Skip to main content

Anti-VFA protests ahead of Clinton's visit to Manila

Wednesday, November 11, 2009 MANILA - At least 100 members of a students' activist group on Wednesday held a lightning protest in front of the United States embassy in Manila, signalling a series of demonstrations during US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's visit in the Philippines.Terry Ridon, secretary-general of the League of Filipino Students, led at least 100 youth activists protesting the RP-US Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) in front of the US embassy along Roxas Boulevard."Bumabati ang mga estudyante, ang mga kabataan (The students, the youth are greeting [Mrs. Clinton]," Ridon said, adding that they will be holding similar protests against VFA while Clinton is in the country.Clinton will stay in Manila on Thursday noon until Friday before attending the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit (APEC) in Singapore.Clinton is set to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Ministerial Meeting and will stop by the Philippines on Thursday noon until Friday. It will be Clinton’s first visit to the Philippines as US Secretary of State.Clinton's spokesman Ian Kelly said in a statement released Saturday that the US secretary of state will hold consultations with senior Philippine officials and tackle US-Philippines treaty alliance.Malacañang said that aside from discussing US-RP treaties, Mrs. Arroyo will also discuss with Clinton next year's elections and the "smooth turnover of power" in 2010.Ridon said student activists will return to the US embassy on Thursday to welcome Clinton and make her hear their sentiments against the VFA.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

US troops in Iraq head to Afghanistan

BAGHDAD: Nearly 500 U.S. Army combat engineers who specialize in clearing roads of explosives started shifting to southern Afghanistan."We are probably going to be the beginning of the influx you are going to see to Afghanistan," Lt. Col. Kevin Landers, commander of the Fort Carson, Colo.-based 4th Engineer Battalion, said as crews packed crates and cleaned vehicles for the flight to Kandahar.Obama has ordered 17,000 more U.S. soldiers and Marines to Afghanistan to bolster the 38,000 American troops already battling the resurgent Taliban."We are going to take this footprint out of Iraq," said Landers, whose battalion received word of its reassignment last month just after taking command of clearing roads in Baghdad of bombs and debris.
Post a Comment
Read more

Cuba's world-famous cigar festival closes in Havana

Sunday, February 28, 2010 HAVANA: Hundreds of wealthy merchants and cigar aficionados from all parts of the world gathered in Havana this week to bid high stakes for humidors full of premium cigars. Cuba's annual Habanos festival ended on Friday night with an auction of ornate humidors of cedar and mahogany stacked with hand-rolled stogies that raised 800,000 euros ($1.09 million dollars). Habanos S.A. executives this month said cigar sales fell 8 percent to $360 million in 2009, so they have created the Julieta, a smaller, milder version of the Romeo y Julieta cigar, aimed specifically at female smokers. Women now make up only 5 to 10 percent of customers for Habanos. But even with the creation of the Julieta, Garcia said Habanos has only modest hopes for 2010 sales, due largely to a weak economy in Spain, the biggest market for Cuban cigars. The flavor of premium tobacco relies on the soil and climate in which it is grown. The western province of Pinar Del Rio, famous fo...
Post a Comment
Read more

Berlin Celebrates the Day the Wall Fell

Tuesday, November 10, 2009 BERLIN: World leaders and partying Germans are descending on Berlin Nov. 9 to mark the 20th anniversary of the day the Berlin Wall was breachedIt is a day for celebrations and commemorations, for festivities and sober reflection. Berlin is marking 20 years since the fall of the Wall on Monday with a series of events, big and small. Leaders from around the world are descending on the German capital to help celebrate the momentous events of Nov. 9, 1989, a date that has come to symbolize the end of communism in Eastern Europe. The main focus of events will be the historic Brandenburg Gate, where 20 years ago, joyful East and West Berliners gathered together to dance on top of the wall and celebrate the sudden opening up of the Iron Curtain. The iconic gateway had once stood in the midst of no man's land, surrounded by barbed wire and machine guns. Now 20 years on, a concert and fireworks display will recall those heady moments. A line of 1,000 foam dominoe...
Post a Comment
Read more