Facebook Instagram Linkedin Twitter Youtube
Home Blog Page 5861

NBA Free Agency Primer: Who’s who in ‘22

ONE more championship trophy has been stored on the shelves of the Golden State Warriors, marking the green light for the rest of the National Basketball Association (NBA) to get about the business of rebuilding their rosters.

The offseason is underway and gets from zero to 60 quickly as the 2022 NBA Draft unfolds Thursday night in Brooklyn.

The Nets, meanwhile, are looking at reconstructing their star-filled roster once more under the expectation that All-Star Kyrie Irving plans to decline his player option for next season by June 29.

Free agency opens with the start of the new league year on July 1.

Decisions that could alter the landscape of the market are looming for Irving and James Harden, who didn’t trigger his option when dealt from the Nets to the Philadelphia 76ers.

Younger talent reaching free agency for the first time can be coveted more than top-dollar veterans, and Suns center Deandre Ayton stands atop the list of restricted free agents. Phoenix held back when it had the option of locking up Ayton last summer, and then its season ended in a Game 7 with the former No. 1 overall pick on the pine based on an “internal” decision from coach Monty Williams.

There are also All-Stars expected to stay home, such as Zach LaVine of the Chicago Bulls, who could instead be wooed via sign-and-trade.

All the elements are there for a dramatic July.

Here are the players to watch when the spending begins:

C DEANDRE AYTON, SUNS (RESTRICTED FREE AGENT)
What Ayton wants for his 24th birthday in July is a long-term extension, and he’s destined to get it — even if Phoenix doesn’t deliver. There are visible fault lines between the two sides, starting with last October’s very public decision to work the rookie extension with Mikal Bridges and let Ayton float in a prove-it year.

With very strong support from point guard Chris Paul, the Suns aren’t going to file for divorce. But not locking up Ayton paves the way for other suitors to come knocking.

PG KYRIE IRVING, NETS (PLAYER OPTION)
Availability remains the buzzword with Irving. Nets general manager Sean Marks hardly extinguished the feeling that Irving could be gone this summer when he called out the need for him to go all-in. With just 103 games played in three years, Marks has no reason to sugarcoat his thoughts on the situation.

“We need people here that want to be here, (that) are selfless, that want to be part of something bigger than themselves,” Marks said. “And there’s an objective and there’s a goal at stake here.”

Irving, 30, played 29 games in 2021-22. His player option for next season is worth $36.5 million and a five-year max extension would cost the Nets $200 million.

Brooklyn also has a situation to resolve with Ben Simmons, who underwent back surgery after sitting out last season.

SG JAMES HARDEN, 76ERS (PLAYER OPTION)
Harden looked his age often last season and reports to his next training camp at age 33. If he exercises his option for 2022-23, Harden pockets $47.4 million.

Reports pointed to a mutually beneficial resolution: A short-term, high-dollar deal to stay in Philly.

The pairing with Joel Embiid could continue or ever-aggressive personnel maestro Daryl Morey could try to find a way to land Bradley Beal or Zach LaVine.

Harden was 27th in the NBA in scoring (22.0 per game) and second in the NBA in assists (10.3 per game), so it’s too early to claim he’s washed up entirely.

SG ZACH LAVINE, BULLS
Adding DeMar DeRozan helped LaVine become a more consistent creator despite a number of injuries and two stints in the health and safety protocol. He required knee surgery after the season and the Bulls claim to want him back. Are they willing to go all the way to the ceiling ($200 million) to keep him?

He’s 27 and DeRozan played a perfect co-star role, pushing Bulls vice-president Arturas Karnisovas into a situation in which he almost can’t afford not to lock up LaVine.

Reports indicate LaVine is leaning toward a five-year max with the Bulls.

SG MILES BRIDGES, HORNETS (RESTRICTED FREE AGENT)
Perhaps the two most intriguing under-the-radar cases in free agency are Bridges and Jalen Brunson (Mavericks). They showed to be ascending players at the right time and will rise to the top of the free agent heap if the bigger names stay put as expected.

