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Reliability

It’s easy to categorize Kyrie Irving’s decision to opt in to the last year of his contract with the Nets as a no-brainer. After all, the option is worth a whopping $36.5 million, a not inconsiderable sum under any circumstance and carrying even more value in light of the small fortune he lost over the last year. Because he managed to suit up in only 29 regular-season games owing to his firm commitment to stay unvaccinated against the COVID-19 virus, he was docked around $17 million in salary. Meanwhile, he stands to give up even more moolah in the face of his imminent divorce with Nike.

To argue that Irving is easy to figure out would, however, necessitate engaging in revisionist history. In fact, there’s nothing easy about him — and not simply because of his partiality to conspiracy theories and scientifically debunked positions. And, make no mistake, he wanted to leave the Nets following the latter’s refusal to provide him with a maximum contract extension. He even went so far as to identify potential sign-and-trade destinations. Given his mercurial nature, he would not have raised eyebrows had he opted out and, say, latched on to the Lakers for the $6-million midlevel exception.

That Irving managed to rein in his Hyde side is, perhaps, the surprise. Needless to say, he stuck around because of the money, and because he still has the chance to explore any and all opportunities next year. And he may well have done so because of good friend Kevin Durant and the prospect of them continuing to make beautiful music together on the court. His constant flirtation with the uncertain notwithstanding, he cannot but see the value in consorting with the devil he’s familiar with than with the devil he does not know.

Irving isn’t stupid. Considering the lack of interest in his services, he understands that he can also use his 2022-23 campaign as a means to rehabilitate his reputation. The problem isn’t his skill set; at his best, he’s a Top 15 player with an uncanny capacity to puncture the hoop. It’s his reliability — or, rather, lack thereof. He’s a high-risk-high-reward proposition, and going all in on him hasn’t seemed to be worth the aggravation. It’s why the Nets have played hardball with him, and why they may yet see him at his finest before he bids goodbye.

 

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.

Gov’t keeps Alert Level 1 for NCR and most areas

PHILIPPINE STAR/ MICHAEL VARCAS

MOST areas in the Philippines will remain under the lowest coronavirus alert up to the first half of July, according to the presidential palace, as authorities modified the matrices used to determine quarantine classifications.

Metro Manila is among the areas that will be placed under the first level of a five-scale alert system from July 1 to 15, Palace spokesman Jose Ruperto Martin M. Andanar said in a statement on Tuesday.

The national capital region (NCR), an economic powerhouse that is home to more than 13 million people, is currently under the same virus alert.

On the other hand, 37 areas from across the Philippines “shall be placed” under the alert system’s level 2, Mr. Andanar said.

Starting July 1, alert level classifications will be based “on the revised cross tabulation of total beds utilization rate and average daily attack rate,” the Palace official said.

He said the new matrix will remove the two-week growth rate in determining case-risk classification, which will now be based on average daily attack rates and current thresholds.

“Total beds utilization rate and its current thresholds are retained as the main metric for health system capacity.”

The positivity rate in Metro Manila had reached 5.9% on June 25 from 3.9% on June 18, monitoring group OCTA Research said on Monday.

TESTING
Mr. Andanar, in a separate statement, said unvaccinated on-site workers in both public and private sectors in areas under alert level 2 and higher must either undergo RT-PCR tests once every two weeks or take weekly antigen tests.

“In areas where there are sufficient supplies of COVID-19 vaccines, all establishments and employers in the public and private sector shall require their eligible employees who are tasked to do on-site work to be vaccinated against COVID-19,” he said.

The new testing rules are waived in alert level 1 areas “subject to the implementation of clinical-based management, including symptomatic testing.”

The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) said mandatory testing and vaccination “will create unemployment and underemployment opportunities in the light of our economy striving to recover from the pandemic adversity.”

The policy, which critics view as anti-poor, would derail business recovery, reduce production, and make workers lose their competitiveness, TUCP said in a statement.

It said that testing should be made free and accessible because if not, “workers and their families will sacrifice some more because a bigger part of their salaries will, again, go to payment for the cost of periodic testing alone.” — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza

Solo parents to get more benefits with new law 

PHILIPPINE STAR/ WALTER BOLLOZOS

A CONGRESS-approved bill that grants additional benefits to solo parents became a law without President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s signature. 

The measure, which lapsed into law on June 4, provides solo parents with additional work leave, scholarship and cash subsidy, and priority status in government low-cost housing projects.  

The new law has shortened the period before someone can be declared a single parent to six months from the previous one year. 

