Miss Universe R’Bonney Gabriel takes pride in her Filipino roots...

TWICE to receive Breakthrough Award at the Billboard Women in Music 2023 'TWICE is ‘feeling special’ to receive an award in this year’s Billboard Women in Music.' On Jan. 30, the girl group announced on its official Twitter account that they are set to receive the Breakthrough Award in this year’s Billboard Women in Music ceremony to be held on Mar. 1. They wrote in the tweet, “ONCE[,] We are honored to attend @billboard’s #BBWomenInMusic to receive Breakthrough Award We can’t wait to see you there!” The annual Billboard Women in Music awards aim to give recognition to the most influential women in the industry “who are shaping the music landscape.” “We’re thrilled to recognize these groundbreaking artists across genres and generations who are defining today’s sound–and paving the way for tomorrow’s women in music,” said Billboard Editorial Director Hannah Karp. Joining TWICE in the awards ceremony are other notable pop stars such as Becky G, Doechii, Ivy Queen, and Lana Del Rey, among others. Recently, TWICE released its English song Moonlight Sunrise, which landed in the 60th spot on Spotify's Global Top Songs chart and recently landed at the 84th spot on Billboard Hot 100 chart. They are set to release their 12th mini album in March. TWICE is a nine-member group consisting of Nayeon, Jeongyeon, Momo, Sana, Jihyo, Mina, Dahyun, Chaeyoung, and Tzuyu. They debuted in 2015 with their lead single Like Ooh Aah. Some of their hit tracks are What is Love, The Feels, and Feel Special, among others. https://philstarlife.com/celebrity/409904-twice-breakthrough-award-at-billboard-women-in-music-2023?page=2

BLACKPINK’s Lisa buys $6 M house in Seoul K-pop group BLACKPINK’s Lisa has purchased a house in Seoul. Lisa bought a house with a land area of 198.13 pyeong (655 sq. m.) worth 7.5 billion won ($6 million) in Seongbuk-dong in Seongbuk, in Seoul, according to an exclusive report by Korean media outlet Biz Hankook on Feb. 1. Seongbuk-dong is a traditionally wealthy area in Korea, the report added. It said that the detached house has two floors and a basement. Based on the real estate registry in Korea, according to the news report, the house, built in 2016, has a total floor area of 689.22 sq. m. Lisa signed the purchase contract on July 15, 2022 and paid the balance last Jan. 20. Originally, the land for the house was bought at a public auction in November 2014 by Jang Seon-yoon, executive director of the Lotte New York Palace, and Yang Sung-wook. The house was built in April 2016 and he lived there for seven years. Seongbuk-dong is home to business leaders such as Kyobo Life Insurance Chairman Shin Chang-jae, Hyundai Group Chairman Hyun Jeong-eun, and Hyundai Department Store Chairman Jeong Ji-seon, as well as actors Bae Yong-joon and Lee Seung-gi. https://mb.com.ph/2023/02/01/blackpinks-lisa-buys-6-m-house-in-seoul/

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. welcomes United State Defense Chief Lloyd Austin III at Malacañang Palace on Feb. 2, 2023. Austin III is in the country for three days to build a strong bilateral relationship, reaffirming its military commitment to the Philippines and advance its interest in the Indo-Pacific region. LOOK: President Marcos meets US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in Malacañang. Marcos tells Austin that "the future of the Philippines and for that matter Asia Pacific will always have to involve the United States." Austin tells Marcos that the US and the Philippines has a "strong relationship" and US President Joe Biden's goal "is to strengthen that relationship in every way possible," calling Manila an "important ally" of Washington. Austin says the US will continue to work with the Philippines to "modernize" the country's defense capabilities.

