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Paper Rex exits Valorant Champions Paris at 4th place

Pacific’s top seed and Masters Toronto champion Paper Rex has been eliminated in the Valorant Champions Tour’s culminating event – the Valorant Champions Paris – after suffering a 0-2 sweep from fellow Pacific be South Korea’ DRX in the lower bracket semifinals.

After an undefeated run in the group stages, Paper Rex absorbed its first loss of the tournament, against Europe’s FNATIC, which had enacted its revenge for falling to the Southeast Asian organization back in the grand finals of Masters Toronto.

Relegated to the lower brackets, Paper Rex managed to regroup and dispatch Europe’s Team Heretics to stay alive in the tournament, only to set up a Pacific El Clasico as it went up against fellow Pacific team DRX in the lower bracket semis.

In DRX’s map pick of Ascent, Paper Rex had a strong defensive side, finishing the half with a 9-3 lead, only for DRX to answer with a five-consecutive-round win to even out the series and eventually force an overtime. Though Paper Rex managed to take the opening round, it was DRX that would close out the map at 13-15.

The South Koreans continued to ride their winning momentum in Lotus, dismantling Paper Rex’s offensive side to sweep the Express, 13-8, and eliminate them from the tournament.

Though seeing the end of their 2025 season, the Express remained upbeat with what they were able to achieve after a rocky start in the beginning of the year.

‘If you win a trophy in any year, it’s a good year. We’ve attended the two big events, Toronto and Paris, and we did well in Champs, in my opinion. I think we would have lost to the two teams that are in the top three. So that means that if anything, I think we lost to better teams, and I’m very, very proud of their performance in general, especially their resilience at the start of the year. I think the fact that we still managed to stick together and go through our tough times, I think it’s a huge milestone for the team. As a group, I think I just want them to know I’m very proud of them. I thought that they improved all the way here. And particularly for PatMen, I think as a rookie to come into our team, it’s a hard thing to do, and I know there’s a lot of self-doubt, but I think you should look back and be proud of yourself because I think you played well throughout the year,’ said Paper Rex’ coach Alexandre “alecks” Sallé during the team’s post-match press conference.

Filipino player Patrick “PatMen” Mendoza, who joined Paper Rex last March took to social media to share his message to his Filipino fans after the tough defeat.

“Maraming salamat sa mga messages niyo kababayan kahit sobrang malas ko this game against DRX, sumusuporta pa rin kayo! Sana this offseason mabalik ko yung confidence ko tulad ng dati at mas makapag adjust ako nang mabilis sa meta and roles and mas mahandle ko nang maayos yung pressure. I realized na 3 years in tier 2 is not enough experience for me and playing in tier 1 is so much different but I learned a lot of things this year,’ Mendoza said on his Facebook page.

Echoing his coach, Mendoza said he is proud of the achievements he and his team has done for the year, vowing to do better in the next season.

“It’s been a good run this year still and hoping next year will be better for us and sana mas maraming Pinoy ang makapasok at masuportahan natin! It’s not the end of the world despite losing this and 4th place is not a failure. Thank you ulit sa mga suporta niyo! Next year, I will do my best to be a better player,’ he added.

Oil prices fall as OPEC plans to produce more

The world oil market is facing a shock as OPEC plans to increase oil production. Oil prices fell again on Thursday, marking the fourth straight day of decline.

Brent crude dropped to its lowest level since early June, as traders worried about too much oil in the market.

Sources say OPEC+ may agree to raise production by as much as 500,000 barrels per day in November three times more than the increase for October. Saudi Arabia is reportedly leading this move to regain its share of the market.

Jorge Montepeque, Managing Director of Onyx Capital Group, said some banks, including Macquarie, are warning of a possible ‘super glut’ meaning there could be far more oil than needed, which is lowering market confidence.

Meanwhile, the finance ministers of the G7 countries said on Wednesday they plan to increase pressure on Russia by targeting those who keep buying Russian oil.

