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More than 1.5 million people converged on the Philippine capital on Monday for a powerful Christian sect's evangelical event, causing traffic chaos that shut down large parts of the megacity. The gathering of the secretive and politically influential Iglesia ni Cristo (Church of Christ) in the historic district of Manila forced all schools and some government offices to close. See your ad here The Supreme Court, as well as some basketball games in the highly popular college league, were also suspended, while Manila's governing authority urged private employers to give their staff a paid day off to avoid the traffic....

Event Time 2013-10-15 00:13:00 UTC 2013-10-15 08:13:00 UTC+08:00 at epicenter 2013-10-14 17:13:00 UTC-07:00 system time Location 9.800°N 124.200°E depth=33.0km (20.5mi) Nearby Cities 2km (1mi) S of Carmen, Philippines 31km (19mi) ESE of Tibigan, Philippines 40km (25mi) SSW of Talibon, Philippines 41km (25mi) ENE of Tagbilaran, Philippines 636km (395mi) SSE of Manila, Philip

October 14, 2013 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Viewers all over the globe appreciate the beauty of Miss World, Megan Lynn Young, but the reigning Miss Philippines recently told an interviewer that she appreciates the beauty of the unborn. In August, Young told a Philippines-based broadcaster that she opposes abortion-on-demand, believes in abstinence before marriage, and sees marriage as a lifelong and unbreakable union. “I'm against abortion,” Young told her interviewer flatly.

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry gave tacit backing to the Philippines' stance in a tense maritime dispute with China on Thursday, saying that all countries had a right to seek arbitration to resolve competing territorial claims. The Philippines, a U.S. ally, has angered China by launching an arbitration case with the United Nations to challenge the legal validity of Beijing's sweeping claims over the resource-rich South China Sea. The United States has refrained from taking sides in the dispute, one of Asia's biggest security headaches, but has expressed a national interest in freedom of navigation...

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Thursday that he has canceled a scheduled trip to the Philippines due to the threat posed by tropical storm Nari. Forecasters say the storm could strike the northern Philippines as a typhoon as early as Friday, bringing strong winds and heavy rains. …

Miss Philippines, Megan Young, was crowned Miss World on Saturday amid tight security on Indonesia's resort island of Bali, where the contest's final round was moved following protests by Muslim hardliner groups. "I promise to be the best Miss World ever," Young, 23, said after winning the 63rd annual event, as a large number of Filipino fans who traveled with her celebrated by jumping and waving the country's flag. Despite threats from the Islamic Defenders Front to disrupt the contest.....

MANILA » A deadly three-week standoff between government troops and Muslim rebels who held nearly 200 people hostage in the southern Philippines has ended with all of the remaining captives safe, officials said Saturday More than 200 people were killed in the clashes, including 183 rebels, 23 soldiers and police, and 12 civilians. It was in one of the bloodiest and longest-running attacks by a Muslim group in the southern Philippines, the scene of a decades-long Muslim rebellion for self-rule in the largely Roman Catholic country. Gazmin said 195 hostages had either been rescued, managed to escape or were freed....

"Nigerian Terror Suspect Flown to New York for Trial, Accused of Recruiting, Training for Al-Qaida Federal authorities say Lawal Babafemi received al-Qaida money to recruit English-speaking people to engage in acts of terror against America" SNIPPET: "A Nigerian terror suspect accused of trying to help al-Qaida in Yemen was flown to New York to appear Friday in a federal courtroom. Lawal Babafemi is accused of training with members of al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula and using his English skills to help publish the terrorist magazine "Inspire." Judge John Gleason ordered Babafemi, also known as "Ayatollah Mustafa," held without bail." SNIPPET:...

SUBIC BAY, Philippines—In 1991, after the Philippine Senate voted to close Subic Naval Base—then the largest American overseas military facility—an emotional Sen. Agapito Aquino summed up the popular mood. It was, he said, "the dawn of our nation's birth." Tossing out the Americans from Subic and nearby Clark Air Base, he added, had ended the country's "crippling dependence" on its former colonial overlord. Now, the Philippines wants American forces back in Subic to counter Chinese moves off the Philippine coast. Just west of Subic, Chinese ships have fenced off the Scarborough Shoal, one of the world's richest fishing grounds, which...

