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Calling all plantitos and plantitas: The details of KSK

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(Part 2)

There is a providential feature of the Kabalikat Sa Kabuhayan (KSK) program of the SM Foundation, done in partnership with Harbest Agribusiness Corp., that fits perfectly into the proposal of Secretary of Finance Benjamin Diokno for LGU heads to use part of the additional funding they will receive under the Mandanas-Garcia ruling to improve food supply at their respective levels.

The late Henry Sy, Sr. (and later his daughter, Tessie Sy Coson) had the very practical foresight to, from the very beginning, involve the Local Government Units (LGUs) in the implementation of the KSK. With the LGUs providing the leadership in the respective locations where the projects are located, other major stakeholders in improving agricultural productivity — NGOs, state universities and colleges (SUCs), cooperatives and other farmers’ associations — have been mobilized. The SM Food Group (SM Supermarket, SAVEMORE, SM Hypermart, and the SM Mall Management) provides guidance, encouragement and marketing support to the participants.

To inspire as many LGUs and other support groups to follow the lead of the SM Foundation, Inc. (SMFI) in collaboration with Harbest, let me describe in detail what this program is all about.

This skills training program is made up of 12 weekly training modules. The training day is fixed by Harbest in consultation with the LGUs and the participants. The training usually lasts for the whole day, i.e., 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. The famous German dualvoc (dual training) concept is employed. This means combining theoretical instruction with hands-on field practice. There are technical briefings with power point presentations meant to explain the agricultural technology being taught. Each session will have specific topics and procedures. The briefing is then followed by an actual field practice in which everyone is expected to participate actively.

The topics include project orientation, land preparation, seedling propagation, transplanting, fertilization, irrigation, plant pests and diseases-identification and control, crop management, harvesting and marketing. The training usually culminates with a harvest festival and graduation.

It is obvious from this detailed description of the curriculum that KSK programs closely resemble the master gardening programs described earlier as offered by some academic institutions in the US. At some point during the Marcos Jr. presidential term, the initiative spreading this movement should shift to the SUCs in tandem with the respective LGUs. It is only logical to expect that the SUCs in the Ilocos region — the bailiwick of the President — should be the most active in implementing these training programs. Beyond training actual small farmers to improve their capability of producing high-value crops, these programs should produce many master gardeners who will be the trainors themselves of farmers and would-be farmers. I would like to see numerous children of middle-class households being attracted to the occupation of master gardener.

To literally whet the appetite of our government leaders in the incoming Administration, let me enumerate in detail the types of food crops that can be significantly increased in a short period of time if the KSK program is spread widely all over the country. Under the KSK, open field planting of more than 10 crops of different varieties will be done. These are ampalaya, patola, upo, talong, kamatis, sitao, okra, kalabasa, lettuce, petchay, mustasa, kangkong, labanos, sili, melon, pakwan and honeydew melon (bitter melon, Luffa acutangula or silk gourd, bottle gourd, eggplant, tomato, string beans, okra, pumpkin, lettuce, Chinese cabbage, mustard, swamp cabbage, white raddish, chili, melon, watermelon, and honeydew melon) for the lowland. For projects in upland areas (like Tagaytay, Mountain Provinces and Bukidnon), broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, and bell pepper can be included. The final list of crops under the KSK was usually decided among Harbest, SMFI, and the beneficiary.

The participants were strictly limited to 100 small vegetable farmers and 10 agriculturists (who would be trained to become future trainors or master gardeners) from the participating LGUs. A few established and big commercial growers may participate with prior approval. The trainees are selected by the partner LGUs, the Department of Agriculture (DA), the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and other entities designated by SMFI as project partners. The final list of participants is decided by DA, DSWD and Harbest for submission to SMFI and final decision.

To instill from the beginning the value of discipline and perseverance, all participants should be committed to attending all the training sessions. Two absences shall be cause for the dropping of the participant from the list.

To serve as a model for other partnerships that may be crafted by similarly motivated private foundations, or NGOs who may want to replicate the KSK program of the SM Foundation, Inc., it would be useful to describe here the roles played by the different partners in the original KSK.

SM Foundation, Inc. is the propriety owner of the SMFI KSK farmers training program that is being implemented by Harbest  with the participation of the DA, DSWD, LGUs, farmers and other entities. SMFI prepares the schedule of launching and graduation of each KSK training batch. It also provides the funds per project to cover the training fee for the Harbest training module, farm inputs from Harbest and expenses for the launching and graduation ceremonies. Disbursements are under the control of SMFI, which also shall have the sole prerogative on the determination of the project sites. The final location of the venue is decided upon evaluation of prospective partners provided by Harbest.

On its part, Harbest makes the final selection of the venue based on the project sites recommended by SMFI. It will then inform and orient all prospective beneficiaries on the KSK program to be implemented in each site. Harbest will then review the list of participants provided by the participating LGUs, DSWD and other beneficiaries.

It will be Harbest who will assign the trainors for each program. Harbest trainors are experienced in practical farming technologies and have handled several season-long programs using the dual-tech method. The trainor in charge of each project will implement the weekly training sessions with briefings and hands-on field practice of the participants. He shall make sure that the attendance of the participants is documented properly. He shall organize the participants into groups, with a group leader each. Each group is given very specific assignments for every session. The trainor also assures that the standing crops are properly maintained and that all the necessary procedures are followed in the course of the training program to optimize the results of the program.

All direct inputs, such as seeds, fertilizers, pest and disease controls, mulching film, seedling tray, medium, bamboo trellis, trellis nets and other direct supplies for each project shall be supplied by Harbest.

The beneficiary or host LGU shall provide the 5,000 square meters of land to be used free of charge in the KSK project. This should be flat or slightly rolling, with sufficient water supply for irrigation, cleared and ready for cultivation and planting, accessible, not flood prone and with proper drainage canals, secured from stray animals and vandals. A project manager shall be appointed by the host LGU who will coordinate the listing of participants, preparation of the project venue, coordinate the attendance of the participants, and coordinate with other participating LGUs and beneficiaries, if any. He/she shall be responsible for the accounting of the inputs and produce harvested from the field. He/she shall also coordinate with the Harbest trainors on each training session. The LGU should provide two full-time farm laborers who will do the daily watering and maintenance of the standing crops.

A training hall or tent should be made available on the training site for the briefings with power point presentations. A sound system should be provided. Electricity should be available. Chairs for the participants should be provided for free on site, and made available also for the culminating festival activities. Needless to say, restrooms should be available within the project site. Living quarters near the training site should be provided for the trainors in case there will be need for overnight stays during the training sessions. This is especially required if the sites are in remote places.

