Even More Global Economic Effects:

By Jonathan Amos
Science reporter, BBC News

Patrick Wood explains how the UK's latest military satellite works

A significant milestone in the UK's biggest space project is reached on Friday with the launch of the third and final Skynet 5 satellite.

The military communications platform will be lofted by an Ariane rocket from Europe's equatorial spaceport at Kourou in French Guiana.

It will provide British forces with the secure, high-bandwidth capability they now need to run their operations.

A successful launch will complete the in-orbit part of the Â£3.6bn project.

Additional work has included upgrades to ground stations and the installation of new antennas and terminals on military ships, planes and land vehicles.

Taken together, the three Skynet spacecraft - known as 5A, 5B and 5C - will provide coverage from the Americas to Asia.
See how the Skynet 5 system is being deployed

The satellites match the sophistication of the very latest civilian platforms used to pass TV, phone and internet traffic - but also are "hardened" for military use and will resist attempts to "jam" them, for example.

Malcolm Peto explains how Skynet 5 will aid UK military communications

"These satellites have technology that allows them to pinpoint communications on to particular regions of the world with absolute precision, and without interference," explained Malcolm Peto from Paradigm Secure Communications, the company set up to run Skynet.

"You know the areas where British forces operate, and you can imagine the type of interference attempted. We can avoid that very simply, very clinically," he said.

The new Skynet constellation will allow the Army, Navy and Royal Air Force to pass much more data, faster between command centres. The bandwidth capacity of Skynet 5 is two-and-a-half times that of the old satellite constellation, Skynet 4.

The new system will allow British forces to make use of next-generation weapons systems, such as the recently introduced Reaper drones.

These unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) are deployed over Afghanistan but are remotely piloted by RAF personnel in the US.

This is made possible only by Skynet's ability to handle the drones' real-time video feeds.

Other battlefield applications would include surgeons, unsure how best to treat badly injured soldiers, being able to send scan information back to the UK for a second assessment; and then using video conferencing to discuss cases.

Skynet 5 is the largest PFI (Private Finance Initiative) so far delivered to the UK's Ministry of Defence (MoD). Under the PFI, the British military buys guaranteed capacity off its commercial supplier (Paradigm), which is free then to sell any spare capacity to friendly governments. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7419751.stm>

It has signed up to the One Laptop Per Child programme which puts cheap PCs into the hands of schoolchildren.

OLPC aims to boost the educational prospects of children in developing nations through technology.

Defence lawyers in a California murder trial may appeal to the US Supreme Court after a district attorney helped the makers of a film based on the killing, starring Justin Timberlake.

When the body of 15-year-old Nick Markowitz was discovered in a shallow grave just outside Los Angeles in August 2000, it set in train a saga which is still unfolding.

The boy was the brother of a small-time drug dealer and it emerged he had been killed after a dispute over $2,000 (Â£1,000) worth of marijuana.

Four young men from the prosperous San Fernando Valley were arrested and, with emotions running high in the area, were convicted. Three were jailed for life but 21-year-old Ryan Hoyt was sentenced to death.

It emerged during their trial that Nick had been held hostage for several days, before being bound with duct tape, struck over the head with a shovel and shot several times.

All four said they acted out of fear of the gang's leader, Jesse James Hollywood.

In 2003 Nick Cassavetes, the director of movies such as The Notebook and John Q, hired Michael Mehas to research material for a film based on the Markowitz case.

The movie, Alpha Dog, was released last year and starred Bruce Willis, Sharon Stone and, in his first feature role, pop star Justin Timberlake, whose character was based on 20-year-old Jesse Rugge, who is serving a life sentence for his role in the boy's death.

While researching the film - and writing a book, Stolen Boy, which came out of his research - Mr Mehas contacted the Santa Barbara District Attorney's office and spoke to Ron Zonen, who was keen to track down Hollywood.

Mr Mehas said: "He wanted to use the film as a sort of global wanted poster to help find Hollywood and bring him back to face justice."

But before the film came out Hollywood, who had been on the FBI's Most Wanted list, was captured in a surfing resort in Brazil in 2005 and extradited back to California.

