MANILA, Jun 7 (NNN-PNA) – The World Bank said today, it expects the Philippines’ gross domestic product (GDP) to grow six percent this year, and solid domestic demand will drive economic growth.

The World Bank’s Philippines Economic Update (PEU) said, strong domestic demand in the Philippines is expected to propel its economy to a six percent growth in 2023, and 5.9 percent in 2024.

WASHINGTON, June 7 (Reuters) - The U.S. economy is strong amid robust consumer spending but some areas are slowing down, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Wednesday, adding that she expects continued progress in bringing inflation down over the next two years with a strong labor market.

Yellen, in a CNBC interview, also said that while banks may struggle with commercial real estate and face some consolidation, there is ample liquidity in the system and banks should generally be able to withstand any strain.

NEW YORK (AP) — Chris Licht is out after a year as chief executive at CNN, following a series of missteps and plunging ratings.

David Zaslav, the CEO of CNN parent company Warner Bros. Discovery, announced the leadership change on CNN’s morning editorial call on Wednesday.

Zaslav appointed a four-person leadership team to lead the network in the interim.

June 7 (Reuters) - Britain plans to launch a pilot programme exploring how new weekly weight-loss shots such as Novo Nordisk's (NOVOb.CO) Wegovy can be given to obese patients by general practitioners even as the drug's market launch remains unclear.

(AP) --- Intense Canadian wildfires are blanketing the northeastern U.S. in a dystopian haze, turning the air acrid, the sky yellowish gray and prompting warnings for vulnerable populations to stay inside.

The effects of hundreds of wildfires burning across the western provinces to Quebec could be felt as far away as New York City and New England, blotting out skylines and irritating throats.

U.S. authorities issued air quality alerts. Hazy conditions and smoke from the wildfires were reported across the Great Lakes region from Cleveland to Buffalo.

06 June 2023; MEMO: At 4am on 26 February 2023 at least 94 people died when the boat Summer Love crashed onto the rocks near the Italian village of Steccato di Cutro.

The 25-metre wooden vessel had launched from Cesme in Turkiye and was carrying mainly Afghan refugees, many crammed below deck whilst the smugglers were up top.

07 June 2023; MEMO: Media analysts and commentators in Israel have been discussing Iran's new hypersonic missile that was unveiled on Tuesday by the Commander-in-Chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Major General Hossein Salami. It is said that the Fattah missile gives Iran a "significant" military edge in the region.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina state legislators who change party registrations midterm could be subject to an early election to keep the seat, according to a bill filed Tuesday by Senate Democrats in response to Rep. Tricia Cotham’s switch to the GOP two months ago.

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — The fallout from the breach of a river dam along a front line of Russia’s war in Ukraine continued to wreak havoc on lives, livelihoods and the environment on Wednesday.

When the Kakhovka dam ruptured on Tuesday, it sent a torrent of water from Ukraine’s largest reservoir into streets and homes downstream on the Dnieper River where tens of thousands of people live — in the thick of a combat zone where shelling regularly takes place.

It’s not clear what caused the breach: the structure had already been damaged in the war.

OTTAWA, June 7 (Reuters) - The Bank of Canada on Wednesday hiked its overnight rate to a 22-year high of 4.75%, and markets and analysts immediately forecast yet another increase next month to ratchet down an overheating economy and stubbornly high inflation.

The central bank had been on hold since January to assess the impact of previous hikes after raising borrowing costs eight times since March 2022 to a 15-year high of 4.50% - the fastest tightening cycle in the bank's history.

ANKARA, June 7. /TASS/: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday discussed the situation around the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant with his Ukrainian counterpart Vladimir Zelensky over the phone and suggested forming an international commission to investigate the incident with Russia's participation, the Turkish leader's office reported.

06 June 2023; MEMO: Israel's Defence Minister Yoav Gallant threatened on Tuesday to send Lebanon back to "the Stone Age" in a war with Hezbollah, local media have reported.

"I hear our enemies boasting about weapons they are developing," said Gallant. "For any such development, we have an even better response — by air, by sea and on land and through other means of attack and defence."