Featured News

New York doctor now free of Ebola discharged from hospital

(Reuters) – A New York doctor who has recovered from Ebola left the hospital on Tuesday and urged support for U.S. health workers treating patients in West Africa so they do not face “stigma and threats” when they return home. The discharge of Dr. Craig Spencer, who worked with Ebola patients in Guinea and had been held in isolation at Bellevue Hospital Center since he was diagnosed with the virus on Oct. 23, means no one […]

Informing the Public about the ASEAN organization

Many people still lack awareness about the ASEAN organization itself and its purposes.  In fact there has been a report that citizens of ASEAN member nations generally don’t know much about or are uninterested in the regional grouping even as the 2015 ASEAN integration nears.  A study released by the ASEAN secretariat also found that three out of four people “lack a basic understanding” of what ASEAN is and what it is striving to do. […]

Addressing administrative corruption in preparation for the ASEAN Integration

In this episode of ASEAN in Focus, Director Liza Agamata, Director IV of the Civil Service Commission’s Public Assistance and Information office, tackles the issue of combating administrative corruption in preparation for the ASEAN integration. How ready are the Philippine civil servants for the ASEAN integration given this perceived corruption in some of their ranks?  In this episode, Agamata talks about the role of the Civil Service Commission in addressing corruption in the government’s administrative […]

Diskusyon – “Yolanda” – one year after

It was on the fateful day of November 8, 2013 when the most powerful storm recorded in the history of the country ravaged the Philippines. This powerful storm brought with it equally powerful winds with speed reaching 335 kph, resulting in a storm surge, reaching seven meters or 23 feet. Super-typhoon “Yolanda” made landfall in the Visayas Region, in particular, Samar and Leyte with a population of 2.3 million. Included in the area of devastation […]

MTRCB, moving forward with the Philippine film and television industry

The Movie and Television Review and Classification Board or MTRCB is moving forward with its campaign to improve the Philippine film and television industry. The campaign also aims to mold the character of the Filipino viewer. Through its classification system, the MTRCB aims to help parents in choosing appropriate television programs and movies for their children. The Board also protects the interests of the broadcast industry, safeguarding their freedom of expression. Thus, without doubt that […]

ASEAN Launches Communication Master Plan

As ASEAN moves towards the realization of the ASEAN Community in 2015, its Foreign Ministers on Tuesday (Nov. 11) launched the ASEAN Communication Master Plan (ACMP) before high-level officials gathered in the Myanmar capital for the ASEAN Summit Wednesday, Nov. 12. The ACMP provides ASEAN stakeholders with a framework to communicate about the opportunities offered by the ASEAN Community within the region and globally. “With the theme of “ASEAN: A Community of Opportunities,” the ACMP […]

More foreign direct investments going into ASEAN

(Eagle News Service) — More foreign direct investments are continuing to rise in the ASEAN region, with inflows exceeding $122 billion in 2013. This was according to the latest ASEAN Investment Report (2013-2014) which was recently launched during the 4th ASEAN Investment Forum (AIF).  The ASEAN Investment Report 2013-2014 was jointly launched by the ASEAN and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).l It highlights the continuing rise of foreign direct investment (FDI) […]

Clinic that treated Joan Rivers cited for multiple failings

(Reuters) – The New York outpatient clinic where the late Joan Rivers suffered cardiac arrest did not follow all the standard protocols during the throat procedures it conducted on the comedian, according to a government agency report released on Monday. Rivers died on Sept. 4 at the age of 81 in a New York hospital a week after her heart stopped during the outpatient procedure at the Yorkville Endoscopy center on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. […]

Joseph Gordon-Levitt to play Edward Snowden in Oliver Stone film

(Reuters) – Actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt will play Edward Snowden in a movie directed by Oliver Stone about the former National Security Agency contractor who blew the whistle on the U.S government’s mass surveillance programs, the film’s backers said on Monday. Stone, who won best director Oscars for “Platoon” and “Born on the Fourth of July,” has written the screenplay based on two books – “The Snowden Files: The Inside Story of the World’s Most Wanted […]

Alibaba Singles’ Day sales break past $8 billion

(Reuters) – E-commerce giant Alibaba’s Singles’ Day sales broke through the $8 billion mark late on Tuesday, illustrating the buying power of the Chinese consumer and the importance of the event in the retail calendar. The live sales figure on Alibaba Group Holding Ltd’s (BABA.N) giant screen at its sprawling Hangzhou campus surged past 2013’s record high to the 50 billion yuan ($8.16 billion) mark with almost three hours left on the clock as Chinese and overseas […]

Microsoft unveils first Lumia smartphone without Nokia name

(Reuters) – Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) said it would roll out its Lumia 535 smartphone this month with an affordable price tag in its key markets, dropping the Nokia name just months after buying the Finnish company’s handset business. Loaded with its latest Windows Phone 8.1 operating system, the Lumia 535 and Lumia 535 dual SIM will be priced at around 110 euros (about $137) before taxes and subsidies, Microsoft said in a statement. The phone will feature a wide-angle 5 megapixel front-facing […]

Captain of South Korean capsized ferry gets 36 years in prison

(Reuters) – The captain of a South Korean ferry that capsized in April killing 304 passengers was jailed for 36 years on Tuesday after a court found him guilty of negligence, but was acquitted of homicide for which prosecutors had sought the death penalty. The court convicted the ship’s chief engineer of homicide for not aiding two injured fellow crew members, making him the only one of four facing homicide charges to be found guilty […]