Sandeva (right) with Paolo Gumabao Czech actress Sara Sandeva was recently in the Philippines for almost two weeks to shoot some of the scenes in the romantic film “Spring in Prague” with leading man Paulo Gumabao. Lester Dimaranan’s film is an “old-fashioned romance,” according to its writer Eric Ramos. Sara plays a tourist who comes to the country and meets Paulo, who happens to be a resort owner, and eventually falls in love. Something happens that forces Sara to go back home, and more complications also force Paulo to fly to Prague. Here in the Philippines, scenes were shot in Puerto Galera, Mindoro and Tagaytay City. The Santo Niño de Praga in Manila will also be highlighted in the film. “Although I miss my family and my boyfriend who are all in Prague (capital city of the Czech Republic), I never felt homesick,” disclosed Sara during a media gathering organized by the movie’s producer, Borracho Films Productions, a few days before she flew back home. “We had so much … [Read more...] about Czech actress Sara Sandeva on what it was like to make a film in PH
Billy Crawford on Alex Gonzaga’s cake-smearing controversy: No excuse for it
Billy Crawford I enjoyed brushing up on my French with Billy Crawford. He was surprised that “je parle Français.” After his victory in the French edition of “Dancing with the Stars,” he is flying back to Paris next month with his wife Coleen Garcia and their baby, Amari. “I will be promoting my album all over France. I will be shuttling back and forth from Manila to Paris and playing it by ear,” Billy pointed out. “If a good offer comes my way in France, I’m up for it, but I won’t turn my back on my work here. Manila will always be my home.” When I asked for his comment about the cake controversy of his “LOL” cohost, Alex Gonzaga, Billy said, “I’m sure Alex has realized what she has done. But there’s no excuse for it. Let’s just move on from the issue, instead of feasting on it.” After Alex apologized to the waiter, she ought to know that she can’t always have her cake and eat it, too. Latest streaming platform from Viva Boss Vic del Rosario and his Viva team never rest on … [Read more...] about Billy Crawford on Alex Gonzaga’s cake-smearing controversy: No excuse for it
The West versus the Rest
Twenty-five years ago, Harvard professor Samuel Huntington penned an influential article on the West and the Rest. Building on his 1993 classic “The Clash of Civilizations,” he argued that the West has won the Cold War, but it cannot flourish in a more hostile world until it abandons its universal aspirations. In his mind, the clash is about identities defined by cultural civilizations. He defined eight civilizations: Sinic, Japanese, Hindu, Islamic, Western, Latin American, Orthodox, and African. For him, “the West” refers to broadly Western Christendom, covering Western Europe and North America, including Australasia. Japan is today counted as part of the West, not just being first Asian state to industrialize, but also to emulate Western imperial history. European thinkers have long debated the role of the West in sustaining modernity. America now carries the mantle of leading the West, but much of her intellectual power was boosted by European science and social scientists who … [Read more...] about The West versus the Rest
Net Gainers reach +8
As 2022 closed, after three pandemic years, the people getting better off have finally outnumbered those getting worse off. In the SWS December 2022 survey, there were 34 percent of Filipino adults saying their quality of life (uri ng pamumuhay) improved in the past 12 months; this was 8 points more than the 26 percent saying it had worsened (“Fourth Quarter 2022 Social Weather Survey: Gainers minus Losers at +8,” www.sws.org.ph, 1/25/2023). Together, the gainers and the losers were 60 percent of the national total of adults. The balance consisted of 39 percent, whose QOL was the same as a year ago, plus half a percent who couldn’t answer. Subtracting the losers from the gainers is a way to summarize the results by a single number, called Net Gainers. This indicator is about progress, not status. In effect, it asks how many people are on escalators going up, how many are on escalators going down, and how many are staying put. It doesn’t ask on what floors the people are. It doesn’t … [Read more...] about Net Gainers reach +8
Act against ‘silent killer’
One in every seven Filipinos is afflicted with hepatitis B, the most common liver infection in the country, with 67 percent of those with the disease developing liver cancer, a specialist said in a recent online forum. In the Philippines, hepatitis B is considered “hyperendemic,” meaning most anyone not vaccinated against it is susceptible to the disease, said a recent news report. This is alarming news, according to Dr. Wendell Espinosa, vice president of the Hepatology Society of the Philippines, since hepatitis B is known as a “silent killer,” with symptoms usually not detectable until the disease has reached an advanced stage. Gundo Weiler, a former official of the World Health Organization (WHO) Philippines, said in an article that hepatitis B “quietly damages the liver for decades before ending in liver cancer and cirrhosis (scarring of the liver that reduces its ability to detoxify blood).” It is a viral infection that attacks the liver, causing it to be inflamed and … [Read more...] about Act against ‘silent killer’
Remote Isabela forest possible crash site of missing plane – search team
