PSEi suffers first 2021 rout on coronavirus variant anxiety
Panic returned to the Philippine Stock Exchange trading floor on Wednesday, with the main index shedding 1.21% to close at 7,047.85......»»
Zayn Malik finally reveals why he left One Direction
Multiplatinum recording artist Zayn Malik opened up about his life after One Direction in his first sit-down interview in nearly six years on Wednesday, 12 July. In an episode of Call Her Daddy podcast hosted by Alex Cooper, the former One Direction member broke his silence, detailing his departure from the band, post-band life and upcoming single. Reflecting on his time in the band, Malik, known for his hit single “Pillowtalk,” said the excessive exposure they experienced led to his hiatus from interviews and similar engagements. A 2015 statement reflected his mindset at the time: “I am leaving because I want to be a normal 22-year-old who is able to relax and have some private time out of the spotlight.” Malik revealed that tensions were rising among the bandmates around the time he left. “We’d been together every day for five years and we’d [gotten] sick of each other, if we’re being completely honest,” he told Cooper. “There were great experiences, I had great times with them, but we’d just run our course.” Malik also said he began to see signs that it might be the right moment to depart and presumed that others might follow suit. He wanted to “get ahead of the curve” and “be the first” to release his own record. “I don’t want to go into too much detail, but there was a lot of politics going on,” he said. Malik left One Direction in 2015, following the band’s string of chart-topping hits like “What Makes You Beautiful,” “Story of My Life” and “Best Song Ever.” His departure came one week after he left the group’s tour due to “stress” and before the release of their fifth studio album. Sense of responsibility Malik, 30, became a father in 2020 when he welcomed his first child with model Gigi Hadid. He said this experience has had a significant impact on his mindset and priorities. “After having a child, I had to step up as a man and as a person, and be this example to her who doesn’t succumb to these feelings (of anxiety),” he told Cooper. “That’s why I’m even doing this interview. I used to get a lot of anxiety around having a conversation like this, and I want her to look at me and be like, ‘Yo, my dad’s doing this!’” Malik’s new single, “Love Like This,” is set to be released on 21 July. The new song marks the former One Direction member’s solo return to the music scene. It’s his first solo record since his album “Nobody Is Listening” in 2021 and his first since signing up with Mercury Records in June 2023. The post Zayn Malik finally reveals why he left One Direction appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Japan top court backs transgender woman in toilet case
In a landmark verdict, Japan's Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled in favor of a transgender bureaucrat who sued the government over access to female toilets at work. The court found that a decision barring the woman from using nearby toilets and forcing her to use others two floors from her office was "extremely lacking in validity". The move "overly accommodated other employees and unjustly disregarded how the plaintiff might be disadvantaged", the court added. The ruling is the Japanese top court's first on working conditions for LGBTQ individuals, and experts said it could change the way the public and private sectors navigate sensitive questions on women-only spaces. The case was filed by a transgender woman in her fifties, who was told by her employer, the ministry of economy and trade, that she could only use a female toilet two floors from her office. She argued that being barred from the female toilets nearest to her "deeply hurt" her dignity and violated a law that protects state employees against loss or damage in the workplace. Speaking to reporters after the court's decision, the woman, who cannot be named for privacy reasons, said the state "cannot ignore the severity of this ruling". While she felt "positively" about the ruling on access to female toilets, she was disappointed the court had not accepted her appeal for compensation. The National Personnel Authority, which recruits and manages public servants, and was the respondent in the case, said it will "scrutinise the content of the ruling and take appropriate measures". Government studying verdict The woman had been diagnosed with gender dysphoria around 1999, while already a government employee, and in 2009 told her supervisor she wished to dress and work as a woman. The ministry approved some of her requests but insisted she could only use the women's toilets a few floors from her desk. Officials said the decision was justified because of a lack of "public understanding" toward transgender people using the facilities of their declared gender. But in a hearing last month, the plaintiff's team argued that no female employees at the ministry had explicitly voiced any discomfort about sharing restrooms. Japanese law currently effectively requires transgender people to be surgically sterilized if they want legal recognition of their gender identity. Those who wish to change their official documents must appeal to a family court and meet criteria including having no reproductive capacity -- generally requiring sterilization. The plaintiff in the case has not changed her legal gender, but otherwise lives as a woman. In 2019, the Tokyo District Court upheld her complaint, saying the ministry's treatment "restricted important legal rights" because of her gender identity. But a higher court overturned the ruling in 2021 and backed the state, acknowledging its responsibility to consider the "embarrassment and anxiety" felt by others at the woman's use of the female toilets. Responding to the decision on Tuesday, the prime minister's office said the government would "take appropriate measures" after studying the verdict. "The government will work squarely towards the realization of a society where diversity is respected," said top government spokesman Hirokazu Matsuno, without mentioning specific actions. Japan earlier this year passed its first legislation ostensibly intended to protect the LGBTQ community from discrimination. However, campaigners slammed the watered-down language in the bill, which only opposes "unjust discrimination". The post Japan top court backs transgender woman in toilet case appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
