Disruption

Aside from poor internet connection, rotational power outages also posed problems for students attending online classes at home during summer in Mindoro Occidental province. Other interruptions resulted from preventive maintenance of diesel generators and power lines. Rachella Mae Valdez, a college student of Occidental Mindoro State College (OMSC), in an interview on Wednesday, said power outages occur almost every day for two hours and sometimes half a day in her home town in Magbay, San Jose. Valdez said they are just lucky when their teachers extend deadlines for their assignments. Delos Angeles said one recent power interruption lasted almost the whole day in Mamburao, Occidental Mindoro, where he is from. He said the outage adds to the burden of students who are trying to comply with class requirements on time. Princess Romelyn Rosete, another student of the state college, said one power interruption happened when she was taking a mid-term examination. Also in an ... » Learn More about Outages disrupt online classes

The local government of Muntinlupa has received P442 million from the Department of Budget and Management and Department of Social Welfare and Development as part of the national government’s emergency subsidy to families affected by the enhanced community quarantine in NCR Plus. Mayor Jaime Fresnedi signed an executive order for the distribution of financial assistance amounting to 1,000 pesos per individual with a maximum amount of P4,000 per family to target beneficiaries which include individuals from the Social Amelioration Program, 4Ps, low-income individuals, and those working in informal economies affected by the community quarantine, among others. Fresnedi said qualified Muntinlupa city residents will receive the assistance in cash to help them recover from economic disruption brought about by the imposition of ECQ in Metro Manila. At least 80 percent of the population of Muntinlupa is set to receive the emergency subsidy. An initial pay-out was facilitated in Tiosejo ... » Learn More about Muntinlupa LGU receives P442-M from national gov’t

DISTURBING PRESENCE  – Fishermen from San Miguel in San Antonio town are catching fewer and fewer squid for which their village is well-known and they blame the presence of at least 20 Chinese ships in waters off Zambales for this. Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana says he will check this new report of a large number of Chinese ships in another part of the country’s exclusive economic zone. SAN ANTONIO, Zambales—Fishermen on Friday said at least 20 Chinese vessels have been anchored about 111 kilometers off San Antonio town in Zambales province since January and they blamed the mysterious nocturnal activities of the ships for their dwindling catch. “When we’re fishing at night, we could hear a loud sound underneath the waters near the area where these foreign ships are staying. They are disturbing our fishing ground,” said Jefrey Melchor, one of the fishermen who complained about the diminishing amount of fish and squid they were able to haul in daily. Flashing lights He said ... » Learn More about Zambales folk: Sino boats depleting our fish catch

Sleep is as important as food. Our bodies do not care if our mind thinks sleep is a “waste” of time in the midst of our busy lives; without sleep, we simply cannot survive. According to a 2010 survey, 30% of Malaysians sleep less than seven hours a day and sleep-related problems affect a third of us. The usual recommendation is seven to eight hours of sleep every night for adults. This is based on the amount of sleep the average person requires. That said, there are outliers, as some can get by with as little as four hours a night, while others, such as professional athletes, may need as much as 12 hours a night in order to recover enough to perform optimally the next day. Outliers, by definition, are unusual, so aiming for more sleep would be the right direction for most of us, especially in an era where life is so fast-paced that sleep deprivation is almost the norm. During sleep, numerous physiological changes occur in the body. Blood pressure and heart rate ... » Learn More about Ensuring that we get our quality sleep

Listed Philippine Seven Corp. (PSC), the local licensee of 7-Eleven convenience stores, posted a net loss of P389.7 million in the first half of 2020, a turnaround of its P485.3-million profit in the same period last year. In a filing on Thursday, the company said its system-wide sales declined by 10.9 percent to P24.1 billion in the period from P27 billion year-on-year. The Covid-19 pandemic and the quarantine measures imposed to curb its spread caused supply chain disruptions and affected commercial activities, it added. For the second quarter alone, PSC recorded a P493.5-million loss and a 31.4-percent decrease in system-wide sales to P9.9 billion from P14.5 billion on the back of the 25.5-percent decline in same-store sales. PSC ended the first semester with 2,930 stores nationwide, 10 percent more than the year-earlier number. PSC shares closed flat at P125 each on Thursday. ... » Learn More about 7-Eleven operator incurs P390-M loss in H1

