Philippine Canadian Inquirer #613

OCTOBER 25, 2024
Vol. 9 No. 613

www.canadianinquirer.net
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CANADA’S FIRST AND ONLY NATIONWIDE FILIPINO-CANADIAN NEWSPAPER
Garma confirms existence of

Davao Death Squad
BY FILANE MIKEE CERVANTES, PHILIPPINE NEWS AGENCY STORY ON PAGE 3
SHELTER
Thirty-two families composed of 115 individuals are temporarily
staying at the Holy Family Parish in Roxas District, Quezon City
on Thursday (Oct. 24, 2024). Houses near the church were
flooded early morning due to Severe Tropical Storm Kristine.
(JOAN BONDOC/PNA)
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2 PHILIPPINE NEWS FRIDAY October 25, 2024
PNP: Quiboloy allegedly aimed for

King Solomon's number of wives
By Wilnard Bacelonia Quiboloy's former inner pastorals among his followers.
Philippine News Agency who listened to his preaching. "Victimization continued re-
"Believed to have victimized peatedly through the years and
200 women already, currently, by generation," Marantan told
MANILA – The Philippine PNP identified 68 female per- the panel.
National Police (PNP) has dis- sonalities, of different ages, Quiboloy, who appeared
covered in its investigations that who were victims of Quiboloy's before the panel for the first
Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) sexual exploitation," Marantan time, repeatedly denied the
leader Apollo Quiboloy was try- told the panel. allegations of victim-survivors Kingdom of Jesus Christ Leader Apollo Quiboloy (AVITO DALAN/PNA)
ing to emulate the biblical story The KOJC leader, he claimed, who gave their testimonies in
of King Solomon who had 700 engaged in strict fellowship the hearing about the alleged sa korte ng ating lupa tulad investigating the alleged land
wives and 300 concubines, a po- with the inner pastorals to sexual exploitations and other ng kinakaharap namin ngay- grabbing by Quiboloy in Baran-
lice official said on Wednesday. brainwash them that what he abuses they experienced when on (There is no truth in what gay Tamayong, Davao City, as
During the resumption of the was doing was legal. they were still KOJC members. they said. If they have criminal well as possible money launder-
Senate Committee on Women, Based on their investigation, "Wala pong katotohanan charges against me, they are ing and tax evasion, as well as
Children, Family Relations and Marantan said Quiboloy ex- yung kanilang mga sinabi. free to file a case and I will face the legality of schools and other
Gender Equality's probe on al- ploited his victims after they Kung meron po silang mga it and answer it in the proper businesses operated by KOJC,
leged abuses within the KOJC, were groomed and ready. charges na kriminal laban sa forum, in the court of our land, and the involvement of other
Davao City Police Office Director He said Quiboloy also capi- akin, malaya po silang mag-file like we what are facing now)," foundations used by the reli-
Col. Hansel Marantan said this talized on the existence of the ng kaso at doon ko haharapin Quiboloy told the panel. gious group in its operations. ■
was based on the narrative of "Angels of Death" to sow fear at sasagutin sa tamang forum Meanwhile, the PNP is also
DFA: No US Comelec to file poll case

extradition request vs. Guo before Tarlac
yet for Quiboloy court next week
By Wilnard Bacelonia study it before turning it over By Ferdinand Patinio Garcia said their law depart- pursuing the case despite the
Philippine News Agency to the Department of Justice. Philippine News Agency ment has not received any an- dismissed mayor already fac-
"If we do receive a formal re- swer from Guo regarding the ing several other cases.
quest, the DFA will study it and complaint against her. "The people can be assured
MANILA – The Department see if it is consistent with the MANILA – The Commission "The Comelec will be filing that we will pursue this case to
of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has agreed procedure pertaining on Elections (Comelec) will the information in the RTC the fullest because this is an is-
yet to receive a formal extra- to the extradition. After we are file an election offense case (regional trial court) in Tar- sue on lying about her citizen-
dition request from the United satisfied with the request, we for material misrepresentation lac. This means that we will ship," Garcia said.
States for Kingdom of Jesus will of course refer it to the De- against former Bamban mayor formally charge her with mis- At the same time, he added
Christ (KOJC) leader Apollo partment of Justice for relevant Alice Guo early next week. representation, violation of the that there is a plan to transfer
Quiboloy. action," Manalo explained. In an interview Wednesday, Election Code," he said. the trial from Tarlac to a Metro
"As you know, the Philip- Apart from cases filed in the Comelec chair George Erwin He noted that they will be Manila court.
pines has an extradition trea- Philippines, Quiboloy is also "It will be better if the trial
ty with the United States of indicted by a federal grand jury will be held in Metro Manila
America. I wish to report that in the US for conspiracy to en- since the accused is under cus-
as of this date, the Department gage in sex trafficking by force, tody here and our Law Depart-
of Foreign Affairs has not re- fraud and coercion, and sex ment will have a direct hand
ceived a formal extradition re- trafficking of children; conspir- on the prosecution of the case,"
quest from the United States," acy; and bulk cash smuggling. the Comelec chief said.
DFA Secretary Enrique Manalo The Philippine and US gov- An election offense case car-
told the Senate Committee on ernments signed an extradition ries the penalty of one to six
Women, Children, Family Rela- treaty in Manila on November years imprisonment and per-
tions and Gender Equality on 13, 1994, which entered into petual disqualification to hold
Wednesday. force on November 22, 1996. public office.
He, however, assured law- Meanwhile, Manalo also Earlier, the poll body adopt-
makers they are on standby in reported to the Senate panel ed the recommendation of its
case a request will be made. that they had not received any law department for the filing of
As a general approach to re- request for assistance yet from the criminal raps before a reg-
ceiving an extradition request,
the DFA chief said they need to PAGE 12 DFA: No US
Dismissed Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo (SENATE OF THE PHILIPPINES/FACEBOOK)
PAGE 7 Comelec to file
FRIDAY October 25, 2024 PHILIPPINE NEWS 3
1
Garma confirms existence of Davao Death Squad
By Filane Mikee Cervantes in orchestrating and coordinat- “There was never any clear- dling reimbursements. Tuesday to early Wednesday.
Philippine News Agency ing the nationwide anti-drug ance from my office for this Payments of PHP5,000 per op- Manila Rep. Bienvenido
campaign that reportedly led to operation, nor was my office eration were distributed month- Abante, chair of the House
the EJKs of drug suspects. informed of it,” she said. ly, with commanders signing ac- Committee on Human Rights,
MANILA – Former Philippine Reward system unmasked Garma further ex- knowledgment documents. pressed Leonardo on the verac-
Charity Sweepstakes Office In her Oct. 22 affidavit, Gar- plained that station command- Espino reportedly continued ity of Garma’s statements.
(PCSO) general manager Roy- ma further detailed her first- ers were required to submit re- to work with Go when he be- “Ayaw ko naman na matawag
ina Garma has confirmed the hand observations of the alleged ports of successful operations came Special Assistant to the siya na siya ang Hitler ng Pili-
existence of the Davao Death reward system that incentiv- at the end of each month. President at Malacañang, serv- pinas,” Abante said, referring to
Squad (DDS). ized police officers to carry out These reports, she said, were ing as an Assistant Secretary in Duterte. “Am I right? O eto po,
In a supplemental affidavit drug-related killings ranging essential for obtaining reim- his office. ito na po ang question ko, and
submitted to the House Quad from PHP20,000 to PHP1 mil- bursements for operational However, Garma revealed this will only be answerable by
Committee (Quadcom) inves- lion depending on the target. expenses, including buy-bust that no formal documentation yes or no. I am not going to ask
tigating extrajudicial killings Garma, who served as sta- money and gasoline. was required for reward pay- for any more explanation. Col.
(EJKs) linked to the anti-drug tion commander of the Sasa “At the end of each month, ments related to killings. Leonardo, sagutin niyo lang
campaign, Garma revealed and Sta. Ana police stations all station commanders were “For the deaths of suspects, ako ng yes or no. Doon sa dala-
that the covert operations of from 2012 to 2016, recounted required to submit reports docu- Sonny Buenaventura provided wang affidavit ni Col. Garma na
the DDS were "common knowl- a 2012 operation in Barangay menting successful police opera- direct payments of PHP20,000 nabasa mo at napakinggan mo.
edge" among police officers in Malagamot, Davao City, where tions to the LGU of Davao,” Gar- to station commanders, with ’Yan ba ay pinapaniwalaan mo?
Davao City, former president she received a call from a cer- ma explained. “These reports no signed documentation re- Yes or no?”
Rodrigo Duterte's stronghold. tain "Lt. Col. Padua", an intel- included details of cases filed in quired,” Garma said. ("I don't want him to be
“I became aware of the so- ligence officer working under the Office of the Prosecutor and Leonardo corroborates called the Hitler of the Philip-
called ‘Davao Death Squad’ then-Davao City Police director other relevant information con- Garma’s affidavits pines. Am I right?" So here it
through various sources during Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa. cerning the operations.” Former police colonel Edil- is, this is my question, and it
my assignment in Davao,” Garma Hours later, she learned that She identified Irmina “Muk- berto Leonardo corroborated can only be answerable by yes
said. “It was common knowledge a male suspect had been killed. ing” Espino, a staff member in the two affidavits submitted or no. I am not going to ask
among officers that almost all “From that operation, I re- Go’s office at the Davao City by Garma during the Quadcom for any more explanation. Col.
station commanders had special ceived PHP20,000 from Sgt. Hall, as the liaison officer han- hearing that spanned from Leonardo, just answer me with
teams for specific operations." Suan provided by Boy Alce,” yes or no. In the two affidavits
Garma, who served as a po- she said, referring to an indi- of Col. Garma that you have
lice officer in Davao City since vidual who facilitated the dis- read and listened to. Do you
1997, said police officers were tribution of rewards to officers. believe that? Yes or no?)
discouraged from openly dis- In another incident, Garma “Yes, Mr. Chair,” Leonardo
cussing the DDS operations, recalled the killing of a drug responded, affirming his belief
noting that the "culture of si- user near GT Gasoline Station in the accuracy of Garma’s af-
lence" extended to police op- in Panacan, Davao. fidavits.
erations where little oversight “I remember this person be- Abante followed up with an-
was maintained over killings cause, on the morning of the day other question, seeking clarity
conducted under the guise of of his death, the duty desk offi- on the alleged reward system.
law enforcement. cer informed me that he went to “Naniniwala ka ba na
"Although I did not know the my office and left an image of merong (Doy you believe that
identities of these teams, a cul- the Holy Family, to tell my men this is) rewards system? Yes or
ture of silence prevailed among that he just went to Mass and no?” Abante asked.
police officers in Davao regard- was very happy,” Garma said. “A Leonardo initially hesitated,
ing such matters," she said. few hours later, he was dead.” saying, “May narinig ako (I've
Garma's latest affidavit fol- When Garma inquired about heard of it), yes Mr. Chair.”
lowed her testimony in an Oct. the incident, she was told by a Abante pressed him for a clear
11 hearing, where she implicat- certain Police Staff Sgt. Suan answer, to which Leonardo final-
ed Duterte and his close aide, that the killing had been coor- Former Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) General Manager Royina ly confirmed: “Yes, Mr. Chair.” ■
Senator Christopher “Bong” Go, dinated by Alce.
Garma (HOUSE PRESS AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS BUREAU)
Reporting crime soon easier with policing app

By Christopher Lloyd Office (NCRPO) said Tuesday. National Police Law Enforce- tricts –the Manila Police Dis- ing crimes.
Caliwan NCRPO Director Maj. Gen. Sid- ment Reporting and Informa- trict (MPD), Quezon City Po- A paperless reporting system
Philippine News Agency ney Hernia said the agency has tion System, E-Gov Super App. lice District (QCPD), Northern is also developed across all po-
set in motion the shift towards Developed by the Department Police District (NPD), Southern lice units in the NCR.
a more efficient and technolo- of Information and Communica- Police District (SPD), and East- "Through these advance-
MANILA – A new policing app gy-driven approach in policing. tions Technology, it is being test- ern Police District (EPD). ments, we are not only improv-
will soon be available allowing The fully centralized and ed at NCRPO district offices. More than 15,000 residents, ing our police response times
the public across Metro Manila to digitalized crime reporting It will be fully operational by including household associa- but also ensuring a competent
report crimes and incidents, the app, called the anti-crime su- the end of the year. tions, are trained to navigate police force and safer Metro
National Capital Region Police per app, is through Philippine The NCRPO covers five dis- the digital platform for report- Manila," Hernia said. ■
7 out of 10 Pinoys hopeful Self-rated poverty,

Cha-cha will create jobs: poll hunger decline in
By Filane Mikee Cervantes the proposed constitutional Around 35 percent of re-
Q3: OCTA
Philippine News Agency amendments focusing on eco- spondents feared the proposed
nomic reforms. constitutional amendments By Filane Mikee Cervantes amount a family needs to es-
Regional and demograph- could worsen corruption, while Philippine News Agency cape poverty is PHP10,000 per
MANILA – The majority of ic differences were observed, 33 percent expressed concerns month, according to the survey.
Filipinos are optimistic that the with stronger support in North- over increased competition Self-rated hunger
proposed amendments to the ern and Central Luzon, while from foreign businesses. MANILA – Self-rated pover- The survey also recorded a
1987 Constitution will drive lower backing was noted in Around 30 percent of the re- ty in the Philippines dropped sharp drop in self-rated hun-
economic improvements, partic- Mindanao and Metro Manila. spondents were worried that in the third quarter of 2024 ger with about 11 percent of
ularly in job creation, according Younger respondents, par- other national issues might be with about 43 percent of Fili- Filipino families, or about 2.9
to a recent survey by Tangere. ticularly those aged 26 to 45, sidelined. pino families, or approximate- million, experiencing hunger
The survey, conducted from were more supportive of the Tangere's survey was con- ly 11.3 million, considering at least once in the past three
Oct. 14 to 16, showed that 73.5 proposed economic changes in ducted via a mobile-based re- themselves poor, according to months, down from 16 percent
percent of respondents believe the Constitution. spondent application, sampling the latest survey conducted by in the previous quarter.
the reforms will lead to more In terms of targeted reforms 1,500 participants with a mar- OCTA Research. This 5-percentage point drop
job opportunities, making it in the Constitution, 63 percent gin of error of +/- 2.50% at a This figure, based on the represents a decrease of about
the most anticipated outcome. of respondents backed changes 95 percent confidence level. Tugon ng Masa (TNM) survey 1.3 million families.
Aside from job creation, other to Article XII, which governs for- Tangere is a market research conducted from Aug. 28 to OCTA said the percentage of
key economic expectations in- eign ownership of public utilities, and public opinion polling Sept. 2, represents a substan- Filipino families who experi-
clude lower prices for goods and while 60 percent supported the company known for its mo- tial improvement from the 48 enced involuntary hunger de-
services at 72 percent, higher amendment of Article XVI on for- bile-based data gathering and percent recorded in the second creased across all major areas
economic growth at 71 percent, eign investments in advertising. analytics. quarter of the year. except the Visayas, where it re-
improved salaries and work ben- Meanwhile, 52 percent fa- The company is a member of This 5-percentage point de- mained the same at 20 percent
efits at 71 percent, and better vored the amendment of Arti- the Marketing and Opinion Re- crease equates to a reduction of from June to August.
job quality at 70 percent. cle XIV, which pertains to the search Society of the Philippines about 1.4 million families who The highest drop was re-
The survey found that 61.9 participation of foreign entities (MORES) and the Philippine no longer consider themselves corded in Mindanao from 25
percent of Filipinos support in higher education. Marketing Association (PMA). ■ poor, underscoring a "notable percent in June to 11 percent
shift in self-perceptions of pov- in August.
erty," according to OCTA. The survey showed that 42
OCTA noted a significant percent of Filipino families, or an
improvement in Mindanao, estimated 11.1 million, still con-
where self-rated poverty plum- sidered themselves food-poor.
PBBM's approval, trust meted by 17 percentage points,

from 77 percent in June to 60
percent in August.
This August figure is "almost
unchanged" from the 51 percent
recorded in the previous quarter.
ratings rise slightly; VP However, self-rated poverty

rose in Metro Manila and the
"The country is making
strides in reducing hunger but
Visayas by 7 percentage points, food poverty remains a per-
Sara sees decline at 35 percent and 59 percent,
respectively.
sistent challenge," OCTA added.
The survey was conducted
Additionally, respondents using face-to-face interviews
who identified as poor said with 1,200 male and female re-
By Filane Mikee Cervantes aged 18 to 35. climbed from 32 percent to they would need a median spondents aged 18 and above.
Philippine News Agency The highest levels of dissat- 35.9 percent, as well as her dis- monthly income of PHP30,000 It has a ±3 percent margin of
isfaction and distrust towards trust rating from 22 percent to to cover household expenses. error at a 95 percent confi-
Marcos came from respondents 25 percent, Tangere said. Meanwhile, the median extra dence level. ■
MANILA – President Ferdi- in Mindanao and those aged Increased dissatisfaction
nand R. Marcos Jr.'s satisfac- 51 and above. with Duterte was observed in
tion and trust ratings saw a Meanwhile, Vice President Central and Northern Luzon,
slight increase in October, a Sara Duterte saw a dip in her along with Metro Manila.
survey by polling firm Tangere numbers amid the House of The Vice President, howev-
showed on Monday. Representatives’ probes on the er, continues to receive strong
The Tangere survey, conduct- alleged misuse of public funds support from Mindanao, where
ed from Oct. 16 to 19, bared by the Office of the Vice Presi- trust and satisfaction levels are
that Marcos’ satisfaction rating dent (OVP) and her refusal to the highest.
increased to 46.9 percent, up attend the House Committee on Senate President Chiz Escu-
from 46.4 percent in the previous Appropriations’ hearings on the dero maintained his position as
month, while his trust rating rose proposed OVP budget for 2025. the highest-rated government
to 59.3 percent from 58.8 percent. Duterte's satisfaction rating official with 52 percent of Fil-
The pollster noted that sup- dropped to 48 percent, down ipinos expressing satisfaction
port for Marcos was strongest from 48.7 percent in Septem- with his performance.
in Northern and Central Luzon. ber, and her trust rating de- Escudero's trust rating also
The highest levels of satis- creased slightly to 56 percent remained high, with three out
faction and trust were reported from 56.8 percent. Passengers hurry to get on a public utility vehicle along the crossing of Matina Pangi
among younger respondents Her dissatisfaction rating PAGE 7 PBBM's approval, trust
and Matina Aplaya in Davao City during the rush hour. (ROBINSON NIÑAL JR./PNA)
FRIDAY October 25, 2024 5
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DMW seeks to draft programs for elderly OFWs

