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Princess Diana’s ‘Black Sheep’ sweater sells at auction for $1.1 mn
An iconic red sweater worn by Princess Diana shortly after her engagement to then-Prince Charles, featuring rows of fluffy little sheep, sold at auction for more than $1.1 million following a frenetic bout of final bidding, Sotheby's announced Thursday. The 19-year-old sported the knit garment -- which includes one black sheep amid dozens of otherwise white wooly creatures -- at a June 1981 polo match during her whirlwind days as a shy royal-in-the-making. The playfully patterned "Black Sheep" sweater became one of the most emblematic articles of clothing worn by Diana, which in hindsight seems to foretell her troubled journey as a member of the British royal family. The garment nabbed $1.1 million -- which includes fees and commission -- after a fierce battle by internet bidders. The total was over ten times more than Sotheby's initial estimate of between $50,000 to $80,000. Due to an avalanche of bids, the auction house extended the sale by several minutes, with the price leaping from $190,000 to $1.1 million in the final 15 minutes. According to Sotheby's, it is the highest price ever paid at auction for a garment belonging to Princess Diana -- eclipsing her Infanta-style ball gown sold in January for $604,000 -- as well as the most valuable sweater ever sold at auction. The sweater was created by then-little-known designers Sally Muir and Joanna Osborne and their knitting company Warm and Wonderful, which was subsequently catapulted to fame. Weeks after Diana was photographed in the top, the designers received a letter explaining that one of the sweater's sleeves had suffered damage, and asking if it could be repaired or replaced. The designers sent her a new one and had assumed the original was repaired and sent to a customer, but in March 2023 Osborne found the sweater in a small box in her attic. In addition to the sweater, the auction included the letter requesting repair, as well as a thank you note from Diana's private secretary, Oliver Everett. The sweater was so iconic that it even appeared (via replica) in the fourth season of Netflix drama "The Crown," chronicling the House of Windsor's recent history. The post Princess Diana’s ‘Black Sheep’ sweater sells at auction for $1.1 mn appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Christmas 2020 for workers and farmers
HOTSPOT Tonyo Cruz Two things workers are looking forward to at the end of each year are the 13th month pay and the Christmas bonus. And it seems about two million workers may not get any 13th month pay at all, if the Duterte government would have its way. The reason? Because of the pandemic. In reaction, Kilusang Mayo Uno chairperson Elmer Labog issued his shortest statement yet this year, unable to hide labor’s frustration: “It is the government’s responsibility to bail out MSMEs in times of emergencies.” Indeed, it is the state’s obligation to support and prop up micro, small and medium-scale enterprises especially now in the time of pandemic. By saying MSMEs could dispense with the 13th month pay, the government is practically passing on its responsibility to MSMEs. Workers continue to give their share through the cheap, underpaid and overstressed labor power that makes sure MSMEs continue to function and perform their role as main engines of the economy. The government must do its job: Bail out the MSMEs. It is quite surprising that the Duterte government seems disinterested in bailing out MSMEs, considering the avalanche of news about the borrowings here and there. According to Sonny Africa, executive director of the think-tank Ibon Foundation, the borrowings has reached a historic high: “It took 118 years for the country’s debt to reach P6.1-trillion in 2016. President Duterte is taking just six years to more than than double that to P13.7-trillion in 2022.” Again, the reason for the borrowing has been “because of the pandemic.” Regardless of where the money goes, and whether or not MSMEs and workers received only a drop from it, they would pay the entire debt through more and higher taxes for years to come. Workers are not asking for something they have not earned through hard work. They earned that 13th month pay. It is not an optional thing. It is part of the law. The pandemic should oblige the state to bail out our MSMEs to enable them to fully function, and to give the workers’ their due under the law. Workers have given and lost a lot because of the pandemic. Workers have not asked for free rides to work, but the government fails to provide adequate and safe mass transport. Workers have asked for free mass testing in their companies and communities, but the government has other ideas. Workers and their families would have fared better with unemployment benefits amid the dismal pandemic response of government, but it seems the same government wishes to push them instead to pawnshops and loan sharks. We haven’t even factored in the laid-off, underemployed and unemployed workers, as well as the undetermined number of overseas Filipino healthcare workers stranded in the country since April. They all don’t wish to be “patay-gutom” and “pala-asa”. They don’t wish to stay unemployed and be dependent on aid. They are ready to work and earn their keep. But since the president made policy decisions affecting their ability to obtain work, it is the government’s obligation to bail them out as well. The situation of our nation’s farmers is no different. For instance, rice farmers continue to produce our national staple. The pandemic made even worse the effects on them of the combined power of policies such as rice tarrification, the stranglehold of Big Landlords, the vast influence of rice cartels, and the continued operation of illegal rice importers. Price monitoring by Bantay Bigas and the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas reveals the outrageously low palay prices nationwide, which means ruin to our nation’s rice farmers: Negros Occidental and Bicol region P10; Capiz P10-P11; Caraga P11; Tarlac P11-12; Ilocos Sur and Nueva Ecija P11-13; Camarines Sur P11.50-14; Bulacan and Mindoro P12; Isabela P12-P13.50; Pangasinan P12-P12.30; Antique P12.50; Agusan del Sur P13; Davao de Oro P13.14; Davao del Norte, Surigao del Sur and South Cotabato P13.50; North Cotabato P14; and Lanao del Norte P15. If you look at it, plantitos and plantitas today pay 20 to 50 times more for ornamental plants, compared to the prices traders and the NFA offer to our farmers. According to Bantay Bigas and KMP, the government procures way less than 20 percent of the produce of rice farmers. And then we hear that the NFA would rather import rice from other countries, at pandemic-affected prices at that. Without any state intervention, by way of NFA buying rice farmers’ produce at P20 per kilo, and providing loans to farmers, there could be worse rural poverty in the coming months and years. Between our workers and farmers, their families have been made to sacrifice a lot since March, with prices of basic goods spiking, with new and higher expenses arising from online classes for the children. There cannot be no aid for them. Neither should workers and farmers shoulder the burden of the failure or refusal of government to provide funding for bailouts sorely needed by MSMEs, and be forced to accept new national debts to pay for policies such as rice tarrification and importation. The government knows the scale of the problem. The Department of Labor and Employment says 13,127 companies have either laid off workers or permanently closed. The response cannot be “pass the burden to workers”. The answer should be: “the state must do everything to rescue the companies and the workers.” OFWs across the world should be familiar with bailouts and economic protections because of the pandemic. Many countries that host OFWs enacted huge bailouts and stimulus to their economies, partly so that migrant labor could continue to be employed. They enjoy health insurance, and special COVID19 coverage. Governments handed out checks to both citizens and companies. Is it too much to ask that the same be done in our own country? Or do Filipinos have to go abroad to experience such social and economic protections?.....»»