It expands the legally-recognized meaning of a single parent, considering “any legal guardian, adoptive or foster parent who solely provides parental care and support to a child or children.” 

Under the law, solo parents are entitled to a forfeitable and noncumulative parental leave of not more than seven days every year.  

The law also directs education institutions to provide scholarships or grants to qualified children of solo parents.

It entitles solo parents who earn minimum wage and below to an additional financial support of as much as 1,000 every month. 

“I am elated that the Expanded Solo Parents Welfare Act has been passed into law,” Senator Ana Theresia “Risa” N. Hontiveros, one of the measure’s proponents, said in a statement.  

“I share this victory with the millions of solo parents in our country,” she said. “This is a victory for solo parents like me.” 

The new law also grants single-parents who are earning less than P250,000 a year a 10% discount and exemption from the value-added tax on various goods for children up to six years old. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza 

Palace supports filing of charges vs those linked to agri smuggling 

BUREAU OF CUSTOMS

THE PRESIDENTIAL Palace on Tuesday said charges should be filed against the 22 officials and personalities allegedly involved in the smuggling of agriculture products into the country. 

A report by the Senate Committee of the Whole indicated that around P667.5 million worth of agri-fishery products were “technically smuggled” into the country from 2019 to 2022.  

“We are one with the Senate in fighting corruption in the bureaucracy,” Palace Spokesman Jose Ruperto Martin M. Andanar said in a statement.    

“File the necessary charges before the Office of the Ombudsman so officials and persons mentioned in the Senate report could be afforded due process, face their accusers, and have their day in court,” he added.  

The 63-page committee report, filed on June 1, revealed a list of “agriculture smugglers and protectors,” naming officials from the Agriculture department, Customs bureau, and local governments as well as private individuals.   

Senator Aquilino “Koko” L. Pimentel III, one of the 17 senators who signed the report, said in a statement on Tuesday: “By signing, I am not confirming that I have personal knowledge. It’s just us acknowledging that intelligence has reached the senate president,”  

The list of names provided is not yet “comprehensive,” he added, so it would be a good idea to continue the probe in the next Congress.  

Senator-elect Robinhood Ferdinand “Robin” C. Padilla said it would not be enough to just remove the accused officials from their position.  

“If those in government positions lack accountability, they can’t stop at apologies,” he told reporters in Filipino in a press conference.  

Some of the officials cited in the report have denied the accusations and expressed readiness to face allegations in court.  

Senate President Vicente C. Sotto III, who led the investigation, has said that a copy of the list has been personally given to President-elect Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos, Jr., who will concurrently serve as Agriculture secretary.  

“Smuggling is really one of our biggest problems today,” Mr. Pimentel said.  

The report cited weaknesses in the prosecution of smuggling cases, failure to digitalize inspection processes, and lack of first border inspection. — Alyssa Nicole O. Tan 

Over 600,000 tricycle drivers to receive fuel subsidy  

ZAMBOANGA CIO

THE DEPARTMENT of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) on Tuesday announced that 617,806 tricycle drivers nationwide will be receiving fuel cash subsidy under the agency’s program to address rising fuel prices. 

In a statement, DILG Secretary Eduardo M. Año said the cash assistance will be distributed by the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) through e-wallet platforms, state-owned Land Bank of the Philippines (LANDBANK), and other off-site payout sites of local government units.  

“We hope this fuel subsidy will help those tricycle drivers who are suffering because of the constant rise in oil prices,” he said in Filipino. “We hope this would give relief to these drivers.”  

In March, the LTFRB started releasing fuel subsidy for other public transport operators and drivers, and said it was waiting for the beneficiary list of tricycle and delivery drivers from the DILG.  

Mr. Año noted the subsidy will be distributed in three batches.  

The first batch will be for the 539,395 tricycle drivers who will receive the cash aid through their e-wallet accounts; the second batch will be for the 73,233 who will avail of LANDBANK’S over-the-counter services; and the third will cover 5,178 drivers who will use on-site payout sites of local governments.   

“All those included in the master list of qualified tricycle drivers will receive a fuel subsidy,” he said. “Let us just wait for additional details from the LTFRB.”  

The DILG said about 766,590 tricycle drivers submitted their names for the master list, but 148,784 were disqualified due to lack of requirements and failing to meet the deadline.  

Mr. Año also urged city and municipal mayors to establish help desks for the beneficiaries.  

