Source: www.reuters.com
(Reuters) - South Korea on Monday kicked off the process to buy four in-flight refueling tanker aircraft, in a deal seen to be worth around 1.4 trillion won ($1.31 billion), with planemakers Boeing and Airbus expected to compete, sources said.
The purchase is part of South Korea's attempts to bolster its air defense in the face of rising tension in Northeast Asia over the maritime interests of neighbors such as Japan and China, as well as against an unpredictable North Korea.
The purchase will be made through a competitive bid process and bids will be accepted by June 30, arms purchase agency the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) said in a statement.
Boeing Co is expected to bid with a model that is based on a Boeing 767-level aircraft such as the KC-46 Pegasus, while Airbus Group NV is expected to enter its A330 multi-role tanker transport, two industry sources told Reuters.
Other firms could also decide to compete with commercial aircraft overhauled as tankers, the sources said.
DAPA will hold a closed briefing on April 8 to explain its requirement to interested companies. South Korea seeks to close a deal by the end of this year, a source with direct knowledge of its requirements said.
South Korea expects the purchase will boost its fighter jets' airborne operation time by more than an hour, the source added.
All the sources declined to be identified, citing the confidentiality of the procurement process. ($1=1,069.30 Korean won)
South Korea plans $1.3-billion tanker aircraft buy to boost air defense
Search for Malaysian jet grows, but poor weather again forecast
Wing Commander Rob Shearer is pictured on the flight deck of a Royal New Zealand Air Force P-3K2 Orion aircraft during a search for the missing Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 over the southern Indian Ocean, March 29, 2014.
Source: www.reuters.com
(Reuters) - Ten ships and as many aircraft will search a swathe of the Indian Ocean west of Perth on Sunday, trying again to find some trace of missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 after more than three weeks of fruitless and frustrating hunting.
Numerous objects have been spotted in the two days since Australian authorities moved the search 1,100 km (685 miles) after new analysis of radar and satellite data concluded the Boeing 777 travelled faster and for a shorter distance after vanishing from civilian radar screens on March 8.
However, none has been confirmed as coming from Flight MH370 and time is running out to find any debris, work out a likely crash zone and recover the aircraft's "black box" voice and data recorders before batteries pinging their location die.
An Australian navy ship fitted with a sophisticated U.S. black box locater and an unmanned underwater drone is due to leave later on Sunday. But the ADV Ocean Shield will take days to reach the search zone, an area the size of New Mexico some 1,850 km (1,150 miles) to the west of Perth.
Malaysia says the plane, which disappeared less than an hour into a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, was likely diverted deliberately. Investigators have determined no apparent motive or other red flags among the 227 passengers or the 12 crew.
WEATHER THREATENS EXPANDED SEARCH
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) said aircraft from China, Australia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia and the United States would be searching on Sunday.
"Weather in the search area is forecast to worsen today with light showers and low cloud, though search operations are expected to continue," AMSA said in a statement
Both a Chinese ship and an Australian navy vessel picked up objects yesterday but nothing has been linked to Flight MH370.
The Chinese navy vessel Jinggangshan, which carries two helicopters, reached the new search area early on Saturday where it was expected to focus on searching for plane surfaces, oil slicks and life jackets in a sea area of some 6,900 sq km, state news agency Xinhua reported.
The search, being coordinated by Australia, has involved unprecedented cooperation between more than two dozen countries and 60 aircraft and ships but has also been bedevilled by regional rivalries and an apparent reluctance to share potentially crucial information due to security concerns.
FAMILY PROTESTS
The Malaysian government has come under strong criticism from China, home to more than 150 of the passengers, where relatives of the missing have accused the government of "delays and deception".
More than 20 Chinese relatives staged a brief protest on Saturday outside the Lido hotel in Beijing where families have been staying for the past three weeks, demanding evidence of the plane's fate.
The peaceful protest came just days after dozens of angry relatives clashed with police after trying to storm the Malaysian embassy.
Many of Saturday's protesters carried slogans demanding the "truth" about their lost loved ones.
"They don't have any direct evidence," said Steve Wang, who had a relative on the flight. "(Their conclusion) is only based on mathematical (analysis) and they used an uncertain mathematical model. Then they come to the conclusion that our relatives are all gone."
Malaysia's acting Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said his country was committed to seeing the investigation through to its final conclusion.
"What they want from us is a commitment to continue the search, and that I have given, not only on behalf of the Malaysian government but the so many nations involved," he told reporters in Kuala Lumpur after speaking with families on Saturday.
