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House appropriations panel OK’s P6-B OP budget

IN JUST two minutes, the Office of the President (OP) earned the approval of the House of Representatives’ appropriations committee for its P6-billion proposed budget for 2018. By tradition, the budgets of the Office of the President and the Office of the Vice-President are not scrutinized at the committee level. The proposed budget of the OP is divided thus: Personnel Services – P994.1 million; Maintenance Operating and Other Expense or MOOE – P4.6 billion; Capital Outlay – P370 million. The MOOE includes confidential expenses (P1.25 billion); intelligence expenses (P1.25 billion); and extraordinary and miscellaneous expenses (P19 million). Travel expenses were pegged at P884.9 million. — interaksyon.com

Mark Wahlberg named world’s highest-paid actor in 2017

LOS ANGELES – Mark Wahlberg soared to the top of the world’s highest paid actors on an annual Forbes magazine list that highlighted a huge disparity between male and female Hollywood stars.

Wahlberg, 46, earned an estimated $68 million in 2017 thanks to his pay days for movies Transformers: The Last Knight and Daddy’s Home 2, according to the Forbes ranking released on Tuesday.

“The former may have scored a miserable 15% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and the lowest gross of the franchise to date, but Wahlberg need not worry – fixed compensation means he benefits even when movies don’t do well,” said Forbes.

The rapper-turned-actor knocked 2016 leader Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson into second place, with estimated 2017 earnings of $65 million, after starring in the big screen reboot of lifeguard action-comedy Baywatch and starring in HBO comedy Ballers.

The former wrestler appears in fantasy adventure remake Jumanji in December and Rampage, a monster movie based on the 1980s arcade game, in April next year.

Forbes estimates earnings, before taxes and management fees, from movies, TV, and commercial endorsements.

The Forbes list again highlighted Hollywood’s gender pay gap. Last week, the magazine named La La Land Oscar winner Emma Stone as the world’s highest paid actress with an estimated 2017 take of $26 million.

Forbes said the 10 highest-paid leading men earned a combined $488.5 million before tax in its June 2016-June 2017 scoring period, nearly three times more than the $172.5 million earned by the top 10 scoring women.

Forbes attributed the disparity to the prevalence of superhero and action blockbusters that earn big at the box office for Hollywood studios but tend to have fewer leading roles for women.

Pirates of the Caribbean star Johnny Depp, who for years has been among the top five paid actors, did not make the top 20 this year, Forbes said. Depp is currently embroiled in a bitter lawsuit with his former business managers who have detailed what they describe as his lavish spending habits.

Last December, before the May 2017 release of Pirates of the Caribbean; Dead Men Tell No Tales, Forbes named Depp the most overpaid actor for a second straight year as films such as Alice Through the Looking Glass and Mortdecai did not fare well.

Vin Diesel, who co-stars with Johnson in the Fast and Furious franchise, came in third on men’s list with $54.5 million, just ahead of comedy actor Adam Sandler, who made $50.5 million, largely because of a deal with Netflix that allows him to produce his own movies.

Rounding out the top five is Hong Kong action star Jackie Chan, still hugely popular in China, who made $49.5 million over the last 12 months.

Robert Downey, Jr., Tom Cruise and Bollywood kings Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan and Akshay Kumar rounded out the top ten. – Reuters/AFP

UPS eyes bigger market share in Philippines

UNITED PARCEL Service, Inc. (UPS) is targeting to expand its presence in the Philippines, particularly in the key sectors of industrial manufacturing, automotive manufacturing, and retail.

Chris Buono, the new managing director of UPS Philippines, said  focusing on these sectors and employing their target sale strategy for the whole country are part of the logistics giant’s plan to grow its market share in the country.

In a roundtable interview on Thursday, Mr. Buono said UPS wants to offer its services to more small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and provide them with more avenues to grow internationally.

“They are undoubtedly the backbone of this economy,” he said.

The challenge now for SMEs, Mr. Buono said, is to grow digitally and to deliver more quickly to more destinations.

