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Resumption of FTA talks seen to spur higher EU investments
The Philippine Economic Zone Authority expects investments from European companies to increase with the resumption of the Philippines – European Union free trade agreement negotiations......»»
EcoWaste Coalition: True Radiance Comes from Within, Not from Skin Lightening Products with Mercury
23 March 2024, Quezon City. The toxics watchdog group EcoWaste Coalition, which has been tracking mercury in skin-lightening cosmetics in the Philippines since 2011, reiterated its support for the global effort to put an end to the persistent production, trade, and consumption of racist beauty products with mercury content that claim to whiten the skin and deal with other.....»»
Philippines-European Union FTA talks resume in H2
The Philippines and the European Union (EU) are looking to resume formal negotiations for a free trade agreement (FTA) in the early part of the second half of the year, according to the Department of Trade and Industry......»»
EcoWaste Coalition: True Radiance Comes from Within, Not from Skin Lightening Products with Mercury
23 March 2024, Quezon City. The toxics watchdog group EcoWaste Coalition, which has been tracking mercury in skin-lightening cosmetics in the Philippines since 2011, reiterated its support for the global effort to put an end to the persistent production, trade, and consumption of racist beauty products with mercury content that claim to whiten the skin and deal with other.....»»
Hong Kong, Philippines work to enhance relations
Filipinos are slowly beginning to travel back to Hong Kong following continued efforts by the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office to woo tourists from the Philippines, as well as renew and improve trade and economic ties between the two nations following the COVID-19 pandemic......»»
Philippines, EU resume free trade agreement talks
MANILA, March 19 (Xinhua) -- The Philippines and the European Union (EU) resumed negotiations for a free trade agreement (FTA) on Monday, the Philippines' Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) announced Tuesday. "Strengthening economic engagement with the EU remains a priority for the Philippines," said Philippine Trade and Industry Secretary Alfredo Pascual, adding that the Philippines aims for an ambitious, b.....»»
More Filipinos now agri, biosystems engineers: DA
The Department of Agriculture is more hopeful for wider farm mechanization and livelier agribusiness industry in the country as more Filipinos have become agricultural and biosystems engineers or ABEs. In an email to the Daily Tribune, DA reported that 12,551 ABEs obtained their licenses this year, more than the 10,909 in 2021. The DA added 615 ABEs took their professional oath last 20 October. “They are not only responsible for the design of machinery and systems, but are also the pioneers of change, custodians of sustainability, and champions of modern, appropriate, and sustainable mechanization technologies and practices,” DA-Bureau of Agricultural and Fisheries Engineering Director Ariodear Rico said. Graduates from Central Bicol State University of Agriculture-Pili achieved a 100 percent passing rate, followed by the University of the Philippines-Los Baños with 92.86 percent in the ABE Licensure Examination in September. Rico said only 33.41 percent of the total 1,841 examinees passed. ABEs play vital role “The country not only needs agricultural facilities, but an adequate and competent workforce, in which ABE professionals, together with operators and technicians, play a vital role,” he said. Rico said the Marcos administration has created agricultural and fisheries development programs and trade partnerships to provide jobs to highly skilled ABEs and help ensure they stay in the country. He said on top of the list is the National Agricultural and Fishery Mechanization Program which aims to ease exchange of knowledge and drive more collaborations among engineers and the government by streamlining all mechanization policies and programs of local government units. Another is the Renewable Energy Program for Agriculture and Fishery Sector which Rico said aims to maximize the use of solar, wind, hydro, biomass and biogas energy. Through these programs, he said ABEs can further reap the economic and intellectual benefits from the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement or RCEP. Approved by the Senate in February, this trade deal among the ten members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, plus China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand allows stronger intellectual property rights, zero to lower tariffs for Philippine exports, and more financing for small and medium businesses. ROI on farm mechanization A study by the Department of Science and Technology showed the return on investment of farm mechanization can grow by at least 238 percent. Despite this, the country has increased its mechanization level to just 2.679 horsepower per hectare (hp/ha) this year from 2.31 hp/ha. Meanwhile, global revenue from fish and seafood is projected to grow by 7 percent annually, according to global market researcher Statista. It adds China has earned the highest at $88 billion revenue this year. The post More Filipinos now agri, biosystems engineers: DA appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Humanity’s holocaust
