NBA star Karl-Anthony Towns no doubt, had a wonderful time competing in the 2023 FIBA World Cup, which saw the Dominican Republic top the group stage en route to reaching the second round. Karl-Anthony Towns AFP PHOTOThe Dominican Republic though saw its World Cup title campaign come to an end after losses to Italy, 102-97, followed by a 112-79 humiliation at the hands of Serbia on Sunday night. Towns, the Minnesota Timberwolves superstar, admittedly was saddened by his team's exit, yet, was consoled by the fact that they represented their country well in the World Cup. I'm proud of everyone of the guys in the locker room," he added. "I'm so proud of them, all of them, I mean some of the finest basketball in my life I played in this tournament.

A drunk man who was trapped near stone barriers on the Tsing Yi shores was rescued and hospitalized early Monday morning. Around 2 am today, an approximately 40-year-old man who was drinking near the shores of the Maritime Square located on Tsing King Road crossed the fence and went to the stone barriers near the shores. He could not get back to the pedestrian path, and passersby who noticed the incident, contacted the police for assistance. The paramedics arrived and assisted the man in returning to a safe location. The man then lost consciousness due to the effects of alcohol and was taken to the hospital for medical attention.

'Omakase' is a special way of ordering things in Japan. It comes from the Japanese word meaning "to entrust." In a sushi restaurant, for example, it means you leave it to the chef to decide what to serve – they skillfully select items they think will most appeal to your taste. A recent development is the growth of Omakase services. Omakase is more than simply curating services, it's about building relationships of trust.

Taking mobile livestreaming to a whole new level, Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart) and US-based Radisys® Corporation, a subsidiary of Jio Platforms Limited, successfully ran its beta test of the Smart LiveStream App boasting groundbreaking features at the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023. Jordan Clarkson PHOTO BY RIO DELUVIOAs FIBA's official global partner, Smart, the wireless unit of PLDT Inc. collaborated with Radisys in tapping select Filipino personalities to experience the future of mobile streaming as they watched the much-anticipated FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 match of Philippines versus Italy last August 29. The successful beta test of the new Smart LiveStream App is among Smart's efforts to bring the best on-ground and online basketball experiences to Filipinos during the country's hosting of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 from August 25 to September 10. Smart has made history as the first and only Philippine mobile operator to be recognized as the country's Best Mobile Network for three consecutive reporting periods by Ookla, the global leader in mobile and broadband network intelligence. To earn the prestigious recognition, Smart won both Ookla's 'Fastest Network' and 'Best Mobile Coverage' categories within the same reporting periods - first in Q1-Q2 2022, Q3-Q4 2022, and most recently in Q1-Q2 2023.

A 13-year-old boy was taken to hospital after a fall from height at his Tsuen Wan home on Monday morning - the first day of the new academic year, with reports suggesting that stress from school pushed him over the edge. The boy was found to have fallen from a height and lying unconscious at Kapok Mansion in Tsuen Wan this morning at around 7 am. Police suspected the boy had jumped from his home and that the 13-year-old had been “unhappy” due to study-related issues. Dial 2896 0000 for The Samaritans or 2382 2007 for Suicide Prevention Services. You can also call Suicide Prevention Services at 2382 0000 or CEASE Crisis Centre of Tung Wah Groups of Hospitals at 18281.

President Marcos off to Jakarta today for ASEAN SummitMarcos will hold bilateral meetings with his ASEAN counterparts and other world leaders aside from attending the summit, according to Assistant Secretary Daniel Espiritu of the Department of Foreign Affairs’ Office of the ASEAN Affairs. MANILA, Philippines — President Marcos will head to Jakarta, Indonesia today to attend the 43rd Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit and related summits, running from Sept. 5 to 7, and will include meetings with several ASEAN dialogue partners. Marcos will hold bilateral meetings with his ASEAN counterparts and other world leaders aside from attending the summit, according to Assistant Secretary Daniel Espiritu of the Department of Foreign Affairs’ Office of the ASEAN Affairs. Among those scheduled to meet Marcos in Jakarta are Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, Timor-Leste Prime Minister Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão and Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh. In May, Marcos attended the 42nd ASEAN Summit in Labuan Bajo, East Nusa Tenggara in Indonesia.

President Marcos issued Executive Order 39 on Aug. 31, setting a price ceiling on regular-milled rice at P41 per kilo and well-milled rice at P45 per kilo. The National Economic and Development Authority also expressed support for EO 39, which it claimed will address hoarding, profiteering, smuggling and cartelization. The government should assist retailers in complying with EO 39, according to rice traders’ group Philippine Rice Industry Stakeholders Movement (PRISM). Based on the DA’s monitoring, local regular milled rice is sold as high as P55 per kilo, local well-milled rice at P57 per kilo, local premium rice at P60 per kilo and local special rice at P65 per kilo. Imported well-milled rice is sold as high as P52 per kilo, imported premium rice at P56 per kilo and imported special rice at P65 per kilo.

