Wagner chief heads to Belarus

BELARUS welcomed the head of the Wagner mercenary group Yevgeny Prigozhin into exile on Tuesday following an aborted rebellion, as NATO warned it was ready to defend against “Moscow or Minsk.”

As the fallout unfolded from Prigozhin’s brief mutiny – widely seen as the biggest threat to Kremlin authority in decades – Russian President Vladimir Putin sought to shore up his authority by thanking regular troops for averting a civil war.

But as Moscow announced preparations to disarm Wagner fighters, Putin’s arch foe, jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, launched a stinging attack on the president in his first comments since the aborted mutiny by the paramilitaries.

“There is no bigger threat to Russia than Putin’s regime,” Navalny said on before the Branch Clerk of Court to whom the reception of ex- parte evidence was delegated.

On May 3. 2023, the court admitted Exhibits “A” to “J” inclusive of sub-markings as evidence of the plaintiff. THE COURT’S RULING

A promissory note is a solemn acknowledgement of a debt and formal commitment to repay it on the date and under the conditions agreed upon by the borrower and the lender. A person who signs such an instrument is bound to honor it as a legitimate obligation duly assumed by him through the signature he affixes thereto as a token of his good faith. If he reneges on his promise without a cause, he forfeits the sympathy and assistance of this Court and deserves instead its sharp repudiation. The promissory note is the best evidence to prove the existence of the loan8 social media.

A careful review of the testimony and documentary evidence presented by the plaintiff would show that defendant Marc C. Balute undertook a loan and is bound to comply with the stipulations of the promissory note. Witness De Rojas positively identified the promissory note and signature of the defendant Balute affixed thereon9, the collateral description of the subject vehicle10, acceleration clause11, Certificate of Registration with encumbrance , and other documentary evidence which clearly established Balute’s obligation to PS Bank.

If the terms of a contract are clear and leave no doubt upon the intention of the contracting parties, the literal meaning of its stipulation shall control.13 As stipulated on the promissory note, defendant Balute contracted a loan from plaintiff PS Bank and the subject vehicle was mortgaged as collateral in favor of the latter in case the former defaults in her monthly payment.

“Putin’s regime is so dangerous to the country that even its inevitable demise will create the threat of civil war,” he wrote.

In the Hague, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said it was still too early to draw conclusions from the move to Belarus of Prigozhin and, likely, some of his forces, but he vowed that the alliance was ready to defend its members.

“What is absolutely clear is that we have sent a clear message to Moscow and to Minsk that NATO is there to protect every ally and every inch of

Protests flare up as police shoot teenager in France

NATO territory,” Stoltenberg said.

Putin’s supporters, however, insisted that his rule was not weakened by the revolt.

Asked whether Putin’s power was diminished by the sight of Wagner’s rebel mercenaries seizing a military HQ, advancing on Moscow and shooting down military aircraft along the way, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov accused political commentators of exaggerating, adding that: “We don’t agree.”

Putin himself attempted to portray the dramatic events at the weekend as a victory for the Russian army. AFP

‘Over $200b in COVID small loans stolen’

THE United States lost more than $200 billion to fraud from two schemes designed to help small businesses through the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a US government watchdog report.

“We identified multiple schemes used by fraudsters to steal from the American taxpayer and exploit programs meant to help those in need,” the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Office of Inspector General (OIG) said in a new report.

The potentially fraudulent loans were dis-

On July 12, 2018, the court issued a Writ of Replevin after the plaintiff filed a bond in the amount of P1,288,000.00.

On December 21, 2018, the Summons issued was returned unserved, and the writ was unimplemented due to the lack of coordination of the plaintiff with the court sheriff

On February 15, 2019, the plaintiff filed an Ex-parte Motion for Issuance of Alias Summons. In the Order dated February 18, 2019, the court granted the issuance of an Alias Summons and further directed that the alias summons be served on the defendant at his primary and secondary addresses.

On August 7, 2020, the court sheriff, together with the plaintiff’s external law office, GTJ, represented by Ronald Etik, tried to serve the Alias Summons on the defendant but failed since the defendant is no longer connected with Pascual Laboratories, Inc. in Balagtas, Bulacan

The subject vehicle was traced in possession of a certain Mark Serdoncillo. By virtue of the Writ of Replevin dated July 12, 2018, the court sheriff, in coordination with the La Residencia Homeowners Association, corresponding barangay,

Defendant Balute failed to comply with his monthly obligation and continued to do so despite demand. Under the terms and conditions of the promissory note, PSBank is entitled to the foreclosure of the subject vehicle. Moreover, where the mortgage authorizes the mortgagee to take possession of the property on default, he may maintain an action to recover possession of the mortgaged chattels from the mortgagor or from any person in whose hands he may find them.15

A writ of replevin was issued on July 12, 2018 and was duly implemented by the Sheriff of this Court on August 14, 2020. By virtue of the writ of replevin issued , the sheriff was able to take into custody the subject vehicle seized from Mark Serdoncillo and transfer the same to the satisfaction of plaintiff. This court acknowledges the seizure of the subject vehicle and confirms entitlement by the plaintiff to its control and custody.

