A U.S. military plane involved in a confrontation with Chinese aircraft in disputed southern waters last week had violated international law and put the safety of Chinese pilots at risk, a defence ministry spokesman said. But Tian Junli, spokesman for China's Southern Theatre Command, said in a statement late on Saturday that the United States had misled the public about the incident near the disputed Paracel Islands in the South China Sea. He said the U.S. plane violated international law, disregarded repeated warnings by China and made dangerous approaches that threatened the safety of China's aircraft. "The United States deliberately misleads public opinion... in an attempt to confuse the international audience," Tian said. China claims almost the entire South China Sea as its sovereign territory, but parts of it are contested by Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei.

The government is working to resume quarantine-free cross-border travel with mainland China by as early as January 8, with a quota-setting scheme in the first phase, said officials. In a post on Sunday, Chief Secretary for Administration Chan Kwok-ki said multiple ports on the border are restarting for the resumption of normal travel between Hong Kong and mainland China. "The ports will set headcount limits for commuters in the preliminary phase after the resumption of border-cross travel," he said. "Our Co-ordination Group on Resumption of Normal Travel will take measures in expanding the scale of cross-border travel after the first phase," Chan said, "the number of flights travelling between the two places will also gradually increase depending on the situation." "The government will make every effort to ensure sufficient manpower and transportation capacity in the shortest time," said the transport minister Lam Sai-hung.

BREAKFAST is often regarded as the most important meal of the day. Aside from that, breakfast likewise gives other essential nutrients that help maintain good health. Best of Filipino breakfast awaits diners at Conti’s. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO Best of Filipino breakfast awaits diners at Conti's. CONTRIBUTED PHOTOBut not everyone is getting the right breakfast.

The PBA is set to explore an uncharted territory when it joins the esports scene with its planned collaboration with Dark League Studios for its PBA Esports Bakbakan in the first quarter of 2023. Setsuna “Dogie” Ignacio with PBA players Joseph Gabayni, Allen Mina and Jerrick Ahanmisi. “The showmatch proved that esports is for everyone, We were able to bridge two different worlds, basketball and esports. “The PBA players who participated told us that it was a great experience talaga! Nakaka excite daw to play these games in front of the fans!,” he addedThe PBA Esports Bakbakan 2023 will feature teams composed of PBA players, social media influencers and university esports athletes as it hopes to merge professional basketball, esports gaming and the academe in a collaborative effort to further promote esports in the country.

Marcos appoints two new OPS execsPresident Marcos swears in new Office of the Press Secretary officials at Malacañang. Appointed as OPS undersecretary was Cherbett Karen Maralit (above right) and Francisco Rodriguez III as assistant secretary. MANILA, Philippines — President Marcos has appointed two new officials, including his head writer during the 2022 presidential race, to the Office of the Press Secretary (OPS). In a statement, the OPS said Cherbett Karen Maralit and Francisco Rodriguez III have been named press undersecretary and assistant secretary, respectively. Maralit and Rodriguez have taken their oath of office before Marcos, photos released by the OPS yesterday showed.

New hybrid digital wallet to launch in Q1MANILA, Philippines — Financial services provider Direct Agent 5 Inc. (DA5) is launching its own hybrid digital wallet in the first quarter of 2023 after obtaining the necessary permits from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). Taken together, DA5 secures the title as the only money service business (MSB) to offer remittances, foreign exchange, crypto exchange and e-money facilities. SurgePay aims to be the most innovative Web 3.0 wallet to hit the Philippine market. This means that users could send and receive money and claim their remittances in seconds from any 1,800 outlets of DA5 nationwide. DA5, founded in 2006, is one of the leading authorized direct agents of Western Union in the Philippines.

Japan firm invests P2 billion for auto partsMANILA, Philippines — Kurabe Industrial Philippines Inc., a Japanese manufacturing company, is investing P2 billion into the country to set up a manufacturing facility in Lima Estate in Batangas, an economic zone operated by Aboitiz InfraCapital (AIC). Kurabe will purchase a 5.9-hectare property within the 800-hectare Lima Estate. “On behalf of the Philippine delegation at the Japan Business Roadshow, we welcome Kurabe Industrial to the Philippines, and to Lima Estate. At present, Lima Estate is home to over 70 Japanese companies. To accommodate growing demand from investors, AIC broke ground earlier this year on a 57-hectare expansion within Lima Estate which is part of a larger 150-hectare expansion.

Should they be accused of discriminating against the Chinese including those from Hong Kong and Macau? The WHO's director for health emergencies Mike Ryan is also of the view that Beijing decided zero-Covid was not the best option anymore. It may appear that Japan reacted hastily when limiting even flights from Hong Kong to a few airports, threatening to disrupt plans for travellers. Following the Hong Kong government's intervention, Japan is now reopening other airports to Hongkongers as long as none on the plane has been to the mainland in the previous seven days. Perhaps this is the new normal to live with as we learn to live with Covid.

