SINGAPORE, Nov 20 — President Benigno S. Aquino III said his Administration will devote its remaining days in office to the completion of infrastructure projects, reforms in the bureaucracy, and improvement of the country’s justice system. “We’re targeting five percent of our GDP (gross domestic product) in terms of measures for infrastructure by 2016. We’re almost at four—3.5 to 4 (percent) this year,” President Aquino said in an interview following his keynote address Tuesday at […]
Other News
Singaporean PM Lee commends PNoy on recent meeting with China Pres. Xi Jinping
SINGAPORE, Nov 20 — Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong commended President Benigno S. Aquino III on his recent meeting with China’s President Xi Jinping, Presidential Spokesman Edwin Lacierda said Tuesday. Lacierda said President Aquino’s pull-aside meeting with the Chinese leader, after a tree-planting event at the recently concluded Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Beijing last week, was among the topics raised by Prime Minister Lee with the visiting Philippine head of state. President […]
P23-B supplemental budget to scale up Yolanda aid, APEC preps
MANILA, Nov 20 — In its bid to develop a more responsive budget plan for the next fiscal year, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) is pushing for a P23-billion supplemental budget to ensure sufficient funding support for crucial development initiatives, including various infrastructure projects for post-Yolanda rehabilitation and government preparations for the 2015 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit. Budget Secretary Florencio “Butch” Abad explained, “The National Treasury has already certified the availability of […]
Saudi oil policy uncertainty unleashes the conspiracy theorists
LONDON, Nov 18 (Reuters) – If Saudi Oil Minister Ali al Naimi wants to stop conspiracy theories spreading before a crucial OPEC meeting next week, it’s too late. Naimi’s intervention last week after a two-month silence failed to address a question energy markets want answered: is the OPEC leader no longer willing to defend oil prices which have dived by a third to their lowest since 2010, and is it pursuing new commercial or even geopolitical goals? […]
Apple to offer Beats music service in iPhone, iPad – FT
(Reuters) – Apple Inc will bundle the subscription music service it bought from Beats into its iOS operating system early next year, the Financial Times reported. The inclusion of the paid-for Beats service in an iOS softwareupdate, which would instantly make it available on millions of iPhones and iPads, could happen as early as March, the daily reported, citing people familiar with the situation. The move will mark the company’s first big push into subscription music, at a […]
Diskusyon – VP Jejomar Binay Faces Controversial Issues
These past months, Vice President Jejomar Binay was faced with several controversial issues. It all started with the construction of the allegedly over-priced Makati City Hall Building 2, which costed Php 2.2 billion. In his defense, the camp of Vice-President Binay said that the building is world-class and made with exceptional materials, and that his political enemies have already pre-judged the issue. Several senators, including Senator Koko Pimentel and Senator Antonio Trillanes IV conducted an […]
Yahoo CEO says Firefox deal will boost search market share
(Reuters) – Yahoo Inc struck a deal with Firefox maker Mozilla Corp to replace Google Inc as the default search engine on the Firefox Web browser in the United States, a move that Yahoo Chief Executive Marissa Mayer said will help boost its flagging search market share. The deal between the two companies will start in December and is set to last five years, Yahoo said. Mayer would not disclose the financial terms other than to say that the […]
Prague’s landmark Lennon Wall painted over by anonymous culprits
(Reuters) – Prague’s graffiti-covered John Lennon Wall, a favourite photo spot for tourists and a symbol of Western culture under the former Communist regime, was painted completely white on Tuesday. The wall had been a forum for anti-communist calls, love messages and hippie-style paintings even before Lennon’s death in 1980 when Prague was still the capital of communist Czechoslovakia. A group of anonymous students claiming to be from Prague art schools and calling themselves “Prague […]
Obama to announce go-it-alone plan on immigration Thursday
(Reuters) – President Barack Obama will outline a plan on Thursday to relax U.S. immigration policy and grant relief from deportation to as many as 5 million undocumented immigrants in a go-it-alone move that will deepen a partisan divide with Republicans. The White House said Obama will deliver a televised speech on Thursday night laying out the plan followed by a trip to Las Vegas on Friday to build support. Nevada is home to the highest proportion […]
Honduran Miss World contestant and sister found murdered
(Reuters) – A Honduran beauty queen has been found shot dead in a suspected crime of passion just days before she was due to compete in the Miss World pageant in London, police said on Wednesday. The bodies of Maria Jose Alvarado, 19, and her sister Sofia, 23, were found buried near a river in the mountainous region of Santa Barbara in western Honduras, said Leandro Osorio, head of the criminal investigation unit. Police suspect […]
NBC, Netflix cancel Bill Cosby’s shows after sex assault claims
(Reuters) – NBC said on Wednesday it has canceled an upcoming project with veteran comedian Bill Cosby, his second show to be pulled after accusations that he sexually assaulted women resurfaced in recent weeks. The move by NBC comes a day after online streaming companyNetflix Inc said it was postponing Cosby’s stand-up comedy special “Bill Cosby 77,” which was due to be released on Nov. 28. The 77-year-old Cosby is fighting to protect one of the […]
Rallyists enter government building in Hong Kong
A small group of rallyists in Hong Kong entered a government building by destroying said building’s glass doors.
