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Russia fends off attack drones
Another wave of bomb drones has been unleashed by Ukraine targeting the Moscow region and two Russian naval ships in the Black Sea, but the Kremlin said Tuesday it foiled the attacks. “Two Ukrainian (unmanned aerial vehicles) were destroyed by air defense systems over the territory of the Odintsovo and Narofominsk districts of Moscow region,” the Russian defense ministry said. “Another drone was suppressed by electronic warfare and, having lost control, crashed on the territory of the Moscow City,” the capital’s main commercial district, the ministry said. Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said Tuesday on Telegram that one of the drones flew into the same tower in Moscow City that was damaged by debris from a destroyed Ukrainian drone on Sunday. Shortly after the drone attack, Moscow’s Vnukovo international airport was briefly closed, TASS state news agency reported. “Vnukovo was temporarily closed for arrivals and departures, the planes are redirected to other airports,” emergency services said, according to TASS, which later reported that it had resumed normal operations. The same airport, to the southwest of Moscow, was briefly closed after Sunday’s attack and earlier this month, a volley of drone attacks disrupted air traffic at Vnukovo. Meanwhile, three drones attacked the “Sergei Kotov” and “Vasily Bykov” patrol boats of the Russian fleet, 340 kilometers southwest of Sevastopol, the base of Russia’s Black Sea fleet on the annexed Crimea peninsula, the defense ministry said in a statement. Ukraine’s drone attacks on Moscow and the Black Sea followed Russia’s missile strikes on a residential building Kryvyi Rig, hometown of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The strikes killed six people and wounded dozens others. WITH AFP The post Russia fends off attack drones appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Pagadian airport to be closed for rehab
Pagadian airport in Zamboanga del Sur will be closed for one month to pave the way for repair of the runway......»»
MIAA restructuring underway
As the Ninoy Aquino International Airport closes in on its privatization, the government has started the restructuring process for the Manila International Airport Authority, which will surrender some of its powers to the future concessionaire......»»
IT engineer held at Iloilo airport over bomb joke
An information technology engineer from Batangas was arrested at the Iloilo International Airport in Cabatuan town on Thursday night over a bomb joke......»»
Russian strike on Ukraine mail depot kills six
Kyiv, Ukraine (AFP) — At least six postal workers were killed while 17 were wounded after Russian missile strikes hit a mail depot in Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region, officials said. The strike in the northeastern Kharkiv region on Saturday came as Kyiv declared its positions in the embattled city of Avdiivka were “protected” despite Russian attacks, while Moscow said it had downed Ukrainian missiles targeting the Crimean Peninsula. The six killed in the depot attack were all workers at the Ukrainian postal operator Nova Poshta in Korotych, a village on the outskirts of Kharkiv city, regional governor Oleg Sinegubov said. “The victims, aged between 19 and 42, received shrapnel wounds and blast injuries,” he said. Of the injured being treated in hospital, seven were in a serious condition, according to Sinegubov, who said “doctors are fighting for their lives.” The regional prosecutor’s office later updated the number of injured to 17. President Volodymyr Zelensky shared a video on social media of what appeared to be a heavily damaged warehouse surrounded by rubble and a container with the Nova Poshta logo. Sergiy Nozhka, who works for Nova Poshta, described the condition of some his colleagues as “mild to moderate severity,” adding that “there are some people in a very serious condition.” He said that a rocket “flew into the neighboring depot, but at ours too — the windows and shutters flew out. This is not the first time.” According to the prosecutor’s office, Russian forces in the Belgorod region north of Kharkiv fired S-300 missiles, two of which hit the warehouse. “Debris analysis continues at the site in order to establish the exact number of injured and dead,” office spokesperson Dmytro Chubenko told Ukraine’s state broadcaster Suspilne. Separate Russian attacks on villages near the war-battered Ukrainian city of Bakhmut killed at least two people on Sunday, officials said. Both Kyiv and Moscow are preparing for a grueling winter ahead, as Ukraine warns of renewed strikes on its energy infrastructure and Russia contends with a Ukrainian counteroffensive to regain territory. In the eastern Donetsk region, Ukraine’s positions around the frontline city of Avdiivka were “protected”, Zelensky said in his evening address Sunday. The city has been the center of intense fighting in recent weeks as each side struggles to make