THE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has pushed back the implementation of two international standards aimed at strengthening the risk management of commercial and universal lenders.

TOKYO: Worries mounted Friday that Japan’s economic recovery is running out of steam as data showed the jobless rate rising and deflation continuing to hobble the World’s No. 2 economy.

THE capital of the country’s banks improved nine months after the Lehman Brothers collapse, according to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).

LA TRINIDAD, Benguet: In an effort to strengthen the coffee industry in the Cordillera Region considering natives here are coffee lovers, some concern sectors are pushing for its development and the need for its sustainability. Brewed coffee as they say is good source of anti-oxidants, it also warm human bodies especially now that December breeze…

ADMINISTRATION party’s standard-bearer, Gilbert “Gibo” Teodoro, has said that overhauling the health-care system of the country could help stop the migration of medical professionals to other countries.

Saying that there seems to be an influx of party-list groups gearing to win a seat in the House of Representatives, a high-ranking official of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) said that the poll body might only approve one-third of the total number of party-list petitioners. Comelec Commissioner Nicodemo Ferrer said that there might only…

CEBU, Philippines – Lack of safety measures has been blamed on the firecracker blaze that killed at least three people – including two children – and injured six others in Mandaue City on Christmas Eve.  

GENERAL SANTOS CITY , Philippines  – The local tuna industry, in limbo over the last couple of months, is in for harder times following a ban imposed by the Western and Central Pacific Commission (WCPC) on all fishing operations in the high seas, or beyond the 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone (EZZ), beginning January next…

MANILA, Philippines – The acquisition of more than P2 million worth of access cards for cheap rice for the poor during the food crisis last year was unnecessary and the funds could have just been used to directly purchase the staple, a Commission on Audit (COA) report stated.

MANILA, Philippines – Only a third of the 306 party-list groups that filed for candidacy in the 2010 elections can actually run, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) said.

MANILA, Philippines – Filipino nationals transiting through New Zealand en route to other destinations are now exempted from securing transit visas, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said.

MANILA, Philippines – The Senate has approved on second reading the Magna Carta for Disabled Persons that would mandate local governments to have specific programs for people with disabilities.

For a freshly graduated mining engineer, circa 1969, the Jeffrey asbestos mine in Asbestos, Que., offered Bernard Coulombe one of those exceptional – and irresistible – career opportunities.

Congress has a special gift for “senior citizens” this Christmas —exemption from the 12-percent value-added tax on their purchase of goods and services.

DUMAGUETE CITY, Philippines — The number of complaints filed by workers here regarding pay and other forms of compensation in 2009 more than doubled compared to last year, an official of the Department of Labor and Employment’s (DOLE) local office said.

But controversial sponsor system stays KUWAIT CITY, Kuwait—The Kuwaiti parliament passed a new labor law on Wednesday that grants better rights and conditions for the 2.3 million foreign workers but does not scrap the controversial sponsor system.

HSBC: Investors scouting for low-carbon ventures MANILA, Philippines—Asia-Pacific nations reported better results than the United States when it came to providing goods, products and services that helped in easing the impact of climate change, according to a financial metric pioneered by British banking giant HSBC.

DAVAO CITY – Communist guerrillas allegedly killed more civilians than soldiers in Southern Mindanao, which is composed of the Davao provinces and Compostela Valley, in 2009, the military said in a report released Friday.

Many countries are now opting for nuclear power to reduce dependence on fossil fuels and address global warming. Will the Philippines follow suit?

MANILA, Philippines – The number of Filipino skilled workers hired in Dubai and other cities in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) slightly dropped this year due to the prevailing financial crisis.

Three people were killed in a fire that gutted 15 stores selling pyrotechnics at the Oval Plaza here shortly before dawn yesterday as Christendom was celebrating Christmas.

WASHINGTON – HOUSEHOLDS pushed their savings rate to the highest level in more than 15 years in May as a big boost in incomes from the government’s stimulus programme was devoted more to bolstering nest eggs than increased spending.

WASHINGTON, D.C.: President Barack Obama said that disenchantment over the Copenhagen climate talks was “justified” but defended the chaotic outcome as the top UN envoy urged an end to post-summit recriminations. The climate change conference held in the Danish capital ended last week with a nonbinding agreement that the European Union has blasted as a…

A collision that sank the wooden-hulled Catalyn B at the mouth of Manila Bay on Thursday, leaving at least four dead and dozens missing, was the latest in a long list of shipping accidents across the Philippines. Millions of Filipinos, many of them too poor to afford air travel, use the seas and waterways to…

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Agriculture fears the loss of up to P40 billion worth of palay or paddy rice and up to P16.4 billion worth of corn next year due to the El Niño phenomenon.

The summit failed to deliver a way to halt dangerous climate change About 45,000 travelled to the UN climate summit in Copenhagen – the vast majority convinced of the need for a new global agreement on climate change.

Public satisfaction with Vice President Noli de Castro’s performance went down, but his rating is still the highest among the top government officials, a recent survey showed. Results of the survey conducted by the Social Weather Stations (SWS) showed that 58 percent satisfied and 26 percent dissatisfied with the performance of de Castro.

THE 30th anniversary of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)—which follows this month—provides a great opportunity to reflect about the world’s situation of women’s rights. In spite of progress in the promotion of gender equality, discriminations on the basis of gender are still pervasive in all societies.…

PROMETHEUS BOUND The climate negotiation in the Fifteenth Conference of Parties (COP 15) in Copenhagen has come to a sour end. The world’s high expectation for a meaningful and binding agreement is doused with icy cold water by a nonbinding deal dubbed as “Copenhagen Accord”—a deal primarily brokered by the most powerful and leading polluter…

MANILA, Philippines – The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) is preparing a new Medium-Term Philippine Development Plan, the government’s economic blueprint, with measures on climate change adaptation high in the agenda.