Angelina Jolie to produce kids’ news show for BBC

Star of “Maleficent” and director of “Unbroken”, Angelina Jolie is adding another producer’s credit to a dozen-strong list by way of the ten-episode children’s series “Our World”.

The show is aimed at children between the ages of 7 and 12 years old, 7 being the age that children become aware of the news (per BBC-commissioned United Kingdom research) and just over 12 and a half being when the average U.S. child opens their first social media account (per a 2016 Common Sense Media report).

“Children today are exposed to a lot of opinion, but not necessarily to information that is fact-based and reliable,” Angelina Jolie said in the BBC’s announcement.

“As a mother, I am very pleased that the BBC World Service is taking this step. It is also important to me that the project is global, and will help young people in different countries to be connected to each other and to have greater awareness and understanding of the news on an international basis,” she explained.

Jamie Angus, the BBC’s World Service director, noted that, over a six-month period, “59 percent of 10-18 year-olds had shared a story that they either subsequently found to be inaccurate or were now uncertain as to its veracity,” according to another 2017 United States survey.

The show’s aim is to “give kids the tools to distinguish the genuine from the false and encourage them to develop critical thinking,” Angus said, “to ask themselves: who produced the video and why? Are they a reputable organization? Are they just telling one side of the story? Is there another view?”

“Our World” is to debut in 2019 in the form of a 10-week project pilot, with the BBC looking to distribute internationally through existing World Service partners and other broadcasters.

Jolie’s existing producer or executive producer credits include “In the Land of Blood and Honey”, “Unbroken”, “By the Sea” and “First They Killed My Father”, all of which she directed, as well as upcoming animated gorilla comedy “The One and Only Ivan”, Peter Pan and Alice in Wonderland crossover prequel “Come Away” and “Maleficent” and its 2020 sequel. JB

source: entertainment.inquirer.net

Woman in China buys house by selling 20 iPhones given by 20 lovers

Against the backdrop of increasing property prices in China, a particular property story made waves on Chinese social media last week.

A user by the name of Proud Qiaoba posted the story on popular Tian Ya Yi Du forum about her friend Xiaoli who had asked each of her 20 current boyfriends to buy her the newly launched iPhone 7, reported the BBC.

Xiaoli (not her real name), who hails from southern Shenzhen, then sold all the 20 iPhones to a mobile phone recycling site called Hui Shou Bao for 115,010 yuan (S$23,571) before using the money to pay for the deposit for a countryside house.

Proud Qiaoba and her friends were all very surprised when Xiaoli showed them her new house and revealed how she had obtained the money, BBC reported.

“Everyone in the office is talking about this now,” wrote Proud Qiaoba. “Who knows what her boyfriends think now this news has become public.”

Proud Qiaoba also mentioned that Xiaoli “is not from a wealthy family”. Her mother is a housewife and her father is a migrant worker, and she is the oldest daughter, it was reported.

“Her parents are getting old and she might be under a lot pressure hoping to buy them a house… But it’s still unbelievable that she could use this method!” Proud Qiaoba wrote.

Netizens on China’s microblogging website Weibo have expressed their surprise at Xiaoli’s enterprise and ability to convince all her 20 lovers to each buy her an iPhone. An impressive feat, considering the phone was only launched on Sept 16.

The hashtag ’20 mobiles for a house’ (translated from Chinese) soon began to circulate on Weibo and became China’s top trending topic. The hashtag has been used more than 13 million times since.

Some users have expressed admiration for Xiaoli’s efforts.

One of them, ‘small sand is growing’, wrote: “I can’t even find one boyfriend. She can actually find 20 boyfriends at the same time and even get them to buy her an iPhone 7. Just want to ask her to teach me such skills.”

Others however, like ‘Little Bee’ commented that Xiaoli was ‘the most shameless person’.

Some also suspected that the whole story was a marketing ploy by mobile phone recycling business Hui Shou Bao.

BBC confirmed that the company had purchased 20 iPhones from a female client at the start of October, paying about 5,750 yuan for each phone.

However, a request by the BBC to interview Xiaoli through the company was rejected.

“Her day-to-day life has been affected (from the local media attention) and she doesn’t want the media to continue covering this story,” they said, “so she has turned down your interview request.”

source: technology.inquirer.net

British vote on leaving the EU rocks world financial markets

SEOUL, South Korea — World financial markets were rocked Friday by Britain’s unprecedented vote to leave the European Union, with stock markets and oil prices crashing and the pound hitting its lowest level in three decades.

