NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
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Volume 15 - No. 13 • 3 Sections – 20 Pages
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Anti-Money Laundering Council files raps vs businessmen Wong, aka Kim Wong, and Weikang Xu of laundering “hacked” or stolen funds from ManilaTimes.net New York that ended up in local casinos. Wong has been tagged as the mastermind ThE Anti-Money Laundering Council of the money-laundering scheme. he flew out (AMLC) on Tuesday, March 22, slapped mon- of the country when the controversy broke ey-laundering charges against two business- out. men linked to the controversial transfer of the on the other hand, Xu is said to be a junket $81 million stolen from the Bangladesh Bank operator who allegedly owned the bank acto the rizal Commercial Banking Corporation counts where the funds ended up. (rCBC). The two businessmen have been tagged In a nine-page complaint filed at the Depart- as the main players who facilitated the illegal ment of Justice, the AMLC accused Kam Sin u PAGE A2 by joel
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DATELINE
USA
FroM ThE AJPrESS NEWS TEAM ACroSS AMEriCA
Family of mentally disabled Fil-Am killed by Long Beach police files claims LoNG BEACh, Calif. – Supporters, friends, and immediate family gathered in front of the Long Beach Police headquarters on Thursday, March 17 for a press conference regarding the death of Mharloun Saycon, a FilipinoAmerican who was shot by Long Beach police last December inside Looff’s Lite-A-Line Casino Game of Skill. “We really can’t believe that this happened. We always just watch it on the news, like wow another person shot by the police. It’s hard… and the reality is, we can’t avoid this. It was a big loss for us. he was a good, smart kid,”
ISIS-claimed attacks in Brussels kill at least 34, wound over 230 by agNeS
CoNStaNte AJPress
AT least 34 people were killed and more than 230 were wounded Tuesday, March 22, in explosions claimed by the Islamic State at an airport and metro station in Brussels, Belgium. Three attacks went off Tuesday morning, with twin blasts at the Brussels airport at around 8am and one at the Maelbeek metro station near European Union (EU) headquarters at around 9am. As of press time,
ThE Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) outreach director for Democratic candidate hillary Clinton has left the campaign. Lisa Changadveja, who was first appointed outreach director last August, is moving to Colorado to take a position with the Democratic Party, Clinton campaign spokeswoman Xochitl hinojosa told NBC News. “The campaign is expected to announce a new director of AAPI outreach very soon,” hinojosa added. Changadveja, who first joined Clinton’s
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14 people were killed at the airport and 20 at the metro station. A third bomb at the airport was neutralized, said Florence Muls, a spokeswoman for the Brussels Airport, according to the Chicago Tribune. “What we feared has happened,” Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel told reporters, according to the Los Angeles Times. “In this time of tragedy, this black moment for our country, I appeal to everyone to remain calm but also to show solidarity.”
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by Viji
SuNdaraM NewAmericaMedia
PH embassy tells Filipinos to always heed alerts after blasts
by Niña
P. Calleja Inquirer.net
MANILA — The Philippine Embassy in Brussels advised Filipinos in Belgium, on Tuesday, March 22, to heed advisories of local authorities following the explosions at the Brussels Airport and the Maalbeek metro station. In an advisory, the embassy urged members of the Filipino community in Belgium to stay vigilant and exercise caution in line with the current Alert Level 4 that has been declared by the Belgian authorities. As the Embassy monitored the situation in Brussels, Philippine Ambassador to Belgium Victoria Bataclan advised the Filipinos to avoid visiting public and crowded places like malls and recreation centers. She also advised the Filipino community to keep calm and monitor news for updates
themselves. “Stay where you are if you do not necessarily need to travel to and from Belgium, and spread caution around,” Ambassador Bataclan said in a statement. The Embassy of the Philippines in Brussels expressed its condolences to the families of the victims in the explosions. “The Brussels Airport has also set up a hotline for families and friends of passengers, which can be reached at +32 27537300,” the embassy said. The Philippine embassy released contact details for those seeking information about Filipino nationals affected by these events: its duty phone number +32 488609177, Ambassador Bataclan’s mobile phone number +32 471309430, landline numbers +32 23403377 or 93, its Facebook page, and email addresses brusselspe@gmail.com andconsular.brusselspe@gmail.com. n
Duterte ties Poe at No. 1 in latest Pulse survey
Senator Grace Poe
Asian Inc. tax preparer Crystal Huang helping a client prepare her 2015 tax return
Earn less than $13,870? Pinoys in Belgium told: Avoid California rewards public, crowded areas for now low-income tax filers
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AAPI director leaves Clinton campaign
FACE-OFF. Men in Moriones masks reenact the chase and arrest of the Roman soldier Longinus through the streets of Marinduque in what has become the annual Moriones (masks) festival during Holy Week. According to legend, Longinus converted to Christianity when blood from the side of the crucified Christ splashed on his blind eye and restored his sight. Inquirer.net photo
SEN. GrACE Poe and Davao City Mayor rodrigo Duterte are statistically tied at No. 1 in what appears to be a very close contest among the four leading presidential candidates, according to a Pulse Asia survey conducted in the second week of March. According to the pre-electoral poll, commissioned by ABS-CBN television and released Tuesday, March 22, Poe was the choice of 26 percent while Duterte was favored by 25 percent. Three percentage points separated Duterte and Vice President
Mayor Rodrigo Duterte
Jejomar Binay who was in third place with 22 percent while Liberal Party standard-bearer Mar roxas obtained 20 percent. only 3 percent chose Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago. “The May 2016 presidential election is shaping up to be a very tight race involving four contenders,” Pulse Asia said. “I expect the figures to move but I don’t know how significant. They are changing places and with the [presidential] debates, I expect [the numbers] to move
SACrAMENTo — The Golden State’s poverty statistics are grim: Two in five people live just over the federal poverty level (FPL), and the state has the highest child poverty rate in the nation. But this year, for the first time, California’s working poor will get to keep more of their earnings in their pockets thanks to the California Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). But people with low incomes – less than $13,870 a year – must be sure to file their taxes in order to get their money back. 600,000 families eligible Around 600,000 families in California are eligible for the state EITC. Some 12 percent are Asian Americans or Pacific Islanders, 30 percent are Latino, 12 percent are Black, and more than 15,000 individuals are Native American. The majority of those eligible are single women who are working
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part-time jobs. Signed into law by Gov. Jerry Brown last year, the state’s EITC program is expected to cost the state $380 million. California is the 25th state, plus the District of Columbia, with such a program. The tax credit is modeled on the federal EITC program, which has been around since 1975. California Budget and Policy Center (CBPC) Communications Director Steven Bliss called the state program “an important tool for helping move the lowest earners toward economic security.” Some of those targeted for the program, he said, “have earnings so low that they may not even file state income taxes.” To qualify for the California’s EITC a person must earn no more than $13,870 a year. on average those who apply for the credit will receive $900 back from the state. Families with three or more children could
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