US FOOD companies including General Mills Inc., Kraft Foods Inc. and ConAgra Foods Inc. want the US government to raise sugar-import quotas as inventories fell to a 34-year low and prices surged.

Dear PAO, Our company is giving a 13th month pay every May and December. Recently, we have a general assembly regarding the new 13th month pay guidelines. But it was not discussed clearly to us when it came to a pregnant woman who would take her maternity leave. Can you please enlighten me about the…

With more than 1,000 people becoming infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in Asia each day, the United Nations Joint Program on HIV-Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (UNAIDS) has urged governments to decriminalize consensual adult sexual behavior and drug use.

KATHMANDU (AFP) – When Anita Gimmi was unable to find work in her native Nepal last year, she borrowed 1,300 dollars and travelled to Qatar to take up a two-year contract with a cleaning company there.

MANILA, Philippines – Migrant Filipino workers are paying “oppressive and burdensome” fees to send money back home to their families in the Philippines, a labor leader said yesterday.

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Finance (DOF) has thumbed down the proposal to convert the Bataan Economic Zone (BEZ) into a special economic and freeport zone, saying the move is no longer necessary.

MANILA, Philippines – Local entrepreneurship is on the rise, with total sales for the government initiated One Town One Project (OTOP) Luzon Island Fair more than doubling to P29.5 million, from P14.3 million a year ago.

NEW DELHI — These are tough times for India’s flagship outsourcing industry whose skilled, low-cost workforce helped plant the country on the global business map.

British Council holds employability seminar   The British Council will hold an employability seminar on August 14, from 5 p.m to 8 p.m. at the British Council office. The seminar has invited speakers who will talk about how their study experiences and credentials from the UK have helped them in seeking jobs both in the…

MANILA, Philippines—Filipinos around the world pay between $6.93 and $19.05 to remit $200 to their families back home, the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) quoted a World Bank study of global money transfer charges as of the first quarter of 2009.

Secretary Augusto “Boboy” Syjuco, director general of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda), and Sonia Lipio, president of the Tesda Association of Concerned Employees (Tesda-ACE) sign the collective negotiation agreement (CNA) between the management and employees association. Witnessing the agreement signing are Tesda deputy director general Rogelio Peyuan and David Bungallon, chairman of…

MANILA, Philippines – Officials of the Global Environment Facility (GEF), a global partnership comprising 178 countries, international institutions, private sector groups and non-government organizations committed to address global environmental issues, lauded the Philippines for its high absorptive capacity in carrying out projects funded by the institution.

WASHINGTON (AP) – US employers sharply scaled back layoffs in July, and the unemployment rate dipped for the first time in 15 months, sending a strong signal that the worst recession since World War II is finally ending.

MANILA, Philippines – The Supreme Court (SC) has deferred the implementation of the Rule on Mandatory Legal Aid Service from July 1, 2009 to January 1, 2010.

MANILA, Philippines – Only seven percent of Filipinos believe that the judiciary is tainted by corruption, the 2009 Global Corruption Barometer reported.

Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Q. Pimentel, Jr. (PDP-Laban) is proposing the creation of a trust fund to subsidize the cost of palliative health care and end-of-life care services for indigent patients afflicted with life-threatening ailments.

President Arroyo has ordered Education Secretary Jesli Lapuz to make sure that all public schools (primary to tertiary) are connected to the Internet so that students will have a deeper grasp of the world around them and upgrade their knowledge and appreciation of global developments.

Investors to the country are expected to flood in now with the recent release of the guidelines for the awarding of the renewable energy (RE) contracts.

The House of Representatives has approved on third and final reading a bill making the provincial Environment and Natural Resources Officer (ENRO) a mandatory regular plantilla position.

More than 100 party-list groups have so far sought accreditation from the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to enable them to participate in the 2010 national elections, but the Comelec expects the number to rise to surpass the 153 party-list groups that ran in the 2007 midterm elections.

CEBU, Philippines – The management of the Visayan Electric Cooperative and officers of the VECO Employees Union signed a Memorandum of Agreement last night, which averted a planned strike by the union.

CEBU, Philippines – Forty-four workers of electronics factory Celestica at the Mactan Export Processing Zone I have filed illegal dismissal charges against the company before the National Labor Relations Commission.

MANILA, Philippines – The Commission on Elections has set up registration centers in schools, barangay halls and other public facilities to urge voters to register for next year’s elections.

PLARIDEL, Bulacan, Philippines — President Arroyo signed into law yesterday a measure extending the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) for another five years beginning July 2009 and allocating P1.5 billion for its implementation.

WASHINGTON – The Philippines will submit a report card to the Millennium Challenge Corp. later this month on steps it has taken to curb corruption to enable it to avail of up to $500 million in US aid.

Transparency and strong public-private partnership led the City of San Fernando to be the first city in the Philippines to achieve a Performance Governance System (PGS)-institutionalized status.

THE Department of Agriculture said local fresh bananas may be able to enter the US mainland if the Philippines puts mitigating measures against quarantine pests the USDA has identified.

STATE-RUN Social Security System (SSS) said it cut the interest rates of its social and business loans to encourage more businesses, schools and hospitals to avail of its credit facilities as well as spur economic activity.

Carper Law grants P150B in support for farmers President Gloria Arroyo signed into law on Friday a bill extending the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (Carp) for another five years beginning July 2009.

THE Public Attorney’s Office in Quezon City is groaning under the weight of a heavy case load, with 43 lawyers each handling an average of 300 cases.