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PARIS--- No matter how much success they've had over the years, and to this day, Serena Williams and Rafael Nadal both profess to deal with doubts. Both began this French Open with straight-set victories against overmatched foes in Court Philippe Chatrier on Monday. And both have something significant at stake over the coming two weeks: a chance to equal a record for Grand Slam singles titles. Williams already has 23, the most by anyone in the professional era; one more will allow her to tie Margaret Court's all-era mark. Nadal began his attempt to pull even with rival Roger Federer for the most by a man, 20, by beating Egor Gerasimov of Belarus 6-4, 6-4, 6-2. His 2020 de...

Keep on reading: ‘Runaway train’: Serena wins French Open opener; Nadal, too

BEIJING --- China's first unmanned helicopter specifically designed for plateau conditions conducted a test flight on Sunday at the world's highest altitude civilian airport, according to the model's developer, Aviation Industry Corp of China. AVIC, the country's leading aircraft conglomerate, said in a statement on Monday that the 15-minute test flight at Daocheng Yading Airport in Sichuan province set a high-altitude record for a domestic unmanned helicopter's takeoff and landing. Zeng Guogui, the aircraft's chief designer, said the test proved its reliability in plateau operation. He said the model can fly at least five hours with a payload of 80 kilograms, which means that ...

Keep on reading: Unmanned helicopter makes first test flight in China

MANILA, Philippines --- The Philippines' number of COVID-19 cases shot up to 309,303 after 2,025 new infections were recorded, according to the latest data released by the Department of Health (DOH) on Tuesday. Of the total cases, 50,925 are considered active cases, of which 86.5 percent are mild, 8.8 percent are asymptomatic, 3.3 percent are critical and 1.4 percent are severe. Metro Manila continues to be the top in terms of having newly-announced cases with 628, followed by Cavite with 279, Negros Occidental with 218, Laguna with 108, and Bulacan with 102. The latest data also showed that the health department reported 290 new recoveries, bringing the total to 252,930. ...

Keep on reading: 2,025 new COVID-19 cases bring PH total to 309,303

MANILA, Philippines---Further monetary easing by the central bank will do little to prop Philippine economic growth unless local authorities are able to successfully control coronavirus transmission in the country, which has so far taken ill 307,288 people and killed 5,381. Thus said Hong Kong-based banking giant HSBC in its latest report which also noted that "people's mobility in the country remains the lowest in Asean, and there hasn't been much improvement even after the lockdown measures in Metro Manila were eased in mid-August." "Despite the challenging economic outlook, we don't believe additional rate cuts at this juncture would be supportive of growth," HSBC said. "The ...

Keep on reading: HSBC: More cash won’t boost PH growth unless COVID-19 is controlled

MANILA, Philippines --- President Rodrigo Duterte will lose "a lot of credibility" if the term-sharing deal on the speakership between Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano and Marinduque Rep. Lord Allan Velasco, which the President himself brokered, will not push through, Buhay Rep. Lito Atienza said Tuesday. "(I think) a lot of credibility will be lost. (If the President speaks the same tune) next time, people will be raising their eyebrows. Really? Will he stand by it?" he told reporters in an interview when asked what would be the effects if the term-sharing deal will not push through. In 2019, Duterte brokered a deal where Cayetano would serve as Speaker in the first 15 months of the 18...

Keep on reading: Duterte to lose credibility if speakership term-sharing deal is snubbed – Atienza

MANILA, Philippines --- Lamenting a supposed lack of respect for Philippine history, Senator Imee Marcos on Tuesday pushed for the creation of news, documentary, and film archive. During deliberations on the proposed 2021 budget of the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP), Marcos underscored the importance of archiving documentaries as well as films. "Importante na mag-umpisa na tayo mag-archive. Importante talaga ang archive. Sa ngayon, ang tanging may archive lamang ay si FPJ (Fernando Poe Jr.). 'Yung iba eh...talagang wala tayong respeto sa ating kasaysayan," said Marcos, a daughter of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos. (We need to start archiving. Archives are...

Keep on reading: Marcos urges ‘respect for history’; pushes for creation of PH news, film archive

MANILA, Philippines --- Telecommunications giant PLDT Inc. on Tuesday announced that the emergency maintenance activities on an undersea cable were completed "ahead of schedule." "We are happy to report that maintenance activities in the Asia-American Gateway (AAG) submarine cable has been completed one day ahead of schedule," PLDT said in an advisory. "We thank you for your cooperation and patience," it added. PLDT previously announced that maintenance activities on the AAG would take place from 8 a.m. of Sept. 25 to 5 a.m. of Sept. 30. https://www.facebook.com/PLDTpublicaffairs/posts/4473010959437274   The AAG is a 20,000-kilometer submarine cable system link...

Keep on reading: PLDT: Maintenance work on undersea cable completed ahead of schedule

MANILA, Philippines --- The NBA and its campus-like environment at Walt Disney World in Orlando served as the golden standard for the PBA's own bubble restart in Clark, Pampanga. While both are following the same concept, the PBA's version is more stringent when it comes to the safety and health guidelines. "The benchmark is the NBA," said Vince Dizon, president of the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA), during a press conference Tuesday. "But we have protocols that are stricter than what we see in the NBA." For the PBA restart, players on the bench are required to wear masks. Family members of players are also not allowed to enter the bubble at any point o...

Keep on reading: PBA not leaving anything to chance with stricter protocols than NBA

New balls please!