The uncharted, unexpected path of a European Union without Britain sparked the sell-offs, with more jitters expected as global markets try to digest the shock result.

Tokyo stocks plummeted about 8 percent, their biggest fall since 2008, while South Korea’s Kospi tumbled about 3 percent. Britain’s FTSE 100 futures tanked 8.3 percent.

Crude oil prices and US futures also took a big hit. The British pound plummeted more than 10 percent in six hours while the yen surged about 3 percent to the US dollar as investors seeking safety snapped up the Japanese currency.

By early afternoon in Asia, a tally by the BBC showed Britain had voted to leave the 28-nation European Union by about a 52 percent to 48 percent margin.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 plunged 8.3 percent to 14,897.32 while South Korea’s Kospi sank 3.4 percent to 1,918.70. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index tumbled 4.8 percent to 19,866.20 and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 3.4 percent to 5,012.20. Stocks in Shanghai, Taiwan, Sydney and Southeast Asian countries were sharply lower.

US futures took a dive. Dow futures fell 3.4 percent and S&P futures nosedived 5 percent.

“Financial markets throughout the night have been chaotic to say the least and this may continue as the day progresses,” said Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at Oanda in London. “All eyes will now be on central banks around the world to see how they respond to these market developments, particularly the Bank of England and the Bank of Japan.”

On Thursday, Wall Street finished with rallies as pre-poll forecasts showed that Britain would keep the EU membership. Asian stock markets opened the day higher but the mood turned sour as results started to show that the “leave” vote would win. As the results increasingly pointed to the EU exit, investors dumped stocks and other risky assets.

The results sent the pound on a wild ride. It rose to its highest point for the year of $1.50 before tumbling more than 10 percent to a low of $1.3303, its lowest level since 1985.

In other currencies, the dollar fell to 101.51 yen from 104.80 yen while the euro weakened to $1.097 from $1.132.

Benchmark US crude plummeted 6.4 percent, or $3.17, to $46.94 per barrel in New York. Brent Crude, the benchmark for international oil price, fell 6.1 percent, or $3.11, to $47.80 per barrel in London.

source: newsinfo.inquirer.net

Pound, Asia markets collapse as Britain quits EU

HONG KONG—The pound collapsed to a 31-year low and currency, equity and oil markets went into freefall Friday as projections showed Britain has voted to leave the European Union.

Sterling crashed more than nine percent to $1.3305, its weakest level since 1985, while the greenback itself slumped below 100 yen for the first time in two-and-a-half years as traders fled to safety.

In the weeks leading up to Thursday’s historic vote, there had been widespread warnings that a vote to leave would cause another rout across global markets that would wipe trillions off valuations, just months after a painful China-fuelled sell-off.

And as results came in, the doomsday scenario began to unfold as the BBC and other broadcasters called a win for “leave”.

The pound had earlier topped $1.50 following predictions the “remain” group would win but as the Brexit camp posted victories around the country, traders stampeded to put in sell orders.

The dollar slumped briefly to 99.02 yen, the first time it has gone below 100 yen since November 2013, before edging back up slightly. The Japanese unit is considered a safe bet in times of uncertainty and turmoil.

Japan’s Finance Minister Taro Aso will hold an emergency news briefing Friday. He has previously said Japan would closely watch the dollar-yen rate and act accordingly if the yen became too strong, indicating the government could intervene in currency markets.

A flight to safety also saw higher-yielding and emerging market currencies slump, with the Australian dollar down 3.2 percent, South Korea’s won diving 2.4 percent, Malaysia’s ringgit down 2.3 percent and the Indonesian rupiah shedding 1.7 percent.

There were also heavy losses for India’s rupee, the Canadian dollar and the Singapore dollar.

‘Independence day’

The outcome has upturned expectations, which had been for a tight race narrowly won by the “remain”, while bookmakers had said there was a 90 percent chance of staying in.

But as the shock results rolled in, equity markets went into meltdown.

Tokyo plunged more than eight percent in the afternoon, Sydney shed 3.7 percent and Seoul was 3.5 percent off. Mumbai lost three percent and Shanghai sank 1.4 percent by lunch, while Taipei, Wellington, Manila and Jakarta all saw sharp losses.

