Breaking News, Latest Philippines Headlines, World, Entertainment, Politics, Weather & Video News
by Francesco Fontemaggi Agence France Presse RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AFP) — US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Sunday arrived in Riyadh, where he is set to ask Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to ensure the killers of journalist Jamal Khashoggi are held accountable. The top US diplomat, on an extensive Middle East tour, embarked on his second politically sensitive visit to Saudi Arabia since Khashoggi’s murder inside its Istanbul consulate sparked an international […]
by Simon VALMARY and Nathalie ALONSO Agence France Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — The death toll from a powerful gas explosion in central Paris has risen to four after rescue workers found a woman’s body in the rubble, investigators said Sunday. Two firefighters and a Spanish tourist were also killed in the Saturday morning blast that injured dozens and badly damaged nearby apartments. Rescue workers with sniffer dogs had earlier searched for a missing woman […]
(Eagle News)–Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. on Sunday, Jan. 13, said he would name present and past Department of Foreign Affairs officials behind the passport data mess at the agency. Locsin said, however, that he was not keen on summoning them. “Let the Senate investigate and the DOJ (Department of Justice) prosecute if ever,” he said. Locsin also confirmed it was the contract with French firm Francois-Charles Oberthur Fiduciare for the production of e-passports that […]
(Eagle News)–A measure requiring Social Security System coverage for Overseas Filipino Workers has been transmitted to Malacañang for President Rodrigo Duterte’s approval. Sen. Richard Gordon, chair of the Senate Committee on Government Corporations and Public Enterprises and author and sponsor of Senate Bill 1753, said once signed into law, both land-based and sea-based OFWs would also be covered by SSS, “provided that they are not over 60 years of age.” The measure, if approved, will […]
(Eagle News)–Senator Sherwin Gatchalian has renewed his call for the passage of a law that would require prospective vehicle owners to show proof they own a parking space for the new vehicle. In pushing for the passage of Senate Bill No. 201, also known as the Proof-of-Parking Space Act, Gatchalian noted that based on figures from the Land Transportation Office, the number of registered motor vehicles from the year 2015 until 2017 reached 10,410,814, with an estimated […]
(Eagle News)—Former Foreign Affairs Secretary Perfecto Yasay on Sunday, Jan. 13, revealed a private company has been printing e-passports illegally at the Department of Foreign Affairs. According to Yasay, the DFA on Oct. 5, 2015 awarded the contract for the e-printing services to APO Production Unit Inc., a government printing facility, without bidding despite the contract for the procurement and production of machine-readable electronic passports being awarded beforehand to François-Charles Oberthur Fiduciare of France through its Philippine […]
by Joseph Schmid Agence France Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — A powerful gas explosion tore through a building in central Paris on Saturday, killing two firefighters and a Spanish woman, injuring dozens of people and badly damaging nearby apartments, officials said. Around 200 firefighters were mobilized to battle the fire that broke out after the blast and evacuate victims and residents in the area, Interior Minister Christophe Castaner told reporters at the scene. The […]
(Eagle News)–Senator Risa Hontiveros on Saturday, Jan. 12, said the Department of Foreign Affairs owes the country an explanation for the loss of passport data by its former passport maker. “The recent admission that a privately contracted firm took the entire physical database of all of the country’s passport holders indicates a serious national security risk, and is evidence of the Duterte government’s gross incompetence in protecting the people’s private data,” Hontiveros said in a […]
(Eagle News)–Senator Sherwin Gatchalian on Saturday, Jan. 12, urged the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority to implement stricter guidelines for billboards and outdoor advertising signs along major metropolitan roads. Gatchalian made the statement after the Automobile Association Philippines aired its concern about the presence of giant LED projector billboards along EDSA. The AAP said these may distract drivers and cause road accidents. “Mukhang nagiging overcrowded na naman kasi ang mga daan natin with giant billboards,” Gatchalian said. […]
(Eagle News)—The National Privacy Commission will look into the loss of data of passport applicants at the Department of Foreign Affairs. In a statement, Commissioner Raymund Liboro said he would summon the alleged contractor that made off with the data, the DFA, and other pertinent agencies. “Any form of non-availability of personal data, infringement of the rights of data subjects, and harms from processing that include inconveniencing the public, must be adequately explained to the satisfaction of […]
by Joseph Schmid Agence France Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — A powerful explosion destroyed a bakery in central Paris on Saturday morning, injuring several people and blowing out dozens of nearby windows after a suspected gas leak, police and AFP journalists. Around 200 firefighters were mobilised to battle the fire that broke out after the blast and rescue residents in neighbouring buildings, Interior Minister Christophe Castaner told reporters at the scene. Police closed off streets […]
NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — A former Catholic priest who had admitted to sexually abusing children in the US state of Pennsylvania was sentenced Friday to up to 14 years in prison — the second clergyman to be jailed in the wake of a damning statewide grand jury report. David Poulson, 65 — who served as a priest for four decades in the Diocese of Erie — had entered a guilty plea in […]
