Other News

At least 20 die in cylinder explosion in central India

(Reuters) — At least 20 people were killed on Saturday (September 12) after a suspected gas explosion ripped through a restaurant in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, a police official said. Another 75 people were injured, an official in Jhabua district police control room told Reuters. Police suspect the blast, which occurred about 800 km (500 miles) south of New Delhi, was caused by a gas cylinder exploding in the restaurant. Television footage […]

Europe may face decades of refugee crisis, says expert

(Courtesy CCTV) — The refugee crisis that Europe is now facing might last for decades, and yet no policy so far can solve the problem, said an international strategic expert in an exclusive interview with China Central Television (CCTV) on Friday in London. Nigel Inkster, the Director of Transnational Threats and Political Risk at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, said the refugee crisis may last longer than many people think. “I think the answer […]

Family members of those killed on 9-11 mourn loved ones 14 years on

  (Reuters) — An overcast Friday (September 11) greeted relatives who gathered at the World Trade Center site to commemorate nearly 3,000 people killed in the Sept. 11 attacks in New York, Pennsylvania and outside Washington 14 years ago, when airliners hijacked by al Qaeda militants brought death, mayhem and destruction. Relatives of the victims read their names in a solemn and poignantly familiar pattern. Emblematic of the generations affected, children who were not old […]

Berto not backing down from Mayweather challenge

  (Reuters) — Challenger Andre Berto will go into Saturday’s welterweight fight against Floyd Mayweather as a heavy underdog but the fighter senses that something is brewing and that boxing fans will be treated to a real “rumble”. Berto, 32, will be aiming to end his fellow American’s perfect 48-0 record and his corner man, Virgil Hunter, has promised that his boxer is capable of fighting “over his head” in a bout scheduled for 12 […]

Roxas resigns from DILG in preparation for presidential bid

  (Eagle News) — Department of interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Mar Roxas resigned from  the cabinet on Friday, Sept. 11, to run for the presidency next year under the administration’s ruling Liberal Party.  The resignation came more than a month after he was chosen to be the LP’s standard bearer by President Aquino. This came about as a new DILG chief was appointed to take over his post, in the person of Western Samar Rep. […]

Crane accident in the Muslim holy city of Mecca claims 87 lives

      (Reuters) — The death toll in a crane accident at the Grand Mosque in the Muslim holy city of Mecca rose to 87 on Friday (September 11), the head of Saudi Arabia’s civil defence authority told Al Ikhbariya television. He said 183 people had been injured. The accident came just weeks before Islam’s annual haj pilgrimage. Al Arabiya television earlier said the crane had fallen because of strong storms – western Saudi […]

PH & EU CO-CHAIR AN ASEAN REGIONAL FORUM (ARF) WORKSHOP

MANILA – The Philippines and the European Union co-chaired an ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) Workshop on “Raising awareness and promoting ARF cooperation on chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) risk mitigation” in Makati City, Metro Manila, on September 9 and 10, 2015. The workshop brought together 75 participants from the ASEAN member states, the European Union, Australia, Canada, China, India, Japan, Mongolia, New Zealand and the USA as well as the from the ASEAN Secretariat, the […]

EU Peace Journalism Grand Awardee starts his media programme this week

BRUSSELS – Jefry Tupas from NewsDesk, who is based in Davao City has started his media programme after having won the grand prize in the European Union Peace Journalism Awards. Tupas’ article was entitled “The Teachers of Raja Muda” which he said was his tribute to the voiceless, to the educators who work to patch up conflict in their localities. Tupas is meeting this week with officers from the European External Action Service, European Commission and […]

Japanese residents recall horror of flash floods; 800,000 people at one point advised to evacuate

(Reuters) — Floods that swept houses off their foundations and crushed others under landslides spread across Japan on Friday (September 11) as more rivers burst their banks, killing at least three people, leaving at least 23 missing and forcing more than 100,000 to flee. A further 800,000 people were at one point advised to evacuate after officials issued warnings of “once in a half century rains” to five million people in areas east and north […]

APEC Finance Ministers launch Cebu Action Plan

  (Eagle News) —Finance Ministers of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) concluded the 22nd meeting by launching the Cebu Action Plan, a roadmap for a more sustainable financial future for the Asia-Pacific region. Finance Secretary Cesar V. Purisima said that the “Cebu Action Plan” (CAP) that was launched on Friday, Sept. 11 was the  “work of a region facing forward in steadfast cooperation amid complex challenges and opportunities.” “We hope the CAP emerges as the lasting […]

Aquino cites importance of investing in people, welcomes int’l delegates of 23rd PECC meeting

  (Eagle News) — President Benigno S. Aquino III on Friday stressed the importance of investing in people or the so-called human capital so they could be better partners in the country’s growing economy. The President cited the Philippine experience in pursuing inclusive growth, where he said the government had made massive investments in the people through the conditional cash transfer program or CCT, the implementation of the K to 12 basic education curriculum, and […]

World Bank exec advises Asia-Pacific countries to invest in education to address inequality

(LAPU-LAPU CITY, Cebu) Asia Pacific countries should invest in education and social protection to address inequality within their economies and this includes the Philippines, a World Bank official said on Friday. In his message during the APEC Finance Ministers’ Meeting here, World Bank Vice President for East Asia and the Pacific, Axel van Trotsenburg, said most poor households rely on labor as their only source of income. Making labor productive through quality education and skills […]