By Marita Moaje back into Philippine socioeco- between 25 and 30 years old at Speaker Martin Romualdez system for OFWs.
Philippine News Agency nomic life,” Cacdac said. that time, they must be entering and Senate President Francis “Maraming mga nagka-clam-
“So ‘yan ang paghahandaan their 50s or mid-50s by now. Escudero for a law that will be or na kasi walang pension sys-
po natin, on a broader scale, “In due time, maybe in four the basis of assistance for el- tem until noong 2019, noong
MANILA – The Department ‘yung panunumbalik ng hener- to five years’ time, pauwi na derly OFWs. inamyendahan ang Social Se-
of Migrant Workers (DMW) asyon na mga OFWs na umalis rin ‘yan sila. Kasi ang retire- Moreover, he said that there curity Law, so marami sa kanila
and other government agen- 20 to 30 years ago na pa-uwi ment age naman sa Saudi o are ongoing talks with party-lists hindi na naabutan itong (There
cies, including the House of na (So that's what we're pre- sa Middle East, hindi tukoy at the House of Representatives, are clamors because there was
Representatives and the Sen- paring for, on a broader scale, na katulad natin na (they are as well as with the National Com- no pension system until 2019,
ate, will develop programs to the return of the generation of also going home. Because the mission of Senior Citizens under when the Social Security Law
cater to elderly overseas Filipi- OFWs who left 20 to 30 years retirement age in Saudi or the the Office of the President. was amended, so many of them
no workers (OFWs). ago and are now returning Middle East is not exactly the Cacdac added that the DMW did not reach the) pension sys-
In a Radyo Pilipinas inter- home),” he added. same as ours which is) 60 to is partnering with the Social tem under our Social Security
view on Tuesday, DMW Secre- Cacdac said that between 65. Around 50 to 60, some of Security System (SSS) for ex- System,” he said.
tary Hans Leo Cacdac said the 2006 and 2007, OFW deploy- them or many of them already panded coverage, especially The policy on expanding
government must prepare for ment reached one million for decide to come home,” he said. for those OFWs who have been the coverage of the Employ-
elderly OFWs, who migrated the first time. Cacdac said the DMW has al- paying their contributions, ees’ Compensation Program
about two decades ago, when He said that if those OFWs were ready coordinated with House amid the clamor for a pension to land-based OFWs who are
they return to the Philippines. registered members of the SSS
“And we need to best pre- was promulgated in 2019.
pare for that. Kasi sila'y uuwi, Cacdac said the DMW is also
of course, mainam na mer- starting to draft programs for
on silang na-impok, meron elderly OFWs to help them
silang plano sa pag-uwi (be- with their medical expenses.
cause they are going home, “So ito i-announce natin sa
of course, it is good that they sapat ng panahon pero defi-
have something saved or plans nitely ito isasagawa natin.
when they go home), but at the Gusto natin tulungan ang mga
same time, with the length of nanumbalik na tumatanda na
service they've given to their (So we will announce this in
families, to their communities due time but we will definitely
and to our nation bilang (as) implement it. We want to help
OFWs, we need to also help Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) are going through pre-departure procedures in Kuwait prior to boarding their flight to the the returnees who are getting
them mainstream themselves Philippines on Tuesday, January 17. (DEPARTMENT OF MIGRANT WORKERS/FACEBOOK)
older),” he said. ■
House bill penalizing espionage in times

of peace filed
By Filane Mikee Cervantes alties for espionage. accusations. threats, technological advance- tion to obtain any information,
Philippine News Agency Rodriguez said the proposals He further noted that the ments, and the changing na- plans, photographs, or other
aim to address concerns over filing of the two bills was ture of espionage activities". data of a confidential nature
potential foreign espionage prompted by Defense Secre- “The country faces numer- relative to the defense of the
MANILA – A lawmaker on threats, citing reports of spies tary Gilberto Teodoro Jr.'s call ous threats from foreign intel- Philippine archipelago.”
Monday filed two measures operating within government for amendments to the coun- ligence services, terrorist orga- Additionally, the same pen-
seeking to amend the coun- offices, diplomatic communi- try’s espionage law. nizations, and cybercriminals,” alty would apply to any public
try’s espionage laws, introduc- ties, and even the private sector. “What is important now is that Rodriguez said. “By enhancing officer who, “being in posses-
ing penalties for spying during “We have to be wary of we penalize espionage during penalties and updating defini- sion, by reason of the public
peacetime and imposing heavi- these Trojan horses, especially times of peace because the es- tions to align with contempo- office he holds, of the articles,
er sanctions on various espio- our compatriots who sell their pionage law in the Philippines rary security challenges, the data, or information referred
nage-related activities. souls and services to foreign is only effective during times of legislation aims to bolster the to in the preceding paragraph,
Cagayan de Oro City 2nd interests,” Rodriguez said in a war,” Teodoro said in a recent Philippines’ ability to preserve discloses their contents to a
District Representative Ru- statement on Monday. interview. “This is also a call and protect its national securi- representative of a foreign na-
fus Rodriguez filed House Bill He said the "noose on spies" to action to our lawmakers to ty interests.” tion.” A higher penalty would
(HB) 10983, which seeks to has to be tightened in light of amend the espionage law so that The penalties outlined under be imposed if the offender is a
amend Article 117 of the Re- the worsening conflict in the the government can properly re- HB 10983 include prison cor- public officer or employee.
vised Penal Code to prohibit West Philippine Sea. spond and address this issue.” rectional, which ranges from The proposed penalties un-
espionage “in times of peace Rodriguez highlighted the In his explanatory notes, Ro- six months and one day to der HB 10988 include life im-
or in times of war", and House case involving dismissed Bam- driguez underscored the need six years, for any person who, prisonment and fines ranging
Bill No. 10988, which seeks ban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo to review and update the out- “without authority, enters a from PHP500,000 to PHP2 mil-
to amend Commonwealth Act alleged to be a Chinese spy, dated espionage laws to "ad- warship, fort, or naval or million, depending on the severity
No. 616 to impose stricter pen- although she has denied the dress evolving global security itary establishment or reserva- of the offense. ■
FRIDAY October 25, 2024 PHILIPPINE NEWS 7
PH nominated to lead World P133-M worth of

Health Assembly in 2025 medical aid sent to
By Ma. Teresa Montemayor from all 194 WHO member dents can also be selected by 'Kristine'-hit areas:
Philippine News Agency states, 37 countries and areas lot at the session where the
in the Western Pacific.
It determines the policies of
election takes place.
Member States traditionally
DOH
MANILA – The Philippines is the Organization; appoints the elect a President from each of
set to be the President-nominee director-general; supervises fi- the six WHO regions -- Western
of the 78th World Health As- nancial policies; and reviews Pacific, South East Asia, Africa, By Ma. Teresa Montemayor were several barangay health
sembly (WHA) to be held in Ge- and approves the proposed Americas, Europe, Eastern Med- Philippine News Agency stations and hospitals damaged
neva, Switzerland in May 2025. programme budget. It is held iterranean -- rotating every year. due to the weather disturbance.
This is after the 75th Re- annually in Geneva. The Philippines hosts the "Two big hospitals in Bicol,
gional Committee Meeting of Its officers are formally elected WHO Regional Office in the MANILA – The Department Bicol Medical Center and Bicol
the World Health Organization by acclamation at the start of each Western Pacific. of Health (DOH) has sent out Regional Medical Center in Al-
(WHO) in the Western Pacific session in accordance with the The last time a WHA Presi- PHP133 million worth of medi- bay, the one in Naga and one
where member states in at- Rules of Procedure of the WHA. dent came from the Western Pa- cal and public health emergency in Albay are both functional,
tendance gained consensus to The President oversees the cific was in 2019, from the Lao supplies, water sanitation and although we lost power and we
nominate the Philippines. conduct of the WHA and guides People's Democratic Republic. hygiene kits in areas hit hardest also lost damage to the inter-
“Filipinos are recognized as the Assembly in its critical dis- The Philippines aims to fur- by Severe Tropical Storm Kris- net server of our vehicle Med-
bridge-builders in the interna- cussions and decisions on glob- ther emphasize the importance tine (international name Trami). ical Center. But the hospitals
tional community. Our nom- al health policies and initiatives. of resilient health systems and Health Secretary Teodoro are functioning," Herbosa said.
ination by the Western Pacif- The President may appoint international cooperation in Herbosa on Friday said teams "We have a couple of hospitals
ic Member States as WHA78 the five vice presidents to act the face of global health chal- deployed from its regional of- that are functional in Batangas,
President is a recognition of in its place during meetings or lenges through the leadership fices and hospitals found that but cannot be accessed because
our collective contribution parts thereof. The vice presi- in the WHA. ■ the highest illness reported is of floods," he added.
and leadership in international respiratory infection. Meanwhile, about PHP6.8
health,” Health Secretary Te- "Mr. President, for the human million has been allocated for
odoro Herbosa said in a news resources. We've actually de- nutrition and PHP1.8 million
release Thursday. ployed our teams from the re- for psychosocial support of the
“Thank you to our neighbors gional offices and hospitals, so storm victims.
in the Western Pacific for the they're actually there," Herbosa Earlier, the DOH has acti-
trust and confidence,” he said. said during a situation briefing vated Code Blue - the highest
The nomination is consid- with President Ferdinand R. health emergency response to
ered historic being the first Marcos Jr. in Malacañang. disaster - in Cagayan Valley, Bi-
time that the Philippines will The medical teams distributed col Region, and Ilocos Region.
be the President of the assem- face masks and appropriate med- The agency maintains Code
bly since the foundation of the icines while concerned local gov- White in the National Capital
WHO in 1948. ernment units provided modular Region, Central Luzon, Mima-
The WHA is the highest deci- tents per family to contain the ropa, Western Visayas and the
sion-making body of the WHO. spread of infection, Teodoro said. Bangsamoro Autonomous Re-
It is attended by delegations Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa (JOAN BONDOC/PNA)
He also reported that there gion of Muslim Mindanao.■
PBBM's approval, trust.. Comelec to file..

4 of five respondents Chief Justice Alexander performance, particularly from 2 ular court based on of illegal Philippine Offshore
saying they trust him. Gesmundo's satisfaction and socio-economic class D. evidence showing that Gaming Operators (POGOs) is
House Speaker trust ratings remain the lowest The Tangere survey polled Guo committed ma- currently detained at the Pasig
Martin Romualdez also saw among top government officials 2,000 respondents using a mo- terial misrepresentation in her City Jail on charges of qualified
a slight rise in his satisfac- at 39.1 percent and 43 percent, bile-based application, with a Certificate of Candidacy (COC) human trafficking.
tion and trust ratings, which respectively, considering that a margin of error of ± 2.2 per- in the last May 2022 polls. She is also facing charges of
reached 46.8 percent and 57 significant portion of the pub- cent and a confidence level of The former mayor, who is graft and tax evasion. ■
percent, respectively. lic remains unfamiliar with his 95 percent. ■ allegedly involved in activities
UNICEF, partners launch portal for

child rights monitoring
By Anna Leah Gonzales the virtual platform in discussing Children’, tracking the lives of a na-
Philippine News Agency evolving evidence needs and gaps, as tionally representative sample of 5,000
well as advocate for strengthening ev- children, along with their households
CORRESPONDENT/HOSTS idence-based decision making. and communities.
Arianne Grace Lacanilao MANILA – The United Nations Chil- The data portal features over 80 key The study which will continue until
Matte Laurel-Zalko
Violeta Arevalo
dren's Fund (UNICEF) in collaboration indicators and around 500 data visual- 2030, is a partnership with the Philip-
Babes Newland with the Council for the Welfare of Chil- izations based on data dating back to pine government, the Australian gov-
dren, the National Economic and Devel- 1989 and up to 2023, with subnational ernment, United Nations Population
GRAPHIC DESIGN
opment Authority, and the Philippine breakdowns for certain indicator. Fund and UNICEF.
Ginno Alcantara Statistics Authority launched on Monday For each subdimension, the site also “Every child counts. Understanding
Colleene T. Singca a platform designed to provide insights offers a comprehensive analysis and vi- the situation of children is essential to
into children’s issues in the Philippines. sualization of data, including key prog- prioritize, design and monitor policies
ACCOUNT MANAGER In a statement, UNICEF Philippines ress, indicators, child rights, equity and and actions that effectively support the
Kristopher Yong said the Situation of Children of the Phil- risk, legislation, policy, bottlenecks, and realization of children’s rights. When
ippines (www.situationofchildren.org/ relevant publications. the right data and evidence are in the
DIRECTOR/PRODUCER ph) analyzes six main dimensions and A section covers cross-sectoral issues right hands at the right time, decisions
Boom Dayupay 25 subdimensions of children’s rights, such as gender, disability, early child- can be better informed, more equitable,
including health and nutrition, educa- hood, and adolescents. and more likely to protect children’s
PHOTOGRAPHER/VIDEOGRAPHER tion, protection, safe and sustainable The platform also features ‘The rights,” UNICEF Philippines Representa-
Ginno Alcantara environment, child poverty and social Longitudinal Cohort Study of Filipino tive Oyunsaikhan Dendevnorov said. ■
protection, civil and participation rights.
MANAGEMENT According to UNICEF Philippines, the
Alan Yong country has a wealth of data about children
but there are key gaps and issues in terms
of granularity, periodicity and timeliness,
•••
accessibility, reliability, and consistency.
It added there are also not enough
data on child exploitation while other
key data gaps also exist in the areas of
For photo submissions, please email
[email protected]
disaster risk preparedness, planning, and
response monitoring, climate change
For general inquiries, please email
[email protected]
impacts on children, social protection
and public financing for children, chil-
For sales inquiries, please email
[email protected]
or visit dren with disabilities, early childhood
education, children’s civil rights and par-
www.canadianinquirer.net/advertise-with-us
Philippine Canadian Inquirer is located at ticipation, and richer local-level data on

200-13888 Wireless Way,
Richmond, BC
children in the provincial, municipal or
city, and barangay levels.
By launching the platform, UNICEF
hopes to engage stakeholders through
UNICEF tent (SUDAN ENVOY/WIKIMEDIA COMMONS CC BY 2.0)
•••
Philippine Canadian Inquirer

is published daily online, 24/7.
Copies are distributed free throughout

Metro Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, and
Greater Toronto.
The views and opinions expressed in the

articles (including opinions expressed in
White House honors Pinoy frontliners
ads herein) are those of authors named,
and are not necessarily those of
Philippine Canadian Inquirer Editorial
Team.
on Fil-Am History Month
PCI reserves the right to reject any
advertising which it considers to contain By Joyce Ann L. Rocamora “[S]ince our founding, Filipinos and in 2009 and various states have since
false or misleading information or
involves unfair or unethical practices. The
Philippine News Agency Filipino Americans have enriched the passed resolutions declaring the obser-
advertiser agrees the publisher shall not very essence of who we are as a people. vance of FAHM.
be liable for damages arising out of error
in any advertisment.
They are the community leaders, who ad- The celebration commemorates the ar-
MANILA – United States President vocate and stand up for all of us,” he said. rival of the “Luzones Indios” aboard the
MEMBER
Joe Biden honored Filipino and Filipi- “They are the first responders and Ser- Spanish galleon Nuestra Senora de Espe-
no-American frontliners, professionals vice members, who put themselves at risk ranza on Oct. 18, 1587, in what is now
and community leaders in celebration to keep the rest of us safe. And they rep- Morro Bay, California, the first recorded
of the Filipino American History Month resent the best of who we are as a nation, presence of Filipinos in the continental US.
(FAHM) in October. as athletes and artists, entrepreneurs and “By honoring and reflecting on the
In a message dated Oct. 21, Biden engineers, public servants and health care proud history and heritage of this vibrant
recognized the “proud history and heri- workers, and so much more,” he added. community, we all come closer to realiz-
tage” of the Filipino-American commu- The US Congress recognized October
nity in the US. as the Filipino American History Month PAGE 15 White House honors
CANADA NEWS
As a federal election campaign looms, Canadians
must demand stronger ethics laws from politicians
By Ian Stedman, York and accountability, we believe lows Carney to avoid the ethics
University, Canada, Matthew ethics issues must be kept in commissioner’s scrutiny of his
Cerilli, McMaster University public view and political par- private interests yet still advise
The Conversation ties should be pressured to offer government officials.
meaningful reform ideas in their Additionally, accusations
campaign and party platforms. that the Liberals mismanaged
Canadian politics is at a Trudeau’s conflict violations the Sustainable Development
crossroads. When Prime Minis- Trudeau first breached con- Technology Canada fund and
ter Justin Trudeau took office in flict-of-interest laws in late used it as a “slush fund” for
2015, his open letter to Cana- 2016 and early 2017, when he party insiders recently caused
dians promised them account- vacationed with his family on Parliament to grind to a halt.
ability and transparency. As the private Caribbean island of The government has refused
Trudeau’s time as prime minis- the Aga Khan, a spiritual lead- to provide information on how
ter seems to be winding down, er whose foundation is regis- the fund was managed.
however, his government has tered to lobby and has received At the same time, allegations
been subject to nearly two doz- money from the government. that Trudeau has avoided tak-
en conflict-of-interest investi- The prime minister accepted ing responsibility for foreign in-
gations, with Trudeau himself private helicopter travel and terference in Canada’s elections
even violating conflict laws. other gifts, violating multiple have provided the opposition
Partisan vitriol, electioneer- sections of the Conflict of In- with further ethics ethics am-
ing and political brinkmanship terest Act. munition for an election cam-
are ramping up, with pressing Mary Dawson, the ethics (JUSTIN TRUDEAU/FACEBOOK)
paign looming on the horizon.
issues like inflation, crime, cli- commissioner at the time, Given Trudeau’s poor polling
mate action and housing set found that Trudeau had failed mer ministers Bill Morneau of the government. numbers, recent reports about
to dominate the political news to avoid a conflict or to seek ad- and Yasmin Ratansi, Liberal The prime minister decides Liberal MPs calling for him to
cycle. What must not get lost vice from her office before ac- House Speaker Greg Fergus, on the punishment, even if the step down and the imminence
amid these policy concerns is cepting the trip. Despite these current ministers Mary Ng and investigation concerns a cabinet of yet another cabinet shuffle,
the urgent need to strengthen conclusions, Trudeau faced no Randy Boissonnault, along member. This raises concerns government ethics and ac-
Canada’s governmental ethics formal punishment. with various government ap- about impartiality. Is there any countability must take centre
and accountability laws, espe- Trudeau’s second violation pointees, have all been caught incentive for the prime minis- stage if the country is to re-
cially given the growing Cana- was revealed in 2019 amid the in ethics scandals. ter to actually hold colleagues build Canadian trust in govern-
dian distrust in politicians. SNC-Lavalin affair. In a nutshell, No consequences accountable when they violate ment. Updating the Conflict of
That includes distrust of the prime minister attempted to Regardless of which party conflict-of-interest laws? Interest Act would be a strong
those in the current govern- pressure then-Attorney General holds power, a striking flaw And what message does it and necessary starting point.
ment. A 2023 poll found that Jody Wilson-Raybould to inter- in Canada’s political ethics send to an already distrust- Ethics aren’t a luxury
two-thirds of 1,632 respon- vene in a criminal prosecution framework is the lack of clear ful electorate when the prime Since the Conflict of Interest
dents don’t trust the Trudeau against the engineering firm, consequences for violating the minister and his inner circle Act cannot be updated without
government, with only about which has its head offices in Conflict of Interest Act. While can repeatedly violate conflict the involvement of legislators,
a third expressing confidence the same province as Trudeau’s ethics commissioners have the laws, then determine whether a cynical observer might won-
in the Prime Minister’s Office electoral riding. authority to investigate and re- they should face consequences der how ethics standards can
and less than half trusting the The ethics commissioner con- port on violations, their reports for their actions? be strengthened.
House of Commons. cluded that Trudeau used his are published online and sub- Ongoing ethics concerns One answer is that the Con-
The prime minister’s high-proposition in an attempt to im- mitted to the prime minister, Conservative Leader Pierre servatives’ relentless push for an
file conflict-of-interest violations properly serve SNC-Lavalin’s who then decides whether any Poilievre, who was tenacious in election gives the public a perfect
highlight the inadequacy of ac- interests, breaching provisions consequences will apply. 2020 when grilling the prime opportunity to demand that pro-
countability measures. They il- of the Conflict of Interest Act. Any penalties the commis- minister over conflict-of-interest posals to improve conflict-of-in-
lustrate that federal ethics laws While this scandal rocked the sioner can impose are laugh- concerns during the WE Charity terest laws are part of the cam-
need reform, particularly the Liberals, Trudeau again faced no ably small, with administrative scandal, seems determined to paign platforms of all parties.
Conflict of Interest Act that ap- real consequences for his actions monetary penalties of no more continue challenging the Liber- This is exactly what hap-
plies to public office holders (the apart from some ministerial res- than a paltry $500 for failing to als on their ethics record. pened in 2006 when Stephen
Conflict of Interest Code applies ignations and possibly a failure meet reporting requirements. Poilievre’s Conservatives re- Harper led the Conservatives
to MPs in their role as MPs while to gain more Liberal seats in the This critical gap places the cently raised concerns over the to victory by pledging a more
the act applies to MPs in their October 2019 election. responsibility for imposing controversial appointment of ethical and accountable Otta-
role as ministers or parliamenta- These incidents have helped consequences under the act on Mark Carney as a special ad- wa, although his government
ry secretaries). foster an environment where the person who may have been viser to the Liberal Party. Being ultimately faced its own share
As researchers who focus on conflict-of-interest violations the one to violate the rules, appointed to a party position
the laws of public sector ethics have become normalized. For- which is sometimes the leader instead of a government job al- PAGE 15 As a federal
10 CANADA NEWS FRIDAY October 25, 2024
For Canada, the 15-minute city

