The role of women in the Philippines
On Jan. 7, 1975, the National Commission on the Role of Filipino Women was established and this year, we are a step closer to the golden year......»»
Sean Chambers’ next return
Hundreds of imports have graced the Philippine Basketball Association hardwood since 1975. Perhaps a dozen have truly left an impression on fans......»»
Record 114 million people now displaced worldwide: UN
The number of people displaced from their homes worldwide is estimated to have exceeded 114 million, the United Nations said Wednesday -- a record figure. The main drivers in the first half of 2023 were the conflicts in Ukraine, Sudan, Myanmar and the Democratic Republic of Congo; a prolonged humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan; and a combination of drought, floods and insecurity in Somalia, UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, said in a statement. "The number of people displaced by war, persecution, violence and human rights violations globally is likely to have exceeded 114 million at the end of September," the agency said. "The world's focus now is -- rightly -- on the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza. But globally, far too many conflicts are proliferating or escalating, shattering innocent lives and uprooting people," said UN refugees chief Filippo Grandi. He blamed the international community's inability to solve or prevent conflicts and urged better cooperation to end violence and allow displaced people to return home. Record numbers The number of displaced people worldwide jumped from 108.4 million people at the end of last year to 110 million people by the end of June 2023, the UNHCR said in its Mid-Year Trends Report. A UNHCR spokesman confirmed to AFP the 114 million figure at the end of September was a record since the agency began collecting data in 1975. The new estimate precedes the outbreak of the war between Hamas and Israel. Hamas gunmen poured into Israel on October 7, beginning an attack that killed more than 1,400 people, mostly civilians, while also kidnapping more than 220 others, according to Israeli officials. Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry says retaliatory Israeli strikes have killed more than 6,500 people. The number of people internally displaced within Gaza is estimated at about 1.4 million, according to the UN humanitarian agency OCHA. One in 73 displaced More than one in 73 people around the world are forcibly displaced, the UNHCR said. At mid-2023, there were 35.8 million refugees who had fled abroad, and 57 million internally displaced persons (IDPs). Millions more are asylum seekers or in need of international protection. Almost one-third of all displaced people originated from just three countries: Afghanistan, Syria and Ukraine. Low- and middle-income countries hosted 75 percent of refugees and other people in need of international protection. The countries hosting the most refugees are Iran and Turkey at 3.4 million each; Germany and Colombia with 2.5 million each; and Pakistan with 2.1 million. Nearly half of Syria's population remained displaced at mid-2023: 6.7 million people within the country and 6.7 million refugees and asylum-seekers, with most hosted in Turkey. Globally, 1.6 million new individual asylum applications were made between January and June 2023 -- the largest number ever recorded in the first six months of any given year. Of those, 540,600 claims were in the United States, 150,200 in Germany and 87,100 in Spain. "As we watch events unfold in Gaza, Sudan and beyond, the prospect of peace and solutions for refugees and other displaced populations might feel distant," said Grandi. "But we cannot give up. With our partners we will keep pushing for -- and finding -- solutions for refugees." Some 3.1 million people did return home between January and June, including 2.7 million IDPs. The post Record 114 million people now displaced worldwide: UN appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Iceland women strikers demand equal pay
Tens of thousands of women in Iceland, including the prime minister, walked off the job on Tuesday to demand equal pay and protest violence against women, organizers said. Prime Minister Katrin Jakobsdottir “will not attend to official duties and in that regard today’s scheduled cabinet meeting has been moved to tomorrow,” her office told Agence France-Presse. The protest day called “Kvennafri” (Women’s Day Off) has been called six times since 1975 but Tuesday was only the second time that organizers made it a full-day strike, Steinunn Rognvaldsdottir, one of the organizers, said. The average wage gap between men and women in the Nordic country was 10.2 percent in 2021, according to Statistics Iceland. Iceland already tops a World Economic Forum ranking for gender equality, but organizers said the country needed to make even more progress and lead by example. The post Iceland women strikers demand equal pay appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
‘Hands off our war!’