The United States also plans to give Ukraine intelligence to help with long-range missile strikes on Russian energy sites. According to officials, this will help Ukraine attack refineries, pipelines, and other key facilities to cut Russia’s oil revenue.

UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo said there are renewed concerns that Russian oil supplies could be disrupted. However, he added that unless actual disruptions occur, the effect on oil prices will likely be small.

Woman nabbed over investment scam

Eight retired military personnel sought the help of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) after falling victim to an investment scam that targeted pensioners.

According to NBI Deputy Director Ferdinand Lavin, the DS Mejia Documents Facilitation Service solicited pensions from military retirees or their widows, promising high returns.

‘This company offers facilitation of the release of military pension, but, upon release, not all money goes straight to the retirees. The company’s leader tells them that it would be placed in investments,’ Lavin said yesterday.

An NBI operation led to the arrest of company owner Dominga Mejia in a restaurant in Quezon City on Tuesday over charges of estafa, swindling and violations of the Financial Products and Services Consumer Protection Act and the Securities Regulation Act.

One of the victims, Commander Bernard Jacob, said he served the Navy for 25 years and invested P1.3 million of his lump sum pension in August last year after the company promised him a return of 10 percent per month.

Jacob said he received P200,000 in cash for the first two months. However, he was issued a bouncing check on the third month, with the firm making several excuses.

‘I was buried in debt and got stuck because I couldn’t pay our creditors anymore,’ Jacob told reporters.

He said Mejia’s late husband also worked for the military, which could have given her knowledge of the Army’s pension system.

Mejia denied the allegations, as her lawyer questioned why the NBI presented her to the media.

‘She remains a suspect,’ Mejia’s lawyer said. ‘Please respect her right to be innocent.’

Eala, WTA leg on Philippine soil?

Alex Eala may finally get the chance to play on home soil if and when the Philippines hosts a WTA Tour leg early next year.

Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) chairman Patrick Gregorio disclosed the possibility the other day, saying the agency will move heaven and earth to make it happen after the 2026 Australian Open slated in January.

‘Hahabulin natin ‘yang WTA125 at sino ba gusto nating maglaro diyan? Syempre si Alex (Eala). This 2026 po two-three weeks right after the AO (Australian Open),’ said Gregorio during the Batang Pinoy launch at the Century Park Hotel.

The good news, however, came after Eala, the 20-year-old Filipina tennis star who’s now No. 58 in the world rankings, yesterday bowed to WTA No. 70 and No. 6 seed Viktorija Golubic of Switzerland, 2-6, 6-2, 6-7 (0-7) in the quarterfinals of the WTA125 Suzhou Open in China.

The No. 4 seed Eala fumbled a strong start and got blanked in the tiebreaker of the deciding set to miss out on her second Final Four appearance.

Still, Eala who took home $3,450 (over P200,000) has made the quarterfinals in four straight WTA Tour events.

That should create and stir the excitement in the PSC-backed event that could be branded as the Manila Open or Philippine Open.

It could serve as Eala’s first tournament on Philippine soil since she turned pro.

Zaldy Co is toast

Bicol Congressman Elizaldy Co is toast. He will be convicted and jailed, perhaps for a long time. His name will be generic for ‘corrupt government official of the worst kind.’ ‘I-Zaldy Co mo na ‘yan’ means steal the taxpayers’ money and run.

Co knows his crime. He is a recidivist. He is now on the run, moving from one country to another, hiding from prying eyes and alert Filipinos, while wearing disguises and surrounded by hordes of bodyguards. It will take a long time before Co returns to the Philippines, if ever – unless the Interpol gets into the game.

‘Zaldy Co will be jailed,’ Department of Public Works and Highways Secretary Vince Dizon told his audience during the MOPC Infra Night, Sept. 30 in Makati. ‘The chances of conviction are higher than 80 percent,’ he assured me.

