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State of calamity declared in Iloilo due to pertussis
Iloilo City was placed under a state of calamity yesterday due to an outbreak of pertussis......»»
One more city in Philippines declares pertussis outbreak
MANILA, March 25 (Xinhua) -- The government of Iloilo, a city in central Philippines, on Monday declared an outbreak of pertussis after it confirmed seven out of 15 reported cases, the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said. Iloilo is the third city to declare an outbreak of pertussis, or whopping cough, after Quezon and Pasig, two cities in the capital region, announced last week that they hav.....»»
Iloilo City declares state of calamity due to pertussis outbreak
Iloilo City declares state of calamity due to pertussis outbreak.....»»
One more city in Philippines declares pertussis outbreak
MANILA, March 25 (Xinhua) -- The government of Iloilo, a city in central Philippines, on Monday declared an outbreak of pertussis after it confirmed seven out of 15 reported cases, the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said. Iloilo is the third city to declare an outbreak of pertussis, or whopping cough, after Quezon and Pasig, two cities in the capital region, announced last week that they hav.....»»
6 soldiers killed, 4 others wounded in clash with Maute Group in Lanao Norte
CAGAYAN DE ORO (MindaNews / 19 February) – Six Philippine Army members were killed while four others were wounded on Sunday while pursuing the militant Dawlah Islamiyah-Maute Group blamed for the December 3 Catholic Mass bombing inside the Mindanao State University in Marawi City (MSU-Marawi), military officials said. In a statement, General Romeo Brawner Jr., […].....»»
Bulacan church collapse blamed on termites
The floor of the balcony of a church in San Jose del Monte City, Bulacan that collapsed on Wednesday was infested with termites, an official of the city government said yesterday......»»
Beware of terror’s seduction
Major league media spanning the world have fallen prey to the sweet seduction of the ratings game to forget about disseminating the truth, which is what journalism is all about. Terrorist forces have proven themselves adept in the art of deception that it lured the eminent The New York Times, or NYT, with its lies. Among the most prominent American newspapers, NYT, to its credit, issued an unprecedented “editorial note” admitting that a story it ran on the bombing of a Gaza hospital “left readers with an ‘incorrect impression,’” saying that its staff should have been more careful in the initial presentation of information and in explaining what could be verified. NYT had prominently and repeatedly featured Hamas’s claim that an Israeli airstrike caused last week’s blast at Gaza City’s al-Ahli Baptist Hospital. The note it issued on Monday acknowledged that its coverage should have been more journalistically rigorous. The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza immediately blamed the 17 October explosion on an Israeli airstrike amid the war that erupted when the Palestinian terror group killed over 1,400 people in Israel in its assault on 7 October. Hamas provided no evidence to back up its false claim or for its claim that hundreds had been killed, but international media, including the NYT, swallowed the claims hook, line, and sinker. Shortly after, Israel produced evidence showing the explosion was caused by a failed rocket launch from Gaza by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror group, an assessment endorsed by the United States, which has said it has data that supports this. NYT admitted that its initial reports “relied too heavily on claims by Hamas and did not make clear that those claims could not immediately be verified. The report left readers with an incorrect impression about what was known and how credible the account was.” In Britain, the BBC and other media outlets were also criticized by government lawmakers for rushing to report the Hamas version of events. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak told the House of Commons last week, “We don’t treat what comes out of the Kremlin as the gospel truth; we should not do the same with Hamas.” In the war coverage, it must be clear there is no moral equivalence between Israel, a legitimate democracy, and Hamas, a terrorist organization that employs lies as a weapon. Media reports often frame both sides as being equivalent and engaged in a tit-for-tat. Hamas is the de facto ruler of the Gaza Strip, but major democracies consider it a terror organization. Israel, as a free and democratic sovereign state, does everything to minimize civilian casualties, while Hamas is an Iran-backed terrorist group that openly seeks the destruction of Israel and actively hunts Israeli civilians to murder or abduct. It deliberately fires projectiles into civilian areas to kill as many Israelis as possible. Israel’s military specifically targets Hamas infrastructure, such as rocket launchers and production facilities, terrorist headquarters, terror tunnels, weapons warehouses, and senior terror leaders. Israel employs a tactic known as “roof knocking,” which warns civilians to evacuate a building through text messages and phone calls before targeting it for destruction. In contrast, the American Jewish Committee said Hamas deliberately puts Palestinian civilians in harm’s way. Hamas fires rockets and stores weapons in civilian areas, including around homes, schools, offices, mosques and hospitals. Hamas staged a large-scale incursion into southern Israel on 7 October during the Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah, where over 600 Israelis were murdered. Often, the conflict with Hamas and other terrorist groups, such as the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, is framed as a dispute between Israelis and Palestinians. Any coverage of Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad must mention that both terror groups are armed, trained, and financially supported by Iran. While its origins are with the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas has been funded, armed, and trained by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps since the early 1990s. Equating Israel with Hamas would provide legitimacy to the use of terror tactics, which most nations have vowed never to consider as a subject of negotiation. The post Beware of terror’s seduction appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