Israel’s Ambassador to the Philippines, Ilan Fluss, stressed yesterday that his country does not want the United Nations to interfere in its war against the extremist group Hamas, which killed at least 1,400 people, mostly Israeli civilians, in an unprecedented attack last 7 October. In a roundtable discussion with DAILY TRIBUNE editors and reporters, Fluss accused the UN of having a long-standing anti-Israel bias as he brushed aside a UN Security Council call for a “humanitarian pause” in the conflict. The UN was founded 78 years ago to the day today, on 24 October 1945. “We’re in a war against Hamas, which is like the war in Afghanistan (following the 11 September 2001 or 9/11 terror attacks against the United States),” said Fluss, describing the attack by Hamas as second only in barbarity to what Israelis faced during the holocaust. Hitler’s Nazi Germany exterminated about six million European Jews from 1941 to 1945 during the Holocaust in World War 2. The genocide would spur the creation of the state of Israel in 1948. “We will make sure that there’s no humanitarian crisis as much as possible, and we are trying hard to minimize the casualties there,” he said, explaining that the airstrikes in the Gaza Strip are targeting well-known Hamas enclaves. Israel, with about 300,000 soldiers and armor massed at its border with Gaza, has expressed an intent to launch a ground offensive to rout Hamas, without occupying the territory it left in 2005. Fluss pointed out that civilians in Gaza are being warned in advance of the attacks, with pleas made for them to relocate to its south, away from the fighting. War on terror “Our objective in this war is to ensure that Hamas will no longer be able to attack Israel like it did. We will remove their capability in a war that is solely against Hamas and not the Palestinians,” Fluss said. The envoy stressed that Israel is not against delivering humanitarian aid to the civilians in Gaza, while stressing Israel’s right to protect its citizens against terrorist groups like Hamas, the Islamic Jihad and the Hezbollah in Lebanon. Fluss said that nobody, not even the UN, can stop Israel from a war that it did not start, one that was “forced on us” by Hamas with the latter’s massacre of innocent Israelis, including women and children. Enemies of Israel He explained that while the Philippines enjoys recognition by all countries, Israel has for decades, if not centuries, been trying to be recognized as a state with the right to exist peacefully. But Fluss lamented that the UN has been passing resolutions — at least 20 every year — “which are anti-Israel, (resolutions) that take the Palestinian narrative.” “There is no recognition of the Israeli narrative. The bias against Israel in the UN is well-known,” he said. He said that the UN and its agencies, like the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, otherwise referred to as the UN Relief and Works Agency or UNRWA, have allowed themselves to be used by the enemies of Israel. Fluss cited as an example the use by Hamas of UNRWA facilities, supplies and even marked vehicles in attacking Israel. UNRWA had been accused in the past of perpetuating destabilizing events in order to have a perpetual supply of refugees to justify its existence and funding. It has over 18,900 staff working in 138 countries. Israel, as the lone Jewish state in the UN, is ranged against an automatic majority of countries that support the Palestinian initiatives. The Arab League has 22 members in the UN, while the Organization of Islamic Cooperation has 57 members. It may be recalled that a number of Arab countries had banded together to wage wars against Israel, including in 1948 during its founding. The UN has also accommodated Palestinians many times in the past. In October 1974, or 14 years before the Palestine Liberation Organization nominally forswore terrorism, the UN General Assembly voted to invite it to send a spokesperson to take part in its deliberations. No one who was not a representative of a government — except the Pope, and even he was the head of a quasi-state — had ever before been granted such a privilege. The vote to extend the invitation was overwhelming, 105 to 4, with only the United States, Israel, and two Latin American governments opposed. The assembled delegates heard Yasser Arafat proclaim the necessity of getting at the “historical roots” of the issue, namely, “the Jewish invasion of Palestine [that] began in 1881,” and addressing it with a “radical antidote,” rather than “a slavish obeisance to the present.” Expulsion try In 1975, the foreign ministers of the Organization of the Islamic Conference were determined to have Israel expelled from the UN. The PLO lined up support for this move at a meeting of the African states while training its sights on a ministerial meeting of the NAM (Non-Aligned Movement) scheduled a month later, in August 1975, in Lima, Peru. Washington then objected. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger delivered a major speech on the subject, with a thinly veiled warning that the United States might turn its back on the United Nations. In addition to Washington’s hard line, the drive to expel Israel was also slowed by disarray within the Arab’s ranks. The most decisive factor that disrupted the expulsion move was the surprising position of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, who announced his opposition to it because “Israel must be present at the United Nations if it is expected to comply with its resolutions.” Israel’s enemies soon came up with an alternative that again targeted Israel through a resolution of the General Assembly, echoing Arafat and Soviet propagandists who declared Zionism to be “a form of racism.” In 1982, the body declared that Israel “is not a peace-loving member state and that it has not carried out its obligations under the Charter.” Likewise, the UN General Assembly has voted each year on 70 to 100 resolutions, including from 15 to 20 resolutions pejorative to Israel. Of all General Assembly resolutions that criticize a particular country, three-quarters apply to Israel. The relentless recitation of UN declarations reinforces the conviction in the Arab world that all right lies on the Arab side and that Israel is irredeemably evil. The post ‘Hands off our war!’ appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Casualties on Israel-Lebanon border as army trades fire with Hezbollah
