'Girls of Summer' Meg Imperial, Coleen Garcia in hot black swimsuits

March 5, 2014, 7:58 pm

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Actresses Meg Imperial and Coleen Garcia wore sexy black swimsuits in a feature inside the March 2014 issue of StarStudio magazine.

Don't look now, but pretty, young (and sweet) things Meg and Coleen stripped off their clothes to pose for an article on the "Girls of Summer" feature of the showbiz magazine.

Two of the freshest faces in the business, both appeared in the magazine to share tips on getting fit and being beach-ready for the summer season.

The photos were shared on Instagram by their stylist for the shoot, Patrick Perez.

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Sweet Jesus! This Miracle Machine transforms water into wine

March 5, 2014, 8:57 pm

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Miracle Machine, a new US product, can transform your ordinary tap water into wine, very similar to that holy miracle during the biblical times.

"When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no more wine... Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water”; so they filled them to the brim... They did so, and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine." (John 2: 1-11)

"Jesus made water into wine; with all the technology we have available today, why can’t we do the same?" That was the question that Kevin Boyer (a nationally recognized sommelier) and Philip James (founding CEO of Lot18 wine club) asked themselves on a drunken night that eventually led to the creation of The Miracle Machine.

The machine is allegedly capable of making a number of different styles of wine including chardonnay and cabernet sauvignon for as little as two US dollars per bottle, the Daily Mail reports.

In order to perform the somewhat biblical task of turning water into wine, the Miracle Machine needs only a sachet of ingredients, followed by the all-important decision of which style and type of wine you would prefer. The fermentation process can then be monitored via a smart phone app which will alert the user to when the wine is ready to consume.

The Miracle Machine was created by sommelier Kevin Boyer who is also the founder of the Napa Valley Boyanci winery, together with British entrepreneur Philip James, founder of wine site Lot18.

"Just like the Bible miracle, it literally turns water into wine, with just the addition of a few ingredients in a fraction of the time and cost it would normally take," explained Boyer.

The exact science behind the machine has remained a secret, however the founders say that the fermentation chamber uses electrical sensors, transducers, heaters and pumps ‘to provide a controlled environment for the primary and, as needed, secondary fermentation stages.'

The Miracle Machine at this stage is only a prototype and both Boyer and James are looking for funding to produce more. Should the venture be a success, the pair estimates that the Miracle machine will retail for around US$500 (roughly P23,000). --Source:Food Magazine

Samsung denies Ellen's Oscar selfie was just a product ad

March 5, 2014, 9:53 pm

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Ellen DeGeneres' record-breaking Oscar selfie was a product placement for Samsung, which probably spent close to $20 million on advertising in this year's ceremony, according to the Wall Street Journal; but the tech giant denied the news and said, "it was a surprise nobody expected."

Second-time Oscar host DeGeneres broke the record for Twitter retweets Sunday when she tweeted a selfie with a gaggle of fellow A-list stars at the ceremony. Meryl Streep, Jennifer Lawrence, Julia Roberts, Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie and Kevin Spacey were in the shot. Bradley Cooper, who lost out on the Best Supporting Actor award to Jared Leto, took the photo.

DeGeneres played with a Samsung Galaxy Note 3 during the ceremony, and handed Cooper the phone to take the picture. The device was given to DeGeneres as part of Samsung's ad deal with ABC, which included the phone being integrated into the show, the Wall Street Journal said.

DeGeneres had suggested taking selfies during the ceremony, and ABC recommended using a Samsung phone because the company was a sponsor, someone familiar with the matter was cited as saying.

Samsung was one of the biggest sponsors of this year's Academy Awards ceremony, the Wall Street Journal said – the company bought five minutes of ad time. Although the company has not disclosed details of the ABC deal, the Wall Street Journal estimates that Samsung spent some $18 million on advertising in this year's ceremony.

In another news article from NDTV,  Samsung however, says the Oscars selfie that went viral was a "surprise for everyone," and not a part of a pre-planned marketing stunt as a sponsor of the Academy Awards.

Ellen DeGeneres using a Samsung Galaxy Note 3 to image-capture a crowd of stars including Brad Pitt, Bradley Cooper, Meryl Streep, Kevin Spacey, Julia Roberts, Lupita Nyong'o and Jennifer Lawrence.

But the South Korean tech giant, which earned huge publicity when Ellen DeGeneres used a Samsung device to take the photo, said it would donate $3 million to charities of the Oscar host's choice.

During rehearsals Samsung executives trained Ellen DeGeneres in how to use the Samsung Galaxy, it reported.

Other media noted that, while the host used the Samsung device for the viral selfie, she used her own iPhone to tweet other posts from backstage.

In a statement which arguably fell short of a denial that the stunt was pre-planned, Samsung said the selfie was something "nobody expected."

It wrote:

"While we were a sponsor of the Oscars and had an integration with ABC, we were delighted to see Ellen organically incorporate the device into the selfie moment that had everyone talking," 

"A great surprise for everyone, she captured something that nobody expected," 

Samsung added that "in honor of this epic moment," which has generated over 3 million retweets so far, it would donate $1.5 million to two charities chosen by DeGeneres: St Jude's and the Humane Society.

Since 2009, Samsung has spent a total of $24 million on Oscars advertising.

DeGeneres, who said Twitter officials contacted her to say she broke the record, had her eyes on the prize even before posting the photo, encouraging viewers of the widely-watched show to retweet it and break the record.

Viewers obliged. Within five minutes, it had nearly 100,000 retweets. Less than 90 minutes after that, her tweet had garnered more than 1.9 million retweets and nearly 900,000 "favorites."

By Wednesday the photo had been retweeted over 3.25 million times.--Source: Wall Street Journal/Haaretz/NDTV

Delfin Lee arrested, PNP releases mugshot

March 6, 2014, 5:03 pm

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Fugitive businessman Delfin Lee, the alleged mastermind in the P6.6-billion Globe Asiatique scam, was arrested by police authorities in a five-star hotel in Manila Thursday night, said the Philippine National Police (PNP).