is made trickier by sprawl
By Thiago Carvalho, Ahmed to services by non-motorized A study conducted by Trans- These might include pub- On the other hand, access
El‑Geneidy modes, without necessarily portation Research at McGill lic-transit improvements, park- to work locations will likely be
Policy Options limiting car use. (TRAM) identified how many ing management, telecommut- more influenced by regional
In Canada, the adoption of people were living a 15-min- ing options, and congestion planning reinforcing the need
15-minute-city policies is more ute-city lifestyle in Montreal in pricing – all aimed at reducing for convenient and efficient
Policies to increase local liv- challenging because our urban 2018. The study is based on the car usage. public transit services.
ing will require a joint approach areas have different historical, 2018 origin-destination survey Overall, the study suggested Similarly, access to universi-
in local and regional planning urban development and political conducted by Montreal’s re- that achieving 100-per-cent lo- ties, stadiums or larger enter-
thanks to the effects of zoning contexts than European cities. gional transit planning author- cal living is unrealistic in Can- tainment venues and hospitals
and car infrastructure. Zoning policies that desig- ity (ARTM), which includes the ada. Therefore, policies aiming by public transit should be in-
The 15-minute-city concept nate areas for only one type most recent statistics available. at increasing local living should corporated into regional-plan-
aims to promote local living by of use (e.g., residential-only It found only 1.8 per cent be defined based on contextu- ning strategies. Most Canadian
encouraging the development areas), coupled with favou- of household members liv- ally appropriate targets. cities will require considerable
of neighbourhoods where peo- ritism toward car infrastruc- ing on the island of Montreal The authors suggested in- changes in zoning regulations
ple can meet all their daily ture, have led to much greater were able to achieve all their stead that cities could define to allow an increased mix of
needs (work, services, health sprawl than in European cit- daily trips in 15 minutes even targets as a percentage of uses and densification process-
care, education and enter- ies such as Paris or Barcelona, when public transit was added trips that household members es tied to transit-infrastructure
tainment) within a 15-minute thus impacting the feasibility to the original walking/cycling should be able to conduct by investments.
walking or cycling trip from of 15-minute-city policies here 15-minute-city definition. walking, cycling or transit, Some Canadian cities al-
their homes. – at least in their original form. Getting to and from work based on local travel patterns ready show commitment in
The idea came from Paris and However, the concept should was the main reason, even for and behaviours while exclud- this direction.
has spread in popularity since not be considered a one-size- those residing in highly walking travel to work. In Vancouver’s 2050 plan,
Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo em- fits-all solution. It is important able areas. Household compo- Canadian cities will have the city aims to “create more
braced it in her successful 2020 to understand the local context sition was another deterrent. to think beyond the 15-min- complete, walkable neigh-
re-election campaign, as well as – both in terms of historic and The larger the household, the ute-city paradigm. Especially bourhoods by adding services
because of the ease with which existing inequalities of access – less likely its members were in more sprawled cities, poli- and amenities like childcare,
it can be communicated. as well as travel behaviour and to be able to conduct all their cies aimed at increasing local plazas, community facilities,
Its appealing vision captured preferences, so that policies travel under 15 minutes. living will require a joint ap- and access to affordable, nutri-
the attention of policymakers, are developed considering lo- When car ownership was in- proach in local and regional tious food” in areas served by
researchers and the public cal characteristics. cluded, the researchers found planning. high-quality cycling and transit
worldwide and led cities, par- For example, basic services that six per cent of Montrealers At the local level, neighbour- infrastructure.
ticularly in Europe, to adopt should be increased at the were able to conduct all their hoods should aim to increase However, to achieve this, the
15-minute-city practices. neighbourhood level, while travel within 30 minutes. the availability of services such city will have to increase the pro-
The most common of these municipal and regional gov- This means that to aim for as primary health care and ed- vision of affordable housing in
include: reallocating road ernments should improve pub- the 30-minute city and en- ucational facilities, as well as existing neighbourhoods. Similar
space from cars to other pur- lic-transit options to access de- courage more local and active entertainment options such as commitments are made in Mon-
poses, such as green areas and sired destinations. lifestyles, built-environment squares and local parks to fos- treal’s 2050 Draft Land Use and
public spaces; improving pe- Policymakers should also be interventions – such as increas- ter local living and the use of Mobility Plan, which is now in
destrian infrastructure, such careful when implementing ing mixed-use development, active modes. the public-consultation phase.
as sidewalks; and increasing 15-minute-city policies that reallocating road space, and Moreover, it should be made Both plans make no pledge
the availability of cycling infra- they do not unintentionally re- expanding pedestrian and cy- clear that the goal is not to ban to specific time thresholds
structure, including bike lanes inforce segregation processes, cling infrastructure – should or limit car travel but to make while vowing to increase ac-
and parking. thus causing harm to more vul- be accompanied by travel-de- sustainable modes of transpor- cess to basic daily necessities
The adoption of 15-min- nerable groups. mand management policies. tation more convenient. at the local level, making local
ute-city strategies has not living policies less constricting
been without controversy. In and more adaptable to their
Oxford, U.K., the approval of realities.
traffic filters aimed at restrict- To foster 15- or 30-min-
ing car use has raised concerns ute-city lifestyles, a combina-
among locals about the poten- tion of strategies is necessary.
tial impacts of the policy on Canadian cities must consider
their livelihoods. their built environment and
Some U.K. politicians its historical constraints while
have used this example as a implementing changes in land-
fear-mongering strategy, por- use zoning laws and improving
traying it as a government transportation infrastructure.
control tactic designed to limit They should also engage in
people’s freedom and mobility. public consultation to define a
This argument has also sur- common vision and goals for
faced in North American cities. the city’s future. ■
Although there are valid cri-
tiques of the 15-minute-city This article first appeared on
concept, its core goal is not Policy Options and is repub-
about restricting mobility or lished here under a Creative
freedom. Rather, it is to in- Commons license.
crease it by promoting access Highway leading to Toronto (LIANHAO QU/UNSPLASH)
FRIDAY October 25, 2024 CANADA NEWS 11
Is conservatism really on the rise in Canada? Blaine

Higgs’ big loss in New Brunswick suggests not
By Noah Fry, McMaster changes for children under 16. while constraining increases to Most leaders recognize when three areas had been stressed
University Research shows trans chil- health care and education. their time was up. Not Higgs. by population growth and tight
The Conversation dren have high rates of suicid- Higgs was successful in unit- An embattled campaign funding. Housing policy was a
al ideation, especially when ing the right. As a former leader- The PCs’ tumultuous time in particular weakness given the
they’re not supported in how ship contender of the linguistic government made for an unin- PCs’ long-term resistance to
Make no mistake, New they identify. segregationist Confederation of spired campaign. Twelve of the rent caps and its record as a
Brunswick Premier Blaine Over time, Higgs supported Regions party, Higgs welcomed 26 winning PC representatives housing-starts laggard.
Higgs lost big on Monday night. anti-trans and anti-sex educa- far-right People’s Alliance rep- from 2020 did not run again. Higgs’ confidence in his re-
The province’s voters delivered tion protesters, even as many resentatives to his party. In their place came more social cord was misplaced. While his
a forceful rebuke of Higgs’ Pro- advocates, parents and educa- But his tenure faced internal conservatives who would not social conservativism has an
gressive Conservatives similar tors raised concerns about the opposition. Atlantic conserva- oppose Higgs. audience in New Brunswick,
to the 1995 election, when the safety and mental well-being tism tends to be closer to the The PCs received bad news few saw it as a priority relative
party won only six seats against of LGBTQ+ youth. He also re- political centre. Higgs’ Mari- early. They were projected to to the cost of living.
Frank McKenna’s Liberals. fused to deny the so-called kitty time counterparts, Premiers fall short of their 2024-25 bal- His other campaign efforts
This time, the PCs were re- litter myth that falsely alleges Dennis King of Prince Ed- anced budget aims. made little difference. Higgs
duced to 16 seats while the students are allowed to identify ward Island and Tim Houston Still, Higgs campaigned on sought to make his opponent
Liberals won 31. The Greens as animals and use litter boxes. of Nova Scotia, have largely his fiscal management. He of- Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
dropped to two seats. When confronted by parents avoided social issues. fered a two per cent HST cut He also stirred anti-immigra-
This seat count downplays about a safe-sex presentation On the province’s Policy as a reward. For some, this pro- tion sentiment over federal
the Liberals’ 13-point popular slide for a high-school audience, 713, also called the Sexual Ori- posal rang as vote-buying from asylum-seeker plans. Both ef-
vote lead in a tough political Higgs banned the group that entation and Gender Identity a government that could have forts seemed desperate.
environment. conducted the presentation. policy, six PCs voted with an pursued a sales tax cut at any Rejection of grievance pol-
Historically, the Liberals It didn’t end there. Higgs er- opposition motion against the point in its six-year tenure. itics?
have had inefficient support roneously suggested an Indig- proposed changes. Four were The PCs campaigned on few The Liberals’ return to pow-
that’s been concentrated in enous nation sought to claim cabinet ministers. other commitments. Their two- er could be attributed to a ref-
safe francophone ridings. This most of the province from Several ministers resigned page platform made generic erendum on Higgs. There is
time, they made inroads with property owners. In 2021, his from cabinet with letters blast- promises like “respect parents.” no doubt Higgs had personal
anglophones beyond Moncton. government discouraged land ing Higgs’ leadership. They also sought to “compel in- defects that cost him his own
Higgs, among Canada’s most acknowledgements by provin- Almost half of PC riding as- dividuals into drug treatment” riding.
socially conservative premiers, cial employees. Higgs also ar- sociations sought a leadership and “axe the carbon tax.” But his loss is more than
lost his own safe seat of Quis- gued that Indigenous people review. They fell just short of Meanwhile, the Liberals a personal rejection. It also
pamsis, which was the prov- had already ceded their land. the minimum needed to trigger hammered the PCs on housing, seems a rejection of a griev-
ince’s most Conservative riding Taking aim at francophones, a review. health care and education. All ance politics that favours anger
in the 2020 election. social issues over substance.
The result was a verdict on Higgs’ relationship with fran- After repeatedly focusing on
Higgs’ brand of conservatism. cophones was just as bad. He re- social issues over matters like
Along with the failure of the refused to learn French in Canada’s housing, the grievances lost
surgent Conservatives in British only officially bilingual province their allure. Even for the most
Columbia to win a clear victory after promising he would. He steadfast Conservative voters,
on Oct. 19, Higgs’ loss challeng- alleged he was unfairly targeted Higgs’ targeting of minorities
es the narrative that conserva- as an anglophone. came across as bullying.
tism is on the rise across Canada. When coming to power in While Higgs may be the worst
Governing to the (far) right 2018 with a minority govern- offender, he is not the only prac-
Since gaining power in ment, Higgs weakened bilingual titioner of grievance conserva-
2018, Higgs embraced a neo- requirements for paramedic tism. Federal Conservative Lead-
conservative social agenda. positions. Later, he controver- er Pierre Poilievre and Alberta
Most notably, he triggered sially proposed ending French Premier Danielle Smith play the
a national conversation on immersion programs, arguing same tune. Will their political
trans children’s recognition in it was unfair to “English Prime” fates be any different? ■
schools. Using the language of students in the province.
“parental rights,” Higgs intro- When he won a majority in This article is republished
duced parent consent restric- 2020, Higgs lowered taxes on from The Conversation under a
tions for name and pronoun the highest income earners (BLAINE HIGGS/FACEBOOK)
Creative Commons license.
12 CANADA NEWS FRIDAY October 25, 2024
Canada needs an immediate strategy for Africa

By David Boroto lation will be steadily growing, planning, engineering and trans- Canada already supports ridor. Canada must leverage
Policy Options while it will be declining in the action advisory support. several multilateral initiatives this to shape G7 policy on in-
rest of the world. Because we cannot match the focused on African infrastruc- frastructure investment and fa-
With the growing implemen- major capital expenditures of ture development. For exam- cilitate opportunities for Cana-
Canada risks being left be- tation of the African Continen- China and the United States, our ple, Global Affairs recently dian companies to participate.
hind as Africa gains economic tal Free Trade Agreement, it role must be in the early stages of joined the Private Infrastruc- Canada’s value as a strate-
and geopolitical significance. will soon be the largest single project development – support- ture Development Group with gic partner lies in its long-term
A key focus needs to be infra- market in the world, ripe with ing projects to get off the ground, a $45-million investment to and sustainable approach.
structure and engineering. opportunities for investment, and ensuring local benefits and support private-sector mobili- While other players leverage
Canada does not have an Af- partnership and collaboration. sustainability are designed into zation in Africa and Asia. their economic might and ex-
rica strategy and desperately Africa will also be a key player them from the outset. Strengthening Export Devel- tensive capital, Canada must
needs one. Otherwise, we risk in the carbon-neutral world be- In Africa, 80 per cent of opment Canada (EDC) and the use its soft power, strong repu-
being left behind as it becomes a cause it has the majority of the planned infrastructure projects Canadian Commercial Corpo- tation and unique approach to
continent of increasing econom- world’s potential for solar-ener- do not progress past the fea- ration (CCC) to expand their build relationships and stimu-
ic and geo-political significance. gy generation, huge reserves of sibility stage and only half of presence in Africa to support Ca- late local economies.
The federal government critical minerals for renewable those reach financial close. nadian infrastructure and engi- The Canadian brand is strong
does recognize Africa’s strate- energy technologies, and sig- This is a significant gap where neering services companies will in Africa, but underutilized. We
gic priority. In his 2021 man- nificant natural capital and car- Canadian expertise in public-pri- be a key to unlocking the conti- have a unique value proposition
date letter to the minister of bon-reducing ecosystems. vate partnership delivery models nent’s infrastructure market. and can position ourselves as a
international trade, Prime Min- Ottawa must pay particular and emerging progressive and The EDC and CCC can play a key partner for the continent’s
ister Justin Trudeau stressed attention to the opportunities collaborative delivery models definitive role in sourcing mar- leaders through our sustain-
the need to develop “a strate- the continent’s infrastructure are uniquely valuable. The proj- ket opportunities for Canadian able, neighbourly and respect-
gy for economic co-operation presents and our unique value ect preparation phase is where firms on the continent, de-risk- ed approach to business, trade
across Africa.” Then, in 2023, proposition in this space. the greatest risk and uncertainty ing infrastructure projects and and development.
Global Affairs reinforced the Canada is home to some of lies but also where there is the providing catalytic financing to Doing so means investing
government’s commitment in the world’s largest engineering greatest opportunity. facilitate Canadian investment. in Africa for the long term in
its annual departmental plan. companies and a number of Africa also faces a crucial There is a growing move- education, research and inno-
However, a formal strate- the world’s best universities for funding gap for project prepa- ment within the G7 to support vation, as well as capital infra-
gy has yet to materialize. The engineering and technology. ration. By targeting this, Can- African infrastructure. The structure.
government has managed to Africa’s infrastructure needs ada can leverage its expertise partnership for global infra- To do that, Canada must pro-
produce a comprehensive In- are great. The potential match in project development to po- structure initiative – the G7’s mote research partnerships and
do-Pacific strategy. Now, it’s is obvious. sition itself and its engineering response to China’s “belt and knowledge transfers between
time to develop and release a Canada’s infrastructure and companies as key partners for road Initiative” – aims to mo- our leading academic institu-
strategic approach for Africa, engineering sectors are among African governments and infra- bilize “hundreds of billions” of tions and African entities.
which must include a focus on the best in the world and pres- structure owners. dollars to support infrastruc- As well, expertise within
infrastructure and engineering. ent unique opportunities that Strengthening partnerships ture development in low- and leading institutions such as
Canada’s engagement with are still too often overlooked. with key institutions such as the middle-income countries. Infrastructure Ontario, Infra-
the continent currently lacks While there is plenty of com- African Union, the African Devel- Spearheaded by the United structure BC and the Canada
breadth, nuance and co-ordi- petition, Canada can uniquely opment Bank Group and region- States, the initiative is already Infrastructure Bank can be
nation. Despite public consulta- position itself as a complementa- al development banks across the driving investment toward Af- shared with their African coun-
tions held throughout 2023, the ry partner to its G7 counterparts continent is the first step toward rican infrastructure projects, terparts through knowledge
Canadian public and African di- by providing early-stage strategic realizing this opportunity. most notably the Lobito Cor- exchanges and strengthened
aspora have lamented the lack partnerships.
of progress and made repeated But without an effective Afri-
calls for the government to act. can strategy, we will continue to
Recent public consultations operate without cohesion or di-
by Global Affairs signal renewed rection and will continue to sig-
movement and Foreign Affairs nal to Africa and its leaders that
Minister Mélanie Joly has prom- Canada is not a reliable partner.
ised the new strategy will be un- Canada has a unique opportu-
veiled by the end of the year. nity because of its 2025 G7 presi-
This progress is essential be- dency to demonstrate that Africa
cause Canada cannot afford to is a strategic priority and to lever-
sit still while the entire planet age that forum to shape G7 pol-
has a vested interest in the con- icy on African infrastructure. ■
tinent’s success.
By 2050, more than This article first appeared on
one-quarter of the world’s pop- Policy Options and is repub-
ulation will be in Africa and the lished here under a Creative
continent’s working-age popu- Panorama of the Kazungula Bridge (JONGT/WIKIMEDIA COMMONS, CC BY-SA 4.0)
Commons license.
DFA: No US..
2 Philippine nationals in trafficking about the case. United States have reported Manalo assured the commit- the alleged victims of Quiboloy
the US who may have "As of this date, none of our receiving any request of assis- tee that the DFA is ready for in the US. ■
been victims of human foreign service posts in the tance," he said. any request for assistance from
WORLD NEWS
On Ukraine, candidate Trump touts his role
as dealmaker while Harris sticks with
unwavering support
By Lena Surzhko Harned, full-scale invasion of Ukraine ed in his own political gains. date turned Trump ally Robert Such views are in line with
Penn State in February 2022, Trump has Standing next to Zelenskyy F Kennedy Jr., arguing that a Harris’ record. As part of the
The Conversation repeatedly stated that ending during a meeting at the Trump concession to Russian demands Biden administration, Harris has
the war is in the U.S.’s best in- Tower on Sept. 27, 2024 – for “Ukrainian neutrality and given vocal support to Ukraine’s
terests and that he can end the their first meeting since Sept. a halt to NATO’s eastward ex- fight for political sovereignty
The U.S. presidential elec- war quickly. In fact, Trump is 25, 2019 – Trump said he was pansion” were reasonable to and territorial integrity.
tion isn’t drawing eyes only at certain that had he remained sure that both Zelenskyy and avoid a nuclear game of chick- At the onset of the full-scale
home – Moscow and Kyiv are president after the 2020 elec- Putin are interested in peace en. Although these have not invasion in early 2022, Har-
watching closely, too. tion, Russian President Vlad- and that a “very fair” and “rap- been echoed in Trump’s own ris traveled to Europe to help
Regardless of who wins in No- imir Putin would not have id” deal is possible. statements on Ukraine, both shore up a coalition of Europe-
vember, there will be significant invaded – an unsubstantiated When asked what that deal men have the ear of the Repub- an allies to support Ukraine.
implications for Ukraine as it claim he repeated during the might entail, Trump responded lican candidate. As vice president, Harris has
continues to resist Russia in a war Sept. 10 presidential debate. that it’s “too early” to discuss de- These plans have been crit- repeatedly condemned Rus-
heading toward a fourth year. Trump has often reiterated tails and that both he and Zelen- icized as closely resembling sian war crimes in Ukraine. In
Washington’s continued sup- that both Putin and Ukrainian skyy have “their own ideas.” those of the Kremlin. Prior to February 2023, while attend-
port is seen by some as no less counterpart Volodymyr Zelen- While the Republican candi- meeting with Trump in New ing the annual Munich Secu-
than an existential issue for skyy respect him, and he would date has not been explicit on York, Zelenskyy had also crit- rity Conference in Germany,
Ukraine. Without U.S. arms be able to use his “good rela- the details of negotiations or icized Vance’s plan and ex- she announced that the U.S.
and aid, it is unlikely that the tionship” with both to bring possible conditions, some of his pressed doubts that Trump and has determined that Russian
nation would be able to con- them to the negotiating table proxies have voiced proposals. his team really know how to actions in Ukraine amounted
tinue repelling its larger, bet- and end the war. Trump’s vice presidential pick, end the war. to “crimes against humanity,”
ter-armed neighbor. Yet, Trump’s record on his re- JD Vance, has laid out a plan Harris: ‘Strategic interest, affirming U.S. commitment to
During the presidential de- lationships with Zelenskyy and that includes potential land con- not charity’ the international rule of law.
bate on Sept. 10, 2024, Dem- Putin is rather complicated. cessions on the part of Ukraine Harris has been harshly crit- Along with continued sup-
ocratic presidential nominee Trump’s admiration for Putin and the creation of a demilita- ical of Trump’s approach to port, the U.S. has provided
Kamala Harris and Republi- is well documented and dates rized zone along the battle lines Ukraine. “They are not pro- substantial aid for Ukraine, to-
can contender Donald Trump back to his first presidential of the Russian-occupied territo- posals for peace,” Harris said taling US$61.3 billion in mili-
had a chance to clarify their run in 2016, sparking numer- ry of eastern Ukraine. in response to suggestions that tary aid since the start of the
positions on Ukraine. Trump ous investigations and reports Meanwhile, Trump’s son Ukraine cede territory for peace. full-scale invasion in 2022.
evaded ABC moderator David of collusion. Most recently, Donald Jr. co-authored a piece “Instead they are proposals for The Biden administration
Muir’s question regarding the Bob Woodward reported that with former presidential candi- surrender,” she added. also has said that rising costs
importance of Ukraine’s victory Trump secretly sent COVID-19 and keeping pressure on Russia
over Russia, twice. Instead, he tests to Putin in the midst of through sanctions are important
repeated his long-standing line a pandemic shortage, a claim mechanisms to keep Moscow
that he would achieve a nego- confirmed by the Kremlin. accountable. Harris reiterated
tiated peace quickly – even be- Trump’s relationship with this need to maintain sanctions
fore taking office as president. Zelenskyy is similarly laden and broad coalition support for
At the same debate, Harris dis- with baggage. A 2019 phone Ukraine at the Munich Security
missed the idea of Trump negoti- call between the two men, Conference in February 2024
ating with “a dictator who would during which Trump pressured and again in June at the peace
eat you for lunch.” She instead Ukraine’s president to open a summit organized by Ukraine
emphasized the Biden policy to criminal investigation into Joe in Switzerland.
support Ukraine “as long as it Biden, led to Trump’s impeach- As a presidential candidate,
takes” in concert with U.S. allies. ment. In exchange, Ukraine Harris has openly signaled her
But detail has been light on would have received continued commitment to supporting Kyiv –
what either candidate would U.S. support for the country’s not only for Ukraine survival but
actually do to support Ukraine defense against Russia, which for the collective security of NATO
and end the war. So, what do had been waging a proxy war allies and the U.S. itself. Harris
we know about each candi- in eastern regions of Ukraine emphasized this point in the Sep-
date’s approach to Ukraine since 2014. During the subse- tember debate, suggesting that
based on their records? quent hearings in Congress, one Ukraine was not Putin’s final stop
Trump: A ‘very fair and of Trump’s aids testified that and that he has “his eyes on the
rapid deal’? “Trump did not give a sh*t about
Since the start of Russia’s Ukraine” and was only interest- PAGE 16 On Ukraine, candidate
14 WORLD NEWS FRIDAY October 25, 2024
Kim Jong-un sends North Korean troops to fight in

