Recent Stories – Page 24

Asiana Airlines to continue PH flights

News

Jul 072013

By Miguel R. CamusPhilippine Daily Inquirer 2:57 am | Monday, July 8th, 2013 Fire crews respond to the scene where Asiana Flight 214 crashed at San Francisco International Airport on Saturday, July 6, 2013. Asiana Airlines may continue flying into the Philippines while the country’s air safety officials are waiting for the results of the investigation of the crash of one of the carrier’s planes in San Francisco, California, on Saturday. AP PHOTO/NOAH BERGER MANILA, Philippines—Asiana Airlines may continue flying into the Philippines while the country’s air safety officials are waiting for the results of the investigation of the crash of one of the carrier’s planes in San Francisco, California, on Saturday. The South Korean airline operates flights to Manila, Clark and Cebu. Deputy Director General John Andrews of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) said that if a problem with Asiana’s Boeing 777 was found to be the cause of the crash, it would have negative implications for the plane’s manufacturer and the airlines operating that type of aircraft. “Only two areas to be looked at: man and machine. It should not be difficult as the CVR (cockpit voice recorder) and FDR (flight data recorder) have been retrieved,” Andrews said. “If machine is the cause, there is possibility of worldwide grounding of Boeing 777,” he said. Philippine Airlines, which flies daily flights to San Francisco, said none of its flights would be diverted, as San Francisco International Airport has several runways. In a statement posted on its Read More …

Siege of Baler rekindles PH-Spain ties

News

Jul 072013

114TH ANNIVERSARY RITES By Michael Lim UbacPhilippine Daily Inquirer 12:25 am | Monday, July 8th, 2013 BALER, Aurora—Spanish film writer-director Jesús Valbuena, a descendant of one of the 33 Spanish soldiers who survived the 11-month siege by Filipino revolutionaries of Baler in 1899, is eternally indebted to the people of this town. The “adopted son” of Baler has kept coming back to Aurora every June 30, Philippine-Spanish Friendship Day, to keep alive the cultural and historical ties between the two countries. Aurora is the site of the Siege of Baler, the last and historically significant story of the Philippine war of independence against Spain. “I am alive, thanks to Balerianos,” a tearful Valbuena told residents during ceremonies marking the 11th year of the Philippine-Spanish Friendship Day, which also coincided with the 114th anniversary of the attack and the 500th year of Spanish presence in the Pacific. With his wife, Anabel Izquierdo Rubio, Valbuena flew in from Spain to attend this year’s commemoration. He said the siege took place at the “sunset” of the once powerful Spanish empire that ruled over the Philippine archipelago for 333 years. Generosity “My wife and I try to teach our three kids (Adrian, David and Raquel) … to have dignity in defeat and humbleness in victory, and we try to teach them that, one day, the last will be the first,” he said. He said that during the siege, the generosity of Filipinos became “the universal legacy that this town has given the world.” “So Read More …

PH elementary schools win 16 medals in Bulgaria math fest

News

Jul 072013

PH elementary schools win 16 medals in Bulgaria math fest

By Jerry E. EsplanadaPhilippine Daily Inquirer 5:21 pm | Sunday, July 7th, 2013 MANILA, Philippines — With a 16-medal haul, the Philippine elementary mathematics team topped the primary division in the just-ended 2013 Bulgaria International Math Competition (BIMC), held June 30 to July 4 in the Black Sea city of Burgas. The good news was relayed to the Philippine Daily Inquirer on Sunday by Dr. Simon Chua, president of the non-government Mathematics Trainers’ Guild of the Philippines (MTG) and head of the Philippine delegation to the 29-country contest. The young Filipino math wizards, mostly students from Metro Manila private schools, bagged three gold, four silver, four bronze and five merit medals in the annual competition. The teams from Vietnam and Thailand placed second and third overall. In an e-mail, Chua also said that the Philippine high school team bagged a total of 14 medals, but failed to land in the Top 3, where the teams from Japan, Hong Kong and China emerged as champions. The Filipino medalists in the elementary level were: (Gold) Jinger Chong from St. Jude Catholic School; Shaquille Wyan Que from Grace Christian College; and Vicente Raphael Chan from Zamboanga Chong Hua High School. (Silver) Stefan Marcus Ang from St. Jude Catholic School, Steven John Wang from UNO High School, Jose Ignacio Locsin from St. John Institute in Bacolod City, and Tiffany Mae Ong from Immaculate Conception Academy; (Bronze) Luke Matthew Bernardo from Philadelphia High School, Adam Christopher Chan from Grace Christian College, Ryan Mark Shao from Read More …

