Former Australian all-rounder Shane Lee still chuckles at a mistake his champion brother Brett Lee made prior to a remarkable Test debut against India in Melbourne 25 years ago. Watch every ball of Australia v India LIVE & ad-break free during play in 4K on Kayo | New to Kayo? Get your first month for just $1. Limited time offer . Having decimated a Western Australian team featuring Adam Gilchrist, Damien Martyn and Mike Hussey days earlier, the younger Lee was added to the Australian squad for the Boxing Day Test. The 23-year-old had bowled with fire and fury in the Sheffield Shield game at the WACA, breaking former Test quick Jo Angel’s arm on the way to man of the match honours . In a chat with Fox Sports during the pandemic, Lee confessed that even now he is not particularly comfortable with the events that preceded his call-up for the Australian team. Wanting to impress the “who’s who” of Australian cricket playing in that match, with the Test captain Steve Waugh standing in slips alongside stars of the sport, he unleashed on WA. “There was a moment which I’m not particularly proud of,” Lee said. “(I warned Jo), ‘You’ve got two options here, mate. Either tread on your wicket and get out, or I’ll come around the wicket and break your arm’. I felt horrible.” But it did the trick. Steve Waugh approached national selector Geoff Marsh at the WACA after the Shield game and told him to get him into the team because “the Indians will hate it”. The following day, Lee was photographed outside the WACA after confirmation that he would join a team that had thrashed India in Adelaide for the second Test in Melbourne. Shane Lee, who had featured in the Shield match that led to Lee earning his first baggy green, grabbed a couple of close mates from home and headed down to Victoria. Before touching on the pride he has for a younger brother whose “pies” he once belted around the backyard as boys back in Wollongong, the older Lee sibling still laughs about a mishap that Brett experienced ahead of his Boxing Day debut. “A funny memory of that is that he had tried to put some highlights in his hair to blond his hair up a bit — he was trying to impress the young ladies back then — but his hair went slightly orange, so we gave him a bit stick about that,” Shane Lee told Fox Cricket’s The Follow On podcast. When relayed that tale last week, Angel had a laugh about it. Between breaking the Western Australia’s arm and the ‘hair-tastrophe’ prior to his debut, Lee had broken bread with the big man in hospital in Perth and there was never any bad blood between the pair. “He always liked to be a pretty boy, I think, Binga,” Angel said. “If you muck around with that sort of hair dye stuff, you are guaranteed to come unstuck at some stage. But that would be a good stage to do it on, before your first Test. You are going to make sure you get noticed, aren’t you? “But when you can bowl that quick, and swing the ball like he did, people are going to notice you, so I definitely wouldn’t have thought you were going to need highlights in the hair.” A DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD Brett Lee was a bundle of nerves on the morning of the Boxing Day Test. Fresh from bowling more than 150km/h at the WACA, Lee had posed for photoshoots leading into the game, with the expectation that he would be unleashed against India. In a recent chat with The Follow On podcast, Lee said he was still not sure whether or not he would get the nod ahead of Michael Kasprowicz to debut until the morning of the match. That is understandable, for the friendly ghost “Kasper” had snared seven wickets against Pakistan in Perth during late November when preferred to the newcomer from New South Wales. “Probably just the whole build up, there was a lot of expectation and a lot of conjecture around, ‘Would I play or not?’” he told The Follow On. “Michael Kasprowicz was looking to get the nod ahead of me and then I found out on the morning of the match that I was playing, so all of those memories flicking back to when I was a nine-year-old kid flooded in and all the hard work, the sacrifices, the injuries, overcoming adversity, the people saying I was not good enough, those (thoughts) flashed through my mind in that instant. “I was like, ‘You know what? I’ve worked so hard to get here, let’s just have fun and enjoy it’. And that is exactly what I did.” But those who had watched Lee in the Sheffield Shield match a week earlier were far from