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Carolina pummeled as US tornadoes kill 44

By Charles Duncan Pardo | AFP News Mon, Apr 18, 2011 8:03 AM PHT

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Shawtna Mathews, 13, is lucky to be alive after a tornado destroyed her home in Gloucester,

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Deborah Davis looks over the damage to her home on Hayes Fork Road in Gloucester,

The worst tornadoes to hit parts of the United States in decades have left 44 people dead, stripping roofs off houses and tossing mobile homes into the air like toys, emergency officials said Sunday. The trail of destruction began on Thursday evening in Oklahoma, where a giant twister almost wiped out the small town of Tushka -population 350 -- tearing up most of its homes and businesses and killing two elderly residents. The storm system strengthened and expanded on Friday, whipping up hundreds more tornadoes that barreled through Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama and North Carolina, before petering out in Virginia on Saturday night. "It's the most significant damage by a tornado since the early 80s," Governor Beverly Perdue told reporters in Raleigh, capital of worst-hit North Carolina, where 23 people died. Among seven people killed in Alabama were a mother and her two children sheltering inside their mobile home when it was thrown some 500 feet (150 meters) into the woods, landing on its roof. Seven others died in Arkansas, four in Virginia, and one in Mississippi.

Falling trees snapped power lines and came crashing down on cars and houses, killing occupants and causing widespread damage. Witnesses described hailstones the size of grapefruit. "This is the worst storm, tornado-wise, since 1984," Patty McQuillan, a spokeswoman from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in Raleigh, told AFP. 1984 saw the most destructive tornadoes in more than a century, with twisters sweeping through Georgia, the Carolinas and Virginia, killing 57 people and injuring more than 1,000. "I actually do remember the last one," said McQuillan. "I believe that the destruction may even be greater this time than it was in 1984." More than 60 homes in North Carolina were destroyed and more than 400 others sustained heavy damage. Aerial footage showed a vast Lowe's home improvement store obliterated with no roof and flattened walls. "I've never seen anything like this in my life," Perdue told local media. "There is a tremendous amount of property damage and damage to people's lives. The hardest is for the people whose lives have been devastated." The governor declared a state of emergency on Saturday night to loosen up federal funds for what promises to be a long and painful recovery. "The state of emergency allows the governor to deploy the necessary assets to respond to and recover from the storm and it's also a prerequisite for asking for federal disaster assistance," explained McQuillan. The biggest toll in one area was 14 in North Carolina's Bertie County, which has a population of less than 20,000, according to the last census figures. "We've had hurricanes, we've had floods, but we've never seen the loss of life we're seeing here," county official Zee Lamb told CNN, describing the vast complex of tornadoes that tore through the area. "It was estimated about a half-mile to three-quarters of a mile wide and it lasted for about six to eight, 10 miles through the county," Lamb said. Sam Bennett, 35, and his wife had just put their son, who turns two next week, down for a nap when they realized the storm was bearing down on their building in Raleigh. "We hustled the dogs and the baby into the back rooms," Bennett told AFP. "It got louder and louder and we heard a couple of booms and the fire alarm went off." The ceiling above them collapsed and water came pouring into their apartment, but the Bennetts could count themselves among the lucky ones -- at least they survived and their home is salvageable.

"The tornado outbreak led to a total of 241 tornado reports in 14 states over the three-day period," said Meghan Evans from Accuweather.com. "This will likely rank this tornado outbreak among the largest in history." The meteorologist said there had been three main contributory factors: a powerful jet stream, abundant moisture and a strong cold front plowing across the South. "A powerful jet stream helped to enhance the thunderstorm growth, while moisture surging in from the Gulf of Mexico acted as fuel for the thunderstorms." Though more fatalities occurred in tornado outbreaks in 2008 (57) and 1985 (76), experts believe this weekend could have set a new record for the number of twisters over a three-day period. It is feared the damage will run into the billions of dollars.

Aquino risks Church ire on reproductive health bill

ABS-CBN Sun, Apr 17, 2011 8:38 PM PHT

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MANILA, Philippines - President Benigno Aquino III pledged on Sunday to push for the passage of a reproductive health bill in Congress as a tool to fight poverty even at the risk of excommunication from the Roman Catholic Church. Efforts to enact a law that would promote access to sex education and contraception have been blocked since the 1990s by powerful Roman Catholic bishops. Around 80 percent of the country's 94 million people are Catholic. "I remain committed to push the passage of a law for responsible parenthood," Aquino told graduates of the country's premier state university. "I know there are those who oppose it. At risk of excommunication, it is my obligation as leader to explain my principles to them, even if their minds are already closed. But, in the end, I must listen to my conscience and do what is right."