Attempts were made to prevent the film's release until after Hollywood's trial. In the event the film came out last year to mixed reviews.

Mr Blatt then sought to throw Mr Zonen and his colleagues off the case, claiming their integrity had been compromised.

He said it was the first time a prosecutor had effectively acted as a "co-producer of a film" based on a case he was due to bring to trial.

Mr Blatt told the BBC News website: "Any time you have a major motion picture presenting the district attorney's viewpoint of the case it may have a damaging impact on the chances of someone receiving a fair trial." <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7409613.stm>

Govt to probe cases of surging rice prices in Mindanao areas

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine government has begun an investigation into reports that rice prices in some areas in Mindanao have more than doubled.

Reports indicate that grain costs have reached by as much as P47 a kilo, more than twice of the government-set price of P18.25 a kilo in areas such as General Santos, Koronadal and and Tacurong cities and Sultan Kudarat.

In a Saturday radio report, the chief of the National Food Authority (NFA) said that he already plans to take the matter up with the area’s directors.

“We are working on a marketing plan now that the lean months are near," NFA Administrator Jessup Navarro said in an interview on dzRH radio.

He also said the NFA continues to sell subsidized rice at P18.25/kilo at the community level, and P25/kilo in markets.

Earlier, traders and economists declared that the worst food price hikes is already over as Cambodia decided to lift its rice export ban. The move was considered a “positive development" for countries such as the Philippines, the world’s largest rice importer.

“We have adequate supply of food even for the third quarter. The worst is over in terms of increases in food prices," Rolando Dy, executive director of the University of Asia and the Pacific’s Center for Food and Agri-Business, was quoted as saying.

For his part, Herculano Co, head of the Philippine Confederation of Grains Association, agreed that Phnom Penh’s decision is expected to encourage the private sector to import rice.

According to Co, the NFA’s move to allow the private sector to import rice from countries such as Thailand, India, Australia and China was met with a cool reception owing to the high prices of the commodity in the global market.

The NFA will hold another auction for the private sector to import a total of 200,000 metric tons of rice from any country willing to sell the commodity. - GMANews.TV <http://www.gmanews.tv/story/98455/Govt-to-probe-cases-of-surging-rice-prices-in-Mindanao-areas>

AR SABANGAN, GMANews.TV

05/27/2008 | 11:46 PM

There was a time in their lives when Negros Occidental farm worker Rogelio Salva and his family not only knew how to be poor as a rat - they had in fact eaten rats and gnawed on sugarcane for lunch and dinner.

Salva resigned himself to the sorry fate until President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo made a promise to give up some 1,000 hectares of the First Family’s inherited landholdings to beneficiaries of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP).

The promise revived Salva’s hope for a better life.

"Pag sa amin na ang lupa, may maipapamana na ko sa mga anak ko. Di na sila magiging katulong (If the land is ours, I would have something to bestow to my children. They wouldn't anymore work as house helpers)," he said.

Salva has been working in Hacienda Bacan since 1973. The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) said the property, a 157-hectare sugar farm in Barangay (village) Guintubhan in Isabela town, belongs to the Arroyos.

The money that Salva earned from working in the hacienda for 35 years has not made his life any sweeter. Not one of his children finished college. Six of them, all women, are working as maids, while his son helps him in his work at the hacienda.

Despite the President’s order to immediately distribute her family's haciendas to poor Negros tillers like Salva, the CARP coverage of Bacan has dragged on for years.

Seven years after Mrs Arroyo made the promise, and less than a month before the expiration of Republic Act 6657 or the 20-year-old Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law, the DAR says the hacienda remains under the Arroyos.

The hacienda workers, who belong to the peasant federation Task Force Mapalad (TFM), claimed that the fruition of their dream of owning the land has been hindered by the DAR – along with the President, her husband Jose Miguel "Mike" Arroyo, and her brother-in-law, Negros Occidental Rep. Ignacio "Iggy" Arroyo.

But lawyer Alberto Ruy Rondain, counsel of the Arroyos, said the family does not have any intention to delay the coverage of the hacienda. He blamed the delay solely on the DAR's "lack of action" to the offer made by Iggy to have the hacienda placed under the program.

