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Time for the Philippines to go nuclear
With the scorching heat of the sun still going on and the looming dry spell as a result of the El Niño phenomenon, more Filipinos are using electricity to beat the soaring temperature. Unfortunately, the supply of power cannot cope with the demand, so power outages have also become common. [caption id="attachment_167841" align="aligncenter" width="2560"] Many Filipinos are increasingly unable to afford power costs, with the cost of electricity in the country among the highest in Southeast Asia. | Photographs Courtesy Of The Philippine Nuclear Research Institute.[/caption] Many Filipinos are also increasingly unable to afford power costs. The cost of electricity in the country is among the highest in Southeast Asia, according to a paper penned for the Ateneo Center for Economic Research and Development. In the Philippines, the kilowatt per hour is $0.16. Compare that to Thailand and Indonesia ($0.10/kWh) and Malaysia ($0.05/kWh). At $0.18/kWh, only Singapore surpasses the country’s Philippines rates. About 50 percent of the country’s power generation comes from coal, with natural gas and renewables accounting for just over 20 percent and the rest coming from oil-fired boilers. The country’s electricity consumption is expected to triple by 2040 — from the 90.2 TWh (Terawatt-hour) in 2018 — due to the rapidly growing economy. It’s time for the Philippines to transition away from its reliance on coal. The adoption of nuclear power is the fastest option and would make electricity costs more affordable, according to the Philippine Nuclear Research Institute. PNRI Director Carlo A. Arcilla said including nuclear power in the country’s energy mix would be beneficial to consumers as it would bring down expensive electricity rates and provide a stable source of power. Gayle Certeza, convenor of Alpas Pinas, a group that educates and advocates for nuclear energy, agrees. “We believe that nuclear energy will positively impact the lives of Filipinos because it will mean lower electricity rates that will better allow for more savings,” she said in a Daily Tribune feature. During the presidency of Rodrigo R. Duterte, Executive Order 164 was signed to include nuclear power in the country’s energy mix. Under the policy, the country “shall ensure the peaceful use of nuclear technology anchored on critical tenets of public safety, national security, energy self-sufficiency, and environmental sustainability.” Energy security The Department of Science and Technology supported EO 164, saying: “Nuclear power is envisioned to bring down the cost of electricity and to contribute to energy security considering the various limitations now being encountered in the other sources which includes natural gas, geothermal, hydro and coal.” The DoST is a member of the Nuclear Energy Program Interagency Committee, tasked to study the adoption of a national position on nuclear power. Nuclear power is one of two major alternatives to fossil fuels; the other is renewable energy (solar power, wind power, hydroelectric, geothermal energy and biomass energy). “Renewables and nuclear can complement each other,” said Arcilla in an interview. “Wind and solar depend on the status of the weather, and they only a 30-percent capacity factor unless you have an expensive battery.” Solar energy also requires one hectare of land to produce one megawatt. “This will become more challenging since the Philippines is an archipelagic country,” Arcilla said. Nuclear, on the other hand, “is more of a baseload energy, meaning it is more reliable due to its continuous production of energy. It could provide backup for wind and solar.” Threats and risks Groups such as the World Nuclear Association, the International Atomic Energy Agency and Environmentalists for Nuclear Energy contend that nuclear power is a sustainable energy source that reduces carbon emissions. But opponents, such as Greenpeace International and Nuclear Information and Resource Service, warn that nuclear power poses many threats to people and the environment, including the problems of processing, transport and storage of radioactive nuclear waste, the risk of nuclear weapons proliferation and terrorism, as well as health risks and environmental damage from uranium mining. Because of these risks, Dr. Art Romero, a geoscientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Berkeley, California, emphasizes the need to conduct due diligence, technical hazard studies and engineering and safety reviews. If the Philippines went nuclear, where would it put nuclear waste? “It is very challenging to manage nuclear waste as it will last up to 10,000 years,” acknowledged Arcilla. “We need to isolate them from the human environment.” Arcilla suggests deep borehole disposal. “In the Philippines, we have the capability to drill up to three kilometers. So what we can do is to go to an isolated island, drill up to one kilometer, then we plug in bentonite.” It’s not the first time the Philippines will go nuclear. The Bataan Nuclear Power Plant was built by Westinghouse during the time of Ferdinand Marcos at a cost of $2.2 billion, but it was mothballed in 1986 due to safety concerns and allegations of corruption, even before it could begin operations. During the administration of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, proponents wanted the BNPP rehabilitated. But the project was projected to cost a hefty $1 billion. In 2019, a public perception survey indicated that 79 percent of Filipinos supported the rehabilitation of the shelved BNPP. In addition, 65 percent approved the building of new nuclear power plants. Nuclear power is the second largest source of low-carbon electricity today. With almost 500 operating reactors globally, it provides 10 percent of global electricity supply. It’s time for a rapidly developing country like the Philippines to take a second look at this critical power supply option. The post Time for the Philippines to go nuclear appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
