Cuba-US ties at 'turning point' says Barack Obama

US President Barack Obama and Cuban leader Raul Castro met briefly on Friday 

BBC World

US President Barack Obama has described the historic thaw in US-Cuba relations as a "turning point". 

Mr Obama was addressing 34 other regional leaders, including Cuba's President Raul Castro, at the Summit of the Americas in Panama.

The US president is due to meet Mr Castro on the sidelines of the summit.

It will be the first top-level negotiations between their countries in more than 50 years and their first formal meeting since the thaw began.

Addressing the same plenary in Panama City on the summit's second day, Mr Castro called for the decades-long economic blockade on Cuba to be lifted.

He also described Mr Obama as an "honest man" after a lengthy speech largely taken up with the history of US-Cuba relations.

"When I talk about the revolution, the passion oozes out of me," the Cuban leader said. "I have to ask President Obama for forgiveness. He is not responsible for the things which happened before his time."

Earlier, Mr Obama told fellow leaders: "This shift in US policy represents a turning point for our entire region.

"The fact that President Castro and I are both sitting here today marks a historic occasion," he said, while admitting there were still significant differences.

Albay launches digital tourism

Mayon Volcano, Albay

By Charmie Joy Pagulong (The Philippine Star)  

LEGASPI CITY, ALBAY,  Philippines - The province of Albay launched on Friday an app that provides tourists a list of places to go and things to do while visiting the region.

The Albay Guide app features the province’s famous tourist attractions like the iconic Mayon Volcano, Cagsawa ruins, Misibis Bay Resort, Embarcadero de Legazpi and Mayon skyline.

Tourists can also check out the historic churches and other centuries-old structures in the province or try local dishes like pinangat, Bicol Express and sili (chili) ice cream.

The travel guide app also offers a list of important contact information, including emergency numbers and numbers of hotels and pasalubong centers that are convenient for tourists.

Albay Guide app can be downloaded on iOS, Android and Windows phones and other mobile devices.

Albay has deployed interactive markers on special sites like churches, plazas and monuments to provide visitors more details on the province’s rich heritage.

Just install a QR (Quick Response) reader code app on your mobile devices and scan the code to download more information about a site or structure.

The Albay provincial government has partnered with Smart Communications Inc. and journalism startup InnoPub Media and embarked on technology to advance its tourism campaign.

“Albay is one of the most beautiful provinces in the Philippines. It has been cited by international tour organizations as the best destination in Southeast Asia,” Albay Gov. Joey Salceda said during the unveiling of the mobile app at the Daraga Church in Albay on Friday.

Salceda added that tourism should be promoted with the “magic” of digital technology to increase tourists’ satisfaction through digital engagement and interaction.

“Mobile plays a key role in travel. A study by Google and Ipsos MediaCT showed phones are used throughout the travel process – from getting travel inspiration to planning, booking, experiencing and even post traveling,” InnoPub Co-founder Marlen Lim said.

Castro takeover in fourth brings TNT into Finals, dethrones Purefoods

 

By Norman Riego| ABS-CBN Sports

 

The 2015 PBA Commissioner’s Cup Semifinals was payback in its sweetest form for the Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters after they crushed the Purefoods Star Hotshots, 79-66, on Saturday at the Araneta Coliseum.

Jayson Castro sealed Talk n Text’s reversal of fortune from last season, when Purefoods dominated them in the Finals, by stroking 13 of his 33 points in the fourth. “The Blur” not only scorched the nets, but also got the ball to his teammates as the Texters outscored the Hotshots, 34-18, in the last quarter.

After dropping Game One, Talk n Text won three consecutive contests to set a best-of-seven Finals date with Rain or Shine starting on April 15.

The now dethroned champions were up, 38-28, at halftime until a 10-point eruption by Castro punctuated the Texters’ 12-0 blast in the first five minutes of the third to claim a 40-28 lead.

Purefoods regained control and had a 57-53 advantage with 8:42 left in the game, but Talk n Text had another 11-4 blast in the following two minutes to get ahead, 64-59.

Castro then put on the finishing touches by scoring eight points in the Texters’ 15-7 game-closing charge.

An appreciative coach Jong Uichico said of his franchise player in his post-game conference, “He’s evolved into a go-to-guy. He just makes things easier for us and gives problems to the other team.”

Denzel Bowles was limited to 14 points and was still the Hotshots’ leading scorer. Purefoods has now failed to defend two of its crowns from their Grand Slam conquest last season.

The scores:

TALK N' TEXT 79 - Castro 33, Johnson 15, Washington 12, De Ocampo 12, Fonacier 4, Rosser 2, Alas 1, Williams 0, Aban 0.

PUREFOODS 66 - Bowles 14, Barroca 12, Devance 10, Pingris 8, Simon 6, Melton 5, Mallari 5, Reacis 2, Yap 2, Maliksi 2, Pennisi 0.

QUARTER SCORES: 18-16, 28-38, 45-48, 79-66

Capitol readies P4-M fund for cloud seeding

By Teresa Ellera (SunStar) - File Photo of Cloudseeding

 

THE Provincial Government of Negros Occidental is preparing a P4-million budget for a possible cloud seeding operation to induce rains needed by farmers.

The Department of Agriculture will fund the cloud seeding while the province is looking for the P4-million counterpart fund, Marañon said.

"The most important thing to do is to pray because it is the best answer," Marañon urged Negrenses.
While rains have been experienced in some parts of the province the past few days, several areas have not experienced rains since December.

Farmers, including small sugarcane planters, now fear that their plantations will be damaged because these have been drying up already.

Marañon said the province is also looking for experts in cloud seeding.

The problem with cloud seeding operation is that sometimes the rains do fall on the targeted areas where it is needed, the governor said.

