Martin Salia, a Sierra Leonean doctor sick with Ebola, is pictured in this handout photo taken February 2013 and provided by the United Brethren (UB). CREDIT: REUTERS/JEFF BLEIJERVELD, DIRECTOR OF GLOBAL MINISTRIES/UBCENTRAL.ORG/HANDOUT

(Reuters) - A surgeon from Sierra Leone, critically ill with Ebola, was flown to a Nebraska hospital for treatment on Saturday, and is sicker than previous patients treated in the United States, medical officials said.

Dr. Martin Salia, 44, a permanent U.S. resident, caught Ebola while working as a surgeon in a Freetown hospital, according to his family. He was stable enough to take a flight from West Africa to Omaha, but was too sick to walk off the plane, medical officials said.

He was transferred to a waiting ambulance in an isolation unit called an ISOPOD, a device used in the transportation of a potentially infectious patient, and rushed to Nebraska Medical Center to begin treatment, a hospital official said.

“Although the patient’s exact condition won’t be available until doctors here evaluate him after he arrives, information coming from the team caring for him in Sierra Leone indicates he is critically ill – possibly sicker than the first patients successfully treated in the United States,” the hospital in said in a statement.

The patient is the third treated for Ebola in the hospital’s Biocontainment Unit since the outbreak gained momentum this year in Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia.

Salia was chief medical officer at the United Methodist Church’s Kissy Hospital when he was confirmed on Tuesday to have contracted Ebola.

His evacuation was at the request of his wife, a U.S. citizen who lives in Maryland and who has agreed to reimburse the U.S. government for any expense, the U.S. State Department said in a statement.

A medical crew with Phoenix Air examined the patient in Sierra Leone before leaving with him en route to the U.S. on Friday night, the Nebraska hospital said.

According to the latest figures from the World Health Organization, at least 5,177 people have died in the world’s worst recorded Ebola outbreak.

Most of the victims have been in Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea, where already weak healthcare systems have been overrun by victims of the disease. A total of 570 local health workers have been infected, with 324 dying.

Salia would be the 10th known case of Ebola in the United States. All but one case was treated successfully.

The Nebraska clinic is one of four American hospitals approved by the federal government to treat Ebola.

(Reporting by Katie Knapp Schubert and Umaru Fofana; Additional reporting by Barbara Goldberg in New York; Writing by David Lewis and Victoria Cavaliere; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle and Stephen Powell, Franklin Paul and Andre Grenon)

satellite image from PAGASA

UNTV GEOWEATHER CENTER (5am, 11/17/14) – Humina ang Amihan subalit umiiral parin ang Tail-end of a cold front na nakaaapekto ngayon sa dulong Hilagang Luzon.

Ayon sa PAGASA, mahina hanggang sa katamtamang pag-ulan ang mararanasan sa mga isla ng Batanes, Calayan at Babuyan.

Sa Metro Manila at sa iba pang bahagi ng bansa ay makararanas ng papulo-pulong pag-ulan, pag-kidlat at pag-kulog lalo na sa Silangang bahagi ng bansa.

Mapanganib namang pumalaot sa mga baybayin ng Batanes, Calayan, Babuyan, Northern coast ng Cagayan at Ilocos Provinces, La union at Pangasinan. (Rey Pelayo / UNTV News)

SUNRISE: 5.57am

SUNSET: 5.24pm

END

satellite Image from PAGASA

UNTV GEOWEATHER CENTER (5am, 11/18/14) – Umiiral na naman ang Amihan at nagpaparamdam sa dulong Hilagang Luzon.

Ayon sa PAGASA, makararanas ng papulo-pulong mahinang pag-ulan ang Cagayan Valley, Cordillera at Ilocos region.

Ang Metro Manila at iba pang bahagi ng bansa ay makararanas naman ng papulo-pulong pag-ulan, pag-kidlat at pag-kulog lalo na sa Aurora, Quezon, Bicol, Samar, Leyte, CARAGA at Silangan ng Davao.

Mapanganib namang pumalaot sa mga baybayin ng Batanes, Calayan, Babuyan, Northern coast ng Cagayan at Ilocos Provinces, La union at Pangasinan. (Rey Pelayo / UNTV News)

SUNRISE: 5.58am

SUNSET: 5.24pm

END

Dr. Martin Salia is placed on a stretcher upon his arrival at the Nebraska Medical Center Biocontainment Unit in Omaha, Nebraska, November 15, 2014. CREDIT: REUTERS/BRIAN C. FRANK

(Reuters) - A surgeon who contracted Ebola while working in Sierra Leone died early on Monday of the disease at a Nebraska hospital, medical officials said, the second death from the virus out of 10 known cases treated in the United States.

