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Three “Middle Eastern militants” are in custody in the Philippines for plotting to attack the US embassy in Manila, as well as three other embassies in the capital. Authorities suspect them of belonging to either Jemaah Islamiyah or Abu Sayyaf, both terrorist groups affiliated with al-Qaeda. They describe the plot as at an “advanced” stage, indicating an attack had been imminent: Three suspected Middle Eastern militants have been arrested in connection with an alleged plot to bomb the U.S. and three other foreign embassies in the Philippines, officials said Thursday.“There is a high probability that they are involved in some...

(UPDATE 11) ‘Our military operation has started’--Barias MANILA, Philippines -- Operations to flush out the group of Senator Antonio Trillanes IV from the Manila Peninsula hotel in Makati City have begun, Police Director Geary Barias of the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) said. “Our military operation has started; it’s ongoing,” Barias told reporters from his position outside the hotel. He said Marines and Navy troops, as well as police commandos, have entered the hotel from the fountain area at the rear, along Ayala Avenue. A Marines tank is headed for the fountain area of the hotel from the...

A powerful bomb ripped through a section of the Philippine House of Representatives yesterday, killing two people and injuring at least 10, including lawmakers, officials said. Killed in the blast was Wahab Akbar, a congressman representing Basilan island, where troops are hunting down remnants of the Al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf extremist group. Akbar had received death threats in the past. Troops went on heightened alert and security forces set up checkpoints around Manila as President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo quickly ordered a national police probe into the blast at the sprawling complex north of the capital in suburban Quezon City. The explosion -...

AN explosion apparently caused by a fuel tank ripped through an upmarket shopping mall in the main Philippine financial district of Makati in the capital Manila today. Panicked shoppers ran out of the Glorietta mall as smoke billowed out of the building and police rushed in to investigate, witnesses said. "Our initial report is that it was an accidental explosion of LPG (liquefied petroleum gas). We are still trying to determine if there are any casualties,''.

The Manila Melting PotLike many cities in developing nations, Manila is not without its pollution and traffic, nor the conspicuous divide between rich and poor. Nevertheless, this bustling Philippines capital, situated on the west coast of the island of Luzon, is a remarkable melting pot of Asian and Latin cultures, thick with history and flavor. When in Manila, sightseeing is protocol. Many history lessons have been learnt while visiting the oldest part of the city, Intramuros (Latin for “within the walls”), which was founded by the Spanish in 1571 and houses numerous historic buildings and churches. Rizal Park, named after...

TAGBILARAN CITY—Police on Wednesday arrested a suspected Abu Sayyaf bomber on a ferry in Cebu on his way to Metro Manila with “enough explosives to kill hundreds of people,” an official said yesterday. Police arrested the man a day before President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo arrived in Bohol Thursday for the first Local Peace and Security Assembly. National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales described him as a Muslim in his early 20s. “I cannot divulge the name yet because the investigation is still ongoing,” Gonzales said. “We suspect that he is a member of the Abu Sayyaf and he was on his...

The online free encyclopedia, Wikipedia, informs that noted Philippine publicist Salvador “Bubby” Dacer was murdered on November 24, 2000 by members of the police force. According to Wikipedia, “Bubby Dacer and his driver, Emmanuel Corbito, were abducted in Makati, the business district of Manila. They were later killed, and their vehicle dumped. In 2001, a number of arrests were made. One of the accused, police colonel Glenn Dumlao, named Cesar Mancao and Michael Ray Aquino as the organisers of the murders. Mancao and Aquino both fled the country. Dumlao later disappeared.” “The ultimate reasons for Dacer’s murder remain a...

The al-Qaeda-linked Muslim Abu Sayyaf rebels have decapitated seven hostages and sent their heads to the army in Jolo, in the southern Philippines archipelago of Sulu, the local press said on Friday quoting the military. The severed heads of six road project workers and one factory worker were delivered to two army outposts in Parang town on Jolo island, 1,000 kilometres south of Manila, Thursday. The victims, all Christians, were working on a government road construction project in the city of Parang, Jolo, when they were abducted Tuesday by rebels led by commander Albader Parad. The Philiippine army said on...