surprised, with Australian wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist saying his quality demanded a debut. “It was just dynamic. We all knew at that point in time that Australian cricket had an unbelievable talent on their hands,” he said. “It was just a matter of when he would make the transition from state cricket up to the biggest stage. And there is no bigger stage than the Boxing Day Test match and he looked very comfortable right from the start.” So rapidly was Lee bowling, Mark Waugh was forced to stand further back in the slips cordon than ever before in the Sheffield Shield match and was certain he would play. “We knew how good he was,” he said. “He had done well for New South Wales and when you are bowling 150km/h and you can swing the ball as well — he could swing the ball and a couple of his deliveries did swing away from the left-handers and back into the right-handers — and he had the intimidation factor as well.” Angel, who played the last of his four Tests for Australia against England in 1995, could testify to that. “It was no real surprise because he bowled beautifully in Perth. He bowled quickly but he swung the ball. And he did the same in Melbourne in that Test match against India,” he said. “When you can bowl that quick, that is one thing, but when you are swinging the ball, it is just a double-edged sword. It is a bit like when Mitchell Starc is at the top of his game. That is when he is swinging the ball, because he bowls quick enough, but then you have to factor in the swing as well, and it makes it very hard. “Binga bowled brilliantly in Perth and he just carried it on in the Test match. They got him in while he was doing well and he went from strength to strength from there.” THE PUPPY DOG UNLEASHED: “HE WAS ALWAYS GOING TO BE A HANDFUL” Lee may have felt nervous but he had time to settle after Australia batted first at the MCG, in a weather-interrupted innings as they sought to further their dominance of India. While none of Australia’s star-studded top order made centuries, several scored heavily as the hosts batted through to the third day on the way to a first innings total of 405. Michael Slater top-scored with 91, while Gilchrist made 78 and Ricky Ponting 67 batting at No.6. But in a sign that Lee, who batted at No.10, had an appetite for the occasion, he shared a 59-run partnership with Damien Fleming before falling caught and bowled to Javagal Srinath for 27. It was not long before he demonstrated the nightmare he would become for rival batsmen, with Waugh deciding he would give the emerging star “a crack at it” before lunch. As Lee stood at the top of his mark when introduced into the attack in the fifth over of the Indian innings, he took a moment to “enjoy the experience”. While the MCG was not at its 100,000 capacity, it felt like that to the young Australian living out a boyhood dream as he prepared to bowl with Indian champion VVS Laxman and the left-hander Sadagoppan Ramesh at the crease. “It is weird, because being an Australian and having 100,000 people there — 90-odd thousand were barracking for Australia — and being the new kid on the block, I think a lot of people want to see that young kid do well,” Lee said. “People, I think, appreciate fast bowling. It wasn’t a hard sell for me. I wanted to make sure I delivered and hopefully get some wickets. “But personally, and looking at the calibre of players I had around me — Steve and Mark Waugh, Ricky Ponting, Justin Langer, Matthew Hayden, Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath — I could not believe I was in the team, to be honest. It was the most surreal, unbelievable feeling.” On his fourth delivery, Lee ran in and knocked Ramesh’s off-stump over. A star was born. “I remember him charging in and looking a little bit nervous, but then the fourth ball cluttered into the stumps and he got his first wicket,” Gilchrist said. “It was like a big sigh of relief from him, not just to make his debut, but to have an impact, and he ticked that box. Then he really just got into his work and it was so impressive.” In an interview not long after his debut, Lee conceded he was “anxious” and that he was “happy to hit the pitch first-up”. But it sparked his appetite further. “I thought now I have taken one wicket, I wouldn’t mind a few more. And that becomes that love affair that you have with cricket,” he said. The second wicket was a special one, with Lee tempting Rahul Dravid into a luxurious