A drunk man assaulted a taxi driver to take the wheel and even took the driver seat and left the cabbie behind on the highway early Saturday morning after he slammed the cabbie for driving too slow. The man was later arrested in Sai Wan. The incident occurred around 5am Saturday as the cabbie surnamed Lai, 67, picked up the drunk man surnamed Yip, 49, in Yau Ma Tei, who was going to Hing Wah Estate in Chai Wan. Yip then got off the vehicle as well, but took the driver seat and fled the scene, leaving Lai behind on the road. Yip, who failed the alcohol breath test, was then arrested for drunk driving, common assault and taking a vehicle without authority.

In response, the United States and several other countries announced they would require negative Covid tests for all travelers from mainland China. WHO calls for dataThe European Union's health agency said Thursday it believed the EU-wide introduction of mandatory Covid screenings for travelers from China was currently "unjustified." 'Smears'Following the announcements by some countries of travel restrictions, Beijing has hit out against "smears with ulterior motives" by the Western media. Bodies piling upOn the front lines of China's Covid wave, hospitals are battling surging cases that have hit the elderly and vulnerable hardest. China's National Health Commission said last week it would no longer release an official daily Covid death toll.

POIPET: Rescuers scoured the charred ruins of a Cambodian hotel and casino complex on Friday, warning they expected to find "many more" victims of a deadly fire that forced people to jump from windows. Hundreds of people are believed to have been inside the Grand Diamond City hotel casino, located within sight of Poipet town on the Thai border, when the blaze broke out around 11:30 p.m. local time (0430 GMT) Wednesday. "We believe there are many more bodies still trapped inside the compound," a Cambodian police officer at the site told AFP as rescuers began entering the burned complex. The casino is one of many in Poipet, a border town popular with Thais who face strict restrictions on gambling within the kingdom. Rescue effortsOn Thursday, Thai rescuers were forced to call off their efforts as night fell, with an officer from the Ruamkatanyu Foundation explaining conditions were too dangerous to continue.

MIAMI (AFP) — Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown scored 29 points each as the Eastern Conference leading Boston Celtics beat the Los Angeles Clippers 116-110 in the NBA on Thursday, Dec. 29. Jayson Tatum of the Boston Celtics drives to the basket against the LA Clippers on December 29, 2022 at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. (AFP)The Celtics (25-10) closed out their seven game homestand, which began with three losses, with a fourth straight win. Twice in the game, Brown pulled the Celtics clear of the 21-15 Clippers with runs of seven straight points. Kawhi Leonard top scored for the Clippers with 26 points and eight rebounds while Paul George had 24 points.

PARIS (AFP) — His face appeared on televisions around the world and dominated the homepages of news outlets everywhere as global media bowed to the late, great Pele, the undisputed “King” of football. A man takes a picture of a wall depicting an image of late football stars Diego Maradona of Argentina and Pele of Brazil embracing each other, in Buenos Aires on December 29, 2022, just hours after the passing of Pele. To the Brazilian daily O Globo, whose front page was packed with stories about the sporting legend, Pele may have died, but he remained the “immortal king of football”. In the far less football-mad United States, the New York Times called Pele the “global face of soccer” who “helped popularise the sport” stateside with his 1975-1977 stint with the New York Cosmos. And in Italy’s La Stampa, Matteo Giusti began his article with a quote attributed to the Brazilian writer Jorge Amado: “If football hadn’t been called that, it should have been called Pele.”

BI nabs Chinese over gambling websiteMANILA, Philippines— The Bureau of Immigration (BI) has intercepted a 22-year-old Chinese fugitive at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) for his alleged involvement in illegal gambling in his country. In a statement, BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco said Zeng Zhanhong was intercepted at the NAIA Terminal 1 as he was about to board an Air China flight for Beijing on Dec. 27. The immigration officer who processed Zeng’s papers found that he is the subject of an Interpol blue notice for being a fugitive from justice in China, according to Tansingco. Zeng is allegedly a member of a syndicate based in Shandong that operates an illegal gambling website, a serious criminal offense under Chinese law. Tansingco said he immediately coordinated with his Chinese counterpart in Beijing, where police arrested Zeng upon his arrival at the airport.

In the Slow Food movement, we promote the consumption and production of heirloom grains like adlai and heirloom varieties like Jeykot, Minaangan or generally Tinawon (meaning once a year) rice. Why is it premium – adlai and heirloom rice? Why must we care about the price of rice, adlai and heirloom rice? I wish I could explain better why heirloom rice and adlai are better for you. Meantime, I hope to share with Alvin and Doris about heirloom rice and adlai.