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Homemade gin with a hint of malunggay and sampaguita
Swing through the double glass doors along 30th street of Bonifacio Global City and straight into the city’s award-winning drinking den, The Back Room, as it serves its newest elixirs to enjoy. Spearheaded by mixologist Volkan Ibil, The Back Room offers 13 new concoctions. [caption id="attachment_183397" align="aligncenter" width="525"] The Bootleg.[/caption] “The bar’s philosophy is more tipple than fare. Our 13 new signature cocktails are categorized into five themes based on taste preference which were named after a specific narrative of the Prohibition Era: Jag Juice (strong, flavor-forward), Giggle Water (sophisticated and glamorous), Live Wire (refreshing), Moonshine (experimental) and On a Toot (for sharing),” says Ibil, head mixologist of Shangri-La The Fort, Manila. [caption id="attachment_183399" align="aligncenter" width="525"] The Daily.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_183400" align="aligncenter" width="740"] Shoeshine at 30th.[/caption] Since its inception, The Back Room received multiple recognitions, such as 50 Asia’s 50 Best Bar 2019; Best Hotel Bars in the World — The Legend Awards 2020 by Departures Magazine; 51 Asia’s Best Bars 2021; Best Bar in the Philippines by Travel + Leisure Asia’s Best Awards 2022; and most recently 75 Asia’s Best Bars 2023. The Back Room also has its homemade gin — Bee’s Knees — locally made which pays tribute to popular Philippine ingredients: dalandan, malunggay and sampaguita. The post Homemade gin with a hint of malunggay and sampaguita appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Court to deliver verdict on hacker behind biggest leak in football history
A Portuguese court was due on Monday to deliver its verdict on hacker Rui Pinto, whose flood of "Football Leaks" revelations exposed dirty dealings in international football. It was the biggest information leak in sports history and sparked criminal investigations in Belgium, Britain, France, Spain and Switzerland. The verdict, which has been postponed several times, was due to be delivered at a hearing in Lisbon starting at 2:30 pm (1330 GMT). Pinto, 34, is charged with 89 hacking offences, and with attempted extortion, a crime punishable in Portugal by between two and 10 years in prison. He argues he is a whistleblower, whose actions exposed underhand dealings involving top football stars, clubs and agents. Between 2015 and 2018, he shared 18.6 million documents on the internet and with a consortium of European newspapers, which published details. The revelations shook the football world. They included the salaries of Lionel Messi and Neymar, an accusation of rape against Cristiano Ronaldo, alleged financial sleight of hand at Manchester City and ethnic profiling at Paris Saint Germain. Defendant and witness Pinto is both a defendant and a protected witness in Portugal. When his trial began in September 2020, Pinto told the court he had been shocked by what he had discovered and was proud of bringing it to public knowledge. But he has admitted he used illegal means to obtain documents. His alleged victims include top Portuguese football club Sporting Lisbon, the Portuguese Football Federation, lawyers, magistrates and Doyen Sports -- a Malta-based investment fund run by Kazakh-Turkish oligarchs. Pinto was arrested in Hungary in 2019 and extradited to Portugal, where he spent a year behind bars before agreeing to cooperate with the Portuguese authorities on other cases, giving them access to encrypted documents he had obtained. The French authorities have also sought his cooperation over the "Luanda Leaks", a release of 715,000 documents providing compromising information on Angolan billionaire Isabel dos Santos, daughter of former president Jose Eduardo dos Santos. Dos Santos, once the richest woman in Africa, has faced several court cases on charges she syphoned billions of dollars from Angolan state companies during her father's four decades in office. The post Court to deliver verdict on hacker behind biggest leak in football history appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
History on tap: Brussels serves beer museum to thirsty visitors
Sightseers who flocked to a grand reopening of the refurbished Brussels stock exchange building this weekend were invited to chase the visit down with a side order of Belgium's top tipple -- beer. The 90-million-euro ($96-million) makeover of the Bourse, once a temple to capitalism, tempted in passers-by from the cafe bars of the capital's old town. Thanks to the new "Belgian Beer World", they did not go thirsty. Belgian beer culture is listed by UNESCO as part of the "Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity". It is a source of pride for many locals and a big draw for tourists from around the world. But, even though beer is ubiquitous here, the Brussels scene lacked a focal point for visitors or -- if you're a jaded glass-half-full drinker -- a promotional vehicle for Belgium's vast global booze industry. Traders moved out of the 1868 neo-classical Palace de la Bourse or Beurspaleis in 2014, and the Belgian exchange has now merged with former competitors in Paris and Amsterdam to form Euronext. So, when the city refurbished the historic building, the brewers were on hand to stand their round and sponsor a fitting modern beer museum and roof top bar for their star export. - Trappist monks - On Saturday, when the refurbished Bourse reopened to the public, 11,000 people passed through to see the trading hall, and 566 -- including a tourist from as far away as Singapore -- stopped by Beer World. "A lot of interesting interactions, features that involve the participants, all the visitors," said the tourist, who gave his name as Su. "I believe that all the beer drinkers, if they wish to have a good understanding about the whole process, about the history of the beer, it's definitely a place for them to visit." Opening the center this week, Brussels mayor Philippe Close acknowledged that, beyond the culture of beer, the museum is "a way to support a huge economic sector." Belgium has at least 430 brewers, from mighty AB Inbev -- which pours a third of the planet's pints -- to tiny Trappist monasteries that sells one eagerly sought-after batch of ale per year to patient punters on a waiting list. The trade federation, Belgian Brewers, estimates that its members employ 6,900 people directly and support 50,000 more jobs in a country of only 11.5 million. Some 70 percent of Belgian beer is exported, not just to neighbours in Europe's beer-drinking north, but around the world. Tickets for the Beer World are a hefty 17 euros -- but it does get you your first drink in the rooftop bar -- with its vast selection drawn from the 1,600 types of beer the country has to offer. Belgian brewers are not as conservative as their German and Dutch neighbors. The sour, bubbly lambic and gueuze styles -- "Brussels Champagne" -- are Belgium's own, but many beers including the big brands like Jupiler or Stella Artois are based on the Czech and German Pilsner style. There are even Scotch ales in thistle-shaped glasses, allegedly introduced to entertain General Montgomery's British Second Army when it arrived in September 1944. And of course younger small-scale brewers have begun making hoppy Belgian pale ales to rival the best of the US craft beer explosion. - Great complexity - Beer World administrator Charles Leclef -- a 30-year veteran Flemish brewery operator -- told AFP that the city wanted to capture the "playful" side of the everyday tipple, not to incite heavy drinking. "We're not the biggest producer in the world, far from it, but we're perhaps the most creative, with beer of great diversity of flavor, great complexity," Leclef boasted. In the museum, visitors can wander inside a virtual fermentation tank, with immersive screens taking them inside the process of turning hops, malt, yeast and water into national pride. In Germany, the law forbids any but these four ingredients, but Belgian brewmasters are free to experiment with spices and infusions and even fruits like cherry or raspberry. Museum visitors can pull taps to signal their favorite flavors and "virtual waiters" will print out a suggestion on a beermat to be ordered later at guests' leisure. mad-lob/dc/pvh © Agence France-Presse The post History on tap: Brussels serves beer museum to thirsty visitors appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
9 Works Theatrical to stage ‘Rent’ in 2024
9 Works Theatrical has announced that it will restage the Broadway musical Rent in 2024. Following the successful run of tick, tick… BOOM!, another production by Jonathan Larson will be mounted as the local theater company’s first production next year. 9 Works Theatrical previously staged Rent in 2010 and 2011 with Gian Magdangal as Roger, Sheree Bautista as Mimi, Fredison Lo as Mark, OJ Mariano as Tom, Job Bautista as Angel, Jenny Villegas as Joanne, Lorenz Martinez as Benjamin and Carla Guevara-Laforteza as Maureen. As a teaser, tick, tick… BOOM! cast members Kayla Rivera, Reb Atadero, Khalil Ramos, Tanya Manalang-Atadero, Vien King and Jef Flores sang an excerpt of “Seasons of Love” during the show’s curtain call. “You won’t have to wait 525,600 minutes to catch this musical,” 9 Works wrote on Instagram. The theater company had earlier announced auditions for Rent would take place on 25 to 26 September at the Maybank Performing Arts Theater in BGC, Taguig City. Applicants should bring their latest photo, curriculum vitae and should prepare a maximum of 16 Bars of two pop-rock songs in English of varying tempos. They are required to bring their own music sheet or minus one (in a thumb drive or phone). Broadway songs and songs from Rent are not allowed. The registration period is until 11 September. All auditionees must register via tinyurl.com/9wtRENT2024AuditionForm. Applicants who will receive a text message with their assigned time slot must be in the venue at least one hour before their slot. 9 Works is looking for the roles for: 1. Roger (male, tenor, must know how to play the guitar); 2. Mark (male, tenor); 3. Mimi (female, mezzo-soprano, dancer); 4. Angel (male/ transgender, tenor, dancer); 5. Benny (male, baritone-tenor); 6. Tom (male, bass-baritone); 7. Maureen (female, mezzo-soprano); 8. Joanne (female, mezzo-soprano); and 9. ensemble (male/ female, can dance, various vocals). Applicants must be 22 years old and up. Rent, set in the late 1980s and early 1990s, follows a group of friends living in Manhattan’s East Village amid issues of poverty, drug abuse, HIV/AIDS epidemic, social tension and political unrest. It is loosely based on Giacomo Puccini, Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa’s opera La Bohème. It won the 1996 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and four Tony Awards the same year including Best Musical, Best Book, Best Original Score and Best Performance by a Featured Actor. In 2005, director Chris Colombus helmed its movie adaptation with Anthony Rapp, Adam Pascal, Rosario Dawson, Jesse L. Martin and Idina Menzel in the cast. The post 9 Works Theatrical to stage ‘Rent’ in 2024 appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Saudi border guards killed hundreds of Ethiopian migrants — HRW
