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Herman hits peak form for win in North Carolina

NEW YORK — Jim Herman capped off a superb weekend of play with a win at the Wyndham Championship on Sunday, shooting a seven-under par 63 in the final round of the Greensboro, North Carolina, tournament.

Herman, who started the day tied for fifth after carding a nine-under 61 in Saturday’s action, kept his hot streak going at Sedgefield Country Club, firing two birdies and an eagle in the first five holes of the final round.

“Obviously you don’t expect 61 or 63 on a regular basis, but when you need it, there was nowhere else to go but deep,” said Herman, as he picked up his third PGA Tour win in a little over four years. “Best golf I’ve played in my life obviously.”

Runner-up Billy Horschel, who carded a five-under par 65, saw victory slip through his fingers after bogeying on 16 and missing a birdie putt on 17, ultimately sparing Herman from a playoff after a near-miss putt for birdie on 18.

“I thought if I just played it just outside right edge a ball, ball and a half, hit it with – kept the speed up on it, I thought it would make it in,” said Horschel. “It was disappointing because I had two good looks the last couple holes and just wasn’t able to convert.”

The 42-year-old Herman, who didn’t pick up his first PGA win until he was 38, said “you’ve got to play like everything’s on the line” on the Tour.

“Outside of a few wins by the old guys in their 40s, it’s a young man’s game, so it’s nice to compete and show you can do it,” he said.

Kim Si-woo, the leader heading into the final round after sinking a hole in one on Saturday, finished tied for third at 18-under after carding an even-par 70, along with Americans Kevin Kisner (64), Doc Redman (68) and 2012 US Open champ Webb Simpson (65). — Reuters

Rockets’ Westbrook (quad) ruled out for Game 1

HOUSTON coach Mike D’Antoni confirmed Sunday that star point guard Russell Westbrook will miss Game 1 of the Rockets’ series with the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday.

Westbrook sat out Friday’s regular-season finale after an MRI confirmed a strained right quadriceps muscle. His status for the rest of the first-round Western Conference series against his former team is murky.

“It’s not something that’s going to miraculously go away tomorrow,” D’Antoni told reporters in a Zoom call. “It’s going to be a few days.”

Veteran Eric Gordon will start in Westbrook’s place. Gordon’s primary defensive assignment will be Oklahoma City point guard Chris Paul, the player Westbrook was traded for in a blockbuster deal in July 2019.

A nine-time All-Star, Westbrook played his first 11 seasons with the Thunder.

Westbrook was late to join the NBA’s restart after he tested positive for COVID-19. He first felt soreness in his right quad on Aug. 4 after a game against the Portland Trail Blazers, sitting out the next two games as a precaution.

Westbrook, 31, averaged 27.2 points, 7.9 rebounds and 7.0 assists in 57 games during his first season with the Rockets.

Gordon, 31, averaged 14.4 points and shot a career-worst 36.9% from the field in 36 games (15 starts) this season. — Reuters

Jazz G Conley leaves bubble for birth of child

UTAH JAZZ point guard Mike Conley left the NBA bubble Sunday to go to Columbus, Ohio, for the birth of his son, the team announced.

Conley, who sat out Thursday’s final seeding game near Orlando due to right knee soreness, will not be available when sixth-seeded Utah opens its first-round Western Conference playoff series Monday against the third-seeded Denver Nuggets.

Conley had made his intentions clear in an Instagram post last month celebrating his sixth wedding anniversary with his wife, Mary Peluso. “Can’t wait for baby #3 in August! This bubble won’t keep me from that,” he posted.

Conley, 32, averaged 14.4 points, 4.4 assists and 3.2 rebounds in 47 games (41 starts) in his first season with Utah in 2019-20.

He was traded by Memphis to the Jazz in July 2019 after spending his first 12 NBA seasons with the Grizzlies.

Drafted No. 4 overall in 2007 out of Ohio State, Conley has career averages of 14.9 points, 5.6 assists, 3.0 rebounds and 1.4 steals in 835 games (799 starts).

With Conley out for at least the first few games of the playoffs, the Nuggets will likely call on Donovan Mitchell and Joe Ingles to handle the ball more. Emmanuel Mudiay will come off the bench as the backup point guard. — Reuters

De Jong sends gritty Sevilla past Man United into Europa League final

EUROPA LEAGUE thoroughbreds Sevilla reached yet another final as substitute Luuk de Jong struck in the 78th minute to earn them a gritty 2-1 victory over Manchester United on Sunday.

United, already beaten in two domestic semi-finals this season, looked on course to make it third time lucky when Bruno Fernandes scored from the penalty spot in the ninth minute.

But former Liverpool player Suso leveled in the 26th minute, and the Spaniards showed all their European know-how to weather a United storm on a humid night in Cologne.

Inspired goalkeeper Yassine Bono came to Sevilla’s rescue on several occasions, and when United’s energy levels dipped, De Jong stole in to snatch victory.

Sevilla will meet either Inter Milan or Shakhtar Donetsk in the final in Cologne on Friday, when they will be going for their sixth title in the competition since 2006.

“I feel like I’ve been hugged by joy. We know what this side has been through, today included, and we’ve got such a resilience against such intensity,” said Sevilla coach Julen Lopetegui, whose side are now unbeaten in 20 games in all competitions.

While Sevilla have a chance to restore Spanish pride after Barcelona’s horror show in the Champions League quarterfinals on Friday, United’s defeat underlined a poor European season for English clubs, who provided all four finalists in last season’s Europa and Champions League competitions.

United were the only English club to reach a continental semifinal this season after Manchester City were dumped out of the Champions League by Lyon on Saturday.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side may ask themselves how they allowed this one to slip through their fingers though.

“The keeper’s had a fantastic game. Of course it’s disappointing that we don’t score. We know we have players who have the quality to score, but that’s the game,” Solskjaer said.

“You could see how tired they were towards the end. Tired legs, tired minds.”

United made a dream start when Diego Carlos brought down Marcus Rashford in the area just after the striker fired across goal. The referee belatedly pointed to the spot, handing United their 22nd penalty of the season in all competitions, and Bruno Fernandes, who almost turned in Rashford’s shot, smashed his spot kick past Bono.

Fred had a chance to make it 2-0 for United on the counter-attack but in a wildly open first half, Sevilla leveled when Suso swept in Sergio Reguilon’s low cross.

United should have led by halftime with Anthony Martial side-footing a great chance over the bar, Rashford stinging the palms of Bono, and Fernandes’s improvised volley forcing another fine save from the Moroccan.

Bono made another instinctive stop from Mason Greenwood just after halftime as United laid siege to the Sevilla goal.

Martial was also denied by Bono as Sevilla’s goal led a charmed life, but they battened down the hatches and regained a foothold as United’s intensity inevitably waned.

United had 20 attempts at goal compared with Sevilla’s nine, but all the spurned gilt-edged chances came back to bite them as their hopes of a first trophy since winning the Europa League under Jose Mourinho three years ago evaporated.

To make matters worse it was former Manchester City player Jesus Navas’s cross from the right that caught Victor Lindelof and Aaron Wan-Bissaka sleeping and De Jong drifted in behind the pair of them to slot home.

United’s frustration was such that Lindelof and Fernandes had a heated row.

“I think it’s normal (to be frustrated) when you concede a goal in the last 10 minutes. What happened between me and Victor was nothing,” Fernandes said afterwards. — Reuters

New Zealand postpones election

WELLINGTON — New Zealand’s prime minister postponed the country’s general election on Monday by a month to Oct. 17 as the city of Auckland remains in lockdown due to a growing coronavirus outbreak.

Jacinda Ardern bowed to pressure to delay the polls after some parties complained they could not campaign with nearly a third of New Zealand’s 5 million people under lockdown in Auckland.

“Ultimately, the 17th of October … provides sufficient time for parties to plan around the range of circumstances we will be campaigning under,” Ms. Ardern said at a news conference.

She ruled out delaying the polls any further, as her Labour Party maintains a strong lead over the conservative National Party in opinion polls.

“We are all in the same boat. We are all campaigning in the same environment,” Ms. Ardern said.

New Zealand on Monday recorded nine new cases of COVID-19, taking the number of active cases to 78. There have now been a total of 1,280 cases in the country, and 22 deaths.

An earlier election would have worked in Ms. Ardern’s favor, as her success in stifling COVID-19 and keeping the country virus-free for 102 days until the latest outbreak had boosted her popularity.

The election was scheduled for Sept. 19 and New Zealand law requires it to be held by Nov. 21. Advance voting will now start on Oct. 3.

Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters, who had called for a delay, said “common sense has prevailed.”

The leader of the populist New Zealand First party delivered government to Labour through a coalition deal after no party won a majority at the 2017 election.

BORDER FAILURE?
Ms. Ardern’s opponents accuse her of using the pandemic to shore up support as she appears on television nearly every day to reassure New Zealanders, while other party leaders struggle to get attention.

Her rivals are hoping Ms. Ardern loses some of her appeal once economic hardships caused by the lockdown begin to bite.

New Zealand has fared far better than most countries during the pandemic but an abrupt resurgence of COVID-19 last week in Auckland prompted Ms. Ardern to extend a lockdown for the city’s 1.7 million residents until Aug. 26, while social distancing rules are in place in other towns and cities.

The origin of the new outbreak is still unknown. Authorities said previously that it could have been through an Americold cold-storage facility where one of the infected individuals worked.

Tests of surfaces in the facility are under way to identify the genome sequence. Australian authorities are also investigating if there is any link to an Americold facility in the Australian city of Melbourne, where COVID-19 cases have surged in recent weeks.

Results are expected later this week.

Another possible source is the quarantine system for New Zealanders returning from overseas.

“Right now the focus must be on finding out exactly what failed so catastrophically at the border so we can be sure it won’t happen again,” National Party leader Judith Collins said on Twitter.

New Zealanders celebrated when authorities eliminated community transmission of the coronavirus at the start of the pandemic with a hard lockdown that forced almost everyone to stay at home.

The government extended a wage subsidy scheme and mortgage deferral program to support businesses and jobs affected by the lockdown.  — Reuters

S. Korea warns of tighter rules amid worst virus outbreak in months

SEOUL — South Korea warned on Monday of tighter novel coronavirus restrictions as new outbreaks appeared, including one linked to a church where more than 300 members of the congregation have been infected but hundreds more are reluctant to get tested.

The outbreak linked to the Sarang Jeil Church in Seoul is the country’s biggest in nearly six months and led to a tightening of social distancing rules on Sunday.

The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) reported 197 new cases as of midnight on Saturday, mostly in the Seoul metropolitan area, marking the fourth day of a three-digit tally.

South Korea has been one of the world’s coronavirus mitigation success stories but it has nevertheless battled persistent spikes in infections. The latest cases brought its total infections to 15,515 including 305 deaths.

The outbreak at the Seoul church has revived fears seen in February when authorities were struggling with an outbreak that emerged in a secretive Christian sect in the city of Daegu and became the country’s deadliest cluster.

As in the earlier case, authorities are facing some reluctance to cooperate and difficulty in tracking some of the members of the congregation.

Vice Health Minister Kim Gang-lip said the Presbyterian church had provided inaccurate lists of its members. While 312 of them had tested positive, more than 700 who authorities want to see in isolation were unaccounted for.

“We’re very concerned,” Kim told a briefing, dismissing rumors that authorities would record every church member’s test as positive regardless of the truth.

“That’s impossible. We can’t fabricate test results,” he said.

The church is led by a conservative activist, Reverend Jun Kwang-hoon, who has also been organizing anti-government rallies calling for the ouster of liberal President Moon Jae-in, raising worry that the virus has been spreading at his protests too.

‘OBSTRUCTING TRACING’
Jun, 64, took part in a protest on Saturday in defiance of a government order that all church members self-isolate and get tested.

The church did not respond to calls seeking comment. Jun said in an interview with a Christian media outlet that he complied with the rules but his church was a victim of “virus terror.”

A ban on church services was lifted in April though attendees are required to register and sit apart.

Kim said if the rate of new infections did not stabilise this week the government would tighten distancing, shut high-risk facilities and ban indoor meetings of 50 people or more and outdoor gatherings of 100 or more.

The health ministry has filed a complaint against Jun for violating quarantine rules and “obstructing” contact tracing by holding the Saturday rally and failing to provide a full list of members.

Jun faces earlier charges of violating election laws and had been banned from joining protests as a bail condition. A prosecutors’ office said on Sunday it wanted his bail revoked.

Among smaller clusters of cases, 120 infections have been traced to a Christian church in the city of Yongin and about 30 linked to a coffee outlet in the city of Paju. — Reuters

Taiwan to step up efforts to prevent Chinese spies settling

TAIPEI — Taiwan will step up scrutiny of mainland Chinese citizens who are residents of Hong Kong and seek to move to the island to ensure they do not engage in spying or other illegal acts, the government said on Monday.

Taiwan has offered to welcome Hong Kong people who wish to leave the turmoil-hit Chinese-run city for the democratic island, especially after Beijing imposed a new national security law on the former British colony, though Taiwan officials have expressed concern some who come may be spies.

The new measures are aimed at “strengthening the management” of people from mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau who have residence in either of the two Chinese-ruled cities and seek to settle in Taiwan, the island’s Mainland Affairs Council said.

It aims to prevent them from “carrying out infiltration, united front, disturbance or spying activities”, the council said.

United front refers to the Chinese Communist Party’s United Front Work Department, which is in charge of co-opting overseas Chinese and non-communists.

The order targets Hong Kong and Macau residents who are originally from mainland China, or who are current or previous party, government or military officials, the council added.

Applications from such people will be subject to cross-department review to help protect national security, it said.

Communist China claims capitalist Taiwan as its “sacred” territory and has never renounced the use of force to bring it under Beijing’s control, though most people in Taiwan have shown no interest in being ruled by China.

Taiwan and China have extensive business and people-to-people exchanges but remain deeply suspicious of each other.

Taiwan in July opened an office to help Hong Kong people who wish to move to the island.

Taiwan has long been wary of Chinese efforts to influence its democracy through illicit funding of politicians and the media and other methods like spying.

Parliament last year passed an anti-infiltration law to improve how Taiwan combats perceived threats from China.

Beijing denounced the move, saying Taiwan was trying to stir up enmity towards China.  — Reuters

Establishing healthy boundaries while working from home

By Patricia B. Mirasol

Employees who work from home (WFH) tend to work longer hours. According to a study by Harvard Business School, the pandemic workday is, on average, “48.5 minutes longer than usual. It also has 13% more meetings and 1.4 more daily emails.”

Companies can help staff engaged in remote work by putting measures in place that support their overall well-being. In a recent mental health dialogue organized by pharmaceutical manufacturing firm Upjohn Philippines, Dr. Robert Buenaventura, consultant psychiatrist at UERM Memorial Medical Center and a life fellow of the Philippine Psychiatric Association, advised employees to consult their human resources department on setting healthy work-from-home boundaries. Upjohn general manager Melissa Comia likewise emphasized the importance of having a workplace that’s a safe place to raise concerns and thoughts.

“Wellness is not a perk. It is an integral part of employee life,” said Mr. Buenaventura, citing recent government guidelines for mental health workplace policies.

COMPANY COMMITMENTS
TaskUs, a business process outsourcing (BPO) company, recently announced that it was extending its WFH policy to the end of 2020—the first BPO in the Philippines to do so.  It also released guidelines such as keeping Friday free of meetings, avoiding professional chats on weekends, and respecting time off. “We encourage everyone to refrain from sending emails and other work-related communications after shift unless it’s really urgent and business-impacting,” said Bryce Maddock, TaskUs CEO and co-founder.

The BPO company also allows lactation breaks and flexible schedules for employees who need to guide their children through distance learning—the general rule being working with their immediate superiors in finding the best time that would allow them to focus on their families without sacrificing work productivity.

Upjohn, for its part, has “Wacky Wednesdays,” where members get together over WebEx to check in and decompress. Its parent company, Pfizer Philippines, provides mental health support to staff, including confidential and professional counseling.

MANAGING SCHEDULES
An employee with Citibank Philippines, meanwhile, shared that they didn’t experience that much of a change in terms of WFH policies because the company already had flexible work schedules prior to the pandemic. “Citi bankers can go online anytime and offline when needed—as long as deliverables are met.” She also shared that staff members have open communication lines with their bosses. Parents who have other life responsibilities are likewise encouraged to work out an arrangement with their manager.

When designing schedules, Dr. Buenaventura suggested penciling in time to indulge in hobbies, checking in with one’s personal network, and supporting communities in need as ways of avoiding burnout and keeping positive and hopeful in these challenging times.

 

Globe’s KapitWiFi technology bags two wins at 2020 APAC Stevie Awards

For its continuous efforts to innovate its products and services and make them more accessible to a broader market segment, Globe Telecom has again received international recognition as it bagged two Asia Pacific Stevie Awards in 2020 for KapitWiFi.

KapitWiFi, the newest and most affordable community WiFi service from Globe, received a Silver Stevie Award for Innovation in Technology Development and a Bronze Stevie Award for Innovation in Consumer Products & Services.

The service is designed to provide reliable at-home internet experience to underserved communities and transients in low-cost residential developments. Through KapitWiFi’s breakthrough technology, customers who are on a limited budget or allowance can choose from a variety of prepaid data packs that are well within their means.  They can likewise enjoy surfing without having to invest for an additional modem, or spend time in internet cafes.

WiFi access points are deployed in strategic locations within the communities to allow the customers to access KapitWiFi from their homes. To avail of the service, a customer simply has to connect their WiFi- enabled device, register their mobile number, and purchase a KapitWiFi data pack with their prepaid or postpaid load. Data packs start for as low as PhP15 for 1GB, valid for one day.

KapitWiFi made its big launch in Tacloban and Iloilo in 2019, enabling quality and secure internet connectivity to help transform target homes to a more digitally-capable and empowered community. The service since then was successfully deployed in a number of barangays and vertical sites nationwide, serving thousands of households and underserved families to date.

The vision for KapitWiFi today is to power the next 2 million users in collaboration with property developers, to provide fast and reliable internet. As of early this year, the service is available in select residential areas in Metro Manila, Cebu, Tacloban and Iloilo.

“KapitWiFi is one of our efforts to continue Globe’s commitment in bringing broadband services to more Filipinos across the country, especially those in communities beyond Metro Manila and commercial frontiers. In this new normal, Globe strives to empower more families and communities to recreate their world right at home through affordable, accessible and easy-to-use Internet connectivity,” shares Darius Delgado, Vice President and Head of Globe’s Broadband Business.

Recognized as the world’s premier business awards, the Stevie Awards was created back in 2002  to honor and generate public recognition for the achievement and positive contributions of organizations and working professionals worldwide. The roster of judges for the Asia Pacific Stevie Awards is composed of many of the world’s respected executives, entrepreneurs, innovators, and business educators.

Learn more about this story via https://www.globe.com.ph/about-us/newsroom

MultiSys launches SMS messaging platform TXTBOX.com

Recognizing the importance of information dissemination during this time of quarantine lockdowns and other restrictions, leading software solutions company Multisys Technologies Corporation launched a ‘plug and play’ SMS messaging platform called TXTBOX.com.

TXTBOX is a self-service SMS messaging platform developed by MultiSys to provide the public with the means to efficiently manage their SMS-based communications.

MultiSys has openly shared the sample integration source codes for PHP, Node, Python, Ruby, Go, jQuery, and cURL on the website so that IT companies and developers can easily integrate TXTBOX’s API to their own systems and applications.

System integrators can easily manage their account, buy credits, customize SMS templates, and request for SMS ‘masked’ senders, which will allow them to use TXTBOX for OTP generation, SMS blasting, business notifications, marketing and promotions.

The platform also comes with an online payment gateway so that users can conveniently top up their credits, anytime and anywhere.

MultiSys CEO and founder David Almirol, Jr. said, “Information dissemination is crucial, especially during this time when we are restricted from travelling or engaging in close physical contact. With TXTBOX, we can unleash the power of communication technology so we can continue with our work, push our advocacies, or even save lives. We anticipate that even beyond the period of this health crisis, this platform will help people cope with the ‘new normal’.”

Both public and private sectors will benefit from the platform, such as eCommerce and online retailers, companies with customer loyalty programs, financial services and remittance transfer provider, travel and transportation industries, insurance companies and HMO, advertising and marketing agencies, as well as government sectors, among others.

For more information, visit https://www.TXTBOX.com/ and https://www.multisyscorp.com/, or like @multisyscorp on Facebook.

Huawei unveils ICT certification program

Huawei, an information and communications technology (ICT) company, unveiled an ICT certification program open to both students and professionals in the industry.

The Huawei Asia Pacific ICT Certification Program, which covers 100 certification exams in 22 technical fields, addresses the gap between industry skills demand and talent supply. With the increasing interest in cloud computing, big data, the Internet of things, and artificial intelligence, the workforce must continue upskilling to catch up with the demands of the industry.

Aside from the certification program, Huawei has partnerships with educational institutions, including De La Salle University and Cebu Technological University in the Philippines, in offering ICT courses and training for its students. Since 2015, the Chinese tech company has been holding an annual competition to promote talent development among students around the world.

“As enterprises redefine their job requirements, this new ICT landscape will leave us with an estimated shortage of about five million professionals. We aim to globally develop two million ICT professionals over the next five years to match high demand for skilled workers,” said Michael MacDonald, chief digital officer and executive consultant of Huawei Asia Pacific, during the Huawei Asia Pacific ICT Talent Forum 2020 this August.

This year, Huawei plans to partner with more than 200 educational institutions and train 10,000 ICT certification students in the Asia Pacific region. “The ICT talent ecosystem is Huawei’s long-term strategy,” said Mr. MacDonald, who added that Huawei will work with universities and authorized training partners to help students and ICT practitioners become more competitive in their careers. 

The ICT certification program runs from August 4 to November 30. — Mariel Alison L. Aguinaldo

DTI pushes for looser virus curbs in capital

THE Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) wants looser movement restrictions in the capital region to enable more people to go to work, Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez said.

“Let those who want to work and healthy enough to work go to work,” the trade chief said in a virtual briefing with entrepreneurs on Monday. “That’s also what President Duterte wants,” Mr. Lopez said.

President Rodrigo R. Duterte will announce either an extension or easing of the restrictions before the tightened curbs implemented in Metro Manila and nearby provinces for 15 days lapse on Tuesday.

The Philippines has the worst coronavirus outbreak in Southeast Asia, with more than 161,000 cases as of Sunday. — Bloomberg

 

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