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Suns down Mavericks with blistering third quarter

DEVIN Booker scored 28 points and led a third-quarter surge as the host Phoenix Suns defeated the Dallas Mavericks 110-80 on Tuesday night to take a 3-2 lead in their Western Conference semifinal series.

Booker scored 12 points and Deandre Ayton, who finished with 20 points, had eight as the Suns outscored the Mavericks 33-14 in the third quarter to take command. Mikal Bridges and Cameron Johnson wound up with 14 points each and Chris Paul had 10 assists and seven points.

The Suns can advance to the conference finals by winning Game 6 on Thursday, but that would require the first victory by the visiting team in the series.

Luka Doncic had 28 points and 11 rebounds, Jalen Brunson scored 21 and Davis Bertans added 10 to lead the Mavericks, who shot just 8 of 32 on 3-point attempts after making 20 of 44 in their 111-101 victory in Game 5 on Sunday.

Doncic’s jumper started the third-quarter scoring and pulled Dallas within 49-48. Then the Mavericks went cold.

Ayton had four baskets and Booker made two 3-pointers and a free throw during a 17-0 run that gave the Suns a 68-50 lead.

Doncic made one of two free throws to stop the run and added a 3-pointer for the Mavericks’ first basket in nearly six minutes to trim the lead to 14.

But Johnson made baskets to start and complete a 14-6 run that gave Phoenix an 82-60 lead at the end of the third quarter. The Suns outscored the Mavericks 61-34 in the second half.

Dorian Finney-Smith hit two 3-pointers and Doncic and Maxi Kleber made one each as the Mavericks took a 24-16 first-quarter lead.

Booker scored four straight Phoenix points as the Suns trimmed the deficit to 26-23 at the end of the quarter.

Phoenix got within one point before Bertans scored seven straight Dallas points to push the lead to 38-30.

Ayton and Booker scored four points each as Phoenix pulled even at 40 late in the second quarter.

The score was tied twice more before the Suns took a 49-46 half time lead. — Reuters

Heat demolish Sixers to take 3-2 series edge

SEVEN players scored in double figures for the Heat on Tuesday night as Miami blasted the visiting Philadelphia 76ers 120-85 to grab a 3-2 lead in a best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinal series.

Jimmy Butler scored a game-high 23 points for the Heat, but unlike losses in Games 3 and 4 when he was their only consistent source of offense, he had plenty of help.

Miami’s Max Strus produced his first double-double of the postseason with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Gabe Vincent added 15 points, while Victor Oladipo came off the bench for 13. Bam Adebayo (12), Tyler Herro (10) and P.J. Tucker (10) also hit for double figures.

Butler added nine rebounds and six assists while hitting 9 of 15 field-goal attempts. Strus was 7 of 13 from the floor, including 4 of 10 from 3-point range.

Joel Embiid scored 17 points to pace Philadelphia, while James Harden added 14 and Tobias Harris netted 12 points. However, the 76ers made just 36.5% of their field-goal attempts and were outrebounded 46-36.

The Heat hit 53.6% from the field, including 13 of 33 (39.4%) from beyond the arc. The 76ers wound up 9 of 32 (28.1%) from long distance, with Georges Niang missing all six of his 3-point attempts and finishing scoreless in 16 minutes.

Game 6 is Thursday night in Philadelphia, where the 76ers try to stave off elimination. The road team hasn’t won yet in the series.

Miami set an immediate tone, rattling off 12 straight points for a 21-10 lead at the 5:16 mark of the first quarter. Strus drained consecutive 3-pointers to cap the run.

The Heat stretched the margin to 18 in the second quarter before settling for a 56-44 half time lead. Butler had 14 first-half points to lead all scorers.

Miami pushed the advantage to 20 less than four minutes into the third quarter on Vincent’s three-point play.

The cushion maxed out at 37 points late in the game. — Reuters

POC, PSC heads inspire athletes in Hanoi

HANOI — Nothing but inspiring words were showered on members of Team Philippines from Filipino sports leaders on the eve of the opening ceremony of the 31st Southeast Asian (SEA) Games on Wednesday.

“Let me start by a word of gratitude for all of you for trusting me another term to lead as City Mayor of Tagaytay,” said Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino, who’s back as mayor of the summer getaway south of Manila after completing a full term as representative of Cavite’s eighth congressional district.

“I am bringing that victory with me, as an inspiration to our team. I am also bringing the new leadership of our country with me with a fervent hope of their support to our athletes,” added Tolentino, under whose watch as POC president saw the country convincingly dominate the Philippines 2019 SEA Games, a success that cascaded to Tokyo last year when weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz won the country’s first Olympic gold medal.

