MANILA, Philippines - Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile on Friday said Senators Panfilo 'Ping' Lacson and Francis 'Kiko' Pangilinan are both "highly qualified" to be in the Cabinet.

Speaking to reporters after a meeting with Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, Enrile said Lacson is qualified to sit at the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) or the Department of National Defense (DND).

However, Enrile said Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin is already there doing good job.

Pangilinan, on ther other hand, being a lawyer, "can move around," he said.

Lacson and Pangilinan are expected to be named to the Cabinet next year after their terms end in mid-June 2013.

Asked about his preferred replacement for deposed Chief Justice Renato Corona, Enrile said he prefers an insider from the Supreme Court, although an appointee may come from outside as a prerogative of the appointing authority, President Aquino.

De Lima said Enrile came to see her and requested for some things for prosecutors in his province, Cagayan.

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JPE: Ping, Kiko 'highly qualified' for Cabinet posts

BEIRUT: The Cabinet overcame Thursday the spending crisis that had paralyzed its work for months by approving advanced payments and treasury loans worth over LL10 trillion ($6.7 billion) to cover public administration expenses for 2012 and finance projects in Tripoli and other areas.

Addressing the Cabinet meeting he chaired at Baabda Palace, President Michel Sleiman said priority should be given to an intra-Lebanese National Dialogue, scheduled to take place on June 11, and to energizing Cabinet work, Information Minister Walid Daouk told reporters after the meeting.

The third priority, Sleiman said, was to explain the Lebanese situation to Arab Gulf states which have issued warnings to its nationals against visiting Lebanon following a series of security incidents in the north. Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain have warned their nationals against travel to Lebanon following deadly clashes in Tripoli last month.

The Cabinet approved an urgent draft law to allocate LL10.394 trillion in treasury bills to cover public administration expenses for 2012, Daouk said.

He added that the Cabinet also approved a treasury loan of LL150 billion to finance the implementation of some development projects in Tripoli and another treasury loan of LL450 billion to fund implementation of development projects in other parts of the country.

The decision to fund projects in Tripoli came after deadly clashes between armed supporters and opponents of Syrian President Bashar Assad that gripped the countrys second-largest city in recent weeks in a clear sign of the spillover of the Syrian unrest into Lebanon.

Sleiman, who returned Wednesday from a one-day visit to Qatar and the UAE after visiting Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, said that his Gulf tour had been to brief officials in these countries on the situation in Lebanon and to seek their help in securing the release of the 11 Lebanese hostages held by Syrian rebels.

He added that Lebanon had been able in the past year-and-a-half not to serve as an arena for conflict or a springboard for any attack on any Arab country or interference in Arab affairs, particularly the Syrian crisis, according to Daouk.

Sleiman said that concerns voiced by Arab Gulf states over the security situation and warnings to their nationals against travel to Lebanon prompted him to move on three paths: To call for an intra-Lebanese National Dialogue which, he said, should be the first and permanent path in Lebanon; to energize Cabinets work and streamline the citizens affairs in all fields; and to explain Lebanons position to Arab states, particularly Gulf states.

I have sent the invitations to dialogue and I hope they will be accepted by all, Sleiman said.

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Cabinet resolves spending crisis, approves LL10 trillion loans

REDWOOD CITY, CA--(Marketwire -06/06/12)- ASSIA, Inc., the leading provider of high-performance software tools for Dynamic Spectrum Management (DSM) of digital subscriber line (DSL) networks, has just published a white paper that presents a solution for maintaining a competitive environment among DSL service providers as they upgrade their lines from asynchronous digital subscriber lines (ADSLs) to vectored very-high-speed digital subscriber lines (vectored VDSLs). "Methods for Supporting Vectoring when Multiple Service Providers Share the Cabinet Area" is available for download from the ASSIA DSL Knowledge Center on the ASSIA Web site.

With data rates exceeding 100 megabits per second (Mbps) at loop lengths of up to 1,000 meters, vectored VDSL benefits consumers who increasingly rely on mobile devices for accessing rich media content and on high-bandwidth services such as Internet Protocol television (IPTV). Vectored VDSL also can catapult widely installed DSL to new performance standards beyond shared cable and fiber broadband services. However, crosstalk between lines from multiple competitive Internet service providers (ISPs) sharing the same cabinet area may degrade the performance of vectored VDSLs. As government mandates worldwide attempt to promote competition between incumbent local exchange carriers (ILECs) and competitive local exchange carriers (CLECs), some in the industry advocate restrictions that would allow only the ILECs to manage all vectored lines in a single cabinet area to avoid this issue and secure the full benefits of vectoring.

