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JERUSALEM: Progress has been made between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas in negotiations on an exchange of hostages, the Israeli Broadcasting Authority reported Sunday.

This follows the conclusion of a summit on Sunday in the French capital Paris with the participation of Israel, the US, Egypt and Qatar.

‘The Paris summit between Israel, the United States, Egypt and Qatar on the negotiations for the exchange of hostages with Hamas has ended, and there is progress in the talks,’ the broadcasting authority quoted an unnamed Israeli political source as saying.

The source said ‘the summit discussed a plan to release Israeli hostages in stages, while there are still gaps in demands between the conflicting parties (Israel and Hamas).’

‘The parties in the talks discussed a ceasefire (that would last) for approximately two months in exchange for the release of about 100 Israeli hostages. Priority would be given to children, women and the sick, while Israel releases a large number of Palestinian prisoners,
‘ the source added

Israel was represented at the summit by the head of the Israeli spy agency Mossad, David Barnea, and the head of Israeli Security Agency, commonly referred to as Shin Bet, Ronen Bar, according to the broadcasting authority.

Later, the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, in a brief statement, that ‘the intelligence summit in Europe – with the participation of Mossad Director David Barnea, ISA Director Ronen Bar, Maj.-Gen, (Res.) Nitzan Alon, the Director of the CIA (William Burns), the Prime Minister of Qatar (Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani) and the head of the Egyptian Intelligence Services (Abbas Kamel) – concluded a short while ago.’

It added that ‘there are still significant gaps which the sides will continue to discuss at additional mutual meetings to be held this week.’

There has been no official comment from Hamas, Qatar, or the US regarding what the Israeli source mentioned.

However, Hamas has repeatedly confirmed that there will be no talk of
a hostage swap deal before a comprehensive ceasefire and the withdrawal of the Israeli army from the areas it infiltrated.

Source: Philippines News Agency

MANILA : The Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Monday announced it has indefinitely suspended the acceptance of signature sheets in connection with the move to amend the constitution through People’s Initiative (PI).

In a press conference, Comelec Chairperson George Garcia said they decided to stop accepting signatures as they want to review first the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR).

‘The Commission en banc came up with a unanimous decision to suspend any and all proceedings concerning the People’s Initiative. Suspend muna namin lahat ng proseso kahit ang pagtanggap ng local Comelec ng mga signature sheets (We will suspend all processes, even the local Comelec’s acceptance of signature sheets),’ he said in a press conference at the poll body’s central office in Intramuros, Manila.

‘Base sa aming assessment, kailangan amin i-review, enhance and dagdagan ang aming IRR concerning the People’s Initiative. Sa ating palagay, may mga bagay na kulang at wala sa aming guidelines (Based on our assessment
, we need to review, enhance and amend our IRR regarding the People’s Initiative. In our opinion, there are things that are missing and not in our guidelines),’ he added.

Senators laud Comelec order

Senate Majority Leader Joel Villanueva said Comelec’s move is the “success of the people.”

“Hindi pa po tapos ang laban, patuloy po tayong manalangin at magbantay para siguruhing maprotektahan ang konstitusyon na siyang kaluluwa ng ating bayan (Our fight is not yet done. Let us continue to pray and observe to ensure that our constitution, which is the soul of our country, is safe),” he said in a statement.

“Glad to know that there are still many government officials who are sensible, who respect our constitution and who will defend our democracy in the face of sinister attempts to subvert it. Let us diffuse the heated situation,” Senator JV Ejercito added.

Senator Grace Poe said the poll body too the “correct path” with its decision which should now put to rest the signature drive “so we can all train our sig
hts on the urgent needs of the Filipinos.”

Senator Nancy Binay called for vigilance against more possible signature collection drives.

“Maging mapanuri pa rin at huwag po tayong magpaloko (Let us be observant and let us not allow ourselves to be fooled),” Binay said.

All 24 senators signed a manifesto last week, expressing their disapproval of the PI which allegedly involves bribery and other illegal activities.