All five on Titanic sub dead after ‘catastrophic’ implosion
All five people aboard a submersible missing near the wreck of the Titanic died -- likely in an instant -- after their vessel suffered what the US Coast Guard said Thursday was a "catastrophic implosion" in the ocean depths. The somber announcement ended a multinational search-and-rescue operation that captivated the world since the tiny tourist craft went missing in the North Atlantic four days ago. Rear Admiral John Mauger told reporters in Boston that analysis showed debris found on the seafloor, 1,600 feet (500 meters) from the bow of the Titanic, was consistent with the implosion of the sub's pressure chamber. "On behalf of the United States Coast Guard and the entire unified command, I offer my deepest condolences to the families," Mauger said. On board were British explorer Hamish Harding, French submarine expert Paul-Henri Nargeolet, Pakistani-British tycoon Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman, and Stockton Rush, CEO of the sub's operator OceanGate Expeditions. OceanGate said its "hearts are with these five souls and every member of their families during this tragic time." "These men were true explorers who shared a distinct spirit of adventure, and a deep passion for exploring and protecting the world's oceans," it said in a statement. The Coast Guard announced earlier Thursday that an underwater robot had discovered a "debris field" in the search area. 'Unforgiving environment' Authorities said they later learned the pieces included the sub's tail cone and front and back ends of its pressure hull. Mauger said the Coast Guard could not be sure when or why the vessel imploded and declined to be drawn on whether remains of the men would be retrieved. "This is an incredibly unforgiving environment down there on the seafloor," he said. The process of demobilizing personnel and vessels from the scene would soon begin, but unmanned robots would continue operations on the seabed for now, Mauger added. "We'll collect as much information as we can," he said. The US military originally detected the likely implosion of the craft on secret underwater sound monitoring devices shortly after it went missing on Sunday, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday. "The US Navy conducted an analysis of acoustic data and detected an anomaly consistent with an implosion or explosion in the general vicinity of where the Titan submersible was operating when communications were lost," an unnamed senior Navy official told the Journal. The small sub named Titan disappeared on Sunday as it descended to the Titanic, which sits more than two miles (nearly four kilometers) below the ocean's surface and 400 miles off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada. OceanGate Expeditions charged $250,000 for a seat on the sub. In a 2018 lawsuit, its former director of marine operations raised concerns about the "experimental and untested design" of Titan. Harding was a billionaire and keen explorer with three Guinness Records to his name, while the Dawoods belonged to one of Pakistan's richest families. Nargeolet was nicknamed "Mr Titanic" for his frequent dives at the site. Harding's family paid tribute to the aviation tycoon in a statement, saying he was a "passionate explorer" as well as a "loving husband and a dedicated father to his two sons." "What he achieved in his lifetime was truly remarkable and if we can take any small consolation from this tragedy, it's that we lost him doing what he loved," the family said. The Dawoods' loved ones also expressed their "profound grief" at their loss in a brief statement. The British and Pakistani governments expressed their "deepest condolences" to all the men's families. Titanic's lure The 21-foot (6.5-meter) Titan had been due to resurface seven hours after beginning its descent at 8:00 am on Sunday. But the craft lost communication with its mothership less than two hours in. Ships and planes from the US and Canadian coast guards, as well as a robot sent from France, scoured 10,000 square miles (around 20,000 square kilometers) of surface water -- roughly the size of the US state of Massachusetts -- for the vessel. The search honed in on areas where underwater banging noises were detected late Tuesday and Wednesday. But Mauger said that ultimately the sounds did not appear to have any relation to the site of the debris. The Titanic hit an iceberg and sank in 1912 during its maiden voyage from England to New York with 2,224 passengers and crew on board. More than 1,500 people died. It was found in 1985 and remains a lure for nautical experts and underwater tourists. The pressure at that depth as measured in atmospheres is 400 times what it is at sea level. Marine scientist and oceanographer David Mearns, who specializes in deep water search and recovery operations, said earlier the debris discovery indicated a rapid breakup of the submersible. "The only saving grace about that is that it would have been immediate, literally in milliseconds, and the men would have had no idea what was happening," Mearns, who was friends with two of those onboard, told Sky News. The post All five on Titanic sub dead after ‘catastrophic’ implosion appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
PBBM mulls inclusion in mangrove alliance
