DOHA — Iran and the United States have been informed that $6 billion in frozen Iranian funds were transferred to accounts in Qatar, a source said, triggering a carefully choreographed swap on Monday of five detainees each between the two arch foes. The Iranian Foreign ministry spokesperson said two would return to Iran while two would stay in the U.S. at their request. As a first step in the deal, Washington waived sanctions to allow the transfer of $6 billion in Iranian funds from South Korea to Qatar. Under the agreement, Doha agreed to monitor how Iran spends the unfrozen funds to ensure it goes on non-sanctioned humanitarian goods, such as food and medicine. The transfer of Iran’s funds has drawn criticism from U.S. Republicans who say Biden, a Democrat, is in effect paying a ransom for U.S. citizens.

‘Stricter screening for free education to hurt marginalized students’Photo taken last June shows senior high school graduates preparing to take the UPCAT at the University of the Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City. MANILA, Philippines — Introducing competitive screening to filter the number of beneficiaries of free higher education would disadvantage marginalized students, groups defending the government’s free tertiary education program said. The proposal — only verbal as of press time — has been met with criticism from groups who stressed that students from low-income households depend on the government’s free education program to complete their tertiary studies. As a result, it becomes more difficult for students from lower socio-economic backgrounds to afford quality higher education,” the group added. Improved progression rateWhile there are local and international studies showing the government’s free higher education program disproportionately benefits high-income students, there is data showing more Filipino high school students can advance to college after the enactment of the free higher education law in 2018.

Philippines, India discuss maritime cooperationMANILA, Philippines — Filipino and Indian maritime experts have discussed prospects for maritime security cooperation between their countries. The experts exchanged views on potential areas of cooperation in the Track 2 component of the Inaugural Philippines-India Maritime Dialogue, held in Manila last week. The forum, organized by Stratbase Albert del Rosario Institute, focused on maritime security cooperation and economic opportunities in the maritime industry which, from the private sector’s point of view, the two countries could pursue. At the 5th meeting of the Philippines-India Joint Commission on Bilateral Cooperation held on June 29 at Hyderabad House in New Delhi, Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo and External Affairs Minister of India Dr. S. Jaishankar acknowledged the growing importance of the maritime sector for both countries and welcomed the bilateral Maritime Dialogue and the increased cooperation on hydrography. Stratbase ADRi and NMF hope to provide inputs to the agenda of the Track 1 Maritime Dialogue that the Philippine and Indian governments plan to convene within the next few months.

About 46 percent of adult Filipinos think the Philippine economy will improve in the next six months, the latest OCTA Research survey released on Monday showed. This is 4 percent lower than the 50 percent recorded in the first quarter survey conducted in March 2023. While about 46 percent of adult Filipinos think the Philippine economy will "improve," the poll also showed that 43 percent think the economy will "stay the same," and 6 percent think it will "worsen." OCTA's latest survey also showed that the percentage of adult Filipinos who think the Philippine economy will improve in the next six months ranges from 31 percent to 54 percent across different major areas. "Conversely, the percentage of adult Filipinos who think that the Philippine economy will worsen over the next six months ranges from 2 percent to 11 percent," OCTA said.

TAIPEI: Taiwan told China on Monday to stop its "destructive unilateral actions" after more than 100 Chinese warplanes and nine navy ships were detected in areas around the self-ruling democratic island. China's Foreign Ministry did not comment on the sorties, though its spokesman Mao Ning reaffirmed Beijing's position that Taiwan belongs to China. Taiwan's Defense Ministry said 68 Chinese aircraft and 10 naval vessels were spotted around the island between Wednesday morning and Thursday morning. China staged its largest-ever war games around Taiwan in August 2022, after then-US speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taipei despite warnings, infuriating Beijing. In a comment on the Weibo social media platform, China's state-run tabloid Global Times said Taiwan was a "sacred and inalienable part of China."

Two workers were injured on Monday afternoon after a work platform collapsed at The Henderson, a new grade A office building in Central, which is still under construction. Sources said a worker was on the platform when it fell from the 28th floor of the building. He suffered bone fractures to his lower body and was rushed to Queen Mary Hospital conscious for treatment. The other worker injured suffered a knock to his head from a loose object when the platform hit the ground. The construction site was said to be contracted to Hip Hing Construction.

Cone said it's just been over a month since the 6-foot-4 Brownlee underwent what he described as a "major surgery" on his ankle to remove bone spurs from three different areas last August. Gilas Pilipinas’ Justin Brownlee shoots against two Cambodian players during the 32nd Southeast Asian Games men’s basketball finals on May 16, 2023, in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The American mentor said knowing Brownlee, he's that type of player who would "not want to miss practice or games" despite some aches and pains he feels. You don't ever see him miss games or miss practices but he's willing to play through aches and pains and hurts, that's why we're so successful for so long, because he doesn't miss practice or games," shared Cone. To date, the 65-year-old Cone is the PBA's all-time winningest head coach in history, and he hopes his partnership with the 35-year-old Brownlee in the Asian Games will spell the same success.