‘Shame on int’l media’
As the conflict between the state of Israel and the Hamas terror organization intensifies, international media coverage has thus far been described as dismal and heavily slanted against the Jewish nation. Israel Ambassador to the Philippines Ilan Fluss cited as an example the Hamas missile attack on the Barzilai Medical Center in Ashkelon, which was hit directly a few days after the 7 October attack by a rocket fired from Gaza, resulting in Israeli deaths and injuries. In contrast, an explosion on 17 October at the al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City that resulted in a massive number of fatalities and injuries was splashed all over broadcast and print media and was immediately blamed on an Israeli air strike, a narrative peddled by Hamas. Investigations by Israel and the United States proved that a missile launched by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, a Gaza-based terror group more radical than Hamas, had misfired and landed on the hospital grounds. “Nobody in the media reported that an Israeli hospital was bombed in Ashkelon, which had so many patients injured and killed. The rockets were shot at the hospital. No media picked it up and condemned nobody,” Fluss lamented during an interview with Daily Tribune editors. “So, for me, this incident is a shame on the international media. These news (outfits) and (media) people sort of still live with this image that it is the ratings that must (dictate the news coverage),” Fluss said. New York Times sorry US publication The New York Times issued on Monday an unprecedented admission that it had “relied too heavily on claims by Hamas” in its reporting of an explosion at a Gaza hospital. The newspaper issued the statement five days after running a headline on its front page, above the fold, reading: “Israeli Strike Kills Hundreds in Hospital, Palestinians Say.” “The Times’ initial accounts attributed the claim of Israeli responsibility to Palestinian officials and noted that the Israeli military said it was investigating the blast,” according to NYT’s editor’s note. “However, the early versions of the coverage — and the prominence it received in a headline, news alert, and social media channels — relied too heavily on claims by Hamas and did not make clear that those claims could not immediately be verified,” the NYT continued. NYT editors also acknowledged that “the report left readers with an incorrect impression about what was known and how credible the account was.” The note said Times reporters quickly edited the story on the website, as Israeli officials denied striking the hospital. Nonetheless, it added, “Given the sensitive nature of the news during a widening conflict and the prominent promotion it received, Times editors should have taken more care with the initial presentation and been more explicit about what information could be verified.” Islamic Jihad missile Israeli officials have vehemently denied responsibility for the explosion at the Al-Ahli Hospital and have released audio files of Hamas officials admitting that the blast was caused by a Palestinian Islamic Jihad projectile that fell onto Gaza. Also provided were images showing that the parking lot where the blast occurred did not have a crater in the ground, and there was no structural damage to nearby buildings, both of which typically would have been left by an Israeli Defense Forces strike. Recurring phenomena Media bias, as Fluss indicated, is a persistent issue. Terror groups like Hamas know this and take full advantage to sway public opinion. “As a result, coverage is often selective, stories get framed misleadingly, or certain perspectives go missing,” according to the American Jewish Committee, or AJC, which is the global advocacy organization for the Jewish people. “Instead of focusing on Hamas’ massacre of Israeli civilians, Israel’s efforts to thwart terrorists, destroy terrorist headquarters and weapons sites, and prevent more civilian deaths, some major media outlets characterize Israel’s targeted response as attacks on innocent and beleaguered Palestinians — feeding an unequivocally false narrative,” the AJC said. It added that Western media outlets often use the term “militant” to describe Hamas and other terrorist groups. For example, in the New York Times coverage of Hamas’ unprovoked attack on Israel on 7 October, the word “terrorists” was nowhere to be found on the front page of its website. The AJC said, “Hamas is not a militant group. It is a terrorist organization internationally designated as such by the United States, European Union, United Kingdom, Israel, Japan, and others that has fired thousands of rockets and slaughtered Israeli civilians in cold blood.” Hamas has set two long-term goals articulated in its charter: The end of the Jewish state and the creation of an Islamic state from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea. In the current conflict, Hamas has murdered over 300 Israelis and wounded nearly 2,000. “Using the term ‘militant’ to describe Hamas diminishes the true threat that the terror group poses. Media outlets need to call a terrorist a terrorist,” the AJC added. No occupation Some media accounts on the Gaza Strip often blame Israel’s “occupation” as the root cause of the conflict. Fluss pointed out, however, that Israel does not occupy the Gaza Strip and has had no presence in the coastal enclave for nearly two decades. From 1948 to 1967, the Gaza Strip was occupied by Egypt, which took control of the territory during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, also known as Israel’s War of Independence. After the 1967 Six-Day War, Israel took control of the Gaza Strip from Egypt. In 2005, Israel, facing huge political pushback, withdrew from the Gaza Strip, and dismantled its settlements and military forces in the name of peace and in hopes of creating a better future. However, those hopes were shattered after Hamas came to power through elections and, with it, violence and rocket attacks on Israeli civilian population centers. Since 2007, when Hamas violently ousted Fatah from the Gaza Strip, it began launching tens of thousands of rockets from Gaza into Israel. Hamas terrorists also infiltrated Israel through land, sea, and air incursions from Gaza to murder and abduct Israeli civilians. Over 600 Israelis were murdered on the 7 October large-scale infiltration into Israeli territory from Gaza. The post ‘Shame on int’l media’ appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Israel urges evacuation of Gaza hospital, five schools: aid groups
