Football: Vietnam women get World Cup boost with SEA Games gold

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia -- Vietnam's women scored a big pre-World Cup boost on Monday by beating Myanmar 2-0 to win gold at the Southeast Asian Games.

Thi Thanh Nha Nguyen made sure of a fourth gold in a row with a curling shot in the 76th minute, delighting the large Vietnamese contingent among the more than 8,000 fans at Phnom Penh's Olympic Stadium.

Captain Huynh Nhu, who opened the scoring in the 12th minute, said the win would serve as a boost ahead of the global showpiece starting in July.

"This victory makes us become more confident when playing in big tournaments like the World Cup," said the Portugal-based forward.

"It also increases the belief of the fans."

Coach Mai Duc Chung agreed that the regional win was "a preparatory step on the way to" the tournament in Australia and New Zealand.

Ranked 33rd in the world, Vietnam are one of only two Southeast Asian teams headed to the Women's World Cup, along with the Philippines.

The Golden Stars will play holders the United States in their first group game on July 22, before meetings with Spain and Portugal.

Huynh's tap-in was all that separated the teams after an even first half.

In the second half, Myanmar launched a number of counterattacks, but could never find the final touch, before substitute Nguyen's handsome effort effectively finished the contest.

In the bronze-medal match earlier Monday, Thailand battered hosts Cambodia 6-0, Saowalak Pengngam and Pattaranan Aupachai with a brace each.

The other goals were from Panittha Jeeratanapavibul and Jiraporn Mongkoldee, whose 25th-minute strike made her the top scorer in the competition, on six goals.

Agence France-Presse

At Miss Universe pageant, Myanmar's contestant pleads 'our people are dying'

Myanmar's Miss Universe contestant, Thuzar Wint Lwin, used the pageant on Sunday to urge the world to speak out against the military junta, whose security forces have killed hundreds of opponents since it seized power in a Feb. 1 coup.

"Our people are dying and being shot by the military every day," she said in a video message for the competition, where she was appearing in the finals at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida.

"I would like to urge everyone to speak about Myanmar. As Miss Universe Myanmar since the coup, I have been speaking out as much as I can," she said.

Myanmar's junta spokesman did not answer calls seeking comment.

Thuzar Wint Lwin is among dozens of Myanmar celebrities, actors, social media influencers and sports people who have voiced opposition to the coup, in which elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi was overthrown and detained.

At least 790 people have been killed by security forces since the coup, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners activist group. It says over 5,000 people have been arrested, with some 4,000 still detained -- including several celebrities.

Thuzar Wint Lwin did not make it to the last round of the Miss Universe competition, but she won the award for Best National Costume, which was based on the ethnic costume of her Chin people from northwestern Myanmar, where fighting has raged in recent days between the army and anti-junta militia fighters.

As she paraded with her national costume, she held up a placard that said "Pray for Myanmar." 

-reuters-

Myanmar junta cuts internet, protesters say they will not surrender

Opponents of military rule in Myanmar marched and laid bouquets of flowers on Friday while trying to find alternative ways to organize their campaign of dissent after the authorities cut off most users from the internet.

Protests have taken place almost daily since the military overthrew the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi on Feb. 1. Hundreds of civilians have been killed in a crackdown by security forces that has drawn international condemnation.

On Friday, security forces opened fire at a rally near Myanmar's second city Mandalay, wounding four people, two critically, according to three domestic media organizations.

In the town of Tamu on the Indian border, a policemen who supported the democracy movement was killed in a clash with security forces, the Monywa Gazette reported.

The authorities, who had already shut down mobile data in a bid to stifle the opposition to the ruling junta, ordered internet providers from Friday to cut wireless broadband, depriving most customers of access.

In response, pro-democracy groups shared radio frequencies, offline apps that work without a data connection, and tips for using SMS messages as an alternative to data services to communicate.

"In the following days, there are street protests. Do as many guerrilla strikes as you can. Please join," Khin Sadar, a protest leader, said on Facebook in anticipation of the internet blackout, referring to quick protests in unexpected places that break up when the security forces appear.

"Let's listen to the radio again. Let's make phone calls to each other too."

The military did not announce or explain its order to providers to cut wireless broadband. Internet was available only on fixed lines, rare in Myanmar where most homes and businesses connect through wireless networks.

A spokesman for the junta did not answer telephone calls seeking comment.

Despite the internet shutdown, users were still able to upload pictures of marches, "flower strikes" and a funeral of a slain protester.

An image shared widely on social media showed a bird's eye view of hundreds of flickering candles on a dark road, spelling out the words "we will never surrender."

Across the country, demonstrators left bouquets, many with messages of defiance, at places associated with activists killed by the security forces.