Lee was nabbed in front of the Hyatt Hotel in Malate, Manila around 6:45 p.m., said Chief Inspector Vanni Martinez, leader of the PNP-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group tracker team.

Lee, one of the country's most wanted criminals, was brought to the PNP-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) headquarters at Camp Crame in Quezon City for processing.


Delfin Lee mugshot

PNP releases mugshot of Delfin Lee.@gmanewspic.twitter.com/U433db70w4
— ivan mayrina (@ivanmayrina) March 6, 2014

In a television report, Lee's camp questioned the arrest since the Court of Appeals (CA) recently affirmed its decision to cancel the arrest warrant for syndicated estafa.

Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, whose department opposed the CA ruling, was not immediately available for comment.

Lee went into hiding after Judge Amifaith Fider-Reyes of the Pampanga Regional Trial Court (RTC) branch 42 ordered his arrest, along with his son Dexter and other accused, for allegedly using ghost borrowers and fake documents to obtain P6.65 billion in loans from the Home Development Mutual Fund (HDMF or Pag-Ibig Fund) in 2009.

The CA revoked the arrest warrant last November, noting Reyes' grave abuse of discretion for issuing resolutions dated May 22, 2012 and August 22, 2012.

The CA said the trial court did not carefully check if the crime was committed by five or more persons, which is the prerequisite for syndicated estafa.

Another CA division had cleared Pag-Ibig Fund foreclosure manager Alex Alvarez of syndicated estafa, saying he should never be at fault for notarizing the loan documents submitted by fake buyers of GA units in Mabalacat, Pampanga.

Dexter, GA accounting department head Cristina Salagan and former GA documentation chief Cristina Sagun are the remaining accused in the case.--Source: Sun Star

Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 with 239 on board goes missing

March 7, 2014, 7:36 pm

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Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 had gone missing early Saturday. The airlines confirmed the flight was carrying 239 people on board when it lost communications somewhere in the regions near the China border.

Malaysia Airlines (MAS) confirms that flight MH370 is missing. MAS says Subang Air Traffic Control lost contact with the aircraft at 2.40am, Saturday.

In a statement issued by the airline, flight MH370, operated on the B777-200 aircraft, departed Kuala Lumpur at 12.41am on 8 March 2014. It was expected to land in Beijing at 6.30am the same day.

The flight was carrying 227 passengers (including 2 infants) and 12 crewmembers.

Malaysia Airlines is currently working with the authorities who have activated their Search and Rescue team to locate the aircraft.

Malaysian Airlines vice president of operations, Fuad Sharuji during an interview with CNN said that the aircraft should have run out of fuel by 8.30am Saturday morning as it only had seven hours of fuel on board.

In the interview with Anderson Cooper, Fuad explained that the flight which departed 41 minutes after midnight from Kuala Lumpur was supposed to have arrived in Beijing at 6.20am.

“However the plane carrying 239 passengers, of which 227 were passengers while 12 were crew members lost contact with the Subang Air Traffic Control at 2.40am.

“We have tried to track the flight down by getting in touch with nearby aircrafts and other radars along the route, but there is no luck as of now,” he said.

Map shows the last known position of the Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 bound for Beijing. IMAGE: News.com.au

A report by CCTV news said 160 out of the 227 passengers were Chinese nationals and that China authorities are also in the process of searching for the missing flight.

MAS will provide regular updates on the situation.

The public may contact +603 7884 1234 for further information.--Source: The Star


Official media statement released earlier this morning of the incident:

Saturday, March 08, 09:05 AM MYT +0800 Malaysia Airlines MH370 Flight Incident

We deeply regret that we have lost all contacts with flight MH370 which departed Kuala Lumpur at 12.41 am earlier this morning bound for Beijing. The aircraft was scheduled to land at Beijing International Airport at 6.30am local Beijing time. Subang Air Traffic Control reported that it lost contact at 2.40am (local Malaysia time) today.

Flight MH370 was operated on a Boeing B777-200 aircraft. The flight was carrying a total number of 239 passengers and crew – comprising 227 passengers (including 2 infants), 12 crew members. The passengers were of 13 different nationalities. Malaysia Airlines is currently working with the authorities who have activated their Search and Rescue team to locate the aircraft. Our team is currently calling the next-of-kin of passengers and crew.

Focus of the airline is to work with the emergency responders and authorities and mobilize its full support. Our thoughts and prayers are with all affected passengers and crew and their family members. The airline will provide regular updates on the situation.

The public may contact +603 7884 1234. For media queries, kindly contact +603 8777 5698/ +603 8787 1276.

Michael Martinez withdraws from Bulgaria Junior World

March 7, 2014, 7:53 pm

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Filipino figure skater Michael Christian Martinez has withdrawn from next week's Junior World Championships in Bulgaria.

The lone Filipino olympian in the Sochi Olympics winter games 2014, Martinez only followed the decision of his coaches and doctors who wanted him to pull out of the tournament,  according to his mother Teresa.

Meanwhile, for the first time since the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, Martinez went through 6 hours of training and practice last Wednesday.

In an interview, Martinez said that not practicing for a long time can have negative effects on skaters.

“It's getting better, I'm starting to get the jumps a little bit but it's not enough. For figure skating, kailangan talaga only up to 2 days, 1-day rest or 2 days. Maximum is 3 days. But if you exceeded that, it's like 'yung body memory, 'yung jumps mo, you couldn't do it anymore, 'yung spins mo, you will get dizzy easily,” he said.

Michael Christian Martinez, born November 4, 1996, is the first skater from Southeast Asia and figure skater from the tropical zone to qualify for the Olympics and the only athlete to represent the Philippines at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics.--Source: ABS-CBN News/Image Sketch from Jojo

Believe it or not! SPAM Tocino now available

March 7, 2014, 8:42 pm

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SPAM, the popular US precooked meat brand, is now offering SPAM Tocino -- the food company's new special variant inspired by a Filipino breakfast dish.

