US technology giant Oracle is laying off thousands of employees as it tries to prove to investors that its big investment in AI infrastructure will pay off. The $420 billion Austin, Texas-based company began laying off employees on Tuesday
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Vice President Sarah Duterte's approval ratings and trust ratings both declined in the first quarter of 2026, according to an uncommissioned survey released on Wednesday.
According to the survey, Marcos's approval rating dropped from 22% to 19%, and his trust level dropped from 15% to 13%; Duterte's approval rating dropped from 34% to 28%, and his trust level dropped from 31% to 26%.
Surveys show public dissatisfaction with accountability over flood control projects, Marcos' handling of the International Criminal Court (ICC) case against his former president and rising fuel prices contributed to Marcos's lower ratings. Duterte's rating was affected by the progress of the impeachment complaint against her and the ICC case involving her father, former President Rodrigo Duterte. Rodrigo Duterte is currently detained in The Hague for crimes against humanity related to his anti-drug campaign.
Senate President Tito Sotto’s approval rating and trust rating are 23% and 14% respectively, second only to Duterte. Despite the drop in ratings, Duterte remains the highest-rated official in the government. He is followed by Speaker of the House Faustino “Bogi” Day with an approval rating of 11% and a trust rating of 6%; Chief Justice Alexander Gesmondo with an approval rating of 16% and a trust rating of 10%.
Among government agencies, those with higher ratings include: the Bureau of Technical Education and Skills Development, with an approval rating of 65% and a trust rating of 45%; the Department of Science and Technology, with an approval rating of 55% and a trust rating of 39%; and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, with an approval rating of 53% and a trust rating of 37%. Political and infrastructure agencies such as the Department of Public Works and Highways and the House of Representatives had the lowest public ratings.
The first quarter of 2026 was conducted from March 21 to 24, 2026, and a sample survey of 1,509 registered Filipino voters was conducted. The survey tracks seven key modules: country and economic conditions, national issues, macro and micro concerns, trust and support for leaders and institutions, emotional perceptions of leaders, performance of elected officials and media consumption habits.
Last Tuesday, Marcos declared a national energy emergency in response to the "imminent danger" to the country's energy supplies posed by a U.S.-Israeli war in the Middle East.
The emergency declaration comes as Philippine transport workers, commuters and consumer groups plan a two-day strike starting last Thursday to protest rising fuel prices and what they see as a slow response by the Marcos government.
“Declaring a national energy emergency will enable the government to implement responsive and coordinated measures in accordance with existing laws to address risks posed by disruptions to global energy supplies and the domestic economy,” Marcos said.
He said as part of the emergency response, a committee has been formed to ensure the orderly movement, supply, distribution and availability of fuel, food, medicines, agricultural products and other essential goods.
The emergency declaration, which will last for one year, authorizes the government to procure fuel and petroleum products to ensure timely and adequate supplies and, if necessary, advance part of contract payments.
The authorities are also mandated to take action against hoarding, profiteering and manipulation of the supply of petroleum products.
China News Service, Qingdao, April 4 (Wang Yu) The fourth round of the 2026 Chinese Super League continued on the 4th. The Qingdao Manatee team, which was at home, relied on the winning goal of foreign aid Ye Boya to beat the Henan team 1:0, winning the league for the first time this season and temporarily escaping the relegation zone.
This season, the Qingdao Manatee team, which started with a loss of 7 points, failed to win in the first three rounds of the league. Although the team's overall performance is remarkable, the relegation situation is no longer optimistic. In this campaign, facing the Henan team that had remained undefeated in the first three rounds, the Qingdao Hainiu team scored a crucial 3 points on the road to relegation with a resilient victory.
On April 4, Qingdao Manatee foreign aid Ye Boya, who scored the winning goal, interacted with fans. Photo by Mao Daoguang
At the beginning of the game, the Henan team took the lead in creating a dangerous situation. In the 3rd minute, Maidana took advantage of a free kick in the frontcourt to complete a header, which was steadily resolved by Qingdao Manatee goalkeeper Mou Pengfei on the goal line. The game changed sides again, and the deadlock was broken in the 59th minute. Ejuma sent a precise through ball from the center circle, and Yeboya scored with a high-speed push shot to help the Qingdao Manatee team take the lead.
The lagging Henan team then launched a massive counterattack, frequently threatening the home team's goal. In the 86th minute, Lucas Maia took advantage of a corner kick and hit the post with a header. Gustavo's follow-up shot was blocked in time by Mou Pengfei. In the end, the Qingdao Manatee team relied on their tenacious defense to maintain their 1:0 lead until the end.
After this campaign, the Qingdao Manatee team has reached minus 4 points, ranking 14th in the Chinese Super League standings, and is temporarily out of the relegation zone. After the game, Qingdao Manatee coach Milan said that the players tried their best in the game and the victory was hard-won.
