Author: user user

Alas beach volleyball squads boost experience for SEA Games bid

The Alas Pilipinas national beach volleyball teams led by the celebrated pair of Sisi Rondina and Bernadeth Pons has thrown everything out the window to focus on the 33rd Southeast Asian Games Thailand is hosting in December.

And the experience they gained from competing against some of the world’s best in the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour Challenge comes in handy in the SEA Games beach volleyball competitions set December 12-19 at the Huamark Sports Complex in Bangkok.

‘We’re all happy that we were able to participate in the Challenge, although it was a short campaign for us, we learned a lot from every match that we can apply in SEA Games,’ said Pons, who with Rondina became the first-ever Philippine pair – men or women – to win a match in the Challenge and reach the round of 24.

‘We must continue training hard, we must be consistent in our timing, attacks, receives and blocking,’ Pons said. ”Good thing we were able to play against competitive teams in the Challenge.’

Alas Pilipinas’s Brazilian head coach Joao ‘Kioday’ Luciano Simao Barbosa said the candidate teams to the Thailand SEA Games include Sunny Villapando and Dij Rodriguez, Jenny Gaviola and Alexa Polidario and Kly Orillaneda and Gen Eslapor for the women’s squad.

The men candidates are Cambodia 2023 Southeast Asian Games bronze medalists James Buytrago and Ran Abdilla, Ronniel Rosales and Rancel Vergara and Edwin Tolentino and Larry John Francisco.

Each country is allowed two teams in the Thailand SEA Games.

According to Alas Pilipinas beach volleyball team manager Cherry Macatangay, all six pairs will be corralled in the Nuvali Sand Courts by Ayala Land in Santa Rosa City to fully concentrate on the games that are 55 days away.

“We’re ready anytime if chosen for the SEA Games,’ Gaviola said. ‘We’ll determine what adjustments to make.’

Thailand and Indonesia are the dominant force in SEA Games beach volleyball with eight gold medals each in the women and men categories, respectively.

The Philippines, on the other hand, has six bronze medals – three in each gender – since the discipline became a medal sport in 2003.

Bukidnon roaster takes top spot in 2025 Philippine coffee competition

A Bukidnon-based roaster claimed the top prize at the 2025 Philippine Coffee Roasting Competition, held from October 5 to 9 at the Sultan Kudarat Convention Center in Tacurong City.

Representing Coffee Wagon Café and Roastery, Bruce Bryan Rubio bested 14 other top-tier roasters from across the country in a showcase of precision, creativity and passion for the craft.

Organized by the Filipino Coffee Institute (FCI), the annual competition brings together the nation’s finest roasters to highlight innovation and excellence in Philippine coffee.

This year’s event was held alongside the Southeast Asian (SEA) Green Coffee Competition and the Philippine Coffee Innovation Summit, drawing participants and stakeholders from across Asia-including Indonesia, Thailand, Taiwan, South Korea, Singapore, Vietnam, China, Laos, Myanmar and the Philippines.

‘This win isn’t just mine. It belongs to the entire coffee community,’ said Rubio. ‘It’s a validation of the craft we practice every day at Coffee Wagon-from sourcing and profiling to roasting. It represents the hard work, passion, and perseverance of my team.’

Rubio shared that his preparation began immediately after last year’s competition. Each roast session became a learning opportunity-testing profiles, evaluating flavors, and refining techniques to bring out the best in every origin. He also reflected on past missteps, using them as fuel for growth.

‘This wasn’t my first competition, but it was the most demanding,’ he added. ‘The level of detail, precision, and consistency required pushed every roaster to elevate their craft. It’s not just about skill.

It’s about how we interpret coffee through roasting.’

Rubio is now setting his sights on the upcoming international roasting competition in Taiwan this November, while continuing to develop new roast profiles and techniques.

Other winners

1st Runner-Up: Rosario Jeric Gumpic Jr. (Baguio City)

2nd Runner-Up: Arnel Banuag (Cagayan de Oro City)

3rd Runner-Up: Kelvin Lim (Panabo City, Davao del Norte)

4th Place: Joey Maravillas (Senator Ninoy Aquino, Sultan Kudarat)

The event was made possible through the collaboration of FCI with the Provincial Government of Sultan Kudarat, Specialty Coffee Depot, Sultan Kudarat State University, the Department of Agriculture Region 12 and the Department of Trade and Industry Region 12.

