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Twice s Jihyo, Olympian Yun Sung Bin reportedly dating
Jihyo of Korean girl group Twice and Olympic gold medalist for men's skeleton Yun Sung Bin are dating, according to several media outlets in South Korea......»»
Kristel may ‘tumor’ sa binti, pero naoperahan na: ‘One of the scariest!’
NAUNA na naming ibinalita ang tungkol sa pagsailalim sa surgery ng actress-vlogger na si Kristel Fulgar sa South Korea. Pero at that time kasi, ang tanging sinabi lang niya sa YouTube vlog ay ooperahan siya sa binti at hindi na idinetalye kung ano ang nangyari sa kanya. At heto na nga, may bagong update si.....»»
Diffusing tension
In his 2024 State of the Union Address, President Joseph Biden doubled down on his rhetoric against China as he boasted revitalized partnerships in the Pacific. He rattled off India, Australia, Japan, South Korea and the Pacific Islands. He said the United States is standing up against China’s economic practices while standing up for peace across the Taiwan Strait......»»
Asian qualifying results for 2026 FIFA World Cup
BEIJING, March 22 (Xinhua) -- Following are Thursday's results in Asian qualifying for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico: Group A At Doha Qatar bt Kuwait 3-0 At Abha, Saudi Arabia Afghanistan tied India 0-0 Group B At Tokyo Japan bt DPR Korea 1-0 At Yangon Myanmar tied Syria 1-1 Group C At Seoul South Korea tied T.....»»
GCash sets sights on further international expansion
With GCash Overseas, Filipinos in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Spain, Italy, Germany, Qatar, Kuwait, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong and Australia can now download and use the GCash app, whether they have Philippine SIMs or local mobile phone numbers in the countries or territories where they live......»»
Bakbakan ng mga sikat na K-drama actors sa ‘The Wild’ pasabog ang aksyon
NAGSAMA-SAMA ang pinakamatatapang sa Korea para sa isang matindi at makapigil-hiningang aksyon! Game face on na at maghanda para sa isang ‘di malilimutang intense movie experience! Showing na ngayon ang “The Wild” sa mga sinehan nationwide. Ang mga A-List at beteranong aktor ng South Korea na sina Park Sung Woong, Oh Dae Hwan, Oh Dal-Su,.....»»
Blinken Arrives in South Korea to Attend Democracy Summit
Seoul, South Korea - U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived Sunday in South Korea on the first stop of a brief Asia tour also including the Philippines, as Washington moves to reinforce ties with two key regional allies.Blinken landed Sunday afternoon ahead of the third Summit for Democracy on Monday, an initiative of U.S. President Joe Biden, which Seoul is hosting this week.Before arriving in Se.....»»
Biden to Host Japan PM Kishida, Philippines President Marcos
WASHINGTON - President Joe Biden will host Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. for a White House summit next month amid growing concerns about North Korea's nuclear program, provocative Chinese action in the South China Sea and differences over a Japanese company's plan to buy an iconic American steel company.White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre in a sta.....»»
DOE orders creation of nuclear energy body
The Department of Energy will soon create a committee dedicated to achieving a 2,400-megawatt nuclear power capacity for the country by 2032......»»
