'Big Little Lies' director Jean-Marc Vallée passes away at 58
'Big Little Lies' director Jean-Marc Vallée passes away at 58Director Jean-Marc Vallée is seen in this photo taken Jan. 7, 2018 (L-R) with actresses Laura Dern and Nicole Kidman after willing with the Best Television Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television trophy for "Big Little Lies" at the 75th Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills, California. This is a developing story. MANILA, Philippines — Canadian filmmaker Jean-Marc Vallée, known for directing Oscar Best Picture nominee "Dallas Buyers Club" and the multi-awarded HBO series "Big Little Lies," has died at the age of 58. Vallée's death was sudden and details are still being determined, according to American media. Vallée producing partner Nathan Ross confirmed the director's death in a statement:
Source:Philippine Star
December 27, 2021 16:14 UTC
Chinese citizens slam Musk online after space station near-misses
BEIJING — Chinese citizens lashed out online against billionaire Tesla founder Elon Musk’s space ambitions on Monday after China complained that its space station was forced to take evasive action to avoid collision with satellites launched by Musk’s Starlink program. The satellites from Starlink Internet Services, a division of Musk’s SpaceX aerospace company, had two “close encounters” with the Chinese space station on July 1 and Oct. 21, according to a document submitted by China earlier this month to the U.N.’s space agency. ADVERTISEMENT“For safety reasons, the China Space Station implemented preventive collision avoidance control,” China said in a document published on the website of the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs. U.S. space agency NASA was forced to abruptly call off a spacewalk at the end of November, citing risks posed by space debris. China began constructing the space station in April with the launch of Tianhe, the largest of its three modules.
Source:Philippine Daily Inquirer
December 27, 2021 15:52 UTC
Philippines typhoon death toll rises to 388: govt
Typhoon Rai left hundreds of thousands homeless after wreaking destruction across the southern and central Philippines. (AFP)The death toll from one of the most destructive typhoons to hit the Philippines in recent years rose to 388 on Monday, the government said, as disease outbreaks threatened some of the stricken areas. The civil defense office in Manila raised the death toll from Rai to 388 with 60 others missing and hundreds injured. Police previously put the death toll at 375. Some survivors have likened Typhoon Rai to Super Typhoon Haiyan, which left 7,300 people dead or missing across the central Philippines in 2013 and remains the country's deadliest on record.
Source:The Standard
December 27, 2021 12:39 UTC
'Spider-Man' surpasses $1B in box office sales; award-winning director Jean-Marc Vallée dies
Tom Holland and Benedict Cumberbatch in ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home.’ AP PHOTO'Spider-Man' surpasses $1B globally in second weekendPeter Parker's good fortune continued over the holiday weekend. Even with some mighty competition from new "Matrix" and "Sing" movies, and rising concerns over the omicron variant, "Spider-Man: No Way Home" stayed in the No. With $587.1 million from 61 overseas markets, in just 12 days of release, "Spider-Man" has grossed $1.05 billion globally. * * *Jake Gyllenhaal and director Jean-Marc Vallée AP PHOTO'Dallas Buyers Club' director Jean-Marc Vallée dead at 58LOS ANGELES: Director and producer Jean-Marc Vallée, who won an Emmy for directing the HBO series "Big Little Lies" and whose drama "Dallas Buyers Club" earned multiple Oscar nominations, has died. He directed Emily Blunt in 2009's "The Young Victoria" and became a sought-after name after "Dallas Buyers Club," featuring Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto, earned six Academy Awards nominations, including best picture.
Source:Manila Times
December 27, 2021 12:24 UTC
Climate change 2021: There’s no turning back now
“The Glasgow Climate Pact is more than we expected, but less than we hoped for,” Dann Mitchell, head of climate hazards at Britain’s Met Office, said with haiku-like economy. “Make no mistake, we are still on the road to hell,” said Dave Reay, head of the University of Edinburgh’s Climate Change Institute. How that saga unfolds will depend a lot on the world’s four major emitters, collectively responsible for 60 percent of global carbon pollution. But they refused to set up a fund demanded by more than 130 developing countries to help pay for climate damage already incurred. But there is little incentive for private capital to help the poorest and most vulnerable countries to cope with climate ravages and shore up their defences.
