Bucks hold off Cavaliers for 10th straight win

LOS ANGELES, United States — Giannis Antetokounmpo drained four clutch baskets down the stretch as the Milwaukee Bucks won their 10th consecutive game with a 119-110 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday.

Milwaukee led by as many as 22 points in the first half but Cleveland chipped away until they closed the gap to just three late in the fourth but that was as close as they would get.

Every time the Cavs got within striking distance of levelling the score, Antetokounmpo answered with a basket of his own to help seal the win.


Antetokounmpo finished with 33 points and also delivered a double-double with a team-high 12 rebounds for the Bucks, who beat the Cavaliers for the second time this season.

George Hill chipped in with 18 points, while Khris Middleton had 12, Donte DiVincenzo 11, and Eric Bledsoe and Ersan Ilyasova 10 apiece.


Rookie Darius Garland scored 21 points to pace the Cavaliers, who lost their third straight.

Cedi Osman had 20 points, Larry Nance 18, Kevin Love and Collin Sexton 16 apiece, and Tristan Thompson 11 in a balanced Cleveland attack.

Thompson collected a game-high 13 rebounds to complete a double-double.

Elsewhere, Norman Powell scored 19 of his career-best 33 points in the third quarter and the defending champion Toronto Raptors recovered from an early 11-point deficit to defeat the Orlando Magic 90-83.

Fred VanVleet added 22 points for the Raptors, who extended their winning streak to six games.

Pascal Siakam had 10 points and 13 rebounds for the Raptors, who shot 37 percent from the field.

Evan Fournier scored 19 points for the Magic, who had 22 turnovers compared with just 13 by the Raptors.

source: philstar.com

UP Manila Oblation Run highlights HIV awareness

MANILA, Philippines — The increasing cases of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) took center stage in the annual Oblation Run held at the University of the Philippines in Manila yesterday.

Members of the UP Manila chapter of the Alpha Phi Omega (APO) fraternity ran naked around the campus calling for collective effort to address the problem.

“We all have a role to play in properly educating the public about HIV/AIDS. First and foremost, we must break the stigma surrounding sex and reproductive health and the stigma on people living with HIV/AIDS,” the group said.

“HIV/AIDS is a persistent threat to our communities, especially to the youth who make up majority of newly diagnosed cases,” it added.

The group noted that 35 Filipinos test positive for HIV every day, a dramatic increase compared to just one per day in the previous year.


“In July 2019 alone, 1,100 new cases were recorded by the Department of Health. Almost 20 percent of the new cases have advanced stage of HIV infection or AIDS,” it added.

The United Nations Program on HIV-AIDS (UNAIDS) earlier projected that there there will be 201,000 HIV cases in the Philippines by 2025 if the current rate is not abated.

“UNAIDS considers the HIV/AIDS situation in the country as the fastest-growing epidemic in the world,” noted the fraternity.


HIV screening booths were set up at the UP Manila campus in time with the Oblation run.

The annual Oblation Run, officially called the Ritual Dance of the Brave, is a tradition started by APO in UP Diliman in 1977 as a form of dissent against martial law.

source: philstar.com

Twitter halts plan to remove inactive accounts

MANILA, Philippines — Social media company Twitter has postponed its plan to remove inactive accounts pending the rollout of a system that would memorialize accounts of those already deceased.

The company apologized yesterday for creating confusion after it announced that it would deactivate inactive accounts as a way to free up usernames in the social media platform.

“We’ve heard you on the impact that this would have on the accounts of the deceased. This was a miss on our part. We will not be removing any inactive accounts until we create a new way for people to memorialize accounts,” the company tweeted.


It also clarified that the plan was originally intended to impact those in the European Union, noting the existing General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the region.

“We’ve always had an inactive account policy but we haven’t enforced it consistently. We’re starting with the EU in part due to local privacy regulations,” it added.