“I am now back in Vietnam to lead our contingent in another rally to boost the morale of our athletes, this time to defend our medals during the last SEA Games,” he said. “tI will be a difficult task because we don’t have the advantage of our friendly host.

“But we will be putting up a really good fight because we are now regaining our old stature as an athletic force in South East Asia.”

Mr. Tolentino added: “In my heart, I honestly see the desire of our athletes to bring home the medals. It might be because our leadership is being felt, that support to them has been pouring from the government and the stakeholders that are behind us with more enthusiasm.”

“Team Philippines, we are one and we will always be one,” he stressed.

Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) Chairman William “Butch” Ramirez spoke on faith and trust over the Filipino athletes.

“This edition presented extra challenges given the pandemic,” Ramirez said. “I’m keeping my faith in the heart of our national athletes to overcome and come home victorious.”

Mr. Ramirez, whose golden touch also resulted in overall championships in the 2005 and 2019 SEA Games, went beyond winning in Vietnam.

“I hope our athletes will not only win, but will also truly experience the Games while they are there,” said Ramirez from his PSC offices in Manila. “Win medals, win friends.”

PSC Commissioner Ramon Fernandez has continued to inspire the athletes as chef de mission to the Games that were postponed from December last year because of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

“I know that the athletes are eager to show their wares,” Mr. Fernandez said. “Their spirits are high, and I wish them good luck and always remind them to have fun.”

Freelancer Protection

UPKLYAK-FREEPIK

As the 18th Congress closes in a few weeks, it is unlikely that the Senate can still pass the proposed Freelancers Protection Act. Senate Bill 1810 has been pending second reading at the Senate since September 2020. And, despite pronouncements in August 2021 that it would be fast-tracked for approval, the bill has not been passed into law.

The proposed law would have been a big help to those freelancing or doing work for themselves, as opposed to being employed or being an entrepreneur running a small business. Freelancers include “professionals” paid for their skills, time, and output on a project basis, and whose work products can be considered intellectual property or IP.

The World Intellectual Property Organization defines IP as “creations of the mind, such as inventions; literary and artistic works; designs; and symbols, names, and images used in commerce.” Ideally, IP should be protected legally through registration of patents, copyrights, or trademarks. Locally, however, this is not usually the case.

It is in this line that freelancer protection becomes doubly important. Freelancers should at least get paid, and sufficiently at that, for the work they do or what they produce. This way, while “rights” to and over the work product gets “transferred” to those who paid for it, the “creator” is first assured of proper compensation.

The problem really is the local market’s poor appreciation of the skills, time, and effort put into producing a body of work, or a “creation,” so to speak. Just because a writer can string together 1,500 words in about an hour or two doesn’t necessarily mean he should get paid for just two-hours’ work. After all, it took years or mastering a skill, not to mention education and training, for that writer to gain the ability to quickly put together a 1,500-word output.

The same with photographers, whether or not he owns a studio, or he makes use of an expensive camera or just a mobile phone in taking pictures for a client. His photographs, digital or printed, cannot be valued in terms of just the time put in. It takes skill, mastery, and experience for him to compose a well-thought out photograph.

Writers, photographers, and artists, among others, are the freelancers that Senate Bill 1810 intended to protect. Include here coders or computer programmers and other IT professionals who do project work, and others in the so-called “gig” economy — or those who work on “gigs” or short-term contracts or short-term individual professional engagements. These may also apply to consultants, or “professionals” consulted for their expertise in certain subject matters.

Freelancers are self-employed, although the latter term is more commonly used to refer to small business owners, or professional partnerships like for lawyers and accountants. Freelancers are usually individuals doing work on their own, much like individual contractors. As such, they do not normally enjoy legal protection accorded to employees, contractual works, and business owners.

Freelancers are supposed to pay income taxes as well, and issue official receipts. They are, after all, “professionals” — not because they practice a licensed profession, but due to the high level of skill, education, or training they have for the kind or work or service that they do. These include “artisans,” or skilled craft workers who make or create material objects partly or entirely by hand.

Senate Bill 1810 defines a freelance worker or freelancer as “one who offers or renders a task, work or service through his or her freely chosen means or methods, free from any forms of economic dependence, control or supervision by the client, regardless of whether he or she is paid by results, piece, task, hour, day, job or by the nature of the services required.”

It also defines freelance work as “work that is infrequent, unpredictable and
short term, and rendered in-person, online, or through any online web platforms, such as crowd-work, work on-demand or any digital lifestyle applications.”

