Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain have said they are withdrawing their ambassadors from Qatar over its alleged breach of a regional security deal not to interfere in each other’s internal affairs. The three countries announced the move in a joint statement Wednesday after Qatar failed to implement the security agreement among the Gulf Arab countries. The statement said Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) members had signed an agreement on November 23 not […]
Other News
PMA finds ally in teachers’ group in condemning BIR print ad
The Philippine Medical Association found an ally in the group called the Teachers’ Dignity Coalition in its condemnation of a controversial print ad of the Bureau of Internal Revenue. According to TDC National Chairperson Benjo Basas, the BIR should not have made a sweep generalization about doctors in their print ads that pictured medical practitioners as tax evaders or tax cheats. The controversial half-page print ad that came out last Sunday showed a teacher carrying on […]
Israel claims interception of Gaza-bound Iranian rockets
In a raid on a ship allegedly bound for the Gaza Strip, the Israeli navy has seized rockets it claims to be from Iran. Israel said the weapons were destined for Palestinian militants, adding the evidence was “clear cut.” Israel announced that the raid had taken place early on Wednesday in the Red Sea. The navy intercepted a cargo ship sailing under the flag of Panama and carrying a crew of 17. According to the […]
China’s Xi ramps up military spending in face of worried region
(Reuters) – China announced its biggest rise in military spending in three years on Wednesday, a strong signal from President Xi Jinping that Beijing is not about to back away from its growing assertiveness in Asia, especially in disputed waters. The government said it would increase the defense budget by 12.2 percent this year to 808.23 billion yuan ($131.57 billion), as China seeks to develop more high-tech weapons and to beef up coastal and air […]
Dennis Cunanan Denies receiving “pork barrel” kickbacks
Eagle News reporter Meanne Corvera provides an update on the hearing at the senate regarding another pork barrel whistleblower, Dennis Cunanan. An emotional Cunanan denied receiving any pork barrel commissions, as he answered questions from senator Francis Escudero who asked him directly if he had received any kickbacks as claimed by Benhur Luy. Luy, the principal whistleblower in the P10 billion pork barrel scam, alleged that Cunanan had received P960,000 from his boss then Janet-Lim […]
Putin among Nobel Peace nominees but Ukraine might figure too
(Reuters) – Russian President Vladimir Putin has been nominated for the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize – but the conflict in Ukraine is also likely to be on the Nobel committee’s agenda. A record 278 candidates, including 47 organizations, received nominations for the 2014 prize, said the Norwegian Nobel Institute’s director, Geir Lundestad. Committee members who met on Tuesday added their own proposals with a focus on recent turmoil around the globe. “Part of the purpose […]
Dennis Cunanan Faces Senate Blue Ribbon Committee
On-Leave Technology Resource Center Director General faces the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee, where he will be the first official from an implementing agency involved in the pork barrel scam.
Philippines Experiences Rising Temperatures
Despite the northeast monsoon, the country is now beginning to experience rising temperatures as the said wind now passes the Pacific Ocean. Here are the other details of our weather update from PAGASA.
Big power talks on Ukraine crisis make little progress
(Reuters) – High-level diplomatic efforts to resolve the crisis in Ukraine made little apparent headway at talks in Paris on Wednesday with Moscow and Washington at odds and Russia’s foreign minister refusing to recognize his Ukrainian counterpart. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said discussions would continue in the coming days in an attempt to stabilize the crisis and he expected to meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov again in Rome on Thursday. “Don’t assume […]
In Ukraine’s Crimea, a tense and surreal standoff
(Reuters) – Holed up on their bases, Ukraine’s besieged servicemen and the Russians surrounding them in Crimea are locked in a standoff that at times is tense and at others surreal. Almost a week after Russian forces began their swift and bloodless takeover of the Ukrainian Black Sea peninsula, there is a standoff as the two sides dig in and play a waiting game. The Russians have swatted down isolated attempts by the Ukrainian forces […]
Venezuela’s Chavez remembered with pomp and protests
(Reuters) – Followers of late socialist leader Hugo Chavez flooded the streets of Venezuela on Wednesday for the anniversary of his death, an emotional but welcome distraction for his successor from violent protests raging for the last month. A year after Chavez succumbed to cancer, his self-proclaimed “son,” President Nicolas Maduro, faces the biggest challenge to his rule from an explosion of anti-government demonstrations that have led to 18 deaths since February. Though the protests […]
Nine-month-old baby may have been cured of HIV, U.S. scientists say
(Reuters) – A 9-month-old baby who was born in California with the HIV virus that leads to AIDS may have been cured as a result of treatments that doctors began just four hours after her birth, medical researchers said on Wednesday. That child is the second case, following an earlier instance in Mississippi, in which doctors may have brought HIV in a newborn into remission by administering antiretroviral drugs in the first hours of life, […]
