(UPDATE) BEIJING: Hundreds of jubilant fans greeted Lionel Messi as he arrived on Saturday in Beijing, where his World Cup-winning Argentina will face Australia in a friendly match next week. Lionel Messi AFP PHOTO Lionel Messi AFP PHOTOSeveral hundred others waited outside the team's hotel, not far from the banks of the Liangma River, popular with Beijingers for strolls. This is Messi's seventh trip to China, the last being in 2017, according to local media. "As I couldn't buy a ticket for the game, I booked a room in the same hotel as Messi and was hoping to catch a glimpse of him." World champions Argentina will play a friendly against Australia on June 15 at Beijing's newly renovated 68,000-capacity Workers' Stadium.

President Marcos has also described his running mate Vice President Sara Duterte as his “BFF” while the VP has openly professed her love for BBM. Currently, with the first session of the 19th Congress in sine die adjournment, all is quiet on the House front. But what really mattered in House leadership fights at the time, it seemed, was the support of Inday Sara, a.k.a. * * *She’s clearly still aligned with President Marcos’ elder sister, who was with her in the video where she poked fun at an unnamed, ambitious tambaloslos. “There was no Speaker Romualdez in the picture,” the VP sniffed.

Valenzuela evacuates 28 familiesMANILA, Philippines — The city government of Valenzuela evacuated 28 families from two barangays due to floods brought about by the southwest monsoon exacerbated by Severe Tropical Storm Chedeng yesterday. Of the 24 families from Barangay Viente Reales who were evacuated, 20 sought shelter at the Bartolome covered court while three families stayed at the Luis Francisco Elementary School. Four families were evacuated from Barangay Arkong Bato. Glenn Mark Lanozo, who heads the city’s disaster risk reduction and management office, told The STAR they decided to evacuate the families early. The two barangays are closely monitored during typhoons or heavy rains as they are considered flood-prone areas in the city.

Marcos asks residents to follow evacuate ordersThe mandatory evacuation of residents from Barangay Maninila, for temporary relocation at Mauraro High School and Guinobatan Community College, Barangay Mauraro, Guinobatan, Albay, earlier last Friday, June 10, 2023New lava dome emerges in Mayon – PhivolcsMANILA, Philippines — Amid mounting concerns over a potential “hazardous eruption,” President Marcos appealed to residents near Mayon Volcano in Albay yesterday to follow local orders to evacuate, as state seismologists discovered the emergence of a newly formed lava dome – a grim indicator of escalating volcanic unrest. In an interview with dzBB radio, Phivolcs officer-in-charge Teresito Bacolcol warned that this new lava dome could contain high amounts of gas that could get trapped and may result in explosive activity if it accumulates. He noted that Mayon Volcano usually erupts between three to 10 years from its last eruption in January 2018. Mayon Volcano remains on Alert Level 3, which means there is a high level of unrest and that hazardous eruption is possible within weeks or days. Teodoro said he wants a “timely and orderly” evacuation of families affected not only near Mayon, but also around in Taal.

“Counter-offensive and defensive actions are taking place in Ukraine, but I will not say in detail what stage they are at,” Zelensky said, listing Ukraine’s top military brass by name. Russian forces, it said, “continue to suffer heavy losses which they are trying to conceal”. Some progress–British ministry“In some areas, Ukrainian forces have likely made good progress and penetrated the first line of Russian defenses. In others, Ukrainian progress has been slower,” it said, also characterizing the Russian military’s performance as mixed. Ukrainian military analyst Oleksiy Hetman told NV Radio the events of recent days were only initial steps.

A drunk man broke a glass door at One Capital Place in Wan Chai on Sunday as he was supposed to push to open the door but kept pulling the door forcefully. The incident occurred around 3.30 pm today as the drunk man wished to enter the building after he hung out nearby for more than an hour. At the building’s front door, he mistakenly pulled the glass door towards himself instead of pushing it to open the door. The glass door then collapsed and shattered as the glass shards injured the man. Photos showed that tissue papers were stained with blood and the glass door shatter completely.

PARIS: Novak Djokovic admits "history is hovering" over him as he takes on Casper Ruud in the French Open final on Sunday with a men's record 23rd Grand Slam title tantalisingly close. Novak Djokovic AFP PHOTO Novak Djokovic AFP PHOTOIn the women's game, only Margaret Court, Steffi Graf and Serena Williams can make a similar boast. I'm thinking really just to win another Grand Slam title here on Sunday, and I'm so close. Alcaraz admitted that the tension he felt in facing the Serb for the first time in a Grand Slam match caused the body cramps which torpedoed his hopes in the semi-final. "Of course playing a semi-final of a Grand Slam, you have a lot of nerves, but even more facing Novak.

