VIDEO: Inside Caballo island

 News
Nov 112014
 
VIDEO: Inside Caballo island

MANILA, Philippines — United Nations (UN) peacekeepers coming home from Ebola-stricken Liberia on Wednesday will be brought to a “paradise” island, equipped with recreational facilities, for a mandatory 21-day quarantine. Caballo island is a Philippine naval base known as Fort Hughes located at the entrance of Manila Bay. It is off limits to civilians. The Philippine military has equipped the quarantine area with recreational facilities on top of the basic necessities in order for the peacekeepers to enjoy their three-week stay. “To the family members of our gallant peacekeepers, I would like to ask your patience for extending the absence of your loved ones. I have done everything to make their stay at the Island Paradise of Caballo, a very pleasant and memorable one,” Armed Forces of the Philippine (AFP) chief General Gregorio Pio Catapang Jr. said on Monday. Caballo Island. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO/Armed Forces of the Philippines There are 133 peacekeepers returning home on Wednesday — 108 from the AFP, 24 from the Philippine National Police (PNP) and one from the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP). All the peacekeepers belong to the “No risk” category and have passed the Ebola screening conducted by UN doctors. The procedure is a requirement before their repatriation. But despite this, the 21-day quarantine will still be implemented in line with government’s efforts to retain the country’s Ebola-free status. Lieutenant Colonel Harold Cabunoc, AFP Public Affairs Office Chief, downplayed any possible spread of the Ebola virus and that personnel who would greet them Read More …

Asean to launch regional tour packages

 News
Nov 112014
 
Asean to launch regional tour packages

Cambodia’s famed Angkor Wat temples complex stands in Siem Reap province, some 230 kilometers (143 miles) northwest Phnom Penh, Cambodia. AP FILE PHOTO MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines expects to benefit significantly from proposed Asean-themed tours, as the program will not only boost international arrivals but will also spur more investments in the local tourism industry. Aileen Clemente, executive vice president of the Tourism Congress of the Philippines, said the Association of the Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) will offer starting next year four themed tours for international visitors who are looking to travel within the region. Also to be offered are intra-Asean packages involving travel to three or four countries in the region depending on the tourist’s preferences, as well as arrangements for airline and hotels. “It will be a diverse set of packages that will focus on the collective strength of Asean member countries. We have always maintained that instead of competing for tourist arrivals, we should be cooperating with each other to maximize the potential of each destination,” Clemente said. Apart from boosting arrivals and investments, Clemente, who is also the president of the Asean Tourism Association, said this new tourism scheme is expected to improve and widen the  The Marina Bay Sands hotel and the Supertrees at Gardens By The Bay covered in haze. AP FILE PHOTO manpower base, and promote more environmentally sound programs. There will be four themes that will be made available to tourists, namely Community Based Tourism (CBT), Nature Based Tourism (NBT), Cultural Read More …

China uses Apec to boost regional role

 General
Nov 112014
 
China uses Apec to boost regional role

Chinese President Xi Jinping delivers opening remarks at the the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit plenary session at the International Convention Center, Yanqi Lake, Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2014 in Beijing. AP HUAIROU, China — Chinese President Xi Jinping called on Asia-Pacific leaders Tuesday to strengthen trade ties at a summit Beijing is using to boost its role as a regional power with a flurry of trade and finance pacts. Speaking at the opening ceremony of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, Xi called for progress on a “road map” toward closer economic integration among the group’s 21 member economies. They include 40 percent of the world’s population and 60 percent of global economic output. “Clarify the goal, the direction, the road map,” Xi told the leaders including President Barack Obama and Russia’s Vladimir Putin. “At an early date, let prospects become reality and make the two sides of the Pacific highly open and integrated.” Apec, which also includes Japan, South Korea and Australia, is the first major international gathering in China since Xi took power. The presence of world leaders gives Beijing a platform to lobby for a bigger leadership role. On the eve of the gathering, Beijing announced a free-trade agreement with South Korea. Also Monday, regulators approved a plan to open Chinese stock markets wider to foreign investors by linking exchanges in Hong Kong and Shanghai. That followed the weekend announcement of a $40 billion Chinese-financed fund to improve trade links between Asian economies. At the summit, China is Read More …

GMA attends mass for dead grandson

 General
Nov 102014
 
GMA attends mass for dead grandson

Former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo attended yesterday a mass that marked the end of her 13-month-old grandson’s wake. The special mass was held at the residence of Evangeline “Luli” Arroyo-Bernas and her husband Luigi Bernas in North Forbes Park, Makati City at the last day of the wake of their son, Jorge “Jugo” Alonzo Bernas, sources said. Jugo’s remains were cremated shortly after his death last Nov. 2 due to a congenital heart ailment at the Philippine Heart Center. Arroyo obtained a six-day furlough from detention at the Veterans Memorial Medical Center in Quezon City to attend the wake from noon to 10 p.m. each day and from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. yesterday. Her husband, former first gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo, and their close friends and relatives also attended the mass.  No journalist was allowed to cover the event upon the request of Luli, lawyers of the family said. Luli, Arroyo’s only daughter, is known to be protective of her family’s privacy. “Thank you for the kind messages and for condoling with us. We ask for privacy for the family at this time,” Luli said in a statement last week.  Arroyo left her daughter’s residence promptly at 3 p.m. escorted by police vans.         – Paolo Romero

Tax on stock options — clarified?

