Gamiaw WorldNews: U.S. says Russian ship raised false signal in incident

The Russian destroyer Neustrashimy enroute to Somalia crosses the Suez Canal waterway at the south gate, about 100 km southeast of Cairo, October 21, 2008. REUTERS/Stringer | By Andrea Shalal via Reuters

  

BERLIN  – The United States on Wednesday accused Russia of deliberately displaying the wrong naval signals and interfering with a U.S. aircraft carrier in the Mediterranean Sea, in the latest salvo about a June incident that both countries blame on each other.

Captain Danny Hernandez, spokesman for U.S. European Command, said the Russian warship Neustrashimy (FF 777) conducted unsafe and unprofessional maritime manoeuvres, which could have led to miscalculation, injury or even death.

A number of Cold War-style incidents have occurred at sea and in the air in recent months, with the militaries of Russia and the United States accusing each other of dangerous actions in international waters and airspace.

“This most recent incident comes on the heels of other unsafe air and naval incidents on the part of the Russian military,” Hernandez said in a statement to Reuters.

He said such action had the potential to unnecessarily escalate tensions between the countries.
In April, the U.S. military said Russian SU-24 bombers simulated attack passes near the USS Donald Cook in the Baltic Sea.

Russia and the United States blame each other for unsafe maneuvers in the June 17 incident which occurred less than two weeks after officials from the two countries met in Moscow to discuss ways to avoid incidents at sea.

The Russian Defence Ministry said a U.S. destroyer approached dangerously close to a Russian ship, in what it said was a flagrant U.S. violation of rules to avoid at-sea collisions.

A U.S. official countered that the Russian ship carried out “unsafe and unprofessional” operations near two U.S. ships.

On Wednesday, Hernandez said the Russian ship raised the “ball-diamond-ball” signal on its mast when it was two nautical miles away from the USS Gravely, a U.S. destroyer operating in the Mediterranean with the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier.

That combination of simple geometric shapes is used to indicate that a ship’s ability to manoeuvre is restricted.

Russia identified its ship as the Russian Navy frigate Yaroslav Mudry.

Hernandez said the Russian ship manoeuvred to get closer to the Gravely, changing course and speed as the U.S. ship did, which he said showed it was not in fact restricted in its ability to manoeuvre, and was thus intentionally displaying a false international signal.

As a result, he said, the U.S. destroyer believed the Russian ship was intentionally trying to interfere with Harry S. Truman operations.
(Reporting by Andrea Shalal; Editing by Andrew Hay)                

Lopez’ advocacy to directly hit 2 Cabinet members

File Photo: Gina Lopez | Report CT: RH News

Manila, Philippines - Two members of the Duterte cabinet may be affected with the advocacy of newly-appointed Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Secretary Gina Lopez.

Lopez directly specified incoming Finance secretary Carlos Dominguez and Mark Villar of Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).

According to the new DENR secretary, her advocacy against mining might hit the interest of the mentioned officials.

Dominguez is connected with Glencore Zstra and Lafayette Mining in Rafu-Rafu Island, Albay while Villar is the brother of Manuel Paolo, the president of St. Augustine Gold and Copper Limited which is set to manage the mining in Compostella Valley.

Lopez said since incoming president Rodrigo Duterte supports her advocacy, she will strongly implement the moratorium to the new mining sites, regardless if it means the two secretaries will be affected.

Gamiaw WorldNews: Philippines willing to set aside sea dispute settlement

(FILE PHOTO)  An aerial view shows the Pagasa (Hope) Island, part of the disputed Spratly group of islands, in the South China Sea located off the coast of western Philippines July 20, 2011. REUTERS/Rolex Dela Pena/Pool

Manila, Philippines - Incoming Foreign Secretary Perfecto Yasay Jr. said the Philippines is willing to put the settlement of its maritime dispute with China on the backburner.

He said the decision of the international arbitral tribunal on the Philippines’ arbitration case against China’s claims in the West Philippine Sea may come out on July 7, but the solution on the longstanding row may take generations.

China has been persistent that it will not recognize the upcoming court ruling amid backlash from the international community. It even continued its island-making spree in the contested area, constructing new features with airstrips and ports that can accommodate military aircraft and naval vessels.

The official acknowledged that the Philippines cannot easily enforce the expected favorable decision of the court if the pressure put on China is not enough and the bilateral or multilateral negotiations will fail.

“We are willing to put aside these issues on the backburner, and we do not hope this to be resolved in the next few years. It can take even a generational solution,” Yasay said in an interview.

“For as long as we will be respecting everybody’s rights there…we can live with that for the meantime.”

Yasay also offered a negotiation with China to set aside red lines and agree on undertaking joint exploitation in the resource-rich waters, which is believed to potentially have huge deposits of oil and gas.