Mr. Buono said the company has deployed tools to help SMEs, such as  its online portal that allows enterprises to adapt the system without harnessing additional technology.

“[Our aim is to] connect local businesses to regional and global supply chains to reach their potential,” he added.

However, Mr. Buono said the whole country is a “growth area” for UPS.

”We have a target sale strategy for the whole country, and Mindanao is a part of that,” he said, adding there are delays in the Mindanao expansion due to the declaration of martial law in the region and the on-going crisis in Marawi.

In 2016, UPS expanded its services to more than 1,600 postal codes across seven major areas, namely Caloocan, Malabon, Navotas, Valenzuela [CAMANAVA], Angeles in Pampanga, North Luzon, South Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao and Cavite. This was done its partnership with local express, freight and cargo forwarding company Airfreight 2100, Inc.

Last March, UPS expanded its alcohol shipping services, with wine, beer, and spirits (liquor) being delivered to businesses and consumers in 10 destinations in the Asia-Pacific, including the Philippines, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, and others.

This expansion was done to cater more to the business-to-customer type of service, such as restaurants having products shipped directly from winemakers instead of buying from distributors. — Patrizia Paola C. Marcelo

Peso ends at two-week high

THE PESO strengthened versus the greenback yesterday to log its best showing in nearly two weeks, with dollar inflows and negative remarks by US President Donald J. Trump allowing the currency to firm up for the third straight day.

The local unit closed at P51 against the dollar on Thursday, appreciating from its P51.22 finish the previous day. It is also the peso’s best showing since a P50.98-per-dollar close logged on Aug. 11.

The local currency performed stronger versus the greenback throughout the session. It opened at P51.09 to a dollar, already 13 centavos up from Wednesday’s rate. It briefly touch P51.14 as its intraday low and P50.98 as its best showing before settling at the closing rate.

Two traders interviewed yesterday said huge dollar flows for the second straight day pushed the exchange rate lower.

“There are flows coming in. There is a bigger supply of dollars being sold off, and some local banks are heavily buying. We think local banks are preparing for incoming demand sometime early next week or by the start of September,” one trader said in a phone interview.

Financial markets will be closed on Monday due to the National Heroes’ Day, a public holiday in the Philippines. Traders often note stronger corporate demand every month’s end as they settle obligations.

Dollars traded yesterday reached $1.137 billion, rising from the $949.1 million which exchanged hands on Wednesday that was previously attributed to the Japan Tobacco Inc.’s acquisition of local cigarette firm Mighty Corp. The transaction is priced at $936 million or P46.8 billion.

The trader also said that the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) likely intervened during yesterday’s session to cap the exchange rate at P51.00.

The central bank sometimes steps in during day-to-day trading to temper any sharp swings of the peso versus the dollar.

A second trader attributed the weaker dollar to overseas developments, which pushed emerging market currencies like the peso to appreciate.

“The political chatter of Trump weakened the dollar overnight, while the euro strengthened after (Mario) Draghi’s remarks,” he said.

He was referring to Mr. Trump’s fresh threats that he is looking to end the NAFTA trade treaty with Mexico and Canada, along with his warning to shut down the federal government just to secure funding to put up a wall along the US-Mexico border.

On Wednesday, European Central Bank president Mario Draghi warned against hasty policy responses, giving no hint on the monetary authority’s next moves.

For today, the first trader said the peso could test a new high and trade within P50.90 to P51.20, while the second trader sees a lower P50.85-P51.15 range.

All eyes are now on the Economic Policy Symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming scheduled on Friday (US time) where US Federal Reserve chair Janet L. Yellen and Mr. Draghi are set to speak, as market players look for cues for their next policy moves. — Melissa Luz T. Lopez

8 missing in landslide

ZURICH — Rescue crews are seeking eight people from Germany, Austria and Switzerland who have been missing for more than a day after a landslide struck a remote Swiss valley, police said on Thursday.