Ukraine – here’s what this means for the war
By Ra Mason, University of grinder of Donbas’ trenches. Or, perhaps more important- ance of aggression. Escalation Moscow’s own military ma-
East Anglia Most would surely be killed by ly, how Nato countries might thereafter would also be a seri- chine would be able to focus its
The Conversation FPV (first-person view) drones respond to further breaches ous and grave concern. entire attention on the already
or western tank fire. of the established rules of en- Conversely, if deployed in a growing advances being made
Defections could well pose gagement by Russian directed combination of technical and along the Donbas front.
It is still unclear how many an additional risk. If com- foreign forces. For sure, use of logistical roles, or primarily to Distraction from the end
North Korean soldiers will find manded outside the immediate Korean mercenaries to fight in defend Russian territory, the game
their way onto the killing fields control of Korean officers in the Donbas region, which is utility of additional manpow- North Korea’s influence on
of eastern Ukraine. What is the field, some will doubtless recognised by western allies as er becomes more credible. Not the international stage has
clear is that the drive to recruit view this as a chance to es- Ukrainian territory, would con- least, it would seem legitimate grown since the start of the
fighting forces from the Demo- cape oppression and poverty stitute a gross violation. from an international legal war in Ukraine as its mas-
cratic People’s Republic of Korea in their homeland. Desertions The response from Nato perspective for Russia to seek sive stockpiles of ammunition
(DPRK) is at least in part politi- en masse to the Ukrainian could be rapid and definitive, assistance from alliance part- proved significant in Russia’s
cally motivated. But is it also a side might become a possibil- as it would effectively justi- ners in repelling Ukraine’s in- attritional tactics. In that re-
tactical masterstroke that will ity. Even more so if identified fy proportionate use of force, cursion into the Kursk region spect, the addition of foreign
boost the Russian war machine’s and directed how to surrender including foreign personnel, of southwestern Russia. fighters may add a further fac-
chances of a definitive victory? by Ukrainian, or other, special to counter any subsequent This could deal a double tor in Moscow’s favour if skil-
The political aspect appears forces on the ground. Russian advances. This would blow to Kyiv. On the one hand fully deployed and directed.
straightforward. The use of for- Considering these seeming- likely result in an own goal for it would likely supply suffi- Ultimately, however, the lim-
eign forces from an enemy of ly obvious flaws, it would be Putin. Any initial advantage cient personnel to rapidly fin- ited dispatch of inexperienced
the United States demonstrates easy to assume the deliberate gained would quickly be lost ish off the already threadbare Korean troops to a war zone
a clear show of opposition to- showcasing of training camps as friends of Ukraine justifiably Ukrainian forces holding on in which they have no legal or
wards the Washington-led in eastern Russia for North enter the fray to push back an to captured sovereign Russian moral basis to be sent is un-
global order. It also deals a fur- Korean soldiers is little more illegal Moscow-Pyongyang alli- territory. At the same time, likely to prove decisive. As it
ther blow to the myth that the than a political gimmick. One stands, with or without the help
Russian Federation is isolated, that is designed to strike fear of forces supplied by North Ko-
as an international pariah, in a into an already struggling rea’s despotic leader, Kim Jong-
world led by western powers. Ukrainian army and poke its Un, Russia’s brutal military ad-
But despite boosting troop western backers in the eye. At vance looks set to grind on.
numbers, there are multiple prob- the same time, there may be In these regards, the arrival
lems with these would-be merce- cause to think there is more to of North Koreans to Europe’s
naries from the far east joining this move than pure politics. worst war for a generation is
Putin’s forces on the front line in Rules of engagement probably little more than an-
Europe. North Korea is impov- The difference between sup- other bizarre episode in this
erished and authoritarian. This plying artillery shells for Rus- cruel conflict. The real concern
means its personnel are mostly sian guns and putting bodies is how authoritarian states such
poorly equipped, unmotivated on the line is stark. as Russia and North Korea can
and undernourished. Where But this fundamental differ- be transformed into something
and how they are deployed will, ence does not necessarily mean resembling civilised societies
therefore, likely be critical. that there is no tactical value to that might pursue more posi-
If sent into new theatres of the deployment of Korean forc- tive foreign policy pathways. ■
war against state-of-the-art es on the battlefield. The key
Nato-supplied weaponry, it likely lies in where and how This article is republished
could effectively mean waves they are deployed. from The Conversation under a
of ill-prepared cannon fodder There is the immediate Creative Commons license.
being thrown into the meat question of international law. DPRK Kim Jong-un (KREMLIN.RU, CC BY 4.0)
S. Korea to establish 24-hr call center

for lonely citizens
Yonhap and isolation next year, offi- early stages, preventing people ter service, in April next year, for a brand launched by the city.
Philippine News Agency cials said Monday. from lapsing into social isolation people struggling with loneliness. "Loneliness and isolation are
The program is part of the city and reclusion, city officials said. The city will also begin op- challenges that should be re-
government's efforts to address For this plan, the city will invest erating the Seoul Mind Conve- solved together within a society,"
SEOUL – The Seoul city gov- the growing social malady. 451.3 billion won (USD329.9 nience Store in four locations Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon said.
ernment will launch a round- The plan aims to create a city million) over five years, starting next year, providing a space "We will mobilize all the
the-clock call center for citi- where "no one is lonely" by system- with the launch of Goodbye to for anyone to come and mingle city's capacities to facilitate a
zens struggling with loneliness atically addressing loneliness in its Isolation 120, a 24-hour call cen- while enjoying Seoul Ramyeon, 'Seoul without loneliness.'" ■
FRIDAY October 25, 2024 WORLD NEWS 15
Turkey attempts to broker power between

east and west as it bids to join Brics
By Bulent Gökay, Keele nals Turkey’s president Recep regulates maritime traffic
University Tayyip Erdoğan’s intention to through the Turkish Straits.
The Conversation increase the government’s flex- The convention distinguishes
ibility in its foreign relations. between Black Sea and non-
Erdoğan said on September 1 Black Sea powers, acknowl-
In a significant diplomatic ma- that this move shows Ankara’s edging specific advantages
noeuvre that may have far-reach- aims to cultivate ties with all for the former, which includes
ing implications for the interna- sides simultaneously to “become Ukraine and Russia.
tional system of alliances, Turkey a strong, prosperous, prestigious In March 2022, Erdoğan in-
has submitted a formal request and effective country if it im- dicated that the convention al-
to join Brics, the group of emerg- proves its relations with the east lows Turkey to restrict the pas-
ing-market economies, signalling and the west simultaneously”. sage of naval vessels belonging
its intent to diversify its partner- Turkey’s acceptance into to warring parties. Putin may
ships beyond the west. the group could be discussed be hoping that with Turkey on
The Brics grouping, named during the upcoming 16th board as a Brics ally he may
after Brazil, Russia, India, Chi- Brics summit, in Kazan, Russia. be able to persuade Ankara to
na, and South Africa, comprises Malaysia, Thailand and Azer- give him more leeway. Current-
some of the world’s largest econ- baijan are among other coun- ly Russia’s inability to control
omies. Earlier this year, it wel- tries expecting to join. application to the Brics group dates back to 1996.” the Black Sea and cargo ships
comed four new members: Iran, Between east and west reflects this trend. According to Control of the Black Sea within it are seriously weak-
the United Arab Emirates, Ethi- Turkey’s balancing act be- some experts in Turkish foreign Turkey has been keen on ening its ability to constrain
opia and Egypt. Although Saudi tween east and west is not a policy, while this development joining the Brics group since Ukraine’s economy.
Arabia has been invited to join, recent phenomenon but a con- may raise concerns in west- 2018. Putin, during a meet- Turkey anticipates that Brics
the official process is yet to take tinuation of its policies since the ern capitals, there is no pressing with Turkish foreign min- membership will enhance its
place. Often viewed as an alter- end of the cold war, and is in line ing reason for the west to be ister Hakan Fidan in Moscow geopolitical standing and ex-
native to western-led organi- with its geographical position at alarmed about Turkey making in June this year, welcomed pand its economic influence,
sations such as the EU, G7 and the edge of Europe and Asia. concessions to Russia or acting Ankara’s interest and prom- especially in non-western mar-
Nato, Brics signifies a significant This strategy has been cen- independently of Nato. ised that Moscow “will support kets. Most importantly, lever-
shift in global power dynamics. tral to Turkey’s intricate, at There are two incentives this desire to be together with aging its geopolitical position
Ankara’s decision could be a times conflicting, approach to driving Turkey’s application. the countries of this alliance to influence global affairs and
strategy to strengthen relations international relations and re- According to Sinan Ülgen, di- [Brics], to be together, closer, pursuing a more balanced and
with non-western powers as the mains pertinent in an increas- rector of the Istanbul-based to solve common problems”. diversified foreign policy.
global economy’s centre contin- ingly complex world. The shift Centre for Economic and For- Since the war in Ukraine, It is evident that Turkey aims
ues to shift away from the west, from a unipolar world – the eign Policy Studies: “The first Russia has been making extra to maintain its connections
but is also about chasing more idea that the world is dominat- is Turkey’s aspiration to en- efforts to gain the support of with the west while also de-
trade with Brics members. ed by one super power – to one hance its strategic autonomy more countries. Turkey holds a siring the flexibility to engage
Announced ahead of the with more global powers has in foreign policy which essen- particular significance in this ef- with other regions. It is high-
Brics summit starting on Oc- led all governments to reassess tially involves improving ties fort due to its strategic location, ly improbable that this would
tober 22, Turkey’s application their foreign policies, and An- with non-western powers like and its control of the Black Sea lead to a significant overhaul
has raised questions about the kara is no different. Russia and China in a way to straits, an essential trade route of Turkey’s ties with western
broader implications for its Turkey’s longstanding com- balance the relationship with for both Ukraine and Russia. countries. It may, however,
role within Nato. If accepted, mitment to Nato makes it high- the west. The second is the The Black Sea has played an im- cause concern among fellow
Turkey would be the first Nato ly unlikely that its willingness accumulated frustrations over portant part in the Ukraine war, Nato members about how
member of Brics. However, to join the Brics group signifies the relationship with the west. and Turkey has been part of an much they can rely on Turkey
this is not to say that Turkey a move away from its western For example, the EU has not alliance that has stymied Rus- in the future. ■
is entirely turning away from allies. Since 2016, Turkey has even been able to decide on sia’s attempts to fully control the
the west. Turkey’s institutional strengthened its economic, po- the start of negotiations on the waters, and allowed Ukraine to This article is republished
ties with the western world run litical, and military ties with updating of the customs union, continue to use the waters. from The Conversation under a
deep. At most, this move sig- Russia and China, and its recent its trade deal with Turkey that The Montreux Convention Creative Commons license.
As a federal.. White House honors..

9 of scandals. Strong ethical governance is 8 ing the full promise of and aspirations but also those Filipino-Americans working in
Ethical lapses in needed to restore and maintain America for all Ameri- of the people around you. various fields like health care,
leadership must not public trust and to ensure our cans,” Biden said. Dreamers and doers like you business and public service.
be treated as secondary to elected officials are working “As you celebrate this won- embody the possibilities of this Based on the 2021 US cen-
pressing economic and social hard on behalf of Canadians — derful occasion with Filipino great Nation and that is a big sus, Filipinos (4.4 million)
issues. Having a government not in their own self-interest. ■ and Filipino American leaders part of the reason why I have make up the third largest
that continuously strengthens and visionaries from across the never been more optimistic Asian-American group, behind
and upholds its ethical stan- This article is republished country, I hope each one of you about our future,” he added. 5.2 million Chinese (except
dards should not be considered from The Conversation under a feels tremendous pride in not The US is home to more Taiwanese) and 4.8 million In-
a luxury. Creative Commons license. only your own achievements than four million Filipino and dian nationals. ■
16 WORLD NEWS FRIDAY October 25, 2024
Russia’s ‘meat grinder’ tactics in Ukraine have

proved effective in past wars – but at terrible cost
By Becky Alexis-Martin, calls to mind the “meat grind- embedded in Soviet military the deceased but morale is still tually collapse. Large forma-
University of Bradford er” tactics of previous Russian tactics. The phrase “quantity crashing, and military wives tions can quickly become large
The Conversation and Soviet military campaigns. has a quality of its own” has and mothers are rebelling. targets in an age of remote
The “meat grinder” is a col- apocryphal roots in Stalin’s Ultimate sacrifice reconnaissance. While Russia
lective battlefield approach that leadership during the second Putin’s meat grinder con- can coerce military participa-
Reports have emerged in re- values high troop density and in- world war. Key battles such as tinues to expand, however. tion through the carrot of high
cent months of particularly sav- tensity to overwhelm the enemy. Stalingrad and Kursk involved The Russian government an- wages and the stick of forced
age casualties among Russian It is a uniquely Russian approach the deployment of millions of nounced plans to spend £133.8 conscription, a large and un-
troops fighting in the Donbas nine decades in the making, soldiers, and the Soviet army billion on national security and motivated army is not well-
region of eastern Ukraine, as consisting of a combination two eventually crushed the Nazi defence in 2025, equivalent equipped for modern warfare
the Russian military bids to cap- much older strategies, namely blitzkrieg through sheer weight to 41% of annual government and will eventually produce
ture as much territory as it can, attrition and mass mobilisation. of numbers on the eastern front. expenditure. All healthy men diminishing returns.
possibly with one eye on a po- At the heart of attrition is the Past victories do not guaran- aged 18 to 30 can now be con- Even declaration of martial
tential ceasefire deal. Much will notion of abundance. The oppo- tee future success. But – for the scripted, and Russia has re- law in the whole of Russia –
depend on the outcome of the nent is physically and psychologi- Russian president, Vladimir cently ordered a third increase Putin introduced martial law
US election. Donald Trump has cally exhausted by the sheer force Putin, and his military plan- in Russian troops. The recruit- in occupied part of Ukraine in
said he will end military aid to of numbers, as wave after wave ners – it seems the dead and ment of a further 180,000 sol- September 2022 – would not
Ukraine if elected, bringing the of cannon fodder are relentless- disabled bodies of their own diers will make Russia’s army overcome the deeply embed-
war to an end in “one day”. ly deployed. Mass mobilisation soldiers are necessary collat- the second largest in the world, ded structural issues Russia
This could mean that is the large-scale movement of eral damage. It is estimated with nearly 2.4 million mem- faces. Poor care of soldiers and
Kyiv will be forced to cede troops to a particular location that more than 70,000 Russian bers. Yet this army is unquali- veterans will generate long-
Ukrainian territory along cur- with the intention of overpow- troops have died since 2022. fied and offers little protection term challenges in the form
rent lines of occupation. An- ering the adversary. Neither ap- But it has been reported that for the individual soldier. of disability and treatment for
alysts have commented that proach recognises the intrinsic Russian casualty rates are now Ukraine does not view its post-traumatic stress disorder.
this was one of the motivations value of individual lives. rising more rapidly due to its soldiers’ lives as disposable in The social and cultural
for Ukraine’s Kursk offensive Despite being outmatched military’s increased reliance on the same way – and they are harms of a poor culture of care
inside Russia in August, since in organisation and tactics, the inexperienced fighters. comparatively well trained and are already manifesting in Rus-
territory captured by Ukraine Russian military successfully Civilian recruits now make resourced. But the dynamic in sia. Approximately 190 serious
would be a valuable bargain- undertook a war of attrition up the greatest proportion of Ukraine may be changing. The crimes have been committed
ing chip in negotiations. against Napoleon’s invasion in deaths since the invasion be- country’s president, Volodymyr by veterans upon returning
But meanwhile Russia’s of- 1812. A century later, the Rus- gan. This increase is partially Zelensky, signed new conscrip- home. With Putin showing no
fensive in eastern Ukraine has sian empire generated enor- their lack of military knowl- tion laws in April 2024 that interest in peace, we can only
been particularly bloody, with mous casualties but successfully edge in a challenging fighting lowered the age of conscrip- hope that the Russian war ma-
US intelligence reports of casu- launch large-scale counterat- environment against a highly tion to 25, and it has reached chine burns itself out – and
alty numbers of up to 1,000 per tacks during the first world war. motivated enemy. But inade- the point where eligible men that the long-term consequenc-
day, dead and wounded. This The “meat grinder” became quate medical care and poor are now being dragged away es are not terminal. ■
quality protective kit are also from restaurants and night-
important factors. The Russian clubs by army recruiters. This article is republished
state media shares carefully Russia’s meat-grinder tactics from The Conversation under a
curated images and stories of are not infallible and will even- Creative Commons license.
On Ukraine, candidate..
13 rest of Europe, starting Kyiv. How Harris’ White House in September, but notably absent
with Poland.” would differ from Biden’s on was Republican House Speaker
Standing next to these issues is not clear. Mike Johnson, who in the past
Zelenskyy in Washington on Beyond the candidates has shown reluctance to support
Sept. 26, 2024, Harris reiter- Since the start of the full- continued funding.
ated the point: “The United scale invasion in 2022, the U.S. For the large part, support
States supports Ukraine not Congress has passed five bills for Ukraine remains bipartisan
out of charity, but because it’s that provide aid to Ukraine, to- in Congress and among Ameri-
in our strategic interest.” taling US$175 billion. can voters. Yet there is a risk the
Yet, White House policy on However, a six-month delay election could further politicize
Ukraine has been criticized in aid in early 2024 highlight- the issue. And the outcome of
for being slow and hesitant in ed growing partisan tension in November’s vote could deter-
supplying weaponry. The U.S. Congress over continued aid to mine whether U.S. efforts going
has imposed rules on the use Ukraine. forward focus more on pushing
of heavy weaponry against The composition of Congress for a negotiated deal or on-go-
targets inside Russia. Further- after the November election is ing support for Ukraine. ■
more, the U.S. has so far been another unknown factor in Wash-
reticent on Ukraine’s invitation ington’s support for Ukraine. Zel- This article is republished
to join NATO, which is seen as enskyy met with congressional from The Conversation under a
crucial for any lasting peace in leaders during his visit to the U.S. Creative Commons license.
ENTERTAINMENT
"Hello, Love, Again" brings Joy and Ethan's love
story to Canada; echoes OFWs plight in love and life
ABS-CBN As their paths cross again widest North American release Middle East (Nov. 28), Cambodia their “Hello Again Tour” at SM
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My Fair Lady turns 60: a linguist on how