“We can live together. We can work together for our mutual benefit and interests,” he said. “We will proceed on the basis and on the assumption that we all adhere to the rule of law. That we all know that the best way to resolve conflict is through peaceful negotiations. Let us talk and talk and talk.”
Yasay insisted that the Philippines should not engage China in a war in so far as defending the jurisdiction in the area is concerned.

However, he said that countries concerned of freedom of navigation and overflight in the waterway have their own prerogative to take certain actions in protecting their own interests.

“We will try to resolve our conflict with China through peaceful negotiation, right? But the other countries, like the United States or Japan, if they feel that they have to take more action in terms of asserting that this area is international waters, then it can do so for the promotion of the interest,” he said. (MJD)

Andanar invites award-winning director to Duterte’s first SONA

by Kristine Dela Cruz via RH News

    

Philippines - Presidential Communications Operations Officer (PCOO) secretary Martin Andanar offered multi-awarded director Brillante Mendoza to direct the first State of the Nation Address (SONA) of President Rodrigo Duterte on July 25.

Mendoza confirmed that they talked with Andanar regarding the said matter.

Mendoza is the director of the movie ‘Ma Rosa’ that gave the country its first Best Actress award (Jaclyn Jose) in the 2016 Cannes Film Festival.

Mendoza said the invitation might be finalize this week after the inauguration of Duterte.

Our Daily Bread: Late Arrivals Welcome

Randy Kilgore

Read: Matthew 20:1-16

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I wish to give to this last man the same as to you. —Matthew 20:14

One night when I visited a nursing home, a resident named Tom slipped out quietly from his room, hoping to catch me to chat. After we talked awhile, he asked, “Won’t God be insulted if I become a Christian this late in life?” Tom’s question wasn’t a surprise. As a chaplain, I often hear it in varying forms from the elderly, from those who struggle with addictions, from former prisoners. They think they have a legitimate reason to believe it’s too late for them to know God or to be used by Him.

Tom and I spent time exploring people in Scripture who, because of their past, could have thought it was too late for them to know God. But Rahab, a prostitute (Josh. 2:12-14; Heb. 11:31), and Zacchaeus, a tax collector (Luke 19:1-8), chose faith in God despite their past.

We also looked at Jesus’ parable of workers in the vineyard (Matt. 20:1-16). The earlier the hire, the more labor they were able to give the vineyard owner (vv.2-7), but those hired later discovered they had equal value in the owner’s eyes and would be rewarded equally (vv.8-16). The vineyard owner chose to be gracious to them all.

No matter our past or present, God longs to show us His grace and bring us into relationship with Him.

Father, we are amazed at Your grace! Thank You that
we can come to You at any time for forgiveness and be
restored to relationship with You. Thank You that we
can now be used by You to touch the lives of others.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To give your life to Christ now is to keep it forever.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gamiaw WorldNews - Islamic State behind Istanbul airport attack that killed 36 – Turkish PM

Paramedics help casualties outside Turkey’s largest airport, Istanbul Ataturk, Turkey, following a blast, June 28, 2016. REUTERS/Ismail Coskun/IHLAS News Agency

   

ISTANBUL  – Findings point to Islamic State responsibility for a suicide bomb attack on Istanbul’s main international airport that killed 36 people and wounded many more on Tuesday, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said.

“According to assessments so far, 36 people have lost their lives and there were also many wounded,” Yildirim told reporters at the site of the attack on Europe’s third-busiest airport. He also said that a small number of the wounded were seriously injured. (Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk, Daren Butler, Ayla Jean Yackley; Writing by David Dolan; Editing by Nick Tattersall)               

As Duterte takes over in Philippines, police killings stir fear

A man, who admitted to be a drug user, wears an election campaign armband of President-elect Rodrigo Duterte, as he shows a copy of his fingerprints to a police officer (not pictured) at a police camp, after more than 700 people surrendered to policemen and local government officials in Quezon city, Metro Manila, Philippines June 24, 2016. REUTERS/Erik De Castro/File Photo | By Manuel Mogato and John Chalmers

 MANILA, PHILIPPINES  – Two things catch the eye in the office of Joselito Esquivel, a police colonel enforcing a national crackdown on drugs in the Philippines‘ most crime-ridden district: a pair of boxing gloves in a display cabinet and an M4 assault rifle lying beside him.

“It’s all-out war,” the Quezon City officer says of a spike in killings of suspected drug dealers by police across the country since last month’s election of Rodrigo Duterte, a tough-talking city mayor, as the country’s president. “Duterte has already given the impetus for this massive operation.”
Duterte has vowed to wipe out drug crime within six months but, according to Chito Gascon, head of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR), the aggressive rhetoric behind his promises has already instilled a sense of impunity among the police.

