Thousands of Verizon users across the United States reported having little or no cellphone service on Monday morning in major cities, including in Atlanta, Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, New York and Phoenix and across a swath of the Midwest.
Woke up from my nap to see ‘SOS’ on my iPhone. I’ve never seen that before, so did an internet search for ‘iPhone SOS’. Good thing I still have a home phone.
Congress to prioritize EPIRA changes as Senate junks ‘Cha-cha’
THE PHILIPPINE Senate would put proposals to change the 1987 Constitution on the back burner and would instead focus on measures to boost the military amid growing tensions with China, according to the Senate president.
The chamber would also pass bills that seek to boost healthcare and jobs while easing hunger, Senate President Francis “Chiz” G. Escudero said in a speech as Congress resumed sessions on Monday.
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At the weekend, he said they would tackle a proposal to amend the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) amid blackouts.
The Senate will also push changes to the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (CREATE), particularly lower taxes on domestic and foreign companies.
Mr. Escudero said Congress should go beyond laws that only benefit big business, and find solutions to problems with healthcare, joblessness and poverty.
“We will take peaceful measures to defend our people’s right to sail in our seas and fish in our waters, as what our ancestors had done, and what our children and grandchildren shall do,” he added.
The Senate in December passed a bill that seeks to boost the country’s defense program through investments in local defense equipment manufacturing. The measure will give the Department of National Defense P1 billion in seed funding.
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Also on Monday, Speaker and Leyte Rep. Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez said the House of Representatives would also seek changes to EPIRA.
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He said changes to EPIRA, which liberalized the power industry, would bring down electricity prices and ease inflation.
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It would now fast-track changes to EPIRA and a bill that seeks to extend the lease period for foreign investors. Other pending measures include amendments to the Agrarian Reform law and another that will modernize national defense.
“We have to continue building roads, highways, ports, school buildings and climate change-proof structures to maintain and expand economic growth,” Mr. Romualdez said. “I emphasize our commitment to pass the remaining priority bills before the end of the third regular session.”
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Jose Enrique “Sonny” A. Africa, executive director of think tank IBON Foundation, said it is wrong to equate economic progress with growth given the increasing number of poor Filipino families.
“Most Filipinos haven’t become better off because of this growth,” he told BusinessWorld. “The number of self-rated poor families has soared by 3.4 million since the start of the Marcos administration from 12.6 million in June 2022 to 16 million in June 2024.”
Related:
Read More »Israel has besieged hospitals in the northern half of the Gaza Strip since Thursday.
Medical facilities have been “under relentless bombardment” for the past 24 hours, Doctors Without Borders said on Saturday.
Babies die, patients shot as Israel besieges hospitals in Gaza’s north
Previously:
The Israeli government dropped thousands of leaflets on Gaza telling everyone who lives in the northern part of the strip that they have 24 hours to evacuate to the southern part, and then bombed the people who were trying to evacuate.
The US Is Just As Culpable As Israel For The Atrocities Committed In Gaza
As Israel escalates its offensive, U.S. diplomats are being discouraged from publicly using three phrases that would urge calm.
Stunning State Department Memo Warns Diplomats: No Gaza ‘De-Escalation’ Talk (archived)
Related:
Blinken Deletes Tweet Encouraging Ceasefire Between Israel and Hamas
ROME (Sputnik) – On July 30, in response to a fresh coup in Niger, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) suspended all financial aid, froze rebels’ assets and imposed a ban on commercial flights to and from the country, as well as closed all borders. Nigeria, Niger’s southern neighbor, cut electricity supply to the nation.
EU Pleased Sanctions Cause Food, Medicine Shortages in Niger, Special Envoy Says
Video via Wongel Zelalem
BEIRUT (Reuters) – A top U.N. humanitarian official said damage to roads, fuel shortages and harsh winter weather in Syria were hampering the agency’s response to an earthquake on Monday that killed more than 1,200 in the country and left millions in need of aid.
Quake Response in Syria Faces Obstacles, Says Top U.N. Aid Official
Previously:
Western selective humanitarianism, Syria earthquake falls on deaf ears
Yes, we have to look to the Donbas because Bakhmut is precisely the blackest point of the war in Ukraine. This week, both the Institute for the Study of War, which is a prestigious American think tank, and other international thin tanks, have agreed that up to 400 Ukrainian soldiers a day are being killed and wounded in Bakhmut.
Related:
Invaders Lose 90 People Killed And 100 Wounded Around Bakhmut During Day – AFU Eastern Group
For several days, the Ukrainian army has been shelling residential areas of Donbass towns with Grad and Himars multiple rocket launchers and NATO 155mm artillery, killing and injuring many civilians.
18+: Ukrainian army kills 20 civilians in five days of deliberate shelling of Donbass towns
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