Us asian post june 10, 2015

Celebrating

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INMENT

Sarah still gets ‘kilig’ working with Piolo See PAGE 7

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Vol. 4. No. 37 LOS ANGELES

A Balita Media Publication

Wednesday - Tuesday, June 10 - 16, 2015

PHL gets G7’s back in China dispute Manila, Philippines (AFP) Sunday 6/7/2015 – The Philippines Sunday welcomed reports that the G7 summit would express concern about unilateral efforts to assert sovereignty claims in the disputed South China Sea. Regional alarm is growing at moves by China aggressively to stake its claim to most of the sea, including a large-scale island-building programme.

The United States has also urged China and other nations to halt reclamation.

Philippine presidential spokesman Herminio Coloma said Manila had been seeking more global attention on the issue after President Benigno Aquino raised it on numerous overseas visits.

John Kirton, director of think-tank the G7 Research Group, has said maritime disputes between China and its neighbours would be on the agenda of the summit starting Sunday in Germany.

Japan’s Yomiuri newspaper also said Saturday the summit would take up the issue.

Citing sources, the paper said a closing statement

would express concern about unilateral attempts to change the status quo in the East China Sea and the South China Sea. It said no country would be named.

The Group of Seven links the leaders of Germany, Britain, Canada, France, Italy, Japan and the United States.

Asked about the reports, Coloma said that “having talks on achieving a peaceful and orderly settlement of the issue in the... South China Sea corresponds with the position taken by our country”.

He recalled that Aquino had raised his concern in a recent visit to Japan and had also brought it up at a Southeast Asian summit in April and during a tour of the European Union last year.

“The position of these many countries is that they understand the value of the freedom of aviation and the freedom of navigation and the orderly process of trade and global commerce,” Coloma told reporters.

Aquino last week likened present-day China to See G7’S BACK, page 2

(TOKYO, Japan) President Benigno S. Aquino III delivers his speech during the press event with the Japan National Press Club at the Conference Hall of the Nippon Press Center Building on Friday (June 05) for his State Visit in Japan. (MNS photo)

US says data on four million fed workers hacked

By Andrew Beatty

Gifts from Emmanuel and Jinkee’s Heart Foundation in Maitum, Sarangani (June 6, 2015 ) – Congressman Emmanuel Pacquiao and Vice Governor Jinkee Pacquiao are together in giving school supplies and packed meals to pupils during the Balik Eskwelang Handog ng Emmanuel and Jinkee’s Heart Foundation on June 1 at Maitum Municipal Gymnasium. Almost 1,000 elementary pupils from different schools in the municipality benefitted from the event. This project, which is in partnership with the Provincial Vice Governor’s Office, intended to benefit about 7,000 elementary pupils in the seven municipalities of the province. (Carl Clemence/Vice Governor’s Office)

Washington, United States (AFP) Thursday 6/4/2015 – The US government on Thursday admitted hackers accessed the personal data of at least four million current and former federal employees, in a vast cyber-attack suspected to have originated in China.

“As a result of the incident,” uncovered in April, the Office of Personnel Management said it “will send notifications to approximately four million individuals.”

It added that additional exposures “may come to light.”

The government’s personnel department handles hundreds of thousands of sensitive security clearances and background investigations on prospective employees each year.

It was not immediately clear whether the hack affected President Barack Obama, other senior government officials or the intelligence community.

The Washington Post and other US media cited government officials as saying that Chinese hackers were behind the breach.

But the Chinese embassy in Washington countered that such attacks would not be allowed under Chinese law.

“Jumping to conclusions and making hypothetical accusations is not responsible and counterproductive,” embassy spokesman Zhu Haiquan said.

“Chinese laws prohibit cyber crimes of all forms. China has made great efforts to combat cyber attacks in accordance with Chinese laws and regulations,” he added.

The FBI and Department of Homeland Security are said to be leading the investigation. The FBI in a statement said it “will continue to investigate and hold accountable those who pose a threat in cyberspace.”

Officials refused to assign attribution or motive, but pointed affected parties to measures that could prevent fraud and identify theft.

The government will, through a third party, offer $1 million in identity theft protection services at no cost.

See HACKED, page 2

German, Filipino die as boat Obama struggles sinks off Bahrain: coast guard for deterrence Dubai, United Arab Emirates Causeway linking the archipelago amid wave (AFP) Saturday 6/6/2015 – Two with Saudi Arabia. men, a German and a Filipino, They were said to be in good of cyberattacks have drowned after the boat they were aboard sank in Gulf waters off Bahrain, the official BNA news agency quoted the coast guard as saying.

Another four passengers, whose nationalities were not given, were rescued following the incident Friday near the King Fahd

health.

Details were not immediately available on the type of the vessel, which was towed to a nearby naval base.

There was also no information available as of presstime on its origin and destination nor the cause of the accident.

VP Binay floats Erap as running mate in 2016 MANILA, June 5 (Mabuhay) – Vice President Jejomar Binay on Friday floated former President and now Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada as his possible running mate in the 2016 elections — a reversal of their tandem in 2010.

“Hindi na ErapBinay, Binay-Erap Vice President Jejomar Binay (left) huddles with Manila na,” Binay said in Mayor Joseph Estrada (center) and United Nationalist Allian interview with ance spokesperson Toby Tiangco during a visit to the MaCity Hall on Wednesday. Binay and Estrada were mum reporters in Naval, nila on the agenda of the meeting.(MNS photo) Biliran. “Ang tawag doon, BEST. Alam mo ano ang ‘BEST’? Binay-Estrada.”

In 2010, Estrada sought the presidency with Binay, then mayor of Makati City, as his running-mate. Estrada lost to President Benigno Aquino III, but won in Manila when he ran for mayor in 2013.

Asked if Estrada is amenable to the tandem, Binay said: “Sa tingin ko.”

See VP BINAY, page 2

By Andrew Beatty

Washington, United States (AFP) Saturday 6/6/2015 – The audacious hack of data on four million US government employees exposed America’s shaky cyber defenses and the Obama administration’s ongoing struggle to develop an effective deterrence.

On April 1 -- in the midst of tense negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program – President Barack See OBAMA STRUGGLES, page 2

4 Filipino climbers rescued after Sabah quake

MANILA, June 6 (Mabuhay) – At least four Filipino climbers on Mount Kinabalu in Sabah were rescued after a magnitude-6.0 earthquake hit the area Friday morning.

In a statement released Saturday afternoon, the Philippine Embassy in Kuala Lumpur identified the Filipino climbers as Mary Nicole Gail Angeles, Kenneth Cueto Almonte, Anna Rose Gumantaron, and Michael William Echevarria.

Foreign and local tourists See SABAH QUAKE, page 2

President Barack Obama walks with the G7 leaders following a family photo at Schloss Elmau in Bavaria, Germany, Sunday, June 7, 2015. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

Beijing calls reports China involved in US hack ‘irresponsible’ Beijing, China (AFP) Friday 6/5/2015 – Beijing on Friday labeled as “irresponsible” reports that Chinese hackers were behind a massive cyber-attack on personal data of millions of current and former US federal employees.

The US government on Thursday said that hackers accessed the personal data of at least four million current and former federal employees. Officials told US media that China was suspected.

“Cyber-attacks are generally anonymous and conducted across borders and their origins are hard

to trace,” foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei said at a regular briefing.

“Not to carry out a deep investigation and keep using words such as ‘possible’ is irresponsible and unscientific,” he added.

“As a result of the incident,” uncovered in April, the US Office of Personnel Management said it “will send notifications to approximately four million individuals.”

It added that additional exposures “may come to light.”

The government’s personnel See IRRESPONSIBLE, page 2

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Wednesday - Tuesday, June 10 - 16, 2015

LOS ANGELES

IRRESPONSIBLE From page 1

TOKYO, Japan) President Benigno S. Aquino III views the message of his mother, former President Corazon C. Aquino, written on November 13, 1986 at the guest room of the Nippon Press Center Building. The press event with the Japan National Press Club was held on Friday (June 05) during his State Visit in Japan. (MNS photo)

Palace: Aquino to mark 117th PHL Independence Day in Iloilo town MANILA, June 6 (Mabuhay) – President Benigno Aquino III will be in Iloilo next Friday to lead activities for the country’s 117th Indepdendence Day, Malacañang said Saturday.

Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said the Iloilo activities will be in Sta. Barbara town where the Philippine flag was raised outside Luzon for the first time.

“Doon ang celebration. Meron yang background, doon sa Sta. Barbara may mahalagang historical event ... that led to our independence,” Valte said on government-run dzRB radio.

Sta. Barbara’s website said the Philippine flag was raised outside

Luzon for the first time at the town plaza, when the revolutionary government of the Visayas was inaugurated on Nov. 17, 1898.

The town then became the base of the Revolution forces.

Aquino’s first major engagement in Iloilo on June 12 will be the flag-raising at Sta. Barbara town, where he will give a speech.

He is to pass by the church in Molo district before heading for the old provincial capitol for the vin d’honneur scheduled at 10 a.m.

