Attrition
When he sent his armies across the border into Ukraine, he expected the “special military operation” to be quick and decisive. It was an army waging war with obsolete military technology, making it vulnerable to Javelins. The western military alliance is now very different from the one that meekly accepted Russian occupation of parts of Ukraine in 2014. Like the war between Athens and Sparta during the classical age, the war in Ukraine will have civilizational bearings on all of us. The situation is settling into a prolonged war of attrition that will tax the industrial capacity of both Russia and the western alliance to keep the fighting raging at the past year’s intensity.
Source:Philippine Star
February 25, 2023 06:09 UTC
US nominates Banga for WB president
WASHINGTON, D.C.: The United States is nominating former Mastercard chief executive officer Ajay Banga to lead the World Bank, President Joe Biden announced on Thursday, crediting him with critical experience on global challenges including climate change. He is the first Indian-born nominee to the World Bank president role. The United States has traditionally picked the World Bank chief. The World Bank has promised to conduct "an open, merit-based and transparent selection process," and said it would accept nominations through March 29. The bank is under pressure to expand its mandate — an effort that likely would require the next president to convince donor countries to provide more money.
Source:Manila Times
February 25, 2023 04:09 UTC
Bitter truths and sweet lies?
Like the artificial red onion crisis, the sugar importation mess has become more odious and malodorous since it unraveled in July. Sugar Order No. Can a memorandum order from the Office of the President supplant a sugar order from the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA)? According to SO 6, the imported sugar from Thailand should only reach our shores by March 1 at the earliest. It is a repeat of last year’s SO 4 fiasco, which directed sugar importation a month before the country’s milling season.
Source:Philippine Star
February 25, 2023 03:56 UTC
Philippines DA arrests retailers for violations on onion prices
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Source:Philippine Daily Inquirer
February 22, 2023 20:43 UTC
Getting more Japanese investments – Part II
Getting more Japanese investments – Part IITwo sets of information give us a clue that we still have to improve Japanese perceptions about the policy environment and the growth prospects in our country in order to significantly raise investments from that country. The second is the latest (2021) survey of Japanese foreign direct investments sponsored by the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC). Also, the foreign investment flows to China and, in later years, to India constitute the largest Japanese investments overseas to specific countries. The survey is an annual effort since 1989 to enable the Japanese government to understand the “current situation, challenges, and outlook for overseas operations ” of private overseas Japanese investments. Open the economy more widely and we will boost FDIs certainly, not only for Japanese, but to more foreign investments.
Source:Philippine Star
February 22, 2023 01:18 UTC
‘I call you and raise you’
The problem this poses is that operators will also shift to high value items and drugs instead of food and vegetables. Diokno pointed out that “local authorities should facilitate, not impede, the movement of essential food items to the intended markets. They should be at the front of the class, explaining to the other departments why their areas of concern have become the center of inefficiency and corruption that now cause high inflation in the Philippines! Secretary Ben Diokno and the TWG have to put up mobile numbers and hotlines and complaint centers to report the various forms of impositions and delays that LGUs and government agencies make. Diokno, but it is often refreshing and infuriating to learn firsthand what ordinary citizens and job generating firms have to endure.
Source:Philippine Star
February 22, 2023 00:58 UTC
One injured as surgical light set suddenly falls at United Christian Hospital
An anesthetic assistant was injured in the shoulder as a surgical light set accidentally fell in the United Christian Hospital's operation room on Saturday. No patient was in the room, amid no other staff nor operation was affected in the incident, said the Hospital Authority on Sunday. A total of five surgical lights of the same model in the United Christian Hospital (UCH) were found to have similar problems. The HA received a report from UCH yesterday regarding the safety issue of a surgical light. The HA is very concerned about the incident and has notified all hospital clusters to suspend the use of the surgical light concerned temporarily.
Source:The Standard
February 19, 2023 20:54 UTC
Three-year-old girl found unconscious after fall
A three-year-old girl was rushed to hospital in an unconscious state after falling from a 5th-floor flat in Kwun Tong today. A security guard found the girl lying on the floor of the Wah Fung Gardens, located at 301 Hip Wo Street, at around 6pm. The girl was sent to Queen Elizabeth Hospital for treatment, while the cause of the fall is under investigation.
