Day: March 25, 2024

Hai Phong: The body of Dang Duy Kien, one of the three sailors killed in a missile attack on True Confidence, a Barbados-flagged cargo ship, by Houthi forces off the coast of Yemen on March 6, were brought back to Vietnam on March 24.

There were 20 crew members, consisting of 15 Filipinos, four Vietnamese, and one Indian, on board the True Confidence when the Houthi forces fired a missile at the ship. The strike also resulted in the deaths of two Filipinos.

The three Vietnamese sailors surviving the attack returned home on March 14.

Since the incident occurred, the Vietnamese Embassy in Egypt has kept a close watch on the situation, directly communicated with and given encouragement to the sailors. It also dispatched consular personnel to Djibouti to visit and support the sailors, while coordinating with relevant authorities there and the parties concerned to complete procedures for the repatriation of the deceased’s remains./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

ANKARA: Hong Kong’s temperature on Sunday equalized its highest recorded level during the month of March in 140 years, the city’s weather observatory said.

The mercury touched 31.5C (88.7F) — the highest temperature recorded during the month of March since records began in 1884.

It spiked to above 32C in the northern areas of the territory close to the mainland Chinese city of Shenzhen.

Weather will still be hot on Monday “under the persistent influence of a southerly airstream and plenty of sunshine,” according to an advisory from the observatory.

The maximum temperature will be around 31C in the urban areas, and “very” hot with a couple of degrees higher over parts of the New Territories.

“Hot weather might cause adverse health effects. The public should stay on the alert and drink more water,” it added.

Hong Kong experienced its hottest summer on record in 2023 with mercury hitting an average temperature of 29.7C between June and August. All 12 months of 2023 were warmer than usual.

Source: Philip
pines News Agency

MANILA: Proceedings for the transfer of ousted Negros Oriental 3rd District Rep. and designated terrorist Arnolfo Teves Jr. will take from seven to 40 days, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) said Monday.

In a media interview, NBI director Medardo de Lemos said this was assured by the Timor Leste justice officials to the Philippine contingent following Teves’ capture.

‘Sabi nila (They said) they will terminate the proceedings within the period of seven days to 40 days maximum,’ he told reporters.

De Lemos, however, clarified that Timor Leste officials are still in the process of determining the merits of the red notice issued against Teves, after which they will decide what actions to pursue.

‘When we were there, they started already. And another proceeding was held when we left,’ De Lemos said.

Meanwhile, De Lemos described Teves as ‘in the pink of health’ upon his capture Thursday by law enforcers from the Timor Leste government who enforced an Interpol red notice.

He said Teves also voluntari
ly talked with the NBI contingent, including consenting to have his photograph taken.

De Lemos added Teves’ defense team has intervened to assert his claim for political asylum to block his transfer back to the Philippines.

Teves was arrested at the Top Golf Driving Range and Bar in Dili, Timor-Leste at 4 p.m. Thursday.

Teves is facing multiple charges in connection with the killing of Negros Oriental Governor Roel Degamo and nine others in March 2023, and three others in 2019.

He is now under the custody of the Timorese police, while his extradition to the Philippines is being worked out by Dili’s National Central Bureau (NCB), in coordination with the team from NCB-Manila and Dili-Timor Leste Philippine Embassy.

Source: Philippines News Agency

ISTANBUL: UN Women Executive Director Sima Bahous on Sunday highlighted the difficulties experienced by women in Gaza, stressing the urgent need for a ceasefire in the region.

“Women in Gaza give birth without water. They have no food, no tents, no toilets. They are living the unimaginable,” Bahous said on X.

“What women in Gaza need right now is a ceasefire and relief,” she added.

Since Oct. 7, 2023, more than 9,000 women have lost their lives, and over 23,000 women have been injured in the ongoing attacks by the Israeli army on the Gaza Strip.

The fate of over 2,000 missing women in Gaza remains unknown.

Additionally, the collapse of Gaza’s healthcare system due to Israeli attacks has left approximately 60,000 pregnant women unable to access healthcare services, putting the lives of both Palestinian women and their babies at risk.

Israel has waged a deadly military offensive on the Palestinian territory since Oct. 7 and imposed a crippling blockade that left most of the population, particularly reside
nts of northern Gaza, on the verge of starvation.

More than 32,200 Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli offensive and over 74,500 injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

Source: Philippines News Agency

MANILA: More Philippine companies are going ‘green’ with the design of their buildings providing environmental, social, and governance benefits to the firm.

Adding to the growing number of buildings with Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification in the country is D and L Central Hub with its new manufacturing plant in Batangas.

In a statement over the weekend, D and L said Barone International was granted Central Hub LEEDv4 Gold Certification, the second highest rating under LEED certification.

Barone International is the first sustainability consulting firm in the country.

Currently, there are 42 LEED Platinum and Gold-certified buildings in the Philippines.

‘Right at the very beginning, it was our intention to have sustainability at the core of our new plant in Batangas… And true to our advocacy, we wanted to keep to a minimum level the carbon footprint of the operations itself by designing an efficient and sustainable facility,’ D and L president and chief executive officer Al
vin Lao said.

The six-story building serves as the central command center for the Batangas plant, which started commercial operation in July 2023.

Its sustainable architectural design, which maximizes natural right while reflecting solar heat, makes the building 20 percent more efficient than non-green buildings.

The building has water recycling system that generates 67 percent of water savings annually.

D and L’s Central Hub also features renewable fuel sources, centralized chilled water system, smart water metering, and uses low- to non-emitting materials like minimizing exposure to volatile organic compounds.

The company will also equip the building with modern technology to measure air emissions quality, wastewater effluent, and noise emissions to ensure compliance to the standards.

‘Our new plant in Batangas is a next generation facility that embodies our advocacy to create a truly sustainable future. With this plant, we are proud and excited to offer to the world sustainable, natural, and organic
products that are manufactured by a Filipino-owned, world-class facility,’ Lao added.

According to the Green Building Information Gateway, there are 423 LEED certifications and registrations in the Philippines.

Excluding homes and neighborhood development, there are 207 LEED activities, equivalent to nearly 75 million square feet of space going green.

Source: Philippines News Agency