DAVAO CITY, Philippines -
Local government units of North Cotabato appealed to the Department of
Health and hospitals in Davao City to help put a stop to the illegal
selling of kidney by some residents of M'lang.
Ten M'lang residents who were admitted to hospitals in Davao City sold
their kidneys to rich patients in need of transplants. The payment and
operation were reportedly done in a private hospital in the city.
M'lang Mayor Lito Piñol said they have received reports since last month and readily acted on it.
"We invited the donors for a meeting with provincial and municipal
health officers in my office and make some pre and post actions to stop
it," Piñol said.
He said they have also given the DOH and the private hospital
identified by the patients, as well as other hospitals doing kidney
transplant operations, the burden to stop this "illegal trade."
"We asked DOH to look into this issue and I was informed that DOH and
the National Bureau of Investigation are conducting investigations,"
the mayor said.
North Cotabato Vice Governor Emmanuel Piñol said the 10 kidney donors
from M'lang were not that poor as expected by some, but were merely
attracted by the lure of big money.
"It's a choice that they made. It certainly is not because of abject
poverty. Mayor Piñol met with them. They are not rat poor. Perhaps they
did it because of the lure of big money. I still do not know of any law
that prohibits this. Any action by the government should focus on the
ethics of this practice by the doctors," the vice governor said.
It was learned that kidney donors are paid P200,000 plus a 10-year
PhilHealth membership and one year free check-up at the private
hospital at the expense of the kidney recipient.
Health Secretary Francisco Duque III signed an order Monday that calls
for creating a government board to oversee kidney donations and
transplants, ensuring proper care of donors and making highly secretive
transactions on kidney trade more transparent and ethical.
The order, which took more than two years to craft, was sought
specifically because of numerous reports of patients coming here from
Japan, the Middle East, and Western countries in search of kidney
donors. A 1991 law only regulated transplants of kidneys and other
organs from brain-dead donors.
It prioritizes Filipino patients over foreigners in the allocation of
locally available kidneys for transplants, and mandates authorities to
set specific limits. Kidney trading in the Philippines caters mostly to
foreign clients. - Sun.Star Davao
<http://www.gmanews.tv/story/86807/Mlang-folks-sell-kidneys-in-Davao>
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By David Shukman
BBC environment correspondent, Midway |
|
The team is testing how long it takes plastic to degrade in water
|
Plastic waste in the oceans poses a potentially devastating
long-term toxic threat to the food chain, according to marine
scientists.
Studies suggest billions of microscopic plastic fragments drifting underwater are concentrating pollutants like DDT.
Most attention has focused on dangers that visible items of plastic waste pose to seabirds and other wildlife.
But researchers are warning that the risk of hidden contamination could be more serious.
 |
The thing that's most worrisome about the plastic is its tenaciousness, its durability
 Matt Brown, US Fish and Wildlife Service
|
He told the BBC: "We know that plastics in the marine environment will accumulate and concentrate toxic chemicals from the surrounding seawater and you can get concentrations several thousand times greater than in the surrounding water on the surface of the plastic.
"Now there's the potential for those chemicals to be released to those marine organisms if they then eat the plastic." <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7316441.stm>
Indian men in US 'slave' protest
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The Indian workers are bringing their cause to the US capital
|
More than 100 Indians who moved to the US for jobs have marched
thousands of miles to Washington DC in protest at being forced to work
"like slaves".
The men plan to take their protest to the Indian ambassador.
The men say recruiters tricked them into paying up to $20,000 each for a new life in the US, where they then had to work in exploitative conditions.
The Mississippi firm that employed them, Signal International, has denied they were mistreated.
It says the men were paid wages above the local average and given good accommodation.
It accuses the recruitment firm of deceiving the Indians and has now ended its contract.
It is also demanding the recruiters return the fees the men paid them.
In 2006, some 500 men from across India each paid recruiters up to $20,000 for what they were told would be a new life.
They were given temporary visas and jobs at a marine construction company in Mississippi.
But the men say they were then forced to live in primitive conditions.
They are describing their protest as a Satyagraha, a word used by
Indian independence leader Mahatma Gandhi to describe a non-violent
battle against injustice. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7316130.stm>
Clear Channel deal in legal war
|
Clear Channel owns more than 1,000 US radio stations
|
US Radio giant, Clear Channel, and the companies that want to buy it are suing the banks financing the deal.
The buyers, Bain Capital Partners and Thomas H Lee Partners, say the banks are reneging on an agreement to provide $22bn (£11bn) of financing.
They have filed lawsuits to force the banks to come up with the money.
The six banks, including Deutsche Bank, Credit Suisse, Morgan Stanley and Royal Bank of Scotland say the lawsuits are "without merit" and will contest them.
"The behaviour of these banks is irresponsible, unprofessional and unjustified," Mark Mays, CEO of Clear Channel Communications, said in a statement.
"The defendants have made clear that they are determined, by any means possible, to destroy the merger and thus avoid their obligation to fund, as they are required legally to do," he continued.
The deal was struck last year, when raising money for such deals was much easier.
But since then, funds have dried up due to the credit crunch and financing deals has become much more expensive.
Analysts estimate that the buyers will have to pay Clear Channel up to $500m to walk away from the deal. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7315776.stm>
M'lang folks sell kidneys in Davao
BEN O TESIORNA, Sun.Star Davao
03/29/2008 | 03:25 PM
Bush seeks financial regulation overhaul
03/29/2008 | 08:13 PM
WASHINGTON - The Bush administration is proposing a sweeping overhaul
of the way the government regulates the nation's financial services
industry from banks and securities firms to mortgage brokers and
insurance companies.
The plan would give major new powers to the Federal Reserve, according to a 22-page executive summary obtained by The Associated Press.
The Fed would be given broad authority to oversee financial market stability. That would include new powers to examine the books of any institution deemed to represent a potential threat to the proper functioning of the overall financial system.
The proposal, which will be outlined Monday in a speech by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, is certain to set off heated debates within different sectors of the financial services industry and in Congress, where some Democrats are likely to complain that the proposal does not go far enough to crack down on abuses.
The administration divided its recommendations into short-term goals that could be adopted quickly, intermediate recommendations and an "optimal" regulatory framework, which contains a radical restructuring of how the government supervises banks and other financial institutions.
The recommendations are the product of a yearlong review that was begun in an effort to modernize the government's regulatory structure so that the country's financial services industries could better compete in a fast-changing global economy. <http://www.gmanews.tv/story/86829/Bush-seeks-financial-regulation-overhaul>
The plan would give major new powers to the Federal Reserve, according to a 22-page executive summary obtained by The Associated Press.
The Fed would be given broad authority to oversee financial market stability. That would include new powers to examine the books of any institution deemed to represent a potential threat to the proper functioning of the overall financial system.
The proposal, which will be outlined Monday in a speech by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, is certain to set off heated debates within different sectors of the financial services industry and in Congress, where some Democrats are likely to complain that the proposal does not go far enough to crack down on abuses.
The administration divided its recommendations into short-term goals that could be adopted quickly, intermediate recommendations and an "optimal" regulatory framework, which contains a radical restructuring of how the government supervises banks and other financial institutions.
The recommendations are the product of a yearlong review that was begun in an effort to modernize the government's regulatory structure so that the country's financial services industries could better compete in a fast-changing global economy. <http://www.gmanews.tv/story/86829/Bush-seeks-financial-regulation-overhaul>
Evolution of the social network
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By Marc Cieslak
Reporter, BBC Click |
Recent reports of social networking's demise may be slightly premature.
Sure, some users are completely fed up with receiving friends invites, being "bitten", "poked" and indeed having sheep thrown at them.
And there has been a 5% slowdown in new UK users to the larger social networks, Facebook and MySpace, between December 2007 and January this year.
But Alex Burmaster, an analyst at Nielsen Online which compiled the figures showing the decline, says: "The slow down in social networks is being somewhat exaggerated. It's a natural form of any growth that we see in the online eco-system.
"Something starts from a very small base and grows very quickly. It becomes popular, but then it's only natural at some point that the growth has to stop, because it cannot carry on growing at that rate, because there is only so many people it can grow into."
While the bigger players in the game might be experiencing a slow down in growth, they still command the attention of millions of users.
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It's all about consumer to consumer. They are providing information to each other
Alex Burmaster, Nielsen Online
|
"I think you are going to see a lot of businesses coming up thinking
how do we tap this power of social interaction, trusted friends and
different advice, to make money," says Travis Katz, managing director,
international, at MySpace. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/click_online/7318288.stm>
How Italy's 'white gold' turned sour
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By Stephanie Holmes
BBC News |
Delicate and delicious, buffalo milk mozzarella is one of Italy's most famous - and lucrative - export products.
The balls of milky cheese, which travel around the world cushioned in their own protective fluid, are considered one of the finest delicacies, fashioned from fat-rich buffalo milk taken from herds in just a few Italian regions.
|
Some 20,000 people depend on the mozzarella cheese industry
|
Yet the news that levels of potentially carcinogenic chemicals, called dioxins, were above legal limits in some of the cheese-producing areas around Naples led to them being rapidly dropped from the menu - both in Italy and beyond.
The European Commission has flexed its regulatory muscle and Japan has seized consignments of the freshly flown-in cheese to carry out its own tests.
While consumers might simply be swapping what they put in their
shopping baskets, many of the mozzarella producers - among 20,000
people employed in the industry - are terrified. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7319386.stm>
IMF backs shift in voting power
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IMF head Dominique Strauss-Kahn has been involved in the talks
|
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has backed plans to redistribute voting power in the organisation.
It has recommended changes which would base the power of each of the IMF's 185 member countries on the size of their economy, reserves and trade.
The US has expressed reservations about the move but said that it would support it because it represented progress.
However poorer nations and charities have said the plans, which must still be ratified, do not go far enough.
IMF members have spent more than a year negotiating the changes - which would move some sway away from traditional industrial powers including the US, the UK and Germany - to the faster-growing emerging and developing economies.
China, India, South Korea, Mexico and Brazil are among those that will see their voting power increase.