The evidence against the Ako Bicol party-list congressman is compelling, an ‘open and shut case,’ Vince quotes the lawyer of DPWH which is seeking Co’s prosecution. Co’s companies had bagged P86.1 billion worth of DPWH contracts from 2016 to 2025, the second biggest in the country after the Discayas’ P207 billion, the No. 1 in number and amount of DPWH contracts. Most of the projects done by Co and the Discayas for DPWH are either ghost or substandard. That makes them the two biggest thieves of taxpayers’ money – P86 billion and P207 billion, respectively.

The Independent Commission for Infrastructure’s case No. 1 before the ombudsman is a case against Co, Vince Dizon’s first serious attempt to demand accountability from greedy contractors.

Dizon submitted to the ICI the damning evidence involving Co’s Contract No.24E00047 – the construction of a 425-meter-long road dike along Mag-Asawang Tubig River in Barangay Tagumpay, Naujan, Oriental Mindoro for P289.498 million (up from the original cost of P279 million) under the 2024 General Appropriations Act. Co’s Sunwest Inc. won the rigged bidding.

Two bidders made a bid in 2023 – Sunwest and a Discaya company. There is no record that the Discaya company indeed made a bid. The award to Co was courtesy of the notorious DPWH Mimaropa Region IV-B director Gerald A. Pacanan.

Before any DPWH contract could be awarded, the winning bidder must submit a number of documents. Co did not submit any but got the award and Notice to Proceed (NTP) just the same. Co was supposed to finish the river protection in 360 days. He claimed to have done it in much less time and collected full payment despite shoddy construction and use of substandard but overpriced materials. It won’t protect the people of Brgy. Tagumpay from floods. They clearly lost. A no win. For them and for the national government.

Says the ICI: ‘We have yet to be furnished with copies of the various documents which were supposed to have served as preconditions for the signing of the contract (i.e., performance security; construction Methods, construction schedule, Manpower schedule, equipment utilization schedule, construction safety and health program, contractor’s al-risk insurance, latest income and business tax returns, tax clearances, certification that the contractor is free and clean of all tax liabilities, integrity pledge). For now, we cannot discount the possibility that these documents may not exist at all, or were not submitted in accordance with prevailing laws and regulations.’

What Co did with the Brgy. Tagumpay project and similar projects in Naujan will make you puke in anger and disbelief. The steel sheet piles for the project should have been 12 meters. Co’s company installed only three meters or just 25 percent, giving Sunwest an implied profit of 75 percent. In addition, the installed sheet pile was found to be substandard or below spec.

Only 22 days after the Notice to Proceed on March 14, 2024, Co claimed 25 percent completion. DPWH promptly paid P58.672 million with the gall to claim ‘Phase IV under contract with Sunwest, Inc. have been accomplished consistent with the plans and specifications, and inspected with due consideration on the quality of workmanship.’ The certification was signed by seven DPWH Mimaropa officials led by Pacanan.

Protests the ICI: ‘Certifications aside, the discovery of the apparent substandard steel sheet piles likewise casts grave doubt as to whether all supporting documents for the first progress billing were duly submitted. Moreover, the geotagged progress photos can hardly justify or accurately depict the actual progress of the works.’

Co’s Sunwest submitted only two photographs – a dimly lit photograph of steel sheet piles and a photograph of workers supposedly engaged in ‘clearing and grubbing’ to prove 25 percent ‘progress.’

Says ICI: ‘There are no other photographs submitted to demonstrate a purported 25.03 percent work accomplishment, a mere 22 days after the Notice to Proceed was issued. Making the said progress photos all the more anomalous or suspect is that they were the very same photographs used in support of Progress Billing No. 2.’