Casualties were reported along the Israel-Lebanon border Saturday as the army traded fire with Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah amid fears of a new front opening as Israel battles Hamas. Israel already ordered the evacuation of Kiryat Shmona, a border town which is home to some 25,000 people, as the border area has come fire from Hezbollah and allied Palestinian factions. In Lebanon, Hezbollah said one of its fighters had been killed while in Israel, two Thai farm workers were wounded, emergency services said. A senior Hezbollah official warned that the movement stood ready to step up its involvement as Israel masses troops on the Gaza border, vowing to destroy Palestinian militant group Hamas in response to its shock cross-border attacks on October 7. "Let's be clear, as events unfold, if something comes up that calls for greater intervention by us, we will do so," said Hezbollah number two Naim Qassem. In northern Israel, a strike in the Margaliot area of the border wounded two Thai farm workers, Israel's Magen David Adom emergency medical service said. One was wounded in the chest, the other sustained a limb injury, the service said. There are around 30,000 Thai labourers in Israel, many working in the agricultural sector. Since October 7, exchanges of fire across the border have killed at least four people in Israel -- three soldiers and one civilian. In southern Lebanon, at least 23 people have been killed. Most have been combatants, but at least four civilians, including a Reuters journalist, have also been killed. Saturday's exchanges came as Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant visited the northern border, where he called on troops to remain "vigilant". "Hezbollah has decided to participate in the fighting, and is paying a price for it. We must be vigilant and prepare for every possible (scenario). Great challenges await us," Gallant said. The Shiite Muslim Hezbollah movement, Lebanon's only armed faction that did not disarm after the 1975-1990 civil war, fought a devastating war with Israel in 2006. That war left more than 1,200 dead in Lebanon, mostly civilians, and 160 dead in Israel, mostly soldiers, in a conflict that left the border bristling with guns. The post Casualties on Israel-Lebanon border as army trades fire with Hezbollah appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Budgetary leverage
By passing a financing bill at the last minute, the United States Congress avoided a federal government shutdown this week. However, the Biden administration’s top priorities, including defense financing for Ukraine, were left out of the final package. For countries like the Philippines, which has cozied up anew to Uncle Sam, this is cause for concern because America has practically left Ukraine high and dry without the full backing it needs to defend itself against Russia. Okay, so Biden said they “will not walk out of Ukraine.” Still, without funding, that’s just lip service. Having perfected the art of emotional suasion at one end of the pole and brinkmanship on the other, we would not be surprised if Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky would tell Biden: “Show us the money.” Sacrificing Ukraine casts doubt on America’s dependability as a coalition partner and ally, even as it stakes a claim to a long tradition of backing democracies in their fight for independence. The Philippines should take note. In the US, it’s clear that whatever the executive branch pledges, the US Congress can always override or, as made apparent again now, starve of funding. That’s the power of holding the purse string that could certainly affect America the mighty’s projection of power. From propping up South Vietnam with billions of dollars in war materiel only to leave Saigon in a huff — with choppers flying off the rooftop of the US Embassy in a hasty, humiliating retreat in 1975 — to giving substantial aid to Israel and Middle Eastern countries, the US has not stopped its posturing as the “policeman of the world.” As in Vietnam and Afghanistan, where in the latter it also abruptly pulled out its forces, thereby allowing the Taliban to retake the country in 2021, the US, for all its fire-and-brimstone statements at the start of the Ukraine-Russia war, may have turned its back on its legal and moral responsibility to aid Kyiv. As an adversarial state under madman Vladimir Putin, Russia has been destabilizing international norms, and Ukraine, by fighting back, has been sending the strong message that autocratic governments cannot make the globe their playground. By not including money for Ukraine’s defense in the 2024 spending bill, the US has lost the chance to demonstrate its dedication to the defense of democracy. But such are the vagaries of the budgeting process in the United States and, of course, the Philippines, with the latter’s form of government and jurisprudence loosely patterned after America’s. In the US, government shutdowns have happened before and will happen again when the legislature and the executive branches are unable to reach an agreement on priorities and lawmakers do not enact a budget in a timely manner. The budget can also be wielded as a political baton with which to make the executive branch more malleable. An example would be the 2013 shutdown in an attempt to defund the Affordable Care Act. Frequent disagreements on spending priorities between the two parties in the US Congress have led to stalemates, with neither side willing to pass the budget unless their demands were met. Budget delays had caused negative effects on the economy and public services. Some may argue that past shutdowns of the US federal government would show the Philippines has a more mature budgetary system in place, as a failure to pass the budget for a new fiscal year only results in a reenacted budget. But the problems associated with a reenacted budget abound. There’s the delayed implementation of new programs and projects. This, as a reenacted budget only allows for the funding of existing programs and projects. A reenacted budget also limits government flexibility to respond to changing needs. For example, if the economy experiences a downturn, the government may need to increase spending on social programs or infrastructure projects. However, this is not possible under a reenacted budget. But probably the biggest risk associated with a reenacted budget would be corruption, as it can give the executive branch more leeway or elbow room to fund projects while reallocating “savings” from projects that had been funded previously. In the shadow of budgetary bludgeoning and political brinkmanship, the recent passage of the US funding bill left Ukraine’s defense hanging by a thread, a stark reminder of the capriciousness of budgeting processes in both the United States and the Philippines, where legislative complexities often take precedence over strategic imperatives. The budget’s power to shape policy and dictate priorities, as seen in the Philippines with past reenacted budgets, illustrates the pitfalls of wielding fiscal levers as political weapons. In both nations, the budgeting process, while designed to reflect the will of the people, is susceptible to political posturing, causing disruptions and imperiling the very ideals of democracy it should be upholding. The post Budgetary leverage appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
A debacle
In 1975, although it won the war against the greatest military power on Earth, Vietnam was a devastated country......»»