Dr. Martin Salia, a native of Sierra Leone and a permanent U.S. resident, had been in very critical condition when he arrived at the Nebraska Medical Center on Saturday afternoon, Dr. Phil Smith, director of the biocontainment unit, said at a news conference.

“He had no kidney function, he was working extremely hard to breathe and he was unresponsive,” Dr. Daniel Johnson said.

Salia was put on dialysis within hours of his arrival and required intubation and mechanical ventilation within 12 hours. He was given plasma from an Ebola survivor and the drug ZMapp provided by Mapp Biopharmaceutical on Saturday, said Dr. Chris Kratochvil, associate vice chancellor for clinical research at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.

Salia, 44, who was chief medical officer at United Methodist Kissy Hospital in Freetown, Sierra Leone, tested positive last week for Ebola, the United Methodist Church’s news service said.

The news service said it was unclear how or where Salia contracted Ebola. Salia, who had trained as a doctor in Sierra Leone’s College of Medicine, also worked at several other medical facilities.

“Our hearts go out to his grieving family,” Bishop Warner H. Brown Jr., president of the United Methodist Council of Bishops, said in a statement. “Dr. Salia was a dedicated Christian physician who was living out a calling to serve others.”

Salia was flown to the United States at the request of his wife, an American who lives in Maryland.

Salia was the third Ebola patient treated at the Omaha hospital. The two other Ebola patients, who were infected in Liberia, recovered.

Smith said staff who worked directly on Salia will take their temperatures twice a day, check daily for symptoms and log results into a database but will not be limited from working.

“As long as they are asymptomatic they are considered safe,” Smith said. “Even if they were infected, they would not spread it to anyone else.”

The current outbreak of Ebola is the worst on record. It has killed at least 5,177 people, mostly in Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea, according to the latest figures from the World Health Organization.

(Reporting by Colleen Jenkins and David Bailey; Editing by Susan Heavey, Doina Chiacu and Bill Trott)

UNTV Cup Season 3 Ceremonial toss (Jun Rapanan / Photoville International)

MANILA, Philippines – Sa pagbubukas UNTV CUP Season 3 sa unang sagupaan pa lamang ay parang championship na.

Kaagad na ipinadama ng defending champion AFP Cavaliers ang kanilang puwersa matapos tiklupin ang new comer team na NHA Builders, 90-71, sa sagupaang ginanap sa MOA Arena sa Pasay City.

“Lumalamang kami ng 21 points pero nahahabol pa nila, paunti-unti magaling yung isang player nila paghahandaan namin uli next time na makalaban uli namin sila,” pahayag ni Alvin Zuñiga ng AFP Cavaliers.

“Yung depensa namin mas idedevelop namin siguro excited lang kami kasi bago yung team sa liga pero sa susunod siguro wala na yung pressure,” saad naman ni Waldemar Tibay ng NHA Builders.

Sa second game, exciting din ang sagupaan ng season 2 second placer PNP Responders at DOJ Boosters.

Namayani ang Responders sa Boosters sa score na 90-72.

Ngayong season ay tatlong bagong koponan ang nadagdag kabilang ang NHA Builders, GSIS Furies at BFP Firefighters.

Ang mga dati ng team ay ang AFP Cavaliers, PNP Responders, Judiciary Magis, MMMDA Blackwolves, Malacañang Patriots, Senate Defenders, HOR Solons at ang DOJ Justice Boosters.

Inaasahan na mas lalong titindi ang mga labanan ngayong season dahil sa mas pinalaking premyo ng tatanghaling kampeon.

Ipinasya ni Mr. Public Service Kuya Daniel Razon na mula sa P1.5 million ay gagawin ng P2 million ang premyo ng tatanghaling kampeon.

“Maraming natutulungan ito. Kaya sumasali dito ang HOR dahil naniniwala kami sa mga natutulungan ng UNTV ni Bro. Eli at ni Kuya Daniel Razon,” ani Rep. Niel Tupas Jr. ng HOR Solons.

Sinabi naman ni Sen. Sonny Anggara Jr., “Alam natin na lahat naman ng teams ay gumaling this year pero mas susubukan namin na pag-igihan ang season na ito.”

Samantala, inanyayahan naman ni Season 2 MVP Erwin Omiping ng PNP Responders ang lahat na patuloy na suportahan ang UNTV Cup dahil sa mas kapana-panabik na bakbakan sa hardcourt.

“Mas lalong lumakas ang motivation namin na makuha yun para makatulong sa aming beneficiary talaga.”

“Ini-invite ko po kayo na manood ng UNTV Cup Season 3, ito ang bagong game ko,” dagdag pa nito.

“Sa lahat ng mga teams sa mga bagong teams welcome po sa season 3 at we are looking forward sa masayang games sa mga darating pong panahon,” pahayag naman ni UNTV CEO Kuya Daniel Razon.

