Latest news with #968
New Straits Times
04-06-2025
- Business
- New Straits Times
Palm falls on weaker rival oils, rising May stock outlook
JAKARTA: Malaysian palm oil futures opened lower on Wednesday, tracking weaker rival edible oils at Chicago and the prospect of May's palm oil stocks rising for the third consecutive month. The benchmark palm oil contract for August delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange lost RM12, or 0.31 per cent, to RM3,922 (US$924.56) a metric ton in early trade. Dalian's most-active soyoil contract rose 0.1 per cent, while its palm oil contract declined 0.49 per cent. Soyoil prices on the Chicago Board of Trade were down 0.66 per cent. Palm oil tracks price movements of rival edible oils, as it competes for a share of the global vegetable oils market. Malaysia's palm oil inventories are projected to climb for a third consecutive month in May, driven by a modest recovery in production despite robust export demand, a Reuters survey showed on Wednesday. India's palm oil imports in May surged to a six-month high, as lower inventories and the tropical oil's discount to rival soyoil and sunflower oil prompted refiners to increase purchases, according to five dealers. Independent inspection company AmSpec Agri Malaysia said exports of Malaysian palm oil products for May rose 13.2 per cent, while cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services saw a 17.9 per cent jump. Oil prices edged lower in early Asian trade, weighed down by a loosening supply-demand balance following increasing OPEC+ output and lingering concerns over the global economic outlook due to tariff tensions. Weaker crude oil futures make palm a less attractive option for biodiesel feedstock. The ringgit, palm's currency of trade, strengthened 0.05 per cent against the dollar, making the commodity slightly more expensive for buyers holding foreign currencies. Palm oil may retest resistance of RM3,968 per metric ton, a break above which could lead to a gain to RM3,998, Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao said. Asian stocks inched higher and the dollar wobbled near six-week lows as traders braced for higher US duties on steel and aluminium, the latest chapter in the trade war saga that has rattled the markets for much of the year.
GMA Network
28-05-2025
- Business
- GMA Network
Remolona still top paid gov't official in 2024, other BSP execs in top 10
BSP Governor Eli Remolona Jr. raked in almost P48 million in salaries and allowances in 2024, the COA reported. BSP file photo Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas governor Eli Remolona remained the highest-paid non-elected government official in 2024, with other BSP officials as usual dominating the list of highest-paid officials, per the latest Report on Salaries and Allowances (ROSA) of the Commission on Audit. Remolona topped the list with salaries and allowances amounting to P47,968,744.27. His colleagues in the central bank make up the rest of the top 10: 2. BSP Deputy Governor Chuchi Fonacier - P30,392,497.52 3. BSP Deputy Governor Francisco Dakila Jr. - P28,823, 948.62 4. BSP Deputy Governor Elmore Capule - P26,536,981.86 5. BSP monetary board member Romeo Bernardo - P26,034,456.02. 6. BSP Senior Assistant Governor Edna Villa - P25,820,446.56 7. BSP Senior Assistant Governor Johnny Ravalo - P25,368,507.94 8. BSP Monetary Board member Rosalia De Leon - P25,282,758.41 9. BSP Deputy Governor Eduardo Bobier - P23,753,195.75 10. BSP Monetary Board member Benjamin Diokno with P23,520,261.49 In the 11th to 20th spots are: 11. Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra - P23,011,603.26 12. Supreme Court Associate Justice Ramon Hernando - P22,321,791.70 13. PAGCOR chairperson Alejandro Tengco - P21,046,379.50 14. BSP Deputy Governor Mamerto Tangonan - P20,905,530.32 15. SC Justice Mario Lopez - P19,556,751.25 16. BSP Deputy Governor Bernadette Romulo-Puyat - P19,525,166.01 17. BSP Senior Assistant Governor Iluminada Sicat - P19,434,667.77 18. SC Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo - P19,133,746.14 19. Development Bank of the Philippines President Michael De Jesus - P18,452,709.44 20. PAGCOR General Manager Redentor Rivera - P17,899,592.13 According to COA, the amounts listed are the grand totals of the salaries, allowances, and other emoluments received by each official. — Vince Angelo Ferreras/BM, GMA Integrated News
New Straits Times
27-05-2025
- Business
- New Straits Times
MARKET PULSE PM MAY 27, 2025 [WATCH]
KUALA LUMPUR: News on stock, crypto and ringgit moves. Bursa Malaysia closed lower today, in line with the broadly negative performance across the region. Key Asian markets ended mostly lower as investors are cautiously awaiting the latest developments on Donald Trump's trade war. The FBM KLCI is likely to stay in a consolidation phase in the near term, as cautious sentiment prevails amid rising global uncertainties. Meanwhile, the ringgit weakened against the US dollar to 4.2350. In the crypto market, Bitcoin rose to RM464,968 as traders looked ahead to key price data. Ethereum traded higher at RM11,135, while Solana was up at RM743. That's it for Market Pulse.