Adds ICI: ‘On 25 June 2024, and in support of Progress Billing No. 2, Monthly Certificate of Payment No. 24062068 was issued for the period 16 March 2024 to 15 May 2024 (or a period of 60 days), in the amount of P35,134,206.86. This Certificate of Payment was supported by a Contractor’s Statement of Work Accomplished for the same period, which indicated a supposed completion rate of 40.0225 percent. The very same progress photographs in support of Progress Billing No. 1 were used to support this second Progress Billing.’

‘And unlike Progress Billing No. 1, there appears to have been no Certificate of Inspection issued in support of Progress Billing No. 2 (at the very least, the Commission has yet to be furnished a copy). Disbursement Voucher No. 2406206822 and the corresponding LDDAP-ADA was issued in support of the second partial payment of P35,134,206.86 to Sunwest. Sunwest, in turn, issued an Official Receipt No. 0024266 dated 28 June 2024, confirming receipt of the disbursed amount.’

Co committed similar shenanigans and stole our money.

Clampdown Begins: 250 commercial vehicles caught for overloading in FCT

The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) FCT Command says it apprehended more than 250 commercial vehicles in just two days for overloading, as it begins full enforcement of safety regulations in the territory.

The FCT Sector Commander, Corps Commander Felix Theman, disclosed this in a statement signed by the Command’s Public Education Officer, Mrs Helen Ntaji, on Saturday in Abuja.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the enforcement, which started on Oct. 2, specifically targeted the practice of carrying two passengers in the front seat of taxis.

Theman said that the two-day figure demonstrated the scale of violations in the FCT, in spite months of sustained engagement and education to transport unions.

He explained that his top priority since assumption of office had been restoring passenger dignity and safety, noting that enforcement was the most civil way to ensure compliance.

According to him, overloading makes the use of seatbelts impossible, weakens vehicle suspension and tyres and limits driver control in emergencies.

Theman added that the command’s operation was being carried out in collaboration with mobile magistrate courts to ensure immediate prosecution of offenders.

He said that full activation of mobile courts across the FCT would begin on Oct. 6 to intensify the enforcement.

The commander also warned drivers operating vehicles below minimum safety standards to upgrade them or risk outright impoundment.

He hinted that transport unions had pledged full support for the initiative and urged passengers to cooperate to protect their rights to safe and dignified transportation.

EPL: Kudus inspires Tottenham to end Leeds’ year-long home invincibility

Mohammed Kudus was the hero as Tottenham Hotspur ended Leeds United’s remarkable unbeaten home run with a 2-1 victory at Elland Road on Saturday.

Leeds had not suffered a league defeat on home soil in over a year, their last coming in September 2024 against Burnley in the Championship but Kudus’ brilliance on a rainy afternoon brought that record crashing down.

The Ghanaian midfielder produced a stellar performance, assisting Mathys Tel for Tottenham’s opener and later firing home the decisive goal that sealed all three points for the visitors.

Tel opened the scoring in the 18th minute after latching onto Kudus’ through ball and unleashing a fierce 20-yard strike that deflected off Pascal Struijk and wrong-footed Leeds’ goalkeeper Karl Darlow.

The hosts, however, found a way back into the contest when Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s intelligent hold-up play teed up Brenden Aaronson, whose shot was parried by Guglielmo Vicario into the path of Noah Okafor to tap in the rebound.

But Spurs, hungry to return to winning ways after back-to-back draws, restored their lead in style. Kudus weaved across the top of the box before driving a low effort into the bottom corner to make it 2-1 – a goal that silenced Elland Road.

Despite Leeds’ late surge, including a near-miss from Joel Piroe and a Struijk header over the bar in stoppage time, Tottenham held firm to secure a crucial away win.

The result lifts Spurs to second place on the Premier League table, just one point behind leaders Liverpool, while Leeds’ impressive home record finally comes to an end.

For manager Frank, the victory was a statement of resilience following a tough midweek Europa fixture in the Arctic Circle. With key creative players James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski sidelined, Kudus’ influence was evident – registering his fourth assist of the season, winning 10 duels, and completing six successful dribbles in a dominant display.