The bill lists the “rights” or freelancers to include the following:

• Right to a written contract or agreement

• Right to just compensation and equal remuneration for work of equal value without manipulation or distinction of any kind

• Right to safe and healthy working conditions

• Right to self-organization and to collectively negotiate with the client and other entities for the promotion of their welfare and in the advancement of their rights

• Right to social protection and social welfare benefits

• Right to speedy redress of grievances, including alternative dispute resolution processes

As for freelancers getting paid, the bill also proposes that “except as otherwise provided under the contract entered into by the parties, the agreed compensation shall be paid in full not later than 30 days after the completion of the task, work or service subject of the freelance work engagement.”

Moreover, freelancers are to be recognized as also suited for government work, with the Civil Service Commission to be mandated to “issue the appropriate rules and regulations applicable to freelancers in the public sector to ensure compliance with the rights and privileges granted to freelancers under this Act, subject to applicable laws, rules and regulations governing workers in the public sector.”

Freelancers can play a major role in today’s economy. With all the advantages offered by advances in technology, and considering the need to ensure public health particularly during a pandemic, freelancers can play a significant part in keeping economies thriving even during crisis times. Freelancing is also a good opportunity to provide work for highly skilled individuals who are unemployed.

Senate Bill 1810 would have gone a long way in promoting and protecting the rights of such professionals. However, senators appear to have run out of time. It doesn’t seem like the bill is calendared for plenary consideration in the remaining days of the 18th Congress. One can only hope a similar, if not better, bill will be re-filed and passed in the next Congress.

 

Marvin Tort is a former managing editor of BusinessWorld, and a former chairman of the Philippine Press Council

matort@yahoo.com

The youth and trust in the elections

PHILIPPINE STAR/ MIGUEL DE GUZMAN
A MAN double checks his election return after casting his vote on May 9. — PHILIPPINE STAR/ MIGUEL DE GUZMAN

It’s been about 19 hours since the close of most voting precincts as we write this column on Tuesday afternoon, May 10. As we write this column, there are reports of both belief in the “partial, unofficial returns” and the possibility of Marcos becoming president on one hand, and denunciations of the results of the presidential and vice-presidential tallies as unbelievable and inconsistent with ordinary human experience, on the other. One of the reasons for the difficulty of some accepting a Marcos Jr. presidency is that up to now, the only son of Marcos Sr. had not explained the details of his program of unity.

A great number of perceptive people have been asking what the word “unity” means and how it will be operationalized. It has to be spelled out in clearer terms so that it does not remain just a strategy that his campaign strategists advised him should be his message. Candidate Marcos refused to join presidential debates where some details of each aspirant’s program could be discussed and where each candidate could answer the issues raised against him/her.

There is therefore a lot of uncertainty and anxiety. This feeling of grave concern is probably mirrored in a Viber post sent in the wee hours of Tuesday by a very successful Philippine-born Filipino-Chinese businessman of parents who migrated from the Chinese mainland. The businessman lived most of his life in the Philippines, went to Philippine schools, conducted business with other Filipinos, and generally knows the Filipino psyche and the country’s principal business and political players. One thing that stands out about this friend is that he has always maintained that the most important priority is the economy and all other concerns are second to that. His comment: “The war of the pink vs red will now start. It will be very unpleasant for all of us economically. If the pink can raise that many people at Ayala, what is to prevent them from doing it again? With all the heavy baggage of BBM, it will be very easy to find a national issue and create EDSA 3. His estate tax, past sins of the father (for which he is) not accountable. He is totally unacceptable to some groups.”

The comment, of course, assumes that the election stakeholders trust the election results as more and more people start to question the processes and its technological underpinnings.

Just a few hours ago, we saw quite a number of youth groups demonstrating in front of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) offices in Manila and Cebu. I suspect that these protest actions and their variants will continue indefinitely and will even escalate as these protests transform themselves into a movement and wage street demonstrations reminiscent of the post-Ninoy Aquino execution. As pointed out by my friend, it’s easy for those who feel aggrieved to gather a million people. These protests could continue until there are clear explanations of the workings of the automated election system which are unfortunately not easily comprehensible for many not technically inclined. What makes any explanation challenging is that all of the processes inside the computers and machines are unseen.

Unless a detailed and truthful explanation is made, the unity that is being bandied about will be hard to come by, especially in an environment of partisanship and the desire of the youth for clean elections. Points have been raised about either statistical improbability or coincidence: the ratio of votes between Marcos Jr. and Vice-President Leni Robredo is uniform in many regions and provinces, even at the various different moments of reporting. It has been pointed out that if one was to track this reporting, it’s strangely a straight line all throughout the reporting period.

