Seven years after our dramatic victory before the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, do we feel like winners? The unique setup allows CCG ships to swarm the South China Sea without its description (at least by Beijing) as militarization. Unfortunately, the harsh reality in geopolitics is that possession is nine-tenths of the law, might makes right and size does matter. On the seventh anniversary of the arbitral ruling that invalidated China’s nine-dash-line claim over nearly the entire South China Sea, we don’t look any closer to making Beijing bow to the ruling. * * *Looking on the bright side, the past few years have seen growing international support for the arbitral ruling and the Philippines.

It is estimated that more than 2,000 Japanese restaurants are operating in Hong Kong. In 2022, the city bought HK$4.18 billion worth of seafood from Japan to become the second-largest market for fishery exports after the mainland. As of now, it seems inevitable that local Japanese restaurants will bear the blunt of the wastewater discharge row. Second, the ban on imports could deal them a direct blow. Having survived the Covid pandemic, many restaurants may fail to survive this time.

Eunice Lam and Stacy ShiThe first batch of imported construction workers are expected to start working in the last quarter of the year, says Secretary for Development Bernadette Linn Hon-ho. "The imported labor will mostly work in public projects," she said. The cap on imported construction workers is 12,000. Lee said while priority will be given to local workers, the government will also strengthen their training. But other welfare benefits or training ... will definitely be tilted in favor of local workers."

Firetrucks are seen outside The Manila Hotel on Thursday, July 13, 2023, after fire broke out from its Wellness Center. PHOTO BY MIKE ALQUINTOFiretrucks are seen outside The Manila Hotel on Thursday, July 13, 2023, after fire broke out from its Wellness Center. PHOTO BY MIKE ALQUINTOFiretrucks are seen outside The Manila Hotel on Thursday, July 13, 2023, after fire broke out from its Wellness Center. PHOTO BY MIKE ALQUINTOFiretrucks are seen outside The Manila Hotel on Thursday, July 13, 2023, after fire broke out from its Wellness Center. PHOTO BY MIKE ALQUINTOFiretrucks are seen outside The Manila Hotel on Thursday, July 13, 2023, after fire broke out from its Wellness Center.

French shipbuilder offers to develop Philippine submarine force, enhance maritime protectionMANILA, Philippines — French defense company Naval Group is eyeing to build a naval base handling submarine operations in the Philippines to safeguard its maritime territory, particularly in the West Philippine Sea. Negotiations with the Philippine government regarding the French defense company's submarine creation project are ongoing and yet to be finalized. Last May 26, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. expressed his plans to acquire the Philippines' first-ever submarine to keep up with Southeast Asian neighbors. Aside from developing a submarine force to acquire technical superiority in its maritime zones, the Naval Group has also committed to protecting the Philippine submarine force's autonomy. The Naval Group opened its Manila office on Wednesday since its inception in 2020, as a first step in its long-term commitment to cooperation and partnership in strengthening Philippine naval capabilities.

WASHINGTON, D.C.: Chinese-based hackers seeking intelligence information breached the email accounts of a number of US government agencies, computer giant Microsoft said. Microsoft said Storm-0558 gained access to email accounts at approximately 25 organizations including government agencies. But the paper reported Wednesday evening, quoting US officials, that State Department email accounts and that of Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo were hacked. CNN, citing sources familiar with the investigation, said the Chinese hackers targeted a small number of federal agencies and the email accounts of specific officials at each agency. US Senator Mark Warner, chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, said the panel is "closely monitoring what appears to be a significant cybersecurity breach by Chinese intelligence."

DOTr slams transport strike set on SONA dayDrivers of traditional jeepneys wait for passengers at a terminal in Manila on February 3, 2023. MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Transportation (DOTr) yesterday insisted that it did not fail to address the concerns of public utility vehicle (PUV) drivers and operators, ahead of the scheduled three-day transport strike by a transport group. Manibela group president Mar Valbuena earlier in the week said they would have their second transport strike this year on July 24 to 26, with the first day set on the second State of the Nation Address of President Marcos. The DOTr accused Manibela of using the strike to “gain media attention and public sympathy.”“Their group is free to stage any form of protest. The DOTr, LTFRB and OTC are open and willing to hold dialogues with any group who has legitimate concerns and we vow to address such concerns through consultations and forum,” it said.

