov, chief of the general staff, for his fighters' deaths. bur-jmm/jj © Agence France-Presse The post Wagner chief to leave Russia in deal to ease crisis appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
P20 for DAR’s neighbor
The Department of Agrarian Reform on Saturday said it launched a fund-raising campaign for victims of fire more than two weeks ago in the Old Capitol Site, adjacent to its rear perimeter wall, in Quezon City. Dubbed: “Bente Ko, Tulong Ko,” DAR Secretary Conrado Estrella III is appealing to all DAR personnel to chip in whatever amount they could share to help the fire victims ease their sufferings and rebuild their shattered life. “Any small amount when pooled together can go a long way,” Estrella stressed. “Thus, in the spirit of Filipino hospitality, a little financial help to tide them over or provide them with some funds to rebuild their homes shall be highly appreciated.” Under the said fund-raising drive, each DAR personnel, regardless of their employment status, is encouraged to shell out a meager sum of P20 (twenty pesos). DAR-Administrative Service Director Romeo Reyes said the cash may be handed to the respective point persons of the different offices in the Department. The donation will be turned over to his office for proper accounting and disposition, he added. The DAR community actually has started donating various kinds of material assistance, such as used clothing and blankets, among others, since last 22 May, a day after the fire broke out in the area. “While these donations are very much appreciated, we deemed it necessary to pursue this fund-raising drive to meet the fire victims’ immediate basic needs – food and extra money for housing materials,” Reyes said. The post P20 for DAR’s neighbor appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Trump indicted in classified documents probe
Donald Trump said Thursday he has been indicted over his handling of classified documents after leaving office, the US ex-president's most serious legal threat yet as he pursues a second White House term. "The corrupt Biden Administration has informed my attorneys that I have been Indicted, seemingly over the Boxes Hoax," Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform as he broke the bombshell news of a historic moment for the United States: the first time a sitting or former commander-in-chief has faced federal charges. There was no immediate confirmation from the Justice Department. Trump attorney Jim Trusty told CNN that his client has been indicted on seven charges including the willful retention of documents in violation of the Espionage Act, making false statements, obstruction of justice and a count of conspiracy. Though the precise details of the charges were not immediately clear, people familiar with the matter told The New York Times the conspiracy charge was related to obstruction of justice. In his post, Trump, who is running for president again, said he has been summoned to a federal courthouse in Miami next Tuesday -- the day before his 77th birthday. His announcement came a day after US media said federal prosecutors had informed his lawyers that he is the target of the probe into his handling of classified documents. Trump was already the first former or sitting president to be charged with a crime -- in his case over election-eve hush money payments to a porn star who said she had an affair with him. That indictment was handed down by Manhattan's district attorney in March. In a statement after his initial online posts, the Trump campaign lashed out at what it called an "unprecedented abuse of power," and called for the indictment to be thrown out. 'Dark day' In a defiant video released after he shared the news, Trump repeatedly declared his innocence and framed the indictment as a form of election interference by a Justice Department "weaponized" by the Biden administration. "They come after me because now we're leading in the polls again by a lot against Biden," Trump said in the clip. "Our country is going to hell and they come after Donald Trump... We can't let this continue." Fellow Republicans swiftly stood by him, including Speaker of the House of Representatives Kevin McCarthy, who has had a rollercoaster relationship with Trump. "Today is indeed a dark day for the United States of America. It is unconscionable for a President to indict the leading candidate opposing him," McCarthy said in a statement. "I, and every American who believes in the rule of law, stand with President Trump." Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, a rival for the GOP presidential nomination, echoed Trump's claims of a "weaponized" DOJ, adding on Twitter that he would "excise political bias" if elected president. The Twitter account of Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee posted a repeated Trump slogan: "WITCH HUNT." Special counsel Jack Smith, named by US Attorney General Merrick Garland, has been looking into a cache of classified documents that Trump had stored at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida after leaving the White House. The FBI carted away some 11,000 papers after serving a search warrant on Mar-a-Lago in August, and obstruction-of-justice charges could be a result of his resisting efforts to recover the trove. Trump eventually turned over 15 boxes containing almost 200 classified documents to the National Archives in January 2022 but was subpoenaed for any outstanding records in his possession. When asked about the charges Thursday night, Smith's spokesman Peter Carr told AFP: "We are declining to comment." The White House said it learned of the