OFFICIAL development assistance (ODA) increased substantially between 2000 and 2014, according to the MDG (Millennium Development Goal) Gap Task Force Report 2015, though it added that ODA to least-developed countries (LDCs) dropped in the recent years.
THE NATIONAL Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) said it has no immediate plans to include illicit trade in the computation of gross domestic product (GDP), citing more pressing issues in improving the quality of the economic indicator.
On July 13, 2015, the Philippines signed a reciprocal Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) with the United States to implement the provisions of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). Signed into law in 2010 by US President Barack Obama as part of the US Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment (HIRE) Act, the FATCA aims to obtain information on US persons with offshore income and/or assets to increase compliance with US tax laws.
Philippine Daily Inquirer By: Jerry E. Esplanada, September 21st, 2015 05:54 AM Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO The Philippines has yet to respond to the plea of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to accept Syrian refugees escaping their war-torn country, according to Malacañang. Presidential Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma on Sunday said over the state-run Radyo ng Bayan the Philippines, which admitted thousands of Vietnamese refugees in the 1970s and ’80s, had yet to reply to the UN agency. “We just want to make sure that we can manage it properly, that we don’t take on more than we can handle,” Coloma said, quoting President Aquino. Coloma, also head of the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO), said the President had noted that a large number of Filipinos were still living in extreme poverty. “We would like to deploy our resources to better the lives of our people and do our fair share,” Mr. Aquino was quoted as saying. The PCOO chief said that before responding to the United Nation’s call, there is a need to look at the country’s situation and have our capabilities assessed by the United Nations and other organizations. “The President himself has said that we should ensure that we’re doing enough to help our countrymen in calamity-hit areas because they are the government’s priority,” Coloma said. Bernard Kerblat, the UNHCR representative to Manila, had urged President Aquino to respond to his agency’s call to admit Syrian refugees fleeing their devastated country Read More …
Have extra money? Richard Yap says, “Invest in something you can have for the rest of your life.”
The Kathmandu Post/Asia News Network September 20th, 2015 07:37 PM It came as a shock to many when two Nepali women—a 26 and 48-year-old—recently disclosed that they had been used as “sex-slaves” in Gurgaon, India. Even more appalling was that the accused was a high-profile Saudi diplomat based in New Delhi. The duo, lured into foreign employment by a village agent with the promise of jobs as housemaids, in Saudi Arabia, were allegedly kept in confinement for three months, often without food and water. They have further accused their employer of forcing them to have sex with multiple guests of the household. Ever since the shocking disclosure, the women’s stories have drawn widespread attention of the media in Nepal, India and abroad. Although the media, civil society and right groups have since been mounting pressure on the Indian government to ensure proper justice to the victims, it remains to be seen what will happen next, as the accused diplomat has already left India, protected as he is by the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. “But even as the two Nepali women fight an uphill battle for justice in another country, stakeholders here in Nepal, including the state, seem indifferent to their plight,” says Ganesh Gurung, a foreign employment expert. Not an isolated case Hundreds of Nepali women migrants endure similar or worse forms of suffering every year. In just the last three months, the Nepali embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, has rescued and repatriated 25 Nepali women who were suffering Read More …
(photo courtesy of Los Angeles Football Club Facebook page) LOS ANGELES, CA – Los Angeles’ newest Major League Soccer team officially announced its name as the Los Angeles Football Club, which will make its debut in the 2018 MLS season. The Club determined the official name after months of engagement with supporters, partners, stakeholders and founding season ticket members. “The name that we chose is true to Los Angeles, authentic to world football and speaks to our global ambitions,” said the Club’s Managing Partner and Owner, Henry Nguyen The Club also launched a social media campaign to give its supporters a voice in selecting the Club’s official colors. The LAFC Club Colors campaign is part of the Club’s ongoing effort to engage its supporters across social media and include them in a collaborative effort to build the new club together. This outreach will extend beyond social media into Town Hall meetings, where the Club’s leadership will have direct discussions with supporters and partners. “We promise to give our supporters an opportunity to have a significant voice as we build and co-create this Club together,” said Tom Penn, LAFC’s President and Owner. The campaign has already generated thousands of likes, shares, favorites and retweets across Instagram, Twitter and Facebook and ends on September 18. The Club will use this feedback in combination with an evaluation of the MLS landscape to finalize the decision. The Club expects to announce its official colors and crest in the coming months. Earlier this year, LAFC announced its intent to Read More …
Sarah Geronimo and Matteo Guidicelli (MNS photo) Matteo Guidicelli was a no-show at the 9th Star Magic Ball held at the Makati Shangri-La Hotel because he was in Cebu to mourn the loss of his grandfather. Guidicelli’s girlfriend, singer-actress Sarah Geronimo, was also in Cebu to comfort him. A photo of the couple was uploaded on Instagram by celebrity doctor Vicky Belo. In the caption, Belo wrote: “@justsarahg flew to #cebu to comfort @mateoguidicelli on the passing away of his beloved Lolo Nono. I know how much comfort this must have brought to Matteo because he’s super close to his lolo.” Other photos of the two circulated online, which were supposedly taken on Saturday morning during the funeral of Guidicelli’s grandfather. Wearing white, Guidicelli and Geronimo can be seen beside each other with the rest of the actor’s relatives. (MNS)
Aiza Seguerra and Liza Diño dress their new house with D.I.Y. stuff, “Lalabas ang gusto mo if you do it yourself.”
Lovi Poe talks about recent trip to Japan with boyfriend Rocco Nacino.