Day: April 29, 2024

North Korea condemned the United States on Monday for sending longer-range tactical missiles to Ukraine for use in its fight against Russia, claiming that Washington cannot turn the tide of the war with such a “mean” policy.

The White House confirmed last week that the U.S. has sent a “significant” number of Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) missiles to Ukraine for use inside the Ukrainian territory following Russia’s use of North Korean ballistic missiles against Kyiv.

An unnamed director at the foreign military affairs department of North Korea’s defense ministry issued a statement denouncing Washington as a “harasser” of peace that has been aggravating the war by providing Ukraine with such weapons, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

“Long-range missiles offered by the U.S. will never tip the scale in favor of Ukraine on the battlefield but result in fanning the reckless confrontational hysteria of the Zelenskiy puppet clique,” read the English-language statement carried by the KC
NA.

The official said the U.S. has adopted a “mean” policy of offering such long-range missiles for use against Russia in a bid to tip the scales of the war.

“The U.S. can never defeat the heroic Russian army and people with any latest weaponry or military support,” the North’s official said.

North Korea is among a few countries that have expressed its support for Russia in the war with Ukraine. Pyongyang and Moscow have been deepening military ties following the summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Russian President Vladimir Putin in September last year.

Source: Yonhap News Agency

CEBU CITY: The Federation of Modern Jeepney Operators’ Cooperatives in Metro Cebu assured there would be no disruption of mass transportation on Tuesday amid the continuation of the transport strike.

Ellen Maghanoy, chair of the Federation of Cebu Transport Cooperatives, on Monday said franchise owners consolidated under different coops will deploy more than 1,000 units of modern jeepneys until Wednesday.

Maghanoy said Cebu People’s Cooperative alone has 250 units.

Apart from the modern jeepneys, Maghanoy said consolidated traditional jeepneys in Central Visayas will augment modern units.

‘If transport groups which are against the Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program (PUVMP) will hold a strike, we, the owners of modern jeepneys, will surely benefit from it,’ Maghanoy told the Philippine News Agency.

Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board-7 Director Eduardo Montealto Jr. said Piston (Pagkakaisa ng mga Samahan ng Tsuper at Opereytor Nationwide) did not hold any picket rally or transpo
rt strike in Cebu on Monday.

Source: Philippines News Agency

MANILA: The Senate Committee on Basic Education will be looking for ‘balanced’ solution as it sets to start discussions on the impacts of extreme heat and the shift to alternative delivery modes (ADMs) in the conduct of classes.

The public hearing will be conducted on April 30 amid the backdrop of in-person classes being suspended due to extreme heat, and the implementation of blended learning, modular distance learning and other ADMs.

In a statement, Senator Sherwin Gatchalian said the hearing will seek to identify the regions which were seen to have the highest adoption of ADMs among students, and what specific challenges each has experienced.

‘We will also explore the regional adoption of ADMs in education; the impact of climate change on educational disparities; interventions for preventing heat-related health issues; and the current ADMs employed by the Department of Education (DepEd) and their accessibility, effectiveness, and inclusivity; the effects of ADMs on various stakeholders,’ Gatchalian, the
Basic Education panel chairperson, said.

He said the timeline for resuming face-to-face classes will also be discussed.

Gatchalian said comprehensive discussions on ADMs are necessary as they pose different sets of challenges, including the lack of internet access in some households, and the difficulties hounding parents in supporting their children in a remote learning setup.

‘May mga magulang na hindi masyadong sang-ayon sa online or blended learning dahil hindi natututo ang kanilang anak at mismong mga magulang din ang sumasagot sa mga textbook o workbook nila (There are parents who do not quite agree to online or blended learning because their children are not learning, and the parents tend to answer their textbooks or workbooks),” he said.

“Gayunpaman, maraming mga [eskwelahan] nag-suspend ng klase nitong mga nakaraang araw dahil sa sobrang init ng panahon. Ang lahat ng ‘yan ay babalansehin natin (Still, several schools suspended classes these past few days due to extreme heat. We will balance all of
these),’ he added.

Invited to the public hearing are Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Z. Duterte, Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) Minister of Basic, Higher and Technical Education Mohagher Iqbal, Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa, National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council Executive Director Undersecretary Ariel Nepumoceno, and Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) chief Nathaniel Servando.

Representatives from various basic education stakeholders are also expected to attend.

Source: Philippines News Agency

ANKARA: Oil prices decreased on Monday amid ceasefire hopes in the Middle East and growing uncertainties over the timing of the US Federal Reserve’s (Fed) interest rate cuts.

