After the viral slapping incident, the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission figured in another controversy after a PAOCC employee reportedly stole the phone of a worker of the raided business process outsourcing firm in Bagac, Bataan.

Officials of Biñan City have been ordered to respond to a complaint filed by residents regarding a reclamation project in Laguna de Bay.

The drug war under the administration of President Marcos has netted P40.32 billion worth of illegal drugs, the Philippine National Police reported yesterday.

Two Soter RS full body scanners capable of detecting ingested or hidden contraband have been deployed at the New Bilibid Prison, according to the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor).

Over 50,000 senior citizens continue to benefit from Makati’s Blu Card program, which offers perks to enhance their quality of life, Mayor Abby Binay announced on Tuesday.

The National Bureau of Investigation will celebrate today its 88th founding anniversary with events planned to recognize the NBI’s nearly nine decades of service.

“The Commission continues to criticise previous designs, despite our clarification that these have been discarded and will be redesigned based on the outcomes of the local plan review”

A centralised hotline on number 1400 will be taknig calls for the Emergency Call Centre for healthcare professionals to direct callers to the best available emergency facility by assessing the degree of urgency of call-ins

Figures published by the National Statistics Office show that Malta has welcomed 672,276 cruise passengers in 2024

Antonio Palumbo, owner of Palumbo Shipyards, fully acquitted by Messina Court of Appeal, which ruled his actions in alleged illegal dumping did not constitute a crime

The index was designed to quantify the specific vulnerabilities faced by countries, especially small island developing states

US President-elect Donald Trump selects Elon Musk to assist with government cost-cutting as part of his push to ‘dismantle’ bureaucracy upon his return to the White House next year

'L-Istorja, Int' (History, You), will be the theme for the 50th anniversary celebrations for Malta's Republic Day

Nationalist Party officials says Gozo Minister Clint Camilleri should resign for covering up the squandering of €70,000 that could have benefited Gozitans when employing Tourism Minister Clayton Bartolo’s partner Amanda Muscat as consultant

Returning to Washington, Trump meets with Biden in the Oval Office

CEBU CITY, Philippines —The Cebu Institute of Technology-University (CIT-U) Junior Wildcats mounted a dramatic second-half comeback to edge out the University of Southern Philippines Foundation (USPF) Baby Panthers, 53-50. The game was part of the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation, Inc. (CESAFI) Season 24 High School Basketball Tournament, held on Wednesday, November 13, at the Cebu Coliseum. With the victory, the Junior Wildcats improved to a 6-4 record, securing the No. 6 spot in the standings, while USPF slipped to 4-5, dropping to No. 7. CIT-U forward Daniel Mapula was a key contributor throughout the game, dominating the paint with 10 […]...

Keep on reading: CESAFI: CIT-U Junior Wildcats claw back USPF in come-from-behind win

MANILA, Philippines—Unlike in previous Gilas Pilipinas’ preparations under coach Tim Cone, the squad won’t be holding open practices to the public this time. Cone said the national team is pressed for time in its preparations for the second window of 2025 Fiba Asia Cup Qualifiers, so opening the doors to fans is out of the question. “I don’t know if we’ll have the time to do something like we have in the past in Philsports in front of the fans because we only have five days of preparation this time,” said Cone in a presser on Wednesday. READ: Kouame back […]...

Keep on reading: No public practice this time for Gilas before Fiba qualifiers

MANILA, Philippines — Central Luzon cops arrested a woman with the alias “Tita” for posing as her niece to lure a victim into giving her gifts, the Philippine National Police Anti-Cybercrime Group (PNP ACG) said. According to the PNP ACG’s report released on Wednesday, “Tita” created a Facebook account using her then 17-year-old niece’s name and began messaging a 70-year-old meat vendor in San Manuel town in Tarlac province. The suspect lured the victim into a secret relationship, which lasted for more than a year, getting him to send money and gifts said to be worth a total of nearly […]...

