MANILA – Following the debt rating lift from Japan’s R&I, the Philippines again received a credit rating upgrade, this time from the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).

MANILA, Philippines–The World Health Organization (WHO) is strongly promoting the use of antiretroviral (ARV) medicines as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) among men having sex with men, on top of the use of condoms.

Public satisfaction with President Benigno Aquino III fell 20 points in the second quarter of 2014 to a “moderate” +25 rating, its lowest since he assumed the presidency in 2010, a poll conducted by Social Weather Stations showed.

The coop economy, worth around US$2.5 trillion, plays its part in helping to eliminate child labour – a problem that, although in decline, still affects 168 million children worldwide. GENEVA (ILO News) – Around 60 per cent of all child labourers work in farming or a related industry, a sector where cooperatives hold a significant…

TACLOBAN CITY, Philippines–Running priest Fr. Robert Reyes has called on the government to speed up the transfer to permanent shelters of survivors of Super Typhoon Yolanda who are still in bunkhouses and tents here.

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines must pursue a new industrial policy to make its manufacturing sector competitive and take advantage of increased trade and investment opportunities offered by Asean market integration next year.

MANILA, Philippines – The improvement in government efficiency and the fight against corruption helped the Philippines improve its competitiveness by six notches, the latest report from think tan World Economic Forum said.

A follow-up investigation after the allegations by CLW found evidence of an illegal hiring process that took place on June 29 MANILA, Philippines – Following claims by a child labor watchdog that one of its suppliers was hiring underaged workers, Samsung said that it has decided to “temporarily suspend business with the company in question”…

An electrician who was reported missing in a fire that razed a plywood factory in Lanao del Norte province last Thursday was found dead on Saturday.

President Aquino will address the people today (Monday), via national television, starting at 6 p.m., according to Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma, from Malacañang. He is expected to explain the controversial Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) which has been declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.

THANK GMA: Talking of DAP as a stimulus for development, there are many analyses saying that the country’s remarkable growth is not so much the fruits of Aquino’s governance as a result of the adroit economic management by the previous Arroyo administration.

Filipino students have made the country proud again this year by bagging silver and bronze medals in this year’s International Mathematical Olympiad in South Africa.

MANILA, Philippines – Filipinos should be wary of people they meet through social media sites and Internet chatrooms, the Philippine embassy in Kuala Lumpur said yesterday.

MANILA, Philippines – How are climate-resilient communities created? Experts who gathered during the recently-concluded Partnerships for Disaster and Climate Resilience conference hosted by the Carlos Romulo Foundation for Peace and Development, Manila Observatory, and the Zuellig Family Foundation conceded that strong infrastructure, effective disaster response plans, and proper funding are factors that ensure the creation…

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine economy is showing signs of fatigue but is likely to recover in 2015, British bank HSBC said in its latest Asia Economic Quarterly Report. It noted that after eight quarters of above six percent growth, “the economy is showing signs of fatigue.”

THE World Health Organization (WHO) has lamented the continued absence of adequate services to people who have high chances of getting human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

MANILA – Amid widespread consumer complaints of slow “high-speed” Internet access as well as recurring blocked or dropped mobile phone voice calls, House Deputy Minority Leader and LPG-MA Rep. Arnel Ty is batting for an administrative fine of up to P50 million for telecommunications companies that fail to comply with directives to improve their services.

GOVERNMENT incentives under the planned automotive road map will be limited to vehicle assemblers engaged in export of completely built units (CBUs) to other Southeast Asian countries, a Cabinet official said.

OTTAWA/TOKYO: Pacific trade talks have reached broad agreement on labour issues and sanitary and phytosanitary standards but some difficult aspects remain to be tackled, Japan’s chief negotiator said on Saturday.

WHILE next year’s economic integration of the 10 member-states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) is expected to affect small and medium enterprises (SMEs), they, in turn, have also a significant impact on the coming regional transition to a single economic block.

A new study that addresses jobs expansion and development strategy was recently completed at the government think tank, the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS ).

MANILA, Philippines – Age and diploma matter, but are looks also essential in finding a job? Though no employer will admit it, good looks and confidence really do matter when one is applying for employment. A video of a social experiment that has gone viral indicated that searching for a job is like a beauty…

MANILA, Philippines – Congress is being asked offline and online to pass a law banning age discrimination in workplaces. Quezon City Councilor Lena Marie Juico has filed a resolution asking her colleagues in the city council to support a bill of Sen. Pia Cayetano seeking to penalize an employer, labor contractor or labor organization for…

MANILA, Philippines – Ten underage workers were rescued by National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) agents from their Chinese employers at the 168 mall in Binondo, Manila yesterday.

GENEVA/LONDON – Five key groups, including gay men, prostitutes and prisoners, have stubbornly high rates of HIV that are threatening progress in the global AIDS battle, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Friday.

TOKYO – Japan’s labor shortage is nearing crisis in some key industries as it spreads from construction to services, curbing companies’ operations, pushing up wages and potentially crimping a tentative recovery in the world’s third-largest economy. Airlines, retailers, truckers and restaurant chains are being forced to rethink expansion plans and, in extreme cases, shut up…

THE Supreme Court’s justices become richer in 2013 as shown by their Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net worth, which the 15-member bench had agreed to release last month following the petitions by several media outfits.

(Reuters Health) – With less sleep, normal aging-related structural changes in the brain progress slightly faster in middle-aged and older people, according to a new brain imaging study. Sleep troubles are more common with age, and shrinkage of certain brain structures is normal. But for the over-55 study participants, those changes could be seen accelerating…

Want to spot the unproductive employees? Listen to the excuses they make. They moan. They wail. They shuffle around the office looking for free candy. Unproductive employees have an excuse for everything. Here are a few of the phrases they use to explain away the problem. Listen for them, then correct the action to get…

MANILA, Philippines — The state of the media in Asia and the Pacific is grim, according to the Communication and Information Sector of UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization), which released a regional overview of its report, World Trends in Freedom of Expression and Media Development.