Ang baway koponan ay may kanya-kanya nang napiling charitable institution na magsisilbing benipisaryo ng makukuhang premyo sakaling tanghaling kampeon.

Bukod dito ay maglalagay din ng public service booth ang mga koponan sa bawat game venue upang umasiste sa mga nangangailangan ng tulong. (Grace Casin / Ruth Navales, UNTV News)

Si Pangulong Benigno S. Aquino III habang nakikipagkamay kay Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong sa pag-Courtesy Call nito at the West Drawing Room of the Istana Main Building para sa Working Visit nito sa bansang Singapore nitong Martes, November 18, 2014. (Photo by Ryan Lim / Malacañang Photo Bureau)

SINGAPORE – Kasalukuyang nasa Singapore ngayon si Pangulong Benigno Aquino III para sa kaniyang dalawang araw na working visit.

Lulan ng Philippine Airlines flight PR001, dumating ang pangulo sa Changi International Airport dakong alas-11:28 nitong Martes ng umaga.

Sinalubong ang pangulo nina Philippine Ambassador to Singapore Antonio Morales, kasama ang ilang opisyal ng embahada ng Pilipinas sa Singapore at ng Singapore Foreign Affairs Ministry.

Agad na tumuloy ang pangulo sa The Istana main building para sa courtesy call kay Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, kasunod ang luncheon meeting kasama naman si Singapore President Tony Tan Keng Yam.

Tatayong keynote speaker ang pangulo sa gala dinner ng business publication na The Economist na dadaluhan rin ng mga negosyante at ilang lider ng iba’t ibang bansa.

Inaasahang ibabahagi ng pangulo ang kasalukuyang estado ng ekonomiya ng bansa upang makapanghikayat ng mamumuhunan upang mas mapalakas pa ang ugnayang pangkalakalan ng Pilipinas sa iba’t ibang bansa.

Inaasahang babanggitin din ni Pangulong Aquino ang reform agenda ng administrasyon at ang Mindanao Bangsamoro peace process upang makakuha ng suporta.

Bukas, araw ng Miyerkules ay magpapaunlak naman ng panayam ang pangulo sa iba’t ibang foreign media entities gaya ng The Straits Times, Channel News Asia, at BBC News.

Samantala, bago bumalik ng Pilipnas bukas ng gabi ay inaasahang haharapin din ng pangulo ang Filipino community sa Singapore upang kumustahin ang ating mga kababayan doon at ibalita ang kalagayan ng bansa sa ilalim ng kaniyang administrasyon. (Dean Harley / Ruth Navales, UNTV News)

GRAPHICS: Proposed Toll Hikes

MANILA, Philippines – Nilinaw ng Toll Regulatory Board (TRB) na malabo pang maaprubahan at maipatupad sa January 2015 ang hiling ng mga toll regulator at concessionaires na dagdag singil sa toll.

Ayon kay TRB Spokesman Julius Corpuz, dumadaan muna sa mahigpit na proseso ang petisyon para sa toll adjustment na hiniling ng Manila North Tollway Corporation, CAVITEX Infrastructure Corporation, South Luzon Tollway Corporation, Manila Toll Expressway Systems at Star Infrastructure Development Corporation.

Sinabi ni Corpuz na base sa proseso ng regulatory body, maghihintay sila ng maghahain ng petition for review o oposisyon sa loob ng siyamnapung araw na siyang magiging batayan nila sa pagpapatawag ng public hearing kaugnay ng petisyon.

“Ika-klaro lang po namin may mga petition po pero pawang mga petisyon pa lamang yang mga yan at makakaasa po kayo na kung saka-sakali mang magkaroon ng desisyon ukol sa pagbabago o pagtaas sa mga toll fee ay mabibigyan po kayo ng sapat na impormasyon, hindi po natin masasabi kung kailan mangyayari yan at kung may mangyayari man.”

Dagdag pa ni Corpuz, magiging batayan naman nila sa gagawing desisyon sa pagtataas ng toll ang ginagawang serbisyo sa mga motoristang dumadaan sa NLEX, SLEX, CAVITEX at STAR.

“Ang totoo nyan minomonitor namin lahat yan, are they able to maintain yung standards of operations and maintenance na nirerequire namin, tama ba ang pamamalakad nila, may pagkukulang ba sila at yan ang lahat ng iyan ay tinitingnan at isasama sa konsiderasyon ng ating pamunuan kung saka-sakaling magbibigay man sila ng desisyon whether to grant or reject.”

Sa inihaing petisyon ng apat na toll regulators, nasa average na 15% increase ang hinihiling para sa NLEX, 25% increase sa CAVITEX, 33% sa SLEX at 16% toll hike sa STAR Tollway. (Nel Maribojoc / Ruth Navales, UNTV News)

Former Ating Koop Partylist Representative Isidro Lico (Photo Credits: House of Representatives)

MANILA, Philippines – Sinampahan ng reklamo ng kanyang mga dating kasamahan si dating Ating Koop Partylist Representative Isidro Lico sa Office of the Ombudsman ngayong Martes.

