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Transfer of F-35s to Turkey heightens risk in the Eastern Mediterranean, PSEKA warns

The International Coordinating Committee ‘Justice for Cyprus’ PSEKA has announced a campaign to inform the US Congress about the dangers of the possible transfer of F-35 fighter jets and other advanced military technology to Turkey, warning that strengthening Turkey’s military capabilities could heighten the risk of ‘a new Eastern Mediterranean crisis.’

In a press release entitled ‘Transfer of F-35s to Turkey Poses a Clear and Present Danger,’ the organization links its initiative to the anniversary of Turkey’s invasion of Cyprus, arguing that such a decision would increase the exposure of Greece and the Republic of Cyprus ‘to Turkey’s threats and illegal ambitions.’

‘July 20th is a dark day of commemoration of Turkey’s illegal invasion of our ally, Cyprus,’ the press release said. PSEKA noted that American-made arms were used during the invasion, stressing that Turkey ‘invaded the Republic of Cyprus and killed more than 5,000 innocent people, executed prisoners, including five American citizens, and over one third of the island remains illegally occupied.’

The organization said it was prepared to notify ‘all US Senators, members of the House of Representatives and their staff’ about the dangers that, in its assessment, would arise from the possible transfer of the fighter jets. It also urged Greek American organizations ‘to activate a campaign against such transfers.’

In a letter addressed to members of Congress and signed by PSEKA President Philip Christopher and Coordinated Effort of Hellenes President Andrew E. Manatos, the organizations argue that ‘a vote for F-35s for Turkey’ would condone and encourage dangers to American security.

Among other issues, the letter refers to Ankara’s purchase of the Russian S-400 system and asks: ‘Can we trust Erdogan to ensure sensitive information related to the F-35 does not find its way to Moscow, Beijing, Tehran, and Pyongyang?’

‘Countries receive an F-35 because Washington believes they will safeguard its technology and not pass it on to Russia. Turkey broke that trust when it bought the S-400s,’ it is noted.

The authors also warn that ‘Turkey’s acquisition of the F-35 could result in America’s enemies acquiring information about the fighter jet,’ with possible consequences for Americans and US allies in future conflicts.

The letter also cites Ankara’s relations with Hamas, asking: ‘Should an ally of Hamas have America’s most advanced fighter jet?’ It further states that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has allowed Hamas ‘to make Istanbul its de facto headquarters.’

Particular reference is also made to Greek-Turkish relations. PSEKA notes that the Turkish president has invoked his warning that Turkey ‘may come suddenly one night,’ language which, according to the letter, is interpreted as ‘a military threat against Greece.’

At the same time, the organization accuses Ankara of using its ‘Blue Homeland doctrine’ to assert Turkish maritime claims that ‘overlap Greek and Cypriot waters’ and call into question Greek islands and the Republic of Cyprus’s offshore drilling rights.

‘A positive vote for the F-35s would strip Greece of one of the few decisive military advantages it currently holds over its far larger neighbor,’ it said.

In the section of the letter concerning Cyprus, it is noted that Turkey had committed to ‘use US military equipment for defensive purposes only,’ but, according to PSEKA, ‘used our arms to attack their closest Western World country – Cyprus.’

‘They used US arms in Cyprus supposedly for peacekeeping purposes. Then they executed and dumped into mass graves five Americans and 1,500 Cypriots – children, women and men – and militarily occupied over one third of the country,’ it is added.

Moreover it is noted that Turkey had pledged to ‘use lifting the US arms embargo to ‘save face’ so they could withdraw troops from Cyprus. Instead, however, they flooded the 116,000 Western World Turkish Cypriots with 220,000 Eastern World Turks, thus violating their commitment to the United States as well as Article 49(6) of the Fourth Geneva Convention.’

Cyprus has been divided since 1974 when Turkish troops invaded and occupied 37% of its territory.

PRESS RELEASE – UNIVERSITY OF CYPRUS

C4E Announces the Winners of the G4 FRIENDS Student Research Competition

The Centre for Entrepreneurship (C4E) is pleased to announce the winners of the G4 FRIENDS Student Research Competition, organised in collaboration with G4 FRIENDS.

The competition brought together students, researchers, alumni, and members of the wider university community to conduct research on leading Funds of Funds, VC Secondaries, and Biotech Venture Capital funds.

Participants produced comprehensive analyses covering fund comparisons, investment metrics, portfolio assessments, and market insights, demonstrating a high standard of research and analytical excellence.

