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Senators push learning camps

PHILIPPINE senators on Wednesday pushed mandatory learning camps to help Filipino students keep up with basic subjects.

“We need to stop the bleeding now in the next 10 months and that should be addressed by focusing all of our energies and look for those who need intervention,” Senator Sherwin T. Gatchalian told a Senate basic education hearing.

Only 52% of students in grades 1 to 3 have “grade-ready” reading abilities, he said, citing data from the Department of Education.

“We need to make it mandatory because we are already in a crisis situation and can’t be too lenient,” said Mr. Gatchalian, who heads the basic education committee.

“This has to be incorporated in the school year because I don’t think one camp will cure their problems,” Senator Maria Lourdes Nancy S. Binay-Angeles told the same hearing in mixed English and Filipino. — John Victor D. Ordoñez

It’s a bronze for neophyte Olympian boxer Villegas

AIRA VILLEGAS (right) of the Philippines in action against Buse Naz Cakiroglu (left) of Turkey in the Women’s 50kg - Semifinal. — REUTERS

PARIS, France — Aira Villegas’ journey in the 2024 Olympics ended in a semifinal windup.

No gold, no silver, but she had played her part in Team Philippines’ memorable, historic ride — her bronze feat to be celebrated and looked upon by the next generations of Filipino Olympic medal hopefuls.

Ms. Villegas’ Cinderella run as a neophyte Olympian came to an end at the hands of bemedaled Turkish fighter Buse Naz Cakiroglu, a former world champion and the Tokyo Games silver winner who dazzled her way to a unanimous 5-0 victory before a packed crowd at Court Philippe Chatrier inside Roland Garros.

“She is real good, more technical,” said Ms. Villegas of her opponent, also her conqueror in a quarterfinals bout in the 2022 World Championship.

Overwhelmed and beaten, Ms. Villegas settled for the bronze but vowed her journey as a boxer isn’t stopping in her semis finish in the Paris Games.

Boxing is Ms. Villegas’ bread and butter, her monthly allowance and incentives helping the family in their daily lives. It had helped them recover from the devastation of Yolanda in their province in 2013.

“I’m not in Tacloban then, it wreck our home,” said Ms. Villegas, then already training in the ABAP (Alliance of Boxing Association of the Philippines) camp after being discovered in the Philippine National Games.

She’s one of five from six Villegas siblings who took boxing, taking the cue from eldest Ruel and the second eldest Rominic, who’s still in the sport as a referee.

And she’s been doing the same since becoming a national boxer — long way she’s gone from being a peanut vendor, daughter of a balut vendor.

At 29, Ms. Villegas said she’s still chasing an Olympic gold as she pursues her criminology course at the University of Baguio.

She’s good for bronze at the moment as she ran smack into Ms. Cakiroglu who’s now heading to the gold-medal bout versus China’s Wu Yu, a 4-1 point winner over Kazakh Nazym Kyzaibay.

Ms. Villegas lost to a better fighter but the Philippine camp believed the Filipina fighter could have gotten a chance if Ms. Cakiroglu’s fall in the second round wasn’t ruled a slip.

It was Ms. Villegas who’s given a standing eight count in the opening round.

In the end, everybody agreed though that Ms. Cakiroglu deserved the win.

Ms. Villegas, meanwhile, deserved adulation in punching her way to a podium finish in her very first Olympics.

She’s the latest from boxing to medal in the Olympics, joining Jose Villanueva (1932), Anthony Villanueva (1964), Leopoldo Serantes (1988), Roel Velasco (1992), Onyok Velasco (1996), Nesthy Petecio (2020), Carlo Paalam (2020) and Eumir Marcial (2020). — Nelson Beltran

Rianne Malixi advances to match play stage of US Women’s Amateur

RIANNE MALIXI — USGA/MIKE EHRMANN

RIANNE MALIXI advanced to the match play stage of the US Women’s Amateur despite slowing down with a three-over 74 in the second day of stroke play Tuesday at the oven-baked Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

The leader after the first 18 holes with a hot 67, Ms. Malixi mixed two birdies with two bogeys in the first nine holes of a backside start then tumbled with a bogey on No. 2 and a double bogey on No. 5 to settle for a 38-36 scorecard.

With her 36-hole aggregate of one-under 141, the Pinay ace fell short in her bid for low medal honors as she finished the elims in a share of fourth behind Colombian medalist Maria Jose Marin (138 after a 69) and Americans Melanie Green (139 after a 69) and Zoe Antoinette Campos (140 after a 68).

