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  • Philippine GDP on track to meet 6-7 target
    Philippine GDP on track to meet 6-7 target

    Manila (Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN) - The Philippine economy's first-quarter performance was likely "on track" to hitting the government's 6- to 7-per cent growth target for the year, Economic Planning Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan said on the sidelines of the 34th National Conference of Employers.

  • PH new record holder for sky lantern launch MB
    PH new record holder for sky lantern launch

    MIAG-AO, Iloilo- The Philippines is the new record holder of the most number of sky lanterns released in a single event.

  • Albay governor’s ‘bangka’ good to go Tinig Ng Botante
    Albay governor’s ‘bangka’ good to go

    By Reynard Magtoto, VERA Files Legazpi City—After assuring Bicolanos that no one will be left behind in Albay’s surge to prosperity, reelected Gov. Joey Sarte Salceda said he is ready to “paddle the boat” to fulfilling his vision for the … Continue reading →

  • Taiwan protests Philippine ships in disputed waters AFP News
    Taiwan protests Philippine ships in disputed waters

    Taiwan on Saturday protested to the Philippines for sending naval ships to disputed South China Sea islands in the latest diplomatic spat between the two governments.

  • Insular Life’s new premiums grow by 178% in first quarter MB

    Insular Life reported yesterday that it continues to post record-breaking results in 2013. New business premiums for the first quarter from its agency force surged to P2.4 billion for a growth of 178 percent over the same period in 2012. New policies sold likewise increased by a hefty 48 percent.

  • Sixth night of violence in Sweden, but police say capital calmer Reuters
    Sixth night of violence in Sweden, but police say capital calmer

    By Mia Shanley STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Community patrols and a beefed-up police presence helped to calm violence around Stockholm overnight on Saturday but 20 to 30 cars were still torched in poor immigrant suburbs and serious incidents were reported outside the capital for the first time. The rioting in Stockholm abated after a week of masked youths vandalizing schools and police stations, setting cars alight and hurling stones at firefighters, police said. "It was much calmer - rocks weren't

  • British police arrest man after spy claim in soldier case Reuters
    British police arrest man after spy claim in soldier case

    By Peter Griffiths LONDON (Reuters) - British police arrested a man under anti-terrorism laws at BBC headquarters after an interviewee said security services tried to recruit one of the two men arrested after a soldier was hacked to death in a London street. Michael Adebolajo, 28 and Michael Adebowale, 22, are under armed guard in hospital after being shot and arrested by police on suspicion of the murder of 25-year-old Lee Rigby, a veteran of the Afghan war, on Wednesday. ...

  • Venezuela top court rejects challenge to Maduro win AFP News
    Venezuela top court rejects challenge to Maduro win

    In a ruling out Saturday, Venezuela's Supreme Court rejected one of six challenges to the April 14 presidential election, which saw Hugo Chavez's successor Nicolas Maduro win by a razor-thin margin.

  • French soldier stabbed on patrol in Paris AFP News
    French soldier stabbed on patrol in Paris

    A French soldier on anti-terrorist duties was stabbed in the neck Saturday in an attack that President Francois Hollande said could not "at this stage" be linked to the brutal murder this week of a military man in London.

  • New bird flu may be capable of human to human spread - study
    New bird flu may be capable of human to human spread - study

    By Lavinia Mo HONG KONG (Reuters) - The new H7N9 bird flu virus can be transmitted between mammals not only via direct contact but also in airborne droplets, and may be capable of spreading from person to person, Chinese and American researchers have found. A study published in the journal Science and presented at a briefing in Hong Kong on Friday found that three ferrets - an animal often used for research on flu - that were in the same cage as ferrets infected with H7N9 had contracted the

  • IMF chief avoids charges in French payout scandal AFP News
    IMF chief avoids charges in French payout scandal

    IMF chief Christine Lagarde avoided immediate charges but was named an "assisted witness" after French prosecutors grilled her for two days over a state payout to a disgraced tycoon when she was finance minister.