Pinoy netizens spotted SPAM Tocino on sale on the official SPAM website selling them for $3 per can and reads, "Limited Edition ... Limited availability in stores. Prices may vary."

On its label, SPAM Nutrition facts says Spam Tocino has less sodium (590 mg per 2-oz serving) compared to its original variant (790 mg), although it has one gram of sugar per serving.

More variants: Less Sodium, Black Pepper, Teriyaki, Chorizo, With Cheese, Hickory Smoke, Jalapeño, With Bacon and Hot and Spicy.

Canned and marketed by Hormel Foods, Spam gained popularity since the end of World War II, with American soldiers bringing them to the Pacific Islands - from Hawaii to Guam and the Philippine archipelago.

You have got to hurry while supplies last!

NBA Cafe Manila opens at the SM Aura

March 7, 2014, 9:16 pm

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The National Basketball Association (NBA) launched Friday its first ever cafe in Asia, the NBA Cafe Manila in the Philippines.

"Take a time-out and dribble down to NBA Café Manila now. The game is about to begin," NBA Philippines said in its official statement.

Nian Rigor, assistant vice president of Hoopla Inc. said:

“Basketball fans in the country now have a place dedicated and designed specifically for them,” 

“NBA Café will provide them a taste of the authentic NBA experience that they can share with family and friends, complete with great food, custom-made NBA Café Manila merchandise and the finest in basketball entertainment," 

Located at the SM Aura mall in Taguig, the NBA Café will feature dozens of basketball memorabilia, host live viewing parties graced by NBA talents, and boasts a wide array of food choices --from American bar and grill favorites to Asian-Filipino classics.

The Café is open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sundays to Thursdays, and from 10 a.m. to 2 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.

NBA Café Manila is only the second league-owned restaurant outside the US and the first in Asia.--Source: ABS-CBN News

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MOVIE TRAILER: Transformers Age of Extinction, Autobots vs Dinobots

March 7, 2014, 10:19 pm

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The 'Transformers: Age Of Extinction’ movie trailer was released just a few days ago, the Autobots pitted against an army of Dinobots!

The Dinobots are here! The full-length trailer shows a fearsome dinobot going head-to-head with Optimus Prime in the fourth installment of the Transformers series starring Mark Wahlberg, Nicola Peltz, Jack Reynor and Stanley Tucci.

Directed by Michael Bay and produced by Steven Spielberg, the movie tells of a mechanic and his daughter discovering an old, rusty Autobot which will soon come back to life to battle a herd of dinobots led by Grimlock.

This is the first film in the series to feature an entirely new cast and the first to feature the Dinobots. Returning Transformers include Optimus Prime, Bumblebee and Ratchet.

The film is set for release on June 27, 2014, in 3D.

Boy, 17, kills grandma for interrupting his DOTA game

March 8, 2014, 7:46 pm

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A 17-year-old boy mauled his own grandmother to death because she interrupted him while he was playing Defense Of The Ancients (DOTA) in Quezon City Friday night.

Teenage boys playing DOTA in a local computer shop.

Scolded and interrupted while playing the popular computer game DOTA, a teenager killed his own grandmother in Barangay Batasan Hills, Quezon City.

The 17-year-old boy could not remember what actually happened, Police Officer 3 Jaime de Jesus said.

De Jesus said the 68-year-old grandmother died on the scene due to wounds in the head, neck and chest. She also had defense wounds on her arms.

The boy said he was playing DOTA at a computer shop in their neighborhood when his grandmother fetched him at around 6 p.m. When they arrived home, she scolded him. It was during this that the attack happened.

The boy told police he blacked out and the next thing he knew, he was already cleaning the evidence of the crime he committed in their house.

He went to his aunt, who lives in the area of Pantranco, at around 10 p.m. to tell her what happened.

De Jesus said the washbasin used to clean up the house was found next to the grandmother’s body.

Police officers also found bloodstained ceramic shards of what appeared to be a smashed vase in a garbage bin in the front yard.

When the boy and the aunt returned to the house, the aunt sought assistance from barangay officials and police officers. The victim lived alone with the boy, whom she had raised herself.

The aunt told police the boy was always scolded by his grandmother. The boy came from a broken home; his parents have families of their own.

The boy has been turned over to the custody of social workers.--Source: Philstar

Turkey wants to ban Facebook, YouTube

March 8, 2014, 9:05 pm

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Turkey has warned that the government could ban popular social media networks Facebook and YouTube after a number of supposed high level corruption scandals leaked online.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan's proposals to tighten his government's grip over the Internet have generated criticism at home and abroad about rights in the EU-hopeful country.

"There are new steps we will take in that sphere after March 30... including a ban (on YouTube, Facebook)," Erdogan told private ATV television in an interview late Thursday.

In stark contrast, President Abdullah Gul, a frequent social media user, said Facebook and Youtube cannot be unplugged.

"Youtube and Facebook are recognized platforms all over the world. A ban is out of the question," he told reporters on Friday.

The president in Turkey is however a largely ceremonial figure.

Erdogan, Turkey's all-powerful leader since 2003, has been under mounting pressure after audio recordings were leaked last month in which he and his son allegedly discuss how to hide vast sums of money.

The Turkish premier dismissed them as a "vile" and an "immoral" montage by rivals ahead of key local elections on March 30. His office claimed the recordings were "completely untrue".

A series of other leaks on YouTube showed Erdogan allegedly meddling in trade deals and court cases.

Erdogan's government has been shaken by a high-level corruption scandal that erupted in mid-December and ensnared the premier's key political and business allies.

Erdogan has waged a war against ally-turned-opponent Fethullah Gulen, a Muslim cleric based in the United States with strong influence over the country's police and the judiciary, of orchestrating the graft probe.

