SINT-TRUIDEN, Belgium — A Belgian hospital has built a pavilion to allow pets to visit patients who are in palliative care or with illnesses that require long-term care in a bid to boost patients’ wellbeing. Most hospitals worldwide do not allow pet visits for reasons of hygiene and contamination risks, and for years long-term patients at the Sint-Trudo hospital who wanted to see their pets had to do that in the hospital courtyard. ADVERTISEMENTBut in conversations between cancer patients and hospital psychologists, the idea grew for a dedicated indoor space – separate from but connected to the hospital – and the result is a pet visit pavilion that opened last month. “For long-term hospital residents, mental wellbeing is very important in their recovery, and reconnecting with pets really helps,” said spokeswoman Miet Driesen at Sint-Trudo in Sint-Truiden, Belgium. Funded by a cancer charity for 140,000 euros ($152,000), the new space allows patients to meet with pets one hour per week.

A self-claimed relationship expert was sentenced to 160 hours of community service on Thursday after being found guilty of violating the Trade Descriptions Ordinance by charging two men a total of HK$540,000 in teaching them dating techniques. He was charged with tricking his clients, Chang Hin-shing and Chan Pak-hang, from January 26 to February 15 last year by asking them to pay more than the course fees. He was later charged with two counts of "engaging in a commercial practice that is a misleading omission." During the hearing at the Eastern Magistrates' Courts today, the prosecution also requested a court order for Chau to pay compensation and confiscate the mobile phone and tablet computer seized from him. However, the magistrate, Philip Chan Chee-fai, decided against imposing a compensation order and confiscating the items and suggested the victims file a civil lawsuit if they wished to pursue compensation.

China has released its first homegrown open-source desktop operating system, named OpenKylin, state media said, as the country steps up efforts to cut reliance on U.S. technology. China's massive market for operating systems was worth 15.5 billion yuan ($2.1 billion) last year, state media said, citing an industry report. Developing an operating system independent of U.S. technology has been an important goal for China's tech industry in recent years, with many companies and organisations having contributed to the development of the OpenKylin system. More than a dozen Chinese companies are trying to develop operating systems that could replace Microsoft's Windows and Apple's MacOS operating systems. One such company, UnionTech Software Technology Co Ltd, has been developing what it calls the "Unity operating system".

4 Chinese, 3 Taiwanese nabbed for online gamblingChinese nationals Zhang Quanbao, Song Tianming, Yu Liming and Liu Jianxin as well as Taiwanese Li Yi Liang, Huang Hsin-Chiang and Lin Yue Hong are being held at the BI detention facility in Bicutan, Taguig. MANILA, Philippines — Four Chinese and three Taiwanese who were allegedly running an online gambling hub in Las Piñas City have been arrested by the Bureau of Immigration (BI). Chinese nationals Zhang Quanbao, Song Tianming, Yu Liming and Liu Jianxin as well as Taiwanese Li Yi Liang, Huang Hsin-Chiang and Lin Yue Hong are being held at the BI detention facility in Bicutan, Taguig. Immigration Commissioner Norman Tansingco said the foreigners were apprehended by members of the Las Piñas police on Wednesday. So a mission order was issued for their arrest,” Tansingco said.

(UPDATE) PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has approved the implementation of a new strategy to counter money laundering, terrorism financing, and proliferation financing in the country. The President signed on Tuesday Executive Order (EO) 33, directing all government offices and departments to adopt the National Anti-Money Laundering, Counter-Terrorism Financing, and Counter-Proliferation Financing Strategy (NACS) 2023-2027. It also authorized the National Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing Strategy Coordinating Committee (NACC) to reorganize its subcommittees. The Terrorism Financing and Proliferation Subcommittee will be reorganized into two subcommittees — the Terrorism Financing Subcommittee and the Proliferation Financing Subcommittee. The NACC shall be chaired by the executive secretary, while the governor of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, the concurrent chairman of the Anti-Money Laundering Council, will serve as vice chairman.

(UPDATE) THE Department of Justice (DoJ) said it is closely watching six or seven possible perpetrators running the cartel responsible for hoarding onions and other agricultural products in the country. Workers unload sacks of Red onions as they delivered it to stores inside the Marikina public market. Republic Act (RA) 10845 declares large-scale agricultural smuggling as "economic sabotage." Remulla said the cartel is hoarding onions with the help of storage facilities, warehouses and middlemen. DoJ records showed that the BoC had filed 159 cases of agricultural smuggling before the courts since 2016, but 48 percent of these were dismissed for lack of evidence.

NGO accuses Chinese renewables firms of abuses in 18 countriesBeijing has been blamed for environmental damage and poor workers' rights in Indonesia where electric battery-producing companies hungry for nickel have invested heavily. The Business & Human Rights Resource Centre, an international NGO, logged 102 alleged cases of abuse committed by Chinese firms involved in sourcing transitional minerals overseas between January 2021 and December 2022. More than a third were allegations of harming workers' rights. The accusations concerned 39 Chinese companies, of which only seven have published human rights policies, according to the report. "However, this can only be achieved if Chinese businesses and regulators take proactive measures to address endemic human rights and environmental abuses."

