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Aboitiz Economic Estates and Batangas State University induct industry leaders into their joint Industry Advisory Council

Aboitiz Economic Estates and Batangas State University, The National Engineering University, formally inducted industry leaders into the Industry Advisory Council (IAC) through an Induction and Onboarding Program, reinforcing collaboration between industry and academia to strengthen workforce readiness and align education with evolving industry needs.

By strengthening links between education and industry, students gain greater exposure to workplace realities, educators benefit from industry insights, and employers help shape a talent pipeline equipped for the opportunities and challenges of a rapidly evolving economy.

The Industry Advisory Council serves as a strategic partner to Batangas State University in aligning academic programs with industry needs. It assists the University in developing graduates with the competencies, skills, and professional attributes required by the workforce while ensuring that academic programs remain responsive to industry standards, professional requirements, and emerging societal and technological developments.

Through regular engagement with the University, Council members will provide insights on workforce trends, emerging skills requirements, evolving technologies, and workplace practices that can inform curriculum development, academic program enhancement, and workforce preparation initiatives. The Council also institutionalizes industry participation in student learning and workforce development by helping integrate industry-relevant competencies into academic programs and learning outcomes.

Beyond its advisory role, members will support initiatives such as industry mentorships, guest lectures, experiential learning opportunities, and workplace exposure programs that connect students to real industry practice and professional environments.

‘Preparing talent for the future requires stronger connections between education and industry. Through the Industry Advisory Council, companies can contribute directly to shaping learning experiences, developing relevant skills, and providing students with greater exposure to real-world industry environments,’ shared Rafael P. Fernandez de Mesa, President and CEO of Aboitiz Economic Estates and Aboitiz Land. ‘By bringing industry closer to education, we strengthen workforce readiness while helping build the talent pipeline needed to support long-term economic growth.’

The Industry Advisory Council brings together representatives from academia, estate development, and industry to help align education with evolving workforce needs. Its industry members include senior leaders from companies spanning automotive manufacturing, consumer goods, food production, packaging, logistics, semiconductors, and industrial manufacturing, including representatives from some of LIMA Estate’s leading locators such as Yamaha, Furukawa, JTEKT, Proterial (formerly Hitachi Metals), Japan Tobacco International, Littelfuse, and Aice.

During the onboarding program, Council members formally committed to active participation in Council meetings, consultations, and collaborative activities that will help guide the continuing development of the Industry-Based Learning Model and strengthen engagement between the University and industry partners.

‘The Industry Advisory Council creates a structured mechanism for industry to participate in the continuous enhancement of our academic programs,’ shared Dr. Tirso A. Ronquillo, President of Batangas State University. ‘By bringing together leaders from key sectors, we gain valuable insights that help ensure our graduates develop the competencies, technical expertise, and professional attributes required by today’s workforce. These perspectives also help us keep our programs responsive to emerging industry developments and future skills requirements.’

The Council forms part of Talent Edge, Aboitiz Economic Estates’ workforce sustainability platform, which seeks to strengthen talent pipelines by connecting education, industry, and employment opportunities across its economic estates.

‘Building a future-ready workforce requires industry to play an active role in education. Through the Industry Advisory Council, we can help align learning with real-world workforce requirements while giving students greater exposure to the realities of modern manufacturing,’ shared Arnel Recolizado, Chief Green Officer for Yamaha Motor Philippines. ‘This collaboration benefits both industry and society by helping develop skilled talent, expanding opportunities for young people, and strengthening the long-term competitiveness of the Philippine economy.’

The initiative supports the development of the Batangas State University – LIMA Campus, which is designed to advance a model of industry-based learning by bringing education and industry into closer collaboration. Located within LIMA Estate, the campus provides students with direct access to operating industries, modern technologies, and professional environments that can enrich learning and strengthen workforce preparation.

The 10-hectare Batangas State University-LIMA Campus, located within LIMA Estate’s Industrial Hub, will serve as the Philippines’ first learning hub for industry-based learning, strengthening embedded workforce sustainability by directly linking engineering education with the evolving needs of industrial operations and supporting long-term talent development within the ecosystem.

This vision begins to take shape in August 2026 when the Batangas State University-LIMA Campus welcomes its pioneering batch of 800 freshman engineering and engineering technology students. The interim facility represents the first phase of a planned 10-hectare campus that will further expand opportunities for collaboration among students, educators, and industry partners.

