UK government to boost staff, crackdown on employers, in bid to fight people smuggling

August 21, 2024 | 5:57 pm

LONDON — The British government announced new plans on Wednesday to reduce the number of asylum seekers who arrive in small boats, including an increase in deportation flights and a crackdown on employers who hire illegal workers.

Polls show that controlling immigration is now the most important issue for British voters for the first time in eight years, following far-right riots targeting Muslims and migrants that began after the murder of three girls in the town of Southport in northwest England.

During the riots people tried to set fire to a hotel that was housing asylum seekers in Rotherham, South Yorkshire.

The Home Office, which is responsible for tackling illegal immigration, announced it would hire 100 investigations officers to target the gangs who bring asylum seekers to Britain. It aims to increase the number of people deported to levels last seen in 2018, reversing a decline in recent years.

Employers who hire illegal workers will face sanctions, including financial penalty notices, business closure orders and potential prosecution. Those caught working illegally and eligible for deportation will be detained before they are removed, the Home Office said.

“By increasing enforcement capabilities and returns, we will establish a system that is better controlled and managed, in place of the chaos that has blighted the system for far too long,” Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said in a statement.

Since the new Labour government was appointed on July 5, more than 5,700 asylum seekers have arrived in Britain in boats crossing the Channel from France, underlining the challenge facing ministers who have promised to smash the people-smuggling gangs.

In the first major policy announcement since winning a landslide election victory, the Labour government said it would scrap the previous Conservative government’s contested plan to fly thousands of asylum seekers from Britain to Rwanda.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said last month Britain had to focus on enforcement and work with other countries to tackle the root causes of migration, including climate change and poverty. — Reuters

How Lamoiyan leveraged the Seoul Olympics for brand awareness

August 21, 2024 | 1:31 pm

Hapee toothpaste was launched in 1988, the same year as the Seoul Olympics. Cecilio K. Pedro, Lamoiyan Corporation’s founder, shares how he was able to capitalize on the Olympics fanfare to increase brand awareness for the toothpaste.

Interview by Patricia Mirasol
Video editing by Arjale Queral

Michelle Obama tells Trump the presidency just may be a ‘Black job’

August 21, 2024 | 1:01 pm

CHICAGO – Michelle Obama tore into Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on Tuesday at the Democratic National Convention, criticizing his character and racist attacks that have targeted her and her husband Barack in the past.

“His limited and narrow view of the world made him feel threatened by the existence of two hardworking, highly educated, successful people who also happened to be Black,” she said of Mr. Trump.

She also taunted Mr. Trump for his reference on the campaign trail to “Black jobs,” which he claims are being taken by migrants crossing into the US away from Black Americans.

“Who’s going to tell him that the job he’s currently seeking might just be one of those ‘Black jobs?'” Ms. Obama asked, drawing roars from the crowd.

The former first lady was speaking in support of Democratic candidate Kamala Harris, who will formally accept the party’s nomination for president at the convention and if elected, would be the first Black and South Asian person to become president.

Ms. Obama also drew a contrast with Mr. Trump and most Americans who don’t grow up wealthy like Trump, whose father was a real estate investor.

“We will never benefit from the affirmative action of generational wealth,” she said. “If we bankrupt a business… or choke in a crisis, we don’t get a second, third, or fourth chance,” she said. “If things don’t go our way, we don’t have the luxury of whining or cheating others to get further ahead.”

Mr. Trump, Republicans in Congress, right-wing activists and online trolls have smeared Ms. Harris with racist and sexist attacks that have intensified since she began her presidential bid in July, after incumbent President Joe Biden dropped out of the race.

Mr. Trump has also falsely questioned Ms. Harris’ racial identity.

“It’s his same old con,” Ms. Obama said, speaking of Mr. Trump. “Doubling down on ugly, misogynistic, racist lies as a substitute for real ideas and solutions that will actually make people’s lives better.”

Ms. Obama compared the energy in the DNC arena and across the country for Ms. Harris to her husband’s 2008 presidential campaign.

