UK says several Britons missing after Philippines typhoon

LONDON - Several British nationals are missing following the typhoon that has killed thousands in the Philippines, British Foreign Secretary William Hague said on Saturday.

"The foreign secretary confirmed that a number of British nationals remained unaccounted for," the foreign ministry said in a statement.

A ministry spokesman declined to specify how many Britons were missing.

In a phone call to his Philippine counterpart Albert del Rosario, Hague offered his condolences in the wake of the devastating Super Typhoon Haiyan of November 8 and asked for "every possible assistance" to be given to Britons caught up in the disaster, the ministry said.

Britain's Channel Four News had on Friday reported that British pharmacist Colin Bembridge, 61, had gone missing with his Filipino partner Maybelle and their three-year-old daughter while visiting relatives near the now-devastated city of Tacloban.

British Prime Minister David Cameron on Saturday announced that Britain was providing a further £30 million ($48 million, 36 million euros) to help the relief effort, in addition to the £23 million already pledged.

A British warship, HMS Daring, is due to arrive at the Philippines' Cebu island on Sunday after making its way from Singapore.

Helicopter carrier HMS Illustrious -- the largest ship in the British navy -- was also due to be deployed along with a Royal Air Force C-17 transport aircraft.

Authorities in the Philippines have put the official death toll at 3,633, with 1,179 people missing and nearly 12,500 injured.

The UN has put the number of dead at 4,460 and said Saturday that 2.5 million people still "urgently" required food assistance.

source: interaksyon.com

J.K. Rowling announces Harry Potter spin-off movie series

LONDON - Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling is to make her screenwriting debut by penning a series of spin-off films set in the magical world of the British boy wizard, she announced on Thursday, putting her in line for another huge payday.

The first film will be called "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" and will be based on a textbook of the same name used by Harry and his classmates at their school Hogwarts, Rowling said on her Facebook page.

Set in New York and featuring magical zoologist Newt Scamander -- the author of Harry's textbook -- it will be set 70 years before the events of the core Potter novels.

The Warner Bros. film comes two years after the final movie in the eight-part series spawned by her phenomenally successful novels.

"I always said that I would only revisit the wizarding world if I had an idea that I was really excited about and this is it," the 48-year-old Rowling said.

She pitched the idea to Warner Bros. herself after the US studio approached her about making "Fantastic Beasts" into a film.

"I thought it was a fun idea, but the idea of seeing Newt Scamander, the supposed author of 'Fantastic Beasts', realized by another writer was difficult," she wrote.

"Having lived for so long in my fictional universe, I feel very protective of it and I already knew a lot about Newt.

"As hardcore Harry Potter fans will know, I liked him so much that I even married his grandson, Rolf, to one of my favorite characters from the Harry Potter series, Luna Lovegood."

Rowling added: "Although it will be set in the worldwide community of witches and wizards where I was so happy for 17 years, 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them' is neither a prequel nor a sequel to the Harry Potter series, but an extension of the wizarding world.

"The laws and customs of the hidden magical society will be familiar to anyone who has read the Harry Potter books or seen the films, but Newt's story will start in New York, 70 years before Harry's gets under way."

Rowling, who has sold more than 450 million copies of the Harry Potter books, has been keeping busy since the final novel in the series was published in 2007.

She published her first novel for adults, "The Casual Vacancy", last year to mixed reviews.

In July, she was unmasked as the real author of critically acclaimed detective novel "The Cuckoo's Calling", published under the nom de plume Robert Galbraith.

With an estimated fortune of £560 million ($885 million, 666 million euros) the former single mother is the 156th richest person in Britain, according to the Sunday Times Rich List.

Warner Bros. said the new film would spawn video games and other products including links to the Pottermore website as part of an "expanded creative partnership" with Rowling.

"We are incredibly honored that Jo has chosen to partner with Warner Bros. on this exciting new exploration of the world of wizardry which has been tremendously successful across all of our businesses," said Kevin Tsujihara, CEO of Warner Bros. Entertainment.

"She is an extraordinary writer, who ignited a reading revolution around the world, which then became an unprecedented film phenomenon.

"We know that audiences will be as excited as we are to see what her brilliant and boundless imagination conjures up for us."

Warner Bros. will also act as worldwide distributor for the upcoming television miniseries adaptation of "The Casual Vacancy", which begins production in 2014, it said.

source: interaksyon.com

Payment for UK visa applications from Philippines now online - embassy

MANILA - Starting January 14, all UK visa applicants in the Philippines will now be required to pay for their visa online, in US Dollars, as part of the online application process using either a Visacard or Mastercard, the British embassy here said in a news release.

The integration of payment into the online system will provide a more streamlined visa application process for customers and is part of a wider move to allow almost all of our customers to apply and pay for their visas online by 2013/14, the embassy said.

The new rule was enforced starting December 17, 2012. However, customers who have completed their online application form prior to that date were allowed to pay using one of the methods of payment currently available, until January 13, 2013.

From January 14, 2013 only applications where the payment has been made online will be accepted.