Forensic experts have yet to confirm that the body found in a remote mountain village in northern Philippines is that of American Peace Corps volunteer Julia Campbell, who has been missing since April 8. And yet grief and disbelief have started to hit Campbell's friends and colleagues here and abroad. Page, a water sanitation technician and Campbell's Peace Corps "sitemate," reported the reaction of fellow volunteers assigned in Legazpi City in Albay to the news of the body's discovery in Batad village in Banaue, a town famous for its rice terraces, in Ifugao province. In an entry titled "Impermanence," posted...

Students held hostage in Philippines Gunmen who say they have grenades seize group near Manila?s city hall BREAKING NEWS The Associated Press Updated: 7:34 p.m. MT March 27, 2007 MANILA, Philippines - Unidentified gunmen seized a busload of students and teachers near Manila's city hall while on the run after a holdup Wednesday, police said. Hostage-takers scribbled on a piece of paper, visible through the bus window, that they were holding 32 children and two teachers and were armed with two grenades, an Uzi assault rifle police and a .45-caliber pistol, officer Mark Andal said. They said they were demanding...

Chinese-made bus on the streets of Manila, Philippines. Bus export offensive I am referring to China ’s juggernaut that has claimed for itself a substantial space on the most visible place possible—our major roads and highways. This is China’s bus export offensive into the country, which in a period of less than five years has made inroads so impressive that experts say it is all set to dominate the Philippine market in a decade or less. Two conditions though for this to happen: its Japanese and European competitors fail to carry out dramatic moves. And South Korea does not...

The Philippine National Police on Tuesday said the alleged plot to sow terror in Metro Manila similar to the September 11 bombings in the United States has been thwarted with the arrest of three suspects over the weekend. "Alam naman nating lahat na ang target talaga is Metro Manila so nagpakalat na kami ng information. (An all-out information campaign was conducted because we all know that Metro Manila is a prime target)," PNP chief Director General Oscar Calderon told a DZMM interview. Police and military agents nabbed Razak Macarimbang, Wahad Sandigan and Sammy Gampong before boarding a SuperFerry vessel bound...

The Japanese have to do something with their money - $108,000 per family unit in savings. One thing they do is travel. The hottest travel destination is Hawaii. They'd actually like to buy HI but that would only leave 49 stars on the flag unless America were to let Puerto Rico in...but then, I am off topic. Guam is next on the list...then China. But moving up quickly is the PI - Cebu and Manila. Travel bookings from one city, Nagoya, are up 20% and charter flights are already sold out for the rest of the year! And it's only...

SADDAM HUSSEIN'S REGIME PROVIDED FINANCIAL support to Abu Sayyaf, the al Qaeda-linked jihadist group founded by Osama bin Laden's brother-in-law in the Philippines in the late 1990s, according to documents captured in postwar Iraq. An eight-page fax dated June 6, 2001, and sent from the Iraqi ambassador in Manila to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Baghdad, provides an update on Abu Sayyaf kidnappings and indicates that the Iraqi regime was providing the group with money to purchase weapons. The Iraqi regime suspended its support--temporarily, it seems--after high-profile kidnappings, including of Americans, focused international attention on the terrorist group. The...

MOVIEGOERS in Manila may have to go to neighboring cities to watch “The Da Vinci Code” after the city council yesterday passed a resolution prohibiting the showing of the controversial movie. The resolution said the movie, which was based on US author Dan Brown’s explosive novel, “is undoubtedly offensive and contrary to established religious beliefs which cannot take precedence over the right of the persons involved in the film to freedom of expression.” The resolution, which was passed just hours before cinemas in Manila and other parts of the metropolis began showing the movie, cited a provision in the Revised...

Philippines jurist was noted for consulting 3 imaginary dwarfs about cases... A Philippine judge who claimed he could see into the future and admitted consulting imaginary mystic dwarfs has asked for his job back after being sacked by the country’s Supreme Court. “They should not have dismissed me for what I believed,” ... He told investigators that three mystic dwarfs -- Armand, Luis and Angel -- helped him carry out healing sessions during breaks in his chambers.