Even the Bago River Irrigation System (BRIS) is slowly drying up because of the dry spell that hit the province starting February.

Engineer Rita Suarez of the Negros Occidental Irrigation Management Office of the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) said they have minimal water supply to provide for the rice farms in the cities of Bago and Bacolod, and Murcia town.

"The water level of the BRIS has dropped by 30 centimeters," Suarez said.

Health official: Over 100 Afghan schoolchildren fall ill

Afghan schoolboys receive treatment for poisoning, at a hospital in Herat province, west of Kabul, Afghanistan, Saturday, April, 11, 2015. An Afghan health official says more than 100 students from the same school in the country's western Herat province have been hospitalized after falling ill. (AP Photo/Hoshang Hashimi)

KABUL, Afghanistan — More than 100 students from the same school in Afghanistan's western Herat province have been hospitalized after falling ill, a health official said Saturday.

Rafiq Sherzai, a doctor at Herat's regional hospital, said the students were between 7 and 12 years old and all attended the Fatiha School in the city of Herat, the provincial capital. Sherzai said all were in good condition. He did not offer a cause for the mass illness.

Abdul Raouf Ahmadi, a spokesman for Herat's provincial police chief, said only a dozen students were affected. He blamed the children's illnesses on eating "expired beans." He said police were investigating the incident.

Food poisoning and waterborne illnesses remain prevalent in Afghanistan, which has suffered through decades of war and has limited public infrastructure. (AP)

Palace stands by BBL, downplays World Bank-funded report

Deputy Presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte. FILE PHOTO

Inquirer

 

Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Abigail Valte reacted to the statement of Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero, citing a World Bank-funded report.

Escudero on Friday cited the study to point out that even if the BBL is enacted into law, the government will still need to deal with other armed groups in Mindanao. The BBL is a product of the peace deal between the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the Philippine government.
But Valte said the study did not even look into Malacañang’s version of the BBL.

“It did not consider the draft Bangsamoro Basic Law submitted by President Benigno Aquino III to Congress on September 10, 2014 so it was not covered in the report,” Valte said over state-run radio “Radyo ng Bayan.”

The spokesperson said the study “Rebellion, Political Violence and Shadow Crimes in the Bangsamoro: The Bangsamoro Conflict Monitoring System (BCMS) 2011-2013” was published by International Alert in August 2014.

Valte also said the report shouldn’t be attributed to the World Bank since it only funded the study, which was implemented by International Alert.

Escudero on Friday said government peace negotiators should “not raise false hopes that the BBL will bring peace to Mindanao.” He explained that there are still other armed groups in Mindanao.

During the controversial Mamasapano operation last January 25, more than 60 people were killed during a clash between the Philippine National Police-Special Action Force (PNP-SAF) and various armed groups, including the MILF, the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) and the United Justice Movement (UJM).

Valte, on the other hand, said the report also acknowledged that ending the conflict between the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) would reduce “a significant source of political violence with huge costs in terms of death, injury and displacement, and will impact positively on the prospects of peace and stability across the Bangsamoro.”

She also said the report had “very interesting data on the conflict in areas of Mindanao, in such that it identifies new causes of violence.”

Valte said the report will be useful for those involved in the peace process, especially the policymakers.

Responding to Escudero, she said the peace process between the MILF and the government “means peace with the largest and most organized armed group, which has been fighting the government for decades.”

“So to end this armed conflict means that this organized armed body ceases to fight with government and instead becomes a partner in addressing the problems that are facing the country,” she said. “So it enables the effective exercise of the rule of law over areas previously outside the reach of government and in, you know, as some quarters would say, ‘ungovernable.’”

Valte said the government’s partnership with the MILF was valuable and in line with the nation’s aspirations on security and prosperity.

“It’s not that you’re talking to them to the exclusion of other groups who are also willing to talk peace,” she said.

Valte also said that not all armed groups in Mindanao wanted to talk peace. Others just want to pursue their own interests, she said. 

 

 

South Korean ferry victim families scuffle with police

 

By: Agence France-Presse

SEOUL, South Korea - Relatives of the victims of last year's ferry disaster scuffled with riot police at a protest in Seoul on Saturday, after the crowd attempted to march to the president's residence. 

Hundreds of protestors violently shoved against rows of riot police lined up to prevent them from moving forward to the Blue House, as the official residence is known.  

"Don't stop this peaceful march", the crowd chanted angrily -- some of them carrying banners reading "Salvage the Truth" -- as those at the front of their column tussled with the police.

Earlier a crowd of about 2,000 people heard speeches from victims' families accusing the government of hampering a probe into the Sewol ferry disaster -- the first anniversary of which falls Thursday.

The overloaded Sewol ferry capsized and sank off Korea's southern coast on April 16, 2014, claiming 304 lives, including 250 students from the same high school in Ansan City.

Over the past year, families have repeatedly staged street protests and sit-ins, demanding an independent inquiry and urging President Park Geun-Hye to deliver on her promise to continue the search for the nine victims still missing.

Parliament passed a special law in November, initiating an independent investigation into the sinking but relatives have accused the government of seeking to hamper the probe and contain any political fallout.

The accident has been blamed by many on regulatory failings, official incompetence and the ship's illegal redesign.

More than 50 people have been put on trial on charges linked to the sinking, including 15 crew members -- who were among the first to climb into lifeboats.

On Monday, after a similar protest by families last weekend, Park said she would consider salvaging the sunken ferry to find those bodies still unrecovered.

The raising of the vessel -- if approved -- will likely cost an estimated 120 billion won ($110 million).

The Sewol's captain was jailed in November for 36 years for gross negligence and dereliction of duty, while three other senior crew members were sentenced to jail terms of between 15 and 30 years.