6 dead, 14 still missing from Costa Concordia accident

14 people are still missing in the semi-submerged Italian cruise ship Costa Concordia, 48 hours after the capsized vessel that killed 6 and injured more than 60 in Giglio Island, Italy.


The sixth body was found just before dawn on Monday, according to an Italian television. Nine passengers and five crew members are still unaccounted for from the accident.


The ship captain, Francesco Schettino, faced accusations from authorities and passengers, saying he made "serious errors of judgment". He was arrested on Saturday, accused of manslaughter and abandoning his ship before all of the more than 4,200 passengers and crew had been evacuated.


The disaster occurred when the ship struck a rock as dinner was being served on Friday night, triggering scenes of panic that witnesses said were like the film "Titanic" with passengers jostling to get on lifeboats and some leaping into the icy sea.

Largest mosque in Central Asia ravaged by fire

Photo: MSNBC

Regarded as the largest mosque in Central Asia, Khazret Sultan mosque in in Astana, Kazakhstan was ravaged by fire on Sunday (Central Asia time).


AP reports the blaze was likely caused by welding equipment that set fire to scaffolding installed beneath the central dome of the mosque which is still under construction.

20 vehicles were deployed in the firefighting operation.

PNoy confident Corona will be convicted

Photo: InfoHiway

President Noynoy Aquino has expressed confidence that the senator-judges will convict Corona, he told reporters during the inauguration of a production plant in Concepcion, Tarlac.

A few hours before the start of the impeachment trial of the Chief Justice, PNoy said the charges against him are "solid" and that the evidence is strong. He expects that the senators-judges will vote based on these evidences presented.

"Palagay ko napaka-solid ng mga charges leveled against the Chief Justice. Ang expectations ko lang ay ang Senado, titignan itong mga akusasyon at huhusga ayon doon sa ebidensya na ihaharap. At palagay ko napakatibay ng ebidensyang ihaharap," the president said.


Asked about the refusal of Corona to resign and if he would advise Corona to take a leave of absence in the duration of the trial, Aquino said he is leaving it up to Corona to decide.


"Matagal na akong nakikiusap doon sa palakad ng Korte Suprema, wala rin naman pong kinahinatnan ‘yun. Siya ay malayang Pilipino, desisyon nya po kung ano ang gusto niyang gawin sa kanyang buhay at sa kanyang katungkulan," he said.


Aquino may not be able to monitor the impeachment trial, saying he has two other meetings scheduled today. He said he has to prepare for the upcoming visits of Singaporean Foreign Minister George Yeo, US Senator John McCain, and Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra.

[via ABS-CBN News]

Golden Globes 2012 Winners

Here is the list of winners (highlighted in green) of the 2012 Golden Globes.

BEST MOTION PICTURE, DRAMA
The Descendants
Moneyball
The Help
Hugo
The Ides of March
War Horse

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA

Glenn Close, Albert Nobbs
Viola Davis, The Help
Rooney Mara, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady
Tilda Swinton, We Need to Talk About Kevin

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA

George Clooney, The Descendants
Leonardo DiCaprio, J. Edgar
Michael Fassbender, Shame
Ryan Gosling, The Ides of March
Brad Pitt, Moneyball

BEST MOTION PICTURE – COMEDY OR MUSICAL
50/50
The Artist
Bridesmaids
Midnight in Paris
My Week With Marilyn

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE – COMEDY OR MUSICAL

Jodie Foster, Carnage
Charlize Theron, Young Adult
Kristen Wiig, Bridesmaids
Michelle Williams, My Week with Marilyn
Kate Winslet, Carnage

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE – COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Jean Dujardin, The Artist
Brendan Gleeson, The Guard
Joseph Gordon-Levitt, 50/50
Ryan Gosling, Crazy, Stupid, Love
Owen Wilson, Midnight in Paris

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
The Adventures of Tintin
Arthur Christmas
Cars 2
Puss in Boots
Rango

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
The Flowers of War (China)
In the Land of Blood and Honey (USA)
The Kid With a Bike (Belgium)
A Separation (Iran)
The Skin I Live In (Spain)

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE

Bérénice Bejo, The Artist
Jessica Chastain, The Help
Janet Mcteer, Albert Nobbs
Octavia Spencer, The Help
Shailene Woodley, The Descendants

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE
Kenneth Branagh, My Week With Marilyn
Albert Brooks, Drive
Jonah Hill, Moneyball
Viggo Mortensen, A Dangerous Method
Christopher Plummer, Beginners

BEST DIRECTOR – MOTION PICTURE
Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris
George Clooney, The Ides of March
Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist
Alexander Payne, The Descendants
Martin Scorsese, Hugo

BEST SCREENPLAY – MOTION PICTURE
Midnight in Paris
The Ides of March
The Descendants
Moneyball

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE – MOTION PICTURE
The Artist
W.E.
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Hugo
War Horse

BEST ORIGINAL SONG – MOTION PICTURE
"Hello Hello," Gnomeo and Juliet
"The Keeper," Machine Gun Preacher
"Lay Your Head Down," Albert Nobbs
"The Living Proof," The Help
"Masterpiece," W.E.