Israel warned humanitarian groups in the Gaza Strip on Friday to evacuate a major hospital and five schools ahead of a potential strike, aid agencies said. The Al-Quds Hospital is in northern Gaza, which has borne the brunt of Israeli air raids since Hamas staged their biggest ever attacks on Israel on October 7. The Palestine Red Crescent launched an "urgent appeal" saying it had "received a threat from the occupying authorities to bombard Al-Quds Hospital". The Israeli warning "demanded" the hospital's evacuation, which would affect more than 400 patients and 12,000 displaced people who have sought "safe haven", the group said. "We call upon the international community to take immediate and urgent action to prevent another massacre similar to what occurred at Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital," the statement added. A rocket attack on the Al-Ahli hospital killed hundreds of people, Gaza's Hamas authorities said. Hamas blamed Israeli jets, while Israel blamed misdirected fire by militants inside Gaza. The UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, said in parallel that Israel had told it to evacuate five schools "as fast as possible". All of the schools are in Gaza City, close to the hospital. "We did what we could to protest and reject this decision, but this means that from now these facilities are no longer safe," said an UNRWA statement, calling on thousands of people in and around the hospitals to flee. The Red Crescent said last Saturday that it had received a similar evacuation order for Al-Quds Hospital. Palestinian media said a rocket attack hit near the hospital on Wednesday. Gaza authorities say more than 4,100 people have been killed in Israeli raids since the Hamas attacks that left 1,400 people dead. The attacks were the worst suffered by Israel since its creation 75 years ago. The post Israel urges evacuation of Gaza hospital, five schools: aid groups appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
England, Wales grapple with growing teen knife violence
Elianne Andam was headed to school like any other teenager in London last month when she was stabbed to death, becoming the latest victim of rising knife crime in England and Wales. The 15-year-old suffered a "brutal attack" in Croydon, south London, shortly after she and her friends had stepped off a public bus on a Wednesday morning, prosecutors have said. A 17-year-old boy arrested nearby just over an hour later will stand trial for her murder next April. One of the latest tragic cases of teen-on-teen violence in the British capital, it has become an increasingly common problem nationwide over recent decades. A few days after Andam's death, 16-year-old Taye Faik died in Edmonton, north London, following another knife attack. He was the 14th teenager to be killed with a blade in the city this year. The UK government, and mayors in some of its biggest cities and regions, have repeatedly vowed to tackle the persistent scourge of youth violence, but appear to be failing. Between 2012 and 2022, the number of knife and offensive weapon offences amongst children aged 10-17 increased by 19 percent across England and Wales, according to the Ministry of Justice. That compared with an eight percent increase among adults. 'Social issue' With the sale of guns strictly controlled in Britain, teenagers intent on violence typically turn to blades, including machetes and so-called "zombie" knives. Inspired by horror films, they often have one smooth blade and one serrated edge, and feature graphics or text on the blade or handle glorifying violence. Possessing them has been illegal since 2016, but some manufacturers have managed to evade this quasi-ban by altering their design. The government unveiled plans in August to outlaw them entirely and give police more powers to seize the weapons, which it said "seem to be designed to look menacing with no practical purpose". The new legislation will also increase the maximum penalty for their "importation, manufacturing, possession and sale" from six months to two years. However, machetes and zombie-style knives can be bought with relative ease for less than £50 ($60) on social media platforms like TikTok or Snapchat, circumventing online age restrictions, according to anti-knife crime campaigners. They urge more focus on the roots of the problem. "Knife crime isn't just a law-and-order issue, it's a social issue," Patrick Green, president of the Ben Kinsella Trust, told AFP. The anti-knife crime charity is named after a London teenager murdered in 2008. "When you start to unpick knife crime, you start to look at social deprivation, poverty, the lack of social mobility, mental health probation for young people," Green said. 'Awful weapons' Youth knife violence is more prevalent in Britain than many other European countries, he noted. "It's difficult to determine why exactly," Green added. London mayor Sadiq Khan's office blamed the austerity policies of successive Tory governments in power since 2010, which it argued have "decimated youth services" in the capital and beyond. As many as 130 centers offering sports and arts activities in the city have closed over that period, its statement noted. The pandemic and the country's worst cost-of-living crisis in a generation, driven by decades-high inflation, are also seen as contributing to the problem. Following the recent knife crime deaths in the capital, the Labour mayor urged the Conservative government in a letter "to speed up the legislation so we can ban these awful weapons as soon as possible". "The proposals also need to be toughened up to close the loopholes that could still allow the sale of these weapons," Khan added. He also wrote this month to London's 500 secondary schools reiterating that wand metal detectors to screen pupils for weapons were available, as well as police officers to deliver knife crime prevention talks. His opposition Labour party -- well ahead in polls for over a year -- has pledged to spend up to £100 million if it wins power in an election expected next year on a "Young Futures" program. It would fund new youth mentors and mental health hubs in every community, youth workers in schools set up for troubled students and hospitals, alongside wide-ranging public sector reforms. The post England, Wales grapple with growing teen knife violence appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
