LIST Mouthwatering set menus to book now for a romantic Valentine’s date

Here's your sign to finally start saving up, bibliophiles! The annual Manila International Book Fair has announced the dates of its four-day affair this year. In a Facebook post on Thursday, Feb. 2, the country’s largest and longest-running book revealed that its in-person event will run from September 14 to 17 at the SMX Convention Center, Mall of Asia Complex in Pasay City. The organizers said more details about the event, including the time, participating exhibitors and publishers, schedule of activities, as well as ticket prices, will be announced in the coming days. Last year, MIBF held a hybrid event from Sept. 15 to 18 at the MIBF Online Marketplace and SMX Convention Center. The on-site book fair was open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. throughout the duration of the event. Admission was free, with MIBF requiring visitors to register on the MIBF's EventPlus page prior to their visit. Since the pandemic, this is the second time the fair will be held in person. It had its first-ever online fair in 2021 due to strict pandemic restrictions in the country. Meanwhile, Mindanao-based book lovers can also enjoy some book hunting at the Mindanao Book Fair 2023 that is set to take place on March 17 to 19 at the activity center of Abreeza Mall in Davao City.

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Migrant Workers Secretary Susan Ople hands over photos signed by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to the family of slain overseas Filipino worker Jullebee Ranara during her wake, as seen in a Facebook post on Thursday, Feb. 2.

MANILA, Philippines — At least two people were hurt after the human barricade that Sibuyan residents formed to stop mining operations was breached by local authorities on Friday, said environmental group Alyansa Tigil Mina (ATM). Sibuyan residents have set up a human barricade due to the allegedly illegal mining operations there after the Altai Philippines Mining Company failed to show protesters the required legal documents to operate. “Two were hurt after Sibuyonon defenders try to block mining trucks in entering the private port. Three trucks with nickel ores passed through the barricade today,” said ATM in a Facebook post. The group sent Inquirer.net a video showing the dispersal of the human barricade. A woman could be heard repeatedly screaming “Lord”, as the police pushed into the human wall, scattering the protestors. A man could be seen trying to single-handedly block the trucks, and police officials pulled him out of the way to allow the mining trucks to pass. Inquirer.net has contacted the Department of Environment and Natural Resources on the issue and is awaiting the agency’s response. https://lm.facebook.com/

SEOUL – South Korea’s finance minister said on Friday the country’s exports and investment would be weak at least through the first half of the year and that the government would provide maximum support to ease the situation. “The government will provide maximum support to boost exports and investment by companies so that the timing of an economic rebound can be advanced,” Minister Choo Kyung-ho said at a meeting of trade-related officials. He also said inflation would hover around 5 percent in annual terms during the first quarter before easing throughout the rest of the year. The central bank has said inflation would ease towards 3 percent later in the year.

Washington, United States — The Pentagon said Thursday that it was tracking a Chinese spy balloon flying high over the United States that appeared to be surveilling highly sensitive nuclear weapons sites. At President Joe Biden’s request, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and top military officials considered shooting the balloon down but decided doing so would endanger too many people on the ground, a senior defense official told reporters. The official said the balloon flew over the US northwest where there are sensitive airbases and strategic missiles in silos underground. “Clearly, the intent of this balloon is for surveillance, and the current flight path does carry it over a number of sensitive sites,” said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. But the Pentagon did not believe it constitutes a particularly dangerous intelligence threat. “We assess that this balloon has limited additive value from an intelligence collection perspective,” the official said. The balloon entered US airspace “a couple days ago,” the official said, adding that US intelligence had been tracking it well before that. After Biden asked what the options were to deal with it, on Wednesday Austin, who was in the Philippines, held discussions with top Pentagon officials. Fighter jets were flown to examine the balloon while it was above Montana as discussions took place. But the Pentagon decision was “not to take kinetic action due to the risk to safety and security of people on the ground from the possible debris field,” the official said. It was flying at a high enough altitude not to threaten commercial aviation, the official added. China has sent surveillance balloons over the United States in the past. However, this one has lingered in US airspace much loner, the official said. “We are taking steps nevertheless to protect against foreign intelligence collection of sensitive information,” the official said. https://lm.facebook.com/

Celebrated Japanese author Haruki Murakami will release his first new novel in six years this April, publisher Shinchosha announced on Wednesday, Feb 2. There was little detail given about the new work, which will be Murakami’s first novel since “Killing Commendatore” was published in February 2017. In a brief statement in Japanese, Shinchosha said the new work would be published on April 13, but gave neither its title nor details of the plot. The book is expected to be published in Japanese initially, with translations following later. Shinchosha told Agence France-Presse it could not confirm when translations of the book might be released, or even when the name of the book would be announced. The title will be 1,200 Japanese manuscript pages long, but the exact number of book pages that will amount to was also not yet confirmed, the publisher added. Murakami is an internationally renowned writer who is perennially pegged for the Nobel literature prize. The 74-year-old has a cult following for his surreal works peppered with references to pop culture, which have been translated into around 50 languages. Readers are drawn into the so-called “Murakami world” where giant frogs challenge salarymen in battle and mackerel rain down from the sky. Murakami is known as a reclusive figure, but the author has delighted fans in recent years by moonlighting as a radio DJ. And in 2021, a cavernous new library filled with his novels, scrapbooks and vinyl opened at Waseda University in Tokyo—featuring a replica of the writer’s minimalist workspace, a cafe and a radio studio. For the 2017 release of “Killing Commendatore,” major bookstores in Tokyo stayed open past midnight to allow eager fans to get their hands on the book immediately. Details of the plot were kept under wraps to respect Murakami’s desire for “readers to discover it without knowing anything beforehand,” Shinchosha said at the time. AP/ra

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