Good day. Here are the top stories of The Manila Times for Monday, Oct. 9, 2023.

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READ: Israel PM warns of 'long, difficult war'

JERUSALEM: Israeli forces battled holdout Hamas fighters and pounded targets in the Gaza Strip Sunday as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned of a "long and difficult" war ahead sparked by the Palestinian militant group's massive surprise attack. The Israeli army said tens of thousands of soldiers were deployed to fight militants in southern desert regions near the coastal enclave, to rescue Israeli hostages and then evacuate the entire region within 24 hours. Israel also came under attack from the north on Sunday when Lebanon's Hezbollah movement launched missiles and artillery shells "in solidarity" with the unprecedented Hamas offensive. Israel was shocked when Gaza's rulers Hamas launched a multi-pronged assault at dawn Saturday with thousands of rockets and ground, air and sea forces, attacking and infiltrating Israeli towns and kibbutz communities. The worst fighting in decades has killed more than 200 Israelis and wounded over 1,000, leaving bodies of civilians strewn on roads, while on the Gaza side, at least 313 have died, and over 1,700 were reported wounded.

READ: Assure safety of Filipinos in Israel – Marcos

PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has directed the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) to ensure all Filipinos affected by the fighting in Israel are safe and accounted for, Malacañang said on Sunday. Palestinian militants over the weekend launched land, sea, and air attacks in Gaza that have killed hundreds of Israelis. There are about 24,800 Filipinos in Israel, many of them working as caregivers and hotel and service sector employees, OWWA said. The DMW has opened several Viber and WhatsApp hotline numbers that will accept calls and queries from Filipino migrant workers and the Filipino community who need government assistance, the PCO said. The Office of the President (OP) has condemned the violence "especially against civilian populations." Also on Sunday, Israel's ambassador to Manila asked for an expression of support from the Philippine government and their Filipino friends in the country. In a media briefing via Zoom, Ilan Fluss said he expects their Filipino friends, both in the government and in the private sector, to express their support for Israel's rights to defend itself from the Hamas militants that attacked several towns and cities of Israel during a major Jewish holiday Saturday.

READ: Marketing sector seen to benefit from AI

THE country's marketing industry must embrace innovations like artificial intelligence (AI), Philippine Marketing Association (PMA) officials said Saturday. Guesting at the "Business and Politics" program hosted by The Manila Times Chairman and CEO Dante "Klink" Ang 2nd, PMA President Sy Bryan Lato and PMA Youth and Academe Chairman Leah Marie Ayeng said marketers must adopt AI. Ayeng, who is also the general manager at Prestige Quality Paper Products, said AI tools can make the work of marketers more efficient if properly used. AI tools could become an integral component of metaverse marketing, a new-age marketing approach that offers immersive and interactive experiences to potential consumers in virtual worlds, the PMA executives said.

READ: PH finishes 17th in Asian Games

THE Philippines finished the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, with four gold medals, matching its haul at the 2018 Games in Jakarta and Palembang in Indonesia. Placing 17th overall, the Filipinos also bagged two silver medals and 12 bronzes for a total of 18 medals in the Asiad, which ended on Sunday. The Philippines tied its gold and silver medal haul in the 2018 Games but was three short in bronze. Still, the country managed to improve on its 19th-place finish in Indonesia. Host China dominated with a bumper harvest of 201 golds, 111 silvers and 71 bronzes for 383 medals. It was also China's 11th straight overall championship in a streak that started in the 1982 Games in India. Japan placed second with a 51-67-69 gold-silver-bronze haul; South Korea third (42-59-89), India fourth (28-38-41), and Uzbekistan rounded out the top five (22-18-31).

In Business

READ: Inflation seen staying above 2.0-4.0% target

INFLATION is unlikely to return to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas' (BSP) 2.0- to 4.0-percent target this year, analysts warned, after the rate rose to 6.1 percent last month amid a sharp increase in prices of key food items and transport costs. The result — higher than August's 5.3 percent but down from the 6.9 percent posted a year earlier — hit the upper end of the BSP 5.3- to 6.1-percent forecast for September. It also exceeded the 5.4-percent median in a Manila Times poll of economists. The central bank projection could be adjusted anew during the Monetary Board's next policy meeting on November 16, which will have the added benefit of October inflation results that are scheduled to be released on November 7 and preliminary third quarter economic growth data due November 9. Monetary authorities have paused from hiking key interest rates for the last four policy meetings after inflation began slowing from January's 14-year high of 8.7 percent. Rate hikes totaling 425 basis points were ordered beginning May last year as inflation surged in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Topping Sports

READ: Gilas squad gets warm welcome

THE victorious Gilas Pilipinas side arrived in Manila very early Sunday morning all smiles as the coaches, led by Tim Cone, and the players received a warm welcome from the Philippine Sports Commission as well as airport personnel at the NAIA Terminal 1. Arriving just before 1:30 a.m., the atmosphere was festive with people asking for selfie and group photos, especially with Brownlee, whose 33-point, second-half explosion led Gilas' mighty comeback from 20 points to beat host China, 77-76, in their semifinal tussle and advancing in the gold medal round in the process. The Asiad gold ended the country's long 61-year basketball title drought. The Asian Games championship also marked the second time Gilas won in the international tournament following the national squad's successful gold medal redemption in the Southeast Asian Games in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, last May.

READ: Astros down Twins in MLB playoffs

LOS ANGELES: The Houston Astros launched their latest Major League Baseball (MLB) playoff campaign with a 6-4 victory over Minnesota on Saturday (Sunday in Manila) as the regular season's three best teams, Atlanta, Baltimore and the Los Angeles Dodgers, were beaten. The Philadelphia Phillies shocked the Braves 3-0 in Atlanta, the Texas Rangers beat the Orioles 3-2 in Baltimore and the Arizona Diamondbacks pounded the Dodgers 11-2 in Los Angeles in another brutal playoff outing for Dodgers star pitcher Clayton Kershaw.

READ: Opinion/Editorial

Today's editorial is on the Mutual Defense Treaty as the last option. Read the full version on print and digital or listen to the Voice of the Times. Featured columnists on the front page are Rigoberto Tiglao, Fr. Ranhilio Aquino and Francisco Tatad. Tiglao asks the Marcos administration to fire its economic managers; Aquino on the curriculum and the Commission on Higher Education; Tatad on saving the President.

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