The 17-year-old Ms. Malixi, who is seeking a followup to her US Girls’ Junior Championship last month, will enter the Last-64 stage as the sixth seed.

Her opponent will be determined after Wednesday’s Playoff featuring a record 20 players disputing 10 spots to the knockout rounds. — Olmin Leyba

Creamline, PLDT and Chery Tiggo try to boost PVL quarterfinal bids

CREAMLINE COOL SMASHERS — PVL

Games Thursday
(PhilSports Arena)
1 p.m. — Farm Fresh vs PLDT
3 p.m. — Creamline vs Nxled
5 p.m. — Galeries Tower vs Chery Tiggo

CREAMLINE, PLDT and Chery Tiggo try to bolster their quarterfinal bids as they tackle Nxled, Farm Fresh and Galeries Tower, respectively, Thursday in the Premier Volleyball League (PVL) Reinforced Conference at the PhilSports Arena.

All totting 3-1 records in Pool A, the Cool Smashers square off with the Chameleons (1-3) at 3 p.m., the High Speed Hitters clash with the Foxies (2-2) at 1 p.m. and the Crossovers tangle with the Highrisers (0-4) at 5 p.m.

Mostly likely though, Creamline, PLDT and Chery Tiggo will finish atop Pool A and will play three more games against the lowest three clubs in Pool B — Petro Gazz (2-3), Choco Mucho (1-4) and ZUS Coffee (0-5)—in the second round of the prelims.

Farm Fresh, Nxled and Galeries Tower, meanwhile, will most likely face off with the top three of Pool B in Akari (5-0), Cignal (4-1) and Capital1 Solar (3-2).

Following the elimination round, the top eight will advance to the one-game knockout quarterfinals with Nos. 1, 2, 3 and 4 colliding with Nos. 8, 7, 6 and 5, respectively.

Like the quarters, the semis and the finals will implement sudden death games also. — Joey Villar

Gilas women sweep Pinoyliga Cup

GILAS Pilipinas women primed up for a big stint abroad by completing a championship sweep in the inaugural women’s tournament of the Pinoyliga Cup at the Enderun Colleges gym.

Afril Bernardino was hailed as the Tournament Most Valuable Player following her steady performance capped by a complete line of 11 points, six rebounds, three steals and two blocks in their 88-79 win against Army Altama in the final match.

Kate Bobadilla and Janine Pontejos showed the way with 19 and 18 points while long-time anchor Jack Animam had 11 rebounds plus six points, three assists and three steals.

Gilas women, under the watch of program director and head coach Pat Aquino, previously bested Enderun and Far Eastern University. The Lady Tamaraws took home the bronze medal after an 83-53 win over the Lady Titans.

Camille Sambile tallied 24 points and 11 rebounds for Army, in the historic tourney led by owner Benny Benitez with blessings from the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas headlined by executive director Erika Dy.

Gilas is coming off a fourth-place finish in the Women’s Jones Cup last month and is slated to test its mettle next in the 2024 FIBA Women’s World Cup Pre-Qualifying Tournament this month in Rwanda.

Ranked No. 40 in the world, Gilas is bracketed with Senegal, Hungary and Brazil in Group C. — John Bryan Ulanday

Zamboanga nips Naic Aces, 79-78, in Asian tourney

REINFORCED by ex-NBA star Demarcus Cousins, host Zamboanga zoomed to a 2-0 slate after a narrow 79-78 win over the Naic Aces in The Asian Tournament grand final late Tuesday night at the Zamboanga City Coliseum.

Rickey Brice led the way with 29 points and 21 rebounds laced by two blocks as the Valientes bolstered their semifinal bid entering their last preliminary assignment against the Vanta Black Dragons.

Zamboanga previously beat the Macau Black Bears, 93-81, to welcome Mr. Cousins, a four-time NBA All-Star, in his Philippine team debut with a bang.

Former UAAP MVP Malick Diouf headlined that victory with 32 points, 29 rebounds, four assists, a steal and a block as Mr. Cousins added three points, four rebounds and an assist in seven minutes of action as starter.

Owned by Junnie Navarro, the Valientes are determined to win the ultimate prize in the grand finals after falling short in the first four legs

Former PBA standouts Rudy Lingganay, Mac Belo and Franky Johnson are also on Zamboanga’s roster to beef up their chances. — John Bryan Ulanday

Ando braces for talent-laden cast of weightlifting

ELREEN ANN ANDO — PVL

PARIS, France — Elreen Ann Ando could well be the future of Philippine weightlifting, being the very lifter who denied Hidilyn Diaz another Olympic return.