For more than a week, the international effort had been scouring seas 2,500 km (1,550 miles) southwest of Perth, where satellite images had shown possible debris from Flight MH370. That search zone has now been abandoned.
In the first week of the search, Vietnamese, Chinese and Malaysian ships and planes concentrated their efforts in the South China Sea.
The shift north of the search was based on painstaking analysis of Malaysian military radar data and satellite readings from British company Inmarsat.
Disney to buy YouTube network Maker Studios for $500 million
Source: www.reuters.com
(Reuters) - The Walt Disney Co has agreed to buy Maker Studios, one of YouTube's largest networks, for $500 million, a deal that makes Disney a major online video distributor and should help draw more teens into the Disney entertainment empire.
The price tag could rise to $950 million if Maker hits certain performance milestones, Disney said, confirming what a source told Reuters earlier on Monday.
Maker, founded in 2009, is one of the largest video production networks on Google Inc's YouTube. Its producers target the younger millennial generation, known for its high appetite for online video.
"This gives a presence online to reach the millennial group that is increasingly getting its video online," said Kevin Mayer, Disney executive vice president for corporate strategy. "And it gives us a lot of data to help promote our other businesses to them."
The deal will be "mildly dilutive" to earnings per share through fiscal 2017, Mayer said. Disney's fiscal year closes at the end of September.
Maker helps produce and distribute videos to more than 380 million subscribers worldwide across more than 55,000 channels. Its videos now collectively garner some 5.5 billion views every month, according to the source.
The company, whose backers include Time Warner Investments, Upfront Ventures and Greycroft Partners, is partners with PewDiePie, the online persona of 24 year-old video gamer Felix Kjellberg. Kjellberg has more than 25 million subscribers and is YouTube's single most-subscribed star.
"Short-form online video is growing at an astonishing pace and with Maker Studios, Disney will now be at the center of this dynamic industry," Disney CEO Bob Iger said in a statement.
The deal is expected to close in Disney's third fiscal quarter.
Iglesia Ni Cristo shows the way: From record-breaking worldwide walk to rebuilding houses and lives for typhoon Yolanda survivors
Source: CNNiREPORT
From a massive charity walk worldwide that broke two Guinness world records to setting up a housing, relocation and livelihood site for the benefit of the victims of typhoon Yolanda (international name: Haiyan). And all these done in just a span of one month.
This was how the Iglesia Ni Cristo (INC) or Church of Christ – a global Christian church which was registered in the Philippines on July 27, 1914 – is making its presence felt in helping survivors of the strongest typhoon on record to hit land.
On February 15, the church conducted a charity walk dubbed “Worldwide Walk for those affected by typhoon Yolanda” that broke two Guinness records. One for the largest charity walk in a single venue which was in its Manila site, along the scenic Roxas Boulevard where 175,509 participants made it to the finish line. The second was for the largest charity walk done within 24 hours in multiple venues with 519,221 participants that set a new Guinness record category. All the participants who registered and donated money were members of the church which will be celebrating its centennial on July 27.
On March 14, just a month after this fundraising walk, the INC church administration unveiled a model community to be set up in Alangalang town in Leyte, one of several Central Philippine provinces pummeled by Yolanda’s fury in November.
It was just 18 kilometers from Tacloban City, Leyte’s capital, which became the center of international attention for relief supplies and rehabilitation efforts from all over the world.
The model community will be called Sitio New Era, signifying hope for a new beginning for survivors of the typhoon who want to get back on their own feet in rebuilding their lives.
No less than the INC Church’s Executive Minister, Brother Eduardo V. Manalo, visited the site which was nestled on top of a mountain. A model concrete quadruplex house was already finished with tiled floors. Each planned quadruplex will have four studio-type units good for four households.
The church officials said at least half of the planned one thousand housing for the site would be finished within the year. Beneficiaries for the housing projects are members of the church who were affected by typhoon Yolanda.
Sitio New Era will be built on a 3,000 hectare property of the INC where an eco-farming site will also be developed.
INC General Auditor minister Glicerio B. Santos Jr., said 40 percent of the land would be developed for planting of imported rice varieties, while the rest of the eco-farm site will also be designated for the planting of imported fruit bearing trees and imported vegetables.
A garments-manufacturing plant and a dried fish plant will also be set up, as well as a facility for the production of cultured mushrooms.