A week of violence in the southern Philippines has undercut hopes of lasting peace in the resource-rich region and exposed the government to criticism for underestimating rogue Muslim rebels who feel ignored by a landmark deal last year. The agreement signed by President Benigno Aquino and the biggest Muslim rebel group last October was meant to pave the way for a revival of southernmost Mindanao island after 40 years of conflict, giving Muslims there more autonomy in the Catholic-majority country. That deal, with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), remains on track, but the assault on the commercial hub of...

MANILA — In the southern Philippines, at least 55 people have died and more than 65,000 people have fled their homes while scores of hostages remain in the hands of Muslim rebels. Clashes between government forces and members of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) have intensified as they entered the seventh day. The Armed Forces of the Philippines say troops are stepping up their fight in the major port city of Zamboanga against about 200 members of the MNLF. Armed Forces spokesman, Brigadier General Domingo Tutaan, says the military along with police forces are now carrying out a “calibrated”...

Zamboanga City, Philippines Fighting intensified on Saturday in the southern Philippines between government troops and rogue Muslim separatists, shattering a ceasefire almost immediately as it was to go into effect and leaving many residents running low on supplies. The army said 53 people, including 43 guerrillas, had been killed in the fighting, now in its sixth day in the port city of Zamboanga. Both President Benigno Aquino and his vice-president flew into the city to monitor operations. Dozens have been wounded and more than 62,000 people displaced, with hundreds of homes razed and a hospital still in flames. Rebels have...

President Barack Obama will be traveling to Indonesia, Brunei, Malaysia and the Philippines, at the beginning of next, the White House announced today. "The President will travel to Indonesia, Brunei, Malaysia and the Philippines from October 6 – 12 as part of his ongoing commitment to increase U.S. political, economic and security engagement with the Asia Pacific," reads the press secretary's announcement.

Many of us still active in the profession have not hung up the sweaty gloves to dry these continue to soak in the sweat from our daily grind. For many, it is the need to still build up further the security blanket (assuming things have gone as far as building up the security blanket to start with); for others, it is still the sheer joy of working at a profession that you have grown to love. As they say, if you find pure enjoyment in what you do, it isn’t work at all. It is the latter that makes working...

China plans to occupy a disputed chain of reefs and rocks in the South China Sea to expand its territory before regional rules on maritime behavior come into effect, the Philippines’ top diplomat said on Wednesday. The Philippines believes China’s incursion into the Scarborough Shoal is a threat to peace in Southeast Asia, said Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario. In Beijing, a foreign ministry spokesman described the shoal—which lies about 125 nautical miles off the Philippines’ main island of Luzon—as China’s “inherent territory”. …

MANILA, Philippines - The government is pushing through with its plan to acquire 12 FA-50 fighter jets pending a probe on a recent crash involving a similar aircraft, which killed two South Korean pilots, the defense department said. “(The process of) acquisition is still continuing. Until we get the outcome of that particular investigation (on the crash), the process is continuing at the moment,” Peter Galvez, spokesman for the defense department, told reporters yesterday. “I believe all factors will be considered,” he added. The government plans to acquire 12 FA-50 jets for P18.9 billion from South Korea to boost the...

To launch hair care brand TRESemmé’s anti-frizz Keratin Smooth range, the brand will roll out a roving salon beginning August 31 in select locations in Metro Manila. Dubbed the TRESemmé Style Bus, the innovative marketing effort, was launched on Tuesday at the Cav Café in Bonifacio High Street, Taguig City. “Keratin Smooth is created for women who want to manage their frizz but don’t have the time to go to the salon or blow dry their own hair,” shared Ann Esteves, Unilever’s brand manager for Hair Care. To demonstrate how to use the keratin-infused products, hairstylists from the Creations by...