Missed opportunity
The Department of Energy, before the Marcos administration, had issued Department Circular 2021-09-0028 seeking to establish the Philippine Strategic Petroleum Reserve Program, which was a squandered program that would have softened the impact of the successive oil price increases. A national petroleum reserve would have significantly helped shield the country against global supply and price disruptions, considering that the country is a net importer of petroleum products. An energy expert cited as a clear example of the country’s vulnerability to global supply and price shocks the impact of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine crisis on our domestic petroleum prices. Former Energy Secretary Al Cusi warned that the momentum of the fuel price surge will be hard to stop since even before the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries Plus was already confronted with a production shortfall. The oil bloc refused to raise output despite pressure from the United States, Japan, China, India, and influential International Energy Agency members. Setting up strategic reserves was Cusi’s advocacy since it would address both the uncertainties on supply and provide a buffer against sudden price spikes. Under the proposal, private oil companies and the state-owned Philippine National Oil Company would build a strategic petroleum reserve to pool resources to ensure supply is not disrupted. PNOC would lead in maintaining the fuel reserve that would be more than the current 40-day average stock. The program was modeled after similar petroleum reserves, or SPR, of developed nations such as Japan and the United States. Several countries, including the United States, maintain a stockpile of crude oil to provide a buffer against disruptions in oil supplies. The SPR is an emergency response tool to mitigate potential oil shortages due to natural disasters, geopolitical events, and other unforeseen circumstances. The United States established its fuel reserve in 1975 following the Arab oil embargo of 1973-1974. The SPR is managed by the Office of Fossil Energy within the US Department of Energy. Underground storage facilities in salt caverns along the gulf coast of Texas and Louisiana are used. Like the DoE proposal, the primary purpose of the SPR is to ensure the availability of crude oil during severe supply disruptions. The reserve can be tapped into when significant disruptions in oil production, imports, or refining capabilities could lead to shortages and significant price increases. Releasing oil from the SPR aims to stabilize the market and provide relief to consumers, industries, and the overall economy. The US SPR has a capacity of approximately 713.5 million barrels of oil. Until September 2021, the US SPR held around 635 million barrels of crude oil. The decision to release oil from the SPR rests with the US President, who can authorize such action in response to a severe supply disruption. The release typically occurs in coordination with the International Energy Agency and after consultation with other major oil-consuming countries. Aside from the US and Japan, Germany and South Korea also maintain strategic petroleum reserves to safeguard against oil supply disruptions and market volatility. Saying that the local program should have received the government’s support is crying over spilled milk. The government, however, should consider having a buffer stock of fuel since the frequent price spikes have become a threat to the livelihood of Filipinos and thus endanger national security. The post Missed opportunity appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Franco’s Spain: a long and haunting dictatorship
What was one of Europe's longest-running dictatorships comes under scrutiny on Friday as a victim of alleged torture by the forces of General Francisco Franco testifies for the first time in a Spanish court. AFP looks back at the dictator's repressive 36-year legacy, which continues to divide Spain nearly half a century after his death in 1975. Civil War Franco rose to power during the Spanish Civil War, which began in 1936 when he led a coup against the country's left-wing Republican government. A three-year battle for control of Spain ensued, pitting Franco's Nationalist rebels, backed by fascist Italy and Nazi Germany, against the Soviet-backed Republicans. The Nationalists won the conflict, which ended in 1939 with hundreds of thousands of dead. Among the killing sites was the Basque town of Guernica, which was bombed by German war planes -- an atrocity immortalised in a haunting painting of the same name by Spanish artist Pablo Picasso. In his book "The Spanish Holocaust", historian Paul Preston estimated that 200,000 people died in combat during the conflict, and another 200,000 were murdered or executed -- 150,000 at the hands of the Nationalists. Atrocities were also committed by the Republican side. After WWII broke out, Franco held talks with Hitler on joining the Axis Powers but ultimately decided against direct military involvement. Executions and stolen babies Franco ruled for another three decades with the backing of the military and the Catholic Church. During his first five years in power, he executed tens of thousands of Republican prisoners and dumped their bodies in mass graves. Spain's prison population shot up, and half a million people fled the country as their property was seized. Newborns were snatched from opponents and poor families to be passed on to couples unable to have children, many of them close to Franco's regime. Campaigners estimate there were thousands of "stolen babies" over the decades. Reckoning with the past After Franco's death on November 20, 1975, King Juan Carlos succeeded him as head of state and led the transition from dictatorship to democracy. The authorities opted for a "pact of forgetting" over the dictatorship's