Multiple men wreak havoc in newly opened Yau Ma Tei store
Police are looking for about five men who stormed in a Yau Ma Tei store on early Saturday morning causing a large amount of damage, no arrests have been made so far. At about 3:30 am today, the police received a report that a bar upstairs in Grand Place on Nathan Road, located in Yau Ma Tei, was broken into by around five men. Some of them were holding iron pipes and hammers, damaging the facilities in the store, and causing chaos, with large amounts of debris scattered all over the floor. Later, multiple police officers were seen asking staff about the incident in the bar. It is understood that the darts bar involved in the incident opened on January 27 (Sat) and fell victim to the attack within just one week of opening.
Source:The Standard
February 04, 2024 03:25 UTC
Hongkongers amazed by Messi during Inter Miami training session
Hongkongers marveled at the magic touch of Argentine super star Lionel Messi and his Inter Miami teammates during Saturday’s training session as the MLS club received an overwhelming welcome from fans at the Hong Kong Stadium. David Beckham, former England captain and owner of the MLS club, was another who was welcomed by citizens enthusiastically. Apart from flying the Barcelona flag, fans brought their homemade banners asking for Messi’s shirt as well. He was traveling with his friends who were all wearing Messi shirts and said he wouldn’t worry about booing from others, believing they were all quality football fans. The friendly fixture between Inter Miami and the Hong Kong XI will kick start at 4 pm tomorrow (Sun).
Source:The Standard
February 04, 2024 03:16 UTC
Marcos says no Filipino will go hungry under 'Bagong Pilipinas'
Marcos says no Filipino will go hungry under 'Bagong Pilipinas'MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. promised on Saturday that Filipinos would not experience hunger under a "New Philippines" — with the prospect of a revitalized agriculture sector equipped with modern knowledge and sufficient support from the government. The president said this during the ceremonial palay harvesting and distribution of various assistance in Candaba, Pampanga. "We will work towards developing our agriculture, which will be one of our priority steps in establishing a Bagong Pilipinas — where no one will go hungry and all are actively moving for a more prosperous future," said Marcos in Filipino. Marcos was accompanied by Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr., Assistant Secretary Arnel De Mesa, Pampanga Rep. Anna York Bondoc and several other local officials. The president earlier held the position of Department of Agriculture secretary to combat the country's food crisis.
Source:Philippine Star
February 03, 2024 19:07 UTC
Marcos’ ‘ambitious’ UN plans hinged on fixing PH human rights issues — UN expert
Marcos’ ‘ambitious’ UN plans hinged on fixing PH human rights issues — UN expertMANILA, Philippines — The Philippine government’s plan to position itself as a global leader on human rights will depend on how meaningfully it addresses rights abuses back home, United Nations Special Rapporteur Irene Khan said. "It can hardly be a security council member and not manage its own security problems in line with UN standards," Khan said. She added that effectively addressing domestic human rights issues would enhance the Philippines' “moral authority” on the global stage. Meanwhile, the UN Security Council is the UN's primary body for maintaining international peace and security. In 2017, Duterte threatened to slap UN Special Rapporteur on summary executions Agnes Callamard, who was conducting an investigation related to his so-called "war on drugs."
Source:Philippine Star
February 03, 2024 19:01 UTC
Indian model hit for Instagram death hoax
NEW DELHI: An Indian model sparked an online backlash on Saturday after revealing she had faked her death in an Instagram post as part of a cervical cancer awareness campaign. ‘STUNT’ WOMAN Model Poonam Pandey poses for a candid photo shoot in the city of Mumbai, western India on June 1, 2012. The 32-year-old conceded to her 1.3 million followers in another video posted on Instagram that her death had been a hoax. But suddenly we all are talking about cervical cancer, aren't we?" Health campaigners have urged the government to roll out a national human papillomavirus vaccination campaign for young girls, which in other countries has drastically cut the incidence of cervical cancer.
Source:Manila Times
February 03, 2024 16:24 UTC
Fake news, online hate fuel Indonesia sentiment vs Rohingya
JAKARTA: Arriving on a rickety boat in western Indonesia from squalid camps in Bangladesh after weeks at sea late last year, hundreds of Rohingya refugees came to shore only to be turned around and pushed back. On TikTok, dozens of fake UNHCR accounts have flooded Rohingya videos with comments. Ismail Fahmi, analyst for social media monitor Drone Emprit, told AFP the narrative "seems coordinated" but presented as if "it was organic." Locals say social media is making such anti-Rohingya sentiment appear widespread, but that was not reflected across Aceh from day to day. "It seems massive when we observe it on social media," said Aceh fishermen community secretary-general Azwir Nazar, acknowledging that Rohingya defenders online were treated as a "common enemy."
Source:Manila Times
February 03, 2024 16:19 UTC
Are social norms really the main cause of low female employment?
Similarly, both societies were able to shed restrictive social norms — of which body modification is only one example — and make significant progress on gender equality. The discrepancy has sparked debate about which social norms are constraining female labor-force participation and, equally importantly, whether norms are the only limiting factor. The low proportion of women in paid employment in India is a matter of serious concern, and policymakers should focus more on generating demand for female labor, rather than changing social norms. That means working to ensure the regular availability of paid work that women can access and incentivizing employers to hire them. Policymakers must put the horse before the cart: create conditions for female employment before spending immense sums on efforts to engender a new culture of equality.