Malversation of public funds at paglabag sa Anti-Corruption Practices Act ang isinampang reklamo laban kay Lico.

Ayon sa grupo, nalaman nila ang umano’y katiwalian ng kongresista noong nakaraang taon nang lumabas ang pangalan nito sa isang pahayagan tungkol sa mga mambabatas na umano’y sangkot sa pork barrel scam.

Agad nilang inimbestigahan ang alegasyon at napagalamang may mahigit P15 million na PDAF si Lico na inilagay sa mga umano’y pekeng NGO ng isang Godofredo Roque.

“Tulad ng Muslim Foundation na hindi naman namin kinikilala at hindi sa sektor ng kooperatiba. So iyon ay tahasang paglabag sa panloob naming batas na aming adhikain,” saad ni Federico Pineda Jr., isa sa mga complainant.

Natuklasan din ng grupo na gumamit umano ang mambabatas ng mahigit P70 million na pondo mula sa kanilang kooperatiba upang ipambili ng sariling kotse at ilang ari-arian.

Naka-attach sa kanilang formal complaint na isinumete ngayong araw ang mga pay slip ni Lico na nagpapatunay na tumatanggap lamang ito ng mahigit P52-libo bawat buwan na sweldo, kulang upang bayaran ang monthly amortization sa kotse na aabot sa mahigit P96,000 kada buwan.

Base sa kanilang imbestigasyon, kumukupit umano sa pondo ng kanilang partylist si Lico upang ipangdagdag sa monthly amortization ng lupa at kotse.

“Hindi ba tahasang paglabag iyan sa karapatan ng ating kasapian na dapat ay ginagamit iyon sa livelihood,” saad pa ni Pineda.

Dagdag pa ng mga ito, kwestyunable din ng ilan sa ari-arian ni Lico dahil hindi umano nakadeklara sa Statement of Assets Liabilities and Networth o SALN ng kongresista.

Dahil sa mga natuklasang katiwalian, tinanggal nila bilang miyembro si Lico at sinampahan ng reklamo sa Ombudsman. (Joyce Balancio / Ruth Navales, UNTV News)

Ang 12 sa 14 na nahuli ng QCPD na mga pinaghihinalaang miyembro ng isang carnapping group. (UNTV News)

MANILA, Philippines – Bumagsak na sa kamay ng mga awtoridad ang 14 na miyembro ng robbery carnappping group.

Ito’y matapos ma-recover ang isang nakaw na Isuzu aluminum van na puno ng mga laruang pambata na nagkakahalaga ng P700,000.

Ayon kay QCPD Director P/SSupt. Joel Pagdilao, kasamang nakuha sa mga ito ang 13 pang iba’t ibang plaka ng mga sasakyan.

Sinabi pa ng opisyal na nawala ang nasabing sasakyan habang nakaparada sa tapat ng opisina ng may-ari sa 20th Ave. sa Aurora Blvd. Cubao, Quezon City.

Natagpuan ng mga pulis ang nawawalang van sa Brgy. Longos, Malabon City.

“Meron palang GPS itong sasakyan na ito kaya natunton ito sa Malabon… at dinidiskarga na ng 14 na tao na nahuli,” anang opisyal.

Itinanggi naman ni Roberto Florentino, isa sa mga nahuling suspek ang akusasyon.

“Hindi ho namin ginagawa yun, nakisuyo lang ho sila na diskargahin at babalikan yung truck, Bong ho ang pangalan di ko masabi ang apelyido dahil dalawang beses lang kami nagkita.”

Samantala, nagpasalamat naman ang kumpanyang Kids Gallery Corporation sa pagkaka-recover ng sasakyan at mga paninda.

“Masaya yung company nang marecover yung mga stocks namin, kaya nagpapasalamat kami sa mga tumulong,” pasasalamat ni Dennis Victor ng Kids Gallery Corporation.

Bukod sa labing-apat na nahuli, apat pang robbery-holdup suspect na kabilang sa mga most wanted criminal ng Quezon City ang nadakip din ng QCPD. (Lea Ylagan / Ruth Navales, UNTV News)

satellite image from PAGASA

UNTV GEOWEATHER CENTER (5am, 11/19/14) – Easterlies o hangin na galing sa dagat pasipiko ang magdadala ng thunderstorms sa Silangang bahagi ng bansa.

Wala namang nakikita ang PAGASA na panibagong sirkulasyon o LPA na makakaapekto sa Philippine Area of Responsibility.

Ayon sa weather agency, dahil naman sa Amihan ay makararanas ng papulo-pulong mahinang pag-ulan ang Cagayan Valley, Cordillera at Ilocos region.

