In what was easily his best game yet for UP, Francis Lopez shone as the UP Fighting Maroons took down the NU Bulldogs, 78-60, in the UAAP Season 86 men's basketball tournament at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Saturday, October 7. Lopez logged 14 points, seven rebounds, and four assists for UP which stayed perfect through three games and seized the early lead in the team standings. UP’s Lebron Lopez (left) PHOTO BY RIO DELUVIOReigning MVP Malick Diouf showcased his steady force down low, churning out 12 markers and 13 boards to help the Maroons in dealing the Bulldogs their first loss of the season. Jake Figueora put up 14 points and 10 rebounds for NU which dropped to 2-1.

Filipino-American guard Chris Ross was willing to do everything he can to help Gilas Pilipinas win and bring home the Asian Games gold medal. "Coach Tim (Cone) said, he was the only one alive the last time when we won the gold. That pep talk buoyed Gilas up so well the national squad got off to a quick 28-13 lead in the first half. Still, Gilas didn't flinch despite Jordan's tough stand. With their best offensive weapon struggling in the second half, the Jordanians couldn't break off against the Filipinos, who eventually came away with the Asian Games basketball championship.

The headquarters of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the Communist Party of China is pictured in Beijing. (Reuters)China's ruling Communist Party has expelled the former chairman of the state-owned Bank of China from the party, accusing him of illegal activities and taking bribes, the top anti-graft watchdog said on Saturday. Liu Liange was accused of illegally granting loans and causing significant financial risks, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) said in a statement on its website. Liu, born in 1961, had been working in banking and finance institutions, including in the central People's Bank of China and the Export-Import Bank of China, before he was promoted to become chairman of the Bank of China in 2019. Two weeks later, state media reported that the CCDI had opened an investigation into him on suspicion of serious violations of party discipline and laws.

Quimbo revealed during budget plenary debates at the House of Representatives that the OVP spent its P125 million confidential funds in just 11 days — even shorter than the 19 days initially detailed by Makabayan lawmakers. "The foregoing decision was unanimously reached by the ManCom of the party, together with some district representatives, and Rep. Edcel Lagman, as president of the party, was authorized to issue this statement," the solon said. Philstar.com already reached out to Quimbo regarding the matter but has yet to issue a response as of press time. Editor's note: An earlier version of this story indicated that the Liberal Party sanctioned Marikina City Rep. Stella Quimbo. The office of LP President Edcel Lagman subsequently provided a revised statement, prompting us to make the necessary updates to accurately reflect the correction.

NPC probes PhilHealth's possible violations after ransomware attackHackers have started exposing some of the data retrieved from ransomware attack against the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. after a ransom of $300,000 to unlock the data was not paid. MANILA, Philippines — The National Privacy Commission (NPC) said it is investigating the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) following a recent ransomware attack that exposed members' personal data. The NPC is looking into possible violations of data privacy laws and security concerns. Data stolen from PhilHealth through the Medusa ransomware attack was discovered to have been released online via platforms like Telegram on Thursday. Previously, PhilHealth acknowledged its inability to determine the exact number of records accessed during the Medusa ransomware attack.

One other Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) vessel was blocked and surrounded by Chinese coast guard and militia ships in the incident, which dragged on for about eight hours on Wednesday. It's "the closest dangerous maneuver" by any Chinese coast guard ship against a PCG, he said. Wednesday's hostilities began at dawn when a Chinese coast guard ship closely tailed the Philippine vessels enroute to Second Thomas Shoal. In early August, a Chinese coast guard ship used a water cannon against one of two Philippine supply boats to prevent it from approaching Ayungin Shoal. Two PCG ships securing the supply boats, however, were prevented by Chinese coast guard ships from maneuvering closer to the shoal.

DESPITE not being able to bring home the gold medal from China, Filipino boxer Eumir Marcial held his head high and offered his Asian Games silver medal to his countrymen. Marcial, who bagged the bronze in the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, said he would have not been able to reach this far in Hangzhou without the overwhelming support of the Filipino fans. This victory would have not been possible without all the outpouring of support from all the Filipino fans. The gold medal bout was nip and tuck with neither fighter backing down. The silver, though, was an upgrade to the bronze medal Marcial won in the 2018 Asian Games in Palembang, Indonesia as a middleweight.