Innovation is essential for Phl transformation, says PBBM
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Wednesday emphasized the importance of innovation in transforming the country and achieving its development goals. In his speech during the launching of the National Innovation Agenda and Strategy Document 2023-2032, Marcos called on all the stakeholders to collaborate with the government in promoting innovation. "Invest in our local enterprises. Support our research institutions. Embrace the corporate responsibility of financing innovation-driven programs and projects," Marcos said. "These undertakings serve as catalysts to achieve our overall developmental agenda. Your involvement will be instrumental to their success," Marcos added. Marcos also called on the academe to be at the forefront of innovation as the Chief Executive recognized their role as incubators of talent, skills, and ideas that will shape the future. "Continue to develop the minds and the sensibilities of our youth so that we can set them up for success and harness their talents for national development," Marcos said. Marcos said that the government is steadfast in its commitment to nurturing innovation and sustainable development. He added that the government understood the crucial role played by infrastructure development and cutting-edge facilities. "They serve as the crucible for innovation and the foundation of our glorious future. And that is why we will remain aggressive in our drive to invest in our infrastructure system," Marcos said. Marcos said that he is confident that the Philippines can achieve its goals for innovation and sustainable development with the guidance of the NIASD. In the same speech, Marcos said that the NIASD is a "blueprint that will accelerate the country's innovation governance as well as promote a culture of innovation among scientists, researchers, entrepreneurs, engineers, and of course citizens." He added that the document is not just a plan but a commitment to making innovation an indispensable component of the nation's development agenda, and a key driver in the vision to achieve a truly smart and innovative Philippines. NIASD, which Marcos approved on 30 June 2023, is in accordance with Republic Act 11293, also known as the Philippine Innovation Act. Per the information provided by the National Economic and Development Authority, the NIASD has outlined its plans from 2023 to 2032. One of the plans includes reforming the education curriculum design and learning platforms to develop Filipinos' creativity, curiosity, problem-solving skills, and entrepreneurial abilities for the 21st century. The post Innovation is essential for Phl transformation, says PBBM appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Hidden ocean the source of CO2 on Jupiter moon: research
Carbon dioxide detected on Jupiter's moon Europa comes from the vast ocean beneath its icy shell, research using James Webb Space Telescope data indicated on Thursday, potentially bolstering hopes the hidden water could harbor life. Scientists are confident there is a huge ocean of saltwater kilometers below Europa's ice-covered surface, making the moon a prime candidate for hosting extra-terrestrial life in our Solar System. But determining whether this concealed ocean has the right chemical elements to support life has been difficult. Carbon dioxide -- one of the key building blocks of life -- has been detected on Europa's surface, but whether it rose up from the ocean below remained an open question. Aiming to find an answer, two US-led teams of researchers used data from the Webb telescope's near-infrared spectrometer to map CO2 on the surface of Europa, publishing their results in separate studies in the journal Science. The most CO2 was in a 1,800 kilometer-wide (1,120 mile) area called Tara Regio, where there is a lot of "chaos terrain" with jagged ridges and cracks. Exactly what creates chaos terrain is not well understood, but one theory is that warm water from the ocean rises up to melt the surface ice, which then re-freezes over time into new uneven crags. The first study used the Webb data to look at whether the CO2 could have come from somewhere other than the ocean below -- hitching a ride on a meteorite, for example. Samantha Trumbo, a planetary scientist at Cornell University and the study's lead author, told AFP they concluded that the carbon was "ultimately derived from the interior, likely the internal ocean". But the researchers could not rule out that the carbon came up from the planet's interior as rock-like carbonate minerals, which irradiation could then have broken apart to become CO2. 'Very exciting' Table salt has also been detected in Tara Regio -- making the area significantly more yellow than the rest of Europa's scarred white plains -- and scientists think it may also have come up from the ocean. "So now we've got salt, we've got CO2: we're starting to learn a little bit more what that internal chemistry might look like," Trumbo said. Looking at the same Webb data, the second study also indicated that "carbon is sourced from within Europa". The NASA-led researchers had also hoped to find plumes of water or volatile gases shooting out of the moon's surface, but failed to spot any. Two major space missions plan to get a closer look at Europa and its mysterious ocean. The European Space Agency's Jupiter moon probe Juice launched in April, while NASA's Europa Clipper mission is scheduled to blast off in October 2024. Juice project scientist Olivier Witasse welcomed the two new studies, saying they were "very exciting". When Juice flies past Europa twice in 2032, it will collect "a wealth of new information," including about surface chemistry, he told AFP. Juice will also look at two of Jupiter's other moons -- Ganymede and Callisto -- where carbon has been detected. Witasse emphasised that the goal of the Juice mission, like the Europa Clipper, is to find out whether these icy moons have the right conditions to support life -- they will not be able to confirm if aliens exist. And even if some future mission does discover life, anything able to live in such extreme conditions under more than 10 kilometres of ice is expected to be tiny, such as primitive microbes. The post Hidden ocean the source of CO2 on Jupiter moon: research appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Innovation, health top Asian concerns