Ang Metro Manila at iba pang bahagi ng bansa ay makararanas naman ng papulo-pulong pag-ulan, pag-kidlat at pag-kulog lalo na sa Aurora, Quezon, Bicol, Samar, Leyte, CARAGA at Silangan ng Davao.

Mapanganib namang pumalaot sa mga baybayin ng Batanes, Calayan, Babuyan, Northern coast ng Cagayan at Ilocos Provinces, La union at Pangasinan. (Rey Pelayo / UNTV News)

SUNRISE: 5.58am

SUNSET: 5.24pm

END

“Yung ‘pag binati mo ng “Merry Christmas bossing”, yung may mga intonation dati na merong mga under tone ay bawal yun. Pero pag-plain and honest greetings na “Maligayang Pasko sa inyong lahat” ay hindi po bawal yun.” — Spokesperon to the Office of the Chief PNP, P/SSupt. Robert Po (UNTV News)

MANILA, Philippines – Nanawagan ang pamunan ng Philippine National Police (PNP) sa mga tauhan nito sa buong bansa na magso-solicit ngayong holiday season.

Ayon kay Spokesperon to the Office of the Chief PNP, P/SSupt. Robert Po, mahigpit na ipinagbabawal ni PNP Chief Dir. Gen. Alan Purisima ang panghihingi o kahit pagtanggap ng regalo ng mga pulis.

Sinabi ni Po na hindi naman masama sa isang pulis ang bumati subalit siguruhing wala itong ibang ibig sabihin tulad ng panghihingi ng regalo.

“Yung ‘pag binati mo ng “Merry Christmas bossing”, yung may mga intonation dati na merong mga under tone ay bawal yun. Pero pag-plain and honest greetings na “Maligayang Pasko sa inyong lahat” ay hindi po bawal yun.”

Sinabi pa ng opisyal na maaaring makasuhan ang sinomang pulis na mahuhuling nanghihingi ng regalo o nagsasagawa ng solicitation.

“Ang pagtanggap ng regalo whether directly or indirectly ay may constitute crimes in relation of Republic Act 3019, itong Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices,” saad pa ni Po.

Kaugnay nito, hinikayat din ng pamunuan ng PNP ang mga negosyante na agad na isumbong sa kanilang tanggapan kung may pulis na nanghihingi sa kanila ng regalo.

“Kung may mga miyembro ng kapulisan na hihingi ng regalo or directly implying that they be given gift for their birthday or this holiday season ay ipagbigay alam po ninyo sa amin at sila ay aming pagsasabihan o kakasuhan,” dagdag pa ni Po.

Gayunman, pinagiingat din ng opisyal ang mga ito sa mga nagpapanggap na pulis at militar upang makalikom ng pera ngayong holiday season. (Lea Ylagan / Ruth Navales, UNTV News)

Acting DOH Secretary Janette Loreto Garin (WILLIE SY / Photoville International)

MANILA, Philippines – Inaayos na ng Department of Health (DOH) ang lugar kung saan maaaring i-quarantine ang mga overseas Filipino worker (OFW’s) na uuwi sa bansa.

Paghahanda ito sakaling ipatupad na ng Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) ang mandatory repatriation para sa mga OFW na nasa mga lugar na apektado ng Ebola virus.

Ayon kay acting Health Secretary Dr. Janet Garin, sa ngayon ay inihahanda na nila ang mga lugar na posibleng pagdalhan sa mga OFW na sasailalim sa mandatory quarantine.

Gayunpaman hindi binanggit ni Garin kung saang lugar ito.

Samantala, sinagot ni Dr. Garin ang isyu kaugnay ng panawagang dapat rin siyang sumailalim sa quarantine.

Ayon kay Garin, hindi siya sang-ayon na sumailalim din sya sa quarantine dahil magiging dahilan lamang ito upang lalong katakutan at layuan ng publiko ang mga UN peacekeepers.

“Wala syang delikado, wala siyang fear, I will not take the risk of going there if I know that I will be infected. I am there, Dr. Lee Suy went there, we clear Gen. Catapang cause we were 100% sure na hindi kami magkaka-Ebola,” paliwanag nito.

Nanindigan rin itong walang nilabag na protocol sa pagbisita niya noong November 16 kasama si DOH Spokesperson Dr. Lyndon Lee Suy at AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Gregorio Pio Catapang sa mga Filipino peacekeeper na naka-quarantine sa Caballo Island.

Paliwanag ni Garin, layunin ng kanilang pagbisita na mapawi ang agam-agam ng publiko, at hindi pandirihan at katakutan ang mga peacekeeper.

“As acting secretary of health, obiligasyon ko po na tugunan ang kanilang mga pangangailangan at tingnan kung mabuti ang kanilang mga kalagayan kasama na po ang pagsagot sa kanilang mga katanungan,” saad pa nito.