People held up roses while making three-finger salutes, a symbol of resistance. One arrangement of dandelions and red roses on a lakeside walkway read: "Myanmar is bleeding."

More than 540 people have been killed in the uprising, many of them when troops fired on crowds, according to the Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) advocacy group, which is tracking casualties and detentions.

In the commercial hub Yangon, a Myanmar employee of South Korea's Shinhan Bank died on Friday after being shot in the head while traveling in a minibus two days earlier, the bank said. It was discussing the situation with the government.

The military has said those killed instigated the violence. It says it staged the coup because an election in November -- won by Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy -- was rigged and the election commission failed to heed its complaints. The commission and many international bodies have dismissed that assertion.

Suu Kyi, a longtime democracy campaigner who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991, is being held in detention.

She and four allies have been charged with violating a colonial-era official secrets act, her chief lawyer said on Thursday, the most serious charge filed against her. Violations are punishable by up to 14 years in prison.

The security forces have also arrested numerous suspected opponents of the coup. The Myanmar Now news portal said five women who spoke to a visiting CNN news crew on the streets of Yangon this week had been taken away by security men.

CHINA TALKS

Western countries have condemned the coup and some have imposed limited sanctions. But neither China nor India, which compete for influence, have denounced Suu Kyi's overthrow.

Myanmar's neighbors in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have traditionally been reluctant to criticize their fellow member under a principle of non-interference. But there is growing dismay with a country that has for decades raised international concerns over its domestic repression.

Several Southeast Asian foreign ministers met separately this week with a senior official in China, which is a major investor in Myanmar and one of the few countries able to influence the generals, to seek its backing for a bid to find a path out of the crisis.

"China... supports the convening of a special meeting of ASEAN leaders to mediate as soon as possible," the Chinese government's top diplomat, Wang Yi, said after talks with Malaysian foreign minister Hishammuddin Hussein.

Adding to the chaos in the former British colony, hostilities between the armed forces and ethnic minority insurgents have broken out in at least two regions.

-reuters-

Myanmar gripped by strike as anti-coup protests build

Businesses shut in Myanmar on Monday in a general strike called to oppose the military coup and thousands of protesters gathered despite a threat from authorities that confrontation could cost lives.

Three weeks after seizing power, the junta has failed to stop daily protests and a civil disobedience movement calling for the reversal of the Feb. 1 coup and release of elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

Myanmar gripped by strike as anti-coup protests build

"Everyone is joining this," said San San Maw, 46, at the Hledan junction in the main city of Yangon, which has become a rallying point for the protests. "We need to come out."

In a country where dates are seen as auspicious, protesters noted the significance of the date 22.2.2021, comparing it to demonstrations on Aug. 8 1988 when a previous generation staged anti-military protests which were bloodily suppressed.

The response of security forces this time has been less deadly, but at least three protesters have now been killed after two were shot dead in the second city of Mandalay on Saturday. One policeman died of injuries in protests, the army has said.

The deaths in Mandalay did not discourage protesters on Sunday, when they turned out again in tens of thousands there and in Yangon.

State-owned media MRTV warned protesters against action on Monday.

"Protesters are now inciting the people, especially emotional teenagers and youths, to a confrontation path where they will suffer the loss of life," it said.

Htet Htet Hlaing, 22, said she was scared and had prayed before joining Monday's demonstration, but would not be discouraged.

"We don’t want the junta, we want democracy. We want to create our own future," she said. "My mother didn't stop me from coming out, she only said 'take care'."

RESTAURANTS SHUT

As well as local stores, international chains announced closures on Monday, including Yum Brands Inc.'s KFC and delivery service Food Panda, owned by Delivery Hero. Southeast Asian company Grab stopped delivery services too, but left its taxis running.

Authorities were "exercising utmost restraint", the Foreign Ministry said in a statement. It rebuked some foreign countries for remarks it described as flagrant interference in Myanmar's internal affairs.

Several Western countries have condemned the coup and decried the violence against protesters.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Twitter the United States would continue to "take firm action" against authorities violently cracking down on opponents of the coup in the Southeast Asian country that is also known as Burma.

"We stand with the people of Burma," he said.

Britain, Germany, Japan and Singapore have also condemned the violence and U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said lethal force was unacceptable.

Residents in Yangon said roads to some embassies, including the U.S. embassy, were blocked on Monday. The diplomatic missions have become gathering points for protesters calling for foreign intervention.

U.N special rapporteur on human rights to Myanmar, Tom Andrews, said he was deeply concerned by the junta's warning to protesters.

"Unlike 1988, actions by security forces are being recorded and you will be held accountable," he said on Twitter.