Saudi border guards fired "like rain" on Ethiopian migrants trying to cross into the Gulf kingdom from Yemen, killing hundreds since last year, Human Rights Watch said in a report Monday. The allegations, described as "unfounded" by a Saudi government source, point to a significant escalation of abuses along the perilous route from the Horn of Africa to Saudi Arabia, where hundreds of thousands of Ethiopians live and work. One 20-year-old woman from Ethiopia's Oromia region, interviewed by HRW, said Saudi border guards opened fire on a group of migrants they had just released from custody. "They fired on us like rain. When I remember, I cry," she said. "I saw a guy calling for help, he lost both his legs. He was screaming; he was saying, 'Are you leaving me here? Please don't leave me'. We couldn't help him because we were running for our lives." HRW researcher Nadia Hardman said, "Saudi officials are killing hundreds of migrants and asylum seekers in this remote border area out of view of the rest of the world," according to a statement. "Spending billions buying up professional golf, football clubs, and major entertainment events to improve the Saudi image should not deflect attention from these horrendous crimes," she said. Longtime Saudi ally the United States urged "a thorough and transparent investigation". "We have raised our concerns about these allegations with the Saudi government," a State Department spokesperson said. "We urge the Saudi authorities... to meet their obligations under international law," the spokesperson added. A Saudi government source told AFP that the allegations were unreliable. "The allegations included in the Human Rights Watch report about Saudi border guards shooting Ethiopians while they were crossing the Saudi-Yemeni border are unfounded and not based on reliable sources," said the source, who requested anonymity. 'Concerning allegations' The New York-based group has documented abuses against Ethiopian migrants in Saudi Arabia and Yemen for nearly a decade, but the latest killings appear to be "widespread and systematic" and may amount to crimes against humanity, it said. Last year, United Nations experts reported "concerning allegations" that "cross-border artillery shelling and small-arms fire by Saudi Arabia security forces killed approximately 430 migrants" in southern Saudi Arabia and northern Yemen during the first four months of 2022. In March of that year, the repatriation of Ethiopians from Saudi Arabia began under an agreement between the two countries. Ethiopia's foreign ministry said about 100,000 of its citizens were expected to be sent home over several months. The HRW report said there was no response to letters it sent to Saudi officials. But the Huthi rebels who control northern Yemen alleged "deliberate killings of immigrants and Yemenis" by border guards, in response to a letter from HRW. According to the rights group, migrants said Huthi forces worked with people smugglers and would "extort" them or keep them in detention centers where they were "abused" until they could pay an "exit fee". The Huthis denied working with people smugglers, describing them as "criminals". In 2015, Saudi officials mobilized a military coalition in an effort to stop the advance of the Iran-backed Huthis, who had seized the Yemeni capital Sanaa from the internationally recognized government the previous year. Yemen's war has created what the UN describes as one of the world's worst humanitarian crises, with millions dependent on aid. Mortar fire Many of the abuses described by HRW would have occurred during a truce that took effect in April 2022 and has largely held despite officially expiring last October. The HRW report draws from interviews with 38 Ethiopian migrants who tried to cross into Saudi Arabia from Yemen, as well as from satellite imagery, videos, and photos posted to social media "or gathered from other sources". Interviewees described 28 "explosive weapons incidents" including attacks by mortar projectiles, the report said. Some survivors described attacks at close range, with Saudi border guards asking Ethiopians "in which limb of their body they would prefer to be shot", the report said. "All interviewees described scenes of horror: women, men, and children strewn across the mountainous landscape severely injured, dismembered, or already dead," it said. Other accounts described forced rape and beatings with rocks and iron bars. HRW called on Riyadh to end any policy of using lethal force on migrants and asylum seekers and urged the UN to investigate the alleged killings. The post Saudi border guards killed hundreds of Ethiopian migrants — HRW appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Former Sarangani governor sentenced for graft