He said the government’s inaction made the offer "deemed abandoned." <http://www.gmanews.tv/story/97652/First-Gentleman-Arroyo-accused-of-evading-CARP-law-for-seven-years>

Belgian fishermen have been protesting directly to the EU

Fuel protests triggered by rising oil prices have spread to more countries across Europe, with thousands of fishermen on strike.

Union leaders said Portugal's entire coastal fleet stayed in port on Friday, while in Spain, 7,000 fishermen held protests at the agriculture ministry.

French fishermen have been protesting for weeks, with Belgian and Italian colleagues also involved.

UK and Dutch lorry drivers held similar protests earlier this week.

The strike reflects anger at the rising cost of fuel, with oil prices above $130 (83.40 euros; £65.80) a barrel.

Trade unions say the cost of diesel has become prohibitively high, after rising 300% over the past five years.

Wholesale fish prices, meanwhile, have been static for 20 years. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7426971.stm>

By Huw Cordey
BBC, South Pacific

The South Pacific country of Vanuatu has been voted the happiest place in the world so what makes its inhabitants such a happy lot?

The twin pillars of a classically happy life - strong family ties and a general absence of materialism - are common throughout this island nation

Jean Pierre John is living the dream. That popular fantasy of owning one's own island, complete with swaying coconut palms, coral sea and tropical forest, is his for real.

On the island called Metoma, in the far north of Vanuatu, Jean Pierre can look around and truly say that he is master of all he surveys.

This single fact would put Jean Pierre in an exclusive club, you would think, one made up of billionaire businessmen, royalty and rock stars.

But Jean Pierre is none of these things. In fact, he could not be more different.

On Metoma, Jean Pierre and his family live in thatched huts.

They have no electricity or running water, no radio or television, and their only mode of transport is a rowing boat, which pretty much limits them to trips to the neighbouring island.

On top of that, they have little money and few opportunities to make any.

No money?! Suddenly their island life does not sound all that glamorous. But here's the thing, the Johns really are happy.

This may sound surprising but living on their island they want for nothing.

Local produce

All the family's food comes from on or around Metoma. Coconuts, yam, and manioc - their staple diet - are all grown on the island and then, of course, there is a sea full of fish to harvest.

And if fish protein gets boring, there is always the occasional fruit bat, from a colony that roosts on the island.

Indeed, food is so easy to gather that the family appears to have a lot of relaxation time.

When the Johns do have money - perhaps when they sell one of the few cows they own - they will buy soap powder and kerosene for their lamps.

But if not, they are just as happy to make do with island solutions - sticks which can be crushed to make soap and coconut oil in place of kerosene.

Some useful items are even washed up onto their island - buoys from boats are cut in half to make bowls and old fishing nets are recycled as hammocks.

It may sound like a Robinson Crusoe existence, and in many ways it is, but the Johns are not castaways. They live on Metoma out of choice.

Jean Pierre had not heard that Vanuatu had been voted happiest country in the world but, when I told him, he nodded in a knowingly happy sort of way

It is not as if they have not experienced some of the trappings of a more modern world.

Jean Pierre grew up on one of Vanuatu's larger islands and still makes the occasional visit. His eldest son, Joe, even went to school in the nation's capital.

In fact Joe, a very easy-going 28-year-old, had recently returned to Metoma to live full time and he told me that the only thing he missed was hip hop music, but that it was a small price to pay for living on the island. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/7427768.stm>

The investment was announced at the presidential compound in Mexico City

US giant Ford is to invest $3bn (£1.5bn) in a new car plant in Mexico, the biggest investment in the country's manufacturing sector.

The move is a blow to American car workers who had hoped the factory would be built in the United States.

Ford has lost more than $15bn (£7.5bn) over the past two years and says the new facility is crucial to its future.

Mexican President Felipe Calderon hailed the announcement as a "turning point" for his country.

The new factory, and other changes to Ford's Mexican operations, are likely to create an estimated 4,500 jobs in Mexico, where car workers earn substantially less than their American counterparts.

