Maniolas

“I love to layer every which way. There are 15 pieces to play with — no rules, no looks, just opportunities. For me, it starts with the crop top. It’s essential. You take it from there. A sweat suit/jumpsuit (put it on and you’re done).  My dream pantsuit, because you can boy it up, split it up or suit it up, when needed. There are tanks, tees, fun hoodies, track pants, a leather crop bomber to die for. And, of course, an amazing parka — an urban must,” says Cara Delevingne of her Cara D for DKNY collection. MANILA, Philippines – Cara Delevingne recently launched the Cara D for DKNY capsule collection in London. Cara made the rounds in London starting at Harrods, then Harvey Nichols, followed by Selfridges and ending at DKNY’s London flagship store on Old Bond Street. Cara tweeted clues under the hashtag #CaraD4DKNY and #CARAvan as to where she headed each step of the way. Cara’s first stop was Harrods, where she took a photo with the Harrods signature “green men.” Next stop was Harvey Nichols for a beat boxing and break dancing session followed by Selfridges, where Cara served eager customers and took selfies while DJ Paula Goldstein was spinning a set. The final stop was DKNY’s Old Bond Street Store where Cara was presented with a custom cake representing her favorite piece in the collection as well as a custom Cara D for DKNY champagne bottle by Moet Hennessy. Cara changed into various pieces Read More …

MANILA, Philippines – The local benchmark index stood its ground yesterday, extending its winning streak despite slumping markets abroad, analysts said. The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) improved 0.02 percent or 1.11 points to finish at 7,277.74, erasing losses made earlier in the trading day. The All Shares index likewise ended positively, climbing 0.07 percent or 3.02 points at 4,285.74. “A surge of buyers in the afternoon session allowed the index to close in the green for the second straight session,” said Justino Calaycay Jr., analyst at Accord Capital Equities Corp. Calaycay, however, said investors’ bullishness at the start of the year has been completely sapped following political uncertainty in Greece and problems in the crude market. “Whatever traces of optimism that lined Monday’s trades were rubbed out by after-trades and overnight developments,” he said. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Asian shares were down while all three indexes in Wall Street also ended in the negative territory led by the Dow which lost 1.86 percent or 331.34 points. Locally, counters were mixed at three apiece. Counters which finished on the green were led by the holding firms which gained 0.90 percent or 57.76 points while the services firms dropped 1.25 percent or 26.47 points. Value turnover picked up late in the session and more than tripled the morning’s total to P10.43 billion. “Philippine shares appears to have showed up its Asian neighbors and global peers once more. It climbed out of an early –52.2 points hole Read More …

Relatives of the high-profile inmates removed from the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) following a surprise raid last month have filed a human rights violation case against Justice Secretary Leila de Lima. In a six-page letter addressed to Commission on Human Rights (CHR) chair Loretta Ann Rosales, the families of Noel Martinez, Willy Sy, Michael Ong and German Agojo questioned the inmates’ transfer from the NBP to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) compound in Manila. Martinez, Sy, Ong and Agojo were among the 19 inmates transferred to the NBI facility after a December 15 raid on the national penitentiary yielded illegal and prohibited items such illegal drugs, firearms, money, jewelry and gadgets. According to the families of the four inmates, De Lima ordered the transfer “without any declaration as to her basis and authority in their selection, and in a manner similar to a warrantless arrest.” They were represented by lawyers Ferdinand Topacio, Joselito Lomangaya and Edzon Cristian Lauang. In an attempt to justify the transfer, the lawyers said De Lima branded all the inmates as convicted drug lords even though Martinez was convicted for serious illegal detention. “The Secretary actually confuses, to her convenience and advantage, between inmates who have been allegedly surprised with luxurious items on one hand, and those from whom suspected drugs were allegedly seized, on the other. Yet, she generalizes all of these inmates are ‘convicted drug lords’ who ‘control about 20 to 50 percent of the illegal drug trade in the state penitentiary’,” they Read More …

In this Nov. 18, 2013 file photo, actor-comedian Bill Cosby poses for a portrait in New York. A lawyer for Judith Huth who is suing Cosby alleging the comedian sexually abused her when she was 15 years old says he has interviewed two witnesses who corroborate her story. Attorney Marc Strecker wrote in a sworn declaration filed Friday, Dec. 12, 2014, in Los Angeles Superior Court that he also has reviewed photographs of his client with Cosby at the Playboy Mansion when she was age 15. Victoria Will/Invision/AP, File BOSTON (AP) — Two women accusing Bill Cosby of sexual offenses decades ago have joined a defamation lawsuit, contending the comedian publicly branded them as liars through statements by his representatives. The amended complaint was filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Springfield, in western Massachusetts, where Cosby has a home in Shelburne Falls. Cosby is the only defendant in the lawsuit, originally filed last month by Tamara Green, who said he drugged and assaulted her in the 1970s. The two new plaintiffs are Therese Serignese, who said he drugged and raped her in 1976, and Linda Traitz, who alleges he tried to drug her and then sexually groped her in 1970. Attorney Joseph Cammarata, who represents the three women, said the civil action allows them to have their allegations heard since criminal statutes of limitation have expired. “The lawsuit provides an opportunity for women who claim to have been harmed to have their day in court in a forum where Read More …

MANILA, Philippines—The Department of Transportation and Communications wants to move forward with the privatization of operations and maintenance of the busy Ninoy Aquino International Airport before President Aquino steps down in 2016. Transportation secretary Joseph Abaya said the project could be up for approval by the National Economic and Development Authority Investment Coordination Committee within the first half of 2015. The move was in line with the broader thrust of the current administration to privatize the operations of certain services, like railways, ports and airports. It earlier auctioned a P17.5-billion contract to expand and operate the Mactan Cebu International Airport and the DOTC is in the process of bidding out six smaller provincial airports. Abaya had said the O&M contract of Naia, the country’s busiest airport, having handled over 32 million passengers last year, could be auctioned under a public-private partnership structure. It was not immediately clear if the Naia project would include planned expansion activities, including a fifth passenger terminal building that Abaya said the DOTC was currently studying. The planned Naia O&M contract also comes ahead of a new international gateway being studied by the government in Sangley Point, Cavite. That project, however, is not expected to be completed before 2025, if pursued, Abaya said. The new Sangley airport is estimated by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica) to have a development cost of P435.9 billion. It is deemed crucial in meeting the capital region’s passenger demand, seen to more than triple to 101.4 million in 2040 from Read More …