Brownlee, wearing a Barong Tagalog, answered queries from senators, sometimes in Filipino. (Senate PRIB Photo)By NIKOLE JAVIERNewly naturalized Filipino Justin Brownlee took his oath of allegiance to the Philippines on Monday, Jan. 16, less than 24 hours after winning his sixth championship title in the PBA. I’m just very honored and blessed to be a Filipino and represent the country in the right way. Show that Filipino pride to the world and on the international stage for basketball,” said Brownlee. Brownlee will also see action for the Philippines in the upcoming Southeast Asian Games in Cambodia in May.

Two people are dead and another 12 are missing after an explosion at a chemical plant in northeastern China, underscoring the lingering problem the world’s No. The blast around 1:30 p.m. Sunday in Panjin city, Liaoning province, also left 34 people injured, China Central Television reported, citing local officials. The fire at the the Panjin Haoye Chemical Co. facility was still burning Monday, the state broadcaster said, though it was no longer spreading. CCTV said authorities hadn’t detected any major air-quality issues in Panjin, a city of about 1.4 million people that attracts tourists to wetlands covered by a bright red plant. In 2019, the nation closed an industrial park in Jiangsu where a blast killed some 78 people and left hundreds others injured.

Markets mostly rose in Asia on Monday, following another rally on Wall Street fuelled by optimism over the world economy as inflation slows and China reopens to the world. And HSBC's Frederic Neumann said China's emergence from almost three years of strict virus containment measures would likely boost the global economy. The brighter outlook helped Asian markets on Monday. Shanghai, Sydney, Seoul, Taipei, Manila, Bangkok, Wellington and Jakarta all rose, while Hong Kong was flat. And there is growing optimism that the worst-case scenario of a so-called hard landing for the economy -- caused by soaring borrowing costs -- will not happen.

POKHARA, Nepal: A plane making a 27-minute flight to a Nepal tourist town crashed into a gorge Sunday while attempting to land at a newly opened airport, killing at least 68 of the 72 people aboard. AIR TRAGEDY Nepalese rescue workers and civilians gather around the wreckage of a passenger plane that crashed in Pokhara, Nepal, on Sunday, Jan. 15, 2023. Authorities in Nepal said 68 people have been confirmed dead after a regional passenger plane with 72 aboard crashed into a gorge while landing at a newly opened airport in the resort town of Pokhara. PHOTO BY AP AIR TRAGEDY Nepalese rescue workers and civilians gather around the wreckage of a passenger plane that crashed in Pokhara, Nepal, on Sunday, Jan. 15, 2023. Authorities in Nepal said 68 people have been confirmed dead after a regional passenger plane with 72 aboard crashed into a gorge while landing at a newly opened airport in the resort town of Pokhara.

A 68-year-old woman has died on Monday after falling into a mixer at a Tsuen Wan factory that produces traditional Chinese snacks. The worker is believed to have been crushed to death after she fainted and dipped her head into the mixer when operating the machine. Unfortunately, the woman died after resuscitation attempts. Police are still investigating the cause of the accident and have listed the case as an industrial accident. The Association for the Rights of Industrial Accident Victims said they have already gotten in touch with the victim’s family members and will provide all necessary assistance.

A good startDespite their poor performance last year, global equities had a very good start this year. The S&P 500 is up 4.2 percent year-to-date and the MSCI All-Country World Index (ACWI) ETF has gained 5.7 percent. China’s reboundThe strong start of equities this year was partly driven by the surge in Chinese stocks. Year-to-date, MSCI China is up 13.4 percent while Hong Kong is up 9.9 percent. Atlanta Fed president Raphael Bostic believes that the Fed should raise interest rates above five percent and then go on hold for a long time.

First Lady Lisa Araneta-Marcos and the administration’s top economic managers flew yesterday with the President in his “sales pitch” for the soon to be created sovereign wealth fund of the Philippines. These economic missions take place even while the creation of the proposed sovereign wealth fund is still being crafted at the legislative mills of the 19th Congress. To clearly prescribe its purpose, Medalla pointed out, the proposed sovereign wealth fund should really bankroll development projects for the country. Who would still oppose the sovereign wealth fund if spent for the development of the country? But sovereign guarantee remains a big concern as far as methinks.

'Back to the powerhouses': An initial analysis of the Miss Universe 2022 pageantMiss Venezuela Amanda Dudamel Miss USA R'bonney Gabriel and Miss Dominican Republic Andreína Martínez speak during The 71st Miss Universe Competition at New Orleans Morial Convention Center on January 14, 2023 in New Orleans, Louisiana. MANILA, Philippines — Fil-American R'Bonney Gabriel of Texas, USA won the Miss Universe 2022 title by besting 83 other national delegates at the close of glitzy rites in the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans, Louisiana. Miss Universe Philippines 2022 Celeste Rabimbi Cortesi failed to make it to the Top 16, breaking the country's longest semifinal streak at 12. This 2022 edition selection committee members were Miss Universe 2010 Ximena Navarrette, Miss Universe 1998 Wendy Fitzwilliams, book author Emily Austin, artiste Big Freedia, supermodel Mara Martin, entrepreneur Olivia Quido, media personality Myrka Dellanos, and Roku executive Sweta Patel. To date, the USA still leads the winners race at the Miss Universe now with nine.