In the next round of competition, the Qingdao Hainiu team will face the Tianjin Jinmen Tigers, currently ranked last in the league. Milan admitted that given the current situation the team is facing, the team needs to immediately prepare for the next game. (over)
On April 3, the 25th National College Student Robot Competition RoboMaster2026 Robot Master College League Competition (Shanghai Station) opened at Shanghai University of Engineering and Technology in Songjiang District, Shanghai. 37 teams from universities in Shanghai, Jiangsu, Hubei and other places participated.
As one of the events under the National College Student Robot Competition, the RoboMaster College Series is a robot competition and academic exchange platform specially created for global technology enthusiasts. Since its establishment in 2013, it has always adhered to the mission of “giving glory to youth, giving power to thinking, and serving young engineers around the world to become doers who realize their dreams.” It is committed to cultivating comprehensive talents with engineering thinking and spreading the beauty of science and technology and the concept of scientific and technological innovation to the public.
The National College Student Robot Competition RoboMaster and RoboMaster University League Competition are sponsored by local academic institutions and universities, and radiate surrounding universities to participate. It aims to promote regional university robot technology exchanges, form a strong academic atmosphere, and boost regional technological innovation and development.
This competition is guided by the China Higher Education Society, the Strategic Consulting Center of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, and the China Guanghua Science and Technology Foundation, sponsored by the National College Student Robot Competition Organizing Committee, the Shanghai Songjiang District People's Government, and hosted by Shanghai University of Engineering and Technology.
According to reports, the RoboMaster Robot Master College League Competition (Shanghai Station) has been held at Shanghai University of Engineering and Technology for four consecutive years. In the past 4 years, more than 100 competitions have been held here, the growth of more than 1,000 young engineers has been witnessed, and more than 10,000 enthusiastic audiences have been received. The memory of the college league competition has been deeply rooted in Shanghai Songjiang.
China News Service, Beijing, April 4 (Reporter Sun Zifa) The reporter learned from the China Aviation Engine Group (China Aviation Engineering Group) on the 4th that the AEP100, a megawatt-class hydrogen fuel aviation turboprop engine independently developed by the Hunan Power Machinery Research Institute affiliated to China Aviation Engineering Group, was equipped with a 7.5-ton unmanned transport aircraft and successfully made its first flight at Lusong Airport in Zhuzhou, Hunan Province that day. This is the world’s first test flight of a megawatt hydrogen fuel aviation turboprop engine.
According to reports, the engine of the unmanned transport aircraft worked normally and was in good condition during the entire flight. It lasted 16 minutes in the air, flew a distance of 36 kilometers, flew at a speed of 220 kilometers per hour, and flew at an altitude of 300 meters above the ground. It returned successfully after completing the scheduled flight subjects, and the first flight was a complete success.
The megawatt hydrogen fuel aviation turboprop engine AEP100 is undergoing relevant tests. Photo courtesy of China Aviation Development Corporation
Industry experts said that the success of this world's first flight has achieved a stage leap from technology to engineering for China's independent development of megawatt-class hydrogen-fueled aviation engines. It marks that China has opened up the entire technology chain from core components to complete machine integration in the field of hydrogen-fueled aviation engines. It has verified the engineering reliability of matching the hydrogen fuel power system and the flight platform, laid a key foundation for the subsequent industrial application of hydrogen energy aviation, and is an important milestone in China's green aviation power development from technological exploration to engineering practice.
Experts said that as the cost of green hydrogen preparation further decreases in the future, the economic advantages and energy security advantages of hydrogen aviation power will gradually be revealed. Hydrogen fuel aviation engine technology is expected to be the first to be applied in low-altitude economic fields such as unmanned air cargo and island logistics, and gradually expand to manned regional aircraft. This technology will drive the collaborative upgrading of upstream green hydrogen energy preparation, midstream storage, transportation and refueling infrastructure, downstream high-end equipment and new materials and other industrial clusters, and continue to promote the green, low-carbon and high-quality development of China's aviation industry. (over)
A loan of more than 9 million yuan had real collateral and sufficient market value, but the borrower was unable to repay it. It seemed like a contract dispute, but in the end he was charged with loan fraud and money laundering. The Jing'an District Procuratorate used a "penetrating review" to uncover the layers of disguise of financial crimes.
In December 2024, the public security organ applied for arrest of Park Moumou, accusing him of forging materials, concealing the true mortgage status of the mortgage, and defrauding Loan Company A of more than 9 million yuan. Pu Moumou used the property in his name as a mortgage, deliberately concealed the fact that he had borrowed more than 22 million yuan from Bank A as a mortgage, and tampered with the materials to falsely claim that only 9.85 million yuan was left unpaid. Company A lends money accordingly. Later, Park was unable to repay the debt and the crime was committed.