As the rain poured down and the final whistle blew, Spurs’ celebrations said it all – this was more than just three points; it was a morale-boosting victory that reaffirmed their title ambitions.

Zamfara Bleeds Again: Bandits kill, abduct dozens in road ambush

Bandits unleashed terror on residents of Zamfara State Friday evening, killing several people and abducting many others in a violent ambush along the Mayanchi-Anka Road.

The Nation reports that eyewitnesses described the attackers as heavily armed and operating with impunity.

According to the report, one of the survivors, Malam Muhammad Ahmad, recounted his narrow escape.

‘The bandits blocked us on the highway and kidnapped many people. Some of us had to flee into the bush. Only those who managed to hide in farms with tall crops escaped,’ he said.

Ahmad also confirmed the death of his colleague, Abubakar Lawali Sardauna, who was killed after refusing to be taken by the armed men. ‘He told them he would not follow them to the bush. They shot him on the spot,’ he added.

As of press time, efforts to reach the Zamfara State Police Public Relations Officer, Yazid Abubakar, were unsuccessful, the report says.

Tinubu rehabilitated me after rebels cut off my hands – CCD Director

The Executive Director of the Centre for Citizens with Disabilities (CCD), Mr David Anyaele, has revealed how President Bola Tinubu rehabilitated him after Sierra Leone rebels amputated his hands in 1999.

He said he wrote to various governments, including Southeast governors, seeking support after his ordeal was televised, but his requests were rejected.

Anyaele spoke on Friday evening during the Nkata Umuibe, a monthly speakers’ series organised by the Centre for Memories (CFM), Enugu, with the theme ‘Onye Aghana Nwanne Ya’.

He explained that the assailants were fighters of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF), which waged war in Sierra Leone between 1991 and 2002.

The disability rights activist said after his request to Southeast governors and others were rejected, he later sent the same appeal to then Lagos governor Bola Tinubu, who directed doctors to examine him.

Medical reports recommended overseas treatment, leading to his rehabilitation in Germany, where artificial hands were fitted.

‘I must thank the Tinubu administration and the good people of Lagos State for their hospitality,’ Anyaele said.

He lamented that living with disability in Igboland often meant enduring discrimination and neglect.

Recounting his ordeal, Anyaele said he was on a business trip to Freetown when he was attacked solely because he was Nigerian.

He recalled that his pleas not to be mutilated were ignored, stressing that many Nigerians faced similar inhuman treatment during Sierra Leone’s civil war.

He said Nigerian-led ECOMOG troops rescued him while he lay in pain and rushed him to hospital, saving his life.

‘That experience changed my world as I suddenly found myself in the disability community, without knowing what the future held,’ he said.

He added that he was subjected to stigma, discrimination, isolation, and exclusion because of his disability.

Appealing to Igbos, Anyaele urged them not to discriminate against persons with disabilities but to embrace inclusion, noting disability could happen to anyone anytime.

He commended Gov. Alex Otti for establishing the Abia State Disability Commission and urged Gov. Peter Mbah to replicate it in Enugu State.

Chelsea Vs Liverpool: Why coach Enzo Maresca was sent off

Chelsea’s manager, Enzo Maresca, was sent off after celebrating his team’s dramatic late goal in their 2-1 win over Liverpool at Stamford Bridge.

Maresca had already received a yellow card earlier in the match for arguing about a VAR decision on a penalty appeal.

When Willian Estevão scored a last-minute winner, Maresca ran across the pitch to celebrate with his players.

Referee Anthony Taylor then showed him a second yellow card, which meant he was sent off.

The red card came in the 96th minute and did not affect Chelsea’s victory.

The win lifts Chelsea to sixth place in the Premier League table with 11 points from seven matches.

Liverpool now drop to second place, behind Arsenal, who had earlier beaten West Ham 2-0.