MANILA, Philippines – President Arroyo reactivated yesterday the El Niño Task Force and ordered the release of P1.7 billion to fund emergency measures to mitigate the detrimental effects of the dry spell on the fisheries and agriculture sectors.

The effects of El Niño could result in as much as P20 billion in economic loss in the next six months, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said.

Immediately after its reactivation, members of the task force, chaired by Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap, met at the Palace to come up with “a comprehensive and integrated action plan to address the coming El Niño phenomenon,” Secretary Conrado Limcaoco, officer-in-charge of the Office of the Press Secretary, told a news briefing.  Read more... (151 words, estimated 36 secs reading time)

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MANILA – Apl.de.ap of Grammy Award-winning group the Black Eyed Peas led an all-night hip hop party at Skydome, SM North Edsa Thursday.

Filipino hip hop artists from here and abroad gathered at the Skydome for the benefit concert.

The Filipino American international singer organized the concert to help thousands of flood victims here. Tickets were sold for P150 each. The proceeds from the concert will go to the affected communities.

“That’s why it’s important for me to go back [here]… to help out. I donated money and also we bought a couple of boxes of food, canned goods and stuff like that,” apl.de.ap said.  Read more... (150 words, estimated 36 secs reading time)

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MANILA –Hollywood stars called on their fellow Americans to help the victims of tropical storm Ondoy (international codename Ketsana) in the Philippines as they expressed their sympathies to the thousands of affected Filipinos.

Demi Moore wrote in her Twitter account that the Filipino victims are in dire need of assistance. To help, she urged them to call the American Red Cross.

“Typhoon victims in Philippines in dire need of food/clothing. Call the American Red Cross to help. 18004357669,” the “Ghost” star wrote.

Alyssa Milano tweeted the same message and posted an Associated Press article reporting the devastation caused by Ondoy.  Read more... (160 words, estimated 38 secs reading time)

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There is potential hazard in uploading one’s personal views to cyberspace.

ABS-CBN reporter RG Cruz had to learn this the hard way.

Cruz is now the subject of a ‘white paper’ circulating within his home network. The letter lambasted Cruz for “unwarranted personal aggravation” for “attacks” that he had posted in his Facebook account against a “First Lady wannabe.”

Though ordinarily, this would’ve been dismissed by most-and swiftly at that-the letter gained mileage recently when it was picked up by a popular broadsheet, reporting that the white paper was purportedly written by Korina Sanchez, one of the network’s top anchors.  Read more... (242 words, estimated 58 secs reading time)

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A tape of who appears to be “Grey’s Anatomy” star Eric Dane, his wife Rebecca Gayheart, and another woman — reportedly former Miss United States Teen Kari Ann Peniche — together in a nude video has spread online, but a lawyer for the couple said the tape should “not be used for any commercial purposes.”

“This is simply a private consensual moment involving a married couple, shot several years ago, which was never intended to be seen by the public,” Dane’s lawyer Marty Singer said in a statement.  Read more... (116 words, estimated 28 secs reading time)

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Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr. on Monday urged the government to tap boxing champion Manny Pacquiao to seek a peaceful end in the hostilities in southern Philippines.

Pimentel said now is the time for the world’s “best pound-for-pound fighter” in the ring to buckle up for work as the country’s ambassador for peace and understanding. “Pakinabangan na nila si Manny Pacquiao … Huwag munang all out offensive sapagkat lalong lalaki ang gulo. He should go out there and talk to the leaders of the rebels para tigil putukan muna [at] maghanap ng solusyon,” he told reporters. (We should get Pacquiao to work as the peace ambassador instead of employing an all-out offensive because it would only worsen the situation. He should help find a solution to the problem by talking with the leader of the rebel group.)  Read more... (282 words, estimated 1:08 mins reading time)

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Kourtney Kardashian, oldest sister of Kim and Khloe Kardashian, has confirmed her pregnancy. Kourtney said she is due in December, but did not readily say who the father of the baby was. Kibitzers say it could be her ex-boyfriend Scott Disick.

PinoySpy readers swear she’s hotter that the more popular Kim Kardashian. See more hot pre-preggy photos of Kourney Kardashian, read more below.

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LOS ANGELES – Australian actor Hugh Jackman will resume his role of Wolverine from the hit “X-Men” action movie series for the fifth time, Hollywood press said Friday.

The new installment, produced by Fox Studios, again explores Wolverine’s origins, following the first spin-off movie released earlier this year.

It will delve into the character’s inner torment as he battles his animal instinct and head-strong moral code while seeking to make his way as a samurai warrior in Japan, according to reports.

The 40-year-old heart-throb has become one of the most sought after stars in Hollywood, featuring in a slew of blockbuster ventures — including “The Prestige” and “Australia.”  Read more... (112 words, estimated 27 secs reading time)

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JOEY DE LEON. In a recent development, however, Eat Bulaga! host Joey de Leon, one of Willie’s most outspoken “professional enemies and detractors,” did not pass up the chance to hit the Wowowee host.

In his column in The Philippine STAR published yesterday, August 9, the veteran comedian-TV host presented a poem he composed that pictured Willie’s “arrogance, stupidity, and unprofessionalism.”

Titled “The funeral cortege of former Pres. Cory Aquino: My tears came naturally,” a part of the Filipino poem read: “Ang sabi ng iba—istupidong mayabang/At giit ng iba—istupidong mayaman/Mayaman man o mayabang ang tiyak diyan/Napakayaman n’ya sa kaistupiduhan.”  Read more... (756 words, estimated 3:01 mins reading time)

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LOS ANGELES (AFP) – - Acclaimed director Sam Raimi has been hired to make a movie based on the role-playing fantasy video game “World of Warcraft,” entertainment industry press reports said Wednesday.

Raimi, best known for directing the trilogy of blockbuster “Spider-Man” superhero movies as well as classic 1981 horror film “The Evil Dead,” will shoot the film after completing work on “Spider-Man 4,” Daily Variety said.

“World of Warcraft” is a multiplayer online role-playing game developed by Southern California company Blizzard Entertainment and set in a fantasy world featuring monsters, humans, zombies and magical lands.  Read more... (101 words, estimated 24 secs reading time)

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