The film distributor has been asked to blur the controversial dash lines in the film starring Australian actress Margot Robbie as Barbie. Beijing claims almost the entire South China Sea, despite rival claims from other Southeast Asian countries including the Philippines, Malaysia and Vietnam. But after "meticulous" scrutiny of the film, Philippine censors were convinced that the "cartoonish map" did not depict the nine-dash line. The Department of Foreign Affairs said it appreciated the opportunity to watch "Barbie" to "ascertain if the depiction of the imaginary world map is inimical to the national interest". The Philippines' approval of "Barbie" coincided with the seventh anniversary of an international ruling that China's historical claims to the South China Sea have no legal basis.

BAGUIO CITY, Benguet, Philippines — Three activists, who asked the Supreme Court to protect them from state-led harassment last month, have been designated as terrorists by the Anti-Terrorism Council (ATC) on June 7 along with another Baguio-based colleague. A fourth CPA member, researcher Jennifer Awingan, was also tagged as a terrorist. Members of the CPA learned about the resolution from an ATC statement published in the July 10 issue of the Manila Times. The Supreme Court petition said many of the activists were subjected to false criminal charges and were exonerated. He and Molintas were included in the Department of Justice proscription case which would have designated them and 600 others as terrorists.

Hongkongers hoping to grab any of the 21,626 free HK Express flight tickets to 19 Asian destinations went through a "never-ending" wait yesterday. A total of 80,000 free flight tickets are being given away through different channels of HK Express, Cathay Pacific and Hong Kong Airlines. Both Cathay and Hong Kong Airlines had earlier given most of the free tickets to overseas visitors. The HK Express campaign began at 10.30am, with its website already experiencing heavy traffic hours before the launch. HK Express replied to the post, saying the queue arrangement was to ensure the stability of the server.

KABUL — The Taliban administration said on Tuesday all activities by Sweden in Afghanistan must stop after the burning of the Koran outside a mosque in the Swedish capital last month. The order was likely to affect the Swedish non-governmental organization, the Swedish Committee for Afghanistan, which has thousands of aid workers at work throughout the country in health, education and rural development. An Iraqi immigrant to Sweden burned the Koran outside a Stockholm mosque last month, causing outrage in the Muslim world. The Swedish Committee for Afghanistan did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the Taliban order. The Taliban administration did not provide details on which organizations would be affected.

At least one person was killed after an elevated road being built in Thailand’s capital collapsed, and two others were listed as missing, with rescue crews unable to access the site Tuesday for fear of a further collapse, authorities said. Another 12 people were injured in the accident on Monday, according to the department of disaster prevention and mitigation. It was not immediately clear what caused the collapse of the road on the west side of Bangkok, but Governor Chadchart Sittipan said it had been severely damaged and remained inaccessible. “Someone needs to be responsible for this, because this wasn’t something unpreventable.”Earlier this year, a construction worker was killed and four cars were damaged in a similar accident in Bangkok, when a slab of concrete fell from a raised road under construction. In that case, a frame being used to lift the slab snapped, causing the concrete section to fall to the ground below.

SUZUKI Philippines, the country's pioneer compact car distributor, is now making its beloved 7-seater models, the Ertiga Hybrid and the ever-dependable XL7, more affordable and accessible to its loyal customers and patrons with its "Rainproof Deals." The Ertiga Hybrid, the first MPV hybrid in the country, gives an impressive fuel efficiency rating of 12.54 km/L or 7.6 percent better than the regular engine Ertiga on city driving. ‘Rainproof Deals’ from Suzuki. Suzuki's Rainproof Deals is available at all 72 Suzuki dealerships nationwide and will last until July 31. For daily updates on Suzuki, please like Suzuki Auto PH's Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/SuzukiAutoPH, follow them on Twitter at https://twitter.com/SuzukiAutoPH and Instagram at @suzukiautoph.

Nearly a sixth of the inmates in Ecuador’s prisons have not been sentenced, a national census showed on Monday, as President Guillermo Lasso urged the judicial system to be speedier to help ease the burden on overcrowded jails. ADVERTISEMENTThat figure is above the 30,134 prisoner capacity that prisons agency SNAI said the 36-prison system had in December 2022. Ecuador’s prison system has faced structural problems for decades, amid overcrowding and precarious living conditions for inmates, but riots have become increasingly common, killing more than 400 prisoners since late 2020. The government has attributed prison violence to fighting between criminal groups for control of prisons and drug trafficking routes. Prisoners have complained about the quality of the basic services and supply of food, the census also showed.