crimes, to avoid a spiral of score-settling between Franco supporters and opponents. For decades, all attempts to bring Franco-era officials to justice were blocked. A major shift took place under Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, who has driven efforts to commemorate those who died or suffered violence or repression during the civil war and dictatorship. One of his most controversial moves was to remove Franco's remains from a vast hillside mausoleum north of Madrid that drew a steady stream of right-wing sympathizers and move them to a more discreet family tomb. Right-wing parties have accused Sanchez of needlessly dredging up the past and vowed to reverse a new law that commits the state to searching for victims of the dictatorship buried in unmarked graves. The post Franco’s Spain: a long and haunting dictatorship appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos enjoys Spouses’ Program by Iriana Joko Widodo
First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos said she enjoyed the Spouses' Program hosted by Indonesian First Lady Iriana Joko Widodo earlier this week. The Philippine First Lady shared a photo on social media Thursday morning as the First Lady of the Republic of Indonesia hosted the program dedicated to the spouses of ASEAN leaders and other world leaders. "(I) had a lovely time at the Spouses' Program hosted by Indonesian First Lady Iriana Joko Widodo," Araneta-Marcos said on Instagram. Reports from local media showed that the Spouse Program, held at Taman Mini Indonesia Indah (TMII), is one of the 43rd ASEAN Summit series here. TMII, which reopened in November last year, got a makeover after it opened in 1975. The 33 Indonesian provinces are represented in the expansive 150-hectare park. Hence, the Indonesian First Lady invited the spouses to experience Indonesia's wealth and cultural variety on this occasion. Araneta-Marcos witnessed the diversity of every region of Indonesia as she saw a traditional dance performance in Indonesia and a workshop for traditional arts and crafts, all while listening to First Lady Iriana and the spouses of other leaders of other countries explain the culture of Indonesia. The post First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos enjoys Spouses’ Program by Iriana Joko Widodo appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Thousands of Freddie Mercury’s personal items go on sale
A sale of thousands of items belonging to the charismatic Queen frontman Freddie Mercury got under way Wednesday in London, with the graffiti-covered green door of Mercury's home first to go under the hammer. The door of his Garden Lodge home in west London sold for £412,750 ($516,000) including buyer's premium and fees -- far in excess of the £15,000-25,000 estimate. Other items up for grabs at the Sotheby's auction range from manuscripts of Queen's biggest hits to furniture, paintings and knick-knacks. Among the highlights of Wednesday's "evening sale", which will be followed by two other live auctions and three online sales over the next week, is Mercury's piano. The Yamaha quarter-tail piano was bought by Mercury in 1975 and was used to create almost all of his greatest songs. It is expected to sell for £2 million-£3 million ($2.5 million-$3.75 million). Also on sale is the original manuscript for epic hit "Bohemian Rhapsody", whose 15 pages of pencil and ballpoint pen remarks reveal the different directions Mercury envisaged for the track. It also reveals that it was originally going to be called "Mongolian Rhapsody". Part of the proceeds will be donated to the Mercury Phoenix Trust and the Elton John Aids Foundation, two organisations involved in the fight against AIDS. In a message read out before the auction began by auctioneer Oliver Barker, John paid tribute to his friend. "I miss Freddie to this day. He was a wonderful friend more full of love and life than anyone I've ever met, as well as a brilliant performer whose music has inspired and thrilled millions," he said. "He was kind, generous and funny and it is a tragedy that AIDS took him from the world much too soon," he added. Auction fan Paintings by Chagall, Dali and Picasso that adorned Mercury's home, as well as the last painting he bought a month before his death from AIDS in 1991 -- an oil on canvas by James Jacques Joseph Tissot -- are also going under the hammer. The entire collection is being offered for sale by Mary Austin, a close friend and one-time fiancee of Mercury's. "Mary Austin has lived with the collection and has cared for the collection for more than three decades," Gabriel Heaton, a books and manuscripts specialist at Sotheby's, told AFP. Mercury "was not interested in having a museum of his life but he loved auctions", to the point of being a regular at Sotheby's sales, said Heaton. Austin believes the artist -- who was 45 when he died -- would have "loved" this sale, he added. Some 1,469 lots are going under the hammer at the famous London auction house, whose facade has been decorated with a huge moustache for the occasion. Many reveal another side of Mercury, including his passion for cats and for Japan -- as evidenced by his collection of kimonos and prints. Moustache comb Mercury's most flamboyant stage costumes, Hawaiian shirt and Superman tank top will also find new homes along with his personal polaroids and legendary snapper Mick Rock's shots. The finest bottles from his cellar, such as Dom Perignon champagne, are up for grabs alongside more intimate items, such as a book of personally annotated poetry and a moustache comb. Among the more playful items are a set of games including travel Scrabble, at which Mercury excelled. Before the sale, the auction house hosted the collection at a month-long exhibition, open to the public free of charge. Sotheby's estimated when the auction was announced in April that the lots would fetch at least £6 million. The auction house says it is the largest collection, by volume, of a cultural icon to go to auction since the Elton John sale in 1988, when 2,000 lots sold for a total of £4.8 million. The post Thousands of Freddie Mercury’s personal items go on sale appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Biden awards Vietnam veteran top honor days before Hanoi visit
