RUSSIA is set to sign an agreement on Thursday with the Philippines to firm up its earlier commitment to buy $2.5 billion worth of agricultural products over the next 12 months.
May 232017
Jan 272017
THE government will be banking on trade and tourism to drive economic growth in 2017 as ties with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), including China and Russia are expected to be strengthened, especially with the Philippines’ 2017 chairmanship of the ASEAN.
Jan 272017
THE government aims to strengthen relations with Russia by sending trade missions to the eastern port city of Vladivostok, the country’s outlet to the Pacific.
Jan 132017
By Nimfa U. Rueda LOS ANGELES — US Secretary of State nominee Rex Tillerson endured tough questioning about human rights – including extrajudicial killings (EJKs) in the Philippines – during his confirmation hearing in Washington earlier this week. Sen. Marco Rubio grilled Tillerson, the outgoing ExxonMobil CEO nominated by Donald Trump to be the US Secretary of State, about his views on reported human rights violations in Russia, China, Saudi Arabia and the Philippines. Rubio asked Tillerson: “Since President Rodrigo Duterte took oath last June, The Los Angeles Times reports that roughly over 6,200 people have been killed in the Philippines by police and vigilantes in alleged drug raids. In your view, is it the right way to conduct an antidrug campaign?” In response, Tillerson said the United States and the Philippines had a longstanding friendship and that it was important to keep that in perspective when engaging with the Philippines. “They have been an ally. We have to ensure that they stay an ally,” he said. Rubio replied: “That’s correct Mr. Tillerson, but my question is about the 6,200 that have been killed in these alleged drug raids. Do you believe that it is an appropriate way to conduct that operation, or do you believe that it is something that’s conducive to human rights violations (and) that we should be concerned about?” Shortly after the hearing, Amnesty International USA criticized Tillerson for not calling out governments, including the Duterte administration, for human rights violations. “After a day of questioning, Read More …
Feb 042014
By Bong LozadaINQUIRER.net 4:55 pm | Tuesday, February 4th, 2014 FILE PHOTO MANILA, Philippines — Bottoms up! After ranking 15th in the world’s top porn-watchers according to an adult website, Filipinos are now involved in another kind of bottom, shot glass bottoms. Known for being one of the best partiers in the planet, Filipinos lived up to their reputation after a recent study of Euromonitor, a research company on market strategies, showed that the fun-loving race was third on the world’s heaviest drinkers. According to the study, Filipinos drink an average of 5.4 shots of any spirit—vodka, gin, tequila, rum, whiskey, brandy, lambanog, per week, behind South Korea, 13.7 shots, and Russia, 6.3 shots. The country’s liquor guzzlers, who drink in times of celebration and grief, outdrank fellow alcohol-lovers from Thailand, Japan, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Slovakia, Brazil and the United States of America in the top ten. RELATED STORY Filipinos rank 15th in global porn watching 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: Filipinos , Global Nation , heaviest drinkers , liquor consumption Factual errors? Contact the Philippine Daily Inquirer’s day desk. Believe this article violates journalistic ethics? Contact the Inquirer’s Reader’s Advocate. Or write The Readers’ Advocate:
Jan 072014
THE PHILIPPINE government hopes to meet with Russian officials next month regarding the expansion of the two countries’ air service agreement, a senior regulator said.
Dec 302013
No Filipino has so far been reported among the injured in two deadly blasts that hit the city of Volgograd in Russia, the Department of Foreign Affairs said Monday. DFA spokesman Raul Hernandez said on his Twitter account Monday evening this was the initial report of the Philippine embassy in Moscow. “Our Embassy in Moscow reports that there are no Filipinos among those killed and injured in the Volgograd (Russia) blasts,” Hernandez said in his 6:31 p.m. tweet. The first blast killed at least 17 people in the city’s main railway station on Sunday. Less than 24 hours later, a second explosion killed at least 14 people on a trolley bus. — BM, GMA News
Dec 302013
Mourners pray over the body of Somali journalist Mohamed Mohamud at his burial in the capital Mogadishu, Somalia. AP NEW YORK—At least 70 journalists were killed on the job around the world in 2013, including 29 who died covering the civil war in Syria and 10 slain in Iraq, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. The dead in Syria included a number of citizen journalists working to document combat in their home cities, broadcasters who worked with media outlets affiliated with either the government or the opposition, and a handful of correspondents for the foreign press, including an Al-Jazeera reporter, Mohamed al-Mesalma, who was shot by a sniper. Six journalists died in Egypt. Half of those reporters were killed while reporting an Aug. 14 crackdown by Egyptian security forces on demonstrators protesting the ouster of President Mohamed Morsi. “The Middle East has become a killing field for journalists. While the number of journalists killed for their work has declined in some places, the civil war in Syria and a renewal of sectarian attacks in Iraq have taken an agonizing toll,” the committee’s deputy director, Robert Mahoney, said in a statement. “The international community must prevail on all governments and armed groups to respect the civilian status of reporters and to prosecute the killers of journalists.” The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists has been tracking deaths among reporters and broadcasters since 1992. Most of the killings it has documented over the years involve people who are covering news in Read More …
Nov 142013
AIR service talks between the Philippines and Russia have been postponed following a request by the latter country to push the meeting back due to internal concerns.
Nov 102013
Malacañang on Sunday thanked Ariela Arida and Nonito Doniare for putting a smile on Filipinos’ faces, despite super Typhoon Yolanda that left hundreds dead in its wake. “I think any sort of positive news to us would be very welcome at this point, and we extend our congratulations to Ms. Arida and to the Filipino Flash for excelling in their particular fields—si Ms. Arida, syempre, doon sa Miss Universe pageant; si Nonito Donaire doon sa kanyang laban,” Deputy Spokesperson Abigail Valte said in a radio interview aired over state-run dzRB. Donaire scored a come-from-behind ninth round knockout win, Sunday at the American Bank Center in Corpus Christi, Texas; while Miss Philippines-Universe Ariella Arida was 3rd runner-up in the Miss Universe 2013 pageant held in Moscow, Russia, early Sunday Morning (Manila). “We appreciate the efforts to bring a little bit of a smile to the faces of countrymen who are going through so much in the aftermath of the typhoon,” Valte added. Valte also expressed optimism that the victims will overcome the tragedy and damage brought about by the super typhoon. “We have no doubt that our citizens will get up and rise again. There is no doubt to that. We have seen that in the past, that no matter how heavy the calamity, we have always managed to pick ourselves up and to get back to our normal lives—kung ano ho man ‘yung normal pa sa atin. At katulad nga po ng sinabi ng Pangulo bago ho tumama itong bagyong Read More …