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. highlighted the positive impact that the Philippines’ inclusion in the Global Mangrove Alliance would bring, emphasizing the government’s commitment to reviving and safeguarding the country’s mangrove ecosystem. “We have made great efforts to preserve and restore our mangrove ecosystem. The law in the Philippines is you cannot touch mangroves at all, and because of that the mangroves have grown back,” Marcos said, during a courtesy call by officials of the United Arab Emirates at Malacañang on Tuesday. “They grow back so much that sometimes they begin to block the rivers. So maybe there is much (we) can learn in the management of it because I think we have done as much as we can in terms of preservation,” he added. UAE Ambassador Mohamed Obaid Salem Alqataam Alzaabi said his country valued how the Philippine government perceived the UAE as a nation that has no enemies and was a good friend to everyone. The ambassador told the President they were looking forward to the Philippines becoming a member of the Global Mangrove Alliance, which would benefit the country which is prone to calamities and disasters, and for the management of its abundant waterways. The Marcos administration expressed interest in examining the mangrove alliance’s framework, the Philippines’ obligations as a member, the responsibilities of other member nations, and the workings of the alliance. Marcos acknowledged that the preservation of the mangroves was a “very big” issue in the country. “It is a very important point for the Philippines because of all the waterways that we have,” he said. UAE businesses to RP In terms of the economy, the UAE envoy said many companies in his country want to build their businesses in the Philippines, stressing that they want to introduce a new program that is similar to what they have been doing in other countries. “This program is to exchange information (between our) countries. We have more than 40 countries now in this program. It’s a government exchange program by the Office of the Prime Minister,” Alzaabi told Marcos. He explained that the program was launched in 2018 as a “knowledge platform,” where the Philippine and UAE governments, under a memorandum of understanding, can exchange information. The program has been introduced in Egypt, Spain, Jordan and other countries. The ambassador also relayed the invitation for President Marcos to attend the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference or the Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, to be held in December this year in Expo City in Dubai. The post PBBM mulls inclusion in mangrove alliance appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
NATO begins unprecedented air drill in ‘show of strength’
NATO will begin the largest air force deployment exercise in Europe in the alliance's history on Monday in a display of unity toward partners and potential threats such as Russia. The German-led "Air Defender 23" will run until 23 June and include some 250 military aircraft from 25 NATO and partner countries including Japan and Sweden, which is bidding to join the alliance. Up to 10,000 people will participate in the drills intended to boost interoperability and preparedness to protect against drones and cruise missiles in the case of an attack on cities, airports or sea ports within NATO territory. Presenting the plans last week, Lieutenant General Ingo Gerhartz of the German Luftwaffe said "Air Defender" was conceived in 2018 in part as a response to the Russian annexation of Crimea from Ukraine four years before, though he said it was "not targeted at anyone". He said that while NATO would defend "every centimeter" of its territory, the exercise would not "send any flights, for example, in the direction of Kaliningrad," the Russian enclave bordering alliance member states Poland and Lithuania. "We are a defensive alliance and that is how this exercise is planned," he said. US Ambassador to Germany Amy Gutmann said the drill would show "beyond a shadow of a doubt the agility and the swiftness of our allied force" and was intended to send a message to countries including Russia. "I would be pretty surprised if any world leader was not taking note of what this shows in terms of the spirit of this alliance, which means the strength of this alliance, and that includes Mr. Putin," she told reporters, referring to the Russian president. "By synchronizing together, we multiply our force." Russia's war on Ukraine has galvanized the Western military alliance set up almost 75 years ago to face off against the Soviet Union. Finland and Sweden, which long kept an official veneer of neutrality to avoid conflict with Moscow, both sought membership in NATO after Russia's February 2022 invasion. Under NATO's Article Five, an attack on one member is considered an attack on all. 'Great power competition' The exercise will include operational and tactical-level training, primarily in Germany, but also in the Czech Republic, Estonia and Latvia. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will visit pilots based at the Schleswig-Jagel airfield in northern Germany on Friday. General Michael Loh, director of the US Air National Guard, said NATO's duties were at an "inflection point". "A great deal has changed on the strategic landscape throughout the world, especially here in Europe," he said. The exercise will focus on "supplementing the permanent United States presence in Europe" as well as providing training "on a larger scale than what was usually accomplished on the continent", Loh added. He said many of the alliance pilots would be working together for the first time. "It's about fostering the old relationships that we have but also building new ones with this younger generation of airmen," he said. "And so this is about now establishing what it means to go against a great power in a great power competition." Gutmann said that while there were no plans to make "Air Defender" a recurring exercise, she added: "We have no desire for this to be the last." Asked about potential disruption to civilian air transport during the exercise, Gerhartz said the planners would do "everything in our power" to limit flight delays or cancellations. German authorities had warned that flight schedules could be impacted by the drills. The post NATO begins unprecedented air drill in ‘show of strength’ appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Bureaucratic (mal)practice
