OFW remittances to grow 4% this year and in 2023Dennis Lapid, officer-in-charge of the Department of Economic Research, said there is an uptick in the deployment of OFWs. MANILA, Philippines — The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is confident that remittances from overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) can still grow by four percent this year despite the soft increase this year. Likewise, cash remittances coursed through banks grew by 3.1 percent to $23.82 billion during the nine-month period. In 2021, the BSP missed its six percent growth forecast as personal and cash remittances went up by only 5.1 percent. Personal remittances increased to an all-time high of $34.88 billion, while cash remittances reached new record high of $31.42 billion.

Army destroys firearms from rebels, terroristsA road roller runs over 300 surrendered firearms, including assault rifles, grenade launchers and bolt-action sniper rifles, at Camp Siongco in Awang Dos, Maguindano. COTABATO CITY, Philippines — The Philippine Army destroyed Friday 300 firearms turned in by local terrorists and New People’s Army (NPA) guerillas who surrendered in batches in recent months. A road roller was used to run over the cache, which consists of assault rifles, grenade launchers and bolt-action sniper rifles. About 400 members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, Dawlah Islamiya and NPA have surrendered to the Philippine Army’s 6th Infantry Division in the past three years. The destruction of firearms was jointly led by Bacarro and 6th ID commander Major Gen. Roy Galido at Camp Siongco in nearby Datu Odin Sinsuat town, Maguindanao del Norte.

Some of those protesters, tracked down by China’s security apparatus, now face an anxious wait about their fate. Amid the caution, state broadcaster CCTV announced further easing, with tourism and entertainment venues – including theatres, libraries, internet cafes, and table game centers no longer requiring COVID tests and health codes. China’s tally of 5,235 COVID-related deaths is a tiny fraction of its population of 1.4 billion, and extremely low by global standards. Some experts have warned that the toll could rise above 1.5 million if the exit is too hasty. Manufacturers remain cautious too, retaining COVID curbs until they get a clearer picture of just how workplaces will be affected by the easing of stringent measures.

Concerns raised in procurement of COVID-19 bivalent vaccinesPeople queue to receive COVID-19 vaccine at a drugstore along Bayan-Bayan Ave. in Marikina City during the pilot implementation of the government’s “Resbakuna sa mga Botika” program on Jan. 20, 2022. MANILA, Philippines — Several medical and policy experts comprising the Advisory Council of Experts, a group organized by Go Negosyo founder Joey Concepcion, are raising concerns that the same mistake may be repeated in the country’s vaccination efforts to procure bivalent vaccines against COVID-19. Last month, the Department of Health bared a plan to procure only a limited number of doses of the bivalent COVID-19 vaccine. “We can’t afford to make the same mistakes twice with our bivalent vaccines,” he said. Concepcion led private sector efforts to procure COVID-19 vaccines in the early days of the pandemic through a tripartite agreement that overcame regulatory roadblocks for the vaccines.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. led the ceremonial blessing of two T-129 attack helicopters at the Presidential Security Group compound in Malacañang on Friday morning. Growing fleetThe OPS said T-129 helicopters are manufactured by Turkish Aerospace Industries and are based on the AgustaWestland A129 Mangusta design. The two T-129 ATAK helicopters were the second batch of six T-129 ATAK helicopters the government procured from Turkiye. ADVERTISEMENTAccording to the PAF, the capabilities of T-129 are very far and different from the old procured helicopters. RELATED STORY:Bongbong Marcos Jr. leads blessing of 2 attack helicopters from TurkeyRead Next

A resident of the Haus an der Linde nursing home receives the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine in Lichtentanne, Saxony, Germany. (Reuters)Beijing will grant German nationals living in China access to mRNA vaccines produced by the European country, according to the foreign ministry. “China and Germany have reached agreement on providing German vaccines for German nationals in China, and relevant arrangements will be discussed and determined by the two sides through diplomatic channels,” Mao Ning, a ministry spokesperson, said Friday at a briefing. The move was expected after German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said last month that China will make BioNTech SE’s Covid-19 vaccine available to foreigners living in the country. Germany recently granted a permit allowing Chinese nationals in the European country to receive China’s Sinovac Covid-19 vaccine, a decision that Mao said the country welcomes.

Jenin, Palestinian Territories: Israeli troops on Thursday (Friday in Manila) killed three Palestinians during a firefight in a West Bank city, and another in a separate incident, Palestinian officials said. The Islamic Jihad militant group said its fighters engaged in "fierce clashes" with Israeli forces in the northern West Bank city. The Israeli army said it had carried out multiple operations across the West Bank overnight Wednesday-Thursday to arrest wanted suspects in cities including Bethlehem and Ramallah. International alarmA surge in bloodshed this year has seen 26 Israelis and at least 150 Palestinians killed across Israel and the West Bank. Israel has occupied the West Bank, including annexed east Jerusalem, since the Six-Day War of 1967.