On August 8th, 400 protesters ripped out seedlings of a new genetically modified plant called golden rice at a testing ground in the Philippines. Genes from bacteria and corn have been added to the rice to make it a source of vitamin A. Vitamin A deficiency can lead to blindness and weakens the immune system, contributing to 2 million deaths every year. (Golden rice is being developed by a non-profit organization, not Monsanto.) As the Philippine government prepares to rule on whether or not to allow farmers to grow the wonder-crop, the anti-GMO movement is digging itself in for...

Protesters have taken to the streets in the Philippines in anger at so called 'pork-barrel' politics. A state audit showed that 226 million dollars had been funnelled into pet projects by some lawmakers, in some cases the funds were used to bribe officials. The country ranks 105 in Transparency International's corruption index, one of the worst performers in East Asia. President Benigno Aquino was elected on an anti-corruption platform and now people want him to bring about the change he promised.

Survivor: Blood vs. Water is the 27th season of Survivor. It begins Wednesday, September 18, 2013 on CBS at 8/7c with a special 90 minute episode. References: Official Survivor site at CBSWikipedia article Each team will consist of ten players. One team consists of returning players. The other team consists of the loved ones of those returning players. Redemption Island returns, but with a twist: remaining players will be forced to choose whether to "save" their partner on Redemption Island and switch places with them, thus allowing their partner to immediately re-enter the game, or leave them in exile to...

Federal agents confiscated and destroyed a plant-pathogenic fungus found on brooms made from palms and being imported from the Philippines. U.S. Customs and Border Protection agriculture specialists on Aug. 9 intercepted a plant-pathogenic fungus on a handicraft made of native palm parts while examining a cargo container from the Philippines. The fungus was discovered in a shipment of “native brooms” made from Cocos nucifera sp., a palm species. The discovery of an unidentified fungus and two other plant disease symptoms in the shipment prompted federal authorities to reload and seal the container until positive identification could be made. This was...

A Concord native and Bishop Brady High School graduate was killed last week in the Philippines. Matthew Caldwell was a member of the Philippine Coast Guard Auxillary and rose to national prominence last August, when he was part of the team that retrieved the remains of a government official from a plane crash over open water. Friends who posted tributes to Caldwell online identified him as a 1972 graduate of Bishop Brady High School. His sister Mary Caldwell said in an email that she and her brother’s children were in Manila until next weekend. According to the Philippine Daily Inquirer,...

JERUSALEM – A senior Israeli government official has posted online comments on Facebook saying he is “sick” of commemorations for the victims of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombings, a local newspaper reported. “I am sick of the Japanese, ‘Human rights’ and ‘Peace’ groups” over holding their “annual self-righteous commemorations for the Hiroshima and Nagasaki victims,” the Haaretz daily quoted Daniel Seaman, a deputy director general at the Ministry of Public Diplomacy and Diaspora Affairs, as writing in his Facebook post. Seaman, a key Israeli online public relations official, also wrote on the social networking site: “(The bombings of) Hiroshima...

From her modest, uncluttered office at the executive floor of the BDO South Tower on Makati Ave., Teresita Sy-Coson commands a grand view of the bustling Makati central business district. And there are times as she gazes out of the picture window when she has to pinch herself because she still can’t believe that the shoe store that her father established in 1958 in Carriedo, Manila has grown into one of the country’s largest conglomerates. Forbes Magazine has estimated the Sy family’s net worth in the vicinity of $13.2 billion as of March 2013. “I still cannot believe it sometimes....

According to Soviet intelligence reports, we now know that one of FDR’s top officials, the Treasury Department’s Harry Dexter White, was a Soviet agent, who, among many other deceptions, subverted relations between the US and Japan by inserting “ultimatum” language into the cable flow that actually spurred the Japanese attack. This was language written in Moscow, passed to White by a Soviet handler in Washington, D.C., and dropped into a State Department communiqué sent to Japan. This brilliantly executed influence operation doesn’t live in infamy – at least not yet. ... “A continuous stream of fighter and pursuit planes is...

MANILA, Philippines >> The Philippines plans to relocate major air force and navy camps to a former U.S. naval base northwest of Manila to gain faster access to waters being contested by China in the South China Sea, according to the country's defense chief and a confidential government report. Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin said today that as soon as relocation funds are available the government plans to transfer air force and naval forces and their fleets of aircraft and warships to Subic Bay, which has become a busy free port since the 1992 departure of the U.S. Navy. "It's for...

