Day: June 10, 2023

Former National Intelligence Service (NIS) chief Suh Hoon was questioned by police Saturday over charges he had illegally meddled in the organization’s hiring decisions.

The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency said it summoned Suh for questioning at 10 a.m. and sent him home around 6 p.m. On May 24, the agency had raided the homes of Suh and another ex-NIS director, Park Jie-won, over unfair hiring allegations. The Seoul police are expected to call Park in for questioning in the near future.

Suh served as NIS director from 2017-20, and Park from 2020-22, both under the previous Moon Jae-in administration.

Suh and Park are both accused of abusing their authority as NIS chief in having people close to them hired as employees at the Institute for National Security Strategy, which is affiliated with the NIS.

The spy agency reportedly learned of such hirings in a recent internal inspection of personnel affairs during the Moon administration and requested a police investigation.

Suh, who had also worked as national security adviser for Moon, had been arrested in December last year over alleged irregularities surrounding the 2020 death of a South Korean fisheries official at the hands of North Korea. He was granted bail in April.

Source: Yonhap News Agency

South Korea will begin putting a ceiling on the number of international flights for cabin crew members to minimize their exposure to cosmic radiation, the nuclear safety agency said Saturday.

Under the revised law, air carriers are obliged to change the routes or reduce the number of flights for each flight attendant at risk of being exposed to more than 6 millisieverts (mSv) on an annual basis.

The law also mandates that crew members on international flights receive regular education on radiation and undergo health checkups.

The Nuclear Safety and Security Commission told Yonhap News Agency that the new regulations will go into effect Sunday and violators will be subject to fines of up to 6 million won (US$4,638).

Flight attendants, especially those traveling long distances on international routes, are more frequently exposed to cosmic radiation and known to be at a greater risk of developing cancer than the general population.

Source: Yonhap News Agency

Tourism Secretary Christina Frasco and New Perspective Media (NPM) Group CEO and founder Karen Franco have agreed to help each other find ways to drive tourists from the Middle East to the Philippines by promoting medical tourism, halal travel, diving, arts, and culture, among others. In a meeting at the Department of Tourism (DOT) headquarters in Makati on June 5, the two engaged in discussions on the diverse range of tourism opportunities that the Philippines could promote in the Middle East, it was reported in the Filipino Times. Frasco thanked Remo for the invaluable insights she shared during the meeting, acknowledging their potential to aid the department in positioning the Philippines as a global travel destination and capturing the lucrative Middle East outbound travel and tourism market. She said the Philippines has been hailed as the top diving destination in the world by many organizations. The country, home to the UNESCO World Heritage Site Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park, won the ‘Best Dive Destination’ during the Diving, Resort and Travel Show in Malaysia on Feb. 24-26, the ‘World’s Leading Dive Destination’ during last year’s World Travel Awards, and ‘Asia’s Leading Dive Destination’ from the same group from 2019 to 2022. Meanwhile, Remo congratulated the DOT for the well-deserved recognition of the Philippines as the Emerging Muslim-Friendly Destination of the Year at the esteemed Halal in Travel Global Summit 2023, held in Singapore on June 1. She also updated the tourism secretary on NPM’s forthcoming initiatives in the UAE, including the 10th annual Philippine Property and Investment Exhibition, as well as the upcoming 2nd Philippine Economic and Investment Summit, both slated to take place in Dubai on May 11 to 12, 2024. The twin events will feature the Philippine International Travel Fair to promote localities and destinations primed for tourism and investment, and realize the travel aspirations of the 192 nationalities in the UAE. Remo – who is also the publisher of The Filipino Times, the largest news media for overseas Filipinos globally – emphasized that overseas Filipinos serve as the most effective ambassadors of the Philippines to the rest of the world, as their highly regarded professionalism and friendliness create a profound impact on fostering positive perception about the country. Since Dec. 2023, the DOT has been incentivizing overseas Filipinos to invite tourists to explore the Philippines through the ‘Bisita Be My Guest’ (BBMG) program. These incentives include travel discounts and a chance to win a condominium and complimentary vacation trips. The meeting was also attended by DOT Undersecretary Shereen Gail Yu-Pamintuan, DOT Undersecretary Ferdinand ‘Cocoy’ Jumapao, and NPM Group Editorial Director Mark Nituma.