The two most relevant government departments, as mentioned above, are the DA and the DSWD. The DA, through its regional and provincial officers, shall provide guidance on the selection of beneficiaries and determine the viability of the sites that are prospects for the training program. It shall also provide logistics support for the participants according to the approved support program. In turn, the DSWD will select Pantawid Pampamilya prospective participants near the training site for the KSK training program. The DSWD will also assign trainors for the values formation component of the training program. These trainors shall conduct weekly sessions on social empowerment like capacity building, values formation, community organizing, basic business accounting and financial literacy. The DSWD training modules will be incorporated into the weekly training program in coordination with Harbest.

Although this KSK program was a pioneering project of the SM Foundation, Inc., thanks to the foresight and entrepreneurial genius of the late Henry Sy, Sr., Harbest Agribusiness Corp. is willing to partner with other private groups or LGUs to implement parallel programs. The priority will be in the training of master gardeners or trainors so that the multiplier effect can be significantly increased. For those interested in implementing a similar program, they may contact the CEO of Harbest Agribusiness Corp., Arsenio Barcelona at arseniobarcelona@gmail.com.

(To be continued.)

 

Bernardo M. Villegas has a Ph.D. in Economics from Harvard, is professor emeritus at the University of Asia and the Pacific, and a visiting professor at the IESE Business School in Barcelona, Spain. He was a member of the 1986 Constitutional Commission.

bernardo.villegas@uap.asia

Want to become a digital nomad? Try before you buy

SENIVPETRO-FREEPIK

CHARLES MCCORMICK is the CEO of City Bikes, Inc., a couple of bike shops in Washington, one in Adams Morgan and one in Tenleytown, both of which do a healthy trade in e-bikes. He is also a digital nomad who has spent most of his time since 2009 on the road. “You are sitting in front of your computer to get your administration done,” he says, “so why not do it somewhere nice.”

McCormick’s desire to be “somewhere nice” has driven him to ride his motorbike across Europe, South America, Africa, and Central Asia (“it’s a progressive tour that is ongoing”), and involved him in some hair-raising moments, including being expelled from Mali during the 2011 coup. He’s now decided to swap his motorcycle for a camper van re-engineered to accommodate e-bikes.

Our grizzled veteran notes three phases in the nomad movement. The housing crash in 2007-8 forced some people to abandon their houses for the itinerant life. The idea of “going untethered” caught fire with younger people in 2015-17. Then the pandemic took the nomad life mainstream, demonstrating that regular people can work from anywhere (paradoxically, McCormick went back to Washington during the pandemic because the e-bike business was growing so fast). One force has been constant, however: the relentless improvement in enabling technology. When he first started on his odyssey, he wasted a lot of time looking for a signal; today, thanks to satellite internet services such as SpaceX’s Starlink and internet phone systems such as Google Fi, life on the road is a lot easier.

Working-from-home is so well established that it has its own acronym (WFH) and, presumably, its own syndrome. But what happens if you can’t abide the idea of even two days a week in the office?

Nobody knows how many digital nomads there are — the oft-repeated claim of 35 million owes more to evangelism than sober accounting — but a new breed of people is undoubtedly emerging and exploiting modern technology in ways that defy our most basic assumptions about the relationship between work and physical place.

The most conservative members of the new nomadic tribe are digital executives who want to combine high-level jobs with soaking up the sun. Many of them own their own businesses and so can decide where they want to be. Others have “gone plural” — they sit on several boards or offer advice to multiple companies and so can work over Zoom.

The most popular option for digital executives is to buy a permanent place in the sun and live there for several months a year. Ever-sensitive to movements in the luxury property market, Savills Plc. has recently constructed an executive nomad index based on climate, connectivity, both physical and virtual, and general quality of life. The top five destinations are Lisbon, Miami, Dubai, the Algarve (also in Portugal), and Barbados.

Another method is the “workation” of “bleisure” break. Some executives have taken to extending business trips to include some leisure; some return to work virtually while staying on in their holiday resorts; still others work full-time on vacation while their families frolic. Elite resorts are responding to this blurring of boundaries between work and leisure by providing on-call IT support, improving their conference facilities, installing Zoom rooms, and throwing in massages.

Digital nomads proper contain lots of different tribes, from road warriors like McCormack to migratory birds who like to spend half the year in warmer places. “Crypto Bros” want to build communities outside the jurisdiction of the state; hippies want to do much the same thing but with lots of tofu and yoga thrown in; trust fund nomads pretend to work while spending daddy’s money; Californians want to cash in on that state’s exorbitant house prices or escape from its onerous taxes; and some middle-class refugees from rich countries can only afford to live the same comfortable lifestyle as their parents if they move to emerging markets.

Zach Boyette is an acute observer of the nomad scene partly because he is a nomad himself and partly because he recruits the employees of his company, Galactic Fed, from the nomadic community, which he regards as a deep and expanding pool of talent. He argues that the average digital nomad is in their early thirties — the mean age is perhaps 33 — rather than backpackers in their early twenties. It takes a certain level of discipline and experience to preserve the lifestyle, and most people who think that they can go on the road after college and make a living in a cloud of marijuana smoke and beer belches are soon disappointed.

He also points to an emerging paradox: the growth of permanent digital nomad communities in Asia and Eastern and Southern Europe. The most prominent of these are Bali, Indonesia; Chiang Mai, Thailand; Danang, Vietnam; Cape Town, South Africa; Lisbon, Portugal; Barcelona, Spain; and, the scene of a recent digital nomad “unconference,” Nomad Fest, Bansko, Bulgaria. Some digital nomads migrate between these various communities. Others fall in love with one place and create permanent nests.

More than two dozen countries have introduced nomad-friendly visa and work-schemes since 2019, most notably Croatia, Estonia, the Czech Republic, and Portugal in Europe; Bermuda, Barbados, and Mexico near the US; and the UAE and Thailand in the rest of the world. Zoom’s background function lets you disguise where you’re living. Companies are cropping up to take the lifestyle mainstream: Remote Year puts professionals together into groups to live, work, and travel together, organizing everything from co-working spaces to white-water rafting expeditions; Outpost rents out temporary living-working spaces in Indonesia and Sri Lanka. There are nomad-specific insurance schemes, how-to web sites galore, and co-workspace arrangements that will unlock office doors from Madrid to Kuala Lumpur. Airbnb is shifting its focus from short-stay accommodation to long-term rentals, with an emphasis on beach cottages, forest cabins, and other “work-cation” fantasy resorts.

