Wednesday, December 28, 2005 (Philippines)

A boy eats leftover food he picked up from a trash bin near a fastfood restaurant while other family members beg for money on Christmas day in Zamboanga City in the southern Philippines. Many Filipinos celebrate the Yuletide season with less spending and simple gathering due to the high cost of basic commodities. (Sunnex/Al Jacinto) THE total haul of the city's continuous drive against the illegal sale and display of powerful firecrackers and pyrotechnics has reached P500,000 as of December 24. City Administrator Antonio Orendain Jr. said the campaign being undertaken by the City Hall's community police action center (Compac) in coordination with the anti-vice squad of the City Police will pursue even until New Year's Eve when firecrackers and pyrotechnics would be on brisk sale. [full story]