MANILA: Thai Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Surapong Tovichakchaikul paid a courtesy call on President Aquino and signed three agreements aimed at strengthening relations and cooperation between the Philippines and Thailand. Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario joined the President in welcoming Tovichakchaikul and other Thai officials during a simple ceremony held at the Music Room of Malacañang Thursday afternoon.
The agreement on taxation and income would facilitate economic activities between the Philippines and Thailand, while the joint statement for the establishment of an energy forum would advance cooperation in the energy sector.
3 Chinese ships in disputed water
TOKYO: Three Chinese government ships sailed into waters around disputed islands controlled by Tokyo for about five hours yesterday, the Japanese coastguard said.
The maritime surveillance vessels entered the 12-nautical-mile zone off Uotsurijima, one of the Senkaku islands, which China calls the Diaoyus, in the East China Sea shortly after 9:30am (0030 GMT). They were seen leaving the zone at around 2:30pm, the coastguard said.
Ships from the two countries have been involved in a stand-off as Beijing and Tokyo jostle over ownership of the strategically important and resource-rich islands.
27 hurt as bus falls into ravine
MANILA: Twenty-seven people, including the bus driver, were injured after a bus fell into a 20-feet ravine midnight in Quezon, local media reported yesterday.
The injured people were rushed to a nearby hospital. The bus driver is in critical condition, the report said.
The accident happened along the Quirino Highway in Tagkawayan, a first class municipality in Quezon province, when the Manila- bound bus driven by a certain Gonzalo Joble went out of control after the bus driver avoided a collision with an incoming bus.
Japan group to buy Thai bank
TOKYO: Japan’s Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group plans to buy a 51 percent stake in Thailand’s Bank of Ayudhya for about 400bn yen ($4.1bn) in a bid to expand its business in Southeast Asia, a report said yesterday.
This will mark the first time that a Japanese bank takes direct control of a major bank in the rest of Asia.
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