What welfare state model — replete with assumptions, measures, and calculations — allowed government to feed the hungry, shelter the homeless, provide free healthcare to the sick, give cash subsidies to the jobless? This bureaucratic (mal)practice transfers the burden to the taxpayers-at-large if the pattern of government spending is to extend help to the needy. Seemingly a grand equalizer, privileges go to the poor like manna from heaven while obligations pass to the rich like punishment from above, effectively blurring the relationship between entitlements and contributions. Economists have done very little to incentivize interdependence rather than this vicious dependence by the least affluent class on the more affluent class of society. And what angelic genius of an idea have grandstanding politicians invented in the government’s strongest pretension as a welfare state — when navigating like a rudderless ship in fiscally constrained waters — they should not have dared to venture? Came the fire that ravaged the entire Central Post Office building from the basement to the roof of the iconic five-story structure, stripped of its “flesh” solely because water sprinklers had not been installed in the whole edifice that could have averted the tragic inferno. At no point had the government come to its senses on how to preserve a P1-million investment a hundred years ago — or to how much it would cost to build the same structure today. An editorial in a leading newspaper has profusely romanticized the role of the old post office with an unmuffled scream for restoration and reform toward modernity — one more superior than private courier services (i.e. FedEx, DHL, United Parcel Service). But the long prose hardly rolled out — in a manner clear as crystal and hard as diamond — what “structural weaknesses of the agency” ought to be re-engineered. Its nostalgia for the charred edifice as a Filipino heritage is vacuous or paying mere lip-service absent any well-defined reform parameters beyond its existing mandate. Instead, why doesn’t the government sponsor an international competition for the design of a new Central Post Office building by forming a judging committee as early as now? Thereafter, the winning entry will be commissioned to begin construction of what would later be a new heritage landmark. In short, let a new structure rise and supplant that which now lies in ruin – for want of water sprinklers. It will not strain logic that the charred remains of a once-proclaimed national treasure has fallen into an absolute case of “sunk cost,” which simply means that there is nothing more to retrieve. At this critical juncture, however, let it be a local concern rather than a national one given that as head of a local government unit, the city mayor of Manila is in the best position to determine its needs in accordance with existing comprehensive land use plans. Besides, LGU Manila is one of the highest revenue-generating local governments and therefore has the wherewithal to foot the construction of a new post office. What “outstanding universal value,” if any, is the old building known for to deserve classification as a cultural heritage or as a national treasure, as the case may be? What heritage — natural, cultural, historical — is there to really preserve other than the nightmare of the Battle of Manila in World War II? A single article in a referenced journal should be enough proof that it attained a level of recognition of unsurpassed value. When the National Museum of the Philippines declared it an important cultural property for “exceptional cultural, artistic, and historical significance to the Philippines,” it came so rather belatedly in 2018. From then on, it received public funds for its protection, conservation and restoration. If officialdom will download awesome sums of money to restore what was lost, methinks that in both economic and accounting costs, it will be foolhardy to do so. For now, blame not Congress or any board of inquiry for probing why it burned to the ground — beyond the worn-out narrative of faulty wiring. Let heads roll! The post Bureaucratic (mal)practice appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Stephen Hawking’s last collaborator on physicist’s final theory
When Thomas Hertog was first summoned to Stephen Hawking's office in the late 1990s, there was an instant connection between the young Belgian researcher and the legendary British theoretical physicist. "Something clicked between us," Hertog said. That connection would continue even as Hawking's debilitating disease ALS robbed him of his last ways to communicate, allowing the pair to complete a new theory that aims to turn how science looks at the universe on its head. The theory, which would be Hawking's last before his death in 2018, has been laid out in full for the first time in Hertog's book "On the Origin of Time", published in the UK last month. In an interview with AFP, the cosmologist spoke about their 20-year collaboration, how they communicated via facial expression, and why Hawking ultimately decided his landmark book "A Brief of History of Time" was written from the wrong perspective. The 'designed' universe During their first meeting at Cambridge University in 1998, Hawking wasted no time in bringing up the problem bothering him. "The universe we observe appears designed," Hawking told Hertog, communicating via a clicker connected to a speech machine. Hertog explained that "the laws of physics -- the rules on which the universe runs -- turn out to be just perfect for the universe to be habitable, for life to be possible." This remarkable string of good luck stretches from the delicate balance that makes it possible for atoms to form molecules necessary for chemistry to the expansion of the universe itself, which allows