Some 50 ambassadors are expected to attend the ceremony, along with members of the Cabinet and of Congress. (MNS)

Gov’t prepares to discuss details of PHL-Japan VFA – DFA MANILA, June 6 (Mabuhay) – The government is preparing to discuss details on the proposed Visiting Forces Agreement between the Philippines and Japan, amid China’s aggressive reclamation works in disputed areas in the South China Sea. Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) spokesperson Charles Jose said, “Details still have to be discussed and agreed on after the President proposed the idea.”

President Benigno Aquino III on Friday announced the proposed defense agreement while he was still in Japan.

In an interview with Japanese reporters in Tokyo, Aquino said he and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Thursday agreed to start talks on VFA. Aquino’s four-day state visit to Japan began last Tuesday.

Presently, the Philippines has VFAs with the US and Australia.

Such a defense deal provides for joint exercises and foreign military presence in the archipelago.

On the other hand, both Japan and the Philippines are locked in territorial rows with China.

department handles hundreds of thousands of sensitive security clearances and background investigations on prospective employees each year.

It was not immediately clear whether the hack affected President Barack Obama, other senior government officials or the intelligence community.

The Washington Post and other US media cited government officials as saying that Chinese hackers were behind the breach.

“We have seen a lot of media reports and opinions like this recently,” Hong said.

The Chinese embassy in Washington countered that such attacks would not be allowed under Chinese law.

“Chinese laws prohibit cybercrimes of all forms. China has made great efforts to combat cyber-attacks in accordance with Chinese laws and regulations,” embassy spokesman Zhu Haiquan said.

The FBI and Department of Homeland Security are said to be leading an investigation into the attack. The FBI in a statement said it “will continue to investigate and hold accountable those who pose a threat in cyber-space.”

The government said it will, through a third party, offer $1 million in identity theft protection services at no cost.

“Protecting our federal employee data from malicious cyber-incidents is of the highest priority,” Office of Personnel Management director Katherine Archuleta said.

Her agency said the intrusion may have begun late last year and “predated the adoption of the tougher security controls”.

The new measures include restricting remote access, screening

business connections and deploying anti-malware software.

Major Breaches-The incident is the latest in a series of major breaches that have shown the vulnerability of the federal government.

Last year Russian hackers are believed to have accessed unclassified computer systems at the White House and State Department.

Hackers stole information on 100,000 taxpayers from online computers of the US Internal Revenue Service.

The United States has struck an increasingly strident tone about cyber-attacks in recent months.

Admiral Michael Rogers, who heads the National Security Agency and US Cyber Command, has said that future attacks could prompt a response with conventional weapons.

In February, US Director of National Intelligence James Clapper said a steady stream of low-level cyber-attacks posed the most likely danger to the United States, rather than a potential digital “armageddon.”

Obama has ranked China and Russia’s cyber-attack capabilities

THE US ASIAN POST

as “very good,” Iran’s as “good,” and North Korea’s as not “particularly good.”

China operates a vast domestic security and surveillance apparatus.

In a recent white paper, Beijing said it would “expedite the development of a cyber-force” within the People’s Liberation Army.

In 2013, US Internet security firm Mandiant said its hundreds of investigations showed that groups hacking into US newspapers, government agencies, and companies “are based primarily in China and that the Chinese government is aware of them”.

One group, it said, was believed to be a branch of the People’s Liberation Army called Unit 61398, and digital signatures from its cyber-attacks were traced back to a building in Shanghai.

Last year, five members of the unit were indicted by US federal prosecutors on charges of stealing information from companies, including nuclear plant manufacturer Westinghouse, SolarWorld and US Steel. China is increasingly concerned about US cyberspying and has ordered many government departments to avoid using foreign technology.

SABAH QUAKE From page 1

were stuck on the 4,095-meter (13,435 feet) Mount Kinabalu when the struck some 54 km (33 miles) away from Sabah capital Kota Kinabalu.

The statement said majority of the rescued climbers were Malaysians, along with 38 Singaporeans, three British, four Thais, and at least one each from Turkey, China, and Japan.

It added that rescue efforts are still ongoing for the other trapped tourists.

Meanwhile, the statement said the Philippine Embassy in Kuala Lumpur has been in contact with the Filipino community in the area to monitor their situation after the earthquake.

“As of the moment, the Embassy has not received news of any Filipino adversely affected by the earthquake. Nevertheless, we are closely monitoring developments and stands ready to provide assistance,” said Vice Consul Francis Herrera. (MNS)

surveys on possible presidential bets, although Poe has yet to announce her plans for 2016.

Binay, who is currently embroiled in a corruption scandal, said Estrada is one of those being considered by a committee in his party, the United Nationalist Alliance, in charge of looking for his running mate.

“We have a search committee

na talagang naghahanap ng magiging katambal ko,” he said.

He said the others being considered are Poe and Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte. Both, however, were not inclined to partner with him.

Binay has been very vocal about his intention to run for president in 2016 as early as 2010. (MNS)

VP BINAY From page 1

Told that Estrada is choosing between him and Senator Grace Poe as his presidential bet in 2016, Binay said Estrada has assured him of his support in next year’s elections.

“Ang talagang sinabi niya, kami ay magkakasama sa eleksyon sa 2016,” said Binay.

Both Poe and Binay have been performing well in pre-election

OBAMA STRUGGLES From page 1

Obama signed an executive order authorizing sanctions against foreign-based hackers.

For the administration, it was a critical step to address a growing national security threat, a threat every bit as real as that posed by Tehran.

Part of the strategy was to boost cyber defenses – new versions of the government’s intrusion detection system “Einstein” would be fast-tracked and the National Security Agency would be given more powers to screen for potential attacks.

But defenses – as the latest Chinaoriginated breach at the Office of Personnel Management showed – are imperfect, quickly outdated and expensive to keep up.

The Department of Defense alone has an estimated seven million networked devices to protect.

So the White House looked at developing an effective deterrence.

“We’ve talked a lot about what we are doing to protect our network defenses and increase public-private cooperation on information sharing,” said an administration official, who asked not to be named.

“But you are also seeing an effort to develop some new response capabilities.”

Prosecuting offenders would play a role.

Last year, five officers from Unit 61398 of the Third Department of the People’s Liberation Army of China were charged with spying on six US companies in the nuclear, metals and solar sectors.

On the scale of deterrence options, indictments, like sanctions, sat usefully between diplomatic complaints or “demarches” unlikely to be a game-changer and kinetic military action.

HACKED From page 1

“Protecting our federal employee data from malicious cyber incidents is of the highest priority,” Office of Personnel Management director Katherine Archuleta said.

Her agency said the intrusion may have begun late last year and “predated the adoption of the tougher security controls,” adding that government staff will be notified from June 8 if they are affected.

Latest in series of breaches The new measures include restricting remote access, screening business connections and deploying anti-malware software.

It is just the latest in a series of major breaches that have shown the vulnerability of the federal government.

Last year Russian hackers are believed to have accessed unclassified computer systems at the White House and State Department. Hackers stole information on 100,000 taxpayers from the online computers of the US Internal Revenue Service.

Obama has ranked China and Russia’s cyber-attack capabilities as “very good,” Iran’s as “good,” and North Korea’s as not “particularly good.”

China operates a vast security and surveillance apparatus, with the ruling Communist Party maintaining a resolute grip on power.

In a recent white paper, Beijing said it would “expedite the development of a cyberforce” within the People’s Liberation Army.

The United States has voiced an increasingly strident tone about cyber-attacks in recent months.

Admiral Michael Rogers, who heads the National Security Agency and US Cyber Command, has said that future attacks could prompt a response with conventional weapons.

In February, US Director of National Intelligence James Clapper said a steady stream of low-level cyber-attacks posed the most likely danger to the United States, rather than a potential digital “armageddon.”

He said foreign “actors” are conducting reconnaissance and gaining digital access to US infrastructure systems, so they can launch a cyber-attack if necessary in the future.

There is growing concern that criminals, terror groups or spy agencies could target critical infrastructure such as power grids or air traffic control systems.

The Government Accountability Office warned in April of growing cyber threats against America and said the danger was “heightened by weaknesses in the federal government’s approach to protecting federal systems and information.”

The National Security Agency has reportedly been given wider powers to spy on Internet traffic in search of computer hacking by foreign governments or others.

G7’S BACK From page 1

Nazi Germany during a speech in Japan, hinting the world cannot continue to appease Beijing over its South China Sea claims.

The waters are also partially claimed by the Philippines as well as Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam.

THE US ASIAN POST Wednesday - Tuesday, June 10 - 16, 2015

Aquino lashes China: Respect our rights TOKYO, June 5 (Mabuhay) – President Aquino lashed back at the spokesperson of the Chinese Foreign Ministry and reminded China of the contents of an agreement that it entered into over the South China Sea. Asked about recent comments from China in a forum with the Japan National Press Club, Aquino cited relevant paragraphs from the 2002 ASEAN-China Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea or DOC, including one where the concerned parties agreed “to resolve their territorial and jurisdictional disputes by peaceful means, without resorting to the threat or use of force, through friendly consultations and negotiations… in accordance with universally recognized principles of international law, including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.” Another paragraph enjoined the parties to “exercise self-restraint in the conduct of activities that would complicate or escalate disputes and affect peace and stability...” and to refrain “from action of inhabiting on the presently uninhabited islands, reefs… and other features.”