Bridges averaged 20.2 points and is only 24 years old, meaning a four or five-year deal sets him up for another massive payday. — Reuters

Williams makes winning return after year out in Eastbourne doubles

EASTBOURNE, England — Serena Williams made a winning return to action at the Eastbourne International on Tuesday as she and partner Ons Jabeur came from a set down to beat Sara Sorribes Tormo and Marie Bouzkova 2-6, 6-3 (13-11) in the women’s doubles.

The former world number one had not played competitive tennis since limping out of last year’s first-round match at Wimbledon — where she has won seven of her 23 Grand Slam singles titles — in tears due to a leg injury.

Back on court and on the grass again, Williams stepped up preparations for Wimbledon, where the main draw starts next Monday, having been granted a wildcard to enter, alongside Tunisian Jabeur in the opening round at Eastbourne.

Looking rusty with some loose early shots, 40-year-old Williams, who has slipped to 1,204th in the singles rankings, saw her serve broken in the fourth game and there was no way back as Spaniard Sorribes Tormo and her Czech partner took the opening set.

Williams, who was sporting black tape on her face to help with a sinus problem, had no answer as Sorribes and Bouzkova made three successive breaks at the start of the second to help put them in a commanding position.

However, a ferocious volley from Williams helped her and Jabeur hold serve to make it 4-3, before the American showed further signs she was starting to find her rhythm with a booming forehand down the line to break their opponents’ serve.

Williams served out the next game to take the match to a final set tiebreak, which swung this way and that, with both pairings having match points before Sorribes Tormo missed a volley at the net to gift her opponents victory.

“It was so fun to play with Ons,” Williams said. “We had fun.

“I caught some fire behind me! I needed that. It was good. We’re just taking it one day at a time.”

Earlier at Eastbourne, British number four Katie Boulter stormed to one of the biggest wins of her career with a 1-6, 6-4, 6-4 win over 2021 Wimbledon runner-up Karolina Pliskova, while Jodie Burrage completed a day to remember for Britain by beating world number four Paula Badosa 6-4, 6-3. — Reuters

Djokovic tops men’s seed for Wimbledon in absence of Medvedev, Zverev

LONDON — Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic will head into next week’s tournament as the men’s top seed with Russian world number one Daniil Medvedev banned from taking part while Germany’s second-ranked Alexander Zverev is out injured.

Organizers of the grasscourt Grand Slam have banned players from Russia and Belarus from playing at this year’s Wimbledon following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, which Russia calls a “special operation.”

Zverev had surgery on torn ligaments in his right ankle this month after he was forced to retire from his French Open semi-final against Rafael Nadal.

Djokovic, who was unable to defend his 2021 Australian Open title and the 2,000 ranking points he earned due to his non-vaccinated status against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), recently lost his world number one spot to Medvedev.

The Serbian, who has won the last three editions of the grasscourt major, will slip further down the rankings after Wimbledon as he will lose another 2,000 points with the ATP and WTA stripping the tournament of points.

The absence of Medvedev and Zverev means Nadal, who is halfway through a possible calendar year Slam after winning the Australian and French Open titles, to be seeded second.

It also results in Djokovic and Nadal finding themselves in different halves of the draw and they cannot face each other until the men’s final on July 10. The duo met in this year’s Roland Garros quarterfinal where the Spaniard triumphed.

Britain has two players in the top 10 seeds at their home major with Cameron Norrie ninth while US Open champion Emma Raducanu is 10th in the absence of Belarussian Aryna Sabalenka.

Poland’s world number one Iga Świątek will be the women’s top seed with Estonian Annett Kontaveit the number two.

Wimbledon organizers had previously used a computer-based system favoring results on grasscourts in the previous two years to determine the seedings but from the 2021 edition seedings mirror the world rankings. — Reuters

Filipino-Chinese firm to operate steel production plant in Zamboanga

BW FILE PHOTO/ MMPADILLO

A FILIPINO and Chinese joint venture will start constructing next month a steel manufacturing plant in southern Philippines, which is expected to be fully operational within four years, according to the Philippine partner.   

