Following is a primer on the health consequences of exposure to radiation: RADIATION RISK Three things, say experts, determine whether a blast of radiation will be harmless, debilitating or lethal: the intensity of exposure, its duration and access to treatment.

AN advocate for the revival of the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP) said on Monday that he was not abandoning his cause despite issuing a self-imposed moratorium on it, amid a nuclear power plant’s explosions in disaster-hit Japan and the opposition of some members of the House of Representatives.

The leading proponent of introducing nuclear energy to the country reversed his stand yesterday in the wake of a potential nuclear disaster in quake-hit Japan.

LEGISLATORS support the warning issued by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources against the officials of some 183 local government units (LGUs) who have failed to comply with the implementation of Republic Act (RA) 9003, or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act.

CEBU, Philippines – A number of policemen in the region were accused of economic abuse by their wives or live-in partners for their alleged failure to provide financial support.

MANILA, Philippines – Banks and other credit card issuers warned congressmen yesterday that a cap on interest rates could force them to close their credit card business.

MANILA, Philippines – Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago branded as unconstitutional and discriminatory a bill seeking to ban women from working for at least 11 consecutive hours during the night.

EXCLUSIVE: A major initiative currently sponsored by United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, the U.N. Global Compact, is being challenged by the world body’s own watchdog agency as financially opaque, unwilling to police its membership and only questionably effective at accomplishing its mission of winning private-sector adherence to the U.N.’s anti-corruption, anti-poverty and environmental goals.

Many of us watched anxiously as Fukushima Daiichi facility’s nuclear emergency unraveled over the weekend. The situation has added to the intense stress and heartbreak Japan has been experiencing since Friday’s 8.9-magnitude earthquake and the subsequent tsunami.

The nuclear energy option will continue to be considered by the government, officials said over the weekend, with lessons from a disaster in Japan to be incorporated into any policy decision. An explosion on Saturday at a unit of the quake-hit Fukushima nuclear power plant north of Tokyo has raised meltdown fears and highlighted the…

MANILA, Philippines – A Catholic priest, who is among the country’s top legal minds, has compared the Inquisition to the Ayala Alabang ordinance requiring people to secure prescriptions before they are allowed to buy condoms and other contraceptives in the village.

HIGH power costs continue to deter potential investments in semiconductor and electronics, according to industry executives.

THE government has released funds to enable qualified public school students to study in private educational institutions.

REPORTED meltdowns of the nuclear reactors of Japanese power plants in the wake of an 8.9-magnitude earthquake late last week prompted a lawmaker over the weekend to seek the conversion of the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP) into a natural gas-fired energy generator.

ATTENTION incoming college freshmen: If you want to be sure of landing a job after college, take a course on information technology (IT), hotel and restaurant management or accountancy. This was the advice of Jay-Jay Viray, managing director of an online recruitment portal company.

STATE-RUN Philippine National Railway (PNR) has secured multibillion-peso funding from the national government to revive its defunct line from Manila to Bicol.

Business groups yesterday demanded the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) to speed up the implementing guidelines for the open access scheme on electricity that will allow major power users to choose where to get their supply, saying that the start of the scheme is long overdue.

MANILA, Philippines – London-based Barclays Capital sees the peso strengthening only at 41.50 to $1 instead of 40 to $1 this year due to the continued increase in global oil prices.

MANILA, Philippines – US-based Citigroup has ruled out the possibility that inflation in the Philippines would hit double-digit levels — like what happened in 2008 — due to the steady rise in global oil prices.

The numerous views and comments I have mentioned in this column are mostly against the RH bill simply because I have yet to receive from its advocates and supporters a point by point refutation of the reasons why it should not be enacted into law. Any response from the RH bill advocates and supporters will…

MANILA, Philippines — An undisclosed number of undocumented Filipino migrant workers have opted to stay behind in rebellion-torn Libya, where job prospects are supposedly better than here in the Philippines.

CEBU, Philippines – The man held responsible for the death of a construction worker following the explosion of a steel drum at a condominium project in Barangay Sta. Cruz last Thursday was already released from police custody.

This year’s Women’s Month is very significant because it includes the Centennial of International Women’s Day. With all the activities lined up I would like to highlight one difficult task heroically done by the Legal Alternatives for Women Center Inc. (LAW Center Inc) which is engaging the Local Government Units in women empowerment. Difficult because…

DAVAO CITY (PIA) – Around 7,590 poor senior citizens across the region will soon benefit from a social pension program entitling them to a monthly stipend of P500 to augment their daily subsistence and medical needs.

MANILA, Philippines—Nearly one out of five Filipinos believes some provinces in northern Luzon and Mindanao are “unsafe” from crime, a survey conducted by the state-owned Philippine Information Agency has revealed.

Dear PAO, I am 19 years old and I am currently working as a service crew for a fast-food chain. My work schedule lasts for nine to 10 hours but my salary is so small.

MANILA, Philippines – The National Government (NG) registered total debt of P4.718 trillion at the end of last year, higher by P321.5 billion from the 2009 level of P4.396 trillion, latest data from the Bureau of the Treasury showed.

MANILA, Philippines – State-run Philippine National Railways (PNR) will have 50 more train cars in the coming months as part of a government donation agreement with the East Japan Railway Co. (JR-East).

MANILA, Philippines – If President Aquino does not want to suspend the 12-percent value added tax (VAT) on oil products, he should at least cut it by half while gasoline prices are high.

MANILA, Philippines – Akbayan Rep. Walden Bello has urged lawmakers to rethink the proposed revival of the mothballed Bataan nuclear power plant in the wake of the largest earthquake in Japan’s history.