Jordan Clarkson has nothing but respect for Gilas Pilipinas coach Chot Reyes, who following the Philippines' 96-75 rout of China, announced that "he's stepping down" from his post. Like he said, his family and for the country as well," Clarkson told media men, moments after Gilas closed the 2023 FIBA World Cup with a 21-point victory over China on Saturday night. Clarkson capped his World Cup stint with a 34-point explosion, knocking down five three-pointers that allowed Gilas to pull away and trample China in the final day of the classification round. The Philippines went on to finish 24th place in the World Cup based on the ranking released by FIBA after Saturday's games. The win also allowed the Philippines to snap a nine-game losing skid in the World Cup since the 2019 edition in Foshan, China.

Hans Lee Villorente, a young chess player from Antique, is set to compete in the final leg of the 2023 NCFP Philippine National Amateur Chess Championships to be held on September 9 and 10 via Tornelo and Zoom platforms. Hans Lee Villorente (right) and his father Jerome during a training session. Villorente started learning the rudiments of chess at age four from his father Jerome and has played in numerous chess tournaments, including the 2022 Batang Pinoy Games where he won the silver medal in the standard chess event. Villorente said he has learned a lot in the 2nd AQ Prime FIDE Standard Chess Open Tournament and will apply his learning in his next tournament. The young woodpusher also thanked his parents for their endless support to his chess journey.

The 14-year-old skateboarder Dennis Gu defeated rivals and earned championship honors at the X Games China (youth category) last week, creating a historical record for Hong Kong skateboarders. Gu earned a high score of 36.63 during his run at the Shanghai competition finals last Friday and became the first Hong Kong athlete to earn the gold medal in the youth category. The newly crowned champion said Hong Kong has many excellent X Games athletes and coaches, but there was insufficient support and lack of training grounds and facilities. He hoped that by earning a championship for Hong Kong, he could bring positive changes to the city. Gu also thanked his family and the Skateboarding Association of Hong Kong, China, for their support.

The "government-wide mobilization" level was activated for the first time on Saturday for authorities to coordinate emergency operations and provide support in several districts after Typhoon Saola skirted Hong Kong. The measure was announced in the 2022 policy address to enhance the mobilization protocol by introducing a "government-wide mobilization" level. The Home and Youth Affairs Bureau approved by Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu yesterday to activate the level and mobilized over 100 civil servants from different departments to perform relief work following the passage of Saola. Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs Alice Mak Mei-kuen led some civil servants to Sha Tau Kok to help the elderly in temporary shelters return to their residential care homes. Others from the quick response unit were deployed to Tung Chung Heung to clean up garbage, fallen branches, and leaves on roads.

OVER the course of the FIBA World Cup, Filipino boxing legend Emmanuel "Manny" Pacquiao has met several international delegations to his home. Their meeting was shown in a reel by Filipino American social media influencer Chucky Anthony on Sunday. The Minnesota Timberwolves star said it's "great" to meet a legend like Pacquiao. In photos shared by actress Ruffa Gutierrez on her Instagram page on Friday, Golden State Warriors teammates Kevon Looney and Klay Thompson visited Pacquiao. Photos of Pacquiao and the Italian coach were shown at the Pacquiao's Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League Facebook page on Thursday.

Tenugui hand towels have long been a common place feature of daily life in Japan. Originally for wiping off perspiration or drying hands, over the years these thin cotton towels turned out to be very handy for all sorts of essential tasks, from tying up the hair to wrapping shopping parcels. A recent trend is to print tenugui in fashionable designs for interior decoration and to make stylish face masks. We visit an old store in Tokyo to see how they create images with beautiful gradations using the traditional Chusen dyeing technique, with each tenugui being crafted individually by hand. VIDEO BY MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF JAPAN

WHATEVER happens after the Philippines' uneventful campaign in the 2023 FIBA World Cup, Gilas Pilipinas coach Chot Reyes believes the national team has a very good, young core that they could lean on for the coming years. Dwight Ramos and AJ Edu FIBA PHOTOSReyes cited Dwight Ramos, high-flying wingman Jamie Malonzo and Rhenz Abando, and the young "Twin Towers" Kai Sotto and AJ Edu as the future of Gilas, which on Saturday, will close its FIBA World Cup classification round match against longtime Asian rival China. So I think, there's a nucleus of guys here that has a bright future ahead," said Reyes, who as in the recent past, has come under fire once more from passionate Filipino cage fans following Gilas' 0-4 record in the World Cup. Utah Jazz superstar Jordan Clarkson is undoubtedly the leader of Gilas with his team-best 24 points per contest average in the world basketball showpiece. "The future with these guys, the core that we have right now, that's a very young core," Reyes pointed out.

(UPDATE) THE Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) will mobilize its "price monitors" to ensure that the mandated price caps on rice are enforced when they take effect on Tuesday, Malacañang said Saturday. Rice stand along Nepa Q-Mart in Quezon city on August 23 2023.the price of the regular rice goes high as 60php per kilo. President Marcos approved on August 31 the recommendation of the DA and DTI for the mandated price ceilings on regular and well-milled rice. Under EO 39, the mandated price for regular milled rice is P41 per kilogram, while the price cap for well-milled rice is P45 per kilogram. However, Salceda also warned that price ceilings can have negative second-round effects, such as shortages, which could be prevented by putting the price ceiling no higher than the equilibrium price.