advances. Ukraine’s general staff said on Friday that Russia had stepped up its military assault on Avdiivka in an ongoing bid to encircle and capture it. “The Avdiivka and Maryinka directions are particularly tough”, Zelensky said. “Numerous attacks by Russians. But our positions are protected.” Avdiivka has been a symbol of Ukrainian resistance since 2014, after it briefly fell to Russian-backed separatists. It lies just 15 kilometers (nine miles) from the Moscow-held city of Donetsk, capital of the Donetsk region that Russia said last September it was annexing. Ukrainian soldiers had been bracing for a new assault after a failed Russian offensive earlier this month using columns of armored vehicles and tanks from three sides. Built around a huge coke plant, Avdiivka had a pre-war population of around 30,000 people. Around 1,600 remain, according to local authorities, living in basements converted into bomb shelters. The city center has been all but destroyed through daily Russian artillery shelling and a months-long aerial bombing campaign. Also on Sunday Russian forces shot down three missiles targeting the Crimean Peninsula, which Moscow annexed from Ukraine in 2014, a Russian official said. The peninsula is crucial to Russia’s offensive, both for supplying troops in southern Ukraine and for carrying out missile strikes from the sea. The post Russian strike on Ukraine mail depot kills six appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Pampered passengers
Adult diapers are getting a “bum” rap and not for the use they are intended. In 2017, morning rush hour passengers on Metro Rail Transit Line 3 were inconvenienced when the train’s southbound service was halted for more than an hour. Commuters could only take the MRT 3 between the North Avenue and Buendia stations. Trains could not run through to the Ayala Avenue Station as power there had been cut following the discovery of an adult diaper hanging from the power line. After the diaper was removed, train safety was restored, and service went back to normal at 7:46 a.m., according to news reports. On 13 October, a Copa Airlines flight from Panama to the United States turned back due to a supposed bomb threat. On the tarmac at Panama City’s Tocumen International Airport, 144 passengers were evacuated from the plane and it was searched by an anti-explosives team. The bomb squad discovered a suspicious package inside the plane’s toilet. Bomb-sniffing dogs were brought in and special forces officers gingerly handled the package — only to find a harmless adult diaper, recalled José Castro, head of the airport’s security team. Thereafter, the Copa flight resumed, landing in Tampa, Florida at 6:54 p.m. WITH AFP The post Pampered passengers appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
59 OFWs seek Lebanon exit
At least 59 Filipinos in Lebanon have expressed a desire to be repatriated amid the escalating tension between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah, the Philippine Embassy in Lebanon said Monday. Hezbollah is another Islamist militant group that controls the southern part of Lebanon. It has launched rockets into the northern part of Israel, which has fired back. “On Sunday morning, when we held our meeting with Filipino community leaders, we received 59 applications,” Philippine Ambassador to Lebanon Raymond Balatbat said in a television interview. This developed as the Philippine government, through the Department of Foreign Affairs, placed Lebanon under Alert Level 3, or voluntary repatriation. According to the DFA, there are an estimated 17,500 Filipinos in Lebanon, 67 of them residing on its southern border. Balatbat said only three of the 67 Filipinos on the southern border have asked to be repatriated. Since the surprise attack by the Palestinian Sunni-Islamic extremist group Hamas on Israel on 7 October, which left 1,400 Israelis dead, scores of foreigners have also been killed, including four Filipinos. Meanwhile, a total of 24 overseas Filipino workers, comprising the third batch of repatriates from Israel, arrived Monday afternoon at Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3. The repatriates — 21 women and three men — came from Israel via Abu Dhabi on board Etihad Airways flight EY424. Migrant Workers Officer-in-Charge Hans Leo Cacdac assured all the repatriates of support from the government to ease their displacement and facilitate their reintegration. Two Filipinos shared on Monday their traumatizing experience during the attack of Hamas in Israel. Tersita Malapo, 35, of Baao, Camarines Sur, a caregiver for eight years, said she and other Filipinos were about to go to church when they heard a siren. “On Saturday morning, we were about to go to church in Jerusalem because we go to church every day off. Suddenly, we heard a siren. After a while, there was news that rockets were being launched from Palestine. We were so shocked,” Malapo said. She said that because of the bombings a loud noise like the banging of a door made her nervous. “That feeling