Naniniwala naman si PCOO Secretary Herminio “Sonny” Coloma Jr. na walang nilabag na health protocol ang DOH at AFP.

Aniya, “kaya nga po ipinahayag ko na po ngayon na sinusunod nila ang protocol ng WHO at ginagawa nila ang nararapat alinsunod sa kanilang tungkulin at alinsunod sa layunin na tiyakin na Ebola free ang ating bansa.”

Sa kabila ng ginawang pagbisita, hindi pa rin ipinahihintulot ng DOH ang media tour sa Caballo Island.

Muling ring nilinaw ng kagawaran na ang pagsusuot ng personal protective equipment o PPE ay kinakailangan lamang kapag nagpakita na ng sintomas ng Ebola virus disease ang isang pasyente. (Joan Nano / Ruth Navales, UNTV News)

Caballo Island, Cavite City (Google Map)

FILE PHOTO: House of Representatives Plenary Hall (UNTV News)

MANILA, Philippines — Naging kumplikado man ang botohang ginawa ng House Committee on Energy, ipinasa ng komite ang joint resolution no. 21 sa botong 21 in favor, 1 against at 1 abstention.

Sa pagdinig, sinabi ni Energy Secretary Jerico Pelita na hindi na magdadalawang isip ang ang mga negosyante na sumali sa Interruptible Load Program (ILP), dahil nakapaloob sa joint resolution na ang Department of Budget and Management (DBM) na ang bahalang maglaan ng pondo na ibabayad sa mga ito.

Sa ngayon ay nasa 175.97 megawatts (MW) pa lang ang committed power ng mga negosyante, habang 64 MW pa ang kasalukuyang tinatrabaho.

Sa kabuuan, kailangan ng DOE ang 700-800 megawatt mula sa ILP.

Dagdag pa nito, sa ilalim ng Grid Code, 1400 megawatt lang ang reserve power capacity na kailangang punan ng DOE.

Subalit upang makasiguro, nais ng DOE na makakuha ng hanggang 1700 megawatts reserve energy upang maiwasan ang pagkakaroon ng brownout sa Luzon sa susunod na taon.

Paliwanag ni Petilla, hindi ito magiging magastos dahil ang babayaran lang sa ILP ay ang nakonsumong kuryente.

“Pagdating sa ILP, ‘pag di tumakbo ang ILP there is no cost to everybody unlike sa ancillary services like NGCP kahit hindi tumakbo may bayad. Itong ILP pag di ka tumakbo walang bayad.”

Ayon kay House Committee on Energy Chairman Rey Umali, kailangan nilang i-workout ang counter part sa Senado upang hindi na ito dumaan pa sa bicam.

Sa isang linggo ay isasalang na agad sa plenaryo ang joint resolution.

Target ng kongreso na maipasa ito sa lalong madaling panahon upang magamit na ng Pangulo.

“We will work on sa certification of the president within the week eh we will have to complete the report and by Wednesday we would already submit this to the Office of the President,” saad pa ni Umali.

Tumutol naman dito si BAYAN MUNA Partylist Rep Neri Colmenares at sinabing kukuwestiyunin nila ang nilalaman ng joint resolution sa plenary dahil sa hindi malinaw na mga datos na ipinakikita ng DOE.

Gayundin ang eksaktong halaga na babayaran ng publiko sa paggamit ng ILP na hanggang ngayon ay hindi pa rin masabi ng DOE.

“For me, I couldn’t understand till now, malayo na siya sa request ng presidente na 200-500 MW,” ani Colmenares. (Grace Casin / Ruth Navales, UNTV News)

An official inspects a crate of ducks during a cull at a duck farm in Nafferton, northern England November 18, 2014. CREDIT: REUTERS/DARREN STAPLES

(Reuters) - Bird flu on a duck farm in northern England is the highly contagious H5N8 strain, the same form of the virus already discovered in Germany and the Netherlands, Britain’s farm ministry confirmed on Tuesday.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said that the risk to humans was minimal, and that a cull of all 6,000 ducks on the farm in east Yorkshire should be completed later on Tuesday.

“The advice from the Chief Medical Officer and Public Health England remains that the risk to public health is very low,” said a Defra spokeswoman.

“The Food Standards Agency have said there is no food safety risk for consumers.”

Officials said on Monday that a 10-km (6-mile) restriction zone had been put in place around the duck farm.

In Sweden, the board of agriculture said poultry should be kept indoors as a preventative measure as it was possible that the current bird flu had been spread by wild birds. The viral disease infects wild water fowl such as ducks, geese and swans which can spread it to domestic poultry.

Britain has not seen a dangerous strain of avian flu since 2008, when a case of the deadly H5N1 strain was last reported in birds.

The H5N8 strain has never been detected in humans, but it led to the destruction of millions of farm birds in Asia, mainly South Korea, after an outbreak earlier this year.