The question is whether her time is now.

Ms. Ando, 25, competes in her second Olympics but in a new weight category with a talent-laden, star-studded cast led by Tokyo gold medal winners Kuo Hsing-chun of Chinese Taipei and Luo Shifang of China.

World No. 2 Kim Il-Gyong of North Korea will not be seeing action, but world No. 3 Maude Charron and No. 5 Kamila Konotop of Ukraine are in the start list of the competition set at 3 p.m. Thursday (9 p.m. in Manila) at the South Paris Arena.

Ms. Kuo won the 59kg event in Tokyo in 2021 where Ms. Luo was also champ in the 49kg. Meanwhile, Ms. Ando was there competing in the 64kg.

They had their showdown in the 59kg in the IWF World Cup in Thailand where Ms. Luo emerged champ with a total lift of 248 followed by Ms. Kim with 240 then Ms. Charron, another Chinese in Pei Xinyi, Kuo and Konotop all at 130.

Ms. Ando was good for only eighth at 228, topping Ms. Diaz who did a 122. Ms. Diaz moved up to 59kg with the cancelation of 54kg for the 2024 Olympics.

In the run-up to the Paris Games, Ms. Ando and the rest of the Philippine weightlifting team spent time training at Metz and in Germany.

Samahang Weightlifting ng Pilipinas President Monico Puentevella said, needless to say, they’re facing a tough competition and they have to beat themselves to have a chance at a podium finish.

Looking to continue what Ms. Diaz started, Ms. Ando, from Cebu, will also be facing Mexico’s Janeth Gomez Valdivia, Nigeria’s Rafiatu Folashade Lawal, Italian Lucresia Magistris, Marshall Islands’ Mathlynn Sasser, Venezuela’s Anyelin Venegas Valera, Colombia’s Yenny Alvarez and home bet Dora Tchakounte. — Nelson Beltran

US to increase force projection from Australia in face of ‘coercive’ China

REUTERS

SYDNEY — Australia will begin co-manufacturing guided weapons with the US next year to boost supply for allies in the Indo Pacific and increase a US military presence in the country, including bomber aircraft, the two nations said after annual defense talks.

Australia and the United States are already working to upgrade air bases in northern and western Australia, which are closer to potential flashpoints with China in the South China Sea than Australia’s capital of Canberra.

After annual AUSMIN talks in Annapolis, Maryland, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said there would be an increase in the presence of rotational US forces in Australia.

“This will mean more maritime patrol aircraft and reconnaissance aircraft operating from bases across northern Australia. It will also mean more frequent rotational bomber deployments,” he said.

In opening remarks Mr. Austin said the two allies faced shared security challenges including “coercive behavior” by China.

A joint statement released after the AUSMIN talks expressed concern over Chinese military activity around Taiwan, and China’s excessive maritime claims in the South China Sea.

They “noted grave concern about China’s dangerous and escalatory behavior toward Philippine vessels lawfully operating within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone”.

There are no US military bases in Australia, but the northern city of Darwin hosts a US Marine Rotational Force six months of each year and the US is building facilities for its marines and visiting air squadrons within Australian bases.

Australia’s Defense Minister Richard Marles said the presence of United States forces in Australia contributed to deterrence in the Indo Pacific region, and there would be closer collaboration on guided weapons manufacture in Australia.

Australia will begin co-manufacturing guided missiles next year, including the Guided Multiple Launch Rocket Systems (GMLRS) used in Ukraine.

Australia is also testing a Hypersonic Attack Cruise Missile (HACM) with the United States, which Australia said it will consider fielding as its first hypersonic weapon for fighter jets, the joint statement said.

“The presence of American force posture in our nation provides an enormous opportunity to work with our neighbors in the region,” Mr. Marles said.

Japan would increase exercises with US Marines in Darwin, while Australia and the US would hold regular exercises in the Philippines exclusive economic zone, the statement said.

The statement mentioned Australia’s strategic Indian Ocean territory, Cocos Islands, for the first time, saying the United States welcomed Australia’s planned infrastructure upgrades there and supported Australia’s completion of this work.

The Cocos Islands, with a population of 600, sits 3,000 km (1,864 miles) west of the Australian mainland and is described by the Australian Defense Force as key to its maritime surveillance operations in the Indian Ocean, where China is increasing submarine activity.