He has accused so-called "Gulenists" of acting like a "parallel state" and vowed to cleanse the state of the movement's supporters by purging police and passing laws to increase his grip over the Internet and the judiciary.

"Social media has turned into a domain for quite some time where the battle between the loyalists of the frustrated prime minister and the alleged 'parallel state' is in full swing," Asli Tunc, professor at Istanbul's Bilgi University, told AFP.

"The government is seeking to find channels to shut down the social media which leaks tapes or dissident views. People cling to social media tools like Twitter for their news because the mainstream media or TVs are cowering in fear," she said.

Erdogan's latest threat about Facebook and YouTube is a reflection of his political frustration in the run up to elections, according to Tunc, but she said the premier was also known for his intolerance toward the social media.

Erdogan is openly suspicious of the Internet, branding Twitter a "menace" last year for helping organise mass anti-government protests in which eight people died and thousands were injured.

"I don't have that much time to waste in Twitter," he said last month.

Tunc said that in undemocratic countries governments tended to control the social media because its dynamic structure "runs contrary to their policies".

Access to thousands of websites have been blocked in recent years in Turkey.

- 'Orwellian' -

YouTube was previously banned for two years until 2010 because of material deemed insulting to the country's still-revered founder, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.

The site still managed to be one of the most visited in Turkey, with users including Erdogan himself resorting to proxy servers to dodge the ban.

"I can get in (YouTube), you can too", Erdogan famously said at the time, referring to those servers that provided a backdoor to the site.

Further Internet curbs allowed the authorities to keep a record of someone's web activity for up to two years and block sites deemed insulting or as invading privacy, which critics denounced as "Orwellian".

Critics say however that the latest curbs are aimed at preventing further details from the corruption scandal being leaked online.

The European Union has voiced its "concerns" that the Internet law would limit freedom of expression, urging Ankara to ensure compliance with the bloc's standards.--Source: NDTV

Paris Hilton back in Manila to launch Paris Beach Club

March 8, 2014, 9:45 pm

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Top celebrity heiress Paris Hilton is back in Manila to launch her first real estate project in the Philippines, the Paris Beach Club in Paranaque City, south of Manila.

Hilton, who first visited the country in 2011 for the announcement of her project with Century Properties, arrived in Manila on Sunday morning, March 9,

Hilton helped design the multi-level beach club, poised to become one of the primary amenities in Azure Urban Resort Residences, a beach-themed community development in Parañaque City.

The Paris Beach Club features amenities such as the Paris Beach Bar, a social lounge, indoor and outdoor restaurants, ice cream and candy bars, a fitness center, spas for men and women, a theater room, a game room, and a day care facility.

Also located in the 6-hectare community is a man-made beach with fine sand and simulated beach waves as well as two private beach coves. In addition to these amenities are an infinity pool, a volleyball area, a zen garden, and a playground.

Hilton said in a statement:

“I can’t believe that the beach club is already done. It seems like it was only yesterday since I visited the Philippines and worked with the Century team, ...  always dreamed to follow in my family’s footsteps.”

The celebrity businesswoman has been into modeling, acting, singing, publishing, and other business ventures such as her own clothing line and record label.

Hilton, whose great grandfather founded international hotel chain Hilton Hotels, gained popularity in the television reality show "Simple Life," where she, along with actress Nicole Richie, was tasked to take on blue-collar jobs.--Rappler

PH try to set new Guinness World Record to mark Internat'l Women's Day

March 8, 2014, 10:06 pm

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More than ten thousand women from across the country gathered in Manila to mark the International Women's Day and try to set a new Guinness World record for the largest ever human formation of the female symbol.

The event which was held at the Quirino grandstand, was organized by the Philippine Commission on Women.

The human formation of the cross-like scientific symbol was expected to make it into the Guinness World Records book.

Event organiser Gilda Patricia Maquilan said the aim of the human formation was to empower women.

"We want to reaffirm our commitment to create an enabling environment for women to become better in what they do. In that way, they can help in uplifting the lives of their family and their communities," Ms Maquilan said.

An estimated crowd of 10-thousand, coming from government offices, state universities and colleges, civil society groups and the private sector, joined the formation.

The UN theme for International Women's Day 2014, which is celebrated every March 8,  is "Equality for Women is Progress for All".

The Google Doodle on the eve of IWD 2014 (7 March 2014) featured an International Women's day doodle video, showing images and videos of women around the world, with music by Zap Mama.--Source: Telegraph

Vice, KC, 'On The Job,' get top spots on Star Awards

March 9, 2014, 10:04 pm

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Vice Ganda and KC Concepcion emerged as the top winners while the film "On The Job" got the most number of awards in the recently concluded 30th Star Awards for Movies by the Philippine Movie Press Club held at the Solaire Grand Ballroom in Paranaque City on Sunday, March 9.

Vice Ganda, KC Concepcion and On The Job's Piolo Pascual

Vice won the Movie Actor of the Year award for his role in the comedy “Girl, Boy, Bakla, Tomboy.” Meanwhile, KC was snatched the Movie Actress of the Year for her performance in “Boy Golden: Shoot to Kill.”

“Girl, Boy, Bakla, Tomboy” and “Boy Golden: Shoot to Kill” were entries in last year’s Metro Manila Film Festival, where Vice and KC were bested by Robin Padilla and Maricel Soriano for the Best Actor and Best Actress awards, respectively.

The action movie “On The Job” got seven awards at the Star Awards for Movies — the most number of awards for any film that night. It received the awards for Movie of the Year, Movie Director of the Year (Erik Matti), Movie Supporting Actor of the Year (Joey Marquez), Movie Screenwriter of the Year, Movie Cinematographer of the Year, Movie Editor of the Year, and Movie Sound Editor of the Year.

For the independent film, “Badil” came on top, bagging the Indie Movie of the Year award and Indie Movie Director of the Year award for Chito Rono.