“Something wonderfully magical is in the air,” she said to the delegates and guests crowded into Chicago’s United Center. “A familiar feeling that’s been buried too deep for far too long. It’s the contagious power of hope.”

“Hope is making a comeback.”

Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign used the singular word “Hope” as a slogan to launch him into the White House as the nation’s first Black president.

Michelle Obama said Harris’ story is “your story. It’s my story. It’s the story of the vast majority of Americans trying to build a better life.”

Still, she said the race between Ms. Harris and Mr. Trump will be close and urged people to organize and mobilize voters.

“No matter how good we feel tonight or tomorrow or the next day, this is still going to be an uphill battle… so we cannot be our own worst enemies,” she said.

Before Mr. Biden dropped out of the race in July, a Reuters/Ipsos poll showed that only Michelle Obama outperformed Mr. Biden and led Mr. Trump 50% to 39% in a hypothetical matchup. The author of the best-selling 2018 memoir “Becoming,” Obama has said repeatedly she does not intend to run for president.

She famously called on Democrats in 2016 to go “high” in response to attacks from Republicans. – Reuters

Globe wins HR Asia Best Companies to Work For in Asia, PH chapter

August 21, 2024 | 12:05 pm

Globe-HR-Asia-OL — Globe’s HR team, led by Renato Jiao, Chief Human Resource Officer (leftmost), at the 2024 HR Asia Best Companies to Work (Philippines Chapter) awards night

Globe has been named a winner of the prestigious HR Asia Best Companies to Work For in Asia, The Philippines Chapter (2024), the fourth consecutive year for the company to receive such recognition.

This recognition is a testament to Globe’s unwavering commitment to workplace excellence and reflects the company’s strong focus on employee well-being, offering comprehensive wellness, learning, and growth programs that empower its workforce to live their best lives.

The award was presented at a gala dinner held on Aug. 16, 2024, at the Manila Marriott Hotel. Globe was represented by Renato Jiao, Chief Human Resource Officer; and Lynn Atanacio-Cano, VP of Total Rewards, Center of Excellence.

“This recognition from HR Asia is a validation of our ongoing efforts to create a workplace where innovation thrives, diversity is celebrated, and every employee feels valued. At Globe, we believe that by empowering our people, we can better serve our customers and contribute meaningfully to nation-building,” Mr. Jiao said, expressing his pride in the company’s achievement.

Globe’s care extends beyond the workplace, with a steadfast commitment to sustainability and active nation-building initiatives. Its dedication to these causes is reflected in unique customer programs that empower Globe employees to give back to the customers and communities they serve.

The company is also committed to diversity and inclusion, ensuring that everyone is embraced. Globe holds trainings on gender and disability sensitivity, and celebrates the individuality of every employee. This way, Globe highlights the importance of unity and respect, reinforcing its dedication to a culture that values every individual’s traditions, experiences and preferences.

Globe continues to evolve and adapt to the changing needs of its employees and customers, remaining committed to fostering a work environment that encourages growth, innovation, and social responsibility.

To learn more about Globe, visit www.globe.com.ph.

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China’s Xi backs Fijian PM’s Pacific plan ahead of regional meeting

August 21, 2024 | 11:53 am

BEIJING – Chinese President Xi Jinping told visiting Fijian Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka he backed his “Ocean of Peace” plan during a meeting in Beijing on Tuesday, Chinese state media reported, days ahead of a summit for Pacific Island leaders in Tonga.

China also pledged to step up its trade ties with the archipelagic state, which wants to upgrade its ports and ship building, roads, and sewage infrastructure, but can only do so through securing better terms for its agricultural and fisheries exporters owing to deep debts.

“China appreciates Prime Minister Rabuka’s vision for an Ocean of Peace and is committed to working with Fiji to contribute to international peace and security,” Mr. Xi said, according to a readout released late Tuesday night.

Mr. Rabuka will visit Tonga next week for a meeting of the heads of 18 Pacific island countries and territories that will consider a regional policing proposal backed by Australia.