China pushes largest-ever expansion of nuclear arsenal
China is pushing ahead with the largest-ever expansion of its nuclear arsenal, modernizing the atomic deterrent with an eye on any future conflicts with the United States, experts say. The SIPRI think tank estimates that China has a stockpile of around 350 nuclear warheads -- small fry when compared with the United States and Russia. But it is growing fast and could have 1,500 warheads by 2035, according to a Pentagon estimate published in November. "China appears to no longer be satisfied with just a few hundred nuclear weapons to ensure its security," Matt Korda, of the Federation of American Scientists, told AFP. Since its first nuclear test in 1964, China has been content to maintain a comparatively modest arsenal and has maintained that it will never be the first to use nuclear weapons in a conflict. But in recent years, under President Xi Jinping, it has begun a massive military modernization drive that includes upgrading its nuclear weapons to not only deter foes but also be able to counter-attack if deterrence fails. "China is undertaking the most significant expansion and modernization of its nuclear forces in the country's history," David Logan, an assistant professor at the US Naval War College, told AFP. This involves not only ramping up the production of warheads, but also upgrading the ability to deliver them with a nuclear triad: missiles, aircraft, and submarines. "The changes that are taking place or underway are very significant" and "will turn China from a state that has a nuclear retaliatory capability to one that is the world's third major nuclear power", Eric Heginbotham, Principal Research Scientist at MIT's Center for International Studies, told AFP. "This will mark the first time in history that the big nuclear powers will need to consider not one potential nuclear competitor, but two, and it will have implications for nuclear planning and stability everywhere." China is "rapidly" building launch facilities for intercontinental ballistic missiles, with more than 300 silos in total, according to the Pentagon last year. 'Lowest level required' China has stressed that it keeps "its nuclear force at the lowest level required for national security". And Xi said in a joint statement with Russian leader Vladimir Putin last month that nuclear war "must never be unleashed". Data is not publicly available, but the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons has estimated that China spent $11.7 billion on its nuclear program in 2021 -- less than a third of what the United States was believed to have spent. Further, experts say there are obstacles to any rapid build-up of China's atomic stockpile -- primarily its limited means to produce the fissile materials needed for warheads. One possible helping hand could come from Russia. Beijing and Moscow pledged to step up nuclear cooperation at the recent summit between Xi and Putin. Top atomic energy officials from Russia agreed to assist China in completing "fast reactors", which can generate fissile material at a much faster rate than they consume it. Beijing insisted that the agreement was for its civilian nuclear program, but experts say it could also be used to build up fissile material stockpiles for warheads. "It would be technically possible for China to substantially grow its plutonium stockpiles with its new developmental civilian fast-breeder reactors using fuel supplied by Russia," Korda said. "However, there are no publicly-available indications that China intends to do this." China has "very limited reserves that would constrain a rapid build-up", Gregory Kulacki, China Project Manager at the Union of Concerned Scientists, told AFP. "According to public information about the pace of the fast breeder program's development... it will be difficult for China to produce the plutonium they need quickly." Anxiety about the US China has many reasons for its adversaries to believe its nuclear reach extends further than it does -- and the Pentagon has a track record of overstating it. But Beijing does have good reason to bulk up its capabilities. "Chinese strategists have been anxious about the possibility that the US could execute a disarming first strike against Beijing's nuclear forces," the Naval War College's Logan said. "The nuclear build-up is likely in part to ensure that the US cannot eliminate China's nuclear deterrent." China's assessment of what constitutes a credible nuclear deterrent may also be changing, experts say, and the substantial upgrades to its nuclear forces will embolden it -- particularly over self-ruled Taiwan or in the disputed South China Sea. Beijing has ramped up pressure on Taiwan, and has recently conducted two major rounds of military exercises around the island -- which it claims as its territory, to be taken one day. "A major factor is likely an assessment that a larger nuclear force is necessary to dissuade the United States's involvement in a future potential conflict in the Taiwan Strait," Ankit Panda at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace told AFP. "China may well believe that a larger nuclear force will moderate the amount of risk the United States is willing to tolerate in a limited, conventional conflict." The post China pushes largest-ever expansion of nuclear arsenal appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Yllana Marie Aduana nase-sepanx sa korona bilang Miss FIT PH
NASUNGKIT ni Yllana Marie Aduana ang korona bilang Miss FIT (Face, Intelligence, Tone) Philippines noon pang Nobyembre 2021, at inaming emosyonal siya sa pagsasalin nito sa bagong reynang hihirangin ngayong gabi. “It’s a bit of a mixed feeling, more of a separation anxiety with the crown, I’ve been with the crown for more than a […] The post Yllana Marie Aduana nase-sepanx sa korona bilang Miss FIT PH appeared first on Bandera......»»