The $1-billion smelting plant, located in Zamboanga Sibugay province on the western side of Mindanao island, will be processing ore from a mining site in the neighboring province of Zamboanga del Sur.  

“We are processing the ore to steel bars,” Leonardo A. Fernandez, chairman and chief operating officer of Mount Zynai 0304 Mining Corp. (MZMC), said in an interview during the plant’s groundbreaking ceremony last week.   

“This is a very important project for the country because when you have the steel plant, you have 1,000 industries that will be created… somebody will order, you give us the steel for the use of nails, steel bars,” he said.    

The Mount Zynai Integrated Steel Mill and Smelting Plant will be part of the Mount Zynai Industrial Park, a complex that will serve as the administrative and operational center of the company as well as for local and foreign locators in the steel manufacturing and downline industries.  

MZMC’s Chinese partner is Shenzhou Investor Corp., which holds a 40% stake in the project.   

The plant is targeted for partial operation within two to three years.  

Mr. Fernandez said they aim to produce 1.5 million metric tons (MT) of steel bars and steel products every year.   

“What we are discussing is 60% of the production is for the domestic market and 40% will be exported,” he said, noting that the local production will help bring down construction cost.   

Without the plant, he said, “Imagine the cost of bringing the ore to the port, loading the ore to the vessel, vessel going to China (for processing) and loading the steel billets back (to Philippine destinations).”  

The ore mining site covers a 15,000-hectare property owned by the Subanen Pigsalabukan Gokom de Bayog indigenous community.  

Mr. Fernandez said 1,000 hectares under the indigenous group’s ancestral domain will be reserved for agro-forestry, agriculture production, and other community development projects 

“This will not only benefit the Subanens, not only Diplahan, not only Zamboanga del Sur, but the entire Region 9 (Zamboanga Peninsula)… we are really part of the business. We are grateful to have such a transparent business, and we are grateful to the investor,” ancestral leader Timuay Lucenio Manda said in Visayan during the groundbreaking ceremony. — Maya M. Padillo 

Iloilo provincial gov’t seeks meeting with city execs on complaints over new transport routes

BW FILE PHOTO

THE ILOILO provincial board has reiterated its appeal to the Iloilo City government to reassess its new transport scheme, which limits provincial jeepneys from entering the city.   

In a statement released Wednesday by the provincial government, Board Member Ramon G. Sullano, chair of the committee on transportation, said they are hoping to meet with city officials, transport groups and officials of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) to address the issues and concerns of both drivers and commuters.   

Mr. Sullano noted that the board passed a resolution in March calling for a review of the transport plan, which the Iloilo City government started implementing on June 12.  

Iloilo City is categorized as an independent highly-urbanized city and is not under the administration of the provincial government.  

The provincial board resolution requested Iloilo City Mayor Jerry P. Treñas to temporarily suspend the implementation of the ordinance on the new route plan, citing the “spiraling increase in the prices of crude oil, gasoline and other petroleum products”.  

“(T)he transport groups and the passengers coming from the municipalities will be burdened by taking multiple rides and exorbitant transportation fares,” the board said.   

Provincial Gov. Arthur R. Defensor, Jr., meanwhile, said in the same statement that the Provincial Planning and Development Office is continuously getting feedback and coordinating with their counterpart in the Iloilo City government.  

Mr. Treñas has said that they are gathering inputs on the new routes and willing to make adjustments within a six-month trial period.  

“We will have a continuing dialogue and consultation with all the sectors, especially the commuters including the barangays so that we can fine tune the route plan within a period of 6 months,” the mayor said in a statement released on June 15. — MSJ 

Senator says amending law for oil price transparency ‘may take time’  

PHILIPPINE STAR/ WALTER BOLLOZOS

THE OUTGOING chair of the Senate energy committee on Wednesday said it “may take time” to amend the Oil Deregulation Law to include provisions that will make oil prices more transparent through unbundling of costs.  