the film has held up
By Amanda Cole, University unsettling research insights to Doolittle then dazzles at an common pitfall of assuming world. We have no interest in
of Essex the maverick protagonist. But embassy ball, the perfect replica that the primary endeavour reinforcing any societal ideal
The Conversation My Fair Lady is a film all about of an upstanding posh woman – of the linguist is to learn as for a supposedly “correct” ac-
linguistics (and also class, love or, as the film’s title suggests, a many different languages as cent, or throwing a grammar
and terrible Cockney accents – “lady” (itself a problematic word they can, collecting them like rule book at unwitting mem-
On October 21 1964, the more on that later). which encodes sexist tropes stamps (the film Arrival can bers of the public.
iconic and much-celebrated In the film, Professor Henry about what should be aspiration- take note). But it still doesn’t By contrast, Higgins is re-
film My Fair Lady premiered Higgins (Rex Harrison), takes al and respectable for women). get our job quite right. pulsed by any accent that is
in Hollywood. Sixty years later, under his wing a Cockney flow- She even fools a man who I, for one, have never not Queen’s English (which,
the film remains an enjoyable er seller called Eliza Doolittle has made a name for himself by groomed a young, destitute by a wonderful turn of luck, is
rollick full of catchy songs, but (Audrey Hepburn). He wa- identifying imposters based on woman to speak “correctly” also his accent). In the opening
is not a wholly accurate depic- gers with his friend and fellow their accent. Though, you may while moulding her into a “re- number, he has a pop at the di-
tion of what linguists do – cer- haughty linguist, Colonel Pick- also wonder if she evades detec- spectable”, posh woman (if only alects of Yorkshire, Cornwall,
tainly not nowadays at least. ering, that he can teach her to tion by barely speaking at the modern academia granted the America, Scotland and Ireland.
Linguists are far from the speak “properly”. ball, converted into a demure breathing space for such folly). But he is particularly dis-
academics who are most fre- It seems at first there is no and unforthcoming shadow of Linguists love, celebrate and mayed and repulsed that
quently depicted in films. It’s hope but – hoorah! – Eliza fi- her previously forthright, un- are constantly itching to un- Doolittle, despite being from
normally the white-coat, work- nally grasps it, suddenly blurt- apologetic and garrulous self. derstand, study and explore London, has a strong London
in-a-lab, scientist-of-some-non- ing out “the rain in Spain stays Professor Higgins: not the diverse tapestry of accents, accent (or she is meant to
descript-sort professors who mainly in the plain” in a perfect your typical linguist dialects and languages that ex-
get to give stark warnings or imitation of Queen’s English. My Fair Lady avoids the ist in the UK and around the PAGE 20 My Fair Lady
18 ENTERTAINMENT FRIDAY October 25, 2024
Liam Payne: journalistic ethics are often

ignored when celebrities die
By Polly Rippon, University in a helicopter crash in January a tragic death, even of a high
of Sheffield 2020, TMZ shared the newsbe- profile person, is unlikely to
The Conversation fore police were able to notify meet this standard.
his family. Bryant’s widow later Broadcasters should not in-
testified that she learned of her terview or film people who have
When someone famous dies, husband and daughter’s deaths experienced a personal tragedy
particularly if they are young or through social media. This unless it is “warranted” or they
it was unexpected, it is natural breaches the UK’s journalism have given consent. And jour-
for their fans to want to know codes of practice. nalists are advised not to “reveal
what happened. But, as the re- In their quest to get a scoop, the identity of someone who has Liam Payne (ASHLEY NEWBY/FLICKR, CC BY 2.0)
porting on the tragic death of what precautions and sensitiv- died unless it is clear that the
singer Liam Payne shows, the ities do journalists have to re- next of kin have been informed”. One study examining pat- relation to mental health chal-
media does not always handle spect when it comes to report- Impress, which regulates terns of suicide and media lenges and offering resources
this appropriately or ethically. ing sudden and tragic deaths? more independent journal- coverage found that in the five for support is vital.
The singer, 31, fell to his death Media guidelines and ethics ism, has released a statement months following comic Robin In the UK, guidelines were
from the third floor of a hotel in The ethical standards and condemning the reporting of Williams’ death in 2014, there first drawn up by the Samar-
Buenos Aires while under the guidelines vary from country to Payne’s death. were 1,841 more deaths from itans charity in 1994 to im-
influence of “drugs or alcohol”, country. In the UK, these are set It said: “The defence of suicide in the USA compared to prove reporting on suicide
local police said. LA-based celeb- out by the Independent Press publishing in the public inter- the same period the previous and prevent copycat attempts.
rity news website TMZ initially Standards Organisation (Ipso) est does not give outlets carte year – a 9.85% rise. These are taught to journalism
reported the story alongside and independent press monitor blanche to report the most in- The WHO’s international students on courses accredited
graphic images of Payne’s body. Impress for print media, and by timate details of a celebrity’s guidelines for reporting suicide by the National Council for the
After a backlash, TMZ re- Ofcom for broadcasters. life, or their death.” urge the media to avoid sensa- Training of Journalists.
moved the photos, but executive An Ipso clause around intru- It is important to state at this tionalism. Journalists should Guidance includes avoiding
editor Michael Babock defended sion into grief and shock says stage that what happened prior not provide details about meth- “dramatic” headlines, emotive
publication, claiming the site journalists should make enqui- to Payne’s tragic death and his ods, and should include infor- or sensational pictures or video
was “trying to confirm reports ries with “sympathy and discre- intentions at the time are un- mation about mental health footage and excessive amounts
Liam had died before police had tion” and publication should known. It is the job of the coro- resources in stories. of coverage. Not speculating
established his identity”. be handled “sensitively”. ner to investigate and come to Analysis of over 100 aca- about the trigger or cause is
Other mainstream outlets Ofcom has similar guidelines a conclusion at his inquest. demic studies found repeated urged, because it can oversim-
published transcripts or record- for broadcasters. The section on The effect of reporting on coverage and high-profile news plify the issue.
ings of a 911 call made to police privacy states: “When people tragedy stories were most strongly asso- “Coverage that reflects the
shortly before Payne was found, are caught up in events which Beyond accuracy and re- ciated with copycat behaviour. wider issues around suicide,
and an Argentinian newspaper are covered by the news they spect for the victim of a trag- The WHO states: “Such sto- including that it is preventable,
published images of Payne’s ho- still have a right to privacy.” edy and their family, there are ries can inadvertently function can help reduce the risk of sui-
tel room which included images This can be infringed if “war- wider concerns that journalists as celebrity endorsements of cidal behaviour”, the guide-
of drugs paraphernalia. ranted”, says Ofcom, for exam- should take into account. suicidal behaviour and it is lines state. “Include clear and
This is certainly not the first ple if it is in the public interest. Research conducted by the known that celebrity endorse- direct references to resources
time the media, and TMZ in par- This could include revealing World Health Organization ments can have an impact on and support organisations.”
ticular, has come under fire for or detecting crime, protecting (WHO) has shown irresponsi- behaviour of the public.” Making a change
insensitive or harmful reporting public health or safety, ex- ble media reporting of celebri- Sensitive reporting can re- Despite all of these guide-
of celebrity deaths. When bas- posing misleading claims or ty deaths, particularly suicides, duce the risk of copycat sui-
ketball great Kobe Bryant died disclosing incompetence. But can increase suicide rates. cides. Providing context in PAGE 22 Liam Payne: journalistic
From AXEAN Music Festival to LANY concert:

Maki takes "Dilaw" fever to global stage
ABS-CBN It marks the Tarsier Records’ mance, Maki also participated in ippine Arena. He serenaded show “Maki-Concert sa New
artist first international show meetings and pitching sessions over 50,000 concertgoers with Frontier” happening this No-
where he was joined by var- with various international and his performance of “Out Of My vember 29 and 30.
“Namumula” breaks into ious Southeast Asian artists local producers, artists, event League” with LANY frontman Stay updated with Maki’s
the top 10 of Billboard Top such as Philippines’ crwn, Eco organizers, and promoters. He Paul Klein and “Dilaw” accom- music and follow Tarsier Re-
Philippine Songs Chart of bird, Mix Fenix, Munimuni, also joined a songwriting camp panied by Paul on the piano. cords on Facebook, Twitter, In-
Breakthrough artist Maki Muri, Indonesia’s Grrrl Gang, together with Nameless Kids’ His latest single “Namumu- stagram, TikTok, and YouTube.
closed the AXEAN Musical Fes- Thailand’s mindfreakkk, Singa- lead vocalist Nhiko Sabiniano. la” meanwhile has entered the For updates, follow @abscb-
tival 2024 held in Bali, Indone- pore’s Linying, and Malaysia’s Maki also surprised fans with top 10 of Billboard Top Philip- npr on Facebook, Twitter, Ins-
sia with an all-out performance Golden Mammoth. his guest performance in LA- pine Songs Chart. He is now tagram, TikTok, or visit www.
of his hits “Dilaw” and “Saan?” Aside from his live perfor- NY’s sold-out concert at Phil- gearing up for his sold-out abs-cbn.com/newsroom. ■
LIFESTYLE
Some people love to scare themselves in an already
scary world – here’s the psychology of why
By Sarah Kollat, Penn State triggers, without any real risk. that people who regularly
The Conversation When you perceive yourself consumed horror media were
under threat, adrenaline surges more psychologically resilient
in your body and the evolution- during the COVID-19 pan-
Fall for me as a teenager ary fight-or-flight response is ac- demic than nonhorror fans.
meant football games, home- tivated. Your heart rate increases, The scientists suggest that this
coming dresses – and haunt- you breathe deeper and faster, resilience might be a result of
ed houses. My friends orga- and your blood pressure goes up. a kind of training these fans
nized group trips to the local Your body is preparing to defend went through – they practiced
fairground, where barn sheds itself against the danger or get coping with the fear and anxi-
were turned into halls of hor- away as fast as possible. ety provoked by their preferred
ror, and masked men nipped This physical reaction is cru- form of entertainment. As a re-
at our ankles with (chainless) cial when facing a real threat. sult, they were better prepared
chain saws as we waited in When experiencing controlled to manage the real fear trig-
line, anticipating deeper frights fear – like jump scares in a zom- gered by the pandemic.
to come once we were inside. bie TV show – you get to enjoy When I’m not teaching, I’m
I’m not the only one who this energized sensation, simi- an avid reader of crime fiction. I
loves a good scare. Halloween lar to a runner’s high, without also write psychological thrillers
attractions company Ameri- any risks. And then, once the under the pen name Sarah K.
ca Haunts estimates Ameri- threat is dealt with, your body Stephens. As both a reader and
cans are spending upward of releases the neurotransmitter writer, I notice similar themes in
US$500 million annually on dopamine, which provides sen- the books I am drawn to, all of
haunted house entrance fees sations of pleasure and relief. which tie into my own deep-root-
simply for the privilege of be- In one study, researchers and the unique connection cre- social network, your oxytocin ed fears: mothers who fail their
ing frightened. And lots of found that people who visited a ated through sharing intense levels rise to initiate social cop- children somehow, women ma-
fright fans don’t limit their hor- high-intensity haunted house as threats, such as entering a ing strategies. As a result, when nipulated into subservience, lots
ror entertainment to spooky a controlled fear experience dis- burning building together, man- you navigate a recreational fear of misogynist antagonists.
season, gorging horror movies, played less brain activity in re- ifests in deep emotional bonds experience like a haunted house I enjoy writing and reading
shows and books all year long. sponse to stimuli and less anx- with my colleagues. After a sig- with friends, you are setting the about my fears – and seeing the
To some people, this preoccu- iety post-exposure. This finding nificant fire call, we often note emotional stage to feel bonded bad guys get their just desserts
pation with horror can seem tone suggests that exposing yourself the improved morale and cama- with the people beside you. in the end – because it offers a
deaf. School shootings, child to horror films, scary stories or raderie of the firehouse. I feel a Sitting in the dark with way for me to control the sto-
abuse, war – the list of real-life suspenseful video games can flood of positive emotions any- friends while you watch a scary ry. Consuming these narratives
horrors is endless. Why seek actually calm you afterward. time I think of my firefighting movie or navigating a haunted lets me mentally rehearse how
manufactured fear for entertain- The effect might also explain partners, even when the events corn maze with a date is good I would handle these kinds of
ment when the world offers real why my husband and I choose occurred months or years ago. for your health, in that it helps circumstances if any were to
terror in such large quantities? to relax by watching zombie Controlled fear experiences you strengthen those social manifest in my real life.
As a developmental psycholo- shows after a busy day at work. artificially create similar oppor- connections. Survive and thrive
gist who writes dark thrillers on The ties that bind tunities for bonding. Exposure An ounce of prevention = In the case of controlled fear
the side, I find the intersection of An essential motivation for to stress triggers not only the a pound of cure experiences, scaring yourself is
psychology and fear intriguing. human beings is the sense of fight-or-flight response, but in Controlled fear experienc- a pivotal technique to help you
To explain what drives this fas- belonging to a social group. Ac- many situations it also initiates es can also be a way for you to survive and adapt in a frighten-
cination with fear, I point to the cording to the surgeon general, what psychologists call the “tend- prepare for the worst. Think of ing world. By eliciting powerful,
theory that emotions evolved as Americans who miss those con- and-befriend” system. A per- the early days of the COVID-19 positive emotions, strengthen-
a universal experience in humans nections are caught up in an ceived threat prompts humans to pandemic, when the films “Con- ing social networks and pre-
because they help us survive. epidemic of loneliness, which tend to offspring and create so- tagion” and “Outbreak” trended paring you for your worst fears,
Creating fear in otherwise safe leaves people at risk for mental cial-emotional bonds for protec- on streaming platforms as people you’re better able to embrace
lives can be enjoyable – and is and physical health issues. tion and comfort. This system is around the world sheltered at each day to its fullest.
a way for people to practice and Going through intense fear largely regulated by the so-called home. By watching threat sce- So the next time you’re choos-
prepare for real-life dangers. experiences together strength- “love hormone” oxytocin. narios play out in controlled ways ing between an upbeat comedy
Fear can feel good ens the bonds between individ- The tend-and-befriend reac- through media, you can learn and a creepy thriller for your
Controlled fear experienc- uals. Good examples include tion is particularly likely when about your fears and emotionally movie night, pick the dark side –
es – where you can click your veterans who served together in you experience stress around prepare for future threats. it’s good for your health. ■
remote, close the book, or combat, survivors of natural di- others with whom you have For example, researchers
walk out of the haunted house sasters, and the “families” creat- already established positive at Aarhus University’s Recre- This article is republished
whenever you want – offer the ed in groups of first responders. social connections. When you ational Fear Lab in Denmark from The Conversation under a
physiological high that fear I’m a volunteer firefighter, encounter stressors within your demonstrated in one study Creative Commons license.
20 LIFESTYLE FRIDAY October 25, 2024
Why do people do extreme sports?

Some of the reasons aren’t always that obvious
By Odette Hornby, University still a lot to uncover. Several stud- 3. Goals find a sense of community with Our findings have broader
of South Wales ies have identified factors like The drive to succeed plays a like-minded people. implications. They challenge
The Conversation personality, motivation, and even big role in why people take part 4. Managing risk the traditional view of extreme
neurobiology as playing a role. in extreme sports. Of course, Far from being reckless, par- sports enthusiasts as mere
But it remains unclear which of many athletes are motivated ticipants are often highly calcu- “adrenaline junkies”. The re-
Participation in extreme sports these consistently drives people by setting clear goals, whether lated about the risks they take. search suggests that extreme
has surged since COVID-19, with to take part in high-risk sports. it’s winning competitions or im- They thrive on managing risk, sports could potentially offer
490 million people estimated to We started our work by con- proving their performance. In finding excitement in navigat- therapeutic benefits, particu-
be taking part globally. This may ducting a systematic review to this sense, participation in ex- ing dangerous situations rather larly for people struggling with
have been fuelled by a desire to consolidate existing research on treme sport is no different from than avoiding them. emotional regulation.
break free from lockdown-in- what drives people to participate that of more traditional sport. 5. Addiction-like urges Far from just being about thrill
duced monotony and an explo- in extreme sports. The studies For many of the respondents Some participants exhibit be- seeking, these types of activities
sion of media coverage showcas- we looked at provided import- in the studies we analysed, haviour resembling addiction, could provide an outlet for ex-
ing the allure of high-adrenaline ant insights into the various psy- goal setting boosts confidence experiencing mood disturbanc- periencing emotions that might
activities. chological and emotional factors and helps them persist through es when not engaging in their otherwise be hard for some peo-
Extreme sports, like Base that motivate people to engage in challenges. Participants also chosen extreme sport. This can ple to access. It opens new ave-
jumping, free solo climbing, high-risk activities. This helped often feel a strong sense of create a powerful urge to return, nues for exploring how high-risk
big wave surfing and down- us build a more complete under- control over their activities and a bit like withdrawal symptoms. activities may be used to support
hill mountain biking, once re- standing of the extreme sports mental health and wellbeing.
served for a small percentage mindset. We uncovered five mo- My own work in this field is
of people, are now becoming tivational factors. ongoing. Recently, I’ve conduct-
more mainstream. 1. Connection ed interviews with elite extreme
But why are people willing to Participants often describe sport participants to explore
take such risks? As a climber my- feeling at one with nature and their motivations in greater
self, I was keen to find out. While free from the constraints of ev- depth. This new research will
the popular image of extreme eryday life. Many also find a examine how these motivations
sports participants often revolves deep sense of belonging in the shift over time – before, during
around thrill seeking and adren- extreme sports community and and after participation. I’m also
aline addiction, research from are driven by the desire to push expanding my studies to com-
my colleagues and I shows there their personal boundaries. pare the motivations driving
are far more complex reasons for 2. Personality extreme sport enthusiasts with
why people participate. While some people are indeed those of non-extreme sport
An extreme sport is defined drawn to thrill seeking, many participants, aiming to uncov-
as one in which a mismanaged use extreme sports as a tool to er what, if anything, truly sets
mistake or accident would re- regulate difficult emotions. This them apart. ■
sult in serious injury or death. is particularly true for those with
Research has started to ex- alexithymia, which is when peo- This article is republished
plore the reasons behind extreme ple struggle to identify and ex- from The Conversation under a
sports participation, but there’s press their feelings. Creative Commons license
My Fair Lady..
17 at least – I can only straight to the gallows. antiquated and quaint in many shop. Now, nothing stands in and disrespected, leading her
imagine Hepburn was With a little bit of accent ways – like Higgins using a her way. to sour on Higgins. After she
instructed to open her prejudice gramophone to play back re- But people should not have leaves, he grows to miss her
mouth as wide as possible for The real beast in disguise at cordings of Doolittle – but ac- to change their accent to get and wistfully plays back re-
all vowels and caw like a crow the embassy ball is not young, cent prejudice is alive and well. along – and it is not always cordings of her voice.
if all else fails). Cockney, Eliza Doolittle. It is Women in the UK such as possible or even a guaranteed And this is the real lesson
Higgins makes various proc- misogyny and contempt for Alex Scott, Angela Rayner and ticket out of discrimination. If for viewers today. Higgins has
lamations which will have you the working class that hides Priti Patel still routinely face we take the accent out of ac- gotten to know Doolittle as a
shouting at the telly, “Steady behind a mask of maintaining criticism, commentary and cent prejudice, we are still left person and now sees beyond
on, Professor!”. In his words: good standards and protecting contempt for their regional ac- with the prejudice – let’s re- her accent and his own preju-
Look at her, a prisoner of the English language. cents. move the prejudice and be left dice. The more we hear peo-
the gutter / Condemned by ev- It is no coincidence that You might think that the with the accent. ple with regional accents, the
ery syllable she ever utters / By women and working-class peo- film’s lesson is for Doolittle We need more unapologet- more normal and uneventful it
right, she should be taken out ple (and Cockneys who are of- to take on the world with her ically working-class women becomes, and the more we will
and hung for the cold-blooded ten seen as emblematic of the freshly mastered “standard” with regional accents at the focus on what they say and not
murder of the English tongue. working class) often bear the accent. After all, she consented embassy ball, but also in pol- how they say it. ■
Best not tell him “hanged” brunt of accent prejudice. to being ridiculed and paraded itics, academia, in the media
is the past tense of “hang” Accent prejudice is a smoke- around like a show dog as she and in all walks of life. This article is republished
when referring to capital pun- screen for broader societal felt her accent prevented her In the film, Doolittle ulti- from The Conversation under a
ishment, else he walk himself prejudice. My Fair Lady seems from getting a job in a flower mately feels she has been used Creative Commons license
FRIDAY October 25, 2024 LIFESTYLE 21
Toothbrushes and showerheads covered in viruses