Word to the artistic
From national artists to award-winning actors and drag queens, inspirational words of advice from our local creatives Last year brought us to our knees, yet here we are standing tall with courage, facing 2021 with hope and a positive perspective. To give us more inspiration to create and explore new things this year, the Manila Bulletin has compiled some quotes from creative individuals, from national artists to award-winning actress. May their words of wisdom bring out the creative urges in all of us, as we make this world a better, more colorful, more meaningful place to live in. Kidlat Tahimik, national artist for film We are all adjusting to the new normal—new rules and new protocols. I’m sure that most artists are taking this time to take art deeper into their hearts. After all, you have nothing to do but just to be productive. *** Ian Inoy, biromantic pansexual artist Every move I made with my art before had this follow up question in my head, asking if it would look gay or not. Now that I’ve fully accepted myself, nothing like that matters anymore. I no longer have the fear of hearing people perceiving my art as “too gay or girly.” *** Heart Evangelista/Love Marie Ongpauco Escudero, actor, painter Express yourself in art. See how art can move you or distract you from distress or how art can bring the best out of you. I notice that my paintings have been a bit muted these days. I feel it’s a bit because of the drama that’s going on around us. In a weird way, I find beauty in sorrow and the way my colors have been coming out, I like what’s happening. I’ve always been like this anyway. I find something beautiful about my emotions, no matter how dark they are, and I translate all that into art. *** Whatsoever you do, if you do it joyfully, if you do it lovingly, if your act of doing is not purely economic, then it is creative.—Osho, Creativity unleashing the forces within *** Kate Adajar, blogger artist The uncertainty Covid-19 brings has triggered confusion, anxiety, and mixed emotions in me. But the lockdown has also given me time to focus on and practice my art. Being in quarantine has allowed me to look at my craft not only as a creative outlet but also as a form of stress release. It has suddenly become therapeutic and meditative. *** F. Sionil Jose, national artist for literature Photo by Noel Pabalate Artistry is something that is created not just by intellect but by passion. And you stop being a craftsman. That is when you become an artist. You cannot be an artist without being a craftsman first. *** Miz Kiki Krunch, drag queen I am more creative as a gay person. My drag persona brings out the best and most authentic part of me. I can express myself better, I can perform better when I channel my weirdness, my “freak,” my truth. *** Cherie Gil, actor Everything can be learned as long as one sets one’s mind and heart to it. There is also no age limit to learning anything. Acting—what is it really but reliving lives and telling their stories. But this requires a lot of work to excavate the instrument to be able to truthfully do just that. It’s not easy. It takes a lot of balls to share one’s personal inner sanctum. *** Iana Cris Forbes, owner of art shop Quiversmiths Pursue what you want. At first, it was hard for me because I wanted to be a painter, I wanted to be a sculptor, I wanted to be a graphic artist, I wanted to be a wedding colorist, I wanted to stitch, I wanted to make bags and shoes and jewelry. But I haven’t seen a person doing all of those!. Before, I could not see any future in them but here they are now. I’m doing everything all at once and I’m fine. I’m happy living multiple lives. It’s like connecting the dots. My hobbies are now my sources of living and I couldn’t be more thankful. *** BenCab, national artist for visual arts This pandemic gives artists more time for their art. It’s usually better for an artist to be locked-in because you work on your own. *** Natasha Aliño, jewelry artist It’s been said many times and my mother always says this whenever I feel frustrated, which most people would feel when they’re starting something new—“trust the process.” This is more of a reminder when you’re in that headspace. Another thing is when you are learning a certain skill, do it so with purpose and authenticity. Then you can confidently say after some time that you can indeed trust the process. Never stop learning and inspiring others on your journey. Photos from the artists’ respective social media accounts and websites.....»»
PSEi suffers first 2021 rout on coronavirus variant anxiety
Panic returned to the Philippine Stock Exchange trading floor on Wednesday, with the main index shedding 1.21% to close at 7,047.85......»»
