Floods have subsided in most of the areas hit by bad weather that disrupted Christmas celebrations in the eastern, central and southern Philippines. Over 4,500 houses were damaged by the floods, along with roads and bridges, and some areas still have disrupted power and water supply, the disaster management agency said. Teams from the capital Manila were sent to assist communities with limited clean water in setting up water filtration systems. At least 22 cities and municipalities have declared a state of calamity, the disaster management council said. A shear line — the point where warm and cold air meet — triggered heavy rains in parts of the country last week, causing the floods, the state weather bureau said.

A bus accident on New Year’s Day in Tseung Kwan O caused multiple passengers to be trapped and 12 to be injured, and the bus driver was arrested for dangerous driving after the police’s investigation. The accident happened at around 5 pm yesterday when a Citybus route 796P travelling along the LOHAS Park Road suddenly lost control, side-turned and rammed into the woods on the roadside. Most passengers were freed within 15 minutes, and one woman stuck by bus seats on the upper deck was rescued within 30 minutes. Twelve people aged between 39 to 76, including five men and seven women, were sent to the hospital as suffering minor injuries. The bus driver was arrested after being accused of dangerous driving after the preliminary investigation.

MGen prepares to start building new RE projectsMANILA, Philippines — Meralco PowerGen Corp. (MGen), the power generating arm of Manila Electric Co., is targeting to commence this year the construction of “hundreds of megawatts (MW)” of new renewable energy projects, as two solar plants are set for commissioning this quarter. MGen president and CEO Jaime Azurin said the company was eyeing to commission this quarter projects that would add around 150 MW to its renewable energy capacity. The projects that will start commercial operations include the 75-megawatt alternating current (MWac) solar plant in Baras, Rizal through PH Renewables Inc., a joint venture of unit MGen Renewable Energy Inc. (MGreen) with Mitsui’s local unit MitRenewables Philippine Corp. MGen owns a 51-percent equity stake in PowerSource First Bulacan Solar Inc., which commenced operations of a 55-MWac solar plant in San Miguel, Bulacan in May 2021. The company has set its sights on reaching 1,500-MW of renewable energy capacity in the next seven years.

WASHINGTON (AFP) — Luka Doncic scored 51 points to lead the Dallas Mavericks to their sixth victory in a row while the Brooklyn Nets stretched their NBA win streak to 11 on Saturday, Dec. 31. Christian Wood, who added 25 points and seven rebounds for Dallas, marveled at what he sees as a Most Valuable Player-style effort. Bojan Bogdanovic scored 28 points to lead the Pistons while Anthony Edwards netted 30 in a losing cause. Julius Randle scored 35 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to lead New York’s 108-88 romp at Houston, which snapped the Knicks’ five-game losing streak. Myles Turner scored 34 points and Tyrese Haliburton added 24 to lead the Indiana Pacers over the visiting Los Angeles Clippers 131-130.

As a result, the US dollar index ended 2021 with an 8.9 percent gain. Last September, we may have seen the peak of the US dollar after the dollar index (DXY) hit a 20-year high of 114.78. Almost all currencies in the world depreciated against the US dollar in 2022, except for the Singapore dollar, which appreciated 0.7 percent. SPX ended down 19.4 percent, its worst performance for the year since the global financial crisis in 2008. The aggressive tightening of central banks worldwide in 2022 has increased the likelihood of a recession.

Police received a report on New Year's Eve that a woman killed herself with a knife in Ma On Shan and her husband was injured in his neck. The accident occurred around 9 pm on Saturday when police received a phone call from the husband surnamed Lai, 44, claiming his same-year-old wife surnamed Lee committed suicide in their home. Police went to the residential flat in Kam Fung Court where the couple lived, finding the wife lying unconscious in the living room and the husband injured his neck. The two were sent to Prince of Wales Hospital, the wife was later certified dead. Police classified the accident as "suicide" and "attempting to murder", with a further investigation ongoing.

The leaders of Ukraine and Russia both vowed to push for victory in New Year speeches, but while Volodymyr Zelensky spoke of gratitude and pain, Vladimir Putin urged duty to Russia, casting the war as a near-existential fight. The attacks followed a barrage of more than 20 cruise missiles fired across Ukraine on Saturday – and many bombardments earlier. “The main thing is the fate of Russia,” Putin, dressed in a dark suit and tie, said. ADVERTISEMENTReiterating that the West is supposedly intent on “destroying Russia” by using Kyiv, Putin vowed he will never allow that. While Putin immediately blamed Kyiv for orchestrating the powerful blast, Ukraine had not previously claimed responsibility for it – or any other attacks inside Russia, since Russia’s Feb. 24 invasion.