"The misperceptions that vectoring technology requires wholesale replacement of DSL infrastructure and is incompatible with unbundling do a disservice to the operator community, broadband consumers and broadband competition," said Marc Goldburg, chief technology officer of ASSIA and co-author of the white paper. "Properly managed with Dynamic Spectrum Management (DSM) solutions, different DSL technologies operated by different service providers can coexist in the same physical plant, while preserving each provider's ability to deliver advanced, differentiated services."

Informa Senior Analyst Stephen Wilson recently examined the possibility of using DSM to maintain a competitive environment while reducing vectored VDSL crosstalk, and wrote in a blog post that "DSM can control the transmit spectrum of different lines, sometimes in coordinated fashion, using a spectrum management centre (SMC). DSM can dynamically shape the power spectral density of lines or how the power on a line is distributed across different frequencies. By doing this it may even be possible to reduce the power on a line and have higher bit rates because crosstalk has been lessened."

The latest white paper from ASSIA also clarifies the tools operators need to manage the simultaneous presence of vectored and non-vectored lines and also multiple vectoring groups as existing DSL equipment is gradually replaced with vectored DSL. The paper also explains how the rich capabilities of DSM can address the technical requirements of managing various types of DSLs from multiple service providers sharing the same cabinet area, while promoting healthy competition and protecting end users from unhealthy monopolies.

ASSIA is not only addressing the issue on paper; its latest product release, ASSIA DSL Expresse 2.7, is the first product to offer advanced network management software for multi-tenant environments. The multi-tenant architecture facilitates carrier unbundling by enabling multiple service providers' simultaneous use of the same software instance to optimize their lines' interplay and performance.

ASSIA CTO Goldburg also presented these findings and more in his presentation, "Vectoring Coexistence: Unvectored Services and Unbundled Environments," at the recent TNO DSL Seminar 2012 in Leiden, The Netherlands.

About ASSIA, Inc. ASSIA, Inc. develops high-performance software tools that dramatically improve the speed and reach of DSL networks. Using Dynamic Spectrum Management (DSM), these platform-agnostic tools enable DSL service providers to manage lines in real time and to lower capital and operating expenses, increase revenue, and deliver new multimedia content to the broadband-enabled home. ASSIA has more than 60 million lines under contract with top-tier service providers worldwide and is backed by strategic investors, including AT&T, Mingly China Growth Fund, SFR Development, Sandalwood Partners, Sofinnova Partners, Stanford University, Swisscom Ventures, T-Ventures, and Telefonica. For more information, visit http://www.assia-inc.com.

ASSIA DSL Expresse is a registered trademark of ASSIA, Inc.

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ASSIA Enables Healthy Competition Among Service Providers Transitioning to 100 Mbps Vectored VDSL

American Ambassador in Sofia, James Warlick, refuted once again Tuesday media information that he has been recalled early.

In an interview for TV7, which the channel says might be his farewell one, the diplomat explained that the US has started the procedure to nominate his replacement, but the decision has not yet been finalized.

On May 25th US President Barack Obama officially announced that he has nominated Marcie Ries for Ambassador to Bulgaria, where she will replace James Warlick. The announcement was published on the site of the White House.

In the interview, the Ambassador also touched on the last developments in the country's fight against organized crime, saying the arrest of alleged drug lord Evelin Banev AKA Brando is a significant step forward of the government in this fight. He stressed once again that criminals must not only be arrested, but tried and receive just sentences under the rule of law.

Warlick pointed out that as Rome was not built in a day, the fight against organized crime is a long and difficult process.

"The series of arrests of key figures from the underground such as Brando or the alleged "Octopus" gang ringleader Alexey Petrov, are proof that the Bulgarian government is making the necessary efforts and must stay the course," said he.

Commenting on the new law for confiscation of illegally acquired assets without the need to have an effective Court verdict, the diplomat explained that all individuals in Bulgaria who have "unexplainable" wealth must be probed.

The Ambassador further reiterated his support for the decision of Prime Minister, Boyko Borisov, to scrap the project to build a second Nuclear Power Plant, NPP, in the Danube town of Belene, adding he agrees with Borisov's motive that such project is a very expensive undertaking.

"If this was an economically beneficial project, investors would have shown up," Warlick stated.

He also commented on the exploration of shale gas deposits in Bulgaria, saying Bulgarians are right to give top priority to preserving the environment. The diplomat, however, voiced the opinion that there is a need of in-depth and unbiased debate about such exploration as shale gas can end up being an alternative energy source for the country.