Francisco catches fire in OT as Bulldogs fend off Blue Eagles

Paul Francisco waxed hot in overtime, scoring all 10 of National University’s points in the extra period to tow the Bulldogs past the Ateneo Blue Eagles, 71-66, in their UAAP Season 88 men’s basketball clash Saturday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

NU thus finished the first round of the eliminations with a 6-1 win-loss record, good for solo first for now. Ateneo dropped to 4-3 with their third straight defeat.

Francisco, who finished the game 13 points, missed what could have been the game-winner in regulation.

But he atoned for it in the overtime period as he carried NU to the win.

The Bulldogs led by as much as 18 points early, but it was erased by Ateneo slowly.

NU went ahead by seven points in the fourth, 53-46, after an and-one play by Omar John.

But Ateneo was able to tie things up at 55-all with a 9-2 run capped by a 3-pointer by Jaden Lazo.

After both teams traded baskets, a John deuce gave NU a 61-58 advantage within the final minute.

But Shawn Tuano brought the game to overtime after a triple with 8.3 seconds left in regulation.

Come the overtime period, Francisco started things off with a 3-pointer, but Lazo answered back with a three of his own.

But a split from the line by Francisco, followed by back-to-back 3-pointers from the NU guard, gave the Bulldogs a 71-66 cushion with 38.1 seconds to go.

The Sampaloc-based squad missed costly free throws down the stretch, but Ateneo could not capitalize as NU held on.

Jake Figueroa flirted with a triple-double with 13 points, 10 rebounds, eight assists, two steals and two blocks for the Bulldogs. Steve Nash Enriquez chipped in 12 markers while John tallied 11 points and nine rebounds.

Lazo powered Ateneo, which played without main floor general Jared Bahay, with 17 markers, three dimes and two boards. Tuano contributed 15 points, while Dom Escobar added 14 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists and five steals.

Barangay exec’s son hurt in Basilan gun attack

A 30-year-old son of a barangay chairman was hurt when gunmen fired M16 assault rifles at their family’s roadside bakery in Parangbasak, Lamitan City, Basilan, on Saturday morning, October 18.

The Basilan Provincial Police Office stated in an initial report to Brig. Gen. Jaysen De Guzman, director of the Police Regional Office-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region, that the motorcycle-riding men opened fire at the bakery of Parangbasak’s 68-year-old barangay chairman, Juddihal Iralan Muddalan, and immediately motored away.

Mudallan’s son, Alcarem Ballaho Muddalan, an incumbent member of the Parangbasak barangay council, was hit by a bullet in his right arm. He was immediately transported by emergency responders to a hospital for treatment.

The victim’s father is known for his active involvement, as barangay chairman, in police and military law-enforcement activities in all areas within the territory of Parangbasak, one of the more than 40 barangays in Lamitan City, Basilan, in the Bangsamoro region.

Lt. Col. Elmer Solon, chief of the Lamitan City Police Station, relayed to PRO-BAR’s headquarters in Camp SK Pendatun in Parang, Maguindanao del Norte, that investigators and residents of Barangay Parangbasak are cooperating in identifying the gunmen behind the attack for prosecution.

Lamitan City gets regional award for power-generation project

The local government unit of Lamitan City has received an award from the Bangsamoro local government ministry for its power plant project and shall receive a P4 million fund incentive as part of the special citation package.

Radio reports on Saturday, October 18, in Cotabato City stated that the P4 million that the Ministry of the Interior and Local Government-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region shall release to the Lamitan City local government unit is a prize for its having been awarded the MILG-BARMM’s LGU Grant Assistance for Innovative Practices (LGAIP) 2025 for its multi-million Reinventing Our Services in Electricity, or ROSE, diesel power plant project.

The ROSE diesel power plant was established by the Lamitan City LGU about four years ago.

