Latest news with #Pre
GMA Network
5 days ago
- Sport
- GMA Network
James Payosing, Veejay Pre focus on improvement while undergoing residency for UP
James Payosing and Veejay Pre said they will make the most of their residency with the University of the Philippines first as the two players are waiting for a full year before playing in the UAAP. Payosing, the NCAA Season 99 Finals MVP from San Beda University, recently competed with Gilas Pilipinas in the FIBA 3x3 Youth Nations League in Qatar where they finished third. He played alongside De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde's Anton Eusebio, San Beda University's Edjay Etulle, Jose Rizal University transferee Aldous Torculas, and University of Santo Tomas' Nic Cabañero. Now, he will turn his focus on preparing for his future stint with the Fighting Maroons. 'From San Beda, excited din ako for next year. But this year, focus ako sa improvement and kung anong tinatakbo namin sa UP, i-build namin 'yung chemistry with [other] residency players,' Payosing said last June 14 on the sidelines of the Fighting Maroons' event with lifestyle brand Puma. ? Former NCAA Finals MVP James Payosing, now with UP, talks about his Gilas 3x3 stint and transfer to Diliman @gmasportsph — JK Carandang (@jk_carandang) June 14, 2025 Pre, meanwhile, admitted he is still adjusting with UP after transferring from Far Eastern University, and is looking forward to how he will improve. 'Maging patient lang ako and 'yung residency ko, i-improve ko kulang ko para next year talaga, ready na ako sa UAAP,' he said. 'Alam po nating UP is napaka-competitive and nakikita po na sobrang nakakatulong sa akin especially sa growth ko,' he added. Pre is also learning from one of UP's best products Carl Tamayo who has been training with his collegiate team lately. 'Si Kuya Carl kasi kasama ko siya nag-training ngayon and binibigyan niya ako ng advice,' said Pre. 'Sobrang saya kasi knowing Kuya Carl is winner siya and [k]ung pano siya mag-isip is nashe-share niya sa akin.' ? Veejay Pre talks about his transfer to UP, training with Carl Tamayo, and the upcoming Serbia trip of the Fighting Maroons @gmasportsph — JK Carandang (@jk_carandang) June 14, 2025 —JMB, GMA Integrated News
Straits Times
12-06-2025
- Business
- Straits Times
China-backed militia secures control of new rare earth mines in Myanmar
A satellite image shows an overview of West River rare earth mine, in Myanmar, May 6, 2025. Maxar Technologies/Handout via REUTERS BANGKOK - A Chinese-backed militia is protecting new rare earth mines in eastern Myanmar, according to four people familiar with the matter, as Beijing moves to secure control of the minerals it is wielding as a bargaining chip in its trade war with Washington. China has a near-monopoly over the processing of heavy rare earths into magnets that power critical goods like wind turbines, medical devices and electric vehicles. But Beijing is heavily reliant on Myanmar for the rare earth metals and oxides needed to produce them: the war-torn country was the source of nearly half those imports in the first four months of this year, Chinese customs data show. Beijing's access to fresh stockpiles of minerals like dysprosium and terbium has been throttled recently after a major mining belt in Myanmar's north was taken over by an armed group battling the Southeast Asian country's junta, which Beijing supports. Now, in the hillsides of Shan state in eastern Myanmar, Chinese miners are opening new deposits for extraction, according to two of the sources, both of whom work at one of the mines. At least 100 people are working day-to-night shifts excavating hillsides and extracting minerals using chemicals, the sources said. Two other residents of the area said they had witnessed trucks carrying material from the mines, between the towns of Mong Hsat and Mong Yun, toward the Chinese border some 200km away. Reuters identified some of the sites using imagery from commercial satellite providers Planet Labs and Maxar Technologies. Business records across Myanmar are poorly maintained and challenging to access, and Reuters could not independently identify the ownership of the mines. The mines operate under the protection of the United Wa State Army, according to four sources, two of whom were able to identify the uniforms of the militia members. The UWSA, which is among the biggest armed groups in Shan state, also controls one of the world's largest tin mines. It has long-standing commercial and military links with China, according to the U.S. Institute of Peace, a conflict resolution non-profit. Details of the militia's role and the export route of the rare earths are reported by Reuters for the first time. University of Manchester lecturer Patrick Meehan, who has closely studied Myanmar's rare earth industry and reviewed satellite imagery of the Shan mines, said the "mid-large size" sites appeared to be the first significant facilities in the country outside the Kachin region in the north. "There is a whole belt of rare earths that goes down through Kachin, through Shan, parts of Laos," he said. China's Ministry of Commerce, as well as the UWSA and the junta, did not respond to Reuters' questions. Access to rare earths is