Still, serious problems persist. The world is still built around nation-states, particularly for tax and welfare. Too many nomads think they can get away with “forgetting” to file their taxes while relying on local hospitals if they break their leg. Visa rules in one of the most popular destinations, Indonesia, are still unclear. Particularly at the level of local officials and police, people, even countries that claim to be nomad-friendly can harbor significant hostility to westerners. Working while traveling can mean that you don’t do either properly: When nomads arrive in a new place, all too many are more interested in catching a Wi-Fi signal than contemplating the scenery. As for the beach, it’s impossible to imagine a worse place to work: Sand gets everywhere, the sun prevents you from being able to see your screen and, if you’re unlucky, the sea destroys your laptop.

Digital nomads can flame out, fall sick or get into trouble. Those who start out working for big companies can find themselves downgraded to part-time contractors and then freelancers, making it ever harder to earn enough money to live on. Ukraine was a popular destination for nomads before Vladimir Putin invaded. Now another popular destination, Sri Lanka, is going through agonies of its own. McCormick emphasizes that the lifestyle is “not for everyone.” Boyette argues that it is likely to combine phases of life — a spell in your thirties then perhaps another spell when you’re approaching retirement — rather than a permanent state of affairs.

The current popularity of the nomadic lifestyle raises problems of its own. What is the difference between a digital nomad and a digital expat? Digital nomads can bring rising prices and cultural imperialism in their wake. Bali’s Seminyak district feels more and more like California, with its Starbucks and Mexican restaurants, than an authentic part of Indonesia, sparking local resentment that sometimes flames into theft or violence.

Can companies really operate if their workers are completely detached from their headquarters? Boyette points out that Galactic Fed devotes an enormous amount of effort to “on-boarding” its employees and keeping them engaged. But for most companies managing employees on the other side of the world might prove a challenge too far. And if they can indeed cope with the challenge, why not dispense with all those expensive westerners and simply outsource jobs to educated Thais and Indonesians who will do the same work for a tenth of the pay? Knowledge workers have gained a lot of freedom thanks to the remote working revolution. That deserves to be celebrated. But going one step further and untethering ourselves completely from the mothership might prove to be too good to be true.

BLOOMBERG OPINION

Filling the gaps in corporate fiduciary duties

SCOTT GRAHAM-UNSPLASH

It is the legal obligation of every corporate officer or director to protect the best interests of the corporation. As agent entrusted with the management of the corporation, he is expected to observe the utmost level of good faith. This duty which the officer or director owes to the corporation is otherwise known as the fiduciary duty of loyalty. Thus, one cannot take advantage of his position for his own personal benefit at the expense of the corporation’s resources. Otherwise, he may be held liable for damages under the Doctrine of Corporate Opportunity.

This doctrine is enshrined in Section 33 of the Revised Corporation Code (RCC), which states that: “Where a director, by virtue of his office, acquires for himself a business opportunity which should belong to the corporation, thereby obtaining profits to the prejudice of such corporation, he must account to the latter for all such profits by refunding the same x x x.”

The adaptation of the Doctrine of Corporate Opportunity in Philippine jurisdiction is based on the recognition that a person cannot serve two hostile masters without prejudicing either of them. A director or officer cannot serve the interests of two competing companies, but must betray one or the other. In the same vein that he cannot engage a competing business as that of the corporation where he serves as a fiduciary officer for it would be improbable, if not impossible, to forego his personal interests over the effective discharge of his duties and fealty to the corporation. It is, therefore, a matter of necessity that an officer or director be prohibited from acquiring any business opportunities which fairly belong to the corporation. As directors, it is incumbent upon them to refrain from acting in a manner that contradicts the interests of the corporation.

Since the enactment of Batas Pambansa Blg. 68 or the Corporation Code of the Philippines in 1980, there were as yet no clear guidelines as to the applicability of the said doctrine. The yardstick used by the Court was that enunciated in the old case of Gokongwei v. Securities and Exchange Commission (1979) in which the Court ruled that the Doctrine of Corporate Opportunity “rests fundamentally on the unfairness, in particular circumstances, of an officer or director taking advantage of an opportunity for his own personal profit when the interest of the corporation justly calls for protection.”

Recognizing the gap in the determination of whether a transaction is indeed within the ambit of corporate opportunity, the Supreme Court laid down the parameters in a 2021 case of Total Office Products and Services (TOPROS), Inc. v. John Charles Chang, et al., G.R. Nos. 200070-71, particularly making the erring officer or director liable for damages. In said case, the Court ruled that “it is not enough to impute bare acts of transactions in which the claimant subjectively perceives the duty of loyalty to be breached.” It is material that in order for a claim of damages under Section 33 in relation to Section 30 of the RCC to prosper, the claimant must be able to sufficiently prove the following conditions:

1. The corporation is financially able to exploit the opportunity;

2. The opportunity is within the corporation’s line of business;

3. The corporation has an interest or expectancy in the opportunity; and,

4. By taking the opportunity for his own, the corporate fiduciary (i.e., corporate director, trustee, or officer) will thereby be placed in a position inimical to his duties to the corporation.

The above guidelines are patterned from the 1939 US Case of Guth v. Loft, Inc., 23 Del. Ch. 255, referred to as the Guth Test, which reckons the point when the corporate opportunity exists and when a corporate officer or director is adjudged to have breached his fiduciary duty to the corporation. The Guth Test outlines the factors that may be taken into consideration in the evaluation of the applicability of the doctrine, which factors the Court deems as appropriate in Philippine jurisdiction.

Perhaps the first task in determining whether the Doctrine of Corporate Opportunity applies is to identify whether the disputed project is, in fact, a corporate opportunity. Thus, the second parameter or the Line of Business Test seeks to establish a nexus between the corporation and the opportunity.

For such purpose, in determining whether the opportunity is within the corporation’s line of business, some of the factors that may be taken into consideration are: 1.) the quantum and place of business, 2.) the identity of products and area of competition, and, 3.) the corporate fiduciary’s business covers a substantial portion of the same markets for similar products to the extent of not less than 10% of the claimant corporation’s market for competing products.

In relation to the Line of Business Test, the Court in the TOPROS case further intimated that the involved corporations must be shown to be in competition with one another. This means to say that they must be engaged in related areas of business, producing the same products with overlapping markets. This competition, as defined in the earlier case of Gokongwei, is “a struggle for advantage between two or more forces, each possessing, in substantially similar if not identical degree, certain characteristics essential to the business sought.”

The law is clear in that the erring officers or directors should be made to account for and refund the profits which would have otherwise pertained to the corporation notwithstanding the fact that they have risked their own funds in the course of pursuing such a business opportunity. Thus, such expedient reason will not negate the liability of the officer or director for as long as the guidelines set forth in the TOPROS case have been duly substantiated.

