Magnitude 6.8 earthquake strikes off Philippines

SINGAPORE: A 6.8 magnitude earthquake, at a depth at 29 miles, struck off the Philippines Monday, northeast of Dumaguete, Negros island, at 0349 GMT, the US Geological Survey reported.

There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage, and the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said that based on all available data a Pacific-wide tsunami is not expected. AGENCIES

Paris Hilton takes her business to Manila

TrendPK.com: Paris Hilton is everywhere and now she is even in Manila, Philippines where she has just opened a new store.

Hilton stormed a Manila mall where she celebrated the opening of her new handbag store, states Access Hollywood. Hilton took time to sign handbags for fans along with posing for pictures.

While she was there, she even commented that she hopes to be back to open up a resort someday in the future. Hilton has recently come out to reveal that she hopes to focus a little more on the real estate business.

China’s first aircraft carrier starts sea trials

China s first aircraft carrier started sea trials on Wednesday, a step that will likely boost concerns about the country s naval ambitions amid ongoing disputes with its neighbors over territorial waters.

The carrier left Dalian port in northeast Liaoning province early on Wednesday, the official Xinhua News Agency reported. The test run had been expected.

Xinhua said the first sea trial was in line with the schedule to rebuild the carrier, with China spending the best part of a decade refurbishing the former Soviet aircraft carrier Varyag after it was towed from Ukraine in 1998. The report cited unnamed military sources.

China officially acknowledged a month ago that it is rebuilding the carrier and said the refurbished ship would be used for research and training a strong indication it plans to build carriers of its own.

China s carrier ambitions have sparked concern among neighbors amid heightened tensions over territorial disputes around Taiwan and in the South China Sea.

Over the past year, China has seen a flare-up in territorial spats with Japan, the Philippines and Vietnam and seen its relations strained with South Korea all of which have turned to Washington, long the pre-eminent naval power in Asia, for support.

Xinhua said refitting and test work would continue on the carrier when it returns from its short sea trial.

The Varyag, yet to be officially renamed, was towed from Ukraine as an empty shell without engines, weapons systems or other crucial equipment. It has been under construction for the better part of a decade.

Defense experts say China plans up to four carriers in all, with preparations under way at a Shanghai shipyard.

No time period for the trial was given by Xinhua, but a statement posted on the website of the Liaoning Maritime Safety Authority said “all vessels will be barred from entering” a small section of the sea off Dalian on August 14.

There had been earlier online reports in China that the test was set to start last weekend, but it may have been delayed by a tropical storm that swept through the area.

 

Rice Yield May go Down by 3pc

Rice prices may go up by 3 percent for the rice generation may decline in the next one and a half year owing to the worst flooding that hit the country this year.

Pakistan, Vietnam, Philippines and Thailand are the only countries that produce good rice catering to around 3billion people around the globe.
The massive destruction wrought by the floods affected countrys yield hugely.

Philippines reports rise in HIV-AIDS infections

MANILA: The Philippines on Thursday reported a sharp jump in HIV-AIDS cases which runs against a global trend of declining infection rates, with young homosexual men most at risk.

There were 1,305 confirmed new HIV infections in first 10 months of the year, compared with 835 for the whole of 2009, the health ministry said.

Sex between men accounted for nearly 80 percent of all cases this year, and more than half of those infected were aged between 20 and 29.

“From 2007 there has been a shift in the predominant trend of sexual transmission from heterosexual contact to males having sex with males,” a health ministry report said.

The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) attacks the human body’s immune system, rendering it defenceless against infections and leading to AIDS.

Teresita Marie Bagasao, country coordinator of the UNAIDS programme, said

12th Digicon6 Awards: China’s ‘See Through’ wins big, India gets regional grand

Tokyo: TBS DigiCon6 announced the winners for 12th TBS DigiCon6 Awards in a grand ceremony held at Marunouchi Building Hall on November 19, 2010. The event

was indeed a historic one for Asian Animation industry where creativity and effort got recognition and appreciation at the centre stage.