The government aims to spur innovation among industries and the health sector in the country to catch up with the projected economic boom of its Southeast Asian neighbors and achieve an upper middle-income society by 2040. Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan last Friday urged the faculty of the University of the Philippines Diliman to help the government raise technologically-skilled Filipinos toward more agile industries amid the information and digital age. “Our infrastructure sector and the emerging industries — agribusiness, mining, tourism, manufacturing, education, creatives, health and IT-BPM — will require a deep pool of skilled workers and professionals, which the university is in a position to contribute to,” he told the UPD alumni in their council meeting last Friday. As a planning and advisory agency, the National Economic and Development Authority, or NEDA, last month presented the National Innovation Agenda and Strategy Document 2023 to 2032 to other government agencies its strategies for better public-private partnerships, innovation research and development, commercialization of products and support for small businesses. “We must find ways to harness fast-evolving technologies as opportunities are waiting to be tapped by our young labor force. We must take two, even three steps forward, even as other forces — populism and political expediency — take us one step backward,” Balisacan told the university’s alumni during his speech entitled “If We’re So Smart, Why Aren’t We Rich?” Balisacan said government agencies will organize more in-person and online forums and surveys with academic institutions, businesses and marginalized groups and technical studies to achieve those goals. According to the United Nations, science researchers in the Philippines are much fewer with 174 per 1 million residents compared with Singapore’s 7,287 and Thailand’s 2,070. As the government capitalizes on human resources, Balisacan added the Marcos administration will be expanding nutrition programs and health facilities across the country. Lessons from Covid “The Covid-19 pandemic has demonstrated the need to sustainably secure and equitably distribute health infrastructure and human resources and promote health-seeking behavior and health literacy,” he said. According to World Development Indicators, vaccination rates in the Philippines range 57 percent to 92 percent, lower than the 95 percent and 99 percent of Singapore and Thailand, respectively. Malnutrition, however, has improved among Filipino children below five years old as stunting was found in 26.7 percent of households in 2021 from 33.4 percent in 2015, according to the Department of Science and Technology. Underweight children in this age group were also fewer at 5.5 percent from 7.1 percent during that period. Without improvements in the education and health sectors, Balisacan said Filipinos cannot secure quality jobs and help the country obtain higher GDP per capita or economic output per person. By 2050, the Philippines will see $22,700 GDP per capita, lower than Indonesia’s $37,400 and Vietnam’s $33,800, research from the Asian Development Bank showed. The post Innovation, health top Asian concerns appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
DoE ‘slow walking’ on cheaper energy
The Department of Energy has been slow in making energy production sustainable and reducing the cost of electricity, which can be achieved by adopting nuclear energy, Rep. Mark Cojuangco told the Daily Tribune on Wednesday. Cojuangco, of the 2nd District of Pangasinan, said the country spends around $800 million on coal imports each year to generate most of its energy supply. On the other hand, he said, nuclear energy production costs only around $20 million which would result in 50 percent or more savings to consumers. “We should think of our balance of payments first. Nuclear energy has long been used by France since they decided to address the oil crisis in the 1970s and 1980s. As a result, their energy has been cleaner and their country independent from the OPEC or Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries,” Cojuangco said. Despite this, he said, the DoE has been “slow walking” in adopting nuclear energy. It should aggressively advocate lawmakers for the construction and operation of nuclear plants in the country, starting with the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant, he stressed. “They are saying 2,500 megawatts of power by 2032 in the country, but they are not saying how they’re going to get there. There should be a firm vision in place that the Congress should make an official energy policy,” Cojuangco said. He noted that the DoE had commissioned a survey that revealed that 79 percent of Filipinos were being hurt by the high energy prices and believed the government should resolve this. “DoE has been exploring alternative energy sources for 37 years, yet energy prices are still expensive. It’s time to adopt nuclear energy which can be produced through the BNPP. As consumers, we have the social license to alert the government and demand affordable energy,” he said. The BNPP had not been activated since former president Corazon Aquino ordered further studies on the safety of nuclear power plants in 1986, following the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in Ukraine. Cojuangco, however, said nuclear power plants are safe as they are inspected by the International Atomic Energy Agency. To ensure enough energy supply, he said the country should be producing 1,000 megawatts through nuclear energy each year to achieve an additional 16,000 megawatts by 2045. Currently, he said, the country gets 75 percent of its energy from fossil fuels such as coal, natural gas, and oil to generate 16,000 megawatts. He cautioned, however, that reserves from these traditional sources are thinning, including the Malampaya natural gas field in Palawan, amid projections of a fast-growing population. “Twenty percent of the energy from fossil fuels comes from Malampaya, and the National Economic and Development Authority said we need to double our 22,000-megawatt capacity by 2040,” he added. The post DoE ‘slow walking’ on cheaper energy appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Marcos OKs National Innovation Agenda
The National Innovation Council led by President Marcos has approved the National Innovation Agenda and Strategy Document 2023-2032, which contains strategies to achieve an ecosystem that promotes a culture of innovation driven by market demands, Malacañang said yesterday......»»
Marcos backs national innovation agenda to boost economic growth
President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr., as the chairperson of the National Innovation Council, has given his full support to the National Innovation Agenda and Strategy for the period of 2023-2032. .....»»