KATHMANDU — Nepal’s aviation regulator has banned helicopters from conducting “non-essential” flights, including those for sight-seeing, for two months after a deadly crash in the Everest region in which six people were killed. Five Mexican tourists and the Nepali pilot of a small helicopter operated by the private Manang Air company were killed on Tuesday when their chopper crashed while returning from viewing Himalayan peaks, including Mount Everest. ADVERTISEMENT“Non-essential flights like mountain flights, external load operations (sling flights) and showering of flowers by helicopters (will) be restricted till September,” the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) said in a Twitter post late on Wednesday. Nepal, which is in the midst of the annual June-September monsoon season, has formed an investigation committee to find out what caused Tuesday’s crash. Nepal’s worst air crash in 30 years killed 71 people in January, when a plane went down near the tourist city of Pokhara.

Doctors and nurses, IT professionals and blue-collar workers are sought after in Canada, immigration consultants said. Anna Tsim, immigration program director of Goldmax, told The Standard that manpower shortage is global, especially in medical and STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) professions. "It has been the trend that countries compete for technology advancements," Tsim said. The Canadian government has an updated list of preferred jobs for its skilled worker immigration schemes. It is estimated one-fifth of the country's construction workers are reaching retirement age as the industry struggles to fill a gap of 80,000 vacancies.

LONDON: Novak Djokovic reached a 12th Wimbledon semifinal and record-equalling 46th at the Grand Slams on Tuesday (Wednesday in Manila) as Elina Svitolina stunned world No. After dropping the first set, a fired-up Djokovic only allowed Rublev six points in the first five games of the second set. Rublev's spirit drained away and Djokovic claimed victory with his 42nd winner of the tie. I want to see her win the title," said Swiatek, who was playing in her first quarterfinal at the All England Club. On Court One, Pegula, still searching for a semifinal place at the majors, led 4-1 in the final set against 42nd-ranked Vondrousova.

A correctional services officer and Mirador Mansion in Tsim Sha Tsui. Previous NextSeven prison officers have been arrested for allegedly gang-raping a 31-year-old woman who got drunk at a party in Tsim Sha Tsui. One of the suspects is a CSD officer while another a first assistant officer and the rest second assistant officers. They went to Mirador Mansion, where they drank alcohol and played card games with the seven suspects. A preliminary investigation report accused three second assistant officers, Wong, 23, Mak, 31, and Chung, 27, of gang-raping the woman when she was unconscious, while officer Lam, 28, first assistant officer Tam, 38, and second assistant officers Yuen, 28, and Hui, 30, are accused of watching the acts and masturbating.

COA flags OCD over P60.8 million delayed projectsThe photo of the Commission on Audit's office in Quezon City taken on Aug. 17, 2021. MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Audit (COA) has called out the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) over the delayed implementation of various disaster mitigation projects amounting to P60.838 million. In its 2022 annual audit report on the OCD, the COA said eight projects remained incomplete or unliquidated as of Dec. 31, 2022 even if the funds were downloaded to the implementing agencies from 2017 to 2021. Audit records show that funds were downloaded to the implementing agencies on June 8, 2021, but the facilities remained uncompleted, with fund balances of P29.861 million and P12.458 million for the Libacao and Pagadian projects, respectively. The COA said the OCD agreed to the audit recommendation to coordinate with the implementing agencies for the immediate completion of the projects and reversion of unused funds to the Bureau of the Treasury.

THE Supreme Court on Wednesday has announced the 14 local testing centers (LTCs) for the 2023 Bar examinations. San beda College-Manila,6. San Beda College-Alabang;7. In the Bar bulletin 4 series of 2023 released by the Supreme Court, San Beda College-Alabang was selected to be the national headquarters of the Bar exams. The RQN will be sent to the BARISTA account and registered email address of the examinee on July 20, 2023.

A 24-HOUR gun ban will be imposed in Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon), Central Luzon, and the National Capital Region (NCR) on July 24, the day President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. will deliver his second State of the Nation Address (SONA), the Philippine National Police (PNP) said on Wednesday. Around 22,000 security personnel will be deployed to secure not only the Batasang Pambansa complex where President Marcos will deliver his SONA but other areas in Metro Manila as well. The PNP said that so far, it had not received any intelligence reports on possible threats to security during the SONA. The PNP said protesters should not go beyond the designated areas to avoid problems with the flow of traffic. It added that it was open to assigning police personnel to the protesters so that the overall holding of the President's SONA would be peaceful.

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