Keep on reading: Tarlac woman nabbed for posing as niece in online love scam

BingoPlus, the country’s comprehensive entertainment platform, announced its newest Bingo Mega Jackpot winner on November 13, 2024 with a grand total of 154,148,662 Pesos winning prize. The Bingo Mega Jackpot winner of 154 million Pesos is the highest prize ever won so far in the BingoPlus platform. With only 5 Pesos worth of cards, the BingoPlus user purchased 20 random green cards for only 100 Pesos, and amazingly, hit the biggest jackpot in BingoPlus history. BingoMega is among many games in BingoPlus that allows you to both enjoy and win prizes while playing. For just 5 Pesos, you can have […]...

Keep on reading: BingoPlus’ newest Mega Jackpot winner bags ₱154 million

New import Akil Mitchell knocked down the marginal free throw with six seconds left and Meralco completed its comeback to defeat South Korea’s Busan KCC Egis, 81-80, Wednesday in the East Asia Super League at Philsports Arena in Pasig City. The reinforcement tapped for the PBA Commissioner’s Cup came through after being fouled in a looseball situation and the visiting Egis in penalty as the Bolts improved to 2-1 in Group B of the regional competition. Mitchell finished with 33 points and 22 rebounds, providing a glimpse of what to expect for the PBA’s midseason tournament slated to start later […]...

Keep on reading: EASL: Meralco rallies past KBL's Busan behind new import

MANILA, Philippines — A 27-year-old individual was arrested for threatening a victim at gunpoint, assaulting officers during his arrest and possessing a hand grenade, the Quezon City Police District (QCPD) announced on Wednesday. According to the QCPD’s report, the victim was walking along Villareal Street in Barangay Gulod in Novaliches at 3 a.m. on Monday, Nov. 11, when the suspect appeared and threatened him with a handgun. The victim escaped and ran to the Novaliches Police Station. Officers at the station proceeded to arrest the suspect, but he resisted by kicking the cops until he was subdued. The Novaliches Police […]...

Keep on reading: QC cops nab suspect for grave threat, assault; seize hand grenade

MANILA, Philippines — Northern Police District officers arrested two individuals and seized drugs worth a total of P146,440 in Caloocan City early Wednesday morning, Nov. 13. The suspects were identified by police as “Budoy”, 18; and “Buknoy”, 24, both of whom are Caloocan residents. NPD’s District Drugs Enforcement Unit made the arrest in a buy-bust operation at 4:12 a.m. on Wednesday along Libis Espina Street in Barangay 18, Caloocan City. Twenty grams of a white substance suspected to be shabu (crystal meth), estimated to be worth P136,000, were seized from the suspects. Additionally, police said they recovered 17 grams of […]...

Keep on reading: Nearly P150,000 worth of drugs seized in Caloocan buy-bust op

MANILA, Philippines — Parañaque City police arrested three foreign nationals for shooting a Chinese man and for possessing drugs worth P1.2 million during their arrest on Wednesday, Nov. 13. The victim was identified as “Li”, a 35-year-old Chinese national who works as a money changer employee in Parañaque City. He was shot at a residential complex in Barangay Don Galo on Wednesday morning and was taken to Juan De Dios Hospital in Pasay City for treatment. According to the Southern Police District’s (SPD) report, alias “Syncell”, a 32-year-old Filipino online agent who also lives in the complex, witnessed the incident. […]...

Keep on reading: Chinese man shot in Parañaque; suspects with P1.2-M in drugs nabbed

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Keep on reading: Crazy Jhenny, November 14, 2024

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Keep on reading: Love Knots, November 14, 2024

DITO CME Holdings Corp. is set to finally launch its follow-on offering of up to P4.2 billion next week, after one month of delay as it stepped back to assess the market. In a disclosure on Wednesday, the parent company of DITO Telecommunity (DITO Tel) announced that the offer would run on Nov. 20 to […]...