The President said China’s reclamation activities violated these provisions.

“So, perhaps, we should request the spokesperson to revisit the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea to refresh his memory to that which they pledged to,” Aquino said.

“And the other aspect is something that we have often stated, perhaps in more private discussions, we were taught when we were younger that the ability to come to an agreement sometimes necessitates, or a lot of times necessitates your putting yourself in the other shoes. Look at it from the other perspective. If the situation were reversed, would they accept not meddling in, you know… If China’s and the Philippines’ position were reversed, would they accept the advice that they are now telling countries as small as ours?”

Aquino said the Philippines has delayed the repair of an airstrip in the Kalayaan Group of Islands since the parties entered into the DOC. “I think we have delayed our repair of the landing strip that services our community within the Kalayaan Island groups. The delay of the repair makes all the repairs even that much more extensive down the line. This facility existed before 2002, and that is important because there was an agreement to preserve the status quo, starting from 2002,” he said.

He insisted China must respect “our rights” and justified why the Philippines is questioning China’s territorial claim before an arbitral tribunal.

“One only has to look at the map… I guess one of the questions we would ask the Chinese people were: ‘If you were the Philippines and suddenly you would have one coastline, or in effect, your whole west coast is gone, you will be retained with the east coast, would you say: ‘Yes, please take half of our waterways?” I don’t think any country would willingly do that. So we are just standing up for our rights. We respect everybody else’s rights. We ask that our rights also be respected,” Aquino said.

Aquino also denied that the Philippines is undertaking similar reclamation activities in the contested area.

“Now, when certain countries say everybody is reclaiming at this point in time, the Philippines vehemently denies that we are reclaiming anything at this point in time. Nor are we even repairing that which already existed before these agreements were entered into,” he said.

Even as Aquino welcomed American support, he insisted that the Philippines’ Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) with the United States is not directed at “any entity.”

“Our Constitution prohibits foreign bases in our country. But having said that, it does allow rotational presence. EDCA envisions an increase of rotational presence to foster, again, interoperability and transfer of knowledge and perhaps technology between America and the Philippines…

“So, I guess, EDCA is just a further refinement of a very strong and very long lasting relationship between the Philippines and America.

And we see this as an improvement in making those agreed-upon terms in the various treaties and agreements that much more real. It does exist, (not) just in paper, but it is an actual ability again to render support to each other… We have to emphasize, EDCA is not directed at any entity. It is just a refinement of a longstanding defense treaty between America and the Philippines,” he said.

Aquino is hoping that maritime disputes, including those in the South and East China Seas, would be resolved following the example of the Philippines and Indonesia which concluded an agreement on the delimitation of maritime boundaries.

Aquino said this has paved the way for closer cooperation in antipiracy and humanitarian assistance.

“Amongst the things that are now possible with Indonesia is that, in the issue of protecting the environment or even anti-piracy operations, the Indonesian Navy and the Philippine Navy can patrol this very extensive area more thoroughly, in the sense that now that we know precisely where the boundaries are, we can take alternate patrols that will cover these areas closer to 24/7 than what is now possible,” he said.

“So again, perhaps at some point in time, the issues in the South China Sea/West Philippine Sea/East Sea will be resolved, and that will enable everybody to be even more cooperative in addressing humanitarian disaster assistance needs, anti-piracy efforts, and so on and so forth. So we are hoping that perhaps the model that Indonesia and the Philippines are now doing in this part of the world can serve as an example of what is possible.” (MNS)

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OPINION

In Sarajevo, Pope says world haunted by atmosphere of war

By Rusmir Smajilhodzic / Olivier Baube

Sarajevo, Bosnia-Hercegovina (AFP) Saturday 6/6/2015 – Pope Francis on Saturday bemoaned the “atmosphere of war” haunting the world as he urged the people of war-scarred Sarajevo to provide an example of how different cultures and religions can coexist peacefully.

The 78-year-old was given a rapturous reception by a 65,000-strong crowd at the city’s Olympic stadium and tens of thousands more took to the streets to greet him.

Many conflicts across the planet amount to “a kind of third world war being fought piecemeal and, in the context of global communications, we sense an atmosphere of war,” the pontiff said in a mass at the stadium during a one-day visit to the Bosnian capital.

“Some wish to incite and foment this atmosphere deliberately,” he added, attacking those who want to foster division for political ends or profit from war through arms dealing.

“But war means children, women and the elderly in refugee camps, it means forced displacement, destroyed houses, streets and factories: above all countless shattered lives.

“You know this well having experienced it here.”

The pontiff had earlier referred to Sarajevo, with its synagogues, churches and mosques, as a “European Jerusalem”, a crossroads of cultures, nations and religions which required “the building of new bridges while maintaining and restoring older ones.”

In a reference to the legacy of the war, which left Sarajevo in ruins and Bosnia permanently divided along ethnic lines, he urged the country’s Muslim, Serb and Croat communities to reach out to each other at every level.

“In so doing, even the deep wounds of the recent past will be set aside,” Francis said in a meeting with officials of the rotating presidency.

Later, at a meeting with Catholic, Muslim, Jewish and Orthodox religious figures, he said Sarajevo could reclaim its former status as a beacon of multiculturalism.

“In a world unfortunately rent by conflicts, this land can become a message: attesting that it is possible to live together side by side, in diversity but

rooted in common humanity.”

The pope boarded a plane back to Rome at around 1840 GMT, after spending roughly 10 hours in the Bosnian capital.

Lack of trust Despite a show of unity to welcome the pope, it was not hard to find reminders on Saturday of how fragile Bosnia’s unity is.

It was noticeable that there were far more red and white Croatian flags being waved than Bosnia’s blue and yellow ones.

The national anthem played for Francis on his arrival remains without words because the three communities have been unable to agree a common text.

Katarina Dzrek, a Bosnian Croat who was in the stadium crowd said: “Bosnia is in need of the message of peace the pope will send because there is still a lack of trust between the communities.”

The 1992-95 Bosnian war left nearly 100,000 people dead and resulted in half the population, some two million people, being forced to leave their homes, many of them never to return.

More than a third of Bosnia’s pre-war ethnic Croat population have left the country which is now divided in two between a Bosnian Serb republic and a Croat-Muslim federation.

At the city’s cathedral Francis heard testimony from Catholics who suffered during the war. Ljubica Sekerija, a nun, told him how she had been beaten and threatened with death by “foreign soldiers” if she did not convert to Islam, while Jozo Puskaric recounted his four months spent in a concentration camp. “It was 120 days that felt like 120 years for me,” the priest told Francis.

Francis said interfaith dialogue was vital to overcoming the legacy of such bitter memories.

“Dialogue is a school of humanity and a builder of unity,” he said at the inter-faith meeting he attended. Around 40 percent of the population of Bosnia is of Islamic heritage, just over 30 percent are from the Serbian Orthodox tradition and around one in 10, almost uniquely Croats, describe themselves as Catholics.

Francis is the second pope to visit Sarajevo after Jean-Paul II, who braved a snowstorm to come two years after the end of the war.

World’s last tribes on collision course with modern society Washington, United States (AFP) Friday 6/5/2015 – Threatened by disease and deforestation, the world’s last isolated tribes in the Amazon are on a collision course with modern society like never before, experts say.

Entire cultures of people are the verge of being wiped out in Peru and Brazil, according to a series of papers published this week in the journal Science.

“We are on the threshold of large extinctions of cultures,” Francisco Estremadoyro, director of the Lima-based nonprofit ProPurus, was quoted as saying.

“There is no question that this is a historic moment.”

While it is difficult to know precisely what is going on inside remote tribes, researchers say dangerous encounters with modern people are on the rise.

And not only because of the risk of violence – common ailments like the flu or whooping cough, transmitted accidentally by loggers, news crews, drug traffickers or well-meaning anthropologists, can be even more deadly.

In one case, a fish-bone necklace left by a German researcher decades ago was blamed by villagers along the upper Curanja River for being poisoned.

Soon after it was found, a sore throat and fever illness killed around 200 people.

“We were so weak, and some vanished into the forest,” recalled Marcelino Pinedo Cecilio, who grew up planting potatoes and corn and using bamboo arrows, and who remembers running away with his mother the first time they saw people from the outside world in the 1950s.

While other regions of the world – such as the mountains of New Guinea and the Andaman Islands in the Indian Ocean – are home to remote tribes of people, “by far the largest numbers are found across the Amazon,” said the Science report.

“And it is in Peru that the situation appears most dire,” it added, describing what experts believe are 8,000 people scattered in small bands across the rainforest.

The Peruvian government has set aside three million hectares of protected land, but it may not be enough.

“A surge in sightings and raids in both Peru and Brazil may be a sign that some of the world’s last peoples living outside the global economy are emerging,” said the report.

As many as 100 million perished The collision of cultures began in 1492 with the arrival of Christopher Columbus in the Americas, and has killed an estimated 50 million to 100 million native people, the report said.

But even modern technology and knowledge may not be enough to stop wiping out even more people, mainly due to diseases for which tribespeople have no immunity, as well as the lack of enough forest land for food, medicine and materials.

The isolated tribes “are some of the world’s most vulnerable people,” said Beatriz Huertas, an anthropologist based in Lima.

