Miss Universe 2023 Competition reveals top 10 candidates leading in fan votes

BY ROBERT REQUINTINA

Oct 14, 2023 08:23 AM

  

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AT A GLANCE

• On Saturday, Oct. 14, the Miss Universe Organization (MUO) announced the top 10 candidates leading in the ongoing fan votes!

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The race is on for the 72nd Miss Universe Competition!

On Saturday, Oct. 14, the Miss Universe Organization (MUO) announced the top 10 candidates leading in the ongoing fan votes! 

As of Oct. 12, the top 10 candidates in the fan votes are the delegates from France, Nicaragua, Albania, Philippines, Mexico, Myanmar, Puerto Rico, Chile, Thailand, and Lebanon. The MUO said the candidates were announced in no particular order.

"It’s neck and neck! These are the delegates leading the Fan Vote as of Thursday, October 12th (in no particular order). Don’t see your favorite delegate? Download the MISS UNIVERSE app and cast your vote now!" the MUO wrote on Facebook.

The candidates who will top the fan vote will automatically enter the semifinals of the 72nd Miss Universe pageant, which will be announced during the finals live from El Salvador on Nov. 18.

Michelle Dee is the Philippine representative to the 72nd Miss Universe pageant.

You can vote for Michelle and other candidates: 1) download the Miss Universe app. 2) Go to the Vote tab. 3) Vote Miss Philippines.

More than 80 lovely candidates are vying for the title of 2023 Miss Universe.

EDSA Revolution not in 2024 holidays list

By Catherine S. Valente

(UPDATE) PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. declared 20 national holidays for 2024, but the list does not include the observance of the EDSA Revolution that ousted his father in 1986.

Malacañang said on Friday the President, through Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, signed on October 11 Proclamation 368 declaring next year's regular holidays and special non-working days.

The regular holidays are New Year's Day (January 1), Maundy Thursday (March 28), Good Friday (March 29), Araw ng Kagitingan (April 9), Labor Day (May 1), Independence Day (June 12), National Heroes Day (August 26), Bonifacio Day (November 30), Christmas Day (December 25), and Rizal Day (December 30).

The special non-working holidays are Ninoy Aquino Day (August 21), All Saints' Day (November 1), Feast of the Immaculate Conception of Mary (December 8), and Last Day of the Year (December 31).

The special non-working days are Chinese New Year (February 10), Black Saturday (March 30), All Souls' Day (November 2), and Christmas Eve (December 24).

In explaining why the anniversary of the EDSA Revolution, which is usually celebrated on February 25, was not on the list, the Office of the President (OP) said the date falls on a Sunday next year.

"There is a minimal socio-economic impact in declaring such day as a special non-working holiday since it coincides with the rest day for most workers/laborers," the OP said in a statement on Friday.

The event had been declared a special non-working day by every president.

Last February, under Proclamation 167, Marcos moved the celebration of the EDSA Revolution from February 25 to 24, citing the principle of "holiday economics."

Holiday economics is the practice of shifting a public holiday to a weekday nearest to the weekend to allow the public to enjoy three rest days instead of two.

Former president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo implemented holiday economics extensively during her administration.

Proclamation 368 provided the reasons for declaring the holidays next year.

February 10 is a special (non-working) day since Chinese New Year is one of the "most revered and festive events" celebrated not only in China but also in the Philippines, it said.

Black Saturday, which falls on March 30, is a special non-working day because Holy Week is "one of the most cherished traditions of the predominantly Catholic people."

Under Republic Act 9256, August 21 is a national non-working holiday to commemorate the death anniversary of former senator Benigno S. Aquino Jr.

Under RA 10966, December 8 is a special non-working holiday.

November 2 is a special non-working day to "strengthen family ties by providing more time for the traditional All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day activities, as well as promote domestic tourism."

Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha are national holidays but the dates of their observance will be issued after "the approximate dates of the Islamic holidays have been determined in accordance with the Islamic calendar (Hijra) or the lunar calendar, or upon Islamic astronomical calculations, whichever is possible or convenient."

What is a traditional German lunch?

 

Anna Detlef

Studying law and Japanese in the land down under.

My father’s German, and he’s always liked having warm meals for lunch and cold meals for breakfast and dinner.

When we went there a few years ago, the typical day looked like this:

Breakfast: Jams, spreads, breads and tea or coffee / OR Cold cut platter (see dinner)

Germans really love their bread. There’s an assortment of rye breads, wholegrain breads, and some breads with real bite to them here. Butter, fruit preserves (plum jam is my father’s favourite), croissants, tea and coffee and some sugar cubes - perfect German breakfast right there.