Times of Oman
20-03-2025
- Business
- Times of Oman
Social Development Ministry reviews achievements, future plans
MUSCAT: The Ministry of Social Development announced its achievements in 2024 and its future plans in the areas of welfare and integration of people with disabilities in the presence of Dr Laila bint Ahmed al Najjar, Minister of Social Development at a media meeting on Wednesday. The Social Development Ministry revealed that the total social assistance benefits disbursed in 2024 amounted to OMR11,968,546, provided to 102,167 cases. The ministry revealed that a total of 1,635 beneficiaries received job-related training between 2020 and the end of 2024 including 234 in 2024. The ministry also provided 675 job opportunities in the public and private sectors for individuals from social protection and low-income families and people with disabilities between 2020 and 2025, including 92 job opportunities provided in 2024. This is in addition to 86 cases who received support to start home-based businesses at a total amount of OMR 46,558. The ministry reviewed six main targets it had accomplished within Oman Vision 2040 out of 32 targets, including electronic connectivity with the population base and the Central Bank of Oman and relevant authorities. The goals also include the preparation of a national guide for engineering specifications for urban environments and transportation for people with disabilities, the preparation of a guide for quality standards for services provided to people with disabilities, the completion of the intervention and referral system for domestic violence, the establishment and completion of a donation platform or charitable work portal and the development of guidelines for regulating integrated early childhood centres. Speaking on the occasion, Hamoud bin Murdad al Shabibi, official spokesman for the ministry, said: 'The media briefing is held as part of the ministry's keenness to highlight its efforts. Among the most important things being reviewed is the ministry's organisational structure, as well as the automation of all services to citizens, which are now provided through technical and electronic systems and that the ministry is moving towards focusing on expanding and empowering people with disabilities and expanding rehabilitation programmes.' Amending the organisational structure of the Ministry of Social Development, pursuant to Royal Decree No 14/2024, is one of the most notable achievements during 2024. This achievement also marked a qualitative leap in the average achievement of digital transformation requirements and that all e-services for the ministry's beneficiaries were automated at a rate of 100 per cent, five regulatory regulations were issued, and nine initiatives were launched as part of the outputs of the Laboratory for the Development of Services and Programmes for Persons with Disabilities. These initiatives include mandatory medical examination programmes for those intending to marry; developing the newborn screening programme by adding tests for genetic autonomic disorders for newborns; developing periodic medical examinations in the child's record card by adding two visits at the ages of three and four year; strengthening partnerships to provide health and rehabilitation services at government rehabilitation centres; classifying specific jobs for persons with intellectual disabilities, autism spectrum disorder and Down Syndrome; establishing committees for the affairs of persons with disabilities in Al Dhahirah Governorate; implementing legal provisions for the employment of persons with disabilities; implementing the occupational safety and health regulations for persons with disabilities; and providing educational services for students with autism spectrum disorder. Also, the past year witnessed the launch of the 'Ta'heel' platform for persons with disabilities, the signing of an agreement with the Ministry of Housing and Urban Planning to establish a rehabilitation services complex for persons with disabilities in Sultan Haitham City, the provision of two mobile units to provide rehabilitation services for children with disabilities in the wilayats of Haima and Al Jazir, the creation of two hydrotherapy units at Al Wafa Centres for Rehabilitation of Persons with Disabilities in the wilayats of Ibri and Bahla, the establishment of Al Wafa Centre for Rehabilitation of Persons with Disabilities in the Wilayat of Manah, the launch of the Creativity Award for Persons with Disabilities, and the Child Care and Youth Hostels Centre. The ministry won the first place at the Third Forum for Institutional Innovation and Change Management, prepared and discussed the fifth and sixth national reports to follow up on the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and won ten gold medals, four silver medals and six bronze medals in the