for vast cosmic structures such as galaxies. One "trendy" answer to this problem has been the multiverse, an idea that has recently become popular in the movie industry, Hertog said. This theory explains away the seemingly designed nature of the universe by making it just one of countless others -- most of which are "crap, lifeless, sterile", the 47-year-old added. But Hawking realised the "great mire of paradoxes the multiverse was leading us into", arguing there must be a better explanation, Hertog said. Outsider's perspective A few years into their collaboration, "it began to sink in" that they were missing something fundamental, Hertog said. The multiverse and even "A Brief History of Time" were "attempts to describe the creation and evolution of our universe from what Stephen would call a 'God's eye perspective'," Hertog said. But because "we are within the universe" and not outside looking in, our theories cannot be decoupled from our perspective, he added. "That was why (Hawking) said that 'A Brief History of Time' is written from the wrong perspective." For the next 15 years, the pair used the oddities of quantum theory to develop a new theory of physics and cosmology from an "observer's perspective". But by 2008, Hawking had lost the ability to use his clicker, becoming increasingly isolated from the world. "I thought it was over," Hertog said. Then the pair developed a "somewhat magical" level of non-verbal communication that allowed them to continue working, he said. Positioned in front of Hawking, Hertog would ask questions and look into the physicist's eyes. "He had a very wide range of facial expressions, ranging from extreme disagreement to extreme excitement," he said. "It's impossible to disentangle" which parts of the final theory came from himself or Hawking, Hertog said, adding that many of the ideas had been developed between the pair over the years. 'One grand evolutionary process' Their theory is focused on what happened in the first moments after the Big Bang. Rather than an explosion that followed a pre-existing set of rules, they propose that the laws of physics evolved along with the universe. This means that if you turn back the clock far enough, "the laws of physics themselves begin to simplify and disappear", Hertog said. "Ultimately, even the dimension of time evaporates." Under this theory, the laws of physics and time itself evolved in a way that resembles biological evolution -- the title of Hertog's book is a reference to Darwin's "On the Origin of Species". "What we're essentially saying is that (biology and physics) are two levels of one grand evolutionary process," Hertog said. He acknowledged that it is difficult to prove this theory because the first years of the universe remain "hidden in the mist of the Big Bang". One way to lift this veil could be by studying gravitational waves, ripples in the fabric of space time, while another could be via quantum holograms constructed on quantum computers, he said. The post Stephen Hawking’s last collaborator on physicist’s final theory appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Amazon scientists simulate how warming may impact jungle
Deep in the Amazon, an experiment unfolds that may allow a peek into the future to see what will happen to the world's largest rainforest when carbon dioxide levels rise. It is a simulation to see how the lungs of the world will endure global warming. The AmazonFACE project, co-financed by Brazil and the United Kingdom, is "an open-air laboratory that will allow us to understand how the rainforest will behave in future climate change scenarios," says Carlos Quesada, one of the project coordinators. Quesada stands at the foot of a soaring metal tower that protrudes through the rainforest canopy at a site 50 miles (80 kilometers) north of Manaus in northwest Brazil. Sixteen other towers arranged in a circle around it will "pump" CO2 into the ring, replicating levels that may happen with global warming. "How will the rainforest react to the rising temperature, the reduction in water availability, in a world with more carbon in the atmosphere?" asks Quesada, a researcher at an Amazon research institute that is part of the Brazilian Ministry of Science and Technology. The technology known as FACE (Free Air CO2 Enrichment) has already been used to study the impact on forests in Australia, the United States and the United Kingdom, but never in a tropical rainforest. By 2024, there will be six "carbon rings" pumping CO2 -- one of the causes of global warming -- at a concentration 40 percent to 50 percent higher than today. Over a decade, researchers will analyze the processes occurring in leaves, roots, soil, water and nutrient cycles. "We will have more accurate projections on how the Amazon rainforest can help combat climate change with its ability to absorb carbon from the atmosphere. Also, it will help us understand how the rainforest will be impacted by these changes," says David Lapola, a researcher at the University of Campinas, who coordinates the project with Quesada. The carbon increase in the atmosphere may lead to the creation of grassy plains, or savanna, where the Amazon rainforest once flourished, with vegetation better adapted to higher temperatures and longer droughts. But CO2 could also "fertilize" the forest and make it temporarily more resistant to these changes. "This is a positive scenario, at least for a short time, a period for us to get to zero emission policies, to keep temperature increases to only 1.5 degrees Centigrade," Quesada says. The project "is a window to the future. You open the window and look at what might be happening 30 years ahead," he says. The UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) urged ambitious action to counter global warming again this year. According to its latest March report, global warming will surpass 1.5 degrees Celsius in the decades after 2030, leading to