캐나다, 위구르족 난민 1만 명 수용 캐나다, 오타와 — 수요일 캐나다 의회는 중국을 탈출했지만 현재 귀환 압력을 받고 있는 위구르 난민 10,000명을 받아들이는 안건을 만장일치로 통과시켰습니다. 이러한 움직임은 2021년 2월 캐나다 국회의원들이 신장 북서부 영토에서 위구르족과 기타 투르크족 무슬림에 대한 중국 정부의 처우를 대량 학살로 규정한 움직임을 기반으로 합니다. 인권 단체는 최소 100만 명의 위구르인과 기타 대부분의 무슬림 소수 민족이 이 지역의 수용소에 수감되어 있으며 중국도 여성을 강제로 불임시키고 강제 노동을 강요한 혐의를 받고 있다고 믿고 있습니다. 수만 명이 도망쳤습니다. 그리고 이 운동을 지지한 백벤치 하원의원 Sameer Zuberi에 따르면 최소 1,600명이 중국의 요청에 따라 다른 나라에 구금되었거나 강제 송환되었습니다. 기자 회견에서 Zuberi는 Justin Trudeau 총리와 그의 내각이 동의에 찬성표를 던졌고, 구속력이 없음에도 불구하고 정부가 "이를 실현하려는 의도"를 나타냈다고 언급했습니다. 그는 “위구르족에 대한 인권 침해를 용납하지 않는다는 분명한 신호”라며 “위구르족에게 일어나고 있는 일은 용납할 수 없다”고 덧붙였습다. 위구르 인권옹호 프로젝트(Uyghur Rights Advocacy Project)의 메흐메트 토티(Mehmet Tohti) 전무이사는 기자들에게 "중국과 캐나다뿐만 아니라 전 세계에 울려 퍼질 것"이라는 강력한 메시지라고 말했습니다. 이 동의안은 "제3국으로 도피한 위구르인들이 중국으로 돌아가라는 중국 정부의 압력과 위협에 직면해 있다"고 말하면서 중국 정부가 이들을 억류하고 추방하도록 외교적, 경제적 압력을 가하고 있다고 비난했습니다. "세상에 안전한 피난처 없이 그들을 내버려 두는 것입니다." 2024년부터 2년에 걸쳐 10,000명의 위구르족을 캐나다에 재정착할 것을 제안합니다. 중국은 신장의 위구르 수용소가 테러리즘과 싸우고 소수 민족에게 직업 훈련을 제공하는 데 중요하다고 말하면서 그들을 옹호했습니다. 그러나 미국은 중국의 위구르인에 대한 탄압이 "인종 학살"에 해당한다고 말했고 유엔은 중국이 위구르인과 다른 투르크계 무슬림을 박해하는 것을 비난했습니다. 세계 위구르 회의(World Uyghur Congress)의 돌쿤 이사(Dolkun Isa) 회장은 "위구르인들은 우리의 언어, 문화, 종교, 역사, 민족적 정체성에 대해 공격을 받고 있다"고 말했습니다. Canada moves to take in 10,000 Uyghur refugees OTTAWA, Canada — Canada’s parliament on Wednesday unanimously passed a motion to take in 10,000 Uyghur refugees who fled China but are now facing pressure to return. The move builds on a February 2021 move by Canadian lawmakers to label Beijing’s treatment of Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims in its northwestern Xinjiang territory as genocide. Rights groups believe at least one million Uyghurs and other mostly Muslim minorities have been incarcerated in internment camps in the region, where China is also accused of forcibly sterilizing women and imposing forced labor. Tens of thousands have fled. And according to backbench MP Sameer Zuberi, who sponsored the motion, at least 1,600 have been detained in other countries at China’s behest or forcibly repatriated. At a news conference Zuberi noted that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his cabinet voted in support of the motion, signaling the government’s “intent to make this happen” even though it is nonbinding. “It is a clear signal that we do not accept human rights violations against the Uyghur people,” he said, adding that “what is happening to the Uyghurs is unacceptable.” Mehmet Tohti, executive director of the Uyghur Rights Advocacy Project, told reporters it is a strong message that “will resonate not only in China and in Canada, but around the world.” The motion says Uyghurs who “fled to third countries face pressure and intimidation by the Chinese state to return to China” and accuses Beijing of also applying diplomatic and economic pressure on countries to detain and deport them, “leaving them without a safe haven in the world.” It proposes resettling 10,000 Uyghurs in Canada over two years, starting in 2024. China has defended its Uyghur camps in Xinjiang, saying they are crucial to battling terrorism and providing vocational training to minorities. But the United States has said China’s repression of Uyghurs amounts to “genocide,” and the United Nations has condemned China’s persecution of Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims. Dolkun Isa, president of the World Uyghur Congress, said: “The Uyghur people are under attack: our language, culture, religion, history, ethnic identity.” https://mb.com.ph/2023/02/02/canada-moves-to-take-in-10000-uyghur-refugees/