BEST TELEVISION SERIES – DRAMA

American Horror Story (FX)
Boardwalk (HBO)
Boss (STARZ)
Game of Thrones (HBO)
Homeland (SHOWTIME)

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES – DRAMA

Claire Danes, Homeland
Mireille Enos, The Killing
Julianna Margulies, The Good Wife
Madeline Stowe, Revenge
Callie Thorne, Necessary Roughness

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES – DRAMASteve Buscemi, Boardwalk Empire
Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad
Kelsey Grammer, Boss
Jeremy Irons, The Borgias
Damian Lewis, Homeland

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES – COMEDY OR MUSICAL

Laura Dern, Enlightened
Zooey Deschanel, New Girl
Tina Fey, 30 Rock
Laura Linney, The Big C
Amy Poehler, Parks and Recreation

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES – COMEDY OR MUSICALAlec Baldwin, 30 Rock
David Duchovny, Californication
Johnny Galecki, The Big Bang Theory
Thomas Jane, Hung
Matt LeBlanc, Episodes

BEST MINISERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Cinema Verite (HBO)

Downton Abbey (PBS)

The Hour (BBC AMERICA)

Mildred Pierce (HBO)
Too Big To Fail (HBO)

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MINISERIES OR A MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Romolai Garai, The Hour
Diane Lane, Cinema Verite
Elizabeth McGovern, Downton Abbey
Emily Watson, Appropriate Adult
Kate Winslet, Mildred Pierce

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MINISERIES OR A MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Hugh Bonneville, Downton Abbey
Idris Elba, Luther

William Hurt, Too Big To Fail
Bill Nighy, Page Eight
Dominic West, Appropriate Adult

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES, MINISERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Jessica Lange, American Horror Story
Kelly MacDonald, Boardwalk Empire
Maggie Smith, Downton Abbey
Sofia Vergara, Modern Family
Evan Rachel Wood, Mildred Pierce

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES, MINISERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Peter Dinklage, Game of Thrones
Paul Giamatti, Too Big To Fail
Guy Pearce, Mildred Pierce
Tim Robbins, Cinema Verite
Eric Stonestreet, Modern Family

PNoy sets 2013 budget preps in motion

President Noynoy Aquino has given the Department of Budget and Management (CBM) the go signal for preparing the 2013 proposed national budget.


On a January 15, 2012 press release from the DBM, Secretary Florencio Abad said the proposed budget will reach congress a day after PNoy's SONA on July 25.


The administration is establishing a new tradition of early budget preparation so that subsequent national budgets will be enacted and implemented quickly, according to Abad.


The 2013 National Budget Call kicked off on December 29 last year, beginning with the facilitation of the National Budget Fora within the DBM. The fora were conducted on January 16 and 17, with the participation of national government agencies and various government corporations.


The start of budget preparation process is signalled by the Budget Forum, in which departments and government agencies, as well as government-owned and controlled firms are properly informed of the guidelines and requirements.


Abad said the action will strike out ambiguity in the preparation process and encourage all departments to draft their respective budget proposals in a timely, accurate, and compliant manner.


Abad also noted that the 2013 Budget Preparation Exercise will be oriented around the administration's five Key Result Areas (KRAs):

1. overall reduction of poverty
2. establishment of good governance
3. improvement of economic services
4. strengthening of national security
5. increased focus on climate change and environmental issues

"The early budget preparation will also flesh out remaining lump-sum funds from agency budgets, fortify the mechanisms of Regional Development Councils, expand civil society engagement, and implement the Administration's 'bottom-up' approach to drafting the budget," Abad said.

Girl who thought she didn't deserve to be in UST gets bashed by netizens

Read her Tumblr blog entry below.

Transcript:

Like I said, hindi ako bilib sa school na 'to. I didn't take the test. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. I don't deserve to be in UST.

Anyway, kahapon, nalabas na 'yung results the first batch nila. Wala lang. Puro bobo lamang 'yung nakuha nila. Well, karamihan. I mean, ang dami kong kilala na matatalino pero hindi nakapasa. Samantalang 'yung mga kakilala kong tatanga-tanga, nakapasa. SRSLY. Ano bang problema ng school na 'to? NAKAKAHIYA SILA.

Sa twitter, ang yayabang ng mga nakapasa pero mga bobo naman. I mean, sinasabi nila na bakit bitter daw ang mga taong hindi nakapasa. Sa isip-isip ko lang, sa tingin mo. Ikaw? Kung 'di ka nakapasa? 'Di ka magiging bitter? HAHA. Funny. Dun' pa lamang, nakikita mo na na bobo talaga siya.

