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President Benigno S. Aquino III said he has instructed the Dept. of Foreign Affairs to ask China to clarify reports saying Chinese authorities will board ships that will enter its territorial waters in the disputed West Philippine Sea. In an interview here during a Liberal Party meeting, the President said he told Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario to raise the issue with China to know whether the action is an official state policy. "Kung mapatunayan na meron talagang ganoong kautusan, hindi proposal, at talagang gagawin nila... maglo-lodge tayo ng isang diplomatic note or formal protest. And it also tells us where to go to in terms of advancing our interest," the President said. "We might accelerate and bring it before the appropriate international tribunal to finally settle the matter, or at least start the process of settling it legally and concretely," he added. Asked if he'll consider appealing to China not to exacerbate the situation, the...

Members of the Polangui municipal police office (PMPO) arrested Thursday night the suspect in last week's rape-slay incident in barangay Dagat-Dagatan in Caloocan City . Arrested was Gilbert Corporal, 25 in a house in barangay Cotnogan in Polangui. Corporal has been tagged as the main suspect in the killing of cousins, Diana Rose Liza, 15, and Joanna Marie Coronado, 10, at the elder victim's residence in Dagat-Dagatan on Nov. 24. Corporal was known in Dagat-Dagatan as Gilbert Fulloso, a neighbor of one of the victims. Albay Gov. Joey Salceda, who is a resident of Polangui, expressed commendations to Senior Police Officers 1 Mark Encisa and Godofredo Encisa and Police Officer 3 Alfredo Natividad who worked together in conducting surveillance, confirmation of identity and subsequent arrest of Corporal.

Dr. Abdulrahman Al-Zamil, Chairman of Saudia Arabia's multi-industry conglomerate Zamil Group and CEO of National Chemical Carriers Ltd., said here Thursday that Gulf Arab states shall follow Saudi Arabia's example of investing oil wealth at home rather than buying assets abroad. Speaking at the three-day annual Gulf Petrochemicals and Chemicals Association (GPCA), Al-Zamil said that Saudi-Arabia's conservative investment policy has saved the kingdom from the full impact of financial crisis. He urged all members of the Gulf Co- operation Council (GCC), to build up their own industries and to export "petrochemicals and pharmaceuticals, rather than barrels of oil ," said Al-Zamil. The industry tycoon added that oil was sold Thursday in Europe at world market prices of 110 U.S. dollars per barrel although it is only stored there, "but the GCC states have much higher costs and less benefits from exporting pure barrels." Unlike sovereign we...

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Thursday unveiled an ambitious road map for achieving the vision of an AIDS-free generation, aiming to see globally no babies born with HIV by 2015 . Officially titled the "President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) Blueprint: Creating an AIDS-free Generation," the road map was announced by Clinton at the State Department, two days ahead of the World AIDS Day. Under the road map, the United States will increase its coverage of HIV treatment to cut the number of deaths from AIDS and boost HIV prevention, including antiretroviral drugs. U.S. President Barack Obama has set a goal of treating some 6 million people with such drugs by the end of 2013; increase the numbers of men that get circumcisions, as study showed that circumcised men were less likely than uncircumcised men to be infected through sex HIV-positive women. By the end of fiscal year 2013, PEPFAR aims to have supported such operations fo...

The UN General Assembly on Thursday voted overwhelmingly to grant an upgrade of the Palestinians status at the United Nations from "entity" to "non- member state," which would amount to the world body's implicit and symbolic recognition of the Palestinian statehood. The 193 UN member states voted 138-9, with 41 abstentions, to support a draft resolution co-sponsored by about 70 countries, including China, Algeria, Angola, Brazil, Cuba, Jordan, Kenya, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Qatar, Senegal, South Africa, Tajikistan, Venezuela and Zimbabwe. Ten countries were added to the list of co- sponsors of the draft resolution. Canada, Israel and the United States voted against the draft resolution. After Vuk Jeremic, the president of the 67th session of the General Assembly, announced the result of the vote, the applause came from the hall of the General Assembly. Many ambassadors and diplomats came to shake hands with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to express...

Crude prices rose on Thursday as U.S. economic data came in positive and continuing unrest in the Middle East caused supplies fears. Market sentiment was boosted after the Commerce Department said U.S. gross domestic product expanded at a 2.7 percent annual rate, much faster than 2.0 percent it estimated last month. It was the quickest quarterly growth rate since the fourth quarter of 2011, helped by faster inventory accumulation and export growth, which offset weak consumer spending and a drop in business investment. Meanwhile, a report from the Labor Department added to the upbeat tone. The report showed U.S. initial jobless claims declined 23,000 in the week ended Nov. 24 to 393,000, as effect of Hurricane Sandy faded. Pending home sales climbed 5.2 percent in October, surging to its highest level in more than five years, according to the National Association of Realtors. Traders were closely watching the situation in the Middle East, in particular the viole...

The center-left Labor Party , which is expected to be the second largest in Israel's next Knesset (parliament), has elected Friday new blood into its lines prior to the Jan. 22 elections. Although the second and third places in the list, following Chairwoman Shelly Yachimovich, went to political veterans Yitzhak Herzog and Amir Peretz, many in the party's top 20 are new faces that only joined the party in recent weeks. Both Yachimovich and Peretz, long-time rivals, had their favorites which they pushed onto the list. Following the results, Yachimovich said at the party's headquarters that she "couldn't have dreamed of a better list." One of the biggest surprises is Merav Michaeli, a feminist columnist who was supported by Peretz and got the fifth spot at the party's list. Herzog told the Walla news website that he is very happy about the list which "accurately reflects the interaction between the veteran politicians and the newcomers...

The UN General Assembly recognized on Thursday the Palestinian Authority (PA) as a non-member observer state. The Palestinian bid, submitted by President Mahmoud Abbas, was approved by 138 UN members, while nine voted against it and 41 abstained from voting. The move amounts to an implicit recognition of the Palestinian statehood and increases PA's chances of joining other UN bodies. It also allows the Palestinian Authority to challenge the continuing construction of Israeli settlements on the occupied Palestinian land in the International Criminal Court. Abbas urged the US General Assembly before the historic vote "to issue the birth certificate of Palestine." He also reiterated that the Palestinians would continue their efforts to achieve a fully-recognized statehood. Abbas submitted Palestine's official application for recognition as an independent state in the UN in September 2011. That bid was blocked by a US veto in the Security Council. ...

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Thursday unveiled a blueprint for ending the deadly AIDS virus worldwide , a two-pronged plan that requires increased prevention efforts and greater access to treatment she said would someday lead to "an AIDS-free generation." "We can reach a point where virtually no children are born with the virus, and as these children become teenagers and adults, they are at a far lower risk of becoming infected than they are today," Clinton said at a press conference to announce the plan. "And if they do acquire HIV, they have access to treatment that helps prevent them from not only developing AIDS, but from passing the virus on to others," she added. The blueprint was developed at Clinton's request by the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), a US government initiative launched under former President George W. Bush to help save the lives of HIV and AIDS victims around the world. The pla...