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MANILA, Philippines---Korean Basketball League team Seoul Samsung Thunders have reportedly terminated their contract with Justine Baltazar. As per Korean publication Jumpball, the team couldn't get in touch with Baltazar in time for the February 1 player registration deadline. "Samsung eventually decided to terminate the contract," the story read. Baltazar, who signed with the Thunders last month, just played in the Dubai International Basketball Championship as a member of Strong Group-Philippines, which wrapped up its campaign with a quarterfinals exit on Friday. The 6-foot-9 forward has bounced around since playing his final UAAP season with La Salle last May in UAAP S...

Keep on reading: Seoul terminates KBL contract with Justine Baltazar—report

  MANILA, Philippines--The country's first prison facility for heinous crimes will be built in Occidental Mindoro, Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) acting Director General Gregorio Catapang Jr. said. Under Republic Act 11928 or the Separate Facility for Heinous Crimes Act, the creation of three heinous crimes facilities is required to be built--one in Luzon, one in Visayas, and another in Mindanao. "This will be a maximum colony where everything is monitored. Lahat high-tech, top of line technology-driven facility that will not allow gadgets, contact with outside people," he told reporters. He added that the heinous crimes facilities will be constructed in such a way th...

Keep on reading: Prison facility for heinous crimes to rise in Occidental Mindoro, says Catapang

https://youtu.be/3Lbodl73kCs "Hindi kailangan may gender distinction ang haircuts ng babae at lalaki or anyone in between." More than just haircuts, a barbershop in Bian, Laguna, owned by queer couple Paul Sumayao & Jedi Directo, aims to be a space for everyone.   RELATED STORIES: How a woman is breaking 'macho' tattoo stereotypes | INQStories Couple treats guests with onion giveaways on their wedding day | INQStories Construction worker makes sculptures from coconut and driftwood | INQStories Man plans to travel whole Philippines in 'Bahay Jeep' | INQStories K-pop fan saves almost P55,000 from "ipon challenge" | INQStories Artist makes 'basahan' jacket...

Keep on reading: WATCH: How a queer couple made a barbershop a ‘safe space’ for everyone | INQStories

MANILA, Philippines---Annabelle McDonnell has worked as a special operations officer under the office of the Iligan City mayor in Lanao del Norte. This, she said, enabled her to "walk the talk" by immersing in the local government unit's actions, and bridging people together. "I'm so glad that I cannot only just talk...I am very fine-tuned with the logistics and everything else that goes along with hosting events and linking organizations together," said the 22-year-old woman who finished first runner-up in the 2022 Miss Universe Philippines pageant, and is now the appointed Miss Charm Philippines titleholder. McDonnell, also a radio host who raises socio-political awareness am...

Keep on reading: Miss Charm PH Annabelle McDonnell ‘walks the talk’

LUCENA CITY -- At least five employees of a fast food outlet in Candelaria town in Quezon province were injured Friday afternoon after a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) tank exploded. A spot report from Quezon police identified four of the injured workers at a chicken restaurant as Shayne Montales, supervisor; Ayie Efil, supervisor; Jennelyn Salazar Perez, crew; and Micko Buedron, cashier. One of the victims was not identified. All victims were brought to the nearest hospital for treatment. Efil and Buedron sustained second-degree burns on their bodies, the police said. The explosion happened around 3:30 p.m. at the restaurant located inside the WalterMart shopping mall loc...

Keep on reading: 5 hurt as LPG tank explodes at fast-food outlet in Quezon town

  LEGAZPI CITY --- A missing 14-year-old boy was found dead in Lagonoy town in Camarines Sur on Thursday, Feb. 2. In a report, the Lagonoy municipal disaster risk reduction and management office (MDRRMO) said Ralph Gajero's body was recovered from the Canumoy River in Barangay (village) San Isidro Norte at around 2 p.m. The Lagonoy MDRRMO said the victim was reported missing on Jan. 31, after he went fishing in the river. The report said that the boy had a history of epilepsy, which possibly caused him to fall and drown in the river.   RELATED STORY: Teacher drowns in Camarines Sur flood   JPV...

Keep on reading: Missing 14-year-old boy found dead in Camarines Sur river

LOS ANGELES, United States---The brightest stars in pop music will vie for the industry's top awards at the Grammys in Los Angeles on Sunday, Feb. 5, with a Beyonce-Adele rematch set to take center stage. Kendrick Lamar, Harry Styles and Taylor Swift are also among the frontrunners at the gala primed to be the most star-studded in recent memory. The performance-heavy ceremony will include songs from major contenders Styles, Bad Bunny, Lizzo and Mary J. Blige at the 65th annual show, hosted once again by comedian Trevor Noah. Beyonc leads the pack with nine chances at Grammy gold, followed by rapper Lamar with eight. Adele and fellow balladeer Brandi Carlile scored seven nods...

Keep on reading: The year of Beyoncé at last? Music’s elite head to the Grammys

MANILA, Philippines--The Bureau of Immigration (BI) has relieved from its post the head of its Immigration detention facility and 35 others following the discovery of several detained foreign nationals getting access to prohibited items, including gadgets. "[These] 36 [officers] were relieved, including the head, following the raid the other day," Immigration Spokesperson Dana Sandoval said. Sandoval was referring to the January 31 Oplan Greyhound raid conducted by 49 operatives from the bureau's Intelligence Division assisted by 84 policemen and SWAT personnel from the National Capital Region Police Office. The authorities seized sharp objects, construction tools, cigarette...