The army seized power after alleging fraud in Nov. 8 elections that were swept by Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD), detaining her and much of the party leadership. The electoral commission dismissed the fraud complaints.

Myanmar's Assistance Association for Political Prisoners said 640 people have been arrested, charged or sentenced since the coup - including former members of government and opponents of the army takeover. 

-reuters-

Thousands rally again in Myanmar against military coup

YANGON - Thousands of anti-coup protesters in Myanmar poured back onto the streets Sunday, as an internet blackout failed to stifle growing outrage at the military's ouster of elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

The fresh rally followed the largest protests to date on Saturday, when tens of thousands came out in cities across the country to condemn the coup that brought a 10-year experiment with democracy to a crashing halt.

Thousands of chanting protesters marched in Yangon, backed by a din of car horns. They held up banners -- including some saying "We do not want military dictatorship" -- and the signature red flags of Suu Kyi's National League of Democracy (NLD) party.

"We will move forward and keep demanding until we get democracy. Down with the military dictatorship," said protester Myo Win, 37.

Some flashed the three-finger salute inspired by the "Hunger Games" films and used as a symbol of resistance by pro-democracy protesters in Thailand last year.

Despite the large-scale deployment of riot police –- backed by water cannon -- there have been no major clashes reported so far.

"#Myanmar's military and police must ensure the right to peaceful assembly is fully respected and demonstrators are not subjected to reprisals," the United Nations Human Rights office tweeted after Saturday's protests.

The surge in popular dissent over the weekend overrode a nationwide blockade of the internet, similar in magnitude to an earlier shutdown that coincided with the arrest of Suu Kyi and other senior leaders on Monday.

Online calls to protest the army takeover have prompted bold displays of defiance, including the nightly deafening clamour of people around the country banging pots and pans -- a practice traditionally associated with driving out evil spirits.

Yangon residents repeated the pot-banging at 8 am on Sunday.

CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE

As protests gathered steam this week, the junta ordered telecom networks to freeze access to Facebook, an extremely popular service in the country and arguably its main mode of communication.

The platform had hosted a rapidly growing "Civil Disobedience Movement" forum that had inspired civil servants, healthcare professionals, and teachers to show their dissent by boycotting their jobs.

On Sunday, a live Facebook video feed showed the Yangon protesters as they marched through the streets, as well as police in riot personnel standing by in some locations.

It was not immediately clear how the broadcast was bypassing the government block.

The military had widened its efforts to quell organised dissent on Friday when it demanded new blocks on other social media services including Twitter.

"The generals are now attempting to paralyse the citizen movement of resistance -- and keep the outside world in the dark -- by cutting virtually all internet access," said Tom Andrews, UN special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar.

INTERNATIONAL CONDEMNATION

An immensely popular figure despite a tarnished reputation in the West, Suu Kyi has not been seen in public since the coup, but a party spokesman said Friday she was under house arrest and "in good health".

Two days after her ouster, criminal charges were filed against her related to the illegal import of a set of walkie-talkies.

The military had flagged its coup intentions days in advance, insisting that the NLD's landslide victory in the November elections was the result of voter fraud.

The army's favoured parties were trounced in the ballot.

Following the takeover, the junta proclaimed a one-year state of emergency after which it promised to hold fresh elections, without offering any precise timeframe.

The coup has been widely condemned by the international community, with US President Joe Biden leading calls for the generals to relinquish power and release those arrested in the post-coup crackdown.

Agence France-Presse

LOOK: Human-powered Ferris wheels in Myanmar

Taunggyi, Myanmar - Aung careers towards the ground, hanging from one arm on the basket of one of Myanmar's human-powered Ferris wheels, reliant on gravity-defying agility and split-second coordination honed since the age of nine.

Fireworks shower down onto jubilant crowds nearby from stunning, if treacherous, hot air balloons at the annual festival in Shan State's capital Taunggyi.

As ear-splitting techno pumps out from the fairground, the team of lithe youngsters coax captivated onlookers onto their Ferris ride, hamster-wheeling it round to fill up the baskets.

Aung Sein Phyo, 22, blows his whistle and then scampers with his teammates up the 20-metre (60-foot) high structure.

The wheel starts to turn, getting faster and faster, each worker adeptly leaping away to safety just before they crash into the ground.

As the ride's kaleidoscopic neon lights become a blur and its delighted passengers cheer and scream, Aung jumps underneath -- almost onto his back, like an extreme limbo -- lunging up to give each basket an extra shove. 

"I started working on these when I was nine," he tells AFP during a break.

"My parents didn't like me doing it but I did it behind their backs," he confides with a grin, acknowledging it is "dangerous" work.

Aung is one of several hundred young men working Myanmar's Ferris wheels -- known as 'char yahat' -- at fairgrounds and festivals across the country.