A 65-year-old man was found dead on Friday on a reef at Cape Collinson in Siu Sai Wan as police believed he accidentally slipped during morning exercise. Swimmers were swimming in the waters near Island Resort in Siu Sai Wan this morning when they saw an apparently unconscious man lying on a 4-meter-high reef at Cape Collinson. The man was then pronounced upon further examination and his body was brought onto the rescue boat and sent to the pier opposite the Siu Sai Wan Sports Center. Officers also believed Wu accidentally slipped and fell to his death during his morning exercise. According to the swimmers, the man was found lying on top of an isolated reef 50 meters away from the swimming shed.

A pleasantly shocking behaviorWhat leadership lessons can one learn from the World Cup series? On his website briandoddonleadership.com, Brian Dodd presents what he calls: “7 Leadership Lessons from the ‘Pleasantly Shocking’ Behavior of Japan’s Fans and World Cup Squad.” Quite long for a title, but I can assure you it is worth the read. These are 7 leadership lessons I learn from this “pleasantly shocking” behavior by the Japanese fans and their team:Culture of ExcellenceMarketing guru, Seth Godin has taught that culture can be summed up in 11 words – “This is who we are, and this is what we do.” You don’t stumble into the type of behavior shown by the Japanese fans and team. May we all be like the Japanese fans and their soccer club. Dodd calls it “pleasantly shocking,” and we are inspired and encouraged by it.

The “T-Sure, Toyota Quality Pre-owned Cars” (T-Sure), the program offers an alternative to consumers who are looking for worry-free car purchase options without compromising quality, value, safety, and excellent service. What are some of the improvements that have been put in place with the T-Sure program? are available to T-Sure customers, making vehicle ownership and maintenance worry-free. Lastly, we are increasing our used car sales network nationwide with 29 T-Sure retail outlets and more to come in the future. T-Sure guarantees transparency in vehicle condition and history as well as untampered odometer reading.

The unripe one, also known as young jackfruit, is commonly used to make ginataang langka (young jackfruit in coconut) which is a great and sustainable vegetable dish to include in your meal rotation. You can also use young jackfruit to make vegan burger patties, or langka patties in general. This is because young jackfruit has sap (also called dagta) and you would want to remove this first. In a food processor, add the boiled young jackfruit and add the rest of the ingredients. You may use egg as binder or if you prefer a vegan version, opt to use flour or chia seeds.

Three men were arrested as customs busted two large-scale illicit cigarette smuggling cases worth HK$150 million, with a duty potential of about HK$100 million, earlier this month in Tai Kok Tsui and Sheung Shui. Upon inspection, about 11 million illicit cigarettes were seized inside a 40-foot container and a 58-year-old male driver was arrested. Investigations are ongoing and customs said they will continue to trace the source and flow of the illicit cigarettes. Including the illicit cigarettes seized in this operation, customs have seized about 694 million suspected illicit cigarettes this year as on Wednesday. The number already exceeded last year's total seizure amount of about 427 million suspected illicit cigarettes by 60 percent, customs added.

We are aware of what nuclear weapons are," Putin said at a meeting of his human rights council. "When we are struck, we strike back," Putin said, stressing that Moscow's strategy was based on a so-called retaliatory strike policy. "We think any loose talk of nuclear weapons is absolutely irresponsible," US State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, however, declared that the risk of nuclear weapons being used in the Ukraine conflict has lessened, thanks to international pressure on Russia. "New territories appeared — well, this is still a significant result for Russia," Putin said, referring to the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions.

"Currently we don't plan on selling in the US, we need a better understanding of what the next steps are," BYD executive vice president Stella Li said in an interview Tuesday. "We'll continue to invest in electric school buses and also battery components but for consumer cars, we haven't got a decision yet." Meanwhile, the automaker will sell its electric vehicles in Malaysia in a 500 million ringgit (HK$885.3 million) tie-up with Sime Darby Motors. Great Wall Motor (2333) said its car sales last month plunged 28.5 percent year-on-year to 87,560 units. Separately, Bloomberg said Tesla chief executive Elon Musk has roped in longtime executive and the company's president in China, Tom Zhu Xiaotong, to help run the carmaker's new plant in Austin, Texas.

PLDT boosts home fiber connectivity in MindanaoMANILA, Philippines — Telco giant PLDT Inc. will finish the year expanding its connectivity reach in Mindanao as part of its commitment to provide internet access to remote communities. For the rest of the year, PLDT said it would focus on improving its network in Mindanao by setting up additional fiber and wireless infrastructure in the island. In particular, PLDT will add around 6,000 FTTH lines in Davao de Oro, Davao del Norte, Davao del Sur, Davao Occidental, Davao Oriental and Davao City. It will also put up new wireless sites in the region before 2022 ends. PLDT’s wireless unit Smart Communications Inc. rolled out new mobile sites and base stations in Northern Mindanao, including Cagayan de Oro.