A small passenger plane crashed in northern Colombia on Wednesday (December 24), killing all six passengers and the pilot, who had warned air traffic control of a mechanical fault moments before, the website of the “El Tiempo” newspaper reported. The Cessna aircraft operated by Alas, a small regional airline, disappeared while flying theBucaramanga to Malaga route in Santander province, the newspaper’s website said, adding all seven bodies were found inside or near the plane. The […]
Other News
‘Kiev joining NATO dangerous for Europe’ – Russia
According to Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Ukraine’s pursuit of NATO membership posed a danger to European security and that the West was using Kiev’s bid to join the Atlantic alliance as a way to fuel confrontation betweenRussia and Ukraine. The Kiev parliament’s renunciation of Ukraine’s neutral status this week as a step toward joining NATO has outraged Moscow and deepened the worst confrontation between Russia and the West since the end of the Cold War. Lavrov […]
Malacanang okays peace talks with rebels
The Aquino administration yesterday welcomed the calls of the Communist Party of the Philippines-National Democratic Front on the resumption of formal peace talks in January as CPP founding chairman Jose Ma. Sison said the rebel group is now finally open to negotiating an indefinite ceasefire. “The government has always believed that dialog provides the most viable opportunity for attaining peace,” Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma said. Sison said the communist insurgents, after resisting government overtures for an […]
Thai PM says martial law to stay
Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said on Thursday (December 25) that martial law will be maintained in the country in order for it to return to stability. The military government, established after a May 22 coup, said last month an election planned for late 2015 would be delayed until 2016, giving more time for reforms which the military says should bring stability after a decade of factional rivalry. “It seems everything is in order, (there […]
Sony finally releases “The Interview”
Sony Pictures makes the controversial comedy, “The Interview,” available on Wednesday (December 24) through online video platforms run by Google, Microsoft and Sony itself, ahead of a limited theatrical release on Thursday (December 25). Sony, which just last week canceled the release of the comedy – about two TV talk show hosts who are sent to North Korea to assassinate its leader – is now looking for ways to widen its distribution beyond a small […]
Houses burn down in Makati
An electrical short circuit is said to be the cause of five houses burning in Makati City, causing an estimated 500, 000 pesos in damage. No injuries have been reported.
CDC worker monitored for possible Ebola exposure in lab error
A technician at the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention may have been exposed to the deadly Ebola virus due to a laboratory error, the New York Times reported on Wednesday, citing federal officials. The worker will be monitored for signs of infection for 21 days, the disease’s incubation period, and a group of fewer than 12 other employees who entered the lab where the mistake happened will also be assessed for exposure, the […]
Lean holiday season looms for Iraqi displaced by IS as funding dwindles – WFP
They used to be symbols of an oil-fuelled boom, but the unfinished buildings in Iraq’s Kurdish north are now crammed with people fleeing violence in the rest of the country. Of the two million people displaced by Islamic State offensives in Iraq this year, almost half sought refuge in Kurdistan, inflating the semi-autonomous region’s population by around 20 percent and putting acute strain on its resources. The concrete frames of future shopping centers and supermarkets […]
Diskusyon – Pandacan Oil Depot
Residents of Pandacan reacted to the removal of the oil depot in their area after the Supreme Court released its decision that said depot – where the three big oil companies of the country – maintain the storage of their oil – to be transferred. In a 10 for-/2 against- vote, the highest court in the land declared Manila Ordinance 8187 unconstitutional.
Diskusyon – LTFRB approves Php 1 rollback in jeepney fare
The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) ordered the one peso rollback of the price of the jeepney fare, meaning that from Php 8.50, said fare is now at Php 7.50. Several transport groups are ready to comply with said decision, including the Pinagkaisang Samahan ng Tsuper at Opereytor Nationwide or PISTON. PISTON Secretary General George San Mateo added that with the fare price rollback, a similar rollback on the price of basic consumer […]
Expect more firework victims
According to the Department of Health, more firework victims have been recorded since the holiday season started with 15 cases recorded in Metro Manila, 10 cases in Cagayan de Oro and 9 in Pangasinan. Most of the victims are of the age 10 or below.
COA questions conditional cash transfer program of DSWD
The Commission on Audit (COA) is asking the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) to explain the anomaly that said Commission discovered in the DSWD’s distribution of its conditional cash transfer program.
