Good day. Here are the stories for The Manila Times for Saturday, October 14, 2023.
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READ: Israel to 1M Gaza residents: Evacuate
Israel's military told some 1 million Palestinians living in Gaza on Friday to evacuate the north, according to the United Nations, an unprecedented order for almost half the population of the sealed-off territory ahead of an expected ground invasion against the ruling Hamas militant group. The U.N. warned that so many people fleeing en masse would be calamitous, and Hamas, which staged a shocking and brutal attack on Israel nearly a week ago and has fired thousands of rockets since, dismissed it as a ploy and called on people to stay in their homes. The evacuation order, which includes Gaza City, home to hundreds of thousands of Palestinians, sparked widespread panic among civilians and aid workers already running from Israeli airstrikes and contending with a total siege and a territory-wide blackout. The war has already claimed over 2,800 lives on both sides and sent tensions soaring across the region.
READ: Marcos wants 'strong plans' to bring home Israel OFWs
PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has ordered government agencies to come up with "strong repatriation plans" for the Filipinos fleeing the conflict in Israel and assured assistance to those who would be brought home. During a meeting in Malacañang on Thursday with government agencies directly involved in looking after the welfare of overseas Filipino workers, the President said the administration was closely monitoring the war and was being provided with updates on the situation by the Israeli government. He urged the Department of Migrant Workers and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration "to develop strong repatriation plans and explore all evacuation strategies to assist affected Filipinos." Marcos said the repatriated Filipinos will receive financial, livelihood, scholarship and food assistance from the government.
READ: EDSA Revolution not in 2024 holidays list
PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. declared 20 national holidays for 2024, but the list does not include the observance of the EDSA Revolution that ousted his father in 1986. Malacañang said on Friday the President, through Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, signed on October 11 Proclamation 368 declaring next year's regular holidays and special non-working days.
READ: POC: Gold stays with Gilas amid Brownlee doping issue
PHILIPPINE Olympic Committee (POC) chief Abraham Tolentino said the gold medal in the men's 5-on-5 basketball at the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, will remain with the national team, after star player Justin Brownlee tested positive for a banned substance. He pointed to an article in the Anti-Doping Rule of the International Olympic Committee that states that only if two more members of a team in a team sport test positive, the results of a game will be forfeited. The anti-doping rules of the 19th Asian Games have a similar ruling.
SPORTS: Maroons eye 5-0 start in UAAP basketball
LEAGUE leader University of the Philippines looks to post its best start in the Final Four era of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines men's basketball tournament. The unbeaten Maroons will aim for its fifth victory in the tournament when it battles the University of Santo Tomas Tigers at 4 p.m. today at the S.M. Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City. The match between the Fighting Maroons and Growling Tigers will serve as the main event of a double-header that also features the game between defending champion Ateneo de Manila University and Far Eastern University at 2 p.m.
BUSINESS: 'High impact' projects worth P269.7B OK'd
Over to business, "high-impact" programs and projects worth approximately 269.7 billion pesos have been approved and are expected to boost tourism and address health care gaps, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said on Friday. The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) board, chaired by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., greenlit two public-private partnership (PPP) projects and two green economy programs along with cost and timeline changes to two major infrastructure initiatives.
READ: Opinion and editorial
Antonio Contreras and Danton Remoto are today's front page columnists. Contreras checks on the situation of the Masungi Georeserve, while Remoto looks to the heart of London.
Today's editorial looks into public relations professionals taking the lead in sustainability standards. Read the full version in the paper's opinion section or listen to the Voice of the Times.
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