Clearer rules

Garcia said halting the acceptance of signature sheets is necessary to avoid problems, chaos and misunderstandings in the interpretation of rules.

He said a panel will review the rules, to be headed by the executive director and law department director.

‘At the same time, we are going to consult with everybody concerning the rules. Kailangan maliwanag sa rules (The rules need to be clear) when you say amendment, revision of the entire Constitution,’ he said.

He said signature sheets received by city and municipal election officers will stay with Comelec.

‘Kung sa palagay ng prop
onents dapat muna withdrawhin at sila mag-safekeep, okay lang ‘yan. Kasama sa magiging instruction namin ‘yan. Bukas loob namin ibibigay sa kanila ‘yan (If the proponents think they should be withdrawn first and they should keep it, that’s okay. That will be included in our instruction. We will gladly give them back),’ he said.

The Comelec has received signature sheets from 209 legislative districts so far, out of the 254 that are equivalent to about seven million signatures, Garcia said.

Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri commended the legislative districts that did not submit the results of PI in their areas.

In his privilege speech, he thanked President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. for upholding the bicameralism between the Senate and the House of Representatives, as well as the Comelec for its decision.

Zubiri said he met with Marcos on Monday morning before his departure for a two-day state visit to Vietnam.

Senator Imee Marcos, who chairs the Committee on Electoral Reforms, will preside over an inquiry
on Tuesday to find out who are behind the alleged illegal PI attempts.

Source: Philippines News Agency

MULANAY: Legendary Japanese baseball pitcher Tsuyoshi Yoda shared his wealth of knowledge in the sport with members of this town’s Little League and Secondary League teams during exhibition games staged as part of the ongoing Cocolunay Festival.

The ‘Besuboru’ (Japanese baseball) celebrity said Mulanay’s Little Leaguers (12 years and below) and Secondary Leaguers (13 to 18 years old) impressed him with their skills during games held over the weekend at Kaibayo Beach in Barangay Sta. Rosa.

“We had a baseball clinic where I met all the kids who are playing baseball. I’m happy I played some baseball with them. I hope to come back again soon. I also want to learn the culture of your people, especially those in the province,” Yoda said before leaving town late Sunday afternoon to catch his flight to Japan.

The Japanese sports star also pointed out that while Mulanay’s young ballplayers lack exposure to the broader sporting circuit, they are filled with potential and should be honed further.

“The kids here are
shy but I can see some who have potentials to be a good pitcher,” said Yoda in Nippongo, translated by an interpreter.

Yoda assured the young athletes that he would be coming back for a longer clinic.

A total of 40 kids from this town benefitted from the star pitcher’s tutelage.

For his part, Mayor Aris Aguirre said players of the town’s Little League baseball team already distinguished themselves in several Palarong Pambansa games, and the training they received from Yoda can only make them even better.

“Mr. Yoda’s excellent coaching prowess, imparted during the clinic before the game, was already apparent during the exhibition games,” he said after the town’s Little League beat a rival.

Aguirre said Yoda’s clinic and visit to his town were completely free of charge, with a bonus of free baseball gloves, bat and shoes handed out to the young players.

A plethora of activities is being held during the 10-day Cocolunay Festival, which highlights Mulanay’s origins and the major source of income of its popu
lace which is coconut.

Among the lined-up events are an agri-tourism fair, “kalamay” cooking competition “with a twist”, and a street dancing competition.

The festivities will culminate on Feb. 4 when Mulanay celebrates its 279th founding anniversary.

Source: Philippines News Agency

MANILA: President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Monday flew to Vietnam for a state visit that aims to strengthen bilateral ties, and strengthen maritime cooperation, trade, and investment deals between the two countries.

In his departure speech, Marcos said Vietnam is the only strategic partner of the Philippines in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region.

He added that his state visit will be an avenue to reaffirm the country’s commitment to further strengthen the bilateral relations between the Philippines and Vietnam.