However, the doctrine is not an iron-clad rule, as it admits an exception. Under the same provision of the RCC, the officer or director will not be deemed to have breached his fiduciary duty of loyalty to the corporation when his act has been ratified by a vote of the stockholders owning or representing at least two-thirds (2/3) of the outstanding capital stock. As clarified by the Court, the doctrine will not apply in cases where the corporation, after having been offered the business opportunities, rejects them. The refusal must be in the form of a Board Resolution demonstrating that the opportunity was brought before the corporation for its consideration, use, or exploitation but nevertheless rejected it.

With this recent development in Philippine jurisprudence, not only are courts afforded a semblance of clarity in determining the culpability of erring corporate officers and directors for their alleged disloyal acts, it also provides a reasoned approach for individuals to seek out investments while allowing corporations to protect themselves against possible opportunistic behaviors.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author. This article is for general informational and educational purposes only and not offered as and does not constitute legal advice or legal opinion.

 

Wildy L. Pahayahay is an associate of the Angara Abello Concepcion Regala & Cruz Law Offices (ACCRALAW), Davao Branch.

(6382) 224-0996

wlpahayahay@accralaw.com

Juan Soto turns on power to edge Julio Rodriguez in final to win Home Run Derby

LOS ANGELES — Juan Soto put contract talks and trade rumors behind him for one night as the Washington Nationals star won the Home Run Derby on Monday at Los Angeles with a 19-18 advantage in the finals over Seattle Mariners rookie Julio Rodriguez.

Soto didn’t hit his first home run of the final round until nearly 45 seconds of the two-minute time limit had expired, but came through in bonus time. He ended in walk-off fashion when he hit his 19th home run of the final round into the Dodger Stadium seats in right field.

“It feels great. It’s another thing to add to my trophy case, and I’m going to have it there forever,” Soto said. “I will be Home Run Derby champion forever.”

Soto has been the subject of trade rumors after reportedly rejecting a $440 million contract extension.

“Right now I’m not even thinking about it,” Soto said on the ESPN broadcast. “I’m a champion, and I’m a champion with the Nationals.”

Despite falling short in the final, Rodriguez went from a player to watch in the future to a star of the present. The 21-year-old, who has helped the Mariners to a 14-game win streak, hit 81 total home runs over three rounds. He entered with 16 home runs over his first 91 major league games.

Rodriguez advanced with a 31-24 semifinal victory over two-time defending champion Pete Alonso of the New York Mets.

Alonso has participated in the Home Run Derby in each of the past three seasons, and is eager to be back for the fourth year in a row.

“I love this event. I think it’s an absolute blast,” Alonso said. “If I’m more than physically able to then I am more than likely going to do it.”

While Soto eliminated Albert Pujols in the second round, it was the St. Louis Cardinals’ legend that received just as much fanfare. Soto pushed through with a 16-15 advantage in in the semifinal round.

“It was pretty awesome, (and) I’d like to thank all my peers,” Pujols said on the ESPN broadcast. “It’s pretty awesome to see this young generation and all the talent. And I want to thank all the fans here, the Dodgers fans.”

Pujols, who is set to retire after 22 seasons, played 85 games for the Dodgers last season after 10 years and 1,181 games with the crosstown Los Angeles Angels. He is back in St. Louis where he played his first 11 seasons.

Pujols, the No. 8 seed, advanced out of the first round with a 20-19 victory over top-seeded Kyle Schwarber of the Philadelphia Phillies.

Other highlights of the opening round included Rodriguez’s show-stopping 32 home runs and a 480-foot blast from Alonso on top of the corrugated roof that hangs over the back seats of the Dodger Stadium bleachers.

Rodriguez defeated the Texas Rangers’ Corey Seager 32-24 in the first round, while Alonso topped the Atlanta Braves’ Ronald Acuna Jr. 20-19 in walk-off fashion. Soto defeated Jose Ramirez of the Cleveland Guardians 18-17, also on a walk off.

Rodriguez is the first player to ever have multiple 30-homer rounds in a single derby, according to ESPN. — Reuters

France score fastest goal of Women’s Euro 2022 to knock Iceland out

ROTHERHAM, England — France forward Melvine Malard scored the fastest goal of the Women’s Euro 2022 as Les Bleues drew 1-1 on Monday with Iceland, who became the first side ever to go out of the tournament despite remaining unbeaten.

Iceland, who previously drew 1-1 with Belgium and Italy, maintained their quarter-final chances until their last group game, but Belgium’s 1-0 win over the Italians secured them second spot in Group D on four points.

It took 43 seconds for Malard to put already-qualified France ahead with a low shot from the edge of the box, making it the quickest goal of this year’s tournament so far.

Having scored eight goals in the tournament so far, France have improved their best ever total in a Euro group stage by one strike.

The French dominated the opening stages of a game that was being contested in extreme heat, with Britain braced for hottest temperature on record this week.

But Iceland, who grew into the game as the first half wore on, came close to equalising in the 11th minute when Sveindis Jane Jonsdottir’s header bounced off the crossbar.

Forward Berglind Thorvaldsdottir wasted another great chance just before halftime after she received the ball from a corner kick but fired her effort over the bar despite being unmarked.

Iceland continued to give absolutely everything in the second period, as midfielder Agla Maria Albertsdottir and captain Sara Bjork Gunnarsdottir also came close to scoring.

Corinne Diacre’s France, one of the tournament favourites, then saw two goals ruled out by VAR.

First it was Malard who thought she had bagged her second of the evening in the 68th minute but was ruled offside. Grace Geyoro netted 20 minutes later but the goal was disallowed for handball.

Iceland, who were awarded a penalty in the dying minutes, grabbed a consolation goal in the 12th minute of stoppage time through Dagny Brynjarsdottir, making history as the only team to ever go out of Euros despite not losing once.

‘FRANCE NEED TO BE MORE CLINICAL’
“I’m very disappointed that we didn’t go through but at the same time I’m extremely proud of the team,” Iceland defender Glodis Perla Viggosdottir said.

“I think we played very good game today, we are undefeated in the group. But unfortunately that wasn’t enough.”

The last-gasp goal by Iceland ended France’s 16-match winning run, leaving them one short of equalling their all-time record of 17 consecutive wins, set between August 2011 and July 2012.

“This evening I was able to give playing time to other players, and that went very well. We (also) have no new injuries… and that is important,” France coach Diacre said.

“We need to be more clinical. If we can take all our chances that would be much better. But what matters is creating chances, if you don’t do that you can’t score.”

France, who made a dream start to the tournament by thrashing Italy 5-1 and secured their place in the quarter-finals after their 2-1 win over Belgium, will face the Netherlands on Saturday.

Group D runners-up Belgium will play Sweden on Friday. — Reuters

Rory McIlroy

Rory McIlroy should be pleased with his body of work this season. After all, he was able to move from 13th at the start to his current standing of third in world rankings on the strength of his consistency; Top 25 finishes, including two victories, in 11 of 13 events underscore his capacity to crowd the leaderboard every time he tees off. And, yes, his competitiveness extends to the major championships; not for nothing did he post aggregate scores among the five highest in three of four Grand Slam stops. In other words, he has a lot to be thankful for at 33.