In a war, there is no justification for protagonists to resort to slaughter and the abduction of civilians, which are acts of cowardice and unbridled evil at the same time. Using weapons to harm civilians is unacceptable in the civilized world, which makes the Hamas act on 7 October and thereafter the exact definition of terrorism. The release of hostages in batches does not improve the image of Hamas to the world, which has become aware of the ruthless character of the group supposedly fighting for the independence of Palestine. Hamas practices the same brand of terrorism as the Islamic State and the Abu Sayyaf and Maute groups in the local setting, all abominations of the faith that teaches peace and coexistence. The 7 October terror attack was the worst in Israel’s 75-year history, if not the world’s, with the massacre of 1,400 individuals by a murderous horde that crossed the border from Gaza. Around 200 foreigners were confirmed dead by their national authorities, many also holding Israeli nationality. Israel estimates 222 people were abducted. The United States reported 31 dead, 13 missing, others abducted, with 13 Americans unaccounted for. Hamas released two American hostages on Friday, which was calculated to delay the imminent ground assault by Israeli troops. Another two Israeli hostages were released on Tuesday. Thailand has among the most casualties after Israel and the US, with 30 dead. Some 19 Thai hostages are in the hands of the terror organization. About 30,000 Thais work in Israel, most in the agricultural sector. France counted 30 dead, one hostage and six missing; Russia: 19 dead, two hostages, seven missing; Ukraine has 18 dead; the United Kingdom reported nine dead, seven missing; Nepal revealed 10 of its citizens killed and one missing; Argentina has nine dead and 21 missing; Canada said six citizens died while two are missing; Austria confirmed four deaths while one is missing; China’s foreign ministry said four Chinese were killed and two missing. An attack on a kibbutz and on the music festival, just kilometers from the Gaza border, killed four Filipinos, while two are missing. It does not stop there as Portugal also counted four dead and four missing; Romania reported five dead and one taken hostage; Belarus counted three dead, one missing; Brazil has three deaths; Peru has three deaths and four missing; South Africa announced two of its nationals had been killed. Australia, Azerbaijan, Cambodia, Chile, Colombia, Honduras, Ireland, Italy, Spain, Switzerland and Turkey have reported at least one of their citizens were slaughtered. The German foreign ministry said Wednesday that many of their nationals were killed without giving a precise number. Nations with unaccounted-for citizens who were likely taken hostage are Mexico, Paraguay, Sri Lanka, and Tanzania. Israel Ambassador Ilan Fluss told DAILY TRIBUNE editors that the war against Hamas is not only the fight of Israel but should be an international effort to defeat terror groups, considering the international dimension of the carnage. Fluss was also reminded of the Holocaust, which was Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler’s genocide of Jews in World War II, a method employed by Hamas in the plunder and murder of civilians that included burning people alive. Several of those killed were children, babies, and the elderly who could barely walk. Even the most ruthless gangs in other nations do not involve the weak in their acts of violence. Indeed, 7 October will live in infamy as the second Holocaust that has affected the whole civilized world. The post Humanity’s holocaust appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
‘Mind-blowing’: Astronomers spot most distant radio burst yet
Eight billion years ago, something happened in a distant galaxy that sent an incredibly powerful blast of radio waves hurtling through the universe. It finally arrived at Earth on June 10 last year and -- though it lasted less than a thousandth of a second -- a radio telescope in Australia managed to pick up the signal. This flash from the cosmos was a fast radio burst (FRB), a little-understood phenomenon first discovered in 2007. Astronomers revealed on Thursday that this particular FRB was more powerful and came from much farther away than any previously recorded, having travelled eight billion light years from when the universe was less than half its current age. Exactly what causes FRBs has become one of astronomy's great mysteries. There was early speculation that they could be radio communication beamed from some kind of extraterrestrial, particularly because some of the signals repeat. However scientists believe the prime suspects are distant dead stars called magnetars, which are the most magnetic objects in the universe. Ryan Shannon, an astrophysicist at Australia's Swinburne University, told AFP it was "mind-blowing" that the ASKAP radio telescope in Western Australia had spotted the radio burst last year. 'Lucky' "We were lucky to be looking at that little spot in the sky for that one millisecond after the eight billion years the pulse had travelled to catch it," said Shannon, co-author of a study describing the find in the journal Science. The FRB easily beat the previous record holder, which was from around five billion light years away, he added. The pulse was so powerful that -- in under a millisecond -- it released as much energy as the Sun emits over 30 years. Shannon said that there could be hundreds of thousands of FRBs flashing in the sky every day. But around a thousand have been detected so far, and scientists have only been able to work out where just 50 came from -- which is crucial to understanding them. To find out where the latest radio burst -- dubbed FRB 20220610A -- came from, the researchers turned to the Very Large Telescope in Chile. It found that the signal originated from a particularly clumpy galaxy that may have been merging with one or two other galaxies, which could in turn have created the bizarre magnetar. Shannon emphasised that this was just the team's "best hunch". FRBs have been detected coming from unexpected places, including from within our own Milky Way galaxy, so "the jury's still out" on what causes them, he said. Aside from trying to uncover the secrets of