“Beyond complying with GDPR, we may broaden the enforcement of our inactivity policy in the future to comply with other regulations around the world and to ensure the integrity of the service,” said the social media company.

source: philstar.com

Applying for insurance through postpaid plan – Here’s what we think

MANILA, Philippines — Say it’s been an auspicious year and you receive a mid-year bonus. Immediately your hands itch at the notion of tapping “checkout” from your favorite online shopping app, or you make haste to the nearest mall, having mentally readied your wish list, just in time for a mid-year sale.

A new pair of kicks to satisfy your sneakerhead obsession? That new gaming console—on sale, plus freebies? Or maybe, a new set of wardrobe to complement your style?

The struggle is all the more real. But something makes you stop and think.


As a young working Filipino, you are reminded of your priorities, like providing for the family, or fulfilling more important personal needs. One of which, as you’ve ubiquitously heard time and time again, is getting insurance.

However, you still end up having reservations regarding requirements and hefty costs.

Worry no more, this we can say with confidence. We found the answer in BIMA, the newest player in microinsurance, which Philstar.com had the experience of understanding firsthand.

A safe and trusted Swedish insurance company, we learned that BIMA is now in the Philippines to offer affordable insurance tailored for the needs of young Filipino professionals.

Of its current offerings, we highly recommend the Bundle Insurance Protection product that comes with P360,000 Personal Accident Protection and P40,000 Life Protection. Available for a minimum premium of only P300 a month, it can easily be added on-top of your monthly bills and expenses.


Another exciting thing about BIMA is that one can apply—more like subscribe—to its offerings via a postpaid plan, which this author tried.

Without the need to meet with traditional insurance agents, BIMA really understands its young target market who are always busy and on the go.

Easy, no-fuss processing

Based on our experience, here’s what you’ll simply need to do:

First, submit your postpaid mobile number to their website and get in touch with a BIMA representative. What’s great is that there are no health checks nor paperwork required, all that’s needed is an eligible postpaid mobile account.

Then, the representative calls your mobile phone. After confirming submission of the postpaid mobile number, the representative proceeds to ask for basic information such as name, date of birth, location (no need for full address, just the city or province will do), and one choice of beneficiary.

After this, the representative guides you in activating the insurance policy by sending a text message to BIMA (Key in “BIMA300” and send to 2462). Within moments, you will receive the confirmation message.

Once the representative has ascertained receipt of the confirmation message, a digital copy of your BIMA Policy Card is sent to your email summarizing the details of the insurance policy, which simply means you’re all set!

Do note that BIMA’s insurance offers are only available to subscribers of Smart Communications, but will soon become available to other telco subscribers such as Sun Cellular and Globe Telecom.

Benefits that we loved

Aside from ease and convenience, we also discovered BIMA’s slew of benefits. With an affordable monthly premium to pay on a rolling basis, you instantly get a coverage of up to P400,000 on your BIMA Insurance.

Much like traditional insurance, it sufficiently covers death or permanent disability due to accident, illness and natural causes.

What’s even better is that on top of the bundled insurance coverage, BIMA is offering a limited-time free P100,000 coverage on the first month.

You can all the more rest easy knowing that you get proper security and insurance for you and your family, especially since you’re basically paying only P10 a day for protection.

There’s one last thing that we loved with BIMA. Since your postpaid is subscribed to the insurance plan, your monthly payment will be charged to your account. This takes off the burden of going to payment centers or banks just to settle your monthly premium.

Additionally, BIMA’s insurance products are renewable monthly. It is a month-to-month basis insurance that you can quit anytime, if you so choose. All you have to do is key in “BIMA300 OFF” and send to 2462.

Processing of claims too is fast and simple, with only 10 working days of claim approval after validation.

So why choose BIMA?

With the emergence of affordable insurance, no one can be without a safe place to land their feet in dire situations.

Given its affordability, ease and benefits, BIMA is a strong microinsurance that’s apt for Filipinos looking for no-nonsense protection. It certainly lives up to its purpose of “protecting the future of every family” wherever they may be.

source: philstar.com

Westpac CEO resigns amid money-laundering scandal

SYDNEY, Australia — Australian banking giant Westpac said Tuesday its beleaguered CEO Brian Hartzer was stepping down after regulators accused the bank of wholesale breaches of money laundering rules involving more than US$7 billion.