That said, McIlroy isn’t just any other golfer. He’s the most popular personality outside of Tiger Woods for a reason, and his singular skill set has long set him up to compete for the hardware in the sport’s holy grails. Which is why, viewed from critical lenses, his myriad accomplishments since he last brought home a major title indicate an alarming inability to get the job done. In the 31 Slams since he emerged triumphant at the 2014 PGA Championship, he managed to lump himself with the best 10 a whopping 17 times, and the best five in nine of those occasions. And yet, for all the work he did to stay in contention, not once did he go all the way.

Take the just-concluded British Open, in which McIlroy began the final round with the provisional lead. By the time he knocked in his eighth straight par on the back nine, he had no choice but to settle for third, two strokes off the pace set by World Number 23 Cameron Smith off a blazing finish. Disappointment was etched in his face as he met members of the media, left to rue the outcome as he fended off queries on What Ifs and Could Have Beens. Not that he gave the Claret Jug away on the 150th Anniversary of the tournament in the birthplace of golf; he had no bogeys, and every single drive he blasted found the fairway. And he certainly gave himself chances; he hit 12 of 16 greens in regulation. Bottom line, however, his short stick left much to be desired.

At any other time, McIlroy’s two-under 70 may have been enough to net him the crown. Not on Sunday, though — not when conditions were benign and red marks filled the leaderboard. It’s telling that, outside of playing partner Viktor Hovland, his final-round total was the worst of the top 17 on the list. But, hey, that’s golf. And if there’s anything he has learned from his travails, it’s to ignore all the negativity around him. The sport’s hard enough to conquer without armchair naysayers and so-called experts making the horizon even more murky. So while he may be downcast until the Masters rolls around seven months from now, he would also do well to remember that a glass half empty also happens to be half full.

 

Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is a consultant on strategic planning, operations and Human Resources management, corporate communications, and business development.

The 2.5 seconds that sealed Shinzo Abe’s fate

Former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Image via Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff/Flickr/CC BY 2.0

NARA, Japan — Bodyguards could have saved Shinzo Abe if they shielded him or removed him from the line of fire in the 2.5 seconds between a missed first shot and a second round of gunfire that fatally wounded him, according to eight security experts who reviewed footage of the former Japanese leader’s assassination.

The failure to protect Mr. Abe from the second shot followed what appeared to be a series of security lapses in the lead-up to the assassination of Japan’s longest-serving prime minister on July 8, the Japanese and international experts said.

Mr. Abe’s killing in the western city of Nara by a man using a homemade weapon shocked a nation where gun violence is rare and politicians campaign up close to the public with light security.

Japanese authorities — including Prime Minister Fumio Kishida — have acknowledged security lapses, and police say they are investigating.

In addition to the security experts, Reuters spoke to six witnesses at the scene and examined multiple videos available online, taken from different angles, to piece together a detailed account of security measures ahead of his shooting.

After leaving 67-year-old Mr. Abe exposed from behind as he spoke on a traffic island on a public road, his security detail allowed the shooter — identified by police as Tetsuya Yamagami, 41 — to come within meters of Mr. Abe unchecked, carrying a weapon, the footage showed.

“They should have seen the attacker very deliberately walking towards the rear of the prime minister and intervened,” said Kenneth Bombace, head of Global Threat Solutions, which provided security to Joseph R. Biden when he was a presidential candidate.

Mr. Yamagami came within around 7 meters (23 feet) of Abe before firing his first shot, which missed, the Yomiuri newspaper said, citing investigative sources. He fired the second shot, which hit, at around 5 meters away, it said.

Mr. Abe’s bodyguards did not appear to have “concentric rings of security” around him, said John Soltys, a former Navy SEAL and CIA officer now a vice president at security firm Prosegur. “They didn’t have any kind of surveillance in the crowd.”

Asked about the experts’ analysis, the Nara Prefectural Police, in charge of security for Mr. Abe’s campaign stop, told Reuters in a statement the department was “committed to thoroughly identifying the security problems” with Mr. Abe’s protection, declining to comment further.

The video footage showed that, after the first shot, Mr. Abe turns and looks over his left shoulder. Two bodyguards scramble to get between him and the shooter, one hoisting a slim black bag. Two others head toward the shooter, who moves closer through the smoke.

Although Mr. Abe’s security tackled the assailant moments later and arrested him, it was the “wrong response” for some of the security to go after the shooter instead of moving to protect Mr. Abe, said Mitsuru Fukuda, a Nihon University professor specializing in crisis management and terrorism.

There was enough security, “but no sense of danger,” said Yasuhiro Sasaki, a retired police officer in Saitama prefecture near Tokyo who handled security for VIPs. “Everyone was startled and no one went to where [Mr.] Abe was.”

The Tokyo police, in charge of VIP politicians’ bodyguards, referred questions to the Nara police.

The National Police Agency, which oversees local police forces, said Mr. Abe’s killing was the result of the police failing to fulfill their responsibility and said it had set up a team to review security and protection measures and to consider concrete steps to prevent such a serious incident from recurring.

“We recognize that there were problems not only in the on-site response, such as the security and protection setup, deployment of personnel and fundamental security procedures, but also in the way the National Police Agency was involved,” it said in response to Reuters questions.

Reuters could not reach Mr. Yamagami, who remains in police custody, for comment and could not determine whether he had a lawyer.

‘COULD HAVE BEEN AVOIDED’
Footage shows four bodyguards inside the guardrails as Mr. Abe spoke, according to Koichi Ito, a former sergeant at the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department’s special assault team, now a security consultant. Their number was corroborated by local politician Masahiro Okuni, who was at the scene.

When the former prime minister stepped up to speak, Mr. Yamagami could be seen in video footage in the background, clapping.

As Mr. Yamagami walked up behind Mr. Abe, security did not appear to take action, the footage showed.

Mr. Abe should have had a dedicated close protection bodyguard to get him away, said a member of the US Diplomatic Security Service, which protects senior diplomats and foreign dignitaries.

“We would grab him by the belt and collar, shield him with our body and move away,” the agent said.

Katsuhiko Ikeda, former superintendent general of the Tokyo police who ran security for Japan’s Group of Eight summits in 2000 and 2008, said the situation would have developed very differently if Mr. Abe’s security detail had been close enough to reach him in a second or two.

Mr. Ito, the former police sergeant, said security could have stopped the first shot had they been vigilant and communicating.