increasingly important to Beijing, which tightened restrictions on its exports of metals and magnets after U.S. President Donald Trump resumed his trade war with China this year. While China appears to have recently approved more exports and Trump has signalled progress in resolving the dispute, the move has upended global supply chains central to automakers, aerospace manufacturers and semiconductor companies. The price of terbium oxide has jumped by over 27% across the last six months, Shanghai Metals Market data show. Dysprosium oxide prices have fluctuated sharply, rising around 1% during the same period. CHINESE INFLUENCE A prominent circular clearing first appears in the forested hills of Shan state, some 30 km (18.6 miles) away from the Thai border, in April 2023, according to the satellite images reviewed by Reuters. By February 2025 - shortly after the Kachin mines suspended work - the site housed over a dozen leaching pools, which are ponds typically used to extract heavy rare earths, the images showed. Six km away, across the Kok river, another forest clearing was captured in satellite imagery from May 2024. Within a year, it had transformed into a facility with 20 leaching pools. Minerals analyst David Merriman, who reviewed two of the Maxar images for Reuters, said the infrastructure at the Shan mines, as well as observable erosion levels to the topography, indicated that the facilities "have been producing for a little bit already." At least one of the mines is run by a Chinese company using Chinese-speaking managers, according to the two mine workers and two members of the Shan Human Rights Foundation, an advocacy group that identified the existence of the operations in a May report using satellite imagery. An office at one of the two sites also had a company logo written in Chinese characters, said one of the workers, who spoke on condition of anonymity in order to discuss sensitive matters. The use of Chinese operators in the Shan mines and transportation of the output to China mirrors a similar system in Kachin, where entire hillsides stand scarred by leaching pools. Chinese mining firms can produce heavy rare earth oxides in low-cost and loosely regulated Myanmar seven times cheaper than in other regions with similar deposits, said Neha Mukherjee of London-based Benchmark Mineral Intelligence. "Margins are huge." Beijing tightly controls the technology that allows for the efficient extraction of heavy rare earths, and she said that it would be difficult to operate a facility in Myanmar without Chinese assistance. The satellite imagery suggest the Shan mines are smaller than their Kachin counterparts but they are likely to yield the same elements, according to Merriman, who serves as research director at consultancy Project Blue. "The Shan State deposits will have terbium and dysprosium in them, and they will be the main elements that (the miners) are targeting there," he said. STRATEGIC TOOL The UWSA oversees a remote statelet the size of Belgium and, according to U.S. prosecutors, has long prospered from the drug trade. It has a long-standing ceasefire with the junta but still maintains a force of between 30,000 and 35,000 personnel, equipped with modern weaponry mainly sourced from China, according to Ye Myo Hein, a senior fellow at the Southeast Asia Peace Institute. "The UWSA functions as a key instrument for China to maintain strategic leverage along the Myanmar-China border and exert influence over other ethnic armed groups," he said. Some of those fighters are also closely monitoring the mining area, said SHRF member Leng Harn. "People cannot freely go in and out of the area without ID cards issued by UWSA." Shan state has largely kept out of the protracted civil war, in which an assortment of armed groups are battling the junta. The fighting has also roiled the Kachin mining belt and pushed many Chinese operators to cease work. China has repeatedly said that it seeks stability in Myanmar, where it has significant investments. Beijing has intervened to halt fighting in some areas near its border. "The Wa have had now 35 years with no real conflict with the Myanmar military," said USIP's Myanmar country director Jason Towers. "Chinese companies and the Chinese government would see the Wa areas as being more stable than other parts of northern Burma." The bet on Shan's rare earths deposit could provide more leverage to China amid a global scramble for the critical minerals, said Benchmark's Mukherjee. "If there's so much disruption happening in Kachin, they would be looking for alternative sources," she said. "They want to keep the control of heavy rare earths in their hands. They use that as a strategic tool." REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
GMA Network
23-05-2025
- Sport
- GMA Network
Veejay Pre transfers from FEU to UP
