First report of Aulacaspis yasumatsui (Hemiptera: Diaspididae) in Africa (Ivory Coast), and update on distribution.
Cycas species and their relatives have been a staple in the Florida landscapes for 50 years. In the last 25 to 30 years the popularity of these plants in the landscape has increased worldwide. In 1996, a devastating pest to cycads was introduced into Florida, the cycad Aulacaspis scale...

500,000 has. of tree plantations needed.
Byline: MELODY M. AGUIBA The Philippines needs to develop at least 500,000 hectares of forest tree plantations in the next 15 years so as to be self-sufficient in plantation wood for veneer and plywood for the furniture sector for which the country was once Asean's top exporter...

Hotels mag names Giovanni Angelini '06 Corporate Hotelier of the World.
Giovanni Angelini, chief executive officer and managing director of Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts was recently named "2006 Corporate Hotelier of the World" by Hotels, the magazine of the worldwide hotel industry. This award was voted upon by over 60,000 HOTELS' readers in 170 countries. Angelini attributes this...

Gov't gets 3 bidders for Maynilad.
Byline: MELODY M. AGUIBA The government has received the technical and financial bids of only three bidders for the right to subscribe to the Maynilad Water Services Inc. (MWSI) as a consortium led by the Strategic Alliance Holdings Corp. (SAHC) apparently withdrew from the bidding. ...

Encyclopedia of holidays and celebrations; a country-by-country guide; 3v.
0816062358 Encyclopedia of holidays and celebrations; a country-by-country guide; 3v. Ed. by Matthew Dennis. Facts On File, Inc. 2006 1852 pages $275.00 Hardcover GT3930 Aimed at readers in grades nine and...

Gov't eyes 65,000 jobs in new program.
The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) expects to offset the 55,000 jobs lost from Japan's new hiring policy with 65,000 new hires of high value and professional jobs from emerging sources and traditional markets as the agency mounts the first international labor mart in the country. POEA...

Get around.
Thrasher does good things for me. A few years ago I met Preston at the Baggot Roadhouse in Perth, Western Australia. We sat on the garden wall and he gave me a bit of relationship advice (and no, that is not a euphemism for getting it on. I think...

New group acquires Bataan Polyethylene.
Byline: BERNIE CAHILES MAGKILAT Investment firm Tybalt Investment Limited (TIL) has formalized its acquisition of ther bankrupt Bataan Polyethylene Corp. (BPC) with 83 percent stake and the entry of Metro Alliance, which is majority-owned by plastics magnate William Gatchalian. In a statement, BPC confirmed that...

DoLE sets big job fair Nov. 10-11.
Employment opportunities in the Middle East, Americas, Europe, and Asia for Filipinos will be made available by the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) through the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration during the DoLE First International Labor Mart in November 10 and 11 at the Philippine International Convention Center. ...

Typhoon 'Feria' further intensifies, heads for Batanes.
Byline: LESLIE ANN AQUINO Typhoon "Feria" (international codename: "Haitian") further intensified yesterday as it moved west-northwest towards the Batanes-Taiwan area. Feria, which entered the Philippines "area of responsibility" (PAR) last Friday, now have winds of 185 kilometers per hour (kph) from 175 kph and gusty...