Last year, Catholic bishops denied threatening to impose canonical sanction against the president due to his plans but reminded him to consider church's position. The bishops said some forms of contraception were tantamount to abortion. Abortion is illegal in the Philippines. Aquino has indicated support for the bill, raising hopes it could be passed, but the measure was not on a list of priority bills submitted to Congress. During his speech, Aquino spoke of meeting an unemployed 16-year-old boy with two children. He said: "How will they feed their children when they have no jobs? Who is to blame for their situation? How did such responsibility fall on them? More importantly, how can I help them?" The church says tackling corruption would do more to reduce poverty than slowing population growth. The Philippines has one of the region's highest rates of maternal deaths -- an average of 11 women a day die giving birth. Foreign missions and international agencies have been urging the Philippine government to adopt a reproductive health legislative framework as an anti-poverty strategy. The European Union has also called for the passage of a maternal health law, saying slower population growth would improve health and lower poverty. It has promised $50.5 million health package to raise contraceptive usage in low-income, rural communities.

Shrine for Pope John Paul II built in Bataan

ABS-CBN Fri, Apr 15, 2011 10:16 PM PHT

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Shrine for Pope John Paul II built in Bataan

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MANILA - The first shrine to John Paul II in the Catholic Philippines will be inaugurated next month to coincide with the late pope's beatification, the organiser of the project said Friday. The shrine will be in a small town about three hours' drive from Manila where John Paul said mass for thousands of Vietnam War refugees during a visit in 1981, Bataan Technology Park vice president Amado Sanglay told AFP.

Sanglay said the shrine, which was being built with the support of the local Catholic community, would feature a statue of John Paul and a replica of the stage from where he celebrated mass. "(We want) to venerate the Pope John Paul II for what he has done in the processing centre," Sanglay said, adding the shrine would be inaugurated on May 2, a day after John Paul II's beatification inRome. Thousands of refugees from Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia stayed at the United Nations-funded processing centre after fleeing the conflict in their homelands. The site has since been turned into the Bataan Technology Park, a local business hub that also has a museum recollecting the site's refugee history. Monsignor Pedro Quitorio, a senior member of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines, said the shrine was the first of its kind in the Philippines. "It's an encouraging and inspiring initiative," Quitorio told AFP. John Paul made two visits to the Philippines, a bastion of Catholicism in Asia, while pope. His second visit was in 1995 when the Philippines hosted the World Youth Day Catholic festival. About 80 percent of people in the Philippines are Catholic, a legacy of the country's Spanish colonial past

Jim Paredes thinks Manny Pangilinan and TV5's decision to retain Willie Revillame is "another subtle, unintended act of 'plagiarism'"
PEP Sat, Apr 16, 2011 10:24 AM PHT

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Jim Paredes thinks Manny Pangilinan and TV5's decision to retain Willie Revillame

Isa si Jim Paredes sa mga vocal critics ni Willie Revillame at noong Biyernes ng gabi, April 15, nag-post siya ng komento sa Think TV page ng Facebook tungkol sa headline ng Philippine Daily Inquirer na "TV5 Willing To Back Willie Revillame." Ayon sa report ng Inquirer, suportado ng TV5 si Willie dahil walang nakikita na dahilan ang management para alisin ang kontroberisyal na programa ng TV host, ang Willing Willie. Sinabi ng TV officials na "unfairly cast" si Willie sa mata ng publiko bilang "child abuser" pero gumagawa sila ng mga guideline tungkol sa paglabas ng mga bata sa mga entertainment at news program ng TV5. Ang businessman na si Manny V. Pangilinan ang may-ari ng TV5 at siya ang naging puntirya kagabi ng Think TV post ni Jim. Ito ang eksaktong statement ni Jim na nai-post ng 10:32 PM: "Willie has screwed up majorly on ABC 5, but Manny V. Pangilinan is giving him another chance. Just like Gabby [Lopez] did many times in abs-cbn... I don't know if MVP notices this but he seems to be copying Gabby Lopez's actions. History is repeating itself. I don't know if he is doing this consciously, or if this another subtle, unintended act of 'plagiarism'. ha ha.." Noong nakaraang taon, nasangkot sa kontrobersiya ang TV5 owner dahil sa bintang na kinopya niya ang kanyang commencement speech para sa graduating students ng Ateneo de Manila University mula sa mga speech nina Oprah Winfrey, Barack Obama, JK Rowling at Conan O'Brien. Inimbitahan si Pangilinan na graduation speaker dahil sa honorary degree na ipinagkaloob sa kanya bilang pagkilala sa paglilingkod at mga contribution niya sa Ateneo de Manila University. Nag-apologize si Pangilinan kay Fr. Bienvenido Nebres, SJ, ang Presidente ng Ateneo de Manila University sa pamamagitan ng isang written apology. Nag-offer din siya na magbitiw sa kanyang tungkulin bilang chairman ng Ateneo Board of Trustees. Ang insidente na kinasangkutan ni Pangilinan ang basehan ng "act of 'plagiarism'" comment ni Jim sa Think TV page ng Facebook na biglang na-delete. Incidentally, bukod sa ownership ng TV5, stockholder si Pangilinan ng Philippine Daily Inquirer at Philippine Star, ang broadsheet na pinagsusulatan ni Jim ng kanyang weekly columns.