“Basically, you have Mr. Duterte saying: ‘It’s okay, I’ve got your back’,” said Gascon.
On average, at least one person has been shot dead by police or anonymous vigilantes every day since the May 9 election that swept Duterte to power, an escalation from the first four months of the year when the rate was about two a week.

Handwritten warning signs have been left on some corpses.

Duterte, who will be inaugurated on Thursday for a six-year term, has cheered the police on: after a druglord was killed in a northern province recently, he travelled there to congratulate them and hand over a reward worth about $6,000.

Critics, including leaders of the influential Roman Catholic church and human rights advocates, fear a spiral of violence could lie ahead for the Philippines if vigilantism and summary executions become an accepted norm after Duterte takes office.

“My concern is that instead of law and order, what we will see is lawlessness and fear,” said Gascon. “What will result is an increase in the body-bag count.”

On Monday, Duterte branded as “stupid” human rights groups and lawmakers who have complained about his draconian plans to crush crime and re-introduce the death penalty.

“When you kill someone, rape, you should die,” he told his last public meeting as mayor of Davao City, where death squads have killed hundreds of drug-pushers, petty criminals and even street children since 1998, according to rights groups.

Duterte denies any involvement in the vigilante killings.

A political outsider whose coarse defiance of the traditional ruling class has drawn comparisons with Donald Trump, Duterte has even figured in commentaries on Britain’s vote to leave the European Union as an example of a global trend towards populism triumphing over the establishment.

POLICE COVERING THEIR TRACKS?

Duterte’s pick to be the country’s police chief, Ronald dela Rosa, concedes that some recent killings may have been carried out by officers involved in the drugs business who were covering their tracks so that the new president does not go after them.

“That could be true,” he told Reuters. “Some police officers are shifting from drug protectors to drug punishers.”

But dela Rosa added that so much work towards wiping out drug crime has been accomplished recently that his job will be easy when he takes over at the end of this week.

Railing against critics, he said most of the victims in the recent wave of killings were shot by police in self-defence.

“I have no problem how many people die in legitimate police operations, the police have a right to defend themselves,” he said. “We are police officers, we are not hard killers.”

Only two of the roughly 60 recent killings took place in Quezon City, a crowded and gritty part of sprawling Metro Manila that has the country’s highest crime rate. Most were in areas outside the capital that are less intensively policed.

Esquivel, the officer in Quezon City, said his force has also adopted a softer tack by inviting drug peddlers and addicts to surrender and go into rehabilitation. Just last week, over 1,000 gave themselves up there, he said.

Despite that gentler approach, police in the Philippines are open about their readiness to use guns.
Outside Esquivel’s headquarters there is a police firing range and a banner cheerily announces a monthly “shoot fest”, a contest for officers where sometimes winners receive a gun.

According to data from the University of Sydney, the number of guns in the Philippines is a small fraction of the total in the United States, but Filipinos seem much more inclined to use them.

Gun deaths per 100,000 people in the United States was at 10.54 in 2014, but the Philippines‘ rate of 7.2 in 2008, the last year for which figures were available, was not far behind.

NARCO-STATE
Duterte has predicted that if the tide of drug addiction in the Philippines is not pushed back, it will become a narco-state.

In 2012, the United Nations said the Philippines had the highest rate of methamphetamine use in East Asia, and according to a U.S. State Department report, 2.1 percent of Flipinos aged 16 to 64 use the drug, which is known locally as “shabu”.

There appears to be support in the Philippines for Duterte’s uncompromising line on criminals.

When a suspected rapist was killed in custody recently, the CHR raised concerns, but they were lost amid an outpouring of sympathy for the police on social and mainstream media.
Still, many people across the country are feeling anxious.

“There is a sense of fear because what was done to the hardened drug couriers, users and manufacturers could be done to you,” said Winston Boston, a 49-year-old financial adviser in Manila. “Anyone could just be accosted.”

(Additional reporting by; Neil Jerome Morales; Writing by John Chalmers; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)                                    

PNP investigates killing in anti-drug operations

       By:  Kristine Dela Cruz   via  RH News               

Manila, Philippines - The Philippine National Police (PNP) started the investigation on the increasing number of killings of alleged illegal drugs suspects in the country.

The investigation was opened by the PNP Internal Affairs Service (IAS).

IAS Spokesperson Sheila Castillo said that among the mandate of their office is to investigate the operations that ended to the death of these so-called suspects.

The official clarified that it is the chance for policemen to make a move and defend themselves from the accusations of abuse in fulfilling their duties.

Incoming president Rodrigo Duterte has a strong campaign against illegal drugs as well as incoming PNP Chief Ronald Dela Rosa.

Kris Aquino confirms attendance at Robredo’s oath taking

by Kristine Dela Cruz via RH News

Manila, Philippines - Television host and actress Kris Aquino will attend as representative of outgoing President Benigno Aquino III in the inauguration of vice-president elect Leni Robredo on June 30.

