"Taiwan is an inalienable part of China, and our operation aims to safeguard peace and stability in the Taiwan Straits. This marked a record-breaking number in terms of PLA aircraft detected in the region, media on the island said. The intensity of the drills surpassed, or was at least comparable with the peak number during the PLA drills in August in response to Pelosi's provocative visit on August 2, if taking vessels into account, observers said. On August 5, Taiwan's defense authority reported sighting 68 PLA aircraft and 13 PLA vessels, and on August 7, it reported 66 PLA aircraft and 14 PLA vessels. The US' financing of weapons to Taiwan island is a serious provocation that has crossed the bottom line, and the PLA's drills were a response that showed its strong will and capability, Fu said.

The United States this week also expanded its voluntary genomic sequencing program at airports, adding Seattle and Los Angeles to the program. "Previous COVID-19 wastewater surveillance has shown to be a valuable tool and airplane wastewater surveillance could potentially be an option," she wrote. French researchers reported in July that airplane wastewater tests showed requiring negative COVID tests before international flights does not protect countries from the spread of new variants. They found the Omicron variant in wastewater from two commercial airplanes that flew from Ethiopia to France in December 2021 even though passengers had been required to take COVID tests before boarding. Osterholm and others said mandatory testing before travel to the United States is unlikely to keep new variants out of the country.

Cryptocurrency meets food in Bored and Hungry, a one-of-a-kind burger shop and the first NFT-themed restaurant. Bored and Hungry was started by entrepreneurs Andy Nguyen, Kevin Seo, and Philiip Huynh, who are also the founders of the Food Fighters Universe. Andy Nguyen is no stranger to the restaurant industry. Before Bored and Hungry, Andy has opened over 10 restaurants including ice-cream chain Afters, with 27 locations in California and Nevada, Matte Black Coffee, and Dough & Arrow. Bored and Hungry is part of the Food Fighters Universe, a restaurant group that aims to bring together real-life experiences with the world of Web3 and digital assets through food.

This will place Hong Kong in a stronger position to benefit the most from a busy schedule that Hong Kong Monetary Authority chief executive Eddie Yue Wai-man is predicting for 2023. This is also believed to be the top priority that Beijing has assigned to Hong Kong. Among them are plans by four leading financial institutions to organize large events in the SAR as well as plans for a few central bank conferences. Likewise, apart from organizing international events, Hong Kong will have to be practical in policies too if it wants to win back opportunities that, once owned by us, would not have been lost to others if the city had not isolated itself for so long a period. It is useful to showcase Hong Kong to the world by hosting international events.

The Philippines and China will establish direct communication between their foreign ministries to avoid "miscalculation and miscommunication" in the hotly disputed South China Sea, Manila said Thursday. Marcos has insisted he will not let China trample on the Philippines' maritime rights in the sea -- in contrast to his predecessor Rodrigo Duterte, who was reluctant to criticise the superpower. Manila refers to the waters immediately west of the Philippines as the West Philippine Sea. Beijing claims sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea and has ignored an international court ruling that its claims have no legal basis. China has reinforced its stance in the South China Sea by ripping up thousands of hectares of reef to create new land for artificial islands in the Spratly archipelago.

Bay Area head coach Brian Goorjian is enjoying the feeling of pressure and he hopes his wards would learn to thrive under it as well. This environment is second to none,” said Goorjian who is a six-time Australia NBL champion and Coach of the Year. “This environment is incredible, the fans and all of them in that stadium cheering for their team. “I’ve said to the group, just do what you did in the last game, take your shots. Enjoy the experience, get off in this environment and play under this pressure, it’s got to be something you enjoy,” he added.

What he didn't foresee was the fierce defense put up by the outgunned and outnumbered Ukrainian military. That's reason enough for Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy to spurn Putin's overture to negotiate peace. And unless he presents a counterproposal, the accusations that restoring peace in Ukraine is not his intent will continue to gain legitimacy. Unless peace is brokered, the Ukraine war will continue to fuel economic uncertainty. Finding peace in Ukraine has become a maze with a lot of dead ends.

JL Delos Santos shone for Bulacan with game-highs of 16 points and nine boards, while former PBA player Leo Najorda and Jeric Serrano added 12 points each. RJ Ramirez also had 11 points and two assists as Bulacan atoned for a 60-69 loss to San Juan last week and improved to 3-2. Jake Diwa paced the Warriors with 13 points, five rebounds and two assists, while Jan Formento added 12 points. Mark Doligon also got 10 and six for San Pedro. Jude Codiñera was the only player from Cabuyao who scored in double-digits with 13 points.