A bedside physiologic monitor fell and hit a patient last night, the spokesman for Eastern Hospital announced today. The patient sustained a minor abrasion on his forehead and his shoulder was also injured. A preliminary inspection showed that the dropping monitor and the supporting mount were intact, with the fixation parts functioning properly. Eastern Hospital informed the patient's family about the incident, and engineering staff were arranged to check all the bedside physiologic monitors of the same model in the ward to ensure safety. The incident has been reported in detail to Hospital Authority via Advanced Incident Reporting System, said the spokesman.

(UPDATE) A CHINESE foreign ministry official believes that Beijing and Manila can resolve their maritime dispute on their own, but a "third party" could turn the South China Sea (SCS) into a "sea of war." China, Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan, Vietnam and the Philippines have overlapping claims in the South China Sea, believed to be rich in gas and oil deposits. "We have [the] ability to handle it well but have to stay high-alert that South China Sea might be turned into the sea of war by the third party," Zhou said. The US, on the other hand, has warned against China's aggressiveness in asserting its claims in the South China Sea. Zhou said China's "goal" is for the South China Sea "to become the sea of peace, friendship and cooperation."

A raid led by the PNP “rescued” some 2,000 alleged human trafficking victims, including foreign fugitives, at the Hong Tai Compound in Las Piñas City on June 26. Gen. Sidney Hernia, director of the PNP Anti-Cybercrime Group, said they first learned that there were foreign fugitives in some Pogo hubs in their recent raids after coordinating with embassies who provided them with a list. In a statement, Gatchalian cited how fugitives who were rounded up in the recent raid in Las Piñas City were found to be working for Xinchuang Network Technology, a licensed Pogo firm in the country. It is clear that even legitimate Pogo firms also have involvement in crimes,” Gatchalian said. Remulla said the PNP’s supposed lack of evidence and coordination resulted in the release of the five Chinese suspects involved in human trafficking.

The suspect, with the surname Wu and from Lianjiang, had been detained, police said, adding they were investigating. She did not offer details about the identities and age of the victims, nor on the weapon used in the attack. The report said a video posted online showed a man carrying a knife walking past the kindergarten playground. It said other video showed at least four people in a pool of blood outside the school. Fatal attacks specifically targeting schools have occurred nationwide, prompting authorities to step up security around schools.

(UPDATE) PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. will lead the distribution of cash incentives to more than 500 national athletes on July 20 at the Malacañang Palace in recognition to their outstanding achievements at the 32nd Southeast Asian Games (SEAG) and 12th Asean Para Games (APG) held recently in Cambodia. President Ferdinand 'Bongbong Marcos Jr. PHOTO BY PRESIDENTIAL COMMUNICATIONS OFFICE"We are grateful for President Marcos' decision to personally award the incentives to Team Philippines, an expression of his admiration to our national athletes and their unwavering passion and dedication for representing the country," said Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) chairman Richard Bachmann. The PSC will be releasing about P60 million and P14 million in cash bonuses for the SEAG and APG medalists, respectively, as provided for by Republic Act 10699, or the "Expanded National Athletes and Coaches Incentives and Benefits Act." Under the law, national athletes who won gold medals will receive P300,000, silver medal finish with P150,000, and bronze medal finish with P60,000 at the SEAG level. The gold, silver, and bronze medalists from the APG level, on the other hand, are entitled to receive incentives worth P150,000, P75,000, and P30,000, respectively.

Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said there will be announcements soon regarding steps to attract strategic enterprises to Hong Kong in the wake of his a three-day visit to Shanghai. "I believe there is some good news to be announced in the near future in terms of attracting strategic enterprises," he said. Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu noted in his policy address in October that the administration would set up an Office for Attracting Strategic Enterprises to be led by Chan in an attempt to lure businesses from the mainland and overseas by offering them special facilitation measures and one-stop services. Members of the office, set up in December, have met over 150 technology firms and industry leaders, authorities said. Chan also gave a speech at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai, saying the SAR is committed to attracting AI firms and talents.

Long minnows in the sport, the Philippines have never played at a FIFA World Cup, either the men's or women's. Stajcic calls their journey from "almost ground zero" to the World Cup "miraculous". It began with the Women's Asian Cup in early 2022 when they made the semi-finals, losing to South Korea but securing a historic World Cup berth. 'We don't have fields'The Philippines are in Group A at the World Cup alongside co-hosts New Zealand, Norway and Switzerland. The team hopes getting the Philippines to their first World Cup can be a game-changer for football in the country.

LIVE: Senate hearing on public information, mass media billsMANILA, Philippines — The Senate Committee on Public Information and Mass Media is leading joint hearings on Monday on bills related to public access to information, media regulation, and accountability on social media. Also on the agenda are Senate bills to regulate what can be shown on media, including curbs on "immoral doctrines" and "indecent shows" and violence. Senate Bill No. 1289, which is also on the agenda, seeks to require social media and other online platforms to collect proof of identification from their users. Watch the Senate hearing on public information and mass media bills from 1:30 p.m. on July 10, 2023