that you always hear something, your feeling of nervousness is increasing. When a door slams, you think something has exploded. In Israel, there is an explosion anytime of the day. It explodes even without a siren. When there’s a bombing, our house and bomb shelter vibrates,” she said. Gerald Caniban, 35, of Iloilo City, a caregiver for five years, said he was asleep when he heard the sirens. “It was an overwhelming experience. I was in Tel Aviv that morning. I was sleeping with my girlfriend when we heard the alert on my phone. It was Saturday, our day-off. After a few minutes, we heard sirens all over Tel Aviv,” Caniban said. He said he did not have peace of mind and described the situation as a terrible nightmare. The post 59 OFWs seek Lebanon exit appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Ukraine’s positions at Avdiivka still ‘protected’: Zelensky
Ukraine's positions around the frontline city of Avdiivka, in the eastern Donetsk region, are "protected", President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his evening address Sunday. The city has been the center of intense fighting in recent weeks as each side struggles to advance along the frontlines. Ukraine's general staff said on Friday that Russia had stepped up its military assault on Avdiivka in an ongoing bid to encircle and capture it. "The Avdiivka and Maryinka directions are particularly tough," Zelensky said. "Numerous attacks by Russians. But our positions are protected." Avdiivka has been a symbol of Ukrainian resistance since 2014 after it briefly fell to Russian-backed separatists. It lies just 15 kilometers (nine miles) from the Moscow-held city of Donetsk, the capital of the Donetsk region that Russia said last September it was annexing. Ukrainian soldiers had been bracing for a new assault after a failed Russian offensive earlier this month using columns of armored vehicles and tanks from three sides. Built around a huge coke plant, Avdiivka had a pre-war population of around 30,000 people. Around 1,600 remain, according to local authorities, living in basements converted into bomb shelters. The city center has been all but destroyed through daily Russian artillery shelling and a months-long aerial bombing campaign. The post Ukraine’s positions at Avdiivka still ‘protected’: Zelensky appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Caregiver scarred, scared by Hamas attack
An overseas Filipino worker, one of 18 who flew home from Israel on Friday, said he remained unsure whether to return to the country should its conflict with Hamas subside or be resolved peacefully. Elmer Puno, a 43-year-old caregiver from Pampanga, said his employer in Israel called him up before he left for the Philippines, urging him to return when things settle down. Puno said his experience during the attack by Hamas militants on Israel on 7 October had left him emotionally scarred and traumatized. “My employer called me and said that when the situation goes back to normal, if I still want to come back, I can. But I said to myself that I cannot decide yet because of what I encountered in Israel,” Puno said. He said he still has two years left of his four-year contract but decided to resign for his safety and his family’s concerns. “My salary is pretty good. In our currency, that is P70,000 a month, tax-free,” he said. “When I heard the sirens, I ran to a bomb shelter. I was talking to my wife, who also heard the sirens and bombing.” “She was so scared. She asked me to urgently go home. My children said that I should go home, so when there was an opportunity for repatriation, I didn’t think twice about asking the government to repatriate us,” he said. Of the 18 repatriates from Israel, one was left behind in Abu Dhabi due to elevated blood pressure. Puno and his fellow OFWs arrived at Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 on Etihad Airlines flight EY 424. The 18 OFWs received P105,000 each in direct financial assistance from various government agencies, and they are entitled to livelihood training to start a business. The post Caregiver scarred, scared by Hamas attack appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
OFW undecided to return to Israel when war is over
An Overseas Filipino Worker said on Friday during the arrival of the second batch of repatriated OFWs in Israel that he is still uncertain of his return to Israel if the war subsides. Elmer Puno, a caregiver who has resided in Pampanga, said that his employer promised him that he could still work for them anytime he is ready but still undecided because of his traumatic experience during the attack by Hamas Militants in Israel. “To be honest, when I was about to fly yesterday, my employer called me and said when the situation comes back to normal, if I still want to come back, I can. But I said to myself that I cannot decide yet because of what I have encountered inside Israel,” Elmer said. Elmer’s contract has not yet ended as he still has two years and three months to finish but he decided to resign