Georgina Hernandez, Spokesperson of Robredo, confirmed the attendance of Kris at the said event.
According to Hernandez, the three other presidential sisters are also invited but they cannot attend since they will accompany the outgoing president in the turnover rites in Malacanang.

The inauguration of Robredo is separate from president-elect Rodrigo Duterte and she is set to take her oath before two barangay officials.

The Presidential sisters campaigned for Robredo in the last national elections.

Our Daily Bread: Love and Prayer

David Roper

Read: Psalm 92

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They shall still bear fruit in old age; they shall be fresh and flourishing. —Psalm 92:14

In a popular children’s book, Winnie the Pooh watches Kanga bound away. I wish I could jump like that, he thinks. Some can and some can’t. That’s how it is.

We see younger or more able men and women doing extraordinary things that we cannot do. They can; we can’t. That’s how it is. It’s easy to feel useless when we can’t do the things we were once capable of doing.

It’s true that we may not be able to “jump” like we once did, but we can love and we can pray. These are the works that time and experience have prepared us to do well.

Love is the very best gift we have to give to God and to others. It is no small matter, for love is the means by which we fulfill our whole duty to God and our neighbor. Our love for one person may seem to be a small action, but love is the greatest gift of all (1 Cor. 13:13).

And we can pray. Paul encouraged the Colossians to “continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving” (Col. 4:2). Our prayers are a powerful force in the universe!

Love and prayer are mighty works indeed, the mightiest works for any of us. Why? Because our God, who wants to use us, is an all-loving and all-powerful God.

Begin the day with God;
Kneel down to Him in prayer;
Lift up thy heart to His abode,
And seek His love to share. —Dann

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

God pours His love into our hearts that it might flow out to others.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Our Daily Bread: Miserable Success

David McCasland

Read: Luke 9:18-27

   If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. —Luke 9:23

“In whatever a man does without God, he must fail miserably—or succeed more miserably,” wrote George MacDonald (1824–1905), a Scottish novelist, poet, and Christian minister. This intriguing statement is often cited by modern speakers and writers and appears in MacDonald’s book Unspoken Sermons.

MacDonald was dealing with the difficult subject of a Christian’s self-denial and how we are to apply this teaching of Jesus: “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it” (Luke 9:23-24).

Rather than merely trying to suppress our natural desires, MacDonald said that true self-denial means “we must see things as [Christ] saw them, regard them as He regarded them; we must take the will of God as the very life of our being . . . . We are no more to think, ‘What should I like to do?’ but ‘What would the Living One have me do?’”

Getting only what we want is succeeding miserably. True success is found in “losing” our lives for Jesus’ sake and finding them again full and free in His will.

More like the Master I would live and grow,
More of His love to others I would show;
More self-denial, like His in Galilee,
More like the Master I long to ever be. —Gabriel

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The spirit of humility and self-denial precedes a deeper and closer walk with God.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Pope says Church should ask forgiveness from gays for past treatment

                

Pope Francis speaks to journalists on his flight back to Rome following a visit at Armenia on June 26, 2016. REUTERS/Tiziana Fabi/Pool | By Philip Pullella

ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE (Reuters) – Pope Francis said on Sunday that Christians and the Roman Catholic Church should seek forgiveness from homosexuals for the way they had treated them.

Speaking to reporters aboard the plane taking him back to Rome from Armenia, he also said the Church should ask forgiveness for the way it has treated women, for turning a blind eye to child labour and for “blessing so many weapons” in the past.

In the hour-long freewheeling conversation that has become a trademark of his international travels, Francis was asked if he agreed with recent comments by a German Roman Catholic cardinal that the Church should apologise to gays.

Francis looked sad when the reporter asked if an apology was made more urgent by the killing of 49 people at a gay club in Orlando, Florida this month.

He recalled Church teachings that homosexuals “should not be discriminated against. They should be respected, accompanied pastorally.”

He added: “I think that the Church not only should apologise … to a gay person whom it offended but it must also apologise to the poor as well, to the women who have been exploited, to children who have been exploited by (being forced to) work. It must apologise for having blessed so many weapons.”

The Church teaches that homosexual tendencies are not sinful but homosexual acts are, and that homosexuals should try to be chaste.

Francis repeated a slightly modified version of the now-famous “Who am I to judge?” comment he made about gays on the first foreign trip after his election in 2013.

“The questions is: if a person who has that condition, who has good will, and who looks for God, who are we to judge?”

FORGIVENESS, NOT JUST APOLOGY
Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said that the pope, by saying “has that condition”, did not imply a medical condition but “a person in that situation”. In Italian, the word “condition” can also mean “situation”.

“We Christians have to apologise for so many things, not just for this (treatment of gays), but we must ask for forgiveness, not just apologise! Forgiveness! Lord, it is a word we forget so often!” he said.