irreversible loss of ecosystems. Coinciding with global warming is the impact of human-caused deforestation in the Amazon. A landmark 2018 study by scientists Thomas Lovejoy and Carlos Nobre found that the Amazon is hurtling toward a tipping point where savannas begin to replace rainforest. They said that would happen with deforestation of 20 to 25 percent of Amazon territory. Currently, deforestation stands at 15 percent. AmazonFACE, coordinated by University of Campinas and the Brazilian Ministry of Science, has the support of the Foreign Office and the British Meteorological Service (MET office). British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly visited the facilities this week and announced a new contribution of 2 million pounds (US$2.4 million) to the project, which since 2021 has already received 7.3 million pounds from the United Kingdom. Brazil, for its part, has invested 32 million reais (US$6.4 million). The post Amazon scientists simulate how warming may impact jungle appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Fans in frenzy as Beyoncé kicks off concert tour
Ecstatic Beyoncé fans sang and danced in feverish excitement in Stockholm Wednesday as the superstar kicked off her first solo tour in seven years with a futuristic spectacle featuring a lunar rover, an airborne horse, and wall-to-wall rhinestones. Hours before the doors opened hundreds of people were thronging outside the stadium, including some who had traveled halfway around the world to catch the show, anxious to see the global music icon -- one of the world's best-selling artists. Once the concert was about to begin, the tens of thousands of fans in the 60,000-capacity Friends Arena -- filled to the brim -- erupted in cheers as their "queen" emerged on stage. "Just want to say: Y'all make me so happy," Beyoncé said as the concert began. "I see familiar faces, people that flew from very, very far to come see the first show tonight," she told the audience at the outset of the three-hour space and science fiction-themed show. The show features Beyoncé performing atop a lunar vehicle, playing the role of a news anchor while dressed as a queen bee, and suspended above the crowd as she sits on a model horse completely covered in sparkling rhinestones. "This was another level. Amazing, I can't wait for the rest of the tour," Abdul Ibraimoh, a 33-year-old artist manager from London, told AFP after the show. "There was a lot of anticipation for what she was going to do, and yes I'm speechless, it was just incredible," Shane Barkey, a 31-year-old radio host from Ireland, said. Beyoncé, who has a record 32 Grammy awards; is in the top 10 biggest-grossing female artists. She is also a fashion icon, with designers queueing up for her attention. Many of the fans in Stockholm sported cowboy hats and rhinestones, mimicking the look of the performer's outfit in the ads announcing the 57-stop European and North American tour. Julie Vargas, who flew in from Houston, Texas -- Beyoncé's hometown -- confessed to having a "shrine" dedicated to the star at home. "I don't want any spoilers, I wanted to be the first to see it and take the news back to H-town baby!" the 38-year-old surgical technologist told AFP as she waited in line in the early afternoon. The "Renaissance World Tour", announced in February after being teased last autumn, is the star's first solo tour since 2016. Tickets sold out so quickly for the opening show that tour organizers added a second concert at the same venue for Thursday. From there, she goes to Brussels this weekend. The tour, which continues until September, is expected to earn the international artist nearly $2.1 billion, according to business magazine Forbes. She is already a multi-millionaire. "We love Beyoncé, she's the queen, that's why we are here of course," 36-year-old artist Kasher Bloom from Riga told AFP. "Beyoncé is the queen! Our mother, everything! I would do anything for her," Jarra Jatta, a 21-year-old fan from Helsingborg in southern Sweden. In February, Beyoncé made history by becoming the most successful artist in the history of the Grammys, surpassing the late classical conductor Georg Solti's long-standing record of 31 lifetime trophies. But despite winning another four Grammys, fans were disappointed that she missed out on the award for album of the year for her seventh studio album, the house-tinged "Renaissance". The 16-song 2022 album was an instant hit and earned wide praise for its deep ambition. Born Beyoncé Giselle Knowles, the now-41-year-old has been in the upper echelons of pop music since her teenage years. She initially rose to fame as part of Destiny's Child -- whose smash hits included "Survivor" and "Say My Name" -- before embarking on a wildly successful solo career. From setting the standard for the overnight album drop to delivering her earth-shattering "Homecoming" show at Coachella in 2018, Beyoncé has long bucked the industry's conventional wisdom. She is simultaneously one of music's most private and most watched stars. Her paradigm-shifting 2016 album "Lemonade," which emphasized Black womanhood against the backdrop of America's heritage of slavery and culture of oppression, remains one of the most venerated musical projects in recent memory. Then she dropped the critically acclaimed song "Black Parade" in June 2020, amid nationwide protests ignited by the murder of an unarmed Black man, George Floyd, at the hands of a white police officer. The post Fans in frenzy as Beyoncé kicks off concert tour appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Philippines to begin national ID pre-enrollment on Oct. 9
Enacted in 2018, Republic Act No. 11055 or the Philippine Identification System Act provides the legal basis for the national ID program, a key social project of the Duterte administration aimed at providing government clearer information on its citizens to better target public projects......»»