Other bird populations in Europe were likely to be infected with bird flu and a few people might also be susceptible, although the virus is highly unlikely to spread in the human population, the World Health Organization said on Tuesday.

German discount chain Aldi South [ALDIEI.UL] warned that it expected egg shortages due to a three-day ban on shipments of all poultry products from the Netherlands, the world’s largest egg exporter.

Dutch authorities said on Sunday that they had identified the H5N8 strain at a poultry farm in the central Netherlands, more than a week after the first reported case in Europe at a German turkey farm.

(Reporting by Costas Pitas, additional reporting by Anna Ringstrom in STOCKHOLM; Editing by Michael Urquhart)

A woman scrapes ice from her car’s windshield in the parking lot of a grocery store in Minneapolis, November 10, 2014. CREDIT: REUTERS/ERIC MILLER

(Reuters) - Temperatures in all 50 U.S. states dipped to freezing or below on Tuesday as an unseasonably cold blast of weather moved across the country while heavy snow prompted a state of emergency in western New York and contributed to the deaths of four people.

Every U.S. state, including Hawaii, was bitten by temperatures at the freezing point of 32 degrees F (0 C) or below, the National Weather Service (NWS) said.

It was the coldest November morning across the country since 1976, according to Weather Bell Analytics, a meteorologist consulting firm. Typically, such cold is not seen until late December through February, the NWS said.

Parts of Erie County, western New York, had 60 inches (1.5 m) of snow, with more falling, said Steven Welch of the National Weather Service near Buffalo.

County officials said on Tuesday there had been four storm-related deaths. One person was killed in a traffic accident and three others died after suffering heart problems, two of whom were believed to have been shoveling heavy snow at the time.

Snow fell at a rate of up to five inches (13 cm) an hour and some areas approached the U.S. record for 24-hour snowfall totals of 76 inches (193 cm), the NWS said.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo declared a state of emergency for 10 counties. National Guard troops were deployed to help residents cope with the storm.

A total of three to four feet (0.9 to 1.2 meters) of snow was expected in many areas of western New York and as much as six feet (1.8 meters) elsewhere, the NWS said.

A 140-mile (225-km) stretch of the New York State Thruway along Lake Erie and Lake Ontario was closed. Bans on driving were implemented in some places.

A bus carrying the Niagara University women’s basketball team has been stuck on the Thruway since 2 a.m., the school said.

In the south of the United States, states were bracing for a record chill from the Arctic-born cold that swept the Rocky Mountains last week.

In Florida, freezing temperatures were expected through Wednesday morning, the NWS said.

“I can’t stand it,” said Robin Roy, 53, shivering underneath a rainbow-colored poncho at an outdoor market in Gulfport, Florida. “I’ve never liked the cold.”

(Additional reporting by Letitia Stein in Gulfport, Fla., Brendan O’Brien in Milwaukee, Ellen Wulfhorst in New York and Curtis Skinner in San Francisco; Editing by Gareth Jones)

Sebastian Nystrom, head of product business at Nokia Technologies, presents N1, Nokia’s new Android tablet, at the Slush 2014 event in Helsinki November 18, 2014. CREDIT: REUTERS/HEIKKI SAUKKOMAA/LEHTIKUVA

(Reuters) – Finland’s Nokia (NOK1V.HE) launched a new brand-licensed tablet computer on Tuesday which is designed to rival Apple’s (AAPL.O) iPad Mini, just six months after the company sold its ailing phones and devices business to Microsoft (MSFT.O) for over $7 billion.

Nokia, a name which was once synonymous with mobile phones until first Apple and then Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) eclipsed the Finnish company with the advent of smart phones, said the manufacturing, distribution and sales of the new N1 tablet, will be handled under license by Taiwan’s Foxconn (2354.TW).

The aluminum-cased N1, which runs on Google’s (GOOGL.O) Android Lollipop operating software but features Nokia’s new Z Launcher intelligent home screen interface, is due to be in stores in China in the first quarter of next year for an estimated price of $249 before taxes, with sales to other markets to follow.

Sebastian Nystrom, the head of products at Nokia’s Technologies unit, said the company was looking to follow up with more devices and will also look into eventually returning to the smartphones business by brand-licensing.

“With the agreement with Microsoft, as is customary, we have this transition and we can’t do smartphones … We have a time limit. In 2016 we can again enter that business,” Nystrom told Reuters.

“It would be crazy not to look at that opportunity. Of course we will look at it.”

Microsoft last week dropped the Nokia name on its latest Lumia 535 smartphone, which runs on its Windows Phone 8 operating system, but still uses the brand for more basic phones.

After the Microsoft sale Nokia was left with its core network equipment and services business plus its smaller HERE mapping and navigation unit and Nokia Technologies, which manages the licensing of its portfolio of patents and develops new products such as the N1 and the Z Launcher.