Lunch: Warm meal

Germans love the following things, and incorporate them often - potatoes, meat, bread, alcohol, fermented foods and spaetzle.

Some common dishes:

• Kaesespaetzle (cheese noodles)

• Beef Roulade, mash and gravy and some roast veges or red cabbage

• Beef Goulash with mash / spaetzle (I’ve seen it served in a bread bowl before, too, but that was in a restaurant)

• Nuernberger sausages, mash, sauerkraut, mustard

• nuernberger sausages have a very distinctive flavour. They’re little miniature bratwursts, I definitely recommend them!
• Sauerkraut is so infamous it’s a jelly belly flavour, but it’s actually delicious. If you’ve only eaten it outside of Germany you probably didn’t like it. The sauerkraut you often find at “German restaurants” in the US/UK/Australia can be quite bland because it’s basically taken straight from the tin. Real sauerkraut tastes fantastic - it’s got speck (bits of pork and pork fat), looks a little darker in colour than it does from the tin due to having been cooked for a while, and is filled with meat juices and flavour. You have to try sauerkraut in Germany. It’s not the same.
• Jaegerschnitzel (every chef/grandma has their own take on this… but it’s basically a mushroom-based sauce, and a delicious, huge schnitzel that’s been hammered extremely thin)
• Frankfurt sausage, mustard, mashed potatoes

Note, however, that my father’s quite old-fashioned as he was born in the 40s. Times have changed since my father’s time, and these days it’s becoming less and less common for people to eat their main meal at lunch and ‘Abendbrot’ for dinner - instead, lunch and dinner have been switched so that the hot, main meal is served for dinner instead of at lunch.

Lunch on the go?

In Germany, little ‘sausage stalls’ are incredibly common. They’re on every street corner, and you can buy delicious sausages there - usually there’s quite few types available - as well as choose from a selection of soups.

• Currywurst - this is a classic. Every German has a soft spot for currywurst. Try it.

• Thueringer Bratwurst
• Kransky
• Ham and pea soup (another classic, often has chunks of potato in there too - great with rye and butter)
• Pumpkin soup (there’s an ongoing debate - chunky or smooth? People are as passionate about this as they are about the chunky or smooth peanut butter debate)
• Goulash soup (like goulash, without as much meat, and much thinner in consistency - just as spicy, flavourful and delicious though)

Dinner: Cold cut platter + hot soup/leftovers from lunch

• Liverwurst (liver pate)

• Schmalz (basically lard)

• Selection of cold cuts - schinkenwurst, salami, sliced meatloaf, ham, leberkaese
• Selection of cheeses - e.g. Edam cheese
• All served with delicious bread - rye bread, white bread, sourdough, croissants

Dessert

Germans love sweets, but the variety’s probably increased since my father still lived there… nevertheless, here are some recommendations.

• Kaiserschmarrn (torn pancakes) - absolutely delicious, you must try this.

• Crepes
• Apple strudel (delicious when warm)

• Rote Grutze - national treasure, soft spot in Germans’ hearts - pudding and fruit compot

• Rumpot - alcohol, fruit and sugar during the festive season

The stands - An Inquirer Sports Newsletter

 

October 13, 2023

Led by Favour Onoh, the UP Maroons have flattened the opposition thus far. (UAAP Media)

Hey there sports fan, It's Friday the 13th! But the day has really lost its superstitious mystery and the greatest fear of people when that day and date coincides is the traffic. After all, it is a Friday, and it's also payday. Luckily, we've got a lot of sports to go home and relax to. So drop your worries for a moment and chill out to this trivia question: The UP Maroons stunned the NU Lady Bulldogs recently, their first win over the college powerhouse since what year? The answer will come at the end of this letter. But yes, you read it right the first time. And in case you're thinking, "Well, it is the Maroons, going up against the Lady Bulldogs," please remember that like Ateneo, Univesity of the Philippines has opted to use the same moniker for its men's and women's teams. So yup, we're talking about UP women's team here. Led by the hardworking Favour Onoh, the Maroons finally scored one over the nation's most fearsome women's college program to produce the stunner of the season so far. Not only that, it gave the Maroons the early lead in UAAP Season 86. And yes, you can take that satement both ways. The Maroons in the men's side have kept in stride so far with their women's team, making great use of all those preseason acquisitions to steamroll their way to the top so far.  On the opposite end of the spectrum, University of Santo Tomas, which also kept the offseason buzzing with its own haul of recruits, continues to search for its footing after slipping into a 13-game spiral last season. Meanwhile, La Salle, whose biggest offseason move was to hire coach Topex Robinson, seems to be doing just fine early on. It's going to be an exciting UAAP basketball season so keep it here with us as we provide you with varsity content across all our platforms.

