Saidy Pangarungan’s task: Transparent elections

March 30, 2022 | 5:35 pm

There’s a newly designated Chairman of the Commission on Elections (COMELEC), Saidamen Balt Pangarungan, also known as “Saidy” or “Gob” for Governor. Pangarungan once served as Governor of Lanao del Sur. President Corazon Aquino appointed him Officer-in-Charge (OIC) Governor in 1986, right after the EDSA People Power uprising. He would later serve as the elected Chief Executive of Lanao del Sur from 1988 to 1992.

Pangarungan was a street parliamentarian battling the Marcos authoritarian regime after the execution of former Senator Ninoy Aquino at the then Manila International Airport. Pangarungan and other oppositionists from Muslim Mindanao, particularly from Lanao del Norte and Lanao del Sur, Basilan, Zamboanga del Sur and Zamboanga del Norte, North and South Cotabato, Tawi-Tawi and Sulu, joined us in protest rallies and demonstrations in different parts of Metro Manila in the early 1980s.

Huge delegations from these provinces would join rallies held Wednesday and Friday afternoons at Ayala Avenue and the Ugarte Field in Makati. They were also present at Mendiola, Welcome Rotonda in Quezon City, Liwasang Bonifacio, the Batasan Complex, the Comelec Main Office, Plaza Miranda, at the Prayer Rally on Feb. 20, 1986 at Luneta Park where more than a million gathered to protest the cheating by the Comelec for Marcos and the proclamation of Marcos and Arturo Tolentino as winners of the presidential snap election by the Legislative Assembly, and, finally, from Feb. 22 to 25 at EDSA.

As governor of Lanao del Sur, Saidy Pangarungan, challenged the leadership of Ali Dimaporo and other politically powerful clans in Lanao. Dimaporo, a staunch ally of Marcos, maintained his grip on Lanao del Sur through a combination of patronage politics, hardball politics, and support from the national government.

Dimaporo received huge chunks of revenue allotments from Marcos to support infrastructure development at the grassroots. Lanao del Sur was known for thousands of barangays which received financial support for roads, bridges, irrigation systems and other infrastructure. Most of these funds were used to buy cement, steel bars, and other materials for infrastructure construction.

During the snap elections, the opposition continued to closely monitor funds downloaded to these barangays. It was discovered that most of these barangays were non-existent. A rudimentary geodetic survey (there was no Google Maps at that time) showed that some barangays were located in the middle of lakes. Others were discovered to be in isolated inhabitable areas for which infrastructure projects could not be reasonably justified. The surveys concluded that if all that money that went to Lanao del Sur for roads and bridges were actually used for such infrastructure, thousands of roads would be crisscrossing the province like spaghetti served on a plate. The joke was that if all those hundreds of thousands of bags of cement were indeed used for all those so-called projects, the province would be in great danger of sinking under the weight of thousands of kilos of cement and steel bars.

The abolition of 2,000 “ghost” barangays” was one of the tasks given to Pangarungan, aside from challenging the formidable and well-entrenched Dimaporo political dynasty, when he was appointed Undersecretary of the then Department of Local Government and Community Development (DLGCD). Later on, the DLGCD was renamed the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG).

Appointed by President Corazon Aquino to the DILG post, Pangarungan chaired the inter-agency committee tasked to investigate the notorious and well-known ghost barangays in the Muslim provinces. The creation of these barangays, which later received allotments for ghost projects, had become the modus operandi of politicians with the knowledge and consent of Marcos and his enablers. Malacañang in fact instigated the creation of these ghost projects in return for the loyalty of local warlords.

The thorough investigation resulted in President Aquino signing an Executive Order abolishing the ghost barangays in the two Lanao provinces on the recommendation of the inter-agency committee headed by Pangarungan. President Aquino remarked upon signing the order that the government saved billions in abolishing these ghost barangays. The hard truth was that the government experienced some kind of a double whammy: taxpayers paid for nonexistent projects which did not have a chance to earn even a single percent return on investment.

Pangarungan later was credited with authorship of another executive order granting regular salaries and allowances to village officials in the country.

Aside from being former governor of Lanao del Sur, Saidamen Pangarungan is also Sultan of the province. Pangarungan’s wife, Princess Johayra Diamond, also comes from a fairly big family with royal ancestry. She belongs to the Ali-Pacasum family which also has political clout in the area.