While Marcos Jr.’s call for unity has not been followed by any attempt to reach out to those in the various opposing camps, the Vice-President issued a statement on election day that essentially emphasizes that. “I am aware of the many questions that remain unanswered (about the election count and results). We have been consulting experts who can extensively study all the allegations and posts in social media. At 5:30 p.m., a Mass will be held in Naga. I will be there to express my gratitude to my province-mates. On May 13, a gathering in Manila will be held so I can thank all our campaign volunteers. I will be there. We will announce details of the gathering shortly.”

While analyses are being conducted on the honesty and accuracy of the automated elections, far more discussions are being generated by the Marcos campaign strategy which was launched in 2016 when he ran and lost for vice-president against Leni Robredo. Some say the Marcos Jr. campaign started in 2010 with Cambridge Analytica and some of its ex-personnel designing the strategy. The overall campaign strategy was to rehabilitate the Marcos era as the “golden age” of Philippine history while vilifying EDSA, Ninoy Aquino, and pro-democracy forces. Duterte and the president’s information structure also had the same tactic of belittling EDSA and thus helped the Marcoses without even mentioning the Junior as a potential presidential candidate. Certain business groups and political dynasties aided this effort, working with mainstream and social media.

Some have chosen to go beyond the results of the elections, campaign strategies, messaging, organizing at the grassroots, and are questioning our electoral system as an option for effecting change, the process having been coopted by the oligarchs and dynasties working in lockstep with so many other institutions (ironically, the same ones needed for a healthy and honest democracy) including media, the courts, etc. One such commentator is Vergel Santos and here’s what he has to say the day after the elections:

“The future has been coopted. Elections have become a joke which is the culmination of the entire system of governance. A convict for president, not to mention the number one senator — what can we expect? The prospect of a government conspiring against us. All this is a consequence of defaults across the generations. We ourselves have all but lost our chances to redeem ourselves. The young are on their own and will have to claim their future for themselves: they will have to establish an alternative people power institution imposing what sanctions they can on the unrighteous, self-installed dynastic official power. I don’t know that elections are a fair option now.”

Santos’s words show particular concern for our youth who are either the children or grandchildren of veterans of the 1986 uprising. These youth showed up in droves as volunteers in campaign rallies. They are the raw material for a massive movement that could provide alternatives and the sanctions that Santos talks about.

This early the international and local business community have reacted to the uncertainty. It is imperative that trust in the elections be established. Lack of trust in the reliability (not just the accuracy) of the results could lead to long-term instability and frightening consequences that do not benefit the majority.

 

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.

Elon Musk says Japan will one day disappear. That’s a problem for investors

SHINJUKU DISTRICT at night — PEMA LAMA-UNSPLASH
SHINJUKU DISTRICT at night — PEMA LAMA-UNSPLASH

“YOU CAN INVEST in Japan with confidence,” Fumio Kishida, the country’s prime minister, told an international audience at the City of London last week in a Japanese-language address, adding a three-word declaration in English almost as an exclamation point: “Invest in Kishida.”

The call seemed a throwback to speech by another Japanese leader — Shinzo Abe’s 2013 appeal at the New York Stock Exchange for investors to “Buy my Abenomics!” Abe’s rallying cry was, at least temporarily, a success. Foreign money flowed in during the early years of his premiership as investors bought into his narrative that Japan was back.

That story didn’t last as Abenomics ran out of gas. Only time will tell if Kishida will be more successful, though markets have so far paid it little heed, with the Nikkei 225 falling 2.4% since his speech amid a global market rout. But a comment by the world’s richest man just days after Kishida’s shows why the prime minister needs more than just a catchphrase to persuade investors of Japan’s long-term growth prospects.

“Unless something changes to cause the birth rate to exceed the death rate, Japan will eventually cease to exist,” Elon Musk warned on Sunday, tweeting a response to a story on Japan’s 11th straight year of population declines.

Musk, who has fretted before about the risks of global “population collapse,” might be exaggerating for effect. But his tweet triggered debate in Japan because it adds to a narrative bothering the country: that of a graying nation shrinking into irrelevance. Given that Musk is something of a Japanophile — he got a Shiba inu puppy last year and makes references to Japanese pop culture in his tweets — Kishida is going to find it hard to persuade less Japan-minded investors of the country’s merits.

Japan’s markets tend only to gain significantly when investors have a compelling narrative to latch onto. The reform-minded run of Junichiro Koizumi in the early 2000s was one such example; Abenomics another. Kishida needs one of his own.