Residents of Lamitan City, covering more than 40 barangays, first learned about the award from a letter to its mayor, Roderick Furigay, sent by the director-general of the MILG-BARMM, engineer Khalid Dumagay, confirming that their LGU shall receive LGAIP 2025 in recognition of its ROSE diesel power plant project.

Regional officials of MILG-BARMM, which is being managed concurrently by the region’s chief minister, Abdulrauf Macacua, and Furigay, signed in Davao City last Wednesday, October 16, the documents pertaining to the P4 million prize for the ROSE diesel power plant project’s recognition as an exemplary LGU innovative thrust via the LGAIP 2025 selection process.

Lamitan City is in Basilan, one of the five provinces in BARMM. The region also has two other cities: Marawi, the capital of Lanao del Sur, and Cotabato in Maguindanao del Norte, where the Bangsamoro regional capitol is located.

‘We are grateful to the Bangsamoro government for this very special recognition,’ Furigay, now in his second term as Lamitan City mayor, said on Saturday.

MILG-BARMM officials said Lamitan City had received six Seal of Good Local Governance (SGLG) awards from the central office of the Department of the Interior and Local Government in the past seven years.

The yearly grant by the DILG central office of the SGLG award to municipal, city, and provincial governments is based on efficiency in public service, handling of local government coffers, and extensive peacebuilding and security initiatives of nominees.

The DILG central office does not grant an SGLG to a nominated LGU whose elected officials have graft cases in courts or in the Ombudsman, or are involved in criminal activities.

‘We give the Lamitan City local government unit two thumbs up for its ROSE diesel power plant project,’ Macacua, figurehead of the 80-seat Bangsamoro regional parliament, told reporters in Cotabato City on Friday.

Furigay said they intend to use the P4 million LGAIP 2025 grant to set up solar lighting facilities in strategic areas in Lamitan City.

Second meeting of Azerbaijan-Kazakhstan Supreme Interstate Council to be held in Astana

The second meeting of the Azerbaijan-Kazakhstan Supreme Interstate Council will be held in Astana, said President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev in an exclusive interview with Kazinform News Agency ahead of his state visit to Kazakhstan, Azernews reports.

“It is also worth emphasizing the importance of the Supreme Interstate Council, whose first meeting took place last year during the state visit of the President of Kazakhstan to Azerbaijan. During the upcoming second meeting in Astana, further prospects for mutually beneficial cooperation and steps to elevate Azerbaijani-Kazakh relations to a new level will be discussed,” said President Ilham Aliyev.

First VP Mehriban Aliyeva attends opening of administrative office of Embassy of Azerbaijan to the Holy See [PHOTO]

The official opening ceremony of the administrative office of the Embassy of the Republic of Azerbaijan to the Holy See took place on October 17.

First Vice-President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Mehriban Aliyeva and Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Secretary of State of the Vatican, attended the event.

Azerbaijan’s Ambassador to the Holy See Ilgar Mukhtarov briefed the participants on the newly opened administrative office, located on Via della Conciliazione – the main avenue leading to St. Peter’s Basilica, in close proximity to the Apostolic Palace of the Vatican. The street also hosts official institutions of the Vatican, as well as administrative offices of several embassies accredited to the Holy See.

It was highlighted that relations between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Holy See have been steadily developing in recent years in a spirit of mutual respect, interest, and fruitful cooperation, with collaboration deepening and diversifying across various fields.

Following the ceremony, First Vice-President Mehriban Aliyeva and Cardinal Pietro Parolin exchanged views over tea on bilateral relations, the international agenda, and other matters of mutual interest.

Given that the Holy See serves as the spiritual and ideological center for more than a billion Catholics worldwide, the activities of Azerbaijan’s diplomatic mission hold particular significance for promoting the country’s realities to the global community.

In 2021, President Ilham Aliyev signed the law on the official establishment of the Embassy of Azerbaijan to the Holy See. In 2022, Ilgar Mukhtarov was appointed as Azerbaijan’s first resident ambassador to the Holy See.

President Ilham Aliyev: Investment cooperation between Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan is strengthening

‘Investment cooperation between Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan is also strengthening,’ President Ilham Aliyev said during his interview with Kazinform News Agency.