Government draws up 10-year innovation roadmap
The National Innovation Council, chaired by President Marcos, has approved the country’s innovation roadmap for this year until 2032......»»
PBBM approves nat’l innovation roadmap
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has approved the National Innovation Agenda and Strategy Document or NIASD 2023-2032, outlining the country's plan to improve innovation governance and establish a dynamic innovation ecosystem, Malacañang said Saturday. Presidential Communications Secretary Cheloy Garafil told reporters that Marcos, who also chairs the National Innovation Council, gave the green light during the 5th NIC meeting on Friday. Garafil said the “NIASD characterizes a dynamic innovation ecosystem as one that fosters a pervasive culture of innovation driven by market demands.” The roadmap facilitates collaboration through active, reliable, and useful platforms, and provides innovation actors with the necessary facilities and resources to transform their ideas into innovative products and services. Garafil added that the NIASD will connect the innovator-entrepreneur to potential investors and funders. During the meeting with Marcos, NEDA Secretary Arsenio Balisacan, vice chairman of the NIC, said that establishing a dynamic innovation ecosystem is one of the six cross-cutting strategies in the transformation agenda identified in the Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028 to achieve a prosperous, inclusive, and resilient society. "Chapter 8 of the PDP elaborates on this strategy by situating it within the continuum of research and development, innovation, technology adoption, then commercialization" stated Balisacan. An oath-taking ceremony for the executive members also took place shortly before the 5th NIC meeting. The NIC is a 25-member policy advisory body that comprises 16 Department Secretaries and seven Executive Members from the private sector. Aside from Balisacan, the NIC members present during the meeting were Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista, Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla, Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines Director General Rowel Barba, Scientific Community member Dr. Ria Liza Canlas, MSMEs member Mark Sultan Gersava, and Business Sector Members Monchito Ibrahim and Earl Martin Valencia. The post PBBM approves nat’l innovation roadmap appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Risky exposure (1)
In a review of banks’ exposure in energy projects, undertaken by the environmental think-tank Center for Energy, Ecology and Development, conglomerate San Miguel Corporation’s energy arm SMC Global Power Corp., which maintains a host of power plants, including those using coal as fuel, received prominent space. In the discussion, the dilemma that banks face was brought to light amid their financial exposure to SMCGP that may be affected by the maneuvers of SMC and its subsidiaries to, ironically, turn around the unfavorable state of the group. It said that apart from issues of supply, local fossil fuel companies are also feeling the impact of volatile fuel prices. SMCGP, the report said, suffered P15 billion in losses in 2022 due to the rising prices of fossil fuel. In May 2022, two of SMCGP’s subsidiaries filed motions for price adjustment before the Energy Regulatory Commission due to the rising fuel costs that they claimed they could no longer bear and wanted to pass on to consumers. The motions, according to the report, have since been denied, and SMC has brought the matter up to the Court of Appeals. Following the ERC denial of the price adjustment petitions, a Bloomberg intelligence report was released finding that SMCGP risks a funding shortfall as high as $1 billion by next June. The same intelligence report also projected that SMCGP’s current coal exposure might make refinancing more difficult and more costly, as investors increasingly shun coal-fired power plants as a result of the international effort to remove polluting fossil fuel as an energy source. Last year also saw SMC withdrawing the ECC applications for the three proposed fossil gas projects in the Visayas, including a liquefied natural gas project in Negros Occidental that had originally targeted a 2022 commissioning date. Despite its already large fossil fuel portfolio, the report said SMCGP issued Series K Bonds due in 2025, Series L. Bonds due in 2028, and Series M. Bonds due in 2032 with a principal amount of P30 billion and an oversubscription option of up to P10 billion in July 2022. Part of the proceeds of these bonds are allocated for SMCGP subsidiary-owned fossil fuel projects, including the Mariveles Power Generation Corporation’s four 150 megawatt or MW circulating fluidized bed coal-fired power plant in Mariveles, Bataan and Excellent Energy Resources Inc.’s 1.3 gigawatt or GW combined-cycle LNG power plant in Barangays Ilijan and Dela Paz Proper, Batangas. Recently, however, Manila Electric Co. or Meralco announced the termination of its power supply agreements with two subsidiaries of SMCGP, Excellent Energy Resources Inc. and Masinloc Power Partners Co. Ltd. The same power supply agreements would have secured revenue for the two SMCGP power plants to be financed by these bonds. Since the contracts were terminated, these subsidiaries would have to go through the competitive selection process again, where it will be up against