“Invest in Kishida” could be a hard sell. First, many are rightly apprehensive over whether he’ll will be around in the long-term. His predecessor Yoshihide Suga, lasted just a year before becoming the latest of Japan’s short-lived leaders. “Is it worth remembering the name of Japan’s new PM or will he be replaced in three to six months?” asked the Fintwit account Zerohedge when Kishida was elected leader last year, summing up the disdain many have for a country where returns have long been thought to go to die.

Such scorn, though, is misplaced. Even after the glory years of Abenomics faded, profits continued to rise along with shareholder payouts. Corporate governance reforms triggered by Abe have made M&A easier. The country’s startups, which Kishida also vocally supports, are attracting increasing interest from foreign heavyweights. Private equity is bullish on the nation’s prospects. Banks are healthy. Money is still cheap. And the country weathered the pandemic better than most other nations without ever resorting to lockdowns.

Indeed, conditions seem better for Kishida to attract foreign investment than they were for Abe. Back in 2013, Abe was viewed with suspicion by many wary of his disastrous first term as leader and misplaced concerns about re-militarization. And the yen was coming off record highs. Indeed, China’s President Xi Jinping was seen in better light, still the sort to be invited to have pints at the UK prime minister’s local pub.

A decade later, China looks like a much riskier investment destination. Bankers have fled Hong Kong as its reputation as an international financial center has taken a bruising. Shanghai’s COVID lockdowns have given expats first-hand reminders of what living in an authoritarian state looks like. While Kishida didn’t invoke China in his speech directly, repeated references to Japan’s “stability” and its being “open to the world” made the contrast clear.

The weak yen should make investing in Japan and its companies appear cheap. And as for Musk’s population concerns, Japan is far from alone — merely the front-runner. Its fertility rate, while below replacement level, is still higher than Italy, Spain, or the current pop-culture haven of South Korea, the lowest in the world.

And yet, perhaps Tesla, Inc. itself tells a tale. While the automaker initially teamed up with Panasonic Holdings Corp. to source batteries for its cars, China’s Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd. has long since overtaken it, becoming the world’s biggest maker of EV batteries. Unlike Shanghai, Japan hosts no Tesla gigafactory, while sales of its cars in the country remain relatively minuscule.

Investors are unlikely to be convinced by an appeal to invest in a prime minister whose name they seemingly can’t be bothered to remember. Things haven’t been helped by the fact that Japan’s borders have been closed for most of the past two years. Getting into the country is still a hassle.

Abe found a simple way to sell his vision with his “Three Arrows” of Abenomics. Kishida’s signature policy, which he calls his “New Form of Capitalism,” is tough even for locals to understand. Explaining it took up 2,500 words of his Guildhall speech last week, his first real attempt to pitch the concept abroad.

Kishida, nonetheless, made some of the right noises. He trotted out a long-held goal of Japanese leaders to shift household assets from cash to investments, but also offered plans to expand tax-free accounts. His aims of increasing companies’ R&D and capex spending are on the right track.

But this can only be a start. Kishida has to change international perceptions. Investors want promises of structural reforms and productivity gains, something Kishida’s chief rival for LDP leader last year, Taro Kono, seemed to offer. Those promises then need to be backed up.

Ultimately it’s the Elon Musks of this world that Kishida needs to convince of Japan’s growth story. But that’s going to take more than a speech and a so-so catchphrase. 

BLOOMBERG OPINION

A time to be irrelevant?

PCH.VECTOR-FREEPIK

There’s the still stalled Russian invasion of Ukraine, a sigh of relief on the recent French election results, the surges of COVID cases in other parts of the world, and the erratic movement of the stock market. This week too we just finished our own elections, with the results already out.

Is it time to briefly change the topic and be… irrelevant?

Relevance refers to being pertinent to the matter at hand. In discussions over beer, a person can be dismissed as irrelevant if he digresses from hot topics in social media and Viber groups. (Have you seen the latest Tik-Tok?) Everyone seems glued to the small screen of the smart phone for news and opinions. (Were there influencers during your time, Dad?)

It seems there is no refuge for the disinterested and out of touch — let me check if the pasta is al dente.

The option to unplug from all media platforms, including “word of mouth” entails going off into a virtual retreat. Where can you find someone willing to venture into other topics totally unconnected to current events — I’m reading a biography of Joan of Arc. Yes, she was declared a saint only after 500 years of her execution at 19 years old. (Women leaders persevere until the job is done.)

Irrelevance allows us to appreciate the unspectacular aspects of our lives and can make us boring company. Relevance comes from the Latin word for lightening up, relieving, and lifting. “Levare” (to raise) is the same root word for elevator (which can bring us up and down), levity, and levitation. So, being relevant raises interest, as well as tempers, in discussions with those having opposite views.