Mr Calderon made the announcement with Ford president Alan Mullaly at the presidential compound in Mexico City on Friday.

"We want Mexico to be an automotive country, one that is competitive and with the most advantages so that the worldwide automotive industry will establish itself here," Mr Calderon said.

Mr Mullaly said: "We are convinced the geographic location as well as Mexico's highly qualified labour force and economic stability make this decision the right one for our business." <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7428952.stm>

06/02/2008 | 07:22 PM

MANILA, Philippines - Senators led by an angry Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile on Monday took turns in lambasting the Joint Foreign Chambers of the Philippines for its statement urging government not to amend the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (Epira).

At the same time, the senators want the leaders of the JFCP summoned for interfering in the work of Congress.

"I want all foreign chamber heads called here in the Senate and explain why are against the Epira amendments, why they are against a bill that would benefit the poor power consumers," a fuming Enrile said during a privilege speech.

"Who are these foreigners who can tell us what to do and not to do in our land?,"he added.

Enrile, who's sponsoring floor debates on the amendments to the Epira said he could tolerate the free expression of opinions, but not intervention.

"I'm going to roast the heads of foreign chambers when they come here," he said.

Enrile, who chairs the Senate energy sub-committee handling Epira changes, noted that the leaders of the foreign chambers did not even appear in the Senate while the bill was being deliberated in the committee level.

"I want them to come here. None of them appear here voluntarily to express their position," he said.

He said he does care if the foreign chambers would be called in by the Congressional Power Commission (Powercom) or the Senate energy panel of Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago.

Santiago said she shared the same sentiments of Enrile but not with the same level and intensity as displayed by her veteran colleague.

"They are mere guests in the country. They are welcome guests, but they should not overstay their welcome," she said.

Sen. Joker Arroyo warned President Arroyo against favorably responding to the lobby of the foreign trade chambers.

"I hope these things are clarified. The President should also be careful not to say yes or no. This is the prerogative of Congress," Arroyo said.

He said the President should inform the foreign chambers that the issue is now in the hands of Congress, which will act with wisdom.

Sen. Francis Escudero said the heads of the foreign chambers have no right to intervene in the work of Congress.

"Wala silang karapatang mang-himasok," Escudero said.

Sen. Jinggoy Estrada asked why the foreign chambers are very interested in the country's power sector.

He was told by Enrile that many of the foreign chambers represent countries that have stake in the countrys energy sector.

Enrile also said these are the foreign chambers of United States , Canada , Australia , China and Japan and these countries have big investments in the power industry.

For his part, Sen. Manuel Roxas said the matter must be referred to the Senate energy panel.

Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri said it was so callous for the foreign chambers to try to influence policy or legislation in the country.

"I condemn the gall and audacity of the foreign chambers. Ang kakapal ng mukha nila to dictate us," Zubiri said.

The foreign chambers calling themselves as the Joint Foreign Chambers of the Philippines, in a joint manifesto, told President Arroyo that amending the EPIRA would result to highly unstable legal framework for the industry and investors.

The group also said the changes would impact the credibility and put at risk the ongoing power-sector reforms. - GMANews.TV <http://www.gmanews.tv/story/98708/Enrile-blows-top-vs-foreign-traders-says-theyre-interfering>

The UN will target investment for future food production

A key UN-sponsored summit is set to open in Rome aimed at addressing the problem of soaring global food prices.

Food costs are the highest in 30 years, causing riots in dozens of countries.

UN officials said Secretary General Ban Ki-moon would call for the immediate suspension or elimination of price controls or other trade restrictions.

But many observers have so far focused on Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe, whose presence at the summit has been called "obscene" by the UK and Australia.

Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said the Zimbabwean president was "the person who has presided over the starvation of his people".

Biofuel issue

The host of the Rome conference - the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) - has warned the industrialised countries that unless they increase yields, eliminate barriers and move food to where it is needed most, a global catastrophe could result.

The recent crisis is believed to have pushed 100 million people into hunger worldwide.

Poorer countries are faced with a 40% increase in their food imports bill this year, and experts say some countries' food bills have doubled in the past year.