Veejay Pre with UP assistant coach Tom Chua and head coach Goldwin Monteverde. (Photo: UP OASD) UAAP Season 87 men's basketball Rookie of the Year Veejay Pre is taking his talents to Diliman. The University of the Philippines announced Pre's transfer from Far Eastern University on Friday. "We know naman yung kayang gawin ni Veejay. Magiging malaking tulong siya sa atin with his all-around game," said Fighting Maroons head coach Goldwin Monteverde. Pre announced his departure from the Tamaraws last Tuesday in what he described as his 'hardest decision ever.' UP also maintained that it was never in the picture as rumors and reports of Pre's transfer surfaced weeks ago. "What's fortunate about all this is that hindi naman tayo nandun when reports and rumors began. We respected FEU, and kinausap lang natin si Veejay nung nakapag-decide at nakapagpaalam na siya sa FEU," said UP Office of Athletics and Sports Development Director Bo Perasol. Pre posted averages of 13.3 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 1.4 assists in his first year in college. The reigning top rookie will need to sit out Season 88 before being eligible to play for two years. —JKC, GMA Integrated News
GMA Network
21-05-2025
- Sport
- GMA Network
'Hardest decision ever': Veejay Pre bids farewell to FEU
UAAP Season 87 men's basketball Rookie of the Year and Far Eastern University standout Veejay Pre has parted ways with the Tamaraws. In his social media post early Wednesday, Pre said leaving FEU "has been the hardest decision ever" as he considered his family's input as well on his growth as an athlete. "I believe that leaving and saying 'goodbye' is never easy and accepting things is the most painful part," Pre wrote in the caption of his post. "As an athlete, growth and improvement matters deeply. But there comes a time in our lives when challenges arise, pushing us to make difficult decisions. My family and I have come to a decision, and I've chosen to heed their wisdom and concerns. This made me realize how much they only want the best for me and I can't deny that taking this big step forward has been the hardest decision ever." Pre, however, did not disclose where he is going next. Confirmation of Pre's departure from FEU came weeks after rumors and reports surfaced about his possible transfer. FEU finished sixth in the elimination round of Season 87, but in high school, he led the Baby Tamaraws to a third-place finish. He last played for FEU in the UAAP 3x3 tournament. Pre then thanked those who were part of his FEU journey. "I owe FEU so much, and I will always treasure the good deeds, memories, lessons, heartbreaks, and laughter we've shared. I will be forever grateful as a 'TAMARAW' and to have experienced the colorful life that FEU and its community bring," he wrote. "Forever blessed and thankful that once in my life, I was once called a 'TAMARAW.' "Once a Tamaraw, Always a 'Tamaraw,' Meanwhile, Ateneo de Manila University's Kris Porter also parted ways with the Blue Eagles in a decision he announced on Tuesday. 'This was a really tough decision,' said Porter. 'I spent my elementary years at Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu before moving to Ateneo de Manila for high school and college. Ateneo has always been home to me, but I had to make this choice — even if I don't have concrete plans yet on where I'll go next. I believe it's a necessary step for my personal growth.' Porter said he has not yet committed to another school. —JKC, GMA Integrated News
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Cuts to the National Science Foundation endanger wealth of research
Look closely at your mobile phone or tablet. Touch-screen technology, speech recognition, digital sound recording and the Internet were all developed using funding from the U.S. National Science Foundation. No matter where you live, NSF-supported research has also made your life safer. Engineering studies have reduced earthquake damage and fatalities through better building design. Improved hurricane and tornado forecasts reflect NSF investment in environmental monitoring and computer modeling of weather. NSF-supported resilience studies reduce risks and losses from wildfires. Using NSF funding, scientists have done research that amazes, entertains and enthralls. They have drilled through mile-thick ice sheets to understand the past, visited the wreck of the Titanic and captured images of deep space. NSF investments have made America and American science great. At least 268 Nobel laureates received NSF grants during their careers. The foundation has partnered with agencies across the government since it was created, including those dealing with national security and space exploration. The Federal Reserve estimates that government-supported research from the NSF and other agencies has had a return on investment of 150% to 300% since 1950, meaning for every dollar U.S. taxpayers invested, they got back between $1.50 and $3. However, that funding is now at risk. Since January, layoffs, leadership resignations and a massive proposed reorganization have threatened the integrity and mission of the National Science Foundation. Hundreds of research grants have been terminated. The administration's proposed federal budget for fiscal year 2026 would cut NSF's funding by 55%, an unprecedented reduction that would end federal support for science research across a wide range of disciplines. At my own geology lab, I have seen NSF grants catalyze research and the work of dozens of students who have collected data that's now used to reduce risks from earthquakes, floods, landslides, erosion, sea-level