However, under the proposal the likes of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Russia, Iran and Argentina would lose influence and all five countries either voted against the plans or abstained from voting.
Final decisions will be made after the IMF's spring meeting next month.
"Today's agreement is a major step forward in the modernisation of the Fund and our efforts to adjust its structures to the dynamic and changing realities of the global economy, but it is only a first step," said IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn.
"We are creating a more flexible system for quota and voice, which involves further changes over time as the relative positions of countries in the world economy evolve."
The IMF said the proposed reforms feature simpler and more transparent formulae and some ad hoc quota increases to better represent more dynamic economies.
India's executive director to the IMF, Adarsh Kishore, said the
move fell short of what it "had expected, hoped for and strived for". <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7319718.stm>
RP consulate warns OFWs on Saipan vs phone scam
03/29/2008 | 06:56 PM
SUSUPE, Saipan -
The Philippine Consulate General on Saipan has warned overseas Filipino
workers (OFWs) and their families back home against a scam by
Manila-based companies purportedly offering unlimited calls for only
US$125 per year.
A number of OFWs on Saipan had reported to the Consulate and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration that they are receiving calls from employees of Prime Management Solution and Prime Marketing offering unlimited calls promo, said Eleanor Mabangal, OWWA welfare officer on Saipan.
Mabagal told GMANews.TV on Saturday that employees of Prime Management Solution and Prime Marketing have been telling OFWs that they got individual contact numbers from OWWA-Saipan.
“Workers have been calling our office asking whether it’s true that we gave their numbers to any of these companies. It’s not true. OFW records are confidential. We will never give such information," Mabagal said.
She said the two companies could be involved in a scam and workers and their families should be cautious.
The Philippine Consulate General on Saipan also issued a disclaimer of the claims of Prime Management Solution about OWWA.
Mabagal said employees of the two companies are asking OFWs who want to avail of their service to deposit $125 to the bank account of Prime Management Solution or Prime Marketing for their unlimited calls to be activated.
Saipan, the capital of the US Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, is home to about 10,000 documented workers from the Philippines.- Haidee V. Eugenio, GMANews.TV <http://www.gmanews.tv/story/86826/RP-consulate-warns-OFWs-on-Saipan-vs-phone-scam>
A number of OFWs on Saipan had reported to the Consulate and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration that they are receiving calls from employees of Prime Management Solution and Prime Marketing offering unlimited calls promo, said Eleanor Mabangal, OWWA welfare officer on Saipan.
Mabagal told GMANews.TV on Saturday that employees of Prime Management Solution and Prime Marketing have been telling OFWs that they got individual contact numbers from OWWA-Saipan.
“Workers have been calling our office asking whether it’s true that we gave their numbers to any of these companies. It’s not true. OFW records are confidential. We will never give such information," Mabagal said.
She said the two companies could be involved in a scam and workers and their families should be cautious.
The Philippine Consulate General on Saipan also issued a disclaimer of the claims of Prime Management Solution about OWWA.
Mabagal said employees of the two companies are asking OFWs who want to avail of their service to deposit $125 to the bank account of Prime Management Solution or Prime Marketing for their unlimited calls to be activated.
Saipan, the capital of the US Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, is home to about 10,000 documented workers from the Philippines.- Haidee V. Eugenio, GMANews.TV <http://www.gmanews.tv/story/86826/RP-consulate-warns-OFWs-on-Saipan-vs-phone-scam>
Open skies deal comes into effect
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Higher competition is likely to bring prices down - eventually
|
The long-awaited "open skies" agreement between the US and European
Union (EU) is coming into effect, aiming to open up trans-Atlantic air
travel.
The deal ends limits on which airlines can fly between the US and EU, and it is expected to lead to a large rise in the number of carriers on the routes.
However, changes at big airports such as Heathrow will be minimised by the limited availability of take-off slots.
New trans-Atlantic services are likely to use smaller airports instead.
Irish low-cost airline Ryanair has already declared an interest in flying to North America. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7318455.stm>
$100bn Fed move over credit fears
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There Fed has upped the amount of cash available at auction.
|
The US Federal Reserve will make a further $100bn (£50bn) available
to major banks in April, trying to ease concerns about a global credit
crunch.
The sum, offered across two auctions, is in addition to $260bn provided in short-term loans to the end of March.
Other unorthodox steps include the Fed allowing investment banks to borrow from it directly - previously only possible for commercial banks.
The financial crisis has caused chaos on US and global markets.
This month Bear Stearns became the highest profile US victim of the credit crunch - facing near collapse before a deal was struck for it to be bought at a bargain price by JP Morgan Chase.
The rescue was supported by the Fed, which agreed to buy up to $29bn of Bear Stearns debts.
The Fed's chairman, Ben Bernanke, will be quizzed about the auctions, and other Fed actions to ease the credit crunch, when he faces Congress next week.
Critics say that the central bank is bailing out banks who have not assessed their risks properly <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7319413.stm>
Oil price down as Iraq fear eases
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Oil traders had initially thought Iraqi exports would be badly hit
|
Global oil prices have fallen in Friday trading on the news that an
attack on an Iraqi export pipeline was not as serious as earlier
thought.
The price of benchmark US light sweet crude fell $1.96 to settle at $105.62 a barrel while Brent crude lost $1.23 to $103.77 at end of London's trading day.
"The [Iraqi] problem is not as serious as we thought," said oil analyst David Johnson of Macquarie Research.
A slightly stronger dollar had also lessened demand, analysts said. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7317964.stm>
Space freighter's approach and go
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By Jonathan Amos
Science reporter, BBC News |
|
Jules Verne pictured as a small dot from the ISS
|
Europe's "Jules Verne" freighter has demonstrated the ability to navigate itself to a point just 3,500m from the International Space Station.
The cargo ship, which carries some five tonnes of supplies for the platform, was then instructed by ground control to "escape" to a safe distance.
It was the first of two demo days the vehicle must complete before being allowed to dock with the ISS.
Practice manoeuvres on Monday will take Jules Verne to 12m from the station.
Again, the session will end with the 19-tonne freighter being instructed to remove itself to a safe distance, about 100m from the platform.
If ISS mission managers are satisfied with what they have seen, they will permit an automated attachment to occur on Thursday.
Jules Verne is the biggest, most sophisticated spacecraft yet flown by the European Space Agency (Esa). <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7321116.stm>
The man making 'wind bags'
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By Brady Haran
BBC News |
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Wind power - use it or lose it?
|
Seamus Garvey wants to "store the wind".
He believes the future of energy is storing it as compressed air in giant bags under the sea.
And a major power company has invested in the scheme.
Professor Garvey, a long-time proponent of compressed air, feels vindicated by the research grant.
He said: "As the country and the whole world moves toward using more renewable energy, we're going to need energy storage."
His idea would utilise familiar renewable sources - wind, waves and tidal power.
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THE BIG IDEA
Wind and waves used to compress air
Air stored in bags on seabed
Later released to produce electricty via turbines
|
Energy would instead be used to compress and pump air into underwater bags, anchored to the seabed.
When energy demand is highest, the air would be released through a turbine, converting it to electricty. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/nottinghamshire/7315059.stm>
Giant bridge fitted for rail line
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The bridge will be part of the extended East London Line
 |
Enlarge Image
A giant 350-tonne bridge has been lowered into position in east London as part of a rail line extension.
Britain's biggest mobile crane was used to pick up and lower the bridge over Shoreditch High Street as part of the extended East London Line.
Traffic was diverted as the 115ft (35m) long bridge was lowered. It will be secured in place over the weekend.
The revamped line will run from Dalston Junction to West Croydon and is due to open in 2010.
The £1bn project - expanding the network to the north and south - is seen as a key part of improvements to the capital's transport system ahead of the 2012 Olympics.
But the extended line will be run by a private company, a move that has angered East London Line workers and members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport Union (RMT).
Last December the RMT staged a mock funeral for the line,
protesting over its "unnecessary, damaging and potentially dangerous"
privatisation. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/7320304.stm>
Oregon's healthcare lottery
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By Rajesh Mirchandani
BBC News, Oregon |
In what is believed to be the first such move, a US state is running a lottery in which the prize is health insurance.
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Louanne Moldovan finds the arrangement 'repugnant'
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With some 45 million Americans uninsured, how to pay for medical treatment is a big issue in this year's presidential election.
Now officials in Oregon say they have come up with a fair way of providing coverage for some of those who cannot afford it.
In her comfortable home in Portland, Oregon, Louanne Moldovan sifts through a pile of papers.
They are unpaid medical bills, stretching back a year, arising from treatment for Crohn's Disease, the chronic intestinal condition she suffers from. She thinks she owes nearly $15,000 (£7,500) in all.
Louanne says she is looking for full-time employment but, she adds, her earnings through freelance work will not buy enough health insurance for the treatment she needs. For her the state healthcare lottery offers an uneasy solution.
"It's a symbol of how degraded our system is in this country that we are resorting to a lottery," she tells me.
"It's pathetic and repugnant at the same time... [but it's] a necessity because I don't earn thousands each month." <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7321500.stm>
WB sees rice price jump of 55% in 2008, urges trade lib
04/01/2008 | 05:23 PM
MANILA, Philippines-
The World Bank on Tuesday joined the calls for the government to open
the importation of rice to the private sector to avert a possible rice
shortage in the Philippines. The lender's latest estimates show that
the price of rice worldwide is expected to shoot up by 55 percent, on
top of the 7-percent rise in 2007.
“The best thing to do is for the government to begin to liberalize the market and have prices reduced for all, that's one of the ways to address the issue. We need competition, irrespective of the kind of commodity," Vera Songwe, World Bank lead economist for the Philippines, told reporters
The World Bank also projected a 22.3-percent jump on the price of oil in the global market; 8.8-percent increase in coconut oil; 65.3-percent hike for iron ore; a decrease by 2.1 percent in the price of copper and a 2.6-percent rise in rubber's price.
Earlier, former Socioeconomic Planning secretary Felipe Medalla said the government must allow the private sector to import rice while encouraging the Filipino farmers to increase their production because of the high price of rice.
