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A massive new US embassy in a tiny Middle East nation is raising eyebrows

Venus L Peñaflor
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A massive new US embassy in a tiny Middle East nation is raising eyebrows

A massive new US embassy complex in Lebanon is causing controversy for its sheer size and opulence in a country where nearly 80% of the population is under the poverty line.

Located some 13 kilometers (about 8 miles) from the center of Beirut, the US’ new embassy compound in Lebanon looks like a city of its own.

Sprawling over a 43-acre site, the complex in the Beirut suburb of Awkar is almost two-and-a-half times the size of the land the White House sits on and more than 21 soccer fields.

Many Lebanese on Twitter questioned why the US needs such a large embassy in their capital. Lebanon is smaller than Connecticut and has a population of just six million. Few American tourists go to the country as the State Department has placed it on the third highest travel advisory level, but it does have a sizeable population of Lebanese American residents.

“Did the US move to Lebanon??” tweeted Sandy, a social media activist.

“Maybe you’ll have enough room to work on all those pending visa applications,” tweeted Abed A. Ayoub, national executive director of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, responding to the grandiosity of the new complex.

Computer-generated images published by the embassy show an ultra-modern compound, hosting multi-story buildings with high glass windows, recreational areas, and a swimming pool surrounded by greenery and views of the Lebanese capital. The compound includes a chancery, representational and staff housing, facilities for the community and associated support facilities, according to the project’s website.

From the pandemic to the 2020 Beirut blast, Lebanon has been assailed by a number of crises that have left its economy in ruins. Many Lebanese are unable to afford basic commodities, including food, medicine and electricity.

“Let them eat concrete,” another user tweeted.

Plans for the embassy complex were announced in 2015 and it is reported to have cost $1 billion.

Its construction is overseen by the Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations (OBO), which supervised the building of a number of other US embassies around the world.

The US embassy in Lebanon did not respond to CNN’s request for comment.

The US has had a turbulent history with Lebanon. It is the home of Iran-backed Hezbollah, the most powerful group in the country, but has nonetheless enjoyed friendly relations with the US.

Last month marked 40 years since the 1983 bombing of the American embassy in Beirut, which killed 63 people, including 52 Lebanese and embassy employees. In October that year, a bomb struck barracks in Beirut housing American and French peacekeepers, killing 299 people.

This story was first published on CNN.com, “A massive new US embassy in a tiny Middle East nation is raising eyebrows”

66-anyos lola kalaboso sa P175K shabu

Arman B. Cambe
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66-anyos lola kalaboso sa P175K shabu

Dasmariñas City, Cavite. Nahuli ang isang 60-anyos na lola na sinasabing aktibong nagtutulak ng droga sa kanilang lugar matapos makumpiskahan ng P175,000 na halaga ng shabu sa isinagawang buy-bust operation ng pulisya kahapon sa Brgy. Datu Esmael, sa lungsod na ito.

Si Olympia Benito, 66 taong gulang, ng Blk. 46 Lot 12, Brgy. Datu Esmael, Dasmariñas City, ay nahaharap ngayon sa mga kasong paglabag sa Section 5 at SEction 11 ng RA 9165. Nakalista siya sa pulisya bilang high-value individual.

Batay sa ulat ni Police Corporal Marnol Cunanan, ang nag-iimbestiga sa kaso, alas-4:50 ng hapon nang magsagawa ng buy-bust operation ang Provincial Drug Enforcement Unit ng Cavite Provincial Police Office sa pangunguna ni Police Captain Pelecio Cruzada at ang Dasmariñas City Police laban sa suspek.

Ilang araw ng nasa ilalim ng surveillance operation sa lola bago ikinasa ang anti-drug operation.

Narekober mula sa suspek ang limang plastic sachet na naglalaman ng shabu na may kabuuang timbang na mahigit na 25 gramo at nagkakahalaga ng P175,000.

Zelenskyy meets Pope Francis at Vatican and seeks backing for Ukraine’s peace plan

EDGARDO HERNAL
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Zelenskyy meets Pope Francis at Vatican and seeks backing for Ukraine’s peace plan

ROME. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had private talks with Pope Francis at the Vatican on Saturday, later saying he sought support for Ukraine’s peace plan from the pontiff, who in the past has offered to try to help end the full-scale war launched by Russia a year ago.

Zelenskyy held his hand over his heart and said it was a “great honor” to meet with the pope. Francis, using a cane for his knee problem, came to greet the Ukrainian president before ushering him into a papal studio near the Vatican’s audience hall.