Hong Kong tumbled 4.7 percent by the break with British banking giants HSBC and Standard Chartered both plunging more than 10 percent.

In the early hours in Britain, Nigel Farage, leader of the anti-Europe UK Independence Party, declared victory, saying it was the country’s “independence day”.

The prospect of a severe hit to the global economy also hammered oil prices, with both main contracts slumping more than six percent.

“We are seeing oil swept up in the general market nervousness to the vote,” Ric Spooner, a chief analyst at CMC Markets in Sydney, told Bloomberg News.

“Corrections are likely to be fairly shallow in oil because prices will be supported by the fact a balanced market is firmly on the horizon.”

source: business.inquirer.net

Why Georgina Wilson is crazy for Maine Mendoza

 Kabilang ang model na si Georgina Wilson sa manghang-mangha sa galing ni Maine Mendoza o Yaya Dub sa pagda-Dubsmash.

Sa katunayan, noong September ay nag-tweet pa si Georgina tungkol sa pagkahumaling niya sa videos ng tinaguriang Dubsmash Queen.

Nang makausap ng PEP (Philippine Entertainment Portal) ang Filipino-British model sa press launch ng Hershey's nitong Huwebes, November 27, tinanong namin kung bakit na-obsess siya kay Maine.

Pahayag ni Georgina, “The funny thing was I had no idea what it was at all, and then they showed me her dubsmashes of Kris Aquino and I found it so funny.

"I kept watching. Ang galing niya talaga.

“I think it’s a phenomenon.

"I’ve been reading, reading about it and seeing it on BBC, it’s something that after a while everyone just knows."

Sabi pa ni Georgina, hindi man niya nauunawaan nang lubos ang videos ni Maine ay natatawa pa rin siya.

“I don’t understand exactly but I just love her videos.

"I don’t understand the rest of it, but I think her videos are so funny.

"That’s really it."

Bilang isang “It Girl,” natanong kay Georgina kung ano sa tingin niya ang appeal ni Maine.

Sagot niya, “I just find her like very approachable, I just found her really funny.

“I didn’t think about it so much.

"I kept watching the video and we were having dinner and I just kept watching and watching."

Sinusundan ba niya si Maine sa social media?

“I follow her Instagram because Liz [Uy] is her stylist,” tukoy niya sa kaibigang celebrity stylist.

Ayon pa kay Georgina, isang patunay si Maine sa husay ng mga Pilipino upang mapansin sa buong mundo.

“It just shows you how we’re really trendsetters in global records, like Twitter, like social media.

"We always outdo the worldwide records, ganun kalakas tayo."

Sa ngayon, ang AlDub (Alden Richards at Yay Dub) ang may hawak ng world record ng may pinakamaraming tweets sa Twitter, dahil sa 41 million tweets ng hashtag na #AlDubEBTamangPanahon na ginamit sa Tamang Panahon concert noong October 24. —PEP

For the full story, visit PEP.

source: gmanetwork.com

Bloomberg takes on AlDub’s influence on markets

The phenomenal loveteam of Alden Richards and Maine Mendoza a.k.a. Yaya Dub is undeniably one of the hottest pairings in the Philippine entertainment industry nowadays.

But after a show in the world’s largest indoor arena sold out 55,000 tickets in less than three days, and with a Twitter record of 41 million tweets with its hashtag in one day, AlDub has also caught global attention in both the mainstream and social media.

After the British Broadcasting Company dubbed them as a ‘social media phenomenon,’ international business news platform Bloomberg discussed how the unassuming and ‘bizarre’ Philippine show is affecting sales in different markets.



"The 'AlDub' phenomenon, (and) how it's becoming a mega hit on social media and how it's becoming a gold mine for anyone associated with it," read the blurb of the Bloomberg story.

In the article, Ehden Llave Pelaez, social media manager at iSentia Brandtology, described AlDub and the Kalyeserye segment from Philippines’ longest-running noontime show ‘Eat Bulaga’ as a brand new type of the typical Cinderella love story.

Pelaez said its appeal came from how it responded to the audience.

“Another nice thing, which is probably where social media comes in, is they get to listen to their fans. They story follows what the fans wanted to see. It's an open-ended series,” Pelaez said.

After only months of charming the Filipino audience, AlDub already starred in different commercials for a wide variety of brands, such as fast food, household cleaning agent, a telecommunications company, adult milk brand, cellphone brand, and many more.