from his job as a caregiver as he worries for his safety and his family. He said he worked in Israel for two years and earned a good salary. “My salary is pretty good. In our currency, that is P70,000 a month, tax-free,” he said. Elmer stated that he did not hesitate to ask for repatriation to the Philippine government because of his family who is worried for his safety. “When I heard the siren, I ran to a bomb shelter, I was also talking to my wife who also heard the sirens and bombings. She was so scared. She is asking me to go home urgently. My children said that I should be home so when there was an opportunity for me to ask for repatriation, I didn’t think twice about asking the government to repatriate us,” he lamented. There are around 18 repatriated OFWs including a Filipino left in Abu Dhabi due to high blood pressure who arrived at Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 via Etihad Airlines EY 424. The Department of Migrant Workers Undersecretary Maria Anthonette C. Velasco, together with the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration Deputy Administrator Honey Quino, Department of Social Welfare and Development Secretary Ada Colicon, and Technical Education and Skills Development Authority Deputy Director General Vidal Villanueva, received the second batch of repatriated OFWs. According to DMW Undersecretary Maria Anthonette Velasco, the government agencies provided financial assistance to the OFWs. “The 18 OFWs received P105,000 direct financial assistance today. P50,000 from OWWA, P50,000 from DMW, and P5,000 from DSWD. TESDA gave vouchers to the OFWs for them to undergo for training in opening a business and pursuing an entrepreneurship program,” Velasco said. Velasco added that the OFWs will be receiving medical assistance. Psychological first aid is one of the agency’s priorities for OFWs who are still traumatized. The post OFW undecided to return to Israel when war is over appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
CAAP intensifies airport security amid bomb threats
The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines on Thursday said that it has heightened the security of all its 42 commercial airports after the Air Traffic Service received a warning via email that planes leaving Manila for Puerto Princesa, Mactan-Cebu, Bicol, and Davao International Airports are about to be detonated by a bomb. Following the information, all airports were immediately ordered to intensify security measures while verification process is under way. CAAP Security and Intelligence Service assistant director general II retired MGen. Ricardo Banayat and all CAAP airports and area centers should augment appropriate security personnel to meet the anticipated high volume of passenger and vehicle traffic. Stringent access control procedures for both personnel and vehicles will be implemented, accompanied by thorough inspections of passengers and cargo. CAAP-CSIS personnel are also collaborating closely with the Philippine National Police Aviation Security Group and military authorities, intensifying intelligence and monitoring operations with other security units. Continuous foot and mobile patrols are also being conducted within both the airside and landside areas of the airport complex. Meantime, Airport Security Coordination meetings will also be convened with all relevant stakeholders to ensure the strict implementation of security measures aimed at preventing any unlawful interference with civil aviation. In order to avoid any difficulty, they also advise international travelers to get to the airport at least three hours prior to their departure as CAAP also urged the general public to comply fully with security agents and to exercise caution when visiting the airport. “Our primary priority continues to be safety and security, and these steps are being taken to protect everyone who uses our airports,” CAAP said. Meantime, the Manila International Airport Authority assured the traveling public that it had instituted measures to ensure the safety of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport passengers, flights and facilities. Foot and mobile patrols are in place, and K9 units are doing the rounds of the terminals as added measures to their already established day-to-day protocols. The MIAA is also in close coordination with the PNP-AVSEU and pertinent government law enforcement units tasked with validating any threat to national security. The post CAAP intensifies airport security amid bomb threats appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Mactan airport, all commercial air strips on heightened alert following bomb threat
MANILA, Philippines — The Mactan Airport and all commercial airports across the country are placed on heightened alert after the Air Traffic Service (ATS) received a bomb threat via electronic mail (email) on Friday. The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) said the email claimed that aircraft from Manila, going to Puerto Princesa, Mactan-Cebu,.....»»