For nine months a year his team of 15 are on the road and they work without a day off, earning between 70 and 100 USD a month before resting up during the monsoon season.

"We have a really good team spirit," says Aung, admitting they sometimes cannot resist teasing their female passengers.

"When the girls go up high and we swing the baskets, they get really scared and scream," he says smiling -- although he adds the team always chivalrously help them off the ride so they leave happy.

Aung says he has no regrets about forgoing an education but admits to sometimes missing his family.

A more normal life would not be for him, he insists, and instead plans to ride the wheel as long as he can.

"It's all I know how to do."

rs/dhc/rbu

source: news.abs-cbn.com

17 hurt as plane skids off Myanmar runway

YANGON, Myanmar - A Biman Bangladesh Airlines plane skidded off the runway when it landed in bad weather at Yangon's international airport on Wednesday evening, injuring at least 17 people, officials said.

The Bombardier Dash 8 aircraft was carrying 29 passengers and 4 crew when it bounced while landing during heavy winds in Myanmar's commercial capital, Bangladesh's ambassador said. The plane was severely damaged.

The 17 who sustained mostly minor injuries were admitted to a local hospital, Manjurul Karim Khan Chowdhury told Reuters.

"The main reason, the pilot told me, was the weather – crosswinds," he said. "When he was trying to land... suddenly the aircraft jumped, went up and went down heavily."

A photo published by the Myanmar Times showed the plane halfway off the runway with its fuselage apparently broken.

Shakil Miraj, general manager for Biman Bangladesh, also blamed bad weather for the crash.

The airline flies between Yangon and Bangladesh's capital Dhaka 4 days a week.

A spokesman for Myanmar's Department of Civil Aviation declined to comment, saying the department had not received a report of the incident from the ground.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

More than 50 feared killed in landslide at Myanmar jade mine

More than 50 people were feared dead after a landslide in northern Myanmar engulfed jade miners while they were sleeping, local police said Tuesday, the latest deadly accident in a notoriously dangerous industry.

Dozens die each year in landslides caused by jade mining, a poorly regulated industry rife with corruption and sandwiched between the country's borders with China and India.

Local police described a freak accident in Kachin state on Monday night so big it created a huge "mud lake" that buried the miners as well as some 40 vehicles.

"Fifty-four people are missing in the mud," a duty officer from Hpakant township police station told AFP, asking not to be named.

"There's no way they (the missing) could have survived."

Only 2 bodies had been recovered so far.

The Ministry of Information confirmed the accident and number of missing, adding that the area was mined by Myanmar Thura Gems and Shwe Nagar Koe Kaung companies.

Myanmar Thura Gems director Hla Soe Oo told AFP by phone he was on his way to the site and had no further details. 

Local media shared images, unverified by AFP, that showed the walls of a mine stretching vertically a couple of hundred meters above a vast pool of mud, revealing only the tops of 2 yellow excavation vehicles.

Hundreds of onlookers gathered nearby, staring at the site and taking photos with their phones.

PRIZED IN CHINA 

The open jade mines in Kachin's Hpakant township have turned the remote area into a vast moonscape-like terrain.

Fatal landslides in the area are common with victims often from impoverished ethnic communities looking for scraps left behind by big firms.

A major collapse in November 2015 left more than 100 dead.

In July last year, the bodies of 23 landslide victims were recovered after a days-long search hampered by heavy monsoon rains.

The jade industry is largely driven by insatiable demand from neighboring China, where the translucent green gemstone has long been prized.

Watchdog Global Witness estimated that the industry was worth some $31 billion in 2014, although very little reaches state coffers.

Northern Myanmar's abundant natural resources -- including jade, timber, gold and amber -- help finance both sides of a decades-long civil war between ethnic Kachin insurgents and the military.

The fight to control the mines and the revenues they bring frequently traps local civilians in the middle.

A 17-year ceasefire broke down in 2011, and since then more than 100,000 people have been displaced by fighting -- some of them multiple times.

On coming to power in 2016, civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi promised to make the peace process with the country's myriad armed groups her top priority -- a pledge that has yet to yield significant results.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Desperate search for 12 children trapped in Thailand cave

MAE SAI, Thailand - Desperate parents led a prayer ceremony outside a flooded cave in northern Thailand where 12 children have been trapped for days as Navy rescue divers packing food rations resumed their search Tuesday.

Hundreds of people have been mobilized to find the young football team and their coach who went into the cave on Saturday and were trapped when heavy rains are believed to have flooded the cave's main entrance.

Anxious relatives camped out at the cave near the border with Myanmar and Laos praying for the children's safe return.