Cool Smashers officially introduce new libero Ponce
Not to be outdone by its sister-team, three-time Premier Volleyball League champion Creamline also made significant moves to beef up its roster. The Cool Smashers making sure they got all positions covered, formally introduced their latest addition in Adamson University libero Thang Ponce. Say hello to our newest ka-vibes that’s joining our #CreamlineCoolSmashers lineup! Let’s give a good vibes welcome to the former Lady Falcon, Thang Ponce! She’s a 2018 PVL Collegiate Conference Best Libero kaya she’s a strong addition to the team! #ArawArawGoodVibes pic.twitter.com/0ymKA6FDRp — Cool Smashers (@CoolSmashers) August 25, 2020 One of today’s talented liberos in the collegiate ranks, Ponce will give Creamline an extra piece to man the floor alongside starting defense specialist Kyla Atienza. The arrival of the 2018 PVL Collegiate Conference Best Libero also filled the spot left by veteran Mel Gohing, who transferred to Motolite. Creamline’s recruitment coup came on the heels of ChocoMucho’s aggressive signings of volleyball big names including Denden Lazaro, Ponggay Gaston and Deanna Wong to play alongside Ateneo Lady Eagles teammates Bea De Leon, Maddie Madayag and Kat Tolentino. With a seasoned lineup, the Cool Smashers remain to be the team to beat come the PVL’s fourth staging of the Open Conference, which is expected to begin as soon as the government gives its green light for competition to resume amid the health crisis. Already bannered by reigning Open Conference Most Valuable Player Jema Galanza, Alyssa Valdez, setter Jia Morado, Michele Gumabao and Risa Sato, Creamline added another weapon to its arsenal early this year after tapping the services of all-around player Ella De Jesus......»»
Jaja Santiago re-signs with Ageo Medics
Jaja Santiago has re-signed as an import for the Saitama Ageo Medics in the Japan V. Premier League. The versatile 6-foot-5 player announced the development late Friday through her Philippine Superliga club Chery Tiggo’s Instagram account. View this post on Instagram Yes! Yes! Yes! You're guessing it right! ???? We're proud to say that Our very own Middle Blocker @alyjasantiago3 is going back to Japan and will play once again for Ageo Medics for the 3rd time! ???????? #cherytiggocrossovers #cheryautophilippines A post shared by cherytiggocrossoversph (@cherytiggocrossoversph) on Aug 21, 2020 at 6:02am PDT Santiago, who is effective in both middle and wing positions, will be playing with the Ageo Medics for the third straight year and is set to return to Japan as the club begins its preparation for the 2020-2021 season scheduled to begin in October. The Filipina standout helped the Ageo Medics cop the bronze medal last season for the club’s historic podium finish. The Ageo Medics finished seventh in 2018 during Santiago’s rookie season with the Japanese club. Santiago returned to the country last February shortly after the conclusion of the Japanese league’s season to see action in the PSL Grand Prix. Unfortunately, the import-laden conference was scrapped due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The National University product, who skipped last year’s national team stint in the 30th Southeast Asian Games due to conflict of schedule, promised to return to PSL action next year. --- Follow this writer on Twitter, @fromtheriles.....»»
Mark Magsayo vs. Jose Haro set for September 23rd in Los Angeles
Undefeated Filipino featherweight Mark "Magnifico" Magsayo's return to the ring this year has been confirmed. The 25-year old will be making his first walk out to the ring as a member of Manny Pacquiao's MP Promotions stable on Wednesday, September 23rd in Los Angeles, California when he faces American Jose "Pepito" Haro in a ten-round contest. Both MP Promotions and Magsayo himself posted the bout announcement on their respective social media pages. Magsayo (20-0, 14 KO), one of the country's most promising prospects, will be looking to gain momentum once again after competing just two times in the last two years or so. Formerly an up-and-coming project of the recently-folded ALA Promotions, Magsayo made a name for himself an an exciting knockout artist with world championship potential. Following a split with ALA Promotions in 2017, Magsayo was inactive for all of 2018, before returning to the ring twice in 2019. Earlier this year, the Tagbilaran-native announced his signing with MP Promotions. In July, Magsayo flew to the US to begin training camp. Facing Magsayo is 33-year old Haro, who owns a 15-1-1 pro record with 8 wins via KO. The Washington native is currently riding a seven-fight winning streak. .....»»