After arriving at the case, Park confessed to forging materials, but argued that the market value of the property of 32 million yuan was enough to cover the loan. The inability to repay was due to the delay in sale due to market fluctuations, and there was no intention to defraud.
The prosecutor in charge concluded that the collateral provided by Park was genuine and effective, that the residual value of the property at the time of the loan could still cover most of the loan, and that he had not evaded or squandered the loan, and that he would pay interest until the principal was due as agreed. It was determined that there was insufficient evidence for "illegal possession purpose". The Jing'an District Procuratorate made a decision not to approve the arrest in accordance with the law and recommended that the investigation agency continue to supplement evidence.
In August 2025, the case was transferred for review and prosecution. The prosecutor found that Park Moumou still had an operating company and other assets under his name at the time of the incident, and had already refunded one million yuan in compensation and later repaid the arrears in full, which still did not constitute the crime of contract fraud.
But prosecutors didn't stop there. By penetrating the flow of funds, it was found that Park applied for operating loans of more than 4 million yuan from Shenzhen Bank B and other institutions in the name of business operations, and all of them were actually used for futures investment. Prosecutors believe that he concealed the true purpose of defrauding the loan, causing the bank to lose more than 3.3 million yuan, and should be held criminally responsible for the crime of defrauding the loan.
At the same time, "one case and two investigations" were strictly implemented. Prosecutors found that in order to evade supervision, Park transferred and mixed the above-mentioned loans through multiple companies and personal accounts at multiple levels, and then "laundered" them and transferred 3.6 million yuan into his personal futures account. This behavior constitutes "self-laundering" and should be punished together with the crime of fraudulently obtaining loans.
The procuratorate also actively promoted the recovery of stolen goods and recovery of losses. Park Moumou reached a repayment agreement with the bank to recover losses to the maximum extent.
Recently, the Jing'an District Procuratorate filed a public prosecution against Park Moumou for the crime of loan fraud and money laundering. The court adopted all charges in the first instance judgment: sentenced to two years in prison and fined 30,000 yuan for the crime of loan fraud; sentenced to one year in prison and fined 10,000 yuan for money laundering; and punished several crimes concurrently. It was decided to execute a fixed-term imprisonment of two years and six months, suspended for three years, and fined 40,000 yuan.
The Jing'an District Procuratorate stated that it will continue to improve the professional capabilities of financial prosecution, strictly control facts, evidence, and laws, and build a strong financial security defense line by performing duties with high quality and efficiency.
On the evening of April 2, the French contemporary comedy "Art" made its 2026 premiere at the Jasmine Theater. As a repertoire of the Shanghai Dramatic Art Center, "Art" uses a white oil painting as a guide to reveal the layers of cracks in a friendship that has lasted for more than ten years due to conflicting concepts. On April 3, Mark, played by Chen He, made his debut on stage. This was his return to the drama stage after many years.
On the opening night on April 2, the first cast of "Art" composed of Xu Shengnan (playing Mark), Xie Shuai (playing Serge), and Han Xiuyi (playing Ivan) returned as last year's lineup. Xu Shengnan accurately captured Mark's fragile heart under his sharp appearance, Xie Shuai captured Serge's confidence and sensitivity just right, and Han Xiuyi used tense body language and speech speed to present Ivan's anxiety and embarrassment in the cracks of friendship.
On the evening of April 3, Chen He (played as Mark), Xie Shuai (played as Serge), and Zhang Ruihan (played as Ivan) took over the baton. Chen He, who made his first appearance in the play, portrayed Mark's strength and uneasiness in a real and tangible way. Xie Shuai once again showed Serge's complex emotional levels in the collision of different opponents. Zhang Ruihan, who also made his first appearance in the play, interpreted Ivan's dilemma through precise rhythm control.
French playwright Yasmina Reza has twice won the Tony Award and the Laurence Olivier Award. Her famous work "Art" premiered at the Comedy des Champs-Elysées in Paris in 1994. In 1996, Sean Connery, the first 007 actor, introduced it and made it into an English version that was performed at the Wyndham Theater in London. It has since been translated into more than 40 languages.
In 2001, Shanghai Dramatic Art Center put "Art" on the domestic stage for the first time, directed by Gu Yian and starring Xu Zheng, Lin Dongfu and Hao Ping. This version of it performed at the Jasmine Theater was directed by British director Paul Garlington and created by revival director Li Li.
"Art" revolves around a white oil painting worth 2 million yuan. Dermatologist Serge praised it highly, while aviation designer Mark scorned it, thinking it was just a "blank slate". Ivan, who was caught in the middle, tried to reconcile, but got himself into deeper trouble. A debate about the value of art eventually evolved into a torture of more than ten years of friendship and personal values.
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