Young actor charged with acts of lasciviousness

MANILA, Philippines – Actor Baron Geisler (real name: Baron Frederick von Geisler) was formally charged Wednesday with acts of lasciviousness for allegedly fondling the 21-year-old daughter of former matinee idol William Martinez and actress Yayo Aguila.
The charges was forwarded by the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group through Police Supt. Sotera Macatangay to the Department of [...]

US stock futures little changed ahead of Fed rate decision

NEW YORK – Stock futures were little changed Wednesday as the market awaited the Federal Reserve’s decision on interest rates and another batch of economic data.
The central bank is largely expected to again lower its benchmark fed funds rate, this time by a quarter point to 2 percent. However, many economists believe policymakers will signal [...]

Update on breast cancer

In the United States alone, about 216,000 women will come down with cancer of the breast. About 65 percent to 80 percent of all breast cancer are invasive ductal carcinoma, which can spread from the milk ducts to throughout the breast and other parts of the body. Statistically, one in seven women will develop one [...]

With low wages, rising prices of goods, workers continue to be in losing end

MANILA, Philippines – Labor groups are bracing themselves for a May Day celebration like no other on Thursday. Labor Day this year comes at a time when prices of food, fuel and other basic necessities are surging to record levels and burning holes in the pockets of daily wage earners.
Leftist group Bagong Alyansang Makabayan said [...]

Agri increasing NFA rice outlets in Metro to 2,500

MANILA- Philippines- The Department of Agriculture is planning to sell state-subsidized rice at P18.25 and P25 per kilo in more than 2,500 retail outlets in Metro Manila by next month.
The Agriculture Department will add another 1,386 stores to its 1,125 existing outlets and selling points in Metro Manila for cheap NFA rice, to ensure that [...]

Arroyo can’t sign cheaper drugs bill into law by May 1

MANILA, Philippines – Due to President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s tight schedule, Malacañang on Wednesday admitted that the President may not be able to sign the Cheaper Medicines Bill into law in time for May 1 even as officials earlier hyped it as a gift for workers on Labor Day.
In a radio interview, Deputy Presidential Spokeswoman [...]

HIV drug resistance target find

The virus has proved adept at foiling drugs

A specific protein in the body may be the key to overcoming the increasing problem of resistance to HIV drugs.
Inactivating the ITK protein which is involved in the immune response blocks many steps of HIV replication, studies in the laboratory show.
Most current HIV drugs attack the virus itself [...]

Antibody test faster, cheaper than DNA profiling

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (AP) — Federal researchers say they have developed a human identification test that’s faster and possibly cheaper than DNA testing.
It would be a handy new weapon in the arsenal for detectives, forensic experts and the military, though no one expects it to replace DNA analysis — and its promoters say it is [...]

PNB, Allied Bank to merge via P25-B share swap

MANILA, Philippines- The Philippine National Bank on Wednesday confirmed months of market rumors by announcing that it was merging with its affiliate Allied Banking Corp. through a P25-billion share swap.
In a press conference, PNB president Omar Mier said PNB will be buying out 100 percent of Allied Bank through a share swap where PNB will [...]

BSP: Higher fuel, power rates pushed April inflation to at most 7%

MANILA, Philippines- Consumer prices may have risen as much as 7 percent in April, pushed by a rate adjustment made by the country’s largest electricity distributor and surging oil prices, a central bank official said Wednesday.
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Gov. Amando M. Tetangco Jr. told reporters that the April inflation rate could go up to [...]