Source:Manila Times
February 03, 2024 05:50 UTC
Indian fugitive nabbed in Pililla, Rizal
LUCENA CITY — A 28-year-old Indian national, who was wanted for lascivious conduct, was caught Thursday in Pililla town in Rizal province. In a report, the Rizal police identified the man as “Ajay,” a resident of Tanay town. ADVERTISEMENTThe report said policemen, armed with a warrant, arrested Ajay, who is on the list of wanted criminals in the Calabarzon region, in Barangay Bagumbayan around 8:30 a.m. FEATURED STORIESThe Indian national is facing a case of lascivious conduct (three counts) at the Regional Trial Court Branch 166 in Siniloan, Laguna with no bail recommended. The suspect will be detained at the local police jail.
Source:Philippine Daily Inquirer
February 03, 2024 01:11 UTC
An analog story
An analog storyLong before ChatGPT came into the picture, this student could perform and answer a prompt from his professor in analog style. I wonder who did it.”If you read this column with your newspaper, you are analog and might find today’s material timely and relevant. This reminds me of the analog days of the famous “Chain Letters.” Asking them who the writer or creator of this material is an exercise in futility. They could describe us as “exennials:” people born in that world of the fifties, with an analog childhood and digital adulthood. That will be analog.
Source:Philippine Star
February 02, 2024 23:29 UTC
US approves $4B India drone deal
After months of discussion with US lawmakers and India, the State Department formally informed Congress of the sale that includes 31 MQ-9B Sky Guardians, the most advanced among the Predator drones built by General Atomics. "The proposed sale will improve India's capability to meet current and future threats by enabling unmanned surveillance and reconnaissance patrols in sea lanes of operation," a State Department statement said. Most explosively, the Justice Department alleged that an Indian government official directed the plan remotely. Congress still has 30 days in which it can block the sale, although most observers expect it to go through. The assassination allegations against India continue to cast a shadow over US-India relations," said Michael Kugelman, director of the Wilson Center's South Asia Institute.
Source:Manila Times
February 02, 2024 23:08 UTC
‘No proper system’ in the Philippines for protection of journalists — UN expert
‘No proper system’ in the Philippines for protection of journalists — UN expertIrene Khan (L), United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression, gestures during a press conference in Manila on Feb. 2, 2024. “In the context of protection or prevention of attacks (on journalists), I feel there is no proper system for that,” Khan added. But, the UN expert pointed out, Filipino journalists have become wary of approaching local police for protection. They're afraid of the security system,” Khan said. Nearly a quarter of the incidents documented by NUJP in 2023 were related to the red-tagging of media workers.
Source:Philippine Star
February 02, 2024 22:23 UTC
Fixing food could produce $10 trillion
In the research, a consortium of scientists and economists found that transforming food systems across the world could prevent 174 million premature deaths, help the world meet its climate goals and provide economic benefits of $5 trillion to $10 trillion. "We have an amazing food system," said Vera Songwe, an economist with the Africa Growth Initiative at the Brookings Institution, and part of the Food System Economics Commission (FSEC), which produced the report. Researchers estimated total underappreciated costs from food systems of up to $15 trillion a year. The authors also compared computer modelling of the consequences by 2050 of continuing current trends and of a hypothetical food system transformation. They said that on the current pathway, food systems alone will push global warming above the Paris Deal's more ambitious threshold of 1.5 degrees Celsius since preindustrial times.
Source:Manila Times
February 02, 2024 22:02 UTC
Central banks should not rush rate cuts – IMF
WASHINGTON, D.C.: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) sees a greater risk to the global economy if central banks start cutting interest rates too soon than if they move "slightly" too late, Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said Thursday. Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Kristalina Georgieva. AFP Photo Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Kristalina Georgieva. AFP PhotoThe US Federal Reserve (Fed), the European Central Bank (ECB) and others have held interest rates elevated in recent months in an attempt to bring inflation back down toward target, following a post-pandemic surge in prices. Georgieva told reporters on Thursday that the United States was close to achieving a so-called soft landing, when policymakers bring inflation back to target without triggering a recession.
Source:Manila Times
February 02, 2024 16:38 UTC
UN: Terrorist threat high in Africa, Afghanistan
THE terrorist threat from al-Qaida, the Islamic State group, and their affiliates remains high in conflict zones in Africa and Afghanistan — and threat levels have risen in some regions, including Europe, United Nations experts said in a new report. The panel of experts said in the 23-page account that the relationship between Afghanistan's Taliban rulers and al-Qaida remains close, and unnamed member states said that "the high concentration of terrorist groups" in the country is undermining the security situation in the region. The Islamic State group broke away from al-Qaida over a decade ago and attracted supporters from around the world. They pointed to "a deficit in counterterrorism capabilities," which the Islamic State and al-Qaida-affiliated groups are continuing to exploit. Across Europe, the experts said, "formal terrorist threat levels have risen ... following fatal attacks in late 2023 in France and Belgium, in addition to numerous non-lethal terrorist incidents and arrests in several European countries."
Source:Manila Times
February 02, 2024 16:28 UTC
India declares short-term budget until May elections
NEW DELHI: India's finance minister unveiled on Thursday a short-term budget to meet government expenditures until national elections are held in May, saying it will boost spending on infrastructure projects, build homes for poor villagers, and cut the fiscal deficit by reducing subsidies. Nirmala Sitharaman announced plans to raise skills for young people and boost small and medium enterprises to create jobs. The short-term budget is mostly free of big-spending new programs. Get the latest newsdelivered to your inbox Sign up for The Manila Times newsletters By signing up with an email address, I acknowledge that I have read and agree to the Terms of Service and Privacy PolicyThe short-term budget must be approved by Parliament. The government allocated $145 billion for infrastructure projects in the short-term budget.
Source:Manila Times
February 02, 2024 04:17 UTC