South Korea Jan inflation unexpectedly ticks up SEOUL – South Korea’s consumer inflation ticked up in January to a three-month high, against economists’ expectations, official data showed on Thursday. The consumer price index was 5.2-percent higher in January than in the same month a year before, rising faster than the 5 percent rate seen in December, according to Statistics Korea. Economists had expected the pace of growth to stay steady at 5percent. The index was 0.8 percent higher than in December, when the monthly rise was 0.2 percent. A 0.5 percent increase from December was tipped in a Reuters poll. By product category, public utility costs rose 4.6 percent from the previous month while agricultural products jumped 6.2 percent, leading the index higher. Petroleum products fell 2.8 percent. The core CPI, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, was up 4.1 percent in January on a year earlier, the same as in December, when annual core inflation eased for the first time in 13 months. At their policy meeting on Jan. 13, most of the Bank of Korea’s board members were seen turning cautious about additional interest rate hikes, though the board voted on that day to raise rates by 25 basis points to 3.5 percent. Meeting minutes were released two days ago. Read more: https://business.inquirer.net/?p=384749#ixzz7s7xlgTDT

LOOK: Nabunturan Emergency Response Team members inspected a house in Barangay Magsaysay in Nabunturan, Davao de Oro, that collapsed following a magnitude 6.0 earthquake that struck the province on Wednesday evening. According to the province's information agency, the family of four, including two children aged three and five, were rescued.

This photo taken Thursday in Incheon shows the home of a woman arrested on suspicion of leaving her two-year-old son alone at home for three days. The child was found dead. SEOUL — A 24-year-old woman was taken into custody by Incheon Police on Thursday on suspicion of neglecting her 2-year-old son at home alone for three days. The child was found dead. Investigation by Incheon Police Station found that the suspect left her home in Michuhol-gu, Incheon, at around 2 p.m. Monday, and returned at 2 a.m. on Thursday. Police took her into custody on suspicion of child abuse, after the suspect herself called the police and said her child was not breathing. The suspect did not state why she left her son alone at home, and just said that she is currently separated from her husband. Officials are conducting further investigation to find out her exact reason for abandoning the child, after which they will decide on whether to seek a warrant for her continued detention. Child abuse cases across South Korea have been on the rise. According to the annual report issued last August by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, 53,932 cases of child abuse were reported to the authorities in 2021, up 27.6 percent from the year before. A total of 40 children died due to abuse in 2021, 15 of whom were younger than 24 months of age. In 83.7 percent of the cases, the parent was found to have been responsible for the abuse. https://lm.facebook.com/