Last month the Rice Watch and Action Network also warned that unless the government acts fast, prices of commercial rice could reach P40 per kilo in the next few months, as the Philippines faces serious rice supply crisis due to dwindling domestic production.
Rice Watch said the rice crisis might erupt in July, the start of the lean season, but the government said it would deal with the looming crisis with heavy rice importation.
According to Rice Watch's estimate, the country would need 2.8 metric tons of rice during the lean months. However, the April rice harvest would only be 1.9 MT, which is good for two months.
The Philippines consumes about 11.9 million metric tons of rice annually, most of which is grown domestically. But dwindling domestic production and corruption in the rice supply chain have created a recurrent shortfall of about 10 percent. The government has to purchase about 2 million metric tons from the international market every year, making the Philippines the world's biggest rice importer. - Cheryl Arcibal, GMANews.TV <http://www.gmanews.tv/story/87180/WB-sees-rice-price-jump-of-55-in-2008-urges-trade-lib>
“The best thing to do is for the government to begin to liberalize the market and have prices reduced for all, that's one of the ways to address the issue. We need competition, irrespective of the kind of commodity," Vera Songwe, World Bank lead economist for the Philippines, told reporters
The World Bank also projected a 22.3-percent jump on the price of oil in the global market; 8.8-percent increase in coconut oil; 65.3-percent hike for iron ore; a decrease by 2.1 percent in the price of copper and a 2.6-percent rise in rubber's price.
Earlier, former Socioeconomic Planning secretary Felipe Medalla said the government must allow the private sector to import rice while encouraging the Filipino farmers to increase their production because of the high price of rice.
Last month the Rice Watch and Action Network also warned that unless the government acts fast, prices of commercial rice could reach P40 per kilo in the next few months, as the Philippines faces serious rice supply crisis due to dwindling domestic production.
Rice Watch said the rice crisis might erupt in July, the start of the lean season, but the government said it would deal with the looming crisis with heavy rice importation.
According to Rice Watch's estimate, the country would need 2.8 metric tons of rice during the lean months. However, the April rice harvest would only be 1.9 MT, which is good for two months.
The Philippines consumes about 11.9 million metric tons of rice annually, most of which is grown domestically. But dwindling domestic production and corruption in the rice supply chain have created a recurrent shortfall of about 10 percent. The government has to purchase about 2 million metric tons from the international market every year, making the Philippines the world's biggest rice importer. - Cheryl Arcibal, GMANews.TV <http://www.gmanews.tv/story/87180/WB-sees-rice-price-jump-of-55-in-2008-urges-trade-lib>
No proof of mass sale of kidneys in Davao - DOH
04/02/2008 | 04:15 AM
DAVAO CITY, Philippines - The Department of Health (DoH) in Region 11
did not spot any illegal sale of kidneys in the city, contrary to
earlier reports, GMA Network’s Testigo said on Tuesday.
It was earlier reported that about 30 residents of M'lang town in North Cotabato province were willing to sell their kidneys for P200,000 each. Negotiations for the sale were reportedly done in the city.
Testigo said DOH 11 would investigate the rumored trading of kidneys in M’lang.
Doctors belonging to the Philippine Society of Nephrology are worried that the new order on kidney operation involving foreign patients would result in the rampant sale of the organ.
According to the DOH, there is no indication that the sale of kidneys has already become a thriving business in the city.
Davao Doctors Hospital, Davao Medical Center, and the regional hospital in Davao del Norte are the only medical establishments in the region that could perform kidney transplant, the DOH said. - GMANews.TV <http://www.gmanews.tv/story/87286/No-proof-of-mass-sale-of-kidneys-in-Davao---DOH>
It was earlier reported that about 30 residents of M'lang town in North Cotabato province were willing to sell their kidneys for P200,000 each. Negotiations for the sale were reportedly done in the city.
Testigo said DOH 11 would investigate the rumored trading of kidneys in M’lang.
Doctors belonging to the Philippine Society of Nephrology are worried that the new order on kidney operation involving foreign patients would result in the rampant sale of the organ.
According to the DOH, there is no indication that the sale of kidneys has already become a thriving business in the city.
Davao Doctors Hospital, Davao Medical Center, and the regional hospital in Davao del Norte are the only medical establishments in the region that could perform kidney transplant, the DOH said. - GMANews.TV <http://www.gmanews.tv/story/87286/No-proof-of-mass-sale-of-kidneys-in-Davao---DOH>
Family Code amendment passed in silence, may disadvantage women
AR SABANGAN, GMANews.TV
04/02/2008 | 10:31 PM
MANILA, Philippines -
Lovers are supposed to share "one body, one heart, one soul" — and
whatever wealth they acquire before getting married. Some lawmakers,
however, seem to believe in sharing only the body, the heart and the
soul — not the wealth.
In the House of Representatives, lawmakers are preparing a measure that would dissolve a law that mandates a husband or a wife to share his or her wealth to his or her partner. The proposed measure would allow a spouse to keep what he or she reaped before saying "I do."
House Bill 2420 or the Act Amending Article 75 of the Family Code of the Philippines was passed unnoticed, like most measures changing the name of streets or schools.
On February 5, 2008, the day before the ouster of Jose de Venecia Jr as Speaker, lawmakers passed the measure. "We had two to three committee hearings before it was approved, and nobody opposed its passage," said Cebu Representative Pablo Garcia, the bill's author.
HB 2420 was a two-page, seemingly harmless, proposal. "We're just going back to our tradition on property relations in marriage," Garcia said.
The lawmaker proposed to revert to the "conjugal partnership of gains" system that ruled the lives of married couples before 1988. Under the set-up, a spouse has no right over the property that his or her partner obtained prior to the wedding. He or she is only entitled to the assets that his or her partner acquired since the start of the marriage.
For example, if Juan inherited a 100-hectare land from his parents before getting married to Maria, Maria would have no right over Juan's landholding. If Maria bought a car or a house before getting married to Juan, Juan would have no right over these, too.
The set-up was changed to the "system of absolute community of property relations in marriage" when the Family Code took effect on August 3, 1988. The "rule on absolute community" entitles the spouse to equal rights over the property acquired by the husband or the wife before and during the marriage.
Former Chief Justice Artemio Panganiban described the "absolute community regime" as the "marital ring" of legal sharing.
Panganiban, in a newspaper article, said: "Unless – prior to the wedding – the parties enter into a written marriage settlement, the absolute community regime takes effect immediately, even if the titles to the assets are registered in the name of one spouse only."
"Accordingly, land, condominiums, cars, computers, and jewelry of each of the spouses automatically become communal...Neither spouse may sell, mortgage, or give away any communal asset without the consent of the other," he added.
Garcia, however, said the absolute community regime defies "the long accepted system of conjugal partnership of gains."
Prior to the Family Code, a spouse had no right over the property that his or her partner acquired before marriage. The Spanish Civil Code, which was enforced from 1889 to 1950, and the new Civil Code, which was in effect from 1950 to 1986, both mandated the conjugal partnership of gains.
Garcia also said he favors the retention of a spouse's exclusive rights because it is consistent with the law of succession.
"When property is inherited from a descendant, that asset is reserved for the family of the propertied spouse," the lawmaker said. "Under the absolute community rule, the property line between a child and his or her parents is cut once that child marries," he added.
Removing the spouse's right over the property that his or her partner acquired before marriage is allowed through a prenuptial agreement. But Garcia said it is still "not acceptable" for most Filipinos. <http://www.gmanews.tv/story/87414/Family-Code-amendment-passed-in-silence-may-disadvantage-women>
In the House of Representatives, lawmakers are preparing a measure that would dissolve a law that mandates a husband or a wife to share his or her wealth to his or her partner. The proposed measure would allow a spouse to keep what he or she reaped before saying "I do."
House Bill 2420 or the Act Amending Article 75 of the Family Code of the Philippines was passed unnoticed, like most measures changing the name of streets or schools.
On February 5, 2008, the day before the ouster of Jose de Venecia Jr as Speaker, lawmakers passed the measure. "We had two to three committee hearings before it was approved, and nobody opposed its passage," said Cebu Representative Pablo Garcia, the bill's author.
HB 2420 was a two-page, seemingly harmless, proposal. "We're just going back to our tradition on property relations in marriage," Garcia said.
The lawmaker proposed to revert to the "conjugal partnership of gains" system that ruled the lives of married couples before 1988. Under the set-up, a spouse has no right over the property that his or her partner obtained prior to the wedding. He or she is only entitled to the assets that his or her partner acquired since the start of the marriage.
For example, if Juan inherited a 100-hectare land from his parents before getting married to Maria, Maria would have no right over Juan's landholding. If Maria bought a car or a house before getting married to Juan, Juan would have no right over these, too.
The set-up was changed to the "system of absolute community of property relations in marriage" when the Family Code took effect on August 3, 1988. The "rule on absolute community" entitles the spouse to equal rights over the property acquired by the husband or the wife before and during the marriage.
Former Chief Justice Artemio Panganiban described the "absolute community regime" as the "marital ring" of legal sharing.
Panganiban, in a newspaper article, said: "Unless – prior to the wedding – the parties enter into a written marriage settlement, the absolute community regime takes effect immediately, even if the titles to the assets are registered in the name of one spouse only."
"Accordingly, land, condominiums, cars, computers, and jewelry of each of the spouses automatically become communal...Neither spouse may sell, mortgage, or give away any communal asset without the consent of the other," he added.
Garcia, however, said the absolute community regime defies "the long accepted system of conjugal partnership of gains."
Prior to the Family Code, a spouse had no right over the property that his or her partner acquired before marriage. The Spanish Civil Code, which was enforced from 1889 to 1950, and the new Civil Code, which was in effect from 1950 to 1986, both mandated the conjugal partnership of gains.
Garcia also said he favors the retention of a spouse's exclusive rights because it is consistent with the law of succession.
"When property is inherited from a descendant, that asset is reserved for the family of the propertied spouse," the lawmaker said. "Under the absolute community rule, the property line between a child and his or her parents is cut once that child marries," he added.
