NEW DELHI — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said authorities were “actively pursuing credible allegations” linking New Delhi’s agents to the murder of a Sikh separatist leader, a concern India dismissed as “absurd”. Nijjar supported a Sikh homeland in the form of an independent, so-called state of Khalistan in India’s northern state of Punjab, the birthplace of the Sikh religion, which borders Pakistan. Modi, in turn, conveyed strong concern to Trudeau over recent demonstrations in Canada by Sikhs calling for an independent state. Khalistan is an independent Sikh state whose creation has been sought for decades. RELATED STORIESIndia summons Canada High Commissioner, concerned over Sikh protestersModi scolds Trudeau over Sikh protests in Canada against IndiaYour subscription could not be saved.

They are buying at the same time, the price of rice also rises so we have to put a price cap,” he stressed. Marcos, who is also the agriculture secretary, said below normal rainfall is expected in the coming months due to El Niño that could result in lower yield. The Chief Executive has issued Executive Order 39, mandating a price ceiling of P41 for regular milled rice and P45 for well-milled rice. President Marcos seemed bent on lifting the price cap the government imposed on rice before the month ends, ACT-CIS party-list Rep. Erwin Tulfo revealed on Tuesday. Tulfo explained that there have already been recommendations from farmers’ groups to Marcos, who also sits as agriculture secretary in a concurrent capacity and chairman of the NFA Council.

Security threat? Perhaps the same intel has reached our National Security Council. This month, NSC Assistant Director General Jonathan Malaya raised the possibility of banning the use of TikTok on devices used by government security personnel. But whoa… users will surely ask, how is TikTok a national security risk? That a TikTok subsidiary is operating in China already says a lot, if you consider that Facebook, Google, Yahoo, YouTube, Instagram and Snapchat are banned in China.

CHINA's fishing/militia fleet is still at Rozul (Iroquois) Reef, the same area where corals were found to have been harvested in mid-September by divers from the Armed Forces of the Philippines, according to a US satellite image. STILL HERE Satellite image taken on Monday, Sept. 17, 2023 shows China’s fishing/militia fleet still at Rozul (Iroquois) Reef which is within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ). At least 35 ships are visible in the area where corals have been harvested based on an underwater survey recently conducted by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). "Under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the 2016 Permanent Court of Arbitration ruling, a coastal state granted an exclusive economic zone enjoys the rights to the resources within that zone. Vice Admiral Albert Carlos, commander of the AFP Western Command (Wescom), reported over the weekend that the corals that grow in abundance in the shallow waters close to Rozul Reef have disappeared, apparently due to massive coral harvesting.

The Capital Group Companies has sold a 2 percent stake in Postal Savings Bank of China (1658) to cash in HK$1.5 billion. The American financial services firm offloaded 407 million H-shares of the Chinese state-owned lender for a total of HK$1.53 billion last Thursday. Its holdings in the bank dropped from 5.36 percent to 3.31 percent after the disposal, below the disclosure threshold of 5 percent. Meanwhile, Wang Xing, the co-founder and chairman of Meituan (3690), sold a total of 1.95 million shares of Li Auto (2015) for HK$310 million last week, a separate filing showed. Wang, a non-executive director of the electric vehicle maker, had a 21.79 percent stake in the firm after the cut, down from 21.9 percent.

(UPDATED) VOLLEYBALL star Alyssa Valdez said her teammates are going to trust each other as Creamline Cool Smashers fight without top playmaker Jia Morado in the upcoming Premier Volleyball League (PVL). "We've been together for so long, so we're banking on familiarity." Alyssa Valdez (right) PVL PHOTOIt also came after former teammate Morado signed a deal with Japanese team Denso Airybees in Japan V.League. For Valdez, she is more focused on the upcoming PVL conference, saying that she and her teammates are working hard. Creamline finished runner-up earlier in June during the Invitational Conference and are now focused on the Second All-Filipino Conference.

(UPDATE) NBA prospect and Gilas Pilipinas player Kai Sotto had thanked the Jr. NBA program to share his journey and experience with young basketball players in Japan. "Truly blessed to see the smiles on these young kids' faces. Previously dubbed as the "future of Philippine basketball," Sotto is playing for the Hiroshima Dragonflies of the Japanese B.League. He was part of the GIlas Pilipinas that saw action in the recent FIBA World Cup held in Manila. But also can't compare to the fun and joy we experience after it all ended," Sotto recently posted.