“The solution to amend the Oil Deregulation Law is not an immediate solution (to rising oil prices), it is a long-term solution,” Senator Sherwin T. Gatchalian told the media in a briefing.  

Changes in the law should ensure “transparency in terms of pricing, volume of oil companies,” said the senator, “but we also have to respect their… proprietary secrets and business transactions because many of their contracts are proprietary in nature.” 

During the committee’s consultative meeting with oil industry stakeholders on Tuesday, the Energy department said mechanisms should be set up under Republic Act 8479 or the Downstream Oil Industry Deregulation Act to determine real costs of fuel.  

“The industry take is 19% — these include all other items that the oil companies have been adding on to the pump prices, that’s what we would want to inquire on,” Energy Undersecretary Gerardo Erguiza, Jr. said at the hearing. 

To have proper safeguards, the government will have to receive information on the price of an oil company’s cargo, the date it was received and the costs of their inventory, Mr. Gatchalian said.  

With such mechanisms, “the government can prevent abuses in times of abnormal international pricing,” he added.  

As an immediate solution to the continuing oil price hike, the senator proposed an expansion of the cash aid program at P3,000 monthly for jeepneys drivers and P1,000 monthly for tricycle drivers over the next five months.    

He said this will cost about P4 billion, which is lower than the P150 billion in potential income loss for the government if the excise tax is lifted.   

“We can also expand the Libreng Sakay (free ride) program of the government, so those who stop plying their routes or plying the roads can be contracted by (the) government to serve the riding public,” he said. — Alyssa Nicole O. Tan 

P11B worth of seized illegal drugs destroyed 

NBI

LAW enforcers have destroyed P11 billion worth of illegal drugs seized during an operation in March, according to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).   

In a statement on Wednesday, NBI Officer-in-Charge Eric B. Distor said the destruction of what is considered as the biggest drug haul in the country’s history took place on June 2 in Trece Martirez, Cavite.   

“NBI Chemists participated in placing the dangerous drugs inside the pyrolysis machine while other forensics officers were allowed to take photos and oversee the destruction,” Mr. Distor said.  

The NBI, Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, and local police in Infanta, Quezon seized the crystal methamphetamine, locally known as shabu, and led to the arrest of 10 suspects during an operation on March 15. 

The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) previously reported that law enforcers seized P13.2 billion worth of illegal drugs from 1,794 raids from March 6 to 19 alone. 

DILG added that 61 suspects surrendered, 2,471 were arrested, and two were killed in those anti-drug operations. 

Justice Secretary Menardo I. Guevarra earlier said President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s war on illegal drugs was largely successful despite “excesses” committed by rogue cops. 

“People now feel safer in the streets even at night due to the visible reduction in drug pushing incidents,” he told an online forum last week. “In that aspect, the campaign against drugs was fairly successful.”  

Philippine prosecutors have filed charges in court against law enforcers in four cases and were planning to probe 250 more of what could have been wrongful deaths in Mr. Duterte’s war on drugs, Mr. Gueverra told the United Nations Human Rights Council in February.  

“We are very much aware of these excesses,” he told the forum. “We have a drug war committee that really investigates reports of abuse or use of unnecessary force by law enforcement agents.”  

The Philippine Human Rights Commission said the Duterte government had encouraged a culture of impunity by hindering independent inquiries and by failing to prosecute erring cops involved in the government’s anti-drug campaign. — John Victor D. Ordoñez 

Incoming lawmaker Tulfo vows support to more digitized courts

SUPREME COURT PIO

AN INCOMING senator on Wednesday vowed to support the goal of setting up more digitized courts to increase efficiency in the country’s legal system.   