"My child, I'm here to get you now," one crying parent said, according to footage from local media.

Another wailing mother screamed: "Come home my child!".

The children, aged between 11 and 16, are believed to have retreated further into the cave as monsoon rains fell and flooded the cave, believed to be several kilometers (miles) long.

Park officials, police and soldiers were dispatched on foot, while an aerial team was also being prepped to scour the scene, according to an AFP photographer at the scene.

Navy SEAL divers equipped with oxygen tanks and food rations entered the cave early Tuesday in northern Chiang Rai province, where light rains continued to fall.

"Our team in the area went inside the cave early morning and will continue to walk to the cave's end," Thai Navy SEAL said on its Facebook page.

Information coming out of the area was spotty with cellphone signals blocked inside the cave, and the Navy urged patience from the public as it searched for the children and their coach.

An underwater robot is set to be dispatched later Tuesday to help survey the Tham Luang cave, a popular site among local tourists.

"We will bring the underwater robot to help survey the area to know how big and how deep the cave is to help the diver," said Sawangtit Srikitsuwan, an aerospace and marine engineer at Bangkok's King Mongkut's University of Technology.

Rescuers found bicycles and a motorbike at the entrance of the cave Monday, and divers said they spotted footprints in one of the cave's chambers.

Heavy rains are common in the area during Thailand's monsoon season from May to October, with flooding and landslides routinely reported.

bur-jv/mtp

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Indonesia arrests militant planning bomb strike on Myanmar embassy

JAKARTA - Police in Indonesia have arrested a suspected Islamist militant and seized a large quantity of bomb making material that he planned to use in attacks on government buildings and the Myanmar embassy in Jakarta next month, a police spokesman said.

The suspect was identified as Rio Priatna Wibawa, 23, who is believed to be a member of an Indonesian group that supports Islamic State.

Local media reported that the amount of explosives seized would have resulted in a blast twice as powerful as the bomb that killed 202 people in a Bali nightclub in 2002.

Wibawa, who studied agricultural science at university and was unemployed, was a self-taught bomb-maker who had planned to distribute explosives to several places across Indonesia, police spokesman Boy Rafli Amar said on Saturday.

Indonesia has seen a string of Islamic State-linked attacks this year, the biggest of which was a gun and bomb assault in the capital Jakarta that killed four people in January.

Authorities are concerned about a resurgence in radicalism and say there are hundreds of Islamic State sympathizers in Indonesia, home to the biggest Muslim population in the world.

Lately, anger has been mounting in the Muslim-majority nations in Southeast Asia, such as Indonesia and Malaysia, over a crackdown on Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar, leading to demonstrations in several cities, including Jakarta.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Potato Corner notches record P1 billion sales in 2015

MANILA - Last year was a banner year for local food cart business Potato Corner after it hit over P1 billion in sales, a record in the company's 23-year history.

Jose Magsaysay Jr., the chief executive of Potato Corner, said a robust domestic market coupled with growth in its store network helped boost sales last year.

Magsaysay added that they are hoping the next administration will make setting up businesses easier.

They also plan to bring Potato Corner to new territories like Myanmar and Vietnam.

Catch the full interview with Potato Corner's Joe Magsaysay on "The Boss" airing every Wednesday on ANC.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

At least 90 dead in landslide at Myanmar jade mine

KACHIN, Myanmar - At least 90 people have died in a huge landslide in a remote jade mining area of northern Myanmar, officials said Sunday, as search teams continued to find bodies in one of the deadliest disasters to strike the country's shadowy jade industry.

"We found 79 dead bodies on November 21 (and) 11 today so the total so far is 90," said Nilar Myint, an official from the local administrative authorities in Hpakant, northern Kachin state, adding that the rescue operation was ongoing.

Rescuers were thought to still be battling to dig through the mountains of loose rubble at the site on Sunday, in the latest deadly accident to affect Myanmar's secretive multi-billion dollar jade industry in war-torn Kachin.

Those killed were thought to have been scavenging through a mountain of waste rubble dumped by mechanical diggers used by the mining firms in the area to extract Myanmar's most valuable precious stone.

Landslides are a common hazard in the area as people living off the industry's waste pick their way across perilous mounds, driven by the hope that they might find a chunk of jade worth thousands of dollars.

Scores have been killed this year alone as local people say the mining firms, many of which are linked to the country's junta-era military elite, scale up their operations in Kachin.

Myanmar is the source of virtually all of the world's finest jadeite, an almost translucent green stone that is prized above almost all other materials in neighboring China.

In an October report, advocacy group Global Witness estimated that the value of jade produced in 2014 alone was $31 billion, the equivalent of nearly half the country's GDP.