Vice President for Marketing Communications at Golden Arches Development Corporation Margot Torres confirmed that the sales of McDonald’s grew significantly following the release of the #ALDUBkoto TV commercial.

"Our  growth is measured based on same-store sales and transactions. If we use the period when we sold Minions (which was a good month) as a base index of 100 and compare the same-store transactions growth figure with the period 3 weeks after we launched our chicken fillet a la king and the AlDub campaign, the figure is 470 versus base index," Torres told GMA News Online.

"This is a nationwide number,” she added.

"Needless to say, the launch of our Chicken Fillet a la King product with the AlDub campaign has positively impacted our business and sales for Chicken Fillet a la King have well exceeded its target," Torres said.

Within 24 hours of posting on September 11, the AlDub TVC was viewed 1.5 million times on the fast food chain’s Facebook page.

According to Pelaez, this remarkable increase in business is brought by the fact that the ‘AlDub phenomenon’ is not restricted to a particular class or industry.

Aside from being talked about in five out of seven continents, the love team’s reach also cuts across different markets because of their wide audience reach assisted not only by television but more importantly, by social media.

“They are cutting across different industries and segments. Beyond McDonald's and Talk N' Text, they have household cleansers and other upcoming TVCs,” Pelaez said.

“Using these people as effective product ambassadors proves that their fanbase also cuts across different markets. So, you're touching different consumers, and it doesn't matter what industry you're in. You are able to connect to different kinds of audience," she added. —Bianca Rose Dabu/NB, GMA News

source: gmanetwork.com

AlDub loveteam catches BBC’s attention as ‘social media phenomenon’

Dahil sa araw-araw na pagiging top trending topic worldwide ng AlDub hashtags, umaagaw na rin ng atensiyon sa international news websites ang itinuturing na global phenomenon loveteam nina Alden Richards at Maine Mendoza a.k.a. Yaya Dub.

Sina Alden at Yaya Dub ang mga pangunahing karakter sa sinusubaybayang Kalyeserye ng Eat Bulaga.

Ngayong araw, October 28, ay nai-feature ang AlDub sa website ng BBC News, ang bbc.com.

Ang BBC o British Broadcasting Corporation ay ang public-service broadcaster ng United Kingdom, na ang headquarters ay matatagpuan sa London. Ito ang counterpart ng CNN ng USA.

Sa artikulo ni Heather Chen na may titulong "AlDub: A social media phenomenon about love and lip-synching," tinalakay rito ang popularidad ng AlDub sa mga Pinoy at ang pagti-trend nito sa Twitter.

Sabi pa sa artikulo, "And it isn't just the local fans. US politicians and even alternative rock bands, have declared their love for the show and its young stars."

Mayroon ding pahayag ang TV host na si Daphne Oseña-Paez at ang Pinoy BBC presenter na si Rico Hizon, na parehong fan ng Kalyeserye.

Sabi ni Daphne tungkol sa tambalan nina Alden at Yaya Dub, "Actors and actresses are often paired up so fans hope they end up together in real life. But what's different about 'AlDub'... is that it wasn't just the creation of a TV network or movie production."

Ayon naman kay Rico, "They appear very down-to-earth. I believe that one big reason they are so popular is because the actors are very humble despite their massive success—they keep thanking fans as well as everyone who supports their work."

Nabanggit din sa artikulo ang pagiging third fastest-growing celebrity on Twitter ni Maine, "after US singers Taylor Swift and Katy Perry."

Tungkol naman sa pagiging global phenomenon ng AlDub sa Twitter, sabi ni Daphne, "None of it was planned. It's not like the show hired social media experts to strategise a plan—they realised what they had: a new and younger social-media savvy audience."

Samantala, isa pang patunay kung gaano kasikat ngayon ang AlDub ay ang pagiging cover nila sa apat na glossy magazines ngayong Nobyembre: YES!, Preview, Meg para kay Maine, at Mega Man para kay Alden. -PEP.ph

source: gmanetwork.com

British TV personality Cilla Black dies aged 72 —BBC

LONDON —British television personality and singer Cilla Black died on Sunday aged 72, according to national broadcaster the BBC.

"The singer and TV presenter Cilla Black has died in Spain," BBC reporter Joe Lynam said on Twitter. — Reuters