The Sandiganbayan sentenced a former governor of Sarangani province to up to two decades behind bars for graft and malversation raps over the release of P450,000 ghost financial assistance to a fisherfolk organization in 2002. In a 43-page decision signed 15 August, the anti-graft court’s Sixth Division found Sarangani erstwhile mayor Miguel Escobar guilty of one count each of graft and malversation of public funds and was sentenced with perpetual disqualification to hold public office. Escobar’s co-accused, management analyst Alexis dela Cruz was also found guilty of the same charges. They were both ordered to pay a fine of P5,000 each, in addition to P450,000 in civil liability, which they were directed to pay to the Bureau of Treasury with a legal interest of six percent. Based on the criminal information filed in 2011, Escobar was accused of conspiracy with Dela Cruz, members of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan, and then vice governor Felipe Constantino in the fraudulent release of P450,000 government funds using a falsified disbursement voucher. The case arose from the disbursement of P450,000 in provincial government funds in May 2002 for supposed financial assistance to Malapatan Fishermen’s Group, in which Escobar was accused of colluding with Dela Cruz, Sangguniang Panlalawigan members, and ex-vice governor Felipe Constantino, by using a falsified disbursement voucher. Escobar was charged for approving the fictitious request for financial assistance and for certifying the said voucher that the fund was necessary, lawful, and incurred under his direct supervision. According to the Sandiganbayan, the prosecution established Escobar acted with “gross inexcusable negligence” when he signed and approved the disbursement voucher and check despite the lack of supporting documents. In addition, it stated that Escobar’s “silence” or “inaction” notwithstanding the anomalous transaction by other officials of the province, was “tantamount to his approval.” “Moreover, his conduct of approving the disbursement voucher despite the lack of supporting documents which resulted in the encashment of P450,000 by the person who posed as accused Banzon speaks most eloquently of his participation in the conspiracy,” the court said. The post Former Sarangani governor sentenced for graft appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Hollywood’s video game craze takes meta turn with ‘Gran Turismo’
Ever since the huge successes of "The Super Mario Bros Movie," "Uncharted" and "The Last Of Us," films and TV shows adapted from video games have been all the rage in Hollywood. But when Neill Blomkamp received a call from Sony asking if he wanted to direct a movie based around its super-serious, hyper-realistic racing game series "Gran Turismo," he was initially confused. "I almost wanted to read the screenplay just to understand what they were talking about, because it just made no sense to me," he told AFP. "Obviously, it's just a racing simulator." Indeed, the "Gran Turismo" games have no characters like Italian plumbers or fungus-crazed zombies who would lend themselves to a straightforward Hollywood film adaptation. As a result, the movie's script -- penned by the writer of "King Richard" and "Creed III" -- took an entirely different and very meta approach. It is largely based instead on a marketing stunt, back in 2008, when Sony and Nissan launched a competition in which top "Gran Turismo" video gamers could test their skills on actual racetracks. The GT Academy took PlayStation gamers out from their bedrooms, and put them behind real racecar wheels. Each year's champion was then given a chance to race against professional drivers on world-famous tracks including Silverstone and Le Mans. One of those, Jann Mardenborough -- a working-class teen from Darlington, England, who was one of the first GT Academy gamers to successfully compete in real racing -- is the subject of the movie. "I was so struck by this approach of it being a biography, but also being a video game film," said Blomkamp, who previously directed "District 9" and "Elysium." "And that the video game would be an element inside that real world -- the way that 'Gran Turismo' exists in our world." Emotional heft Reviews for the movie have been mixed, with the Guardian dubbing it an "ode to product placement." But others praised the film's surprising emotional heft -- not least its treatment of a fatal accident involving Mardenborough. At Germany's famous Nurburgring circuit in 2015, Mardenborough's car flipped vertically into the air and crashed through a fence, killing one spectator and injuring several more. Mardenborough was cleared of any blame for the freak accident -- although the movie suggests that racing purists who disliked his gamer background continued to whisper otherwise. Particularly with the real Mardenborough acting as stunt double for his own character in the film, the tragic incident had to be tackled with care. "You can't tell his story without having that in it. It's such an integral part of his journey," said Blomkamp. But the crash is also "super sensitive for Jann," admitted Blomkamp. While the real Mardenborough performed other driving stunts throughout the movie, the decision was taken to recreate the fatal crash with "effectively 100 percent digital" technology. In part that was because the crash itself was so infamous and unusual, with the car going vertically airborne as it soared over a steeply undulating hill. "We tried to match what the car did, basically pixel perfect, from the video footage that we could find," said Blomkamp. Of course, using computer-generated visual effects (VFX) for that particular scene meant "there was no requirement for stunts at all." Strikes and hype Another obstacle for the movie has been Hollywood's ongoing strikes. The walkout, over actors' and writers' pay and other conditions, bars its stars such as Orlando Bloom, David Harbour and Archie Madekwe from promoting the film at the usual swanky premieres and junkets. Sony took the unusual decision to delay the film's release in theaters, from this Friday to August 25, and offered early sneak previews to fans until then, in the hope of building word-of-mouth hype. "The stars can't promote the movie, but the audience can," said a Sony spokesperson. The post Hollywood’s video game craze takes meta turn with ‘Gran Turismo’ appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