The city of Hirosaki, in Aomori, is one of the most famous places in Japan for cherry blossom viewing, attracting huge numbers of tourists in the spring sakura season. The city's cherry trees are cared for year-round by tree doctors who call themselves "Team Sakuramori." These specialists employ pruning techniques developed for the region's apple industry to keep the trees free from disease, prevent falling branches and extend their lives. VIDEO BY MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF JAPAN

Between September and October 2020, JPEX secured cryptocurrency licenses in the United States, Australia and Canada. When advertising in Hong Kong, JPEX employs terms such as "Japanese cryptocurrency exchange," "super popular" and "Japan Exchange." JPEX launched its cryptocurrency platform in July 2020, offering a diverse range of services, including spot trading, futures contracts and savings accounts. JPEX expanded it's Hong Kong presence through advertising campaigns and reportedly had allocated a budget of about HK$40 million for the purpose - with placements on MTR stations and taxis, along with celebrity endorsements featuring Hong Kong actor-singer Julian Cheung Chi-lam. Malaysian-born Hong Kong model and actress Jacquelin Ch'ng Se-min also produced a video in mid-July promoting JPEX, but it has since been removed.

JULIE'S, the country's largest neighborhood bakeshop, shows its customers how light, fluffy and soft their bread is in a new promotional video. This is in line with their tagline, "Basta Julie's, Fresh Yan!" Julie’s Bakeshop promises to bring fresh goods to its customers in its latest promotional video featuring actress Kim Chiu. Anyone who shows up at Julie's is treated to fluffy, freshly baked bread every time." To find out more about Julie's, visit their official website at www.juliesbakeshop.com.ph and like their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/JuliesBakeshop.

DOHA — Iran and the United States have been informed that $6 billion in frozen Iranian funds were transferred to accounts in Qatar, a source said, triggering a carefully choreographed swap on Monday of five detainees each between the two arch foes. The Iranian Foreign ministry spokesperson said two would return to Iran while two would stay in the U.S. at their request. As a first step in the deal, Washington waived sanctions to allow the transfer of $6 billion in Iranian funds from South Korea to Qatar. Under the agreement, Doha agreed to monitor how Iran spends the unfrozen funds to ensure it goes on non-sanctioned humanitarian goods, such as food and medicine. The transfer of Iran’s funds has drawn criticism from U.S. Republicans who say Biden, a Democrat, is in effect paying a ransom for U.S. citizens.

‘Stricter screening for free education to hurt marginalized students’Photo taken last June shows senior high school graduates preparing to take the UPCAT at the University of the Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City. MANILA, Philippines — Introducing competitive screening to filter the number of beneficiaries of free higher education would disadvantage marginalized students, groups defending the government’s free tertiary education program said. The proposal — only verbal as of press time — has been met with criticism from groups who stressed that students from low-income households depend on the government’s free education program to complete their tertiary studies. As a result, it becomes more difficult for students from lower socio-economic backgrounds to afford quality higher education,” the group added. Improved progression rateWhile there are local and international studies showing the government’s free higher education program disproportionately benefits high-income students, there is data showing more Filipino high school students can advance to college after the enactment of the free higher education law in 2018.

Philippines, India discuss maritime cooperationMANILA, Philippines — Filipino and Indian maritime experts have discussed prospects for maritime security cooperation between their countries. The experts exchanged views on potential areas of cooperation in the Track 2 component of the Inaugural Philippines-India Maritime Dialogue, held in Manila last week. The forum, organized by Stratbase Albert del Rosario Institute, focused on maritime security cooperation and economic opportunities in the maritime industry which, from the private sector’s point of view, the two countries could pursue. At the 5th meeting of the Philippines-India Joint Commission on Bilateral Cooperation held on June 29 at Hyderabad House in New Delhi, Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo and External Affairs Minister of India Dr. S. Jaishankar acknowledged the growing importance of the maritime sector for both countries and welcomed the bilateral Maritime Dialogue and the increased cooperation on hydrography. Stratbase ADRi and NMF hope to provide inputs to the agenda of the Track 1 Maritime Dialogue that the Philippine and Indian governments plan to convene within the next few months.

About 46 percent of adult Filipinos think the Philippine economy will improve in the next six months, the latest OCTA Research survey released on Monday showed. This is 4 percent lower than the 50 percent recorded in the first quarter survey conducted in March 2023. While about 46 percent of adult Filipinos think the Philippine economy will "improve," the poll also showed that 43 percent think the economy will "stay the same," and 6 percent think it will "worsen." OCTA's latest survey also showed that the percentage of adult Filipinos who think the Philippine economy will improve in the next six months ranges from 31 percent to 54 percent across different major areas. "Conversely, the percentage of adult Filipinos who think that the Philippine economy will worsen over the next six months ranges from 2 percent to 11 percent," OCTA said.

TAIPEI: Taiwan told China on Monday to stop its "destructive unilateral actions" after more than 100 Chinese warplanes and nine navy ships were detected in areas around the self-ruling democratic island. China's Foreign Ministry did not comment on the sorties, though its spokesman Mao Ning reaffirmed Beijing's position that Taiwan belongs to China. Taiwan's Defense Ministry said 68 Chinese aircraft and 10 naval vessels were spotted around the island between Wednesday morning and Thursday morning. China staged its largest-ever war games around Taiwan in August 2022, after then-US speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taipei despite warnings, infuriating Beijing. In a comment on the Weibo social media platform, China's state-run tabloid Global Times said Taiwan was a "sacred and inalienable part of China."