Rising prices have sparked protests such as here in Pakistan

"A lot of countries have to import more or less as what they did in the past, they had to because it's the basic food," FAO official Abby Abbassian told the BBC.

"But that means they must have spent at least twice as much as in the previous year because prices have gone up at least by 100%."

The BBC's Christian Fraser in Rome says the FAO is calling on donor countries to dig deeper - to help farmers in developing countries get access to fertiliser, seeds and the animal feed they require.

It says the problem of chronic underinvestment in agriculture can no longer be ignored.

Ahead of the conference, the Islamic Development Bank said at a meeting in Saudi Arabia that it would spend $1.5bn (£760m) over five years to help the least developed Muslim countries tackle the food crisis.

One area expected to generate disagreements in Rome is biofuel - most of the increase in maize production last year went into making fuels such as ethanol, not food.

Mr Ban intends to ask the US and other countries to phase out subsidies that encourage farmers to produce for fuel.

UN officials said there would be a range of "confidence-building" options for governments.

The taskforce Mr Ban created to target the food crisis is expected to present a 38-page report with measures that could cost up to $15bn (£7.5bn) to implement.

In the short term, the report will call for a reduction in tariffs and the provision of subsidies for poorer farmers.

Long-term measures will focus on increased investment. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/7432583.stm>

06/03/2008 | 12:01 PM

MANILA, Philippines - President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo is set to launch Tuesday the P2-billion subsidy program for four million lifeline electricity consumers to help them pay their bills, radio dzBB reported.

Radio dzBB's Aileen Intia said the government allotted a P2-billion fund which will be distributed to consumers belonging to the lowest electricity consumption bracket.

The report said each household, which will be chosen for the program, will be receiving a one-time grant of a P500 cash subsidy.

The radio report said the program entitled "Katas ng VAT, Pantawid Kuryente" aims to provide some relief to poor families amid the rising electricity rates.

The Presidential Task Force on Energy, during their meeting Monday, recommended to the President the subsidy for the lifeline beneficiaries.

"In the rural areas, the conduit for the P500 cash transfer would be the rural electrical cooperatives. In the Meralco franchise areas the conduit would be the Land Bank and its branches all over Metro Manila as well as in Region 3 and 4a," Social Welfare Sec. Esperanza Cabral said Monday night.

"Each small electricity user would be given a cash subsidy of P500 to aid them in the electrical expenses that they are incurring because of the increase in electrical price," she added.

Cabral said the P2 billion, which would be derived from the P4 billion value added tax proceeds that was initially identified by the government, was intended for the cash transfer program where the poorest of the poor is given monthly allowance by the government.

The official those who will be benefited are consumers that are served by the Meralco and other electric cooperatives.

Also on Monday, Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said the chairman of the Philippine National Oil Company- Development and Management Corporation ad the Secretary of Budget had been tapped to jointly monitor this program and report to the President every quarter.

Ermita said all local government units are also encouraged to participate in project monitoring. - Amita Legaspi, GMANews.TV <http://www.gmanews.tv/story/98854/Arroyo-to-dole-out-P500-to-4M-lifeline-electricity-users>

06/03/2008 | 01:12 PM

MANILA, Philippines - With world prices of oil still rising, major oil player Petron Corp. admitted Tuesday there is still no end in sight to hikes in local pump prices in the coming weeks.

In an interview on dzBB radio, Petron spokeswoman Virginia Ruivivar said that while they still have to recover some P3 per liter in May alone due to high world prices, noting that world prices of oil continue to go up this month.

"Kami naman naghahabol ng underrecovery. Ngayon umaabot more than P3/liter. Hindi pa natin pinag-uusapan ang June, pinag-uusapan nating costs ang May (We're still trying to recover P3/liter, and that's just for May. We are not even talking about prices for June)," Ruivivar said in an interview on dzBB radio.

Ruivivar said the only thing the oil firms can do is to advice consumers to conserve fuel.

Rising costs of fuel have spawned several protest actions, including those to remove the expanded value-added tax (EVAT) from fuel, and to scrap the oil deregulation law. - GMANews.TV <http://www.gmanews.tv/story/98866/No-end-in-sight-to-fuel-price-hikes-Petron-admits>

06/04/2008 | 12:22 PM

SAN JOSE, Calif. - When surfing the Internet for safe Web sites, not all domains are equal.

