Maniolas

The collection features exclusive Asian tea-inspired chocolates  and kicks off the chocolatier’s 90th Anniversary Dark Chocolate Green – Group New York (Jan. 11, 2016) – In celebration of Lunar New Year, legendary Belgian chocolatier GODIVA debuted the Year of the Monkey collection in North America. Building off of the success of its previous Lunar New Year collections, including last year’s sold-out gift boxes, GODIVA brings its Asian-American consumers another unique treat to celebrate an important cultural holiday. The launch of the Year of the Monkey collection also kicks off the GODIVA 90th year anniversary and serves as a sweet beginning to a milestone year for the company. LNY Monkey Box The GODIVA Year of the Monkey collection featuring pieces in the shape of a monkey is the perfect gift for family and friends for Lunar New Year and a perfect treat for yourself during this holiday. The new collection features ganache pieces delectably crafted with enticing and aromatic Chinese teas enrobed in white, milk and dark Belgium chocolate.  The chocolates that are sold as a part of the Lunar New Year gift box include: Dark chocolate green tea – smooth ganache made of fresh green tea and white chocolate, covering a layer of crunchy Piedmont hazelnut praliné, coated by a fine 50% dark chocolate White Chocolate Oolong – Group Milk chocolate pu-erh tea  – delectable macadamia praliné with cocoa nibs surrounded by mellow, Peruvian dark chocolate infused with aged pu-erh tea, coated in smooth milk chocolate White chocolate oolong tea Read More …

Migrant rights activists raise march with banners and placards in Manila on Tuesday urging the Philippine government to save Mary Jane Veloso, a Filipino migrant facing execution in Indonesia for drug charges. Indonesia’s Supreme Court upheld its ruling and ordered her execution.(MNS Photo) Yogyakarta, Indonesia | AFP |   – A Filipina on death row in Indonesia was visited by family Tuesday for a late birthday celebration, as her supporters maintained the single mother would be proclaimed innocent and escape the firing squad. Mary Jane Veloso was reunited with her parents and two children at a prison in Yogyakarta two days after her birthday, where they presented her with gifts and letters from her supporters in the Philippines. The 31-year-old was granted a temporary reprieve in April just moments before she was due to be executed alongside eight other convicted drug traffickers, including seven foreigners. The Indonesian government, which has some of the world’s toughest anti-narcotics laws, maintains her death sentence for drugs trafficking still stands. But her supporters insist Veloso is innocent and was duped into carrying a suitcase lined with 2.6 kilograms (5.7 pounds) of heroin. “We are very hopeful. We believe we can set her free, as it’s very clear that she is innocent,” Laorence Castillo, an activist from Filipino migrant workers organization Migrante International told AFP Tuesday. Veloso was sentenced to death after her arrest in 2009, but was granted a temporary reprieve after a woman suspected of recruiting her was arrested in the Philippines. Castillo said legal proceedings against Veloso’s Read More …

Toni Gonzaga and Paul Soriano (MNS photo) Six months after tying the knot, celebrity couple Toni Gonzaga and Paul Soriano shared they are still adjusting to each other’s work hours. The director shared that they often argue about time because it bothers him that the television host is out working even in wee hours of the morning. He said that even though Gonzaga has a 2 a.m. cut off, the latter would still go home late. “There was a time, I would get home late na, mga 10 p.m. and she’s not home yet. She’s taping. Me, now being a husband, I don’t want her on the road at 2 a.m. I get a little bit weary,” he said. Soriano added he would text Gonzaga but the latter admitted that she gets distracted from work when the director asks about her whereabouts. “Siyempre di ba when you’re doing a soap, I want to get into the character kasi this is my first time in so many years that I’ll do a soap. If I get texts na where are you, nawawala ako kasi kailangan ko pala umuwi. Feeling ko nina-nag niya ako pero isang text lang naman yun. Nabo-bother talaga ako.” But the director said he understands that long hours are part of Gonzaga’s profession and they compromise on this. “I think the great thing about it was after ‘PBB’ (Pinoy Big Brother), we did like almost two weeks straight of just the two of us.” Gonzaga, on her part, Read More …

ZAMBALES, Philippines (April 9, 2013) Chaplain of the Marine Corps Rear Adm. Margret G. Kibben speaks to members of the 3rd Law Enforcement Battalion about the work they are doing during Exercise Balikatan 2013. Balikatan is an annual Philippine-U.S. bilateral exercise. Humanitarian assistance and training activities enable the Philippine and American service members to build lasting relationships, train together and provide assistance in communities where the need is the greatest. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Brandon C. Suhr/Released) MANILA  (Mabuhay) – Senate President Franklin Drilon on Wednesday reiterated that no American military base will be constructed in the country under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) between the Philippines and the United States, which was recently upheld by the Supreme Court. “Hindi po ‘yan mangyayari dito sa EDCA dahil kung magtatayo ng base militar, dapat may bagong treaty na dapat ratipikahin ng Senado,” Drilon said. He mentioned the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA), which has been in effect since 1999 and is the “controlling treaty” of the EDCA. “Matagal na ang Visiting Forces Agreement at wala namang naitayo na base militar dito,” Drilon stressed. Leftist organizations have blasted the agreement, saying it will allow the return of military bases in the country. “The [Supreme Court] decision will pave the way for the construction of new US military facilities in different parts of the country,” said Renato Reyes of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan, one of the petitioners against EDCA. “It likewise paves the way for the use by US troops of Read More …

Newly appointed Commission on Elections (COMELEC) Chairman Andres Bautista (left) and commissioner Rowena Guanzon face the media at the COMELEC office in Intramuros, Manila on Monday. Bautista was the chairman of the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) prior to his new assignment. (MNS photo) MANILA  (Mabuhay) – Commission on Elections (Comelec) Commissioner Rowena Guanzon on Wednesday appealed to politicians not to interfere with the poll body in settling its issues and respect its standing as an independent body. “I would like to reiterate my appeal that the politicians should not interfere with our independence,” Guanzon said in an interview. “Please respect our independence under the Constitution.” The Comelec en banc on Tuesday announced it was ratifying the comment Guanzon filed with the Supreme Court regarding the First Division ruling on three petitions calling for the cancellation of Sen. Grace Poe’s certificate of candidacy for president. It also announced, through Commissioner Arthur Lim, that all issues within the collegial body “have been resolved.” All seven members of the en banc were present during the announcement, in an apparent show of force after a rift erupted between Guanzon and Chairman Andres Bautista regarding the comment. “The Commission on Elections en banc has shown to everyone, especially the electorate that we are united in upholding the integrity of this Commission,” Guanzon said. Earlier, Bautista issued a memorandum addressed to Guanzon and law department director Maria Norina Casingal asking why the comment was not shown to him and the other commissioners before it Read More …