A 43-year-old teacher working at a Tin Shui Wai secondary school was arrested on Tuesday night after he was alleged to have sexually harassed up to five female students during an exchange trip to the mainland in April. The case came to light after an Instagram page linked to the Tin Shui Wai school was used to publish several posts alleging pupils were harassed during the school trip and that the institution had failed to take action. The teacher was accused of having sexually harassed at least five girls on a five-day trip he led to Changchun in Jilin province in the spring. Police said the arrest last night came after they received a complaint alleging a 14-year-old female student from the Tin Shui Wai school was sexually harassed by a man. The Education Bureau earlier confirmed it had launched an investigation after a secondary school reported allegations of a male teacher sexually harassing female students during the trip.

JAKARTA: A 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck in Indonesia's Banda Sea on Wednesday, the United States Geological Survey said, with no immediate reports of damage or casualties. The tremor, located far from the coast, hit at 11:53 a.m. local time (0453 GMT), the USGS said. Indonesia's geophysics agency has issued no tsunami warning.

Petitioners assailed the transfer of the P125 million from the Office of the President’s (OP) contingency fund to the OVP’s confidential funds in 2022, which the Commission on Audit said was spent only for 11 days. The petitioners argued that the transfer of funds from the national budget to the OVP can only be executed by the legislative department, neither by the OP nor the OVP. “The executive department has no discretion to create another budget item,” he added. Furthermore, the petitioners argued that the confidential funds, specifically the OVP's are not within the scope of funding permitted by the contingent fund due to the absence of any allocation. “There is no item for a confidential fund, therefore, there is no transfer that is allowed by law which is through augmentation,” Santiago said.

A minor dispute in Tsz Wan Shan Monday night led to the hospitalization of two elderly home residents. Around 9 pm yesterday (Nov 6), the police received a report stating that two residents from an elderly home located in the Tsz Ching Estate Ancillary Facilities Building got into a fight which had escalated from a verbal dispute. The officers arrived at the scene and discovered that the elderly man scraped his hand while the elderly woman injured her head. They were both arrested on suspicion of "assault occasioning actual bodily harm". The two residents were then taken to hospital for medical attention.

It’s no coincidence; I was eager to listen to Transportation Secretary Jaime “JJB” Bautista discuss the administration’s plans to improve road infrastructure in the country. At the forum, titled “Powering the Economy Through Infrastructure Development” organized by the Economic Journalists Association of the Philippines, Sec. It’s also comforting to hear that there are several infrastructure projects lined up by the government to help ease traffic congestion in Metro Manila. Infrastructure and developmentThese and more projects are what Filipinos can look forward to, especially motorists and the commuting public. Indeed, having critical infrastructure including new airports is important to improve the quality of life of Filipinos.

Gaining nominations to run in the District Council elections ought to be a challenging process as authorities needed a system that would allow "trustworthy individuals" to act as gatekeepers, said Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Erick Tsang Kwok-wai. His comments came after the city’s opposition hopefuls and some pro-establishment parties earlier said they had struggled to secure nominations to run. Some pro-government politicians, including Lawmaker Michael Tien Puk-sun, also said it was challenging for their groups to secure nominations. Speaking at LegCo on Tuesday, Tsang said individuals without any political affiliations could seek nominations through referrals from the Home Affairs Department to their district’s area committees. In response, Tsang said the society should trust the area committees that they would understand the bigger picture rather than prioritize on personal interests.

‘Consumer spending to pick up next year’Scenes in the streets of Marikina City during the rush hour on February 9, 2023. MANILA, Philippines — Consumer spending in the Philippines is expected to pick up further next year on the back of easing inflationary pressures and healthy employment, according to BMI Country Risk & Industry Research. For this year, the research arm of the Fitch Group sees consumer spending growing by 5.5 percent to P12 trillion. “We hold a positive outlook for consumer spending in the Philippines over 2024, as the economic recovery feeds through to strong real consumer spending growth over the year. Our consumer spending outlook will be more positive, relative to 2023, as economic growth persists and consumption level normalizes,” BMI said.

The first session will cover China's economy and policies, property market and financial situation of local governments, says Eddie Yue. The three-day Global Financial Leaders' Investment Summit started with a dinner reception and a tour of the Palace Museum in West Kowloon last night for bankers and managers from financial institutions across the globe. People's Bank of China deputy governor Zhang Qingsong, National Financial Regulatory Administration vice minister Xiao Yuanqi, and China Securities Regulatory Commission vice chairman Wang Jianjun will speak at the summit. The companies had indicated that their clients' interest and demand for investing in the mainland has not been reduced. Last month, active long-only funds net sold a combined US$3.1 billion (HK$24.18 billion) in China and Hong Kong stocks in the third straight month of over US$3 billion in net sales, according to Morgan Stanley.

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) is introducing what it calls a “nuclear solution” to help combat the worsening plastic pollution problem in the country. “Our planet is facing a historic disaster — the epidemic of plastic waste — and the Philippines is at the forefront,” Solidum lamented. The pilot study would look into the effectiveness of the products and how their operation could be supported, particularly in sourcing the plastic waste supply. People think that nuclear energy is only for power generation like the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant or small modular reactor. But that view is very narrow because nuclear energy could be used in agriculture like in mutation that develops new species,” he said.