APNewsAlert MANILA, Philippines (AP) -- Philippine president declares state of emergency amid flurry of coup rumors.

AN explosion on the grounds of the Philippine presidential palace today was probably caused by chemicals in a trash bin set off by a lit cigarette, not a bomb, the head of security said. "Nobody was injured," press undersecretary Isabel de Leon said, adding President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo was inside the palace at the time. The army tightened security yesterday after finding a bomb in its top military academy, one of the alleged targets of a plot to overthrow and possibly kill Ms Arroyo, who survived an impeachment attempt last year over allegations of vote-rigging and graft. Witnesses said the...

ALARM - The Philippines: an explosion shakes the presidential palate MANILA - a strong explosion of unspecified origin shook Monday the palate of the presidency from the Philippines in Manila, indicated witnesses.

MANILA, Philippines A stampede broke out early Saturday outside a stadium near Manila, killing at least 88 people, and injuring 280, the Philippine Red Cross reported. About 30,000 people were waiting to get inside the stadium for the program "Wowowee" when the mayhem erupted, said Vicente Eusebio, the mayor of Pasig, the Manila suburb where the stampede occurred. The mayor said the melee erupted as the crowd pushed and surged toward the gates, thinking they were open, pinning and trampling those in front. One survivor said some people in the crowd became rowdy when they could not enter. "The gates...

MANILA, Philippines -- A stampede broke out early Saturday outside a stadium near Manila where tens of thousands of people had lined up to watch to watch a popular game show, and at least 66 spectators were killed, an official said.

Philippines sees rise in "Desperate Japanese" Mon Jan 23, 2006 9:29 AM GMT By George Nishiyama MANILA (Reuters) - They come to the Philippines hoping to start a new life, often with a new young wife. But most of these middle-aged Japanese men end up without money, abandoned by their Filipino wives and with nowhere to go. The number of these men, known as "Desperate Japanese" among the local Japanese community, has increased in recent years, an embassy official said. "One would show up at least every two days," said a consular official with the Japanese embassy in Manila. He...

MANILA, Philippines (CNS) -- Divine Word Father Benigno Beltran talks about bandwidth, e-trading and income streams with the ease of a Silicon Valley technophile, yet the ever-present smell of burning garbage betrays his surroundings. Father Beltran is pastor of Manila's Parish of the Risen Christ, a congregation of scavengers who live alongside Smokey Mountain, the Philippine capital's legendary -- and ever smoldering -- garbage dump. Father Beltran, who has lived among his parishioners for 27 years, knows their desperate marginalization, so he is aggressively pushing a high-tech solution to their poverty. "Globalization is only antagonistic to those who aren't prepared...

Skousen, Rand too hot for university library in ManilaWe hear from Mark Skousen that he's none too popular at the University of the Philippines -- or rather, too popular. In an article posted at the Human Events site, he quotes a friend's report on the situation, a former Marxist turned around by a critique of Marx in one of his books.Remember you sent me a box of The Making of Modern Economics?I donated a copy to the libraries of each of the four major universities here. Later, a friend of mine checked the library at the University of the Philippines...

THE UNITED STATES is concerned classified documents allegedly stolen by Leandro Aragoncillo and Michael Ray Aquino may have ended up in the hands of communists, according to an official of the National Bureau of Investigation. Ricardo Diaz, chief of the NBI’s Interpol division, said at a recent meeting that US officials noted that known leftists were at the forefront of so-called destabilization efforts and mass actions in the country. “They said there was a possibility that the classified government information from the White House and FBI [the Federal Bureau of Investigation] are now in the hands of the local...

Break silence, US urged Solons want brains of spy case named THREE senior administration lawmakers urged the United States government yesterday to break its silence on the espionage case of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and immediately identify the brains so they could be charged before Philippine courts. Representatives Antonio Cuenco (Cebu City), Marcelino Libanan (Eastern Samar) and Monico Puentevella (Bacolod) made the call as Malacanang reiterated its fear that the spying scandal could impair the Philippines' relations with the United States. The case involves the alleged theft of secret FBI files dealing with the Philippines, some of which...