Authorities had evacuated around 100 people from the village of Bondo and airlifted hikers from nearby huts in the eastern canton of the Grisons after rocks and mud hit the area early on Wednesday.

Police said they were unable to reach eight people in the area, six of whom had been reported missing by relatives, despite intensified searches by teams including an army helicopter. — Reuters

Different sort of buddy movie

By Angela Dawson
Front Row Features

RYAN REYNOLDS plays the world’s best protection agent who is called upon to guard the life of his mortal enemy, one of the world’s most notorious hitmen (Samuel L. Jackson). As bodyguard Michael Bryce, he and hitman Darius Kincaid are thrown together for 24 hours of high speed adventure and action to make it to an important court hearing. During their travel from England to The Hague, the duo is involved in a number of high-speed car chases, dangerous boat escapades, and tangling with a ruthless Eastern European dictator (Gary Oldman, naturally) who wants them dead. Oscar winner Salma Hayek adds an extra level of madness to the mayhem as Darius’s fiery wife in this action-comedy directed by Patrick Hughes (The Expendables 3) from screenplay by Tom O’Connor (Fire with Fire).

The Canadian born Reynolds (Deadpool), who is married to actress Blake Lively with whom he has two children, recently spoke at a press conference about tackling the action role and co-starring in the buddy comedy with veteran performer Jackson (the Avengers films).

Q: You and Samuel L. Jackson have some great chemistry in this film. What took so long for you to get cast together in a movie?

Reynolds: I can’t speak for (Jackson), but I wouldn’t do this without him, so that was my contingency with the studio. I was like, “If you can get Sam to do it I’ll do it.” We met many, many years ago at a fund-raiser, and then we did an animated movie together (2013’s Turbo), so I knew we’d have this kind of chemistry that would work really well for this.

Q: Both of you are part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Reynolds: I’m in a bastard Fox pig pen, though. They don’t let us play in the real Marvel (world).

Q: This film is slightly reminiscent of the classic action buddy comedy Midnight Run. I wonder if there were any classic buddy action comedies that you had in mind going into this that you were hoping to emulate?

Reynolds: (quips) I’ve loved (2016’s Dwayne Johnson-Kevin Hart action comedy) Central Intelligence since I was a little kid, so for me that was a big one. No. I grew up watching Midnight Run (and) 48 Hours.

Q: You’re in great physical shape in this movie, so you know what works for your body. Has there ever been an exercise regimen or some terrible diet/exercise plan that you would never do again?

Reynolds: I ran a marathon once. That was the dumbest thing I’ve ever done. I was about eight inches shorter by the time I finished. That, I didn’t like. I hate running. I like sprinting, but long distance running is the worst.

Q: You have a very funny scene in the do-it-yourself store. Do you know your way around a Home Depot and have you been in one since that scene?

Reynolds: Oh yeah, I know my way around a Home Depot. I actually like doing stuff myself. I don’t do it as well as I would like, but I’ve built some decks in my life. I started, like a lot of people, where I had other jobs that weren’t in show biz — some light construction, some driving fork lifts — things like that.

Q: Your wife (Blake Lively) is going to be in an action movie soon. Are you teaching her some tricks? Are you training together?

Reynolds: I need not teach her a thing. She’s got plenty of bad *** on her own. She has more bad *** in her little finger than I do in my whole body.

Q: Do you see yourself fighting against her in a movie one day?

Reynolds: (quips) That’s called domestic abuse. No, I don’t think I’ll be going toe to toe with my wife.

Q: Presumably you’ve had bodyguards over the years. Is there anything you’ve incorporated from your own experience into this film? Does Sam have bodyguards?

Reynolds: I refuse to work with a bodyguard unless he can carry me through a concert, in sort of a fetal position. I don’t know about Sam. I’ve never seen one around him. You have them for Comic-Con or (a big event like that), but I wouldn’t go to Chipotle with security. It just attracts more attention.

Q: Do you wish sometimes you had security with you?