fossil fuel and renewable energy or RE generation projects. According to the CEED report, the banks that purchased bonds had essentially exposed themselves and their shareholders, to whom they have a fiduciary responsibility, to fossil fuel projects “at risk of stranding.” “Changing policy, economic, geopolitical, and energy landscapes in the country and around the world demand that banks and financial institutions pay closer attention to and take the necessary action to mitigate these risks and protect their shareholders.” The report indicated that important developments show the tide turning in renewable energy’s or RE’s favor locally. According to the DoE, the Green Energy auction program will hold its second round of bids in June this year. The country will auction off rights to build 3,600 megawatts or MW of new capacity to be installed in 2024, 3,600 MW in 2025, and 4,400 MW in 2026. In all, this will result in an additional 11,600 megawatts of RE on top of the 2,000 MW auctioned off last year, an unprecedented scale of development for renewables in the country. (To be continued) The post Risky exposure (1) appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Banks urged: Shift backing for RE
Philippine banks must quickly shift project funding for fossil fuels to renewable energy as demand for the latter is seen to skyrocket due to shrinking supplies and rising prices for climate change-inducing fossil fuels, said a report released Tuesday by the Center for Energy, Ecology and Development Philippines. Citing data from the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a CEED report says unit costs for renewables have been decreasing at substantial rates globally: 85 percent both for solar energy and lithium-ion batteries and 55 percent for wind energy. Meanwhile, fossil fuel prices for coal and natural gas could further increase due to ongoing armed conflict between oil-rich countries Russia and Ukraine. Meralco, the country’s largest electricity provider, has increased rates to over P10 per kilowatt hour, while 11 new import terminals for liquified natural gas are under negotiations, according to the Department of Energy. Despite these, CEED researchers found 15 Philippine banks have heavily invested in fossil fuel projects through bonds, loans and stocks. Researchers say these will further heat up the planet and harm aquatic resources as the Verde Island Passage is eyed as an alternative to Malampaya. Dirtiest banks Banks were analyzed through CEED’s Fossil Fuel Divestment Scorecard which looked at their green policies and projects to mitigate the impacts of climate change such as drought, floods, and wildfires. New data covered April 2022 to March 2023. The scorecard shows Philippine banks invested $867.08 million within that period, mostly through bonds. Meanwhile, investments for new fossil gas projects reached $930 million. Among them involved the project of SMC Global Power of San Miguel Corporation in Bataan and Batangas which required principal funding of P30 billion and bond oversubscription option up to P10 billion in July last year. Eight out of the 15 banks studied supported this project. However, CEED shared that the SMC energy firm lost P15 billion last year due to higher fossil fuel prices. CEED added that the firm scrapped its application for the three proposed fossil gas projects in Visayas last year. Among the 15 banks, Bank of the Philippines Islands (BPI) was deemed the dirtiest bank, followed by BDO Unibank Inc. CEED researchers say BPI topped the list for the fourth time, with an unclear commitment to reduce coal projects, notably the Atimonan One Energy (A1E) Coal Plant. “In fact, in a letter addressed to CEED dated 1 July 2021, the DOE said that Meralco PowerGen Corporation, which wholly owns A1E, is still in communication with lenders to extend the loan facility given the challenges encountered in securing power supply agreements.” In general, BPI had vowed to reduce outstanding loans to coal projects by 50 percent by 2026 and zero percent by 2032. Meanwhile, BDO had announced to reduce coal exposure also by 50 percent by 2033. CEED, however, criticized the banks for not having detailed plans to achieve their goals. “BPI’s overall score is also slightly higher due to improved sustainability policies. Nonetheless, BPI’s high overall fossil fuel exposure and insufficient policies keep it at the top,” CEED researchers said. For BDO, “Its coal exposure remains significant and its place as the top financier of the fossil gas expansion also garners it a high score. Its rank is lowered, however, by its Sustainability Policies Criteria score,” it said. Model banks Government-owned Land Bank of the Philippines (LandBank) and Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) are the cleanest banks. CEED said that LandBank approved loans amounting to P20.1 billion for renewables. It added that the bank agreed in January to help build Aboitiz renewable energy plants worth P20 billion. Meanwhile, DBP approved a total loan of P600 million for a hydropower plant in Nueva Ecija and other 27 renewable energy projects last year. The post Banks urged: Shift backing for RE appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
The UK publishes its Defense Equipment Plan 2022-2032
The UK Ministry of Defense has published the Defense Equipment Plan 2022-2032, which is more stringent than the one published last year, as a result.....»»