We extend our sincere congratulations to the winners of this year’s competition:

1st Place: Elena Georgiou

2nd Place: Costantinos Odysseos

3rd Place: George Kakoulli

We would also like to express our appreciation to all participants for their valuable contributions. The commitment, diligence, and quality of research demonstrated throughout the competition played a significant role in its success.

We thank everyone who participated and contributed to this initiative.

Ethical leadership: An imperative for organisational and national development

In an era of declining trust in institutions, ethical leadership is no longer a desirable ideal. It is an imperative for sustainable organisational and national development.

Ethical leadership goes beyond personal morality. It is the disciplined practice of leading with integrity, fairness, accountability, transparency and responsibility. Whether in a company, a church or a nation, sustainable progress depends not only on strategy and resources but also on the character and conduct of those entrusted with power.

Why ethical leadership matters for organisations

For organisations, ethical leadership has become a strategic necessity. The decisions leaders make, the behaviour they reward and the misconduct they tolerate ultimately determine whether an organisation earns trust or loses it.

Trust remains the currency of leadership. Employees are more committed when they believe their leaders are fair and honest, while customers are more likely to remain loyal to organisations they consider responsible. The collapse of Germany’s Wirecard in 2020 demonstrated the devastating consequences of prioritising appearances and short-term gains over integrity. This was directly caused by systemic accounting fraud. Executives prioritised the illusion of continuous, rapid growth to maintain stock prices and appease investors, resulting in massive debt and pound 1.9 billion in missing funds.

Similarly, South Africa’s Steinhoff scandal showed how corporate misconduct can destroy enormous financial value and undermine confidence in institutions. When the accounting scandal broke in late 2017, Steinhoff’s stock plunged by over 90% in just a few days.

‘Leaders also shape organisational culture through what they model, reward and tolerate. Employees watch what leaders do more closely than what they say.’

The lesson is straightforward: unethical practices may produce impressive results for a time, but the consequences eventually arrive through lawsuits, regulatory sanctions, reputational damage and the loss of stakeholder confidence. Ethical organisations, by contrast, are better positioned to attract talent, retain customers and achieve sustainable growth.

Leaders also shape organisational culture through what they model, reward and tolerate. Employees watch what leaders do more closely than what they say. When leaders demonstrate integrity and accept accountability, these behaviours gradually become embedded in the organisation. When leaders excuse dishonesty because ‘the results are good’, they send an equally powerful message.

Ethical leadership also improves decision-making. It encourages leaders to look beyond immediate profitability and consider the impact of decisions on employees, communities, customers and future generations. In that sense, ethics is not a constraint on performance. It is the foundation of sustainable performance.

How ethical leadership impacts nations:

The same principle applies to nations. National development is often measured by roads built, economies grown and infrastructure delivered. But beneath every sustainable development story lies a more fundamental question: how are leaders using power and public resources?

Ethical leadership promotes good governance by strengthening accountability, transparency, the rule of law and responsible stewardship. Singapore’s transformation from a developing country into a prosperous global economy illustrates how integrity, effective institutions and public accountability can contribute to national progress.

It also encourages economic growth. Investors are more willing to commit capital where governance is predictable, contracts are respected and institutions function fairly. The experience of countries such as Canada demonstrates that capital follows confidence, and confidence is strengthened by ethical governance.

Beyond economics, ethical leadership strengthens social cohesion. Citizens are more likely to cooperate with the government and one another when leaders demonstrate fairness and integrity. Japan’s strong culture of institutional responsibility and collective duty has, for decades, contributed to national resilience.

Nigeria’s recent experience offers a sobering reminder of the importance of institutional controls. The discovery of the so-called Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, which the Presidency described as fictitious, led President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to direct the ICPC to investigate. The controversy also raised questions about how more than ?1.3 billion could reportedly be associated with the entity in the 2026 budget. The allegations and circumstances remain subject to investigation, but the episode has already highlighted the dangers of weak oversight and the importance of accountability.

Ultimately, the choices leaders make today determine the quality of society tomorrow. Ethical leadership is therefore not a luxury or an abstract moral ideal. It is the practical foundation for good governance, economic prosperity, social trust and sustainable development.

Nations may rise through resources and opportunity, but they endure through responsible leadership.

Conclusion

Ethical leadership is not an optional leadership style; it is a fundamental requirement for sustainable organisational and national development. Vision without ethics leads to exploitation. Power without ethics leads to corruption. Progress without ethics becomes unsustainable.

Organisations prosper when leaders inspire trust through integrity. Nations flourish when leaders place public interest above personal ambition.

The future of our organisations and our nation will not be determined merely by the brilliance of our leaders, but by their character.