Francis has been hailed by many in the gay community for being the most merciful pope towards them in recent history and conservative Catholics have criticised him for making comments they say are ambiguous about sexual morality.

He told reporters on the plane “there are traditions in some countries, some cultures, that have a different mentality about this question (homosexuals)” and there are “some (gay) demonstrations that are too offensive for some”.

But he suggested that those were not grounds for discrimination or marginalisation of gays.

The pope did not elaborate on what he meant by seeking forgiveness for the Church “having blessed so many weapons”, but it appeared to be a reference to some Churchmen who actively backed wars in the past.

In other parts of the conversation, Francis said he hoped the European Union would be able to give itself another form after the United Kingdom’s decision to leave.

“There is something that is not working in that bulky union, but let’s not throw the baby out with the bath water, let’s try to jump-start things, to re-create,” he said.

He also denied reports that former Pope Benedict, who resigned in 2013, was still exercising influence inside the Vatican.

“There is only one pope,” he said. He praised Benedict, 89, for “protecting me, having my back, with his prayers”.

Francis said he had heard that when some Church officials had gone to Benedict to complain that Francis was too liberal, Benedict “sent them packing”
.
(This version of the story adds dropped word “for” in paragraph 12, fixes typos in “Francis” and “officials” in last paragraph)

(Reporting By Philip Pullella; Editing by Alexandra Hudson and Kevin Liffey)

Gamiaw WorldNews: CIA weapons for Syrian rebels sold to arms black market – NYT

Rebel fighters from the First Regiment, part of the Free Syrian Army, fire a Grad rocket from Aleppo’s Al-Haidariya neighbourhood, towards forces loyal to Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad stationed in Talet al-Sheikh Youssef, Syria. REUTERS/Abdalrhman Ismail

     

(Reuters) – Weapons shipped into Jordan for Syrian rebels by the Central Intelligence Agency and Saudi Arabia were stolen by Jordanian intelligence operatives and sold to arms merchants on the black market, the New York Times reported, citing American and Jordanian officials.

Some of the stolen weapons were used in a shooting in November that killed two Americans and three others at a police training facility in Amman, according to a joint investigation by the New York Times and Al Jazeera. (http://nyti.ms/292MmdH)

A Jordanian officer shot dead two U.S. government security contractors, a South African trainer and two Jordanians at a U.S.-funded police training facility near Amman before being killed in a shootout, Jordanian authorities had said in November.

The training facility was set up on the outskirts of the capital, Amman, after the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq to help rebuild the shattered country’s postwar security forces and to train Palestinian Authority police officers.

The weapons used in the shooting had originally arrived in Jordan for the Syrian rebel training program, the paper reported, citing American and Jordanian officials.

Theft of the weapons, which ended months ago after complaints by the American and Saudi governments, has led to a flood of new weapons available on the arms black market, the New York Times said.

Jordanian officers who were part of the plan “reaped a windfall” from sale of weapons, using the money to buy iPhones, SUVs and other luxury items, according to the paper, which cited Jordanian officials.

The CIA could not be immediately reached for comment.
(Reporting by Abinaya Vijayaraghavan in Bengaluru; Editing by Chris Reese)               

AFP to pay tribute to outgoing commander-in-chief

   

           by Kristine Dela Cruzz via RH News

All is set for the last military parade of outgoing president and Commander-in-chief Benigno Aquino III today.

A full military honors will be given by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to the president as an act of gratitude for his support especially in the modernization program of the military troops.

AFP Spokesperson Gen. Restituto Padilla confirmed that there will be no traditional ‘fly-by’ of air assets during the final tribute to Aquino, based on the president’s request.

Some high rank officials of the AFP and dignitaries will also attend the testimonial parade today.

Padilla added the best upgrade in their capabilities as part of the AFP modernization program happened under the Aquino administration.

Our daily Bread: Let’s Stick Together

Joe Stowell

Read: 1 Corinthians 12:12-27

For in fact the body is not one member but many. —1 Corinthians 12:14

Most regions of the world are familiar with the amazing phenomenon of snow. Snowflakes are beautiful, uniquely crafted ice crystals. Individual snowflakes are fragile, and they quickly melt if they land on your hand. Yet, en masse they create a force to be reckoned with. They can shut down major cities while creating beautiful landscapes of snow-laden trees whose pictures decorate calendars and become the subject of artwork.

They provide pleasure on the ski slopes and joy for children as they make snowmen and ammunition for snowball fights. All because they stick together.

So it is with those of us who follow Christ. Each of us has been uniquely gifted with the capacity to make a contribution to the work of Christ. We were never intended to live in isolation but to work together to become a great force for God and the advance of His cause. As Paul reminds us, the body of Christ “is not one member but many” (1 Cor. 12:14). All of us are to use our gifts to serve one another so that together we can make a significant difference in our world.