Oil companies imposed another round of price hike on Tuesday. From the start of the year to June 14, pump prices of diesel, gasoline, and kerosene have gone up by P41.15, P28.70, and P37.95, respectively. — John Victor D. Ordoñez 

Samar coastal road partially opened 

DPWH

THE ₱1.126-billion Samar Pacific Coastal Road project in central Philippines is now partially open, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) announced on Tuesday.  

An initial eight-kilometer stretch of the 11.6-km coastal road in Northern Samar province and its Simora Bridge component, part of the government’s Build Build Build infrastructure program, were inaugurated Monday.    

DPWH Undersecretary Emil K. Sadain said the past four years of construction proved to be “challenging” with about 29 typhoons and pandemic restrictions affecting the project. 

“The partial opening of the Samar Pacific Coastal Road is a huge step to…provide comfortable and improved interconnectivity that will support sustainable agricultural development, and contribute to food self-sufficiency program and in sustaining peace and development efforts in Northern Samar,” he said.

Northern Samar Governor Edwin C. Ongchuan noted that without the coastal road, travel to and from several remote towns required “multiple boat rides.”

The project, with funding assistance from the Republic of Korea through the Export-Import Bank of Korea (KEXIM), forms part of the Samar Island circumferential road, according to Mr. Sadain. 

Construction of the remaining three-kilometer, two-lane road with two more bridges are ongoing with the bridges at an average completion rate of about 50%, DPWH said.  

The road traverses the coastal municipalities of Palapag, Laoang and Catubig where residents are mainly engaged in coconut and rice farming. — MSJ

Coconut processing plant in Zamboanga City gutted by fire 

MAYOR BENG CLIMACO FACEBOOK PAGE

FIREFIGHTERS in Zamboanga City on Tuesday morning were still working to put out a fire that broke out late Monday at a coconut processing plant located along the city’s coastal area.  

As of Monday noon, the Bureau of Fire Protection had yet to declare the fire under control, according to the Zamboanga City government.  

There were no reported casualties or injuries, it said.   

Outgoing Mayor Maria Isabelle Climaco-Salazar said the origin of the fire that started at around 11 p.m. at the Philippine International Development, Inc. (PHIDCO) compound was still undetermined.  

“Fire fighting activities continue up to this time, as traffic rerouting is in effect,” she said in a Facebook post on Tuesday morning.   

PHIDCO, established in 1959, is a coconut processing and export firm according to the company website.   

Its export products include crude coconut oil, refined bleached deodorized (rbd) coconut oil, cochin coconut oil, and copra expeller cake. It also produces the Washington brand of cooking oil, Datu laundry bars, and Viva detergent bars for the local market. 

“Aside from it’s manufacturing activities, it leases out commercial as well as warehouse spaces,” it said. — MSJ 

Ukraine digs for survivors in rubble of Russian missile hit

KREMENCHUK, Ukraine — Firefighters and soldiers searched for survivors in the rubble of a shopping mall in central Ukraine on Tuesday after a Russian missile strike killed at least 16 people in an attack condemned by the United Nations and the West.

Family members of the missing lined up at a hotel across the street where rescue workers had set up a base after Monday’s strike on the busy mall in Kremenchuk, southeast of Kyiv.

More than 1,000 people were inside when two Russian missiles slammed into the mall, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said. At least 16 people were killed and 59 injured, Ukraine’s emergency services said.

“This is not an accidental hit, this is a calculated Russian strike exactly onto this shopping center,” Mr. Zelensky said in an evening video address. He said the death count could rise.

More than 40 people had been reported missing, Ukraine’s prosecutor general’s office said.

A survivor receiving treatment at Kremenchuk’s public hospital, Ludmyla Mykhailets, 43, said she was shopping with her husband when the blast threw her into the air.

“I flew head first and splinters hit my body. The whole place was collapsing,” she said.

“It was hell,” added her husband, Mykola, 45, blood seeping through a bandage wrapped around his head.

Russia has not commented on the strike but its deputy ambassador to the United Nations, Dmitry Polyanskiy, accused Ukraine of using the incident to gain sympathy ahead of a June 28-30 summit of the NATO military alliance.

“One should wait for what our Ministry of Defense will say, but there are too many striking discrepancies already,” Mr. Polyanskiy wrote on Twitter.

The United Nations Security Council will meet Tuesday at Ukraine’s request following the attack. UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said the missile strike was “deplorable.”

Leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) major democracies, at a summit in Germany, said the attack was “abominable.”

“Russian President Putin and those responsible will be held to account,” they wrote in a joint statement tweeted by the German government spokesperson.

