Magnitude 6.6 aftershock causes panic in southern Philippines - CNA

MANILA: A magnitude 6.6 earthquake hit the southern Philippines on Sunday (Dec 3), the US Geological Survey said, a day after an even more powerful quake in the same region killed two people and triggered a tsunami alert.

The latest earthquake - one of several strong aftershocks felt in the region since late Saturday - hit at around 6.40pm local time pat a depth of 56km northeast of Hinatuan municipality on Mindanao island.

It was the same area where residents had fled to higher ground the night before following a magnitude 7.6 quake.

At least two people were killed and several were injured after that quake, authorities said. It was followed by five major aftershocks of magnitudes exceeding 6.0 through Sunday, according to the USGS.

Hinatuan police Staff Sergeant Joseph Lambo said Sunday evening's quake sent people rushing out of their homes again.

"They were panicking due to the memory of the previous night's quake," Lambo told AFP.

He said police were checking for any further damage or casualties.

Saturday's quake triggered tsunami warnings across the Pacific region and sent residents along the east coast of Mindanao fleeing buildings, evacuating a hospital and seeking higher ground.

COLLAPSED WALL

There have been no reports of major damage to buildings or infrastructure so far, disaster officials told AFP earlier on Sunday.

A 30-year-old man died in Bislig City, in Surigao del Sur province, when a wall inside his house collapsed on top of him, said local disaster official Pacifica Pedraverde.

Some roads in the city were cracked during the earthquake and aftershocks but vehicles could still drive on them, she said.

A pregnant woman was killed in Tagum city in Davao del Norte province, the national disaster agency said, without providing details.

Two people suffered minor injuries from falling debris in Tandag City, about 100km north of Bislig, an official said.

The national disaster agency recorded a total of four people injured, but it was not clear if that tally included the two in Tandag.

The Philippine seismology institute initially warned of a "destructive tsunami" after the first quake that was expected to cause "life threatening" waves.

It issued a bulletin at about 3.25am local time that the highest waves generated were 64cm tall on Mawes Island but also said the tsunami warning had ended.

Small swells were reported as far away as Japan's eastern Pacific coast, where a tsunami warning was also briefly in effect. Palau, a western Pacific archipelago located about 900km off Mindanao, reported no impact.

The earthquake came nearly two weeks after a 6.7 magnitude quake hit Mindanao, killing at least nine people, shaking buildings and causing part of a shopping mall ceiling to collapse.

Quakes are a daily occurrence in the Philippines, which sits along the Pacific "Ring of Fire", an arc of intense seismic and volcanic activity that stretches from Japan through Southeast Asia and across the Pacific basin.

Most are too weak to be felt by humans.

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2023-12-03 12:38:43Z
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Think of what happened to Hong Kong when you vote, Taiwan president says - CNA

TAIPEI: Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen appealed to voters on Sunday (Dec 3) to think of what had happened to Chinese-controlled Hong Kong when they cast their ballots next month, saying peace must be backed up with a commitment to boost defences.

Taiwan prepares for presidential and parliamentary elections on Jan 13 as China, which claims the island as its own territory, ramps up military pressure to assert its claims, including two major war games around the island in the past year and a half.

China and Taiwan's main opposition party, the Kuomintang (KMT), have cast the election as a choice between war and peace. China detests Taiwan's ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and its presidential candidate, Vice President Lai Ching-te, calling them dangerous separatists.

Addressing supporters at a campaign rally for Lai in the capital Taipei, Tsai said the opposition was using "alarmist talk" of war and peace.

"I want to ask you all here, does anyone want war? Nobody does," she said. "Look at Hong Kong and think of Taiwan. We don't want Hong Kong-style peace. We want dignified peace."

Hong Kong, a former British colony, was returned to Chinese rule in 1997 with the promise of wide autonomy under a "one country, two systems" framework, which China has also offered to Taiwan - with little support on the island.

Beijing in 2020 imposed a tough national security law on Hong Kong, which it said was vital to restore stability after the city, a global financial hub, was rocked for months by sometimes violent anti-government and anti-China protests in 2019.

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2023-12-03 11:37:54Z
CBMiYWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmNoYW5uZWxuZXdzYXNpYS5jb20vYXNpYS90YWl3YW4tdHNhaS1pbmctd2VuLXZvdGVycy1lbGVjdGlvbnMtaG9uZy1rb25nLWNoaW5hLTM5NjI2NjHSAQA

Major aftershocks rock Philippines after magnitude 7.6 quake - The Straits Times

MANILA - A powerful magnitude 7.6 earthquake struck the southern Philippines on Dec 1, the US Geological Survey said, triggering fears of a possible tsunami as big aftershocks rumbled in the area.

The initial quake struck at a depth of 32km at 10.37pm local time (10.37pm Singapore time) about 21km north-east of Hinatuan municipality on Mindanao island, the USGS said.

Several hours later, early on Dec 3, two powerful aftershocks of magnitude 6.4 and magnitude 6.2 shook the region following the first quake, USGS said.

The initial quake triggered tsunami warnings and orders for coastal residents to flee to higher ground.