“Even if they missed that, there was a more than two-second window before the second shot, so they definitely could have prevented that,” he said. “If Abe had been protected properly, it could have been avoided.” — Reuters

Britain braces for record temperatures as heatwave ripples across Europe

Britain-Flag
The British union flag flutters on the Victoria Tower at the Houses of Parliamen, in London, Britain Dec. 30, 2020. — REUTERS/TOBY MELVILLE

MADRID/LISBON — Britain was heading for its highest temperatures on record and firefighters battled blazes across southern Europe as a heatwave sent people hunting for shade and compounded fears about climate change.

In Spain, a wildfire raced across a field and engulfed a excavator near the northern town of Tabara, forcing the driver to run for his life as flames burned the clothes off his back.

In Portugal, half the municipality of Murca was on fire and the bodies of an elderly couple trying to flee had been found inside a “completely charred vehicle,” the mayor told local broadcaster SIC. 

In southern Europe there were some signs conditions were starting to ease after days of blistering highs that have caused hundreds of deaths and left the countryside dangerously dry, authorities said.

But the heatwave was moving north.

Belgium and Germany are expecting the heatwave to hit them in coming days, while temperatures nudged 38 C (100 Fahrenheit) in southern England on Monday and are forecast to hit a record-breaking 40 C (104 F) on Tuesday, according to Britain’s Meteorological Office.

British train companies cancelled services and some schools closed while officials urged the public to stay home and the government triggered a “national emergency” alert.

Flights were suspended at Luton airport after staff identified a “runway defect.” The hot weather had melted the runway at the Royal Air Force’s Brize Norton air base, Sky News reported.

Sales of electric fans, hoses, air conditioning units and sprinklers are soaring, retailers said.

“We hoped we wouldn’t get to this situation but for the first time ever we are forecasting greater than 40 C in the UK,” said climate attribution scientist at the Met Office, Dr. Nikos Christidis.

“Climate change has already influenced the likelihood of temperature extremes in the UK. The chances of seeing 40 C days in the UK could be as much as 10 times more likely in the current climate than under a natural climate unaffected by human influence,” he said.

‘WE HAVE NOTHING’
Wildfires raged across Portugal, Spain and France and authorities warned there was a risk of more as tinder-dry conditions persisted.

Spain was facing the last day of a more than week-long heatwave, which has caused more than 510 heat-related deaths, according to estimates from the Carlos III Health Institute.

In Tabara, locals said the driver of the excavator -— a man they identified as Angel Martin Arjona — had been trying to dig a trench between the fire and buildings.

But orange flames surrounded the vehicle. TV footage showed him emerging from the blaze, tripping, then scrambling to his feet as people shouted out to him and a firefighter ran up to help.

The driver was airlifted to hospital with burns, witnesses said, though there were no detailed reports on his condition.

In El Pont de Vilomara in Catalonia, evacuees gathered outside a civic center, among them retiree Onofre Muñoz, 69, who said that his home and van had been completely destroyed.

“We bought the van when I retired and now it’s totally scorched. We have nothing,” he said.

EU SENDS SUPPORT
In Portugal, temperatures dropped over the weekend, but the risk of wildfires remained very high, the Portuguese Institute of Meteorology said.

Around 1,000 firefighters, backed by 284 vehicles and 18 aircraft, were battling 10 wildfires, mainly in northern regions, authorities said.

The EU sent a firefighting plane to Slovenia over the weekend, adding to recent deployments to France and Portugal.

“We continue of course to monitor the situation during this unprecedented heatwave and will continue to mobilize support as needed,” spokesperson Balazs Ujvari told a briefing.

The bloc is in talks with manufacturers to buy more firefighting planes, the EU head of crisis management told Reuters.

In the Gironde region in southwestern France, fires had destroyed 14,800 hectares (37,000 acres), local authorities said on Monday. More than 14,000 people have been evacuated from the area. France has issued red alerts, the highest possible, for several regions, with residents urged “to be extremely vigilant.”

In Italy, where smaller fires have blazed, forecasters expect temperatures above 40o C in several regions in coming days.

Switzerland also suffered the effects of the heatwave. Axpo, the operator of the Beznau nuclear plant, said on Monday it was forced to reduce output so that it does not overheat the Aare river from which it draws its cooling water. — Reuters

Scientists find an exotic black hole deemed a ‘needle in a haystack’

WASHINGTON — Astronomers have spotted in a galaxy adjacent to our Milky Way what they are calling a cosmic “needle in a haystack” — a black hole that not only is classified as dormant but appears to have been born without the explosion of a dying star.

Researchers said on Monday this one differs from all other known black holes in that it is “X-ray quiet” — not emitting powerful X-ray radiation indicative of gobbling up nearby material with its strong gravitational pull — and that it was not born in a stellar blast called a supernova.

Black holes are extraordinarily dense objects with gravity so intense not even light can escape.

This one, with a mass at least nine times greater than our sun, was detected in the Tarantula Nebula region of the Large Magellanic Cloud galaxy and is located about 160,000 light years from Earth. A light year is the distance light travels in a year, 5.9 trillion miles (9.5 trillion km).

An extremely luminous and hot blue star with a mass about 25 times that of the sun orbits with this black hole in a stellar marriage. This so-called binary system is named VFTS 243. The researchers believe the companion star eventually also will become a black hole and could merge with the other one.

Dormant black holes, thought to be relatively common, are hard to detect because they interact very little with their surroundings. Numerous prior proposed candidates have been debunked with further study, including by members of the team that uncovered this one.

“The challenge is finding those objects,” said Tomer Shenar, a research fellow in astronomy at Amsterdam University, lead author of the study published in the journal Nature Astronomy. “We identified a needle in a haystack.”

“It’s the first object of its kind discovered after astronomers have been searching for decades,” said astronomer and study co-author Kareem El-Badry of the Harvard & Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.

The researchers used six years of observations from the European Southern Observatory’s Chile-based Very Large Telescope.

There are different categories of black holes. The smallest, like the newly detected one, are so-called stellar-mass black holes formed by the collapse of massive individual stars at the ends of their life cycles. There also are intermediate-mass black holes as well as the enormous supermassive black holes residing at the center of most galaxies.

“Black holes are intrinsically dark objects. They do not emit any light. Therefore, in order to detect a black hole, we usually look at binary systems in which we see one luminous star moving around a second, not-detected object,” said study co-author Julia Bodensteiner, a postdoctoral research fellow at the European Southern Observatory in Munich.

It is typically assumed that the collapse of massive stars into black holes is associated with a powerful supernova explosion. In this case, a star perhaps 20 times our sun’s mass blew some of its material into space in its death throes, then collapsed in on itself without an explosion.

The shape of its orbit with its companion offers evidence for the lack of an explosion.

“The orbit of the system is almost perfectly circular,” Mr. Shenar said.