As the Industry Advisory Council begins its work and the Batangas State University-LIMA Campus welcomes its first students, the partnership advances a model where education, employment, and industry development are more closely connected. Through Talent Edge and the BatStateU LIMA Campus, LIMA Estate continues to evolve as a working learning ecosystem where students, educators, and industry leaders can engage more closely, creating stronger pathways from education to employment and supporting the long-term competitiveness of Philippine industry.

Defence Minister meets Tinubu, debunks resignation rumour

Minister of Defence, General Christopher Musa (rtd) met with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Tuesday, dismissing speculations that he wants to quit the cabinet.

The Minister said he was surprised by the rumour surrounding his office, adding that he was prepared to take legal action against those peddling the fake news.

Addressing State House Correspondents after the meeting, which lasted about an hour, Musa said he was at the villa for routine security briefing.

While appealing to Nigerians to support the armed forces, he said tackling the prevailing insecurity in parts of the country require collective effort of citizens and not security agencies alone.

He said, ‘I just came back from briefing Mr President on the current security situation, and he is very happy with us. We are going to continue doing well.

‘I want to seize this opportunity to appreciate Nigerians for all the support. The support has been massive.

‘To defeat the terrorists and the bandits is a whole-of-society approach. Nigerians have keyed into it, and things are getting better, and they will continue to improve.’

On the speculation of resignation, Musa said, ‘I am not going anywhere. I have never discussed this. I don’t even know who the person is that brought that information.

‘But whoever it is, we will take legal action against them. We are surprised. I was shocked when I saw that. I don’t know where that came from. But you always expect that there will be people who will not be happy when things are going well.

‘Security is improving, things are getting better, and for them, that is a sad point. They always want to make it look as if it is not so.’

The cost of a healthy diet in Kenya up 76pc in eight years

The cost of a healthy plate of food in Kenya has risen by 75.79 percent over the past eight years, new data from a group of United Nations agencies shows, pushing nutritious meals further out of reach for over 43 million Kenyans even as the country’s food insecurity crisis persists.

The data shows that the cost of a healthy diet in Kenya climbed from $2.56 (about Sh114.68 at current purchasing power parity rates) per person per day in 2017 to $4.50 (about Sh201.6) in 2025. The IMF has set Kenya’s current purchasing power parity (PPP)-the rate primarily used to compare living standards and economic productivity across nations-at 44.8 against the international dollar.

The data is from a survey conducted by UN agencies including the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development, the United Nations Children’s Fund, the World Food Programme and the World Health Organization.

According to the FAO, a healthy diet is adequate, diverse, balanced, and moderate, ensuring that people receive the necessary nutrients while avoiding harmful excesses.

The cost estimates are based on what the FAO calls a ‘healthy diet basket’, which is a combination of the cheapest locally available foods across six food groups: starchy staples, animal-source foods, legumes, nuts and seeds, oils and fats, fruits, and vegetables, standardised to provide 2,330 kilocalories per day. It is designed as a cost floor, not a record of what people actually eat, and does not capture the cost of preparing food or how it is shared within a household.

In 2017, a healthy diet in Kenya was cheaper than the Eastern African sub-regional average ($2.56 versus $2.84). By 2025, the two had nearly closed the gap, with Kenya at $ 4.50 and Eastern Africa as a whole at $4.34. Kenya’s 2025 cost also sits close to the average for lower-middle-income countries globally, $4.36, the income group that Kenya belongs to.

Rising diet costs across Africa are attributed to climate shocks affecting harvests, elevated fuel and transport costs, reliance on food imports, post-harvest losses, and volatility in global markets-particularly for nutrient-dense foods such as fruits, vegetables, legumes, and lean proteins, which make up the most expensive part of a healthy diet. In the region, animal-source foods, fruits and vegetables together account for close to 70 per cent of the total cost of a healthy diet, despite contributing less than half of its calories.

‘Inflation continued to raise food prices in 2025…The percentage of people who cannot afford a healthy diet (PUA) remains highest in Africa, where it is estimated to have reached 66.6 percent in 2025, more than double the levels currently estimated for Asia (28.9 percent) and Latin America and the Caribbean (25.7 percent),’ reads the report.

That 75.8 percent increase outpaced the global average, which rose from $2.94 to $4.28 over the same period, and pushed Kenya’s diet cost above the world average for the first time in the series, even though the country remains a lower-middle-income economy with far lower average incomes than many high-income countries with cheaper healthy diets.

Meanwhile, 76.3 percent of Kenyans, or about 43.9 million people, could not afford a healthy diet in 2025, up from 69.8 percent (34.3 million people) in 2017. The situation worsened in 2021, when 78.0 percent of the population was priced out of a healthy diet, at the height of pandemic-era disruption and the food and fuel price shocks that followed.

