News Roundup 13 December 2023
Dec 13, 2023 • 4 min Read
Groups say COP28 deal a start, but not enough for climate-vulnerable nations | PHILSTAR.COM – MANILA, Philippines — The deal struck at the COP28 climate summit was seen as the beginning of the end of the fossil fuel era, but campaigners from at-risk countries like the Philippines stressed that far more action is needed to avert the worst impacts of climate change.
After two weeks of intense negotiations, nearly 200 nations meeting in Dubai approved Wednesday an agreement that, for the first time, calls for a “transitioning away from fossil fuels in energy systems, in a just, orderly and equitable manner.”
COP28 President Sultan Al Jaber hailed the deal as bringing “transformational change” on climate.
The agreement also called for expanding action “in this critical decade” and recommits to no net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 in hopes of meeting the goal of limiting global warming at 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
The planet has already warmed by 1.2 degrees, leading to record-breaking temperatures, and intensifying storms and heatwaves.
“The silver lining from COP28 is that it’s sent an unprecedented signal to the world that the curtain has been raised for the end of the fossil fuel era,” Greenpeace Philippines senior campaigner Virginia Benosa-Llorin said.
“But communities in the Philippines and around the world on the frontline of the climate catastrophe need more than this,” she added.
Full Story at: Groups say COP28 deal a start, but not enough for climate-vulnerable nations | Philstar.com
Philippines drops foreign ownership case against Ressa | PHILSTAR.COM – MANILA, Philippines — A foreign ownership case against Philippine Nobel laureate Maria Ressa has been dropped, her media outlet said Wednesday, but the journalist still faces the threat of imprisonment on other charges.
Ressa, who won a Nobel Peace Prize in 2021, has been fighting multiple charges filed during former president Rodrigo Duterte’s administration.
A vocal critic of Duterte and his deadly drug war, Ressa has long maintained that the charges against her and Rappler, the news website she co-founded in 2012, were politically motivated.
Ressa, 60, was acquitted on five government charges of tax evasion earlier this year.
The Department of Justice has now dropped a charge alleging Ressa illegally put Rappler under foreign control through the 2015 sale of foreign depositary receipts to US investment firm Omidyar Network, her lawyers Amal Clooney and Caoilfhionn Gallagher said in a statement on Tuesday.
Rappler confirmed the department’s decision on Wednesday.
“Again, facts win. Truth wins. Justice wins. We will continue to hold the line,” Ressa said in the statement.
Full Story at: Philippines drops foreign ownership case against Ressa | Philstar.com
Australian deplores China’s ‘pattern of dangerous actions’ in West PH Sea | INQUIRER.NET – MANILA, Philippines — Australia has condemned China’s “pattern of dangerous actions” in Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in West Philippine Sea (WPS) over the weekend.
In a statement on X (formerly twitter) shared by Australian Ambassador to the Philippines Hae Kyong Yu on Wednesday, Australian government said the actions of Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) create “risks of miscalculations.”
“The Australian Government shares the grave concerns of the Philippines Government about a pattern of dangerous actions conducted by Chinese vessels against Philippines vessels and crew in the South China Sea, including incidents near Scarborough Shoal and at Second Thomas Shoal on 9-10 December,” the statement read.
On December 9 and 10, China attempted to thwart two separate humanitarian and support missions near Scarborough Shoal and Ayungin Shoal, also known as the Second Thomas Shoal, by ramming and firing water cannons at Filipino vessels.
Full Story at: Australian deplores China’s ‘pattern of dangerous actions’ in West PH Sea | Global News (inquirer.net)
Fil-Am nurse wins $41 million in retaliation lawsuit | INQUIRER.NET – LOS ANGELES – A Filipino American nurse has won $41.49 million in a lawsuit against her former employer, Kaiser Foundation Hospitals and Kaiser Foundation Health Plan Inc.
Maria Gatchalian took her former employer to court for retaliating against her when she complained about patient safety and quality of care.
After working as a registered and charge nurse in the hospital’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit for 30 years, Gatchalian was fired in 2019 over a minor policy violation.
The Los Angeles Superior Court panel yesterday granted Gatchalian $11.49 million in compensatory damages, including $9 million for the emotional distress, plus $30 million in punitive damages.
Full Story at: Fil-Am nurse wins $41.49 million in retaliation lawsuit | Inquirer