Reynolds: (quips) My (11-month-old) daughter kicked me in the face so hard yesterday morning that I really wouldn’t have minded somebody assisting in the bedroom, just watching out for that. I was in a dead sleep and I got an MMA-style roundhouse to the nose. I would call security in a second. I would lock that child up in a jail cell in Alcatraz and throw away the key (and give her) the ultimate time out.

Q: You have great tweets about fatherhood. Do you think about writing a book or writing a script about that?

Reynolds: No. It’s all meant to be tongue in cheek.

Q: How much improvising did you do in this film? Did you have to limit it and keep it within the scope of the movie, or did you go crazy?

Reynolds: There’s nothing worse than working with a guy that starts improvising and just makes it all about him. You sort of lose the whole (expletive) plot. No, (Jackson) is the most professional guy you’ll ever work with. He and I have a pretty good idea when to hit the gas and when to pump the breaks a bit.

Q: Sam has this beautiful line where he says, “Love. What else is there?” It’s a moment of truth in the film. Is that true for you?

Reynolds: Oh man, yeah. I think so. (Jackson’s) got about 30 more years in his marriage than I do, but yeah, all the body parts are still there, that I can see. Love is everything, you know?

Q: How was working with Salma Hayek?

Reynolds: She turned that role into a mountain. She just grabbed it and knew exactly what to do. I would love to see a sequel that’s just (Jackson and Hayek). Just the Kincaids on vacation. Salma and Samuel on some kind of road trip would be great.

Q: Another strong female character in the film is played by French-Cambodian actress Elodie Yung. How was it working with her?

Reynolds: Elodie Yung is a legend in the making. Literally, there is no part of me that thinks, “Oh, let’s give the guys in Hollywood a chance.” That’s played its course all the way through. I love it. I love seeing that.

Q: You don’t mind getting beat up by a girl?

Reynolds: Well, yes. I don’t like getting (beat up) period, but if it’s going to be by someone, it may as well be a girl. That’s fine. I’m surprised Salma isn’t a superhero in the Marvel world. If (Marvel president) Kevin Feige’s reading this…

Q: How would you describe this movie, because it’s hard to define it. Is it an action-comedy, a parody or a little bit of both?

Reynolds: The parody part is important, because it does poke fun at some of the tropes of buddy action movies. It leans in to some of the tropes in a heavy way, and other times we step away from it and deconstruct it and kind of make fun of it. Then other times, it’s just a straight-up buddy action comedy. We’re usurping a lot of expectation with the hitman. With the bodyguard, you look at the Kevin Costner prototype from The Bodyguard. My character is just an emotional moron. He’s literally seven years old when it comes to dealing with real life issues and real people and his relationships, so I have a lot to learn from (Jackson’s character) that I seemingly hate, which is a fun.

Q: The success of Deadpool showed the power of keeping the faith. You had the faith in that version of the character for so long and it paid off in a huge commercial way. Has that changed your decision-making process since you had that success?

Reynolds: No. The thing I’ll say is that Deadpool — that entity and that franchise — is that it has swallowed my life whole. I’ve always been so proud of every aspect of it and I’m so passionate about it, and it’s the privilege of a lifetime to be able to do that. I’m only as good as the people I work with, so to work with these incredible writers and this director and all these people, it’s just been amazing.

Q: You have a much bigger budget for the (2018) sequel, right?

Reynolds: Well, yes and no. We have a little bit more money to spend just because we have more characters to service. We’re introducing Cable and Domino and everything that they do, so there’s a lot to focus on there.

Q: Is it easier or harder to ensure the sequel will hit the target as big as the first one did?

Reynolds: You can’t look at it like that. Our expectations were so minimal for the first one, and they’re not much different for the second. The studio may think, “Oh, we have to make the same amount of money.” For us, we’re just doing what we do, and we’re in the sandbox playing every day and having a ball.

MTRCB RATING: R-16

JICA assessment of Davao infrastructure due October

DAVAO CITY — A team funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) is set to present within the next two months its initial report on the gaps of the proposed infrastructure projects in this city.