Pangarugan, a lawyer, finished his Liberal Arts and Law degrees at San Beda College (now University) in 1978 as a consistent college scholar. After passing the bar, he joined the prestigious Siguion-Reyna, Monecillo and Ongsiako law offices. Endowed with a good mix of involvement in private and government business practice, Pangarungan was legal counsel of multinational firms such as the Bank of America, Goodyear, Caltex, and San Miguel Corporation, among other firms.

One can say that Pangarungan walked into some problems at the Comelec as he inherits issues unresolved by his predecessor and others created or unacted upon by the present board of commissioners appointed way before he came into the picture.

Pangarungan emphasizes that in appointing him, President Duterte’s principal concern was “to leave a legacy of clean and honest elections.” And “that is what you can expect from me,” Pangarungan promises.

Pangarungan’s work is cut out for him. He and his commissioners will have to resolve the Marcos Jr. disqualification case, the long resolution of which has resulted in justifiable flak from recently retired Comelec commissioner Rowena Guanzon. The feisty Guanzon has squared off with commissioner Aimee Ferolino on the case, which has naturally attracted the attention of a skeptical public.

The most recent controversy that is haunting the poll body is the printing of ballots and the configuration of Secure Data (SD) cards without citizens’ observers monitoring these critical parts of the election process.

The challenge before Pangarungan and his commissioners is to gain the trust and confidence of a public that remains skeptical of Comelec’s commitment to clean and honest elections due in large part to past experience. Some say the skepticism is unfortunate because the “last four or five elections have been “generally and fundamentally clean.”

Trust in the results of the forthcoming elections is essential if we want to continue developing a national consensus for political and economic stability. We have a situation of extreme partisanship, and a clean, honest, and transparent election is necessary to lower the temperature and move on to make democracy work.

At the end of the day, however, trust is to be earned.

Philip Ella Juico’s areas of interest include the protection and promotion of democracy, free markets, sustainable development, social responsibility and sports as a tool for social development. He obtained his doctorate in business at De La Salle University. Dr. Juico served as secretary of Agrarian Reform during the Corazon C. Aquino administration.

Physical signals

March 30, 2022 | 5:35 pm

business-people-board-room-meeting — RAWPIXWL-FREEPIK

NOW that face-to-face meetings are back, we need to revisit our dictionary of body language. These tell-tale physical signals may have been quietly forgotten after two years of virtual meetings that have their own protocol. (Raise the virtual hand for questions.)

It’s back to the round table and watching out for body movements from raised eyebrows to distended nostrils, and, yes, foot-tapping — known as under-the-table communications.

In his book Focus, published in 2013, Daniel Goleman (of Emotional Intelligence) wrote on the importance of “social sensitivity” which entails reading others, and understanding what they are communicating without words. A rather long interrogation on an irrelevant issue, like Argentinian bonds, can elicit a suppressed yawn from the Chair or an impatient turning of the wrist to check the time. Cluelessness to these signals can be disastrous.

Body language is part of our culture and reading it well is a necessary skill for the corporate gamesman.

Facial expressions can be unspoken warnings. A distracted look indicates more pressing matters than the approval of a vacation leave. (So, you’re off to Sydney?) The “worried look” is hard to conceal. There may be no mention of unmet targets deserving attention that is being diverted to a visit to the Sydney Opera House. (This is not the time to take a break.)

The “avoidance game” is trackable. When X moves to the right, does Y discreetly move to the left? Here, crowds are used as screens the same way a three-point shooter uses blockers to get an open look. And an overt plea to the “avoider” (Is something wrong?) only makes things worse — I’m just going to the buffet table.

Cancelled meetings are also hints of a fall from grace. When regularly scheduled meetings are scrapped, it only means unscheduled ones have taken their place, often involving a smaller group.

Subsets of the cancelled meetings for the higher-ups involve sessions outside the office, or the country. (You didn’t get a business class ticket for Wednesday?) The unwritten rule on unscheduled meetings states: The more inconvenient the time and place for a meeting called by a superior, the higher the probability of bad news for the person not summoned.

Not receiving an invitation for corporate events, especially those that do not require attendance checks, indicate removal from a list. While these proceedings are not formally classified as meetings, they too have an invitation list which indicates who’s up or down. They may be terrace cocktails or even out-of-town sorties by the beach though swimming is not required.