The vagaries of resignation (1)
The alleged involvement of high-ranking police officers, three generals, and 15 colonels, in the recycling, selling, and distribution of the prohibited drugs, if true, is the worst act that those who are tasked to enforce the law could commit. Such a commission is a crime, a betrayal of the trust reposed on them by the people, a violation of their oath of office as public servants, and unpardonable malfeasance in office. Based on their alleged participation in the illegal drug trade, their courtesy resignations, which submission was required of them by the Secretary of the Department of Interior and Local Government, and upon the recommendation of the five-man committee and the National Police Commission, mandated to evaluate their performance as police officers and to probe their engagement in the nefarious and illegal drug cartel, have been accepted by the President, as announced by the latter in his State of the Nation Address. The announcement was received with thunderous applause by the audience composed of the members of the Senate and the House Representatives, members of the Cabinet, Diplomatic Corps, local government officials, and other dignitaries and guests. Without delving into the reason for requiring almost a thousand higher-level of police officers to submit their courtesy resignations, and its acceptance by the Chief Executive, a citizen would welcome such development given the widespread talked-about and public perception of police personnel dipping their hands into the huge cookie jar of illegal drug money. The immediate reaction is one of elation from those who have heard of the termination of their services because they would certainly think that those whose resignations were accepted were guilty of serious misdemeanors or crimes, and therefore deserving of their being kicked out from the service. It is, however, vital to know the antecedents of the filing of their resignations to give objective and appropriate remarks on the issue. A few months ago, the DILG Secretary publicly announced that based on his department’s and the PNP’s investigation, there were a few ranking police officers involved in the prohibited drug activities hence, there was a need for a cleansing of the police organization. He, thereafter, decided that the best way to get rid of these police scalawags was to ask for almost a thousand police generals and colonels to hand in their courtesy resignations. Immediately this lawyer, on various platforms, including this column, criticized the DILG honcho on the inappropriateness and illegality of the directive. Inappropriate because if you want to exclude less than five police officers from the hierarchy, why include those who are on the list of suspected drug coddlers? It is illegal because the order (certainly not a plea, nor a request and neither an appeal, anybody who says otherwise is a poor liar) to resign violates the security of tenure given to all employees of the government. The phrase “courtesy resignation” is, in reality, a demand/directive to resign laced with threats and intimidation, which failure to comply with would result in adverse repercussions to the one who disobeys the same. This writer argued that the legal way to pluck out from the police force these scoundrels was to file administrative and/or criminal charges against them and be given the opportunity to defend themselves under the constitutional guarantee of due process. The argument of the DILG head that it would be only tedious to apply the regular way to removing errant police officers but they could, meanwhile, use their position to influence the outcome of the administrative/criminal case, is hogwash. Under the law, there is an automatic preventive suspension of 90 days upon the filing of the complaint and therefore there is no way the suspended police officer could interfere with the legal process using his/her position. A 90-day suspension is sufficient for law enforcement authorities to prosecute the suspected criminals in uniform. If they have enough evidence to hurdle the requirement of proof beyond a reasonable doubt in court, then the accused will be placed behind bars. By just asking them to resign, the suspected guilty ones were given the opportunity not only to make hay on their criminal activities but to cover up their crimes using their office and position as they remained in office for 7 months for the acceptance of their resignations. (To be continued) The post The vagaries of resignation (1) appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
‘Must-have’ Japanese whisky turns 100 as demand soars