That means Kenya added roughly 9.6 million people to the ranks of those unable to afford proper nutrition in eight years.

‘When healthy food becomes unaffordable, households typically shift toward cheaper, calorie-dense but nutrient-poor foods, a pattern linked to childhood stunting and a rising burden of diet-related non-communicable diseases such as diabetes and hypertension,’ said the report.

Kenya’s food unaffordability rate is now higher than both the Sub-Saharan Africa average (73.5 percent) and the Africa-wide average (66.6 percent), and more than double the global average of 32.7 percent. It is also marginally higher than the Eastern Africa subregional average of 76.5 percent, a group that includes Ethiopia, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Somalia, among others.

Universal design must go mainstream, say expo organisers

It is time for universal design (UD) to move beyond merely meeting legal requirements and to become part of everyday life, say organisers of the upcoming UD Expo in Bangkok.

Thailand’s ageing society and growing diversity highlight the need for equal access to infrastructure and services, said Pinya Jamroonsart, deputy director-general of the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities.

The department, under the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security, is staging the expo in partnership with the Thais with Disabilities Foundation (TDF) and Thammasat University.

Thailand has about 14.16 million people aged 60 and over and 2.25 million registered persons with disabilities. According to the World Health Organization, around 1.3 billion people, or 16% of the global population, live with some form of disability.

‘These figures reflect the fact that equal access to infrastructure is not an issue for one particular group, but a fundamental challenge for national development,’ Ms Pinya said on Tuesday.

She said universal design should be treated as a core principle in the design of homes, transport systems, roads, pavements, buildings, products and services, rather than simply a compliance requirement.

Supachip Dithet, chairman of the TDF, said sustainable universal design must begin by listening to users and viewing accessibility as an interconnected system.

‘Design that provides equal access for everyone can help remove barriers to education, employment, travel and services, while creating economic opportunities and new markets for businesses,’ he said.

Assoc Prof Chumkhet Sawaengcharoen, head of the Centre for Universal Design and Environment at Thammasat University, said research must be translated into practical standards, design guidelines and policy recommendations that can be adopted by public agencies and businesses.

The UD Expo for Persons with Disabilities and Better Living for All will be held on July 24 and 25 at Halls 9-10 of Impact Exhibition and Convention Centre in Muang Thong Thani.

The event will feature more than 50 booths representing 80 organisations, along with over 25 panel discussions.

What do Le Labo’s numbers stand for?

If you’ve ever found yourself staring at a bottle of Le Labo and wondering what the number after the name actually means, you’re not alone.

While the fragrance brand’s minimalist labels have become iconic in their own right, the numbers aren’t random – they’re one of Le Labo’s most deliberate design choices.

Every fragrance name follows a simple formula: the fragrance’s dominant note, followed by the total number of ingredients used to create it.

For example, Thé Matcha 26 spotlights the soft, creamy aroma of matcha tea and is composed of 26 ingredients. Rose 31, meanwhile, reimagines the classic floral with a spicy, woody twist, while ’31’ denotes the number of ingredients in the blend.

The only fragrance that breaks the rule is Another 13.

Despite what its name suggests, ‘Another’ isn’t an olfactive note. The fragrance was created in 2010 as an exclusive collaboration with AnOther Magazine under editor-in-chief Jefferson Hack, borrowing its name directly from the publication.

The ’13’ still stays true to Le Labo’s naming convention, referring to the number of ingredients, but the fragrance itself revolves around the radiant, skin-like molecule Ambroxan rather than a note called ‘another’.

It’s a detail that’s easy to miss, but once you know how to read Le Labo’s labels, every bottle becomes a little less mysterious.

No going back on FGC Kano land swap, FG insists

The Federal Government has declared that it will proceed with the proposed land swap arrangement at the Federal Government College (FGC), Kano, insisting that the initiative is necessary to generate resources for the expansion and rehabilitation of infrastructure in the school.

Minister of Education, Dr Maruf Olatunji Alausa, made the declaration on Monday during an inspection visit to the college alongside the Minister of State for Education, officials of the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC), and the Kano State Commissioner for Education.

The minister said the government would not be swayed by sentiments or opposition, maintaining that every decision would be guided by the interest of students.

‘There is no going back. We will do what we think is right for Nigerian children. It is not about sentiment or emotion; it is about giving every child access to the highest quality of education,’ Alausa said.

