Here are today’s headlines – the latest news in the Philippines and around the world:
- Congressman revives bid to grant ABS-CBN new franchise
- Chinese hackers target president’s office in yearslong campaign, steal military data – report
- Inflation hits gov’t target in 2024 despite jumping to 2.9% in December
- Trudeau to resign as prime minister after 9 years, blames party infighting
- Zendaya and Tom Holland are engaged — reports
https://www.rappler.com/video/daily-wrap/january-7-2025/
- Congressman revives bid to grant ABS-CBN new franchise
- Chinese hackers target president’s office in yearslong campaign, steal military data – report
- Inflation hits gov’t target in 2024 despite jumping to 2.9% in December
- Trudeau to resign as prime minister after 9 years, blames party infighting
- Zendaya and Tom Holland are engaged — reports
https://www.rappler.com/video/daily-wrap/january-7-2025/
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NewsTranscript
00:001. Today on Rappler A congressman files a bill at the House granting
00:14ABS-CBN a new franchise. Chinese state-sponsored hackers are reportedly behind the breach of
00:20the Philippine government's computer system. The Philippines' inflation rate rises to 2.9%
00:26in December 2024 but stays within the government target range. Canada Prime Minister Justin
00:32Trudeau steps down from office after nine years. And actors Zendaya and Tom Holland
00:38are reportedly engaged. 2. House Ways and Means Chairperson Joey Salcedo
00:43on Tuesday, January 7, files a bill seeking to grant ABS-CBN a fresh franchise. This nearly
00:49five years after its bid was denied under the Duterte administration. The move comes
00:54after a two-year pause with lawmakers under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. now pushing
00:58for the network's revival on free television. Salcedo cites in the explanatory note of House
01:04Bill 11252 clarifications from the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Bureau of
01:09Internal Revenue. This confirmed that ABS-CBN complied with ownership rules and had no pending
01:14tax liabilities. It is widely believed that Duterte's grudge against ABS-CBN following
01:19an anti-Duterte campaign ad in 2016 was the main reason the franchise was not renewed
01:24in 2020. In May 2020, the National Telecommunications Commission shut down ABS-CBN after its 25-year
01:31franchise expired. In July 2020, the House voted against renewing the network's franchise.
01:38Various groups view the ABS-CBN shutdown as a critical attack on press freedom in the
01:42country. It also led to the retrenchment of thousands of employees.
01:48Chinese state-sponsored hackers are reportedly behind a years-long infiltration of the Philippine
01:53government's computer system, stealing sensitive data. The stolen data include military documents
01:58with some related to the South China Sea territorial dispute. A Bloomberg News report citing three
02:04sources says cybersecurity experts detected the breach in 2023 and again in August 2024,
02:10with the president's office seeking details from the experts in May 2024. Two of the sources
02:15say the attackers used tactics linked to a group named APT41. Advanced Persistent Threat
02:20Groups, or APTs, is a term used to describe state-sponsored hacking groups. Undersecretary
02:26for Cybersecurity Jeffrey Ian Dea of the Department of Information and Communications Technology,
02:31or DICT, says there is no current information that has been compromised. Dea says, quote,
02:37"...we are able to detect them early on, and when we do so, we are able to secure the database."
02:42Meantime, China denies any involvement, saying it is opposed to hacking.
02:48The Philippine Statistic Authority reports on Tuesday, January 7, the country's inflation rate
02:53increased to 2.9 percent in December 2024. This puts the full-year inflation rate at 3.2 percent
03:00within the government's 2 to 4 percent target range. This is a notable decrease from the 6
03:05percent average in 2023. The PSA notes a slowdown for food and non-alcoholic beverages, which
03:11decreased by around 44 percent year-on-year to 4.4 percent. Rice inflation also drops to
03:18its lowest level since January 2022 at 0.8 percent. National statistician Dennis Mapa
03:24links the rapid increase to housing, utilities, and fuel prices. Key factors include liquefied
03:30petroleum gas with 7.8 percent, a 2.4 percent rise in rentals, and 1.6 percent in electricity prices.
03:38Transport fares also contribute with sea travel inflation soaring to 71.9 percent in December,
03:43up from 17.1 percent in November, largely due to the holiday season.
03:48National Economic and Development Authority or NEDA's Secretary Arsenio Balisacan attributes
03:53the 2024 inflation rate to government efforts to manage prices. Marie cautions about risks
03:58from La Nina, affecting the food and water supply. The Banco Central ng Pilipinas or BSP also warns
04:04inflation might rise in 2025 due to potential increases in transport and power rates.
04:12Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announces on January 6, 2025, he would step down in the
04:17coming months after nine years in office. This after pressure from lawmakers concerned
04:22about his Liberal Party's poor pre-election poll results. He says in a press conference,
04:27he would remain as Prime Minister and party leader until a new leader is chosen.
04:31Trudeau says, quote, this country deserves a real choice in the next election. And it has
04:36become clear to me that if I'm having to fight internal battles, I cannot be the best option
04:40in that election. Trudeau previously managed to dismiss concerns from liberal lawmakers about poor
04:45poll performance and the loss of safe seats. However, calls for his resignation grew after
04:50he attempted to demote Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, one of his key allies,
04:55after she opposed his spending plans. Freeland resigned instead, accusing Trudeau of focusing
05:00on political gimmicks instead of prioritizing the country's needs.
05:05U.S. media reports Zendaya and Tom Holland are now engaged after she appeared at the
05:09Golden Globes Awards wearing a flashy ring. The actress sparked speculation when she was seen
05:15wearing a 5.02-carat diamond ring on her finger. The ring, an east-west cushion-cut diamond-set
05:21and Georgian-style band, was designed by jeweler Jessica McCormick and is listed as an engagement
05:26ring. When a Los Angeles Times reporter asked if she was engaged, Zendaya just smiled coyly
05:32without confirming. In April 2024, American News Outlet People reports the two actors had already
05:38been discussing marriage. A source confirmed the marriage discussion while noting the two preferred
05:43to keep their relationship private. The two actors started dating in 2017 while filming
05:49Spider-Man Homecoming. In September 2021, Holland confirmed the speculations after he posted a
05:54birthday greeting for Zendaya on Instagram, calling her MyMJ.