Removing the spouse's right over the property that his or her partner acquired before marriage is allowed through a prenuptial agreement. But Garcia said it is still "not acceptable" for most Filipinos. <http://www.gmanews.tv/story/87414/Family-Code-amendment-passed-in-silence-may-disadvantage-women>
Asian states feel rice pinch
Asian countries have been struggling to cope as the cost of rice has reached record levels.
The price of the staple crop has risen by as much as 70% during the last year, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).
Shortages have begun to hit some importing countries.
Factors contributing to the price rise include:
- Poor harvests resulting from extreme weather
- A rise in demand in some rice-importing countries, where populations and incomes are growing
- The expectation of further price increases - resulting in hoarding
- Low stockpiles and a long term lack of agricultural investment
The spike is also part of a general surge in food costs worldwide, so the option of switching to cheaper foods is often not available.
Producers including India, China and Vietnam have restricted exports as they try to protect their stocks and limit inflation.
Importers such as Bangladesh, the Philippines, and Afghanistan have been hit hard. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7324596.stm>
Labor shortage threatens RP's outsourcing sector
04/05/2008 | 04:59 PM
MANILA, Philippines
- The Philippines’ outsourcing industry, which has helped boost the
country’s economic expansion last year, may be threatened by a critical
labor shortage, a study by a Canada-based research company said.
Although Filipino information technology workers are expected to increase, research firm XMG expects said that the growth remains insufficient to support the overall expansion in the country’s business process outsourcing (BPO) sector.
The study said that the Philippines’ IT labor pool climbed by an average of 10 percent in the last five years. It is forecast to grow by another three percent in the next couple of years.
However, the labor growth forecast will not be enough to sustain the country’s total ICT growth, which is seen to expand by 30 to 35 percent year-on-year through 2010.
“There is a clear need to establish additional training institutions and ladderized degree programs by existing universities to boost the dwindling talent supply due to the growth of the Philippine offshoring industry and the migration of IT skilled workforce to countries such as the United States, Singapore, Canada, the Middle East and Europe," XMG statistician Benedict Dormitorio said.
He also said that schools should ensure that their academic curricula are aligned with current market needs of the industry through close consultation with ICT companies and organizations.
The study, which also covered offshoring countries such as China, India, and Malaysia, identified a skills shortage in Python, VBScript, Perl, XML and VB.net programmers in the Philippines due to low incident count coming from the general IT population.
“For programming and business solutions, IT skills on SAS, SAP, Lotus Notes and MySQL will be increasingly difficult to source and companies must be prepared to pay a premium price to recruit these individuals,"
the study said. “In order to minimize paralysis on critical operations and sustain growth, companies must extend their recruitment reach, improve their skill development pathways, enrich retention and provide hot skills training on the existing talents in the organization to avoid high additional cost components associated with these skill areas." - GMANews.TV <http://www.gmanews.tv/story/87850/Labor-shortage-threatens-RPs-outsourcing-sector>
Although Filipino information technology workers are expected to increase, research firm XMG expects said that the growth remains insufficient to support the overall expansion in the country’s business process outsourcing (BPO) sector.
The study said that the Philippines’ IT labor pool climbed by an average of 10 percent in the last five years. It is forecast to grow by another three percent in the next couple of years.
However, the labor growth forecast will not be enough to sustain the country’s total ICT growth, which is seen to expand by 30 to 35 percent year-on-year through 2010.
“There is a clear need to establish additional training institutions and ladderized degree programs by existing universities to boost the dwindling talent supply due to the growth of the Philippine offshoring industry and the migration of IT skilled workforce to countries such as the United States, Singapore, Canada, the Middle East and Europe," XMG statistician Benedict Dormitorio said.
He also said that schools should ensure that their academic curricula are aligned with current market needs of the industry through close consultation with ICT companies and organizations.
The study, which also covered offshoring countries such as China, India, and Malaysia, identified a skills shortage in Python, VBScript, Perl, XML and VB.net programmers in the Philippines due to low incident count coming from the general IT population.
“For programming and business solutions, IT skills on SAS, SAP, Lotus Notes and MySQL will be increasingly difficult to source and companies must be prepared to pay a premium price to recruit these individuals,"
the study said. “In order to minimize paralysis on critical operations and sustain growth, companies must extend their recruitment reach, improve their skill development pathways, enrich retention and provide hot skills training on the existing talents in the organization to avoid high additional cost components associated with these skill areas." - GMANews.TV <http://www.gmanews.tv/story/87850/Labor-shortage-threatens-RPs-outsourcing-sector>
S'pore bans 4 films on terrorism, gay Muslims, sex fetish
04/05/2008 | 04:58 PM
SINGAPORE - A Singapore newspaper reports the city-state's censors have
banned four documentaries about terrorism, gay Muslims and a Japanese
sex fetish from being screened at a local film festival.
Two of the films, "Arabs And Terrorism" and "David The Tolhildan," were disallowed by the Board of Film Censors because of their "sympathetic portrayal of organizations deemed terrorist organizations by many countries," The Straits Times newspaper says.
Citing the board's chairman Amy Chua, the report says censors also objected to a film discussing homosexuality in the Islamic world as well as another film deemed too explicit for featuring "several prolonged and explicit sadomasochistic sequences." - AP <http://www.gmanews.tv/story/87851/Spore-bans-4-films-on-terrorism-gay-Muslims-sex-fetish>
Two of the films, "Arabs And Terrorism" and "David The Tolhildan," were disallowed by the Board of Film Censors because of their "sympathetic portrayal of organizations deemed terrorist organizations by many countries," The Straits Times newspaper says.
Citing the board's chairman Amy Chua, the report says censors also objected to a film discussing homosexuality in the Islamic world as well as another film deemed too explicit for featuring "several prolonged and explicit sadomasochistic sequences." - AP <http://www.gmanews.tv/story/87851/Spore-bans-4-films-on-terrorism-gay-Muslims-sex-fetish>
BBC and ISPs clash over iPlayer
|
The iPlayer has been a big hit with users
|
A row about who should pay for extra network costs incurred by the iPlayer has broken out between internet service providers (ISPs) and the BBC.
ISPs say the on-demand TV service is putting strain on their networks, which need to be upgraded to cope.
Ashley Highfield, head of future media and technology at the corporation, has said he believes the cost of network upgrades should be carried by ISPs.
Simon Gunter, from ISP Tiscali, said the BBC should contribute to the cost.
He said the BBC did not understand the issues involved. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7336940.stm>
Consumers told to brace for higher prices of bread, too
04/10/2008 | 08:52 AM
(Updated 10:50 a.m.) MANILA, Philippines - Amid
soaring prices of rice and fuel, consumers will have to brace for yet
another round of price hikes next week - this time in the prices of
bread and other flour-based food products.
Philippine Baking Industry Group head Simplicio Umali Jr on Thursday said the group has exhausted all means to prevent a price hike, but the latest increase in flour prices is forcing members of the group pass on the additional cost to consumers.
"Ginawa na namin ang lahat na makakayanin namin. Nagtipid kami sa operating costs, para mas mababa ang presyo. Pero nagtaas ang presyo ng arina ngayon (We have been doing everything we can to bear the higher costs. We've been cutting on operating costs to keep prices low. But prices of flour went up again)," Umali said in an interview on dzBB radio.
Umali said that starting April 15, consumers can expect an increase in prices of pan de sal by P1 to P1.50 per piece, which currently sells at P2.50 per piece. Those who will sell pan de sal at the same price are expected to "shrink" their products, he added.
While prices of loaf bread will increase by an average of P3-P5 per loaf and will sell between P47.50 and P55 starting Tuesday.
Even prices of noodles and pasta will go up since their main ingredient is flour, Umali said.
"Apektado pati pasta pancit dahil ang raw material niyan arina. Tataas na rin ang noodles, gawa din ng arina (Prices of pasta and noodles will go up because they use flour as raw material)," Umali said.
Umali said prices of flour increased to P990 a bag April - up by up seven percent from the previous month. This is an 18-percent increase from January's prices of P840 per bag, Umali noted.
Umali cited prolonged droughts in wheat-producing countries such as Australia for the decline in flour supply, which is in turn driving prices up. He, however, said flour prices are expected to go down next year, when Australia and Canada are seen to boost wheat supply.
For his part, Chito Chavez, vice president of the Philippine Federation of Bakers, urged President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to come up with measures to help ensure the steady supply of flour after May to avoid further price increases.
In an interview on dzRH radio, Chavez suggested the importation of flour from China which offers the product at relatively lower prices.
Chavez also echoed Umali's statement for the need to hike pan de sal price by P1 saying the industry has to survive to be able to support thousands of families who are directly and indirectly employed by the industry.
In the interview, Umali said even bakers are suffering from the effects of the price hikes, saying they expect demand to decline by as much as 10 percent with the looming hike.
"Nag-shift sa mas mataas na kalidad na tinapay pero kaunti binibili nila di tulad ng dati mas maraming binibili (Consumers now prefer higher-quality products but they are buying less, not like before)," Umali said. - GMANews.TV <http://www.gmanews.tv/story/88611/Consumers-told-to-brace-for-higher-prices-of-bread-too>
Philippine Baking Industry Group head Simplicio Umali Jr on Thursday said the group has exhausted all means to prevent a price hike, but the latest increase in flour prices is forcing members of the group pass on the additional cost to consumers.
"Ginawa na namin ang lahat na makakayanin namin. Nagtipid kami sa operating costs, para mas mababa ang presyo. Pero nagtaas ang presyo ng arina ngayon (We have been doing everything we can to bear the higher costs. We've been cutting on operating costs to keep prices low. But prices of flour went up again)," Umali said in an interview on dzBB radio.
Umali said that starting April 15, consumers can expect an increase in prices of pan de sal by P1 to P1.50 per piece, which currently sells at P2.50 per piece. Those who will sell pan de sal at the same price are expected to "shrink" their products, he added.
While prices of loaf bread will increase by an average of P3-P5 per loaf and will sell between P47.50 and P55 starting Tuesday.
Even prices of noodles and pasta will go up since their main ingredient is flour, Umali said.
"Apektado pati pasta pancit dahil ang raw material niyan arina. Tataas na rin ang noodles, gawa din ng arina (Prices of pasta and noodles will go up because they use flour as raw material)," Umali said.