In a tweet after the 40-minute audience, Zelenskyy expressed gratitude to Francis for “his personal attention to the tragedy of millions of Ukrainians.” He said he spoke with the pontiff “about the tens of thousands of deported (Ukrainian) children. We must make every effort to return them home.”

Last month, Ukraine’s prime minister, Denys Shmyhal, asked the pope to help get children returned from Russia to Ukraine. But the Vatican’s statement Saturday made no mention of the request.

Instead, the Vatican said the two men spoke about Ukraine’s “humanitarian and political situation provoked by the ongoing war.”

“The pope assured his constant prayer, paid witness to by his many public appeals and by his continued invoking of the Lord for peace, since February of last year,″ the Vatican said, a reference to the Russian invasion that began Feb. 24, 2022.

The meeting came as Russia’s defense ministry said Storm Shadow long-range cruise missiles delivered to Ukraine by the United Kingdom this week damaged unspecified civilian enterprises in Luhansk province in Ukraine’s far east. Luhansk authorities separately said another missile strike hit the regional capital, wounding an elderly woman.

Two Russian Mi-8 helicopters and an Su-34 fighter-bomber crashed Saturday in the Bryansk region bordering Ukraine, state news agency Tass and a Telegram channel close to the Russian defense ministry reported; the newspaper Kommersant cited reports of two fighter planes crashing. The causes of the crashes were not immediately disclosed, but concern in Bryansk is growing about cross-border attacks from Ukraine.

Some Ukrainian units continue to push forward near Bakhmut, the commander of Ukraine’s land forces said Saturday, just a day after Ukrainian commanders said their troops recaptured territory at the scene of the war’s longest and bloodiest battle. “Our soldiers are moving forward in some sectors of the front, and the enemy is losing equipment and manpower,” Oleksandr Syrskyi said on Telegram.

Zelenskyy also said that he asked the pope to condemn Russian “crimes in Ukraine” because “there can be no equality between the victim and the aggressor.”

“I also talked about our Peace Formula as the only effective algorithm for achieving a just peace,″ Zelenskyy said. Later, in an interview on Italian state TV, the Ukrainian leader said the pope ”knows my position. The war is in Ukraine, that is why it has to be Ukraine’s plan” to bring peace.

Zelenskyy’s 10-point plan would establish a special tribunal to prosecute Russian war crimes. It would also create a European-Atlantic security architecture with guarantees for Ukraine, restore Ukraine’s damaged power infrastructure and ensure safety around Europe’s largest nuclear power plant at Zaporizhzhia.

Earlier in the day, Zelenskyy received from Italian officials pledges of open-ended military and financial support as well as stronger backing for Ukraine’s cherished aim to join the European Union.

“The message is clear and simple,” Premier Giorgia Meloni said after a meeting with Zelenskyy that lasted more than an hour. “The future of Ukraine is a future of peace and freedom. And it’s the future of Europe, a future of peace and freedom, for which there are no other possible solutions.″

The premier, who staunchly supports military aid for Ukraine, said Italy would back the country “360 degrees for all the time necessary and beyond.”

Separately, Italian President Sergio Mattarella told Zelenskyy, “We are fully at your side,” Mattarella told Zelenskyy as he welcomed him. Later, presidential palace sources said Mattarella assured his guest that Italy would continue to support Ukraine militarily and financially, as well as with reconstruction and humanitarian aid.

Since the war began, Italy has contributed about 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion) in military and financial aid, as well as humanitarian assistance.

Zelenskyy is believed to be heading to Berlin next for what would be his first visit to Germany since the war began. The exact schedule was not publicly announced because of security concerns.

At the end of April, Francis told reporters that the Vatican was involved in a behind-the-scene peace mission but gave no details. Neither Russia nor Ukraine has confirmed such an initiative.

He has said he would like to go to Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital, if such a visit could be coupled with one to Moscow, in hopes a papal pilgrimage could further the cause of peace.

There has been speculation about whether the Vatican could play some mediating role. But in the Italian TV interview on Saturday, Zelenskyy indicated mediation in general would be impossible. “You can’t mediate with (Russian President Vladimir) Putin,″ he said.

The German government, meanwhile, said it was providing Ukraine with additional military aid worth more than 2.7 billion euros ($3 billion), including tanks, anti-aircraft systems and ammunition.

Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said Berlin wanted to show with the latest package of arms “that Germany is serious in its support” for Ukraine.