Ahead of his 10-day China tour, Mr. Rabuka said he would not “upset the apple cart” on regional security in the Pacific, where China and the US are competing for influence.

Mr. Rabuka, who returned as prime minister in 2022, has proposed an “Ocean of Peace” foreign policy to Pacific leaders that envisions engagement with all major powers and avoids militarization of the islands region.

“I am very much encouraged by your principles, your ideas on peaceful coexistence, on the principles of progress. They are in line with what I have in mind for the concept of the Ocean of Peace,” Mr. Rabuka told Mr. Xi, and said he would mention the Chinese leader’s support for the plan at next week’s summit.

China also agreed to invest in Fiji’s tourism, agriculture and fisheries industries and support a road upgrading project on the country’s second-largest island, the readout added.

While the Pacific Island states tend to offer a poor return on investment, analysts say Fiji is strategically important to Beijing as it sits at the southern end of the “the second island chain”, an area stretching up to Japan that China’s navy seeks control of.

China has also started to pay the region more attention as it steps up efforts to diplomatically isolate Taiwan, which Beijing views as part of its territory, and sever the island’s relations with the nearby Pacific nations of the Marshall Islands, Palau and Tuvalu.

Fiji owes China, the world’s biggest bilateral lender, just over $218 million, according to World Bank data. Following his election win in 2022 Mr. Rabuka has turned towards Australia for additional aid donations.

Former Fiji leader Frank Bainimarama struck a policing agreement with China a decade ago, but Mr. Rabuka called time on that arrangement and in June announced a “police force reset” that will see it work more closely with Australia. – Reuters

Classes suspended on Wednesday amid ongoing Taal Smog

August 21, 2024 | 11:50 am

taal-vog — The Taal Volcano has released thick smoke that caused haze and volcanic smog, or vog, which was observed on Taal Volcano Island and various areas in Batangas, according to the Taal Observatory. EDD GUMBAN/PHOTO | PHILSTAR

Face-to-face classes were suspended in several towns in Luzon on Wednesday due to the ongoing high levels of volcanic smog, or vog, being released from Taal Volcano.

Classes at all levels in both public and private schools were suspended in various towns in Laguna, including Magdalena, Pagsanjan, and Santa Cruz.

Some towns in Rizal, including Jalajala, Pililla, and Taytay, also suspended face-to-face classes at all levels in both public and private schools

Vog was still observed as Taal Volcano continued to emit more sulfur dioxide, amounting to 5,128 tons, according to the latest 24-hour report from the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) on Wednesday.

According to PHIVOLCS, vog is a mixture of sulfur dioxide and other gases that combine with atmospheric oxygen, moisture, dust, and sunlight, resulting in a ‘hazy mixture’ that diminishes visibility in affected areas.

Last Monday, the Department of Education (DepEd) issued a memorandum allowing affected schools to suspend classes in the absence of an official announcement from their local governments.

DepEd also instructed affected schools to shift to alternative delivery modalities, including modular or online learning. – Edg Adrian A. Eva

Authors sue Anthropic for copyright infringement over AI training

August 21, 2024 | 11:39 am

Artificial intelligence company Anthropic has been hit with a class-action lawsuit in California federal court by three authors who say it misused their books and hundreds of thousands of others to train its AI-powered chatbot Claude.

The complaint, filed on Monday by writers and journalists Andrea Bartz, Charles Graeber and Kirk Wallace Johnson, said that Anthropic used pirated versions of their works and others to teach Claude to respond to human prompts.

A spokesperson for Anthropic said on Tuesday that the company was aware of the lawsuit and assessing the complaint but declined to comment further, citing pending litigation. An attorney for the authors declined to comment.

The lawsuit joins several other high-stakes complaints filed by copyright holders including visual artists, news outlets and record labels over the material used by tech companies to train their generative artificial intelligence systems.