On WPS conflict, ‘Trillanes cut deals’
Amid the guessing game started by China on who the unnamed President was who promised to remove the BRP Sierra Madre from Ayungin Shoal, Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Juan Ponce Enrile has pointed to a former senator as the culprit. “I haven’t heard from previous presidents that they promised to remove the Sierra Madre, but what I know is that the late President Benigno Aquino III did some backchanneling, and his backdoor agent was former Senator Antonio Trillanes IV,” Enrile said. He added: “Trillanes bypassed then Ambassador Sonia Brady in negotiating with China, and his only credential was he rode in a Philippine Navy boat when he was in the military service.” “The subject of the backchanneling was the Scarborough Shoal standoff, but Trillanes was deceived by the Chinese. The Philippine vessels withdrew from the area of the deadlock, but China stayed put,” he recalled. 2012 Senate skirmish Then-senator Enrile and Trillanes had a confrontation in September 2012 over the government’s covert negotiations with China that Aquino had assigned to Trillanes. In a face-off on the Senate floor, Enrile produced the so-called Brady notes, a report on the discussions between the ambassador and Trillanes on the backchanneling mission. During his several engagements with Chinese officials, Enrile quoted the Brady notes as saying that Trillanes indicated that Filipinos needed more interest in the conflicting claims in the region. Enrile said the Brady notes stated that Aquino was not made fully aware of the details of Trillanes’s actions, and there was a point when the President did not know the talks were suspended for two weeks and that Trillanes was acting on his own. “And for whom? Whose interest was he serving?” Enrile asked. While admitting that it was the prerogative of Aquino as Commander-in-Chief to resort to backchannel talks, designating Trillanes was a huge mistake, he said. “Trillanes should have been discreet, and he should have brought along an embassy representative to record the event. Trillanes thought he was James Bond. That should not have been allowed,” Enrile said. “A person entrusted by the President with a mission must first exercise discretion. When you go to a country to deal with a foreign power, you must notify the embassy,” he said. “Trillanes should have notified the embassy to alert them that he was there on a mission, and he should have brought along at least one responsible official,” he added. He continued: “Everybody should have known that international law already provided the way to settle the dispute, which was the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, but which China did not respect.” “China based its claims not on international law but on its might. We should have a counter-balancing force,” according to Enrile. “We should not rely solely on the assistance of other nations; we should keep building up our military assets.” “We should also be prepared, and one way to do that is to require all young Filipinos to undergo training to defend the country.” “Only Filipinos can fight for their country; nobody else can do the fighting for you,” Enrile stressed. False narrative Meanwhile, China was accused of using deception in its sea maneuvers when it tried to block a resupply mission to Ayungin Shoal on 7 September. Armed Forces of the Philippines spokesperson, Col. Medel Aguilar, at the weekly Saturday News Forum in Quezon City, said the Philippine Navy offered to help a Chinese rubber boat in distress near Ayungin Shoal. “Our troops offered assistance, but the Chinese refused and another boat came to their rescue,” Aguilar said. He said one of the Chinese rigid hull inflatable boats had gotten entangled in a fishing line while it was tailing the Philippine vessels heading to Ayungin to resupply the troops there. Aguilar said that while the Chinese boat’s refusal to accept aid from Philippine forces was expected, what surprised the troops was Beijing’s radio call where they blamed the Filipinos for the incident. “They had the guts to challenge our radio message. ‘Philippine Coast Guard, because of your maneuvers, the Chinese Coast Guard vessel came into problem,’” he quoted the Chinese as saying. Aguilar said this was another narrative the Chinese would tell their people. “After this incident, they will come up with their narrative to tell their people about what happened,” Aguilar said. “We don’t want the truth to be drowned out by what really happened,” he added. Misplaced bullying Aguilar described the China Coast Guard’s behavior as “misplaced bullying” amid its continued aggression in Philippine territorial waters. “The CCG is a misplaced bully in the WPS,” Aguilar said. Meanwhile, Commodore Jay Tarriela, PCG spokesperson, said several CCG ships and maritime militia vessels tried to block the Philippine vessels and stop the resupply mission. “It is very important for the government, for us, to be more transparent about what is happening in the West Philippine Sea,” he said. “We face the media; we give them the true story. The media will play a very important role in curtailing this fake news that spreads every time the Chinese release their narratives.” He said China has been pushing the narrative that the Philippines is acting on behalf of the United States. Ayungin Shoal, which is part of the Kalayaan island group, is an integral part of the Philippines and is well within its exclusive economic zone and continental shelf, over which the country has sovereignty, sovereign rights, and jurisdiction. The BRP Sierra Madre has been grounded on Ayungin Shoal since 1999, where it stands as a symbol of Philippine sovereignty and on which a dozen Filipino Marines and sailors are holding the fort. The post On WPS conflict, ‘Trillanes cut deals’ appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