Had a supernova occurred, the blast’s force would have kicked the newly formed black hole in a random direction and yielded an elliptical rather than circular orbit, Mr. Shenar added.

Black holes can be mercilessly ravenous, guzzling any material – gas, dust and stars – wandering within their gravitational pull.

“Black holes can only be mercilessly ravenous if there is something close enough to them that they can devour. Usually, we detect them if they are receiving material from a companion star, a process we call accretion,” Ms. Bodensteiner said.

Shenar added, “In so-called dormant black hole systems, the companion is far enough away that the material does not accumulate around the black hole to heat up and emit X-rays. Instead, it is immediately swallowed by the black hole.” — Reuters

Pasay City lauds P57-B loan grant for Harbor City Project

The city government of Pasay has lauded the approval of the P57-billion syndicated loan agreement to fund a gigantic project that will be put through in the city.

It congratulates its venture partner Pasay City Harbor City Corp. (PHCC) for closing the P57-Billion Syndicated Loan Agreement to build the 265-hectare Harbor City Reclamation Project.

With this development, funding for the enormous project will be secured until its completion.

‘The Project is part of the Pasay Eco City Grand Vision to build a sustainable, eco-friendly, and world-class metropolis,’ the city government said on its website.

And that their goal is ‘consistent with its mission to promote the quality of life of its people,’ it added.

With that, the city government recognizes the PHCC leadership through its Chairman Carlos S. Gonzalez, President Manuel S. Gonzalez, Atty. Roan Libarios of Libra Law and Atty. Santiago Gabionza of VGD Law for forging the partnership.

‘This investment is a much-needed boost to the economy still reeling from the COVID-19 pandemic creating jobs and economic multipliers and positioning Pasay as the next investment and tourism hub,’ the LGU pointed out.

The city government also thanked PNB Capital and the same goes to the officers of BDO, Metrobank, Landbank, and DBP for approving the project funding.

To date, the project has already reclaimed 117 hectares of submerged lands above water, a testament to the capabilities of PHCC and its EPC contractor Netherlands-based Royal Boskalis Westminster N.V. as one of the world’s top dredging companies.

The project is set to be completed with horizontal development in 2028 including roads, bridges, drainage, water, power, sewerage, communications, and other primary utilities and facilities.

 

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How China became ground zero for the auto chip shortage

TAIPEI/SHANGHAI/SINGAPORE – From his small office in Singapore, Kelvin Pang is ready to wager a $23 million payday that the worst of the chip shortage is not over for automakers – at least in China.

Pang has bought 62,000 microcontrollers, chips that help control a range of functions from car engines and transmissions to electric vehicle power systems and charging, which cost the original buyer $23.80 each in Germany.

He’s now looking to sell them to auto suppliers in the Chinese tech hub of Shenzhen for $375 apiece. He says he has turned down offers for $100 each, or $6.2 million for the whole bundle, which is small enough to fit in the back seat of a car and is packed for now in a warehouse in Hong Kong.

“The automakers have to eat,” Pang told Reuters. “We can afford to wait.”

The 58-year-old, who declined to say what he himself had paid for the microcontrollers (MCUs), makes a living trading excess electronics inventory that would otherwise be scrapped, connecting buyers in China with sellers abroad.

The global chip shortage over the past two years – caused by pandemic supply chaos combined with booming demand – has transformed what had been a high-volume, low-margin trade into one with the potential for wealth-spinning deals, he says.

Automotive chip order times remain long around the world, but brokers like Pang and thousands like him are focusing on China, which has become ground zero for a crunch that the rest of the industry is gradually moving beyond.

Globally, new orders are backed up by an average of about a year, according to a Reuters survey of 100 automotive chips produced by the five leading manufacturers.

To counter the supply squeeze, global automakers like General Motors Co GM.N, Ford Motor Co F.N and Nissan Motor Co 7201.T have moved to secure better access through a playbook that has included negotiating directly with chipmakers, paying more per part and accepting more inventory.

For China though, the outlook is bleaker, according to interviews with more than 20 people involved in the trade from automakers, suppliers and brokers to experts at China‘s government-affiliated auto research institute CATARC.

Despite being the world’s largest producer of cars, and leader in electric vehicles (EVs), China relies almost entirely on chips imported from Europe, the United States and Taiwan. Supply strains have been compounded by a zero-COVID lockdown in auto hub Shanghai that ended last month.

As a result, the shortage is more acute than elsewhere and threatens to curb the nation’s EV momentum, according to CATARC, the China Automotive Technology and Research Center. A fledgling domestic chipmaking industry is unlikely to be in a position to cope with demand within the next two to three years, it says.

Pang, for his part, sees China‘s shortage continuing through 2023 and deems it dangerous to hold inventory after that. The one risk to that view, he says: a sharper economic slowdown that could depress demand earlier.

 

FORECASTS ‘HARDLY POSSIBLE’

Computer chips, or semiconductors, are used in the thousands in every conventional and electric vehicle. They help control everything from deploying airbags and automating emergency braking to entertainment systems and navigation.

The Reuters survey conducted in June took a sample of chips, produced by Infineon, Texas Instruments, NXP, STMicroelectronics and Renesas, which perform a diverse range of functions in cars.

New orders via distributors are on hold for an average lead time of 49 weeks – deep into 2023, according to the analysis, which provides a snapshot of the global shortage though not a regional breakdown. Lead times range from 6 to 198 weeks, with an average of 52 weeks.

German chipmaker Infineon IFXGn.DE told Reuters it is “rigorously investing and expanding manufacturing capacities worldwide” but said shortages may last until 2023 for chips outsourced to foundries.

“Since the geopolitical and macroeconomic situation has deteriorated in recent months, reliable assessments regarding the end of the present shortages are hardly possible right now,” Infineon said in a statement.

Taiwan chipmaker United Microelectronics Corp 2303.TW told Reuters it has been able to reallocate some capacity to auto chips due to weaker demand in other segments. “On the whole, it is still challenging for us to meet the aggregate demand from customers,” the company said.

TrendForce analyst Galen Tseng told Reuters that if auto suppliers needed 100 PMIC chips – which regulate voltage from the battery to more than 100 applications in an average car – they were currently only getting around 80.

 

URGENTLY SEEKING CHIPS

The tight supply conditions in China contrast with the improved supply outlook for global automakers. Volkswagen, for example, said in late June it expected chip shortages to ease in the second half of the year. Read full story

The chairman of Chinese EV maker Nio, William Li, said last month it was hard to predict which chips would be in short supply. Nio regularly updates its “risky chip list” to avoid shortages of any of the more than 1,000 chips needed to run production.