bid for a cover drive that he instead edged through to Gilchrist behind the stumps. “He was just like a big puppy dog who had been let off the lead,” Mark Waugh said. “He had that raw energy and he just lifted the mood of the dressing room because he was always smiling. I wouldn’t have liked to bat against him but he was always good to play with if he was on your side. I don’t think there is anything more exciting in cricket than watching a fast bowler rip in and when he is on your side, it is even more exciting. “India would not have seen much of him, so those factors — the raw pace, that he could swing the ball, the intimidation, charging in like a puppy dog off a leash — he was always going to be a handful.” “HE GAVE AS GOOD AS HE GOT”: FROM THE BACKYARD TO THE BIG TIME It is no surprise that Lee initially thought of his boyhood in the instant after being told he would debut for Australia, because it was in the backyard where his skills were honed. That ability to swing the ball? Early lessons controlling a taped tennis ball helped. His defiance with the bat? As a little boy pitted against Shane, he wore some blows. “We used to cut the edges off the bat, so they were quite thin. We would tape up the tennis balls, so we could swing it both ways,” Shane Lee said. “And like Bradman used to do with a cricket stump against a corrugated iron tank, we would do similar things and try and make it harder for us in the backyard, so that when you finally went out into the middle, it was a lot easier. “I have really fond memories of growing up down on the south coast, (because) having a young fast bowler Brett Lee was always good practice in the backyard.” It was not the only lesson Lee learned when pitted against Shane and their younger brother Grant, who the Australian star once said could well have been the best of them all. He was also taught that life in the middle is never easy, no matter how skilled you are. “My highest score in the backyard was 434 and then I bowled Brett out about second ball and I went inside and Brett was crying and mum gave me a smack and said, ‘Go out and bowl to your brother. He has just bowled at you for four hours’,” Shane Lee said. “So I did that (and) I think I knocked him over for 12 in the second innings. (But) it was always good fun. “He gave as good as he got and he always had a beautiful action from a young age. It was very, very rhythmic and very strong. I think Brett bowled 150km/h for nearly 20 years and he was a tremendous athlete.” While Lee was a handful immediately at Test level, from the Boxing Day Test he was taught by the “Little Master” that international cricket was a step up from the domestic scene. Sachin Tendulkar was imperious at the MCG, making a superb 116 when playing an almost lone hand, though he did share a 77-run partnership with Sourav Ganguly. “I think Sachin scored one of the great hundreds in that innings but he faced some terrorising bowling from Brett, and that was the start of a really healthy rivalry between those two and a very healthy rivalry between us and that Indian group of players as well,” Gilchrist said. LEE LEVELS WITH LILLEE IN HISTORIC DEBUT After Glenn McGrath secured Ganguly, Lee returned to the fray, with his pace and swing proving far too good for the Indian lower order in a dazzling burst of brilliance. In the space of an over — the 59th of the Indian innings — Lee bowled MSK Prasad and trapped Ajit Agarkar LBW to set up a hat-trick ball. That eluded him but at the end of the over he claimed his fifth wicket for the innings when Srinath fended a short-pitched delivery to Mark Waugh at second slip. In commentary, the excitement in former English captain Tony Greig’s voice was clear. “What a day. Five wickets on debut. Brett Lee has brought the MCG alive,” Greig said. In finishing with 5-47 from 16 overs, the new sensation became the first Australian fast bowler since Dennis Lillee in Adelaide during the 1970/71 Ashes to take five wickets on debut. “I played as good as I possibly could but to pick up five wickets against India at the MCG in 1999, with close to 100,000 people watching, I still can’t believe it happened, to be honest,” Lee said. Determined to chase quick runs in a rain-marred Test, Gilchrist was promoted to No.4 and made 51 from 73 balls, while Mark Waugh finished unbeaten on 55 as Australia declared at 5-208, setting India a target of 376 to win in four sessions. It was never going to happen. The Aussies