Other News

Manning wins fifth MVP award, Super Bowl beckons

Peyton Manning claimed a fifth National Football League most valuable player award on Saturday (February 1) but the Denver Broncos quarterback will need another Super Bowl ring to cement his place among the all-time greats. Manning, who will lead the Broncos against the Seattle Seahawks in the Super Bowl on Sunday, was the clear favorite in the MVP race after he set single season marks for touchdown passes (55) and yards (5,477). Manning, who had neck surgery in 2011 and missed […]

Sony, Lenovo in talks on possible PC business alliance: report

(Reuters) – Japan’s Sony Corp and Chinese technology company Lenovo Group are in talks about a possible joint venture to take over Sony’s loss-making Vaio PC business overseas, Japanese broadcaster NHK reported on Saturday. The Japanese electronics and media giant called the report inaccurate while acknowledging that it was looking at various possibilities for the unit. “Sony continues to address various options for the PC business, but the press report on a possible PC business alliance between Sony and Lenovo […]

Japan down Canada to make maiden Davis Cup quarters

(Reuters) – Hosts Japan sailed into the Davis Cup quarter-finals for the first time with a 4-1 victory against an injury-plagued Canada on Sunday. Japanese number one Kei Nishikori was leading 6-2 1-0 on the indoor hard court at Tokyo’s Ariake Coliseum when his opponent Frank Dancevic retired with injury, surrendering the tie in their first meeting since 1938. Nishikori pocketed the first set in 29 minutes and broke Dancevic in the first game of the second […]

“Captain Phillips” And “Her” Are Big Winners At Writers Guild Awards

The writers of “Her” and “Captain Phillips” were given top honors by their peers on Saturday (February 1) at the annual Writers Guild Awards, a strong predictor of success in the screenplay categories at the Oscars in a month’s time. Spike Jonze won the best original screenplay award for “Her,” a tale set in the near future about a man in a romantic relationship with a lifelike computer operating system. “It’s a high honor coming from writers,” Jonze, 44, […]

Demolition experts bring down Frankfurt skyscraper

Thousands of spectators have watched the demolition of a skyscraper in Frankfurt that once formed part of the university. The collapse took all of ten seconds. Almost one ton of explosives inserted into 1,500 drilled holes were used on Sunday to raze the so-called “AfE Turm” (“AfE Tower”), standing at 116 meters (381 ft). Police estimate that more than 10,000 people gathered in the center of Germany’s financial hub Frankfurt to watch the spectacular demolition. […]

Palace insists on “no-build zone policy” in eastern Visayas

MANILA, Feb 2 (PNA) — Despite some calls by typhoon “Yolanda” survivors for the abolition of the no-build zone policy, Malacanang on Sunday has remained firm in keeping its policy for the safety of residents. Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said on state-run dzRB Radyo ng Bayan that the policy will continue to be implemented along the eastern seaboard of Eastern Visayas. Valte said that this was to avoid another calamity from wrecking havoc as […]

Palace expresses relief over peaceful end of Quezon City demolition

MANILA, Feb 2 (PNA) — Malacanang on Sunday expressed relief over what began as a violent demolition of shanties in Agham Road, Quezon City which later ended peacefully. Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said on state-run dzRB Radyo ng Bayan that although informal settlers refused to leave their homes at first, some of them eventually gave in. “It ended well in the sense that the day after, they dismantled their own houses (themselves),” Valte said […]

Storm “Basyang” kills 3, affects 42,000 people

MANILA, Feb.2 (PNA) — At least three people were killed while more than 42,000 individuals in Visayas and Mindanao were affected due to floods and landslides caused by heavy rain brought by tropical depression “Basyang”, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said on Sunday. NDRRMC identified the fatalities as Jose Haji Aque Babatid; 22, resident of Highway, Brgy. Baliwagan, Balamban, Cebu; Danny Tundag. 24, Daanbantayan, Cebu; and Dionesio Paler, 66, resident of […]

No special birthday plans so far for Aquino — Palace

MANILA, Feb 2 (PNA) — Five days from now, President Benigno S. Aquino will be turning 54, but according to a Malacanang official, the President has not yet planned anything special. It has been known that the President has always treated his birthday as an ordinary working day. On his birthday last year, the President visited a 15-year-old bone cancer patient at the Philippine Orthopedic Center in Quezon City. Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said […]

Actor Maximilian Schell dead at 83

(Reuters) — Austrian actor Maximilian Schell, who won an Academy Award for his role as a German defence attorney in the 1961 film “Judgment at Nuremberg”, has died aged 83. The Vienna-born actor died overnight at a clinic in Innsbruck as the result of a “sudden and serious illness”, his agent, Patricia Baumbauer, told the Austria Press Agency on Saturday. One of the best known foreign actors in U.S. films, Schell starred on stage and screen on both sides of the […]

Woody Allen’s adopted daughter revisits sexual abuse claim

(Reuters) — Woody Allen’s adopted daughter, Dylan Farrow, on Saturday (February 1) revisited her sexual abuse claim against the filmmaker in a letter on the website of the New York Times, as she questioned his acclaim in Hollywood. The revival of the accusation against Allen comes just ahead of this year’s Oscar Awards, where the 78-year-old filmmaker is nominated for best original screenplay for his drama “Blue Jasmine” starring Cate Blanchett. Allen was never arrested or prosecuted in the decades-old […]

Estrada settles P613 million power bill of Manila gov’t

MANILA, Feb.2 (PNA) — Mayor Joseph Estrada has already settled the P613 million power bills to Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) incurred by previous administration. Vice Mayor Isko Moreno said that the P613,697.511 Meralco bill is one of the biggest issues addressed by Mayor Estrada, noting the efficiency in collection of taxes this year. He said that under the leadership of Mayor Estrada, the city government has collected 3.5 billion pesos in less than 30 days […]