BEIJING: Police in China have arrested several employees of a subsidiary of troubled Chinese property giant Evergrande, authorities said Saturday. Employees at Evergrande's financial subsidiary, Evergrande Wealth Management, were arrested, police in the southern city of Shenzhen said in a statement, without specifying the number of employees or the charges against them. HOUNDED BY TROUBLE The Evergrande logo is seen on residential buildings in Nanjing, in China’s eastern Jiangsu province, Aug. 18, 2023. Police in China have arrested several employees of a subsidiary of the troubled Chinese property giant, authorities said on Saturday, September 16. Another Chinese property giant, Country Garden, has narrowly avoided default in recent months, after reporting a record loss and debts of more than $150 billion.

NFA sets new palay buying pricesA farmer looks at his rice farm in Lupao, Nueva Ecija on September 18, 2023. The NFA council set the purchasing price for dry palay from P19 to 23, and for wet palay from P16 to 19. “Aside from that, there’s also a price cap in place to stabilize the situation with rice prices,” he added. The originally proposed buying prices of P20 and P25 were deemed “too high” and were expected to cause a surge in retail prices, the NFA said. Earlier this month, the government began imposing a cap on rice prices to reduce the retail prices of the staple item and penalize hoarding.

Children send President Marcos birthday greetingsChildren greet President Marcos on his 66th birthday by sending their messages at the Bahay Ugnayan Museum in this screengrab from the President’s YouTube channel. MANILA, Philippines — President Marcos took a break to read the greetings he received on his 66th birthday on Sept. 13, including those from children. The President was seen laughing and commenting on each letter, accompanied by drawings of his face. Hansboi Ibrahim from Cotabato City told Marcos he also wants to become president. I hope to meet you…,” said Ibrahim in his letter, to which the President responded, “You dream big… never stop until you reach it.”

Japan has a tradition of recreating nature in miniature, bonsai being the most famous art. In bonkei, landscapes are built on a tray using sand, rocks, moss and other materials on a base of soil. Artist arranges the scene to be seen from a certain angle, using perspective techniques to create a dynamic, realistic view. Another tray art, bonseki, uses only white sand and stones. Specialized tools shape the sand to express the subtleties of flowing water and other elements of nature.

What’s better than a bowl of nourishing soup made from Thai sea coconut during the humid weather in Hong Kong? Major food products from Thailand to Hong Kong includes: rice, fruits, poultry cuts and other food preparations & ingredients, etc. About the Department of International Trade PromotionThe Department of International Trade Promotion (DITP) is an organization under the Ministry of Commerce of the Royal Thai Government. DITP Hong Kong is one of the 63 DITP offices worldwide, carrying the same mission and objectives to facilitate commerce with potential partners. So whenever you THINK OF THAI TRADE, PLEASE THINK OF DITP HONG KONG.

Department of Agriculture begins holiday monitoring of agricultural pricesAside from the expected high demand for various farm products during the holiday season, he said typhoons might also affect the prices. “The consumption of local chili is not that big as it is only used for sauces, for other spices and condiments but we support our value industry like local chili,” Panganiban said. According to Panganiban, the BPI is closely monitoring the production of local chili with the expected demand this Christmas. Based on monitoring of the DA, local chili is sold between P500 and P800 per kilo in Metro Manila markets. Panganiban expressed confidence that retail prices of local chili will go down before Christmas.

Plenary debates on 2024 national budget start this weekMANILA, Philippines — Plenary debates on the proposed P5.7-trillion national budget for 2024 will start on Sept. 19 after the appropriations committee of the House of Representatives terminated last week its scrutiny of the national government’s spending plan. Other agencies like the Anti-Red Tape Authority, Mindanao Development Authority and Film Development Council of the Philippines will also be joining them tomorrow. Budget scrutiny for the Departments of Social Welfare, Information and Communications Technology and Interior and Local Government will be on Sept. 22. The national spending bill is the single most important piece of legislation Congress passes every year,” Speaker Martin Romualdez said. Next week starting Sept. 25, it will be the turn of the Civil Service Commission, Commission on Audit, Departments of Energy, Agriculture and Health as well as DOE-attached Energy Regulatory Commission.

New Castle, PA (16103)TodayMostly cloudy skies this morning will become partly cloudy this afternoon. Winds NW at 5 to 10 mph..TonightMostly clear. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph.