Lockdown extended on Philippines’ largest island until April 30

President Rodrigo Duterte appealed to the business community on Monday night to extend financial support to impoverished Filipinos amid the health crisis. (AP Photo)
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Updated 07 April 2022
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Lockdown extended on Philippines’ largest island until April 30

  • In his message on Monday, Duterte asked for public patience and cooperation, especially from those who were severely impacted by the lockdown
  • Recognizing the impact of the crisis on the economy, Duterte reiterated his call to individuals and organizations to help the most vulnerable

MANILA: The Philippines on Tuesday extended a lockdown in Luzon until April 30 to limit the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in the country’s largest island.

In an address to the nation late on Monday night, President Rodrigo Duterte said he was “inclined to extend” the lockdown and appealed for cooperation as the government grapples with the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.

The Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ), which came into effect on March 15, was set to end on April 12.  

However, on Tuesday morning, Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles, spokesperson for the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF MEID), said in a virtual press briefing that the president had accepted the IATF’s recommendation to extend the ECQ by another two weeks.

“That was [the IATF] recommendation to President Duterte, which he accepted and announced last night. After his announcement, we verified it again, and the answer was that the ECQ would be hereby extended until 11:59 pm of April 30,” Nograles said, adding that the extended lockdown “would give the government enough time to increase its public health response.”

Interior Secretary Eduardo Año said he fully supported the move which he described as an “inevitable course of action in the effort of the national government to contain COVID-19.”

Año said the decision was based on the advice of health experts from the Department of Health (DOH) and the World Health Organization (WHO). 

He added that to rush the easing of the ECQ in a time when the number of COVID-19 cases is fluctuating is a gamble that the government is not willing to take.

“We all want everything to go back to normal, yet we cannot risk further transmissions or a relapse. This extension is part of the effort of the national government to flatten the curve of COVID-19 transmissions in the country,” Año said.

As of Tuesday, the number of infections rose to 3,764 in the Philippines, with 104 new cases reported.

The latest DOH report also indicated 14 new deaths, bringing the total mortalities to 177, while 84 patients had recovered from the disease.

Año said that reports from both the government and the private sector show that an extension of two weeks would ensure that the pandemic is “contained and manageable by our health care system.”

Senate President Vicente Sotto III also said that the extension until April 30 “seems to be reasonable because the DOH has no clear projection yet of how things are evolving.”

“Better safe than sorry,” Sotto said, emphasizing the need for the government to improve the distribution of emergency subsidies to affected families.

Earlier, the task force had spelled out the parameters that would be considered — such as trends in the COVID-19 epidemiological curve, the capacity of the healthcare system, as well as social, economic, and security factors — before arriving at a decision.

In his message on Monday, Duterte asked for public patience and cooperation, especially from those who were severely impacted by the lockdown.

“Once again, I am asking the utmost cooperation of the public in these trying times,” Duterte said as he urged people to strictly observe home quarantine, wear face masks, and practice social distancing.

He also rallied for national unity and prayer as the country observes the Lenten Season during the pandemic.

“This being the Holy Week, I am calling on the nation to come together this Wednesday afternoon and pay tribute to the indomitable spirit of the Filipino and unite in one prayer to God to fight our common enemy,” Duterte said.

“God is the only one who can really solve the problem for us,” he said.

Recognizing the impact of the crisis on the economy, Duterte reiterated his call to individuals and organizations to help the most vulnerable, stressing the issue of limited government resources.

“Private companies must assist the government during the current health emergency,” Duterte said, adding that “continued uncertainty will impact on everyone.”

On Sunday, Malacañang confirmed that many members of the president’s cabinet had pledged to cut 75 percent of their monthly salaries from April to December this year toward the country’s anti-virus measures.

Others have volunteered for a salary deduction for the entire duration of the lockdown to help in the government’s efforts to halt the spread of the disease.

Malacañang spokesperson Salvador Panelo said the president is also donating his one month’s salary for the cause, while other officials with the rank of secretaries are giving portions of their respective wages to facilitate the initiative. More than 200 members of the House of Representatives, as well as the Senate, are doing the same.


Zelensky says NATO offer for Ukraine-controlled territory could end ‘hot stage’ of war

Updated 58 min 10 sec ago
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Zelensky says NATO offer for Ukraine-controlled territory could end ‘hot stage’ of war

  • “You can’t give an invitation to just one part of a country,” the Ukrainian president said
  • “So legally, by law, we have no right to recognize the occupied territory as territory of Russia”

KYIV: An offer of NATO membership to territory under Kyiv’s control would end “the hot stage of the war” in Ukraine, but any proposal to join the military alliance should be extended to all parts of the country that fall under internationally recognized borders, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a broadcast interview.
Zelensky’s remarks on Friday signaled a possible way forward to the difficult path Ukraine faces to future NATO membership. At their summit in Washington in July, the 32 members declared Ukraine on an “irreversible” path to membership. However, one obstacle to moving forward has been the view that Ukraine’s borders would need to be clearly demarcated before it could join so that there can be no mistaking where the alliance’s pact of mutual defense would come into effect.
“You can’t give an invitation to just one part of a country,” the Ukrainian president said in an excerpt of the interview with Sky News, dubbed by the UK broadcaster. “Why? Because thus you would recognize that Ukraine is only that territory of Ukraine and the other one is Russia.”
Under the Ukrainian constitution, Ukraine cannot recognize territory occupied by Russia as Russian.
“So legally, by law, we have no right to recognize the occupied territory as territory of Russia,” he said.
Since the start of the war in 2022, Russia has been expending huge amounts of weaponry and human life to make small-but-steady territorial gains to the nearly one-fifth of Ukraine it already controls in east and southern Ukraine.
“If we want to stop the hot stage of the war, we should take under the NATO umbrella the territory of Ukraine that we have under our control. That’s what we need to do, fast. And then Ukraine can get back the other part of its territory diplomatically,” he said.
An invitation for Ukraine to join NATO is one key point of Zelensky’s “victory plan”, which he presented to Western allies and the Ukrainian people in October. The plan is seen as a way for Ukraine to strengthen its hand in any negotiations with Moscow.
Earlier this week, NATO’s new Secretary General Mark Rutte said that the alliance “needs to go further” to support Ukraine in its fight against a Russian invasion. Military aid to Kyiv and steps toward ending the war are expected to be high on the agenda when NATO members’ foreign ministers meet in Brussels for a two-day gathering starting on December 3.
However, any decision for Ukraine to join the military alliance would require a lengthier process and the agreement of all member states.
There is also uncertainty as to the foreign policy stance of President-elect Donald Trump. While Trump vowed on the campaign trail to end Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in a single day, he has not publicly discussed how this could happen. Trump also announced Wednesday that Keith Kellogg, an 80-year-old, highly decorated retired three-star general, would serve as his special envoy for Ukraine and Russia.
In April, Kellog wrote that “bringing the Russia-Ukraine war to a close will require strong, America First leadership to deliver a peace deal and immediately end the hostilities between the two warring parties.”
Meanwhile, during his only campaign debate with Vice President Kamala Harris, Trump twice refused to directly answer a question about whether he wanted Ukraine to win the war — raising concerns that Kyiv could be forced to accept unfavorable terms in any negotiations.
Zelensky’s statement comes as Ukraine faces increasing pressure along the 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) frontline. In its latest report, the Washington-based think tank the Institute for the Study of War said Saturday that Russian forces had recently advanced near Kupiansk, in Toretsk, and near Pokrovsk and Velyka Novosilka, a key logistics route for the Ukrainian military.
Ukraine’s air force announced Saturday that the country had come under attack from ten Russian drones, of which eight were shot down over the Kyiv, Cherkasy, Kirovohrad, Dnipropetrovsk, and Kherson regions. One drone returned to Russian-occupied territory, while the final drone disappeared from radar, often a sign of the use of electronic defenses.
Meanwhile, the Russian Defense Ministry said that 11 Ukrainian drones had been shot down by the country’s air defense systems. Both the mayor of Sochi, Andrey Proshunin, and the head of Russia’s Dagestan region, Sergey Melikov, both in Russia’s southwest, said that drones had been destroyed in their regions overnight. No casualties were reported.
On Friday, the Ukrainian president announced a number of changes to military leadership, saying that changes in personnel management were needed to improve the situation on the battlefield.
General Mykhailo Drapatyi, who led the defense of Kharkiv during Russia’s new offensive on Ukraine’s second-largest city this year, was appointed the new head of Ukraine’s Ground Forces. Oleh Apostol was named as the new Deputy Commander-in-Chief responsible for improving military training.
Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi also announced Friday that he would bolster units in Donetsk, Pokrovsk and Kurakhove with additional reserves, ammunition, weapons and military equipment.


North Korean leader calls for expanding his nuclear forces in the face of alleged US threats

Updated 30 November 2024
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North Korean leader calls for expanding his nuclear forces in the face of alleged US threats

  • Kim Jong Un condemns the US for updating its nuclear deterrence strategies with South Korea
  • He also criticized American support of Ukraine against a prolonged Russian invasion
SEOUL: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un renewed his call for a “limitless” expansion of his military nuclear program to counter US-led threats in comments reported Monday that were his first direct criticism toward Washington since Donald Trump’s win in the US presidential election.
At a conference with army officials on Friday, Kim condemned the United States for updating its nuclear deterrence strategies with South Korea and solidifying three-way military cooperation involving Japan, which he portrayed as an “Asian NATO” that was escalating tensions and instability in the region.
Kim also criticized the United States over its support of Ukraine against a prolonged Russian invasion. He insisted that Washington and its Western allies were using Ukraine as their “shock troops” to wage a war against Moscow and expand the scope of US military influence, the North’s official Korean Central News Agency said.
Kim has prioritized his country’s ties to Russia in recent months, embracing the idea of a “new Cold War” and displaying a united front in Russian President Vladimir Putin’s broader conflicts with the West.
He has used Russia’s war on Ukraine as a distraction to accelerate the development of his nuclear-armed military, which now has various nuclear-capable systems targeting South Korea and intercontinental ballistic missiles that can potentially reach the US mainland.
Kim has yet to directly acknowledge that he has been providing military equipment and troops to Russia to support its war against Ukraine and the KCNA’s report didn’t mention whether Kim made any comments toward Trump, whose election win has yet to be reported in the North’s state media.
Kim met Trump three times in 2018 and 2019 in Trump’s first presidency, but their diplomacy quickly collapsed over disagreements in exchanging the release of US-led sanctions and North Korean steps to wind down its nuclear and missile program. North Korea has since suspended any meaningful talks with Washington and Seoul as Kim ramped up his testing activity and military demonstrations in the face of what he portrayed as “gangster-like US threats.” There’s concern in Seoul that Kim in exchange for his military support of Russia would receive Russian technology in return to further develop his arsenal.
Trump’s election win has touched off speculation about a resumption of a summit-driven diplomacy with Kim, which was described by critics as a “bromance.” But some experts say a quick return to 2018 is highly unlikely, as too much has changed about the regional security situation and broader geopolitics since then.
While the North Korean nuclear problem was relatively an independent issue during Trump’s first term, it is now connected with broader challenges created by Russia’s war on Ukraine and further complicated by weakened sanctions enforcement against Pyongyang, Hwang Ildo, a professor at South Korea’s National Diplomatic Academy, wrote in a study last week.
North Korea’s nuclear and missile program is now much more advanced, which would increase Kim’s perception of his bargaining powers. Kim’s efforts to boost North Korea’s presence in a united front against Washington could also gain strength if Trump spikes tariffs and rekindles a trade war with China, the North’s main ally and economic lifeline, Hwang said.
Amid the stalemate in larger nuclear negotiations with Washington, Kim has been dialing up pressure on South Korea, abandoning his country’s long-standing goal of inter-Korean reconciliation and verbally threatening to attack the South with nukes if provoked.
Kim has also engaged in psychological and electronic warfare against South Korea, such as flying thousands of balloons to drop trash in the South and disrupting GPS signals from border areas near the South’s biggest airport.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said North Korea again flew trash-laden balloons toward the South early Monday and issued a statement warning the North “not to test our military’s patience any further.” The North has launched about 7,000 balloons toward the South since May, causing property damage but so far no injuries. On at least two occasions, trash carried by North Korea’s balloons fell on Seoul’s presidential compound, raising concerns about the vulnerability of key sites.

Prime Minister says Georgia will not allow revolution in face of pro-EU protests

Updated 30 November 2024
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Prime Minister says Georgia will not allow revolution in face of pro-EU protests

  • Kobakhidze’s Georgian Dream party said on Thursday that it was halting European Union accession talks for the next four years over what it called “blackmail” of Georgia by the bloc
  • The freezing of application talks has been met with widespread anger in the country

TBILISI: Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze said on Saturday that the state would not allow a revolution to take place, after protests against his government’s sudden freezing this week of Georgia’s EU accession process.
Kobakhidze’s Georgian Dream party said on Thursday that it was halting European Union accession talks for the next four years over what it called “blackmail” of Georgia by the bloc, abruptly reversing a long-standing national goal.
EU membership is overwhelmingly popular in Georgia, with opinion polls consistently showing strong public support.
The freezing of application talks has been met with widespread anger in the country, which has the aim of EU membership written into its constitution.
The prime minister accused opponents of the halt to EU accession of plotting a revolution, along the lines of Ukraine’s 2014 Maidan protest, which ousted a pro-Russian president.
“In Georgia, the Maidan scenario cannot be realized. Georgia is a state, and the state will not, of course, permit this,” Kobakhidze was quoted as saying by Georgian media.
The country’s interior ministry said on Saturday that it had detained 107 people in the capital city of Tbilisi overnight during a protest which saw demonstrators build barricades along the central Rustaveli Avenue, and throw fireworks at riot police, who used water cannon and tear gas to disperse them.
Fresh protests are planned for Saturday night.
Hundreds of employees of Georgia’s foreign, defense, justice and education ministries, along with the country’s central bank have signed open letters condemning the decision to freeze talks.
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, a star of Georgia’s national soccer team spoke out in favor of the protesters.
“My country hurts, my people hurt — it’s painful and emotional to watch the videos that are circulating, stop the violence and aggression! Georgia deserves Europe today more than ever!” Kvaratskhelia wrote on Facebook on Saturday.
The halt to EU accession caps months of deteriorating relations between Georgian Dream, which has faced allegations of authoritarian and pro-Russian tendencies, and the West.
The party is dominated by Bidzina Ivanishvili, a billionaire ex-prime minister who has taken increasingly anti-Western positions.
Georgian Dream won almost 54 percent of the vote in an October election that opposition parties say was falsified.
Both the ruling party and Georgia’s electoral commission say the poll was free and fair. Western countries have called for an investigation into violations.
The EU had already said Georgia’s application was stalled over laws against “foreign agents” and LGBT rights that it has described as draconian and pro-Russian.
Meanwhile, Georgian Dream has moved to build ties with neighboring Russia, from which Georgia gained independence in 1991.
The two countries have no diplomatic ties since a brief war over a Moscow-backed rebel region in 2008, but restored direct flights in 2023, while Moscow lifted visa restrictions on Georgian nationals earlier this year.


Indigenous Australian lawmaker who heckled King Charles censured

Updated 30 November 2024
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Indigenous Australian lawmaker who heckled King Charles censured