Aussie sent back after causing plane ruckus

News

Jul 062013

Aussie sent back after causing plane ruckus

By Jerome AningPhilippine Daily Inquirer 2:31 am | Sunday, July 7th, 2013 MANILA, Philippines—For his allegedly unruly behavior on board a Qantas Airlines flight to Manila, an Australian man was shipped back to Sydney on the same plane after it arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) on Thursday evening. Mamudu Kamara, 33, was detained by Australian Federal Police (AFP) air marshals who were on board Qantas flight QF-019 after he reportedly tried to enter the cockpit about two and a half hours into the eight-hour flight. An AFP agent detailed at the Australian Embassy in Manila notified the Naia-based Philippine National Police-Aviation Security Group (PNP-ASG) about the incident. On the plane’s arrival at Naia Terminal 1 at around 7 p.m., the handcuffed Kamara was escorted off the plane by the four air marshals who had arrested him. The Australian underwent documentation at the Naia immigration office and a medical checkup at the PNP-ASG clinic. He was sent back to Sydney on the Qantas flight’s return trip about an hour later. Chief Insp. Felindo Navarro of the ASG, who responded to the Australian embassy’s advisory, said Kamara became abusive to cabin crew members after finding out that the video screen in front of his seat wasn’t working. When the crew could not fix the monitor, Kamara became angry, rushed toward the cockpit and tried to open the door, apparently to personally complain to the captain. Kamara was restrained by the air marshals with help from the crew. The captain Read More …

PH sets conditions for continued Golan Heights deployment

News

Jul 062013

PH sets conditions for continued Golan Heights deployment

By Tarra QuismundoPhilippine Daily Inquirer 3:47 pm | Saturday, July 6th, 2013 Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario. AP FILE PHOTO MANILA, Philippines—President Benigno Aquino is willing to extend the deployment of Filipino peacekeepers in the conflict-stricken Golan Heights if the United Nations agrees to certain conditions regarding the safety of the Filipino soldiers, Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario said Saturday. Del Rosario said the President was open to maintaining the country’s troops in the volatile ceasefire zone between Syria and Israel beyond the scheduled troop rotation on August 11 if safety and security conditions improve. At least 340 Filipino peacekeepers are detailed to the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) at the ceasefire zone, which has been wracked by a spillover of violence between Syrian government and rebel forces. “We are submitting our conditionalities [to the United Nations] for enhancing safety and security of Philippine peacekeepers in UNDOF,” Del Rosario told the Inquirer. “If these are approved, and the risk exposure does not exceed tolerable limits, the President has agreed for our people to remain beyond August 11 with a reassessment thereafter to be made every six months.” Del Rosario earlier proposed to Aquino the withdrawal of the Philippine contingent, currently UNDOF’s biggest, following two separate abductions of Filipino “Blue Helmets”—21 in March and four in May— and the wounding of one during heavy fighting among Syrians in June. The Philippines sent an assessment team to the Golan last month to determine if safety and security conditions in the area Read More …

Unruly passenger on Qantas flight sent back to Australia

News

Jul 062013

Unruly passenger on Qantas flight sent back to Australia

By Jerome AningPhilippine Daily Inquirer 3:41 pm | Saturday, July 6th, 2013 MANILA, Philippines—Because of his alleged unruly behavior on a Qantas Airlines flight to Manila, an Australian man was sent back to Sydney immediately after arriving at Ninoy Aquino International Airport on Thursday evening, the police said Saturday. Mamudu Kamara, 33, was detained by air marshals of the Australian Federal Police aboard flight QF-019 after he allegedly tried to force his way into the cockpit two-and-a-half hours into the eight-hour flight from Sydney. An AFP agent detailed at the Australian Embassy in Manila notified the NAIA-based Philippine National Police’s Aviation Security Group about the incident. Upon the plane’s arrival at NAIA Terminal 1 at 7 p.m., the handcuffed Kamara was escorted by the four air marshals who had arrested him to the NAIA immigration office for document and then to the PNP-ASG clinic for a medical checkup. He was sent back to Sydney on the Qantas flight’s return trip about an hour later. Chief Inspector Felindo Navarro of the ASG, who responded to the embassy’s advisory, said Kamara became abusive to cabin crew members after finding out that his mini-television screen was not working. When the crew would not fix the monitor, Kamara became angry and then rushed toward to cockpit and tried to open the cockpit door, apparently to personally complain to the pilot. Kamara was then restrained by the air marshals with assistance from the crew. The pilot made the decision to continue the flight to Manila. Read More …

US warns against travel to Mindanao

News

Jul 062013

Agence France-Presse 2:24 pm | Saturday, July 6th, 2013 MANILA, Philippines—The United States has warned Americans against travel to Mindanao just days after Australia and Canada issued similar advice. A “security message” from the US embassy in Manila earlier this week said diplomatic staff had been restricted from travelling to three cities on the southern island of Mindanao. It was followed by a US State Department travel warning dated July 5 advising Americans to exercise extreme caution when travelling to Mindanao, citing “criminal gangs… (and) terrorist groups” in the area. It also called on Americans to defer non-essential travel to the Sulu archipelago, a chain of islands off Mindanao where Al-Qaeda-linked extremists are active. “It (the travel warning) reflects continuing threats in the Sulu archipelago and the island of Mindanao due to terrorist and insurgent activities,” the US embassy said in a statement. Australia and Canada issued warnings on Wednesday about fresh threats of terrorism and kidnapping in the southern Philippines. Canberra has barred its diplomats from travelling to Davao, Cotabato and Zamboanga — the same three Mindanao cities that US embassy staff are not allowed to travel to. An embassy spokeswoman declined to comment on the nature of the threat against Americans. The Philippine National Police also did not know of any specific threat against Americans in Mindanao, said spokesman Senior Superintendent Reuben Sindac. Mindanao and surrounding islands are a hotbed of various armed groups including communist guerrillas, bandits, Muslim insurgents and the Abu Sayyaf, an Islamic extremist group Read More …

