News Roundup 27 August 2023
Aug 27, 2023 • 4 min Read
‘Goring’ maintains strength, drifts slowly over Philippine Sea | PHILSTAR.COM – MANILA, Philippines — Super Typhoon Goring (international name: Saola) kept its strength as it headed south off Luzon’s east coast slowly, state weather bureau PAGASA said Sunday afternoon.
The slow-moving Goring was last spotted 95 kilometers to the east of Casiguran in Aurora. It maintained its maximum sustained winds of 185 kph near the center and gusts of up to 230 kph.
Goring is forecast to remain a super typhoon until it makes landfall over southern Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday.
Signal No. 3
- Eastern portion of Isabela (Divilacan, Palanan, Dinapigue)
- Extreme northern portion of Aurora (Dilasag)
Storm-force winds may cause moderate to significant impacts in these areas.
Full Story at: ‘Goring’ maintains strength, drifts slowly over Philippine Sea | Philstar.com
Japan releases nuclear wastewater. Should Filipinos be worried? | PHILSTAR.COM – MANILA, Philippines — As Filipino fishers express concern over the gradual release of wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean, the country’s nuclear agency assures that the Philippine waters will remain unaffected.
Japan on Thursday started the discharge of some of the 1.34 million tons of water collected since the Fukushima nuclear reactor was swamped by a tsunami since 2011. This has raised worries among Filipino fishers, who fear the move could reach and contaminate the country’s waters.
However, Philippine Nuclear Research Institute Director Carlo Arcilla stressed that the wastewater—equivalent to more than 500 Olympic pools’ worth—has been filtered of all radioactive elements except for tritium and poses no threat.
Tritium is a radioactive isotope of hydrogen that is hard to separate. It is considered to be relatively harmless because it cannot penetrate the skin, but it can be harmful when ingested.
Both the Japanese government and the International Atomic Energy Agency have found that tritium levels in samples of diluted water and seawater were well within safe limits.
“The water will be diluted so it will have no effect on Philippine biodiversity and pollution,” Arcilla told Philstar.com in a phone interview. The PNRI chief added he would not recommend banning seafood imported from Japan.
Arcilla also noted that hundreds of nuclear plants around the world routinely release water containing tritium.
Full Story at: Japan releases nuclear wastewater. Should Filipinos be worried? | Philstar.com
EJ Obiena wins historic pole vault silver in World Athletics Championships | INQUIRER.NET – EJ Obiena put himself in the equation to win it all before pocketing the silver medal for another historic finish on the global stage at the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary.
The Filipino pole vault celebrity duplicated his own Asian record of six meters, but couldn’t clear 6.05m on a succeeding attempt, eventually rewarding Sweden’s Armand Duplantis a second consecutive title.
Obiena climbed a flight higher on the podium than his previous bronze finish last year in the Oregon, United States edition of the world championships after clearing his personal best on his second try.
Christopher Nilsen of the United States and Australia’s Kurtis Marschall both failed to hurdle six meters and shared third-place honors following their 5.95m jump.
Without a foul and a clear path on the way to the gold medal, Duplantis raised the bar at 6.23 in a bid to reset his own world record of 6.22, but faltered thrice.
As the only Filipino to stand on the medal podium of the world track and field championships, Obiena showed exceptional progress since placing third the previous year.
Full Story at: EJ Obiena wins historic pole vault silver in World Athletics Championships | Inquirer Sports
Anti-corruption drive pins hopes on mayors | INQUIRER.NET – MANILA, Philippines — A movement for good governance against corruption in local governments is stirring to life and has already received support from around 150 city and municipal mayors in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao since it was launched late last week.
Muntinlupa City Mayor Ruffy Biazon on Saturday told the Inquirer that he had signed the mayors’ manifesto committing themselves to a 10-point guide to taking action and making decisions that are “driven by honesty and accountability, ensuring that the public’s trust in our office remains our foundation for our service.”
Biazon, who is serving the first year of his first term as mayor at 54, said that the statement aligned with his own “principle, programs and agenda” when he ran for office last year.
“It spoke about integrity and accountability in the performance of duty, commitment to upholding citizen participation and inclusivity, particularly of the youth, upholding the rule of law and responsible management of government resources and introducing innovation and technology in governance, among other things,” said Biazon, a former congressman.
He said the lead convenors of the movement, including the outspoken Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong, were expected to invite or recruit other local chief executives into the Mayors for Good Governance (M4GG) movement.
There are 148 cities and 1,486 municipalities across the country. The manifesto, which was printed on a large tarpaulin and signed by the mayors at the launching of the movement on Aug. 24 at the University of the Philippines Film Center, urged local officials to “maintain the highest standards of integrity and transparency in all aspects of governance.”
Full Story at: Anti-corruption drive pins hopes on mayors | Inquirer News