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Outgoing US Ambassador: Bulgarian Cabinet Must Stay Course

CABINET ministers are waiting anxiously for President Hifikepunye Pohamba to act on his threat to reshuffle them.

A Cabinet reshuffle was on the cards last year, but was never executed for reasons unknown.

During the last Cabinet meeting when the President requested action within the ranks of the permanent secretaries, he at the same time warned the ministers that he would reshuffle them too. This was said after he expressed his dismay with the performance of certain ministries.

"We don't know when it will take place and are waiting for the President to take action. At least he warned us about the reshuffling," a senior minister told The Namibian.

However, political analysts are of the opinion that the chances are slim for a major Cabinet reshuffle with the watershed Swapo congress just around the corner.

A total of 11 out of the 24 permanent secretaries were reshuffled, but even Prime Minister Nahas Angula made it clear that ministers are ultimately responsible for their ministries.

According to the Constitution, ministers must direct, coordinate and supervise the activities of their ministries, government departments and parastatals and should be held accountable for the administration of their ministries.

The executive director of the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), Graham Hopwood, told The Namibian that Cabinet ministers are supposed to ensure that apartheid, tribalism and colonialism do not manifest themselves again in Namibia and to assist disadvantaged citizens. In addition they are not supposed to be using their positions to enrich themselves or expose themselves to conflicts of interest.

"In an ideal world ministers' performances should primarily be measured against these benchmarks and the recent track records of their ministries in terms of improving service delivery. However, Cabinet reshuffles have always been strongly influenced by other factors such as ethnic balancing and pleasing various interest groups within the ruling party."

He said a recycling exercise, as was the case with the permanent secretaries, probably won't achieve much in terms of improving service delivery. It would be more invigorating for government performance if some new faces and younger politicians were drafted into Cabinet.

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Namibia: Swapo Congress 'Stalls' Cabinet Reshuffle

05.06.2012

President Hifikepunye Pohamba

A Cabinet reshuffle was on the cards last year, but was never executed for reasons unknown. During the last Cabinet meeting when the President requested action within the ranks of the permanent secretaries, he at the same time warned the ministers that he would reshuffle them too. This was said after he expressed his dismay with the performance of certain ministries. We dont know when it will take place and are waiting for the President to take action. At least he warned us about the reshuffling, a senior minister told The Namibian. However, political analysts are of the opinion that the chances are slim for a major Cabinet reshuffle with the watershed Swapo congress just around the corner. A total of 11 out of the 24 permanent secretaries were reshuffled, but even Prime Minister Nahas Angula made it clear that ministers are ultimately responsible for their ministries. According to the Constitution, ministers must direct, coordinate and supervise the activities of their ministries, government departments and parastatals and should be held accountable for the administration of their ministries. The executive director of the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), Graham Hopwood, told The Namibian that Cabinet ministers are supposed to ensure that apartheid, tribalism and colonialism do not manifest themselves again in Namibia and to assist disadvantaged citizens. In addition they are not supposed to be using their positions to enrich themselves or expose themselves to conflicts of interest. In an ideal world ministers performances should primarily be measured against these benchmarks and the recent track records of their ministries in terms of improving service delivery. However, Cabinet reshuffles have always been strongly influenced by other factors such as ethnic balancing and pleasing various interest groups within the ruling party. He said a recycling exercise, as was the case with the permanent secretaries, probably wont achieve much in terms of improving service delivery. It would be more invigorating for government performance if some new faces and younger politicians were drafted into Cabinet. However, President Pohamba has, so far, been very cautious in changing his Cabinet. I would expect that any changes would only be limited to a few posts. Particularly with the congress approaching he probably would not want to be seen as upsetting the apple cart by making a lot of changes, said Hopwood. Another political analyst, Bill Lindeke, shares the same sentiments, saying the threat was perhaps made to keep the ministers on their toes. Looking at the track record of the President and the infighting going on in Swapo, it is most unlikely that he will make a major Cabinet reshuffle. He is not a Cabinet shuffler. The head of the Department of Politics and Administration at Unam, Victor Tonchi, said the recycling of ministers is a futile exercise. If they cannot do the job, the appointing authority should get rid of them and bring in new blood. However, in a certain manner the Presidents choices are limited to members of the National Assembly and he might not always find the suitable replacement. He is also sceptical about any reshuffle taking place, adding that the upcoming Congress might be the stumbling block.

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Swapo congress stalls Cabinet reshuffle

Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda carried out a Cabinet reshuffle Monday, effectively sacking two censured ministers in a bid to court the Liberal Democratic Party's support to pass contentious legislation to double the 5 percent sales tax.