steamrolled India for 195, with Lee snaring the wickets of Dravid and Srinath for the second time in the match to finish with figures of 2-31 from 19 overs. It was a debut that caught the attention of world cricket, with old rival England in particular keeping a close watch on the new speedster from the south. “I do remember his debut because I was watching it and I thought, ‘Oh no. I might have to face him soon’. He was barging in with those blond locks and bowling rockets,” former England captain Michael Vaughan said. “He had a pure action, so he actually showed you the ball, but when it is coming at 92 to 95m/ph, and there was always a bit of away shape to the right hander, it didn’t matter that he had a pure action and you can see it, because it was coming down at a huge rate of knots. “And he was nasty. He is a beautiful guy. A lovely guy off the pitch who will do anything for you. But when he had a ball in his hand, he wanted to hurt you. As a batter, that is never nice.” THE FAST TRACK TO A FULFILLING FRIENDSHIP Lee played 76 Tests and sits in Australia’s elite bracket in terms of wickets at that level with 310 at an average of 30.81, retiring after a match against South Africa at the MCG in 2008. The Fox Cricket expert also secured 380 wickets in 221 one-day internationals for Australia and played professionally until 2015. His deeds at the MCG are among his favourite, with good reason, for it was the start of a positive relationship with India and its cricketers that he has cultivated for three decades. “I’ve been coming to India for 30 years and I think my count is 165 times that I have been there,” he told The Follow On. “I have been through several passports in terms of the book being filled up, but I have just taken so many great memories away from India. “The hospitality — people over there are so generous — and when they find out that you have played cricket and you have been lucky enough to represent your country, you get looked after pretty well in India.”Romania's far-right candidate Calin Georgescu on Saturday urged voters to go to polling stations despite the country's top court having scrapped the presidential elections over alleged irregularities amid claims of Russian interference. The court's shock ruling, coming just before the presidential run-off which had been due Sunday, opens the way for a new electoral process starting from scratch in the EU and NATO member state bordering war-torn Ukraine. The annulment follows a spate of intelligence documents declassified by the presidency this week detailing allegations against Georgescu and Russia, including claims of "massive" social media promotion and cyberattacks. Georgescu -- who unexpectedly topped last month's first round of voting -- called for voters on Sunday "to wait to be welcomed, to wait for democracy to win through their power", said a statement from his team. "Mr. Calin Georgescu believes that voting is an earned right," said the statement. "That is why he believes that Romanians have the right to be in front of the polling stations tomorrow." Georgescu himself would go to a polling station near Bucharest at 0600 GMT, said his team. Earlier Saturday, police raided three houses in Brasov city in central Romania as part of the investigation "in connection with crimes of voter corruption, money laundering, computer forgery". Among the houses searched was that of businessman Bogdan Peschir, a TikTok user who according to the declassified documents allegedly paid $381,000 to those involved in the promotion of Georgescu, Romanian media reported. Peschir has compared his support for Georgescu to the world's richest man Elon Musk's backing of US president-elect Donald Trump. Little-known outsider Georgescu, a 62-year-old former senior civil servant, was favourite to win the second round on Sunday against centrist pro-EU mayor Elena Lasconi, 52, according to several polls. But the constitutional court on Friday unanimously decided to annul the entire electoral process as it was "marred... by multiple irregularities and violations of electoral legislation". President Klaus Iohannis said on Saturday that he had discussed with European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen, and they agreed on the "need to strengthen the security of social media". The European Commission announced earlier this week that it had stepped up monitoring TikTok after Romania's authorities alleged "preferential treatment" of Georgescu