Getting too close to an issue leads to passionate debate where sides are taken, often leading to name-calling and exiting from a Viber group in a huff — I can’t stand the postings of that moron who is simply undeterred from this irritating practice.

In basketball (our favorite metaphor for life) it is where the ball is not that allows the live spectator a viewing advantage absent from the TV audience which sees only the play where the ball happens to be. Thus, a player moving without the ball may be in the best position to catch the ball for that critical unguarded shot. Being temporarily out of play can be the best way to see the play and score.

Irrelevance can keep us busy. It is the stuff of our columns. (What’s he talking about?) We hope to catch up on the next Dickens book in our reading list, Bleak House. We are trying to make a significant dent on our inventory of unread books (both paper and virtual) by maintaining our pace of reading (two books a week, at least) and avoiding purchases or downloading of new books — both lost causes. It may be already a pathological disorder to pre-order books available in August 2022 (Robert Galbraith’s The Ink Black Heart) when we still have the biography of Tolstoy in our virtual library unread.

Anyway, piling up books for future reading is a sign of optimism that we will somehow eventually get to them before a heart seizure and the onset of dementia make that goal unattainable. Still, there is more to life than speculating on the sad fate of candidates and the rise of fake news. The Walrus of Alice in Wonderland gives us an alternative list of topics to consider: “talk of many things: of shoes and ships, and sealing wax, and cabbages and kings.” Note that politics is last. And the internet is not even hinted at.

Being irrelevant should not be equated to cluelessness. It’s a matter of choice when deciding what topics to spend time on, or which ones to avoid. Opinions and those who write them just differ on their subject matter. Topics like power and losing it are surely relevant to those concerned. For some, interest lies more in mundane pleasures like landscape architecture, ice cream, and the pleasure of other people’s company.

Relevance has to do with a point of view. The private life can be irrelevant in public discourse. So, irrelevance is merely temporary… until the national interest pulls us back into the discussion.

 

Tony Samson is chairman and CEO of TOUCH xda

ar.samson@yahoo.com

Ukraine halts some Russian gas flows

A MODEL of the natural gas pipeline is placed on Russian rouble banknote and a flag in this illustration taken on March 23. — REUTERS

KHARKIV, Ukraine — Flows of Russian gas to Europe through a key transit point in Ukraine dried up on Wednesday, while Kyiv claimed battlefield gains over invading Russian forces, including the recapture of four villages around the second city of Kharkiv.

Ukraine has remained a major route for Russian gas to Europe even after President Vladimir Putin ordered what he called a “special military operation” on Feb. 24.

Mounting Western sanctions are seeking to ban or phase out the use of Russian energy, a major source of funds for Mr. Putin’s war effort and a vulnerability for Europe, especially Germany.

Blaming the interference of Russian occupying forces for the suspension, Ukraine’s gas operator said on Tuesday it would redirect gas from the Sokhranivka transit point, which is in an area occupied by Russian forces, to another in a Ukraine-controlled area.

Early Wednesday data from the network operator showed zero nominations for Russian gas through the transit point.

Since Russia was forced to abandon an assault on the capital Kyiv at the end of March, its main force has been trying to encircle Ukrainian troops in the eastern Donbas region, using the city of Izyum near Kharkiv, in the northeast, as a base.

Ukrainian troops have mostly held out against assaults from three directions, and top US intelligence officials say the war is now at a stalemate.

Mr. Putin appeared to be preparing for a long conflict, and a Russian victory in the Donbas region might not end the war, US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines said in Washington on Tuesday.

But the counterattack near Kharkiv could signal a new phase, with Ukraine going on the offensive and supply lines into Russia now potentially vulnerable.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukrainian successes were gradually pushing Russian forces out of Kharkiv, which has been under bombardment since the war began.

“But I also want to urge all our people … not to spread excessive emotions. We should not create an atmosphere of excessive moral pressure, where victories are expected weekly and even daily,” Zelensky said in a video address.

GATHERING BODIES
In the villages of Staryi Saltiv and Vilkhivka near Kharkiv, Ukrainian servicemen gathered the bodies of Russian soldiers who were killed in the fighting, according to Reuters witnesses.

Russian forces were trying to prevent Ukrainian troops from moving further towards the border in the Kharkiv region and were trying to fully take over the town of Rubizhne, Ukraine’s general staff said early on Wednesday.

Ukrainian border guards reported Russian forces were shelling Sumy and Chernihiv regions close to the border.