Ultimately, ethical leadership is the bridge between power and purpose and between leadership and lasting development.

Weather bureau warns legislators: Brace for El Niño intensification

THE state weather bureau on Tuesday warned lawmakers that the ongoing El Niño is expected to intensify in the coming months, potentially triggering widespread dry conditions and drought across the country by November and lasting through the first half of 2027, raising concerns over water supply and food production.

During a House Committee on Agriculture and Food hearing, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa)Climatology and Agrometeorology Division chief, Thelma A. Cinco, said a weak to moderate El Niño is already present and is expected to strengthen steadily in the coming months.

Climate models show a 97 percent probability that El Niño will persist until the first half of 2027, with a strong episode likely by mid-2026 and a ‘very strong’ event favored toward the year’s end.

Cinco highlighted November as a critical turning point, when rainfall across most parts of the country is expected to drop to below or even way below normal levels.

‘Way below normal rainfall is expected across the country in November,’ she told lawmakers, pointing to a high risk of widespread dry spells.

Current monitoring already shows drought conditions affecting much of Luzon and the Visayas, while parts of Mindanao are experiencing dry conditions.

By November, at least 18 provinces in Luzon are projected to fall under dry spell conditions, with the Visayas also likely to experience below-normal rainfall.

While August may still bring near-normal rainfall in many areas, conditions will begin to shift unevenly. Western Luzon could receive above-normal rainfall, while southern Luzon, the Visayas, and Mindanao, may turn drier.

By September and October, below-normal rainfall is expected to dominate large parts of Luzon and eventually spread across the country.

A temporary increase in rainfall may occur in December, particularly in Luzon, possibly due to tropical cyclones, but this is unlikely to offset the broader dry trend. By January 2027, dry conditions are expected to return nationwide.

Pagasa forecasts seven to 11 tropical cyclones between August 2026 and January 2027. While fewer cyclones are expected later in the year, those that form may be stronger, potentially reaching typhoon or super typhoon intensity.

However, Cinco cautioned that not all storms will bring significant rainfall, limiting their benefit to drought-affected areas.

The projected prolonged dry conditions could disrupt planting schedules, reduce crop yields, and strain irrigation systems, particularly as the dry season begins.

Cinco said drought conditions may worsen further into 2027 if El Niño persists, coinciding with hotter temperatures.

With the risk of a ‘very strong’ El Niño increasing, Pagasa urged government agencies and local stakeholders to act early to mitigate its impact, particularly on agriculture and water resources.

Strategic action plan

THE Office of Civil Defense (OCD) on Wednesday laid out before lawmakers its El Niño Strategic Action Plan, warning of widespread impacts on food, water, energy, health, and public safety as the country braces for a prolonged dry spell.

OCD Director Moises M. Nayve Jr. said the plan, earlier presented to President Marcos and senior economic managers, outlines coordinated government interventions amid projections by Pagasa of more than a 55 percent probability of El Niño, prompting the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) to direct all disaster councils nationwide to prepare for dry conditions.

Nayve said the OCD’s role is to orchestrate and synchronize the efforts of line departments under a national framework that assigns sectoral responsibilities to key agencies, including the Department of Environment and Natural Resources for water security; Department of Agriculture for food security; Department of Energy for energy; Department of Health for health; and the Department of the Interior and Local Government for public safety, in line with the government’s 2023 El Niño strategy.

Based on pre-disaster risk assessments, authorities expect reduced crop yields in rice and corn, disruptions in livestock and fisheries, and increased reliance on imports that could push food prices higher, while declining water levels in major dams may trigger rationing and reduced hydropower output, increasing dependence on thermal energy and raising risks such as saltwater intrusion. Health and environmental threats are also expected to rise, including heat-related illnesses, dehydration, waterborne diseases, forest fires, and coral bleaching, alongside socioeconomic pressures on farmers, fisherfolk, and other vulnerable sectors that may require expanded government assistance.

To mitigate these risks, the Department of Agriculture is implementing measures such as repositioning farm inputs, expanding crop insurance, strengthening irrigation and water management, and promoting climate-resilient farming, supported by livelihood and market interventions to stabilize food supply and protect incomes.

Other agencies are rolling out parallel measures, including water conservation and rainwater harvesting; enhanced disease surveillance and medical preparedness; energy supply monitoring and resiliency measures; and intensified fire prevention and community safety programs.

Nayve also clarified that the previous national task force on El Niño has been deactivated, with a specialized working group under the NDRRMC now handling monitoring, mapping, and impact assessment, while the OCD continues to lead coordination efforts. A nationwide information campaign is also underway to disseminate advisories and promote preparedness among communities.