on the platform -- a claim the company has denied. Following the court's decision, the United States said it had faith in Romania's institutions and called for a "peaceful democratic process". Trump's eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., on X branded the vote's cancellation an "attempt at rigging the outcome" and "denying the will of the people". Georgescu called it "a formalised coup d'etat" and said democracy was "under attack". His team on Saturday declined to comment on the raids, saying they "will not comment or provide answers until we have exact data". Georgescu and another far-right party, the AUR, have said they plan to appeal the decision to stop the voting to the High Court of Cassation and Justice. A past admirer of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Georgescu, an EU and NATO sceptic, in recent days had reframed himself as "ultra pro-Trump," vowing to put Romania "on the world map" and cut aid for neighbouring Ukraine. In an interview with US broadcaster Sky News on Saturday, Georgescu said there were no links between him and Russia. Political scientist Costin Ciobanu told AFP that the annulment has "further polarised Romanian society". With trust in institutions and the ruling class already low, the vote's cancellation poses a "major danger that Romanians will think that it doesn't matter how they vote", Ciobanu added. Elsewhere in the EU, Austria annulled presidential elections in 2016 because of procedural irregularities. In Romania, a new government is expected to set another date for the presidential vote. In last weekend's legislative elections, the ruling Social Democrats came top. But far-right parties made big gains, securing an unprecedented third of the ballots on mounting anger over soaring inflation and fears over Russia's war in Ukraine. In a joint appeal on Wednesday, the Social Democrats and three other pro-EU parties -- together making up an absolute majority in parliament -- signed an agreement to form a coalition, promising "stability". bur-jza/jj

Avicii, the groundbreaking Swedish DJ-producer, died six years ago. He was 28. It was a tragedy that reverberated around the world - much like his music, which brought unexpected genres and collaborators into his melodic EDM through forward-thinking, chart-topping hits like "Wake Me Up!" and "Hey Brother." ET Year-end Special Reads Two sectors that rose on India's business horizon in 2024 2025 outlook: Is it time for cautious optimism or rekindling animal spirits? 2024: Govt moves ahead with simultaneous polls plan; India holds largest democratic exercise On Dec. 31, two new movies, a short concert film captured at what became his final performance, "Avicii - My Last Show," and a full-length documentary, "Avicii - I'm Tim," will premiere on Netflix. They work to celebrate the artist born Tim Bergling, capturing his early life, the songs that made him an idiosyncratic talent, his insatiable curiosity and hunger for reinvention, and the people he left behind. Miraculously, Bergling himself narrates a lot of the film - pulled from archival interviews and some never before published. Capturing Avicii's life and career was no easy feat, director Henrik Burman told The Associated Press. The project took half-a-decade, beginning before the pandemic and only about a year-and-half after Bergling's death. Burman's interviews were long and many. "To know people around Tim," he says, was the only way "to know Tim." ALSO READ: Yellowstone Season 5 finale was the most-watched episode in series history. 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This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity. AP: How did you approach this project? BURMAN: I would say from the beginning, the first thing I knew I wanted to do was find my story... the story that I wanted to tell about Tim. But the most important (aspect) was time. I wanted this to be a project with no time limits... I wanted it to be a slow process. And I wanted to have a lot of time for research. And the people close to Tim, I didn't want to force them into anything. I didn't want to push it. I wanted them to see and learn what I wanted to tell, you know, my story and my vision. AP: The structure is compelling; it really focuses on Avicii's life and his biggest songs that shifted genre - you avoid casting his career as "it was the 2010s and EDM was massive." There's a lot of research. BURMAN: I had access to a lot of material... I