  • Independent senator Lidia Thorpe’s censure carries no practical punishment but passed the Senate Monday with 46 votes in favor and 12 against
SYDNEY: An Indigenous lawmaker was censured by Australia’s parliament Monday for heckling King Charles about the legacy of European settlement during his October visit to Canberra.
The censure carries no practical punishment but passed the Senate Monday with 46 votes in favor and 12 against.
During the king’s visit to parliament, independent senator Lidia Thorpe screamed: “This is not your land, you are not my king,” decrying what she said was a “genocide” of Indigenous Australians by European settlers.
She also turned her back on the king as dignitaries stood for the national anthem.
The censure motion condemned Thorpe’s actions as “disruptive and disrespectful.”
It also said the Senate no longer regarded it “appropriate” for Thorpe to be a member of any delegation “during the life of this parliament.”
A censure motion is a symbolic gesture when parliamentarians are dissatisfied with the behavior of one of their own.
Thorpe – sporting a gold chain with ‘Not My King’ around her neck – said she did not “give a damn” about the censure and would most likely use the document as “kindling” later in the week.
She told national broadcaster ABC she would “do it again” if the monarch returned.
“I will resist colonization in this country. I swear my allegiance to the real sovereigns of these lands: First Peoples are the real sovereigns,” she said.
Green Senator Mehreen Faruqi voted against Thorpe’s censure, saying the lawmaker was telling Australia’s history “the way she wants to.”
Thorpe is known for her attention-grabbing political stunts and fierce opposition to the monarchy.
When she was sworn into office in 2022, Thorpe raised her right fist as she begrudgingly swore to serve Queen Elizabeth II, who was then Australia’s head of state.
Australia was a British colony for more than 100 years, during which time thousands of Aboriginal Australians were killed and entire communities displaced.
The country gained de facto independence in 1901, but has never become a fully-fledged republic.
King Charles is the current head of state.
The issue of a republic reared its head during the king’s visit Down Under earlier this year, but the issue remains a political non-starter.
A recent poll showed about a third of Australians would like to ditch the monarchy, a third would keep it and a third are ambivalent.
In 1999, Australians narrowly voted against removing the queen, amid a row over whether her replacement would be chosen by members of parliament, not the public.

Bangladesh prepares to send Hajj pilgrims by sea after 40 years

Updated 30 November 2024
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Bangladesh prepares to send Hajj pilgrims by sea after 40 years

  • Bangladesh has been struggling to meet its Hajj pilgrim quota due to high airfares
  • Travel by sea estimated to help decrease the cost of pilgrimage package by about $900

DHAKA: Bangladeshi authorities are preparing to resume sending Hajj pilgrims via the sea route, aiming to significantly reduce travel costs starting next year.

For the past few years, Bangladesh, one of the most populous Muslim-majority countries, has struggled to meet its Hajj quota, as fewer people have been able to afford the pilgrimage since international airfares surged after the COVID-19 pandemic.

The possibility of pilgrimage by sea was discussed during Bangladeshi Religious Affairs Adviser Khalid Hossain’s meeting with Saudi Hajj and Umrah Minister Dr. Tawfiq Al-Rabiah in Jeddah last month.

Dhaka’s envoy to the Kingdom, Brig. Gen. S.M. Rakibullah, told Arab News on Thursday that the first session on the logistics was set to take place next week.

“We have received confirmation from (the) Saudi authority regarding the transportation of pilgrims by sea. A coordination meeting on this issue will be held in Jeddah on the 3rd of December,” he said.

Targeting to start sending pilgrims by sea already during next year’s Hajj season — which will take place between June 4 and June 9 — Bangladeshi authorities are planning to reduce the cost of pilgrimage packages.

The price of the current 2025 package is about $4,000.

“We will declare a new Hajj package for the pilgrims who are interested in taking the sea route,” Matiul Islam, additional secretary at the Ministry of Religious Affairs, told Arab News.

“This new sea route will help us in fulfilling the Hajj quota ... Our assigned shipping company is working on sourcing the ship. If we get ship on time, there is no other problem at our end.”

Hajj travel by sea will take place for the first time in four decades.

“To the best of my knowledge, in 1984, Bangladeshi pilgrims traveled to the Kingdom by ship to perform the Hajj rituals for the last time,” Islam said.

Karnaphuli Ship Builders, the shipping company chosen by the Bangladeshi government to operate the route, expects that the new mode of transport will reduce the cost of the current pilgrimage package by more than 20 percent.

It plans to purchase a 32-story ship to carry pilgrims from the southern Bangladeshi port of Chottogram to Jeddah.

“The costs of the Hajj journey will be reduced by around $900,” said M.A. Rashid, the company’s managing director.

“We have already sourced a Caribbean cruise ... The ship will carry up to 3,000 pilgrims at a time. It will take eight days to reach from Chottogram Port to Jeddah.”

Last year, Saudi Arabia granted Bangladesh a quota of 127,000 pilgrims, but because of high inflation and the cost of flights to the Middle East, only 85,000 were able to embark on the spiritual journey that is one of the five pillars of Islam.