While most programs are already funded under existing agency mandates, Nayve said efforts are ongoing to address remaining funding gaps through partnerships and phased implementation, stressing that the action plan remains a work in progress as El Niño poses a significant challenge to the country’s resources, economy, and public welfare.

Policy Just Saved Achimota Forest. But Culture Must Save The People – Creatively

On a Tuesday morning in July, Ghana’s Minister for Lands and Natural Resources stood before a room of journalists and delivered a sentence that, just a year ago, seemed impossible:

‘The government’s priority is to protect the Achimota Forest.’

With those eleven words, the minister, Emmanuel Armah Kofi, confirmed what environmentalists, civil society organisations, and ordinary Ghanaians had fought for since 2022: Executive Instrument 144 was dead.

The controversial directive, which had excised approximately 361.5 acres-about 146 hectares-from the Achimota Forest Reserve, was officially revoked. The land that developers had eyed for hotels, residential estates, and commercial complexes would remain exactly what it has always been: a forest.

Policy won. The trees are safe.

But here is the provocative truth that no one is saying loudly enough:

This victory is not the finish line. It is the starting pistol.

Because policy can protect land. But policy cannot protect minds, hearts, or behaviours. Policy cannot inspire a generation to think differently about how they live, consume, produce, and gather.

That is culture’s job. And culture must do it creatively.

Achimota Forest is not just a collection of trees. It is Accra’s lungs. It is the city’s cooling system, its flood defence, its biodiversity bank. In a metropolis choking on exhaust fumes and concrete, those 500 acres of canopy are the difference between a liveable city and an unbreathable one.

When E.I. 144 took effect in May 2022, environmental advocates warned that Ghana was about to repeat the mistakes of cities that traded their green spaces for short-term profit. They pointed to Lagos, where unbridled development has turned flooding from a seasonal nuisance into an annual catastrophe. They pointed to Nairobi, where the encroachment on Ngong Forest has left the city vulnerable to droughts and heatwaves.

Ghana listened. The reversal of E.I. 144 is a rare moment in African governance: a policy error acknowledged, a public outcry heeded, a wrong righted.

Yet even as conservationists celebrate, a more complex question lingers beneath the canopy:

What happens now?

For decades, climate action in Africa has been trapped in a language that ordinary people do not speak.

Policy briefings. Donor reports. Scientific jargon. Technical frameworks. These are the tools of the climate establishment, and they have consistently failed to move the needle on public behaviour.

Consider this: A 2024 Afrobarometer survey found that 33% of African citizens believe ordinary people should be primarily responsible for driving climate action in their local systems. The appetite for agency is massive. But policy structures offer zero entry points for the average citizen to participate meaningfully.

Meanwhile, Africa’s creative industries are already doing what climate communication is trying to do.

Music. Fashion. Film. Live events. Digital content. Experiential production.

These sectors shape public consciousness, influence behaviour, and define what feels current. They command the daily attention of millions of young Africans-the same demographic that will inherit the climate crisis.

Yet climate actors and creatives rarely sit at the same table.

The result is a catastrophic failure of communication: messages that inform without moving anyone. Data that impresses without inspiring action. Policies that are technically sound but culturally irrelevant.

It is against this backdrop that a new initiative is taking shape in Accra-one that aims to do what no one has done before.

On October 22, 2026, the Climate x Culture Summit will convene at the Google AI Centre in Accra, bringing together climate actors, creative professionals, event producers, media practitioners, influencers, content creators, brands, and cultural institutions for a full day of structured dialogue.

The theme: ‘Designing Sustainable Creative Experiences for Africa.’

But this is not another talking shop. The Summit is designed around a simple, provocative premise:

If Africa’s creative ecosystem is equipped, connected, and publicly committed to sustainable practices, it becomes one of the most powerful vehicles for climate communication and behaviour change on the continent.

The ambition is staggering.

The Summit aims to train influencers and young creators in climate communication ahead of Ghana’s globally recognised Detty December season-transforming them into a distributed army of climate storytellers reaching millions.

It will produce the Accra Climate Culture Accord, a formal commitment by Africa’s creative sector to adopt sustainable production practices. This document will be submitted to the UNFCCC and COP31 stakeholders as Africa’s first formal creative-sector contribution to the global climate agenda.

It will develop a Sustainable Event Production Guide for Ghana-a practical, accessible toolkit for event producers, brands, and government agencies to green their operations.

And it will establish a permanent network of climate-culture practitioners, breaking down the silos that have kept these sectors apart for too long.