indictment from media coverage and a spokesperson declined to comment on the news, noting that the DOJ "conducts its criminal investigations independently," CNN reported. Mounting legal woes Some Democratic lawmakers spoke out following Thursday's revelation. Trump's indictment "is another affirmation of the rule of law," House Democrat Adam Schiff said. "For four years, he acted like he was above the law," he added. "But he should be treated like any other lawbreaker. And today, he has been." Trump has repeatedly denied wrongdoing in the documents case, telling a Fox News town hall event on June 1 that "everything I did was right." But he has openly acknowledged taking and storing the documents, undermining his lawyers' suggestion that he took the stash inadvertently in the confusion of a chaotic departure. "This evidence just adds to the mound of stuff that already exists, and no one piece is the 'be all and end all,' but when you put them all together, the case is so strong," former Watergate prosecutor Jill Wine-Banks told MSNBC. "You cannot imagine his getting away with this." The latest indictment comes with Trump facing numerous other probes as he bids to be the Republican nominee to challenge Joe Biden for the presidency in 2024. Smith is also looking at whether Trump should face charges over the 2021 US Capitol riot, and Georgia prosecutors are investigating whether Trump illegally attempted to overturn the 2020 presidential election outcome there. Trump has already been charged with dozens of financial crimes as part of the alleged hush money scheme to silence the porn star, and is due to go on trial next March, in the middle of primary election season. The post Trump indicted in classified documents probe appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Comelec: No extension to SoCE turnovers
The Commission on Elections on Thursday stressed that there should be no extensions in the filing of Statements of Contribution and Expenditures, which is a detailed document of all the contributions and expenditures made by certain candidates during the election campaign. This comes after the Supreme Court ruled against the poll body’s 2016 resolution that stretched the deadline on the filing of SoCEs from 8 to 30 June 2016, right after the 2016 national and local elections, saying that the poll body has committed grave abuse of discretion over the said resolution. “No extensions now on all our deadlines except in highly meritorious circumstances,” Comelec chairperson George Erwin Garcia said. Under Section 14 of the Republic Act 7166 — which was approved back in 1991 — candidates and treasurers of political parties must file their SoCEs “within 30 days after the day of the election.” The said provision barred elected officials and political parties of winning candidates to assume positions without the filing of SoCE, with penalties on the first offense between P1,000 to P30,000 and on the second offense between P2,000 to P60,000, as well as prohibition in assuming public office. The resolution in question — Resolution 10147 — said that the extension of the deadline was due to, among other things, “several requests,” as well as previous rulings that compel the poll body to extend the deadline on the filing of SoCEs both after the 2010 and 2013 elections. Comelec also argued that the extension would help in their probes on possible election overspending. “The simple expediency of not accepting the SoCE if filed beyond the deadline and just imposing a fine is in effect throwing away the evidence of any infraction of the campaign finance rules and unwittingly assisting in hiding the evidence,” the poll body said. However, the Supreme Court argued that such actions “effectively condoned erring candidates and political parties from administrative liabilities, even if the law does not provide any exempting circumstance.” Meantime, the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino Lakas ng Bayan expressed its gratitude to the Supreme Court for taking the party’s position that the Comelec committed grave abuse of authority in granting extensions on the filing of SoCEs. PDP Laban president and Palawan Representative Jose Alvarez said that the High Court’s decision vindicates the party’s decision in June 2016 to challenge Comelec resolution which granted the extension on the filing of SoCE that favored the Liberal Party and its candidates. The Comelec has recognized in a final and executory decision the PDP Laban led by Party chairman Rodrigo Duterte and Party president and Representative Alvarez as the true and legitimate PDP Laban. “We thank the Supreme Court En Banc for taking PDP Laban’s position in this landmark case and we also welcome the statement of the Comelec that it will no longer grant extensions on the filings of SoCEs in compliance with the SC’s decision,” said Alvarez. “The Supreme Court decision voiding Comelec Resolution 10147 affirms the provisions of RA 7166 that states that the Comelec is not authorized to extend the deadline for the filing of SoCE or not beyond 30 days after the polls conclude,” he added. “This decision should serve as a warning to all candidates that they should just comply with laws like RA 7166 and not seek exemptions from the Comelec. Based on the law, candidates who fail to file their SoCEs on or before the deadline cannot assume the elected position that they won,” the lawmaker said. The post Comelec: No extension to SoCE turnovers appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Woman who accused Biden of assault asks for Russian citizenship