China using false narrative — AFP
The China Coast Guard is using a false narrative in its recent dangerous maneuvers in trying to block a resupply mission to Ayungin Shoal on 7 September, the Armed Forces of the Philippines said Saturday. At the weekly Saturday News Forum in Quezon City, AFP spokesperson Colonel Medel Aguilar said the Philippine Navy offered to help a Chinese rubber boat in distress in Ayungin Shoal only to be scorned and blamed for the incident. “Troops offered assistance to help China, but China refused.. and another boat came to their rescue,” Aguilar said. He narrated that one of China’s Rigid Hull Inflatable Boats was entangled in a fishing line while it was tailing Philippine vessels heading to Ayungin Shoal to resupply troops there. Aguilar said while the Chinese boat's refusal to accept aid from Philippine forces was expected, what surprised the troops was Beijing’s radio call that blamed Filipinos for the incident. “They still have the guts to challenge our radio message: ‘Philippine Coast Guard because of your maneuvers, the Chinese Coast Guard vessel came into problem,’” he said. Aguilar called these as “another narrative that they will tell their people." “After this incident, they will come up with their own narrative to tell their people about what happened,” Aguilar said. “We don’t want the truth to be drowned by what happened,” he said. Aguilar also described the CCG's behavior as "misplaced bullying" amid its continued aggression in the country’s territorial waters. “The CCG is a misplaced bully at the WPS,” Aguilar said. This is the third resupply mission after the 5 August incident when the CCG used water cannons against the PCG fleet conducting a similar mission. Another resupply mission was conducted and completed on 22 August. Despite the efforts of the Chinese vessels, the AFP said the resupply mission was successful. “As far as the AFP is concerned, we always refer to existing laws in defining what is our maritime zone right now,” Aguilar said. On the other end, Commodore Jay Tarriela, spokesperson of the PCG, said several CCG ships and maritime militia vessels tried to block the PCG ships to stop the resupply mission. “It is very important for the government… for us to be more transparent on what is happening in the West Philippine Sea,” he said. “We face the media, we give them the true story. The media will play a very important role in curtailing this fake news that spreads every time they release these narratives,” Tarriella said. He added that China, which has been illegally claiming almost the entire South China Sea, has been pushing the narrative that the Philippines is acting on behalf of the US when it comes to the West Philippine Sea issue. Ayungin Shoal is part of the Kalayaan Island Group and is an integral part of the Philippines, as well as the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone and continental shelf, over which the country has sovereignty, sovereign rights, and jurisdiction. The BRP Sierra Madre has been grounded at the Ayungin Shoal since 1999 where a dozen marines and sailors are aboard the ship, which has become a symbol of Philippine sovereignty in the offshore territory. The post China using false narrative — AFP appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Indonesia sanctions 11 industrial firms over Jakarta pollution spikes
Indonesia has sanctioned 11 industrial firms for failing to meet operational standards as the government moves to deal with major pollution spikes in the capital Jakarta, the environment minister said Monday. Air pollution levels in the megalopolis of about 30 million people have risen to some of the highest in the world in recent months, topping global rankings multiple times since the beginning of August, according to Swiss air monitor IQAir. The government had blamed weather patterns and vehicle emissions for the spike but some ministers have recently acknowledged coal-fired power plants and factories around the capital were also partly responsible. "We have imposed administrative sanctions on 11 entities," Indonesian Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya Bakar told a news conference, without identifying the firms. "This means that based on inspections, we have identified areas where they don't meet the standards, and they are required to rectify these issues." She said the sanctioned firms were coal stockpiling, smelting, paper and charcoal companies. The administrative sanctions were not outlined. The action came on the same day that President Joko Widodo inaugurated Jakarta's first elevated light railway line, which he said would alleviate chronic traffic and help reduce pollution. The Light Rail Transit will link central Jakarta to surrounding satellite cities such as Bekasi. Widodo said in a cabinet meeting last week that the long dry season, vehicle emissions and industrial activities were all factors in the pollution spike. In another move to improve the city's air quality, the Jakarta administration has ordered half its civil servants to work from home in a two-month trial that started last week. Jakarta officials have stressed that no public services would be affected by the trial, emphasizing that only non-essential government workers can work from home. The post Indonesia sanctions 11 industrial firms over Jakarta pollution spikes appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Greek fires rage unabated for a week