Companies that assign addresses for Web sites appear to be cutting corners on security more when they assign names in certain domains than in others, according to a report to be released Wednesday by antivirus software vendor McAfee Inc.

McAfee found the most dangerous domains to navigate to are “.hk" (Hong Kong), “.cn" (China) and “.info" (information).

Of all “.hk" sites McAfee tested, it flagged 19.2 percent as dangerous or potentially dangerous to visitors; it flagged 11.8 percent of “.cn" sites and 11.7 percent of “.info" sites that way.

A little more than 5 percent of the sites under the “.com" domain—the world’s most popular—were identified as dangerous.

More spammers, malicious code writers and other cybercriminals can establish an online presence when domain name registry businesses cut requirements for registering a site in order to boost their profit and profile. The report does not identify domain name registration companies McAfee believes are responsible for those lapses.

Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of companies are in the business of registering domain names; some are large and well known, while others are small and less reputable, offering their services on the cheap and with flimsy or no background checks to lure in more customers.

The fact that Internet scam artists gravitate to domain name services with lower fees and fewer requirements isn’t new.

What McAfee’s “Mapping the Mal Web" report, now in its second year, tries to do is identify the domains that are populated with the highest concentration of risky sites.

The servers for “.hk" and “.cn" Web sites don’t have to be in China; Web site operators can register sites from anywhere to target different geographies.

Other risky domains include “.ro" (Romania), with 6.8 percent, and “.ru" (Russia), with 6 percent of sites flagged as dangerous.

Shane Keats, research analyst for McAfee and lead author of the report, said the increase in dangerous sites registered under the “.hk" and “.cn" domains over last year’s report was caused in part by better data collection on McAfee’s part on those domains and by apparent security lapses in some registrar companies’ processes for registering addresses.

“My advice about surfing behavior is that if you’re really desperate for cheap Prozac and the pharmacy ends in ‘.cn,’ don’t do it. Just don’t do it," Keats said. “Find another place to get your Prozac."

Many Internet frauds involve fake sites for pharmaceuticals.

The McAfee report is based on results from 9.9 million Web sites that were tested in 265 domains for serving malicious code, excessive pop-up ads or forms to fill out that actually are tools for harvesting e-mail addresses for sending spam.

Keats said domain name registrars that are strict about authenticating that Web site owners are operating a legitimate business see far fewer malicious Web sites using their services.

Where McAfee found some of the least-risky domain names: “.gov" (government use), with 0.05 percent flagged; “.jp" (Japan), with 0.1 percent flagged and “.au" (Australia), with 0.3 percent flagged. - AP <http://www.gmanews.tv/story/99109/Software-company-warns-against-dangerous-domains>

06/04/2008 | 12:25 PM

MANILA, Philippines - About 4,000 workers in Abu Dhabi, including Filipinos are expected to benefit from the construction of residential cities in that capital city of the United Arab Emirates.

Online news site Khaleej Times on Tuesday reported that 40 percent of the cities’ facilities would be for low-income foreign workers. The project is set to be completed in 2010.

The report quoted Shaikh Hamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, chief of the Abu Dhabi Crown Prince’s Court, as saying that the residential cities would be compromised of single and double-bedroom housing units.

Foreign and local technicians, supervisors, and engineers working in the industrial and construction sectors in the UAE will also benefit from the project, according to the chief.

“The construction of these cities reflects the keenness of the government to respect international laws that call for providing decent living conditions for all types of workers and laborers working in the United Arab Emirates," the Khaleej Times quoted the chief as saying.

ZonesCorp CEO Jaber Hareb Al Khaili reportedly said these cities would be constructed according to international standards and specifications.

He said the cities would be divided into permanent and temporary cities. Permanent cities will accommodate workers of the industrial sector, while temporary cities will house workers of the construction sector.

The project's target is to accommodate up to 800,000 workers by the end of 2012, of which 270,000 will come from the low-income group.