In Brazil, where experts were horrified to see 50-90 percent of tribes being killed by disease after encounters with the outside world in the 1970s and 1980s, the government did its best to stop such contacts unless absolutely necessary.

But while the plan by Brazil’s National Indian Foundation (FUNAI) became a model for the region, some say the juggernaut of the world’s seventh largest economy is too much to rein in, as developers push ever deeper into the Amazon to dig mines and build dams, pipelines and highways.

From 1987 until 2013, FUNAI made contact with five groups. But in the last 18 months, three tribes have sought out contact, including the Xinane, the Koruba and the Awa Guaja.

In one case, four Xinane men entered a village and took machetes, pots and clothing, which can be a source of infection.

So far, FUNAI is aware of 26 isolated indigenous groups in Brazil, and believes as many as 78 more groups may be in hiding or on the run.

But money and staff is perilously short at FUNAI, which has two specialized field teams but says it needs 14, at a time when experts believe contacts with isolated tribes will only increase.

“FUNAI is dead,” leading Brazilian ethnographer and former FUNAI employee Sydney Possuelo is quoted as saying.

United against ‘Russian aggression,’ G7 to focus on jihadists

By Hui Min Neo

Elmau Castle, Germany (AFP) Monday 6/8/2015 – World leaders at a G7 summit in Germany were on Monday set to present a united front against global security threats ranging from jihadist insurgencies to what US President Barack Obama condemned as “Russian aggression in Ukraine”.

While excluding Russian President Vladimir Putin for a third time, the Group of Seven leaders have invited others beyond the club of rich nations, including Iraq’s premier and Nigeria’s president, who are both battling deadly Islamist violence.

Iraq’s Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi was scheduled to discuss the US-led campaign to help his country battle the Islamic State group who launched a lightning offensive a year ago and have snatched over a third of the country’s territory.

Abadi will also get one-on-one time with Obama to discuss the Washington-led campaign to help Baghdad recover territory lost to Islamic State militants, whose self-proclaimed “caliphate” extends deep into neighbouring Syria. The power summit, held in a tightly-secured resort in the Bavarian Alps, was also expected to hold talks on “foreign fighters” and the

threat Islamist extremism poses to their countries— Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States.

Another visitor to the summit, Nigeria’s newlyelected President Muhammadu Buhari, was to put a “shopping list” to the G7 leaders, seeking help to fight an insurgency by Boko Haram Islamists blamed for 15,000 deaths since 2009.

Buhari has been tested with 11 separate attacks that have left at least 93 dead in the week he has been in the job. The first day of the G7 was dominated by the Ukraine conflict, as Obama and the summit host, Chancellor Angela Merkel, urged the global community to stand firm against Moscow until it complies with a Ukraine ceasefire deal struck in the Belarussian capital Minsk.

“I expect that we should send a firm signal here.

Not sanctions as an end to itself, but sanctions... to reach a target,” Merkel told ZDF television.

Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Canada’s Stephen Harper on Saturday made a point of visiting Kiev on their way to the summit, to voice support for Ukraine’s embattled leaders, as a recent flare-up in fighting in the east has left at least 28 dead.

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UTREACH US economy looks stronger as hiring, wages pick up

by Paul HANDLEY

Washington, United States (AFP) Friday 6/5/2015 - US businesses accelerated hiring and raised wages at a faster pace last month in a fresh sign the country’s economy is rebounding from the winter stall.

In a report that gives the Federal Reserve more reason to move toward an interest rate hike in the coming months, the Labor Department said Friday that the economy pumped out 280,000 jobs in May, far more than expected and well above the past year’s pace of 251,000 a month.

Wages, which have been frustratingly flat since the country’s emergence from the 2008-09 recession, also picked up in an indication that the labor market is tightening.

While the unemployment rate ticked up slightly to 5.5 percent, analysts said that represented not more job losses but a surge in the number of new entrants and returnees to the labor market, with most but not all of them finding jobs.

That was backed by rise in the rate of workforce participation to 62.9 percent, still low by historical standards but up 0.1 percentage point in each of the last two months.

“The US labor market finally came out of its winter doldrums,” said Harm Bandholz, chief US economist at UniCredit.

Broad hiring The May report showed that service industries are easily offsetting the heavy layoffs in the oil industry, due to the crash President Obama addresses fellows from the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative (YSEALI) prior to a group photo in the State Dining Room of the White House, June 1, 2015. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

in the price of crude oil, and weak hiring in manufacturing, which has been hurt by the strong dollar.

Businesses in health care, retail sales and tourism hired new workers generously during the month, and firm gains also came in construction and government.

Average wages were up a solid 2.3 percent from a year ago, and were rising at a 2.9 percent annual pace over the last three months, the fastest since 2009.

Other numbers also suggested a stronger market: figures for short-term unemployed and labor market dropouts also fell significantly.

Economists called the May jobs report unambiguously good.

“The economy shows signs of rebounding strongly from the weak spell seen at the start of the year, pulling wages higher and allaying worries that the upturn lacks sus-

tainability,” said Chris Williamson, chief economist at Markit.

Ian Shepherdson of Pantheon Macroeconomics noted that, on top of the May numbers, the job creation figures for the previous two months were revised upwards by a net 32,000.

“If payrolls continue to rise at anything like this pace—and every indicator we follow says they will... the unemployment rate will continue to trend downwards rapidly,” he said.

Shepherdson and others said the May report raises the likelihood that the Federal Reserve will soon launch into a series or increases of its benchmark Fed funds interest rate, locked at zero since the recession.

“If the June employment report is as strong as this one, a July hike can’t be ruled out; if not then, we think September is the latest” possible delay for the Fed, Shepherdson added.

Markets took the jobs report the same way: stocks sagged, US bond yields jumped, with the fiveyear Treasury surging from 1.67 percent to 1.75 percent, and the dollar surging around 1 percent against the euro, to $1.1113.

Analysts, however, said the Fed would have to wait for a few months more of strong data to be certain that the economy can sustain an increase in interest rates.

SƟll some uncertainty Other recent data has suggested certain weaknesses, including weak industrial output, a halt to gains in productivity and signs that US consumers remain reticent about spending, a phenomenon that has puzzled economists.

But if the increase in wages is sustained, many think consumers could begin to loosen their purse strings.

That appeared evident in the surge of auto sales last month to their best level in a decade, and expectations of a strong summer for the tourism and entertainment industries.

“It is still too soon to say that wage growth ... is breaking out to the upside,” said analysts at Deutsche Bank.

“The bottom line is that the May labor data re-establish the economy’s underlying momentum and keep monetary policymakers on track to begin the process of interest rate normalization this September.”

Mapa High School U.S.A. & Canada alumni association to hold grand reunion in Costa Rica June 22- 29 It’s now all systems go for the grand reunion of the officers and members of the Mapa High School Alumni Association of United States and Canada in Costa Rica on June 22, 2015 to June 2015. According to President Grace Belen Victoria of the MHSAA - U.S.A. and CANADA, the group will be visiting the different places in Costsona Rica and at the same, to establish a nice and

strong relations between the Philippines and Costa Rica with the objective of establishing an educational and business link between the Philippines and Costa Rica.

The 2015 officers of the Mapa High School Alumni Association of U.S.A. and Canada include Grace Grace Belen Victoria, president; Cesar B. Abrenica, vice president; Mercy Lontoc

San Agustin, secretary; Marilou Gudani Evidente, treasurer; Carmelita Spittal, assistant rreasurer; Romeo Ayson Zetazate, press relations officer; Manny Maliksi, assisant press relations officer; Rufina Baquial, special liaison officer; Tony Buenaventura, adviser, Lissy Buenaventural is the grand reunion committee chairperson.

(St. Jametown News Service)

No widespread danger to water from fracking: US agency Washington, United States (AFP) Thursday 6/4/2015 – The controversial oil and gas extraction technique known as fracking poses no widespread danger to US drinking water, the US environmental agency said Thursday in a long-awaited assessment.

Some water resources have been harmed by the practice formally called hydraulic fracturing, it said, but concluded that the risk is small compared to the number of fracking wells in use.

The evaluation from the Environmental Protection Agency delivered a broad overview of the dangers that fracking – blasting water, sand and chemicals underground to free up and pump oil or gas – poses to drinking water in America.

Fracking has led to a boom in the US oil and gas industry, and also created many jobs in states like North Dakota.

But it has been much maligned by environmentalists who say it poses an undue threat to nature.

The study requested by congress found that while fracking has not led

to “widespread, systemic impacts on drinking water resources,” there are potential dangers to some people’s drinking water.

Those vulnerabilities included wastewater and “hydraulic fluids” discharged into drinking water, the report said.

While those risks are worrisome, “they were small compared to the large number of hydraulically fractured wells across the country,” the EPA said.

Low level threat In a conference call with reporters, Deputy Assistant EPA administrator Thomas Burke described the threat as “relatively low.” But he emphasized that the study was not a policy recommendation on fracking in the country.

“This study follows the water,” Burke said. “The assessment is about improving our understanding of the process.”

The study included an analysis of some 950 papers and reports on fracking and water supplies as well as the EPA’s own research on the topic.

Burke said he hopes the report will give states,

tribes and communities information about how to protect water resources while fracking is conducted.