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He explained that the proposed Public-Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement would enable the government to unlock the economic value of unused portions of the school’s land to finance critical infrastructure projects.

According to him, retaining large expanses of land that are unlikely to be utilised serves little purpose when the same assets can be leveraged to improve learning facilities.

‘There is no need keeping so many hectares of land that we are not going to use in the next 100 years. If we can mobilise resources through partnerships to improve infrastructure and expand capacity, then we should do so,’ he said.

The minister said he personally questioned the school’s principal on whether the arrangement would benefit the institution and its students, adding that the response was an unequivocal ‘Yes’.

He stressed that the Federal Ministry of Education had carried out multiple assessments before reaching the decision and was not relying solely on reports from Abuja.

Alausa said the government remained open to any investor, including old students of the college, willing to partner in the project under acceptable terms.

‘If the old students want to undertake the same land swap arrangement and mobilise resources for the development of the school, we are ready to discuss with them,’ he said.

The minister noted that the land swap proposal formed part of the Federal Government’s broader strategy to mobilise domestic resources for education, complementing budgetary allocations.

During the visit, Alausa also commissioned a renovated solar-powered e-library at the college and inspected other facilities, describing the improvements as part of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s commitment to providing quality education across the country.

He also commended Kano State Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf for his investment in the education sector, particularly the ongoing construction of bilingual schools aimed at integrating Almajiri and out-of-school children into formal education.

On his part, the Kano State Commissioner for Education, Ali Haruna Makoda, said the state government remained committed to collaborating with the Federal Government to improve educational outcomes.

He noted that Kano had consistently increased budgetary allocations to education and welcomed federal interventions aimed at strengthening infrastructure and expanding access to quality learning across the state.

WSJ: Iran relocates thousands of uranium enrichment centrifuges

Iran transferred thousands of centrifuges used for uranium enrichment to tunnels deep beneath Mount Pikaks last autumn, AzerNEWS reports, citing The Wall Street Journal.

According to the information, the centrifuges were relocated to the underground facility following the 12-day conflict in June 2025, during which three of Iran’s largest nuclear sites were struck.

Mount Pikaks has long been monitored by the United States and Israel. The underground complex, located near one of Iran’s key nuclear facilities, was commissioned to replace a centrifuge assembly plant that suffered extensive damage in an explosion in 2020.

The Institute for Science and International Security, a think tank specializing in nuclear weapons and non-proliferation, said the site has undergone extensive upgrades over the past 15 months. These include increased truck activity, tunnel reinforcement, and the construction of a security perimeter.

The institute also reported that Iran has been working to restore an older tunnel network, originally built in 2007 and later sealed off, further fueling concerns about the country’s nuclear infrastructure.

Tehran claimed that the site is intended solely as a factory for the production and assembly of advanced centrifuges, not as an active enrichment facility.

Residents seek improved sports facilities to boost development in Gwagwalada

Some residents of Gwagwalada Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have called for improved sports facilities, regular competitions, and greater investment in grassroots sports to boost youth development.

The residents made the call in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Gwagwalada.

They said that although many young people were interested in sporting activities, poor facilities, inadequate equipment, and limited opportunities continued to hinder their participation and development.

Mr Samuel Peter, a grassroots football coach, said many talented youths possessed the passion and ability to excel but lacked the facilities needed to realise their potential.

‘Many talented young players have the passion and ability to succeed, but poor facilities and inadequate equipment limit their development.’

Similarly, Mr Obaletin Jude, a grassroots footballer, said poor playing conditions and inadequate equipment had made it difficult for many young players to develop their skills.

‘I play football because I genuinely love the sport, but we train on rough pitches and sometimes we do not even have enough footballs. Transporting players to competitions is another major challenge,’ Jude said.

Also speaking, Mr Alake Destiny, another grassroots footballer, described sporting activities in his community as irregular due to poor infrastructure.

‘The biggest challenges we face are poor playing pitches and inadequate equipment. We need proper football fields, lighting for evening training, and quality training equipment,’ he said.

Mr Adejoh Israel, a resident, said football, volleyball, basketball, table tennis, and badminton remained popular among young people in Gwagwalada.

Israel said snooker had become one of the fastest-growing recreational activities because of the availability of several centres.

‘Many sports facilities were built years ago but have not been maintained. Damaged equipment increases the risk of injury, and there are not enough facilities to accommodate everyone who wants to play,’ he said.(NAN).

’Reliance on imported fuel, top PHL risk’

THE biggest hurdle that the Philippines faces right now is not driven by politics but its exposure to imported fuel, which has stunted the country’s progress over the years, according to Citi Philippines.