Once customers have applied and paid for their visa online they will need to visit the visa application centre to submit their documents and provide their biometrics (fingerprints and digital photograph). Appointments to attend the visa application centre should be booked online when completing the online application form.

For further information on how to apply for a visa in the Philippines, visit the UK Border Agency in the Philippines website at http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/countries/philippines/

source: interaksyon.com

TV5 to replay full London Olympics closing ceremony twice today

MANILA - TV5 will air the full closing ceremony of the London Olympics at 12 noon today on TV5 and also at 8 p.m. on AKTV on IBC.

The closing ceremony, showcasing the best of the world's athletes and the best of British music, was aired live on TV5 from 4 a.m. to 5 a.m. Monday and highlights were incorporated into its morning program, Good Morning Club.

Aptly called “A Symphony of British Music,” the celebration featured some of the country’s best artistic exports in the past half-century. More than 4,100 performers, including 3,500 volunteers and 380 schoolchildren will be present during the lavish gathering to cap off the quadrennial games.

Academy Award-nominated film and Tony Award-winning theater director Stephen Daldry is the creative director and executive producer for the closing ceremonies.

More than 10,000 athletes will also march together in a symbol of unity forged in the past two weeks of the games. Representatives from 2016 Olympic host country Brazil also received the torch in a formal turnover ceremony for the next Games.

Despite the unsuccessful mission to capture the first Olympic gold medal for the Philippines, the 11-member contingent competed alongside the world’s best in this year’s Olympics. This year’s performance only motivates the national athletes to do better in time for 2016, officials said.

source: interaksyon.com

24-hour James Bond TV channel launched in the UK

LONDON – British pay television broadcaster BSkyB will launch a new 24-hour channel dedicated to showing James Bond films on repeat in October to mark the 50th anniversary of the Bond franchise, the company said on Tuesday.

The channel, to be called Sky Movies 007, will show 22 original Bond films in high definition from Oct. 5 for a month, beginning with the 1962 Bond film, ‘Dr. No’, it said. It added that it will also screen independent titles ‘Never Say Never Again’ and ‘Casino Royale.’

The launch comes after Sky bought the rights to the British film franchise from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios in April, ending rival ITV’s 38-year stronghold on the films’s rights.

“We’re delighted that our customers will have the best Bond movie-watching experience ever with Sky Movies – uninterrupted, in HD (high definition), on demand and on the go,” Director of Sky Movies, Ian Lewis, said in a statement.

article source: interaksyon.com

Records of 50,000 British Royal family household staff made public

Once upon a time a teenager from the 17th century American colonies came to England where he rose from being a humble apprentice to the dizzying height of jeweller to the royal courts of Britain, earning himself a knighthood.

The record of Sir Steven Evance, who served William III and Queen Anne in the late 1600s and early 1700s, is one of 50,000 now available online to allow the public to scour for details of any past family connections to the British royal household.

The household staff lists, previously only accessible at Windsor Castle by appointment, are being made available by findmypast.com in celebration of the 60th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's reign.

Diamond Jubilee celebrations will take place across Britain this weekend and the household lists, which run between 1660 and 1924, offer an insight into how Queen Victoria celebrated her own Jubilee, more than 115 years ago.

"People across the globe continue to be fascinated by the British Royal Family, as well as the relationship between 'upstairs' and 'downstairs' life," said Debra Chatfield, family historian at the website.

"In the year of The Queen's Diamond Jubilee, this is the perfect opportunity to explore your family history and discover whether you have an ancestor who worked for the Royal Household."

Records reveal that at the last Diamond jubilee celebrations, Parisian chefs were brought over to help with the cooking, encouraging younger apprentices in the kitchens to grow their moustaches to resemble those of their French superiors.

With details such as name, occupation, age, length of service and salary, the records reveal the youngest to serve was a three-year-old child while a 96-year-old page spanned the reign of four Kings and Queens.

They also show that jeweller Evance suffered an unfortunate fate, amassing huge debts in trying to set himself up as an insurance broker and finally hanging himself.

"(He) eventually went broke, as many royal creditors did," said Professor Robert Bucholz, an expert on officials of the Royal Household and Professor of History at Loyola University of Chicago.

"His full story is an iconic but sad one. He is a colonial boy, who makes his way to London à la Dick Whittington, rises to the financial and social heights - a knighthood and position at court - but he then descends into bankruptcy."

Other notables include John Stuart who served in the royal household before becoming Prime Minister between 1762-63 while the uncle of poet Lord Byron served as Master of the Staghounds in Sherwood Forest.

Some occupations were better-paid than others.

Kitchen maids for example received 25 pounds a year while the head chef bagged 400 pounds per annum plus allowances.

Some of the more unusual jobs in the Royal Household included Chocolate Maker to the Queen Yeoman of the Mouth, Necessary Woman to the Corridor and Entrance Hall, Keeper of the Lions in the Tower, Moletaker, Master of the Game of Cock Fighting, Groom of the Removing Wardrobe, Groom of the Stole (an early form of washroom attendant), Strewer of Herbs and Laundress of the Body Linen. - Reuters

source: gmanetwork.com