Supporters of the technique were quick to champion the cause after the EPA’s report was released.

“Today’s study confirms what we already know.

Hydraulic fracturing, when done to industrystandards, does not impact drinking water,” said US Senator Lisa Murkowski, a Republican who chairs the Energy and Natural Resources committee.

Republican Lamar Smith of Texas, who chairs the House of Representatives Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, also said the agency’s finding Committee came as no surprise.

“As experts have testified before the Science Committee for years, there is no evidence that hydraulic fracturing has caused ground water contamination,” he said in a statement.

“The EPA has spent millions of taxpayers’ dollars only to conclude what state regulators have known for years,” Smith said.

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GAPASCA induction Marlou Colina introduces UNO Premier beauty, health and wellness products on June 13 Launching at Beverly Hills Hotel this Saturday, June 13

CERRITOS – The Gapan City Association of Southern California (GAPASCA) will hold its Anniversary Ball on Saturday, June 13, at 6:30 p.m. at the Sheraton Cerritos Hotel.

Consul Mary Joy Ramirez of the Philippine Consulate General in Los Angeles is the Inducting Officer and this year’s guest speaker is the Vice Mayor of Vallejo, California, Cmdr. Jesus Malgapo, USN (retired). Malgapo is a 25-year veteran of the US Navy. He is the ninth of 10 children of WWII Veteran of the Philippine Army and death March survivor Ret.Lt. Isauro T. Malgapo and Felisa D. Cristobal Malgapo. He is a product of Gapan North Central School and Divina Pastora College.

To be inducted are Larry Camus, President; Gina Patulandong, VP Budget & Finance; Marissa Yamsuan, VP Membership; Ramil Garcia, VP Ways & Means; Vangie Garcia, VP Programs; Cindy Garces, Treasurer; Marlyn Reams, Secretary; Armahn Tinawin, Auditor; Agnes Nerona, Public Relations Officer; Steve Johnson, Germelie Morales, Affairs Coordinators; Randy Estrella, Veta Garcia, Rolly De Guzman, Adoracion Palisoc, Advisers; Board of Directors Nimfa Garces Castro, Chairman; Emmanuel Liwag, Vice Chairman; Tipin Johnson, Secretary; Larry Camus, Ariel De Guzman. Teofilo Estrella, Percival Garces, Gener Nerona, Wilfredo Ongpauco, Directors; Founding members— Larry & Elvie Camus, Nimfa Garces Castro, Percival & Cindy Garces, Steve & Tipin Johnson, Gener & Agnes Nerona, and Wilfredo Ongpauco.

Alyssa Monique Yuson, daughter of Enrique Yuson of San Lorenzo, Gapan City and Annalyn Espinosa of Lucban, Quezon, is Miss GAPASCA 2015. The outgoing Miss GAPASCA 2014 Janella Padiernos will crown her.

GAPASCA, in its second year of existence, continues to strive to make a difference in the lives of underprivileged but deserving new high school graduates of Gapan City.

The anniversary year started with its first Scholarship and Achievement Awards banquet on March 7, 2015 held at the Municipal Hall of Gapan City. The first 12 GAPASCA scholars were introduced and awarded their college scholarship.

In addition, scholarship incentive awards were given to 24 deserving students.

The scholarship banquet was a huge success and made a history in the city of Gapan in many ways. It was well attended by family members of the scholars and the awardees, principals, retired teachers and benefactors.

The keynote speaker was ABS Party List Representative Catalina ‘Baby’ Pizzaro, who gave full support to the organization’s Scholarship program, not as politician but as AdoptA-Student Benefactor.

Gapan City Mayor Maricel Natividad Nagano gave warm welcome and inspiring remarks to the scholars and surprised the 24 incentive awardees with a onetime scholarship aid.

Gapasca has launched several projects this year – the Pechanga Turn Around with more than 100 passenger guests in February; the “Pabasa,” held at St. Linus Church in March and the Divina Pastora Fiesta last May held at Cerritos Regional County Park in Cerritos. These events were well attended by cheerful Gapanenses and friends in the community, some of whom showcased their talents in chanting the Passion of Christ at the PABASA, singing their favorite karaoke songs, showcased their best line dancing steps and a ‘Hula” dance exhibition at the Fiesta celebration. An array of Gapan City’s specialty cuisines and delicacies were displayed in all of these events.

LOS ANGELES- After being Philippines’ number 1 network marketing company for more than eight years, Unlimited Network of Opportunities International (UNO Intl.) is finally now in the U.S. and will break its new ground with the launch of its high-end international brand and exclusive business club, UNO PREMIER at the Beverly Hills Hotel and Bungalows in Beverly Hills this Saturday, June 13.

The grand launching will start at 5 p.m. in a red carpet arrival with the its global top earner executives, and Board of Directors William Barbo, Herbie Chua and Oliver Chua. The event will continue with an award recognition of their top pioneers all over the U.S., a seated dinner, and worldclass performance by Asia’s nightingale Lani Misalucha, Dessa, and Jonalyn Viray. The event will be hosted by KTLA’s Kababayan Today G Tongi and co-hosted

by Diamond Top Earner Willis Chavez.

The brand targets the elite AB market, which has never been tapped before by any multi-level

marketing (MLM) company.

UNO Premier President William Barbo says this is proof that their marketing system is a highyielding business endeavor which created a thousand certified millionaire-entrepreneurs in a span of eight years and has more than 500,000 members worldwide.

“We will try to duplicate this proven method for entrepreneurial success, but this time we are targeting the AB market that has the capacity to invest in more premium products with higher yields,” says Barbo.

From a traditional MLM as UNO, the management made a careful research on how big MLM companies do business before they came up with a hybrid compensation plan – UNO Premier.

In Hollywood, business leader celebrity beauty expert and TV personality Marlou Colina started to join Premier when he heard of this club and the big potential of the company when it was introduced to him in February 2015.

Immediately, Colina decided to bring the company here in the US and initiated building his net-

work while helping the company established its office. Today, he already made more than his Global package investment in a twomonth period which proves that UNO Premier compensation plan is the most doable so far.

“We proved to ourselves that a business like this that conquered the international market is viable in the Philippines which is a third world country, and tested it in Dubai where the growth was massive. How much more in a first world country like the U.S. where there is more buying power capacity? ” shares William Barbo.

Initially, the investment packages starts with the Platinum, Premier, Elite and Global Packages, with the latter being the highest. The higher the investment, the bigger chance of earning more.

UNO Premier offers high-quality consumable products, from beauty, health and wellness, and anti-oxidant food supplements The company has headquarters in Hong kong, Singapore, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Al Ain, Sharjah, Lagos and Abuja both in Nigeria,

U.S. business associate celebrity beauty expert and TV Personality Marlou Colina (left) with UNO Premier CEO William Barbo.

Macau, China, United Kingdom, and now, in Long Beach, California, U.S.A. UNO PREMIER is located at 3505 Long Beach Blvd Suite 1C Long Beach CA 90807. Contact 562.427.9999, 818.384.4022 or info@unopremier.com or visit www.unopremier.com.

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SEAL Team 6, a ‘global manhunting machine’: Times Washington, United States (AFP) Sunday 6/7/2015 – SEAL Team 6, the special operations unit that took down Osama bin Laden, has emerged as “a global manhunting machine” whose secrecy has raised questions about its accountability, the New York Times reported Sunday.

The Times documented the SEALs growth in size and importance since 9/11, carrying out thousands of raids credited with weakening militant networks in places like Afghanistan and Somalia.

They fight alongside CIA paramilitary operatives, operate from spy ships disguised as commercial vessels, and shadow targets as undercover agents in US embassies, according to the Times, in an account based on interviews with dozens of former and current team members.

“Once a small group reserved for specialized but rare missions, the unit best known for killing Osama bin Laden has been transformed by more than a decade of combat into a global manhunting machine,” the Times said.

For all its notoriety, however, it also has remained the most secretive and least scrutinized organization in the US military, and its activities have raised concerns about ex-

cessive killing and civilian deaths, the Times said.

In a 2012 incident in Afghanistan, an American doctor who was rescued from his Taliban captors, while grateful to be freed, told the Times that one of the kidnappers appeared to have been killed after surviving the raid.

All five captors were killed in the raid, as was the first of the SEALs to enter the compound where doctor Dilip Joseph was being held.

Coming to terms “It took me weeks to come to terms with the efficiency of the rescue,” Joseph said. “It was so surgical.”

A daring nighttime raid to rescue kidnapped British aid worker Linda Norgrove in Afghanistan ended in her death by a team member who hurled a grenade at what he thought were kidnappers.

Other rescues were accomplished with stunning success, such as that of US aid worker Jessica Buchanan and Danish colleague Poul Hagen, in Somalia.

The Times said the American operators sky-dived into Somalia, and crept up on their kidnappers under cover of darkness, shooting and killing all nine captors.

US-led raids hit IS battling rebels, Qaeda in Syria

By Layal Abu Rahal

Beirut, Lebanon (AFP) Sunday 6/7/2015 – US-led aircraft bombed Islamic State group fighters as they battled rival Syrian rebels, including Al-Qaeda loyalists, for the first time overnight, a monitoring group said on Sunday.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor described the raids in northern Syria’s Aleppo as an intervention on the side of the rival rebels, even though they include forces that have previously been targeted by US-led strikes.