Australia has said it will start construction on an expanded airfield on the island this year, to carry heavier military aircraft, including the submarine-hunting P-8A Poseidon. — Reuters

Paris delivers Seine swimming, but some still skeptical

A GENERAL VIEW of Paris and the River Seine, Aug. 1, 2024. — MAJA HITIJ/POOL VIA REUTERS

PARIS — Parisians will swim in the River Seine by the foot of the Eiffel Tower next year, Paris City Hall has pledged, although the high bacteria levels that delayed Olympic triathlon events this summer have left some residents and tourists hesitant over diving in.

France spent 1.4 billion euros ($1.5 billion) turning a river frequently laden with sewage into one clean enough to swim in. Holding outdoor swimming events in the Seine would demonstrate its transformation to a global audience, Paris had hoped.

The triathlon events did go ahead. But earlier torrential rains led to a spike in bacteria in the river beyond safe levels, forcing the cancelation of training sessions and a days-long delay to the men’s race.

That and Be lgium’s decision to withdraw its team from the mixed triathlon relay after an athlete fell ill — even if there was no proof the river water was to blame — have not helped convince doubters of the Seine’s cleanliness.

“I don’t think we would swim in the river after all the coverage,” said British tourist Jack Wolper after his young daughter and wife took a dip in Paris’ Ourcq canal.

“This felt a bit more acceptable, but I don’t think we’ll be jumping in the Seine. If they delay an elite race by two days, that’s reason enough for us not to go swimming,” he added.

Paris resident Pedro Couri, 29, said he would wait for President Emmanuel Macron to fulfil his promise of swimming in the Seine before having a go himself.

“That might reassure me,” he told Reuters.

Others were more trusting in the Paris authorities.

“It’s reassuring that they postponed some races, it shows they don’t take any risk with quality water,” Jade Goasguen, 34, from the Paris suburb of Clichy said, adding she would happily try swimming in the Seine next year.

‘PLAN A WORKED’
The green light to hold the triathlon events hung on whether the concentration of the E.Coli and Enterococcus faecalis bacteria had fallen below European safe limit thresholds.

However, some scientists have said a broader range of bacteria should be tested to be certain the river is safe.

“E. coli doesn’t reliably tell you when the water quality has recovered to a safe level, and I think that’s the mistake that authorities in Paris have been making,” said Professor Stuart Khan of the University of Sydney.

Paris authorities say they comply with European safety guidelines and have been testing water in the Seine and other swimming facilities for years rigorously.

Mayor Anne Hidalgo and her team remain sanguine about their plans to open three swimming facilities along the Seine, including near the Notre-Dame cathedral and Eiffel Tower.

“I’ve been asked 777 times whether we had a plan B, plan C, plan E. We had just plan A, we stuck to it and it worked,” Pierre Rabadan, the official in charge of the Seine program at City Hall told reporters.

Funded by the government and Paris City Hall, the ambitious project to modernize the capital’s sanitation system included digging new pipes to houses and houseboats that once pumped raw sewage into the river, additional treatment plants and a cavernous reservoir underneath the capital’s Gare d’Austerlitz.

More work will be done upstream by 2025 to ensure other houseboats and towns outside Paris do not pollute water going through the capital, Mr. Rabadan said.

He added that Paris had faced a barrage of skepticism when it opened the Ourcq canal bathing facility, just outside the city center, seven years ago, but that it had been a huge success in the end.

“We’ll soon have the same issue we had with other facilities: we won’t have enough space for all the people who want to swim in the Seine next year,” he added. — Reuters

Chinese academic convicted of acting as foreign agent in US

ALEJANDRO LUENGO-UNSPLASH

NEW YORK — A Chinese academic was convicted on Tuesday of illegally acting as a foreign agent in the United States by collecting information about New York-based activists supporting democracy in China and sharing his findings with Beijing.

A jury found Wang Shujun guilty on four counts including acting as a foreign agent without notifying the US attorney general and lying to US authorities, following a week-long trial in Brooklyn federal court.

Mr. Wang could face up to 25 years in prison when he is sentenced on Jan. 9, 2025.

Federal prosecutors said Mr. Wang, a naturalized US citizen, portrayed himself as a fierce opponent of the ruling Chinese Communist Party to gain the trust of Hong Kong pro-democracy activists, advocates for Taiwanese independence and campaigners for Uyghur and Tibetan rights.

Prosecutors said Mr. Wang was actually spying on the activists and sharing his findings with four officials in China’s Ministry of State Security (MSS), an intelligence service.