Carlos P. Garcia Highway in Davao City.
A view of the four-lane bypass road stretching from Daang Maharlika Bunawan section up to the Milan (Buhangin) section of the Carlos P. Garcia Highway in Davao City. The road project is one of the thirteen (13) Bypass Road projects being implemented by DPWH 11 in the city for 2017. — FACEBOOK/@DPWH11

Venetia Lynn M. Sison, a member of the team, said the report will contain the evaluation of the team on the key proposed projects, including those that are set to be implemented.

“We have integrated all the projects that we have come across,” said Ms. Sison, adding that even proposed projects that have been shelved, like the proposed but eventually canceled P39-billion reclamation project of the Mega Harbour Port and Development, Inc.

Mayor Sara Z. Duterte-Carpio canceled the memorandum of agreement that her father, President Rodrigo R. Duterte, signed with Mega Harbour on the last day of his term as mayor.

In assessing the projects, Ken Kumazawa, JICA team leader, said the team focused on key factors like population growth, environmental impact and economic growth.

“We have been trying to take a more comprehensive approach so that part of our recommendation (in the report) will be whether these projects will address those gaps,” he said.

The estimate for the city’s population, Mr. Kumazawa added, is 3.5 million by 2024. “We will look at the impact of the population on these projects, on whether it is advantageous to build them now or later,” he added, pointing out that the projects are those identified by the city government and the National Economic and Development Authority.

Among the projects that are being considered in the assessment is the 23-kilometer bypass road that JICA is helping fund. The Japanese agency and the Philippine government in 2015 signed an agreement for its implementation. Based on the initial agreement, the project is set to be completed by 2021 and will be funded with ¥23.9 billion worth of official development assistance.

Another project being considered in the assessment is the Mindanao Railway System, where the first segment, the Tagum City-Davao City-Digos City stretch, is set to start construction next year.

Ms. Sison explained that, although the initial report has yet to be completed, the team might even recommend not to pursue certain projects. “We have looked at the overall impact of these projects, so it is not far-fetched for us to recommend that some of them may even harm either the environment or the economic growth,” she added.

The report is part of the 15-month Davao City infrastructure development plan and capacity-building project which is set for completion in March. However, Mr. Kumazawa said the team, after its report presentation in October, will come up with a final report based on the inputs that government representatives will provide. — Carmelito Q. Francisco

Paris revels in tourism surge, but cautious after Barcelona

PARIS – Paris is on track to welcome more tourists this year than ever before after a bumper first half, a senior official said, though some would-be visitors might think again after the Barcelona attack.

The Paris region registered 16.4 million arrivals in the six months to June, its tourist board said on Tuesday.

That was the most in any first half of the year since current records began in 2008, confirming a strong recovery from a lull that followed Islamist attacks in the French capital in November 2015 that killed 130 people.

Frederic Valletoux, president of the Paris region tourist board, said a strong July and August, and good bookings for September meant the region could see 32-34 million tourist arrivals this year compared with 30 million in 2016 and 32 million in 2015.

It was too early to say if Thursday’s attacks in the Catalan capital and the coastal resort of Cambrils would weigh on that forecast.

“(This) could be a record year but let’s not get carried away,” he told a news conference.

“Now will Barcelona have an impact on other destinations like Paris? It’s hard to say. It’s Europe. The international situation remains turbulent and terrorism a daily threat.”

The 10.2% year-on-year bounce in first-half arrivals was driven by a 14.9% rise in foreign tourists, led by Americans and Chinese. Fewer Britons visited as the pound lost value amid uncertainties over Brexit.

Among reasons for the upturn, tourism officials cited government financing for marketing campaigns abroad and enhanced security measures in Paris.

Tourism generates over 7% of France’s national income. In the Ile de France region, which includes Paris – one of the world’s most visited cities – about half a million people have jobs linked to tourism.