Joe Biden on Tuesday awarded the highest US military honor to an army helicopter pilot who saved four troops during the Vietnam War, in a ceremony days before the president heads to the Southeast Asian nation. Larry Taylor, now 81, braved heavy enemy fire so a group of trapped soldiers could cling onto the skids of his two-seat Cobra helicopter, a never-before-attempted feat at the time. "That's valor, that's our nation at its very best," Biden said before placing the Medal of Honor around the retired captain's neck in a ceremony in the East Room of the White House. Taylor dabbed his eyes as Biden recounted the story of how the four members of a reconnaissance patrol were pinned down in a hamlet near Saigon on 18 June 1968. His helicopter took several hits as it and another gunship made attack runs for 45 minutes to try to give the men an escape route. But after learning that a rescue chopper had been called off, Taylor, then a first lieutenant, defied a "direct order" to return to base, said Biden. "His response was just as direct -- I'm getting my men out." He landed under heavy fire and the soldiers clambered on the skids and rocket pods of the helicopter, which lifted them to a safe location. Taylor waited 55 years to receive the Medal of Honor, following a campaign by fellow veterans. Biden, 80, whose wife Jill tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday, wore a black mask for the start of the ceremony but then removed it to speak. He is set to visit Vietnam on Sunday for a meeting with the leader of the ruling Communist Party, as Washington seeks to counter China's influence in the region. The Vietnam War ended in humiliation for the United States, with a traumatic evacuation from besieged Saigon in 1975, but the former foes have since fostered close ties. White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told a briefing earlier on Tuesday that the visit was part of a decades-long effort to "overcome a painful shared legacy of the Vietnam War." The post Biden awards Vietnam veteran top honor days before Hanoi visit appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
DNA evidence clears US man of rape charge 47 years later
A US man who served seven and a half years in prison for a rape he did not commit has been cleared nearly five decades later thanks to new DNA evidence, authorities said Tuesday. Leonard Mack, now 72, was arrested in 1975, in Greenburgh, New York state, after the rape of a teenage girl, who had been walking home from school with another girl. Police announced a search for a Black suspect in the mostly white neighborhood and shortly after picked up Mack, who is African American. After a campaign by the Innocence Project, DNA evidence not available at the time has "conclusively excluded 72-year-old Mr. Mack as the perpetrator and identified a convicted sex offender, who has now confessed to the rape," the Westchester County prosecutor's office said in a statement. "This is the longest wrongful conviction in US history known to the Innocence Project to be overturned by DNA evidence," the district attorney's office said, citing Mack's "unwavering strength fighting to clear his name for almost 50 years." According to the National Registry of Exonerations, 575 wrongly convicted people have been cleared based on new DNA tests since 1989 -- 35 of them while waiting for execution. Researchers say that Black suspects are far more likely to be the subjects of wrongful convictions than innocent white people. Although Black people account for only 13.6 percent of the total US population, more than half of the 3,300 people whose convictions were overturned between 1989 and 2022 were Black, the National Registry of Exonerations said. Reacting to his exoneration, Mack said: "I am finally free." The post DNA evidence clears US man of rape charge 47 years later appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Phl envoy to China lauds Manila LGU
Philippine Ambassador to China Jaime FlorCruz hailed the local government of Manila recently for maintaining close and friendly relations with its sister cities in China. Florcruz expressed his gratitude during a courtesy visit made to the Philippine Embassy in Beijing by the Manila delegation headed by City Administrator Bernardito “Bernie” Ang. Ang expressed the positive response of the Manila local government headed by Mayor Honey Lacuna, in the interest of certain cities in China to revive their sister-city relationship with the Philippines’ capital city. Joining Ang in the visit were Manila Chinatown Development Council Executive Director Willord Chua, Universidad de Manila President Dr. Felma Carlos-Tria, UdM Director for Quality Assurance, Accreditation, Compliance and Linkages Dr. Rejan L. Tadeo and Director for Information and Communications Technology Emmanuel Gatdula, among others. Ang told Florcruz that almost every month, secretaries-general of provinces in China get in touch with the Manila city government for the re-establishment of sister-city ties as in fact, the local government already made it possible with the provinces of Fuzhou, Chongqing and Guangzhou, with a number more in the works. He also told Florcruz that the resumption of sister-city agreements with Manila local government unit stems from the fact that Guangzhou, for instance, is the first sister city that Manila had. According to Ang, no less than the influential and revered chairman Mao Ze Dong told then First Lady Imelda Romualdez-Marcos, wife of the late President