Not being invited to a video tribute session can only mean that you are the subject of the farewell messages — he was an avuncular presence whom we tried to ignore.

Julius Caesar, the clueless victim of a palace coup, had all the warnings from people whispering in small groups and even a soothsayer impeding his progress to the forum with a clear warning to beware the ides of March. The protestation of Caesar that the ides of March have come is met by the soothsayer with a cheeky — “Aye, but not yet gone.” You know what happened next… or maybe you don’t.

Still, there is the danger of reading too much between the lines so that even the most innocent gestures are given ominous meanings. What did he mean by “have a nice day” with a raised eyebrow, just the left? Was there a touch of irony in his voice when he greeted me in the elevator?

Words, after all, have their literal meanings and thinking too much of their perhaps unintended connotation leads to paranoia. Overreaction can be unproductive. What can be worse than being dismissed as “too insecure”? (Doesn’t he have enough to do than read eyebrow movements?)

Body language, just like any form of communication, is not always accurate. The boss may just be playing the same divide-and-conquer games with gazes at the ceiling when someone is making a presentation on corporate transformation. Maybe he’s just checking for flies in the ceiling.

Even in politics, physical signals are becoming significant. Crowds in a rally are indications of support and even passion, especially when presented from an aerial view showing a sea of pink.

For sure, a crowd of almost yawning and seated followers being warmed up by an equally lukewarm cheerleader can only invite apathy. Cancelled meetings and an absence from public discussion are no help… except for those who need to relax for quite a long time.

Tony Samson is chairman and CEO of TOUCH xda

ar.samson@yahoo.com

Sustainability is a driving factor of post-pandemic tourism

March 30, 2022 | 5:04 pm

Philippine tourism is bouncing back faster than expected, with sustainability and safety among the factors that will drive the sector post-pandemic.

“We at [the Hotel and Restaurant Association of the Philippines] are very, very excited, because everything is changing now,” said Bobby Horrigan, vice-president of the association’s hotel division, at a March 30 BusinessWorld Insights webinar. (View the webinar here: https://www.facebook.com/BWorldPH/videos/563102361494361.)

He noted that for the upcoming Holy Week a lot of the resorts in Tagaytay, Batangas, Cebu, and Davao are already close to full. The MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions) business is also slowly coming back, added Mr. Horrigan.

“We see a lot of government meetings in Cebu, Davao, Mindanao… It helps when there’s an election. It’s good for the economy,” he said.

Domestic tourism was also emphasized by the Department of Tourism (DoT) representatives as a backbone of the industry. Because data has shown that travelers now prefer destinations that are low-density and closer to home, the department has enacted products related to such preferences. Examples include the heritage sugar trails in Negros Occidental, as well as farm tourism activities in various provinces like Cavite and Benguet.

“Farm tourism, given its open-space nature, is a viable product to promote in the new normal,” said Warner M. Andrada, OIC-director of the Office of Tourism Development Planning, Research, and Information Management.

Creative tourism – where travelers learn and participate in art activities, blended events, and working vacations or “workations” – is another trend that shapes the industry, according to Ramon Benedicto A. Alampay, associate professor of the Asian Institute of Tourism at University of the Philippines-Diliman.

Domestic tourism will help hotels and resorts achieve their pre-pandemic levels by 2023, he said.

“As we move towards better tourism through sustainable and responsible travel… let’s avoid the trap of revenge business – or the need to maximize our visitors as soon as we can,” said Mr. Alampay. “COVID-19 is a fact of life. Let’s continue the good habits we developed through the pandemic as we reopen.”

Mr. Horrigan said that portents of such good habits are now evident in Boracay, with the use of e-tricycles, LED (light emitting diode) sources, and reusable water bottles being embraced by the community.

Meanwhile, to help entice travelers back and rebuild confidence, establishments such as Hotel Sogo have put in place digital conveniences such as contactless services through QR codes, plus an upcoming mobile app for self-booking. It has also invested in a complement of disinfecting solutions to minimize virus transmission.

From COVID-19 sniffing dogs to anti-microbial coatings on furnishings, marketing manager Maria Suzette G. Geminiano detailed the 11 innovations that mark the hotel chain as “so clean, so good, and so safe.”

“Disinfection technologies are indispensable for hotels [moving forward],” she told the audience of the March 30 webinar. “We are willing to share what we know to our fellow players in the industry.”