Money lending firm collector killed in Zamboanga del Sur ambush
Gunmen killed a collector of a local money lending firm in a daytime ambush in Barangay Lutlutan in Dimataling town, Zamboanga del Sur on Wednesday......»»
Mayor Uy posts cryptic messages amid Igacos power problems
ISLAND Garden City of Samal (Igacos) Mayor Al David Uy posted cryptic messages regarding the power crisis in Igacos......»»
Thousands join Porac town earthquake drill
Thousands join Porac town earthquake drill.....»»
Bullish amid wars
Two hot wars and a trade war are ongoing......»»
Negros Occidental health office urges masking amid pertussis threat
The Negros Occidental provincial health office is campaigning for the use of face masks amid the threat of pertussis or ”whooping cough.”.....»»
Makati swelters with 43.5 degrees heat index
The heat index in Makati yesterday reached a “dangerous” level of 43.5 degrees Celsius, according to the city’s Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office......»»
‘Danger’ level heat index recorded in 9 areas
Nine areas in the country experienced a heat index classified as “danger” level on Tuesday amid El Nino and the start of the dry and warm season......»»
UAAP volleyball enters break amid wide-open semis race
It’s the calm before the storm as teams embark on a much-needed pause ahead of an expected all-out race to the UAAP Season 86 volleyball tournaments Final Four......»»
Fisherfolk group urges gov’t to regulate fish prices amid Lent
Fisherfolk group Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas on Wednesday urged the government to address the surge in retail prices of fish during the Holy Week......»»
Pause
Like the biblical exodus, the Holy Week period has always ushered in so much travel of people going out of town, or trips abroad for the rich ones......»»
DSWD-Davao to aid disaster victims in recovery, rehab amid regionwide ECT payouts
THE Department of Social Welfare and Development-Davao Region (DSWD-Davao) reaffirmed its commitment to aid all victims of recent disasters in the Davao Region on their journey towards recovery and rehabilitation......»»
Philippines FDI ‘bound to improve’ in coming years – HSBC
The Philippines would be able to attract more foreign direct investments (FDI) in the coming years amid reforms that improved the country’s business climate, HSBC Global Research said......»»
One more city in Philippines declares pertussis outbreak
MANILA, March 25 (Xinhua) -- The government of Iloilo, a city in central Philippines, on Monday declared an outbreak of pertussis after it confirmed seven out of 15 reported cases, the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said. Iloilo is the third city to declare an outbreak of pertussis, or whopping cough, after Quezon and Pasig, two cities in the capital region, announced last week that they hav.....»»
Indian Coast Guard ship docks at Manila port amid tensions in South China Sea
Manila [Philippines], March 26 (ANI): Amid tensions in the South China Sea, the Indian Coast Guard ship, Samudra Paheredar docked at the Manila Bay in the Philippines as part of a broader initiative aimed at demonstrating ICG Marine Pollution Response capabilities, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said in an official release on Tuesday. The ICG ship which arrived at the port on Monday, is on an overseas deployment to ASEAN c.....»»
3 suspected rebels killed in clash in Philippines Batangas
MANILA, March 26 (Xinhua) -- Three suspected rebels were killed in a clash with government forces in Batangas province, south of Manila, on Tuesday, the Philippine military said. The military said a 30-minute gunfight broke out around 6:30 a.m. local time after the troops ran into a group of New People's Army (NPA) rebels in Rosario town. The troops recovered three rifles, six jungle packs, and some mater.....»»
Xinhua world news summary at 1530 GMT, March 26
MANILA -- Three suspected rebels were killed in a clash with government forces in Batangas province, south of Manila, on Tuesday, the Philippine military said. The military said a 30-minute gunfight broke out around 6:30 a.m. local time after the troops ran into a group of New People's Army (NPA) rebels in Rosario town. (Philippines-Clash) - - - - BEIRUT -- Two people were killed and nine other civ.....»»
The Mystery of Post-Inflation Stability: Exploring Economic Uncertainty
Inflation, a sneaky force eating away at our financial stability, makes us wonder: what happens after its rampage? Do things settle back to normal, or are we stuck dealing with the aftermath? Inflation is simply prices creeping up over time, quietly changing our financial landscape. Think of your favorite café inching up its prices or […].....»»
Man shot dead while answering phone call in Minglanilla town
Man shot dead while answering phone call in Minglanilla town.....»»