FRBs, scientists hope to use them as a tool to shed light on another of the universe's mysteries. Where's the matter? Just five percent of the universe is made up of normal matter -- what everything you can see is made out of -- while the rest is thought to be composed of the little understood dark matter and dark energy. But when astronomers count up all the stars and galaxies in the universe, more than half of that five percent of normal matter is "missing", Shannon said. Scientists believe this missing matter is spread out in thin filaments connecting galaxies called the cosmic web, however it is so diffuse current telescopes cannot see it. That's where fast radio bursts come in. They are "imprinted with the signature of all the gas they travel through", Shannon said. Some FRB wavelengths are slightly slowed down when travelling through this matter, giving scientists a way to measure it. This could allow them work out how much matter is in the cosmic web -- and therefore, the total weight of the universe. For the record-breaking FRB, Shannon said the team had noticed signals of "extra materials" the burst had passed through on its journey through the universe. But to use this information to get a proper measurement of the universe's weight, hundreds more FRBs will likely need to be observed, he added. With much more advanced radio telescopes expected to go online soon, astronomers hope that will happen relatively quickly. Liam Connor, an astrophysicist at the California Institute of Technology not involved in the research, told AFP that future radio telescopes will find tens of thousands of FRBs, allowing scientists to weigh all the matter "across cosmic epochs". The post ‘Mind-blowing’: Astronomers spot most distant radio burst yet appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
DA sees more foreign agri, fisheries deals
The Department of Agriculture, or DA, will be expanding partnerships with foreign organizations and governments to achieve food security as the global population is seen growing to 8.5 billion in the next seven years. DA held the Development Partners’ Forum last Friday to gather information from international organizations and government agencies in improving the agriculture and fisheries sectors in the Philippines. “The vitality of international support for the nation’s food security has never been more needed than now. We are in a period of great flux in international affairs. There are signs that the world may be entering a new phase in international relationships after the pandemic,” DA senior undersecretary Domingo Panganiban said in a statement to the media on Monday. Partnerships expanded Its statement added, “the forum also aims to further expand partnerships with development partners, explore investment opportunities, and enlist the help of partners for official development assistance or ODA.” Japan provided the most assistance to the Philippines in the form of loans and technical aid in 2019, according to the National Economic and Development Authority. Other major ODA providers included China, South Korea, United States, Australia, China and the European Union. On the other hand, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization alone works with at least 20 non-government organizations and 270 farmers cooperatives and associations in the Philippines. Exchange of food and other products is seen to accelerate as the International Monetary Fund forecasts trade between countries to grow by at least 2.4 percent this year and 3.5 percent in 2024. The forum participants were officials from the NEDA, Department of Finance, Department of Foreign Affairs, Department of Budget and Management and Department of Environment and Natural Resources. The post DA sees more foreign agri, fisheries deals appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Australia, Canada aid Phl agri research
The ongoing pandemic has reminded the world that human health is inextricably linked to our surrounding environment and everything in it. With 75 percent of new and emerging infectious diseases being zoonotic (capable of spreading from animals to people), achieving optimal human health demands equal investment into understanding how the health of animals and the wider environment shapes broader health security. In a co-investment partnership, ACIAR and Canada’s International Development Research Center are funding a new research program across Southeast Asia that will promote a collaborative and multi-sector approach to benefit the health of humans, animals and the environment. The ACIAR/IDRC Research Program on One Health is funding interventions that will demonstrate and promote the benefits of how a One Health approach can improve agrifood systems and overall health security. Taking a One Health approach means recognizing that the health of people, animals and the environment are interconnected. Simply put, we cannot expect to be healthy if the agricultural systems from where we source our food and nutrition are broken and underfunded. Throughout Southeast Asia, animal production systems are rapidly expanding in size and intensity, yet the animal health systems in place to monitor animal health, detect and diagnose disease and treat sick livestock are lacking adequate capacity and are under-resourced. Additionally, the fast-changing nature of land use throughout the region especially in agricultural systems, coupled with the worsening impacts of a climate change, are placing further strain on ecological systems. The increased demand and stress on production systems without adequate supporting infrastructure to ensure their sustainability represent major threats to human health. For many developing countries the operationalization of One Health is often burdened by an imbalance in funding with far less focus on animal and environmental health services