‘Maritime cooperation will be one of the cornerstones of the Strategic Partnership which we are going to forge, and we hope to strengthen this aspect during my visit to promote peace and stability in our region,’ Marcos said.

‘I will also discuss cooperation in defense and security, trade and investments, education, tourism, as well as regional and multilateral issues of [mutual] concern,’ the President added.

At present, there are 39 signed agreements between the Philippi
nes and Vietnam in the fields of trade and investments, customs, air services, agriculture, visa waivers for diplomatic and official passport holders, visa facilitation, and tourism, among others.

President Marcos said he will be meeting with the business sector to explore how the Philippines and Vietnam can further strengthen trade and investments between the two countries.

He said the two countries have a ‘vast array of opportunities, especially in a post-pandemic world’ as he emphasized that he will also take the opportunity to visit the Filipino community there.

The chief executive will visit Vietnam upon the invitation of President Vo Van Thuong.

President Marcos will meet President Vo Van Thuong and Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Chairman of the National Assembly Vuong Dinh Hue.

Vietnam is home to 7,000 overseas Filipino workers whose remittances have amounted to USD13.6 million.

Source: Philippines News Agency

TEHRAN: Iran has successfully put for the first time three homegrown satellites into space orbits, getting close to reaching the Geostationary Orbit (GEO), also known as geosynchronous orbit.

The 32-kilogram Mahda, and the nano Keyhan-2 and Hatef-1 research satellites, which weigh less than 10 kg, were put at altitudes between 450 and 1,100 kilometers above the Earth’s surface on Sunday.

The latest launch, carried out using Simorgh satellite carrier, reached the Earth’s elliptical orbit, making it distinctive from the country’s previous launches that put satellites into space orbits with the altitude of 400 to 750 kms. above the Earth’s surface.

It is regarded as a significant move by Iran, as it marks the first step by the country to reach the Geostationary Transfer Orbit (GTO), and then access the GEO that has an approximate altitude of 36,000 kms. above the Earth’s surface.

GTO is an elliptical orbit that is used to reach GEO. It has features that can be used to move satellites to other orbits such as
GEO with the least amount of energy.

Following the inaugural of President Ebrahim Raisi’s administration in August 2021, Iran’s Supreme Council of Space resumed its meetings after 10 years.

The meetings, chaired by the president, have already approved the plan to reach GEO by the Iranian calendar year 1404 (to start in March 2025).

Source: Philippines News Agency

CAGAYAN: A private power company is set to install 34,000 solar panels in its Misamis Oriental base of operation, promising an increased power capacity of 95 percent throughout Mindanao distributors.

Juan Eugenio Roxas, president and chief executive officer of Filinvest Group’s power arm, FDC Utilities Inc., said its renewable project under FDC Green Energy Corporation (FDCGEC) has identified opportunities to maximize the output of the project after conducting comprehensive feasibility studies, increasing the capacity from 11.5 megawatts (MW) to 19.78 MW.

“We are excited to share the positive outcome of our feasibility studies, which have paved the way for the expansion of our first solar power project in Mindanao,” Roxas said in a statement Monday.

The project involves the installation of more than 34,000 monocrystalline solar panels, which can inject 30,450 MW-hours of clean energy annually into the grid that can help electric power industry participants, including electric cooperatives, and comply with
the Department of Energy’s renewable portfolio standards.

The FDC-Misamis power facility is currently leasing around 84 hectares within the industrial complex of the Philippine Veterans Investment Development Corporation (Phividec) in Villanueva, Misamis Oriental, where 40 hectares are used for its administration building and coal-fired power plant.

Last year, Phividec and FDC Utilities signed a registration agreement for the solar project.

FDCGEC recently updated its land lease agreement with the Phividec Industrial Estate, adding 7.2 hectares of land to the existing 11.65 hectares allotted for the project.

Last week, another agreement signing took place between the two parties to build the FDC Solar Photovoltaic Power Project, which aims to produce an additional 10 MW of electricity.

Source: Philippines News Agency