(UPDATED) MISS USA's R'Bonney Gabriel won the Miss Universe crown at the 71st edition of the pageant held Sunday (Manila time) at the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in Louisiana. For the final Q & A segment, the three finalists were asked the same question: "If you win Miss Universe, how would you work to demonstrate this as an empowering and progressive organization?" At the Miss Universe coronation night, Gabriel wore a black gown made by Filipino designer Rian Fernandez. According to the Miss Universe website, Gabriel, as a voice for Asian Americans, opens the door for more diversity and representation in society. Gabriel took home the new "Force for Good" crown made by Lebanon's Mouawad, the official jeweler for Miss Universe.

Ginebra blasts Bay Area, claims PBA Commissioner's Cup crown in front of record crowdMANILA, Philippines — The Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings brought the house down in Bocaue, Bulacan as they copped the 2023 PBA Commissioner's Cup crown against the Bay Area Dragons, 114-99, in Game Seven at the Philippine Arena on Sunday. In front of a record crowd of 54,589 spectators — the biggest in PBA history — the Gin Kings demolished the guest team after finding themselves in a do-or-die situation. The game looked decided as early as halftime with Justin Brownlee leading Ginebra to a 22-point advantage, 61-39, at the break. But the beginning of the end for the Bay Area Dragons came early in the second quarter, when Ginebra went on a 13-4 run to create space anew after Bay Area got within two, 25-27, with 11:21 left in the period. The Gin Kings were in cruise control for most of the game as they took a wire-to-wire victory to seize the title.

Customs seized 380 boxes of smuggled Covid oral drugs with a value of about HK$500,000 at Hong Kong International Airport and in Tin Shui Wai in the past week. Officers selected and inspected an air parcel, declared as carrying healthcare products, arriving from India at the airport last Wednesday. Upon inspection, about 250 boxes of suspected smuggled Covid oral drugs with an estimated market value of about HK$330,000 were found inside the parcel. Customs arrested a 40-year-old man suspected to be connected with the case in Tin Shui Wai yesterday after a follow-up investigation and found 130 boxes of Covid oral drugs in his residential unit. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of HK$100,000 and imprisonment for two years.

BANGKOK — A catamaran that had gone missing late last month was spotted floating near Indonesian waters. The Phuket Marine Office said on Saturday that the catamaran had been spotted by the captain of a fishing boat on the edge of Thai territorial waters. At 8am on Friday, the Phuket Marine Office received a call from the manager of a fishing boat, who said the boat’s captain had spotted the catamaran adrift near Indonesian waters. Nobody was found aboard the catamaran and the fishing boat crew confirmed it was Marcopolo. RELATED STORIESCoast Guard tracking down missing boat off Davao Occidental‘Missing’ boat loaded with smuggled rice spotted off Sulu, says BOC collectorRead Next

In a duel where the loser is determined by whose knees are first to bend, the tale of triumphs and heartbreaks is coming close to its end. Only one kingdom would rise. Failing to stage their coronation in Game 6, the Kings gun for the crown before an expected another mammoth crowd as they hope to finally complete their brave home stand against the visiting Dragons in the 5:45 p.m showdown. An intense chess match at the sidelines between legendary coaches Tim Cone and Brian Goorjian is also worth noting. The trend of the series should augur well to the Kings’ favor after winning Games 1,3, and 5 while the Dragons aim to break the cycle and become the first team to win back-to-back games after emerging triumphant in Games 2, 4, and 6.

China's economic growth for 2022 is expected to have been among its weakest in four decades after the twin crises of the pandemic and property woes, analysts said ahead of Tuesday's GDP announcement. Beijing abruptly loosened pandemic restrictions in early December after three years of enforcing some of the harshest Covid measures in the world. "The three horse carriages of the Chinese economy are all facing a relatively evident downward pressure in the fourth quarter," Zhang said. But, after three years of health restrictions, "China's reopening process has started", she said. The World Bank forecast China's GDP will rebound to 4.3 percent for 2023 -- still below expectations.

(UPDATED) POKHARA, Nepal: At least 67 people were confirmed dead Sunday when a plane with 72 on board crashed in Nepal, police said, in the Himalayan country's deadliest aviation disaster in three decades. "Thirty-one [bodies] have been taken to hospitals," police official AK Chhetri told Agence France-Presse, adding that 36 other bodies were still in the 300-meter (600-foot) gorge the aircraft plunged into. This was partially confirmed by the army, with a spokesman saying 29 bodies had been retrieved and that there were 33 more at the site in Pokhara in central Nepal. "The aircraft crashed into a gorge so it is difficult to bring the bodies. Poor recordNepal's air industry has boomed in recent years, carrying goods and people between hard-to-reach areas as well as foreign trekkers and climbers.