Asked about rumors that Nokia was looking to re-enter the handset market, Chief Executive Rajeev Suri said last week he was looking into ways to bring the brand back into the consumer market through licensing deals.

(Editing by Greg Mahlich)

satellite image from PAGASA

UNTV GEOWEATHER CENTER ( 5am, 11/20/14) – Apektado ngayon ng Tail-end of a cold front ang Central at Southern Luzon.

Ayon sa PAGASA, patuloy na makararanas ng mahina hanggang sa katamtamang pag-ulan ang Metro Manila, CALABARZON, Aurora, Quirino, Bulacan, Isabela, Mindoro, Palawan at Bicol.

Dahil naman sa Amihan ay mararanasan ang papulo-pulong mahinang pag-ulan sa iba pang lugar sa Cagayan Valley, Ilocos at Cordillera region.

Sa iba pang lugar sa bansa ay makararanas naman ng papulo-pulong pag-ulan, pag-kidlat at pag-kulog.

Mapanganib paring pumalaot sa mga baybayin ng Batanes, Calayan, Babuyan, Cagayan, Isabela, Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, La Union at Pangasinan. (Rey Pelayo / UNTV News)

SUNRISE            : 5.59am

SUNSET            : 5.24pm

END

U.S. President Barack Obama attends the 2nd ASEAN-USA Summit in Naypyitaw November 13, 2014. CREDIT: REUTERS/DAMIR SAGOLJ

(Reuters) - President Barack Obama’s immigration reforms would lift the threat of deportation for at least 250,000 undocumented people who work on farms, Arturo Rodriguez, the president of the United Farm Workers union said on Wednesday after meeting with Obama.

“We were pleased to learn from the president today that at least 250,000 farm workers (and at least 125,000 California farm workers) will be eligible for deportation relief under his executive action,” Rodriguez said in a statement.

The union held a “mock Thanksgiving feast” in front of the White House on Wednesday, and Rodriguez met with Obama, the union said.

“The president committed to working with UFW to do everything possible to make sure that every farm worker who qualifies for the program gets enrolled,” Rodriguez said.

(Reporting by Roberta Rampton; Editing by Sandra Maler)

Sewol ferry crew members (centre R) attend the start of verdict proceedings at a court room in Gwangju November 11, 2014. CREDIT: REUTERS/ED JONES/POOL

(Reuters) - A South Korean court on Thursday sentenced the head of the company that operated a ferry which capsized in April to 10 years in jail over his role in the country’s worst maritime disaster in decades.

Kim Han-sik, the chief executive of Chonghaejin Marine, was found guilty of negligence causing death and embezzlement.

His sentence was the toughest penalty handed down to anyone other than the ferry’s crew over the deaths of 304 passengers, most of them teenage children. Only 172 of the ferry’s 476 passengers and crew were rescued.

Kim apologized to the families of the victims but said last month that he was simply a paid employee of the company and the decisions that led to the disaster were made by the firm’s de-facto owner, Yoo Byung-un, media reports said.

Yoo, who was the head of the family that owned a holding company at the center of a network of business interests that included the ferry operator, was found dead in June.

The overloaded Sewol capsized while making a turn on a routine voyage to the holiday island of Jeju. The vessel was later found to be defective, with additions made to increase passenger capacity making it top-heavy and unstable.

The court found other executives of the firm to three to six years in prison for negligence and embezzlement. The officials were guilty of knowingly operating the ferry that was dangerous, and there was “considerable causal relationship” between their jobs and the disaster, the court said.

The 15 surviving crew members including the captain were convicted last week on negligence charges and sentenced to between five and 36 years in jail.

(Reporting By Kahyun Yang; Editing by Jack Kim)

An explosion following an air strike is seen in central Kobani in Syria, November 17, 2014.
CREDIT: REUTERS/OSMAN ORSAL

(Reuters) – The Syrian air force launched about 1,592 strikes across Syria over the past month, killing at least 396 civilians, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Wednesday.

The Britain-based group, which monitors the war in Syria using sources on the ground, said at least 1,500 people were also wounded in the attacks, which were carried out by warplanes and helicopters which dropped “barrel bombs”, steel drums full of shrapnel and explosives.

The group said air raids since Oct. 20 had struck areas in the Hama, Deraa, Idlib, Aleppo and Quneitra provinces as well as the Damascus countryside. They also hit the eastern Deir al-Zor province, where U.S.-led forces have been bombing Islamic State militants.

Syrian government air strikes have increased since the U.S.-led coalition started attacking Islamic State positions inside Syria in September.

Analysts say the increase could be because the Syrian military wants to weaken rebel groups before they get training and equipment promised by the United States.

(Reporting by Mariam Karouny; Editing by Janet Lawrence)