MANILA, Philippines - Government agencies engaged in fisheries and the US Agency for International Development (USAID) has tapped Microsoft Philippines for the implementation of the simplified registration of municipal fishermen, the United States embassy in Manila announced yesterday. The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) is currently simplifying the registration system for subsistence fisherfolk as it updates the national registry of municipal workers in the fisheries industry. The program is supported by USAID through its Ecosystems Improved for Sustainable Fisheries Project. The US embassy in Manila, in a statement, said that Microsoft Philippines would use TV White Space technology...

LOS ANGELES— Dennis Vitug was set to be deported to the Philippines until he told the courts that he may no longer return to his homeland because he is persecuted there for being gay. The Los Angeles Times reported that Vitug, who was ordered to return to the Philippines because of drug convictions, was spared from deportation by the San Francisco-based US 9th Circuit Court of Appeals when he said that while in the Philippines, he was beaten, harassed, and denied work for being gay. Vitug moved to the United States in 1999 and had overstayed his tourist visa. While...

The Philippines has become one of Asia's fastest growing economies, growing at a faster pace than China. Much of the nation's growth is being led by consumption, as the growing middle class shop for cars, clothes and entertainment. But many problems remain for the economy, not least a high unemployment rate. In the first of our special series from the Philippines, Sharanjit Leyl went to Manila to find out more.

JERUSALEM, July 22 (Xinhua) -- Ireland, Fiji and Nepal will send hundreds of troops to bolster the UN peacekeeping force in the Golan Heights, Israeli daily Ha'aretz reported Monday. The latest development comes weeks after Austria withdrew its 380 troops from the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force ( UNDOF), citing deterioration of security situation due to the escalation in Syria's unrest. According to the report, Ireland agreed to send a 150-strong well-trained and equipped infantry unit, which was previously part of the UN peacekeeping mission in Mali; Fiji would dispatch about 500 peacekeepers; and Nepal would redirect some 50 peacekeepers,...

MANILA, Philippines - International forwarding firm Federal Express (FedEx) said Monday it will continue operating in the Philippines until a final ruling is issued by the Supreme Court on its operations. In a statement, FedEx said it is operating as an independent body in the Philippines under a International Freight Forwarder License issued by the Civil Aviation Board (CAB). The license was issued on May 2, 2011 and is valid until May 1, 2016, FedEx said. The company issued the statement in reaction to a report that the Court of Appeals (CA) had voided its permit, effectively stopping the firm’s...

Business processing outsourcing (BPO) company Transcom Philippines recently declared the Philippines as the “Call Centre Capital of the World.” In a press briefing, Transcom country manager Siva Subramaniam said the Philippines has overtaken India as the top destination hub for call centre companies. According to a statement from the Associated Chamber of Commerce and Industry in India, the Philippines has a good supply of workers to fill job vacancies in call centre companies. The group, as well as the IT-Business Processing Association of the Philippines through Genny Marcial, external affairs executive director, have said that the Filipinos have “excellent communication...

MANILA : The Philippines said Sunday it was aiming swiftly to sign a final peace deal with Muslim rebels to end a rebellion that has killed tens of thousands, following a major breakthrough in talks. Chief peace negotiator Miriam Coronel-Ferrer said the government could reach a final deal with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) within weeks after both sides agreed on a wealth-sharing formula late Saturday. "This signing indicates that both sides are really committed to finish the peace negotiations. Nobody wants this not to reach its fruition," Ferrer told AFP after the wealth-sharing formula was signed. Under the...

MANILA--Japan pledged Thursday to help the Philippines defend its "remote islands", as both governments expressed concern over China's robust moves to stake its claims to disputed Asian waters. Japanese Defence Minister Itsunori Onodera said China's contentious claim to nearly all of the South China Sea and its territorial dispute with Japan in the East China Sea were discussed during top-level talks in Manila. "We agreed that we will further co-operate in terms of the defence of remote islands... the defence of territorial seas as well as protection of maritime interests," Onodera told a joint news conference. "We face a very...