The cities will be electronically linked with the Ministry of Interior, Civil Defense, Armed Forces and Ministry of Health to deal with any emergency situations.

The cities and complexes will be managed by either the investors themselves or by ZonesCorp. with its international consultants.

President, His Highness Shaikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan initiated the project with the help of General Shaikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, crown prince of Abu Dhabi and deputy supreme commander of the UAE Armed Forces.

The launching of the project came on the heels of a massive crackdown on villas that offer shelter to more than one family.

To be able cut on high cost of lodging in the oil-rich state, families of expatriate workers, including Filipinos, often resort to living with other families in one house. - MARK JOSEPH UBALDE, GMANews.TV <http://www.gmanews.tv/story/99111/UAE-to-provide-OFWs-other-workers-with-decent-housing>

China appears to be reining in anger over the number of schools that collapsed in last month's earthquake.

Officials initially promised a full investigation into the issue, but now seem to be discouraging parents from venting their frustration.

Parents are thought to have been prevented from filing a lawsuit against the principal of one collapsed school where hundreds died.

Thousands of schoolchildren died because their classrooms collapsed around them when the earthquake struck last month.

In some districts, schools were the only buildings to fall down in the quake, which killed more than 69,000 people.

Officials pledged to allow a proper investigation, but now appear to be backtracking.

One example of this came on Tuesday when scores of parents went to Dujiangyan People's Court.

They went to file a lawsuit, reportedly against the headmaster of the city's Juyuan Middle School, which collapsed killing hundreds of pupils.

Eyewitnesses say they were prevented from handing over their document and were dragged away by police officers.

Nograles: We will pass CARP extension bill before June 13

(Update) MANILA, Philippines - Speaker Prospero Nograles Jr on Wednesday evening assured that the proposed measure seeking to extend the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) for five years will be passed before Congress adjourns sine die next week.

Nograles made the statement after some 140 farmers disgruntled over the Lower House's failure to pass the CARP extension bill stormed his office and threatened to hold a vigil there under they heard from him.

“I am committed to pass the CARP extension law and the House will pass it before we adjourn on June 13," he said in a text message to the media.

A GMA News report late Wednesday said that farmers were preparing to leave the Batasan complex after getting Nograles’ assurance.

The farmers went to Nograles’ office after the day’s session ended without passing the CARP extension bill, or House Bill 4077.

Nograles described the farmers’ action as “premature."

“We have to listen to all sides and not just to one group. The action of these farmers is premature," he said.

Nograles Jr. arrived at the Batasan Complex in Quezon City shortly before 11 p.m. and spoke to farmers who stormed his office earlier Wednesday night.

Radio dzBB's Roland Bola reported that Nograles tried to explain to the farmers why the day's session ended without passing a bill extending the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program.

Nograles, who the report said was sweating during his talk with the farmers, said he had to make sure there were enough votes from his colleagues to pass the bill on third reading.

But Jaime Tadeo, one of the farmers' leaders, said they might already be out of time as the CARP is due to end this Tuesday, June 10.

The discussion was held at the lobby of the Lower House, even as nuns barred from entering the Batasan Complex continued to pray outside.

Security remained tight at the Batasan complex. - GMANews.TV <http://www.gmanews.tv/story/99239/Nograles-We-will-pass-CARP-extension-bill-before-June-13>

High tuition has forced many to abandon college dreams

MANILA, Philippines - Thousands of college hopefuls might be forced to drop out of school this year, a Filipino youth group said, citing recent enrollment trends.

In a statement, Kabataang Pinoy said that the rising cost of education has forced more and more privately-schooled students to transfer to public institutions or stop studying altogether.

Records from the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) show that in 1980, only 10 percent of college students were studying in state schools. By 1994, the number went up to 21 percent and currently accounts for almost 40 percent of tertiary population.

“But many of these transferees will find themselves dropping out of college. The problem is, there are no more rooms in state schools either," Kabataang Pinoy President Dion Carlo Cerrafon said in a statement.

“State universities and colleges are confronted by similar problems. Poor education spending and annual budget cutbacks force state schools to impose enrolment quotas and increase fees, forcing many state scholars to leave," he added.