‘Let’s not forget that the biggest challenge for the country right now is not even driven by politics. It’s really external unfortunately because of our exposure to imported fuels,’ Citi Philippines CEO and Banking Head Paul Favila told reporters.

‘If you take that away, then maybe we would have made a lot more progress,’ added Favila.

He said this during a briefing on Tuesday in Taguig City, in the context of how the Philippines is ‘viewed from the outside’ after the bank hosted the Philippine Economic Team at its headquarters in New York in April-which he said was ‘right smack in the middle’ of the Middle East conflict.

‘As a Filipino, I’ve always also been curious about how we were viewed from the outside and compare it with how we view things on the ground,’ Favila said, adding that there was a ‘very strong’ message that he received.

The CEO of Citi Philippines said the first fact he heard is what the Philippines is going through politically ‘is no different from what we see everywhere around the world,’ especially in Asia.

‘Politics is politics-it lives in its own realm, if you will,’ Favila said. Quoting the person he was in discussion with, he said: ‘The one thing that makes the Philippines different is that your politics actually seeps into your economy.’

While this is the same case being experienced by most countries, he pointed out that the Philippines has ‘not gotten to the level’ wherein parliamentarians are throwing chairs at each other.

Favila explained this after he was asked a question on the ongoing impeachment trial in the Senate against the Philippines’s Vice President Sara Duterte and how this will affect investor confidence and sentiment in the Philippines.

‘And I hope we don’t. But that has never detracted these countries from continuing to progress economically. And I guess that’s the message that we’re saying,’ added Favila.

‘We are not too fussed about politics because politics, that’s human nature. And we all understand politics from that perspective. This is about individuals playing politics,’ Favila explained further, adding that politics is an ‘industry in itself’ but it has no place in the economy.

‘Because politics does not know how to run an economy,’ Favila pointed out.

Legislator pushes measure modernizing blood center

A LAWMAKER is pushing for the passage of a bill that seeks to modernize the Philippine Blood Center (PBC) and strengthen its role in ensuring timely and safe access to life-saving blood services.

Parañaque Rep. Brian Yamsuan said converting the PBC into an institution with administrative autonomy and stable funding would allow it to effectively address the country’s persistent shortage of blood supply, particularly during disasters and public health emergencies.

‘The Philippine Blood Center currently operates without a legislative charter, and its budget remains limited for it to properly perform its functions as the national service facility for blood collection, testing, distribution, and other blood-related services. It is very important that it be given enough funds and authority because of its extremely critical role in saving lives,’ Yamsuan said.

‘As the country celebrates National Blood Donors Month to raise awareness about voluntary blood donation and recognize selfless blood donors, we should, likewise, put equal focus on the need to institutionalize a national blood center to promote the uniform implementation of standards for blood safety and availability,’ he added.

To address these gaps, Yamsuan filed House Bill 7871, which seeks to institutionalize the PBC and provide it with an initial funding of P100 million.

The PBC was established in 2005 through an administrative issuance of the Department of Health (DOH) to serve as the national service facility for blood collection, testing, processing, storage, and distribution, as well as donor recruitment and training.

Despite these vital functions, the PBC operates without a legislative charter. Thus, its existence, authority, organizational structure, and funding remain dependent on administrative issuances and executive priorities.

‘The PBC was established twenty-one years ago, yet up to now, many of our countrymen depend on the Philippine Red Cross if they need blood for critical surgeries, diseases, and traumatic injuries. This is because the PBC lacks the funds and authority to implement its functions,’ he added.

Yamsuan said institutionalizing the PBC through HB 7871 will ensure the center has sufficient funding necessary for it to invest in modern technologies and infrastructure and sustain a nationwide blood donor mobilization drive to fill the country’s annual requirement of one million units of blood.

To bring blood services closer to underserved communities, the bill also provides for the establishment of regional blood centers that would be fully coordinated with the PBC to ensure that their operations remain aligned with national standards and policies.

‘This approach promotes equity in accessing blood services and will dramatically improve response times during emergencies. It will also strengthen capacities at the local level for blood collection and other blood services and enhance preparedness during public health crises and disasters when rapid mobilization is critical,’ Yamsuan said.

Yamsuan said this network would improve access to blood services, enhance local capacities, and ensure faster response during emergencies and disasters.

He added that the proposal aligns with World Health Organization recommendations, which call for a nationally coordinated blood system backed by a legislative framework to ensure the safety, quality, and adequate supply of blood and blood products across the country.