But that figure is around 10 times the official $3.4 billion sales of the precious stone last year, in an industry that has long been shrouded in secrecy with much of the best jade thought to be smuggled directly to China.

Local people in Hpakant complain of a litany of abuses associated with the mining industry, including the frequency of accidents and land confiscations.

The area has been turned into a moonscape of environmental destruction as huge diggers gouge the earth looking for jade.
Itinerant miners are drawn from all parts of Myanmar by the promise of riches and become easy prey for drug addiction in Hpakant, where heroin and methamphetamine are cheaply available on the streets.

"Industrial-scale mining by big companies controlled by military families and companies, cronies and drug lords has made Hpakant a dystopian wasteland where locals are literally having the ground cut from under their feet," said Mike Davis of Global Witness, calling for firms to be held accountable for accidents.

The group wants the jade industry, which has long been the subject of United States sanctions, to be part of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), a global scheme designed to increase transparency around natural resource management.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Peri-Peri Charcoal Chicken starts global expansion

MANILA – After a decade of operations here in the Philippines, homegrown restaurant chain Peri-Peri Charcoal Chicken & Sauce Bar is setting its sights abroad.

Bryan Tiu, owner of I-Foods Inc., said Peri-Peri Charcoal Chicken & Sauce Bar recently opened its first international branch in Myanmar.

“We entered Myanmar and we opened two weeks ago,” Tiu told selected members of the media last week. “Ang ganda ng reception… It’s a good market.”

Aside from Peri-Peri Charcoal Chicken & Sauce Bar, I-Foods Inc. is home to other homegrown dining concepts such as Stackers Burger Café, Kogi Bulgogi and Wafu.

When asked why he chose Peri-Peri Charcoal Chicken & Sauce Bar for his first international venture, Tiu said he believes it is a concept that can be appreciated by anyone: “Tingin ko kasi mas generic siya.”

Weeks before the Myanmar launch, Peri-Peri Charcoal Chicken & Sauce Bar opened at Capitol Commons in Pasig. The new restaurant is much larger compared to the previous branches which are usually located inside malls. The Pasig branch even has a second floor that can be closed for private gatherings.

The menu has been expanded to include late-night grub and cocktails, targeting those who want to unwind after a long day at work. There are also affordable salads, appetizers and sandwiches that don’t go above the P400 mark.

But of course, the grilled chicken remains the star here at Peri-Peri Charcoal Chicken & Sauce Bar. The restaurant takes pride in using a unique blend of herbs and spices from Africa for its marinade, as well as a wide range of sauces to go with the chicken.

There are eight sauces, to be exact. Tiu said these give them an edge over other peri-peri establishments in Metro Manila, which usually rely on one hot sauce.

“Ang Pinoys mahilig sa sauces, hindi ba?” he noted. “When we go to some peri-peri restaurants, they only have one hot sauce as a highlight… But we did not settle with just one. We have eight sauces.”

Peri-Peri Charcoal Chicken & Sauce Bar’s grilled fare is flavorful enough as is, but it also serves as an ideal canvas for the restaurant’s sauces, which range from mild to hot. Expect to go beyond the usual chili and taste flavors like soy, barbecue, hoisin, garlic, mayonnaise and even our very own pinakurat vinegar.

Those who like it fiery may want to try Harissa Exotica, which includes a blend of spices for more layers of flavor, or the straight-up spicy Chili Peppa.

With many restaurants joining the peri-peri chicken trend, Tiu said he is happy that more Filipinos are starting to become more exposed to different dining concepts.

“I think only this year nagkaroon ng mushroom ng mga peri-peri restaurants… I think it’s helping the category,” he said.

Aside from Capitol Commons, Peri-Peri Charcoal Chicken & Sauce Bar has branches at SM City North Edsa Annex, Promenade Greenhills and Robinsons Mall Bacolod, and soon at SM Megamall, Solenad Mall in Nuvali and Eastwood City Mall.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Huawei sees strong smartphone growth in southeast Asia

BANGKOK - China's Huawei Technologies, the world's No. 2 telecom equipment maker, expects total shipments of smartphones in southeast Asia to rise 160 percent to 8 million units in 2015, boosted by strong demand in Myanmar, it said on Thursday.

In the first quarter, Huawei posted a 120 percent increase in smartphone shipments in the region, one of the most promising markets in the world, Thomas Liu, President for Huawei's southeast Asian consumer business group, told reporters.

Liu was in Bangkok on Thursday to launch its flagship P8 smartphones in Thailand, the second largest market in southeast Asia.

Myanmar, once one of the world's least-connected nations, has grown to become Huawei's biggest market in the region, with a share of more than 50 percent, Liu said.