Bomb threat sparks security alert at 42 Philippine airports
Security patrols and sniffer dogs were deployed at dozens of Philippine airports Friday, after the aviation regulator received a bomb threat against commercial planes. The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines said it was investigating the threat received via email warning that aircraft at Manila airport and four others would "explode". The regulator said 42 commercial airports "are on heightened alert as of today, October 6", without saying when the warning was received. "Immediate enhanced security measures are being implemented across all airports," it said in a statement. Eric Apolonio, spokesman for the aviation authority, told AFP: "No bombs have been found". He said that no flights were disrupted following increased security measures at the airports. The Manila airport authority said Friday that "foot and mobile patrols are in place and K9 units are doing the rounds of the terminals as added measures to its already established day-to-day protocols". The post Bomb threat sparks security alert at 42 Philippine airports appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Head hunting
Unusual contraband seized by French authorities last year exposed the illegal trade in endangered wildlife between Africa and the United States. Customs agents at Charles De Gaulle Airport in Paris found 392 monkey skulls and 326 skulls of other animals in the luggage of smugglers during a seven-month period in 2022, Sputnik News reported. Authorities believe American collectors and hunting clubs bought the contraband. According to SN, the skulls ended up in the Natural History Museum in Aix-en-Provence in southern France for scientific evaluation. In Utah, USA, the Transportation Security Administration said that vigilant security officers at the Salt Lake City International Airport also found a skull in one bag while an X-ray machine was scanning it on 18 September. The human skull raised an alarm that forced the TSA to halt baggage screening for two hours so the item could be safely inspected and removed if necessary. Unidentifiable components resembling an improvised explosive device were inside the skull and regarded as a potential security threat. A police bomb squad with a bomb-sniffing dog was brought in, and the passenger who owned the baggage was called. The passenger said it was a plastic skull with a built-in battery and sensor. Neurosurgeons use the medical training device to teach how to conduct a brain operation called a lobotomy. Fox News reported that the passenger was bringing the skull to a trade show in Cancun, Mexico, but TSA said it was not allowed to be transported on a commercial aircraft. According to Fox News, TSA officials confiscated the device and told the traveler to pick it up when he returned to Utah. The post Head hunting appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Bomb scare disrupts 10 flights in Bicol
Flights and operations at the Bicol International Airport were disrupted yesterday due to a bomb scare, according to the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines......»»
Probers: Confessed NAIA bomber a fall guy
A man who surrendered and confessed to throwing a Molotov bomb at some vehicles at the open parking lot of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 (NAIA-3) last Saturday may be a fall guy, the police Aviation Security Group (AVSEGROUP) said yesterday......»»