Put your giftedness to work, joyfully cooperate with the giftedness of those around you, and let the wind of the Spirit use you for His glory!

Lord, teach us to use our strengths in cooperation with
the strengths of others. Help us to serve as one so that
we might know the joy of the power of our togetherness
for Your name’s sake and the advance of Your kingdom.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We can accomplish more together than we can alone.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Our Daily Bread: Her Worst Day ever

Anne Cetas

Read: Job 7:11-21

I will speak in the anguish of my spirit; I will complain in the bitterness of my soul. —Job 7:11

In May 2011, a young woman took cover in a bathtub during a tornado that devastated her city of Joplin, Missouri. Her husband covered her body with his and took the blows from flying debris. He died, and she survived because of his heroism. She naturally wrestles with the question, “Why?” But a year after the tornado, she said that she finds comfort because even on her worst day ever, she was loved.

When I think about “worst days ever,” I think of Job right away. A man who loved God, he lost his animals, his servants, and his 10 children in one day! (Job 1:13-19). Job mourned deeply, and he also asked the “Why?” questions. He cried out, “Have I sinned? What have I done to You . . . ? Why have You set me as Your target?” (7:20). Job’s friends accused him of sinning and thought he deserved his difficulties, but God said of his friends: “You have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has” (42:7). God did not give him the reasons for his suffering, but He listened to Job and did not fault him for his questions. God assured him of His control over everything, and Job trusted Him (42:1-6).

The Lord may not give us the reasons for our trials. But, thankfully, even on our worst day ever, we can know for sure we are loved by Him (Rom. 8:35-39).

We’re grateful, Father, that You know our hearts
with our pain and joy. Thank You that You never
leave us nor forsake us, as Your Word tells us.
Please hold us close during our trials.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

God’s love does not keep us from trials, but sees us through them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gamiaw BizNews: Cities expected to be very rich in 10 years

Forget New York, London or Hong Kong. Here are seven cities that are racing up the rankings of the world's richest, and will be among the top 10 by 2025, according to researchers from McKinsey.

DOHA, Qatar

Qatar's Doha is predicted to be one of the rising stars in terms of per capita GDP. The country is already among the richest in the world, and huge investments ahead of the 2022 Soccer World Cup are set to give it extra boost.

BERGEN, Norway.

Bergen is the second most populous city in Norway.

It is already at the forefront of the country's economy, but McKinsey's researchers predict it will rise to become one of the richest cities globally. It serves as the hub for Norway's energy industry, shipping, and marine research.

Trondheim, Norway 

Another Norwegian city on the list, Trondheim is the birthplace of mobile tech. It is where the GSM standard was invented in the 1980s.

Since then, the local tech scene has been booming, and now boasts over 550 startups with more than 10,000 employees, according to officials.

Hwaseong, South Korea 

Hwaseong, although not widely known outside South Korea, is a booming city south of Seoul. It's home to the global research facilities of Hyundai (HYMTF) and Samsung (SSNLF), as well as flagship plants for Kia and LG Electronics.

The city is investing heavily in new residential real estate in the super modern Dongtan district.

Asan, South Korea 

Like its neighbor Hwaseong, Asan is home to several large industrial complexes.

It also benefits from being near the port of Pyeongtaek, which is the closest port to east China, and a global shipping hub.

Rhine Ruhr, Germany 

Rhine-Ruhr is already one of the most successful urban areas in Germany. It's the third largest in Europe, trailing only Paris and London.

Many powerhouses of German industry and finance are based in the region, including 12 Fortune 500 companies.

Macau, China

Macau is an example of how quickly things can change. Tipped to become one of the 10 richest cities in the world by 2025, Macau suffered a huge recession at the end of last year.

Its economy slumped 17% after an anti-corruption drive hurt Macau's casinos, the main driver of the territory's economy. Growth is expected to return next year, but experts say Macau must find other sources of income to recover its momentum.


First published: April 29, 2016: 5:44 AM ET
Source: McKinsey Global Institute | CT CNN Money
The ranking is based on GDP per capita. McKinsey's top 10 cities by 2025 also include Oslo, Yosu (South Korea) and San Jose (California).

Indonesia says coal on hold for Philippines after seven sailors abducted

Indonesia’s Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi makes a statement at the Foreign Ministry in Jakarta, Indonesia March 21, 2016. REUTERS/Darren Whiteside/Files

              

JAKARTA/MANILA – Indonesia said on Friday a halt on coal shipments to thePhilippines will remain in place until Manila can secure its waters after seven Indonesian sailors were kidnapped, the latest in a string of abductions.

Philippine authorities could not immediately confirm the hostage-taking but said a Filipino woman held since September was freed on Friday by Abu Sayyaf, an Islamist militant group that has amassed tens of millions of dollars from kidnappings for ransom.