“Enemy aircraft twice launched non-guided missiles on border areas of Sumy. There were also two instances of mortar shelling in Chernihiv region,” they said on their Telegram channel.

In the south, Ukrainian armed forces said they struck nine enemy targets, with enemy losses of 79 servicemen and 12 pieces of equipment, including armored vehicles and howitzers.

Russian fire was concentrated on the Mykolaiv region where private homes were damaged as well as farms and power lines to one town.

Russian forces continued to pummel the Azovstal steelworks in the southern port of Mariupol with artillery, tanks and aircraft bombing, Ukraine’s general staff said, trying to capture the last bastion of Ukrainian resistance in the ruined city.

Ukraine says tens of thousands of people have been killed in the city under two months of Russian siege.

Russia was trying to reinforce exposed troops on Zmiinyi Island, also known as Snake Island, which became famous for the foul-mouthed defiance of Ukrainian border guards early in the invasion.

“If Russia consolidates its position on Zmiinyi Island with strategic air defense and coastal defense cruise missiles, they could dominate the northwestern Black Sea,” the British Ministry of Defense said in a regular bulletin.

Russia’s resupply vessels have minimum protection in the western Black Sea, following the Russian navy’s retreat to Crimea after the loss of the flagship Moskva, it said.

Reuters was unable to independently verify the reports of fighting.

The number of Ukrainians who have fled their country is approaching 6 million, according to the United Nations, which says the refugee crisis is the fastest growing since World War II.

Russia denies targeting civilians and rejects Ukrainian and Western allegations of war crimes. — Reuters

President Biden says Fed targeting inflation, China tariffs under review

REUTERS

WASHINGTON — United States President Joseph R. Biden, under pressure to tame high inflation, told Americans on Tuesday that he understands their plight and that he and the US Federal Reserve are working to solve what he called his administration’s top domestic priority.

“They’re frustrated,” Mr. Biden said of Americans paying more for goods and services across the board. “I don’t blame them.”

As inflation pushes annual consumer prices more than 8% higher than a year ago, the president highlighted his release of oil from strategic petroleum reserves and his pressure on companies with record-high profits to lower prices.

“I want every American to know that I am taking inflation very seriously and it is my top domestic priority,” Mr. Biden told reporters.

Fewer than half of US adults — 42% — approve of Mr. Biden’s handling of the presidency and they rate the economy as the country’s most important problem, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll this week.

Mr. Biden said the COVID-19 pandemic, coupled with supply chain issues and Russia’s war on Ukraine, were to blame for the inflation spike.

Mr. Biden and fellow Democrats rushed trillions in new COVID aid and infrastructure spending into the economy last year, fueling a record rebound last year. Republicans and some economists have said the spending also fueled inflation.

A March study from the Federal Reserve bank of San Francisco estimated US fiscal stimulus added 3 percentage points to current inflation data, but said without the spending the economy might have tipped into deflation, which would have been more difficult to manage.

“We’re in power,” Mr. Biden said when asked whether he deserved the blame for high prices. “We control all three branches of government. Well, we don’t really,” he added, lamenting his fellow Democrats’ inability to get other spending bills passed because of their narrow control of Congress.

Mr. Biden said the Federal Reserve should and will do its job to control it. The central bank raised interest rates by half a percentage point last week and is expected to roll out additional hikes this year.

The president did not announce new policy measures in the speech ahead of new consumer price data on Wednesday expected to show inflation remained elevated through April.

But he said he was considering eliminating Trump-era tariffs on China as a way to lower prices for goods in the United States. “No decision has been made on it,” he said.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters later there could be more on tariffs in “coming weeks.”

AIMING AT REPUBLICANS
Mr. Biden and top officials said multiple times as prices rose in 2021 that they expected inflation to be temporary, but it has persisted.

On Tuesday, he sought to deflect blame to Republicans, who he said have less of a plan than he does and have thwarted his policies to fight it. Democrats are defending narrow majorities in the Nov. 8 congressional elections that will determine who controls the Senate and House of Representatives.

Republicans have promoted loosening regulations on oil and gas producers as well as cutting some taxes and government spending, but have not endorsed any policy document on inflation.

Mr. Biden took aim at a “Rescue America” proposal from Republican Rick Scott, the US senator from Florida, that includes a federal minimum income tax which the White House says would cost middle-class families $1,500 a year.

“The Republican plan is to increase taxes on middle class families,” he said.

Scott, speaking to reporters on Capitol Hill, shot back: “He just wants to blame everybody.” — Reuters

New Zealand to open int’l borders fully to visitors by end-July

Image via Anup Shah/Flickr/CC BY-SA 2.0

WELLINGTON — New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Wednesday the country will fully reopen its international borders from 11:59 p.m. on July 31, with cruise ships also welcome back to local ports on the same day.