A 39-year-old worker was injured and trapped in a 20-meter-deep tunnel in the early hours of Friday after being hit by an H-beam that fell at a construction site in Yau Ma Tei. The accident happened at around 1 am this morning when the 39-year-old and his colleagues were clearing out construction waste and cutting steel bars at the underground site at Kansu Street which is part of the new 4.7km Central Kowloon Route. The worker sustained injuries to his hands, waist, back, and pelvis, and was unable to be extracted through the steel cat ladder that connects to the ground. The Disaster Response and Rescue Team of the Fire Services Department was later called to the scene to aid in the rescue effort, which took around an hour to get the worker back to the ground. The worker was brought to Queen Elizabeth Hospital for treatment conscious.

Better think twiceJust recently, a bill that seeks to promote the use of waste-to-energy (WTE) technologies has advanced in the Senate after it was reported out for plenary approval. The bill noted that population increase has driven up the volume of solid waste. Tulfo noted that currently, sanitary landfills are the primary long-term method of solid waste disposal under Republic Act 9003 or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act. In Thailand, the closest comparison with the Philippines, the cost of waste management is $30 per ton. The DENR earlier said solid waste management remains a major problem for the country mostly due to mismanagement of waste segregation at the local level.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said at forum in Tibet on Thursday that nations in the region must respect each other's sovereignty, amid simmering tensions with India over a disputed border in the eastern Himalayas. Attending the forum in Tibet, the third round of trans-Himalayan dialogue since its inception in 2018, were officials from countries including Nepal, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Mongolia. Relations between China and India nosedived in 2020 after a border clash in which 20 Indian and four Chinese soldiers were killed. U.N. experts have this year voiced repeated concerns over Tibet, most recently in August when they raised the plight of jailed Tibetan rights defenders. Wang said on Thursday that lies fabricated by "some Western forces" about Tibet were untenable and based on ideological bias, and will unravel "in the face of facts".

"You really have to come in and be locked in, fellas," Cone told the team earlier. But now we gotta do something special against Jordan." Cone was asked how Gilas' final practice turned out. "We got beat by 25 points, so, yeah, they gotta be pretty major," Cone said. Justin Brownlee, Gilas' savior in the knockout games with Iran and China, scored 24 points against Jordan that day, and Scottie Thompson added 11.

An advisory was released by CAAP on Wednesday but was only made public on Friday through the Facebook page of a non-government organization called the Philippine Emergency Alerts. The email said there were aircraft at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) bound for "Puerto Princesa, Mactan-Cebu, Bicol, and Davao international airports" that were timed to "set off." Aviation authorities said the information was "being validated but enhanced security measures in all airports shall be immediately implemented." Airport managers were also advised to provide or augment adequate security personnel to be deployed in key areas of airports "until such time that the given information is validated". As of posting time, the airports mentioned have yet to make any statement.

Smartphones are now an essential part of our lives, and since almost everyone has one, naturally there's also a vast range of accessories, both functional and decorative. Japanese designers are especially inventive - smartphone cases might have flip-out make-up mirrors, or resemble furry dolls. A big focus is cuteness, and a major hit just now is a series of sweet animal shapes that protect the ends of charging cables, looking just as if they are biting your phone. VIDEO BY MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF JAPAN

Sara brands secret fund critics ‘enemies of peace’MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Sara Duterte has broken her silence on the confidential fund spending controversy by taking a swipe at critics of her confidential fund, saying they are “enemies of peace.”“Listen to everything that is being said around you and remember, whoever opposes confidential funds opposes peace. Whoever opposes peace is an enemy of the people,” Duterte said in a speech delivered on Wednesday. “Anyone who attacks or undermines funds allocated for peace and order is naturally assumed to have insidious motivations. “VP Sara will pass so we must stop. Let’s stop because VP Sara will pass, safe regards,” the netizen shouted in Filipino, which elicited laughter from the motorists.

MANILA, Philippines — The ramming of a suspected foreign crude oil tanker on a fishing boat that killed three Filipino fishermen was an accident, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) declared yesterday. “As far as the initial information we have right now, we can say it was not deliberate,” said PCG spokesman for the West Philippine Sea Commodore Jay Tarriela. He added the PCG has yet to confirm the identity of the commercial vessel that hit the Filipino fishing boat. He also revealed some operators and owners of fishing vessels lack coordination with government agencies on where they would fish. FFB Dearyn captain Dexter Laudencia and crewmen Romeo Mejico and Benedicto Olandria died after drowning, while 11 other crewmembers survived.