Day: March 16, 2024

SEOUL: South Korean and US warplanes staged a combined live-fire exercise against North Korean cruise missile and long-range artillery threats in waters off the west coast this week, the South’s Air Force said Friday.

The five-day drills began Monday, mobilizing about 40 aircraft, including South Korean F-35A, F-15K, and F-4E jets, as well as A-10 and F-16 aircraft from the US 7th Air Force stationed in the country.

Pilots trained on staging precision strikes against simulated enemy cruise missiles flying at low altitudes with air-to-air missiles and against long-range artillery, using air-to-surface missiles and guided bombs, the Air Force said.

The drills came amid renewed concerns over North Korean cruise missile threats after the country staged five rounds of cruise missile launches this year. The North claimed to have test-fired a new surface-to-sea missile off its east coast on Feb. 14.

North Korea also held live-fire artillery drills, involving units capable of striking Seoul, on March 7, its state
media reported, in an apparent response to the annual South Korea-US Freedom Shield exercise that ended Thursday.

North Korea has one of the world’s largest artillery forces, many of them positioned within range of the greater Seoul area, home to about half of South Korea’s 51 million people.

Source: Philippines News Agency

ILOILO CITY: A fire that lasted a little over nine hours gutted two three-story buildings located within the heritage zone of Iloilo City, leaving estimated damage at PHP8.085 million, according to the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP).

The fire affected a total area of 1,078 square meters, spanning portions of Chinatown along Iznart Street and Calle Real (JM Basa Street).

A report furnished by the BFP to Mayor Jerry P. Treñas said the fire began at 11:16 p.m. Friday

It reached the fourth alarm at 2:20 a.m. the following day until it was declared fire out at 8:25 a.m.

Arson investigator FO2 John Paquito Verano said the fire gutted the Divinagracia and Dominican Sister buildings.

The fire originated from the Emerald Finance Corporation on the second floor of the Divinagracia building.

Verano said it took them nine hours to contain the fire because the buildings contained highly combustible materials like rubber, ready-to-wear clothing, and plastic wares.

In a statement, Treñas said he instructed the Offic
e of the Building Official (OBO) to work with the BFP on the possible causes of the fire.

‘The OBO shall immediately inspect the electrical connections of all heritage buildings in the downtown area. These are the jewels of Iloilo City,’ he said.

As Iloilo City representative in 2013, Treñas was the author of Republic Act 10555, or the Act Declaring the Jaro Cathedral, Molo Church, the Iloilo City Central Business District, Fort San Pedro, Jaro Plaza Complex, Molo Plaza Complex and Plaza Libertad Complex, all Located in the City of Iloilo, as Cultural Heritage Tourism Zone.

‘I will be asking the help of the National Historical Commission of the Philippines what we can do to help preserve these heritage structures,’ he added.

Since those affected are private buildings, Treñas said the help might involve technical assistance only.

Source: Philippines News Agency

ATHENS: With the Russia-Ukraine war now into its third year, the EU on Friday announced that it had allocated 500 million euros (USD545 million) to boost ammunition production.

The EU Commission said in a statement that the move, taken under the Act in Support of Ammunition Production (ASAP), would enable the European defense industry to ramp up its ammunition production capacity to 2 million shells per year by the end of 2025.

It added: ‘The Commission completed the evaluation under the ASAP Regulation in record time and selected 31 projects to assist European industry in increasing its ammunition production and readiness.’

‘Thanks to measures already taken, European annual production capacity for 155 mm shells had already reached 1 million per year in January 2024,’ it said.

With the ongoing war in Ukraine using up large amounts of ammunition, production has fallen short, as the NATO secretary general said Thursday.

Jens Stoltenberg, chief of the alliance, whose membership largely overlaps the EU’s, sa
id on Thursday: “NATO allies are not providing Ukraine with enough ammunition and that has consequences on the battlefield every day. The fact that the Russians are able to outgun the Ukrainians every day, of course, is a huge challenge, it is one of the reasons why the Russians have been able to make some advances on the battlefield over the last weeks and months.”

He urged the allies “to step up and provide more ammunition to Ukraine.”

Source: Philippines News Agency

MANILA: Moses Manalili sizzled with 35 points in leading defending champion Letran to a 97-80 victory over Perpetual Help in Game 1 of the NCAA Season 99 junior basketball best-of-three title series at Filoil EcoOil Centre in San Juan City on Saturday.

The Squires will try to wrap up the series on March 20 and clinch their 14th crown overall.

‘I didn’t expect to score 35 points,’ Manalili, who hails from Cebu City, said.

He also had nine rebounds, nine assists and four steals.

Letran also did a good job in limiting Perpetual’s key players.

‘Actually, we scouted their personnel, the Big Four (Jan) Pagulayan, (Amiel) Acido, (Mark) Gojo Cruz and (Lebron Jhames) Daep. They are the heart and soul,’ Letran coach Allen Ricardo said in the post-match interview.

‘As a team, we tried to limit and defend them well to boost our chance to win,” he added.

June Silorio contributed 15 points, three rebounds, three assists and two steals; George Diamante made 14 points, 16 rebounds and three steals; and Jolo Navarro ha
d 14 points, two rebounds, one steal and one block for the Squires.

If necessary, Game 3 will played on March 23.

‘It’s still an unfinished business, we have to show up again with the same kind of mentality in offense and defense for us to win,’ Ricardo said.

Pagulayan finished with 17 points, six rebounds, four assists and one steal for the Junior Altas, who beat the Squires, 96-91, on March 1 to finish the elimination round with an 8-1 record.

Daep added 12 points, seven rebounds and three assists, while Acido, Roluna and Mark Gojo Cruz scored 10 points each.

Source: Philippines News Agency