Deal allows US troops to be stationed for first time in 20 years Two former senators, lawyers and activists sue top officials Two former senators, lawyers and activists asked the Philippine supreme court on Monday to rule on the constitutionality of an agreement with the United States that gives the US military greater access to bases across the country. They also urged the court to halt the pact's...
Spider water beetle found in the pristine streams of Mindoro island in the Philippines is a natural pollution indicator Riffle beetles are found on all continents except Antarctica, and are well known to freshwater ecologists and anglers. In general, members of the riffle beetle family, Elmidae , live in fast-flowing, well-oxygenated streams, clinging to rocks, logs, or other submerged debris. They...
Sachet packaging gives low-income communities access to high-quality products but what about the waste? In 2004 the late University of Michigan management guru CK Prahalad extolled the value of sachet packaging in his bestselling book, The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid: Eradicating Poverty through Profits. Sachet packaging of small amounts of products such as shampoo, toothpaste and conditioner...
Changing 'aidscape' demands humanitarian goals with clear targets as part of post-2015 development plan There will be intensive brainstorming about the future of humanitarian action in the next two years. In March 2015, the third world conference on disaster risk reduction will take place in Japan. The UN development summit in September 2015 will establish the successors to the millennium development...
United Spirits forced to sell Scotch whisky brand by Office of Fair Trading after Diageo buys controlling stake in Indian company The Scotch whisky distiller Whyte & Mackay has been sold to the Philippines-based maker of Emperador brandy for £430m. Bought seven years ago by India's United Spirits, the Glasgow-based distiller had to be sold for competition reasons after Diageo acquired a controlling...
Our blogger of the week, Kjerrimyr Rodrigo Andrés from Distinguished and Ever Loyal , talks us through what he would do to improve the public transport and the provision of green spaces in the capital of the Philippines Continue reading... ...
Marites Gatan Balbas has won a 2014 Whitley award for her work involving local communities in the conservation of the Philippine crocodile, the world's rarest crocodile. The animal suffers from an image problem, viewed as devils and man-eaters, and Gatan Balbas has taken a community-based conservation approach to turn the crocodile into something local people are proud of Continue reading... ...
Marites Gatan Balbas has won a Whitley award for her work involving local communities in the protection of the 'misunderstood' Philippine crocodile For Marites Gatan Balbas, saving the world's rarest crocodile has been as much about overcoming its image problem as more traditional conservation efforts. Continue reading... ...
Chinese ships have been firing water cannons at Vietnam vessels trying to stop Beijing from putting an oil rig 240km off Vietnam coast China has accused Vietnam of ramming its ships in a disputed part of the South China Sea amid concerns that a tense maritime standoff between the two countries could boil over into armed conflict. Chinese ships have been ramming into and firing water cannons at Vietnamese...
Suitable shelter remains scarce six months after storm, and no-build zones may force fishing families to leave seafront When typhoon Haiyan ripped up Jaime Boctot's home and killed 14 members of his family, he would not be moved. The 60-year-old fisherman simply rebuilt the house in the same location, metres from the sea. But six months after the strongest storm ever to make landfall turned the Philippine...
Boats damaged and crew members injured during altercation with Chinese vessels in dispute over new oil rig Chinese ships have been ramming into and firing water cannons at Vietnamese vessels trying to stop Beijing from putting an oil rig in the South China Sea, according to officials and video footage on Wednesday, in a dangerous escalation of tensions over waters considered a global flashpoint. Several...
Armed men intercepted fishing boat in disputed waters near the Philippines, claims official news agency China says it has lost contact with 11 fishermen allegedly taken away by armed men in the disputed South China Sea. The official Xinhua news agency said the men were on the vessel Qiongqionghai 09063 when it was intercepted on Tuesday by armed men who fired warning shots in the air near Half Moon...
Our blogger of the week, Kjerrimyr Rodrigo Andrés from Distinguished and Ever Loyal , talks us through his chaotic and noisy home city, from beautiful churches and ingenious jeepneys to environmental problems and development I am Kjerrimyr Rodrigo Andrés, a political science student from Ateneo de Manila University. I am passionate about politics, cities and history and I'm a big fan of music,...
Victims duped into exposing themselves on webcams, including a Scottish teenager who killed himself after being blackmailed Philippines police, backed by Interpol, have arrested dozens of suspected members of an online extortion syndicate who duped hundreds of victims into exposing themselves in front of webcams, including a Scottish teenager who killed himself after being blackmailed, officials have...
John Vidal travels to Manila, one of the top three most polluted cities in the world to see (and smell) the scale of the problem. Plus, Sam Jones reports on Mexico City's programme to improve air quality Listen to the podcast HM: Hugh Muir SB: Simon Birkett Continue reading... ...
In 2012, typhoon Bopha redefined how big a typhoon could get; a year later, Haiyan blew that redefinition out of the water. We need to channel funding into preparation and resilience More in our defining moments in climate change series In November 2013, typhoon Haiyan delivered destruction to the Philippines and a stark message that the world is underprepared for the violence of climate change. Dozens...
Barack Obama increases US pressure on Russia over Ukraine by announcing new sanctions on Monday. Speaking to reporters during a trip to the Philippines, his final stop on a four-country Asian tour, the US president says sanctions would expand to high-tech defence exports to Russia Continue reading... ...
Defense accord would let US military return to south-east Asian nation amid increasing tensions with China over territory The United States and the Philippines have reached a 10-year pact that would allow a larger US military presence in this south-east Asian nation as it grapples with increasingly tense territorial disputes with China, White House officials said on Sunday. Two Philippine officials...
Death on Everest, a ferry disaster in South Korea, Anzac Day in Australia and growing tension in Ukraine the best photography in news, culture and sport from around the world this week Continue reading... ...
Tony Gilchrist's family claim he was let down by a member of the community he had done so much for A British man who opened a dive shop in the Philippines after falling in love with the country and moving there two years ago has been shot dead by an employee on the island where he lived. The family of Tony Gilchrist, 35, said he cared deeply about the Philippines and its people and had thrown himself...