The biggest hits of 2022Music was a constant source of comfort for many while the COVID-19 virus was raging all over the world. Despite the big number of pop and hip-hop hits this year, the song that most people chose to listen to is a rock song. Is this a sign that rock music is bracing for a comeback to the charts? Top Album of the Year is Un Verano Sin Ti by Bad Bunny. Top artists are female, Taylor Swift; male, Bad Bunny; group, Glass Animals; and new artist Latto.

"It is understood that around 250 outbound flights of Hong Kong airlines will be affected between December 30, 2022 and the end of January 2023, affecting around 60,000 passengers," the government said in a statement late on Wednesday. Among the affected passengers, about 4,000 are tour group travellers from over 150 tour group. Flights of Hong Kong airlines can still carry passengers back to Hong Kong from various airports in Japan, the government said, to "ensure the smooth return of Hong Kong people from Japan and to minimise the impact to Hong Kong travellers caused by the incident." "We think that Hong Kong people should be allowed to use not just these four airports," Lee said. Hong Kong Airlines and Peach Aviation announced they would cancel some flight routes because of the rules.

Supporting PISAY scholars’ learning with Microsoft SolutionsThe Microsoft Showcase School Program is an opportunity for schools, like the Philippine Science High School- Main Campus to engage with Microsoft and its partners on a global scale. Becoming future-readyPhoto Release Microsoft Education offers dynamic and intelligent solutions to strengthen the Social Emotional Learning Skills of PISAY scholars. PSHS-Main Campus, with the lead of the PSHS-System leaders, aims to become one of the Microsoft Showcase Schools in the country. PSHS-Main Campus jumpstarted their journey with HP devices powered by Microsoft Education Tools. The shared values of integrity and innovation between Microsoft, HP, Line Learning and PISAY has made the Microsoft Showcase School Accelerator Program successful.

Read this in The Manila Times digital edition. THE peso lost 3 centavos on Wednesday to close at P56.2 to the dollar against Tuesday's P55.9. Volume reached $882.85 million, higher than the $813.27 million in the previous session. Michael Ricafort, chief economist at Rizal Commercial Banking Corp., said the peso was weaker "after the long Christmas holiday weekend and after the likely peak/culmination and eventually tail-end of the holiday-related spending." However, he noted that "there may still be another round of increased holiday-related spending, though by a lesser extent, in preparation for the upcoming long New Year holiday weekend."

Rafael Nadal of Spain poses for pictures after a press conference with team members at the Tennis Centre in Sydney on December 28, 2022, ahead of the United Cup tennis tournament. It will provide a warm-up for his defence of the Australian Open title next month at Melbourne Park, where he swept past Russian Daniil Medvedev to win this year in an epic five-setter. That victory came after arch-rival and nine-time Australian Open winner Novak Djokovic was detained and deported ahead of the tournament after refusing to get vaccinated for Covid-19. “Novak is here, good for tennis, good for probably the fans,” the world number two said in Sydney. I am ready to make that happen, but let’s see.”Nadal played his first Australian Open in 2004.

LAWEUENG, Indonesia — Some died of sickness. But after more than a month adrift on the Andaman Sea without much food, medicine or a working engine, nearly 200 Rohingya reached western Indonesia’s Aceh province after their overcrowded, rickety wooden boat finally reached shore on Monday. Monday’s boat landing in Aceh came a day after another vessel carrying 57 Rohingya refugees was pulled ashore on Christmas morning by the Indonesian Navy. Unlike several other Southeast Asian countries, Indonesia does not push back Rohingya boats. RELATED STORIESDeadliest year for Rohingya at sea in years as 180 presumed drownedIndonesia says will turn away stricken boat of Rohingya refugeesRead Next

SUBSCRIBERS of Globe, Smart or DITO have six months to register their SIM cards to avoid the deactivation of their existing numbers. SIM cards that will be sold starting today will be in a "deactivated mode." Among the information required of subscribers are their full name, birthday, sex, present or official address, an identification card and ID number. Minors will have their SIM cards placed under their parent or guardian's name. If a SIM card is stolen along with the phone, the owner must immediately inform the telco and provide the following details: name, address, birthday, mobile number, and other relevant and reasonable information that can prove that the owner lost the SIM.