The French revival is not confined to Paris. Visitor numbers nationwide are seen rising to 89 million in 2017 from 83 million last year. France targets 100 million visitors annually by 2020.

Mr. Valletoux said it was likely that Barcelona’s tourism sector would now take a hit, but the experience of Paris and New York showed the Spanish city would recover.

“One can expect Barcelona to experience some slowdown. It took three years for New York to bounce back after the Sept 11 attacks, for Madrid it was a year (after the 2004 commuter train bombings) and for Paris also a year,” Mr. Valletoux said.

The Barcelona attack was the latest of a spate across Europe in the past 13 months in which militants have used vehicles as weapons, killing nearly 130 people in France, Germany, Britain, Sweden, and Spain. – Reuters

Using unproven methods to tackle cancer could be deadly

PEOPLE who decide to tackle their cancer using only unconventional methods are likely to die sooner than patients who opt for conventional treatments, according to a new study.

People with various kinds of cancer who turned down treatments like chemotherapy or radiation in favor of alternative medicine were two to six times more likely to die within six years, compared to people who accepted medically proven therapies, researchers found.

“In our clinical practice, we started seeing patients coming in with more advanced cancer… because they first tried alternative therapies that failed,” said lead author Dr. Skyler Johnson, of the Yale School of Medicine and the Yale Cancer Center in New Haven, Connecticut.

Many cancer patients add nonmedical therapies to the treatments prescribed by their oncologists. But little is known about patients who choose only unconventional methods to address their cancer, Johnson and colleagues write in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, online Aug. 10.

To find out more about this group of patients, they used information collected on prostate, breast, lung and colon cancers for the US National Cancer Database between 2004 and 2013.

The researchers had data on 280 people who tried only unproven methods administered by nonmedical personnel. They compared each of these patients to two people with similar cancer type, disease stage, age, race and other attributes, but who received conventional treatments.

Half of the patients were followed for at least five and a half years.

Compared to patients who chose evidence-based cancer treatments, those who used unconventional methods tended to have high social and economic status, be from northwestern US states, have advanced cancers and be in otherwise good health.

Overall, patients who chose unproven methods were more than twice as likely to die during the follow-up period than those who received treatments like chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery.

Compared to those receiving evidence-backed treatments, patients with breast cancer who opted for unproven methods were more than five times as likely to die, those with lung cancer were more than twice as likely to die and those with colon cancer were about five times as likely to die.

“Our findings highlight the importance of timely proven care for cancer,” Johnson told Reuters Health.

If the patients were followed for a longer period of time, it’s possible the differences could be greater, he said. Some prostate and breast cancers develop slowly even if untreated and may not be deadly within five to six years.

In addition, Johnson said, the researchers couldn’t account for people who received science-based treatments when their unconventional methods failed.

He said people should be cautious about what treatment advice they receive from the internet or through word of mouth.

“This is something they need to think a lot about, because choosing alternative medicine for their cancer treatment could risk their lives,” Johnson said. — Reuters

In Lebanon, salt producers fear craft is drying up

AT 93, Elias al-Najjar has spent half a century harvesting salt by hand from ponds on Lebanon’s Mediterranean shore, but he and his colleagues fear their way of life is dying.

Traditional coastal salt production was once popular in Lebanon, but the fully artisanal practice now survives in just a single seaside town, Anfeh, around 70 kilometers (45 miles) north of Beirut.

Producers like Najjar say the sector has suffered a series of blows, from an exodus of pond owners during Lebanon’s civil war, to the lifting of import tariffs.

“I used to produce 300 tons myself in the 1950s,” the elderly man says.

“Now I make 30 tons maximum.”

Anfeh’s salt producers accuse the government of refusing them permits to repair their equipment in order to turf them off prime coastal real estate and make way for developers.

“If they can’t destroy the ponds, they want to make them unworkable so it’s easier for fat cats to buy them to build resorts,” says Hafez Jreij, 67.

“The land the ponds are on is going to be handed over to developers who want to build beach resorts.”