The famed Yamazaki distillery marks its 100th anniversary this year with plenty to celebrate, as Japan's acclaimed aged whiskies command increasingly eye-watering prices thanks to growing demand and longstanding shortages. Japan's oldest distillery has sat at the foot of a mountain outside Kyoto since it was built by Shinjiro Torii, the founder of Yamazaki maker Suntory, who wanted to make whisky suited to a Japanese palate. It is largely foreign demand, along with the relative scarcity of the most desirable decades-old bottles, that has pushed prices sky-high. A bottle of Yamazaki 55, with an official retail price of three million yen ($20,700), sold for a whopping $600,000 at a Sotheby's auction in New York last year. That was still well below the record $795,000 set at a Hong Kong auction in 2020. And in Japan's upscale Ginza district, a more modest Yamazaki 18 with a manufacturer's price of 32,000 yen ($220) is on sale for 120,000 yen. Suntory does not disclose production volume but the distillery's senior general manager Takahisa Fujii said it has risen dramatically over the past 20 years. The company announced plans this year to pump 10 billion yen into its Yamazaki and Hakushu distilleries, but demand still far outstrips capacity. "We have received so many requests for our whisky from customers around the world, so we are trying to respond to them as best we can," Fujii said. The Yamazaki distillery welcomes dozens of visitors from Japan and abroad each day but those hoping to stock up on aged varieties come away disappointed. Peter Kaleta, a 35-year-old visitor who runs a bar in Poland, was crestfallen he couldn't buy one of his favourites. It's a "must-have" for whisky bars, he added, calling the lack of aged varieties "kind of depressing". - 'The boom is back' - Junpei Kusunoki, manager of Tokyo Whisky Library, a bar in the chic Omotesando district, is no stranger to the struggle for supply. "The whisky boom is back," he told AFP. "There's a quota in Omotesando area, so it's a war against competitors. We're trying everything to rake in" bottles. The location of Yamazaki's distillery is a world away from the Scottish terroir most associated with whisky but Fujii says the site was chosen for the region's famed water. Its renown traces back to the 16th century, when Japanese tea master Sen no Rikyu laboured nearby. "You can't make good liquor without good water," Fujii said, adding that the humid and misty environment helps age the whisky. The distillery's unique range of copper stills in different shapes and sizes also contribute to the brand's particular profile, he said. Yamazaki's layered and well-balanced flavours are considered a good match for Japanese cuisine, Fujii said. There are now around 100 distilleries across Japan, according to whisky critic Mamoru Tsuchiya, with a reputation for quality helping boost the profile of its tipples. The exorbitant prices are the result of a "lack of whisky at a time when demand from abroad has increased exponentially", he said. Today's success belies a 20-year downturn after domestic consumption peaked in 1983. "Sales were declining every year," said Nobuyuki Akiyama, head of Suntory's whisky marketing division, "... so the impact was big". - 'Make it Suntory time' - Things only started to turn around in the early 2000s, when Nikka Whisky's Yoichi 10 and Yamazaki 12 received prestigious international industry awards. And 2003 saw Suntory's Hibiki 17 play a starring role in the hit movie "Lost in Translation", featuring Bill Murray promoting the drink with the line: "For relaxing times, make it Suntory time." Domestic sales also recovered just as international demand began to rise, thanks in part to the revival of highballs, a mix of whisky and soda. A 2015 television drama based on the life of Nikka Whisky's founder also helped drive renewed domestic interest. The sudden uptick came too quickly for companies that have to plan production decades in advance. "We have Hibiki 30, for example, where we need to think about how many bottles we should make 30 years into the future," said Akiyama, adding it was "impossible" to predict the market so far in advance. For now, sales look likely to continue growing, with exports surging to 56 billion yen ($404.1 million) last year, 14 times more than a decade earlier. Judith Ly, a German visitor to the Yamazaki distillery, said she makes an exception for Japanese whisky. "Normally I don't drink whisky, but I like the taste," she said. "It's smooth. It's easy to drink." nf/sah/pbt/leg © Agence France-Presse The post ‘Must-have’ Japanese whisky turns 100 as demand soars appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Putting the quit on Quilter
Karl Quilter, a Chicago resident, was recently handed a sentence of 30 years in a United States federal prison for OSEC, or the online sexual exploitation of children based in the Philippines. The 58-year-old Quilter entered last year a guilty plea, claiming that the minors he spoke with on social media sites Facebook, Viber, and Skype from 2017 to 2020 were his “girlfriends.” His modus operandi, court records showed, involved dangling money transfers to persuade his victims to send the requested images. Quilter, in fact, visited the Philippines in 2017 and 2018, but he would not admit to actually having physical sex with minors, something that could have added to his sentence. He, nonetheless, admitted to having vowed to return to the Philippines in 2020 to act out his OSEC fantasies, yet more proof that OSEC oftentimes leads to actual physical abuse by moneyed, well-traveled monsters. The successful