Before the groundbreaking of the projects to be set up for Sitio New Era, the INC also conducted a massive relief food pack distribution in Tacloban City for the benefit of typhoon Yolanda survivors. At least 150,000 relief food packs were distributed. A medical and dental outreach service was also held near the site of the relief food pack distribution in Leyte National High School in Tacloban City.
But more than the giving of food aid to typhoon survivors, Santos said that the INC Church Administration led by Bro. Manalo wanted to help their brethren by providing them permanent housing in a safe place and jobs for them to recover from the tragedy.
“This was started by Bro. Eduardo because he wanted the brethren with no jobs to have their own means of livelihood. Because that is the main problem of people not just here, but all over the world. That is why the Church Administration is helping members of the Iglesia Ni Cristo so they would have their own livelihood,” Santos said.
“This is why we are building resettlements like these,” he said, noting that there are now a total of eight model eco-farming communities which the INC had already set up in the Philippines. These are in Agusan del Sur, Cavite, Rizal, San Miguel and Obando in Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, and Isabela.
Santos explained that the Church is not accepting cash donations from non-INC members, and they have in fact turned down several offers of cash donations from outside sources.
“All these happened because of God’s help. God is guiding the Church Administration, and He is the One making all these happen,” he said.
Officials of Leyte province admired the speed and efficiency of the INC’s actions and hoped that this would prod the national government to speed up delivery of projects for the typhoon survivors.
“This should be the standard. The Iglesia (Ni Cristo) is acting fast, even in the distribution of relief goods. We have seen that even last year. They immediately distributed their relief goods to everybody who needs it. There was no politics,” said Leyte first district representative Ferdinand Martin Romualdez who came to the site of the groundbreaking for the Sitio New Era community.
“Their activity is a good example,” he said of the INC’s relief distribution.
In contrast, Rep. Romualdez noted how some relief goods brought to the national government had not been immediately distributed. As a result, some of the relief goods that were in the government’s safekeeping were found to have been thrown out as these had become unfit for human consumption.
“What the INC is doing is a good example which everybody should follow,” Romualdez said.
Tacloban city information officer Bernardita Valenzuela also expressed admiration for the leadership of the Iglesia Ni Cristo in taking care of its members and for helping even non-members in their relief distribution and medical and dental outreach missions. She expressed hope that livelihood projects and job opportunities would also be set up in Tacloban City.
“What the Iglesia Ni Cristo is doing is simply terrific. It’s God-sent,” she said.
“I was thinking the other day of how much a garments factory will help the people here in Tacloban City, and here is a Christian organization that is already about to do it,” said Valenzuela who is already 84 years old and dreams of the day when her fellow Taclobanons (residents of Tacloban City) would no longer be recipients of aid or charity.
The people affected by typhoon Yolanda need food, clothing and shelter which remain the basic needs of any human being, she said, and providing decent housing and jobs would go a long way for the rehabilitation and recovery of the typhoon victims.
In Sitio New Era, some of the beneficiaries who were brought to the resettlement site to see the groundbreaking of their housing and eco-farming site only had smiles of hope on their faces.
Perla Sombilon, 45, whose right arm was severed at the height of typhoon Yolanda, was among these beneficiaries. She came from Tanauan, another coastal town in Leyte that was severely hit by the storm. During the storm on that fateful day of November 8, the waters rose so high and she held on to the electric lines atop a post so that she would not be swept away by the raging current. She and her family had received financial aid from the INC, and regular food aid as well.
“This gives us hope,” she said as she gazed at the housing site where farmlands are now being prepared for the beneficiaries. Nearby, a garments training center is already being set up.
“It gives us joy and inspiration. All we can say is thank you,” she said.
Iglesia Ni Cristo Unveiled A "Self-sustainable Model Community" For Yolanda Survivors
Source: eaglenews.ph
TACLOBAN CITY — The Iglesia Ni Cristo unveiled on Friday(March 14, 2014), a “model community” for the benefit of its brethren who were affected by super-typhoon Yolanda (international name: Haiyan) more than four months ago, in fulfillment of its promise to help survivors of the strongest typhoon on record to ever hit the country.
INC Executive Minister Eduardo V. Manalo led the groundbreaking ceremonies of the INC’s resettlement housing and eco-farming community in Sitio New Era where a garments factory and other livelihood projects will also be set up, atop a scenic mountainous landscape in Barangay Langit, Alangalang town in Leyte, just 18 kilometers from Tacloban City.
Bro. Manalo inspected a model unit of the housing project — a concrete quadruplex with tiled floors. Each quadruplex has four studio-type units with a floor area of 22 square meters each and a lot area of 35 square meters, including the garden area.