Source:Philippine Daily Inquirer
December 27, 2021 09:07 UTC
Philippines detects 4th Omicron variant case
Pfizer Covid pills for symptoms may cause harmful reactions if taken with other prescription medications. One of the two drugs in the antiviral cocktail could cause serious interactions with widely used...
Source:Philippine Star
December 27, 2021 07:28 UTC
Bongbong-Sara team continues to rule surveys
FORMER senator Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. continued to dominate presidential surveys, posting a double-digit lead in the latest OCTA Research poll. In a statement on Sunday, Marcos' camp said he "pulled away" from his closest rival, Vice President Maria Leonor "Leni" Robredo, in the survey conducted December 7 to 12. The Partido Federal ng Pilipinas standard bearer polled over 54 percent, with Robredo was "a distant second" with 14 percent. Marcos' running mate, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio was also the runaway leader in OCTA's vice presidential survey. Marcos and Duterte-Carpio have fortified their position as the team to beat with a double-digit lead over their rivals in the December 1-6 Pulse Asia poll.
Source:Manila Times
December 27, 2021 04:10 UTC
Government to source more ODA funding
Government to source more ODA fundingFinance Undersecretary Mark Dennis Joven said the government would keep a close watch on how the decision to discontinue LIBOR by the close of 2021 would change pricing in bond offerings abroad. MANILA, Philippines — The government plans to expand its official development assistance (ODA) portfolio next year as it monitors how the phasing out of the London Inter-Bank Offered Rate (LIBOR) will affect interest rates in commercial auctions. He said the government plans to expand its ODA portfolio in the meantime as the debt market goes through adjustments that may cause instability in bond offerings. Basically, as you can see from the disclosures, we have buffered up on the ODA side, on multilateral ODAs, just in case the market becomes a little bit choppy,” he said. It also broke into the same debt market last year for its second offering overseas, securing 2.1 billion euros in four-year, 12-year and 20-year global bonds.
Source:Philippine Star
December 27, 2021 03:59 UTC
Dams burst in northeastern Brazil as region hit by floods
ITABUNA, Brazil – Two dams gave way in the northeastern Brazilian state of Bahia after weeks of heavy rains, swamping already swollen local rivers as flooding hit towns across the region, authorities said on Sunday. There were no reports of deaths or injuries caused by the dam failures, though bridges and roads were damaged. In Vitoria da Conquista, Mayor Sheila Lemos, said all residents close to the collapsed Igua dam had been evacuated. In a posting on the city’s website, Lemos said the flooding threatened to cut off the BR-116 highway, a major truck route between northeastern and southern Brazil. ADVERTISEMENTBahia Governor Rui Castro said at least 400,000 people have been impacted by the heavy rains and thousands evacuated from some 67 towns facing emergency situations due to floods caused by heavy rainfall for almost two months.
Source:Philippine Daily Inquirer
December 27, 2021 02:48 UTC
Yearender: Government goes all out for Build Build Build program
Yearender: Government goes all out for Build Build Build programMANILA, Philippines — Time is running out for the administration to achieve the dream of ushering in the golden age of infrastructure in the country, but the government’s Build Build Build architects are keen to make the most of their remaining few months for a last hurrah. From the outset, infrastructure development has been a major priority of the Duterte administration, paving the way for the creation of its flagship Build Build Build program, wherein public spending on infrastructure projects is targeted to reach up to P9 trillion from 2017 to 2022. Now that the administration’s final half year is on the horizon, infrastructure projects continue to take center stage as these projects are essential in helping fuel the country’s economic recovery following setbacks brought about by the pandemic. Some 1,533 ongoing bridge projects and 3,603 flood control projects are up for completion by the early quarter of 2022, according to DPWH Undersecretary Emil Sadain, who has also taken the role as chief implementer of the Build Build Build program. “The DPWH is steadfast in pursuing the commitment for the plans and programs, especially under the Build Build Build program of the President under his term, and we will be looking forward in the next administrations that this project will still be sustained as we progress along in the next generation,” he said.
