At least 23 people were killed and six people were missing after a small boat capsized near the Philippines capital Manila on Thursday.
The boat capsized after passengers panicked and ran to the vessel's left side in reaction to a sudden gust of wind, Coast Guard spokesman Rear Admiral Armando Balilo said.
Rescuers are combing Laguna Lake, 37km south-east of Manila, trying to locate the missing.
It was not immediately clear how many people were on board, but Jose Hernandez, chief of the disaster agency of Binangonan town, said 40 people had been rescued.
The boat was about 45m from land when it capsized, the Coast Guard said.
Boating accidents are common in the Philippines.
Eleven people were rescued on Saturday after the same type of boat – known as a motorbanca – ran aground and sank near Surigao.
Five people were injured when another motorbanca caught fire in the city of Zamboanga in early July, while tourists were left stranded on motorbancas in incidents reported in March, April and May.
The boat incident comes as the northern part of the country grapples with Typhoon Doksuri, which has killed at least six people and displaced thousands on Luzon, the Philippines’ largest and most populous island. It battered the island with gusts of up to 215kph.
Taiwan and coastal cities in China are now bracing for the typhoon to make landfall.
Schools and offices in the Chinese city of Shantou will be closed until the end of Friday, officials said, joining the Taiwanese cities of Kaohsiung and Tainan which have also shut.
Kaohsiung also moved about 300 residents of a mountainous part of the district, according to the semi-official Central News Agency.
Museum of the Future in numbers
- 78 metres is the height of the museum
- 30,000 square metres is its total area
- 17,000 square metres is the length of the stainless steel facade
- 14 kilometres is the length of LED lights used on the facade
- 1,024 individual pieces make up the exterior
- 7 floors in all, with one for administrative offices
- 2,400 diagonally intersecting steel members frame the torus shape
- 100 species of trees and plants dot the gardens
- Dh145 is the price of a ticket
What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
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