was looking for clues all the time... I've watched so, so many hours of, you know, interviews with Tim just to see, "OK, he says this again. And it was like the eighth time that year. OK. That should be important." ... It was kind of a puzzle and yeah, it was huge research work. ALSO READ: 'Ending is sh**, what a waste': Squid Game fans furious, say season 2 twist leaves them 'completely shocked' Sometimes, in the material that I had ... he was like, "If there's a documentary, ever, about me, this should be in it." ... There's a story in the film, in the beginning, from (when) he is a kid. He tells a story to the interviewer. And he says, "When I was a kid, I wasn't like a really nice person. For a few years, I was kind of bullying people. And I was around 6 or 7. And after a while I realized that people didn't like me, so after a summer, I was thinking about this, and I decided, 'I need to change... and see what happens.' And then people liked me again." And when he told that story, he was like, "That's a really important story. That's a story that needs to be in a documentary, if it's ever a documentary about me, because that says so much about me as a person." I was trying to find clues and stories and listen and... early on, I was quite sure that I wanted to tell the story from Miami Ultra (Music Festival) and what happened there. That was kind of a key moment for me, and that was a huge key moment for Tim. But when I realized that this... needs to be the center of my story, at the midpoint for my story, I realized that I had something to hold on to. AP: The childhood story reflects his interest in creative transformation, too. How do you aim to capture his spirit and not center his death? BURMAN: That is hard. I have from the beginning... tried to explain my vision for this film... But I reached out to a lot of friends, and of course his family, and I got their blessing. ALSO READ: Yellowstone Season 6 is finally confirmed? Here's why fans think the US series is not ending When I got this kind of group of people that said "yes" to being in the film that I could start to ask more questions and have deeper conversations. But again, we needed time... I wanted to work gently, that was very important. AP: And you have footage of Tim in the womb! It is very different than what could've very easily been an exploitative version of the film. BURMAN: I wanted to make an intimate and personal story and not speculate... to find the right tone, you need time. And since we started work... one, one-and-a-half years after Tim passed, I just knew that we needed time. And, of course, people around Tim needed a lot of time. AP: What is Avicii's legacy? BURMAN: You can answer that question in so many ways. But if you're talking about the music, and the music that he produced and wrote, he was so much ahead of his time, I would say. And you can hear the legacy of Avicii in the music today. You can hear it in the production in new music and hits from today. If you listen to the music - go back and listen to the music now that he released like 10 years ago, it sounds so fresh, modern, and I would say timeless. AP: What do you hope viewers take away from this film? BURMAN: Someone said to me that the film is so much about Tim, but at the same time, it's so kind of universal. And I thought that was beautiful because life is not simple. There are no easy answers. And everything is complex and multilayered. So, that's what I aim to contribute to Tim's story. And I also really hope that even the most hardcore fans get a new, fresh perspective of Tim as a person and Avicii as an artist. (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel )Lithium Miners News For The Month Of December 2024

Percentages: FG .422, FT .621. 3-Point Goals: 9-27, .333 (Grady 3-5, Kopp 3-7, Petty 2-8, Faas 1-4, Hall 0-1, Nyeri 0-2). Team Rebounds: 0. Team Turnovers: 3. Blocked Shots: 3 (Ebonkoli 2, Ijeh). Turnovers: 14 (Ebonkoli 3, Grady 3, Hall 2, Kopp 2, Petty 2, Diallo, Faas). Steals: 3 (Diallo, Ebonkoli, Petty). Technical Fouls: None. Percentages: FG .479, FT .696. 3-Point Goals: 5-19, .263 (Klaczek 2-4, Marshall 2-8, Reddish 1-3, Briggs 0-2, Joshua 0-2). Team Rebounds: 0. Team Turnovers: None. Blocked Shots: None. Turnovers: 8 (Joshua 3, Langford 2, Adewale, Marshall, Reddish). Steals: 9 (Marshall 5, Joshua 3, Briggs). Technical Fouls: None. A_100 (12,000).None

Should the U.S. increase immigration levels for highly skilled workers?