rise and melting glaciers. I have also served on advisory committees and review panels for the NSF over the past 30 years and have seen the value the foundation produces for the American people. American science's greatness stemmed from war In the 1940s, with the advent of nuclear weapons, the space race and the intensification of the Cold War, American science and engineering expertise became increasingly critical for national defense. At the time, most basic and applied research was done by the military. Vannevar Bush, an electrical engineer who oversaw military research efforts during World War II, including development of the atomic bomb, had a different idea. He articulated an expansive scientific vision for the United States in Science: The Endless Frontier. The report was a blueprint for an American research juggernaut grounded in the expertise of university faculty, staff and graduate students. On May 10, 1950, after five years of debate and compromise, President Harry Truman signed legislation creating the National Science Foundation and putting Bush's vision to work. Since then, the foundation has become the leading funder of basic research in the United States. NSF's mandate, then as now, was to support basic research and spread funding for science across all 50 states. Expanding America's scientific workforce was and remains integral to American prosperity. By 1952, the foundation was awarding merit fellowships to graduate and postdoctoral scientists from every state. There were compromises. Control of NSF rested with presidential appointees, disappointing Bush. He wanted scientists in charge to avoid political interference with the foundation's research agenda. NSF funding matters to everyone, everywhere Today, American tax dollars supporting science go to every state in the union. The states with the most NSF grants awarded between 2011 and 2024 include several that voted Republican in the 2024 election -- Texas, Florida, Michigan, North Carolina and Pennsylvania -- and several that voted Democratic, including Massachusetts, New York, Virginia and Colorado. More than 1,800 public and private institutions, scattered across all 50 states, receive NSF funding. The grants pay the salaries of staff, faculty and students, boosting local employment and supporting college towns and cities. For states with major research universities, those grants add up to hundreds of millions of dollars each year. Even states with few universities each see tens of millions of dollars for research. As NSF grant recipients purchase lab supplies and services, those dollars support regional and national economies. When NSF budgets are cut and grants are terminated or never awarded, the harm trickles down and communities suffer. Initial NSF funding cuts are already rippling across the country, affecting both national and local economies in red, blue and purple states alike. An analysis of a February 2025 proposal that would cut about US$5.5 billion from National Institutes of Health grants estimated the ripple effect through college towns and supply chains would cost $6.1 billion in GDP, or total national productivity, and over 46,000 jobs. Uncertain future for American science America's scientific research and training enterprise has enjoyed bipartisan support for decades. Yet, as NSF celebrates its 75th birthday, the future of American science is in doubt. Funding is increasingly uncertain, and politics is driving decisions, as Bush feared 80 years ago. A list of grants terminated by the Trump administration, collected both from government websites and scientists themselves, shows that by early May 2025, NSF had stopped funding more than 1,400 existing grants, totaling over a billion dollars of support for research, research training and education. Most terminated grants focused on education -- the core of science, technology and engineering workforce development critical for supplying highly skilled workers to American companies. For example, NSF provided 1,000 fewer graduate student fellowships in 2025 than in the decade before -- a 50% drop in support for America's best science students. American scientists are responding to NSF's downsizing in diverse ways. Some are pushing back by challenging grant terminations. Others are preparing to leave science or academia. Some are likely to move abroad, taking offers from other nations to recruit American experts. Science organizations and six prior heads of the NSF are calling on Congress to step up and maintain funding for science research and workforce development. If these losses continue, the next generation of American scientists will be fewer in number and less well-prepared to address the needs of a population facing the threat of more extreme weather, future pandemics and the limits to growth imposed by finite natural resources and other planetary limits. Investing in science and engineering is an investment in America. Diminishing NSF and the science it supports will hurt the American economy and the lives of all Americans. Paul Bierman is a professor of natural resources and environmental science at the University of Vermont. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author.