A woman who accused Joe Biden during the 2020 presidential race of sexual assault appeared Tuesday in Moscow, where she said she was asking President Vladimir Putin for Russian citizenship. Tara Reade, who worked in Biden's congressional office for a short period in 1993, said she wanted to stay in Russia after a Republican lawmaker told her she was in physical danger. Reade, 59, said in a streamed interview with the Sputnik media group that she had arrived in Russia as a vacationer. However, she said, "When I got off the plane in Moscow, for the first time in a very long time I felt safe, and I felt heard and felt respected." Reade sparked headlines in early 2020 by claiming that then-senator Biden sexually assaulted her in a Capitol Hill corridor in August 1993, when she was 29. Her accusation came just as Biden was ramping up his campaign against incumbent president Donald Trump, who himself has faced accusations of sexual abuse and rape. Biden categorically denied her claim. "It is not true. I'm saying unequivocally it never, never happened," he said. Reade said she filed a complaint after the alleged incident, but no record of it has been found. But a 1996 court document records her ex-husband mentioning that she had complained of sexual harassment while working in Biden's office. It is not clear if her allegations have ever been formally investigated. Reade, who called herself a geopolitical analyst, said in the Sputnik interview that after making her allegations public in 2020, she was threatened with prison, her life was threatened, and she was called a Russian agent. Sitting alongside Maria Butina, a Russian lawmaker who was arrested and imprisoned in Washington in 2018 as an alleged spy, Reade told the interviewer she has "always loved Russia." "I do not see Russia as an enemy nor do many of my fellow American citizens," she said. She had one "large" request. "I'd like to apply for citizenship in Russia, from the president of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin," she said. "I do promise to be a good citizen," she said, adding that she also wants to hold onto her US citizenship. The post Woman who accused Biden of assault asks for Russian citizenship appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
UBX kicks off digital transformation in City of Calapan, Municipality of Pola
UBX, the leading open finance platform in the Philippines, has kicked off the digital transformation of several local governments under the province of Oriental Mindoro — the first digital province in the country powered by UBX — to promote greater financial and social inclusion. Following the official partnership launch with the Provincial Government of Oriental Mindoro last month, the City of Calapan and Municipality of Pola are among the first of its local government units to transition to digital. [caption id="attachment_138735" align="aligncenter" width="2048"] LOCAL government hopes to boost the local economy of Mindoro through digitalization.[/caption] Born out of the UBX-led Digital Transformation ng Pilipinas (DigiPinas), a multisectoral initiative for digital transformation in the government, UBX is equipping Oriental Mindoro with open finance technology for payments, disbursements and loans so it can leverage digital solutions for all government transactions — from tax collections and application processes, to payments. “Even in its initial stage, we can already see that this partnership with DigiPinas is a success. We have high hopes that this digital transformation initiative will boost Oriental Mindoro’s local economy and that this sets a good example for other provinces to follow,” Oriental Mindoro Governor Bonz Dolor said. After immersing itself in the province, UBX set up a digital payment system for real property tax of the local government via BUx, its payments processing unit. Last month, UBX started the training of local staff at the Provincial Capitol in the City of Calapan and has since started processing transactions. With the activation of BUx services, taxpayers in the region will have access to an easy, convenient and secure way to pay their taxes, driving financial inclusion and supporting economic growth in the region. On the other hand, the Municipality of Pola was surveyed for its path to digitalization, as Pola is also one of platform’s partner LGUs which has been greatly affected by the oil spill. “Catering to the needs of its constituents is the number one priority of all local governments. Given the recent events in Oriental Mindoro, our initial steps towards the province’s digital transformation could hopefully alleviate some of its burdens in addressing the disaster,” DigiPinas spokesperson Mikan Leachon said. Leachon added that beyond the DigiPinas initiative, UBX has also proven itself a strong ally of the provincial government by providing relief for those that were affected by the recent oil spill incident in the area. With its aim of designing digital solutions which center on its customers, UBX was able to identify pain points and customize solutions based on specific use cases by interviewing and observing employees and residents firsthand. To meet Oriental Mindoro’s needs when it comes to digitization, the provincial government staff was also trained on how to use an all-in-one payment gateway platform, to provide more payment options for their constituents. “Our onground efforts helped us gain valuable insights which will help us design digital solutions which are specifically tailored for the people of Oriental Mindoro. The challenges on tax payment were a primary concern, and we were able to provide them with a digital system which is already functional