In the long run, investing in sustainability “will help tourism businesses grow in innovative ways,” Mr. Andrada said. — Patricia B. Mirasol

FBI says Russian hackers scanning US energy systems and pose ‘current’ threat

March 30, 2022 | 4:52 pm

WASHINGTON — Russian hackers have been scanning the systems of energy companies and other critical infrastructure in the United States, and state-sponsored hacking by Russia presents a “current” threat to American national security, a top FBI official told lawmakers on Tuesday.

“The threat from Russia in a criminal sense, in the nation state sense, is very, very real — and current,” said Bryan Vorndran, an assistant director in the FBI’s cyber division, during a hearing before a US House of Representatives panel.

In the weeks since Russia’s unprovoked attack against Ukraine, the White House and the Justice Department have been warning US companies about intelligence suggesting that Russia has been taking early steps toward possibly launching cyberattacks.

Mr. Vorndran told lawmakers that “instances of Russian scanning” networks in the US energy sector have increased recently, and he said such activity represents a “reconnaissance phase” by Russia to try and understand a company’s defenses and whether it has vulnerabilities that could be exploited.

“It’s an extremely important part of the overall attacks,” he noted, adding later in his testimony that Russia represents “one of the two most capable cyber adversaries we face globally,” and is “a formidable foe.”

Last year, well before Russia’s attack on Ukraine, US President Joseph R. Biden openly warned Russian President Vladimir Putin that certain critical infrastructure should be “off-limits” to cyberattacks.

That warning applied to 16 different kinds of infrastructure — an apparent reference to the 16 sectors designated as critical by the US Homeland Security Department, including telecommunications, healthcare, food and energy.

Since that time Mr. Vorndran told lawmakers he was aware of software companies, among others who have been targeted with attacks.

“There are compromises against some of those 16 critical infrastructure sectors,” he said. “I can’t speak specifically to which ones.” — Reuters

US authorizes second COVID booster for Americans 50 and older

March 30, 2022 | 4:51 pm

US health officials on Tuesday authorized a second coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) booster dose of the two most commonly used COVID-19 vaccines for people age 50 and older, citing data showing waning immunity and the risks posed by Omicron variants of the virus.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) agency said the new boosters — a fourth round of shots for most vaccine recipients — of the Pfizer, Inc./BioNTech SE and Moderna, Inc. vaccines are to be administered at least four months after the previous dose. They are intended to offer more protection against severe disease and hospitalization.

The FDA also authorized a second booster dose of the vaccines for younger people with compromised immune systems — those aged 12 and older for the Pfizer/BioNTech shot and 18 and older for Moderna’s.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) backed the FDA’s authorization, recommending the additional shot, particularly for older people and those with underlying medical conditions that put them at higher risk.

The decision to offer second boosters in the United States comes as some scientists have raised concern about the highly contagious and newly predominant BA.2 Omicron subvariant, which has driven up COVID-19 cases in other countries.

“If it were my relatives, I would be sending them out to do this,” top FDA official Dr. Peter Marks said during a news conference of getting booster shots. “COVID-19 has had a really disproportional adverse effect on people 65 years of age and older and those with comorbidities.”

COVID cases in the United States have dropped sharply since a record surge in January, but have seen a small uptick over the past week, according to CDC data.

BROADER BOOSTER CAMPAIGN
Marks said the FDA will soon weigh the benefits of authorizing another round of boosters – perhaps specifically targeted to combat new variants of concern – to a broader population after the summer.

“There may be a need for people to get an additional booster in the fall along with a more general booster campaign, if that takes place, because we may need to shift over to a different variant coverage,” he said.

The FDA said it looked at data from a relatively small, ongoing clinical trial in Israel to help make its decision. In addition, safety data from more than 700,000 people who received second boosters in Israel revealed no new concerns, the agency said.

Scientists and officials have debated for months if and when an additional booster shot would be needed as they parsed data on how long protection from the vaccines and boosters would last.

“It’s not clear that now is the right time for people to get a fourth dose,” Dr. William Moss, executive director of the International Vaccine Access Center at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health said.

If there is a surge in cases in late fall or early winter, as is typical for respiratory viruses and influenza, an additional boost may then be needed, he said. The body’s neutralizing antibodies spurred on by a fourth booster given now may decline in just a few months, he said.

It is also unclear whether young, healthy people will need a fourth shot. The study of Israeli healthcare workers cited by the FDA suggested that the fourth dose added little additional protection in the age group.