Umali said prices of flour increased to P990 a bag April - up by up seven percent from the previous month. This is an 18-percent increase from January's prices of P840 per bag, Umali noted.
Umali cited prolonged droughts in wheat-producing countries such as Australia for the decline in flour supply, which is in turn driving prices up. He, however, said flour prices are expected to go down next year, when Australia and Canada are seen to boost wheat supply.
For his part, Chito Chavez, vice president of the Philippine Federation of Bakers, urged President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to come up with measures to help ensure the steady supply of flour after May to avoid further price increases.
In an interview on dzRH radio, Chavez suggested the importation of flour from China which offers the product at relatively lower prices.
Chavez also echoed Umali's statement for the need to hike pan de sal price by P1 saying the industry has to survive to be able to support thousands of families who are directly and indirectly employed by the industry.
In the interview, Umali said even bakers are suffering from the effects of the price hikes, saying they expect demand to decline by as much as 10 percent with the looming hike.
"Nag-shift sa mas mataas na kalidad na tinapay pero kaunti binibili nila di tulad ng dati mas maraming binibili (Consumers now prefer higher-quality products but they are buying less, not like before)," Umali said. - GMANews.TV <http://www.gmanews.tv/story/88611/Consumers-told-to-brace-for-higher-prices-of-bread-too>
Even licensed agencies engage in illegal recruitment - NGO
04/11/2008 | 09:02 PM
MANILA, Philippines –
An advocacy groups for migrant workers’ concerns on Friday urged the
government to intensify its information and dissemination campaign
against illegal recruitment, especially in the far-flung provinces to
protect Filipinos desiring to work abroad.
An officer of the Kanlungan Center Foundation, Inc – Center for Migrants Workers, a non-governmental organization that provides legal assistance to overseas Filipino workers said illegal recruiters are very much active in searching for victims especially in remote communities.
“Sana patindihin ng gobyerno ang information and dissemination lalo na sa mga probinsya na walang paraan upang ma-check nila kung legal o hindi ang nagre-recruit sa kanila," said Loida Bernabe, program officer of Kanlungan's direct support and development program.
Apart from more than 100 cases of illegal recruitment the group is handling, Bernabe said at least 44 new complaints related to illegal recruitment have come in.
“Sa amin pa lang ‘yan. Kahit nga mga license recruiters ay involved na rin sa illegal recruitment, ayon mismo 'yan sa record ng POEA (Philippine Overseas Workers Administration," she asserted.
As part of government’s campaign against illegal recruitment, Bernabe suggested close monitoring of the operations of licensed placement agencies and close coordination with Philippine embassies in host countries.
According to Bernabe, some legal recruitment agencies are abusing the license given to them by the POEA. “Ibig sabihin sa hanay mismo nila hindi nila masawata ang illegal recruitment," she pointed out. <http://www.gmanews.tv/story/88948/Even-licensed-agencies-engage-in-illegal-recruitment---NGO>
An officer of the Kanlungan Center Foundation, Inc – Center for Migrants Workers, a non-governmental organization that provides legal assistance to overseas Filipino workers said illegal recruiters are very much active in searching for victims especially in remote communities.
“Sana patindihin ng gobyerno ang information and dissemination lalo na sa mga probinsya na walang paraan upang ma-check nila kung legal o hindi ang nagre-recruit sa kanila," said Loida Bernabe, program officer of Kanlungan's direct support and development program.
Apart from more than 100 cases of illegal recruitment the group is handling, Bernabe said at least 44 new complaints related to illegal recruitment have come in.
“Sa amin pa lang ‘yan. Kahit nga mga license recruiters ay involved na rin sa illegal recruitment, ayon mismo 'yan sa record ng POEA (Philippine Overseas Workers Administration," she asserted.
As part of government’s campaign against illegal recruitment, Bernabe suggested close monitoring of the operations of licensed placement agencies and close coordination with Philippine embassies in host countries.
According to Bernabe, some legal recruitment agencies are abusing the license given to them by the POEA. “Ibig sabihin sa hanay mismo nila hindi nila masawata ang illegal recruitment," she pointed out. <http://www.gmanews.tv/story/88948/Even-licensed-agencies-engage-in-illegal-recruitment---NGO>
Hoarders blamed for Philippine rice crisis
|
By Jonathan Head
BBC News, Manila |
As global prices for rice surge to ever higher levels, the world's biggest importer, the Philippines, shows all the signs of being gripped by a rice crisis.
Jonathan Head joins a raid on a rice warehouse
Huge queues form wherever government stocks are being sold at subsidised prices.
The government has been scouring the international markets for new supplies to replenish its stocks, paying record prices.
Rice dominates the newspaper headlines every day, and seems to be consuming the government's energy.
But this crisis is not all it seems. "There's no shortage," Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap told me. "The problem is not with supplies, but with price."
"And when you consider that 80% of our population spends 60% of
their income on food, and 40% of that is on rice, it is very serious." <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7342161.stm>
Arroyo orders NBI to intensify crackdown on rice hoarders
04/11/2008 | 09:45 PM
MANILA, Philippines -
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo on Friday ordered the National Bureau
of Investigation (NBI) to intensify its crackdown on rice hoarders and
profiteers to ensure a stable supply of the staple.
“The whole point is (rice) hoarding and profiteering," the President said.
After the government lifted the restrictions on rice and corn imports, the NBI has to concentrate on rice bandits and unscrupulous traders, Arroyo said.
“Do not be distracted," she said. “We have liberalized (rice) importation, so rice smuggling is not much of your concern now. If there are more rice stocks then we would all love it," the President said.
Arroyo said the NBI's "Anti-Rice Hoarding Task Force" aims to prevent rice hoarding and related crimes, which can be considered acts of economic sabotage.
The task force will handle inquest proceedings, preliminary investigation and prosecution of cases related to the "preservation and protection of the country’s rice supply."
The President earlier ordered the lifting of restrictions on rice and corn imports, but maintained the tariff for these products.
With the lifting of the import quota, rice traders can now import as much of the cereal as they want for as long as they do not resort to hoarding.
The tariff on rice was retained to protect local farmers from the possible flooding of the market with cheap rice.
In 2006, the quota for private sector importation of rice was set at 350,000 metric tons. - OPS/GMANews.TV <http://www.gmanews.tv/story/88957/Arroyo-orders-NBI-to-intensify-crackdown-on-rice-hoarders>
“The whole point is (rice) hoarding and profiteering," the President said.
After the government lifted the restrictions on rice and corn imports, the NBI has to concentrate on rice bandits and unscrupulous traders, Arroyo said.
“Do not be distracted," she said. “We have liberalized (rice) importation, so rice smuggling is not much of your concern now. If there are more rice stocks then we would all love it," the President said.
Arroyo said the NBI's "Anti-Rice Hoarding Task Force" aims to prevent rice hoarding and related crimes, which can be considered acts of economic sabotage.
The task force will handle inquest proceedings, preliminary investigation and prosecution of cases related to the "preservation and protection of the country’s rice supply."
The President earlier ordered the lifting of restrictions on rice and corn imports, but maintained the tariff for these products.
With the lifting of the import quota, rice traders can now import as much of the cereal as they want for as long as they do not resort to hoarding.
The tariff on rice was retained to protect local farmers from the possible flooding of the market with cheap rice.
In 2006, the quota for private sector importation of rice was set at 350,000 metric tons. - OPS/GMANews.TV <http://www.gmanews.tv/story/88957/Arroyo-orders-NBI-to-intensify-crackdown-on-rice-hoarders>
Strong euro behind cocaine flows
|
The euro has risen by almost 20% against the dollar in the past 12 months
|
The euro's strength against the dollar
may explain a rise in the availability of cocaine in Europe and a
decline in the US, a US anti-drugs official says.
John Walters, director of US national drug control policy, said the amount of cocaine seized at the US south-western borders had declined.
The price and the purity of cocaine in US have also fallen, he said.
Meanwhile, Europe has seen a huge increase in availability as traffickers take advantage of the exchange rate.
Speaking in Brussels, Mr Walters expressed concern about the rise in Colombian cocaine coming to Europe via Venezuela and West African.
"There have been speculations that the power and strength of the euro and the cost of cocaine here in Europe have been the reason here for the movement - it's more profitable and it's a better currency exchange," he said.
"There's no doubt that those forces are there."
The euro has risen by almost 20% against the dollar in the past 12 months to hit a record above $1.59. On Friday, the euro fetched $1.5825.
The euro has become an attractive currency for investors because of relatively high interest rates in the eurozone.
The US dollar, meanwhile, has suffered because of a number of
factors including a slowing economy, low interest rates and problems
from the credit crisis. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7342946.stm>
Europe rejects anti-piracy plans
|
Some record labels wants persistent pirates thrown off the net
|
European politicians have voted down calls to throw suspected file-sharers off the net.
The idea to cut off persistent pirates formed part of a wide-ranging report on creative industries written for the European parliament.
But in a narrow vote MEPs backed an amendment to the report which said net bans conflicted with "civil liberties and human rights".
It puts MEPS at odds with governments planning tough action against pirates. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7342135.stm>
American sees end to flight chaos
|
Hundreds of thousands of passengers have been affected
|
American Airlines says it hopes to get back to running a normal service by Sunday.
The airline, which is the world's biggest, has had to cancel more than 3,000 flights this week to inspect the wiring on its MD-80 aircraft.
The cancellations have left hundreds of thousands of passengers stranded.
The airline has cancelled 200 of Saturday's flights, but said it hoped to have all of the aircraft ready to return to service by the afternoon.
American Airlines had cancelled 595 flights on Friday, three days after the company grounded 300 of its planes.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) had raised concerns about inspections of the planes' wiring.
The FAA has been clamping down on safety inspections and several airlines have been forced to ground planes.
Three quarters of its MD-80 planes, which mostly fly US domestic routes, have now been inspected and returned to service, the airline said.
So far a third of a million passengers have been left stranded by the cancellations.