The municipality confirmed to AFP that the central government is not giving any more permits.

But municipal spokeswoman Christiane Nicolas said the local council has no desire to destroy the sector.

“The government stopped collecting taxes on traditional salt production because it considered it an infringement on public property,” she told AFP.

But she added: “There’s no evidence the authorities want to hand over the coast to developers.”

Salt extraction is a time-consuming process subject to the vagaries of weather, meaning it can only be practised around four months a year.

First, sea water is drawn into meter-deep concrete ponds via pumps powered by small windmills.

The water sits in the ponds of up to 20 square meters (more than 200 square feet) for at least 20 days, evaporating to leave a salty liquid residue.

That salty water is then swept into shallower concrete pans, and left to concentrate further for another 10 days.

Each day, producers sweep the sea water across the pan to ensure it dries evenly.

As the liquid disappears, blindingly white salt crystals emerge in lines, twinkling in the sunlight.

Jreij says Lebanon’s traditional salt industry produced 50,000 tons a year during the sector’s heyday between 1955 and 1975.

“Lebanon did not need to import salt, and the state imposed a 200% tax on salt imports,” he says.

But from 1975, when Lebanon’s 15-year civil war erupted, the industry began suffering a series of setbacks.

Many pond owners were among the Lebanese who fled in waves over the years of the grinding conflict.

With their departure, production started to fall below demand, prompting the government in the 1990s to lift the import tax on foreign salt.

The decision made it hard for local producers to compete and, with the sector in free fall, the government announced it considered many of the salt pans to be illegal construction on public coastline.

As a result, it stopped taxing income from salt production in 1994.

And without tax receipts, municipalities started rejecting permit applications from producers to maintain their equipment, producers say.

Those refusals prevent repairs on worn-down infrastructure, thereby killing the industry, they complain.

Jreij estimates half of all the salt pans in Anfeh are now unusable as a result of the 1994 decision.

Jreij also said that local authorities tried to shut him down in 2015 and 2016 by claiming the sea water feeding the ponds was contaminated.

“We did laboratory tests on the water at extraction points and they all conformed to safety specifications,” Jreij says.

Najjar, who said he had had a similar problem, showed to AFP the analysis results, carried out in Lebanon.

For now, producers in Anfeh are scraping by, selling salt to individual and industrial buyers at a rate of between $2 and $4 per kilogram, much less than the price of imported salt.

Fisherman Daniel Fares, 37, says he is a loyal customer of Jreij because the entire production process is transparent.

“The sea is clean, and you know where the salt is coming from,” he tells AFP.

“I prefer it over imported salt because it has no additives, which makes it suitable for pickling sardines too,” says Fares, who also sells some of Jreij’s salt to his own customers for home use.

Jreij sees the fight to preserve the salt ponds as part of a greater battle to protect Lebanon’s coastline, much of which has been gobbled up by developers.

“Salt ponds don’t produce waste, they don’t block the way to the sea, and they don’t block the beautiful view of the Mediterranean,” he says.

“Resorts do all of that.” — AFP

Mixed martial arts has much to gain from ‘The Money Fight,’ says analyst

THE much-anticipated “crossover” fight between boxing superstar Floyd “Pretty Boy” Mayweather and mixed martial arts champion Conor “The Notorious” McGregor, dubbed “The Money Fight,” comes down this weekend presenting an interesting dynamic than should redound well for MMA, this according to one local fight analyst.

Mixed martial arts has much to gain from ‘The Money Fight,’ says analyst
Boxer Floyd Mayweather, Jr. (L) and MMA fighter Connor Mcgregor pose during a media press conference Aug. 23 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada. Mayweather, the 40-year-old undefeated former welterweight boxing champion, has been lured out of retirement to face McGregor, a star of mixed martial arts’ Ultimate Fighting Championship. — AFP

Happening at the T-Mobile Arena in Nevada on Sunday (Manila time), the fight will see undefeated boxing world champion Mayweather take on Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight champion McGregor in a virtual clash of worlds involving two of the most popular combat sports out there.