China's state media warned on Saturday that a "counterstrike" against the Philippines was inevitable if it continues to provoke Beijing in the South China Sea, potentially Asia's biggest military troublespot. The warning comes as ministers from both countries attend an Association of Southeast Asian Nations meeting in Brunei, starting Saturday, which hopes to reach a legally binding code of conduct to manage maritime conduct in disputed areas. At stake are potentially massive offshore oil reserves. The seas also lie on shipping lanes and fishing grounds. Both China and the Philippines have been locked in a decades-old territorial squabble over the...

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines is boosting military ties with the United States and Japan as it seeks to counter China’s increased presence in disputed waters in the fish and gas-rich South China Sea. President Benigno Aquino’s government is crafting an agreement with the US giving its military access to Subic Bay, Philippine Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin said at a briefing in Manila Thursday. Gazmin and Itsunori Onodera, his Japanese counterpart, also agreed at a meeting Thursday to boost defense cooperation, Japan’s Ministry of Defense said in a statement. The deals come amid tensions in the waters, which are beset...

The Climate Change Commission is set to lay groundwork for sustainable energy roadmap for the Philippines, which aims to shift the country’s current fuel system to 100-percent renewable energy capacity in 10 years. “Our government and its leadership is concerned with the latest scientific reports that global warming has accelerated, and believe the country must begin to program a path of low carbon to zero carbon along a broad partnership of the public interest and private sector,” CCC Commissioner Heherson Alvarez said. According to Alvarez, a sustainable energy system will require significant planning cooperation with private, government and international finance...

Convenience store chain 7-Eleven Inc. has taken over the operation of two more Hampton Roads franchises, in Virginia Beach and Newport News, in response to a federal inquiry into alleged illegal hiring of immigrant employees in New York and Virginia. Federal immigration officials arrested nine 7-Eleven store owners and managers Monday, including three Hampton Roads men, on charges that they stole Social Security numbers to employ Pakistani and Filipino workers who were in the country illegally and siphoned their wages. The charges include wire fraud, aggravated identify theft and conspiracy to conceal and harbor the immigrants.U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement...

The Philippines is positioning itself to be a leader in healthcare outsourcing services, with expectations that it will double its revenue in the next three years. MANILA: The Philippines is positioning itself to be a leader in healthcare outsourcing services, with expectations that it will double its revenue in the next three years. With its large pool of qualified nurses, the Philippines is fast becoming a destination of choice for the outsourcing of medical and healthcare services. Last year, revenue for these services reached US$430 million, a 55-percent increase over the previous year. The healthcare outsourcing industry is now one...

Cesar Purisima, the Philippine finance minister, has a good story to tell about his country's economy, which grew 6.6% last year. In London last week for meetings in the leadup to this week's G8 summit in Northern Ireland, Purisima pointed out that the Philippines enjoyed the fastest growth in the first quarter in all of Asia (2.2%), even better than China. The problem for the Philippines – as for many countries in the developing world enjoying strong growth – is how to translate this into a tide that lifts all boats. Growth has accelerated under the government of Benigno Aquino,...

AFTER enduring the abuses of their employers, many female overseas Filipino workers (OFW) in the Middle East also suffered at the hands of Philippine Embassy officials who either raped them or turned them into prostitutes, a lawmaker said on Tuesday. Rep. Walden Bello of Akbayan Party-list said at least three embassy officials should be sacked and recalled to the country immediately to face prosecution. The lawmaker, citing unimpeachable sources from the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), identified these Embassy officials as a certain “Kim”, Mario Antonio and Blas Marquez. Kim, a member...

The expectations continue to rise for the Philippine economy's growth prospects. The country is seen to have the highest growth potential in the eight years to 2020 among Southeast Asia's new investment darlings – Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines, or the TIP economies, a new report said. But the report's author, Singapore-based DBS Ltd. economist Eugene Leow, warned: “For the Philippines, it is easy to remember the many false dawns over the last few decades." Manila is seen to have the highest growth potential in the years to 2020 among Southeast Asia's new investment darlings – Thailand, Indonesia and the...