Stay indoors, Filipinos in Egypt urged

News

Jul 042013

INQUIRER.net 6:13 pm | Thursday, July 4th, 2013 DFA spokesperson Raul Hernandez INQUIRER.net FILE PHOTO MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has raised crisis alert level 1 in Egypt amid ongoing political and civil unrest in the country. “Our priority is the safety of the nearly 6,000 Filipinos in Egypt. Upon the recommendation of our embassy in Cairo, the Secretary of Foreign Affairs has raised crisis alert level 1 over Egypt,” DFA spokesman Assistant Secretary Raul Hernandez announced in a televised press conference Thursday. “Under this alert level, Filipinos are advised to stay indoors, avoid places where protests are being held and take all necessary precautions,” he said. The Egyptian military ousted president Mohammed Morsi after four days of mass demonstrations by millions of anti-Morsi protesters. “[Our] embassy has intensified its monitoring of the political and security situation in that country and has assigned duty officers to man the embassy and its communication lines 24/7,” Hernandez said. “Our citizens should likewise be on standby for any advisories that the embassy might issue regarding developments on the peace and order situation in the country,” he said. Follow Us Recent Stories: Complete stories on our Digital Edition newsstand for tablets, netbooks and mobile phones; 14-issue free trial. About to step out? Get breaking alerts on your mobile.phone. Text ON INQ BREAKING to 4467, for Globe, Smart and Sun subscribers in the Philippines. Tags: Egypt , Features , Global Nation , Middle East unrest Factual errors? Contact the Philippine Daily Read More …

Del Rosario invites Chinese foreign minister to Manila

News

Jul 042013

Del Rosario invites Chinese foreign minister to Manila

By Tarra QuismundoPhilippine Daily Inquirer 4:03 pm | Thursday, July 4th, 2013 Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario. AP FILE PHOTO MANILA, Philippines—Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario has invited Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi to visit Manila for “consultations” as the Philippines wished to defuse tensions over the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea). In a brief interview Thursday, Del Rosario told reporters that Wang said “he will consider” the invitation. The two top diplomats had a “testy exchange” over the dispute at the close of the recent Association of Southeast Asian Nations ministers’ meeting in Brunei, where the regional maritime question became a centerpiece issue. “What might be of interest is I invited the (Chinese) foreign minister to come and visit Manila so that we can have a full and constructive discussion on all issues,” Del Rosario said. “I indicated to him that perhaps it’s time for him to do this because I have been to Beijing three times since I became foreign minister and all throughout that time, we have had no visits from the Chinese foreign minister,” he added. Del Rosario did not deny what happened behind closed doors during Sunday’s tense meeting in Bandar Seri Begawan, where he reportedly rebuffed Wang’s speech in which the Chinese official enumerated complaints against the Philippines over the West Philippine Sea. “I don’t think I should be discussing that but I did not deny what has been reported. As I said, there’s probably no need to add to it,” Del Rosario Read More …

De Lima tells families of drug mules: Cooperate with authorities

News

Jul 042013

De Lima tells families of drug mules: Cooperate with authorities

By Tetch Torres-TupasINQUIRER.net 3:04 pm | Thursday, July 4th, 2013 MANILA, Philippines—Justice Secretary Leila De Lima ordered the National Bureau of Investigation to hunt down the alleged recruiter of the executed drug mule. “I am directing the NBI (National Bureau of Investigation) to investigate and hunt down the alleged recruiter with the end view of filing charges against him or her and other members of the syndicate, if any,” De Lima told reporters in a chance interview Thursday. Filipino children light candles outside the house of Sally Villanueva, one of three Filipinos executed in China after being convicted of drug trafficking, last March 2011. AFP File Photo The Filipina drug mule was executed Wednesday after the Supreme Court People’s Court of China upheld the death sentence handed down by a lower court on June 26. The 35-year old Filipina and a mother of two from Metro Manila was the fifth Filipino national to be executed for drug trafficking in China. She was arrested last January 2011 after attempting to smuggle around six kilograms of heroin in Hangzhou International Airport. De Lima also urged the family of the Filipina drug mule to coordinate with the NBI. “They probably have more information that could help the NBI in its investigation,” De Lima said. De Lima said Filipinos are among those targeted for the transport of these illegal substances because there are some 10 million Filipinos working overseas. Follow Us Recent Stories: Complete stories on our Digital Edition newsstand for tablets, netbooks and Read More …

Older Entries Newer Entries