Source:The Standard
February 19, 2023 18:15 UTC
San Po Kong worker in serious condition after accidentally drilling into underground cables
A 59-year-old worker was sent to the hospital in serious condition as he sustained burns and was electrified after he accidentally caused an explosion when drilling the ground with a pneumatic jackhammer. The incident occurred at around 2pm on Sheung Hei Street in San Po Kong when a group of contracted workers for the Water Supplies Department were drilling into the ground. One of the workers, a 59-year-old man surnamed Cheng, suspectedly drilled into the underlying electric cables by accident, causing an explosion. The jackhammer was charred, and Cheng, who could not escape in time, received a shock and sustained burns to his face, chest, and left hand. He was rushed to Queen Elizabeth Hospital for treatment and now remains in a serious condition.
Source:The Standard
February 19, 2023 04:46 UTC
Hats off to returning Hong Kong rescue heroes after saving four in Turkey
Deputy chief fire officer Yiu Men-yeung, also the rescue team commander, said every scene in the earthquake areas was shocking as all buildings in the city had either collapsed or fallen. They carried out reinforcement works to stabilize the structures and then dug up rescue tunnels in hopes of finding any survivors, Yiu noted. Yiu also thanked the Chinese national rescue team and the Chinese consul general in Turkey for blankets, tips on staying warm, and food they offered under the blistering cold. The Chinese rescue team offered them fuel so that they could keep their rescue devices on for an extended period, Yiu also said, pointing to the rich experiences of the Chinese team. Meanwhile, Lee thanked every member of the rescue team for their commitment and praised the team for their valiant efforts to save lives.
Source:The Standard
February 19, 2023 03:23 UTC
More consumption vouchers required, extra for needy, accounting group says
One of the largest professional accounting bodies globally, CPA Australia, on Wednesday called on financial secretary Paul Chan Mo-po to issue another round of spending vouchers in his budget. The group said Hong Kong should reintroduce the capital investment entrant scheme, also expanding the scheme to cover Chinese nationals. The group suggested that all eligible residents could be handed HK$2,000 worth of the vouchers, while an extra HK$6,000 would be given to those less well-off. Theresa Chan, Deputy Chairperson of CPA Australia’s Taxation Committee – Greater China said Hong Kong residents were facing higher costs, particularly hurting low-income earners. The government should also consider increasing the salaries tax allowances at least in line with inflation.” Chan said.
Source:The Standard
February 16, 2023 03:04 UTC
Woman imprisoned three years for assisting husband in rape of daughters
A 42-year-old female was sentenced on Wednesday morning to three years imprisonment for assisting and abetting her husband in sexually assaulting her two underaged daughters. The beautician, dubbed “L.M.,” appeared in the High Court today before Judge Judianna Barnes Wai-ling. "I was told that it would benefit my daughter’s health if I asked my husband to touch her body," the defendant explained. According to the court, X had self-harmed afterward and was found by a social worker at her school in November 2019 to have cut marks on her arms. The defendant’s husband faces accusations of rape and sexual assault and will face his sentence on March 27.
Source:The Standard
February 15, 2023 16:21 UTC
Philippines' Marcos summoned Chinese envoy over laser incident: spokeswoman
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos on Tuesday summoned Beijing's envoy to Manila to express "serious concern" after a Chinese security vessel was accused of using a military-grade laser light against a Philippine patrol boat. Marcos confronted Chinese Ambassador Huang Xilian "over the increasing frequency and intensity of actions by China against Philippine Coast Guard and our Filipino fishermen... the latest of which was the deployment of a military grade laser against our Coast Guard vessels," spokeswoman Cheloy Velicaria-Garafil said.
Source:The Standard
February 15, 2023 00:39 UTC
Ballooning
This is a ballooning phenomenon. Here, too, we are not told how much of the downed object was recovered from the frozen sea. All that has been shared is the observation that the downed object did not seem to have any system of propulsion or control. We know next to nothing about the larger framework within which these strange flying objects was launched. Beijing does not have to explain anything until the remnants of downed flying objects reveal them to be of Chinese origin.
Source:Philippine Star
February 14, 2023 03:52 UTC
Hot pink bra awaits its owner
Passengers of a KMB bus were shocked to see a hot pink bra lying on a seat of the lower deck area, stirring some amusement on the bus. A web user posted two photos on a Facebook group yesterday that show a pink bra lying on a seat of the bus, just near the sign which read: "Keep the bus clean." The owner please go to claim it by yourself," wrote the web user, creating a buzz online. "A red bra is seemingly mysterious," another comment reads, adopting the lyrics of Red Racecar, a song sung by local band Tai Chi in 1986. But do not expect the bra conundrum to become clear anytime soon as it awaits its original owner.
Source:The Standard
February 13, 2023 19:11 UTC