Keep on reading: DITO to launch equity offering on November 20

The World Bank (WB) has approved a new $750-million development policy loan aimed at helping the Philippine government ramp up its digital transformation efforts, marking its second financial aid of this type to a country where the internet economy has seen rapid expansion. The multilateral lender said on Wednesday that its second digital transformation package […]...

Keep on reading: World Bank oks $750-M PH digital transformation program

The National Privacy Commission (NPC) will launch an investigation into the widespread unauthorized transfers involving several users of the country’s leading mobile wallet GCash. In a statement, the NPC said that GCash informed it about the incident on Nov. 11. However, the digital payment giant maintained that it recorded “no data leakage or personal data […]...

Keep on reading: NPC to probe loss of funds in GCash accounts

"By faith Noah, being warned by God about things not yet seen, in reverence prepared an ark for the salvation of his household, by which he condemned the world, and became an heir of the righteousness which is according to faith" (Heb. 11:7).

True faith works.

When James said, "Faith without works is dead" (James 2:26), he stated a principle that's consistent throughout Scripture: True faith always produces righteous works.

The people described in Hebrews 11 made their genuine faith known in the things they did. The same applies to us today. Paul said, "The grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age" (Titus 2:11-12).

Perhaps better than anyone else in history, Noah illustrates the obedience of faith. Scripture characterizes him as "a righteous man, blameless in his time . . . [who] walked with God" (Gen. 6:9).

I remember a sportscaster interviewing a professional football player and asking him what he thought of his team's chances of winning the Super Bowl. The player replied, "We believe that if we just do what the coach says, we'll win." The team had absolute confidence in their coach, but they realized they had to do their part as well.

That illustrates the quality of faith Noah had in God, whom he trusted absolutely as he pursued a task that seemed utterly foolish and useless from a human perspective. Imagine instantly surrendering all your time and effort to devote 120 years to building something you'd never seen (a vessel the size of an ocean liner or battleship) to protect you from something you'd never experienced (rain and flooding). Yet Noah did it without question.

Noah's faith is unique in the sheer magnitude and time span of the task God gave him to do. He didn't argue with God or deviate from his assignment. Is that true of you? Are you pursuing your ministry as faithfully and persistently as Noah did his? Is your faith a faith that works?

Suggestions for Prayer

Thank God for the ministry He's called you to. If you sense there's more you could be doing, ask Him for guidance. Pray for added faithfulness and tenacity in serving Him.

For Further Study

Read the account of Noah in Genesis 6:1—9:17.

From Drawing Near by John MacArthur Copyright © 1993. Used by permission of Crossway Books, a division of Good News Publishers, Wheaton, IL 60187, www.crossway.com.

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Opponents of the bill claimed it would have targeted pro-Palestinian organizations that facilitate aid to Gaza.

The study reveals that older participants exhibited lower signs of stress and anxiety than younger ones.

“Climate change continues to happen, and it is important that Israel remains part of the efforts to mitigate the effects of climate change,” Behar said.

The alleged support for Hamas related to online activity, Gloucestershire Police said.

Biden and Trump have sharply criticized each other for years, and their respective teams hold vastly different positions on policies from climate change to Russia to trade.

The bill would give the Justice Minister the authority to set the amount of the annual membership fee instead of IBA's national council.

The bill's goal is to enable the use of spyware to combat organized crime, according to the proposal's explanatory section.

Washington warned Israel last month that military aid could be limited until progress was made. It did so based on Memorandum 20, which links such aid to humanitarian actions.

Yitzhak Rabin spoke of the importance of manpower and mobilizing reservists following the Yom Kippur War, echoing modern sentiments.

There was a shift in her that many of us could relate to, a feeling that the events of Oct. 7 had flipped a switch within, prioritizing Jewish identity in ways that hadn’t been fully realized before.

In her Instagram post, Argamani shared her frustration that 101 hostages have not yet been rescued from Hamas.