 Economy
Nov 102014
 

SHARE-BASED payments have become prevalent in the corporate world, especially for publicly listed companies. One of the most common share-based payments is the stock option plan (SOP) or stock-based compensation for employees. Just recently, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) allowed a publicly listed company to exercise its employees’ SOP amounting to as much as P7 billion.

Remembering our veterans and ‘what it was like to go to war’

 Entertainment
Nov 102014
 
Remembering our veterans and ‘what it was like to go to war’

On Tuesday, November 11, we will again fly our flag high to honor and remember all our veterans and those who sacrificed their lives for us. In retrospect however, those of us who in one way or another have loved ones who either perished or survived due to war, have always wondered what it was really like to go to war. In one of a series of panel discussions I have attended in our local library recently, we discussed the book of Karl Marlantes entitled “What It is Like to Go to War.” The library’s goal of featuring the program is to “spark a public conversation about how our community can best support the process of reincorporating veterans into the fabric of civilian life.” Beterano Poster The panel discussion presented visual images and quotations on the “Changing Nature of Warfare Technology and its Effect on the Soldiers.” Shown for example were World War I images of: General Patton’s Saber, the British Mark V Tank, B-29 Superfortress Bomber, Tomahawk Subsonic Cruise Missile, MQ-1 Predator (which looked like the current Drones), the Renault FT Tank, Messerschmidt BF 109 Fighter Jet, Bell UH-1 Iroquois and of course, the significance of Pablo Picasso’s “Guernica” painting. In his book, Karl Marlantes describes war as: “this is just a platoon Commander, the  lowest-ranking officer in an infantry unit, which itself has the lowest level of sophistication in weaponry. In today’s combat environment, this lowly lieutenant can call in bombs from B-52’s flying so high, they are unseen and Tomahawk missiles fired from some 500 miles at sea, Read More …

During childhood, learning grammar and music go hand-in-hand: study

 Entertainment
Nov 102014
 
During childhood, learning grammar and music go hand-in-hand: study

A new study has linked music with language learning, making the case for music education.©Zurijeta / shutterstock.com (Relaxnews) – A child’s ability to distinguish musical rhythm could enrichen his understanding of grammar, according to what is believed to be a first-of-its-kind study at the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center in Nashville, Tennessee. Working with 25 six-year-old children who were developing normally, research fellow Reyna Gordon, Ph.D., from the Department of Otolaryngology started by testing them for standard music aptitude. The computer-based test asked them to judge whether two slightly differing or identical rhythms were just that. Next, the children played a computer game developed by Dr. Gordon and her colleagues involving a beat-based assessment that tested their understanding of melodies. The research team then assessed the children’s grammar skills by asking them to discuss several photographs and taking note of how they spoke. Children who performed well in one test also performed well in the other, Dr. Gordon found, even though the tests were different and regardless of IQ, socioeconomic status and experience playing music. Dr. Gordon concludes that since both speech and music contain rhythm, children who are able to detect variations in music timing might also be more able to detect variations in speech. This would give them an advantage in learning a language, she says. Dr. Gordon hopes her work will help educators to recognize music’s unique role in brain development and inspire more music education worldwide. The study was published in the journal Developmental Science. ec/kc

Jennylyn to attend Patrick Garcia’s wedding

 Entertainment
Nov 102014
 
Jennylyn to attend Patrick Garcia’s wedding

Jennylyn Mercado (MNS Photo) Actress and singer Jennylyn Mercado said that she will be at the wedding of former boyfriend, Patrick Garcia on March 21, 2015. In an interview during the launch of her latest album, “Never Alone,” Mercado said that she will attend the celebration because their son, Alex Jazz, will be the ring bearer. “Excited ako sa kasal ni Patrick dahil ring-bearer si Jazz. Lagi kaming nagkakausap nina Pat at lalung-lalo na si Niks. Kasama ako sa wedding. Happy ako doon,” she was quoted in saying. Garcia and Mercado confirmed the split back in 2008. The actor has a daughter with his current girlfriend, Nikka Martinez. “Dapat makita ko yung celebration na ‘yon. Siyempre, tatay ni Jazz yon. Part siya ng buhay ko, so, kailangan kong ma-witness yon,” Mercado added. The actress was also quizzed about the status of her own relationship, amid rumors linking her with former boyfriend, Dennis Trillio. “Sorry ha, boring ang lovelife ko ngayon, pasensiya na,” she said. She then clarified: “May duet lang kami ni Dennis sa album ko, pero walang balikang naganap. Friends lang talaga kami nu’ng tao. Sa ngayon po kasi ay sa iba naka-focus ang atensyon ko… Sa trabaho ko, sa pamilya ko.” (MNS)

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