Sunday, September 13, 2009
Coming out positive
Three Filipinos Living with HIV Making a Difference in ICAAP9
By Ana Santos, Contributor
http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2009/sept/13/yehey/weekend/20090913w...

On the surface, Edna, a housewife; Jerico, a former OFW; and Jocelyn, a former waitress in Angeles City, may not seem like they have anything in common.

However different they may seem, there is one distinct point where their lives intertwine-Edna, Jerico and Jocelyn are all living with HIV.

At the recently concluded International AIDS Conference (ICAAP9) in Bali, Indonesia, the 2nd largest AIDS Conference in the world, these three Filipinos came out to share their stories of living with HIV.

Together, the three gave not only a face to the epidemic, but a voice to the everyday realities of living with it.

Edna, housewife and mother Edna, is a 38-year-old housewife.

Norway shipping firm to hire more seafarers
Written by VG Cabuag / Reporter
Wednesday, 16 September 2009 19:28
http://businessmirror.com.ph/home/companies/16089-norway-shipping-firm-t...

NORWEGIAN shipping firm Torvald Klaveness Group (TKG) said it will continue to hire hundreds more Filipino seafarers in the coming years as the company expands its fleet on expectations that the world economy to recover.

Chairman Tom Erik Klaveness said on Wednesday the company will prioritize the employment of Filipino seafarers in the new vessels that will be purchased within the next three years, about the same time cargo volumes are expected to pick up.

Klaveness, who is in the Philippines in celebration of his company’s presence in the country for the past 25 years, that his company will spend between $150 million and $350 million for the purchase of between five to 10 brand-new vessels.

17 September 2009
National Executive Board
by the National Secretary-General

UFS National President Nelson Ramirez has informed the National Executive Board by email that Capt. Brando Lodriga has also sent an email dated 9 September that he was resigning from the Board.

Ramirez also said in the email that the NEB will have a meeting soon to fill the vacancy.

Earlier, the vacancy left by Noel Josue's resignation has been filled by C/Engr. Rodolfo Virtudazo in a recent meeting and formal resolution of the NEB.

Both Lodriga and Josue had served long years in the Board. Josue has joined his family abroad while Lodriga has assumed highly responsible position as vessel master in his most recent contract.

Police: All 14 protesters removed from ship
11:25PM Wednesday Sep 16, 2009
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10597731

Greenpeace says the ship's cargo of palm kernel feed contributes to climate change. Photo / Greenpeace

All 14 Greenpeace protesters who boarded a freight ship carrying palm kernel in the Port of Tauranga today have been removed, police say.

The protesters boarded the Hong Kong-registered freighter East Ambition from a small boat this morning, lashing themselves to cranes and the anchor, preventing the ship from docking.

They were protesting Fonterra's importation of palm kernel (PKE) for use as stock feed because of its role in the destruction of rainforests, predominantly in Malaysia and Indonesia.

INQUIRER.net First Posted 00:51:00 09/16/2009 Filed Under: Sea piracy, Transport, Waterway & Maritime Transport, Overseas Employment
http://globalnation.inquirer.net/news/breakingnews/view/20090916-225360/...

MANILA, Philippines--The local manning agency of Greek-owned hijacked vessel MV Irene confirmed to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Tuesday the release of the ship and its crew that includes 22 Filipinos by Somali pirates.

This brings the total number of Filipino seafarers in the custody of Somali pirates has gone down to 20, involving two vessels, the DFA said in a statement e-mailed to media outfits.

MV Irene was seized by pirates in the Gulf of Aden on April 14 this year.

The local manning agency, Bright Maritime Corp., told the DFA that negotiations for the release of the vessel and its crew had been successful and that it is now working on the repatriation of the Filipino seafarers.

(The Freeman) Updated September 16, 2009 12:00 AM
http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=505702&publicationSubCate...

CEBU, Philippines - A year after the tragic sinking of the M/V Princess of the Stars, the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines is urging the Maritine Industry Authority to lift the suspension order on the vessels of Sulpicio Lines, Inc.

In a resolution passed before the House of Representatives, TUCP Partylist Rep. Raymond Mendoza said the shipping industry “had been dragged much further into the pit” after MARINA suspended the fleets of Aboitiz Transport System following the sinking of the SuperFerry 9 last September 6.

“The riding public as well has to suffer much due to these unfortunate events,” Mendoza said.

The Freeman learned that more than 500 crewmembers of Sulpicio Lines were gravely affected by the suspension with some of the workers allegedly abandoned by their families because they could no longer provide for them.

Wednesday, September 16, 2009
By Elias O. Baquero
http://www.sunstar.com.ph/cebu/mendoza-vows-question-marina

A PARTY-list representative yesterday threatened to question the Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) during the budget hearing for the Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC) next week if it will still fail to audit and re-inspect the vessels of Sulpicio Lines Inc. (SLI).

More than a year after the tragic sinking of the mv Princess of the Stars, TUCP party-list Rep. Raymond Mendoza sought for the lifting of the suspension order on SLI that affected 2,000 workers, vendors, porters and truckers, among others.

Mendoza stressed that the affected workers of SLI who are members of the Associated Labor Unions-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (ALU-TUCP) have suffered enough and it is time that they be reinstated to their posts.

AFP - Wednesday, September 16
http://ph.news.yahoo.com/afp/20090915/tap-philippines-somalia-shipping-p...

MANILA (AFP) - – Twenty Filipino sailors remain in the hands of Somali pirates, the government said on Tuesday, a day after the release of 22 seamen from a Greek-owned merchant vessel who had been held for five months.

The Department of Foreign Affairs said it was working to help the repatriation of the 22 freed sailors whose ordeal began on April 14 when the MV Irene was hijacked while sailing through the Gulf of Aden.

It said the local agency that recruited the Filipinos had informed the government that negotiations for their release had been successful, but gave no details as to whether a ransom had been paid.

Filipino sources said last month that the pirates were demanding 2.8 million dollars to free MV Irene and its crew.

GMANews.TV - Tuesday, September 15
http://ph.news.yahoo.com/gma/20090915/tbs-number-of-jobless-pinoys-rises...

The number of jobless Filipinos rose in July with Metro Manila recording the biggest number of unemployed, the government said on Tuesday.

Some 2.920-million Filipinos were jobless, 6.3-percent higher than the estimated 2.749-million unemployed Filipinos during the same month last year, the National Statistics Office (NSO) said.

As of July this year, 64.6 percent of Filipinos aged 15 years old and above – or 38.4 million persons – belonged to the Philippines’ total labor force of 59.512 million.

This was higher than the 64.3 percent of Filipinos who fell within the same age range in July last year when the labor force reached 58.119 million.

Most jobless Filipinos were located in highly urbanized areas.

Seafarer hurt as pirates and crew clash
David Osler - Tuesday 15 September 2009
http://www.lloydslist.com/ll/news/seafarer-hurt-as-pirates-and-crew-clas...

ONE seafarer was injured after an unnamed North Korean vessel deployed improvised firebombs to repel an attack by Somali pirates in an incident earlier this month, the International Maritime Bureau has confirmed.
While similar tactics are known to have been adopted by Chinese seafarers in the past, such actions contravene the guidelines issued by l...
>Pay Lloyds List to read full story<

anyways... we read elsewhere:

Somalia: North Korea Ship Foils Pirates
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: September 15, 2009
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/16/world/africa/16briefs-pirates.html