Canada’s province of Saskatchewan and the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) signed on Thursday a landmark memorandum of understanding (MOU) that would create more opportunities for academic exchanges. The Canadian Embassy in Manila said the MOU seeks to strengthen ties between the post-secondary institutions in the Philippines and Saskatchewan by creating opportunities for research collaboration and mobility for academics and students. “Canada welcomes the signing of the MOU as a testament to our strong cooperation with the Philippines in higher education that is founded on joint collaboration achieved throughout the years,” Canadian Ambassador to the Philippines Peter MacArthur said. “This

The House of Representatives on Wednesday night ratified the bicameral conference committee report on the measure proposing amendments to the Public Service Act (PSA) in a bid to attract more foreign investments. During the plenary session, the chamber approved the final version of the proposed amendments to the PSA, which seek to ease the restriction on foreign investments in public services. The bill effectively opens up to 100 percent foreign equity on all economic sectors in the country except the transmission and distribution of electricity, water pipeline and sewerage, seaports, petroleum pipeline, and public utility vehicles. House Ways and Means

Netflix’s latest South Korean drama, “All of Us Are Dead,” has made a successful global debut while being hailed as a new “Squid Game.” Released on Friday, the coming-of-age zombie horror topped the streamer’s non-English language TV Top 10 list for the week of Jan. 24-30 with 124.79 million hours viewed, according to Netflix on Thursday. Netflix said “All of Us Are Dead” made the top 10 in the category in 91 countries over the one-week period and topped the list in 29 nations, including South Korea, France and Germany. It became the fourth Korean-language series that has topped the

The Brooklyn Nets lost to the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday night in their sixth consecutive NBA defeat that ended 112-101. Nic Claxton tried to rally the Nets with his 23 points and 11 rebounds but James Harden’s poor game and the absence of Kevin Durant, Joe Harris, and LaMarcus Aldridge hit Brooklyn hard at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento. Harden played with only four points and 12 assists, while Kyrie Irving was unable to leave a mark with 14 points. On a right-hand strain that Harden recently suffered, Nets coach Steve Nash said: “I think he’s feeling less (hand)

An infectious diseases expert on Thursday recommended that minimum public health standards and the alert level system should continue to be enforced despite a notable drop in the country’s Covid-19 cases. In a Laging Handa briefing, Dr. Edsel Salvaña—a member of the Department of Health’s (DOH) Technical Advisory Group for Infectious Disease—said abolishing the alert level system at the moment is not “timely” as a shift to Alert Level 1 would allow for the return to “100 percent” capacity of the country’s economy while maintaining minimum health protocols. “Kailangan rin natin ng framework na kung biglang tumaas iyong mga kaso,

The Negros Occidental provincial government is pushing for the establishment of local conservation areas (LCAs) in various cities and municipalities of the province on the occasion of World Wetlands Day on Wednesday. In a statement, the Provincial Environment Management Office (PEMO), headed by lawyer Julie Ann Bedrio, said local environment and natural resources officers need to intensify the campaign for wetlands conservation and protection through the conduct of various activities that will lead to the setting up of LCAs. “(The observance) is a reminder that we also have the network of coastal wetlands LCAs named the Negros Occidental Coastal Wetlands