To tap strong growth in the region, the Shenzhen-based company aims to work closely with local partners and distributors and plans to open up to 1,500 customer service centres, Kevin Ho, president for the handset product line, said.

The launch of P8, which runs on Google Inc's Android operating system, is likely to spark fiercer competition in the Thai handset market.

Earlier this month, China's Xiaomi Technologies joined with Thailand's largest mobile operator Advanced Info Service to sell its first smartphone, dubbed the Xiaomi Mi4, online in the country.

Market researcher IDC said on Thursday it expects sales of smartphones in Thailand to grow by 29 percent to boost the number of smartphone users to 36 million by the end of this year.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Gmail available in Burmese, the email's 74th language

SAN FRANCISCO, United States - Google said Wednesday that Gmail is now available in Burmese, marking the 74th language for the popular email service.

"As a country of 53 million, Myanmar's recent opening-up has triggered an explosion of people coming online," Google product manager Brian Kemler said in a blog post.

"As recently as 2011, a mere 500,000 Myanmar citizens were able to access the Internet, which was less than one percent of the population," he added.

He said the number of people in Myanmar who can get online has grown to 2.6 million, as the availability of mobile phones has increased.

Kemler noted that "our team has been working hard to ensure Google is ready to support this new community in their own language."

"To capture the nuances of this language and make sure the translations were accurate, consistent and complete, we relied on an array of Myanmar speakers from within the country, and around the world," he said.

"In April 2013 we launched Google Search in Myanmar, and today we're excited to announce that Gmail now supports Myanmar (Burmese), our 74th language."

A quasi-civilian regime that came to power in 2011 has ushered in a new era of political openness in the Asian country but a clause under the junta-era constitution still bars Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi from the presidency.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Pinoys can visit Myanmar without visa starting January

MANILA, Philippines - Filipinos can visit Myanmar without a visa starting next month.

In statement, the Department of Foreign Affairs said Filipino nationals holding ordinary passports may now enter Myanmar without a visa and stay there for up to 14 days, starting January 4, 2013.

January 4 is the date of effectivity of the agreement between the Philippine and Myanmar governments on the visa exemption for holders of ordinary passports. The agreement was signed during Myanmar President U Thein Sein's state visit to the Philippines last December 5.

The visa-free entry agreement is expected to boost tourism, trade and investment between the Philippines and Myanmar.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Boxers ready for SEAG war

MANILA, Philippines - The Filipino boxers are more than willing to take the cudgels for the Philippine delegation to the 27th Southeast Asian Games in Myanmar in December.

“I am confident with our boxing team,” said Ed Picson, executive director of the Association of Boxing Alliances of the Philippines, yesterday.

The ABAP official graced the PSA Forum at Shakey’s Malate where he was joined by coach Pat Gaspi. They both aired confidence in the coming SEA Games.

“I know they will come up with another good performance,” said Picson.

The Filipino boxers have been the perennial source of medals in international events like the SEA Games, Asian Games and even the Olympics.

In the 2011 SEA Games in Jakarta, the boxing team delivered four gold, one silver and one bronze medals, and was surpassed only by the taekwondo team with a haul of 4-3-5.

Providing the gold medals in 2011 were lightweight Charly Suarez, light-welterweight Dennis Galvan, pinweight Josie Gabuco and light-flyweight Alice Kate Aparri.

There’s no official lineup yet for the Philippine boxing team to Myanmar.

In the 2009 SEA Games in Laos, the Pinoy boxers brought home five gold, one silver and three bronze medals.

Picson said he expects the same level of performance from the boxers who will have to deliver in the absence of the other medal sources for the country.

The Philippines will not send teams in golf and chess while the sport of tennis is out of this year’s calendar.

“We’d rather not think about it (pressure). We’ll just do what we need to do and hopefully come up with something the country will be proud of,” said Picson.

“It’s hard to make a projection. Unlike the pros, we do not know who our opponents will be until the last minute. I have no idea on how it will go. It’s very difficult to make an educated guess.

“But I’m confident with the ability of our boxers. They’re training hard and I know they will be ready in the SEA Games,” added the ABAP executive-director.

Five Pinoy boxers led by Olympian Mark Barriga will lead the country’s campaign in the AIBA World Boxing Championship in Almaty, Kazakhstan next month.

Barriga, the lone Filipino boxer in the 2012 London Olympics, will see action in the light-flyweight category of the Oct. 11-27 tournament featuring the finest fighters around the world.

Also on the team are Roldan Bongcales (flyweight), Mario Fernandez (bantamweight), Junel Cantancio (lightweight), and Dennis Galvan (light-welterweight).