Three men were caught by Macau customs trying to smuggle over 228 phones by strapping the phones onto their bodies and hiding the phones in their luggage. Their smuggling attempt was revealed by Macau customs officers on Thursday night as the three men aged 47 to 55 traveled to the casino city on the HZM “Golden” coach bus. After investigation by Macau customs, the men admitted they were paid to smuggle the phones across the border. Macau customs have initiated prosecution against the three in accordance with Macau law and confiscated the phones they were trying to smuggle. Macau customs said they will strengthen their work on collecting intelligence and step up their efforts in searching people in order to combat illegal trafficking activities.

(UPDATE) PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. vowed to further improve the quality of jobs in the Philippines following the drop of the country's unemployment rate in April. "The number of employed Filipinos rose to 48.06 million this April. This is a big opportunity to strive harder to create quality jobs that we could offer to our countrymen," Marcos said in a statement. File PhotoThe PSA report said the number of unemployed Filipinos in April 2023 was estimated at 2.26 million, down from the 2.76 million in April last year. The number of employed Filipinos rose to 48.06 million, an increase of 5.32 million from 45.63 million in April 2022.

BOGOTA — Four indigenous children who were missing for more than five weeks in Colombia’s southern jungle, after surviving a plane crash which killed their mother, are in an “acceptable” state of health, the government said on Saturday. “In general the boy and the girls are in an acceptable state. “We never expected to find them so well.”Velasquez recognized the eldest of the siblings, a 13-year-old girl, for her bravery. The youngest of the children turned one while in the jungle, while her brother had his fifth birthday, he said. Three adults, including the pilot and the children’s mother, died in the crash and their bodies were found inside the plane.

Losing good peopleListen to the complaints of employees against their bosses:“I asked my boss for a raise... Yet successful organizations and businesses agree that to stay successful and competitive, companies must attract new promising talents and retain the good ones. Simple gestures like “thank you” and “good job” is appreciated, but employees seek more meaningful and frequent recognition. Many egos, power tripping, credit grabbing and lack of people skills push good people away. Good people do not have time for drama like this; they are always the first to go because they are good.

(UPDATE) THE trajectory of Typhoon "Chedeng" (international name: "Guchol") remains far from Philippine landmass as it starts to change direction today, Saturday, the Philippine Geophysical Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said. "Within the day, Typhoon Chedeng is forecast to move northward or north-northeastward. This would be the period where the typhoon recurves," Pagasa weather forecaster James Villamil said. As of 4 a.m. today, Chedeng was seen some 875 kilometers east of Northern Luzon with maximum sustained winds of 150 kilometers per hour (kph) and gustiness of 185 kph. Meanwhile, chances of downpour are likely in Metro Manila, western section of Luzon and the Visayas also due to the Southwest monsoon.

Celebrating Independence DayThe annual Philippine Independence Day parade in New York is said to be the biggest event to commemorate our national day in this part of the US. The parade held a week ahead of our exact national day when Manhattan’s streets are less crowded started from the 38th Street of Madison Avenue and ended at 27th Street. While posted in Beijing, a festive celebration with the Filipino and diplomatic communities was planned to mark our 110th national day. However, a massive 7.8 magnitude earthquake that claimed more than 60,000 lives struck Sichuan province exactly one month before our Independence Day. Having a theme fortifies the profundity of every Independence Day celebration.

Police rolled out more details regarding the pursuit on Princess Margaret Road on Saturday morning, where two officers shot a car once to subdue and arrest the 25-year-old driver. About 10 minutes later, police successfully located the car on Princess Margaret Road near Hung Hom Police Station. Officers intercepted the vehicle and gave multiple verbal warnings to the driver, who refused to exit the car. Yet, the driver hit the gas and crashed into the police vehicle in front of it. He was arrested for trafficking in dangerous drugs, driving without a license, dangerous driving, driving without third-party insurance, and using false documents, Chung said.

(UPDATE) HEAVY rains failed to dampen the holding on Saturday of the first Spogomi Philippines qualifying tournament at the Baseco Beachfront Park in Manila. Spogomi, a combination of ‘sports’ and ‘trash’ in Japanese, was first held in Japan in 2008 to clean up the coastlines. Spogomi, a combination of 'sports' and 'trash' in Japanese, was first held in Japan in 2008 to clean up the coastlines. Spogomi, a combination of 'sports' and 'trash' in Japanese, was first held in Japan in 2008 to clean up the coastlines. Spogomi, a combination of 'sports' and 'trash' in Japanese, was first held in Japan in 2008 to clean up the coastlines.