“I am open to working with the Supreme Court and the court administrator on how to increase the efficiency of its work processes through digitization, computerization, and faster communication, while still maintaining proper administration of justice,” Senator-elect Rafael T. Tulfo said in a statement.  

Mr. Tulfo took his oath of office on Wednesday before Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Marvic M.V.F. Leonen.  

“This is necessary and urgent so that the innocent and the reformable detainees can be released sooner rather than later by the tens of thousands,” he said.  

The incoming senator said budgetary requirements should be provided since “more online or video conferencing are needed not just at the courthouses or halls of justice, but also at the jails at the municipal, city, and provincial levels.”  

The Philippines has one of the highest jail occupancy rates in the world since outgoing President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s drug war, according to Human Rights Watch.  

Data released early this year show a 114% congestion rate in national facilities run by the Bureau of Corrections.   

The Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, which is in charge of local detention centers, had an even higher congestion rate at 582%. More than 70% of those detained at BJMP facilities face drug-related cases. — Alyssa Nicole O. Tan

Supreme Court affirms CoA disallowance of Panabo City council members’ travel expenses in 2012

PHILSTAR FILE PHOTO

THE SUPREME Court upheld a 2012 ruling of the Commission on Audit (CoA) that disallowed the travel expenses of the then sitting Panabo City councilors and vice mayor worth P1.4 million used for training programs held that year. 

In a 10-page resolution dated Feb. 15 and made public on June 20, the High Court said CoA did not abuse its discretion in disallowing the “irregular, excess, and illegal” expenditures. 

“The court finds the approving certifying officers solidarity liable to return the entire disallowed amount,” the tribunal said.   

“The court also finds merit in CoA’s argument that the petitioners’ (Panabo City council) failure to submit pertinent documents evidencing that the training programs were bona fide and the double expenses they incurred militate against their claim of good faith.”  

Under Philippine law, the vice mayor serves as presiding officer of the local council.    

The High Court ordered the petitioners to return the disallowed amounts they had received for the training programs.  

The petitioners said their attendance in the training program offered by the Philippine Councilors League-Legislative Academy in 2012 had a legal basis and they relied on “good faith” in the Department of the Interior and Local Government, which organized the training program.  

The Court noted that these were not sufficient grounds for an appeal that would warrant a reversal of CoA’s findings.  

“Without a doubt, the foregoing reflects the approving and certifying officers’ gross negligence of their duties and responsibilities as members of the Sangguniang Panlungsod (city council), who hold the important role of disbursing public funds,” it said. — John Victor D. Ordoñez 

UK inflation soars to 40-year record of 9.1%

REUTERS

LONDON — Soaring food prices pushed British consumer price inflation to a 40-year high of 9.1% last month, the highest rate out of the Group of Seven (G7) countries and underlining the severity of the cost-of-living crunch.

The reading, up from 9.0% in April, matched the consensus of a Reuters poll of economists. Historical records from the Office for National Statistics show May’s inflation was the highest since March 1982 — and worse is likely to come.

Sterling, one of the worst performing currencies against the US dollar this year, fell below $1.22, down 0.6% on the day.

Some investors judge Britain to be at risk of both persistently high inflation and recession, reflecting its large imported energy bill and continuous Brexit troubles which could further hurt trade ties with the European Union.

“With the economic outlook so unclear, no one knows how high inflation could go, and how long it will continue for — making fiscal and monetary policy judgements particularly tough,” said Jack Leslie, senior economist at the Resolution Foundation think tank.

Earlier on Wednesday the Resolution Foundation said the cost-of-living hit for households had been compounded by Brexit, which had made Britain a more closed economy, with damaging long-term implications for productivity and wages.

Britain’s headline inflation rate in May was higher than in the United States, France, Germany and Italy. While Japan and Canada have yet to report consumer price data for May, neither are likely to come close.

The Bank of England said last week that inflation was likely to remain above 9% over the coming months before peaking at slightly above 11% in October, when regulated household energy bills are due to rise again.

The British government was doing all it could to combat a surge in prices, finance minister Rishi Sunak said after the data.