prosecution of Quilter and others like him, however, represents only one side of the coin as there’s also a pressing need to stop the abuse at the source, hundreds of miles away. Putting behind bars adults, frequently family members, who enable this heinous crime within the Philippines and other poor countries, is equally important. Unicef, the International Justice Mission, and Interpol have conducted extensive research that indicates that the Philippines, even before the start of the pandemic, had become a major global hub for live-streaming or the distribution of videos and photos of sex acts involving children as young as two years old. According to their estimates, the incidence of OSEC in the country had more than tripled in recent years, with the Philippines receiving more than eight times as many referrals as any other country, “making it the center of the global live-stream sex abuse trade.” The IJM, which started working closely with authorities in the Philippines in 2020 to close physical channels of sexual abuse of minors like bars and prostitution houses, had warned that Covid-19 lockdowns spanning two years had significantly contributed to a threefold rise in OSEC cases. With his department as the lead agency in the government’s efforts against human trafficking, Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla has gone, so far, as to warn telecom companies that they would be prosecuted if they did not provide checks and filters against OSEC materials being routed through their networks. The biggest telcos have been heeding Remulla’s call, but as technology moves fast, they have to contend not only with the traffickers but also with tech wizards, those who live off the Dark Web, and who provide the backend support to ram OSEC materials through governmental and corporate check valves. IJM has drawn a silver lining around the dark clouds, saying that significant progress has been made in reducing the availability of children for sale on the streets and for internet-based sex trafficking. The figures, the group claimed, have fallen by as much as 86 percent in the cities where they were present. The relationship between OSEC and money transfers has been made crystal clear by recent research by the Anti-Money Laundering Task Force. It said that to stop the cycle of exploitation and bring the offenders to justice, it is necessary to destroy the illegal financial networks and stop the use of legal ones for OSEC payments. Although Quilter’s sentencing represents an important development in the prosecution of foreign offenders, he is just one among the millions of pedophiles and other perverts who have fueled OSEC, a multi-faceted problem that requires creative solutions and cross-border cooperation among governments, non-governmental organizations, and communities. OSEC operations by families in far-flung barangays are an open secret in communities, betrayed by the sprouting of Wi-Fi antennas in homes that also suddenly had access to extra cash. Cracking down on them has been easier, but the additional challenge now is stopping OSEC coursed through smartphones with internet data access. OSEC has been and will always be a cat-and-mouse game. It’s a virtual one-upmanship in trying to put the quit on depravities perpetrated by the likes of Quilter. The post Putting the quit on Quilter appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Have your chocolate — and eat it, too
Times have changed since Forrest Gump’s “Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re going to get.” Now, customers are spoiled for choice with many different decadent varieties of chocolate to choose from. Newport World Resorts’ confectioneries take the spotlight on World Chocolate Day or indeed on any day you choose. [caption id="attachment_153706" align="aligncenter" width="525"] Marriott Hotel’sPlant-based Chocolate Truffle Cake.[/caption] Truffles are made from locally sourced, homegrown chocolates that support the property’s integrated sustainability initiative. Classically decadent flavors like Dark Rocher, White Rocher, Green Tea, Coffee, Coconut, Pistachio Log Marzipan, or even the Tabasco flavors. Pralines at Hotel Okura Manila are made from 68 percent dark chocolate couverture that lends a bold but well-rounded taste. The milk chocolate pralines invoke a rich and smooth flavor from its high cocoa butter and milk content. The white chocolate pieces are balanced harmonies of milk and natural vanilla with distinct floral tones. Cafe Mary Grace’s Chocolate Rum Tiramisu is made of espresso-soaked sponge cake using 100-percent Arabica beans, layered with rich mascarpone and dark chocolate ganache, and flavored with premium aged Don Papa Rum. Italianni’s Tartufo is a three-layered chocolate cake with dark and white chocolate mousse covered with fudgy frosting. Newly opened ROB’s Mississippi Mud Pie is a silky chocolate filling topped with ice cream and chocolate shavings. Marks & Spencer thinks World Chocolate Day is a good reminder that the cocoa in the brand’s products, including chocolate bars, biscuits and cakes is 100-percent responsibly sourced. Also, 100 percent of the palm oil in M&S products is certified by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil, a global non-profit organization working to improve palm oil production to protect biodiversity and forests and safeguard human rights. That’s truly having your chocolate and eating it, too! The post Have your chocolate — and eat it, too appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