Marcos invited by Trudeau to Canada — Canada envoyIn this photo, director of government and public affairs of the Metro Pacific Investments Corp., head of the MVP Group media bureau and chief operating officer of the Silangan Mindanao Mining Company Inc. Mike Toledo sits down with Canadian Ambassador to the Philippines Bruce Hartman. MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. was invited by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to Canada, the Canadian ambassador to the Philippines said. Hartman also said that a “huge business delegation” from Canada will be coming in March 2024 in the country. The meeting also talked about the Philippine mining industry and areas of collaboration and investments by Canadian firms. They also discussed the engagement with the Pangilinan-led Metro Pacific Investments Corporation on possible projects on infrastructure, power, nuclear and healthcare.

Marcos promise of P20/kilo rice ‘not possible’ for now – new DA chiefFarmers from Lingayen, Pangasinan take advantage of the fine weather to plant rice seedlings on July 4, 2023. The DA chief said that Marcos’ marching orders are to increase the local production of agricultural goods in all sectors, especially rice. The DA chief said to lower the price of rice definitely, the sector must have its own silos to store rice grains and to increase its buffer stock. RELATED: Progress on 'P20/kilo' rice promise missing from Marcos' second SONA | Philstar.comIncreasing productionIn September, the president imposed a price ceiling on rice to temper the surging price of the household staple. The DA chief said during the press conference that he believes Filipinos can “produce more” agricultural goods, but he still needs to study the data to determine how to addres the issue of overimportation.

Despite amihan, hot weather expected in Metro Manila — PAGASAMANILA, Philippines — Metro Manila will experience hot weather despite the the amihan season in the country, state weather bureau Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration said on Monday. PAGASA said that the hot weather will be caused the "transition" period of the the northeast monsoon or amihan that makes it inconsistent in bringing cold winds every day. “Although nagsimula na po yung amihan, nagrerecede yan, humihina,” Obet Badrina, a weather forecaster from PAGASA said in an interview with Radyo 630. PAGASA announced the onset of the amihan season or the northeast monsoon on October 20. During which, cool and dry northeast winds from Siberia and China blow down to Southeast Asia.

Government approves P336 billion worth of strategic projectsThe bulk or 11 of the approved projects fall under the renewable energy (RE) sector, consisting mostly of solar projects. The bulk or 11 of the approved projects fall under the renewable energy (RE) sector, consisting mostly of solar projects. Among these are : SunAsia Energy Inc.’s 1,300-megawatt (MW) floating solar project in Laguna de Bay (P66 billion), NKS Solar One Inc.’s 250-MW floating solar project in Caliraya, Laguna (P14.9 billion), Laguna Wind Energy Corp.’s Kalayaan 2 wind power project (P10.85 billion), Ubay Solar Corp.’s solar power plant (P5.293 billion), Intramuros Solar Energy Corp.’s Gamu Solar power plant (P2.591 billion), and Magallanes Solar Energy Corp.’s Baratoc Viejo solar power project (P5.293 billion). Also part of the approved energy projects include five projects of ACEN Corp. located in Laguna Lake: SolarAce4 Energy Corp.’s 140-Megawatt peak (MWp) floating solar power plant (P6.25 billion), AC Laguna Solar Inc.’s 280-MWp floating Solar Power Plant (P10.946 billion), AC Subic Solar Inc.’s 280-MWp Floating Solar Power Plant (P12.494 billion), GigaWind1 Inc.’s 280-MWp Floating Solar Power Plant (P12 billion), and Ingrid2 Power Corp.’s 140-MWp floating solar power plant (P6.25 billion). Moreover, the EO also mandates the DTI-BOI to establish a one stop action center for strategic investments, which shall serve as the single point of entry for all projects qualified as strategic investments.

Visa requirements to lure talents from three Southeast Asian countries - Vietnam, Laos and Nepal - were relaxed on October 25, as per Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu's policy address. Kwok, in an interview with The Standard's sister paper Sing Tao Daily, said some countries had been slapped with strict visa restrictions as their economies were poor, leading to many cases of illegal immigration. The economies of these countries have improved a lot, and the risks [of illegal immigration] are lower," Kwok said. "After our assessment, we opined that we can relax the visa limitations imposed on people from the three countries." Laotian and Nepalese talent will become the new blood of Hong Kong's labor market, equipped with skills after training and education, Chow said.

South Korea from today will reimpose a ban on short-selling shares at least until June to promote a "level playing field" for retail and institutional investors. The news came as the Philippines ended a nearly three-decade wait, allowing traders to finally short-sell stocks. Short-selling involves selling borrowed shares to buy back at a lower price and pocket the difference. "The measure is aimed at fundamentally easing 'the tilted playing field' between institutional and retail investors," Financial Services Commission chairman Kim Joo-hyun said. Naked short-selling - in which an investor short-sells shares without first borrowing them or determining they can be borrowed - is banned in South Korea.