International benchmark Brent crude traded at USD87.45 per barrel at 10.45 a.m. local time (0745 GMT), a 0.86 percent decrease from the closing price of USD88.21 per barrel in the previous trading session.

The American benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) traded at USD83.11 per barrel at the same time, a 0.88 percent fall from the previous session that closed at USD83.85 per barrel.

The likelihood of a ceasefire in Gaza increased as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Saudi Arabia to discuss this possibility on Monday, drawing prices down at the start of the week.

Blinken will discuss efforts to reach a ceasefire in Gaza that guarantees the release of hostages while acknowledging that Hamas is the stumbling block between the Palestinian people and the ceasefire, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller revealed in a s
tatement.

He is also anticipated to discuss the path toward an independent Palestinian state that secures Israel’s security, measures to bring about long-term peace and stability in the region by preventing the conflict from spreading, and an increase in humanitarian aid for Gaza.

The possibility of a ceasefire in the region, home to major oil trade routes, supported price falls.

Additionally, uncertainties over when the US Federal Reserve (Fed) will start interest rate cuts continue to influence oil prices.

Money markets are still waiting for the US Fed to implement its first interest rate cut in the fourth quarter of the year, despite data released last week indicating otherwise in the US.

The possibility of a rate cut further supported downward price movements, as generally high-interest rates boost the value of the US dollar, making oil more expensive for holders of other currencies.

Source: Philippines News Agency

MANILA: The National Food Authority (NFA) reported the procurement of 170,000 bags of palay (unhusked rice) in just three days following the implementation of the higher buying price for the commodity nationwide.

If converted, it is equivalent to 8,000 metric tons (MT), a slight increase in the national buffer stock.

‘Dati nasa 42,200 metric tons, ngayon nasa more than 50,000 thousand metric tons… So, tumaas in just three days ano (Previously, it was just 42,200 MT, now it’s more than 50,000 MT. So, it increased in just three days),’ Administrator Larry Lacson, NFA Officer-in-Charge, said in an exclusive interview with the People’s Television Network’s ‘Spotlight’ program on Sunday.

The NFA’s new buying price is pegged at PHP17 to PHP23 per kilogram for fresh or wet palay (from PHP16 to PHP19/kg); and PHP23 to PHP30/kg for clean and dry palay (PHP19 to PHP23/kg).

Lacson said the NFA needs to wait for the second harvest for the upcoming wet season to reach its 300,000 MT target volume.

‘Meron pa kaming ma
kukuhanan ng (We can still get some during the) wet season, more or less 70 percent of the total production kada taon (per annum),’ he said.

Lacson reiterated his order to local managers to secure adequate drying facilities considering the effects of a looming La Niña.

‘Look for all opportunities kung saan tayo pwedeng magbilad, kasi ‘yan ‘yung challenge. Ano ang saysay ng kaya nating mamili ng magandang presyo kung hindi natin mapapatuyo sa tamang tuyo (where we can dry, because that’s the challenge. What’s the sense of a good buying price if we can’t dry it properly)?’ he said.

Source: Philippines News Agency

MANILA: Bargain hunters supported the local bourse during the week’s opening, while the peso closed sideways.

Now on its sixth-day rally, the Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) rose 140.89 points, or 2.12 percent, to 6,769.64, with All Shares also increasing by 1.45 percent to 3,543.28 level.

‘The positive cues from the US markets last Friday and the easing tensions in the Middle East contributed to the market’s gain,’ Philstocks Financial, Inc. assistant research manager Claire Alviar said.

Only the Mining and Oil counter closed in the negative territory, down by 0.81 percent, to 8,802.57 level.

Financials led gainers, with shares improving by 2.89 percent, followed by Services, Property, Industrial, and Holding Firms.

‘Foreign investors also helped lift the market, registering a net inflow of PHP1.18 billion. The net market value turnover stood at PHP4.68 billion,’ Alviar added.

Advancers led losers at 120 to 74, leaving 49 unchanged.

Meanwhile, the peso closed sideways at 57.68 to a US dollar fr
om a 57.71 finish the previous week.

It opened the day at 57.75 to a dollar before trading between a low of 57.60 and a high of 57.77 to a dollar.

The weighted average level for the day stood at 57.70 to the greenback.

Total trade volume on Monday declined to USD1.46 billion from USD1.69 billion the previous day.

Source: Philippines News Agency