Attended by the who’s who of the Asian animation industry, the Golden Digicon6 Award was won by China’s official entry See Through, made by Jokelate.

India’s Wilson Periera made by National Institute of Design’s young turk Dhaneesh Jameson, won Asian Regional Grand Prize.

China’s representative Yang Yu, who was present at the ceremony on behalf of Jokelate, commented, “I am sure this award means a lot to the creative effort

put together by Jokelate and he would be very excited to know about his victory. This award is not going to be an end to his work and efforts but will be a

motivation for him to work further in his life.”

This year TBS DigiCon6 received over 2,000 entries from Japan and other Asian
regions such as China, Hong Kong, India, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines,
Taiwan and Thailand. TBS DigiCon6 Asia jury selected the awards winners for six
categories and announced them at the ceremony. TBS DigiCon6 Japan jury selected the awards winners for nine categories and announced them, too.

An elated Dhaneesh added, “I really feel proud and honored to have won this prize and to represent the country. The film was well received at Digicon6 than

any other festivals that I have been till now. I got the biggest compliment for my film from the well known Korean director Kwak Jae-yong and I was

speechless when he said he personally got my film subtitled in Korean and watched it over 5 times!”

TBS DigiCon6 was organized in 2000 by Tokyo Broadcasting System Inc, one of major television stations, to discover and support new talent. It has been

inviting digital contents creators, both professionals and amateurs, to submit their original works in the competition, and it is widely recognized for its

achievement.

Complete list of 12th TBS DigiCon6 Awards winners:

12th TBS DigiCon6 Awards Winners
Golden DigiCon6 Award – See Through – Jokelate CHINA
Silver DigiCon6 Award – Googuri Googuri – Yoshiko Misumi JAPAN
Bronze DigiCon6 Award – Kung Fu Bunny 3 – Counterattack- Li Zhiyong CHINA

Encouragement Awards:
Fumiko’s Confession – Hiroyasu Ishida JAPAN
Temple Rider – Radio Television Hong Kong / Simage Animation & Media Ltd. HONG KONG
CONTAINED – Henry Zhuang & Harry Zhuang SINGAPORE

12th TBS DigiCon6 JAPAN Regional Awards Winners
Grand Prize – Fumiko’s Confession – Hiroyasu Ishida JAPAN

Outstanding Performance Awards:
The Light of Life – Daihei Shibata JAPAN
Googuri Googuri – Yoshiko Misumi JAPAN

Encouragement Awards:
UTOPIAN – TOKUNAGA MARIKO JAPAN
Dreamer – Naohisa Ikuta JAPAN
SUNRISE Award – Rainy Holiday – Kaneko Osamu JAPAN
Adobe Systems Award – ab-rah KOHEI YOSHINO JAPAN
Hewlett-Packard & ATI Award – Amagoi Suzuki Ippei JAPAN
Mitsubishi Estate Award – Travel of Art – YU MASHIMO JAPAN
BS-TBS Award – Sepia Clock – Gaku Kinoshita JAPAN
Hole Makino Atsushi JAPAN

Prize for Effort:
Hole – Makino Atsushi JAPAN
Tokyo Teleport – Takeda Yuta JAPAN
a song like a fish – Taijin Takeuchi JAPAN
A GUM BOY – Masaki Okuda JAPAN
flesh color – masahiko Adachi JAPAN

Asian Regional Awards Grand Prizes
CHINA: Kung Fu Bunny 3 – Counterattack – Li Zhiyong
HONGKONG: Temple Rider – Radio Television Hong Kong / Simage Animation & Media Ltd.
INDIA: WILSON PERIERA – Dhaneesh Jameson
KOREA: Tom N Jerry – CHOI JIN SUNG
MALAYSIA: Bo Boi Boy – ANIMONSTA STUDIOS SDN. BHD.
PHILIPPINES: Mutya – Nelson “Blog” A. Caliguia, Jr.
SINGAPORE: Calypso Agency – Jose Andres Velasco
TAIWAN: CREATION – Hsuan-Ying Lu
THAILAND: Impassable – NATTAPORN YIAMCHAWEE