The end-July opening of the border is two months earlier than the government’s previous time frame and will mean visitors who need visas will now be able to come to New Zealand.

Ms. Ardern said in a speech to a Business NZ lunch in Auckland that opening the borders would help to relieve urgent skills shortages, open up tourism and put immigration settings on a more secure footing.

“We are building on our proven plan to secure New Zealand’s economic future,” Ms. Ardern said. — Reuters

International news aggregator SQUID launches app in the Philippines 

SQUID App (Njuice AB), a news aggregator for publications across 60 countries, will launch its app on the Apple Store within the week. It already launched its Android app in the Philippines on May 11. 

SQUID offers users a personalized news feed based on smart algorithms from over 100 news categories and 20,000 sources worldwide.  

Theirs is a news service that targets millennials in Europe, Asia Pacific, and Latin America, said country manager Flora Mae Y. Torres.  

“Our belief is that free media is of utmost importance in a democracy, and [that] the better-informed citizens are, the better decisions they can make for the future,” she told BusinessWorld in an e-mail.  

“We want to help younger generations rediscover news reading as a fun, valuable and engaging daily activity — in the language they prefer,” said Johan Othelius, CEO and founder of SQUID App, in a press statement.  

The app drives traffic to websites in order to help its publishing partners gain additional revenue. By clicking either the headline or image of a story, users are directed to publishers’ web pages, Ms. Torres said.  

“SQUID doesn’t reproduce the publication articles,” she said in the e-mail. “It will embed your entire publication within your app so that your reader will read it in the context on your site header. Users will also see the publications’ ads featured on their sites.”  

Among the publications found in the app are BBC Minute, Al Jazeera, Politico, Sky News, Channel News Asia, The Philippine Daily Inquirer, Brigada News, and Remate Online. 

SQUID would be happy to discuss syndication with publishers, Ms. Torres added. 

Given Filipinos’ inclination for social media, the app has moreover created its own Facebook page to raise awareness of its brand.  

The Stockholm-headquartered company was founded in 2015. It was named SQUID to represent the marine animal’s many arms grasping for interesting stories.  

“Believe it or not, squids are really smart animals. They are able to count, solve problems, recognize patterns, and communicate,” said Ms. Torres. “Communication is the core of our business.” — Patricia Mirasol

Enterprise tech, financial services most vulnerable to cyberattacks — Secuna 

PIXABAY

Around 494 vulnerabilities across 21 private local firms — mostly enterprise technology and financial services companies — were detected last year in a 2022 study by Philippine cybersecurity testing platform provider Secuna.  

Of the cyber weaknesses detected, 58.89% came from the enterprise technology sector in which 30 were classified as critical-risk, 56 as high-risk, and 152 as medium-risk. Meanwhile, about 20% of the vulnerabilities came from the financial services sector. 

The top three critical weaknesses found by Secuna were “remote code execution (RCE) flaws, SQL (structured query language) injection flaws, andexposed .git repositories,” it said in its report.  

RCE can be used to remotely control a target server, retrieve the source code, access the database, and even delete the server’s filesystem. SQL injection vulnerabilities can allow full access to a database and massive data breaches. Exposed .git repositories can be exploited to retrieve the source code of a target app, Secuna explained. 

In 2021, the Bankers Association of the Philippines (BAP) revealed that unauthorized withdrawals and transfers reached more than P1 billion for that year, amid a rise in cybercrime along with the rise in digital transactions due to the pandemic.  

“We encourage companies to review their assets for these security gaps and take measures to eliminate known vulnerabilities,” said AJ Dumanhug,Secuna’s chief executive officer and co-founder, in a statement.

He added that every valid bug submitted by their ethical hackers and researchers merit a reward depending on the severity of the cyber weakness discovered. Along with the report, Secuna announced that its bug bounty payouts have increased to $24,045.  

The cybersecurity platform also has a bug bounty program (BBP) service that allows its clients compliant with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas and National Privacy Commission to work with security researchers around the world to identify security threats.  

“Cybercriminals are already testing your app to find potential loopholes that will allow them to compromise your application or server. Having no BBP will leave you clueless about potential vulnerabilities in your application. BBP solves this problem by allowing good hackers to report those potential vulnerabilities,” said Mr. Dumanhug.  

In March, he said that Secuna is looking into a partnership with the Philippine government for a free cyberattack simulation, in order to improve the country’s capacity to defend against cybercrime. — Bronte H. Lacsamana