The airline says the cost of compensating them could run into "tens of millions of dollars". <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7343969.stm>
Brown's arms probe dilemma
|
Analysis
By Ross Hawkins Political reporter, BBC News |
The defunct fraud investigation into the massive al-Yamamah arms deal had been all but forgotten by many at Westminster.
|
Gordon Brown has a little time to ponder his response
|
It looked like something for the history books, a handful of campaigners and a few interested journalists.
Not any more.
A court ruling that the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) acted unlawfully has made it Gordon Brown's problem.
The prime minister cannot tell the SFO to re-open its investigation. That is a matter for the investigators.
Manufacturing jobs
But he has the same dilemma as his predecessor, Tony Blair, faced when he was in power: What to do about Saudi Arabia's objections?
Mr Blair made his opinion perfectly clear when he was in Number 10.
He thought the SFO probe would have achieved nothing, wrecked Britain's relationship with key ally Saudi Arabia and cost thousands of precious manufacturing jobs.
He knew that view would not make him popular in some circles - and that it would have breached international law to halt the probe on economic grounds - but he was sure it was right.
Now Gordon Brown must decide whether he agrees.
He has some time to think about his public response.
Answers wanted
With the Commons in recess, and the usual twice daily lobby briefings of journalists not taking place, there are fewer chances than usual to question the prime minister or his spokesman.
But sooner or later Mr Brown will have to give his view.
|
Criticism
from opposition politicians or foreign organisations is unlikely to
have anything like the impact of the court ruling, but it may keep a
tricky issue from the Blair years in the headlines
|
It is not just inquisitive reporters who will be keen to hear what he thinks.
Saudi officials and diplomats will also want to know how Mr Brown intends to react - and they will not wait until the next public statement to get answers.
The High Court ruled there had been a successful attempt by a foreign government to pervert the course of justice in the United Kingdom.
<http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/7342540.stm>
High prices of food to starve people in poor nations -IMF
04/13/2008 | 07:55 AM
WASHINGTON - The head of the International Monetary Fund warned
Saturday that if food prices remain high, there will be dire
consequences for people in many developing countries, especially in
Africa.
Dominique Strauss-Kahn added that the problem could also create trade imbalances that would affect major advanced economies, "so it is not only a humanitarian question."
With governments in Haiti, Egypt and the Philippines among others already facing social unrest because of rising food prices and shortages, Strauss-Kahn said that if the price spike continues, "Thousands, hundreds of thousands of people will be starving. Children will be suffering from malnutrition, with consequences for all their lives."
Earlier Saturday, Germany's development minister, who is attending the World Bank's meeting Sunday, called for greater regulation of the global biofuels market to prevent its expansion from driving up food prices.
"It is unacceptable for the export of agrofuels to pose a threat to the supply situation of the very people already living in poverty," Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul said in a statement.
She said the world needs new rules that balance goals, including climate change mitigation, food security and social development. <http://www.gmanews.tv/story/89136/High-prices-of-food-to-starve-people-in-poor-nations--IMF>
Dominique Strauss-Kahn added that the problem could also create trade imbalances that would affect major advanced economies, "so it is not only a humanitarian question."
With governments in Haiti, Egypt and the Philippines among others already facing social unrest because of rising food prices and shortages, Strauss-Kahn said that if the price spike continues, "Thousands, hundreds of thousands of people will be starving. Children will be suffering from malnutrition, with consequences for all their lives."
Earlier Saturday, Germany's development minister, who is attending the World Bank's meeting Sunday, called for greater regulation of the global biofuels market to prevent its expansion from driving up food prices.
"It is unacceptable for the export of agrofuels to pose a threat to the supply situation of the very people already living in poverty," Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul said in a statement.
She said the world needs new rules that balance goals, including climate change mitigation, food security and social development. <http://www.gmanews.tv/story/89136/High-prices-of-food-to-starve-people-in-poor-nations--IMF>
IMF head gives food price warning
|
The IMF's Strauss-Kahn wants strong action on food price inflation
|
The head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned that hundreds of thousands of people will face starvation if food prices keep rising.
Dominique Strauss-Kahn said that social unrest from continuing food price inflation could cause conflict.
There have been food riots recently in a number of countries, including Haiti, the Philippines and Egypt.
Meeting in Washington, the IMF called for strong action on food prices and the international financial crisis. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7344892.stm>
World food aid meeting comes amid soaring prices, gnawing hunger
04/13/2008 | 10:08 AM
WICHITA, Kansas - Against a backdrop of soaring commodity and fuel
prices, government and private food aid groups from around the world
are gathering next week in Missouri to grapple with the growing hunger
crisis in some of the world's most impoverished regions.
The International Food Aid Conference, which begins Monday in Kansas City, Missouri, is expected to draw more than 700 people from 25 countries. Among them will be Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer; Henrietta Fore, administrator of the United States Agency for International Development; and Jeffrey Borns, director of the nation's Food for Peace program.
Historically high prices for basic foodstuffs — aggravated by the weak U.S. dollar, crop failures in many countries, competition by the ethanol industry and skyrocketing transportation costs — have increasingly plagued relief agencies. At the same time, food riots have broken out recently in Haiti, Egypt, and other countries.
It is in this climate that those whose job it is to feed the poorest of the world will come together to discuss global hunger at a three-day conference in the heart of the United States' grain-growing region.
Eventually, talk is expected to turn to one of the more controversial food aid proposals made by the administration of President George W. Bush: saving transportation and other costs by buying 25 percent of the commodities the United States sends abroad from other countries rather than U.S. growers.
Almost all of the food aid the U.S. currently sends elsewhere is bought from American producers, said Jay Sjerven, president of the U.N. Association's Kansas City chapter, with the U.S. providing more than half of the food aid that goes abroad in any given year.
Part of the reason for this long-standing commitment is the broad support among U.S. producers, processors and charitable organizations to do this work, Sjerven said. That coalition may not be sustained if U.S. commodities are not used. <http://www.gmanews.tv/story/89148/World-food-aid-meeting-comes-amid-soaring-prices-gnawing-hunger>
The International Food Aid Conference, which begins Monday in Kansas City, Missouri, is expected to draw more than 700 people from 25 countries. Among them will be Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer; Henrietta Fore, administrator of the United States Agency for International Development; and Jeffrey Borns, director of the nation's Food for Peace program.
Historically high prices for basic foodstuffs — aggravated by the weak U.S. dollar, crop failures in many countries, competition by the ethanol industry and skyrocketing transportation costs — have increasingly plagued relief agencies. At the same time, food riots have broken out recently in Haiti, Egypt, and other countries.
It is in this climate that those whose job it is to feed the poorest of the world will come together to discuss global hunger at a three-day conference in the heart of the United States' grain-growing region.
Eventually, talk is expected to turn to one of the more controversial food aid proposals made by the administration of President George W. Bush: saving transportation and other costs by buying 25 percent of the commodities the United States sends abroad from other countries rather than U.S. growers.
Almost all of the food aid the U.S. currently sends elsewhere is bought from American producers, said Jay Sjerven, president of the U.N. Association's Kansas City chapter, with the U.S. providing more than half of the food aid that goes abroad in any given year.
Part of the reason for this long-standing commitment is the broad support among U.S. producers, processors and charitable organizations to do this work, Sjerven said. That coalition may not be sustained if U.S. commodities are not used. <http://www.gmanews.tv/story/89148/World-food-aid-meeting-comes-amid-soaring-prices-gnawing-hunger>
US in $200m food crisis response
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Riots against rising food prices have spread around the world in recent days
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US President George W Bush has ordered the release of $200m in
emergency aid to alleviate food shortages in Africa and other parts of
the world.
The White House said the money would be used to meet unanticipated needs for food aid.
Rising food prices have sparked recent riots in several countries, including Haiti, the Philippines and Egypt.
The World Bank has said a doubling of food prices in three years could push 100m more people into poverty.
"This additional food aid will address the impact of rising commodity prices on US emergency food aid programmes and be used to meet unanticipated food aid needs in Africa and elsewhere," the White House said in a statement.
The announcement followed a call by the World Bank's
Development Committee and the International Monetary Fund for rising
food prices to be addressed at the highest political level.
BACKGROUND AND ANALYSIS
Made in China
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In the run-up to the Olympics some opponents of China's regime are boycotting not just the games but all Chinese products. There have been many boycotts before, but with its dominance in manufacturing, those vowing not to buy Chinese face an especially tough challenge. Sitting on the bus wending your way to work and wherever you are, you probably have a bit of China with you. Listening to your iPod. Made in China. Fiddling with your key ring. Made in China. Label on the inside of your underpants irritating you a little bit. It more than likely says "Made in China".
When there was a boycott of South African products during the Apartheid era or of France by irritated Americans in the run-up to the Iraq war, those were political statements that might have meant a little privation for those involved. But they weren't on the same scale as China. Opponents of China talk of its treatment of Tibet, its appalling record on human rights, jailing of dissidents, and even its attitude towards animal welfare when calling for a boycott. The Friends of Tibet group has called for such action, but it's impossible to know how many people are engaged in boycotting.
China's defenders suggest it is becoming more open and receptive to
basic rights. And there are plenty of people who, while criticising
China, regard the idea of a boycott as counter-productive. There are
those who feel boycotts are too crude a device, affecting the
lowest-paid labourers rather than just the regime. There is also a view
that, particularly when it comes to China, constructive engagement is a
better option than a boycott. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/7339468.stm> | |||
NFA fails to match rice tender requirement
04/17/2008 | 03:23 PM
MANILA, Philippines-
The National Food Authority's latest tender offer for rice failed on
Thursday as participating bidders offered less than what was needed by
the agency.
Only 325,750 metric tons of rice were offered by the twelve participating rice traders. The bid price ranged between a low of $872.50 per metric tons to as much as $1,220 metric tons.
“The prices were high. We we were expecting anywhere between $800 per metric ton to $90 per metric ton. We will still evaluate," said Ludovico Jarina, NFA deputy administrator.
Jarina said the agency has until April 24 to evaluate the tender offer.
The government needs to import 2.1 million metric tons of rice for this year to supplement the local production of rice. It has already imported some 1.1 million metric tons.