Here is the complete list of winners at the 30th PMPC Star Awards for Movies:

MOVIE OF THE YEAR: "On The Job"
MOVIE DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR: Erik Matti, "On The Job"

INDIE MOVIE OF THE YEAR: "Badil"
INDIE MOVIE DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR: Chito Rono, "Badil"

MOVIE ACTOR OF THE YEAR: Vice Ganda, "Girl Boy Bakla Tomboy"
MOVIE ACTRESS OF THE YEAR: KC Concepcion, "Shoot To Kill: Boy Golden"
MOVIE SUPPORTING ACTOR OF THE YEAR: Joey Marquez, "On The Job"
MOVIE SUPPORTING ACTRESS OF THE YEAR: Angel Aquino, "Ang Huling Cha-Cha Ni Anita”
NEW MOVIE ACTOR OF THE YEAR: Vince Tanada, "Otso"
NEW MOVIE ACTRESS OF THE YEAR: Isabelle Daza, "It Takes A Man And A Woman"
MOVIE CHILD PERFORMER OF THE YEAR: Ryzza Mae Dizon, "My Little Bossings"

MOVIE SCREENWRITER OF THE YEAR: Erik Matti and Michiko Yamamoto, "On The Job"
MOVIE CINEMATOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR: Ricardo Buhay III, "On The Job"
MOVIE PRODUCTION DESIGNER OF THE YEAR: Joel Bilbao and Fritz Silorio, "Shoot To Kill: Boy Golden"
MOVIE EDITOR OF THE YEAR: Jay Halili, "On The Job"
MOVIE MUSICAL SCORER OF THE YEAR: Carmina Cuya, “Boy Golden: Shoot to Kill”
MOVIE SOUND ENGINEER OF THE YEAR: Corinne de San Jose, “On The Job”
MOVIE ORIGINAL THEME SONG OF THE YEAR: "Huwarang Kabataan,” “Pedro Calungsod: Batang Martir”

INDIE MOVIE SCREENWRITER OF THE YEAR: Jose Javier Reyes, "Ano Ang Kulay Ng Mga Nakalimutang Pangarap?"
INDIE MOVIE CINEMATOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR: Jun Gonzales, "Bamboo Flowers"
INDIE MOVIE PRODUCTION DESIGNER OF THE YEAR: Junjun Montelibano, "Sonata"
INDIE MOVIE EDITOR OF THE YEAR: Carlo Francisco Manatad, "Badil"
INDIE MOVIE ORIGINAL THEME SONG OF THE YEAR: "Sukatin Mo Ang Mundo Ko,” “Jumbo Jericho” INDIE MOVIE INDIE MUSIC MUSICAL SCORER OF THE YEAR: Emerzon Texon, “Sonata”
INDIE MOVIE SOUND ENGINEER OF THE YEAR: Albert Michael Idioma, “Sonata” --Source: Philstar

Arron Villaflor's van carjacked in QC

March 9, 2014, 10:31 pm

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Armed carjackers forcibly took the new van of popular actor Arron Villaflor in Quezon City Saturday afternoon.

Arron Villaflor as Kael in the hit TV series, "Juan Dela Cruz."

A police statement said that at around 4 p.m., while the actor's Toyota Super Grandia (conduction sticker TW 4208) was parked near a bookstore along Quezon Avenue when the two carjackers, at gunpoint, took the vehicle from Villaflor's driver,  Jeffrey John Valdez.

Valdez was supposedly waiting for Villaflor's sister, Nikki, when the suspects pounced on him.

The carjackers drove the vehicle and asked Valdez to lie on his stomach inside the van, then drove the van to Mindanao Avenue- North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) interchange where they let John get off. He was naked when police officers found him.

Valdez said to police authorities that he heard one of the suspects talking to someone on his cellphone and mentioned a name "Niknok."

Meanwhile, according to Nikki, Villaflor's sister, she was about to go out of the bookstore when she saw that there were unidentified men who opened their vehicle, making her decide to stay inside.

The Anti-Carnapping Unit of the Quezon City Police District are already conducting follow-up operations and have requested CCTV footages from the bookstore and the NLEX.--ABS-CBN news

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Malaysia Airlines MH370 and other ghost flights: The mystery of the disappearing planes

March 9, 2014, 11:16 pm

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The Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 is not the first plane which mysteriously disappeared while in the middle of their flight.

A relative (woman in white) of a passenger onboard Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 cries as she talks on her mobile phone at the Beijing capital.

They vanished without a trace.

What happened to Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 at the weekend was exceptionally rare, but it has happened before.

The Boeing 777 passenger jet vanished just two hours into a flight from Kuala Lumpur on its way to Beijing.

There was no distress call and now grave fears are held for the crew and 239 people on board.

There have been several other ‘ghost flights’ in aviation history which have blinked off the radar completely.

Sometimes it takes decades for wreckage to be found and many remain lost to this day. These are their stories.


Air France Flight 447

It often takes time for investigators to get to the bottom of aviation disasters.

In 2009, it took five days for search and rescue teams to find Air France Flight 447 from Rio de Janeiro to Paris after the Airbus A330 plunged into the Atlantic Ocean, killing all 228 on board.

It took another three years for investigators to report that ice crystals had most likely blocked the plane’s air speed sensors, eventually leading to the plane to stall.


Flying Tiger Line Flight 739

What happened to Flying Tiger Line Flight 739 in March 1962 remains one of world’s most enduring aviation mysteries.

The US military flight was chartered to transport more than 90 military personnel from Guam to the Philippines but it never arrived at Clark Air Force Base.

More than 1300 people were involved in a US military search for the wreckage but nothing was found. There was no distress call and only a few believed to have witnessed its demise.

The crew of a Liberian tanker ship claim to have spotted an explosion in the sky at the approximate time and location where the flight would have passed over.