“The coalition carried out at least four strikes overnight targeting IS positions in the town of Suran,” the Britain-based group said. “It’s the first time that the international coalition has supported non-Kurdish opposition forces fighting the Islamic State,” Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP. He said at least eight IS fighters were killed in the strikes and another 20 were injured.

IS seized control of Suran a week ago, and has since been fighting an alliance of Islamist rebels including Al-Qaeda affiliate Al-Nusra Front and the Ahrar al-Sham movement in the surrounding area.

Both Al-Nusra and Ahrar al-Sham have been targeted in US-led raids, including as recently as May 20, when a strike in Aleppo province killed 15 Al-Nusra fighters.

Like IS, Al-Nusra is blacklisted as a “terrorist organisation” by Washington.

IS has been seeking to expand its territory by seizing the Aleppo province towns of Marea and Azaz, which lie on key supply routes for the rival rebels.

Online, IS supporters accused Al-Nusra and Ahrar al-Sham of collaborating with the US-led coalition, denouncing them as “America’s spies” and collaborators with the “crusader coalition.”

Despite sharing a jihadist ideology, AlNusra and IS are fierce rivals, with IS seeking to expand its self-declared “caliphate” in territory it holds in Syria and Iraq.

Al-Nusra pledges allegiance to Al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahri, but has for now confined its ambitions to Syria and has allied with conservative Islamist groups fighting the regime and IS. The US-led coalition began its air campaign in Syria last September but the majority of its strikes have been confined to areas where IS has undisputed control or is battling Kurdish forces.

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INMENT

Cesar Montano evades questions about Seifert Cesar Montano chose to ignore questions from the media about his supposed relationship with former beauty queen Sandra Seifert when he attended a screening at this year’s French Film Festival.

The two have been romantically linked for a while now, and there are even rumors that Montano and Seifert are expecting a baby.

The two, however, have remained silent about their ties.

Cornered by reporters before the movie screening on Wednesday night, Montano kept on referring to his diet and exercise routine as the reasons why he looks inspired these days.

The actor also said it is impor-

Cesar Montano

tant for every person to always be inspired.

“Dapat inspired lang. Maraming inspiration. Dapat inspired ka to do another film. I haven’t been doing a film for quite a while.

Kaya ito nanonood ako ng film.

Buti na lang may mga kaibigan sa French embassy katulad ni Mr. Martin Macalintal na nag-invite sa akin, and the ambassador himself,” he said.

When confronted on whether he indeed has a new “bundle of joy,” the actor tried to elude the topic and just said: “Wala, wala, wala.

Parati lang may joy. Siyempre kapag meron kang Diyos, meron kang joy. Kasama ‘yun eh.”

According to Montano, this is not yet the time to talk about his love life.

“Wala pa, wala pa. Next time na lang natin pag-usapan ‘yun,” he said. “I’m just here to watch a French film.” (MNS)

Sarah still gets ‘kilig’ working with Piolo Geronimo still can’t get over her infatuation for new leading man Piolo Pascual.

When the two started filming their upcoming movie, “The Breakup Playlist,” Geronimo had problems finishing a scene because she gets conscious when Pascual stares at her.

More than a month after, Geronimo is slowly getting used to it.

“Medyo nape-perfect ko na,” she said. But she still gets tonguetied.

“Actually mahirap,” she said of working with Pascual.

“Sa totoo lang, ‘yung last eksena namin ni Papa P, kami na – kasi hindi ba ‘Breakup Playlist,’ naging kami – nung kami na, siyempre sweet sweet kami. Nakalimutan ko ‘yung line ko kasi kinikilig ako,” she admitted.

“Ito ha, walang halong showbiz, iba talaga ang dating ni Papa

Sarah Geronimo

P. Kahit sino ang makasalubong ko, ‘eee kinikilig ako dumaan si Papa P, nakasando.’ I think ibaiba ng charm ‘yung mga leading men. ‘Yung si Papa P. iba talaga ‘yung dating niya, very heartthrob, very matinee idol. Kapag gumagawa kami ng eksena na girlfriend

niya ako at may lines siya na very sweet. parang ang ganda-ganda ko hindi ba? Grabe, mahuhulog kayo sa upuan, mapapa-weh.”

“The Breakup Playlist” tells the story of two musicians – an aspiring professional singer played by Geronimo, and a rock star portrayed by Pascual – who collaborate and fall in love.

The romance-drama is directed

by Dan Villegas, who also did the award-winning “English Only Please.”

Geronimo stressed that she and Pascual are doing their best to give justice to the story.

“Talagang ibinibigay namin ang lahat para mapaganda ‘yung istorya, maging believable ang characters namin. Ito na yata ang pinaka-mature role in the sense na hindi kailangang maghubad, hindi kailangang mag-torrid kissing, at hopefully ay magustuhan ng mga tao,” she said. (MNS)

Sarah Lahbati and Richard Gutierrez

Richard denies rumors of secret marriage to Sarah Actor Richard Gutierrez denied reports that he has secretly tied the knot with actress Sarah Lahbati.

The 31-year-old Gutierrez explained that their life has been “open book” since the start of his family’s reality show, “It Takes Gutz to Be A Gutierrez.”

“Yung story namin ni Sarah, now that we’re doing the show, wala na kaming secrets eh,” he said. “It’s something that we talk about, we speak about, we see it but it will come in the right time.”

Richard and twin brother Raymond talked about how they deal with online critics and why they agreed to be part of E!’s first Asian reality series, which has been renewed for a third season.

“It’s going to make our audiences more interested about us, they’ll get to know us even more in a deeper sense. For a reality show to work, you need to be open. You need your audience to connect to you,” Gutierrez said.

Raymond added: “Iba na rin ang audiences ngayon. Pag scripted alam na nila, pag natural alam na nila so you can’t really fake anything like this.”

“It Takes Gutz to Be A Gutierrez” will be aired on TFC in Canada, Australia, Guam, Rome, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Singapore, the Middle East, and Japan.

It airs regularly on the Lifestyle Network. (MNS)

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MOTORING Android Auto in the 2015 Hyundai Sonata ©Hyundai

Hyundai is the first automaker to launch android auto Android Auto premieres in 2015 Sonata Fountain Valley, Calif., May 26, 2015 – Today, Hyundai becomes the first car company to launch Android Auto on production vehicles. Android Auto is premiering on the 2015 Sonata with Navigation at dealerships nationwide, and will later become available on other Hyundai models.

“Android Auto aligns with Hyundai’s core interior design principles of safety, intuitiveness and simplicity,” said Dave Zuchowski, president and CEO, Hyundai Motor America. “We launched this highly anticipated feature on our best-selling Sonata, adding to our promise of value. With the launch of Android Auto, we provide more owners with the experience of cutting-edge technology.”

Android Auto not only brings a high technology experience to Hyundai owners, but also improves safety. For example, at any given daylight moment across America, approximately 660,000 drivers are using cell phones or manipulating electronic devices while driving, a number that has held steady since 2010.1 Android Auto helps keep drivers’ eyes and attention on the road by integrating the advanced driving-related functions of the user’s smartphone with the familiar centralized screen, physical controls and microphone of their car. Furthermore, the smartphone’s screen becomes “locked,” so drivers are not tempted to look down and interact with their phones directly while Android Auto is in use.

Availability For Existing Owners Owners of existing 2015 Sonata with Navigation can get the Android Auto software update free of charge at Hyundai dealers starting today. Later this summer, owners can visit www.hyundaiusa.com/myhyundai and download the Android Auto software onto a USB memory drive. Owners will need a MyHyundai account to start the Android Auto download.

A MyHyundai account requires name, address and a Vehicle Identification Number (VIN).

Once the USB with the Android Auto software is inserted into their Sonata’s USB port, it will automatically update the vehicle’s Navigation system to make it Android Auto compatible. The Android Auto compatible Navigation system with an eight-inch touchscreen display is available on the Sonata Sport, Eco, Limited, Sport 2.0T and Limited 2.0T models.

Android Auto Owners will need the Android 5.0 “Lollipop” operating system or later, and the Android Auto companion app on their compatible phone to integrate Android Auto into Sonata’s screen and controls. A micro USB cable is required to connect the phone to the car’s USB port. The first time an owner plugs his or her phone into their parked Sonata, the phone will prompt the download of the Android Auto companion app from the Google Play. Users of Android Auto will instantly recognize familiar Android phone applications, such as Google Maps, Google Now, messaging, phone calling and Google Play Music upon connecting their Android phone to their Hyundai vehicle.

These applications can be controlled by voice, steering wheel controls and touchscreen.

Android Auto also will offer many popular third-party audio apps that owners have on their phones, including iHeartRadio, Spotify, TuneIn, NPR, Stitcher, Skype, TextMe and many more. Owners can find out up-to-date information about phone compatibility at https://support. google.com/androidauto.

Whether you’re into Android or not, Hyundai is one of America’s sought-after cars. And if you would like to check out why Sonata is one of Hyundai’s top selling cars, call our kababayan Ferry Maringka Gozon, who is the Senior Sales and Finance Specialist of Puente Hills Hyundai thru his cell at (626) 2029687.