The traders who submitted offers on Thursday plan to source rice from Thailand, Vietnam, Pakistan and even the United States. - Cheryl Arcibal, GMANews.TV <http://www.gmanews.tv/story/89933/NFA-fails-to-match-rice-tender-requirement>
Only 325,750 metric tons of rice were offered by the twelve participating rice traders. The bid price ranged between a low of $872.50 per metric tons to as much as $1,220 metric tons.
“The prices were high. We we were expecting anywhere between $800 per metric ton to $90 per metric ton. We will still evaluate," said Ludovico Jarina, NFA deputy administrator.
Jarina said the agency has until April 24 to evaluate the tender offer.
The government needs to import 2.1 million metric tons of rice for this year to supplement the local production of rice. It has already imported some 1.1 million metric tons.
The traders who submitted offers on Thursday plan to source rice from Thailand, Vietnam, Pakistan and even the United States. - Cheryl Arcibal, GMANews.TV <http://www.gmanews.tv/story/89933/NFA-fails-to-match-rice-tender-requirement>
Population surged to 88.5M in 2007; NEDA chief alarmed
04/17/2008 | 02:12 AM
MANILA, Philippines-
The Philippines’ population rose at a faster rate than its Asian
neighbors, increasing demand for food, especially rice, a staple
consumed by Filipinos as well as half of the world’s people.
In a report, the government said that the number of Filipinos grew nearly 16 percent to 88.57 million as of August 2007 from 76.50 million in May 2000.
By 2009, with a projected population of 92.22 million, the Philippines will consume 9.75 million metric tons of rice, higher than the expected 9.56 million metric tons to be consumed by Filipinos this year.
In 2000, with a 76.5 million population, each Filipino consumed 103.16 kilograms of rice annually, bringing total consumption to 7.89 million metric tons.
The population surge mean “more mouths to feed," said Augusto Santos, Acting Director General of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA).
Santos, who heads the Philippines’ socioeconomic planning body, said the population growth from 2006 to 2007 is slightly faster than the annual increase for the past seven years. The figure is higher than the government’s target of 1.95 percent up to 2010, he added.
Despite the increasing number of Filipinos, Santos said the government is still not planning to alter its population policy, which is limited to promotion of natural family planning and responsible parenthood.
The reported population surge may also reduce the country’s grain inventories. Although agriculture officials have dispelled reports of a possible rice shortage, more Filipinos may also mean an increased dependence on countries, which produce the grain.
Primarily sourced from the United States, China, Vietnam and Thailand, world prices of rice have reached historic highs since current demand is not expected to meet supply anytime soon.
Demand for the grain has also risen ever since the Philippines, the world’s largest rice importer, have announced plans to import as much as 2.2 million metric tons this year, considered the largest ever in ten years.
Compared with its Southeast Asian peers, the Philippines’ population growth rate was much higher compared to Malaysia, which had a 2.1 increase from 2001 to 2006 and Vietnam with 1.4 percent hike during the same period. The population of Indonesia and Thailand posted a growth rate of 1.3 and 0.8 percent respectively.
But the 2.04 percent population growth is a slowdown from the 2.34 percent average in 1990-2000. It was also lower than the 88.71 million projection earlier made by the government. <http://www.gmanews.tv/story/89794/Population-surged-to-885M-in-2007-NEDA-chief-alarmed>
In a report, the government said that the number of Filipinos grew nearly 16 percent to 88.57 million as of August 2007 from 76.50 million in May 2000.
By 2009, with a projected population of 92.22 million, the Philippines will consume 9.75 million metric tons of rice, higher than the expected 9.56 million metric tons to be consumed by Filipinos this year.
In 2000, with a 76.5 million population, each Filipino consumed 103.16 kilograms of rice annually, bringing total consumption to 7.89 million metric tons.
The population surge mean “more mouths to feed," said Augusto Santos, Acting Director General of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA).
Santos, who heads the Philippines’ socioeconomic planning body, said the population growth from 2006 to 2007 is slightly faster than the annual increase for the past seven years. The figure is higher than the government’s target of 1.95 percent up to 2010, he added.
Despite the increasing number of Filipinos, Santos said the government is still not planning to alter its population policy, which is limited to promotion of natural family planning and responsible parenthood.
The reported population surge may also reduce the country’s grain inventories. Although agriculture officials have dispelled reports of a possible rice shortage, more Filipinos may also mean an increased dependence on countries, which produce the grain.
Primarily sourced from the United States, China, Vietnam and Thailand, world prices of rice have reached historic highs since current demand is not expected to meet supply anytime soon.
Demand for the grain has also risen ever since the Philippines, the world’s largest rice importer, have announced plans to import as much as 2.2 million metric tons this year, considered the largest ever in ten years.
Compared with its Southeast Asian peers, the Philippines’ population growth rate was much higher compared to Malaysia, which had a 2.1 increase from 2001 to 2006 and Vietnam with 1.4 percent hike during the same period. The population of Indonesia and Thailand posted a growth rate of 1.3 and 0.8 percent respectively.
But the 2.04 percent population growth is a slowdown from the 2.34 percent average in 1990-2000. It was also lower than the 88.71 million projection earlier made by the government. <http://www.gmanews.tv/story/89794/Population-surged-to-885M-in-2007-NEDA-chief-alarmed>
Conflict of interest mars US airline regulation
04/18/2008 | 02:13 PM
WASHINGTON
- What the US airline industry wants from Washington it often gets, and
no wonder. The people who regulate airlines on one day can become
company executives the next—and the other way around.
Industry leaders who were once under the Federal Aviation Administration’s authority now sit in top positions at the agency. Many former FAA officials and congressional aides have found lucrative jobs in the air travel industry or with its lobbying groups. One top official left the FAA two years ago to become the airline industry’s top lobbyist.
Just Thursday, the law firm Jones Day announced that former FAA attorney Andrew Steinberg, until recently the Transportation Department’s assistant secretary of aviation and international affairs, will join the firm’s government regulation practice as a partner.
Throw in millions of dollars in campaign and lobbying money, and factor in the airlines’ importance to lawmakers’ home cities and states, and it adds up to a powerful industry that even some of the nation’s most frequent fliers—members of Congress—can be reluctant to tackle.
Broad deregulation and multibillion-dollar government bailouts are among the industry’s major victories in recent decades.
The industry’s revolving-door relationship with the government is under fresh scrutiny after two federal safety inspectors accused senior FAA officials of ignoring maintenance and inspection problems at Southwest Airlines, which is now facing a record $10.2 million fine.
American Airlines last week canceled flights affecting 250,000 travelers to make safety checks, and Alaska Airlines and Midwest Airlines also grounded planes for inspections.
“We need an FAA that actually fixes problems as they are found rather than one that rushes into a public relations campaign to assure everyone that there isn’t a problem," Sen. Patty Murray, chairwoman of the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Subcommittee, said Thursday at her panel’s hearing on aviation safety.
The FAA says it hires experienced people who understand how airlines operate, and that its ethics rules prohibit officials in many cases from regulating their former employers.
Stung by the FAA inspectors’ claims, Congress is promising air safety crackdowns.
Airlines have had few problems finding lawmakers to compliment them or help them. This year’s presidential candidates are no exception, according to correspondence from the candidates, obtained by The Associated Press under the Freedom of Information Act. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7353494.stm>
Industry leaders who were once under the Federal Aviation Administration’s authority now sit in top positions at the agency. Many former FAA officials and congressional aides have found lucrative jobs in the air travel industry or with its lobbying groups. One top official left the FAA two years ago to become the airline industry’s top lobbyist.
Just Thursday, the law firm Jones Day announced that former FAA attorney Andrew Steinberg, until recently the Transportation Department’s assistant secretary of aviation and international affairs, will join the firm’s government regulation practice as a partner.
Throw in millions of dollars in campaign and lobbying money, and factor in the airlines’ importance to lawmakers’ home cities and states, and it adds up to a powerful industry that even some of the nation’s most frequent fliers—members of Congress—can be reluctant to tackle.
Broad deregulation and multibillion-dollar government bailouts are among the industry’s major victories in recent decades.
The industry’s revolving-door relationship with the government is under fresh scrutiny after two federal safety inspectors accused senior FAA officials of ignoring maintenance and inspection problems at Southwest Airlines, which is now facing a record $10.2 million fine.
American Airlines last week canceled flights affecting 250,000 travelers to make safety checks, and Alaska Airlines and Midwest Airlines also grounded planes for inspections.
“We need an FAA that actually fixes problems as they are found rather than one that rushes into a public relations campaign to assure everyone that there isn’t a problem," Sen. Patty Murray, chairwoman of the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Subcommittee, said Thursday at her panel’s hearing on aviation safety.
The FAA says it hires experienced people who understand how airlines operate, and that its ethics rules prohibit officials in many cases from regulating their former employers.
Stung by the FAA inspectors’ claims, Congress is promising air safety crackdowns.
Airlines have had few problems finding lawmakers to compliment them or help them. This year’s presidential candidates are no exception, according to correspondence from the candidates, obtained by The Associated Press under the Freedom of Information Act. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7353494.stm>
Pornstar makes Hollywood debut
04/18/2008 | 01:55 PM
LOS ANGELES - After spending over a decade atop the adult film industry, actress and media mogul Jenna Jameson has gone for Hollywood.
This summer, the buxom blonde will make her mainstream genre debut alongside “Nightmare on Elm Street’s" Robert Englund in “Zombie Strippers."
The film is a comic horror flick about an underground gentlemen’s club transformed by a killer virus into a haven for ravenous, flesh-eating, tassel-spinning ghouls.
“‘Zombie Strippers’ is not just a generic film. It’s beautiful. It has a lot of different facets to it. It’s exactly what a lot of men want to see—’t and a.’
But it has a lot of humor and a lot of really great political undertones," Jameson told AP Entertainment.
But despite the ultra-blonde exterior, over 100 adult films and an interesting story to the building of her empire, Jameson admits this was a new experience for her.