MONTREAL — Bryan Rust scored three goals and the Pittsburgh Penguins scored six times in the third period to rout the Montreal Canadiens 9-2 on Thursday night. Rust scored twice in the second period and again midway through the third for his sixth career hat trick. Rickard Rakell had two goals and two assists for Pittsburgh. Kris Letang, Anthony Beauvillier, Matt Nieto and Noel Acciari also scored in the third as fans at Bell Centre booed and left early. Sidney Crosby had three assists to reach 1,026 in his career and surpass Gordie Howe (1,023) for fifth most with one NHL franchise. Tristan Jarry stopped 21 shots, bouncing back after allowing five goals in Pittsburgh’s 6-2 loss to Colorado on Tuesday. The Penguins have won six of eight. Nick Suzuki and Joel Armia scored for Montreal, which wrapped up a 3-2 homestand. Sam Montembeault made 20 saves on 26 shots in his fifth straight start before getting the hook after allowing three third-period goals. Cayden Primeau stopped four of seven in relief. Montreal Canadiens' goaltender Sam Montembeault (35) makes a save in front of Pittsburgh Penguins' Rickard Rakell (67) and Bryan Rust (17) as Canadiens' Arber Xhekaj (72) and Josh Anderson (17) defend during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024 in Montreal. Credit: AP/Christinne Muschi Takeaways Penguins: Rust scored twice in a span of 3:24 midway through the second period as Pittsburgh built a 3-1 lead. The Penguins entered the third with a 3-2 advantage. Canadiens: Montreal failed to convert several scoring chances, including breakaways from Christian Dvorak and Alex Newhook. Key moment Letang set up Rust on the power play 4:18 into the first period to tie the game at 1-all. The play made up for a costly turnover that led to Suzuki’s opening goal two minutes in. Key stat Lane Hutson’s franchise-record point streak by a rookie Montreal defenseman ended at seven games. He set up Dvorak and Josh Anderson during a dazzling shift midway through the first period, but couldn’t extend his run to eight games. Pittsburgh Penguins' Sidney Crosby (87) skates past Montreal Canadiens' Mike Matheson (8) during the third period of an NHL hockey game, Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024 in Montreal. Credit: AP/Christinne Muschi Up next Penguins: At Ottawa on Saturday night. Canadiens: At Winnipeg on Saturday night.

After emerging from decades-long indebtedness, Benguet Corp. is looking at further expanding its footprint in the mining sector as well as venture into other businesses, such as renewable energy. “As [Benguet] embarks on a new chapter, it will continue to deepen its foothold in the mining sector as well as build up its portfolio in new business ventures like agriculture, real estate, bulk water and renewable energy,” the company said in a disclosure on Monday. Benguet Corp. said becoming debt-free relieved it of the negative restrictions of the restructured loans that hampered it from growing the business. READ: Benguet gets 25-year mining deal renewal The company operates a gold mine in Benguet, nickel mines in Zambales and a processing facility in Baguio City. Beyond mining, it has diversified into other sectors such as healthcare and diagnostics, mining logistics, industrial equipment trading, port services, shipping services, real estate and lime kiln operation. “Now with improved creditworthiness and clean balance sheet, [Benguet] can resume capital market activities and engage investors in undertaking new projects and expansion of existing operations that will create new revenue streams for the company and will hopefully lead to future dividend payouts,” it added. Benguet, which is primarily engaged in mining and mineral exploration and holds interests in various industries such as logistics, announced paying a cash dividend to its shareholders. It declared a cash dividend on its common stock at P0.20 a piece and P0.28 for its convertible preferred stock, payable starting Dec. 10 to shareholders of record as of Nov. 14. This is the first time in 35 years that Benguet made such payments as it became debt-free with the settlement of all its outstanding debts in October. “The termination of the 1993 debt restructuring agreement and mortgage trust indenture is the culmination of management’s long and hard struggle to free the company from its outstanding debt liabilities that have for more than 30 years subjected it to hardship and constraint of operation,” Benguet president Lina Fernandez said. The mining company signed a mutual rescission agreement with its remaining creditors Wilshire Business Consulting Corp. and Armstrong Capital Holdings Corp., along with Philippine Veterans Bank as trustee, effectively releasing the firm from mortgage. Such an agreement means that the parties involved are freed from the contract, in this case relating to restructured loans, which is considered ended. In 1993, Benguet restructured loans from 23 creditor banks and financial institutions amounting to over P1.4 billion and has settled substantial portions of the loans since then. Subscribe to our daily newsletter By providing an email address. I agree to the Terms of Use and acknowledge that I have read the Privacy Policy . The remaining creditors opted to transact with Benguet including leveraging the debts for investment purposes, it added.

Air Fare: Good news for air travellers, airlines will take back the right to change fares 24 hours in advance

No. 7 Mercer stages 4th-quarter comeback to top No. 10 Rhode Island 17-10, advances to FCS semifinal