Separate groups of authors have sued OpenAI and Meta Platforms over the companies’ alleged misuse of their work to train the large-language models underlying their chatbots.

The case filed Monday is the second against Anthropic following a lawsuit brought by music publishers last year over its alleged misuse of copyrighted song lyrics to train Claude.

The authors said in their complaint that Anthropic has “built a multibillion-dollar business by stealing hundreds of thousands of copyrighted books.” Anthropic has drawn financial backing from sources including Amazon, Google and former cryptocurrency billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried.

According to the complaint, the authors’ works were included in a dataset of pirated books that Anthropic used to train Claude.

The lawsuit requested an unspecified amount of monetary damages and an order permanently blocking Anthropic from misusing the authors’ work. – Reuters

Jennifer Lopez files for divorce from Ben Affleck, media reports say

August 21, 2024 | 11:27 am

FILE PHOTO: 78th Venice Film Festival — JENNIFER LOPEZ and Ben Affleck. — REUTERS/YARA NARDI

LOS ANGELES – Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck, the Hollywood stars who rekindled their romance and married two decades after a high-profile split, are getting a divorce, TMZ and other media outlets reported on Tuesday.

Ms. Lopez, singer of “Love Don’t Cost a Thing,” submitted divorce papers in Los Angeles County Superior Court on Tuesday, TMZ said.

The filing came two years to the day after the pair held a lavish wedding celebration in Georgia. They had initially exchanged vows in July 2022 at a Las Vegas wedding chapel.

Spokespeople for Ms. Lopez and Mr. Affleck did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

In the early 2000s, the pair dubbed “Bennifer” were the most talked about couple in the celebrity world in a relationship marked by his-and-her luxury cars and a large 6.1-carat pink diamond engagement ring. They abruptly called off their wedding in 2003 and split up a few months later.

Ms. Lopez married Latin singer Marc Anthony, her third husband, just five months after her 2004 split with Affleck.

Mr. Affleck, director and star of Oscar-winning film “Argo,” went on to marry, and later divorce, actress Jennifer Garner.

Ms. Lopez and Mr. Affleck started dating again in 2021, months after she and baseball star Alex Rodriguez called off their engagement and ended a four-year relationship.

Ms. Lopez said later that the initial breakup with Mr. Affleck “was the biggest heartbreak of my life.”

“I honestly felt like I was going to die,” she said in an interview with Apple Music in November 2022. “But now, 20 years later, it does have a happy ending.” – Reuters

Blinken wraps up Mideast trip with Gaza deal still elusive

August 21, 2024 | 11:23 am

DOHA – US Secretary of State Antony Blinken sought during a whirlwind trip to the Middle East to inject urgency into efforts to broker a Gaza ceasefire deal, but departed the region on Tuesday with an agreement between Israel and Hamas still elusive.

Mr. Blinken and mediators from Egypt and Qatar have pinned their hopes on a US “bridging proposal” aimed at narrowing the gaps between the two sides in the 10-month-old war, after negotiations last week paused without a breakthrough.

The deal “needs to get done, and it needs to get done in the days ahead, and we will do everything possible to get it across the finish line,” Mr. Blinken told reporters in Doha before departing for Washington.

A senior Biden administration official travelling with Mr. Blinken said the US expects the ceasefire talks to continue this week.

Mr. Blinken travelled to Egypt for talks on Tuesday with President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi and then to Qatar.

After meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday, Mr. Blinken said Israel had accepted the proposal and urged Hamas to do the same. The Palestinian group has not explicitly rejected it, but says it overturns previously agreed terms.

Mr. Blinken was asked in Qatar about Israeli troop withdrawal terms within the ceasefire framework and about an Axios report that quoted Netanyahu as saying he may have convinced Blinken that Israel should keep troops in the Philadelphi Corridor between Egypt and Gaza.

“The United States does not accept any long-term occupation of Gaza by Israel,” Mr. Blinken said. “More specifically, the agreement is very clear on the schedule and the locations of (Israel Defense Forces) withdrawals from Gaza, and Israel has agreed to that. So that’s as much as I know. That’s what I’m very clear about.”