“This movie was definitely a challenge for me. I’ve never really dealt with that kind of process when it came to the make-up but it was a great experience. I’ve never been made ugly before so it was fun for me. I didn’t have to worry about being that sexy vixen I normally have to. It was about snarling and ripping faces off. Lots of fun," Jameson said.
She added: “Well I think reason number one, you are going to see Jenna Jameson naked. You can’t lose on that one. But I think that there are a lot of different fun parts to this movie. It’s not just naked girls. It’s got a really beautiful plot. I love the fact that it empowers women and there’s insane amounts of gore. If you’re a horror movie fan, this is the movie to see. There are scenes that I didn’t think were possible make-up wise. The things that they do in this movie. This is definitely going to win some awards for sure. Everybody is going to love this movie on every different level."
“Zombie Strippers" opens in North American theatres on 18 April 2008. -AP <http://www.gmanews.tv/story/90163/Pornstar-makes-Hollywood-debut>
This summer, the buxom blonde will make her mainstream genre debut alongside “Nightmare on Elm Street’s" Robert Englund in “Zombie Strippers."
The film is a comic horror flick about an underground gentlemen’s club transformed by a killer virus into a haven for ravenous, flesh-eating, tassel-spinning ghouls.
“‘Zombie Strippers’ is not just a generic film. It’s beautiful. It has a lot of different facets to it. It’s exactly what a lot of men want to see—’t and a.’
But it has a lot of humor and a lot of really great political undertones," Jameson told AP Entertainment.
But despite the ultra-blonde exterior, over 100 adult films and an interesting story to the building of her empire, Jameson admits this was a new experience for her.
“This movie was definitely a challenge for me. I’ve never really dealt with that kind of process when it came to the make-up but it was a great experience. I’ve never been made ugly before so it was fun for me. I didn’t have to worry about being that sexy vixen I normally have to. It was about snarling and ripping faces off. Lots of fun," Jameson said.
She added: “Well I think reason number one, you are going to see Jenna Jameson naked. You can’t lose on that one. But I think that there are a lot of different fun parts to this movie. It’s not just naked girls. It’s got a really beautiful plot. I love the fact that it empowers women and there’s insane amounts of gore. If you’re a horror movie fan, this is the movie to see. There are scenes that I didn’t think were possible make-up wise. The things that they do in this movie. This is definitely going to win some awards for sure. Everybody is going to love this movie on every different level."
“Zombie Strippers" opens in North American theatres on 18 April 2008. -AP <http://www.gmanews.tv/story/90163/Pornstar-makes-Hollywood-debut>
Suspension of biofuels law 'insufficient,' group says
04/18/2008 | 12:19 PM
MANILA, Philippines - A senator’s recent announcement calling for the biofuel law’s suspension is insufficient, an environmental group said.
Although it agreed that the suspension is a step in the right direction, the Kalikasan People’s Network said that the said law must be repealed instead.
“Senator Rodolfo Biazon’s statement to suspend the Biofuels Law is a move in the right direction. Still, it’s not enough," the group said in a statement on Thursday.
Citing government reports, the organization claimed that the Department of Agriculture (DA) is currently identifying 725,300 hectares of agricultural land for biofuel production while the Philippine National Oil Co.-Alternative Fuel Corp. (PNOC-AFC), a government-owned corporation, is looking for an additional 1.2 million hectares of land for jatropha production.
In 2007, Land Bank of the Philippines allocated Php10 billion pesos to support PNOC-AFC to the production of jathropa, a plant whose oil, when crushed, can be used as a fuel additive.
“These massive land and crop conversions will worsen the rice and food crisis in the country. The shift to biofuel production will decrease our crops production such as corn, sugarcane, coconut and hinder the expansion of our rice production. Lower local food production means higher dependency on food importation for our domestic needs," the group said.
The organization added that the Philippine Senate must look beyond the biofuel law’s suspension.
“The law is basically bankrupt as it is oriented towards aggravating land and crop conversion in the country. It is better to draft a new bill that will make biofuel production support the agricultural development and reverse the food insufficiency of the country," the group said. - GMANews.TV <http://www.gmanews.tv/story/90153/Suspension-of-biofuels-law-insufficient-group-says>
Although it agreed that the suspension is a step in the right direction, the Kalikasan People’s Network said that the said law must be repealed instead.
“Senator Rodolfo Biazon’s statement to suspend the Biofuels Law is a move in the right direction. Still, it’s not enough," the group said in a statement on Thursday.
Citing government reports, the organization claimed that the Department of Agriculture (DA) is currently identifying 725,300 hectares of agricultural land for biofuel production while the Philippine National Oil Co.-Alternative Fuel Corp. (PNOC-AFC), a government-owned corporation, is looking for an additional 1.2 million hectares of land for jatropha production.
In 2007, Land Bank of the Philippines allocated Php10 billion pesos to support PNOC-AFC to the production of jathropa, a plant whose oil, when crushed, can be used as a fuel additive.
“These massive land and crop conversions will worsen the rice and food crisis in the country. The shift to biofuel production will decrease our crops production such as corn, sugarcane, coconut and hinder the expansion of our rice production. Lower local food production means higher dependency on food importation for our domestic needs," the group said.
The organization added that the Philippine Senate must look beyond the biofuel law’s suspension.
“The law is basically bankrupt as it is oriented towards aggravating land and crop conversion in the country. It is better to draft a new bill that will make biofuel production support the agricultural development and reverse the food insufficiency of the country," the group said. - GMANews.TV <http://www.gmanews.tv/story/90153/Suspension-of-biofuels-law-insufficient-group-says>
Net card fraud 'underestimated'
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UK credit and debit card fraud on the internet is much greater than previous estimates, new figures suggest.
Banking industry data shows card losses from phone, internet or mail order crime totalled £290.5m in 2007.
But a BBC investigation found £500m of fraud took place when failed attempts were taken into account.
The Tories are urging the government to appoint a minister to deal with internet crime. Ministers say they have invested £29m to fight online fraud.
Hacked cards
An undercover investigation by BBC News revealed how easy it was to obtain stolen credit and debit card details on the internet.
Posing as computer hackers, two journalists infiltrated a website selling thousands of stolen card details which had been stolen online from small internet retailers.
When the cards were used, they traced the fraudulent transactions to a number of addresses in the UK and confronted people who signed for the goods they had bought. The information is being passed to the police.
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If you're committing a crime online then there is a high probability that you'll get away with it
Andrew McClelland, of Interactive Media in Retail Group (IMRG)
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Andrew Goodwill, from the Third Man company which develops fraud screening solutions, said criminals commonly use the cards to buy electronic gadgets, including sat-navs, laptops and PDAs.
"They will then either ship them abroad and sell them in other countries where the value of such is a lot higher or they'll sell them in this country, locally for people down the pub for half price," he said.
Shadow home secretary David Davis said there should be a central place to report cyber crime, specialist prosecutors and a distinct ministry.
"All those things would do a great deal to make Britain less of a soft target," he said.
Andrew McClelland, of Interactive Media in Retail Group (IMRG), a body which represents online retailers, said it was time the government noticed the market place was making a major contribution to the economy and consumers were protected.
"If you're committing a crime online then there is a high
probability that you'll get away with it and even if you are caught a
fairly high probability again that the punishment won't be that
severe," he added <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7362055.stm>
The end of cheap clothes is near
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By Jorn Madslien
Business reporter, BBC News |
Food prices have shot up in response to a surge in crop prices. Now consumers should get ready for clothes prices to follow suit.
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US cotton farmers are switching to more lucrative crops
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Garment makers are seeing demand shrink as consumers in the US and Europe are cutting back on spending.
US cotton consumption is set to fall 6.5% from last year to less than a million tonnes whilst EU consumption is expected to fall 11% to about 460,000 tonnes, the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) predicts.
At the same time, they are hit by more expensive raw materials and by soaring oil prices, which make their factories more expensive to operate and which pushes up the cost of shipping to foreign markets.
In India, the weaving industry is in crisis. In China, the textile sector is squeezed.
And, yet again, the root cause of their problems can be found in America. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7362343.stm>
Credit Suisse bank loses billions
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Credit Suisse had already warned it expected to report losses
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Credit Suisse has reported a loss for the first three months of the year, hit by its exposure to the credit markets.
The bank made a net loss of 2.1bn Swiss francs ($2.1bn; £1.0bn) after writing down 5.3bn Swiss francs in mortgage securities and big buyout loans.
It had made a net profit of 2.7bn Swiss francs in the same period of last year.
Credit Suisse had already warned it was likely to make a loss, which it blamed partly on the "intentional misconduct" of a number of traders.
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The inevitable hangover has arrived following the frenzied obsession to do private deals at almost any price in 2006 and 2007
Robert Peston, BBC business editor
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Credit Suisse wrote down £850m on leverage finance such as loans to finance private-equity deals, and a further £400m on commercial mortgages.
"It is further confirmation that imprudent lending and investing was not confined to US subprime and collateralised debt obligations," said BBC's business editor, Robert Peston.
"The inevitable hangover has arrived following the frenzied obsession to do private deals at almost any price in 2006 and 2007," he said. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7364285.stm>
Strike disrupting 8,000 schools
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Teachers are on strike over a pay deal
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About a third of schools in England and Wales have been disrupted by the first national teachers' strike in 21 years.
The walkout by thousands of teachers has closed or partially closed up to 8,000 schools, and forced working parents to stay home or find childcare.
The National Union of Teachers (NUT) is staging more than 50 rallies across the countries, as members demand a 4.1% pay rise rather than the 2.45% on offer.
Schools minister Jim Knight said it was a good deal and he felt parents' anger.
This one-day strike, condemned by all the main political parties, is
the opening move in what the NUT says will be a long-term campaign over
pay. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/education/7363718.stm>
Public servants: Who earns most?
As teachers in England and Wales stage a strike over pay, the BBC
News website examines how public sector workers' pay deals compare. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7140610.stm>
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Global Economics-04
Globalisation Index
News Index
Index Nation States
Index Cultural Systems
Some personal Reflections on the News
Theory Forming and Articulation
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Global Economics-04
Globalisation Index
News Index
Index Nation States
Index Cultural Systems
Some personal Reflections on the News
Theory Forming and Articulation
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