MANILA: The Philippines wants to remain the call centre capital of the world. It has allotted almost US$12 million to help train millions of Filipinos, who are aspiring to become call centre agents. The call centre industry accounts for approximately 70 per cent of the whole business process outsourcing industry in the Philippines, and is forecasted to grow by nearly 30 per cent every year. The country is targeting to produce at least a million call centre agents by 2016 to meet the demand. Jay Santisteban, operations manager at Contact Centre Association of the Philippines, said: “The industry requires close...

MANILA — In what is expected to mark a pivotal moment in this rapidly developing but still impoverished nation, the Supreme Court of the Philippines will weigh next month the constitutionality of a new reproductive-health law that pits the entrenched power of the Roman Catholic establishment against a rising tide of modernization and economic aspiration. The measure, which was signed into law in December after a bitter 14-year battle between women’s rights advocates and Catholic bishops, would fund access to contraceptives for the nation’s poorest women. The key question before the court is whether it violates a 1987 constitutional guarantee...

(Reuters) - An electricity outage that blacked out large swathes of the Philippines' main island of Luzon for up to eight hours last month has highlighted worries about a potential power crisis that could undermine Asia's fastest-growing economy. Predictions that electricity demand will outstrip government forecasts have raised fears over the impact on the expansion of industries such as call centres, tourism and gaming. A raft of private firms has rushed in recent months to put some $9 billion of new plants on the drawing board, but lead times for construction are around three years and environmental opposition to coal-fired...

MANILA, Philippines - The commander of the US Pacific Command (USPACOM) discussed with top defense and military officials the tension in the West Philippine Sea behind closed doors yesterday. Visiting USPACOM commander Adm. Samuel Locklear III also took up with Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin, Armed Forces chief Gen. Emmanuel Bautista and Navy chief Vice Adm. Jose Luis Alano the Phl-US defense and military relations at Camp Aguinaldo. In a statement, Department of National Defense (DND) public affairs acting chief Anne Marie Sta. Ana said the US and the Philippines reaffirmed the importance of bilateral relations with the emerging traditional and...

In just a short time, one of the rarest sharks in the world went from swimming in Philippine waters to simmering in coconut milk. The 13-foot-long (4-meter-long) megamouth shark (pictured), caught on March 30 by mackerel fishers off the city of Donsol, was only the 41st megamouth shark ever found, according to WWF-Philippines. Fishers brought the odd creature—which died during its capture—to local project manager Elson Aca of WWF, an international conservation nonprofit. Aca immediately identified it as a megamouth shark and encouraged the fishers not to eat it. But the draw of the delicacy was too great: The 1,102-pound...

Several countries interested in buying ex-Spanish Navy Aircraft Carrier Principe de Asturias According to rumors that emerged recently in the Spanish press, the Philippines as well as several Arab countries have expressed interest in purchasing the former Spanish Navy Aircraft Carrier Principe de Asturias. In case of a sale, the contract would include refit and upgrading of the vessel by Spanish shipyard Navantia. The Spanish aircraft carrier SPS Principe De Asturias (R 11) steams through the Atlantic Ocean while participating in Majestic Eagle 2004. (Picture: US Navy) It is reported that Indonesia already expressed interest in the vessel earlier this...

<p>WASHINGTON – The two most populous nations in the world have major economic interests that probably want to prevent wars between them, according to report from Joseph Farah’s G2 Bulletin.</p> <p>But regional sources say China and India actually are heading for a confrontation that could result in military clashes from the South China Sea to their Himalayan borders.</p>

MANILA, June 2 (Reuters) - Mateo Ragonjan took a leap of faith in August last year. The executive sous-chef of a seven-star luxury hotel in Abu Dhabi packed his bags to take up a similar job back home in the Philippines. He is one of a small group of like-minded Filipinos returning to jobs back home, a sign of confidence in an economy that for decades has seen millions leave in search of better prospects overseas. Ragonjan now helps run a 300-man kitchen that caters to guests and high-rollers flocking to Manila's newest and most luxurious casino resort, one of...