Daily News Highlights – June 28, 2016 Edition

China’s yuan weakened further Monday as the US dollar surged after Britain’s vote to leave the European Union. The People’s Bank of China (PBoC) set the value of the yuan at 6.6375 to the US dollar. It was the largest fall since a surprise devaluation last year, when it guided the normally stable yuan down nearly 5% over a week, rattling global investors. Monday’s fix was the lowest level since December 23, 2010. The PBoC said at the time that China had prepared a contingency plan for the British vote and would further improve the yuan rate system to keep the unit “basically stable,” but an analyst warned that “there will be further volatility to come.”

Read more on the effect of Brexit on world markets.

United Kingdom’s finance minister George Osborne sought to calm markets after the country’s shock vote to leave the EU. Osborne said Britain’s economy was “as strong as could be” to deal with the fallout of the Brexit vote. He added, Britain would not be rushed into activating Article 50 of the 2007 Lisbon Treaty as EU powers called for a swift divorce amid fears of a domino effect of exit votes. Fears of a break-up of the United Kingdom abound, after Scotland voted by 62% to stay in the EU, and the prospect of being pulled out against their will has renewed support for independence.

Despite the reassurances, London’s FTSE 100 stock index dropped another 0.8% at the opening after plunging on Friday, June 24.

Read more on the post-Brexit turmoil.

The US Supreme Court on Monday struck down a Texas law placing a raft of restrictions on abortion clinics, handing a major victory to the “pro-choice” camp in the country’s most important abortion case in a generation. In a case with far-reaching implications for millions of women across the United States, the court ruled 5-3 to strike down measures which activists say forced more than half of Texas’s abortion clinics to close. The decision ultimately hinged on the swing vote of Justice Anthony Kennedy, who sided with his liberal colleagues in opposing the 2013 Texas law. 

Read more on the US Supreme Court’s ruling on Texan abortion clinics.

Days before she is set to take her oath as the country’s second-highest elected official, Vice President-elect Leni Robredo met with outgoing Vice President Jejomar Binay at Robredo’s home in Quezon City. Binay said of the Monday meeting, “She told me she’d go and visit me but I insisted that I’d be the one to pay her a visit.” He gave her this advice: “You should always consider your office a public office and that people will go to you for assistance.” The two vice presidents shared a meal of bihon, Bicol express, and gulay na santol.

Read more on the meeting of 2 Vice Presidents.

Days after criticizing elections chief Andres Bautista’s “failed leadership”, Commission on Elections (Comelec) Commissioner Rowena Guanzon said, “Perhaps it’s about time that Chairman Bautista runs an election.” She added Comelec commissioners Christian Lim and Luie Guia also don’t want to handle the “operations part” of the barangay elections in October.

She adds, “Because in the last elections, it was really Commissioner Christian Lim, who was the chair of the steering committee, he was coordinating everything.” Sought for comment, Bautista replied, “That’s sad.”

Read more on Guanzon hits Bautista on barangay elections.

A Singapore Airlines plane caught fire at Singapore’s Changi Airport Monday after making an emergency landing. Local media reported flight SQ368 was on its way to Milan from Singapore when it turned back to Changi Airport, with the pilot saying there was a leak. The plane, which left Changi at past 2 am Monday, arrived back at 6:50 am, and the plane’s right wing caught fire moments after it landed. A video from one of the passengers obtained by newspaper Strait Times showed the plane’s wing in flames. No passengers were hurt.

Read more on the Singapore Airlines’ wing.

Pope Francis said Christians and the Roman Catholic Church should apologize to gay people and seek their forgiveness for the way they have been treated. That comment, seen as another indication of Francis’ conciliatory approach to the gay community, also prompted criticism from the Church’s more conservative members. Francis expanded his apology to also include other people who faced discrimination – the poor, exploited women, and those subjected to child labor. 

Read more on Pope Francis’ call for apology to LGBT community.

Hacking group OurMine Team temporarily accessed the Quora account of Google CEO Sundar Pichai Monday, with the post crossposted on Pichai’s Twitter account during the hack, broadcasting it to more than 508,000 followers. In the messages on Quora, OurMine Team said it was just testing security, but also noted that they hacked Pichai’s account. OurMine Team hacked the Pinterest and Twitter accounts of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg.

Read more on the hack on Sundar Pichai’s Quora account.

Argentine football star Lionel Messi announced his retirement from international football Sunday after Argentina crashed to an upset defeat against Chile in the final of the Copa America. The heartbroken Messi was distraught after missing a spot-kick as Chile snatched victory in a penalty shoot-out – Messi’s fourth straight defeat in a major final while representing Argentina. “I’ve done all I can, I’ve been in 4 finals and it hurts not to be a champion,” the crestfallen Messi said. Despite being universally regarded as one of the greatest football players, Messi has regularly been targeted for his inability to land a major title for Argentina. 

Read more on Lionel Messi’s retirement from Argentina.

Chinese social media users erupted in fury over pop star Lady Gaga meeting the Dalai Lama. This happened after Lady Gaga posted a photo of the two of them on Instagram Monday. Some comments say Lady Gaga meeting the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader made the Chinese feel she was “shaking hands with Bin Laden” and “love and respect a Chinese terrorist.” Foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei said he hopes people “can see through to his true nature.” The Chinese government and Tibet have a long-standing conflict over the latter’s independence.

Read more on the Lady Gaga-Dalai Lama encounter.