Isabela vice mayor clears drug test after Remulla challenge

Inquirer.net - Oct 8, 2026

REINA MERCEDES, ISABELA, Philippines — Vice Mayor Jeryll Harold Respicio of this town on Wednesday passed a P28,000 drug test at St. Luke’s Medical Center in Quezon City, then joked that Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla should reimburse him for the expense. “Jonvic, i-refund mo ko. Ang mahal ng drug test (Jonvic, refund me. The drug

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New major crimes unit, police likely to face friction over unclear jurisdiction

Oct 8, 2026

New major crimes unit, police likely to face friction over unclear jurisdiction

The freshly launched agency dedicated to investigating "major crimes" may be headed for a turf war with the police due to a still unclear line between their jurisdictions, observers said Thursday. The new Serious Crime Investigation Agency (SCIA) set sail at the start of this month under a recent revision to the Criminal Procedure Act that effectively dismantled the previous prosecution system, leaving the prosecution with only the right to indict and maintain indictments against criminals. The right to investigate has been split between the SCIA and the police, with the SCIA tasked with investigating seven major crimes. The revision defines such crimes as those related to corruption, business and economy, defense procurement, narcotics, national security, cybercrimes and distortion of the law, but there still exists ambiguity, such as what constitutes a "major" crime or should the SCIA be required, if not allowed, to investigate what may be considered petty crimes if related to corruption, narcotics or any other crimes stated in the law. Also, the police, which have already been investi

Chinese-speaking hacker possibly linked to AI-driven attacks on S. Korean banks: report

Oct 8, 2026

Chinese-speaking hacker possibly linked to AI-driven attacks on S. Korean banks: report

U.S. cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike said an unidentified hacker believed to be a Chinese speaker used artificial intelligence (AI)-powered hacking tools to breach multiple Korean financial institutions and steal data. In a report released Wednesday (U.S. time), CrowdStrike said the attacker used ARTEX, an open-source AI-powered penetration-testing tool developed in China, alongside large language models (LLMs) to carry out cyberattacks between late September and early October. The findings come amid a series of data breaches at Korean financial institutions, including Hana Bank, KB Kookmin Bank and Shinhan Bank, prompting financial authorities and investigators to launch probes into the incidents. According to CrowdStrike, the compromised systems included a bank's loan inquiry service used by financial brokers and another bank's mobile work-support system for employees. "While this activity has not been attributed to a named adversary, the threat actor is likely a Chinese speaker and financially motivated," CrowdStrike said in the report. "This assessment is made with moderate confidence

Veterans ministry recommends local governments raise compensation for veterans

Oct 8, 2026

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The veterans ministry has issued guidelines advising local governments to increase their honorary allowances for veterans of the 1950-53 Korean war and the Vietnam War to help reduce discrepancies in payouts between regions, officials said Thursday. Under the guidelines, the ministry recommended that basic local governments and metropolitan governments gradually raise their monthly payments to 119,000 won ($88.97) and 109,000 won, respectively, by early 2029. The veterans ministry offers a monthly compensation of 490,000 won for veterans above the age of 70 who fought in the Korean War and the Vietnam War. Additional allowances are separately given to the war veterans by basic local governments and the metropolitan governments, but the amounts of payouts have varied significantly between regions. For instance, the southwestern cities of Jeonju and Jeongeup offer a sum of 140,000 won, the lowest among cities and provinces, whereas Hwacheon county in the eastern Gangwon Province offers the highest amount of 660,000 won each month. The recommendations are not binding, but if implemented, the

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Data centre opposition is growing in Australia. Is there a middle ground?

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