BATTLE FOR LYSYCHANSK
Elsewhere on the battlefield, Ukraine endured another difficult day following the loss of the now-ruined city of Sievierodonetsk after weeks of bombardment and street fighting.

Russian artillery pounded Lysychansk, Sievierodonetsk’s twin city across the Siverskyi Donets River.

Lysychansk is the last big city still held by Ukraine in eastern Luhansk province, a main target for the Kremlin after Russian troops failed to take the capital Kyiv early in the war.

A Russian missile strike killed eight and wounded 21 others in Lysychansk on Monday, the area’s regional governor Serhiy Gaidai said. There was no immediate Russian comment.

Ukraine’s military said Russia’s forces were trying to cut off Lysychansk from the south.

Rodion Miroshnik, ambassador to Moscow of the Luhansk People’s Republic, said Russian troops and their Luhansk Republic allies were advancing westward into Lysychansk and street battles had erupted around the city’s stadium.

Fighting was on in several villages around the city, and Russian and allied troops had entered the Lysychansk oil refinery where Ukrainian troops were concentrated, Miroshnik said on his Telegram channel.

Reuters could not confirm Russian reports that Moscow’s troops had already entered the city.

Russia also shelled the city of Kharkiv in northeast Ukraine on Monday, hitting apartment buildings and a primary school, the regional governor said.

The shelling killed five people and wounded 22. There were children among those wounded, the governor said.

‘AS LONG AS IT TAKES’
Moscow denies targeting civilians in what it calls a “special military operation” in Ukraine, but Kyiv and the West have accused Russian forces of war crimes.

The war has killed thousands, sent millions fleeing, and triggered spikes in global food and energy prices.

During their summit in Germany, G7 leaders, including US President Joseph R. Biden, said they would keep sanctions on Russia for as long as necessary and intensify pressure on President Vladimir Putin’s government and its ally Belarus.

The United States also said it was finalizing another weapon package for Ukraine that would include long-range air-defense systems.

Mr. Zelensky asked for more arms in a video address to the G7 leaders, US and European officials said. He requested help to export grain from Ukraine and for more sanctions on Russia.

The G7 nations promised to squeeze Russia’s finances further — including a cap on the price of Russian oil that a US official said was “close” — and pledged up to $29.5 billion more for Ukraine.

The White House said Russia had defaulted on its external debt for the first time in more than a century as sanctions have effectively cut the country off from global finance.

Russia rejected the claims, telling investors to go to Western financial agents for the cash which was sent but bondholders did not receive. — Reuters

US Supreme Court abortion ruling ignites legal battles over state bans

BATTLES over abortion shifted to state courts on Monday after the US Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to the procedure nationwide, as judges blocked statewide bans in Louisiana and Utah and clinics in Idaho, Kentucky, Mississippi and Texas sued seeking similar relief.

The six are among the 13 states with “trigger laws” designed to ban or severely restrict abortions once the Supreme Court overturned the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that recognized a right to the procedure, as it did on Friday.

In Louisiana, abortion services that had been halted since Friday began resuming after Orleans Parish Civil District Court Judge Robin Giarrusso on Monday issued a temporary restraining order blocking the state from carrying out its ban.

The order came shortly after Hope Medical Group for Women in Shreveport — one of Louisiana’s three abortion clinics — sued, arguing Louisiana’s trigger laws “lack constitutionally required safeguards to prevent arbitrary enforcement.”

Later on Monday in Utah, 3rd District Court Judge Andrew Stone, at the request of a Planned Parenthood affiliate, issued a temporary restraining order that would allow abortion services to resume in the state after a 2020 ban took effect on Friday.

“Today is a win, but it is only the first step in what will undoubtedly be a long and difficult fight,” Karrie Galloway, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Association of Utah, said in a statement.

Republican Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry said his office was “fully prepared to defend these laws in our state courts, just as we have in our federal courts.” Republican Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes did not respond to requests for comment.

The rulings came as a flurry of lawsuits were filed nationally challenging Republican-backed abortion laws under state constitutions after Friday’s ruling by the conservative-dominated US Supreme Court.

In Republican-led Texas, where a ban on abortions after six weeks of pregnancy went into effect last year, a judge in Harris County will hear arguments on Tuesday on whether to block officials from enforcing pre-Roe v. Wade abortion prohibitions.

Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton had said in a Friday advisory that while the state’s 2021 trigger ban would not take effect for 30 days after the Supreme Court’s ruling, prosecutors could immediately pursue cases based on pre-1973 laws.

In Idaho, a Planned Parenthood affiliate asked the state’s Highest Court to block enforcement of a “trigger” law banning abortion that the Republican-controled state legislature passed in 2020 due to take effect Aug. 19.

Similar lawsuits were filed by abortion providers asking state courts to block enforcement of “trigger” bans in Kentucky and Mississippi.

“To be clear, there is no right to abortion contained in the Commonwealth’s Constitution — and we will stand up against any baseless claim to the contrary,” Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron said in a statement.

Abortion rights advocates plan to challenge an Ohio ban on abortions after six weeks that took effect on Friday, and in Florida, a group of abortion providers went before a judge on Monday to argue a challenge to that state’s ban on abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy.

In states where federal court orders were blocking abortion restrictions based on the Roe precedent, those orders are now being lifted. South Carolina’s ban on abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected is now in effect, Attorney General Alan Wilson said on Monday, after a federal judge put on hold an injunction that had prevented its implementation. — Reuters

G7 to stand by Ukraine ‘for as long as it takes’

SCHLOSS ELMAU, Germany — The Group of Seven (G7) club of wealthy nations on Monday vowed to stand with Ukraine “for as long as it takes,” promising to tighten the squeeze on Russia’s finances with new sanctions that include a proposal to cap the price of Russian oil.

The announcement came after Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky, addressing G7 leaders at their summit in the Bavarian Alps via a video link, asked for weapons and air defenses to gain the upper hand in the war against Russia within months.

But efforts to rally the Global South to the Ukrainian cause were less successful, with five developing countries invited to partner with the rich country club signing up only to a mildly worded statement hailing democracy’s “courageous defenders” without referring explicitly to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The G7 leaders’ own statement aimed to signal that its members were ready to back Ukraine for the long haul, at a time when soaring inflation and energy shortages — fueled by Russia’s invasion — have tested the West’s sanction resolve.

“We will continue to provide financial, humanitarian, military and diplomatic support and stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes,” according to the statement.

After missiles rained down on Kyiv on Sunday, US national security adviser Jake Sullivan said the United States was readying a new weapon package for Ukraine that included long-range air defenses and ammunition.

In reference to Mr. Zelensky’s address, Mr. Sullivan told reporters: “At the top of his mind was the set of missile strikes that took place in Kyiv and other cities across Ukraine and his desire to get additional air defense capabilities that could shoot down Russian missiles out of the sky.”

The G7 countries said they were ready to provide security commitments in a post-war settlement while stressing, after Ukraine had earlier voiced misgivings, that it was up to Kyiv to decide a future peace deal with Russia.

The G7 countries said they had also pledged or were ready to grant up to $29.5 billion for Ukraine.

PUTIN’S REVENUES
The White House said on Monday Russia had defaulted on its foreign sovereign bonds for the first time in a century — an assertion Moscow rejected.

G7 nations, which generate nearly half the world’s economic output, want to crank up pressure on Russia without stoking already soaring inflation that is causing strains at home and savaging the Global South.

The expanded sanctions would also target Russia’s revenue stream from gold exports, Moscow’s military production and officials installed by Moscow in areas of Ukraine occupied by Russian forces.

Imposing the oil price cap aims to hit Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war chest while actually lowering energy prices.

“The dual objectives of G7 leaders have been to take direct aim at Putin’s revenues, particularly through energy, but also to minimize the spillovers and the impact on the G7 economies and the rest of the world,” a US official said on the sidelines of the G7 summit.

Western sanctions have hit Russia’s economy hard and the new measures are aimed at further depriving the Kremlin of oil revenues. G7 countries would work with others — including India — to limit the revenues that Mr. Putin can continue to generate, the US official said.

India has refrained from criticizing Russia and provided a market for Russian oil, gas and coal as it sought to balance longstanding ties with Moscow and relations with the West.

While hosting the Indonesian president at the G7 summit, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz did not rule out boycotting the Group of Twenty summit in Indonesia in November if Mr. Putin attended.

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi is one of the five leaders of guest nations joining the G7 for talks on climate change, energy, health, food security and gender equality on the second day of the summit.

“It is good, important and necessary that we talk to each other,” Mr. Scholz said of the guest nations, which also included Argentina, Indonesia, Senegal and South Africa, hailing them as “democracies of the future.”

MORE SANCTIONS
A US official said news that Russia had defaulted on its foreign sovereign bonds for the first time since the Bolshevik revolution in 1917 showed how effective Western sanctions had been.