Crew members said they witnessed an “intensely luminous” light in the sky, with two flaming objects falling into the sea.

The plane, which was eventually meant to carry the troops to Vietnam, is understood to have gone down somewhere in the western Pacific Ocean.

The US Civil Aeronautics board ruled it was “unable to determine the probable cause of the incident.”


The Bermuda Triangle

It is the vast expanse of ocean between Florida and the islands of Bermuda and Puerto Rico that cannot shake the legend.

In the first half of the 20th century several planes and boats disappeared in the Caribbean region, including a pair of British South American Airways passenger jets in 1948 and 1949.

More than 51 passengers and crew were lost in the Star Tiger and Star Ariel incidents which happened almost a year apart.

No wreckage was ever found from the Tiger which was lost on January 30 1948 or the Ariel, last heard from on January 17 1949.

A 2009 BBC investigation theorized that the Tiger may have run out of fuel too quickly while a technical error may have ignited the Ariel.

The official UK investigation team into the Tiger incident confessed they were “baffled” by its disappearance.

“It may truly be said that no more baffling problem has ever been presented,” investigators wrote.

The UK team suggested the Tiger incident may have been caused by a “mechanical incident” or, more ominously, “some external cause (that) may overwhelm both man and machine”.

“What happened in this case will never be known and the fate of Star Tiger must remain an unsolved mystery,” the concluded.

A communication bungle meant search and rescue teams were not hailed until more than seven-and-a-half hours after the Ariel vanished, meaning it had likely sunk.

The STENDEC mystery: One last Morse broadcast

“STENDEC”. That was the last message air traffic controllers received from the Star Dust aircraft, which vanished in a snowstorm over the Andes Mountains on August 2 1947.

Chile’s Santiago airport received the Morse code transmission “ETA SANTIAGO 17.45 HRS STENDEC” four minutes before it was scheduled to land that day.

The controller responded that he did not understand the acronym at the end of the message but “STENDEC” was never clarified by the pilot, fuelling conspiracy theories about UFOs.

The wreckage of the aircraft, which was operated by British South American Airways, was not found for more than half a century.

In 1998, a pair of Argentinian rock climbers ascending Mount Tupungato discovered engine wreckage and returned to Santiago to report their alarming find.

An Argentine army expedition in 2000 discovered additional wreckage as well as a human remains, including a hand and part of a torso.

Experts believe the vehicle crashed into the side of the mountain, likely causing an avalanche to bury the aircraft.--Source: News.com.au

McDonald's National Breakfast Day - free McMuffins on March 18

March 9, 2014, 11:37 pm

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Popular fastfood restaurant McDonald's will be holding its National Breakfast Day, giving away free egg McMuffins to Filipino diners from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. of March 18.

This will be McDonald's second breakfast day after a successful take off of last year's celebration, joining thousand other branches in Asia Pacific, Middle East, and Africa.

McDonald's Philippines PR & communications manager Adi Timbol said over 315,000 hot and fresh egg McMuffins will be distributed in all participating outlets nationwide either dine-in, take-out, or drive thru. Last year, over 300,000 were distributed to customers.

Of the nine branches in Davao City, McDonald's Sta. Ana, Bolton, Illustre, Damosa, and Matina branches will be giving away free egg McMuffins to the first 1,000 diners. Also, the fastfood giant has one branch in Tagum City.

"It's really a breafkast celebration regionwide of McDonalds. It's our way of saying 'thank you' to our customers who start their day at McDonald's," she said.

She clarified that the mall-based branches are not joining the event, as they open late.

However, Timbol announced that McDonald's Abreeza will soon join its roster of fastfood chains with breakfast offerings.

For some areas in Mindanao, McDonald's will be serving sausage McMuffins for Muslim customers. Among the identified areas are Cotabato, Iligan, and Zambonga Cities.

"Muslim customers will be served sausage mcmuffin made of beef. Being sensitive (to Muslim diners), we don't serve pork in some identified areas," she said.

In a press release, Andrew Hipsley, chief brand officer of McDonald's for Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa, said: "We were so encouraged by our customers' resounding response in the region last year, we are bringing back National Breakfast Day to remind people about waking up to better mornings with breakfast."

Since 1980, McDonald's Philippines has been serving breakfast but it was re-launched in 2008 with local products like Hamdesal. Iconic menu items, like the Egg McMuffin, made with lightly grilled Canadian bacon, freshly cracked Grade A egg, and melty American-style cheese sandwiched between warm perfectly toasted English Muffins.

Since then, they have become a breakfast favorite among Filipino customers who are always on the run.

Timbol takes pride in the quality of raw ingredients, especially the fried and beef, which are imported fresh from US, New Zealand, and Australia, but vegetables and the chicken are sourced locally.--Source: Sun Star

Nagaraya recalls product due to aflatoxin - FDA

March 10, 2014, 7:56 pm

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The distributor of popular snack Nagaraya Cracker Nut Original Butter Flavor has recalled a batch of their products due to high levels of aflatoxin, said a statement from the Department of Health's (DOH) Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Monday.

The FDA, in a press statement, said Food Industries, Inc., initiated the recall of its Nagaraya Cracker Nut Original Butter Flavor (160 grams) identified under Lot No. 14019 with expiry date 01242015F, which was found to contain an unacceptable level for aflatoxin.

FDA said:

"The recall involves only the specified product under the mentioned lot number and no other Nagaraya variants and sizes are affected by the recall," 

"Consumers who have purchased Nagaraya Cracker Nut Original Butter Flavor (160 grams) under Lot No. 14019 are advised to contact the Sales Department of Food Industries, Inc. at 810-0141," 

"The public is hereby assured that the FDA conducts continuous monitoring and market surveillance of all peanut-based food products for the purpose of ensuring protection of public health,"

The agency added that the public may also send their queries and other concerns to the FDA via email at info@fda.gov.ph.

