Good day. Here are the stories for The Manila Times for Wednesday, June 21, 2023.
READ: 'PH making progress in talks with China'
THE Philippines has made progress in its fishing talks with China, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said on Tuesday, citing reports that Philippine vessels are no longer being blocked by Chinese vessels off Pag-asa Island. The President said the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources projected a bigger haul for Filipino fishermen owing to the improved situation in the area. Marcos also cited the recent report that unlike before, Philippine vessels were no longer blocked by Chinese ships because of the "improved communication" between the two countries.
READ: Finland: Russia must answer for its 'atrocities' in Ukraine
FINLAND will promote international efforts to ensure accountability for Russia's alleged crime of aggression and crimes against international law committed in its invasion of Ukraine. This was announced by Finland's Ambassador to Manila Juha Markus Pyykkö on Tuesday during an event hosted by the Philippine Council for Foreign Relations held in Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City.
READ: Pangilinan welcomes TVJ, Dabarkads to TV5
Philippine television's longestrunning production, led by the iconic comic trio Tito, Vic and Joey, will be back on air on T.V.5 on July 1. Business magnate Manuel V. Pangilinan, chairman of the M.V.P. Group of Companies, welcomed former Senate President Tito Sotto, Vic Sotto and Joey de Leon and their loyal co-hosts, popularly known as the "Dabarkads," in a media conference Tuesday afternoon at the station's headquarters in Pasig City. Pangilinan said they had just come from an "investment agreement signing" among MediaQuest Holdings Inc. TV5 and the newly formed TVJ Productions, Inc.
READ: DoH detects new Covid subvariant
THE Department of Health has detected its first case of the subvariant F.E.1. of Covid-19 in the country. The DoH said the subvariant is an X.B.B. sublineage that was added to the list of variants that is being monitored by the World Health Organization and the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control. The F.E.1 subvariant is being tracked for its increasing global prevalence. At present, 35 countries across six continents had detected it.
READ: 1 dies in ammonia leak
THE Bureau of Fire Protection is investigating the death of a resident and hospitalization of 23 others from an ammonia leak and a fire at a cold storage facility late Monday night in Navotas City. The City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office said it is still verifying if the death of a 16-year-old boy was related to the ammonia leak at the Icy Point Cold Storage plant on M. Naval Street, Barangay North Bay Boulevard North.
BUSINESS: Balance of payments deficit widens in May
In business, the country's balance of payments (BoP) position was again in deficit in May as the government paid off some of its foreign debts, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas reported late on Monday. The month's $439-million shortfall increased from April's $148 million but was substantially narrower than the year-earlier $1.6 billion.
SPORTS: Gilas training now in full swing
Over to sports, knowing the tough grind in the coming days when Gilas Pilipinas begins its overseas trip to Europe, national coach Chot Reyes said the team's ongoing stay at the Inspire Sports Academy in Calamba, Laguna involved a lot of court work and conditioning. Reyes said the grind is necessary as Gilas is slated to face a number of national teams as part of the Philippine squad's trip to Europe. The outspoken coach already confirmed that Gilas will be playing a series of tuneup matches against Estonia, Finland, Latvia and Lithuania. And considering the Gilas pool is a mixture of old and new faces, Reyes said they also took time to build the team's chemistry in Calamba.
READ: Opinion and editorial
Rigoberto Tiglao, Fr. Ranhilio Aquino and Francisco Tatad are today's front page columnists. Tiglao continually accuses Washington on the Ukraine war, Fr. Aquino discusses a judge's inhibition, while Tatad questions a Social Weathers Stations survey over future elections.
Today's editorial discusses the expectations for the upcoming Paris climate summit. Read the full version in the paper's opinion section or listen to the Voice of the Times.
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