Mr. Blinken did not comment directly on the Axios report, a post on social media site X. Netanyahu’s office did not respond to a request for comment.

Both Hamas and Egypt oppose Israel keeping troops in the Philadelphi Corridor, but Netanyahu has insisted they are needed to stop weapons being smuggled into Gaza. A senior US official disputed the Axios report earlier on Tuesday.

Egyptian security sources said the US has proposed an international presence in the Philadelphi Corridor area, a suggestion the sources said could be acceptable to Cairo if limited to a maximum of six months.

“The ceasefire in Gaza must be the beginning of broader international recognition of the Palestinian state and the implementation of the two-state solution, as this is the basic guarantor of stability in the region,” Mr. Sisi said after meeting Mr. Blinken.

‘LAST OPPORTUNITY’

At stake in the talks is the fate of tiny, crowded Gaza, where Israel’s military campaign has killed more than 40,000 people since October according to Palestinian health authorities, and of the remaining hostages being held there.

The war in Gaza began on Oct. 7, when Hamas gunmen stormed into Israeli communities and military bases, killing around 1,200 people and abducting about 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.

Mr. Blinken has called the latest push for a deal “probably the best, possibly the last opportunity”, and said his meeting with Mr. Netanyahu was constructive. He said it was incumbent on Hamas to accept the bridging proposal.

Asked about Mr. Blinken’s comment, senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri told Reuters: “Blinken is insisting on not quitting the sphere of lies, and that is one of the reasons for the failure of efforts to reach an agreement.”

Qatar’s foreign minister told Mr. Blinken his country is committed to its role as a mediator in the ceasefire talks, along with Egypt and the US

In a phone call, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani stressed to Mr. Blinken the importance of consolidating regional and international efforts to reach a Gaza ceasefire and a hostage-prisoner swap deal, Qatar’s foreign ministry said.

Both men underscored that the bridging proposal presented by negotiators addressed the remaining gaps in a manner that allows for swift implementation of the deal, US State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel in a statement.

Officials from the US, Hamas, Israel, Egypt and Qatar have not spelled out what is in the proposal or how it differs from previous versions.

Hamas accuses Israel of obstructing an agreement with new demands and says the group remains committed to terms it agreed with mediators in July based on a proposal made by the US in May. Netanyahu denies obstructing a deal.

Months of on-off talks have circled the same issues, with Israel saying the war can only end with the destruction of Hamas as a military and political force and Hamas saying it will only accept a permanent, not temporary, ceasefire.

The US official said even if Hamas were to agree on the bridging proposal immediately, there would have to be additional conversations to iron out details on implementation of the deal.

HOSTAGES RECOVERED

On Tuesday, Israel’s military said it had recovered the bodies of six hostages from southern Gaza. According to Israeli authorities, 109 hostages now remain in the Palestinian territory, around a third of them believed to be dead.

In Gaza, Israeli forces battled Hamas-led militants in central and southern areas on Tuesday, and Palestinian health authorities said at least 39 people had been killed in Israeli strikes, including on a school housing displaced people.

Israel’s military said it had struck Hamas militants embedded in the school. – Reuters

Australia approves $13.5 bln project to export solar power to Singapore

August 21, 2024 | 11:09 am

SYDNEY – Australia said on Wednesday it had given the go-ahead for a A$20 billion ($13.5 billion) solar project that plans to ship energy from a giant solar farm in the country’s north to Singapore through a 4,300 km (2,672 miles) undersea cable.

Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek said SunCable’s flagship Australia-Asia power link project would help meet growing demand for renewable energy at home and abroad.

A final investment decision is expected in 2027 with electricity supply to begin in the early 2030s, according to SunCable.

The approval comes with strict conditions to protect nature and the project must avoid the habitat of greater bilby, which are small rabbit-like marsupials with long floppy ears, Plibersek said.