than that of human health services. Greater emphasis is required to shift One Health from a “nice idea” to a guiding principle that influences policy and broader investment to underpin environmental management and sustainable food production. In 2022, the AIRPOH program called for research proposals from institutions across Southeast Asia to contribute to the continued operationalization of One Health. Four initial proposals were selected with research teams from the Royal University of Agriculture in Cambodia, the University of the Philippines, the National University of Laos, Gadjah Mada University, Indonesia, and the Menzies School of Health Research in Timor-Leste selected as the inaugural projects of the AIRPOH initiative. Led by Dr. Kimchhin Sok at the Royal University of Agriculture in Cambodia, the project will examine the impact of agrichemical use on human and environmental health and investigate the importance of forest plants in the diet and health of the Cambodian people. Findings from this research then will be used to inform government of Cambodia about the importance of forest conservation and the impact of chemical use by highlighting how both contribute to the health and wellbeing of local people. Led by Dr. Rico Ancog of University of the Philippines Los Baños, the project will analyze the connection between animal health, the economics of livestock production, and environmental and public health. The research team will seek to identify the socio-economic drivers that links the animal-human-animal interfaces at the local and national levels that will help underpin a collaborative and unified action in Southeast Asia. As part of Canada’s foreign affairs and development efforts, IDRC champions and funds research and innovation within and alongside developing regions to drive global change. They invest in high quality-research in developing countries, share knowledge with researchers and policymakers for greater uptake and use, and mobilize their global alliances to build a more sustainable and inclusive world. The post Australia, Canada aid Phl agri research appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Animam signs with Australia s Ringwood Hawks
Five-time UAAP champion Jack Animam is set to bring her professional career to Australia, joining the Ringwood Hawks in semi-professional league NBL1......»»
US reaffirms support for Philippines sovereignty amid its tensions with China
Washington, DC [US], March 28 (ANI): US Secretary of Defence Llyod Austin has reaffirmed Washington's commitment to Manila in defending its sovereignty while criticising China's "dangerous" water cannon attack at the Philippine supply mission vessel on Saturday. In a telephonic conversation between Austin and his Philippine counterpart Gilberto Teodoro, the US Secretary reiterated the US-Philippines Mutual Defence Treaty.....»»
Philippines announces decisive measures amid tensions with China
Manila [Philippines], March 28 (ANI): Amid the escalating tensions in the South China Sea, Philippine President Ferdinand R Marcos Jr has announced decisive measures to protect his country's sovereignty and maritime rights while ensuring peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific. Marcos, known as Bongbong, said that the measures, aimed at addressing what he said is the "open, unabating, and illegal" actions by China's Coast.....»»
Contagious pertussis disease continues spreading in Philippines
MANILA, March 28 (Xinhua) -- The contagious pertussis has continued spreading in the Philippines, where it has caused at least 40 death cases, after a province near the capital region reported an outbreak of the disease. In a social media post on Wednesday night, the Cavite government posted a resolution declaring the province under a state of calamity "due to the outbreak of pertussis" after logging 36 cases an.....»»
Philippines’s Marcos pledges action in response to China’s ‘dangerous attacks’
President Ferdinand Marcos of the Philippines has issued a strong statement in response to recent confrontations in the South China Sea, stating that the country.....»»
PH media slam Chinese foreign ministry’s claims of manipulating WPS reports
Philippine media groups criticized the Chinese foreign ministry for suggesting that recent reports on Chinese harassment of Filipino vessels in the West Philippine Sea involved video manipulation and sensationalism to portray the Philippines as a victim. The Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines (Focap) and National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) expressed offense.....»»
Cebu City declares state of calamity in 28 mountain barangays due to el Niño
CEBU CITY, Philippines – In response to the escalating effects of the ongoing El Niño phenomenon, Cebu City has declared a “state of calamity” in 28 mountain barangays. This decision comes after a resolution was passed with reports of dwindling water sources and agricultural distress, prompting urgent measures to assist affected communities in the city. .....»»
Akbayan to Sara: You don’t have to be president to speak vs China
MANILA, Philippines — Party-list group Akbayan said on Thursday that Vice President Sara Duterte does not have to be a president of the country for her to call out China’s intrusive actions over the West Philippine Sea (WPS). Empathy and a moral backbone is just what it takes to stand up with fisherfolk and frontline.....»»
CCLEX safety enhancements pushed after US bridge tragedy
Cebu City, Philippines — In light of recent events, a call for increased CCLEX safety measures has been made to the Cebu Cordova Link Expressway Corporation (CCLEC) by a Cebu City legislator. Councilor Rey Gealon penned a resolution urging CCLEC to implement precautionary measures at the Cebu-Cordova Link Expressway to prevent disasters, considering the high.....»»