It is the second time Noda has reshuffled his Cabinet since he assumed office in September. He changed out members in January also in an attempt to push forward talks on the tax issue with the opposition camp, replacing two ministers censured by the opposition-controlled Upper House in December.

Bowing again to opposition pressure, Noda replaced five of his 18 Cabinet members, including Defense Minister Naoki Tanaka and transport chief Takeshi Maeda, both of whom were censured in the Upper House in April.

Their replacement is a condition demanded by the LDP for holding tax talks with the Democratic Party of Japan government.

"The reshuffle aims to strengthen the Cabinet's function and create an environment to move forward various issues, such as the tax and social security reforms," Noda said Monday.

Announcing the new Cabinet lineup, Noda urged the LDP to engage in talks on a compromise over the tax issue and stressed the necessity of holding tax talks "at some stage" with LDP chief Sadakazu Tanigaki, who advocates hiking the sales levy.

To ensure the tax hike bills are passed, Noda said it is "most important" to discuss the issue thoroughly with the LDP.

Noda, who has said he will stake his political career on getting the bills passed in the current Diet session, did not mention if he would try to extend the session beyond its scheduled June 21 end if the legislation hits a snag.

Noda's Cabinet submitted to the Diet in late March bills including one that will double the consumption tax in two stages to 8 percent in April 2014 and 10 percent in October 2015 to help cover the nation's swelling social security costs.

The Cabinet reshuffle comes a day after Noda, who heads the DPJ, failed to win over former DPJ leader Ichiro Ozawa, who strongly opposes the tax hike.

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Noda replaces censured ministers

Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda reshuffled his Cabinet Monday in a crucial bid to court the main opposition Liberal Democratic Party's support for securing parliamentary passage of contentious legislation to raise the sales tax in Japan.

It is the second time for Noda to rearrange his Cabinet since he assumed office in September, the last time coming in January in a similar attempt to push forward talks on the tax issue with the opposition camp by replacing two ministers censured by the opposition-controlled House of Councillors in December.

Bowing again to opposition pressure, Noda is expected to replace several Cabinet members, including Defense Minister Naoki Tanaka, and Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Minister Takeshi Maeda, both of whom were censured in the upper house in April.

The premier is set to appoint Satoshi Morimoto, a professor at Takushoku University graduate school and a security issues pundit in Japan, as Tanaka's successor, political sources said.

He will be the country's first nonparliamentarian defense chief since World War II, including the period before the Defense Ministry was upgraded from the Defense Agency in 2007.

Morimoto entered the Foreign Ministry in 1979 after serving as a member of the Air Self-Defense Force and became adviser to the defense minister in 2009, according to his website.

Yuichiro Hata, the ruling Democratic Party of Japan's chief negotiator on parliamentary proceedings in the upper house, will replace Maeda, while Noda will promote Senior Vice Justice Minister Makoto Taki to replace Justice Minister Toshio Ogawa.

Senior vice reconstruction minister Tadahiro Matsushita of the DPJ's coalition partner People's New Party will become financial services minister to replace Shozaburo Jimi, who also doubles as postal privatization minister, they said.

Akira Gunji, a former senior vice minister of agriculture, forestry and fisheries, will become farm minister, replacing Michihiko Kano, who came under fire over spying allegations related to a Chinese diplomat involved in a farm ministry project.

Noda will retain 13 of the 18-member Cabinet and keep the DPJ executive lineup apart from Hata, who is to quit as head of the party's Diet Affairs Committee in the upper house, the sources said.

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Noda reshuffles Cabinet in bid for tax hike support

OFF TO SC? Will De Lima or Henares be appointed chief justice?

MANILA, Philippines - So will President Benigno Aquino III consider one of his Cabinet members for the post of chief justice or not?

The names of tax commissioner Kim Henares, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima and Solicitor-General Francis Jardeleza have been floated as possible replacement for ex-Chief Justice Renato Corona. He was removed from his post on May 29 after the impeachment court found him guilty of failing to disclose in his statement of assets, liabilities and net worth US$2.4 million and P80 million.

But Aquino told Rappler on June 1, Friday, that while he "doesn't want to stop anybody's progress," they are already effective members of the Cabinet and pulling out any of them from his team will only give him another problem: "Who will fill in their shoes?"

He said he's not even sure if Henares will even consider being a judge. Jardeleza, on the other hand, had just recently been appointed solicitor-general after serving as deputy ombudsman for Luzon for less than a year.

De Lima said, however, she's not closing her doors to being nominated chief justice.

Decisions, decisions

In an interview with Ted Failon of broadcast network ABS-CBN, however, Aquino said he is still studying if having De Lima or Henares appointed chief justice -- and letting them go from his cabinet -- would do more good than harm. He said he believes both of them are competent.

Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima has expressed support for Henares' possible nomination to the post of chief justice, but the head of the Bureau of Internal Revenue said she would rather stay and finish her job at the BIR. Yet, she also indicated a degree of openness to an appointment when she later said, Lets cross the bridge when we get there.

Henares is one of the witnesses in the impeachment trial against Corona. She testifed that Corona's wife Cristina bought an P11-M property in La Vista even if she had no declared source of income.

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PNoy's CJ choice: Will it be Henares or De Lima?

Tues., May 29: "The Catalina"

(8 p.m. ET on The CW) series premiere

The young, wild staff of The Catalina Hotel in Miami's South Beach are a fun-loving group that work hard during the day, while at night they party even harder than their guests. When the hotel hosts a spring break pool party, it takes an unexpected turn when the clouds come rolling in. Sparks fly between bartenders and former flames Kris and Nancy. Meanwhile, restaurant general manager Morgan is taken out of the kitchen and competes on behalf of the hotel in a beach volleyball tournament.

(8 p.m. ET on ABC) season finale

When Grayson complains that he's living the movie "Groundhog Day" because the gang shows up at the same time every day at Jules' house, Jules asks for a "Groundhog Day"-themed bachelorette party so that Ellie and Laurie can explain the movie to her. Then, fed up with the lack of privacy, Grayson convinces Jules to elope to Napa, but the cul de sac crew happily tags along. These are the last two episodes before the show moves to TBS in the fall.

(9 p.m. ET on ABC) special presentation

For monarchists, Anglophiles and those who just want to swoon over William and Harry, ABC's Katie Couric interviews the princes and a number of other notable royals in celebration of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee.

(9 p.m. ET on TLC) season premiere

For the first time in nine seasons, Stacy and Clinton plan an entire makeover in less than a day -- a makeover that would normally take a week -- and will conduct this makeover in front of a live studio audience of close to 200 people, which has also never been done before. The fashion victim, Ana, who is the self-proclaimed Lady Gaga of Long Island, has one of the most "unique" wardrobes the "WNTW" team has ever seen. TLC also turns to the viewers for the first time to help in the makeover process, with fans voting through Facebook on hair styles, mannequin outfits and the "trashing" portion of the show.

(10:30 p.m. ET on Comedy Central) season premiere

It's the Season 3 premiere of the single-camera comedy featuring three friends who work together from 9 to 5, live together from 5 to 9 and party together 24/7. Dress codes, deadlines and waking up before noon are not things these guys are used to. They do their jobs and sometimes, they even do them well, but they show up late, leave drunk and always live for the day ... even if they don't know what day it is.

(8 p.m. ET on CBS) series premiere

New York City dog guru Justin Silver works with "Beefy," a celebrity skateboarding bulldog who is making his owner's new wife feel like the third wheel, a model agency owner who starts a war of words with Justin over his take on how to handle her aggressive dog, and a single father and his young daughter who are relying on Justin to help their obese dog lose the excess weight that's threatening her health.

(8 p.m. ET on ABC Family) one-hour season premiere

In the Season 2 premiere episode, Mel is feeling the pressure of balancing the massive home renovation with her duties at work. Determined to have the house fixed as quickly as possible, Joe convinces a reluctant Mel to put him in charge of the construction. But Joe's management style only makes things worse. In the second episode, Mel is charmed by her "cabinet guy," but is less charmed by Joe's reaction to him, leading them to a fight about being too involved in each other's lives. However, their decision to give each other privacy does not turn out as planned.

(9 p.m. ET on The CW) season finale

Laura and Sophie participate in their Covergirl commercial and photo shoot, during which one of the women has a panic attack and is taken to the hospital. For the first time in "Top Model" history, the women will take part in a holographic runway show interacting with lifelike images and also walk in sync with the outline of their own bodies. Kelly Cutrone, Nigel Barker, Jay Manuel and Tyra Banks sit on the judges' panel to choose the winner. Enjoy Jay, Nigel and Miss J. while you can, since they won't be involved next season.

(8 p.m. ET on The CW) series premiere

This reality series goes behind the stage curtain for an intense, unfiltered look at one of the most competitive ballet companies in the country, Ballet West, in Salt Lake City, Utah. Beneath the beauty and glamour of the dance and costumes is a gritty dog-eat-dog world of extreme athleticism, focus, dedication, passion, pressure and, of course, the hunt for the unattainable: perfection.

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'Duets': John Legend Has To Find A Replacement, And She Blows The Judges Away (VIDEO)