Thursday, September 29, 2005 Jimenez eyes Atienza’s post By Maricel V. Cruz, Reporter CONTROVERSIAL former representative Mark Jimenez of Manila is planning to run as mayor for Manila when he returns to the country in November after serving out his two-year community service in the United States owing to criminal charges. A congressman on Thursday gave this information to The Manila Times, but added that Jimenez may choose not to return to the country. The source, who refused to be identified, said the businessman’s “family and relatives” are convincing Jimenez to stay in the Bahamas for good. The former...

More than 100 injured in Philippine armoury blast Jim Gomez | Manila, Philippines Sept. 13, 2005 Huge blasts at a suburban Manila police ammunition dump injured at least 107 people, damaged several buildings and homes and set off security jitters in a capital long wary of possible terror attacks and a coup, officials said. Police ruled out sabotage or terrorism. Late Monday's explosions, which investigators say were apparently touched off by lightning, initially raised concerns of foul play due to swirling coup rumours linked to the months-long political crisis hounding President Gloria Arroyo. She has been accused of rigging last...

Echoes of past war resound as Manila recalls Liberation   Memories of a fierce battle that left Manila a vast wasteland 60 years ago will be summoned at an oral-history conference on Thursday and Friday. The conference, entitled “The Battle for Manila: The Price of Freedom,” is sponsored by the National Historical Institute (NHI). It will be held at the Resource Center, NHI Building on T.M. Kalaw Avenue from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Battle of Manila, which raged from February 3 to March 3 in 1945, was marked by savage street-to-street fighting between US soldiers and well-entrenched Japanese...

MANILA (AP) - About 500 Muslim rebels have withdrawn from two Mindanao strongholds to let government forces launch an offensive against another Muslim group -- the al-Qaida-linked Abu Sayyaf, a rebel spokesman said Sunday. The Moro Islamic Liberation Front guerrillas, nearly 300 of whom were armed, withdrew from Talayan and Guindolongan Thursday to allow the jungle offensive to go ahead and avoid accidental clashes with government troops, rebel spokesman Eid Kabalu said. The guerrillas plan to return to their camps Monday unless the military asks for an extension, Kabalu said.

MANILA, July 6, 2005 (STAR) (AP) - President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's corruption-tainted husband left Wednesday for self-imposed exile in the United States as part of the embattled leader's efforts to distance herself from political scandals that threaten her government. Jose Miguel "Mike" Arroyo, a lawyer from a prominent family who has been accused of influence-peddling and receiving kickbacks from illegal gambling, bid a somber farewell to his daughter, son and granddaughter at Manila airport before boarding a flight to Hong Kong, from where he will continue to his final destination in the U.S. "He is sad," his lawyer Jesus...

“Memory n. 1. The mental faculty of retaining and recalling past experience; the ability to remember. 2. An act or instance of remembrance; a recollection… see smer in Appendix.” “smer – to remember. In Germanic murnon, to remember sorrowfully, in Old English murnan, to mourn.” I remember Chuck Meerholz and the day I was supposed to drive. After four months with B Company, 1st Battalion, 69th Armor; four months of on-the-job-training for a guy trained as an infantrymen, I was being taught to drive our tank. B Company was to participate in a big operation centered on the village of...

Anti-U.S. Terror Threat Grows in Philippines April 21, 2005 By Dan Springer MANILA, Philippines — Security experts see growing signs of a link between Al Qaeda (search) and home-grown terrorists in the Philippines, raising fears that attacks against the United States could be launched from a country that used to be a U.S. colony. "The terrorist threat in the Philippines has gone to a high point, especially with the concentration of Al Qaeda morphed into a group called Jemaah Islamiyah (search)," said Gen. Avelino Razon, director of the Philippine National Police. Intelligence reports indicate that longtime separatist groups that have...