Over two stages of development, the project aims to deliver up to 6 gigawatts of green electricity to large-scale industrial customers in Darwin, the capital city of Australia’s Northern Territory, and in Singapore.

The approval comes as the center-left government ramps up renewable energy projects even as the opposition coalition proposes building nuclear plants to replace coal-fired power by 2050, in a country where nuclear power is currently banned.

SunCable, owned by billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes, said the approval was “a vote of confidence” in the project.

Cannon-Brookes, the co-founder of tech firm Atlassian TEAM.O turned environmental activist, last year said the project was viable and that outside investors would be drawn to the project.

“SunCable will now focus its efforts on the next stage of planning to advance the project towards a final investment decision targeted by 2027,” SunCable Australia Managing Director Cameron Garnsworthy said in a statement, which did not provide details of its financing plans.

SunCable said it was in talks with Singapore’s energy regulator on the conditional approval for the project’s cable inter-connector component and with the Indonesian government on building the cable in its waters.

The project received clearance from the Northern Territory government and the territory’s environment watchdog last month. – Reuters

Philippines says probing escape of ex-mayor accused of Chinese crime links

August 21, 2024 | 11:04 am

MANILA – Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said on Wednesday his government was investigating how Alice Guo, a former town mayor accused of ties with Chinese criminal syndicates, managed to flee the country.

Mr. Marcos warned that “heads will roll” a day after he ordered Guo’s Philippine passport cancelled following her escape which was confirmed based on foreign immigration records.

“We will expose the culprits who have betrayed the people’s trust and aided in her flight,” Mr. Marcos said in a statement. “Those responsible will be suspended and will be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law.”

Ms. Guo, wanted by the Senate for refusing to attend hearings on her alleged criminal ties, denies the accusations, insisting she is a natural-born Philippine citizen facing “malicious accusations.”

The Senate investigation began in May after authorities raided a casino in Guo’s sleepy farming town of Bamban in March, uncovering what authorities said were scams perpetrated from a facility built on land partially owned by the former mayor.

Ms. Guo was recently removed from office by the Ombudsman for grave misconduct.

A spokesperson for the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission said Ms. Guo travelled to Malaysia, Singapore last month and in Indonesia this month using her Philippine passport.

An Indonesian immigration official who declined to be named because he is not authorized to speak to the media confirmed that Ms. Guo entered the country on Aug. 18 at 1:13 pm [0513 GMT]. The official did not immediately respond when asked if Ms. Guo was still in Indonesia.

However, her lawyer Stephen David said Ms. Guo remains in the Philippines, without providing further details.

Ms. Guo’s case comes at a time of growing Philippine suspicion about China’s activities following an increasingly tense dispute over reefs and shoals in the busy waterway of the South China Sea, where both nations have overlapping claims. – Reuters

Philippines says recent mpox case is mild Clade 2 variant

August 21, 2024 | 11:02 am

mpox virus illustration — AN ILLUSTRATION of mpox virus particles. — FRED HUTCH CANCER CENTER/HANDOUT VIA REUTERS

MANILA – The Philippines‘ health minister said on Wednesday a recently detected mpox case in the Southeast Asian nation is of the mild Clade 2 variant and not the newer variant that has spread rapidly in Africa.

“The mpox we found was the original variety and probably it could have been circulating in our community,” Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa told ANC news channel.

The Southeast Asian nation on Monday announced its first mpox case this year. The Philippines has now had 10 laboratory-confirmed case since July 2022.

The patient, a 33-year-old Filipino male who had no travel history outside the Philippines, is recovering in hospital, Mr. Herbosa said, adding that all nine previously infected Filipinos had also recovered.

The World Health Organization last week declared mpox a global public health emergency, its highest form of alert, for the second time in two years, because of an outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo that had spread to neighboring countries.

The disease, caused by the monkeypox virus, leads to flu-like symptoms and pus-filled lesions. It is usually mild but can kill, with children, pregnant women and people with weakened immune systems, such as those with HIV, all at higher risk of complications. – Reuters