For local fight analyst Nissi Icasiano, the way things stand, MMA stands to gain much from the Mayweather-McGregor collision considering how the burden of proof lies more on boxing.

“Mixed martial arts has nothing to lose and everything to gain in this blockbuster. Even if Conor McGregor loses by decision or knockout, it’s business as usual for the entire sport, especially for the UFC, which will garner a big slice of the pie in terms of revenue. Of course, it can be argued that an MMA athlete has absolutely nothing to offer in a boxing bout against a master boxer like Floyd Mayweather. But if Floyd Mayweather loses, that’s the problem,” said Mr. Icasiano when asked by BusinessWorld for his thoughts on the mega-fight that is about to happen.

“Like what I said, MMA has everything to gain and nothing to lose. Floyd is still the face of boxing even if he hasn’t competed for two years. Boxing is in the twilight zone. If Floyd loses in this bout, it will definitely be the final nail in the coffin for boxing. It’s hard to imagine a master boxer like Floyd Mayweather to be beaten by an MMA fighter, whom I cannot even consider as a pound-for-pound best. We all know what happened when James Toney decided to wear four-ounce gloves against Randy Couture in August 2010. It was not Toney’s habitat. Plain and simple. But if Floyd loses to Conor, not only he scathes his immaculate record, but it will put boxing behind MMA, cementing MMA as the premier combat sport in the world,” added the analyst who follows and writes about boxing and MMA.

But while a McGregor win could have a tremendous ripple effect, Mr. Icasiano said it is going to be easier said than done since the Irishman is going up against someone who arguably is the best in the boxing business.

“Mayweather will win because he is simply a master boxer. Mayweather is known for dictating the bout’s tempo with his distinctive and effective brand of defensive guile all throughout his career, utilizing his shoulder roll, high-guard and elbow block to get rid of the shots from his foes. In addition, he is recognized as a minimal-but-accurate hitter, clobbering his counterparts with a drop jab, leaning right hand and inside slap hook,” said Mr. Icasiano.

“It is not a secret that McGregor is hittable. For a guy like Nate Diaz, who has a decent boxing for MMA, Conor had a hard time. Moreover, going the distance has been Conor’s problem. For Conor to win, he has to utilize being a southpaw. Floyd’s Philly Shell does not work with lefties. Conor has to be unorthodox inside the ring,” he added.

Asked to comment on how he would call the fight, Mr. Icasiano said it is going to be Mr. Mayweather taking it.

“Floyd Mayweather will win this fight. He said that it won’t go the distance. Here’s my take. I see the outcome of this fight similar to Floyd’s stoppage of Arturo Gatti in June 2005,” said the analyst, referring to the controversial fight between Messrs. Mayweather and Gatti that saw the former scoring a controversial knockdown in the opening round while the fight was seemingly on a lull.

Mr. Mayweather eventually finished Mr. Gatti in six rounds by technical knockout.

The Money Fight is available locally on pay-per-view, check your cable operators for details. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

Fariñas: Complainants have no personal knowledge of accusations vs Bautista

WITHOUT THE personal knowledge of the complainants, the allegations against Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairman Andres Bautista are all hearsay, Majority Leader Rodolfo Fariñas said Thursday. Thus, Mr. Farinas said, the House is faced with a “novel” impeachment complaint, in which the allegations come mostly from Bautista’s estranged wife, Patricia, who accused her husband of amassing unexplained wealth of at least P1 billion. For his part, Mr. Bautista said he is prepared to face the impeachment complaint filed against him at the House of Representatives and answer the allegations at the proper time and place. After his absence at the first briefing of the Comelec’s proposed 2018 budget, Mr. Bautista appeared at the House on Thursday, Aug. 24, to defend the P16.1-billion appropriation for the poll body. The impeachment complaint against Mr. Bautista was filed on Aug. 23, by lawyer Ferdinand Topacio and former congressman Jacinto Paras. — interaksyon.com

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