Day: September 27, 2024

Manila: The Philippine government is ‘seriously considering’ placing Lebanon under alert level 4 or mandatory evacuation as Israel continues to bombard Hezbollah targets in some parts of the country, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Friday. In a press briefing, DFA Undersecretary for Migration Eduardo Jose de Vega said there is no mass repatriation of Filipinos in Lebanon yet but the country is ready to implement one should the need arises. He noted, however, that alert level 4 is declared only in case of a large-scale internal conflict or a full-blown external attack, which is ‘not the case in

Manila: The United States, South Korea and Japan have launched on Friday a PHP1.6 billion partnership to help the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) improve access to quality healthcare in the next six years. This will be a collaboration among the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), which will share expertise and resources to improve health information systems and increase public health financing. The pool of funding will also help improve healthcare facilities and expand quality services in the region. The three agencies signed

Manila: Public school teachers will now benefit from doubled vacation service credits (VSCs), the Department of Education (DepEd) said Friday. This came after DepEd Secretary Juan Edgardo “Sonny” Angara signed DepEd Order No. 13 series of 2024 increasing VSCs from 15 to 30 days. ‘The revised order now entitles incumbent teachers with at least one year of service, as well as newly hired teachers appointed within four months after the start of classes, to 30 days of VSCs annually. Additionally, newly hired teachers whose appointments are issued four months after the start of classes will receive 45 days of VSCs

The ringgit regained its strength against the US dollar at the opening today after experiencing a technical correction yesterday, said an analyst. At 8.03 am, the local currency traded higher at 4.1235/1320 versus Thursday’s close of 4.1430/1485. Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said yesterday’s ringgit correction was due to an overbought position, which led traders to pocket some gains. ‘The general view on interest rate cuts in the United States (US) is still intact for the upcoming Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting in November and December. ‘Therefore, tonight’s data on personal consumption expenditure

The number of flood evacuees in Pendang, Kedah remained at 609 from 163 families as at 8 am today. According to the Social Welfare Department’s (JKM) Info Bencana report, all of them were being accommodated at eight relief centres, namely Dewan Kompleks Rakan Sukan Tanah Merah, Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan (SMK) Pendang, SMK Tanah Merah, SMK Ayer Puteh Dalam, Sekolah Model Khas Bukit Jenun, Sekolah Kebangsaan (SK) Haji Mohamad Ariff, SK Tanah Merah and SK Syed Ibrahim. Meanwhile, the Department of Irrigation and Drainage’s (JPS) Public Infobanjir portal reported that the level of Sungai Laka in Kampung Padang Pasir, Kubang Pasu