MANILA, Philippines --- Expect no Christmas parties this year in Quezon City Hall offices and departments as Mayor Joy Belmonte has ordered them to cancel their celebrations and donate their party funds to indigent citizens. In a memorandum, Belmonte said it would be inappropriate for offices of the local government to hold Christmas parties while many citizens continue to grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic. "The money that would have been spent on office Christmas parties would do more good as donations to the underprivileged during this extraordinarily difficult time in our nation's history," Belmonte said. Belmonte also noted that all city hall offices and departments must adopt me...

Keep on reading: Belmonte orders QC hall offices: Cancel Christmas parties, give budget to indigents

The much anticipated first 2020 presidential debate between President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden will undoubtedly captivate the nation. Political pundits, activists, and voters should not underestimate Biden's debate acumen. As the Democratic presidential nominee's Senate colleague for a dozen years, and as someone who has participated in Republican presidential primary debates, I know firsthand that he possesses performance skills necessary to succeed in Tuesday's debate.

The Indian start-up Cure.fit began in 2016 as a fitness app like many others, offering gym memberships and exercise classes to young adults in Bangalore.

MANILA, Philippines -- With COVID-19 still uncontained in the Philippines, the World Bank sees gross domestic product (GDP) shrinking by 6.9 percent this year -- the worst drop in 35 years, even as the country's chief economist expects slower third-quarter contraction than the record fall at the height of the lockdown. The Washington-based multilateral lender's updated GDP forecast for the Philippines, contained in its October 2020 East Asia and Pacific Economic Update report released on Tuesday, was a steeper fall than the 1.9-percent decline projected in June. The forecasts of the World Bank as well as most other banks and financial institutions were beyond the government's p...

Keep on reading: Chua sees better Q3 despite WB forecast of worst GDP drop in 35 years

MANILA, Philippines---The number of COVID-19 cases in the Philippines has breached 300,000, a staggering number that should be worrisome to many people but which experts said could instead cause what one US scientist said is "psychic numbing," or the deadening of the senses to a tragedy that makes people stop giving a damn. In an e-mail exchange with INQUIRER.net, Paul Slovic, professor and psychologist at the University of Oregon, said while numbers in tragedies or disasters, like the COVID-19 pandemic, could be mind-boggling, they don't trigger empathy as much as individual stories of pain and suffering do. In some cases, Slovic said, these high numbers could even stoke apathy. ...

Keep on reading: ‘Psychic numbing’: When people stop giving a damn about the pandemic

  DENVER--- With bags on his back, Nikola Jokic playfully swerved his way through the crowd of family and friends gathered at the airport terminal. The Denver Nuggets finally returned home after their longer-than-many-anticipated stay inside the NBA bubble. Arriving with them, a new reputation --- the comeback crew. The Nuggets overcame a pair of 3-1 series deficits in advancing to the Western Conference finals for the first time since 2009. Their extended stay at Disney in Florida ended when LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers sent them packing after Game 5. Still, they accomplished something historical in becoming only the third team in the U.S. major pro sp...

Keep on reading: Comeback crew: Nuggets leave bubble with newfound respect

BACOLOD CITY ---- To decongest its quarantine facilities, Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson has asked for a one-week suspension of the entry of stranded residents to the province. If granted by the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID), no one from outside Negros Occidental could enter the province from Oct. 1 to 7. "Due to the rising number of COVID-positive cases, we are having difficulty ensuring that all returning OFWs (overseas Filipino workers and LSIs (locally stranded individuals) are properly accommodated in our quarantine facilities," Lacson said. "(At present), there is congestion and non-availability of quarantine facilities in Negros ...

Keep on reading: Negros Occidental gov seeks 7-day moratorium on entry of stranded individuals

Going to the grocery for a week or a month's sustenance requires careful planning, something which Michelle Madrigal is following to the core. The actress-turned-fitness coach mentioned things that she needs to take into account, like her husband's vegan diet, as per her YouTube video on Friday, Sept. 25. Madrigal, who is based in the United States, said she does not have to cook every day as she mainly prepares food for her and their daughter. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MrwT1jAvkJ8&feature=emb_logo Most of the items she buys are produce, with a few bags of junk food and chocolate that she and her husband sneak into their healthy diets. Jotting down what needs to ...

Keep on reading: Michelle Madrigal shares tips on saving time and money before doing the grocery

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Zamboanga del Sur ---- Four men belonging to prominent families here, landed in jail after trying to sell cocaine to an undercover cop. Captain Yashier Sarikin, spokesperson of the Zamboanga City Police Office, said the four were collared in a drug buy-bust operation on Monday along P. Lorenzo Street, Barangay Zone 4, this city. The suspects were identified as Jawawi Landasan Alih, 25, Abdel Joran Nasser, 24, Leomyr Toribio, 35, and Alfred Rico Alvarez, 40. Recovered from their possession are four packs of cocaine weighing more than 400 grams, with an estimated value of P2.1 million. Major Elmer Solon, head of the Zamboanga City Police Station 11, said the sus...

Keep on reading: Cops nab 4, seize cocaine in Zamboanga City drug bust

A kindergarten teacher who poisoned 25 children, killing one of them, after an argument with a rival staff member has been sentenced to death by a court in central China.

Hafr Jlus Bjrnsson, better known as The Mountain in "Game of Thrones", has welcomed his first son with wife Kelsey Henson. Henson gave birth to their baby boy on Sept. 26, as per the actor's Instagram post yesterday, Sept. 28. The proud father also recalled the day of his son's birth alongside photos of the two of them in sweet moments with Henson. He explained that Henson woke him at 6 a.m. since she had been already losing water. As she continued to experience stronger contractions, their midwife advised them to go to a birthing center. The couple arrived at the clinic before 9:00 a.m. and Henson immediately asked for the birthing pool. When she finally sat in the tub, she quick...

Keep on reading: LOOK: The Mountain from ‘Game of Thrones’ welcomes first son with wife