BRUSSELS/KYIV — More than a dozen top European Union officials arrive in Kyiv on Thursday with promises of more military, financial and political aid, a symbolic trip meant to highlight support for Ukraine as the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion nears. But the EU is set to dash Ukraine’s hopes of being swiftly allowed membership, stressing the need for more anti-corruption measures, and unwilling to admit a country at war, the biggest armed conflict in Europe since World War Two. “It is a very strong signal that we are in Kyiv during the war. It’s a signal to the Ukrainian people. It’s a signal to Russia. It’s a signal to the world,” said a senior EU official. On Thursday, top members of the EU’s executive European Commission will meet their counterparts in the Ukrainian government. On Friday the head of the Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and the chairman of the 27 EU national leaders, Charles Michel, will meet President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. The first such gathering in the Ukrainian capital since the war started on Feb. 24, 2022, caps a fortnight during which the West pledged significant new weapons deliveries to Ukraine to help it battle against an expected new Russian offensive. Moscow has denounced these Western pledges as provocations. The allies will discuss sending even more weapons and money to Ukraine, boosting access for Ukraine’s products to the EU market, helping Ukraine cover energy needs, slapping new sanctions against Russia, prosecuting the leadership in Moscow for the war and extending the EU no-roaming mobile calls zone to Ukraine. ‘Not there yet’ Among those traveling to Kyiv is the EU’s top diplomat Josep Borrell, who is to announce the doubling of the number of Ukrainian troops to be trained by the bloc to 30,000 this year, and 25 million euros for demining areas recaptured by Ukraine. So far, the 27-nation EU has earmarked nearly 60 billion euros ($65 bln) in aid to Ukraine, according to officials, including nearly 12 billion euros of military support and 18 billion euros promised to help run the country this year. Despite much admiration for Ukraine’s resistance and praise for moves to crack down on corruption, the EU refuses to offer Kyiv a fast track to membership. Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal has said he wanted Ukraine to join the European Union in two years and a liberal Belgian EU lawmaker said teasingly he dreamt of it happening over the next five. In reality, that is most likely to take much longer. “Some may want to speculate about the end game but the simple truth is that we are not there yet,” said another EU official. Instead of committing to dates, EU officials have listed multiple conditions to join from political and economic stability to adopting EU laws from climate to social to health standards. The EU would stress its “commitment to support Ukraine’s further European integration” after it formally gave it membership candidate status last June, and go on to say, according to a draft joint statement seen by Reuters: “The EU will decide on further steps once all conditions … are fully met. Ukraine underlined its determination to meet the necessary requirements in order to start accession negotiations as soon as possible,” according to the document. While recognizing progress made by Ukraine on fighting corruption, the EU says the country must build a credible track record over time to shed its reputation for endemic graft, with Transparency International watchdog’s ranking Ukraine as one of the worst at 116th out of 180 states. In a bid to demonstrate that it can be a steward of billions of dollars in Western aid, Zelenskiy’s government has cracked down on high-level corruption in recent days. Ukraine’s calls for long-range rockets or fighter jets will equally be left unanswered by the EU this week. The bloc’s looming new sanctions against Russia are also all but certain to fall short of expectations in Ukraine, which has called for the targeting of Russia’s nuclear industry. ($1 = 0.9172 euros)

SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea said Thursday it had staged joint air drills with the United States featuring strategic bombers and stealth fighters, prompting Pyongyang to warn that such exercises could “ignite an all-out showdown”. The exercises, the first by the security allies this year, came a day after US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and his South Korean counterpart vowed to boost security cooperation to counter an increasingly belligerent nuclear-armed North Korea. The drills on Wednesday showed “the US’s will and capabilities to provide strong and credible extended deterrence against North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats,” the South Korean defence ministry said. They involved American B-1B long-range heavy bombers and stealth fighters — US Air Force F-22s and South Korean F-35s — flying over the Yellow Sea, the ministry added. A North Korean foreign ministry spokesman warned the exercises could “ignite an all-out showdown”, the state news agency KCNA reported. Seoul and Washington’s moves to ramp up joint drills crossed “an extreme red-line”. South Korea is eager to convince its increasingly nervous public of America’s robust defence commitment, after a year in which North Korea declared itself an “irreversible” nuclear power and conducted a weapons test almost every month in defiance of international sanctions. Austin and South Korean Defence Minister Lee Jong-sup agreed this week to “expand and bolster the level and scale” of joint military exercises in light of “continued provocations” from Pyongyang, including a recent drone incursion into the South. ‘Nuke for nuke’ Bolstering US-South Korean military drills and deploying strategic weapons to the region was akin to “talking about the use of nuclear weapons against the DPRK”, the North Korean statement on KCNA said, using the country’s official name. It warned that North Korea would follow the “principle of ‘nuke for nuke and an all-out confrontation for an all-out confrontation!'” “The DPRK is not interested in any contact or dialogue with the U.S. as long as it pursues its hostile policy and confrontational line,” it added. US-South Korean joint military exercises infuriate Pyongyang, which views them as rehearsals for an invasion and has often responded with threats and drills of its own. “By emphasising that the United States is entirely responsible for the deterioration of the situation on the Korean peninsula, (North Korea) is accumulating legitimacy for the development of its missile and nuclear weapons programmes,” said Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul. He added that a large North Korean military parade and its planned launch of a spy satellite could further raise tensions with Seoul and Washington. Commercial satellite imagery has suggested that “extensive parade preparations” are under way in Pyongyang ahead of one of the biggest state holidays, according to the 38 North website. The parade could be held on the “Day of the Shining Star” on February 16, the birthday of Kim Jong Il, the son of North Korea’s founder Kim Il Sung and the father and predecessor of current leader Kim Jong Un, it added.

Attention, bookworms! Award-winning Japanese author Haruki Murakami is set to publish his first new novel since 2017. In a brief statement in Japanese, Shinchosha Publishing Co. announced that Murakami's 1,200 Japanese manuscript pages-long book will be published on April 13 with no confirmed title and plot yet. The novel will cost around ¥2,970 (~P1,240) per copy and is expected to be published in Japanese initially, with translations following later. The publisher added that its digital version will be released the same day. Murakami's last long novel was “Kishidancho-goroshi” (Killing Commendatore) published by Shinchosha in 2017. The 74-year-old Japanese is a long-known contender for the Nobel literature prize. His short novels and fictional works are well-known around the world, including Norwegian Wood (1987), Kafka on the Shore (2002), 1Q84 (2009), and Wind-Up Bird Chronicle (1994), among many others.

Song Hye Kyo talked about her nude scene in Netflix’s series, The Glory, addressing comments about looking older. In her interview as the latest cover girl for Elle Korea, the renowned South Korean actress revealed thoughts on her character as Moon Dong-eun in The Glory. Contrary to her previous roles, Dong-eun has a much darker aura, which is brought about by trauma from childhood violence and her plan to revenge against her bullies and their accomplices. In one of the episodes in season 1, Hye-kyo stripped down to reveal Dong-eun's scarred body to her love interest Joo Yeo-jung (Lee Do-hyun). The scars were proof of how the character severely suffered as child. The scene was shot with Dong-eun bathing in moonlight, but viewers pointed out how Hye-kyo looked older. During her interview with Elle Korea, the actress emphasized that the character suffered as a child and said that it won’t make sense if she appears well taken care of. “I didn’t apply any makeup and certain lighting helped me achieve the haggard appearance. Dong-eun is someone who has only suffered, so it wouldn’t make sense for me to take care of myself when portraying her,” she said, She continued, “I’ve heard comments about how old I look, but obviously I have gotten older with time.” The 41-year-old actress shared how she changed certain parts of her to fit Dong-eun's character: “I wanted to give viewers an impression that this character was someone who was broken and needed protection. I had already lost weight for the drama, but I made sure to control my meals to give Dong-eun an emaciated appearance. She needed to be small and underestimated.” While The Glory writer Kim Eun-sook knew that the scene was challenging and even offered a body double, Hye-kyo said that she accepted to do it by herself without thinking twice. “It’s an important scene. It’s not sensual, but it shows who Moon Dong-eun is, exposing why she is so determined for revenge. It would be weird and uncomfortable for me to use someone else’s body for my character,” she said. After its successful release, The Glory is set to return with a second season on March 10 with more intense and thrilling episodes in store for fans.