The Kremlin, which has the funds to make payments thanks to rich energy revenues, swiftly rejected the US statement, accusing the West of driving it into an artificial default.

The United States said it would also implement sanctions on hundreds of individuals and entities adding to the more than 1,000 already sanctioned, target companies in several countries, and impose tariffs on hundreds of Russian products. The agencies involved would release details on Tuesday to minimize any flight risk, a second senior administration official said.

The Ukraine crisis has detracted attention from another crisis — that of climate change — originally set to dominate the summit. Activists fear Western nations are watering down their climate ambitions as they scramble to find alternatives to Russian gas imports and rely more heavily on coal, a dirtier fossil fuel, instead.

Japan is also pushing to remove a target for zero-emission vehicles from a G7 communique expected this week, according to a proposed draft seen by Reuters. — Reuters

Biden signs memo versus illegal and unregulated fishing in swipe of China

WASHINGTON — US President Joseph R. Biden on Monday signed a national security memorandum to fight illegal fishing, part of pledged efforts to help countries combat alleged violations by fishing fleets, including those of China.

The White House said in a statement that it would also launch an alliance with Canada and the United Kingdom to “take urgent action” to improve monitoring, control and surveillance in the fight against illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.

US officials have vowed to introduce policies to better battle illegal fishing, particularly in the Indo-Pacific, as part of stepped up engagement with the region to counter China’s growing influence.

Some countries in the region chafe at China’s vast fishing fleet, arguing its vessels often violate their 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zones (EEZ) and cause environmental damage and economic losses.

Senior US administration officials told reporters at a briefing that the memorandum directs agencies to work toward “ending human trafficking, including forced labor… while promoting safe, sustainable use of the ocean.”

The Department of Labor, the Department of Defense, the US Coast Guard and other enforcement agencies would engage with private and foreign partners to “investigate fishing vessels and operators expected to be harvesting seafood with forced labor,” the official said.

The effort was not targeted at any specific country, but the official said China was one of the largest violators.

“The PRC (People’s Republic of China) is a leading contributor to illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing worldwide, and has impeded progress on the development of measures to combat IUU fishing and overfishing in international organizations,” the official said.

“The PRC has a responsibility to uphold these commitments as a flag state and actively monitor and correct… fishing fleet activities in other countries’ waters,” she said.

China says it is a responsible fishing country that has been cooperating internationally to clamp down on illegal fishing, and that it fishes in relevant EEZs according to bilateral agreements.

“The US accusation is completely untrue and does nothing to protect the marine environment and promote international cooperation in sustainable fishery,” Liu Pengyu, spokesman for China’s embassy in Washington, said in a statement.

Earlier in June, the Philippines accused China of illegal fishing in its EEZ, a complaint backed by the US State Department

The US Coast Guard has said illegal fishing has outpaced piracy as the top global maritime security threat, and risks heightening tensions among countries vying for overexploited fishing stocks.

US Indo-Pacific policy coordinator Kurt Campbell said in May countries in the region were cooperating to step up patrolling and training efforts, as well as sharing technologies to track vessels engaged in illegal fishing that turn off electronic transponders. — Reuters

More than 40 migrants die in truck in Texas

SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS — Authorities found 46 migrants dead inside a tractor-trailer on Monday in San Antonio, Texas, the city’s fire department said, in what appears to be one of the most deadly recent incidents of human smuggling along the US-Mexico border.

The San Antonio Fire Department said 16 other people found inside the trailer were transported to the hospital for heat stroke and exhaustion, including four minors. Officials also said three people were in custody following the incident.

The truck was found next to railroad tracks in a remote area on the city’s southern outskirts.

Mexico’s Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard called the suffocation of the migrants in the truck the “tragedy in Texas” on Twitter and said the local consulate was en route to the scene, though the nationalities of the victims had not been confirmed.

There have been a record number of migrant crossings at the US-Mexico border in recent months, which has sparked criticisms of the immigration policies of US President Joseph R. Biden, a Democrat.

Temperatures in San Antonio, which is about 160 miles (250 km) from the Mexican border, swelled to a high of 103 degrees Fahrenheit (39.4 degrees Celsius) on Monday with high humidity.

In July 2017, 10 migrants died after being transported in a tractor-trailer that was discovered by San Antonio police at a Wal-Mart parking lot. The driver, James Matthew Bradley, Jr., was sentenced the following year to life in prison for his role in the smuggling operation. — Reuters

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