MANILA, Nov. 19 — The Palace announced on Tuesday that it is holding the Manila Ports Forum on November 27 at the Manila Diamond Hotel to address congestion at ports, especially the Port of Manila. “Dito sa pagkakataong ito ay magbibigay ng update hinggil sa mga isinasagawa ng pamahalaan para maibsan ang problema ng port congestion,” Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Herminio Coloma, Jr. said during a press briefing. Expected to attend the forum are […]
Other News
Japanese tough guy actor Ken Takakura dies at 83
(Reuters) – Ken Takakura, an actor known as “Japan’s Clint Eastwood” for his portrayal of tough but principled gangsters in over 100 movies and who gained international fame in director Ridley Scott’s “Black Rain,” has died at the age of 83. Takakura, who played alongside U.S. stars such as Tom Selleck and starred in movies directed by Sydney Pollack and China’s Zhang Yimou, died on Nov. 10 of lymphoma, his office said on Tuesday. Born […]
U.N. panel calls for Nokor referral to international court
(Reuters) – The U.N. General Assembly committee dealing with human rights on Tuesday called for the U.N. Security Council to consider referring North Korea to the International Criminal Court (ICC) for alleged crimes against humanity. The vote followed a U.N. Commission of Inquiry report published in February detailing wide-ranging abuses in North Korea, including prison camps, systematic torture, starvation and killings comparable to Nazi-era atrocities. The resolution passed by the U.N. Third Committee linked the alleged abuses to […]
Senate narrowly fails to pass Keystone XL pipeline bill
(Reuters) – The U.S. Senate on Tuesday narrowly failed to pass a bill that would have approved construction of the controversial Keystone XL pipeline, rejecting a measure the House of Representatives approved last week. The vote count was 59-41 in favor, but 60 “ayes” would have been needed to assure passage. Fourteen Democrats voted for the bill, joining all 45 Republicans who voted to support the pipeline. TransCanada Corp’s $8 billion pipeline would help transport crude oil from […]
Putin says United States will never ‘subdue’ Russia
(Reuters) – The United States wants to subdue Moscow, but will never succeed, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday. “They do not want to humiliate us, they want to subdue us, solve their problems at our expense,” Putin said at the end of a four-hour meeting with his core support group, the People’s Front. “No one in history ever managed to achieve this with Russia, and no one ever will,” he said, triggering a wave […]
Hong Kong protesters break into government building as tensions flare again
(Reuters) – A small group of Hong Kong pro-democracy protesters broke into the city’s legislature via a side door early on Wednesday, and police stopped others forcing their way in as tensions in the Chinese-controlled city escalated following a period of calm. The flare-up came just hours after court bailiffs managed to clear part of a protest camp in the heart of the city that has been occupied by pro-democracy demonstrators for nearly two months, […]
Congress gives PNoy go-ahead to deal with 2015 power shortage
The House of Representatives granted President Benigno Aquino III special powers through a passed resolution yesterday to deal with a projected power shortage in 2015, even as the Senate put the measure on hold to make way for budget deliberations. Senator Sergio Osmena III, chairman of the committee on energy, said Senate President Franklin Drilon had ordered that priority be given to passing the national budget for 2015. “The committee will have to finish its […]
NATO leader sees ‘serious military buildup’ in Ukraine, urges Russia to pull back troops
(Reuters) – NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg denounced on Tuesday what he called a serious Russian military buildup both inside Ukraine and on the Russian side of the border and urged Moscow to pull back its troops. Stoltenberg said NATO saw movement of troops, equipment, tanks, artillery and also of advanced air defense systems in violation of a ceasefire agreement. Russia denies providing arms or troops to support a separatist pro-Russian rebellion in eastern Ukraine, which began after the removal […]
Seven big U.S. companies paid CEOs more than Uncle Sam in 2013: study
(Reuters) – Seven of the 30 largest U.S. corporations paid more money to their chief executive officers last year than they paid in U.S. federal income taxes, according to a study released on Tuesday that was disputed by at least one of the companies. Amid talk in Washington about corporate tax reform, the study said the seven companies, which in 2013 reported more than $74 billion in combined U.S. pre-tax profits, came out ahead on […]
Mass murderer Charles Manson gets marriage license, state says
(Reuters) – Mass murderer Charles Manson has been granted a marriage license, and would be allowed to wed in prison, a spokeswoman for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said on Monday. Manson, 80, was issued a marriage license by Kings County, California, where he is serving a life sentence at the California State Prison, Corcoran, corrections spokeswoman Terry Thornton said. Manson, a charismatic ex-convict who assembled a group of runaways and outcasts into […]
Japan PM to seek fresh mandate for ‘Abenomics’ with snap poll
(Reuters) – Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Tuesday that he would call an early election to seek a fresh mandate for his economic policies, and postpone an unpopular sales tax rise, a day after data showed the economy had slipped back into recession. The world’s third-biggest economy unexpectedly shrank for a second consecutive quarter in July-September, a sign the pain from an initial rise in the sales tax to 8 percent from 5 percent in April was […]
Palestinians kill four in Jerusalem synagogue attack
(Reuters) – Two Palestinians armed with a meat cleaver and a gun killed four people in a Jerusalem synagogue on Tuesday before being shot dead by police, the deadliest such incident in six years in the holy city amid a surge in religious conflict. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged to respond with a “heavy hand”, and again accused Western-backed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas of inciting violence in Jerusalem. Abbas condemned the attack, which comes […]