Prices for food and non-alcoholic drinks rose by 8.7% in annual terms in May — the biggest jump since March 2009 and making this category the biggest driver of annual inflation last month.

Overall consumer prices rose by 0.7% in monthly terms in May, the ONS said, a little more than the 0.6% consensus.

British factory-gate prices — a key determinant of prices later paid by consumers in shops — were 22.1% higher in May than a year earlier, the biggest increase since these records began in 1985, the ONS said. — Reuters

US to propose rule to limit nicotine levels in cigarettes

FREEPIK

THE BIDEN administration plans to propose a rule to establish a maximum nicotine level in cigarettes and other finished tobacco products in an attempt to make them less addictive, the White House Budget Office said Tuesday.

The rule, expected in May 2023, would be designed with the goal of making it easier for tobacco users to quit and help prevent youth from becoming regular smokers, according to a document released by the White House Budget Office.

The proposal comes as the Biden administration doubles down on fighting cancer-related deaths.

Earlier this year, the government announced plans to reduce the death rate from cancer by at least 50% over the next 25 years.

Nicotine is the addictive substance in tobacco. Tobacco products also contain several harmful chemicals, many of which could cause cancer.

Tobacco use costs nearly $300 billion a year in direct healthcare and lost productivity, according to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Cigarette smoking and exposure to tobacco smoke cause about 480,000 premature deaths each year in the United States. Health experts have long said it is the largest cause of preventable deaths.

More than 7,300 nonsmokers die each year from lung cancer caused by secondhand smoke, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The current smoking rate is 12.5% in the US for adults.

In April, the FDA issued a long-awaited proposal to ban menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars, seen as a major victory for anti-smoking advocates.

The news on the proposed rule was earlier reported by the Washington Post. — Reuters

G20 chair Indonesia to push for peace with Ukraine, Russia visits

REUTERS

JAKARTA — Indonesian President and G20 chairman Joko Widodo will visit counterparts in Ukraine and Russia next week and press for a peaceful resolution to their conflict, his foreign minister said on Wednesday, the first such trip by an Asian leader.

The Ukraine war has overshadowed meetings of the Group of 20 (G20) major economies this year, with Indonesia struggling to unify its members while resisting pressure from Western states threatening to boycott a November leaders’ summit and pushing for Russia’s exclusion.

Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said the visits by Jokowi, as the Indonesian president is known, to both Kyiv and Moscow would be conducted in a “not normal” situation.

“The president is showing compassion on the humanitarian crisis, will try to contribute to the food crisis caused by the war, and the impact felt on all countries, especially the developing and low-income ones,” she told a news conference. “And he’ll keep pushing for the spirit of peace.”

The months-long fighting in the region began in February with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which Moscow calls a “special military operation”.

The conflict has caused major disruption to supply chains, stoking a food and energy crisis that has seen inflation soar in many countries, some of which have imposed export curbs to ensure domestic supplies.

Jokowi will meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, having previously invited both to attend the G20 summit on the island of Bali.

Ms. Retno did not elaborate on what Jokowi would raise at the talks, which would follow the G7 Summit in Germany and bilateral meetings with leaders of those countries and others.

Jokowi’s office did not immediately respond to a request for further details.

The president would discuss food security issues at those meetings in Germany, noting the global importance of Russia and Ukraine in terms of natural gas, oil, wheat and barley, Ms. Retno said.

“The situation is very complex right now. The continued war will have an impact on humanity including food, energy, and financial crises,” she said, adding as G20 chairman Jokowi had spoken to leaders of the United Nations, Germany, Turkey recently.

“We’ve decided not to use a ‘megaphone diplomacy’ so that big benefits for the world can be achieved,” she added. — Reuters

1...5,8605,8615,862...13,845Page 5,861 of 13,845
© 2024 BusinessWorld Publishing.
All rights reserved.
Read our privacy guidelines
Facebook Instagram Linkedin Twitter Youtube