Better yet, drive down to Puente Hills Hyundai and check out the new Sonata or other Hyundai vehicles first-hand.

Puente Hills Hyundai is conveniently located at 17621 Gale Ave., City of Industry, CA 91748.

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KITCHENOMICS

FAMILY FEATURES

P

erk up your next picnic with these deliciously different sandwiches and salads that are super easy to prepare, plus they can be made ahead.

Condiments make the difference between a good sandwich and a great sandwich. Grab a jar of Aunt Nellie’s Sliced Pickled Beets. Their sweet-tangy homemade Àavor makes them a perfect base for quick relish to embellish all kinds of sandwiches.

For a Greek-inspired relish, chop and toss the beets with marinated artichoke hearts and olives. Add to a basic turkey sandwich for a gourmet twist. Wrap up brunch favorites smoked salmon and cream cheese in a Àour tortilla with a chopped pickled beet-red onion-caper relish. Delicious any time!

Pantry staples, such as READ 3 or 4 Bean Salad and German Potato Salad, are handy head starts to fabulous salads. A can of bean salad, cooked tortellini, veggies and basil pesto make a picnic-perfect salad in minutes. German potato salad paired with grainy mustard and sliced steak becomes a rustic entree salad to serve atop convenient packaged greens.

Patio party or potluck in the park, these new picnic picks will bring compliments. For additional recipes and serving suggestions, visit www.auntnellies.com or www.READSalads.com.

Picnic-Wiches With Greek Artichoke-Beet Relish Servings: 6 Preparation Time: 20 minutes 1 jar (16 ounces) Aunt Nellie’s Sliced Pickled Beets 1 jar (about 6 ounces) marinated artichoke hearts 1/2 cup pitted kalamata or ripe olives, sliced 3 tablespoons sliced green onions Freshly ground black pepper to taste 6 romaine lettuce leaves 1 pound thinly sliced deli turkey 6 ciabatta or sandwich rolls, sliced horizontally in half 1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese 1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted Drain beets and artichoke hearts, reserving 1/4 cup liquid from each. Coarsely chop beets and artichoke hearts. Combine beets, artichokes, olives and green onions in medium bowl; set aside.

Whisk together reserved beet and artichoke liquids in small bowl. Pour over beet mixture; toss gently to coat. Season with black pepper, if desired.

Layer lettuce and turkey on bottom halves of rolls.

Top with relish, feta cheese and pine nuts. Top with remaining halves of rolls. Wrap tightly; chill up to 4 hours until ready to serve. Serve with remaining relish.

Smoked Salmon & Beet Wraps Servings: 4 Preparation Time: 30 minutes 1 jar (16 ounces) Aunt Nellie’s Sliced Pickled Beets 2 tablespoons ¿nely chopped red onion 1–2 tablespoons capers 1–2 teaspoons lemon zest 1/2 cup spreadable chive cream cheese 2 large soft Àour tortillas (10–12-inch diameter) 8 slices smoked salmon 1/2 cup baby spinach leaves Drain beets; chop. Discard beet liquid. In medium bowl, combine beets, onion, capers and lemon zest.

Spread 1/4 cup cream cheese evenly over each tortilla, leaving 1-inch border. Place 4 salmon slices over cream cheese; press lightly.

Top each with spinach. Sprinkle beet mixture evenly over spinach.

Roll up. Wrap each roll tightly in plastic wrap. Refrigerate up to 4 hours.

To serve, remove plastic wrap; cut each tortilla into 2 pieces.

Note: Can be made with other meats.

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Can’t sleep? Eat less to curb insomnia’s effects Sunday June 7 2015 (Relaxnews) – Eating less late at night could be key to feeling more alert and being able to concentrate despite sleep deprivation, according to a new study.

“Adults consume approximately 500 additional calories during late-night hours when they are sleep restricted,” says senior author David F. Dinges, PhD, director of the Unit for Experimental Psychiatry and chief of the division of Sleep and Chronobiology.

Working with 44 participants between the ages of 21 and 50, the researchers gave them unlimited, “free-range” access to food and beverages during the day, but capped their sleep at just four hours for three consecutive nights.

On the fourth night, 24 of the participants were given access to nothing but water between 10:00 PM and their 4:00 AM bedtime, while the remaining 20 continued free-range access to nourishment.

At 2:00 AM each day, the researchers assessed participants’ working memory, cognitive skills, sleepiness, stress level and mood.

On the fourth night, participants who had fasted performed better on the tests, specifically in the domains of reaction time and concentration than their freerange counterparts.

Meanwhile, the free-rangers showed attention lapses and slow reaction times, according to the study, which will be presented at SLEEP 2015, the 29th annual meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies, LLC. Hailing from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, this same research team conducted the 2013study concluding that those with late bedtimes and chronic sleep deprivation eat more than others and gain weight easily.

“Short sleep duration is a significant risk factor for weight gain and obesity, particularly in Afri-

can Americans and men,” says senior author Dr. Namni Goel.

Dr. Goel and associates concluded in a related study that individuals reduce their calorie intake to compensate for the reduced morning resting metabolism that is the result of sleep de-

privation.

“This research suggests that reducing the number of calories consumed can help prevent that weight gain and some of the health issues associated with obesity in Caucasians and particularly in African Americans.”

Screening reduces risk of breast cancer death by 40 percent Washington, United States (AFP) Thursday 6/4/2015 – Women who undergo mammography screening reduce their risk of dying from breast cancer by 40 percent, an international study published in the United States showed.

Researchers reported that women aged 50 to 69 who received screening were 40 percent

‘Female Viagra’ gets green light from US expert panel

By Jean-Louis Santini

To minimize the effects of insomnia, avoid that trip to the fridge on nights when you can’t sleep, a new study suggests. ©conrado/shutterstock.com

less likely to succumb to the decrease compared to women who were not screened.

Simply inviting a woman to undergo a mammography reduced her risk of death from breast cancer by 23 percent, the researchers said in a study in the New England Journal of Medicine Wednesday.

Not all women act on the invi-

tation, however.

“This important analysis will hopefully reassure women around the world that breast screening with mammography saves lives,” said co-author Stephen Duffy of Queen Mary University of London.

“The evidence proves breast screening is a vital tool in increasing early diagnosis of breast cancer and therefore reducing the number of deaths,” he added.

The study was conducted by experts from 16 countries, who evaluated different methods of breast cancer detection across 11 controlled clinical trials and 40 observational studies.

The report corroborates previous research findings that women in the 50-69 age range benefit most from breast cancer screening.

But it also pointed to studies indicating women aged between 70 and 74 also stand to gain from mammography.

However, there was “limited evidence” to support screening women in their 40s, the researchers found.

“Despite evidence that mammography screening is effective, we still need to carry out further research on alternative screening methods, such as the promising ‘digital breast tomosynthesis,’” Duffy said.

The new form of 3D imaging could improve mammography accuracy in dealing with dense breast tissue, he said.

The study also shows that the benefits of mammography outweigh the risks, which include false-positive results, overdiagnosis and possibly radiation-induced cancer.

Breast cancer is “the most frequently diagnosed cancer in women worldwide,” Queen Mary University said in a press release.

It is the second-largest cause of cancer deaths in developed countries and the first in low- and middle-income countries, it said.

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Washington, United States (AFP) Thursday 6/4/2015 – A US advisory panel on Thursday urged regulators to approve a drug nicknamed the “female Viagra” because it could help increase women’s sex drive.

If the US Food and Drug Administration gives flibanserin the go-ahead, it would be the first drug on the market to boost female libido.

The FDA is not required to follow the advice of the panel, but it often does.

The experts voted 18-6 in favor of allowing the drug on the market, but with some additional risk-control measures to make sure doctors prescribe it only to patients who need it and that women are aware of the risks.

Flibanserin, which is aimed at pre-menopausal women, can have significant side effects including nausea, dizziness and sleepiness.

“The treatment effects are numerically small,” said doctor Christina Chang, speaking to the panelists on behalf of the FDA, asking the committee to weigh in on the evidence of benefits and risks in women studied.

Safety concerns include sleepiness, fainting, low blood pressure and the potential for hormonal contraceptives and alcohol use to make side effects worse, Chang said.

Experts at the hearing also raised questions about the possibility for the treatment to be used as a “date-rape drug” and the increased risk of breast cancer seen in one of two studies on lab animals.

But during the public comment period, women who had taken the drug said the benefits were considerable.

“I am one of the lucky 11,000 women that was a patient on the flibanserin clinical trial,” said Amanda Parrish, who said she lost desire for sex with her husband, and their marriage had suffered.

“What a relationship-saving eight months that was. As if the light switch had been turned on, so was I.”

Rejected before Two attempts at bringing the drug to market have already failed in 2010 and 2013, given what experts described as inconclusive advantages when compared to a placebo.

After it was initially rejected by the FDA, flibanserin was sold by its developer, the German laboratory Boehringer Ingelheim, to a US firm called Sprout Pharmaceuticals.

According to documents on the FDA website, women taking flibanserin reported on average 4.4 sexually satisfying encounters per month, compared to 3.7 in a placebo group and 2.7 before beginning the study.