Keep on reading: Immigration detention head, 35 others sacked over foreign detainees’ VIP treatment

MANILA, Philippines -- The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) on Friday advised motorists to take alternate routes as two Metro Manila roads will undergo reblocking and repairs over the weekend. In an advisory, the MMDA said the following roads that will be affected by the Department of Public Works and Highways' reblocking and repairs starting 11 p.m. Friday until Monday, Feb. 6, are the following: -Along Lanuza Avenue corner C-5 Road Brgy., Ugong in front of Casa Verde Townhomes Gate Alternate route: Meralco Avenue, C-5 and Lanuza Avenue St., Martin St., Capt. Javier St. -Cloverleaf (Chainage 000-Chainage 234) going to North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) Acco...

Keep on reading: MMDA: Weekend reblocking, maintenance on two Metro Manila roads

It's little wonder Gary McKee has been nicknamed "marathon man." He ran one every day last year.

LeBron James is now just 63 points away from Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's all-time NBA scoring record after putting up 26 points in the Los Angeles Lakers' 112-111 win over the Indiana Pacers.

ROME - World food prices fell in January for a 10th consecutive month, and are now down some 18 percent from a record high hit last March following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the United Nations food agency said on Friday. The Food and Agriculture Organization's (FAO) price index, which tracks the most globally traded food commodities, averaged 131.2 points last month against 132.2 for December. It was the lowest reading since September 2021. The December figure was revised down from an original estimate of 132.4. Falls in the prices of vegetable oils, dairy and sugar helped pull down the index, while cereals and meat remained largely stable, the FAO said. In separate c...

Keep on reading: World food prices decline for 10th month running in January, says FAO

  MANILA, Philippines --- The Philippines and the United States have agreed to restart joint maritime patrols in the South China Sea in light of the "shared regional security challenges" that both countries face. The decision was reached during the meeting between US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin IIIand Department of National Defense chief Carlito Galvez Jr., according to the readout issued by the US Department of Defense on Friday. "Both leaders exchanged views on shared regional security challenges in the Indo-Pacific and underscored the importance of close operational coordination," the readout stated. "The two leaders agreed to restart joint maritime patrols in ...

Keep on reading: PH, US agree to restart joint maritime patrols in South China Sea

The US is tracking a suspected Chinese high-altitude surveillance balloon over the continental United States, defense officials said. CNN's Steven Jiang has more on Beijing's response to the discovery.

LONDON/SYDNEY - A global stock rally, powered by hopes of central banks ending aggressive rate rises, ran into roadblocks on Friday following weak earnings from U.S. tech giants and as key U.S. jobs data loomed. The MSCI World Stock Index slipped 0.2 percent, but was still near its highest since last August following a sharp rebound in recent weeks on hopes that central bank rate hikes are nearing an end. Wall Street stock futures fell sharply, with contracts on the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 2 percent lower, on disappointing earnings from Google, Apple and Amazon. S&P 500 futures slid 0.9 percent. Investors are also watching the fallout from this week's plunge in shares of India...

Keep on reading: Tech giants call time on stocks rally, U.S. payrolls loom

ANTIPOLO---San Miguel Beer on Friday bucked a lethargic start to flatten the wheels of lowly Terrafirma, 122-102, annexing a third straight win to open its PBA Governors' Cup at Ynares Center here. Import Cameron Clark had 31 points and 14 rebounds as CJ Perez starred for the locals with 20 points, 11 rebounds and six assists in a runaway victory, hardly needing the presence of the Beermen's other stars. "That's always going to happen," coach Jorge Gallent said of his charges' shaky start. "We're not invincible. We started slow. We started flat. But after three minutes, we just woke up and brought out San Miguel Basketball." The Beermen overhauled a six-point first quarter d...

Keep on reading: PBA: San Miguel eases past Terrafirma, continues unbeaten start

MANILA, Philippines -- A total of P245 million worth of smuggled goods were seized in 2022, the Bureau of Customs (BOC) said Friday. The following are the smuggled items and their worth: Petroleum - P116.9 million Cigarettes - P110.1 million Vehicles and parts - P15.6 million Agricultural - P1.3 million Other items - P1.2 million "All [items] suspected of entering the country without proper customs clearance," the BOC said in a statement. Seizure and detention warrants have been issued against the supposed smuggled goods for violating Republic Act No. 10863, also known as the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act. For this year, the BOC said it exceeded it...

Keep on reading: BOC seizes P245-M smuggled goods in 2022

MANILA, Philippines---Several beauty queens have gone on to become wives of soldiers, while some women pursue pageantry after establishing their own families with military officials. But this time a member of the Armed Forces herself is pursuing her own battle for a crown. Lady Chatterly Alvaro-Sumbeling is already a lieutenant commander in the Philippine Navy, who has been serving in the Presidential Security Group (PSG) under several administrations already, but the lure of a crown dawned upon her and took her chance at the Mrs. Universe Philippines search late last year. Among a field of accomplished aspirants, she emerged as one of the victors. Now the 40-year-old mother of thre...

Keep on reading: Soldier goes to battle for Mrs. Universe title

Billionaire Manuel Villar Jr.'s Vista Land & Lifescapes Inc. raised another P2.9 billion from the issuance of corporate notes as part of its debt management activities. Vista Land said the notes, due on Dec. 26, 2025, will pay a fixed interest rate of 7.2595 percent. "The proceeds of the additional notes will be used to refinance existing or maturing obligations of the group and for the other general corporate purposes," Vista Land, one of the country's biggest housing developers, said in a stock exchange filing on Friday. The developer said it signed a corporate notes facility agreement with BDO Capital & Investment Corp. and China Bank Capital Corp. as lead arrangers a...

Keep on reading: Vista Land raises P2.9B via corporate notes issuance

On a busy weekend in Freetown, Sierra Leone, dozens of people gather to watch an afternoon football match not unlike countless others you'd find anywhere else in the world. But there's one striking difference -- these players are all amputees.