As a result, Cerrafon said that access to public higher education institutions, which are the last resort for students who want to obtain a college degree, has become impossible for many young people intending to secure a diploma.

“While it is true that state universities and colleges offer tuition lower than private schools, tuition rate and miscellaneous fees in state schools and universities have seen the biggest increases in recent years, thus making it also inaccessible to ordinary students," he explained.

Last year, the University of the Philippines (UP)—considered as the country’s premier state university—increased its tuition by 300 percent, from P300 to P1,000 per unit.

Another state institution, Eulogio Amang Rodriguez Institute of Science and Technology (EARIST) in Manila implemented a 600 percent tuition hike, resulting in a 50 percent drop in enrollment last school year. From last year's P15 per unit, EARIST now charges P100 per unit. Laboratory fees also increased from P25 to P500.

For its part, the Philippine Normal University (PNU) had already increased its tuition by 400 percent in 2003.

The country’s biggest state school in terms of population, the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP), was also poised to hike its tuition by 525 percent last year but was forced to shelve its plan due to massive student protests. It would have increased tuition from P12.50 to P75 per unit.

Cerrafon said state schools are also forced to accept only a limited number of students due to budget cuts. <http://www.gmanews.tv/story/99862/High-tuition-has-forced-many-to-abandon-college-dreams>

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia - Students at a rural elementary school in Cambodia enjoyed their last free breakfasts in class after the United Nations World Food Program stopped supplying rice and other food because of soaring global prices.

Besides directly providing nutrition for children, the WFP breakfasts have provided an incentive for parents to send their children to school rather than sending them to work in the fields or stay home to look after younger siblings.

WFP said Wednesday that the program will be resumed later, probably around October, as the agency provides $1.2 billion (€763 million) in new assistance to help tens of millions of people in 62 nations hardest hit by the food crisis.

Meanwhile, though, Cambodia educators must convince parents to keep their children in the classroom.

The principal of Choumpou Proek school, about 43 miles (70 kilometers) west of the capital Phnom Penh, said he has been meeting with village leaders and families to encourage children to keep going to school, even without the benefit of extra nourishment.

The free breakfast program in Cambodia began in 2000 and has recently been benefiting about 450,000 rural students. The World Food Program feeds almost 89 million people worldwide, including 58.8 million children.

Choumpou Proek principal Nheng Vorn—who did not know the program is supposed to be restarted—said his 612 students enjoyed a final free breakfast of steamed yellow split peas with salt—but no rice.

The school’s rice supply ran out May 27, so staff cooked the last 64 pounds (29 kilograms) of peas for the students, Nheng Vorn said by telephone from the school in a village in Kampong Speu province. The WFP also provided soybeans and cooking oil.

Even though the school is in a rice-growing area, the farms cannot produce enough of the staple to feed the entire community. WFP selected schools in poorest communities for the breakfast program. <http://www.gmanews.tv/story/99867/High-prices-force-UN-to-stop-feeding-Cambodian-students>

Oil prices have jumped amid increasing production worries

The price of oil has made a record jump to nearly $139 a barrel, amid reports it could reach $150 by July because of rising demand and political tension.

Crude in New York gained more than $10 - its biggest-ever one-day rise.

The spike in oil prices coincided with a dollar slump, plummeting share prices on Wall Street and US unemployment suffering its biggest rise in 20 years.

It also comes as energy officials from the world's biggest consuming nations meet in Japan to discuss fuel prices.

Officials and ministers from the Group of Eight key industrialised nations (G8), as well as China, India and South Korea, are meeting for two days in the northern city of Aomori, to plot a strategy to deal with volatility in oil, gas and coal markets.

On Friday light crude set a high of $139.12 in after-hours trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange after hitting $138.54 at the regular session.

Crude oil hit a record high of $135 a barrel last month.

If Iran continues its nuclear weapons program, we will attack it

Shaul Mofaz
Israeli transport minister

Israeli minister threatens Iran

Analysis: Growing talk of attack

The BBC's North America Editor, Justin Webb, says the gloomy figures are a reminder to all Americans that the nation faces serious economic problems and perhaps even a recession. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7440536.stm>

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