The Summit’s timing is deliberate. Strategic. Even provocative.

October 22 sits in a powerful corridor: between the global climate conversation-COP31 is on the horizon-and Ghana’s cultural peak season.

Detty December-Ghana’s annual festival of music, fashion, and celebration-is the country’s cultural crown jewel. Tourists flood in. Events multiply. The creative economy surges.

But Detty December is also a sustainability nightmare. Waste piles up. Carbon footprints balloon. The environmental cost of the celebration is rarely accounted for.

What if Ghana’s biggest cultural moment became a showcase for sustainable event production, climate-conscious design, and circular economy principles-proving that celebration and responsibility are not enemies?

The Climate x Culture Summit is positioning itself as Africa’s pre-COP cultural platform, designed to ensure that when global leaders gather to negotiate climate policy, Africa’s creative voices are already in motion-not waiting for permission, but leading with imagination.

The Accra Climate Culture Accord: Paper Tiger or Game Changer?

Sceptics will ask: Isn’t the Accord just another piece of paper?

It is a fair question. Africa has no shortage of declarations, protocols, and commitments that gather dust on shelves. But the Summit’s organisers are building accountability into the DNA of the Accord.

The document will be signed by a minimum of 50 organisations and individuals, committing to specific, measurable sustainable production practices. It will be submitted to the UNFCCC and COP31 stakeholders, ensuring that Africa’s creative sector has a formal, visible voice in the global climate agenda for the first time.

It is a bold move. Perhaps even audacious.

But audacity is precisely what the moment demands.

Because if culture is going to save the people-creatively-it cannot do so with vague intentions and empty promises. It must do so with concrete commitments, measurable outcomes, and a relentless refusal to accept the status quo.

The Forest and the Future

As the Achimota Forest regains its protected status, the question of its future remains open. Will it become a neglected preserve, a ‘protected’ space that slowly decays? Or will it become a vibrant cultural and ecological asset-a symbol of what happens when a city chooses its long-term survival over short-term profit?

The Climate x Culture Summit offers a roadmap for the latter.

By connecting climate action with creative expression, it positions Ghana as a laboratory for a new kind of climate leadership-one that speaks to the heart as much as the head.

Because climate action cannot succeed through policy and science alone.

It must also live within culture. Within creativity. Within storytelling. Within the experiences that shape how people feel, think, and act.

The Achimota Forest reversal was a victory for environmentalists. But it is also a test.

A test of whether Ghana’s creative sector will step into the void and show that sustainable futures can be designed, produced, and experienced-not just discussed.

A test of whether Africa’s creative industries will finally claim their place as critical infrastructure for climate communication and public engagement.

A test of whether Accra will become a model for other African cities grappling with the tension between development and preservation.

On October 22, a small group of pioneers will gather at the Google AI Centre in Accra to begin answering those questions.

The forest has been saved. Now the real work begins. And the whole continent is watching.

PNB retired employees lament 20-year legal battle to recover unpaid allowances; assail bank’s delaying tactics

AT LEAST 200 retired employees of Philippine National Bank (PNB) on Wednesday gathered outside the Supreme Court (SC) to criticize the Philippine National Bank (PNB) for its alleged delaying tactics in connection with their 20-year-old class suit seeking to recover an estimated amount of at least P1 billion representing unpaid allowances for the period of 1989 to 1996.

Lawyer Goldelio Rivera, former PNB branch manager and counsel of the retired PNP employees, lamented that they have been engaged in a legal battle against the bank since 2006 when they filed the class suit by way of a petition for mandamus.

Among the petitioners were then 60 incumbent officers and rank and file employees and 15 former employees of PNB.

In their petition for mandamus filed in April 2006, the petitioners argued that prior to the enactment of Republic Act (R.A.) No. 6758, otherwise known as the ‘Salary Standardization Law,’ they were receiving allowances and cost of living allowance (COLA) equivalent to 40 percent of their basic salary, or P300.00, whichever is higher.

However, after the enactment of R.A. No. 6758 and the consequent issuance of Department of Budget and Management-Corporate Compensation Circular (DBM-CCC) No. 10, PNB discontinued the payment of their COLA and other allowances, despite the Supreme Court’s pronouncement in De Jesus v. Commission on Audit that DBM-CCC No. 10 is ineffective and unenforceable due to its non-publication

Rivera noted that the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Pasay City have ruled in their favor on May 15, 2008 and ordered PNB to pay the petitioners and its former and incumbent employees and officers the back pay of their COLA and special amelioration allowance of 40 percent and 10 percent respectively of their basic salary covering the period of July 1, 1989 to May 26, 1996 or up to their separation from service whichever comes first.

