A plan to prohibit federal employees from using the Chinese app TikTok on government devices was likely to become law, threatening to damage the company’s brand and frighten away advertisers despite the fact that it would not effect a large number of users, according to analysts. As originally reported by Reuters, early on Tuesday, December 20, US legislators put the …

Millions of euphoric supporters swarmed the streets of Buenos Aires on Tuesday (Wednesday, December 21, Manila time) and brought the city to a stop, prompting Lionel Messi and his teammates to be taken away on helicopters to continue the festivities. The players who won Sunday’s World Cup final in Qatar were unable to approach the central Obelisco monument because the …

Female university students in Afghanistan were barred from campus after the Taliban-led government announced a ban on tertiary education for women. In a Tuesday evening letter to colleges, the minister of higher education revealed the decision to exclude women, bringing censure from international countries and the United Nations. Shaista, a business studies student at a private institution in Kabul, remarked, …

Cebu Pacific commended the decision by the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) to remove the initial security screening at the gates of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) terminals on Wednesday, December 21. Cebu Pacific stated in a statement that it “completely supports” MIAA’s goal of reducing passenger lines at the Philippines’ primary airport. MIAA demonstrated this week that it …

President Joko Widodo of Indonesia stated on Wednesday that a restriction on exports of bauxite will go into effect as planned in June 2019 in order to stimulate domestic processing of a mineral used as the primary ore source for aluminum. The resource-rich nation has startled markets with its commodities exports policy, including temporary but contentious prohibitions earlier this year …

Epic Games will pay $520 million to resolve charges that it improperly gathered the personal information of children and deceived consumers into completing purchases, the Federal Trade Commission and the business said on Monday, December 19. It will pay a record $275 million fine for breaking a children’s privacy legislation, and it will implement strict default privacy settings for youngsters. …

Tuesday (Dec. 20) rescuers in helicopters combed the Gulf of Thailand for scores of servicemen who went missing when their military vessel sank, hoping their life vests let them survive two nights in the rough waters. Seventy-six sailors were rescued from the water when the HTMS Sukhothai sank late Sunday in the Gulf of Thailand, approximately 37 kilometers southeast of …

A case of sexual abuse that has shaken the Jesuits has expanded, with a former nun recounting how her allegations against a renowned priest were disregarded, and the religious order urging others to come forward with any more proof. On Sunday, December 18, the 58-year-old lady reported that Father Marko Ivan Rupnik, a Slovenian priest known for his artwork in …

The confidence motion of Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim was carried by parliament on Monday, December 19, securing essential support for his government after last month’s election produced an unprecedented hung parliament. Anwar called parliament to demonstrate his majority when Muhyiddin Yassin, his opponent and former prime minister, cast doubt on his support. The confidence motion was approved by a …

The United States joined the Philippines in urging Beijing to stay out of the West Philippine Sea and abide by international maritime law, less than a week after the defense department blew the whistle on Chinese warships loitering near the Spratly Islands. “The United States supports the Philippines’ continued calls on the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to respect the …