Security covenant awareness forged
In order to increase security awareness at the airport and ensure that all passengers travel safely, the various government entities at Ninoy Aquino International Airport have come together. The PNP Aviation Security Group was in charge of the aforementioned action, which was also participated in by a number of agencies, including the OTS, PDEA, immigration, and customs. CAAP, MIAA, and other connected agencies, including Bureau of Quarantine. According to PNP-AVSEC Director P/Brig. Gen Jack L. Wanky, this is the first time that different government agencies have forged a covenant to make the journey of passengers orderly and safe. The said covenant security awareness activity occurred one day ago when someone threw a Molotov bomb at the NAIA Terminal 3 parking lot. Gen. Wanky also refuted the NCRPO claim that the NAIA security measures are ineffective or weak. According to Gen. Wanky, the incident that happened last Saturday was only an isolated one, and it is true that the scene of the detonation was a place that was not a restricted area and it was only a parking lot, and there was no one hurt. Gen. Wanky said that the people responsible for this are only barkers or those who call passengers of jeeps or habal-habals outside the NAIA Terminal 3, because they are strictly prohibited from staying in the said area, and in the coming days they will arrest suspects because the follow-up operation of his men is still going on. The post Security covenant awareness forged appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
3 cars damaged from molotov explosion at NAIA
Three parked cars were damaged in a Molotov explosion that occurred at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 open parking at 9:39 a.m. Saturday. Fortunately, no one was hurt. The Manila International Airport Authority and the Philippine National Police Aviation Security Group are currently looking into the incident. PNP-AVSEGROUP is now gathering information regarding the identity of the person who was responsible for throwing a Molotov bomb at the open parking lot. The three vehicles damaged by the explosion include a Toyota Fortuner with plate number NCL 6610, Toyota Rush with plate number NEV 2485, and the Mazda Tribute with plate number NBI 716. No one was injured during the explosion. In the initial report, Aviation Policeman P/Corporal Manuel Supan, duty patrol at the arrival curbside, received information that there was an explosion caused by a Molotov at the open parking area of NAIA Terminal 3, Pasay City, and immediately responded to the area to verify the information. At 10:05 a.m., Supan reported the incident to the duty TOC and informed the SDO to secure the area. AVSEGROUP, together with members of the Special Operation Unit and SOCO of the PNP, arrived and cordoned the area, conducted paneling and clearing operations as well as a crime scene investigation. The post 3 cars damaged from molotov explosion at NAIA appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
2 held for bomb threat, joke at NAIA
Two travelers were arrested at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport recently for allegedly violating Presidential Decree 1727, the anti-bomb joke law......»»
NAIA bomb threat suspect identified
After being identified as the person who allegedly sent a bomb threat through text message to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport hotline, the Philippine National Police Aviation Security Group together with the Airport Police Department, arrested the female passenger as the suspect in the recent bomb threat at the NAIA. According to the airport authority, PNP-AVSEGROUP authorities and the APD successfully apprehended a passenger for her alleged involvement in the threat at NAIA Terminal 3 on the night of the same day, based on the report that a text message was received by the NAIA hotline through SMS on Wednesday morning, 16 August 2023. PNP-AVSEU NCR Chief Police Col. Arnel J. Apud identified the suspect as a 21-year-old female presently residing at #036 Jasmine St., Saint 2, Christopher Subdivision, Barangay. Mayapa, Calamba, Laguna, and an outbound passenger of Cebu Pacific flight 5J803 bound for Singapore, with an estimated time of departure of 8:15 p.m. on 16 August. Police Col. Apud said that the reports revealed that after receiving an alleged bomb threat sent via SMS to the NAIA hotline, the operatives from AVSEGROUP, in coordination with the APD, immediately initiated operational research to identify and locate the suspect responsible for the alleged bomb threat. After a thorough investigation and gathering of evidence, later that day, personnel of AVSEGROUP were able to locate the suspect and arrest her for violation of PD 1727, otherwise known as the malicious dissemination of false information or the willful making of any threat concerning bombs, explosives, or any similar device.” She was promptly informed of the nature of her arrest and was apprised of her rights under the law. The suspect was immediately brought to NAIA Police Station 3 for documentation and proper disposition. PBGEN Jack L. Wanky, Director of the Premier Police Force in all airports nationwide, urged the public to refrain from spreading false information regarding security threats. “Such behaviors not only put the safety of all individuals at risk but also disrupt normal operations and induce unwarranted panic to the air-riding public.” “The AVSEGROUP along with airport authorities will not tolerate such reckless behavior. The post NAIA bomb threat suspect identified appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»