“Germany will provide all the help it can, as long as it takes,” he said. (with reports from AP)

Iniligtas ng PNP ang 17 mga Malaysian mula sa masamang working conditions

Venus L Peñaflor
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Iniligtas ng PNP ang 17 mga Malaysian mula sa masamang working conditions

Kawit, Cavite. Iniligtas ng Philippine National Police (PNP) ang 17 Malaysian nationals mula sa mahihirap na kalagayan sa trabaho sa Klaire One Corp. sa bayang ito, ayon sa report ng PNP noong Sabado.

Sa isang pahayag, sinabi ni PNP Chief General Benjamin Acorda Jr. ang magkahiwalay na operasyon ay isinagawa noong Biyernes ng Police Regional Intelligence Division 4-A (Calabarzon) at ng Royal Malaysian Police, kasama ang tulong ng Provincial Intelligence Unit, Cavite Police, at Kawit Municipal Police, sa pakikipagtulungan ng Directorate for Intelligence.

Ang mga trabahador na Malaysian ay humingi ng tulong sa mga awtoridad dahil sa kanilang mahirap na kalagayan sa trabaho at nagpahayag na gusto na nilang mag-resign sa nabanggit na kumpanya.

Kinilala ang mga iniligtas na sina Steve Sim Vui Leong, Kong Seeing Hock, Lai Yen Fan, Tiu Yong Yong, Tommy Wong Chiong Ming, Jane Liong Siew Jiun, Chua Wei Tung, Ang Kian Long, Antonio Alex Samuel, Stephen Pang Ying Kwong, Simon Chee Yung Fock, Stephanie Sim Do Do, William Law Hing Liong, Bong Ju Fong, Algyen David, Yaw You Ming, at Jalan Rambai Paya Terubong.

Ipinasa ang ma Malaysians kay Supt. Norazman Hassan Basari, Police Attache ng Malaysian Police, ngayong Sabado ng umaga.

Sinabi ni Acorda na ang matagumpay na magkahiwalay na operasyon ng PNP kasama ang Royal Malaysian Police ay patunay sa kahalagahan ng pandaigdigang kooperasyon sa pagtugon sa mga isyu na may kinalaman sa karapatang pantao at proteksyon ng mga vulnerableng indibidwal.

Pakistan shut down the internet – but that didn’t stop the protests

EDGARDO HERNAL
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Pakistan shut down the internet – but that didn’t stop the protests

The battle between Imran Khan’s supporters and the powerful Pakistani military has this week been raging on two fronts – on the streets and on social media. And on one battlefield, the former prime minister seems to have the upper hand.

Within hours of Imran Khan’s arrest on Tuesday, Pakistan’s government had clamped down on the country’s internet, in a move to quell resistance.

The capture of the swashbuckling political leader immediately sparked protests nationwide.

In Lahore, Nighat Dad rushed home after hearing Khan had been detained. Leaving the office in the city center, the lawyer’s staff had already started to encounter violent protesters.

“A mob tried to attack their cars and stop them from leaving,” she told the BBC.

As one of Pakistan’s leading digital rights activists, she was also keeping an eye on the discourse raging online.

Images of stone-throwing protesters in clouds of teargas unrolled across social media and pinged across WhatsApp groups. Video of the arrest – Khan being swarmed by paramilitary troops – went viral. His party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), spat out rapid-fire updates on their Twitter page.

To control the rapidly escalating situation, the government flipped the switch. Across the country, social media sites went down – people struggled to load Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.

Mobile networks were also blocked in some places, resulting in a full connectivity outage. Elsewhere, internet speeds were throttled.

When the blackout came, for most Pakistanis it wasn’t unexpected. Those that could, booted up their VPNs – demand for the services which reroute a user’s internet location skyrocketed by 1,300%, trackers later told the BBC. Those with mobile access continued on WhatsApp.

Stuck antenna freed on Jupiter-bound spacecraft

EDGARDO HERNAL
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Stuck antenna freed on Jupiter-bound spacecraft

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. A crucial radar antenna on a European spacecraft bound for Jupiter is no longer jammed.

Flight controllers in Germany freed the 52-foot (16-meter) antenna Friday after nearly a month of effort.

The European Space Agency’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer, nicknamed Juice, blasted off in April on a decade-long voyage. Soon after launch, a tiny pin refused to budge and prevented the antenna from fully opening.

Controllers tried shaking and warming the spacecraft to get the pin to move by just millimeters. Back-to-back jolts finally did the trick.

The radar antenna will peer deep beneath the icy crust of three Jupiter moons suspected of harboring underground oceans and possibly life. Those moons are Callisto, Europa and Ganymede, the largest moon in the solar system.