“Destructive tsunami is expected with life threatening wave heights,” the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said on X, formerly Twitter.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre in Hawaii also issued an alert but later posted that the danger had lifted.

“There is no longer a tsunami threat from this earthquake,” it said in a 1645 GMT (12.45am on Dec 3, Singapore time) message.

The Philippines seismology institute maintained its tsunami warning into early on Dec 3.

It said waves of more than 1m above the normal tides were expected to hit the coast and advised people in Surigao del Sur and Davao Oriental provinces to “immediately evacuate” to higher ground or further inland.

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2023-12-02 15:45:00Z
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Israel bombards southern Gaza as humanitarian crisis reaches 'breaking point' - CNA

The southern part of Gaza was taking a pounding on Saturday. Residents said houses and open areas had been hit and three mosques destroyed in Khan Younis. Columns of smoke rose into the sky.

In Deir Al-Balah city in central Gaza, nine Palestinians, including children, were killed in an air strike, health officials said.

Displaced Gazans have been sheltering in Khan Younis and Rafah because of fighting in the north of the densely populated enclave, but residents said they feared Israeli troops were preparing to move on the south.

"This is the same tactic they used before entering Gaza and the north," said Yamen, who gave only his first name.

Yamen fled to Deir Al-Balah from the north after Israel destroyed several districts there.

"Where to after Deir Al-Balah, after Khan Younis? I don't know where I would take my wife and six children," he said.

On Saturday morning, Israeli warplanes attacked areas close to the Khan Younis Nasser Hospital six times, according to medics and witnesses.

The hospital is filled with thousands of displaced and hundreds of wounded, including many of those who had been evacuated from north Gaza hospitals.

"A night of horror," said Samira, a mother of four. "It was one of the worst night we spent in Khan Younis in the past six weeks since we arrived here," she said. "We are too afraid they will enter Khan Younis."

The Israeli military said that in the last 24 hours combined attacks by its ground, air and naval forces had hit 400 militant targets and killed an unspecified number of Hamas fighters.

The conflict broke out on Oct 7 when Hamas militants crossed into southern Israel and killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in a rampage against kibbutzim and other communities. More than 200 hostages were taken back into Gaza.

Israel responded with a bombing campaign and a ground offensive which has destroyed large areas of Gaza in what has become the bloodiest episode of the wider Israel-Palestinian conflict.

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2023-12-02 13:22:51Z
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From December 1, foreigners visiting Malaysia must fill up digital arrival card; autogate available for 10 countries - Malay Mail

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 2 — Foreigners who enter Malaysia will have to fill up the Malaysia Digital Arrival Card (MDAC) online three days before they arrive, with citizens of 10 countries having the added benefit of using autogates for immigration clearance at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) if they meet conditions such as submitting the MDAC, the Immigration Department of Malaysia has said.

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In announcements posted yesterday on its official Facebook page, the department said this requirement for foreign nationals to complete the MDAC before arriving in Malaysia takes effect as of December 1.

On its website for the online registration of MDAC, the department said the requirement to submit MDAC before arriving in Malaysia applies to all travellers, except for three categories.

The three categories of travellers who do not have to submit the MDAC are those transiting or transferring through Singapore without seeking immigration clearance; Malaysian permanent residents; and Malaysian Automated Clearance System (MACS) Holder.

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To register and submit MDAC, travellers would have to use the Immigration Department's website.

The MDAC registration form requires details such as name, nationality, passport number and expiry date, email address and mobile phone number,

In the MDAC form, travellers are told that their trip to Malaysia must be within three days (including the date of submission of MDAC), and are required to fill up their date of arrival, date of departure, mode of transport (air, land or sea), and last port of embarkation.

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According to the requirements for entry into Malaysia, visitors must show both their passports and the complete MDAC to the immigration officer on duty upon arrival.

Based on an infographic at the Immigration Department's MDAC website, visitors from 10 countries (Australia, Brunei, Germany, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, US and the UK will be eligible to use autogates when arriving and leaving KLIA's Terminal 1 or Terminal 2.

To use the autogates at KLIA for immigration clearance, these visitors must have passports with a validity period of six months or more. They must have submitted their MDAC three days before arrival (except for permanent residents and long-term pass holders).

But they would also not be able to use the autogate if they are visiting Malaysia for the first time, as their first trip would require them to submit the MDAC three days before arriving and to then enroll and verify their passport at the manual counter manned by Immigration personnel.

These visitors can use the autogates upon arrival and departure only for subsequent visits (where MDAC would still have to be submitted three days before every visit to Malaysia) and only after they have successfully enrolled to use the autogate for immigration clearance.

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2023-12-02 02:52:07Z
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Scandal-plagued Republican lawmaker George Santos expelled from US Congress - CNA

FABRICATED BIOGRAPHY

Santos has been mired in controversy since his November 2022 election. He has admitted fabricating much of his biography, and federal prosecutors accuse him of laundering campaign funds and defrauding donors. Santos has pleaded not guilty to those charges.