The trial court also directed PNB to pay petitioners and its former and incumbent employees the sum equivalent to 10 percent of the back pay of their COLA and amelioration allowance as and by way of attorney’s fees.

The lawyer added that the Pasay RTC ruling was affirmed by the Court of Appeals (CA) in a decision issued on June 16, 2016.

This prompted PNB to elevate the issue before the SC.

The High Tribunal, in a decision issued on March 29, 2023, affirmed the trial court and the CA rulings.

It also castigated PNB for employing delaying tactics by filing unnecessary pleadings and asking for several postponements of the proceedings before the trial court.

The SC also said PNB’s prayer for the remand of the case to the trial court can be considered as another attempt to delay the payment of respondents’ monetary claims.

PNB has filed a motion for reconsideration of the 2023 ruling which is still pending before the High Court.

‘The retirees just wanted to express their sentiment against the delaying tactics of the Philippine National Bank. No less than the Supreme Court has ruled that PNB is engaged in delaying tactics,’ Rivera said in an interview.

‘Our message to PNB is to stop its delaying tactics and I just hope that the Supreme Court will resolve PNB’s motion for reconsideration very soon,’ he added.

Rivera added that around 8,000 retired and active employees of PNB stand to benefit once the SC’s judgment becomes final and executory.

Marlo DV Soria, also a former employee of PNB and one of the petitioners in the case, said petitioners are praying for the immediate resolution of the case as some of them are already old and suffering from various illnesses.

‘We are hoping that the resolution of the case will be expedited. Some of us urgently need money for maintenance medications and other medical expenses,’ Soria said.

Don’t trust the American Heart Association (Part 1)

This is not clickbait. I mean it.

Most ‘medical findings’ these days flow from clinical studies whose outcomes are expressed in numbers, probabilities, and statistical analysis. I am not a doctor, but I understand numbers. Numbers ‘talk’ to me. The story that I hear from a recent ‘medical finding’ published by the American Heart Association is: You (reader) are too dumb to understand that we’re lying.

Prof. Ancel Keys was the original source of the worldwide belief that ‘Saturated fat in any amount is bad for your health’. In 1957, Keys published what he called The Seven Countries Study. It was nothing of the kind, and should really have been called the ‘Scattered Villages in Remote Areas and Selected US Railroad Workers Study’. He claimed that this Study proved that saturated fats caused heart disease. For some reason, most of the Medical Establishment and most governments on earth just believed him, despite the many holes in the Study. The Medical Establishment willfully or negligently deceived much of humanity for the past 70 years by endorsing Keys’s astonishingly bad science.

To prove his anti-saturated-fat beliefs, Keys conducted a much more rigorous study a few years later: the 1968-1973 Minnesota Coronary Experiment (MCE).

Unfortunately for Keys, the MCE soundly disproved his anti-saturated-fat thesis. There was NO difference in mortality between the saturated-fat and ‘healthy-fat’ groups; worse, those with the lowest cholesterol had higher mortality. So Keys did what you or I or any person of negotiable integrity would do: he took his name off the study and got his collaborator to bury it. It remained buried for 40 years. In the meantime, no one in the Medical Establishment asked, ‘by the way, Ancel, where are the results of your MCE that was supposed to confirm that saturated fat is bad?’

Today, members of the Medical Establishment not only stoutly refuse to admit their 70 years of bad advice regarding saturated fat, but they also release MORE bad advice. The general idea seems to be to discredit modern scientific findings that could make us healthier, so that we keep buying unnecessary drugs.

GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Tirzepatide stand to make hundreds of billions for drug companies. Any lifestyle practice or diet that would help you lose weight without drugs would reduce those billions, wouldn’t it?

One such diet is the Keto Diet, a term we’ll use as shorthand for the group of diets whose practical result is to reduce carbohydrate intake and induce ketosis drastically, the conversion of body fat into ketones.

Ketones are a better body and brain fuel than glucose from carbohydrates. (See my previous articles on Metabolism.) The Keto Diet works and is well-supported by scientific studies and clinical trials.

That’s a lot of drugs, and hundreds of billions, if not trillions, of dollars currently made by Big Pharma, that broader public information on keto diets would endanger.

There is an ongoing campaign to misinform the public about the keto diet. Whoever is behind the campaign, one of their leading acolytes is the American Heart Association, which also insists we need 250 grams (1000 calories) of carbohydrate daily, thereby helping sell lots of diabetes, blood pressure, Parkinson’s, bipolar, and weight-loss drugs.