and caters to their needs,” Leachon said. In the long run, after its success with the digital system on tax payments, UBX seeks to enable digitization for transactions on utilities such as electricity and water at the Capitol. Digital loans for affected businesses and residents, especially those impacted by the oil spill, are also being explored for the benefit of the micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, such as sari-sari stores, carenderias, and small stalls that rely on loans to sustain their businesses. SeekCap, the online lending platform of UBX, provides entrepreneurs with democratized access to loans that they need to expand their businesses. “Our initial success with Oriental Mindoro’s digital transformation only goes to show how cooperation is key towards achieving financial and social inclusion. We highly encourage the local government leaders from across the archipelago to pursue the same path. By understanding the local context and working with the community, the government, as powered by UBX, can provide financial solutions that help underserved communities in the Philippines.” UBX president and CEO John Januszczak said. The post UBX kicks off digital transformation in City of Calapan, Municipality of Pola appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
DeSantis set to enter 2024 race, teeing up bitter face-off with Trump
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is set to launch his 2024 presidential campaign Wednesday, signaling 18 months of acrimony ahead as he and Donald Trump lock horns in what is expected to be an attritional contest for the Republican nomination. DeSantis was considered a rising Republican star, but has been caught flat-footed by months of relentless attacks from the former president, who has surged into a commanding lead despite being engulfed in a firestorm of criminal investigations. The 44-year-old governor will make his announcement in a livestreamed chat with billionaire Twitter owner Elon Musk on the network's audio platform as he bids to co-opt some of the tech mogul's star power to upstage Trump. "I'm endorsing governor DeSantis -- he doesn't hold back and he's trying to make changes," one backer said in a video compilation of messages of support posted on Twitter by the Never Back Down political organization. Musk teased the 6:00 pm (2200 GMT) Twitter Spaces event in remarks to a conference hosted by the Wall Street Journal, promising it would be live and unscripted, with "real time questions and answers." The announcement will come with a campaign launch video and the start of a three-day retreat in Miami for some of DeSantis's wealthiest donors, who will be briefed on the campaign before the governor hits several early voting states next week. National profile Long viewed as the most viable challenger to twice-impeached Trump, DeSantis is better known than most of the hopefuls in the chasing pack for the Republican nomination -- but still lacks the frontrunner's national profile. The launch format offers him a dual advantage -- giving him precious access to Musk's 140 million followers, many of whom are in Trump's base, and, if he wins the nomination, the attention of a chunk of younger, less conservative voters he will likely need for a shot at the White House. DeSantis has used his platform as Florida's chief executive to burnish his conservative credentials, signing off on some 80 new state laws this spring, many targeting "woke indoctrination" in schools and other public institutions. They include a ban on the discussion of gender identity and sexual orientation in schools, a block on funding for efforts to promote diversity at public universities and one of the most restrictive abortion laws in the country. Never Back Down, which has been acting as the governor's de facto campaign arm, has a ground operation in most of the early nominating states and is making plans to expand. But the launch comes with DeSantis's ratings in decline as a number of policy missteps have prompted disquiet about his readiness to take on Trump. He faces the daunting task of closing an enormous polling gap, with Trump posting leads of close to 40 percentage points, despite being indicted on felony financial charges and being found liable for sexual abuse in a New York civil trial. Jockeying for endorsements Behind the scenes, the Trump and DeSantis camps have been jostling to secure political endorsements from state lawmakers while, at the national level, Florida's congressional delegation has broken heavily for Trump. Musk is a well-known DeSantis admirer, although he was clear that Twitter would remain neutral on the nomination and that his hosting of the campaign launch should not be taken as an endorsement. "I've said publicly that my preference, and I think the preference of most Americans, is... to have someone fairly normal in office," he said, without making any explicit criticism of Trump. The former reality TV star was banned from Twitter after the 2021 assault on the US Capitol by his supporters and has not posted since being reinstated in November. He has been attacking DeSantis almost daily on his record, character and fitness for office, but responded to Wednesday's announcement with relative restraint -- simply posting favorable polling on his own online platform, Truth Social. "Announcing on Twitter is perfect for Ron DeSantis. This way he doesn't have to interact with people and the media can't ask him any questions," a Trump aide said. The post DeSantis set to enter 2024 race, teeing up bitter face-off with Trump appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»