Westpac is facing a potentially massive fine over claims that it failed to report millions of international fund transfers, including "high-risk transactions" to Southeast Asian nations potentially linked to child exploitation.

"As CEO, I accept that I am ultimately accountable for everything that happens at the bank," Hartzer said in a statement announcing the changes.


"It is clear that we have fallen well short of what the community expects of us, and we expect of ourselves."

Current chief financial officer Peter King will take over the reins until a "global search process" for a permanent replacement is completed.

The axe also fell on company chairman Lindsay Maxsted, who will bring forward his retirement to "the first half of 2020" and long-standing director Ewen Crouch, who will not seek re-election next month.

Australia's financial intelligence agency AUSTRAC said the bank committed 23 million breaches of money laundering and counterterrorism rules, theoretically putting the bank on the hook for up to Aus$483 trillion (US$330 trillion) in fines.

Government treasurer Josh Frydenberg said "there needed to be accountability" because the alleged breaches were "of the most serious nature" but also stressed the importance of the financial sector.


Troubles for the Big Four 

Australia's largest lender, the Commonwealth Bank (CBA), last year faced a theoretical maximum fine of Aus$1 trillion after AUSTRAC found it had failed to report on 53,500 transactions -- a fraction of the alleged breaches by Westpac.

The CBA ended up negotiating an Aus$700 million settlement.

Among the most damaging allegations against Westpac, the regulator accused bank executives of "indifference" to clear evidence that some international transfers were used to fund child exploitation.

AUSTRAC said the bank had been aware of heightened risks associated with frequent small payments destined for Southeast Asia since 2013 and had been "specifically briefed" on the risks with respect to one of its money transfer channels in June 2016.

In a conference call, Maxsted acknowledged the bank may lose customers as a result of the breaches, but urged them to "stick with us" and "understand that we feel so remorseful".

Westpac's share price climbed 1.9 percent in morning trade on the news.

Australia's banking industry, one of the world's most profitable, is facing an array of challenges.

The country's four biggest banks -- CBA, Westpac, National Australia Bank (NAB) and ANZ -- were the target of a royal commission that earlier this year exposed rampant malpractice across the sector.

It found banks had charged fees to dead people and to others for no services at all, used aggressive sales tactics and provided poor advice that led to significant financial upheaval for clients.

All the banks have reported significant hits to profits as they reimburse hundreds of millions of dollars to wronged customers.

source: philstar.com

Malaysia's last known Sumatran rhino dies

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — The last surviving Sumatran rhino in Malaysia has died, wildlife officials said Sunday.

Once found as far away as eastern India and throughout Malaysia, the Sumatran rhino has been almost wiped out, with fewer than 80 left anywhere, according to the World Wildlife Fund.

Only a handful of the creatures remain in the wilds of Indonesia.

Sabah Wildlife Department director Augustine Tuuga told AFP the 25-year-old female named Iman died on the island of Borneo from cancer.

"She was starting to suffer significant pain from the growing pressure of the tumors," Tuuga said.

"I think we can confirm that the Sumatran rhino is now extinct in Malaysia," he added.

Malaysia's last male Sumatran rhino died in May this year. Tam also had lived in the same nature reserve with Iman on Borneo island in Malaysia's Sabah state.

John Payne, executive director of Borneo Rhino Alliance said the Sumatran rhinos have been hard hit by factors including changes in climate, vegetation and hunting for traditional Chinese medicine. 

source: philstar.com

From sci-fi to science lab: Holograms you can 'feel'

PARIS, France — Walking, talking holograms have been a staple of sci-fi films since Princess Leia was magically brought to life in "Star Wars".

Now scientists in Britain say they can make even more realistic 3D versions -- a butterfly, a globe, an emoji -- which can be seen with the naked eye, heard and even felt without the need for any virtual reality systems.