‘unlike anything we’ve seen before’ – new study
By Primrose Freestone, decade that showerheads and phages likely to be present. after taking it out of the vinegar concern. However, while tooth-
University of Leicester their hoses can harbour var- The presence of a micro- solution, and repeat every month brush microbes are not a risk to
The Conversation ious bacterial species. These scopic ecosystem in your show- or so, depending on usage. the toothbrush owner, as the mi-
include ones that can cause ill erhead also means every time Toothbrushes crobes on it are their own, they
health, such as mycobacteria, you shower, you are coating The researchers at North- can cause infections in others if
Toothbrushes and shower- which can cause respiratory yourself in the showerhead western University also looked a toothbrush is shared. One per-
heads in American homes are infections, Legionella which bacteria and their related at phages inhabiting regularly son’s harmless oral microbes can
teeming with viruses known as causes legionnaire’s disease phage viruses. And this is an used toothbrushes. Unsurpris- be another’s pathogens, leading
bacteriophages (bacteria eat- and Pontiac fever, and Pseudo- infection risk. ingly, they also found a diversity to illnesses ranging from colds
ers), a new study has found. monas aeruginosa, which can To disinfect your shower- of phages on the brush heads. to endocarditis (a life-threaten-
Many of these “phages” – as cause ear and eye infections. head, soak it in vinegar. It has During brushing, tooth- ing inflammation of the heart’s
they’re known for short – have Showerheads the added benefit of removing brushes come into contact with inner lining).
never been identified before. These bacteria have been any limescale. structures in the mouth (gum, It is a good idea to clean your
The researchers, from North- found on showerheads at lev- Unscrew the showerhead, teeth, tongue, cheeks, uvula toothbrush regularly. The NHS
western University in Illinois, els over 100 times those found brush off any soap residue, and and palates). And each of these advises running it under the
swabbed 92 showerheads and in tap water. place the showerhead in a plas- is home to hundreds of species hot tap for about 30 seconds,
36 toothbrushes. They described In showerheads, there will in- tic bag or other container with of bacteria and other microbes. followed by air drying.
what they found as “unlike any- evitably be viruses that infect the enough undiluted white vine- Oral microbes play an im- Other websites advise soak-
thing we’ve seen before” and “ab- bacteria found on them. And the gar to cover the item. Leave it portant role in keeping the ing toothbrush heads in an-
solutely wild”. But how alarming more species of bacteria there for up to two hours. mouth healthy by excluding tibacterial mouthwash or
is this finding? And what should are, the greater the diversity of Rinse the showerhead well harmful germs (pathogens), denture cleaners. For electric
you do to remain safe? helping digest food, and regu- toothbrushes, you should fol-
It is increasingly recognised lating the working of the heart low the manufacturer’s clean-
that wherever you look for and immune system. ing guidance.
microbial species (viruses and The bacterial diversity of the The take-home message
bacteria) you will probably find mouth and tooth microbiomes from the Northwestern study is
them, particularly in damp plac- will, as the US study found, in- that we live in a richly microbi-
es where they thrive, such as fluence the diversity of phages al world and that interactions
showerheads and toothbrushes. deposited onto toothbrushes. with bacteria and other mi-
The fact that bacteria-infecting The study provides an inter- crobes in our homes are an inte-
viruses were found in great esting snapshot of the diversity gral part of our human biology.
numbers on showerheads and of the oral micro-ecosystems Also, despite many new phage
toothbrushes should not come (bacteria and viruses) that are species being discovered, there
as a surprise. Where there are deposited on toothbrushes but is no cause for alarm – as long
bacteria, there will inevitably may cause some people to wor- as you follow the advice above
be viruses that infect them. ry that the microbes on their and keep your showerhead and
People’s homes are host to a toothbrushes are a potential toothbrush clean. ■
variety of microbial communi- source of infection.
ties, which include bacteria, vi- The toothbrush viruses iden- This article is republished
ruses, fungi and protozoa. And tified were bacterial, not human from The Conversation under a
it has been known for over a viruses so they are not a health Creative Commons license.
New study reveals reason for human's love

for starchy diet
Anadolu study published on Thursday in Jackson Laboratory for Genom- “The idea is that the more “Given the key role of AMY1
Philippine News Agency the advanced online issue of the ic Medicine in Connecticut, was amylase genes you have, the copy number variation in human
journal Science, which shows quoted by the journal as saying. more amylase you can produce evolution, this genetic variation
that the AMY1 gene is much The study also examines how and the more starch you can presents an exciting opportunity
ISTANBUL –The latest study older than previously thought. agricultural development affect- digest effectively,” the study to explore its impact on metabol-
reveals that the salivary amy- “This suggests that the AMY1 ed AMY1 variation. Early hunt- co-author and University of ic health and uncover the mech-
lase gene may have duplicated gene may have first duplicated er-gatherers had multiple gene Buffalo evolutionary anthro- anisms involved in starch diges-
as early as 800,000 years ago, more than 800,000 years ago, copies, but early European farm- pologist Omer Gokcumen said. tion and glucose metabolism.
long before the advent of farm- well before humans split from Ne- ers saw an increase in the aver- Explaining the consequences “Future research could re-
ing, and may have contributed anderthals and much further back age number of AMY1 copies over of the findings and the future veal its precise effects and tim-
to the evolution of human ad- than previously thought,” Kwon- the last 4,000 years. This could of the research, study co-author ing selection, providing critical
aptation to starchy foods. do Kim, a study co-author and be attributed to their starch-rich Jackson Laboratory computa- insights into genetics, nutri-
The findings are detailed in a computational biologist at The diets after adopting farming. tional scientist Feyza Yilmaz said: tion, and health.” ■
22 FRIDAY October 25, 2024
SPORTS
Jessica Campbell’s NHL coaching gig marks
a pivotal turning point for professional hockey
By Hayley Baker, Western nadian women’s national team, women coaches in the NFL. In supports to ensure Campbell will Similarly, Kori Cheverie, the
University and from there she coached in 2023, the MLB had 43 wom- not remain in a league of her own. first woman to coach a Cana-
The Conversation Sweden with the Malmö Red- en coaching. Within the NBA, The NHL Coaches Associa- dian university men’s hockey
hawks. She then served as an there are currently five female tion launched a Female Coach- team, was a guest coach with
assistant coach for the men’s assistant coaches. es Development Program in the Pittsburgh Penguins and
Jessica Campbell has made national team in Germany Yet, these numbers still reflect 2021 to support the develop- became the first female coach
history as the first full-time fe- and the Nürnberg Ice Tigers. an alarming gender disparity. ment of women coaching hock- on the bench during an NHL
male coach in the National Hock- Campbell later became the first Like Campbell, many women ey. By providing leadership pre-season game.
ey League, marking a significant female coach in the American may struggle to envision them- strategies, skill development, Along with Campbell, the vis-
milestone in professional hockey. Hockey League when she was selves in coaching positions. networking and career oppor- ibility that each of these women
Campbell was hired by the Se- hired by the Coachella Valley This moment encourages us to tunities, the program aims to provides can spark meaning-
attle Kraken in July, and during Firebirds as an assistant coach. consider both the importance normalize women coaching ful change in the NHL. While
the team’s home opener against Even with her breadth of ex- of women in coaching, and why men and expand the pool of Campbell’s coaching debut with
the St. Louis Blues on Oct. 8, the perience, Campbell never envi- there continues to be an un- available candidates. the Kraken is breaking down
crowd erupted into cheers when sioned herself as an NHL coach. der-representation of women Paving the way barriers, sustained effort and
she was introduced as part of Instead, she was focused on sup- coaching men’s sports. While Campbell is the first dedication is required to create
the team’s coaching staff. porting players through her busi- Research on women in coach- full-time assistant coach in the a more inclusive sport culture.
While the Kraken went on to ness, JC Power Skating School. ing has continuously highlight- NHL, others have had oppor- Continued emphasis on ini-
lose to the Blues 3-2, the game “I didn’t imagine this path for ed barriers in high performance tunities to guest coach at NHL tiatives like the NHL’s Female
was a pivotal turning point for me. I didn’t see it,” Campbell sport. Women coaches often camps or to be on the bench for Coaches Development program
gender equality and coaching said in a 2023 interview. “Quite face stereotypes, discrimination pre-season games. are necessary for both current
in the NHL. Campbell’s appoint- frankly there was no visibility and gendered organizational For instance, Kim Weiss, the and aspiring women coaches
ment as a full-time assistant coach and there weren’t other females cultures that hinder their ad- first woman to coach NCAA Di- so girls and women can envi-
shows there’s a path forward for doing this work, and so I didn’t vancement in the field. vision III men’s hockey, served sion themselves in leadership
women who aim to coach at the know it was possible.” To combat these barriers, the as a guest coach for the Colora- roles in the future.
men’s professional level. It was not until more and NHL has implemented various do Avalanche. As a scholar who has stud-
Campbell’s story serves as more NHL players sought out ied the under-representation
a reminder of the challenges her skating and skill develop- of women coaches, my hope is
women coaches face. Howev- ment program that she began that Campbell will not remain
er, it also demonstrates how to consider coaching in the an anomaly in the NHL, and
achieving a coaching role in NHL as a potential career path. eventually we see more wom-
a professional league, though Women coaches in the ma- en in both assistant and head
difficult, is not impossible. jor leagues coaching roles.
‘I didn’t know it was pos- The NHL has been slow on Campbell’s new position
sible’ the uptake when it comes to with the Kraken could spur this
Campbell brings a wealth full-time women coaches. The change, with her and others
of knowledge to her new role other three major leagues — enriching the NHL through the
with the Kraken, from her play- the National Football League, abilities, contributions and di-
ing experiences in the NCAA, Major League Baseball and verse perspectives that women
the Canadian Women’s Hockey the National Basketball Asso- bring to coaching. ■
League and on Canada’s wom- ciation — have had women in
en’s national team. coaching roles for years. This article is republished
Her coaching career began At the start of the 2024 sea- from The Conversation under a
as an assistant with the U18 Ca- son, there were 15 full-time Jessica Campbell (JENN G/FLICKR, CC BY-SA 2.0)
Creative Commons license
Liam Payne: journalistic..

18 lines, many media but some members of the pub- editors should reacquaint them- sharing this kind of material, so loved him will be affected for
outlets flout them in lic still seem to have an insatia- selves with responsible reporting editorial priorities change. the rest of their lives. ■
the race for clicks. It is ble appetite for it. Nothing, it guidelines and put themselves Ultimately, our thoughts
heartening that there has been seems, is off limits. in the bereaved family’s shoes. must be with Payne and his This article is republished
so much outrage at the publi- We need to take collective Members of the public can also loved ones. A death so young from The Conversation under a
cation of the images of Payne, responsibility. Journalists and do their bit by not clicking on or is a real tragedy and those who Creative Commons license.
FRIDAY October 25, 2024 SPORTS 23
The 2026 Commonwealth Games will create

an economic model that allows smaller
nations to step up and host
By Gayle McPherson, so shouldn’t we expect the ries. Gabon and Togo joined the
University of the West of model that Glasgow is develop- Commonwealth in 2022, nei-
Scotland ing to be transferable, ensuring ther of which had previous ties
The Conversation that sport can serve a common to the British empire or other
good? An environmentally sus- Commonwealth states, demon-
tainable approach would use strating that some countries still
The tension was palpable as facilities and networks already want to be part of a wider family.
we waited to see if Glasgow in place to help developing na- Given 19 African countries
would rescue the Common- tions, which already suffer dis- have Commonwealth Games
wealth Games for 2026. After proportionately in terms of cli- Associations, we could well see
the Australian state of Victoria mate and environmental risks. one of these take the baton in
pulled out, the eyes of the Com- Under this model, venues future. The Ghanaian sports
monwealth turned to Scotland. and infrastructure are already minister made it clear that af-
Glasgow delivered a hugely Commonwealth Games 2014 (GRAHAM CAMPBELL/FLICKR, CC BY-SA 2.0)
in place. The event is ath- ter hosting a successful African
successful event in 2014, rais- lete-focused, with competitors Games in 2024, he believed the
ing questions about whether a argue for the social value these increasingly being used as a staying in hotels as opposed to next step would be the Com-
future games there could match events can bring to communities vehicle for positive change and a purpose-built athlete village, monwealth Games.
that success. I was part of the long after they have left town. regional soft power. and transport needs minimised The recent African Games in
bid team as the cultural advi- My research team conducted There has been a rise in through walking or the use of Ghana’s capital Accra held ath-
sor for Glasgow 2014 and went a survey on perceptions of the emerging states running mega team buses. The 2026 Glasgow letics in a stadium that seats
on to conduct research on the impact of the Glasgow 2014 sports events, often wealthy il- event could serve as a blueprint 11,000 spectators, while the
impact of the games on sustain- games that revealed overwhelm- liberal nations such as China and for a sustainable approach to World Athletics Championships
able community participation ing support for their lasting im- Qatar. However, what about the games delivery, inspiring na- in 2022 used the University of
for people with a disability. So I pact on the city and Scotland. smaller nations in the Common- tions such as Ghana, which al- Oregon’s temporary stadium
understand the positive impact The results showed that 75% wealth? Only two – Malaysia ready has the necessary venues that seated 13,000. Common-
the games had for Scotland. of respondents believed the and Jamaica – have ever hosted and infrastructure to take on wealth Games Scotland real-
My work over the past couple games increased civic and na- the Commonwealth Games, and future Commonwealth Games. ised that, for 2026, Glasgow
of decades has examined the tional pride, boosted Glasgow the only other nation outside of With just ten sports across could host athletics at an exist-
social impact of mega sports and Scotland’s chances of Australia, Canada, UK and New four venues, Glasgow 2026 has ing stadium in the city with an
events and their role as agents securing future events, en- Zealand to do so is India. thought differently about deliv- upgrade to facilities that would
for change, specifically disabil- hanced their international rep- Glasgow is offering a new ery and digital broadcast. This is provide seating for 11,000.
ity rights, social inclusion, and utation, and, as often attested, model that will create a legacy the only fully integrated games, Ghana and Scotland are
peace and diplomacy. In other strengthened the nation’s soft not only for Scotland, but for hosting para competition at learning from each other to lay a
words, considering whether power. Scotland ranks second many other smaller nations in the same time as able-bodied path for smaller nations to host
major sport events truly serve (behind Quebec) out of ten the Commonwealth. The games events. This too will help small- future games. The Birmingham
as a force for good as it’s often similar territories for overall are known as the “Friendly er nations’ para-athletes, who Commonwealth Games in 2022
argued they do. If this is indeed soft power, and third for sport. Games” – it’s a community that often do not get a chance to contributed £1.2 billion to the
the case, why shouldn’t smaller Amid a rise in the Bric coun- is known for three core values: compete internationally. UK economy and £79.5 million
Commonwealth nations bene- tries (Brazil, Russia, India and humanity, equality and destiny. The Commonwealth is made in social value. This is possible
fit from hosting the games? China) using sport in soft pow- The family of nations up of 56 independent coun- for small nations too.
Experts often criticise the eco- er terms, other nations have The African nations form tries and the Commonwealth Glasgow 2026 can create a
nomic and social impact of ma- sought to be part of this too. a significant part of the Com- Games Federation consists of
jor sporting events, but others The Commonwealth Games is monwealth sports movement, 72 member nations and territo- PAGE 25 The 2026 Commonwealth
Young booters showcase skills in LaLiga tourney

Philippine News Agency The young generation of ball through multiple local edi- ble, and it’s clear that the fu- “We aim to work with the
Philippine footballers show- tions and to boost football tal- ture of football is bright,” Ed highest quality standards and
cased their abilities at a com- ent throughout the Southeast Pasion, president of co-orga- establish the Youth Tournament
MANILA – Eighty teams and petitive level, with the follow- Asian region. nizer Epic Management Inc., brand as a reference in the re-
1,380 young players compet- ing emerging champions: Crocs There are also plans to hold a said in a news release. gion. Thus we are very proud of
ed in front of more than 7,000 FC Davao, Under-8, Uder-10, larger tournament at regional level. Pasion said the LaLiga Youth the success of this edition in the
spectators in the first edition of Under-12; Total FC, Under-14; “It was a celebration of foot- Tournament started in Malay- Philippines,” Iván Codina, direc-
the LaLiga Youth Tournament and White Team of De La Sal- ball and the exceptional talent sia four years ago, with the tor of the Singapore Office, said.
in the Philippines held at the le-Zobel, Under-16. of young players from across Philippines also sending teams. After previous stops Malay-
world-class New Clark City The youth tournament aims Asia. The passion and energy LaLiga’s Singapore office has sia and Indonesia, the tour-
Athletics Stadium in Capas, to become the benchmark we experienced throughout made the tournament a priori- nament will go to Thailand in
Tarlac on Oct. 18 t0 20. tournament in grassroots foot- the tournament were incredi- ty project. November. ■
BUSINESS
PH economy to continue to post over 6% growth
By Anna Leah Gonzales consumer base," he added. tion, along with tariff reduc- (IMF) said the Philippine econ- be buoyed by lower food pric-
Philippine News Agency Neri expects headline infla- tions, rice may become more omy could grow by over 6 per- es and the upcoming midterm
tion to ease to 3.2 percent in affordable," he said. cent in 2029, making the coun- elections, while investment
2024 and further decelerate to Neri said lower inflation may try one of the fastest growing growth is expected to pick
MANILA – The Philippine 2.8 percent in 2025. help boost consumption in the economies in emerging and up on the back of a sustained
economy is expected to remain "Inflation is expected to be coming year, while election-re- developing Asia. public investment push, and
one of the fastest growing more manageable in the com- lated spending could also fur- In its World Economic Out- gradually declining borrowing
economies in the region, with ing year given the improving ther stimulate economic activity. look October 2024 update, the costs," the IMF said.
growth likely settling at above prospects of food supply. With IMF projection IMF forecasts Philippine eco- Growth over the medium
6 percent for 2024 and 2025. El Niño now behind us and the In a separate report, the In- nomic growth to settle at 6.3 term at 6.3 percent, mean-
In his economic and market potential increase in produc- ternational Monetary Fund percent in 2029. while, is expected to be sup-
outlook released on Tuesday, BPI The projected economic ex- ported by investment, on the
senior vice president and lead pansion is the third highest, back of an acceleration in the
economist Emilio Neri Jr. said next to economic growth fore- implementation of public-pri-
economic growth will likely hit cast for Bhutan at 7.2 percent, vate partnership projects and
6.1 percent this year and further and Bangladesh and India at foreign direct investments.
accelerate to 6.3 percent in 2025. 6.5 percent. Risks to the growth outlook
"The Philippine economy has For 2024 and 2025, Philip- include commodity price vol-
been resilient despite signifi- pine economic growth projec- atility, escalation of geopoliti-
cant headwinds like severe El tion was maintained at 5.8 per- cal tensions, tighter for longer
Niño and devastating typhoons, cent and 6.1 percent. monetary policy in advanced
still managing to grow by 6% in In an emailed statement, the economies, and the weak-
the first half of 2024," Neri said. IMF said growth in 2024 and er-than-projected pickup in
"Looking ahead, the Philip- 2025 is driven by a pickup in private investment if reform
pine economy will likely con- domestic demand, supported by momentum stalls or payoffs
tinue to outperform in the re- gradual monetary policy easing. from reforms generate low-
gion, supported by its strong "Consumption growth will er-than-expected returns. ■
Coin deposit machine collections hit P1B