Biden administration officials have said that the US government currently has enough doses of the vaccines to meet the demand for another round of booster shots in older Americans, even as funding for the US pandemic response has all but run out.

They say that unless Congress approves more spending, the government will not be likely to be able to be pay for future inoculations, if they are needed, particularly if the vaccines need to be redesigned to target new variants.

Around two-thirds of fully vaccinated Americans over the age of 65 and just over half of people between the age of 50 and 64 have gotten their first booster dose so far. — Reuters

Hong Kong leader says city’s brain drain ‘unarguable’

March 30, 2022 | 4:50 pm

HONG KONG — Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam said it was “unarguable” that the global financial hub was seeing a brain drain due to stringent coronavirus rules, but said she valued the city’s international status and envisioned a “better development” after the pandemic.

Ms. Lam’s comments come amid a backlash from businesses and residents who see the rest of the world shifting to living with the virus while Hong Kong officially sticks to a “dynamic zero” COVID-19 strategy which seeks to curb all outbreaks as soon as they occur.

Ms. Lam said no one valued the international status of Hong Kong more than herself, but the government had to adopt anti-pandemic measures to protect residents.

“These measures have certain influence on corporates and individuals, although we don’t have a figure…it’s an unarguable fact that we have a brain drain and some senior management of some corporates have left Hong Kong,” she told a daily news briefing on Wednesday.

“The most important thing is Hong Kong keeps its advantages. I believe after the pandemic, Hong Kong can have a better development.”

Ms. Lam said “streamlining” certain measures, including lifting a ban on flights from nine countries and reducing quarantine for arrivals from abroad, would help ease concerns about the city’s international status.

At the start of this year, Hong Kong implemented its most draconian measures since the pandemic began over two years ago, frustrating many residents who have been largely compliant with various COVID regulations in the hope of resuming travel internationally and with the mainland.

Hong Kong’s border has effectively been shut since 2020 with few flights able to land and hardly any passengers allowed to transit, isolating a city that had built a reputation as a global financial and travel hub.

Ms. Lam’s comments come just weeks before the city is due to hold an election on May 8 to choose who will lead the territory for the next five years.

She declined to comment on whether she will run for a new term.

The rules, together with mixed messaging from the government including whether a citywide lockdown and mass testing would take place, have triggered an exodus of residents in the past two months.

The former British colony has reported more than 1.1 million coronavirus infections and more than 7,500 deaths, most of them occurring in the past five weeks. — Reuters

Successful Filipinas give tips for handling money

March 30, 2022 | 4:31 pm

Determination, discipline, and direction are necessary to manage one’s personal and financial affairs, both in failure and in success, according to Manulife Philippines brand ambassador and Olympic gold-winning weightlifter Hidilyn F. Diaz and actress and entrepreneur Bea Alonzo.

The two Filipinas were the main guests of financial services group Manulife’s March 24 webinar celebrating International Women’s Month. They shared tips on how to build a successful mindset, properly handle finances, and care for one’s mental health.

“Before I even won my gold medal, I was already gold-driven, determined, and disciplined,” explained Ms. Diaz, who powered through three separate Olympics before she finally clinched the gold in 2021.

This kind of mindset also helped her with her financial goals, she added. A failure that she had to overcome was her poor handling of the money that came with the 2016 silver medal win — when the winnings came, she was overwhelmed and spent too much.

Ms. Diaz vowed not to do the same with her money from the 2021 gold medal win.

“Nandoon na yung pagiging kuripot at kailangan mag-allot (There’s now a sense of being stingy and a need to allot) for investments and for family,” she said. “I now have a financial advisor.”

For award-winning actress Ms. Alonzo, setting personal targets gave her something to look forward to and work towards, whether it was in terms of career or finances.

“I’m very much like Hidilyn. I’m goal oriented. Kapag meron akong gusto (If I want something), I make sure I plan ahead and I make sure I achieve that goal. It’s important to have the drive and motivation,” she explained.

Making wise investments, living within one’s means, and planning where to put money were her guiding principles as she earned more and more throughout her life.

However, what both successful Filipino women agreed on was the conviction not to stop setting more goals even after major achievements.

“I’m thinking of what’s next. Maraming nagasasabi na pwede na (Many people say it’s enough that), you’re a gold medalist,” said Ms. Diaz, “But I don’t want to stop yet.”