"The lack of protective structures and the disparity between Arab and Jewish localities...forces Arab residents to live in a state of constant peril," said IDI's Lital Piller

Hezbollah’s drones were “ultimately,” the terrorist organization’s “trump card,” despite rockets being employed as their “main weapons.”

The members of the House debated the role of lack of integration, antisemitism within the Muslim population, and failure of authority in a discussion about the attacks.

Mojtaba Amani, the Islamic Republic’s ambassador to Lebanon, himself badly injured by the pager incident, justified the purchase by quoting the ‘weakness of the Lebanese state’.

CIA official Asif W. Rahman held top-secret security clearance and had access to sensitive information, the New York Times reported.

The United States is now seeking an enforcement mechanism that would ensure that the only armed body in that area would be the Lebanese Army.

The navy has, numerous times in the past, acknowledged that it carries out surveillance of Israel’s enemies, sometimes at a great distance.

KARACHI: At a time when cities across Punjab are facing the worst air pollution in their history, two members of the ruling coalition on Tuesday made “insensitive” jibes over the issue in their posts on social media.

In his post on X, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari shared a chart of the air quality index readings of Pakistan’s major cities on November 10 at 9pm.

The chart showed Peshawar as the most polluted city with an AQI of 591, followed by Multan 573 and Lahore 479. Karachi was 7th with AQI of 78.

“Dear Pakistan, move to Karachi,” wrote Mr Bhutto-Zardari in his post.

Late at night, Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif said crop burning was unreasonably blamed for the smog when vehicles were the biggest polluters.

He shared a chart showing that total emissions from transport were 127 gigagrams, while that from stubble burning was 5.97gg.

The minister’s post did not mention the chart’s source or when the readings were taken.

He said the chart shows the “real culprits” contributing to the smog, but the people are being misled into believing that stubble burning, which has been going on “since the time of Mohenjo Daro”, was causing the pollution.

In another post, he referred to an order by Lahore High Court Justice Shahid Karim to close markets at 8pm, which was “yet to be implemented”.

According to the minister, the markets in Lahore remained open from 2pm to 2am and blamed the traders for being “intransigent” on this issue.

He also called out political leaders who are not ready to address this issue due to “political expediency”.

Published in Dawn, November 13th, 2024

PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has again approached the federal government, seeking update on its earlier letter showing intent to buy the national flag carrier.

Earlier on Nov 1, KP had formally conveyed to the federal government that it was ready to offer a bid for Pakistan International Airlines, which would surpass the highest offer of Rs10 billion by the Blue World Consortium.

In a letter addressed to the federal minister for privatisation Abdul Aleem Khan, KP Board of Investment and Trade (KP-BOIT) vice-chairman Hassan Masood Kunwar stated that 10 days had now passed since the correspondence expressing the board’s intent to participate in the privatisation of PIA was made.

“Given the strategic importance of the process and the strong support for this initiative from the chief minister and the investment board, we kindly seek an update on the status of KP-BOIT proposal,” the letter said.

It said that BOIT was fully committed to preserving and revitalising PIA, ensuring its legacy as the national flag carrier. It said that in line with this commitment, the chief minister and the KP-BOIT team were dedicated to support PIA’s return to prominence and securing its future aligned with Pakistan’s national interest.

The letter also noted that KP leadership was prepared to offer substantial backing and resources to accomplish these objectives.

It said that KP-BOIT would appreciate any indication of when it might expect to discuss this matter further. “The province’s trade and investment body remains ready to engage at your earliest convenience, prepared to elaborate on our strategic vision and our readiness to present a competitive and compelling bid that reflects our commitment to Pakistan’s aviation sector and the fact that the KP is one of the stakeholders in PIA, being part of the federation,” the letter added.

Mr Masood Kunwar told Dawn that they had written this letter as the federal government did not respond to the earlier one. He said that the federal government did respond to the offer in a press conference, but the province had not received a written response so far.

He said that KP was not doing politics and was genuinely interested in buying the national carrier, therefore, it wanted to engage the federal government on this issue.

Published in Dawn, November 13th, 2024