It was unclear whether the sailors were taken by Abu Sayaff, which has beheaded two Canadian nationals in recent weeks after ransom deadlines passed. The group is still holding men from Japan, the Netherlands and Norway.

Indonesia is concerned that piracy in the Sulu Sea area, a major sea traffic corridor for the world’s top thermal coal exporter, could reach levels previously seen in Somalia.

“The moratorium on coal exports to the Philippines will be extended until there is a guarantee for security from the Philippines government,” Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi told reporters.

Indonesia supplies 70 percent of the Philippines‘ coal import needs, which Indonesian data shows stood at about 15 million tonnes, worth around $800 million, last year.

Analysts say $40 billion worth of cargo passes through the Sulu Sea area a year, including supertankers from the Indian Ocean that cannot use the crowded Malacca Strait.

Marsudi said earlier the seven Indonesians were kidnapped by two different armed groups in attacks on a tugboat towing a coal-carrying barge and that the government would “try all options to free the hostages”.

Fourteen Indonesians were abducted in two separate assaults on tugboats in March and April but were freed in May. In April, the Indonesian navy instructed all commercial vessels to avoid piracy-prone waters near the southern Philippines.

Filipino captive Marites Flor, abducted from an upscale resort in September along with Canadian Robert Hall, was freed at dawn on Friday on Jolo, an army spokesman said. Hall was beheaded on June 13.
In Davao City, President-elect Rodrigo Duterte said th
ey were “able to negotiate” for the release of two captives, a Norwegian man and Filipino woman.

“The kidnapped Norwegian could not get out yet because he could not cross because of the rough seas,” Duterte said, adding “there will be time that I will have to confront the Abu Sayyaf”.

Alarmed at the frequency of attacks, port authorities in some areas of Indonesia, particularly Kalimantan on Borneo, have stopped issuing permits to ships taking coal to the southern Philippines.
(Additional reporting by Fergus Jensen in JAKARTA and Enrico Dela Cruz in MANILA; Writing by Kanupriya Kapoor and Randy Fabi; Editing by Martin Petty) also By Kanupriya Kapoor and Manuel Mogato

COMELEC issues “failure of leadership” under Chairman Bautista

Commission on Elections Chief Andres Bautista  by Rita Salonga via RH News

                              

Manila, Philippines - Commission on Elections Chairman Andres Bautista has yet to comment on the memorandum of the En Banc, stating that there is “failure of leadership” under his administration.

According to COMELEC Commissioner Christian Robert Lim, the six Commissioners criticizing Bautista have no intention of asking the Chairman to resign from his post.

Lim added that Bautista just needs to improve his leadership on the poll body.

The Commissioner added that between 16 to 17 issues are included in the said memo, emphasizing Bautista’s failure of leadership.

Some of these issues include the lack of coordination between Bautista and the Commissioners regarding the issue on mall voting.

Prior to this, the Robinson’s Mall is charging the COMELEC more than Php1 million because of the halted mall voting.

Lim said that the COMELEC should not be the one paying the said amount because the poll body will be questioned by the Commission on Audit.

It is clear that once a transaction goes beyond Php500,000, it has to go through a public bidding.
With the issue on mall voting, Bautista signed the agreement without showing the Commissioners the copy of the Memorandum of Agreement.

Aside from mall voting, Bautista allegedly also failed to pay the teachers who served as Board of Election Inspectors, their honorarium.

The law states that if the BEI were not paid 15 days after the election, this may be consider as an election offense.

Gamiaw World: North Korea: We won't abandon nukes with US gun to our head

Han Song Ryol, director-general of the department of U.S. affairs at North Korea's Foreign Ministry speaks during an interview with The Associated Press on Friday, June 24, 2016, in Pyongyang, North Korea. Han told The Associated Press on Friday that his country is now a nuclear threat to be reckoned with, and Washington can expect more nuclear tests and missile launches like the ones earlier this week as long as it attempts to force his government's collapse through a policy of pressure and punishment. AP/Wong Maye-E | associated Press,. Philstar

PYONGYANG, North Korea — The top North Korean official for U.S. relations told The Associated Press on Friday that his country is now a nuclear threat to be reckoned with, and Washington can expect more nuclear tests and missile launches like the ones earlier this week as long as it attempts to force his government's collapse through a policy of pressure and punishment.

"It's the United States that caused this issue," Han Song Ryol, director-general of the department of U.S. affairs at North Korea's Foreign Ministry, said in his first interview with an American news organization since assuming the post three years ago. "They have to stop their military threats, sanctions and economic pressure. Without doing so, it's like they are telling us to reconcile while they are putting a gun to our forehead."