She confirmed that she still plans to compete in the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Meanwhile, Ms. Alonzo expressed that she has plenty she wants to do aside from maintaining her acting career: “My dreams don’t stop here, I have other dreams too aside from being an actress. I’m also a businesswoman and entrepreneur.”

Kimberly Anne Zandueta, a Manulife financial adviser, noted that both Filipinas are good examples of successful women who learned to manage their finances.

“Remember the 50-30-20 rule,” she reminded. “Divide and prioritize your income this way — 50% on needs, 30% on wants, and 20% set aside as savings.” — Bronte H. Lacsamana

AREIT, Inc. announces schedule of annual stockholders’ meeting on April 21

March 30, 2022 | 4:30 pm

AREIT, Inc. announces schedule of special stockholders’ meeting

March 30, 2022 | 3:30 pm

BW Insights | Travel Now: Safe and Sustainable Travels in the New Normal

March 30, 2022 | 2:10 pm

Living in the new normal becomes a chance to rethink how we travel by considering safety and sustainability.

As the tourism sector works towards recovery and plans its post-pandemic future, how can both travelers and the industry collaborate towards a safer and more sustainable travel?

Learn that and more this March 30 (Wednesday) at 11:00 a.m. in BusinessWorld Insights’ episode themed “Travel Now: Safe and Sustainable Travels in the New Normal” LIVE and FREE in BusinessWorld’s and The Philippine STAR’s Facebook pages.

This session of #BUSINESSWORLDINSIGHTS is supported by the British Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, Management Association of the Philippines, Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry and The Philippine STAR.

Ukraine isn’t naive, Zelenskiy says after Russian pledge to scale down attack on Kyiv

March 30, 2022 | 1:59 pm

Ukraine-Russia-flag-toy soldiers — Army soldier figurines are displayed in front of the Ukrainian and Russian flag colors background in this illustration taken, Feb. 13, 2022. — REUTERS/DADO RUVIC/ILLUSTRATION

LVIV, Ukraine/KYIV OUTSKIRTS – Ukraine reacted with skepticism to Russia’s promise in negotiations to scale down military operations around Kyiv and another city as some Western countries expected Moscow to intensify its offensive in other parts of the country.

Talks took place in an Istanbul palace more than a month into the largest attack on a European nation since World War Two that has killed or injured thousands, forced nearly 4 million to flee abroad and pummeled Russia’s economy with sanctions.

The invasion has been halted on most fronts by stiff resistance from Ukrainian forces who have recaptured territory even as civilians are trapped in besieged cities.

“In order to increase mutual trust and create the necessary conditions for further negotiations and achieving the ultimate goal of agreeing and signing (an) agreement, a decision was made to radically, by a large margin, reduce military activity in the Kyiv and Chernihiv directions,” Russian Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Fomin told reporters.

He made no mention of other areas that have seen heavy fighting, including around Mariupol in the southeast, Sumy and Kharkiv in the east and Kherson and Mykolaiv in the south.

“Ukrainians are not naive people,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said late on Tuesday.

“Ukrainians have already learned during these 34 days of invasion, and over the past eight years of the war in Donbass, that the only thing they can trust is a concrete result.”

MAJOR OFFENSIVE POSSIBLE

Russia has started moving very small numbers of troops away from positions around Kyiv in a move that is more of a repositioning than a retreat or a withdrawal from the war, the Pentagon said on Tuesday.

“We all should be prepared to watch for a major offensive against other areas of Ukraine,” spokesman John Kirby told a news briefing. “It does not mean that the threat to Kyiv is over.”

Britain’s Ministry of Defense in an intelligence update said: “It is highly likely that Russia will seek to divert combat power from the north to their offensive in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions in the east.”

Reuters could not immediately verify the claims made by either side.

The Moscow-backed self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic in eastern Ukraine may consider joining Russia once it controls all of Ukraine‘s Donetsk region, its leader was quoted as saying. Kyiv has said any such move would have no legal basis.

Russia calls its assault a “special operation” to disarm and “denazify” Ukraine. The West says it launched an unprovoked invasion.

In Ukraine‘s besieged seaport Mariupol, thousands of civilians may have died, the head of the United Nations human rights mission in the country told Reuters on Tuesday.

Those who remain are suffering.

“We are eight people. We have two buckets of potatoes, one bucket of onions,” said Irina, an engineer, in her apartment where windows had been blasted out.

