Big City Informer

Viktor Bout, facing extradition to US from Bangkok, says Thai MP tried to recruit him to help intercept former PM’s plane

• Vedanta’s controversial bauxite mine on tribal land stopped
• Authorities say firm violated forestry and environment rules

STATEMENT of His Excellency BENIGNO S. AQUINO III President of the Philippines On the hostage-taking incident at the Quirino Grandstand [August 23, 2010] With the rest of the Filipino people, I wish to offer our deepest condolences to the families of the victims whose lives were lost in the hostage situation at the Quirino Grandstand. [...]

One of our regular Cebu Informer readers shared the following story and pictures with us. He is living in Barangay Camputhaw here in Cebu and has seen something he does not understand. And we have to admit, we could not help him either. Maybe you can help us figure this one out. First a nice [...]

The Ministry of Health (MoH) has announced that some provisions of the Cabinet resolution number 7 of year 2008, on the medical check up of expatriates, have been amended, following the endorsement of the cabinet as per the resolution number 28 of year 2010. Dr Hanif Hassan, Minister of Health said at a press conference [...]

At least 25 newly-elected governors from various parts in the country are in Cebu for a two-day “peer-to-peer orientation seminar” intended at providing them with an orientation of the tasks that await them as heads of their respective provinces. Former governors and those who serving their provinces for two or three terms were invited as [...]

Bangladesh is set to free nearly 1,000 long-serving prisoners to ease pressure on the country’s crammed jails, a home ministry official said Wednesday. Bangladesh’s 67 prisons currently accommodate three times their capacity, with 77,000 prisoners in facilities designed for a maximum of 28,000 people. “We have drawn up a list of nearly 1,000 well-behaved prisoners [...]

Cairo called for a reduction in consumption of grain products and increased domestic production to cope with a Russian export ban, the government said. Moscow during the weekend imposed a ban on grain exports after wildfires and drought wiped out a significant portion of Russia’s cropland. Amin Abaza, the Egyptian agriculture minister, said Cairo would [...]

Federal appeals court extends the block on gay marriage in California but opens question of who can appeal Prop 8 ruling

People are struggling to grasp the extent of the damage, says deputy prime minister

The whole subcontinent is in thrall to dynasties, but it’s Pakistan’s that really takes the biscuit

Either demographics have changed considerably in Nevada or people are reconsidering their previous stance against gay marriage. In a recent poll conducted by Mason-Dixon Polling & Research, Inc. of Washington, D.C.,  the number of Nevadans opposing gay marriage has slipped from 60 percent, who opposed such marriages in 2002, to 46 percent.  This was the [...]

If you believe the polls, and many in Nevada do, then the next governor will be Republican Brian Sandoval.  Sandoval leads Democrat hopeful Roy Reid by a whopping 16 percentage points in the latest newspaper poll.  The poll’s findings, conducted by Mason-Dixon Polling & Research, Inc. of Washington, D.C. from August 9 through August 11, [...]

London housing crisis: Boris, the boroughs and devolving power This article was written by Dave Hill, for guardian.co.uk on Friday 13th August 2010 10.44 UTC Announced yesterday: The Mayor of London Boris Johnson and London Councils have today put forward plans for sweeping changes which could see London boroughs taking greater control of their housing [...]

Gay and lesbian couples in California put marriage plans on hold as Proposition 8 judge keeps ban in place until 18 August

• California opponents given more time to appeal
• Ruling allows higher courts to get involved

Abdullah Hussain Haroon tells Radio 4 that prime minister’s words have added to Pakistan’s ‘suffering’

Former prime minister believes Britain is full of compassionate people but says more donations are urgently needed

Indonesia’s strategic importance is of growing interest to the jousting superpowers of the US and China – and it wants friends

We see the extremes, but ignore those in the middle and our blinkered thinking is not only stupid, but dangerous