Juice will attempt to go into orbit around Ganymede. No spacecraft has ever orbited a moon other than our own.

The news wasn’t so good for NASA’s Lunar Flashlight spacecraft. After struggling unsuccessfully for months to get the Cubesat into orbit around the moon, the space agency called it quits Friday.

Launched in December, the Lunar Flashlight was supposed to hunt for ice in the shadowed craters of the lunar south pole. Now it’s headed back toward Earth and then into deep space, continually orbiting the sun.

Inabsuwelto ng korte ang drug cases laban vs De Lima

Carlo Juancho Funtanilla
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Inabsuwelto ng korte ang drug cases laban vs De Lima

Ibinasura ng korte ang drug charge laban kay Leila De Lima, isang dating senador na nakulong ng anim na taon isa sa mga kritiko ni dating Pangulong Rodrigo Duterte sa marahas na “giyera kontra droga.”

Noong Biyernes, pinawalang sala ng hukuman ang 63 anyos na si De Lima, sa isa sa dalawang natitirang criminal case laban sa kanya, na nagmula sa mga alegasyon ng dating pangulo na tumanggap siya ng suhol mula sa mga na-convict na drug lord upang pondohan ang kanyang pagtakbo bilang senador noong 2016.

Inabsuwelto rin si De Lima, na isang dating secretary of justice, kasama ang isa pang akusado “on the ground of reasonable doubt,” ayon sa pasya ng regional trial court judge na si Abraham Alcantara.

“I had no doubt from the very beginning that I will be acquitted in all the cases the Duterte regime has fabricated against me based on the merits and the strength of my innocence,” ayon Naaresto si De Lima noong 2017 sa mga alegasyon na matagal nang sinasabing imbentado at may pulitikal na motibo. Ang kanyang pagka-aresto ay naganap ilang buwan matapos niyang ilunsad ang imbestigasyon sa senado tungkol sa giyera kontra-droga ni Duterte.

Ngayon, siya ay humihiling ng piyansa para sa ikatlong kaso ng droga at mananatili siyang nakakulong kahit na binasura na ng hukuman ang pinakabagong kaso.

“That’s already two cases down, and one more to go,” she said on Twitter. I am of course happy that with this second acquittal in the three cases filed against me, my release from more than six years of persecution draws nearer. I am extremely grateful to all those who stood by and prayed for me all these years,” ayon sa kanya.

Humihiling ng piyansa si De Lima para sa ikatlo niyang drug case at mananatili siyang nakakulong kahit na binasura na ng hukuman ang dalawa niyang kaso.

New menopause drug for hot flashes gets FDA approval

Venus L Peñaflor
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New menopause drug for hot flashes gets FDA approval

WASHINGTON. U.S. health regulators on Friday approved a new type of drug for women dealing with uncomfortable hot flashes caused by menopause.

The Food and Drug Administration approved the once-a-day pill from Astellas Pharma to treat moderate-to-severe symptoms, which can include sweating, flushing and chills.

Astellas’ drug, Veozah, uses a new approach, targeting brain connections that help control body temperature. The FDA said the medication will provide “an additional safe and effective treatment option for women,” in a statement.

More than 80% of women experience hot flashes during menopause, the FDA noted, as the body gradually produces lower levels of reproductive hormones between the ages of 45 and 55.

The most common treatment consists of hormonal pills aimed at boosting levels of estrogen and progestin. But the treatment isn’t appropriate for some women, including those with a history of stroke, blood clots, heart attack and other health conditions. Large studies have found that the hormones can increase the chances of those problems reoccurring, although the risks vary based on a number of individual factors.

The new pill is not a hormone. It carries an FDA warning about potential liver damage. Women will need to be screened for liver damage or infection before getting a prescription, then get a blood test every three months for nine months to monitor for safety problems, according to the FDA label.

Astellas said the drug will cost $550 for a one-month supply. That’s the price before insurance coverage and other discounts typically negotiated by insurers and pharmacy benefit managers.

ULAP chief: Mga reporma sa real property valuation magpapalakas sa ang mga LGU

Venus L Peñaflor
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ULAP chief: Mga reporma sa real property valuation magpapalakas sa ang mga LGU

Nananawagan ang pangulo ng Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines (ULAP)  na si Governor Dax Cua ng Quirino, ng mga reporma sa real property valuation sa bansa upang palakasin ang mga local government units (LGUs) at mapabuti ang kanilang paghahatid ng serbisyo.