Ferdinand Marcos and mother of current Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., that he wants Manila to be the sister city of Guangzhou. Ang noted that the 47-year-anniversary of the relationship between Manila and Guangzhou will be in November, adding that while the relationship contained in a formal accord was signed in 1982, the relationship between the two cities actually began in 1975, during the visit made by First Lady Imelda Marcos to China. At this point, Ang told Florcruz that Marshall Louis Alferez, consul-general of the Philippines in Guangzhou, was doing a very good job. Alferez was on hand to welcome the Manila delegation during a visit made in Guangzhou months ago. Ang said the Manila-LGU is very happy that Beijing had written to say it wants an accord with Manila and the city is just as thrilled about pushing through with it. The post Phl envoy to China lauds Manila LGU appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Taiwan OFW Ugnayan shelter makes do sans MECO support
A shelter run by a Filipino priest in Taiwan, which has been assisting overseas Filipino workers in distress, will no longer be receiving support from the Philippine representative office there. Father Joy Tajonera, who runs the Ugnayan shelter in Taichung, said that under the new administration, the Manila Economic and Cultural Office in Taiwan has decided to halt support for his work at Ugnayan. Tajonera, in a recent interview with Daily Tribune’s Usapang OFW digital show, revealed that “MECO has decided not to support the work of Ugnayan to help Filipinos in Taiwan.” “This is the first time for us not to receive support from the government; from the time of GMA up to Duterte, we got support from MECO,” Tajonera said, referring to former presidents Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and Rodrigo Duterte. He added that the pullout of support has nothing to do with the changes that had been put in place with the enactment of RA 11641, or the Department of Migrant Workers Act, replacing the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration. Among the changes were the setting up of the Migrant Workers Office, replacing the Philippine Overseas Labor Office, to address the needs of OFWs, whether legal or undocumented, and assigning support for non-OFWs like tourists, students, business people, and the like — to embassies and consulates, and in the case of Taiwan, to MECO. “That has nothing to do with the pullout of support because the assistance that we provide is for all who need help regardless of race, not just OFWs, although they are the ones we give assistance to the most,” Tajonera said. The MECO is the Philippine representative office in Taiwan in keeping with the One-China policy adopted by the Philippines in 1975. “MECO decided under this new administration that they would not support us anymore. No reason was given, and I decided not to pursue an explanation anymore as we continue to provide support with the help of our ministry. We have not stopped with our services to fellow Filipinos, regardless of reason or situation,” Tajonera said. Tajonera added that he will not be seeking financial help from the Taiwan government despite the pullout of support from MECO. “We want to keep Ugnayan independent. I believe that our mission in Ugnayan is to help people without conditions, especially when it comes to providing shelter,” he said. Tajonera has been running Ugnayan since 2002, getting funding from its ministry, and donations from the masses, and locals in the community. The post Taiwan OFW Ugnayan shelter makes do sans MECO support appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Bob Barker, 99
Bob Barker, longtime host of The Price Is Right, has passed away according to his publicist. He was 99. “It is with profound sadness that we announce that the World’s Greatest MC who ever lived, Bob Barker, has left us,” publicist Roger Neal said in a statement on Saturday. USA TODAY reports that the game show emcee died of natural causes at his longtime Hollywood Hills home. No specific cause of death was given. Barker, whose real name is Robert William Barker, was born in South Dakota on 12 December 1923. He attended Drury College in Springfield, Missouri, on a basketball scholarship. He dropped out two years later to join the US Navy during World War II. He went back shortly to Drury as war ended long before he even made it to the field. He worked his first media job at KTTS-FM Radio in Springfield. In 1950, Barker was given his own program, The Bob Barker Show. Game show producer Ralph Edwards was looking for a new host to replace Jack Bailey in Truth or Consequences as Barker was hosting the audience-participation radio show KNX (AM). Barker started headlining the program on 31 December 1956 until 1975. In 1972, CBS expressed interest in modernizing the revival of The Price Is Right with Barker as host. However, Barker offered to present another game show on the network, The Joker’s Wild. CBS did not accept the proposal. He began hosting The Price Is Right on 4 September 1972. He announced his retirement on 31 October 2006 saying that he would retire from The Price Is Right by June 2007. He taped his final episode on 6 June 2007. The show aired twice on 15 June. After his retirement, Barker made three return appearances to the program: On 16 April 2009 to promote his autobiography, Priceless Memories; on 12 December 2013 to celebrate his 90th birthday; and on 1 April 2015 for an April Fools’ Day special. The post Bob Barker, 99 appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Showstopper