The difference between flibanserin and a sugar pill was deemed statistically insignificant in 2010 after a debate among the committee members which included seven women and four men.

“What I know is that flibanserin, taken each night worked for me, and worked for my marriage,” said Parrish.

“For me the effects were not modest, but significant.”

Among the six who voted against the approval, concerns included negative interactions with alcohol, risks such as fainting and low blood pressure, the drug’s minimal effectiveness and the lack of long-term data on safety.

But the majority of the experts said the approval should provide an option for women who suffer from loss of interest in sex for the first time, as long as “certain risk management options beyond labeling” are instituted, such as doctor training and post-marketing studies.

The aphrodisiac properties of flibanserin were discovered accidentally when it was tested as an anti-depressant, the drug-maker said.

Viagra’s ability to cause an erection was discovered after it was tested as a heart medication.

Other big drug companies have already thrown in the towel when it comes to developing a female version, including Pfizer and Procter and Gamble.

The results of these studies showed no link between job stress and weight gain or obesity. ©Dmitriy Shironosov/shutterstock.

Job stress might not be to blame for those extra pounds Monday June 8 2015 (Relaxnews) – Numerous studies have often blamed job stress for weight gain, but perhaps they’ve been wrong all along says a new European study.

According to numerous studies, stress can have an impact on weight and could be responsible for obesity. Snacking, addictive or compulsive behaviors and an unbalanced diet could in fact be provoked by the instability of mismanaged emotions.

This new study attempts to understand to what point job stress can be linked to weight gain in normal weight people.

A team of European researchers analyzed eight studies involving more than 60,000 workers who reported on-job stress and allowed scientists to record their weight over time.

The researchers indicated in the June 4 issue of the International Journal of Obesity that the results of these studies showed no link between job stress and weight gain or obesity.

The team also ascertained that people who had seen their job stress level diminish had not experienced any related weight loss.

A reduction in professional anxiety doesn’t seem to be related to a reduction in obesity.

The one group that did gain weight, however, was made up of men and women who went from a relatively stress-free working situation into one where they experienced more job-related anxiety.

This suggests that a change in job stress levels might be more important to weight gain than a consistent level of stress.

Thus, a new job with an increase in workload and pressure would be more dangerous for the waistline than daily work-related stress.

While the authors admit that the way people defined job stress in the eight studies varied, these results still merit further study.

In any case, promoting professional well-being seems to be one of the most promising solutions possible to remedy this public health issue.

In March 2014, the American Journal of Preventive Medicine published a study on obesity at work and showed that the jobs most at risk were those in public administration and in the health sector

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PRAYER TO THE HOLY SPIRIT

PRAYER to the BLESSED VIRGIN

O Lord, Jesus Christ, to Your Most Sacred Heart I confide this intention. (Here,

Holy Spirit Thou who make me see everything and show me the way to reach

(Never known to fail)

mention your request) Only look upon me, then do what Your Heart decides....I

my ideal, You who give me the divine gift to forgive and forget the wrong that

Oh most beautiful flower of Mt. Carmel, fruit wine splendor of Heaven.Blessed

count on You...I trust in You...I throw myself at Your mercy...Lord Jesus! You

is done to me and who are in all instances of my life with me. I, in this short

will not fail me. Sacred Heart of Jesus, I trust in You. Sacred Heart of Jesus,

dialogue, want to thank You for everything and confirm once more that I never

I believe in Your love for me. Sacred Heart of Jesus, I have asked for many

want to be separated from You no matter how great the material desires may

favors, but I earnestly implore this one. Take it, place it in Your Sacred Heart.

be. I want to be with You and my loved ones in Your perpetual glory. Amen. A

When the Eternal Father sees it covered with Your Precious Blood, He will not

person must pray this for three consecutive days without stating his wish. After

us who have recourse to Thee (3 times). Holy Mary, I place this prayer in your

refuse it. It will be no longer my prayer but Yours, O Jesus. O Sacred Heart of

the 3rd day the wish will be granted, no matter how difficult it may be. Promise

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Aquino laments mudslinging among 2016 bets TOKYO, June 6 (Mabuhay) – President Aquino lamented the mudslinging among today’s politicians and appealed to them to them to engage instead in intelligent debate.

Aquino made the comment when he was asked for his views on the word war between the camps of Vice-President Jejomar Binay and Senator Grace Poe. The President said politicians tend to “overreact.”

“If I can appeal as a citizen…

We, for instance, (in the) LP (Liberal Party) have a dream. We move our politics beyond personalities and to issues… parang each party takes a stand on a particular issue and win the votes on that matter. Parang when you elect this particular party, you expect this system of governance, you expect this type of decisionmaking and so on and so forth.”

“At this early, when it’s, in a sense, parang black propaganda

that is at the forefront, the appeal is – especially for those who are younger than us – can we not help them change the system to something better and bring the debate to a more intelligent and studied level, rather than going to… ‘di ba? I won’t describe na lang the particular method. But I guess the better question is: ‘Why are you so overreacting? Why (do) all of you need to be overreact?’” he said.

Meantime, Aquino clarified that he is not interested in running for any position after his term ends in 2016, saying he never said so.

“Can I just clarify? I have no intentions of running for any position. Nasa newscaps ko kanina kasi ‘yon – that I hinted I might run (in 2016). The phrase, I think, that you should pay attention to is: ‘my nephews and nieces might decide to change their names.’

Okay? So I just want that clear,” he said. (MNS)

Tiangco apologizes ‘for having caused damage’ to Poe, Binay friendship MANILA, June 5 (Mabuhay) – United Nationalist Alliance interim president and Navotas Rep. Toby Tiangco has apologized “for having caused damage” to the friendship of Vice President Jejomar Binay and Sen. Grace Poe and their families.

Tiangco said: “I apologize for having caused damage to the friendship of the Poe and Binay families.”

He added that he “will follow” the advice of Makati City Rep. Mar-len Abigail Binay, the Vice President’s daughter, “to stop speaking on the matter as this is an issue for the proper courts to decide.”

On Tuesday, Tiangco came before members of the press with a copy of Poe’s certificate of candidacy when she ran for the 2013 elections, saying that the senator is not qualified to run for higher post in next year’s elections because she doesn’t meet the 10-year residency requirement.

In her COC, Poe put six years and six months under “Period of residence in the Philippines before May 13, 2013.” Counting from there, she would be six months short of the requirement in the May 2016 elections, Tiangco said then.

Also, Tiangco said then that the senator could be held liable for perjury if her declaration in her COC was not accurate as the certificate was a sworn document.

Poe said she decided to “err on the side of prudence” and wrote that down because it was only in 2006 that she was able to sell their family’s house in the United States.

For his part, the Vice President said he had nothing to do with the residency issue raised by Tiangco, and that he has high regard for the senator and her father, late actor and one-time opposition standard-bearer Fernando Poe Jr.

Advocates for children’s health gather in San Juan City on Thursday to mark World Environment Day with a common plea for paint companies to accelerate the removal of lead, a brain-damaging toxic chemical, from paints used in toys. The substance is being phased out. (MNS photo)

Belmonte ready to resign as speaker if Bangsamoro bill ‘bribery’ proven true MANILA, June 5 (Mabuhay) – Quezon City Rep. Feliciano Belmonte Jr. is ready to resign as House speaker if allegations that lawmakers received bribes from a Chinese fugitive to vote in favor of the Bangsamoro Basic Law are proven true. “If there is even one centavo na nanggaling dun sa sinasabing (payola) which is a complete lie, I am ready to step down and resign as speaker,” Belmonte said. He was referring to a report by the Standard daily stating that Malacañang used P440 million from alleged Chinese criminal Wang Bo to bribe House members to approve the controversial bill.

“This is an absolute lie. In so far as trying to connect it to the BBL or House, 100 percent lie yan kaya nga sabi ko I’m willing to resign if there is any truth to

that,” the House leader said.

“On absolutely no basis whatsoever, idinamay yung House. Sasabihin isang trak ng pera dadalhin dun e meron pang tao dun, tignan mo naman how ridiculous that is tapos unnamed source kaya minabuti ko na paimbestigahan na yan,” he added.

Belmonte said the House committee on good governance, headed by Pampanga Rep. Oscar Rodriguez, will start its inquiry into the matter on Tuesday.

He said that he will be represented in the probe by Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez.

Rep. Romualdez is the owner of the Standard and is president of the Lakas-CMD party.

“Since I, as a Speaker, can have a proxy, I named Martin Romualdez (to represent me). Ang sabi ko ilabas ninyo lahat diyan

kung ano ang nalalaman nyo,” he said. Asked if he already talked with Romualdez, Belmonte said the Leyte representative did not pick up his phone but he already told the lawmaker’s staff about it.

He said he wanted the accusation to be investigated “for the good of all.”

“Para malaman natin who is lying, who is not lying, who concocted the story, iyon lahat na yon.

Kailangan naming malaman kung paano nagsimula ang rumor na yun, sino ang gumamit sa pangalan namin, sino ang gumamit sa pangalan ng Liberal Party without their knowledge, without any knowledge and definitely no sancton from any of us.

Gusto kong lumabas yun dun,” Belmonte, who is one of the vice chairmen of the Liberal Party, said.