Tax evasion charges were filed yesterday before the Department of Justice (DOJ) against the makers of the bulletproof "Popemobile" used by Pope John Paul II during World Youth Day celebrations in Manila in January 1995. The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) lodged the complaint against the two top officials of Italcar Pilipinas who are also owners of Francisco Motors Corp. (FMC), which assembled the vehicle, and the comptroller of Italcar. BIR Commissioner Guillermo Parayno Jr. said Italcar Pilipinas, a wholly owned subsidiary of FMC, is engaged in the importation and sale of motor vehicles. Charged were Fernando Francisco, managing director,...

MANILA (AFP) - Nearly one thousand American and Filipino soldiers on Sunday began joint military exercises aimed at improving cooperation against terrorist and other attacks. The two-week exercises are to be held in military camps in Luzon. Some 300 US troops and 650 Filipino soldiers are taking part. The maneuvers are aimed at improving joint planning and enhancing capabilities "against armed attacks, including threats from terrorist groups, as well as readiness to respond to natural disasters," the US embassy said. The Philippines is a US ally in its global war on terrorism, and small numbers of US military advisers have...

MANILA (Reuters) - Explosions in the business district of the Philippine capital and two southern cities on Monday killed at least 10 people and wounded nearly 130, with besieged Muslim rebels claiming two of the attacks.

THIS February will mark the 60th anniversary of the unwarranted death of over 100,000 civilians whose lives were sacrificed in the 1945 Battle of Manila. The casualty count was that immense because advancing US troops and their commander, Gen. Douglas MacArthur, did not consider that these non-American civilian lives deserved to be protected and secured by US troops whose role after all is to absorb the risk of war. But I wonder if anyone has even cared to remember this national tragedy? Next to Warsaw, Manila registered as the city most devastated by World War II. Early accounts obviously peddled...

MANILA -- Two men suspected in the bombings that killed 42 people in Davao City last year have been arrested. Authorities claimed Thursday the two were linked to the al-Qaida-allied Southeast Asian terror group Jemaah Islamiyah. They are suspected of planting a bomb outside Davao airport terminal in March 2003, which killed 23 people including an American missionary and wounded 127 others, and another bomb a month later, at the southern city's busy wharf that killed 19 and wounded 39.

Translation from Hebrew to English by me An earthquake on the scale of 6.2 on the Richter scale shook Manila, the capital of The Philippines. Reports of damage or injuries have not been reported yet. Local radio stations reported that residents ran outside into the streets due to fears their homes would collapse.

Lord, Keep our Troops forever in Your care Give them victory over the enemy... Grant them a safe and swift return... Bless those who mourn the lost. . FReepers from the Foxhole join in prayer for all those serving their country at this time. ...................................................................................... ........................................... U.S. Military History, Current Events and Veterans Issues Where Duty, Honor and Countryare acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated. Our Mission: The FReeper Foxhole is dedicated to Veterans of our Nation's military forces and to others who are affected in their relationships with Veterans. In the FReeper Foxhole, Veterans or their family members should feel...

The Mollycoddling Milksops of Manila by Michelle Malkin Posted Jul 14, 2004 Add the flag of the Philippines to the International Hall of Appeasers. Sign this pitiful nation up for a lifetime membership to the Axis of Weasels. And remind me never again to brag about the proud fighting spirit of my ancestors. I never thought I'd say this, but I'm deeply, mortifyingly ashamed of my parents' native land. The island nation has gone and pulled a Spain (and a France and a Germany). Philippine president Gloria Macagapal-Arroyo has crumbled like a fried lumpia wrapper under pressure from radical Muslim...

Manila restaurant serves up spam Spamburgers, spam nuggets, spam spaghetti, caesar salad with spam, spam and eggs: the menu at the Spamjam restaurant in Manila could be straight out of a Monty Python sketch. "I'm a Spam lover," said Philip Abadilla, who opened the world's first spam restaurant in December. "It's always on my mind." While the canned meat will forever be ridiculed by fans of the British comedians, it is a much loved staple in the Philippines. Filipinos eat 1.25 million kilograms of the stuff every year and woe betide anyone arriving from the United States who does not...