WHEREFORE, judgment is hereby rendered in favor of the plaintiff Philippine Savings Bank declaring, confirming, and ratifying its entitlement to the possession of the subject vehicle, a 2017 MITSUBISHI MIRAGE with Motor No. 3A92UDY4622 and Serial No. PAEA13TXHHA000584. The replevin bond posted by plaintiff Philippine Savings Bank is hereby cancelled and released.

The Clerk of Court,

Koreans

bursed through two COVID-19 programs, the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) and the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), according to the report published on Tuesday.

“Over $200 billion in potentially fraudulent COVID-19 EIDLs, EIDL Targeted Advances, Supplemental Targeted Advances, and PPP loans,” the SBA report said.

“This means at least 17 percent of all COVID-19 EIDL and PPP funds were disbursed to potentially fraudulent actors,” according to the SBA. AFP

LEE Jung-hee was set to turn 60 next year but South Korea dropped its traditional age counting system Wednesday, so the Seoul-based housewife just got a year younger – and she’s thrilled.

South Korea is the last East Asian country to officially still use a method of calculating age that determines babies are aged one at birth, counting their months in the womb as their first year of life.

Under that system everyone gets a year older with the turn of the year rather than on their actual birthday, meaning a baby born on December 31 would be considered two years old on January 1 in Korean age.

From Wednesday South Korea will use the international system that calculates age according to a person’s actual date of birth, meaning everyone will officially become a year or two younger.

“It feels good,” Lee, a Seoul-based housewife, told AFP.

“For people like me, who are China, Japan, and even North Korea dropped the system decades ago but it has endured in the South, even as the land that gave the world K-pop and kimchi played a larger role on the international stage.

“It’s confusing when a foreigner asks me how old I am as I know they mean international age, so I have to do some calculations,” office worker Hong Suk-min told AFP.

Hong added, after a thoughtful pause, that he was 45 in international age and 47 under the Korean system.

The official change will have limited practical impact: many legal and administrative functions, including the age listed on a passport, the age at which one can be prosecuted as a juvenile, retirement benefits, or healthcare services, already uses date-of-birth rather than Korean age. AFP

VIOLENT protests shook Paris suburbs overnight and celebrities expressed outrage Wednesday after police shot dead a teenager during a traffic stop and appeared to have lied about the circumstances of the killing.

The 17-year-old man, named only as Nael M., was pulled over by two policemen on Tuesday for breaking traffic rules, prosecutors said.

Police initially reported that one officer shot at the teenager because he was driving his car at him, but this version of events was contradicted by a video circulating on social media and authenticated by AFP.

The footage shows the two policemen standing by the side of the stationary car, with one pointing a weapon at the driver. A voice is heard saying “You are going to get a bullet in the head.”

The police officer appears to fire point blank as the car abruptly drives off.

The car moved a few dozen metres before crashing. The driver died shortly after.

His death sparked immediate protests in Nanterre, a western Paris suburb.

Bins were also set alight and a fire broke out at a music school, while police tried to disperse the protesters with teargas. Protests then broke out in some neighbouring suburbs.

Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said Wednesday that 31 people had been arrested overnight, 24 police slightly injured and around 40 cars torched.

The 38-year old policeman seen firing the lethal shot was taken into custody and is under investigation for voluntary manslaughter.

Nael M’s lawyer, Yassine Bouzrou, said he would file a legal complaint against the policeman for voluntary manslaughter, and against his colleague for complicity in the shooting.

The lawyer also said that he would file a further complaint for false testimony against the policemen for claiming that Nael M. had tried to run them over.

There were two passengers in the car. One ran off and the other, also a teenager, was briefly detained. AFP

35 Catholic Church members probed

BOLIVIAN prosecutors are investigating 35 members of the Catholic Church after more than a dozen victims accused them of sexual abuse, authorities said Tuesday.

The statement comes as the country is reeling from confessions of abuse that were found in the personal diary of a Spanish priest who died in Bolivia in 2009 after decades of service there.

“At present, 35 people are accused and under investigation,” Daniela Caceres, a department head at the Bolivian attorney general’s office, told a press conference.

“We have 17 people, identified victims, but out of respect and as a precau- tion for the protection of the victims, we are not going to give specific details,” she added.

Prosecutors opened an investigation following a report by the Spanish daily El Pais in April about the late Spanish priest Alfonso Pedrajas, whose diary indicated that he had abused more than 80 minors in Bolivia, where he had lived since the early 1970s.

Pedrajas also noted in his journal that senior clergy had known about his crimes and kept quiet.

Prosecutors on Tuesday confirmed that a copy of Pedrajas’ diary had been delivered to them by the Society of Jesus in Bolivia. AFP