Marcos adopts new strategy vs money laundering, terrorist and weapon financingMANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. has ordered all government agencies to adopt a new strategy on anti-money laundering and counterterrorism financing, Malacañang announced Thursday. Malacañang said the adoption of the National Anti-Money Laundering, Counter-Terrorism Financing, and Counter Proliferation Financing Strategy (NACS) 2023-2027 will enable the Philippines to improve its anti-money laundering, counter terrorism financing, and counter proliferation financing (AML/CTF/CPF) regime. The new order renamed the previous National Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism Strategy to National Anti-Money Laundering, Counter-Terrorism Financing and Counter-Proliferation Financing Strategy. An additional sub-committee on Proliferation Financing — the use of funds to make, transfer or stockpile nuclear, chemical and biological weapons — was also created. Marcos also ordered the reorganization of the Terrorism Financing and Proliferation Sub-commitee into two separate sub-committees—the Terrorism Financing Sub-committee and the Proliferation Financing Sub-committee.

Hongkongers will not be disqualified from receiving the HK$2,000 consumption voucher on July 16 even if they fail to reply to the government's eligibility-check SMS messages within three days. A government spokesman said residents will not lose their eligibility even if they do not reply to the texts. But voucher scheme representatives will call or send another message if people do not respond to the first text, he said. Authorities, meanwhile, have recorded a dozen suspected scams using "verification messages." Chong also said more than 10 suspected cases of voucher scams have been referred to police.

The famous Hong Kong-born singer-songwriter Coco Lee Man died at the age of 48 on Wednesday after committing suicide at home, her family announced. Lee's sisters broke the sad news on social media tonight and said that Lee had a long battle with depression in recent years and committed suicide on Sunday (July 2) at her residence. The family added that Lee's condition deteriorated drastically over the last few months. Dial 2896 0000 for The Samaritans or 2382 2007 for Suicide Prevention Services. You can also call Suicide Prevention Services at 2382 0000 or CEASE Crisis Centre of Tung Wah Groups of Hospitals at 18281.

FORMER Education secretary Leonor Briones said all was not lost in the Philippine educational system, as some public schools perform well on par with Singapore and some EU countries. The top performers in PISA 2018 were the Pasig City Science High School (PCSHS) and the Regional Science High School for Western Visayas (RSHS-6). They shared their best practices in their commitment to delivering quality education, yet no one seemed to listen, Briones said. She urged the Department of Education (DepEd) to look into the "secrets" of these schools. BCNHS has been cited by the former DepEd chief for scoring the highest in reading literacy results in PISA 2018.

Without them, Rhett's statement would come across as the immature rant of an adolescent, totally without finesse and irony. Commas, of course, are generally used for the mildest interruptions: "Ofelia, an expert jeweler, said the diamonds were fake." This essay is a condensation of an 819-word chapter that appeared in the author's 2004 book "English Plain and Simple." Read this essay and listen to its voice recording in The Manila Times: "Parenthetically speaking"Next, July 13, 2023: The long and short of English proseVisit Jose Carillo's English Forum, http://josecarilloforum.com. You can follow me on Facebook and Twitter and email me at [email protected]

Salem takes another crack at triathlon title in Bohol 5150MANILA, Philippines – Lanao del Norte’s Satar Salem packed up his gear and headed to Bohol armed and ready for another shot at the overall championship in the Sun Life 5150 Triathlon, which unwraps Sunday at the Bellevue Resort on Panglao Island. The Bohol event also serves as the first of three 5150 races for the next three months organized by The IRONMAN Group/Sunrise Events, Inc. For the second straight year, the Bohol 5150 is staged as part of the Sandugo Festival celebrations, a project of the Province of Bohol under Gov. Fierce duels are also seen in various age-group categories, from 15-19 to 65-69, both in the men’s and women’s sides. Backers of the event are Sun Life, Go For Gold, The Bellevue Resorts, Province of Bohol, Municipality of Dauis, Municipality of Panglao, Sandugo 2023, Rudy Project, Sante, Active, Manila Bulletin and Tempo.

Australian-based activist Ted Hui is wanted by police in Hong Kong. (James Gourley/AAP PHOTOS)Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Wednesday criticized Hong Kong authorities over their pursuit of two pro-democracy activists who live in Australia. Albanese said his government was concerned and disappointed by Hong Kong authorities issuing arrest warrants for Australian citizen Kevin Yam and Australian permanent resident Ted Hui. He said Cheng was being held “without proper process.”“We continue to advocate for the interests of Australia. And this decision overnight is an example of where Australia and China do have different approaches to these issues.

Smart, Eplayment team up anew for Liga Adarna Season 7 'Ang Bagong Lipad'With the theme, "Ang Bagong Lipad," the upcoming season of Liga Adarna aims to highlight the exceptional skills and gameplays of Filipina gamers from July 9 to December 17. MANILA, Philippines — PLDT wireless unit Smart Communications Inc. (Smart) has once again teamed up with Eplayment Entertainment for the seventh season of Liga Adarna, the country's biggest all-female esports league. With the theme, "Ang Bagong Lipad," the upcoming season of Liga Adarna aims to highlight the exceptional skills and gameplays of Filipina gamers from July 9 to December 17. This upcoming season, Smart Omega Empress is set to defend their crown as the back-to-back MLBB champions of Liga Adarna Season 4 and 5. Avid gamers and enthusiasts can watch the games live on the official Facebook pages of Liga Adarna and SMART Sports.