WASHINGTON DC, United States—President Barack Obama will put his new doctrine of engaging friends and foes alike into action next week, at the inaugural US summit with Southeast Asian nations, including Myanmar.

MANILA, Philippines — The youth plays an important part in helping stop the proliferation of illegal drugs in the country, the Dangerous Drugs Board said on Tuesday.

Despite the string of typhoons that visited the country in the last two months, sales of new cars continue to rise by 1.3 percent to 106,146 units from January to October from 104,757 units in the same period last year.

The number of Filipino nurses that indicated their desire to seek employment in America by taking that country’s nursing licensure examination plunged by 21.38 percent in the nine months to September this year, the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) reported recently.

Why do gas prices in Cebu vary so much from other regions? That’s the question Cebu businessmen and the local government want oil companies to answer.

Oil firms have shown that they are willing to work with the government and have proposed different packages of relief for victims of recent calamities after protesting government’s freeze on fuel on oil prices, Justice Secretary Agnes Devanadera said yesterday.

Secretary Ronaldo Puno of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) announced yesterday the creation of the Coordinating Committee of Decentralization (CCD) tasked to address problems and issues concerning the implementation of the government’s decentralization program.

Five members of the Dutch Senate, who belong to various major parties, raised last week questions aimed at upholding the rule of law and the rights of exiled Filipino communist leader Jose Ma. Sison.

Supply of imported fuel products would only last for two weeks as oil firms continued to take a hit from Malacañang’s grip on fuel prices, Energy Sec. Angelo Reyes said Monday. During an industry meeting, Reyes cited projections made by the Department of Energy (DOE) that the supply of imported petroleum finished products, which constitute…

VICTIMS SAY NOYNOY’S SECURITY AIDE HAD SHOT THEM Workers of Hacienda Luisita are seeking the reopening of the House of Representatives’ investigation into the frustrated murder case of three farm hands of the sprawling Tarlac estate after the victims’ co-workers yesterday said they were willing to testify that it was a security aide of Sen.…

From a high of 60 percent, it is now down to half or 30 percent. While maintaining his lead over other presidential aspirants in the latest survey conducted by The Issues and Advocacy Center, Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino’s popularity is seen to be on the decline which the Center described as a “stationary dive.”

You’ve had a bad day. You’re feeling cranky and lonely. What to do? Aside from finding ways to fix your problem, try these comfort foods to make you happy. The secret is in choosing foods rich in omega-3 fats, folic acid, selenium, and vitamin B12. These nutrients can lift your mood, so let’s check them…

Final-G20 2009_communique_standrews download here

Cancer cases linked to mineral rise sharply MONTREAL — An aggressive cancer linked to asbestos is killing more Canadians than ever before, even decades after the end of a boom that saw buildings stuffed with the toxic substance.

Member of the House of Representatives of the Philippines representing Akbayan The migrant worker experience is one that is increasingly typical. Let’s start with myself. I am now back in the Philippines, but I spent nearly 20 years as a political exile in the United States during the Marcos dictatorship. During that time I survived…

MANILA, Philippines—Since around Israeli aircraft dropped some 100 bombs on the Gaza Strip in December last year, less than a hundred Filipinos have come home, mostly wives and children of Palestinian residents. No caregivers have come home from Israel.

MANILA, Philippines – Albay Gov. Joey Salceda warned yesterday that the government’s much-vaunted massive reconstruction effort could fail as the special public-private commission created for the purpose did not turn out as originally envisioned.

MANILA, Philippines – Supply of refined sugar has tightened and consumers have reported soaring sugar prices in recent days despite a government-imposed price cap.

If you see yourself as prosperous, you will be. If you see yourself as continually hard up, that is exactly what you will be. — Robert Collier Within each of us lies the power of our consent to health and sickness, to riches and poverty, to freedom and to slavery. It is we who control…

As Congress enters its last remaining weeks before the next round of elections, when it resumes sessions this week, a senator is pushing the enactment of a law effectively lifting senior citizens from value-added tax in goods and services.

The Philippines was ranked anew among the most dangerous places for journalists so far this year as the World Association of Newspapers (WAN) released data yesterday showing 54 journalists having been reported killed while in the line of duty with seven deaths in the Philippines.

Cruising has come a long way since the old days of Love Boat, shuffleboard and steerage-level accommodations. “It’s exciting, it’s sexy, it’s romantic,” says Pier Luigi Foschi, chairman and CEO of Costa Crociere SpA.

MANILA, Philippines – The Government Service Insurance System (GSIS), the state-owned pension fund for government employees, has started the implementation of its one-year moratorium program for members affected by typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng.

THE Board of Investments (BOI) admitted that the government’s Motor Vehicle Development Program (MVDP) has been a failure. On the sidelines of a workshop, Efren Leaño, executive director of the incentives-giving agency, told reporters that MVDP was “not successful.”

SINGAPORE: The Asia-Pacific region has become the largest victim of climate change as roughly 70 percent of the natural disasters, believed to be caused by global warming, struck this region, a regional forum report said Sunday. Climate change is believed to contribute to the increasing number of natural disasters, with developing nations experiencing the most…

When I was a kid I had this toy, a maze enclosed in hard transparent plastic, which you had to tilt up or down or sidewards so that a droplet of liquid could find its way through the broken lines and corners. I remember being fascinated with the beautiful silvery-white bead as it moved to…

WE hear it loud and clear, if not read it more than 1,953 times from annual reports and mission statements. I’m referring of course to the trite phrase “our people are the most important asset of the organization.”

Brussels, 9 November 2009 (ITUC OnLine): The world’s trade union movement has welcomed the decision by G20 Finance Ministers meeting in St Andrews, Scotland, to keep jobs high on the agenda for economic recovery and reform, and to “maintain government support for the recovery until it is assured”.  The meeting also decided that the ILO…

MANILA, Philippines – Petron Corp., the country’s largest oil refining and marketing company, yesterday urged the government to examine its books to put an end to speculation that it is overpricing.

MANILA, Philippines – The League of Municipalities of the Philippines (LMP) has pledged to support the zero-waste management campaign and transform garbage dumps into eco-parks to control climate change that results into natural calamities.