Concert patrons are back with a vengeance in another sign that the Covid-19 pandemic is over and life is back to normal. Pop superstar Taylor Swift, with her ongoing 146-stop Eras Tour, leads the live band entertainment must-watch list, but other groups too are getting a share of the crowds, albeit in controversial fashion. The British band “The 1975” headlined the Good Vibes Festival in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 21 July. It would be its last performance in the Southeast Asian country as it was banned by local authorities after frontman Matt Healy gave a profanity strewn speech on stage. Healy criticized the Malaysian government for the country’s anti-gay law that punishes homosexuality with 20 years imprisonment. Healy then kissed the band’s bassist Ross McDonald in front of the audience. The same-sex kiss breached performance guidelines, prompting the concert organizers to stop the show. The government also ordered the organizers to cancel the 3-day gig. The festival’s organizers are now demanding that “The 1975” pay $2.72 million in damages or face legal action. In China, Shijiazhuang city hosted the Rock Home Town music festival featuring Violent Champagne on 22 July. After the band’s set, its frontman Ding was detained by police for “damaging social morality” and the show organizer was fined $28,000 and suspended from hosting concerts, CNN reported. Ding had pulled down his pants during the performance, prompting his arrest and the punishment of the festival organizers. The audience egged Ding to also drop his briefs, but he kept it on. In a statement after the incident, the Shijiazhuang culture bureau reminded performers and staff to consciously abide by laws and regulations, strengthen morality, and provide healthy and positive entertainment for audiences, according to CNN. WJG @tribunephl_wjg The post Showstopper appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Former Manila vice mayor Lacuna, 85
Manila Mayor Honey Lacuna on Sunday announced the passing of his father, former Manila Vice Mayor Danilo Lacuna at the age of 85. Through a social media post, the Manila mayor said that their “Daddy Danny” died early Sunday morning surrounded by his loved ones. “A man of great service and compassion, Danny touched many, creating a life that spans further than just his years and into the hearts of us all where he will remain forever,” the post read. To recall, the Lacuna patriarch served as Manila City Councilor from 1968 to 1975, and Manila Vice Mayor from 1970 to 1971; 1988 to 1992; and 1998 to 2007. He also founded the local political party, Asenso Manileño, which produced former Manila Mayor Isko Moreno and incumbent Mayor Honey Lacuna, according to the Manila Public Information Office. The late vice mayor is survived by his wife Melanie “Inday” Lacuna and five children: Honey, Lei, Dennis, Liza, and Philip. Details regarding the wake will be announced later, according to the Manila Public Information Office. The former vice mayor was also adviser of the Manila City Hall Reporters’ Association during his incumbency. During the recent 122nd Founding Anniversary of the Manila City Council, he was conferred the “Dangal ng Konseho Award” in recognition of his decades of selfless service both as member and Presiding Officer of the MCC and for his “compassionate leadership that steered the city council to greater heights, producing measures that redounded to the benefit of a great number of Manilenos and his exemplary performance worthy of emulation by future generation of public servants.” His children, Councilors Dr. Lei and Philip and architect Dennis, received the award in behalf of their father. The post Former Manila vice mayor Lacuna, 85 appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
French paper launches first edition under far-right editor
France's only national Sunday newspaper this weekend published its first edition under the leadership of a controversial far-right editor, whose appointment had prompted an unprecedented and lengthy staff walkout. Geoffroy Lejeune's appointment to the post of editor-in-chief at the Journal du Dimanche, one of France's biggest-selling papers, triggered a mass strike by staff that lasted 40 days and only ended on Tuesday. A large number of employees are expected to resign in protest at the arrival of Lejeune, whose rise to prominence underlines the rightwards shift of the country's media and politics. Sunday's publication came as a surprise as it had been scheduled to appear in mid-August, ending several weeks of paralysis and missed issues since staff walked out on June 22. The 32-page edition of the paper, which is an institution in France known for high-profile interviews across the political spectrum, devoted its front page to insecurity and judicial issues following the fatal knifing of a 15-year-old boy in northwest France in July. Sabrina Agresti-Roubache, France's new secretary of state for cities, was the first member of the government to grant an interview to the JDD under its new leadership. The edition was produced mainly by freelance journalists and "volunteers". Paris-based press freedom group Reporters Without Borders said the strike was the longest in French media history since a 28-month stoppage by staff at Le Parisien daily that began in 1975. Lejeune, 34, was until recently editor of far-right weekly Valeurs Actuelles, which in 2021 was found guilty of racist hate speech. He endorsed provocative far-right media commentator Eric Zemmour during the latter's campaign to become president last year. The Lagardere Group -- which owns the JDD, Paris Match magazine, and Europe 1 radio -- is being taken over by French billionaire Vincent Bollore, who is reported to hold ultra-conservative views. Bollore, a conservative Catholic, has been expanding his empire to take in TV channels and now print media. The JDD, which has weekly sales of around 140,000, has in recent years toed a centrist line and been seen as generally sympathetic to the government of President Emmanuel Macron. The post French paper launches first edition under far-right editor appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»