Floyd Mayweather Jr. says Manny Pacquiao continues to fight because he has to
A little over five years after the Manny Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather Jr. bout, people still wonder if there's ever going to be a sequel. Since that highly-anticipated 2015 bout between arguably two of boxing's biggest stars, Pacquiao and Mayweather's careers have gone in vastly different directions. Following his 12-round loss to Mayweather Jr., Pacquiao beat Timothy Bradley in a trilogy bout, retired for half a year, and then came back to beat Jessie Vargas and capture the WBO Welterweight World Championship. Pacquiao would lose that title to Jeff Horn in a controversial decision in Australia, before bouncing back by beating Lucas Matthysse to become a world champion once again. Just last year, Pacquiao put on two impressive performances in his title defense over Adrien Broner and his WBO (Super) Welterweight World Championship-clinching win over Keith Thurman. Now, at 41 years old, Pacquiao is still in the conversation of top opponents for welterweight stars like Terence Crawford and Errol Spence Jr. After beating Pacquiao, Mayweather Jr. wrapped his career up with a win over Andre Berto to retire undefeated in 2015. Two years later however, Mayweather Jr. came back and claimed his 50th professional boxing win after defeating UFC star Conor McGregor by tenth-round TKO in a big-money superfight. Save for a three-round exhibition bout against Japanese kickboxer Tenshin Nasukawa in Japan on New Year's Eve of 2018, Mayweather has remained retired. So whenever Pacquiao earns a big win or whenever Mayweather does anything remotely related to a boxing ring, rumbles of a rematch always begin to appear. Asked if he was interested in a rematch however, Mayweather sort of shot the idea down. Asked if a rematch against McGregor was on his radar, Mayweather told rapper Fat Joe that he was more interested in fighting guys who has whole countries behind him. "I’m a businessman now. I already proved, years and years ago, that I was the best, period. I’m talking pound-for-pound, I already proved all of that," Mayweather Jr. said. "At my age now, I’m a businessman, so I’m not gonna be out there competing and fighting guys that only got a small city behind them. You got a lot of American fighters that are good, but they got little cities behind them. I’mma fight guys that got a whole country behind them. So, I know I can demand and get what I want to get." "So that's Pacquiao?" Fat Joe responded, looking for clarification. Mayweather Jr. responded by saying that he made more in the McGregor fight. (READ: Pac-Mac at super middleweight? Conor McGregor has interesting response to Manny Pacquiao's birthday greeting) "Listen, I made more with McGregor," Mayweather Jr. said. "My faculties and everything that I got comes first. We just talked about “Your health is your wealth”, and that’s why I got this towel on, I was working out today." "Money" followed up by saying that the difference between himself and Pacquiao is that Pacquiao needs to keep fighting. "Pacquiao fight because he have to. Once again, I fight if I want to, so there’s a difference." Was that a no? Was it a maybe? What did Mayweather Jr.'s statements mean? Mayweather Jr. also hit back at those saying that Pacquiao wasn't in his prime when they met back in 2015. "We keep on saying ‘at our prime’, I’m older than Pacquiao by two years. We keep on saying ‘in your prime’. When I beat Pacquiao, they say he wasn’t in his prime. I’m older than [him]. When I fought Oscar de la Hoya, me and Oscar, we both was in our thirties. They keep on…no matter what happens, it’s never good enough for anyone." Right now, it appears that the 50-0 fighter is happy staying retired, but he did share that he has something cooking alongside Japanese promotion Rizin for this year. .....»»
Comelec says systems can thwart foreign interference
The Commission on Elections is preparing to defend its servers from attempts to hack it in the 2025 midterm polls, its chairperson announced on Wednesday......»»
Vehicle sales rev up by 23% in February
Vehicle sales accelerated by more than a fifth in February from a year ago, supported by automotive firms’ marketing efforts as well as stable interest rates......»»
Toral: Navigating through change: Insights from PMI manufacturing February 2024
Toral: Navigating through change: Insights from PMI manufacturing February 2024.....»»
Security Council warns of foreign interference in 2025 polls
There may be foreign interference in next year’s midterm elections and the Department of Information and Communications Technology should prepare to counter cyberattacks, the National Security Councilwarned yesterday......»»
Franki Russell dream come true ang maging Miss Universe New Zealand
SUPER grateful ang aktres at dating “Pinoy Big Brother” housemate na si Franki Russell sa pagiging representative ng New Zealand para sa prestihiyosong Miss Universe pageant. Sa kanyang Instagram page ay ibinandera niya ang mga larawan na kuha noong araw na italaga siya bilang Miss Universe New Zealand. “A new chapter. Where to begin?” panimula.....»»
Comelec: 3 million overseas voters eyed in 2025 polls
With internet voting, the Commission on Elections is looking to have up to three million Filipinos abroad participate in the May 2025 midterm elections......»»
Shohei Ohtani says interpreter stole money, denies knowledge of gambling debts
Shohei Ohtani says he was unaware Ippei Mizuhara had gambling debts and that he had been lied to repeatedly by the interpreter who had been by his side since he joined Major League Baseball in 2018.....»»