“The indictment could have been the plot of a spy novel, but the evidence is shockingly real,” Breon Peace, the top federal prosecutor in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, said in a statement. “Wang was willing to betray those who respected and trusted him.”

Mr. Wang, who emigrated to the United States in 1994, was arrested in March 2022.

Defense lawyer Zachary Margulis-Ohnuma said Mr. Wang spoke to the intelligence officials about the pro-democracy movement to win their support and promote social change, and was not acting as their agent.

Mr. Margulis-Ohnuma said he respected the jury’s verdict and would request a sentence that spares Mr. Wang the “agony” of prison.

“We look forward to sentencing,” Margulis-Ohnuma told reporters after the verdict. “He’s a 76-year-old man. He certainly didn’t mean to hurt anyone. He’s spent his life fighting the communist regime.”

The U.S. Department of Justice has in recent years cracked down on what it calls “transnational repression” by U.S. adversaries such as China and Iran.

That term refers to the surveillance, intimidation and in some cases attempted repatriation or murder of activists against those governments.

Last year, a former New York City police sergeant was convicted of acting as a Chinese agent by intimidating a U.S.-based fugitive to return to his homeland and face charges.

U.S. prosecutors have also charged four Chinese intelligence officers who allegedly acted as Wang’s handlers. Those officers are at large and believed to be in China. — Reuters

Bluey coins worth $400,000 stolen by Australian warehouse worker  police say

ESHOP.RAMINT.GOV.AU

SYDNEY — An Australian man is set to appear in court on Wednesday after being arrested for the alleged theft of more than A$600,000 ($393,000) worth of commemorative coins linked to the popular children’s television show Bluey, police said.

The 47-year-old is accused of stealing 64,000 unreleased, limited-edition A$1 coins from a warehouse in the Sydney suburb of Wetherill Park in June, according to “Strike Force Bandit,” a special unit police set up to investigate the theft.

One of last year’s most streamed television shows in the United States, the Australian animated show targeted at children is widely loved by adults and was the 14th highest rated show of all time, the movie tracker website IMDB.com shows.

The coins, produced by the Australian mint, look like A$1 coins and would be legal tender. Police say they are selling online for ten times their face value

A similar run of special commemorative coins sell for A$20 each on the mint’s website. One eBay seller was charging almost A$600 for a pack of three.

Detective Superintendent Joseph Doueihi told reporters at a news conference he was not initially aware of the show’s popularity.

“The theft of these coins have deprived a lot of young children and members of the community from having access to these coins, so we’re doing our absolute best to try to recover these coins and put them back into circulation.”

Police say the man worked at the warehouse and stole the coins, which weighed 500 kilograms (1102 lb), from the back of a truck, before selling them online within hours. Police are looking for two male accomplices.

A raid on a Sydney house in June recovered 189 coins and Doueihi said the vast bulk of coins are already in circulation. Those who receive one do not need to surrender it to police, he added.

He appealed for anyone with information about large stashes of coins to contact the police. — Reuters

China arrests woman suspected of ‘defaming’ Olympic table tennis players

STOCK PHOTO | Image by Лечение наркомании from Pixabay

 – Beijing police have arrested a woman suspected of posting defamatory comments on social media about Chinese athletes and coaches following the table tennis women’s singles final at the Paris Olympics, the police said.

The suspect, a 29-year-old surnamed He, “maliciously fabricated information and blatantly defamed others, resulting in an adverse impact on society”, the police at Daxing district said in a statement late on Tuesday.

The case was being investigated, the police said, although specific details about the defamatory comments were not disclosed.

In the Aug. 3 match, China’s defending champion Chen Meng defeated teammate Sun Yingsha, also world No.1, 4-2, in a replay of their previous encounter in Tokyo three years ago.

Throughout the game, there were audible cheers for Sun and boos directed at Chen whenever she scored, according to a broadcast of the event.

After the game, many people took to social media to criticize the crowd’s behavior.

“If this kind of fan culture is allowed to permeate in sports, it can ultimately undermine even the most talented athletes, like Sun Yingsha,” a user on Weibo said.

Weibo, China’s popular X-like microblogging site, said it had deleted over 12,000 posts and banned more than 300 accounts over what it called “illegal” comments.

Many people also took to social media to express their joy and national pride after Chinese swimmer Pan Zhanle smashed his own 100 meters freestyle world record, even as China was plunged backed into the doping spotlight after media reports that two swimmers in 2022 had tested positive for a banned steroid. – Reuters