Greek firefighters struggled on Friday to contain scores of blazes stretching nationwide -- the largest fires in the European Union this year. The biggest fire front was in the Evros region close to the Turkish border, near the northern port city of Alexandroupoli, where a mega blaze that erupted on Saturday raged untamed. "Unfortunately Evros is the most active part of all the fronts we are facing at the moment and perhaps the most difficult section that we will face today," fire department spokesman Yiannis Artopios told state television ERT on Friday. The fire was consuming the Dadia forest, one of the major areas in Europe for birds of prey. The Alexandroupoli wildfires are now the largest in the EU on record for 2023 and the second largest since 2000, according to the bloc. The bodies of 19 people believed to be migrants, two of them children, were found in the area this week. "At the moment there is no big active front on Mount Parnitha," near Athens, Artopios said. A third large fire was still blazing in Boeotia, north of Athens, but the conditions were improved. A shepherd lost his life in the fires in this area on Monday. Authorities blamed arsonists for the multiple fronts that have emerged simultaneously in the country during the past few days. Artopios said investigations into the arsons now involve thed national intelligence service and the fire prevention department. A very high fire risk is forecast on Friday for central Greece and Athens. Fires had scorched more than 120,000 hectares (nearly 30,000 acres) of land across Greece in 2023 until Wednesday, according to estimates from the National Observatory. This year's burned land area is three times larger than the average annually since 2006, according to the European Observatory of Forest Fires. nks/ach © Agence France-Presse Add to cart Print Download The post Greek fires rage unabated for a week appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Arab Israelis bury official as crime wave toll nears 160
A high-ranking civil servant buried Wednesday in Israel is the latest victim of a crime wave that has killed almost 160 members of Israel's Arab minority this year. Abdelrahman Kashua, who held the post of director-general in Tira city, just north of Tel Aviv, was gunned down at a gas station on Monday, police said. Mourners carrying black flags gathered outside a police station in protest as part of the funeral procession. Kashua is among 156 Arab-Israelis killed so far this year, according to the Abraham Initiatives which promotes coexistence between Arabs and Jews. Arab Israelis have long complained of discrimination and police inaction against crime that disproportionately affects their communities. Experts say Arab gangs have amassed large quantities of illegal weapons over the past two decades and are involved in drug and other crimes. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday condemned Kashua's killing as a "red line" and vowed to use all means "in order to defeat this crime" wave. But just hours after his remarks, four more Arab men were murdered in the northern town of Abu Snan. One of the victims, Ghazi Saab, had written on Facebook about his plans to stand in municipal elections later this year, and said "We can no longer remain silent." "Crime and acts of violence in our villages have crossed all limits," he wrote in July. "I appeal to all to not deal in violence. There is no reason to kill." A leading Arab politician, Mansour Abbas, on Wednesday called for greater support for his community. "Our demand is only one, that the state of Israel carries out its duty to protect the lives of Arab citizens," he said at Kashua's funeral. Abbas made history in 2021 when his Raam movement became the first Arab party to join a governing coalition, pressing while in power for funds to tackle crime. Arab Israelis, descendants of Palestinians who stayed on their land after Israel's creation in 1948, make up about 21 percent of the population and many identify as Palestinian. Earlier this month Netanyahu blamed "out-of-control criminal organizations" for the violence, which has led to other protests by Arab Israelis this year. In early June, the prime minister said he was "determined to stop this chain of murders" and would see that happen by not only reinforcing police but also "with the help of the Shin Bet", the internal security agency. The post Arab Israelis bury official as crime wave toll nears 160 appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Beijing takes ‘dovish’ stance over Ayungin
Beijing has reached out to Manila to resolve the territorial dispute over Ayungin Shoal where the BRP Sierra Madre was grounded in 1999 to serve as a permanent outpost for Filipino troops. Zhou Zhiong, deputy chief of mission at the Chinese Embassy in the Philippines, said China had repeatedly reached out to peacefully resolve the matter. Last 5 August, a China Coast Guard vessel used a water cannon and undertook “dangerous maneuvers” to try and disperse Philippine Coast Guard-escorted boats on a resupply mission to the Sierra Madre. “China has repeatedly expressed its willingness to resolve its differences with the Philippines through bilateral dialogues,” Zhou said in a media briefing in Quezon City. He claimed that up to the end of 2021, several rounds of discussions were held between the Philippines and China to manage the “disputes” over Ayungin Shoal, which they call Ren’ai Reef. “The discussions led to a consensus on resupply missions to Ren’ai Reef,” Zhou said, adding that the talks stabilized and eased tensions in the disputed waters — which the Philippines claims as its exclusive economic zone. The Chinese official then blamed the Philippines for refusing to acknowledge and implement the consensus and for starting to take “unilateral actions.” “We also provided the Philippine side with a draft proposal. We are still waiting for the formal response from the Philippine side,” Zhou said, reiterating that the Philippines supposedly promised to tow the Sierra Madre out of Ayungin. The post Beijing takes ‘dovish’ stance over Ayungin appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
NYC activities above board — chairman
