SUZUKI Philippines, the country's pioneer compact car distributor, is now making its beloved 7-seater models, the Ertiga Hybrid and the ever-dependable XL7, more affordable and accessible to its loyal customers and patrons with its "Rainproof Deals." The Ertiga Hybrid, the first MPV hybrid in the country, gives an impressive fuel efficiency rating of 12.54 km/L or 7.6 percent better than the regular engine Ertiga on city driving. ‘Rainproof Deals’ from Suzuki. Suzuki's Rainproof Deals is available at all 72 Suzuki dealerships nationwide and will last until July 31. For daily updates on Suzuki, please like Suzuki Auto PH's Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/SuzukiAutoPH, follow them on Twitter at https://twitter.com/SuzukiAutoPH and Instagram at @suzukiautoph.

Nearly a sixth of the inmates in Ecuador’s prisons have not been sentenced, a national census showed on Monday, as President Guillermo Lasso urged the judicial system to be speedier to help ease the burden on overcrowded jails. ADVERTISEMENTThat figure is above the 30,134 prisoner capacity that prisons agency SNAI said the 36-prison system had in December 2022. Ecuador’s prison system has faced structural problems for decades, amid overcrowding and precarious living conditions for inmates, but riots have become increasingly common, killing more than 400 prisoners since late 2020. The government has attributed prison violence to fighting between criminal groups for control of prisons and drug trafficking routes. Prisoners have complained about the quality of the basic services and supply of food, the census also showed.

A bedside physiologic monitor fell and hit a patient last night, the spokesman for Eastern Hospital announced today. The patient sustained a minor abrasion on his forehead and his shoulder was also injured. A preliminary inspection showed that the dropping monitor and the supporting mount were intact, with the fixation parts functioning properly. Eastern Hospital informed the patient's family about the incident, and engineering staff were arranged to check all the bedside physiologic monitors of the same model in the ward to ensure safety. The incident has been reported in detail to Hospital Authority via Advanced Incident Reporting System, said the spokesman.

(UPDATE) A CHINESE foreign ministry official believes that Beijing and Manila can resolve their maritime dispute on their own, but a "third party" could turn the South China Sea (SCS) into a "sea of war." China, Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan, Vietnam and the Philippines have overlapping claims in the South China Sea, believed to be rich in gas and oil deposits. "We have [the] ability to handle it well but have to stay high-alert that South China Sea might be turned into the sea of war by the third party," Zhou said. The US, on the other hand, has warned against China's aggressiveness in asserting its claims in the South China Sea. Zhou said China's "goal" is for the South China Sea "to become the sea of peace, friendship and cooperation."

A raid led by the PNP “rescued” some 2,000 alleged human trafficking victims, including foreign fugitives, at the Hong Tai Compound in Las Piñas City on June 26. Gen. Sidney Hernia, director of the PNP Anti-Cybercrime Group, said they first learned that there were foreign fugitives in some Pogo hubs in their recent raids after coordinating with embassies who provided them with a list. In a statement, Gatchalian cited how fugitives who were rounded up in the recent raid in Las Piñas City were found to be working for Xinchuang Network Technology, a licensed Pogo firm in the country. It is clear that even legitimate Pogo firms also have involvement in crimes,” Gatchalian said. Remulla said the PNP’s supposed lack of evidence and coordination resulted in the release of the five Chinese suspects involved in human trafficking.

The suspect, with the surname Wu and from Lianjiang, had been detained, police said, adding they were investigating. She did not offer details about the identities and age of the victims, nor on the weapon used in the attack. The report said a video posted online showed a man carrying a knife walking past the kindergarten playground. It said other video showed at least four people in a pool of blood outside the school. Fatal attacks specifically targeting schools have occurred nationwide, prompting authorities to step up security around schools.

(UPDATE) PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. will lead the distribution of cash incentives to more than 500 national athletes on July 20 at the Malacañang Palace in recognition to their outstanding achievements at the 32nd Southeast Asian Games (SEAG) and 12th Asean Para Games (APG) held recently in Cambodia. President Ferdinand 'Bongbong Marcos Jr. PHOTO BY PRESIDENTIAL COMMUNICATIONS OFFICE"We are grateful for President Marcos' decision to personally award the incentives to Team Philippines, an expression of his admiration to our national athletes and their unwavering passion and dedication for representing the country," said Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) chairman Richard Bachmann. The PSC will be releasing about P60 million and P14 million in cash bonuses for the SEAG and APG medalists, respectively, as provided for by Republic Act 10699, or the "Expanded National Athletes and Coaches Incentives and Benefits Act." Under the law, national athletes who won gold medals will receive P300,000, silver medal finish with P150,000, and bronze medal finish with P60,000 at the SEAG level. The gold, silver, and bronze medalists from the APG level, on the other hand, are entitled to receive incentives worth P150,000, P75,000, and P30,000, respectively.

Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said there will be announcements soon regarding steps to attract strategic enterprises to Hong Kong in the wake of his a three-day visit to Shanghai. "I believe there is some good news to be announced in the near future in terms of attracting strategic enterprises," he said. Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu noted in his policy address in October that the administration would set up an Office for Attracting Strategic Enterprises to be led by Chan in an attempt to lure businesses from the mainland and overseas by offering them special facilitation measures and one-stop services. Members of the office, set up in December, have met over 150 technology firms and industry leaders, authorities said. Chan also gave a speech at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai, saying the SAR is committed to attracting AI firms and talents.

Long minnows in the sport, the Philippines have never played at a FIFA World Cup, either the men's or women's. Stajcic calls their journey from "almost ground zero" to the World Cup "miraculous". It began with the Women's Asian Cup in early 2022 when they made the semi-finals, losing to South Korea but securing a historic World Cup berth. 'We don't have fields'The Philippines are in Group A at the World Cup alongside co-hosts New Zealand, Norway and Switzerland. The team hopes getting the Philippines to their first World Cup can be a game-changer for football in the country.

LIVE: Senate hearing on public information, mass media billsMANILA, Philippines — The Senate Committee on Public Information and Mass Media is leading joint hearings on Monday on bills related to public access to information, media regulation, and accountability on social media. Also on the agenda are Senate bills to regulate what can be shown on media, including curbs on "immoral doctrines" and "indecent shows" and violence. Senate Bill No. 1289, which is also on the agenda, seeks to require social media and other online platforms to collect proof of identification from their users. Watch the Senate hearing on public information and mass media bills from 1:30 p.m. on July 10, 2023

(UPDATE) LAS VEGAS: Victor Wembanyama freely acknowledged that he was often confused in his first NBA Summer League game, going as far as to say that there were times when he didn't know what he was doing. San Antonio Spurs' Victor Wembanyama AFP PHOTOWembanyama shared the stage for a conversation on Saturday at NBA Con with a pair of champions, Hall of Famers Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Isiah Thomas. You have things to learn," Abdul-Jabbar told him on the stage during the 30-minute conversation that Thomas moderated, one of the featured attractions at the inaugural NBA Con. He airballed a couple of 3s, got dunked on once, and there were times he knew he was making a mistake. I'm just ready to learn."

The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) has assured the public that it would guard against the wanton conversion of the country’s remaining agricultural land into other uses, including real estate development, following President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos’ recent signing of the New Agrarian Emancipation Act. ADVERTISEMENT“The arable lands that we say must be planted on, we will have them planted on—we will guard them against conversion,” Pangulayan said. 11953 last Friday, condoning more than P57.56 billion in unpaid amortizations among 610,054 agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) working on 1.173 million hectares nationwide. Agrarian Reform Secretary Conrado Estrella III had reminded agrarian reform beneficiaries that they could not sell nor transfer the titles to the lands awarded to them under the agrarian reform law for 10 years after receiving their titles. Pangulayan said DAR also aims to push for the economic empowerment of farmers through agricultural productivity, profitability and rural development.

Reyes in fact, described Gilas' improvement on defense as "night and day" as compared to how they started when they opened the tune-up game with an 81-71 loss to Estonia in the host country's capital city in Tallinn. Chot Reyes PHOTO BY RIO DELUVIO"Definitely we showed improvement. "All the work we put in on perfecting our defense is starting to show." And while the 59-year-old Gilas mentor is happy to see the national team's strides during its close to three weeks Europe training camp, Reyes stressed there's "still a lot of work to be done." Gilas is expected to leave Kaunas, Lithuania soon and make its way back to Manila for a few days off.

It will be a hot and humid Sunday as the easterlies will continue to prevail, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said. Weather specialist Daniel James Villamil said the easterlies, winds coming from the east that pass through the Pacific Ocean and bring warm and humid weather, will prevail in most parts of the country especially in Luzon. Along with the inter-tropical convergence zone, an imaginary line where the air from the northern and southern hemisphere meet, the weather system will bring overcast skies with scattered rain showers and thunderstorms in Visayas, Caraga, Northern Mindanao, Zamboanga Peninsula, Masbate and Sorsogon. "We can expect hot, humid weather especially in Luzon areas although isolated downpour and thunderstorms will be likely in the afternoon or at night," Villamil said. Metro Manila and the rest of the country will have partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rain showers or thunderstorms.

Amazon neighbors race to save world's biggest rainforestAerial view of an illegal mining camp surrounding huts of an indigenous tribe, taken during an operation by the Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (IBAMA) against Amazon deforestation at the Yanomami territory in Roraima State, Brazil, on February 24, 2023. LETICIA, Colombia — With the effects of climate change mounting, Amazon basin countries met in Colombia for a summit Saturday to strategize on how to save the world's biggest rainforest. "Losing the Amazon, reaching the point of no return, has irreversible consequences for global climate change," she warned at the meeting attended by representatives from Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela. Rainforests are often called the "lungs of the Earth," soaking up planet-warming carbon dioxide and expelling life-giving oxygen. Their protection is crucial in the battle to combat climate change.