Typhoon Megi leaves 11 dead in Taiwan

The death toll from Typhoon Megi rose to 11 on Saturday, as it cut a deadly path into Asia, triggering mudslides and leaving tourists stranded in Taiwan. Rescuers were searching for the missing and providing food to other stranded tourists trapped in the mountainous region of northeastern Taiwan. Megi, which killed at least 11 people in the Philippines, is expected to hit southern China Saturday, according to the Hong Kong Observatory.
On the streets of Hong Kong, there were no signs of the typhoon yet. Although it is difficult to predict Megi’s exact track, the public should stay alert and attend to their personal safety. They should stay away from the shoreline, avoid unnecessary outdoor activities and ensure drains are not blocked, acting Secretary for Security Lai Tung-kwok said. In southern China, strong gales arrived ahead of Megi. Domestic and international flights have been canceled, and ferry services have been suspended in Guangdong, Fujian and Hainan, state-run China Daily said. Officials have issued the highest of four warnings, bracing for possible devastation in coastal areas, Xinhua said.
The warning allows local officials six hours to evacuate residents, close schools and airports, and recall vessels that are considered at risk. The typhoon affected an estimated 258,844 Filipinos, leaving thousands homeless, when it hit the island earlier this week.

Deadly Typhoon Megi heads for China

BEIJING: Flights were disrupted, ferry services cut and at least 160,000 people have been evacuated as Typhoon Megi, one of the strongest storms to hit the region in years, headed Friday for southern China.

Megi — which killed at least 36 people when it ripped across the Philippines and has left 20 Chinese nationals missing in Taiwan — was expected to make landfall either late Friday or early Saturday in Fujian province.

So far authorities in Fujian have evacuated more than 150,000 people from low-lying areas, while 10,000 others have been moved to safer ground in Guangdong.

The State Oceanic Administration issued a yellow storm surge warning, saying waters could exceed the danger levels. Tens of thousands of fishing boats in Fujian and neighbouring Guangdong province were ordered back to port.

“The storm surge could be so devastating that

9 people die in bus explosion in Philipines

At least 9 people were killed Thursday when a bomb blew up on a bus in the southern Philippines, police said.
The incident occurred Thursday morning on the Kabacan-Matalam national highway in the town of Matalam in North Cotabato, on the island of Mindanao — in the largely Muslim south.
The state-run Philippines News Agency reported 30 injuries, and Gil Meneses, the regional police director, told CNN that nine of them were serious.
Three unidentified men boarded the bus along the highway in Kabacan and left in Matalam, authorities said.
Minutes later, an improvised explosive device, that the police say was fashioned from a mortar cartridge and triggered by a mobile phone, detonated.
The bus conductor was among those instantly killed, Meneses said.
The province of North Cotabato is just to the east of Maguindanao, the site of some of the worst politically motivated violence in recent Philippine history.
Philippines President Benigno Aquino III ordered police Thursday to arrest the perpetrators of the bus explosion in the province of North Cotabato in southern Philippines.
The President told reporters that one of the angles that the investigators are looking at is extortion. Aquino expressed sympathy with the families of those who perished in the bus explosion.

Rescuers try to reach Philippines storm survivors

CAUAYAN: Typhoon Megi inched away from the Philippines on Wednesday after killing 19 people, as relief workers scrambled to deliver aid to remote towns that were devastated by the storm.

The governor of the hardest-hit province of Isabela, Faustino Dy said that residents in three coastal towns had suffered massive damage to their homes and were left with limited food supplies after huge waves washed away roads.

“Their food supply is only up to Sunday. But going there is very difficult. There is no road to reach them,” Dy told reporters in Cauayan, the closest city to the worst-hit towns.

Dy, who had flown by helicopter to the devastated areas, said that as many as 20,000 people were affected.

Many of them had survived by fleeing into the mountains before Megi hit, he and other officials said.

Regional social welfare chief Arnel Garcia said

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