He survived a previous expulsion attempt in early November, when 182 of his fellow Republicans and 31 Democrats voted against removing him on the grounds that his criminal case should be resolved first.

But a subsequent, scathing House Ethics Committee report on Santos' behaviour eroded what support he had. Only 112 of 222 House Republicans voted to keep him in office this time around. Two Democrats voted against expulsion.

"George Santos' lies were designed to defraud and deceive the voters in order for him to be elected, unlike other public corruption cases," Representative Dan Goldman, a New York Democrat and former federal prosecutor, told reporters shortly before the vote.

A bipartisan congressional investigation last month found that Santos charged almost US$4,000 for spa treatments, including Botox, to his congressional campaign account. He also spent more than US$4,000 of campaign money at luxury retailer Hermes and made "smaller purchases" from OnlyFans, an online platform known for sexual content, according to the Ethics Committee.

Following the Ethics Committee report, he said he would not run for reelection next year.

The last expulsion was in 2002: Democrat James Traficant of Ohio in 2002, following his criminal corruption conviction.

Santos' troubles began shortly after his November 2022 election, when media outlets reported he had not actually attended New York University or worked at Goldman Sachs and Citigroup, as he had claimed during his campaign.

He also falsely claimed Jewish heritage and told voters his grandparents had fled the Nazis during World War II.

Reports of the falsehoods made Santos a pariah in the House and the butt of late-night TV comedians even before federal prosecutors charged him with an array of fraud and campaign-finance crimes.

In a 23-count indictment, they accuse him of inflating his fundraising totals in order to draw more support from the Republican Party, laundering funds to pay for personal expenses, and charging donors' credits cards without permission.

Two former campaign aides have pleaded guilty to related fraud charges.

Santos denies wrongdoing, and his trial is scheduled to begin on Sep 9, 2024, shortly before the November elections that will determine control of the White House and both chambers of Congress.

Before Santos' win in 2022, the district was represented by Democrat Tom Suozzi, who unsuccessfully ran for governor. Suozzi and 19 other candidates, including eight Republicans, have filed to run for Santos' seat.

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2023-12-01 16:41:00Z
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The Big Read: As S'poreans flock across the Causeway to seek respite from rising costs, are they inflicting the same on Johor Bahru? - TODAY

A financial consultant, who wished to be known only as Mr Hiew YZ, told TODAY that he believes that the political changes in the last three years have a significant part to play in the depreciating ringgit. 

Before Mr Anwar Ibrahim became prime minister following the 2022 general election, Malaysia had had three prime ministers in as many years. 

“Our Prime Minister (Mr Anwar) has just held the position for a year. There’s still a lot of time until the next election, so hopefully, things will be better by then,” Mr Hiew said.

Retiree Chin AB, 76, said Malaysians should not “blame” Singaporeans for soaring prices because inflation is happening worldwide, not just in the country. 

“Perhaps, yes, there will be some impact, but ultimately, Singaporeans coming over makes JB a livelier place,” he said. 

WHAT DO BUSINESS OWNERS THINK? 

TODAY’s interviews with several entrepreneurs found that while they had mixed views on Singapore’s impact on inflation in Johor, some did not think that the influx of Singaporeans is a significant reason behind rising prices. 

Contrary to residents’ beliefs, some of these businesses were more concerned about domestic and external factors, such as the weakening ringgit, which has led to a spike in the cost of raw materials. 

Triple K Cafe shop owner Keoh Teik Hoe, who serves beef noodles, said he gets his beef supply from Australia and New Zealand, and the suppliers trade in United States dollars. 

Amid the continuing weakening of the ringgit this year, he told TODAY that beef prices had increased by 20 per cent this year. In October, the ringgit fell to a 25-year low against the US dollar.

Singaporeans make up 30 per cent of Mr Keoh’s customer base, while the rest are primarily locals and regular patrons. 

“I cannot simply increase my prices. For now, I will still absorb the cost because I can still get by even with profits going down by 30 per cent.” 

Mr Keoh was adamant in his belief that “it is not right” for business owners to adjust their prices “just because” Singaporeans can afford the higher prices. 

“Then what about the locals? Yes, Singaporeans have higher spending power, but they are only here on weekends. The locals here can visit your business several times a week because they live here,” he said. 

Third-generation owner of Hiap Joo Bakery, Mr Lim Toh Huei, 35, said the prices of bananas had shot up after the MCO, so the bakery had to change its banana bread prices from RM10 to RM12 last year. 

“You can get 1kg of bananas for RM2.50 previously, but now it costs RM4.50 to RM5. The prices fluctuate, but since the last review, we don’t plan to change our pricing again for now. We can still bear the costs first,” he said. 

Mr Lim, whose business is largely patronised by Singaporeans on weekends, said Johor Bahru is “definitely impacted” by Singaporeans pouring into the city. 

“For businesses like mine, it’s good. But for the rest of us, it means we need to continue working hard to put food on the table. 

“Now that times are tougher, I think it’s important for everyone, especially young adults, to come out and work to earn their keep because there’s no such thing as a free lunch in this world,” he said.  

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2023-12-01 13:54:00Z
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