By Kris Crismundo ic wallet accounts, or converted tay, Rizal; SM Hypermarket FTI, City Fairview, QC; SM City San venient for Filipinos to deposit
Philippine News Agency into shopping vouchers. Taguig City; SM Southmall, Lazaro, Manila; SM City Bi- their idle coins, helping recir-
The coin deposit machines Las Piñas City; SM City Sucat, cutan, Parañaque; and SM City culate them back into the econ-
support the BSP's Coin Recircu- Parañaque; SM City Calamba; Bacoor, Cavite. omy while promoting cashless
MANILA – The Bangko Sen- lation Program to put idle coins SM City Marikina; SM City San The BSP will expand the transactions," said the BSP.
tral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said more back in circulation to serve the Mateo, Rizal; SM City Valenzu- project by installing 25 more "By increasing accessibility,
than PHP1 billion worth of coins currency needs of the country. ela; SM Mall of Asia, Pasay City; CoDMs nationwide in 2025. the BSP aims to reach more
have been deposited through its To date, the BSP has de- SM City North EDSA, QC; SM "This will make it more con- communities and ensure that
coin deposit machines (CoDM). ployed CoDMs in partner re- the benefits of the CoDM ini-
In a statement on Thursday, tail establishments across the tiative are widely felt across all
the BSP said that as of Oct. 11 Greater Manila Area. regions," it added.
this year, the total coin col- These are located at Robin- In using the CoDMs, the BSP
lection has already reached sons Place Metro East, Pasig reminded customers that coins
PHP1.008 billion. City; Robinsons Place Novali- must not be taped or bundled,
Since its launch, the CoDMs ches, Quezon City (QC); Rob- must not come with other ob-
have accumulated more than insons Place Antipolo, Rizal; jects like buttons, magnets,
260,000,000 pieces of coins Robinsons Place Magnolia, QC; nails, tokens, screws, or wash-
and facilitated more than Robinsons Place Ermita, Ma- ers, and should be gently placed
240,000 transactions. nila; Robinsons Place Galleria, in the coin slot in handfuls.
Launched on June 20 last year, Ortigas; Festival Mall, Muntin- The BSP also advised cus-
the CoDM project allows custom- lupa City; SM Megamall, Man- tomers to ensure their e-wallet
ers to conveniently deposit their daluyong City; SM City Grand accounts are valid, active, and
legal tender coins to be credited Central, Caloocan; SM City within the prescribed transac-
to their GCash or Maya electron- Marilao, Bulacan; SM City Tay- tion limits. ■
FRIDAY October 25, 2024 BUSINESS 25
U.S. national debt is its Achilles’ heel,

but China sees it as an opportunity
By Zakaria Sorgho, In addition to the fact that bend enemies — but also some it recently undertook a mas- the past decade.
Université Laval several currencies are linked recalcitrant allies — to its will. sive sell-off of the U.S. debt At the same time, the Middle
The Conversation to the dollar by a fixed link or This could ultimately under- it owned. Between 2016 and Kingdom has replaced around
band of fluctuation, American mine the dollar’s hegemony. 2023, China sold $600 billion a quarter of the U.S. Treasur-
currency is also used in many On the other hand, the U.S. worth of U.S. bonds. ies sold in 10 years with gold,
China is gradually establishing Third World and Eastern Euro- debt situation, particularly its However, in August 2017 of which it is now the leading
itself as a major player in what pean countries, where it enjoys unsustainability, is a source China was the United States’ producer and consumer. Like
has recently been called the a much higher level of public of concern that could affect largest creditor, ahead of Ja- China’s central bank, oth-
Global South, previously known confidence than do local cur- the dollar’s attractiveness as a pan. It held more than $1.146 er central banks in emerging
as the Non-Aligned Movement. rencies. […] The United States global reserve currency. billion in U.S. Treasuries, al- countries continue to buy gold.
Over the last few decades, China is the only power that can incur Unsustainable debt most 20 per cent of the amount China’s appetite for gold
has become the world’s biggest foreign debt in its own currency. The U.S. dollar has been at held by all foreign govern- was confirmed in 2010, when
creditor of developing countries. The hegemony of the U.S. the heart of the international ments. Beijing is now the sec- its gold reserves rose to 1,054
That has prompted many to fear dollar over the world economy monetary system since 1944, ond-largest foreign holder tonnes, from around 600 tonnes
that it will subjugate partners is reflected in its over-represen- and even more so since the of U.S. debt, with a claim of in 2005. Ten years later, in 2020,
through the “debt trap” and use tation in the foreign exchange Bretton Woods Agreement around $816 billion. its stock of gold had almost
this to establish a “hegemonic reserves held by the world’s came into force in 1959. It is certainly no coincidence doubled again, to nearly 2,000
sphere of influence.” central banks. The greenback The Bretton Woods system that before divesting itself of U.S. tonnes. By the end of 2023, with
China’s economic position still outstrips other currencies was based on both gold and the bonds, Beijing first launched its a gold reserve of 2,235 tonnes,
is so strong that it is now con- even though there has been greenback, which was the only own gold pricing system in yuan. China will be the country with
sidered the main threat to the some erosion in this. currency convertible into gold; In fact, on April 19, 2016, the the sixth-largest gold reserve.
U.S. dollar. It is an influential Despite a fall of 12 percentage this convertibility was fixed at Shanghai Gold Exchange, Chi- As a substitute for the dol-
member of the BRICS+ group points between 1999 and 2021, the rate of $35 per ounce. na’s operator for precious metals, lar, gold enables China to store
(which also includes Brazil, the share of the U.S. dollar in That changed on Aug. 15, unveiled on its website its first the gains from its large trade
Russia, India and South Africa). the official assets of the world’s 1971, when, because of inflation “fixed” daily benchmark for gold surpluses. With the Shanghai
This group is working to es- central banks remains fairly sta- and the growing imbalances in at 256.92 yuan per gram. Gold Exchange, which offers
tablish a multipolar world that ble at around 58-59 per cent. the United States’ internation- This policy is part of China’s gold trading contracts in Yuan,
challenges the hegemony of the U.S. currency still enjoys wide- al economic relations, Richard strategy to make gold a tangi- Beijing is seeking to strengthen
West, specifically the leadership spread confidence around the Nixon announced the end of the ble guarantee of its currency. the use of its currency abroad
of the United States. I analyzed world, reinforcing its status as dollar’s convertibility into gold. China’s “Gold for Dollars” with the aim of establishing the
this issue in a previous article. the preeminent reserve currency. With the dollar pegged to strategy yuan as the benchmark curren-
Without using the term The U.S. dollar reserves of the gold, the United States’ ability China is also selling its U.S. cy for the global economy. ■
“threat,” the U.S. administration world’s central banks are invest- to take on debt to meet public bonds. According to the U.S.
now sees China as the “most se- ed in U.S. Treasury bills on the spending was limited. Under Treasury, between March 2023 This article was originally
rious long-term challenge” to the U.S. capital market, helping to the gold-based system, where and March 2024, China sold published in French
international order. It’s easy to un- reduce the cost of financing both gold was the guarantor of the off $100 billion in U.S. Trea- This article is republished
derstand why, since China’s stra- government debt and private in- U.S. currency, the United States suries, on top of the $300 bil- from The Conversation under a
tegic objective is to put an end to vestment in the United States. could only borrow according to lion it had already sold off over Creative Commons license.
the supremacy of the U.S. dollar, However, the income gen- the quantity of dollars in circu-
the keystone of U.S. hegemony. erated for the U.S. economy lation and its gold reserves.
As a researcher in interna- by the hegemony of its dollar Abandoning the gold-based
tional political economy at the could also collapse like a house system gave the U.S. free rein
Université Laval, I am looking at of cards. Durand makes this over its debt. In 2023, the U.S.
the role China is playing in the point when he writes that “the public debt reached more than
dedollarization of the world. monetary hegemony of the $33.4 trillion, nine times the
The stronghold of the U.S. United States […] is held to- country’s debt in 1990.
dollar gether only by the confidence This astronomical figure con-
The supremacy of the U.S. of economic agents around the tinues to raise concerns about
dollar underpins American he- world in the American dollar.” its long-term sustainability. As
gemony in the current interna- There are two reasons that U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman
tional order, as French econo- the world’s confidence in the Jerome Powell has pointed
mist Denis Durand explains in U.S. dollar could decrease. out, U.S. debt is growing fast-
his article Guerre monétaire Firstly, as U.S. Treasury Sec- er than the economy, making it
internationale: l'hégémonie du retary Janet Yellen admitted in unsustainable in the long term.
dollar contestée? (Internation- an interview in April 2023, the An opportunity for China
al currency war: the dollar’s United States is unequivocal- This is a reality to which
hegemony challenged?). ly using its dollar as a tool to China is clearly attuned, since Chinese President Xi Jinping (FOREIGN, COMMONWEALTH & DEVELOPMENT OFFICE/FLICKR, CC BY 2.0)
The 2026 Commonwealth..

23 different legacy for built on inclusion, diversity and pride of the Commonwealth. offers other smaller nations the This article is republished
the Commonwealth sustainability and which incor- The time is right to offer a new chance to benefit from sport as from The Conversation under a
Games; one that is porates the culture, values and approach to event delivery that a force for good. ■ Creative Commons license
TECHNOLOGY
Apple Intelligence will help AI become
as commonplace as word processing
By Robert Diab, Thompson The real impact of Apple AI useful than what came out of
Rivers University won’t be practical but moral. It earlier chatbots. Apple Intel-
The Conversation will normalize AI, make it seem ligence capitalizes on this in-
less foreign or complex. It will sight by pointing most of its AI
de-associate AI from the idea of functionality at user data, rath-
When Apple’s version of AI, cheating or cutting corners. It er than data on the web.
branded as Apple Intelligence, will help a critical mass of us- Domesticating AI
rolls out in October to folks with ers cross a threshold of doubt or With Apple Intelligence work-
the company’s latest hardware, mystification about AI to forge a ing mainly on our own data,
the response is likely to be a mix level of comfort and acceptance much of its output will likely
of delight and disappointment. of it, even a degree of reliance. mirror the higher quality of out-
The AI capabilities on their Overcoming early doubts put we’re seeing with tools like think less about the propriety of WYSIWYG feature (“what you
way to Apple’s walled-garden Generative AI has faced two NotebookLM — compared to AI using NotebookLM to prepare a see is what you get”). Eventually,
will bring helpful new features, problems since ChatGPT was that works mainly on large bod- first draft of a memo or report, or writing would become so closely
such as textual summaries in unveiled in 2022. Many have ies of anonymous training data, using Dall-E to create images. associated with word processing
email, Messages and Safari; wondered what it’s really for or like ChatGPT in its early days. ‘AI for the rest of us’ that we find it hard to imagine
image creation; and a more whether it’s truly useful, given hal- Having AI work mostly on Apple has a long history of the one without the other.
context-aware version of Siri. lucinations and other issues that user data — and doing it fre- making complex technologies Apple Intelligence could do
But as Apple Intelligence’s are rooted in training data. Others quently — will forge a new more accessible to everyday us- for generative AI what the Mac
beta testing has already made have doubted the ethics of using association in people’s minds ers, and that is their goal for AI. or graphic user interface did
clear, the power of these fea- AI, seeing it as a form of cheating between generative AI and per- When word processors first for personal computers: help
tures falls well below what is or copyright infringement. sonal information, rather than appeared in the late 1970s and tame it, and make it seem or-
on offer from major players But as we have learned in re- miscellaneous training data. early 1980s, there was similar dinary and acceptable. Apple’s
like OpenAI, Google and Meta. cent months, language models are It will likely cause us to see AI uncertainty about the propriety marketing team hints at this in
Apple AI won’t come close to most effective when they work on as something integral to our of using them to help us write their tagline for Apple Intelli-
the quality of document sum- our own documents and data, as personal routines, like reading things — a belief that some- gence, “AI for the rest of us.”
mary, image or audio genera- with platforms like NotebookLM email or the morning news. thing authentic or human about If history is any guide, Apple
tion easily accessed from any or GPT4o, which can now han- This, in turn, will make using writing by hand would be lost. will play a key role in changing
of the frontier models. dle upwards of 50 to 100 books’ more powerful tools like GPT4o For many, computers them- how we think about AI. Doing
But Apple Intelligence will worth of material we upload. or Claude more socially and ethi- selves were too daunting to many of our basic tasks without
do something none of the flag- The output of the prompts cally acceptable. Once we’re in the embrace. But Apple’s Macin- it may soon seem unthinkable. ■
ship offerings can do: change we run — in the form of article habit of using AI to summarize or tosh personal computer helped
perceptions of AI and its role in or lecture summaries, reports, edit our email, condense articles domesticate and normalize This article is republished
ordinary life for a large portion slide decks and even podcasts on the web into pithy summaries using computers to write with from The Conversation under a
of users around the world. — is much more accurate and or edit images in Photos, we’ll its graphic user interface and Creative Commons license
Taiwanese researchers develop world's 'smallest'

quantum computer
Anadolu The team of researchers led by within the wave packet of a information transmission with gistics optimization, data securi-
Philippine News Agency Prof. Chuu Chih-sung at Taiwan’s single high-dimensional pho- minimal interference, providing ty, and artificial intelligence."
National Tsing Hua University ton, a fundamental particle in significant advantages for com- Taiwan, an island nation of
(NTHU) has demonstrated the electromagnetic interactions. mercial applications, he added. about 24 million people, is a
ISTANBUL – Taiwan research- box-sized computer's ability, Focus Photons not only maintain Chuu's colleague Mou Chung- leading manufacturer of high-
ers claimed to have developed Taiwan reported on Thursday. stable quantum states at room yu, director of NTHU's College of tech items, including comput-
the world's smallest quantum Chuu explained that his temperature, reducing energy Science, said that photonic quan- ers and semiconductor items.
computer, marking the first use team’s small quantum comput- costs compared to quantum tum computing will "eventually The island nation also ranks
of a single photon to execute er encodes information into computers requiring cooling, be applied across various fields, first across Asia in Internet
quantum algorithms. "32 time-bins or dimensions" but also enable long-distance including drug development, lo- freedom. ■
FRIDAY October 25, 2024 TECHNOLOGY 27
Robot developers keep making it seem like