MISUNDERSTANDING WITH BONGBONG. Samantala, nag-apologize naman si Jim sa kanyang Twitter account nang ma-realize niya na hindi para sa kanya ang tweet ni Senator Bongbong Marcos na naging ugat ng kanilang sandaling patutsadahan sa Twitter noong April 11. (CLICK HERE to read related story.) "OK. I figured.. Sorry Bongbong.. Your coward statement was meant for someone else" ang naka-post sa Twitter account ni Jim.

Si Jim ay isa sa miyembro ng legendary singing group na APO Hiking Society, na naging prominente noong 1986 Edsa People Power Revolution. Dahil sa People Power kaya napilitang bumaba sa puwesto si dating Presidente Ferdinand Marcos, ang ama ni Senator Bongbong.

Filipino TV host not pressing charges against critics

By Entertainment Desk in Manila/Philippine Daily Inquirer | ANN Sat, Apr 16, 2011 5:00 PM PHT

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Manila (Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN) - Filipino television host Willie Revillame changed his mind and won't be pressing charges anymore against celebrities whom he said "attacked" him on the microblogging site Twitter. "Hindi na ho [Not anymore]," he told Radyo Inquirer's Mon Tulfo and Reysie Amado. Revillame, on the April 8 episode of "Willing Willie," warned to file cases against a number of celebrities who, according to him, judged him over the "macho dancing" episode of his primetime game show on TV5. Among the names he mentioned were Lea Salonga, Jim Paredes, Bianca Gonzalez, Aiza Seguerra, Agot Isidro, K Brosas and Leah Navarro.

Regine confirms pregnancy

By Chuck Smith | omg! Philippines News Blog 20 hours ago

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Regine Velasquez-Alcasid (Voltaire Domingo, NPPA Images)

Regine Velasquez and Ogie Alcasid areexpecting a baby. This is what the Asia's Songbird confirmed on the Sunday variety show "Party Pilipinas" earlier Sunday, April 17. "Alam kong marami na kayong naririnig pero syempre maganda rin na sa amin mismo manggaling kung ano talaga ang nangyayari. Totoo po na Ogie and I are going to have a baby," Regine said through a video message. Regine is seven weeks pregnant. It was entertainment columnist Jun Lalin who first reported via TV5's showbiz-oriented talk show "Paparazzi" that Regine is five weeks pregnant last April 3, Sunday. Days after the said report, GMA 7 announced Regine will leave the hit romantic-comedy show "I You Pare" due to her severe migraine attacks. The couple chose to remain silent regarding the issue until today. Through the video message, the singer-actress apologized for not confirming the news sooner. "Pasensya na po kayo at hindi po namin agad sinabi. Hindi naman sa nililihim namin. But I was always getting sick, kaya minabuti namin na wag na muna magsalita para maayos ko muna yung sarili ko at yung ibang bagay na kailangan naming ayusin," Regine said. "Pero ngayon po, clear na naman lahat at siguradong sigurado na rin po kami na it's true, we're going to have a baby, and it's a happy birthday gift for me." "Party Pilipinas" gave a birthday tribute for the singer, with Kyla, La Diva, and Rachelle Ann Gosinging some of the iconic songs Regine has performed over the years. For his tribute, Ogie sang "Buhat," the first song he learned how to perform.

"And surprisngly, ito rin ang unang kantang inaral ng aking asawa... Ito ba po ay coincidence? Maaari. But I call it destiny. And I also believe that destiny has paved the way for Regine to receive her much awaited blessing," Ogie shared before Regine's announcement. "This is probably one of the happiest birthdays na nagkaroon ako. My wish is for my baby to be health kahit ano, kahit babae, kahit lalaki, so sana healthy lang sya," Regine said via phone patch on "Party Pilipinas.