National Youth Commission chairman Ronald Cardema defended the agency's annual hosting of Sangguniang Kabataan summits and trainings which were flagged by the Commission on Audit, pointing to Kabataan Partylist Representative Raoul Manuel as the one besmirching his office. In an interview with the Daily Tribune at the NYC office in Quezon City, Cardema said newspaper reports (not in this paper) failed to mention that not a single "disallowance" was made. In its annual audit report on the NYC for 2022, the COA noted the agency’s “excessive payment of hotel room reservations,” as well as the local accounts of NYC showed that its training expenses amounted to P31.4 million while travel expenses reached P5.43 million. The COA said that the NYC’s local travel expenses jumped by 321 percent from P1.29 million in 2021 to P5.43 million in 2022. Training expenses, on the other hand, surged by 575 percent from P4.65 million to P31.4 million during the same period. "Of course, it would jump. From pandemic period which we are barred from holding such, it will surely ballooned because we never hold those trainings during that period," Cardema explained. He added that they are mandated to hold SK trainings, sometimes called "summit", to prepare the young officials for their positions. An annual budget of P50 million is allotted for this purpose, and according to Cardema, there are over 42,000 barangays around the country that have the same number of SK officials composed also of a chairman and seven kagawads (local councilors). "Di nga namin makumpletong bigyan lahat ng training sa dami (We can't even complete their entire number to train)," Cardema said, noting that some SK chairmen are also considered government officials for being the SK Federation president, heading the entire city or province's SK members and sit as a member of the city council or provincial boards. "Local officials na din ang turing sa kanila (They are considered local officials already). Sometimes they brought along with them a team (photographer, staff, and even families) and would not want to be booked at the hotel we contracted because of these factors. So they would instead pay for their own, in a much expensive hotel," the NYC official further explained. For this reason, Cardema added we're acceptable to COA. "That is why we have 'zero' disallowance (in that report)." He blamed Manuel for insinuating the NYC's alleged overspending, as he always hurled some criticism to the Makabayan Bloc in Congress which Kabataan Partylist is a member, for failing to condemn the Communist Party of the Philippines, New People's Army, and National Democratic Front. Training the SK officials, the NYC chairman said, is a hard thing to do, especially for a commission composed of only 150 personnel including him. "My travel allowance is only P500,000, that sometimes requires me to go to regions and provinces. One time I was made to attend an Asian youth forum, half of that travel allowance was spent already. How are the others, which I have to attend?," Cardema asked. The NYC is the government's sole policy-making body on youth affairs but also coordinates and implements programs designed to respond to and raise awareness on youth issues. Its mandate is enshrined in the 1987 Philippine Constitution, to wit: "The State recognizes the vital role of the youth in nation-building and shall promote and protect their physical, moral, spiritual, intellectual, and social well-being. It shall inculcate in the youth patriotism and nationalism; and encourage their involvement in public and civic affairs." The post NYC activities above board — chairman appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Russia strikes Odesa cathedral, Putin dismisses counteroffensive
Russia's latest strike on Odesa on Sunday killed two people and severely damaged a historic Orthodox cathedral, drawing a vow of retaliation from Ukraine's leader. The attack came as President Vladimir Putin met his Belarusian counterpart for talks in Russia and claimed Kyiv's counteroffensive had "failed". Russia has pounded the Ukrainian port city of Odesa since quitting the Black Sea grain deal last week. Locals watched in disbelief as the Transfiguration Cathedral -- originally built in 1794 under imperial Russian rule -- was hit. The biggest Orthodox church in Odesa lies within the UNESCO-protected historic city center. UNESCO condemned the "brazen" attack, which hit several sites in the World Heritage area, marking "an escalation of violence against (the) cultural heritage of Ukraine", according to UNESCO chief Audrey Azoulay. Clergymen rescued icons from rubble inside the badly damaged shrine, which was demolished under Stalin in 1936 and rebuilt in the 1990s after the collapse of the Soviet Union. The culture ministry said it had so far identified damage to 29 monuments of important cultural heritage. The Ukrainian government condemned the cathedral strike as a "war crime", saying it had been "destroyed twice: by Stalin and Putin". President Volodymyr Zelensky vowed retaliation: "They will definitely feel this," he said. "We cannot allow people around the world to get used to terrorist attacks," Zelensky added in his evening speech late on Sunday. "The target of all these missiles is not just cities, villages or people. Their target is humanity and the foundations of our entire European culture." Icons pulled from rubble Images showed smashed mosaics on the cathedral floor as workers cleared the rubble. The outside of the building appeared intact. "There was a direct hit to the cathedral," said Father Myroslav, the assistant rector, adding that three altars were ruined. Icons were pulled out from under the rubble and the shrine was "very badly damaged inside", with "only the bell tower intact", he added. Clergymen said a security guard and a priest getting ready for a morning liturgy were inside during the attack but both survived. Russia blamed the cathedral damage on Ukrainian air defense. It said it had hit all its intended targets in the Odesa strike, claiming the sites were being used to prepare "terrorist acts" against Russia. But local people said Russia had hit residential areas. "We have ordinary residential buildings here, where people live," a woman who owns a beauty salon nearby, Tetiana, told AFP. "There are no military facilities here. Just simple beauty salons, a marine agency, a groomer. Nothing military here at all." Russia launched a wave of attacks on the Black Sea port this week, after exiting a deal between Moscow, Kyiv, Istanbul and the UN allowing the safe passage of cargo ships. Ukraine has vowed to find a way to continue exports from the ports and said Sunday repeated Russian strikes on Odesa this week were an attempt to "prevent and neutralise international efforts to restore the functioning of the "grain corridor." Putin meets Lukashenko As Odesa cleared rubble from the Russian strikes, Putin hosted his closest ally, Belarus leader Alexander Lukashenko, in his native city of Saint Petersburg -- their first meeting since Minsk helped end a revolt by Russia's Wagner force. Both leaders were dismissive