LOOKING FOR SIGNS OF LIFE A rescue team from the military is scouring the northern part of Sierra Madre mountain ranges in Isabela province to search for the missing Gen AV Cessna 206 and its six occupants in this photo taken on Thursday. Authorities said they are still hopeful that the aircraft safely landed in the forest after it went off radar on Tuesday afternoon. PHOTO COURTESY OF THE PHILIPPINE ARMY’S 5TH INFANTRY DIVISION CAUAYAN CITY — A long-range drone used by a search team looking for the missing Cessna plane and its pilot and five passengers in Isabela province detected a “white object” in a remote forest in Divilacan town on Thursday, raising hope it was the distressed aircraft, authorities said on Friday. At a press briefing, Constante Foronda, Isabela provincial disaster risk reduction management officer, said the area in Divilacan’s Barangay Dicaruyan matched the location pinpointed by a farmer near the place who reported seeing the plane make a “loop downward” … [Read more...] about Remote Isabela forest possible crash site of missing plane – search team
DENR: Thriving waterbirds mean healthy Soccsksargen wetlands
GOOD SIGN Black-winged stilt (Himantopus himantopus) thrive in Sarangani’s wetlands, as shown in this photo taken on Tuesday during the Asian waterbirds census conducted by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources. —PHOTO COURTESY OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENT AND NATURAL RESOURCES-SOCCSKSARGEN TACURONG CITY — Environmental authorities in the Soccsksargen region had concluded that local wetlands are in good health as indicated by the still vibrant stock of waterbirds found in various sites. On Tuesday and Wednesday, personnel of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in Sultan Kudarat and Sarangani provinces held a simultaneous Asian waterbird census, which is done every January to monitor the condition of wetlands and the status of resident and migratory birds in the area. Soccsksargen, formerly the central Mindanao region, is composed of the provinces of South Cotabato, Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat and Sarangani and the highly urbanized General … [Read more...] about DENR: Thriving waterbirds mean healthy Soccsksargen wetlands
Mexico finds over 50 unaccompanied kids from Guatemala in migrant truck
Guatemalan unaccompanied minors who were traveling in a crowded truck are seen with Mexican authorities after being spotted at a checkpoint in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, in this handout picture distributed to Reuters on January 26, 2023. Mexico’s National Institute of Migration (INM)/Handout via REUTERS MEXICO CITY — Mexican authorities on Thursday stopped a crowded truck transporting nearly 70 migrants from Guatemala, mostly unaccompanied children, the country’s National Institute of Migration (INM) said in a statement. The INM said federal Mexican agents spotted the truck at a checkpoint in Mexico’s northern Chihuahua state, which borders the United States. It said there were 67 migrants from Guatemala traveling in the truck, including 57 unaccompanied minors, mostly boys, aged between 14 and 17. The group also included a mother and daughter, it added, all without proper migration permits. The truck driver was referred to Mexico’s Attorney General’s Office, it added, while the … [Read more...] about Mexico finds over 50 unaccompanied kids from Guatemala in migrant truck
Cash-strapped Finnish zoo may have to return giant pandas to China
FILE PHOTO: Female panda Jin Baobao, also called Lumi, is pictured at Ahtari Zoo, in Ahtari, Finland February 17 , 2018. Lehtikuva/Roni Rekomaa via REUTERS HELSINKI — A cash-strapped Finnish zoo said on Friday it was preparing to return two giant pandas on loan from China as it could no longer afford their upkeep. The pandas, named Lumi and Pyry, were brought to Finland in January 2018, nine months after Chinese President Xi Jinping visited the Nordic country and signed a joint agreement on protecting the animals. Ahtari Zoo, a private company which had hoped the pandas would bring visitors to the central Finland location, said it had instead accumulated mounting debts as the pandemic curbed travel. Finland’s government, which gave one-off support of 200,000 euros in 2021, declined an application for a 5 million euro ($5.4 million) grant. FILE PHOTO: Female panda Jin Baobao, also called Lumi, plays with the snow at Ahtari Zoo, in Ahtari, Finland February 17 , 2018. … [Read more...] about Cash-strapped Finnish zoo may have to return giant pandas to China
Finnish journalists guilty of disclosing state secrets
Flag of Finland | PHOTO: AP Photo/David Goldman, file Helsinki, Finland — A Helsinki court on Friday found two Finnish newspaper journalists guilty of disclosing national secrets and fined one of them, sparking concern over press freedom. The verdict concerned an article published by Helsingin Sanomat in December 2017 and containing ten-year-old details on military intelligence operations “that had been classified in the interests of Finland’s external security”, the court said. The crime of disclosing a national secret, which falls under offenses of treason, can carry a prison sentence of up to four years. But the court issued only what are called 50 day-fines, based on personal income, to the journalist deemed most responsible. The court took into account as a form of punishment the length of the trial and the “exceptional publicity” it attracted. “We are disappointed with the verdict,” said the paper’s editor-in-chief Antero Mukka. “Despite lenient outcomes, the … [Read more...] about Finnish journalists guilty of disclosing state secrets