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Myanmar enshrined

Traveling along her hot roads, the sight of shopping malls gives way to glimpses of stupas, and ancient trees felled by monsoons become, in the hands of native artisans, massive sculptures that speak of the mythical and the everyday. On the long trip to the ancient capital of Bago and her colossal pagodas, you see reclining Buddhas with eerily life-like eyes made of special glass, their feet bearing symbols.

The lot, it seems, is easier to understand once you realize that the Burmese live suspended between the rush of the new and the stillness of the ancient.

You enter barefoot (as in all stupas and pagodas) and walk clockwise around the structure. A devotee finds one of eight planetary posts around the stupa (a hollow structure containing Buddhist relics, this particular one is said to house eight strands of hair from the historical Buddha Gautama himself ), determined by the day of his birth. In Myanmar, Buddhism is laced with Hindu Brahmanism’s astrology, another peculiarity in the region that gives rise to literally eight days a week (concretizing Ringo Starr’s famous hyperbole). Finding the right Buddha and the proper rituals, which are then coupled with your specific animal symbol—ranging from Sunday’s garuda to Friday’s guinea pig—is key to having a prayer and a wish, separate in these parts, granted.


Yangon is no stranger to tourism. Its infrastructure for the industry is in place: there is an imposing Traders Hotel within the city and the elegant Park Royal Yangon near the Embassy Quarter, central to all the sights. The beautiful man-made Kandawgyi Lake offers one of the most beautiful sunsets anywhere, with the golden peak of Shwedagon glistening over the water where a gigantic replica of the Royal Barge is moored, itself a tourist attraction. It is a floating restaurant featuring traditional Burmese food and a cultural show that runs nightly.

One will surely have a memorable and enjoyable trip to Myanmar with its rich history, culture, custom and tradition and numerous tourist attractions, with many more unknown and yet undiscovered.

 source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Azkals to re-strategize vs Myanmar

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines will be closing out its Suzuki Cup group stage campaign against the unheralded Myanmar this Friday, but Azkals coach Michael Weiss said it won’t be an easy game.

In fact, the German football mentor said they will be using a different game plan when they tackle the Myanmar White Angels at the Supachalasai Stadium in Bangkok.

“We have to re-strategize for our next match and I would like to point out that Myanmar are not the weakest team in the group,” Weiss said in Asean Football following the Azkals’ 1-0 win over Vietnam on Tuesday.

The Filipinos, who opened its Suzuki Cup campaign with a 2-1 loss to host team Thailand, will need a win against Myanmar for at least a second-place finish in the group stage.

Thailand currently leads Group A with six points on two wins (each win is equal to three points), followed by the Azkals with three points on one win and one defeat.

Vietnam is tied with Myanmar with one point each. Both Vietnam and Myanmar suffered a draw and a loss.
The two teams with the highest number of points after the group stage will advance to the Cup’s semifinals or the Knockout Stage.

Weiss said the Azkals’ win against 2008 titlist Vietnam has given his boys a psychological edge going into their match against Myanmar.

“It was a fantastic performance and we are back in the race. We now play a strong Myanmar side and hopefully we can reach the semifinals,” the coach said.

source: abs-cbnnews.com

Unicef Ambassador of Goodwill Jackie Chan visits Myanmar to help fight child trafficking

YANGON - International action-film star and UN Children’s Fund (Unicef) Goodwill Ambassador Jackie Chan is in Myanmar this week to help United Nations efforts to combat child trafficking in the country.

“Trafficking and exploiting children are horrific crimes. They leave lifelong scars and rob children of their childhoods,” Chan said. “Children are not for sale. For the sake the world’s children, we must work hard to stamp out these damaging and criminal practices.”

During his three-day visit, Chan will visit a vocational training center for trafficked children who have managed to return to their homes but are in need of special care and support. He will also travel to Unicef-supported projects assisting children at risk of being trafficked, including those without parental care and children who are living and working on the street.

According to Unicef, every year some 1.2 million children are trafficked worldwide. Trafficking, which represents a multimillion-dollar enterprise, exposes children to physical violence, sexual abuse, and grave emotional distress.

Trafficking is also closely linked to migration, the agency notes. Tens of millions of people migrate for work within their own countries and across borders in the region. When they are far away from their homes and support systems, families – especially children – face an increased risk of being trafficked.

While in Myanmar, Chan will discuss how to effectively combat trafficking with Myanmar’s Ministry of Social Welfare and with members of its anti-trafficking police task force.

“It is very important that young people know how to protect themselves,” said Chan. “Simple things, like knowing not to trust anyone who promises you a dream job in another country; never going to an unknown place alone; knowing your parents’ and your own full name and age; and being able to explain where you live, help children guard against traffickers.”

Chan has been a Unicef Goodwill Ambassador since 2004.

source: interaksyon.com