In late May, Chinese EV maker Xpeng Motors 9868.HK pleaded for chips with an online video featuring a Pokemon toy that had also sold out in China. The bobbing duck-like character waves two signs: “urgently seeking” and “chips.”

“As the car supply chain gradually recovers, this video captures our supply-chain team’s current condition,” Xpeng CEO He Xiaopeng posted on Weibo, saying his company was struggling to secure “cheap chips” needed to build cars.

 

ALL ROADS LEAD TO SHENZHEN

The scramble for workarounds has led automakers and suppliers to China‘s main chip trading hub of Shenzhen and the “gray market”, brokered supplies legally sold but not authorized by the original manufacturer, according to two people familiar with the trade at a Chinese EV maker and an auto supplier.

The gray market carries risks because chips are sometimes recycled, improperly labeled, or stored in conditions that leave them damaged.

“Brokers are very dangerous,” said Masatsune Yamaji, research director at Gartner, adding that their prices were 10 to 20 times higher. “But in the current situation, many chip buyers need to depend on the brokers because the authorized supply chain cannot support the customers, especially the small customers in automotive or industrial electronics.”

Pang said many Shenzhen brokers were newcomers drawn by the spike in prices but unfamiliar with the technology they were buying and selling. “They only know the part number. I ask them: Do you know what this does in the car? They have no idea.”

While the volume held by brokers is hard to quantify, analysts say it is far from enough to meet demand.

“It’s not like all the chips are somewhere hidden and you just need to bring them to the market,” said Ondrej Burkacky, senior partner at McKinsey.

When supply normalizes, there may be an asset bubble in the inventories of unsold chips sitting in Shenzhen, analysts and brokers cautioned.

“We can’t hold on for too long, but the automakers can’t hold on either,” Pang said.

 

CHINESE SELF-SUFFICIENCY

China, where advanced chip design and manufacturing still lag overseas rivals, is investing to decrease its reliance on foreign chips. But that will not be easy, especially given the stringent requirements for auto-grade chips.

MCUs make up about 30% of the total chip costs in a car, but they are also the hardest category for China to achieve self-sufficiency in, said Li Xudong, senior manager at CATARC, adding that domestic players had only entered the lower end of the market with chips used in air conditioning and seating controls.

“I don’t think the problem can be solved in two to three years,” CATARC chief engineer Huang Yonghe said in May. “We are relying on other countries, with 95% of the wafers imported.”

Chinese EV maker BYD, which has started to design and manufacture IGBT transistor chips, is emerging as a domestic alternative, CATARC’s Li said.

“For a long time, China has seen its inability to be totally independent on chip production as a major security weakness,” said Victor Shih, professor of political science at the University of California, San Diego.

With time, China could build a strong domestic industry as it did when it identified battery production as a national priority, Shih added.

“It led to a lot of waste, a lot of failures, but then it also led to two or three giants that now dominate the global market.” – Reuters

Russia strikes cities across Ukraine, gas supplies in focus

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

KYIV – Russian forces kept up their bombardment of cities across Ukraine, with intense shelling of Sumy in the north, cluster bombs targeting Mykolaiv and a missile strike in Odesa in the south, authorities said on Tuesday.

After failing to capture the capital Kyiv at the outset of the invasion on Feb 24, Russia has shifted to a campaign of devastating bombardments to cement and extend its control of Ukraine‘s south and east.

Ukraine says Russian forces have intensified long-distance strikes on targets far from the front, killing large numbers of civilians. Moscow says it is hitting military targets.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy says Russia had fired more than 3,000 cruise missiles and uncountable artillery shells during the five-month conflict.

Over the weekend, Zelenskiy suspended the country’s security chief and top prosecutor, saying they failed to purge Russian spies from their organizations. Read full story

Despite his disclosure of Russian penetration of the SBU, U.S. officials on Monday said Washington would continue sharing intelligence that U.S. officials have said Kyiv uses to respond to Moscow’s attacks. Read full story

This week could be pivotal for European countries concerned about the impact of war and sanctions on gas supplies.

Russia is due to reopen its main natural gas pipeline to Germany, Nord Stream 1, in coming days after regular maintenance, but Europeans are worried Moscow could keep it closed.

Russia‘s Gazprom, which operates the pipeline, has told customers in Europe it cannot guarantee gas supplies because of “extraordinary” circumstances, according to a letter seen by Reuters, upping the ante in an economic tit-for-tat with the West. Read full story

 

HEAVY BOMBARDMENT

In Odesa, a Russian missile strike injured at least four people, burned houses to the ground and set other homes on fire, Oleksii Matsulevych, a spokesman for the regional administration, said on his Telegram channel.

Russian forces targeted Mykolaiv with cluster shells Monday, injuring at least two people and damaging windows and roofs of private houses, the Ukrainian city’s mayor Oleksandr Senkevich said in a social media post.

More than 150 mines and shells had been fired on the Sumy region, Dmytro Zhyvytskyi, the head of the Sumy regional military administration, said on Telegram.

“They fired mortars, barrel and rocket artillery. The Russians also opened fire using machine guns and grenade launchers,” he said.

Kyiv hopes the war is at a turning point, with Moscow having exhausted its offensive capabilities in seizing a few small cities in the east, while Ukraine now fields long-range Western weapons that can strike behind Russian lines.

Kyiv cites a string of successful strikes on 30 Russian logistics and ammunition hubs, which it says are crippling Russia‘s artillery-dominated forces that need to transport thousands of shells to the front each day.

In a Facebook post on Monday, Ukraine‘s top military commander, General Valery Zaluzhny, credited U.S.-supplied advanced long-range rocket systems known as HIMARS with helping to “stabilize the situation” through “major strikes at enemy command points, ammunition and fuel storage warehouses.”

Russia said on Monday that Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu had ordered the military to concentrate on destroying Ukraine‘s Western-supplied rockets and artillery.

European Union foreign ministers on Monday agreed to provide Ukraine with another 500 million euros ($504 million) in EU funds for arms, raising the bloc’s support to 2.5 billion euros since Moscow invaded on Feb. 24. Read full story

In the south, Ukraine is preparing a counterattack to recapture the biggest swath of territory taken since the invasion. Ukraine reported destroying Russian missile systems, communications, radar, ammunition depots and armoured vehicles in strikes in the southern Kherson region.

In the east, Ukrainian forces withdrew at the start of July from Luhansk, one of two provinces Russia claims on behalf of its separatist proxies.

Kyiv says Moscow is planning another assault to capture the last Ukrainian-held pocket of neighboring Donetsk province.

President Vladimir Putin says his assault on Ukraine is a “special military operation” to demilitarize Russia‘s neighbor and root out dangerous nationalists. Kyiv and the West call it an attempt to reconquer a country that broke free of Moscow’s rule in 1991. – Reuters

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