Tim Cone returns to Barangay Ginebra in a rush to get some preparation in before the PBA season starts.  (Marlo Cueto)

Meanwhile... After winning the gold medal in the Asian Games, Tim Cone is headed back to Barangay Ginebra, hoping to get some practice in with his "baby" in preparation for the new PBA season. Cone "wrote" his entry into basketball history but is looking to make sure he gets the Gin Kings ready for what could be a grueling season ahead.  And oh, yes, volleyball. The PVL is getting ready to fire off its next tournament and already, we've got loads of features for you already. Check out our archives for the latest on the next PVL conference here.  What we're up to next: The Asian Games is done, but you can still catch up on the stories you may have missed by checking out our archives here. You know, in case you want to weigh in on this hot-button issue. And, like we said, we will be launching our coverage of volleyball with fresh digital features so watch out for that. And we will start to ease into the coverage of the new PBA season. For the meantime, get your latest varsdity features and stories on the UAAP and NCAA here! Number of the Week: 2011 The answer to the trivia question above.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK “I think, stop analyzing. Just enjoy. This is a great moment.” —Tab Baldwin, Ateneo coach, on people trying to break down how the Philippines won the Asian Games gold medal in men's basketball.

There are more trivia questions in our weekly sports quiz which you can access by joining our Viber community, which also featres the freshest sports updates.  Buy the Inquirer at newsstands, subscribe to our digital edition, Inquirer Plus, visit our online site and follow us on socials (Twitter: @inquirersports; FB: facebook.com/inquirersports) for more stories and updates—or to send us questions or suggestions of stories you'd want to read. Have a great and safe weekend! See you next Friday. Francis Francis T. J. Ochoa is the Sports Editor of the Philippine Daily Inquirer. For comments, suggestions and questions, hit him up on Twitter (@ftjochoaINQ).

Angeli Khang sued for alleged explicit posts

BY NEIL RAMOS

They're at it it again.

The Kapisanan ng Social Media Broadcasters ng Pilipinas, Inc. (KSMBPI), the supposed "watchdog of the cyberspace of the Philippines," has filed charges against actress Angeli Khang at the Pasay City Prosecutors Office for allegedly posting explicit videos on social media. 

According to a DZBB report, the actress is accused of violating Article 201 of the Revised Penal code which covers obscene publications and exhibitions, and indecent shows.

The penalty is imprisonment or a fine ranging from six thousand to twelve thousand pesos.

The group went on to warn that they are preparing to file similar charges against three other celebrities in the coming days.

Note that Angeli is not the first person the KSMBPI sued.

Prior, the group filed complaints against Vice Ganda, Ion Perez, Toni Fowler.

Angeli is still silent on the issue.

Phivolcs warns of increased volcanic sulfur dioxide emission from Taal

BY MANILA BULLETIN

Oct 12, 2023 06:58 PM

  

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The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) observed “increased” and “continuous” degassing activity from Taal Volcano on Thursday, Oct. 12.

Photo from Pixabay

In a 6 p.m. advisory, Phivolcs said volcanic sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions from Taal’s main crater had increased to 9,762 tons per day on Thursday, up from 2,887 tons per day on Oct. 6.

“This is the highest recorded SO2 emission from Taal for the year,” it pointed out.

Meanwhile, Phivolcs said no volcanic smog or “vog” over Taal Caldera was monitored as of Thursday.

Citing the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration’s (PAGASA) forecast, Phivolcs said wind speeds over the Taal region will significantly decrease in the coming weekend.

However, PAGASA noted that if the “elevated” SO2 degassing continues, there will also be a likelihood for volcanic SO2 to accumulate and generate vog.

Phivolcs reminded the public that the composition of volcanic gases can cause irritation of the eyes, throat, and respiratory tract, which may be severe depending on the gas concentrations and durations of exposure.

It advised people living near Taal Volcano to avoid outdoor activities, wear N95 face masks, and drink enough amount of water. (Lizst Torres Abello)