Source:Philippine Star
December 27, 2021 02:32 UTC
Pope's 3 key words for marriage: 'Please, thanks, sorry'
ROME: Pope Francis is seeking to encourage married couples, acknowledging that the pandemic has aggravated some family problems but urging couples to seek help and always remember three key words in a marriage: "Please, thanks and sorry." Francis penned a letter to married couples that was released Sunday, a Catholic feast day commemorating Jesus' family. In the letter, Francis said lockdowns and quarantines had forced families to spend more time together. "The breakdown of a marriage causes immense suffering, since many hopes are dashed, and misunderstandings can lead to arguments and hurts not easily healed," he said. He repeated a refrain he has often used when meeting with families and married couples, listing the three most important words in a marriage: "Please, thanks and sorry."
Source:Manila Times
December 26, 2021 22:05 UTC
NTF: Philippines bought more Western vax than Chinese jabs
NTF: Philippines bought more Western vax than Chinese jabsA nurse fills a syringe with the Pfizer-BioNtech coronavirus disease (Covid-19) vaccine on Jan. 4, 2020 at the Antonin Balmes gerontology center in Montpellier in the south of France. MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines purchased more Western-made vaccines against COVID-19 than those made in China, the National Task Force (NTF) against COVID-19 said yesterday. Dr. Teodoro Herbosa, NTF medical adviser, pointed this out in refuting claims that the Philippines favored the China-made Sinovac brand. He said the government bought 40 million doses from Pfizer, 20 million from Moderna and 17 million from AstraZeneca for a total of about 77 million jabs. “We have bought more Western vaccines than Chinese-made vaccines,” he added.
Source:Philippine Star
December 26, 2021 20:38 UTC
Fewer plastic barriers reduce chance of COVID-19 transmission
Fewer plastic barriers reduce chance of COVID-19 transmissionScience Secretary Fortunato dela Peña said that the ADMU study, led by Dr. Joel Maquiling, showed that the number of barriers and their arrangement greatly affected the airflow within public transport vehicles, and hence, also had consequences on COVID-19 transmission prevention. MANILA, Philippines — A Department of Science and Technology (DOST)-funded study conducted by the Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU) found that having fewer barriers in public transport vehicles reduced the risk of COVID-19 transmission. Science Secretary Fortunato dela Peña said that the ADMU study, led by Dr. Joel Maquiling, showed that the number of barriers and their arrangement greatly affected the airflow within public transport vehicles, and hence, also had consequences on COVID-19 transmission prevention. By barriers, the study referred to seats with backrests, acetate or plastic barriers, and even face shields. Aside from barriers, additional inlets or outlets in the vehicles configured in an alternating open-closed-open manner would enhance the airflow and flush out any agents of infectious disease, like SARS-CoV-2 which causes COVID-19.
Source:Philippine Star
December 26, 2021 20:26 UTC
PH logs 433 new Covid cases
THE country logged 433 new cases of Covid-19 on Sunday, the Department of Health (DoH) said. The cases pushed total infections to 2,838,640. The DoH said 4,032 of the total cases were mild and asymptomatic, 3,339 were moderate, 1,777 were severe and 374 were critical. The national utilization rate for intensive care unit (ICU) beds was 17 percent, 20 percent for isolation beds, and 10 percent for ward beds. In the National Capital Region, the utilization rate was 17 percent for ICU beds, 18 percent for isolation beds and 15 percent for ward beds.
Source:Manila Times
December 26, 2021 16:31 UTC
Odette death toll in Bohol claims to 107
TAGBILARAN CITY — The death toll due to Typhoon Odette (International name: Rai) in Bohol has increased to 107. The provincial government of Bohol reported on Saturday that majority of the fatalities were recorded in Ubay and Talibon towns which have 14 fatalities each. ADVERTISEMENTThere were seven fatalities each in Bien Unido and Loon towns, while six deaths were recorded in San Miguel town. At least 26,590 families or 61,997 individuals were evacuated during the onslaught of the typhoon in Bohol. RELATED STORY:Typhoon death toll still rising; two-thirds still unidentifiedJPVSubscribe to our daily newsletter By providing an email address.
Source:Philippine Daily Inquirer
December 26, 2021 15:59 UTC