Writing in the journal Nature, a team at the University of Sussex in southern England, said technology currently in use can create 3D images but they are slow, short-lived and "most importantly, rely on operating principles that cannot produce tactile and auditive content as well".

To fill in the picture, so to speak, the team created a prototype called Multimodal Acoustic Trap Display (MATD) which "can simultaneously deliver visual, auditory and tactile content".

This uses what is known as "acoustophoresis" -- sound waves that move and manipulate an object, in this case particles -- to form an image in a small box containing arrays of very small speakers.


"Our system traps a particle acoustically and illuminates it with red, green and blue light to control its colour as it quickly scans the display volume," the team said.

Since the system is based on sound waves, it allows the hologram to be heard and even felt.

One of the scientists, Ryuji Hirayama, explained how this last feature -- so crucial to making the object seem real -- works.

"Even if not audible to us, ultrasound is still a mechanical wave and it carries energy through the air. Our system directs and focuses this energy, which can then stimulate your skin to feel content," Hirayama told AFP by email.

"The feeling of the tactile sensation is like a gently spraying your hand with pressurised air."

The system obviously attracts attention because of the science fiction film backdrop but the team said it could have a wide range of applications, from computing to biomedical procedures.

source: philstar.com

Doncic delivers another triple-double as Mavs rout Warriors

LOS ANGELES – Luka Doncic posted his league-leading seventh triple double of the season en route to a 35-point performance as the Dallas Mavericks trounced the Golden State Warriors, 142-94, on Wednesday (Thursday, Manila time).

The 20-year-old Slovenian scored 35 points in just 26 minutes of playing time and he finished with 11 assists and 10 rebounds in front of a crowd of 19,500 at the American Airlines Center.

Doncic scored 33 of his points in the opening half en route to his second consecutive triple-double. He was coming off a career-best, 42-point performance in a triple-double Monday against San Antonio.

Tim Hardaway Jr. finished with 20 points and went four-for-four from beyond the arc for the Mavs, who posted their third straight win to start a four-game homestand.

Rookie Eric Paschall led Golden State with 22 points.


Elsewhere, Fred VanVleet scored 24 points and added seven assists, and the Toronto Raptors improved to 6-0 at home this season with a 113-97 win over the Orlando Magic.

It was the second win for the Raptors against the Magic this season.

Terence Davis had a career-best 19 points and Pascal Siakam tallied 18 points and 11 rebounds for the Raptors who shot 52 percent from the floor.


Norman Powell added 15 points and Chris Boucher delivered 14 points and 11 rebounds.

Centre Nikola Vucevic and forward Aaron Gordon left the game with sprained ankles in the first half and did not return.

source: philstar.com

Airlines' fuel practices feed doubts over climate commitment

PARIS, France — Airlines have taken steps to reduce their carbon footprints under the gaze of public opinion, but the pressure of the bottom line means some fly with extra fuel, boosting emissions of climate-changing greenhouse gases.

As the highly competitive air travel industry is being pushed to reduce its carbon emissions—which it puts at two to three percent of the global total—the practice known as fuel tankering has become an acid test for airlines' commitment to really go green.

In fuel tankering, an aircraft's tanks are filled sufficiently at the departure airport to avoid having to take on additional fuel for the return leg at a destination airport where fuel costs may be higher, or there are supply issues.

According to a study by Eurocontrol, the practice is a money-saving strategy for airlines as it outweighs the cost of additional fuel needed to carry the extra weight on the outbound flight.

"Aviation is a very competitive market and each airline needs to minimise operating costs, in order to keep its ticket prices as competitive as possible," said the group, an inter-governmental organisation that helps harmonise regulations in the sector.


With fuel accounting for up to 25 percent of airlines' operating expenses, "saving fuel has become a major challenge for aviation", it added.

Eurocontrol found that in Europe fuel tankering concerns about one in six flights, on average resulting in an extra 136 kg of fuel burned.

Despite the additional fuel cost of 75 euros it still results in a net saving of 126 euros per flight. That saving also includes nine euros for purchasing carbon allowances for the 428kg of additional CO2 generated.