Do you sniff a Secret Conspiracy here? I’m not going to spell out my Conspiracy Theory for you, but you can figure it out for yourself. This is a continuing series on Basic Nutrition and Metabolism.

Next week: Don’t Trust the American Heart Association (Part 2)

Filoil EcoOil ‘pasabog’

SOMETHING interesting just happened in the 19th season of the 20-year-old collegiate basketball preseason tournament called the Filoil EcoOil Preseason Cup.

Formerly known as the Homegrown Cup, then the Filoil Flying V Preseason Cup, this popular competition-where teams from the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) and the National Collegiate Athletic Association of the Philippines (NCAA)-duke it out for bragging rights and a feeling of confidence coming into the season proper-gives a preview of the upcoming collegiate basketball season.

It’s a sneak peek into how the teams one roots for (or not) will perform for real when hostilities start anew in the UAAP and the NCAA. It also gives coaches and their respective staff the opportunity to tinker with their line-ups, do daring experiments with positions and combinations, and assess what already works and what needs to be tweaked or refined.

What just happened in this tournament that also gives fans and communities early practice to cheer and jeer has made 2026 a historical year.

For the first time ever, the Filoil EcoOil Preseason Cup is having an all-NCAA finals. It has never happened before.

UAAP teams have dominated this preseason competition since its establishment in 2006. De La Salle University (DLSU) has the most Filoil EcoOil crowns (four), followed by San Beda University (SBU) and the University of the Philippines (UP) with three apiece.

UP made history last year by being the first team to win the Filoil EcoOil title for three straight years, thus earning the privilege of taking home the ECJ Perpetual Trophy as a permanent keepsake.

UAAP schools have accounted for 14 of the 18 championships of the Filoil tourney-2006 and 2007 De La Salle, 2008 University of the East (UE), 2009 Far Eastern University, 2011, Ateneo de Manila University, 2012 National University, 2013 UE, 2016 and 2017 DLSU, 2018 Ateneo, 2022 NU and 2022, 2023 and 2024 UP.

The four other championships belong to NCAA schools San Sebastian University (2010) and San Beda (2014, 2015 and 2019).

After 2010, the last time an NCAA team played in the finals was in 2019 when the San Beda Red Lions defeated the De La Salle Green Archers and ended up as champs. The only other team that has reached the Filoil EcoOil finals was Arellano University in 2016.

But now, wow. NCAA schools have made this prestigious preseason tourney their exclusive turf. One by one, UAAP schools got eliminated from contention, with only University of Santo Tomas (UST), NU, DLSU and UP making the quarterfinals.

The UP Fighting Maroons were the lone team in the semifinals. But when they clashed with the Red Lions in the Final Four, the Maroons were gnawed by the mighty Lions whose A Game that day showed they wanted it more.

Now, it is the Jose Rizal University Heavy Bombers up against the Lions-a surprise dish, and a spicy one at that.

The Bombers, heartbreak kids of several seasons past challenged by player depletions, injuries and instability, have turned over a new leaf. Now with an iron clad core made up of Chris Hubilla, a former Bedan and ex-Fighting Maroon commit; Lawrence Mangubat and Sean Salvador, former Mapua Cardinals who now like to drop heavy ordnance on their opponents, the JRU boys have been as merciless as Ming.

Proof positive of the Bombers’ power is the willful, authoritative way they fight their fights. How they disposed of the Letran Knights in the semis would make any coach proud. Unfettered by a late comeback staged by Titing Manalili’s legions, JRU kept its wits about and simply flexed, crumpling the Knights’ armor, 82-73.

And finally, when they first stepped back in the warm glow of the finals’ spotlight for the first time since 2006 (it was JRU versus DLSU in the first Filoil finals) the Mandaluyong boys simply said ‘No’ to the Red Lions on July 21.

ing Game 1 at 70-59, it was Mangubat who dropped the deadliest bombs, detonating 22 points and hauling down nine rebounds as Chris Hubilla took care of the interior and flashed Bomber magic. Hubilla finished with 19 points, nine rebounds, three assists and two steals.

Game 2 is today, Thursday, and knowing San Beda, its favorite jewelry is a crown. Its vaunted perimeter shooting, with long bombs coming off RC Calimag and Dominic Sarigumba, are set to thwart and frustrate JRU. Intense defense and precious championship experience will make San Beda’s fortress a tough target for the Bombers’ bombs.

Still, Jose Rizal U is different this time. Maybe they’re a team whose time has come.