Source: Philippines News Agency

The siphoning operations that are part of the oil spill cleanup’s final stage in Oriental Mindoro will be completed by June 19, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said on Saturday. The extraction of the remaining industrial fuel oil from the sunken MT Princess Empress would be 100 percent done after nine days, PCG spokesperson Rear Admiral Armand Balilo said at the Saturday News Forum in Quezon City. ”Yung kanilang operations, very efficient at naniniwala ako na by June 19 ay 100 percent na ‘yung oil na makukuha doon sa mga tangke (The operations are very efficient and I am convinced that 100 percent of the oil would be recovered from the tanks by June 19),’ he said. The National Task Force on Oil Spill Management on June 1 said the siphoning operations might last up to 30 days. The Malayan Towage and Salvage Corp. started using remotely operated vehicles on June 1 and the deployed catch can collects oil from the cargo oil tanks (COT) of the vessel, which sank off the waters of Naujan town on Feb. 28. The MT Princess Empress was reportedly carrying about 800,000 liters of industrial fuel oil when it encountered engine trouble, leading to the disaster. Approximately 50 liters and 75 liters of oil have been recovered from COT No. 1 Starboard and COT No. 1 Port, respectively. The amount of oil recovered from COT No. 2 Starboard and COT No. 2 Port is yet to be determined. As of May 31, about 83.74 percent or 64.43 km. of the 79.33 km. of affected coastlines have been cleaned. Only 16.26 percent or 12.89 km. remain for cleanup. The ongoing cleanup operations have so far collected about 44,656.30 liters of oily water mixture; and 10,708 sacks, 997 drums, 119 pails, and 648 1-tonner bags of oil-contaminated sand/debris and oily waste from Calabarzon, Mimaropa, and Western Visayas. On June 2, the Dynamic Support Vessel Fire Opal arrived at the Subic Bay Freeport Zone to begin extraction of the remaining oil from the sunken vessel. The vessel extracts the oily waste and transfers them to a tanker for disposal.

Source: Philippines News Agency

Canada’s unemployment rate rose to 5.2 percent in May, marking a 0.2 percentage point increase from the previous month. This is the first uptick in nine months, as reported by the country’s statistical body on Friday. The country’s unemployment rate remained unchanged at 5 percent for five consecutive months, before recording in May the first increase since August 2022. The unemployment figure came higher than the market expectation of 5.1 percent. Overall employment was almost unchanged in May, with a decline of just 17,000, or 0.1 percent, Statistics Canada said in a statement. That figure also came against the market estimates of a 23,000 increase, after the North American economy added 41,000 jobs in April. “Employment growth has moderated in recent months and monthly increases averaged 33,000 from February to April. This followed strong employment gains totaling 326,000 from September 2022 to January 2023,” it added. The participation rate, which is the proportion of the population that is employed, was down 0.1 percentage point to 65.5 percent in May. Average hourly wages, annually, increased by 5.1 percent in May.

Source: Philippines News Agency

The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) is planning the use of high-end drones to boost its capabilities and strengthen border security. Spokesperson Rear Admiral Armando Balilo said using drones could save the PCG more time and fuel in the conduct of maritime patrols. ‘Kung kami ang masusunod, lahat ng districts ng Philippine Coast Guard, dapat magkaroon ng at least one drone (If we would have our way, all districts of the Philippine Coast Guards should have one drone each),’ Balilo said during the Saturday News Forum in Quezon City. He also gave a recap of the PCG’s trilateral maritime exercise with the Japan Coast Guard (JCG) and the United States Coast Guard (USCG) in Mariveles, Bataan on June 1-7. He said during the ‘Kaagapay’ drills, the PCG learned that the USCG has a large drone that can conduct surveillance activities in surrounding waters. The JCG is also using US-made surveillance drones. ”Yun ang wala tayo na noong nakita namin, talagang na-inggit kami. Talagang malaking bagay ito, malaking tulong ito. Imagine mo kapag nasa isang area kayo ng operations, mas mabilis na makaka-ikot ang drone (We also want to have that because we do not have one. That’s a big help. Imagine, if you are in the area of operations, the drone could man the area faster),’ Balilo said. He acknowledged that a modern drone is expensive but noted that its cost-effectiveness would outweigh the procurement of vessels because of its unmanned operability and high-security features. Balilo said the use of drones would make it easier to monitor the presence of foreign vessels and other unlawful maritime operations. ‘Kaya po in the future, halimbawa nasa base ka lang at ‘yung mga barko ay busy at merong ibang mga mission (when you are in the base and all the vessels are busy and have other missions), you can always conduct maritime awareness through drone. ‘Yun ang pinakamaganda (That’s the best thing that it could do),’ he said. Given its ‘limited budget,’ the PCG has yet to include the planned purchase of drones in the list of equipment that would be procured amid the ongoing efforts to modernize the Coast Guard, he said. Balilo, however, said several countries have expressed their intent to offer grants for the procurement of drones. He expressed optimism that drones are the ‘future of maritime patrol’ in the country. ”Yung ating tungkuling ginagampanan ay napakalaki. At kailangan nating madagdagan pa ang ating mga gamit para ang ating maritime domain awarenesss ay ma-sustain natin (We have a big responsibility. We have to procure additional equipment to sustain our maritime domain awareness),’ Balilo said.

Source: Philippines News Agency