New faves, new flavors
Delicious wrap A wrap that’s masarap? Greenwich launches Pizzawrap with flavors like Spam Hawaiian, a savory treat with Spam filling in a freshly baked crust; Ham & Cheese, a classic Greenwich flavor with loads of ham and cheese; and Chorizo Pepperoni, a blend of pepperoni and smoky chorizo and two types of cheese. All Pizzawrap flavors will be available in all Greenwich stores in Luzon and Metro Manila. This will also be available in greenwichdelivery.com, GrabFood and foodpanda. [caption id="attachment_139026" align="aligncenter" width="800"] PHOTOGRAPH COURTESYOF m bakery[/caption] Japanese-inspired desserts New York City-based brand M Bakery offers Japanese-inspired desserts exclusively available at their Mitsukoshi branch: Matcha Cupcakes, Sakura in a Cupcake and Banana Milk Tres Leches. M Bakery has also introduced its two new products: Cookies & Cream Banana Pudding and Oreo Milka Icebox Bars. Drop by the flagship store on the Lower Ground of One Bonifacio High Street Mall, Bonifacio Global City or call 0917-6331718 to get your baked treats or to place your advance orders. M Bakery’s other stores: Power Plant Mall, Rockwell, Makati City; SM Megamall; and Mitsukoshi Mall (Food Hall). [caption id="attachment_138991" align="aligncenter" width="960"] PHOTOGRAPH COURTESYOF mentos[/caption] Fresh, fruity candy Royal and Mentos candy have finally teamed up to introduce the limited-edition Royal-flavored Mentos candy. This treat combines the fun and fruity flavor of Royal Tru-Orange and the refreshing taste of Mentos into one candy that levels up the snacking experience. Royal x Mentos is available in select stores nationwide. [caption id="attachment_138993" align="aligncenter" width="525"] PHOTOGRAPH COURTESYOF minute maid[/caption] Enhanced juice Coca-Cola Philippines and Minute Maid Nutri+ (Nutri Plus) collaborated for an enhanced juice that has 200 percent recommended dietary allowance of Vitamin C. The new Minute Maid® Nutri+ comes in a 240mL can, a 330ml PET bottle and a 1L PET bottle for orange, orange mango and lemon flavors, and the ready-to-go pack size. The post New faves, new flavors appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
6 arrested in a week, rights group decries ‘escalating state terrorism’
“If human rights defenders are not brutally murdered, they are thrown behind bars over absurd criminal charges based on perjured testimonies and planted evidence, all to concoct the lie that human rights defenders are terrorists or criminals.” The post 6 arrested in a week, rights group decries ‘escalating state terrorism’ appeared first on Bulatlat......»»
Manny Pacquiao s son Michael shows off rapping skills
It won't be long before Michael Pacquiao - the second-born son of eight-division boxing world champion and Filipino sports icon Manny Pacquiao - becomes a household name in the music scene. The 18-year old has always been fond of making music, as evidenced by some of the works that he's shared on his Youtube channel. Recently however, Michael showcased his gift of gab, going hard on a track aptly entitled "Pac-Man" alongside friend and fellow musician Michael Bars. "King of the jungle / 12 straight rounds and I’m ready to rumble. Top of the food chain hustle / King of the court and I’ll still be humble," Michael raps on the song, which was uploaded on to Youtube back in June 5th, and has since drawn in nearly a million views (950,556 as of press time). A couple of weeks ago, Michael P. and Michael B. followed up with a track entitled "Head in the Clouds" featuring Pennsylvania-based musician Lil Xay. .....»»
Global virus infections top 10 million
PARIS, France — Global infections from the novel coronavirus passed 10 million Sunday, an AFP tally showed, as California ordered bars in LA and some other parts of the state to quell a surge in cases there. One million new infections were recorded in just six days, according to the count based on official sources, even […] The post Global virus infections top 10 million appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Tothapi may bagong single, ka-join na sa Sony Music family
LEVEL up ang breakthrough Bicol-based band na Tothapi! Sila kasi ang pinakabagong pamilya ng Sony Music Entertainment na kinabibilangan ng ilan sa mga biggest OPM acts ng bansa, katulad ng Ben&Ben, SB19, Denise Julia, Clara Benin, Ace Banzuelo, The Itchyworms, Sponge Cola, at marami pang iba. “It has been an amazing ride with Sony Music.....»»
PLDT, Smart named among world’s leading employers
PLDT Inc. and its wireless unit Smart Communications Inc. have been named among the Top One Percent of Leading Employers of 2023 by German firm Institute of Research and Data Aggregation......»»
Waste consciousness urged during Holy Week
A DAVAO City-based environment group urged Dabawenyos to mind their waste during Holy Week......»»
EXPLAINER: Why did the Baltimore bridge collapse and what is the death toll?
(Reuters) -Divers recovered the remains of two of the six missing workers more than a day after a cargo ship smashed into Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge. The bodies of two men were found in a red pickup truck submerged in the icy waters of the Patapsco River. Rescuers pulled two workers from the water.....»»
Double pay for workers reporting on Holy Week
Workers nationwide may opt to enjoy a long holiday break or hefty pay this Holy Week......»»