Elsewhere, Ukrainian forces have made advances, recapturing territory from Russian troops on the outskirts of Kyiv, in the northeast and in the south.

In the southern city of Mykolaiv, a missile blasted a hole through the main administrative building. Authorities said at least 12 people were killed and 33 injured. Read full story

Some analysts noted that Russia’s promise to reduce fighting mostly covered areas where it has been losing ground.

The general staff of the Ukrainian armed forces said Russia’s promise to curtail military operations in some areas was “probably a rotation of individual units and aims to mislead.”

The Russian military accused Ukrainian forces in cities under attack of using ceasefires to restore their combat readiness and set up firing points in hospitals and schools, Interfax news agency said.

DIPOLOMATIC PRESSURE

U.S. President Joe Biden will talk to the leaders of France, Germany, Italy and Britain on Tuesday to discuss the latest developments in Ukraine, the White House said.

French President Emmanuel Macron is scheduled to talk to Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday.Read full story

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and U.S. deputy national security adviser for economics, Daleep Singh, will both visit India, which has called for a ceasefire but has refused to explicitly condemn Moscow. Read full story Read full story

The U.N. food chief warned on Tuesday that the war was threatening to devastate the World Food Programme’s efforts to feed some 125 million people globally because Ukraine had gone “from the breadbasket of the world to breadlines.” Read full story

PROPOSALS

Ukrainian negotiators said that under their proposals, Kyiv would agree not to join alliances or host bases of foreign troops, but would have security guaranteed in terms similar to “Article 5”, the collective defense clause of the transatlantic NATO military alliance.

They named Israel and NATO members Canada, Poland and Turkey as countries that may give such guarantees. Russia, the United States, Britain, Germany and Italy could also be involved.

The proposals, which would require a referendum in Ukraine, mentioned a 15-year consultation period on the status of Crimea, annexed by Russia in 2014.

The fate of the southeastern Donbass region, which Russia demands Ukraine cede to separatists, would be discussed by the Ukrainian and Russian leaders.

Kyiv‘s proposals also included one that Moscow would not oppose Ukraine joining the European Union, Russia’s lead negotiator Vladimir Medinsky said. Russia has previously opposed Ukrainian membership of the EU and especially of NATO.

Medinsky said Russia’s delegation would study and present the proposals to president Putin.

To prepare a peace agreement, Medinsky later told the TASS news agency, “We still have a long way to go”. – Reuters

Relentless rains submerge Australian towns for second time in a month

March 30, 2022 | 1:55 pm

rain-84648_1280 — STOCK PHOTO | Image by PublicDomainPictures from Pixabay

SYDNEY – Heavy rains deluged Australia’s east coast on Wednesday, submerging roads and bridges, while tens of thousands fled their homes for the second time within weeks after fast-moving flood waters burst river banks and broke over levees.

Several towns in northern New South Wales already reeling after record floods over a month ago were pounded by an intense low-pressure system overnight. Some regions took a month‘s rainfall in under six hours, officials said.

Australia’s east coast summer has been dominated by the La Nina climate pattern, typically associated with greater rainfall, for the second straight year with rivers already at capacity after torrential rains. Sydney has already recorded 537 mm (21.1 inches) so far this month – its wettest March on record.

“Unfortunately overnight, our worst fears have been realised with significant heavy rainfall across already saturated landscapes,” New South Wales Emergency Services Minister Stephanie Cooke said during a media briefing.

In the northern New South Wales city of Lismore, among the worst impacted by record floods earlier in March, water levels in the city’s Wilsons river breached the levee height of 10.65 metres. Lismore, home to nearly 30,000 people, received around 400 mm (16 inches) of rain over a 24-hour period up to Wednesday morning, data showed.

There was no official warning that the levee had been breached after sirens malfunctioned, local media reported.

“Everything is falling apart in Lismore at the moment … second time in a month,” Mayor Steve Krieg told Nine Network.

The weather bureau forecast “bands of very localised heavier rainfall” to drop within a few hours on Wednesday, potentially leading to life-threatening flash floods with up to 200 mm predicted to pummel many regions.

Kevin Cocciola, a farmer near Lismore who lost his city office in the deluge early in March, said he has never seen successive major flooding events within “a matter of three weeks”.

“I hope it doesn’t get as high as it did three weeks ago but Lord only knows,” he told ABC television. – Reuters