  • EU steps up quest to solve youth unemployment Reuters
    EU steps up quest to solve youth unemployment

    By Barbara Lewis BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European leaders have decided youth unemployment and the risk of social breakdown are among the toughest challenges they face and finding solutions will be a top priority for the coming months. In a letter released late on Friday, European Council President Herman Van Rompuy said youth unemployment was one of the most pressing issues for the 27-member European Union. ...

  • Hezbollah, Syrian government forces advance in border town Reuters
    Hezbollah, Syrian government forces advance in border town

    By Erika Solomon BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian government forces and the Lebanese guerrilla group Hezbollah launched a fierce campaign to seize more rebel territory in the border town of Qusair on Saturday, sources on both sides of the conflict said. Rebels fighting to topple President Bashar al-Assad said additional tanks and artillery had been deployed around opposition-held territory in Qusair, a Syrian town close to the Lebanese border. "I've never seen a day like this since the battle

  • French soldier stabbed while on patrol near Paris Reuters

    PARIS (Reuters) - A French soldier patrolling a business neighbourhood west of Paris was stabbed in the neck on Saturday by a man who quickly fled the scene and is being sought by police, President Francois Hollande said. The soldier was patrolling in uniform with two other men as part of France's Vigipirate anti-terrorist surveillance plan when he was approached from behind around 1800 p.m. and stabbed in the neck with a knife or a box-cutter. Hollande, in the Ethiopian city of Addis Ababa,

FEATURED BLOGS

  • Polls unfriendly to voters with disabilities: Lente

    By MELISSA LUZ LOPEZ, VERA Files DESPITE laws ensuring accessibility, the May 13 elections failed to make polling centers barrier-free for persons with disabilities, said poll watchdog Legal Network for Truthful Elections (Lente). “Nandoon ang batas (para sa mga PWD), … Continue reading → More »

  • Albay governor’s ‘bangka’ good to go

    By Reynard Magtoto, VERA Files Legazpi City—After assuring Bicolanos that no one will be left behind in Albay’s surge to prosperity, reelected Gov. Joey Sarte Salceda said he is ready to “paddle the boat” to fulfilling his vision for the … Continue reading → More »

  • Comelec proclaims 14 party-lists

    By Mikha Flores, VERA Files The Commission on Elections proclaimed on Friday 14 winning party-lists that are assured of at least one seat in the 16th Congress after obtaining two percent of the total votes cast for all party-lists in the … Continue reading → More »

  • Q and A with MILF chair Al Haj Murad Ebrahim: “Within this year we will start building our political …

    By Carolyn O. Arguillas, Mindanews and VERA Files DARAPANAN, Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao – The May 13 synchronized national, regional and local elections marked the Moro Islamic Liberation Front’s first foray into electoral politics, albeit only partly, as a “testing ground,” … Continue reading → More »

  • First time MILF voters’ top senatorial choice: “Anak ni King”

    By Carolyn O. Arguillas, MindaNews and VERA Files DARAPANAN, Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao – “Anak ni King.” “Anak ni Idol.” Movie actor Fernando Poe, Jr. is nearly nine years dead but he is still “King” or “Idol” for members of the … Continue reading → More »

  • Comelec blames weak telecom signals for transmission delays

    Some 18,000 precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines covering about 23 percent of the total clustered precincts experienced transmission problems on Election Day because of weak signals, Commission on Elections Chairman Sixto Brillantes Jr. said on Thursday. “It is not … Continue reading → More »

  • Former Comelec exec bares ‘intel’ funds

    By Mikha Flores, VERA Files First it was the source code for the PCOS machines they were quarrelling about. Now former colleagues, Commission on Elections Chairman Sixto Brillantes, Jr. and Augusto “Gus” Lagman are squabbling about intelligence funds. Lagman, who … Continue reading → More »