The report estimated that in Europe fuel tankering could generate net savings of 265 million euros per year for airlines, while adding 286,000 tonnes of fuel burnt and 901,000 tons of CO2 emissions.

"This represents about 2,800 round-trips between Paris and New York or the annual emissions of a European city of 100,000 inhabitants," said the report.

Everybody does it...

After being called out for fuel tankering by the BBC, British Airways called it a "common practice across the airline industry" and said that it is done for "operational, safety and price reasons."

British Airways said it resorts to fuel tankering for "mainly short-haul destinations where there are considerable fuel price differences between European airports."

Willy Walsh, the head of IAG, British Airway's parent company, acknowledged that the issue shows that airlines are torn between economic and environmental imperatives.

"What we see today is that there is often a conflict between what we do that makes a commercial and financial sense and the things we should be doing from an environmental point of view," he told investors at a gathering at the beginning of November.

Germany's Lufthansa said it resorts to fuel tankering only exceptionally for operational reasons because the practice "goes against our goal of reducing carbon emissions," said a spokesman.

Air France said it practiced fuel tankering only on "some specific" routes for economic or organisational reasons.

Offsets

The airline industry adopted in 2016 a mechanism called CORSIA to offset any increase in CO2 emissions from 2020 levels using tree-planting and other schemes that absorb carbon.

This will allow the industry to continue to grow to meet rising demand for air travel without adding any additional carbon on a net basis.

Budget airline easyJet announced it plans to go further by offsetting emissions from all flights.

Most airlines have also undertaken efforts to reduce their emissions such as optimising flight paths, using electric towing vehicles or reducing the weight of seats.

But these efforts are not sufficient believes Andrew Murphy of the non-governmental organisation Transport and Environment.

"The increase of aviation emissions and stories like this show that actually the industry isn't doing enough and actually we can't just rely on the industry to cut it's own emissions," said Murphy.

"The equation is super complex" to arrive at a reduction of emissions when the volume of air traffic is expected to double every 15 to 20 years, said Pascal Fabre, an air travel expert at the consultancy Alix Partners.

The situation is even more daunting as airlines need to make money to survive, with around a dozen going out of business in the past year and a half according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

source: philstar.com

Harden, Westbrook shine as Rockets extend win streak

LOS ANGELES – James Harden scored 36 points and Russell Westbrook bagged a triple-double as the Houston Rockets extended their red-hot winning streak to eight games with a 132-108 rout of the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday (Tuesday, Manila time).

Harden, fresh from a 49-point display in Saturday's win over Minnesota, was once again in commanding form against a Portland team who were always second best at Houston's Toyota Center.

The 2017-2018 NBA Most Valuable Player also had six rebounds and five assists as the Blazers struggled to contain the Rockets' multi-pronged offense.


Westbrook tormented the Portland defense, finishing with 28 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists on a night when all five Houston starters finished in double figures.

The win saw the Rockets improve to 11-3 at the top of the Western Conference, neck-and-neck with the pace-setting Los Angeles Lakers (11-2).


C.J. McCollum led the scoring for Portland with 25 points, but team-mate Damian Lillard was kept quiet with only 13 points. Portland fell to 5-9 with the defeat.

Elsewhere Monday, Giannis Antetokounmpo finished with a 33-point haul as the Milwaukee Bucks outgunned the Chicago Bulls 115-101.

Antetokounmpo's points tally was matched by impressive defensive numbers, with the Greek star pulling down 10 rebounds, forcing eight turnovers and making three steals.

Brook Lopez had 19 points while Donte DiVincenzo added 15 for the Bucks, who improved to 10-3 in the Eastern Conference standings.

In Toronto, O.G. Anunoby and Pascal Siakam sparked the Raptors in a 132-96 demolition of the Charlotte Hornets.

Anunoby had 24 points and Siakam 20 as seven Toronto players finished in double figures against an outclassed Charlotte team.

source: philstar.com