The INC is targeting to finish 1,000 studio-type units within four to six months, said INC General Auditor minister Glicerio B. Santos Jr., who also heads the Felix Y. Manalo Foundation Incorporated, the INC’s charity-arm which is in charge of putting up the self-sustainable model community for Yolanda survivors in Sitio New Era. The INC’s socio-civic and livelihood skills training arm, the Unlad Kabuhayan International is also involved in the eco-farming and livelihood projects in the site.
Sitio New Era is situated in a 3,000- hectare land owned by the INC in Alangalang, Leyte. The initial phase of the project will involve the development of some 700 hectares of the property, where the housing units will be constructed as well as garments factory, a dried fish plant, and an eco-farm that would be planted with imported rice varieties, imported fruit-bearing trees, vegetables and cultured mushrooms for export, Santos said.
About 40 percent of the land will be utilized for farming – particularly the planting of rice and vegetables, he said.
Santos explained that the INC is not just content in giving relief goods or food packs and medical and dental services for Yolanda survivors in Leyte and other provinces hit by the supertyphoon.
He said that Executive Minister Manalo also wanted to help the survivors so that they could have their own livelihood and own house in an area where they would not be at risk of anymore storm surges.
Santos said those working in the construction of the housing units, and the various factories, are typhoon survivors themselves who are being given wages for their work by the INC.
“Ang lahat ng ito ay nangyayari sa awa at tulong ng Diyos,” Santos said.
He said Sitio New Era is just among the eight model community projects of the INC. The other model community projects are in Agusan del Sur, Cavite and Bulacan.
Leyte first district representative Martin Romualdez said the INC’s resettlement housing project with an eco-farm and area for at least three factories is a very good example of how survivors of typhoon Yolanda should be helped so that they could go back on their feet again.
“It’s a model community, a total community. Magandang ehemplo ito para sa gobyerno. Napakalaking tulong po ito para po sa amin sa Leyte,” Romualdez said upon surveying the work done by the INC in Sitio New Era.
“This should be the standard to follow,” he noted.
Romualdez also expressed disappointment in the national government’s slow pace in helping Yolanda’s survivors, considering that millions of dollars in donations (cash, food and other equipment) and pledges for Leyte had already been coursed to the national government in the immediate aftermath of the super typhoon.
“Kailangang i-devolve, i-decentralize ito. Sama-sama na nating gawin ang mga dapat maisakatuparan,” he said as he urged the national government to take a different approach in helping the Yolanda victims, and follow the INC’s lead.
The groundbreaking of the INC resettlement project with an eco-farming site and areas for garments favtory, dried fish plant, came just a month after the February 15 Worldwide Walk for Yolanda survivors. The funds raised in the charity walk was immediately used for projects that would benefit typhoon Yolanda survivors.
On March 14, the same day that the INC held the ground-breaking for Sitio New Era, the INC also conducted a massive relief food pack distribution and a medical and dental mission at the Leyte National High School. Some 150,000 food packs, each containing three kilos of rice, three cans of sardines and three noodle packs, were distributed that day.
Before the groundbreaking rites in Sitio New Era, INC Executive Minister Manalo officiated a special worship service at the Leyte Sports Development Center that was attended by at least 60,000 people.
After the worship service, the relief-dental and medical mission followed at the high school grounds. There was also counseling services done for the Yolanda survivors.
Dr. Sergie Santos, a board member of the FYM Foundation Inc., said they also distributed 25,000 toys donated by Emirates Airlines. Santos said that the INC, through the FYM Foundation, had already given some 800,000 food relief packs in the various provinces affected by Yolanda since November last year under the “Lingap sa Mamamayan” or Aid to Humanity project of the INC.
Bro. Edwil Zabala, the INC spokesperson for the event, said the funds to be used for the construction of the resettlement housing project, garments factory, dried fish plant, and various livelihood projects for Yolanda victims, as well as the relief food packs being given for the typhoon survivors did not solely come from the funds generated in the Worldwide walk.
He said the bulk of the funds also came from donations of INC members for the “Lingap sa Mamamayan” project of the INC which helps poor communities and victims of calamities not just in the Philippines, but in other countries as well.
The INC’s Worldwide Walk for those affected by typhoon Yolanda broke the Guinness world record for the largest charity walk in a single venue (Manila Roxas Boulevard site), and also set a new Guinness record for the most number of participants in a charity walk done within 24 hours in multiple venues. (Eagle News Service)