Aflatoxins are produced by fungi species. The US FDA allows low levels of aflatoxins in nuts, seeds, and legumes.--Source: ABS-CBN News

New travel destinations: Discovery Primea and Club Paradise

March 10, 2014, 8:42 pm

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Discovery Suites is set to launch two new and exciting properties in 2014, the Discovery Primea in Makati  City and the Club Paradise in Coron, Palawan.

Looking for a place to spend your vacation this year? Discovery Suites may have the right travel destinations for you.

In a media interview with ABS-CBN News, Discovery general manager David Pardo de Ayala talks about the "pure luxury" their new properties have to offer to customers this year.


The Discovery Primea

The Discovery Primea is a 68-storey tower along Ayala Avenue in Makati with 141 suites.

“We have 13 rooms per floor and around 141 rooms in the property, except in the 14th and 15th floor where there are only 11 rooms. These are duplex units with 220 square meters,” he said.

“[The difference is in] the kind of rooms and the size of the rooms,” he added. “We’re going to have the single fastest Wi-Fi access in all of Makati… We’re going to have Internet in the rooms and public areas.”

Each room offers 10 mbps of free Internet access, LED televisions in the bedroom (46 inches) and the bathroom (19 inches), a fully-furnished kitchen with a microwave and coffee machine, iPod and iPad docks and washers and dryers.

Like most hotels, the property also has a 24-hour room service, a salon, business center, chapel, gym, limousine service, pool bar, spa, swimming pool and a wellness clinic.

“We want to capture the long-stay market,” Pardo de Ayala explained. “But we also have rooms for the transient market, or those who will only stay for two or three nights.”

Discovery Primea’s food and beverage concepts include the all-day dining outlet Tapenade, the Lobby Lounge, the modern European restaurant 16th Floor, the Garden Bar and the exclusive Club Lounge. The property also offers fine-crafted cigars, single-malt whiskies, cognac, wine and champagne at a venue called 1824.

Function rooms are also available for meetings, parties and other events.

“I was a chef for 20 years so it’s very close to my heart,” Pardo de Ayala said, referring to Discovery Primea’s F&B concepts. “These are going to be something different, something original, something we feel we don’t have yet in Manila.”

Pardo de Ayala said they are hoping to launch Discovery Primea in the second quarter of 2014, although he was quick to admit that this is “an ambitious project.”

“This date is a moving target… We are aiming for second quarter of this year, but it’s probably going to be later than that,” he said. “But we’ll absolutely open within the year.”


The new Club Paradise

The other property slated for a 2014 launch is Club Paradise resort in Coron, Palawan which was acquired by Discovery last year.

The 25-year-old resort continues to undergo renovations with the addition of rooms and better, more updated facilities.

“If everything will go into plan, we’ll open at the last quarter of this year. It’s going to be an 18-month renovation. But of course it’s going to be a phase-by-phase renovation so it’s business as usual. We will not close the place because we have prior reservations already,” said Club Paradise resort manager Joegil Escobar said.

Escobar assured Club Paradise’s customers that there will be “no drastic changes” in the resort, saying that the property will maintain its old charm.

He added that majority of the resort’s staff were retained. “The values are already there, we just had to align them with Discovery,” he said.

Currently, Club Paradise attracts mostly foreigners since the property was previously managed by a German company, according to Escobar.

He hopes that more Filipinos will start visiting the property once the renovations are completed.

“We really have a market for Europeans, particularly for Germans and the French. We also have Filipino balikbayans. We want to open the resort to more clients to experience the new Club Paradise,” he said.--Source: ABS-CBN News

Makati is selfie capital of the world, says TIME

March 10, 2014, 9:42 pm

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Makati City, the financial center of the Philippines, is named the "Selfie Capital of the World," according to TIME magazine.

A group of teens in the Philippines gather to pose for a selfie. Photo credit: Love Army.

Visiting Makati and Pasig cities? If so, then pull out that mobile phone from your pocket and strike a pose -- you're in the "selfiest" place in the planet!

TIME magazine said that "an examination of hundreds of thousands of selfies—the low-fi, self-shot photographs that are intensely popular among younger social media users—suggests that the city, part of metropolitan Manila and home to 500,000 people, produces more selfies per capita than any other city in the world."

The "Selfie Capital of the World" results came from a database of more than 400,000 Instagram photos tagged “selfie” that included geographic coordinates. The study covered 459 cities around the world and is designed by Alexander Ho.

And yes, lest we forget, Cebu City was ranked 9th, Baguio at 16th, Quezon City at 59th, and Iloilo on the 72nd spot!

"Selfie Capital of the World." A map of Makati and Pasig cities. Each yellow dot in the map represents one selfie taken recently over the course of a ten-day period. IMAGE: TIME

Check out the list below for the top ten "selfiest" cities on earth:

1. Makati City & Pasig, Philippines: 258 selfie-takers per 100,000 people

2. Manhattan, New York: 202 selfie-takers per 100,000 people

3. Miami, Florida: 155 selfie-takers per 100,000 people

4. Anaheim & Santa Ana, California: 147 selfie-takers per 100,000 people

5. Petaling Jaya, Malaysia: 141 selfie-takers per 100,000 people

6. Tel Aviv, Israel: 139 selfie-takers per 100,000 people

7. Manchester, England: 114 selfie-takers per 100,000 people

8. Milan, Italy: 108 selfie-takers per 100,000 people

9. Cebu City, Philippines: 99 selfie-takers per 100,000 people

10. George Town, Malaysia: 95 selfie-takers per 100,000 people

-- and see below for the top 100 list:

11. San Francisco, US: 91 selfie-takers per 100,000 people
12. Oslo, NO: 89 selfie-takers per 100,000 people
13. Boston, US: 88 selfie-takers per 100,000 people
14. Newark, US: 84 selfie-takers per 100,000 people
15. Honolulu, US: 82 selfie-takers per 100,000 people
16. Baguio, PH: 82 selfie-takers per 100,000 people
17. Paris, FR: 80 selfie-takers per 100,000 people
18. Denpasar, ID: 75 selfie-takers per 100,000 people
19. Leeds, GB: 72 selfie-takers per 100,000 people
20. Las Vegas, US: 72 selfie-takers per 100,000 people
21. Kuala Lumpur, MY: 72 selfie-takers per 100,000 people
22. Firenze, IT: 69 selfie-takers per 100,000 people
23. Copenhagen, DK: 69 selfie-takers per 100,000 people
24. Helsinki, FI: 69 selfie-takers per 100,000 people
25. Washington, D. C., US: 66 selfie-takers per 100,000 people
26. Cardiff, GB: 66 selfie-takers per 100,000 people
27. Oakland, US: 64 selfie-takers per 100,000 people
28. Amsterdam, NL: 64 selfie-takers per 100,000 people
29. Belfast, GB: 61 selfie-takers per 100,000 people
30. Bologna, IT: 61 selfie-takers per 100,000 people
31. Liverpool, GB: 58 selfie-takers per 100,000 people
32. Portland, US: 56 selfie-takers per 100,000 people
33. Lisbon, PT: 56 selfie-takers per 100,000 people
34. Atlanta, US: 55 selfie-takers per 100,000 people
35. Riverside, US: 55 selfie-takers per 100,000 people
36. New Orleans, US: 54 selfie-takers per 100,000 people
37. Glasgow, GB: 54 selfie-takers per 100,000 people
38. Leicester, GB: 53 selfie-takers per 100,000 people
39. Auckland, NZ: 53 selfie-takers per 100,000 people
40. Monterrey, MX: 52 selfie-takers per 100,000 people
41. Seattle, US: 52 selfie-takers per 100,000 people
42. Doha, QA: 52 selfie-takers per 100,000 people
43. Yogyakarta, ID: 51 selfie-takers per 100,000 people
44. Mueang Nonthaburi, TH: 50 selfie-takers per 100,000 people
45. Coventry, GB: 50 selfie-takers per 100,000 people
46. Edinburgh, GB: 50 selfie-takers per 100,000 people
47. Malmoe, SE: 50 selfie-takers per 100,000 people
48. Bari, IT: 49 selfie-takers per 100,000 people
49. Bristol, GB: 49 selfie-takers per 100,000 people
50. Johor Bahru, MY: 48 selfie-takers per 100,000 people
51. Sheffield, GB: 47 selfie-takers per 100,000 people
52. Napoli, IT: 46 selfie-takers per 100,000 people
53. Singapore, SG: 46 selfie-takers per 100,000 people
54. Athens, GR: 46 selfie-takers per 100,000 people
55. Stoke-on-Trent, GB: 46 selfie-takers per 100,000 people
56. Stockholm, SE: 45 selfie-takers per 100,000 people
57. Minneapolis, US: 45 selfie-takers per 100,000 people
58. Brooklyn, US: 44 selfie-takers per 100,000 people
59. Quezon City, PH: 44 selfie-takers per 100,000 people
60. Pittsburgh, US: 42 selfie-takers per 100,000 people
61. Bradford, GB: 42 selfie-takers per 100,000 people
62. San Jose, CR: 41 selfie-takers per 100,000 people
63. Dubai, AE: 41 selfie-takers per 100,000 people
64. Goeteborg, SE: 39 selfie-takers per 100,000 people
65. Adapazari, TR: 39 selfie-takers per 100,000 people
66. Wolverhampton, GB: 39 selfie-takers per 100,000 people
67. Dublin, IE: 39 selfie-takers per 100,000 people
68. Barcelona, ES: 38 selfie-takers per 100,000 people
69. Rome, IT: 38 selfie-takers per 100,000 people
70. Utrecht, NL: 38 selfie-takers per 100,000 people
71. Panama, PA: 37 selfie-takers per 100,000 people
72. Iloilo, PH: 36 selfie-takers per 100,000 people
73. Thessaloniki, GR: 36 selfie-takers per 100,000 people
74. Hull, GB: 36 selfie-takers per 100,000 people
75. Tampa, US: 36 selfie-takers per 100,000 people
76. Sacramento, US: 35 selfie-takers per 100,000 people
77. Denver, US: 35 selfie-takers per 100,000 people
78. Belgrade, RS: 35 selfie-takers per 100,000 people
79. Zurich, CH: 35 selfie-takers per 100,000 people
80. Eskisehir, TR: 35 selfie-takers per 100,000 people
81. Victoria, CA: 34 selfie-takers per 100,000 people
82. San Diego, US: 34 selfie-takers per 100,000 people
83. Catania, IT: 33 selfie-takers per 100,000 people
84. Turin, IT: 33 selfie-takers per 100,000 people
85. Carapicuiba, BR: 33 selfie-takers per 100,000 people
86. Poznan, PL: 33 selfie-takers per 100,000 people
87. Abu Dhabi, AE: 33 selfie-takers per 100,000 people
88. Bandung, ID: 33 selfie-takers per 100,000 people
89. Borough of Bronx, US: 32 selfie-takers per 100,000 people
90. Austin, US: 32 selfie-takers per 100,000 people
91. San Jose, US: 32 selfie-takers per 100,000 people
92. Sharjah, AE: 32 selfie-takers per 100,000 people
93. London, GB: 32 selfie-takers per 100,000 people
94. Bakersfield, US: 31 selfie-takers per 100,000 people
95. Staten Island, US: 30 selfie-takers per 100,000 people
96. Vitoria, BR: 30 selfie-takers per 100,000 people
97. San Juan, PR: 30 selfie-takers per 100,000 people
98. Edmonton, CA: 30 selfie-takers per 100,000 people
99. Birmingham, GB: 30 selfie-takers per 100,000 people
100. Nice, FR: 30 selfie-takers per 100,000 people