KUALA LUMPUR -- A Malaysian woman has been hospitalised and tested for Sars after developing a high fever on a trip to China, including a visit to Guangdong province, officials said on Monday. The 31-year-old woman was found to have fever, a cough and a sore throat upon her arrival at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport on Saturday, according to The Star daily. Deputy health director-general Ismail Merican said the woman had been isolated at the Kuala Lumpur Hospital but her fever had subsided and her x-rays were normal. 'We are still waiting for the lab report but we believe...

MANILA, Philippines - Two American brothers were arrested for possible links to terrorism, a Philippine official said Monday. Michael Ray Stubbs and his brother James, a convert to Islam, have been held at an undisclosed location since they were arrested earlier this month 21 miles southwest of Manila, an immigration intelligence official said on condition of anonymity. The official said the brothers were of Middle Eastern origin but gave no other details. It was not clear what charges they could face or why authorities believe they may be linked to terrorism. The two were to be brought before the media...

MANILA - President Gloria Arroyo said yesterday the Philippines had struck a heavy blow against terrorists in the region with the arrest of 'Commander Robot', a leader of the Abu Sayyaf group. He led a band of kidnappers who raided resorts in Malaysia's Sipadan island in April 2000, seizing 21 hostages. 'Relentless pressure is taking its toll and we will keep it up until all the terrorists are accounted for and they no longer pose a threat,' she said. 'Commander Robot', whose real name is Galib Andang, was captured late on Sunday after a gunbattle in southern Jolo island. Wounded...

GOTTA SEE THIS - War for Enduring Freedom 10/25/03 - Kabul, Kandahar, Kunduz, Manila BREAKING: Kabul - FREED BY AMERICA BREAKING: Kunduz, Afghanistan - Weapons flow to the UN QFN ==== QUAGMIRE-FREE NEWS ========= Kabul ========= FREED BY AMERICA, AFGHANI GIRLS RECEIVE AN EDUCATION In Kabul, at the Zarghona High School. Why are their hands raised?. They were asked how many want to go to college. FREED BY AMERICA, HEALTH CARE FOR WOMEN and CHILDREN In Kabul, vitamins and polio vaccinations [for ~5.9 million children throughout the country]. FREED BY AMERICA, AFGHANI MUSIC AND DANCING In Kabul, at a wedding....

MANILA, Philippines - A Jordanian suspected of being an al-Qaida operative and of helping channel funds to the group's terror operations in the Philippines has been arrested, immigration officials announced Thursday. Mahmoud Afif Abdeljalil — believed to be a close associate of Osama bin Laden's brother-in-law — was arrested in the southern city of Zamboanga on Sept. 25 on charges of having an expired visa. He was being interrogated, and Immigration Commissioner Andrea Domingo said he could face criminal charges. She described Abdeljalil as the "point man" of Mohammed Jamal Khalifa, a Saudi businessman married to one of bin Laden's...

MANILA, Philippines -- An escaped key member of an al-Qaida-linked terror group was believed to have been killed today in a shootout with Philippine troops and police, the military said. Fathur Al-Ghozi, the top bomb-maker for the southeast Asian group Jemaah Islamiya, became one of Asia's most-wanted men after escaping from Manila police headquarters in July. He had been serving 12 years for illegally possessing explosives. Al-Ghozi -- a confessed member of Jemaah Islamiyah -- was believed to have died around 8 p.m. today in Pigkawayan town, in North Catabato province, in a shootout with military and police, Army Maj....

Just days after the Oklahoma City bombing, the INS deported Osama bin Laden's brother-in-law Mohammed Jamal Khalifa, even though the FBI had evidence that linked the Saudi businessman to the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, the 1995 Bojinka plot and Oklahoma City. Not only was Khalifa deported to Jordan, where he was subsequently freed, but the U.S. government let him leave with potentially incriminating evidence and cleared his record of terrorism charges. Evidence in the FBI's possession at the time potentially implicated the Saudi businessman in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, the airliner bombing plot and the Oklahoma City...

<p>RARITAN BOROUGH, NJ -- It wasn't that Marine Sgt. John Basilone was the first noncommissioned officer to win the Congressional Medal of Honor. It wasn't that he accomplished this honor as one of 10 children born to Italian immigrant parents.</p> <p>It was that he went back.</p>