Sa panahon ng paglagda ng memorandum of agreement para sa Local Governance Reform Project ng Department of Finance Bureau of Local Government Finance (DOF-BLGF) noong Huwebes, binigyang-diin ni Cua ang kahalagahan ng pagpapasa ng Valuation Reform Act upang mapalakas ang kakayahan ng mga lokal na pamahalaan sa paglikom ng kita at pagmobilisa ng mga mapagkukunan ng pondo.

Sinabi ni Cua na sinusuportahan ng ULAP ang reporma sa real property tax reform at binigyang diin na ang malaking pag-depende ng mga LGU sa national tax allocation ay humahadlang sa kanilang kakayahan na mag-operate ng nagsasarili at maghatid ng epektibong serbisyo sa mga mamamayan.

Binibigyang-pansin ni Cua ang kasalukuyang kalagayan ng real property tax revenues sa Pilipinas, kung saan sinabi niya na ang local business tax collections ay lumampas na sa mga kita mula sa real property tax revenues mula noong 2011.

Binanggit din niya ang mahigpit na pangangailangan na i-update ang luma at hindi naaayon na Schedule of Market Value Profiles (SMVs), na nagresulta sa malalaking pagkawala ng kita na umabot sa bilyon-bilyong piso.

Upang tugunan ang suliraning ito, pinanindigan ni Cua ang pagsasabatas ng isang single valuation base para sa lahat ng LGU, ang pagtatatag ng isang valuation standard, ang paglikha ng isang independent valuation authority, at ang pagpapabuti ng  Real Property Tax (RPT) collection.

SpaceX and startup Vast hope to put the world’s first private space station in orbit

EDGARDO HERNAL
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SpaceX and startup Vast hope to put the world’s first private space station in orbit

Vast, a California-based startup and one of the newest entrants in the world of privatized spaceflight — plans to use a SpaceX rocket to launch what it hopes to be the world’s first commercial space station and ferry passengers to and from the orbiting outpost.

It’s not clear how much the agreement, announced by Vast on Wednesday, will cost. Company leadership declined to comment on the matter to CNN. Nor is it clear how much a trip to the proposed space station would cost visitors, which could include professional astronauts or tourists.

Jed McCaleb, the founder and CEO of Vast who previously made a fortune in the cryptocurrency business, said in a statement that the company is “thrilled to embark on this journey of launching the world’s first commercial space station, Haven-1, and its first crew, Vast-1.”

McCaleb said he is investing $300 million of his own money into the effort, and he does not plan to seek outside investment for Vast until the company has its proposed space station built and can generate revenue. He added that he acknowledges the overall project will likely cost him more than $300 million.

It is not certain that Vast will indeed become the first company to put a private space station in orbit. Vast says it’s aiming for a launch date as early as August 2025. Developing a space station, however, is an exceedingly complex endeavor, requiring extensive testing and key technology such as life support systems.

McCaleb said Vast will have an advantage because it can leverage the life support systems already developed for SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft, which the company plans to use to carry passengers to its space station.

Vast will equip its Haven-1 space station with the necessary consumables — such as oxygen and other life-sustaining materials — but the company won’t have to develop a life support system from scratch, McCaleb told CNN.

Other companies — including several with backing from NASA — are also working to develop private space stations. NASA, along with its global partners, is seeking to use a privately developed space station to replace the aging International Space Station, which has been continuously inhabited in low-Earth orbit since 2000.

It’s not clear how much of the $300 million McCaleb has allocated to the Haven-1 project will go to SpaceX for launch services. Vast did not share financial details about its agreement with the company.

“The Dragon team and the team and leadership (at SpaceX) really want to build a Falcon 9-based space station,” said Max Haot, Vast’s president. Haot led the aerospace company Launcher before it was acquired by Vast in February. “So we’re very, very aligned.”

Vast’s simple, single-structure Haven-1 space station will be able to launch atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, the workhorse vehicle that SpaceX has been launching for more than a decade.

After the spacecraft is sent into orbit, SpaceX would provide training to four members of the as-yet-unnamed crew for a mission dubbed Vast-1.

“Vast is selling up to four crewed seats on the inaugural mission to Haven-1,” the company said in a news release. “Expected customers include domestic and international space agencies and private individuals involved in science and philanthropic projects.”

Initially, the company plans for Haven-1 to operate independently, free-floating in Earth’s orbit. Later, the company plans to attach the spacecraft as a module to a larger space station.Vast said its ultimate goal is to create a massive orbiting space station with artificial gravity that could be launched atop a SpaceX Starship vehicle, a rocket still in the development stages that exploded midair during its inaugural test flight in April.

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