So will it be Yellow over Red at the Filoil EcoOil Centre on July 23? Or will San Beda paint the town Red as per usual?

Whatever the outcome, the NCAA rules. Do we say Rawrr? Or Bombs Away!

DAYLEAD-GUYANA-TRAGEDY-Efforts to refloat sunken MV Barima to begin Wednesday

The Guyana government says it will begin operations at midday on Wednesday to refloat the sunken MV Barima using specialised flotation equipment as rescue and recovery efforts enter a critical new phase.

The MV Barima capsized last Saturday night, resulting so far in the deaths of 53 people ,including 15 children and the rescue of 76 others.

The Guyana government says it will begin operations at midday on Wednesday to refloat the sunken MV Barima using specialised flotation equipment as rescue and recovery efforts enter a critical new phase.

The MV Barima capsized last Saturday night, resulting so far in the deaths of 53 people ,including 15 children and the rescue of 76 others.

The authorities say the search continues for the estimated 70 people still unaccounted for after the 87-year-old vessel sank as it made its way from Georgetown to Port Kaituma, a small village within the Barima-Waini administrative region of the country.

‘We are continuing all night. There is a plan also being discussed now between the technical people, the Coast Guard and the expertise that came in. We are going to try to activate that plan by midday tomorrow,’ President Irfaan Ali said during a late-night briefing on Tuesday ith families of those still missing following the maritime tragedy.

He assured them that technical teams and emergency responders would continue working around the clock until every possible effort has been exhausted. He said the operation will involve using flotation devices in an effort to move the vessel from the seabed.

President Ali said it allows responders greater access to continue the rescue and recovery mission and that additional divers and specialised assets are scheduled to arrive early Wednesday to support the operation.

Ali said teams from the Guyana Defence Force Coast Guard, police, private sector partners, and civilian volunteers will maintain their search throughout the night.

President Ali said the government has utilised advanced seabed mapping technology, with support from ExxonMobil, to determine the vessel’s exact position and guide recovery efforts. The survey revealed that the vessel is resting on its starboard side on the seabed, with its stern closest to the shoreline.

‘We have not ruled out rescue just yet,’ he told the families.

The official manifest had 116 passengers and a 17 member crew, but the authorities said that as many as 179 passengers and crew may have been on board the vessel.

Prime Minister Mark Phillips said that there’s a likelihood ‘based on the fact that they had 179 passengers on board…there is likelihood that they may encounter more bodies there.

‘But right now, the focus and the concentration is on searching and recovering as much as possible bodies from the vessel,’ Phillips said, adding that the authorities are also facilitating the release of bodies to loved ones.

’Wontumi’s 20 Years Imprisonment Is A Caution To Us All’

VALENTINA NANA Agyeiwaa, popularly known as Afia Schwarzenegger, has called on political personalities in Ghana to tread cautiously when in power, considering the fact that power is transient.

Speaking on the 20 years’ jail term handed to the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Ashanti Regional Chairman, Bernard Antwi Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, she indicated that during the party’s era, the embattled chairman was all over the place parading himself as an ‘untouchable man’ in the country.

‘This judgment awarded to Chairman should be a lesson to all political figures in this country. That if today you have power to make things happen, tomorrow you may not wield power again, so you need to tread cautiously.

‘As for me, I don’t in any terms feel sympathy for him, he deserves what he got,’ she stated. The misunderstanding between Afia Schwarzenegger and Chairman Wontumi is mainly a defamation + contempt of court case that started around 2022 and went back and forth in court.

Afia Schwarzenegger went on UTV’s United Showbiz hosted by Nana Ama McBrown and publicly claimed she had been in an amorous relationship with Chairman Wontumi. She made further graphic allegations about him on the show. Co-panelists Kwame A Plus and Mr Logic also commented on the allegation, while Fadda Dickson was the executive producer. Wontumi, through his lawyer Maurice Ampaw, sued Afia, UTV, Nana Ama McBrown, A Plus, Mr Logic and Fadda Dickson for discussing the merits of a case that was already in court. He argued that their comments had the potential to affect a fair trial.

The Tema High Court convicted them for contempt. Afia was sentenced to 10 days in prison and also ordered to pay GHS60,000 to Wontumi for defamatory comments. She was absent from court, so a bench warrant was issued. The others were each fined GHS60,000 or two months jail in default. Afia later appeared in court on December 20, 2022 with her lawyer and pleaded for mercy. On January 31, 2023, the court substituted the jail term with GHS60,000 fine / 5000 penalty units, plus a 36-month bond of good behaviour and an order not to comment on the case on any platform.