Philippine President wants to close all mines following deadly landslides
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on September 17 repeated his desire to shut all mines in the country following deadly landslides that some government officials and large miners said have been exacerbated by illegal small-scale mining.
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte. (Photo: AFP/VNA)Hanoi (VNA) - Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on September 17 repeated his desire to shut all mines in the country following deadly landslides that some government officials and large miners said have been exacerbated by illegal small-scale mining.
"If I were to try to do my thing I will close all mining in the Philippines," Duterte said at a televised meeting of the government's disaster response team two days after a powerful typhoon named Mangkhut struck the country.
Earlier, Philippine Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Roy Cimatu ordered the closure of all small-scale mining areas in the Cordillera region, where landslides killed 24 people.
Illegal mining is popular in the Philippines. Government officials said that the illegal small-scale mining has resulted in increasing numbers of causalities in landslides.
On September 16, at least 30 miners were killed and 13 others went missing when a landslide occurred in Itogon, a small town in the northern province of Benguet.
Local authorities revealed that typhoon Mangkhut caused a total of 81 landslides and 13 flooding incidents in the Cordillera region.
The island state is hit by about 20 storms each year, causing huge damage on human and property. In 2013, super typhoon Haiyan swept through Leyte province in central Philippines, killing more than 6,000 people.-VNA
You should also see
Vietnam remains world’s largest producer, exporter of cashew nuts
Vietnam has maintained its position as the world’s largest producer and exporter of cashew nuts in 2020, exporting an estimated 450,000 tonnes of cashew kernels worth 3.2 billion USD, according to the Vietnam Cashew Association (Vinacas).
See more
ASEAN
ASEAN Federation of Engineering Organisations convenes 38th conference
The 38th Conference of the ASEAN Federation of Engineering Organisations (CAFEO), with the theme “Fostering initiatives and actions by AFEO to build a sustainable and prosperous ASEAN Community”, opened online on November 25.
World
Thais to get first COVID-19 vaccination shots by mid-2021
Thai people will get their first jabs of COVID-19 vaccine developed by the UK’s AstraZeneca and University of Oxford by mid-2021 at the earliest, said Nakhon Premsri, Director of the National Vaccine Institute (NVI) of Thailand.
World
Cambodia congratulates Vietnam on successful holding of 37th ASEAN Summit
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Cambodia has issued a press release regarding the virtual talks between Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen and his Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Xuan Phuc on November 24.
World
RoK, Indonesia reaffirm commitment to cooperate in defence industry
Senior defence officials of the Republic of Korea (RoK) and Indonesia held an annual consultation session via video conference on November 24, reaffirming their commitment for cooperation in the field of defence industry.
ASEAN
ASEAN cooperation in 2020 lays foundation for next stage: Vietnamese diplomat
Despite difficulties and challenges in 2020, ASEAN cooperation has obtained upbeat outcomes this year, forming a strong foundation for the bloc’s development in the next stage, stated Deputy Foreign Minister and head of SOM ASEAN Vietnam Nguyen Quoc Dung on November 24.