Promise ni Maxene sa sarili ngayong 2021: Hindi na ako magpapatalo sa takot at anxiety
SIGURADONG maraming Pinoy ang makaka-relate sa New Year’s message ni Maxene Magalona patungkol sa pagiging malaya at pagmamahal sa sarili. Bago tuluyang matapos ang 2020, nagbalik-tanaw ang aktres sa naging buhay niya nitong nagdaang 12 buwan sa Bali, Indonesia kung saan nga sila na-lockdown ng asawang si Rob Mananquil. Sa kanyang Instagram page, nag-post ang […] The post Promise ni Maxene sa sarili ngayong 2021: Hindi na ako magpapatalo sa takot at anxiety appeared first on Bandera......»»
The Essence of Prayer
Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. [1 Peter 5:7].....»»
Sharon Cuneta gives updates on ‘Mega’ mansion planned to withstand intensity 10 earthquake
“Megastar” Sharon Cuneta shared updates on her “Mega” mansion and “forever home” that she declared in an Instagram post in 2021 had been master-planned to withstand even an intensity 9 or 10 earthquake. .....»»
Why Business Should Start Investing in the Mental Well-Being of Their Employees
The pandemic has triggered waves of anxiety, uncertainty, and financial strain, impacting the mental health of millions of employees. Poor mental health leads to decreased productivity, increased absenteeism, and strained work relationships. With that said, it is crucial to address employees’ mental health issues to have a thriving workspace. Encourage Open Communication and Supportive Culture […].....»»
EDITORIAL - Animal cruelty
Killing dogs for their meat has been drastically reduced nationwide, and the country registered the highest ownership of pet dogs in Asia in 2021......»»
DOH: P76.1B COVID-19 allowance for health workers released
These funds cover 8,549,207 claims from July 1, 2021 to July 20, 2023. .....»»
Matteo, Sarah ginagamit ng sindikato sa socmed: Big SCAM…mag-ingat!
MAY bagong scam na kumakalat ngayon online na sangkot ang celebrity couple na sina Sarah Geronimo at Matteo Guidicelli. Makikita sa viral post ang litrato ng mag-asawa bilang ambassadors ng Philippine Identification System (Philsys), kalakip ang balitang mabibigyan umano ng ayudang P5,000 ang lahat ng may National ID. Para sa kaalaman ng marami, taong 2021.....»»
Bitcoin hits new all-time high
The leading cryptocurrency surged above the $72,000 mark on Monday Bitcoin, the world's highest-valued cryptocurrency, hit a new record on Monday as it surged above $72,000. The token soared to a fresh all-time high of $72,030, breaking the record set in November 2021 and bringing gains for the year so far to n.....»»
Time to revitalize the transformative power of democracy
“Is this the end of the beginning or the beginning of the end?” This mind-boggling question lingered in my mind when I departed Myanmar in December 2021......»»
Abra Mining investors turning up the heat on SEC and PSE to resolve unlisted shares issue
Shareholders of Abra Mining, together with stockbroker Victor Dominquez, are seeking a Congressional inquiry into “the alleged failure of the SEC and PSE to formalize charges against the executives of Abra Mining...” for their role AR’s sale of shares which were unlisted and unregistered during the “basura” (garbage) stock frenzy that heated up in late 2020 and overboiled in early 2021......»»
Historically low valuation
The Philippine stock market bloodbath over the past two years saw the PSEi plummet from 7,122.6 on the last trading day of 2021 to 6,566.4 on the last trading day of 2022 for a 7.8 percent annual retreat and slide even further in 2023 to close at 6,450.0 on the last trading day of the year. In terms of valuation, the PSEi’s 2023 year-end 12.9x price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio does not fare well when compared against its past performance in prior years......»»
WHO sounds alarm over rising measles cases in Western Pacific region
MANILA, March 1 (Xinhua) -- The World Health Organization (WHO) on Friday expressed alarm over a 255 percent increase in measles cases in 2023 from a year earlier in the Western Pacific Region due to gaps in vaccination coverage, disease surveillance, and travel of people from countries experiencing outbreaks. The UN health agency said the region recorded 5,044 cases in 2023, higher than that in 2021 and 2022 co.....»»
FACT CHECK | Self-proclaimed ‘Son of God’ Pastor Apollo Quiboloy indicted in the US in 2021, not 2018
MindaNews fact-checked the claim made by Pastor Apollo Quiboloy, founder of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ, The Name Above Every Name, that he and his lawyers have been waiting for the start of his trial for sex trafficking and other crimes in the United States (US), but that the courts have always postponed it since […].....»»
WHO sounds alarm over rising measles cases in Western Pacific region
MANILA, March 1 (Xinhua) -- The World Health Organization (WHO) on Friday expressed alarm over a 255 percent increase in measles cases in 2023 from a year earlier in the Western Pacific Region due to gaps in vaccination coverage, disease surveillance, and travel of people from countries experiencing outbreaks. The UN health agency said the region recorded 5,044 cases in 2023, higher than that in 2021 and 2022 co.....»»