‘Azerbaijani investments in Kazakhstan’s economy have reached $225 million, while Kazakh investments in Azerbaijan total $136 million. These figures demonstrate both sides’ mutual interest in long-term partnership and sustainable development,’ the head of state added.

First Vice-President of Azerbaijan Mehriban Aliyeva visited Vatican Apostolic Library [PHOTOS/VIDEO]

On October 17, First Vice-President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Mehriban Aliyeva visited the Vatican Apostolic Library.

Archbishop Giovanni Cesare Pagazzi, Head of the Apostolic Library and Apostolic Archive, informed First Vice-President Mehriban Aliyeva about the historical manuscripts, as well as historical sources, restored and digitized within the framework of the Memorandum of Understanding signed between the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences, the Vatican Apostolic Library, and the Vatican Apostolic Archive.

It was mentioned that in 2013 and 2014, the restoration and digitization of 75 manuscripts of importance in the context of preservation of the history and culture of Azerbaijan, including the Turkic heritage, discovered in the Vatican Apostolic Library with the support of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, have already been carried out.

The cooperation with the Vatican Apostolic Library and the Vatican Apostolic Archive will provide Azerbaijani scientists and researchers with access to rare manuscripts, ancient maps, as well as valuable publications in various languages preserved there, thereby allowing to obtain new and important information about the historical and cultural heritage of Azerbaijan in the future.

It is worth noting that the Vatican Apostolic Library is one of the world’s oldest and richest libraries. Its foundation was officially laid by Pope Sixtus IV in 1475. This library houses more than 80 thousand manuscripts and over 1.6 million books related to history, religion, and culture. Its main collections consist of ancient manuscripts, incunabula (books dating back to the 15th century), maps, engravings, and written documents. The library is open for researchers and scholars interested in conducting scientific studies.

The Vatican Apostolic Archive is a sacred and scientifically valuable place where official documents, letters, and administrative correspondence collected by the Holy See over the centuries are preserved. This archive contains a rare and unique heritage in terms of both church and world history. This place, which has been known as the “Secret Vatican Archive” for many years, was renamed the Vatican Apostolic Archive by Pope Francis in 2019.

The Vatican Apostolic Archive, regarded as one of the world’s largest historical archives, contain documents dating from the 9th century to the present day. This archive is considered the memory of the Catholic Church. Its function is to ensure the preservation of the church’s historical decisions, positions and diplomatic relations for future generations. The archive is directly overseen by the Pope, managed by a prefect appointed by him.

Then, First Vice-President of Azerbaijan Mehriban Aliyeva presented a series of books and publications highlighting the history, nature and cultural heritage of Azerbaijan to the Apostolic Library.

Two M-class solar flares erupt on Sun, Russian scientists report

On the night of October 17-18, the Sun unleashed two moderate solar flares classified as M-class, according to the Russian Institute of Applied Geophysics, Azernews reports. One flare, rated M1.0, lasted 26 minutes, while the second persisted for 21 minutes, marking a period of moderate solar activity that experts continue to monitor closely.

Solar flares are sudden bursts of radiation caused by the release of magnetic energy in the Sun’s atmosphere. They are categorized into five classes based on their X-ray brightness: A, B, C, M, and X. M-class flares are medium-strength events-more intense than C-class flares but less powerful than X-class flares. While unlikely to cause major disruptions on Earth, they can affect satellite communications, GPS systems, and power grids under certain conditions.

The Russian Institute emphasized the importance of monitoring solar activity to better understand the Sun’s behavior and anticipate potential impacts on Earth’s technological systems. The recent flares were observed using advanced solar observation instruments, enabling scientists to track their intensity, duration, and possible geomagnetic effects.

Solar activity follows an approximately 11-year cycle, with alternating periods of higher and lower flare frequency. Currently, the Sun is approaching a phase of heightened activity, making continuous observation critical for both scientific research and practical applications, such as predicting geomagnetic storms that could disrupt satellites or electricity transmission networks.

Although these recent M-class flares were moderate, they provide valuable insights for solar physicists and space weather forecasters. Understanding such events helps improve early-warning systems and informs preparations to protect modern technological infrastructure from potential solar impacts.