QCPD destroys almost P1-M worth of prohibited fireworks ahead of New YearIn this photo, Quezon City police are seen destroying P810,697 worth of illegal fireworks, January 31, 2022MANILA, Philippines — Around P810,697 worth of prohibited firecrackers and pyrotechnics were destroyed by police authorities after being seized following the implementation of a stricter Quezon City order before the New Year. The said fireworks and firecrackers were products of 58 operations conducted during the intensified operations carried out by 16 police stations and other units of the Quezon City Police District (QCPD). The said ordinance prohibits the use of firecrackers and pyrotechnic devices in "all public places in Quezon City." However, there are still some hardheaded folks selling in public markets who think they could get away with the law," said QCPD Director Police Brig. 54, S-2022 banning the use of fireworks and firecrackers even in private households.

A U.S. military plane involved in a confrontation with Chinese aircraft in disputed southern waters last week had violated international law and put the safety of Chinese pilots at risk, a defence ministry spokesman said. But Tian Junli, spokesman for China's Southern Theatre Command, said in a statement late on Saturday that the United States had misled the public about the incident near the disputed Paracel Islands in the South China Sea. He said the U.S. plane violated international law, disregarded repeated warnings by China and made dangerous approaches that threatened the safety of China's aircraft. "The United States deliberately misleads public opinion... in an attempt to confuse the international audience," Tian said. China claims almost the entire South China Sea as its sovereign territory, but parts of it are contested by Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei.

The government is working to resume quarantine-free cross-border travel with mainland China by as early as January 8, with a quota-setting scheme in the first phase, said officials. In a post on Sunday, Chief Secretary for Administration Chan Kwok-ki said multiple ports on the border are restarting for the resumption of normal travel between Hong Kong and mainland China. "The ports will set headcount limits for commuters in the preliminary phase after the resumption of border-cross travel," he said. "Our Co-ordination Group on Resumption of Normal Travel will take measures in expanding the scale of cross-border travel after the first phase," Chan said, "the number of flights travelling between the two places will also gradually increase depending on the situation." "The government will make every effort to ensure sufficient manpower and transportation capacity in the shortest time," said the transport minister Lam Sai-hung.

BREAKFAST is often regarded as the most important meal of the day. Aside from that, breakfast likewise gives other essential nutrients that help maintain good health. Best of Filipino breakfast awaits diners at Conti’s. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO Best of Filipino breakfast awaits diners at Conti's. CONTRIBUTED PHOTOBut not everyone is getting the right breakfast.

The PBA is set to explore an uncharted territory when it joins the esports scene with its planned collaboration with Dark League Studios for its PBA Esports Bakbakan in the first quarter of 2023. Setsuna “Dogie” Ignacio with PBA players Joseph Gabayni, Allen Mina and Jerrick Ahanmisi. “The showmatch proved that esports is for everyone, We were able to bridge two different worlds, basketball and esports. “The PBA players who participated told us that it was a great experience talaga! Nakaka excite daw to play these games in front of the fans!,” he addedThe PBA Esports Bakbakan 2023 will feature teams composed of PBA players, social media influencers and university esports athletes as it hopes to merge professional basketball, esports gaming and the academe in a collaborative effort to further promote esports in the country.

Marcos appoints two new OPS execsPresident Marcos swears in new Office of the Press Secretary officials at Malacañang. Appointed as OPS undersecretary was Cherbett Karen Maralit (above right) and Francisco Rodriguez III as assistant secretary. MANILA, Philippines — President Marcos has appointed two new officials, including his head writer during the 2022 presidential race, to the Office of the Press Secretary (OPS). In a statement, the OPS said Cherbett Karen Maralit and Francisco Rodriguez III have been named press undersecretary and assistant secretary, respectively. Maralit and Rodriguez have taken their oath of office before Marcos, photos released by the OPS yesterday showed.

New hybrid digital wallet to launch in Q1MANILA, Philippines — Financial services provider Direct Agent 5 Inc. (DA5) is launching its own hybrid digital wallet in the first quarter of 2023 after obtaining the necessary permits from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). Taken together, DA5 secures the title as the only money service business (MSB) to offer remittances, foreign exchange, crypto exchange and e-money facilities. SurgePay aims to be the most innovative Web 3.0 wallet to hit the Philippine market. This means that users could send and receive money and claim their remittances in seconds from any 1,800 outlets of DA5 nationwide. DA5, founded in 2006, is one of the leading authorized direct agents of Western Union in the Philippines.

Japan firm invests P2 billion for auto partsMANILA, Philippines — Kurabe Industrial Philippines Inc., a Japanese manufacturing company, is investing P2 billion into the country to set up a manufacturing facility in Lima Estate in Batangas, an economic zone operated by Aboitiz InfraCapital (AIC). Kurabe will purchase a 5.9-hectare property within the 800-hectare Lima Estate. “On behalf of the Philippine delegation at the Japan Business Roadshow, we welcome Kurabe Industrial to the Philippines, and to Lima Estate. At present, Lima Estate is home to over 70 Japanese companies. To accommodate growing demand from investors, AIC broke ground earlier this year on a 57-hectare expansion within Lima Estate which is part of a larger 150-hectare expansion.