housebots are imminent when they’re decades away
By Carl Strathearn, Building robots able to inter- enough to operate completely we had to create commonsense nervous systems to give robots
Edinburgh Napier University, act and carry out complex tasks independently in the real world. knowledge databases using re- more senses for learning, for
Dimitra Gkatzia, Edinburgh in our homes and streets is still Another major problem is al-world problem-solving exam- instance. It’s just not usually
Napier University a huge challenge. Designing what we can call social AI. ples enacted by students. given the same amount of press
The Conversation them even to do one specific Leading generative AI pro- Euclid could explain com- attention as the big unveilings.
task well, such as opening a grams such as DeepMind’s plicated steps in recipes, give The data deficit
door, is phenomenally difficult. Gemini and OpenAI’s GPT-4 suggestions when things went Another key challenge is
The walking, talking, danc- There are so many door Vision may be a foundation for wrong, and even point peo- the lack of real-world data to
ing Optimus robots at the re- handles with different shapes, creative autonomous AI sys- ple to locations in the kitchen train AI systems, since online
cent Tesla demonstration gen- weights and materials, not tems for humanoid robots in where utensils and tools might data doesn’t always accurately
erated huge excitement. But to mention the complexity of the future. But we should not typically be found. Yet there represent the real-world condi-
this turned to disappointment dealing with unforeseen cir- be misled into believing that were still issues, such as what tions necessary for training our
as it became apparent that cumstances such as a locked such models mean that a robot to do if someone has a bad al- robots well enough. We have
much of what was happening door or objects blocking the is now capable of functioning lergic reaction while cooking. yet to find an effective way of
was actually being controlled way. Developers have actually well in the real world. The problem is that it’s almost collecting this real-world data
remotely by humans. now created a door-opening Interpreting information and impossible to handle every pos- in large enough quantities to
As much as this might still be robot, but robots that can deal problem solving like a human sible scenario, yet that’s what get good results. However, this
a fascinating glimpse of the fu- with hundreds of everyday requires much more than just true common sense entails. may change soon if we can ac-
ture, it’s not the first time that tasks are still some way off. recognising words, classifying This fundamental aspect of cess it from technologies such
robots have turned out to be a Behind the curtain objects and generating speech. AI has got somewhat lost in hu- as Alexa and Meta Ray-Bans.
little too good to be true. The Tesla demonstration’s It requires a deeper contextu- manoid robots over the years. Nonetheless, the reality is that
Take Sophia, for instance, “Wizard of Oz” remote op- al understanding of people, Generated speech, realistic facial we’re still perhaps decades away
the robot created by Tex- eration technique is a com- objects and environments – in expressions, telemetric controls, from developing multimodal
as-based Hanson Robotics back monly used control method in other words, common sense. even the ability to play games humanoid robots with advanced
in 2016. She was presented by this field, giving researchers a To explore what is currently such as “rock paper scissors” are social AI that are capable of
the company as essentially an benchmark against which to possible, we recently completed all impressive. But the novelty helping around the house. May-
intelligent being, prompting test their real advances. Known a research project called Com- soon wears off if the robots are be in the meantime we’ll be of-
numerous tech specialists to as telemetric control, this has mon Sense Enhanced Language not actually capable of doing fered robots controlled remotely
call this out as well beyond our been around for some time, and and Vision (CiViL). We equipped anything useful on their own. from a command centre. Will we
capabilities at the time. is becoming more advanced. a robot called Euclid with com- This isn’t to say that signifi- want them, though?
Similarly we’ve seen care- One of the authors of this ar- monsense knowledge as part of cant progress isn’t being made In the meantime, it’s also
fully choreographed videos of ticle, Carl Strathearn, was at a a generative AI vision and lan- toward autonomous human- more important that we focus
pre-scripted action sequences conference in Japan earlier this guage system to assist people oid robots. There’s impressive our efforts on creating robots
like Boston Dynamics’ Atlas year, where a keynote speaker in preparing recipes. To do this, work going on into robotic for roles that can support peo-
gymnastics, the English-made from one of the top robotics ple who urgently need help
Ameca robot “waking up”, and labs demonstrated an advanced now. Examples would include
most recently Tesla’s Optimus telemetrics system. It allowed a healthcare, where there are
in the factory. Obviously these single human to simultaneous- long waiting lists and under-
are still impressive in different ly operate many humanoid ro- staffed hospitals; and educa-
ways, but they’re nowhere near bots semi-autonomously, using tion, to offer a way for over-
the complete sentient package. pre-scripted movements, con- anxious or severely ill children
Let Optimus or Atlas loose in versation prompts and comput- to participate in classrooms
a random home and you’d see erised speech. remotely. We also need better
something very different. Clearly, this is very useful transparency, legislation and
A humanoid robot capable of technology. Telemetric systems publicly available testing, so
working in our homes needs to are used to control robots work- that everyone can tell fact from
be capable of doing many differ- ing in dangerous environments, fiction and help build public
ent tasks, using our tools, navi- disability healthcare and even trust for when the robots even-
gating our environments and in outer space. But the reason tually do arrive. ■
communicating with us like a why a human is still at the helm
human. If you thought this was is because even the most ad- This article is republished
just a year or two away, you’re vanced humanoid robots, such from The Conversation under a
going to be disappointed. as Atlas, are not yet reliable Creative Commons license.
TRAVEL
Defying Convention to Deepen Connections:
Booking.com’s Nine Predictions for Travel in 2025
BOOKING.COM ever closer to reality, travelers itineraries where temporary shaping these journeys, with living crisis by paying for their
will be focused on building fixes are replaced in pursuit of 41% of travelers interested in next vacation. This ensures they
connections with the universe a longer, healthier life. using AI to curate trips, open- can create magnificent new
Travelers reject tradition as they turn to more attainable Deep revitalization is a top ing the door to itineraries that memories, enjoying the fruits of
to rewrite the rules on age, astro-pursuits in 2025. Ditching priority, from body vibration encourage deeper, more posi- their labors together with their
gender and sense of self, tak- the daylight crowds for mid- (56%) and red light therapies tive connections with localities families, as opposed to just pad-
ing travel in new directions night magic, nearly two thirds (52%) to cryotherapy (48%) and communities. ding the next generation’s bank
AMSTERDAM, 16 OCTOBER (62%) are considering visiting and stem cell treatment (45%). Travelers will also apply a accounts.
2024 - Change is accelerating darker sky destinations with More than two thirds (67%) are more responsible lens to how While 58% of travelers ad-
on multiple fronts. From glob- starbathing experiences (72%), looking for new wellness activi- they are using technology. mitted that their parents had al-
al elections, rapid AI advance- star guides (59%), once in a life- ties they can mix into their dai- Nearly half (44%) of travelers ready paid for their vacations or
ments, and increased costs of time cosmic events (59%), and ly lives as they reconnect with won’t tag locations on social part of their vacations since be-
living (to name a few), it’s no constellation tracking (57%) a more balanced version them- media when visiting a lesser ing an adult, boomers are likely
surprise that people find them- top of the stellar adventure list. selves, including learning about known destination to keep it to influence an uptick thanks to
selves fatigued, needing to Concerns around climate timed coffee ingestion (37%) under wraps and avoid en- the 80% who are happy to pay
withdraw, pick a side or simply change have also influenced and IV therapy (31%). couraging flocks of Instatour- for their children when book-
disconnect. Yet, in the face of this shift, with 54% planning And with 58% of travelers ists. That said, for the 47% of ing their next trip and 78%
rising uncertainty, isolation and to elevate Gen Z and 44% their grandchildren. Prepare for
polarization, we’re seeing just their night- of millennials more multi-generational trips
the opposite in travel. Booking. time pursuits who would re- courtesy of the Bank of Mom &
com’s annual Travel Predictions to avoid rising think visiting a Dad, as grandparents, parents
research* reveals that instead daytime tem- destination if and grandchildren pack their
of retreating, many travelers peratures and they couldn’t bags together for the ultimate
want to redefine how they ex- 42% of travel- Travelers are ‘rewriting their tag its location, bonding experiences.
perience and engage with the ers preferring technology will Boyz II Zen
world around them. to vacation in playbook’ in 2025; Defying the equaly play a Booze and bravado are set to
Travelers are ‘rewriting their cooler loca- rules of conventional getaways... role in finding take a back seat, as ‘men-only’
playbook’ in 2025; Defying the tions. Protec- alternatives vacations rooted in wellbeing,
rules of conventional getaways, tion from UV that can be self-development and empow-
and as a result, forging new con- rays is import- shared with- ered vulnerability come to the
nections with themselves, their ant for 61% of out the guilt fore. With cultural change bring-
loved ones, those they meet travelers who of overburden- ing progress to conversations
along the way, as well as the say they plan ing the usual around male mental health and
destinations they visit. Wheth- to reduce the hotspots, with societal pressures, moments that
er rewriting the norms of age, amount of time they spend in revealing they would pay for 67% hoping to use technolo- combat loneliness and prioritize
gender, or simply what society the sun, while more than half a vacation that's sole purpose gy to find less crowded areas more mindful male-bonding will
thinks travel should look like (57%) expect to plan activi- was to extend their lifespan and 23% already using apps to prevail in travel: Nearly half
for them, emboldened travel- ties in the evenings and early and wellbeing, 2025 could tackle this in real time. (47%) confirming they would
ers are breaking out of familiar mornings when the sun is at its mark the first year of the rest Multigen Megatrips encourage one of the men in
patterns and using their indi- lowest. of their longer lives. ‘Ski’ vacations will be on the their life to go on a men-only
vidual journeys to fuel and find An appreciation for the noc- AI = Alternative Itineraries rise - but not on the slopes - as trip, jumping to 65% for Gen Z
long-lasting personal growth. turnal world is also deepening New technologies are already parents flip priorities by Spend- and 58% for millennials.
To understand out how peo- travelers' connections with na- helping travelers find experiencing Kids’ Inheritance (SKI) in- Male travelers are abandon-
ple plan to break away from ture, as the majority of travel- es tailored to their needs, but in stead of squirreling savings. ing popular expectations and
the status quo, Booking.com ers (54%) would book an ac- 2025 we’ll see innovations being Nearly half of travelers (46%) ‘bro culture’ cliches to switch off
commissioned research among commodation without lights to leveraged to help tourists meet would rather spend money on from the stresses of everyday
more than 27,000 travelers encourage less light pollution the needs of the destinations a trip of a lifetime in 2025 than life (29%), rest and rejuvenate
across 33 countries and ter- and preserve flora and fauna. they hope to experience. leaving inheritance to their chil- (30%), in pursuit of mental
ritories to present nine travel Passport to Immortality Two-thirds (66%) will use dren – with baby boomers com- health benefits (23%) and per-
predictions which foresee 2025 As travelers search for the technology to make informed ing in at 49% and the silent gen- sonal growth (24%). Building
being the year that ushers in elixir of life, a vacation is no decisions and find authentic eration (those over 80) at 40%. connections, both old and new,
new ways of experiencing the longer just time to unwind. experiences, to not only re- But next year, this trend will will be crucial with 14% consid-
world – from millennials re- Driven by the desire to cultivate spect the locations they visit take on an increasingly altruistic ering a men-only trip to tack-
thinking the airport experience better lifestyle choices, 60% of but contribute positively to approach as older relatives look le feelings of loneliness, more
to thrill-seeking boomers. travelers are interested in a lon- them. AI-powered tools, like to splash the cash among their than a quarter (28%) looking
Noctourism gevity retreat - a super-charged Booking.com's AI Trip Planner, families, helping the younger to make new friendships and
With space tourism edging flex on traditional wellbeing are set to play a pivotal role in generations through the cost of 20% looking to improve their
FRIDAY October 25, 2024 TRAVEL 29
relationship building skills with their neurodivergence. this shift isn’t just about style stressed-out stereotypes in favor dictions, please visit: https://
friends and family. Many would like to see tech- - it’s about staying savvy. With of indulgent experiences: From www.booking.com/articles/trav-
And further defying expec- nology play a greater part of 56% of travelers intending to be sleep pods (37% Gen Z, 35% elpredictions2025.en-gb.html
tations, it’s women persuading their travel journey and help re- thriftier on their trips and 68% millennials) and spas (31% Gen * Travel Predictions 2025 re-
the men in their lives to go on duce theirs, or their travel com- tightening budget planning in Z, 29% millennials) to Miche- search commissioned by Book-
a men-only trip, with 56% en- panions’, anxiety. Two thirds order to maximize their expe- lin star restaurants (22% Gen ing.com and conducted among
couraging their partner, 36% (66%) are keen on AI tools that riences, finding bargain hidden Z, 24% millennials). With this a sample of adults who plan to
their friends, 28% their broth- would provide them with up-to- gems in second-hand stores has switch in mindset, travelers will travel for business or leisure in
er and 20% their father to put date travel information, reports become a pivotal part of the be turning every missed connec- the next 12-24 months. In total,
themselves first. of delays and suggestions on adventure. Flying in the face of tion into a slay-over next year. 27,713 respondents across 33
Ageless Adventures quieter, less busy spaces in air- fast fashion and mass consum- With nearly two thirds of peo- countries and territories were
Forget a restful retirement; ports and hotels. Sensory rooms erism, 31% say they find bet- ple (60%) suggesting they would polled (including 1,016 from
next year an emerging cohort in airports, hotels and other lo- ter quality products in vintage feel more excited and stress-free Argentina, 1,002 from Austra-
of baby boomers will defy their cations are sought after by 68%, stores abroad than at home, about their trip if there were a lia, 502 from Austria, 1,003
years and conventional expec- while 74% would like to see while 35% say they buy vintage wider array of facilities for use from Belgium, 1002 from Brazil,
tations in favor of thrill seeking. more ‘block out noise’ options on vacation because they find prior to their flight, vacations 1,006 from Canada, 1,007 from
Nearly one quarter (23%) of across the travel experience. better bargains. will start long before you board China, 1,005 from Colombia,
this generation are interested In fact, the call for progress in With travelers interested the plane. In 2025, the start of 501 from Croatia, 501 from Den-
in vacations that involve adven- 2025 is loud and clear with 69% in bringing home pieces that the journey could be just as ex- mark, 1,011 from France, 1,009
ture (up from 10% in 2024**) wanting an industry-wide initia- tell a story, a thrift trip is now citing as the destination. ■ from Germany, 1,004 from Hong
and 23% are eager to push be- tive or program that shares their more than just shopping; it’s Kong, 1,002 from India, 506
yond their established comfort needs and preferences seamless- a way to bring cultural con- Arjan Dijk, Senior Vice Pres- from Ireland, 501 from Israel,
zones, reconnecting with the ly with airlines and accommoda- nections back home, all while ident and CMO at Booking. 1,014 from Italy, 1008 from Ja-
reckless abandon of youth. tion providers, providing a clos- making eco-conscious and wal- com comments: “In 2025, trav- pan, 1,013 from Mexico, 1011
Easing their way into an era of er connection between travelers, let-friendly choices. Move over elers will be using their trips to from The Netherlands, 1003
adrenaline, nearly a third (31%) platforms and operators. fridge magnet, vintage clothes transform themselves, their re- from New Zealand, 504 from
are interested in horseback rid- Vintage Voyaging are the new souvenir of choice. lationships and ultimately the Portugal, 508 from Singapore,
ing and 27% are interested in Vacation wardrobes will get The Gate Escape world around them. A growing 1004 from South Korea, 1,008
letting go of their inhibitions at a makeover in 2025, as trendy Gone are the days of arriving proportion of men are seeking from Spain, 509 from Sweden,
a wine rave. Venturing further, travelers turn vintage voyag- ‘just in time’ to avoid lingering getaways that challenge outdat- 500 from Switzerland, 507 from
19% would take to the water to ers, hitting thrift stores while in crowded lounges post-secu- ed gender expectations and foster Taiwan, 1,009 from Thailand,
canoe down the world’s largest on holiday to curate a more rity, as travelers reframe their mental wellbeing. And almost 503 from the UAE, 1,012 from
rivers, 18% may lace up their sustainable suitcase. Over half 2025 vacation kick-off to em- one in five boomers are refusing the UK, 1,006 from the US and
hiking boots to trek one of the (51%) of travelers said they brace a new era of airport en- to let age keep them from chas- 1,016 from Vietnam). Respon-
highest mountain ranges while would be interested in buying tertainment. More than a third ing down new adventures. It’s all dents completed an online survey
15% will hunt for glaciers. their vacation wardrobe during (34%) express an interest in about breaking travel norms to in July-August 2024.
And there are signals of an their trip rather than before, visiting somewhere because foster a deeper sense of connec- ** Travel Predictions 2024
even more courageous crowd: jumping to 63% of Gen Z, while of its airport, with 60% curi- tion. Technology and imagina- research commissioned by Book-
Boomers looking to push them- 55% would visit thrift stores ous about airports with more tion are coming together to cre- ing.com and conducted among
selves to the extreme are inter- on vacation with nearly three unique experiences or facilities. ate a new era of traditions and a sample of adults who plan to
ested to go skydiving (11%), quarters (73%) having already But it’s Gen Z and millen- ultimately make it easier for ev- travel for business or leisure in
sand surfing (11%), cave diving bought vintage or second-hand nials who look set to fuel this eryone to shape their own jour- the next 12-24 months. In total,
(10%), camping in Antarctica products when abroad. trend. Among both, 43% are neys in 2025 and beyond.” 27,730 respondents across 33
(9%) or even volcano boarding No doubt influenced by both keen to consider destinations For more information about countries and territories were
(8%). Showing that adventure cost and climate awareness, based on their airport, rejecting Booking.com’s 2025 Travel Pre- polled (including 1,008 from
knows no age limit, these early Argentina, 1,012 from Austra-
trailblazers are redefining what lia, 505 from Austria, 1,001
it means to travel in later life. from Belgium, 1,002 from Bra-
Neuroinclusive Navigation zil, 1,009 from Canada, 1,009
With different ways of think- from China, 1,002 from Colom-
ing and processing informa- bia, 508 from Croatia, 504 from
tion, neurodivergent travelers Denmark, 1011 from France,
will be putting their often in- 1011 from Germany, 1016 from
visible needs in the spotlight, Hong Kong, 1,004 from India,
using emerging and evolving 510 from Ireland, 504 from
technologies to revolutionize Israel, 1,014 from Italy, 1,004
how they experience the world from Japan, 1,009 from Mexi-
in 2025. There is growing mo- co, 1,014 from The Netherlands,
mentum around the need for 1,015 from New Zealand, 500
less conventional and more from Portugal, 502 from Singa-
inclusive approaches to travel pore, 1,010 from South Korea,
experiences that better connect 1,009 from Spain, 502 from
with neuro-atypical needs: Sweden, 507 from Switzerland,
Nearly half (49%) of those 504 from Taiwan, 1,003 from
who consider themselves neu- Thailand, 502 from the UAE,
rodivergent have had a nega- 1,007 from the UK, 1,005 from
tive experience while traveling the US and 1,007 from Viet-
due to their neurodivergence, nam). Respondents completed
while 50% believe their travel an online survey in July 2023.
options are limited because of
FOOD
What are you really eating? 1 in 5 seafood
products in our study were mislabelled
By Matthew R. J. Morris, Inspection Agency maintains a Mislabelling hurts company was fined in 2021 for 4. Write to your MPs in sup-
Ambrose University Fish List that provides the ac- Calgary’s mislabelled sea- illegally importing them. port for laws seeking to trace
The Conversation ceptable common names for the foods has far-reaching and Although red snapper is far- fish from boat to table — Can-
labelling of fish in Canada. well-documented implications ing poorly in the wild, replac- ada has improved its regula-
A seafood product was con- for public health, conservation ing it with tilapia is not helping tions, but it can do better.
If you eat seafood, you could sidered mislabelled if it was and the economy. snapper conservation. Instead This will require that you
be unknowingly consuming an sold using a name not found on For instance, one student it provides an illusion of snap- brush up on your fish identi-
endangered species without re- the Fish List for the DNA-identi- purchased “white tuna” at an per abundance. fication skills, but it’s a small
alizing it due to fish mislabel- fied species. For instance, there all-you-can-eat sushi buffet that The situation is even murk- price to pay for protecting our
ling. Mislabelling is a world- is only one species that can be turned out to be escolar. Escolar ier when it comes to inverte- fish, saving on groceries and
wide issue, and it occurs when sold under the name salmon: is sometimes called the “laxa- brates like shrimp, squid and limiting unexpected and ur-
the species of fish you think Atlantic salmon. If sockeye tive of the sea” for the effects its octopus. Unfortunately, so little gent trips to the restroom.
you’re buying is not the one salmon was sold as salmon fatty acids can have on diges- is known about their conserva- Ambiguous names hide
you actually receive. without any other qualifier, it tion. People have landed in the tion status that we couldn’t as- protected species
Tracing fish from capture to was considered mislabelled. hospital because of this fish. sess their risks. To help vendors, the Fish
table is logistically complex, 1 in 5 seafood products Several examples of mis- What you can do List permits the use of ambigu-
as fish products often pass were mislabelled labelling involved substitut- If you eat seafood, there is a ous names, meaning the same
through multiple countries. We discovered that mislabel- ing an expensive product for chance you could be misled as name can be applied to multi-
Along the way, products can be ling is running rampant in Cal- a cheaper species: tilapia for a consumer and end up eating ple species. Snapper could refer
misidentified as another spe- gary, and that certain product snapper, rainbow trout for At- threatened species. You can re- to 96 different species, tuna to
cies or intentionally renamed names are more likely to hide lantic salmon. While compa- duce these possibilities by do- 14, cod to two. This helps ven-
to make more profit. species of conservation concern. nies in places like Miami and ing the following: dors when related species are
For instance, a cheap fish like The result: one in five finfish, Mississippi have faced fines 1. Purchase whole, head-on difficult to tell apart and is ex-
tilapia may be given the name and one in five shellfish, were for such fraudulent practices, finfish whenever possible, as pected to reduce mislabelling.
of a more expensive fish, like not as advertised. These results the global nature of fisheries they are harder to mislabel. We noticed that seafood
red snapper, or an endangered fell within the predicted global makes legal action difficult. 2. Purchase seafood products products with ambiguous
species might be passed off as a rates of seafood mislabelling. European eel are critical- that are certified sustainable, as names were just as likely to
better-faring alternative. It was not difficult for stu- ly endangered, yet students these have been shown to have be mislabelled as those with
Seafood mislabelling not dents to stumble upon exam- found this species twice in lower rates of mislabelling. precise names. We wondered:
only threatens vulnerable ma- ples of mislabelling. Notable the Calgary market. There is 3. Purchase products that which is worse for conserva-
rine populations, but makes it findings include: a global black market for Eu- clearly name the exact species tion, mislabelling or ambig-
harder for people to make in- • 100 per cent of snapper ropean eel and a Canadian being purchased. uous names? After all, tuna
formed, ethical choices about and red snapper products were could legally include yellowfin
the food they eat. mislabelled. They were either tuna (least concern) or south-
Searching for mislabelling tilapia (79 per cent) or a spe- ern bluefin tuna (endangered).
in Calgary cies of rockfish or snapper that A statistical test found that
To investigate this issue in cannot be sold under those ambiguous names were more
Canada, our recent research names (21 per cent). important than mislabelling in
paper examined mislabelling • Nine salmon products hiding threatened species. This
and ambiguous market names were determined to be rain- is a good thing, because it sug-
in invertebrate and finfish bow trout, which are cheaper. gests there is a way consumers
products — fish with fins, like • Three Pacific cod were de- can help.
cod, salmon and tuna — in termined to be Atlantic cod, Just as you wouldn’t go to a
Calgary between 2014 and which are listed as vulnerable restaurant and order a “mam-
2020. This was the first study by the International Union for mal sandwich,” why settle
of its kind in Canada to com- Conservation of Nature. for “fish and chips?” If we as
pare shellfish to finfish. • Two eel products were de- consumers can vote with our
University students sampled termined to be the critically en- wallets by buying Pacific cod
347 finfish product and 109 dangered European eel. instead of cod, or yellowfin
shellfish — including shrimp, • Cuttlefish, squid and octo- tuna instead of tuna, we can be
octopus and oysters — from pus were often mislabelled as more confident that we aren’t
Calgary restaurants and gro- one another. eating the ocean’s equivalent
cery stores. These samples Some products, however, fared of the giant panda. ■
were then genetically tested better than others. All Atlantic
using a species-specific marker salmon, basa, halibut, mackerel, This article is republished
called a DNA barcode. sockeye salmon and Pacific white from The Conversation under a
In Canada, the Canadian Food shrimp were as advertised. Creative Commons license
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OCTOBER 25, 2024

Vol. 9 No. 613

CANADA’S FIRST AND ONLY NATIONWIDE FILIPINO-CANADIAN NEWSPAPER

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PBBM's approval, trust meted by 17 percentage points,

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House bill penalizing espionage in times

PH nominated to lead World P133-M worth of

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For Canada, the 15-minute city

Is conservatism really on the rise in Canada? Blaine

Canada needs an immediate strategy for Africa

Kim Jong-un sends North Korean troops to fight in

S. Korea to establish 24-hr call center

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As a federal.. White House honors..

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My Fair Lady turns 60: a linguist on how

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