third boccia competition, in addition to the first place in the second boccia competition organised by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth. By the end of 2024, the ministry had issued approximately 64,087 Persons with Disabilities cards. There were also 119 government, private and community rehabilitation centres by the end of last year, including 19 centres that had opened. The total number of beneficiaries at these centres from 2020 to the end of 2024 was approximately 27,429. Furthermore, 28,111 prosthetic devices were disbursed from 2020 to the end of 2024, including 10,795 prosthetic devices during 2024. Regarding the family and community development sector, the meeting revealed that there were 369 nurseries by the end of 2024, including 14 new nurseries that opened in 2024, and that childcare centres and youth hostels housed 74 children in which there were 77 children enrolled in youth hostels. Regarding juvenile, the number of juvenile offenders referred by the Public Prosecution reached 96, while the number of juvenile offenders referred by the Public Prosecution reached 437. The number of monitored juvenile cases reached approximately 563, with 32 juvenile offenders placed in a juvenile reform home, and nine juveniles at risk of delinquency placed in a juvenile guidance home. Aftercare was also provided to 89 cases. The ministry also reported that 8,710 elderly people and their families benefited from the social services provided to them, including 46 elderly residents of Al Rustaq Social Welfare Home. In 2024, the number of children exposed to abuse dealt with by Child Protection Committees reached 2,973, with 72 children exposed to abuse being placed in family protection homes. There were also 1,390 incoming phone calls to the psychological and family counselling hotline since 2020, and 2,786 cases were provided with direct psychological counselling and family counselling services during 2024.
CBS News
11-03-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Tulsi Gabbard says she canceled security clearances for top Biden aides and officials who pursued cases against Trump
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard announced Monday a security clearance review that resulted in the revocations of security clearances for dozens of current and former officials. Gabbard said in a social media post that the security clearance purge targeted top aides to former President Joe Biden, former intelligence personnel who called a 2020 effort to expose information from Hunter Biden's laptop "disinformation," and some who were involved in legal cases against President Trump. "I have revoked security clearances and barred access to classified information for Antony Blinken, Jake Sullivan, Lisa Monaco, Mark Zaid, Norman Eisen, Letitia James, Alvin Bragg, and Andrew Weissman, along with the 51 signers of the Hunter Biden 'disinformation' letter," Gabbard wrote. "The President's Daily Brief is no longer being provided to former President Biden." The revocations are the latest in a campaign that began shortly after Mr. Trump's Jan. 20 inauguration to punish and cut off access to a broad swath of people who the president alleges "weaponized" the nation's court systems against him. This effort has included revocations of security clearance for staff at law firms that contracted with former special counsel Jack Smith and others who advocated for cases against Mr. Trump, such as attorney Andrew Weissmann — who was part of the team led by Robert Mueller that investigated alleged Russian interference in the 2016 election — and Mark Zaid, an attorney who previously represented a whistleblower connected to Mr. Trump's first impeachment. Zaid directed a social media post at Gabbard after her announcement. "Hmmm, so where are my due process protections? You are familiar with Executive Order 12,968, are you not? Still in effect!" Zaid said, referring to a 1995 presidential order establishing a security program for federal employees who work with classified information. A spokesperson for New York Attorney General Letitia James pointed to CBS News to a statement released more than a month ago, when Mr. Trump first announced his plans to claw back security clearances. "What security clearance?" the spokesperson asked. "Anyway, this is just another attempt to distract from the real work the Attorney General is doing to defend the rights of New Yorkers and all Americans." James's office took Mr. Trump to court in 2023, securing a civil judgment that found him liable for fraud and required him to pay nearly half a billion to New York State. Mr. Trump has appealed the judgment. In the weeks since Mr. Trump's return to office, James and other Democratic state attorneys general have filed a steady stream of lawsuits challenging a litany of Mr. Trump's executive orders and policies.