The Thailand Consumers' Council (TCC) has launched a campaign to halt the cabinet's plan to rethink the extension of concessions and cheap fares on the BTS skytrain Green Line. Saree Aongsomwang, secretary-general of the newly established consumer protection body, said reviewing the 30-year extension was not an urgent issue and the cabinet should first ask the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) to provide details about its proposal. The move follows reports the cabinet would review the lengthy concessionary status of the new electric train service and its capped fare hikes. The suggestion the cabinet was having second thoughts about the BTS Green Line concession and fares emerged last November after the government turned down the BMA's request to renew the BTS Group's favoured status. The BMA wanted to offer the current operator a 30-year extension on its concession, currently due to expire in 2029, to operate the core section of the Green Line between Mor Chit-On Nut and ... » Learn More about Train fares decision can wait: TCC

BANGKOK – Thailand may be among the world’s top 10 tourism destinations, but for overseas investors it’s about as popular as a beach holiday in the Arctic. Foreigners sold a net US$8.7 billion (S$11.93 billion) or so of Thai stocks this year, the most since data began in the late 1990s. On the face of it, that’s a puzzle. Thailand has been something of a haven amid this year’s emerging markets sell-off. The baht, supported by an influx of overseas tourists, has dropped only 1.3 per cent against the dollar. Meanwhile, the MSCI Thailand Index is showing a total return of minus 2.6 per cent, outperforming the broader emerging-markets stock gauge by more than 10 percentage points. In many ways, Thailand is South-east Asia’s Japan — burdened with an aging population and with a stock market that recaptured its 1994 high only this year. Only 38 per cent of the Thai population is under the age of 30, compared with around 50 per cent for neighbors Indonesia and Vietnam. While ... » Learn More about Thailand’s No Beach Party as Foreign Investors Slowly Move to Vietnam, Philippines and Indonesia

Beijing may consider sending a peacekeeping force to Afghanistan if the security situation in the South Asian country poses a threat to the neighbouring Chinese province of Xinjiang after American troops pull out , analysts said. US President Joe Biden said on Wednesday that he would withdraw all remaining US troops – about 2,500 – from Afghanistan by September 11, the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attack in New York. The withdrawal may pose a threat to Afghanistan’s security and stability, which could spill over into Xinjiang and disrupt China’s counterterrorism efforts. Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge , our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team. In 2018, China trained Afghan troops and helped set up a mountain brigade. The training took place in China and the aim of the brigade was to counter ... » Learn More about China may send peacekeeping force to Afghanistan after US troops leave, observers say

KENANGA Investment Bank Bhd is proud to have been recognised in seven out of 22 categories at the annual Bursa Excellence Awards. It emerged champion for the Best Overall Equities Participating Organisation, Best Structured Warrant Issuer, Best Trading Participant Equity and Financial Derivatives, and Best Institutional Derivatives Trading Participant. While it became first runner-up for the Best Retail Equities Participating Organisation category, it emerged second runner-up for the Best Institutional Equities Participating Organisation Investment Bank and Best Overall Derivatives Trading Participant awards. Kenanga Group managing director Datuk Chay Wai Leong said it was an honour to receive accolades across multiple disciplines. “We would like to thank Bursa Malaysia for the encouragement and recognition, which serves as a validation of our commitment towards excellence. “The financial services space is undergoing massive disruption, and we hope to continue staying ahead ... » Learn More about Honoured in multiple disciplines

A recent Oxford Economics report cited key roles and contributions of the Philippine agri-food sector toward the country’s recovery roadmap during these challenging times of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic. It highlighted that it should be the policymakers’ top priority to provide favorable conditions for the said industry to successfully help rebuild the national economy. In its report titled “The Economic Impact of the Agri-Food Sector in South East Asia” commissioned by Food Industry Asia (FIA), Oxford regarded the agri-food sector as a significant driver in the economic recovery of the Philippines, creating employment and putting food on the table at stable prices. It noted, however, that supply and demand risks, fiscal measures and seemingly unending impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic could disrupt the recovery. The report showed the Philippine agri-food sector contributed a total of P6.1 trillion to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2019, a 16-percent ... » Learn More about Agri-food sector key to economic recovery