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Two top administration officials last year listed the threat of a pandemic as an issue that greatly worried them, undercutting President Donald Trump's repeated claims that the coronavirus pandemic was an unforeseen problem.

  MANILA, Philippines --- President Rodrigo Duterte on Friday night said he has ordered the Philippine Navy to convert the presidential yacht BRP Ang Pangulo into a quarantine facility for COVID-19 patients.   "Ang Philippine Navy inalert ko, sabi ko 'yung mga barko ninyo na magaganda, 'yung Ang Pangulo, 'yung barko ng Presidente ng Pilipinas---maganda 'yan ang loob niyan parang hotel," Duterte said in an unannounced public address.   (I alerted the Philippine Navy, I told them your ships are nice, the Ang Pangulo, the sea craft of the President of the Philippines--that is really nice inside, it's like a hotel.) "Sabi ko sa Navy gawaing ospita...

Keep on reading: Duterte wants Presidential yacht converted into COVID-19 quarantine area

Perhaps half the world's population is living under some form of restriction to help curb the spread of coronavirus. Many are starting to wonder when and how these tough limits on everyday activities will end.

Bill Withers, the singer-songwriter whose soulful hits "Lean On Me," Ain't No Sunshine" and "Lovely Day" became part of the soundtrack for a generation, has died.

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jrrXJN3t7XE   MANILA, Philippines --- President Rodrigo Duterte on Friday night accused veteran human-rights lawyer Chel Diokno and members of the opposition for supposedly resorting to black propaganda as the government grapples with solutions to combat the COVID-19 outbreak.   Duterte spent a chunk of his unannounced late-night public address slamming and hurling invectives at Diokno who has taken on the case of a netizen who was being summoned by the National Bureau of Investigation for airing his sentiments against the government on social media particularly on the alleged misuseof government funds.   The Pres...

Keep on reading: Duterte hits ‘buck-toothed’ Diokno, opposition for ‘black propaganda’

  The last time Rick Price held court in Manila (his Valentine concert in 2019), he noticed that among his usual audience were a good number of "younger generation fans singing along" to his songs. That sight promptly sparked an idea. "We decided that it would be cool to rerelease some new versions of two of my most well-known songs as a way to say thank you," the Australian singer-songwriter told the Inquirer in a recent email interview. Through Sony Music, Rick was able to breathe new life to his well-loved ballads by having Filipino artists on board: Morissette Amon in "Heaven Knows" and Regine Velasquez in "Nothing Can Stop Us Now." "I was so delighted when bo...

Keep on reading: Rick Price collaborates with 2 Pinoy artists to breathe new life into his well-loved hits

  The image of a happy and a sad masks side by side has long been the symbol of show business. As we battle the pandemic, show biz people are living up to that symbol. While we are rejoicing about the recovery of Iza Calzado and Christopher de Leon from Covid-19, we're also mourning the loss of Mulatto singer Joey Bautista and seasoned actor Domingo "Menggie" Cobarrubias due to the raging virus. I got to meet Tito Menggie on the set of "Mano Po 5," where I had a cameo role. He struck me as a mild-mannered and respectable man. His demise serves as an alarm that the virus has gatecrashed into the glitzy world of show biz. The virus doesn't get starstruck to veer away from...

Keep on reading: Remembering Menggie

Sailors aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier cheered for Capt. Brett Crozier as he disembarked the ship for the last time, an overwhelming show of support for their leader who was relieved of his command after issuing a stark warning about a coronavirus outbreak onboard.

Google (GOOGL) is publicly releasing the data it's already collecting about people's movements during the coronavirus pandemic.

  In 10 years' time, Rihanna sees herself having children---three of them or maybe even four. "Ten years? I'll be 42! I will be ancient," the pop star jokingly said in an interview for the May issue of British Vogue magazine. And it doesn't really matter if she has to raise them with or without a partner. "I feel like society makes me want to feel like, 'Oh, you got it wrong...' They diminish you as a mother if there's not a dad in your kids' lives," she pointed out. "But the only thing that matters is happiness, that's the only healthy relationship between a parent and a child. The only thing that can raise a child truly ... is love." Rihanna has been neck-deep w...

Keep on reading: Rihanna intends to raise children—even without a partner

A Venezuelan naval boat picked and lost a fight with a passenger cruise liner off the country's northern coast this week, ramming it several times before accidentally taking on water and sinking.

Formula One teams based in the United Kingdom are racing to produce thousands of ventilators desperately needed by the country's National Health Service.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jrrXJN3t7XE   "I never said in public 'shoot-to-kill. Period," Duterte said in an unannounced public address.   The President explained that state peacekeepers would only resort to using violence when their lives were put in harm's way.   "If you think you're life is in danger, maging biyuda ang asawa mo na maganda, mag asawa ulit at ang mga anak mo mawalan ng tatay, pag tinignan mo na delikado ang buhay mo, unahan mo na patayin mo [if you think your life is in danger, do it before he does, kill him]," hesaid.   Duterte on Wednesday drew fierce backlash when he ordered the state forces to shoot dead anyone "w...

Keep on reading: Duterte denies giving ‘shoot-to-kill’ order vs Luzon lockdown violators

Jane Fonda posted her very first TikTok of herself doing the famous "Jane Fonda Workout" in order to raise climate crisis awareness.

In my teens I remember joyously flipping through Wallpaper magazines, excitedly anticipating "Desk Job" on the last page, which was a full-page photograph of a stylised desktop of an anonymous figure. Think speculative fiction, but table toppers. The answers to this monthly game was released online, revealing a motley crew of phantom figures, from Damien Hirst to Santa Claus. I was equally captivated by the playful fantasy element as I was by the idiosyncratic tabletops and the beautiful objects that populated them. I've always dreamed of having a picturesque landscape of a desk but, alas, it's a plan that was never to pan out in my professional life. One of my first jobs as a fashio...

Keep on reading: Quarantine Agenda: Spruce up your home office desk

Kentucky is taking severe measures to ensure residents exposed to the coronavirus stay at home. Louisville residents who have been in contact with coronavirus patients but refuse to isolate themselves are being made to wear ankle bracelets.

As the coronavirus pandemic spreads across Europe and the United States, a global scramble for protective equipment such as masks and gloves is underway. In France they are calling it the "guerre des masques" -- the war of the masks.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUlYo0Go8-A&feature=youtu.be MANILA, Philippines --- President Rodrigo Duterte has kept his distance from the National Bureau of Investigation's(NBI) summoning of Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto over the alleged breach of quarantine protocols, stressing that he does not meddle with the bureau's operation. In a surprise public address late Friday night, Duterte said he only dictates the government policy and it is up to the government enforcers to implement it. "Wala akong pakialam sa operation ng NBI kung ano ang gusto nila. Karamihan diyan mga abogado yan," Duterte said. (I have no business with the NBI operation, which can do anything necessary....

Keep on reading: Duterte distances from NBI move to summon Vico Sotto