of the Ukrainian counteroffensive to take back land captured by Russia. "There is no counteroffensive," Lukashenko said at the meeting, before being interrupted by Putin: "There is one, but it has failed." The Belarus strongman now hosts Wagner fighters on his territory, after brokering a deal that convinced its leader Yevgeny Prigozhin to end a march on Moscow and exile himself to Belarus. "We are controlling what is happening (with Wagner)," he said, thanking Putin for vowing to defend Belarus should it be attacked. Wagner's presence in Belarus has rattled EU and NATO member Poland, which has strengthened its border. On Sunday, Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak said a new battalion of sappers would be formed in the country's northeast. Polish, US, British, Romanian and Croatian soldiers were training "shoulder to shoulder", he said, during a visit to the northeastern city of Augustow. The comments came two days after Putin said western Poland was a "gift" from Stalin at the end of World War II, when victorious allies decided on the contours of post-war Europe. Warsaw summoned the Russian ambassador over the remarks. Both Putin and Lukashenko also accused Warsaw of having territorial ambitions on Ukraine and Belarus. Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba responded quickly on Twitter. "Putin's attempts to drive a wedge between Kyiv and Warsaw are as futile as his failing invasion of Ukraine," he wrote. "Unlike Russia, Poland and Ukraine have learned from history and will always stand united against Russian imperialism and disrespect for international law." Fighting in Ukraine continued Sunday, with Russia launching 17 cruise missiles and two ballistic missiles, according to the Ukraine army. The post Russia strikes Odesa cathedral, Putin dismisses counteroffensive appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Extreme heat straining health systems: WHO
The extreme heat in the northern hemisphere is putting an increasing strain on healthcare systems, hitting those least able to cope the hardest, the World Health Organization said Wednesday. The WHO said the heat often worsens pre-existing conditions, saying it was particularly concerned about those with cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and asthma. Millions of people across three continents are enduring a sustained spell of dangerous heat on Wednesday as temperature records tumble. "Extreme heat takes the greatest toll on those least able to manage its consequences, such as older people, infants and children, and the poor and homeless," said WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. "It also puts increased pressure on health systems," he told a news conference. "Exposure to excessive heat has wide-ranging impacts for health, often amplifying pre-existing conditions and resulting in premature death and disability." The WHO was working with the World Meteorological Organization, its fellow Geneva-based UN agency, to support countries in developing hot-weather action plans to coordinate preparedness and reduce the impacts of excessive heat on health, he added. Finding those at risk Maria Neira, the WHO's public health and environment chief, said the agency was particularly concerned about pregnant women and people with diabetes and cardiovascular diseases, and asthma, as air pollution would be part of the problem. Local and national governments needed to identify all those potentially at risk, while hospitals should ensure they had an action plan in place, she added. Neira also said communities needed to get the message out on avoiding sport during the hottest part of the day, finding a cool place indoors, looking out for the vulnerable, and being aware of heat stroke or heat exhaustion. Experts have blamed the heatwaves on climate change, driven by the burning of fossil fuels releasing the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Besides immediate measures to cope with the heat in the coming days, Neira said that in the longer term, countries needed to decarbonise to mitigate the causes of climate change, which is "exacerbating and increasing the frequency, the intensity and the duration of those heatwaves. "That will be helping us to reduce the heatwaves in a very important way." City officials needed to think through their urban planning to ensure people had refuges in times of extreme heat, she added. The UN's WMO weather agency has said repeated high overnight temperatures are a particular health risk because the body is unable to recover from hot days, leading to more heart attacks and deaths. The post Extreme heat straining health systems: WHO appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Russia attacks Odesa port
Russia fired missiles and sent explosive drones to Ukraine’s Odesa port Tuesday, a day after President Vladimir Putin vowed a response to Kyiv’s deadly bombing of a bridge in annexed Crimea. Ukraine’s military claimed downing six Kalibr missiles and 21 Iran-built attack drones, but said debris and the blast wave from the destroyed projectiles damaged parts of the port and several private homes. A total 36 drones were launched by Russia overnight and 31 of these were shot down by air defenses, Ukraine’s military southern command said in a statement. An “industrial facility” in the southern port city of Mykolaiv was also hit in the overnight attack according to local governor Vitaliy Kim. A fire had subsequently broken out before being extinguished, he said on Telegram, adding there were no casualties. Kyiv’s navy and SBU security service carried out the bombing of the Kerch bridge linking Crimea to Russia, using seaborne drones, a security service source told Agence France-Presse. Russian authorities said a civilian couple was killed and their daughter wounded in the attack on the bridge, which was also damaged last year in a blast Moscow blamed on Kyiv. Local officials said traffic across the bridge had been halted and encouraged holidaymakers stranded in Crimea to drive home through occupied Ukraine. Vehicle traffic was later “restored in reverse mode on the far right lane” of the bridge, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin said. WITH AFP The post Russia attacks Odesa port appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»