Tapos, napag-usapan di namen' ng mga classmate ko 'yung mga possible reasons kung bakit pumipili ng mga BOBO ang UST. Maraming reasons pero 'di ko na dapat state dito.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Walang kwentang school talaga. Knowing na Catholic Church  'yun ah. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

Siguro, kaya 'di nakapasa 'yung mga kakilala kong matatalino kase, they know na sa sobrang talino nila, mas makakapasa pa sila sa ibang magandang school at syempre, since walang kwenta ang UST, wala ng mag-eenroll sa kanila.

Did she ever think of thinking before posting something? She is getting massive attention in Facebook and Tumblr.


The Tumblr blogger, theindifferentmasochist, has deleted the blog entry. She said in her profile that her account is a "parody account", and posted recently that she is just a "12-year old kid who might have suicidal tendencies."

I really wish well for this girl. She surely is having a hard time. Too bad.

Exercise makes you fit and your salary increase

Exercise does not only trims your waistline, develop your abs, and makes you fit and confident, substantially, it will also increase your salary, according to scientists.

Jogging, swimming, lifting weights, and other methods of trimming down could boost income by up to nine percent. A study also revealed that even those moderate exercises such as a regular walk can have a positive effect on your earnings.

The reason? Employers may notice that if you participate in a regular activity, such as going to the gym about three times a week, or having your sports at least once a week, they may see you as more determined and dedicated to your work.

Employees who are fit are more likely to work harder due to the psychological and physical benefits of keeping the right bod and right attitude.

The study examined two questionnaires in the US involving more than 12,000 people.Details about salaries and the extent to which people exercised were analysed.


The researchers found that people exercising three times a week could expect a salary between six and nine per cent greater than those who do not.


For those exercising between one and three times a month, the benefit was still an additional five percent.


The report, by Dr Vasilios Kosteas from Cleveland State University in Ohio, said: "In addition to the positive impacts on heart health, weight and other medical issues, studies show that exercise leads to improved mental function, psychological condition and higher energy levels."


"All three of these traits can translate into higher earnings."



Source: Daily Mail
Photo: Island Cove

Ronald Singson freed from Hong Kong jail

Former Ilocos Sur representative arrives home after a 10-month spending in Hong Kong Jail. Photo: Inquirer

Former Ilocos Sur representative Ronald Singson was freed on Saturday after a 10-month jail period in Hong Kong for illegal drugs possession.

Singson flew back home on board a family-owned plane, arriving at 4:50 PM at the Vigan Airport in Vigan City. He was with daughter Sam, a nanny, and father, Ilocos Sur Gov. Luis "Chavit" Singson.


Singson was convicted February 24 of last year by Hong Kong Wan Chai District Court Judge Joseph Yau and sentenced to 18 months in jail after he admitted the possession of 6.67 grams of cocaine and two tablets of Valium at the Chek Lap Kok International Airport on July 11, 2010.

Singson was released in less than 10 months due to good behavior.

Janelle Manahan visits Ramgen's grave

Janelle Manahan visited on Saturday the grave of boyfriend Ramgen Revilla, who was killed on October 29, 2011.

For the first time since the most tragic incident in her life, Janelle Manahan visited her slain boyfriend and actor-politician Ramgen Revilla in his grave on Saturday.


Janelle spent a couple of minutes alone at boyfriend's grave. She told reporters that she felt closer because Ramgen was just there.


Atty. Argee Guevarra, Janelle's private legal counsel, had wanted to visit Ramgen, but had to finish rehabilitation and therapy to regain her strength first. She visited Ramgen's grave in Angelus Eternal Garden in Imus, Cavite on Saturday afternoon with her mother and lawyers Guevarra and Resty Mendoza.


Guevarra said their camp intended to start the case again from scratch because of the anomalous inhibition of of Parañaque City Assistant Prosecutor Leah Roma, who is handling the case of Janelle, Friday of last week.


Guevarra said that they have asked the Department of Justice to create a task force to conduct preliminary investigations to help them build their case.


Source: Inquirer

Afghan boy suicide bombers tell how they are brainwashed into believing they will survive

Adbul Samat realised the lies of his recruiters minutes before he was due to execute an attack.

The mission was as simple as touching two wires together, the little boy was promised. The resulting blast would obliterate the American infidels – but God would spare him from the flame and shrapnel. Abdul Samat would be unharmed and free to run back to the men who had fitted his bomb vest.

Blindfolded and rigged with his explosive payload, the boy, who was about 13, was driven to his target in the Afghan city of Kandahar, after being plucked from the streets of Quetta in neighbouring Pakistan. Minutes before he was due to execute the attack, however, Abdul realised the lies of his recruiters seeking to turn him into a human bomb.


"When I opened my eyes, I saw it was a very black thing they wanted me to do," he later recalled.


"I began to cry and shout. People came out of their houses and asked what was wrong. I showed them I had something in my vest. Then they were scared too and called the police who took the bombs off me."


Afghan security officials say that Abdul's story is not unusual. In the past year, insurgents have used a wave of child suicide bombers, some as young as 10, on the ruthless assumption that small boys can pass through checkpoints and security cordons more easily than men.

Read more in The Telegraph...