Han defended the North's test-launching on Wednesday of two medium-range ballistic missiles. Foreign military experts believe that, once perfected, such missiles could deliver nuclear warheads to U.S. bases in Japan and possibly to major U.S. military installations as far away as the Pacific island of Guam, where long-range U.S. Air Force bombers are deployed.
The tests indicated technological advances in the North's missile capabilities. They were quickly condemned by Washington, Tokyo and Seoul as a "provocation" and a violation of United Nations resolutions.

Han dismissed the criticism, saying North Korea has no choice but to build up its military deterrent as long as the world's largest superpower — and the country that first developed nuclear weapons — remains an enemy. He noted that the U.S. recently deployed nuclear-powered submarines and strategic bombers capable of dropping nuclear weapons on North Korea to the region, and earlier this year conducted training for precision airstrikes on North Korea's leadership, along with
simulations of an advance into the capital, Pyongyang, with the South Korean military during joint annual exercises.
"This launch was a significant and novel step that my country must take to produce a powerful nuclear deterrent," Han said. "The real provocation is coming from the United States. ... How can my country stand by and do nothing?"

Han said North Korea has never recognized a longstanding United Nations Security Council ban on its testing of nuclear weapons or long-range missiles, though the world body has ratified the resolutions and imposed heavy sanctions on North Korea for continuing them — including a round of new sanctions imposed after its latest nuclear test in January. North Korea says that test was its first of an H-bomb.

"The United States must see correctly the trend of the times and the strategic position of (North Korea) and must withdraw its hostile policy," he said in the hour-long interview at the Foreign Ministry, located next to Kim Il Sung Square in central Pyongyang. "My country is a nuclear state. In the past, my country has been threatened by the United States with its nuclear weapons, but I can now say proudly that the United States is being threatened by my country's nuclear weapons."
He held out the possibility of dialogue with the United States, but only if Washington agrees to "drop its hostile policies," replace the armistice that ended the 1950-53 Korean War with a lasting peace treaty, and withdraw its troops based in South Korea.

None of those proposals is new. North Korea has repeated them for years, but they have gotten virtually no traction in the U.S., which has instead stood by its own demand that North Korea show a willingness to give up its nuclear program before any meaningful talks can begin.

Han, who formerly served at North Korea's United Nations mission and lived in New York, said it would require "political resolve" in Washington to change its policies toward North Korea. "There are many measures that the United States can take," he said. In response, he said, North Korea is willing to follow suit, regardless of what has happened in the past.

But until that happens, he said, there are "clouds of nuclear war" on the Korean Peninsula.

Han said North Korea has only grown stronger under the "strategic patience" policy of the Obama
administration, which focuses on sanctions and military pressure to weaken and isolate North Korea and has brought talks between the two countries to a virtual standstill. The policy was initiated after North Korea conducted its second nuclear test in 2009. It has conducted two more nuclear tests since then and launched rockets that carried satellites into orbit, but which share technologies that could be used to produce rockets with warheads to strike the U.S. mainland.

"Day by day our country is becoming stronger, especially the military capacity," he said. "It is natural that many Americans, including the critics, say that strategic patience is a failure. It gave a lot of time to my country to strengthen. So if the United States does not change its policy, which is based on the collapse and overturn of my country, without accepting it as a nuclear state, any policies in the future are fated to fail as well."

He said he is not optimistic the election of a new U.S. president in November will bring much change.

"Since the founding of our country the United States has refused to accept our country as a sovereign state," he said. "My country will be focusing on the new administration. But we don't think it will change its policy, so we are preparing ourselves to deal with its policy to overturn our country ... I can see dark clouds hanging over the sky of the Korean Peninsula."

He said that as long as those dark clouds remain, Washington can expect more nuclear tests and missile launches.

Gamiaw Entertainment: Joy comes from putting another’s welfare ahead of your own.

FILE - In this Feb. 13, 2011 file photo, singer Whitney Houston performs at the pre-Grammy gala & salute to industry icons with Clive Davis honoring David Geffen in Beverly Hills, Calif. An Emmy Award won by Whitney Houston 30 years ago is the focus of a legal fight. The television academy filed suit to block an auction house and the late pop star's estate from selling her trophy. According to Wednesday’s lawsuit, Emmy statuettes remain the property of the TV academy and any sale violates the organization’s rights. AP/Mark J. Terrill, File

LOS ANGELES — A judge has blocked the sale of Whitney Houston's Emmy Award that the late singer's family had put up for auction.

U.S. District Judge Percy Anderson issued a temporary restraining order Thursday against Heritage Auctions and the pop star's estate, which planned to sell the Emmy.

Houston won the TV award in 1986 for her performance of "Saving All My Love for You" during the Grammy ceremony.
Anderson's ruling says the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences has preliminarily shown it's the owner of the award and is likely to win the case. He set a hearing for July 7 to extend the order.

Heritage Auctions spokesman Eric Bradley says the company would abide by the order.

Houston died in 2012 at age 48. CT: associated Press