Saturday, November 11, 2017

Countries of the world


  1. Abkhazia 
  2. Afghanistan 
  3. Akrotiri and Dhekelia 
  4. Åland Islands 
  5. Albania 
  6. Algeria 
  7. American Samoa 
  8. Andorra 
  9. Angola 
  10. Anguilla 
  11. Antigua and Barbuda 
  12. Armenia 
  13. Aruba 
  14. Ashmore and Cartier Islands 
  15. Australia 
  16. Austria 
  17. Azerbaijan 
  18. Bahamas 
  19. Bahrain 
  20. Baker Island 
  21. Bangladesh 
  22. Barbados 
  23. Belarus 
  24. Belgium 
  25. Belize 
  26. Benin 
  27. Bermuda 
  28. Bhutan 
  29. Bosnia and Herzegovina 
  30. Botswana 
  31. British Indian Ocean Territory 
  32. British Virgin Islands 
  33. Brunei 
  34. Bulgaria 
  35. Burkina Faso 
  36. Burundi 
  37. Cambodia 
  38. Cameroon 
  39. Canada 
  40. Cape Verde 
  41. Cayman Islands 
  42. Central African Republic 
  43. Chad 
  44. China 
  45. Christmas Island 
  46. Clipperton Island 
  47. Cocos (Keeling) Islands 
  48. Comoros 
  49. Cook Islands 
  50. Coral Sea Islands 
  51. Costa Rica 
  52. Croatia 
  53. Cuba 
  54. Curaçao 
  55. Cyprus 
  56. Czech Republic 
  57. Democratic Republic of the Congo 
  58. Denmark 
  59. Djibouti 
  60. Dominica 
  61. Dominican Republic 
  62. East Timor (Timor-Leste) 
  63. Egypt 
  64. El Salvador 
  65. Equatorial Guinea 
  66. Eritrea 
  67. Estonia 
  68. Ethiopia 
  69. Faroe Islands 
  70. Federated States of Micronesia 
  71. Fiji 
  72. Finland 
  73. France 
  74. French Polynesia 
  75. Gabon 
  76. Georgia 
  77. Germany 
  78. Ghana 
  79. Gibraltar 
  80. Greece 
  81. Greenland 
  82. Grenada 
  83. Guam 
  84. Guatemala 
  85. Guernsey 
  86. Guinea 
  87. Guinea-Bissau 
  88. Haiti 
  89. Honduras 
  90. Hong Kong 
  91. Howland Island 
  92. Hungary 
  93. Iceland 
  94. India 
  95. Indonesia 
  96. Iran 
  97. Iraq 
  98. Ireland 
  99. Isle of Man 
  100. Israel 
  101. Italy 
  102. Ivory Coast (Côte d'Ivoire) 
  103. Jamaica 
  104. Jan Mayen 
  105. Japan 
  106. Jarvis Island 
  107. Jersey 
  108. Johnston Atoll 
  109. Jordan 
  110. Kazakhstan 
  111. Kenya 
  112. Kingman Reef 
  113. Kiribati 
  114. Kosovo 
  115. Kuwait 
  116. Kyrgyzstan 
  117. Laos 
  118. Latvia 
  119. Lebanon 
  120. Lesotho 
  121. Liberia 
  122. Libya 
  123. Liechtenstein 
  124. Lithuania 
  125. Luxembourg 
  126. Macau 
  127. Macedonia 
  128. Madagascar 
  129. Malawi 
  130. Malaysia 
  131. Maldives 
  132. Mali 
  133. Malta 
  134. Marshall Islands 
  135. Mauritania 
  136. Mauritius 
  137. Mexico 
  138. Midway Atoll 
  139. Moldova 
  140. Monaco 
  141. Mongolia 
  142. Montenegro 
  143. Montserrat 
  144. Morocco 
  145. Mozambique 
  146. Myanmar 
  147. Nagorno-Karabakh 
  148. Namibia 
  149. Nauru 
  150. Navassa Island 
  151. Nepal 
  152. Netherlands 
  153. New Caledonia 
  154. New Zealand 
  155. Nicaragua 
  156. Niger 
  157. Nigeria 
  158. Niue 
  159. Norfolk Island 
  160. North Korea 
  161. Northern Cyprus 
  162. Northern Mariana Islands 
  163. Norway 
  164. Oman 
  165. Pakistan 
  166. Palau 
  167. Palestine 
  168. Panama 
  169. Papua New Guinea 
  170. Pitcairn Islands 
  171. Poland 
  172. Portugal 
  173. Puerto Rico 
  174. Qatar 
  175. Republic of the Congo 
  176. Romania 
  177. Russia 
  178. Rwanda 
  179. Saint Lucia 
  180. Samoa 
  181. San Marino 
  182. São Tomé and Príncipe 
  183. Saudi Arabia 
  184. Senegal 
  185. Serbia 
  186. Seychelles 
  187. Sierra Leone 
  188. Sint Maarten 
  189. Slovakia 
  190. Slovenia 
  191. Solomon Islands 
  192. Somalia 
  193. South Africa 
  194. South Korea 
  195. South Ossetia 
  196. South Sudan 
  197. Spain 
  198. Sri Lanka 
  199. St. Barthélemy 
  200. St. Kitts and Nevis 
  201. St. Martin 
  202. St. Pierre and Miquelon 
  203. St. Vincent and the Grenadines 
  204. Sudan 
  205. Svalbard 
  206. Swaziland 
  207. Sweden 
  208. Switzerland 
  209. Syria 
  210. Taiwan 
  211. Tajikistan 
  212. Tanzania 
  213. The Gambia 
  214. Togo 
  215. Tokelau 
  216. Tonga 
  217. Transnistria 
  218. Trinidad and Tobago 
  219. Tunisia 
  220. Turkey 
  221. Turkmenistan 
  222. Turks and Caicos Islands 
  223. Tuvalu 
  224. Uganda 
  225. Ukraine 
  226. United Arab Emirates 
  227. United Kingdom 
  228. United States 
  229. United States Virgin Islands 
  230. Uzbekistan 
  231. Vanuatu 
  232. Vatican City 
  233. Wake Island 
  234. Wallis and Futuna 
  235. Western Sahara 
  236. Yemen 
  237. Zambia 
  238. Zimbabwe

Big win for PH

The Philippines scored high at the International Film Festival Manhattan 2017 held recently. Noted indie actor Leon Miguel won the Best Actor trophy (short film category) for his engaging role in “Galit Na Aso.”

Directed by Ankit Rawat, it got the Most Popular Film Award, too.

Fritz Silorio won as Best Director for his movie “Fall Guy,” another short film.

Leon Miguel, who hails from Masbate, and who first captured the eye of the movie-going public with his villain role in “Graceland” shown at the TriBeca Film Festival in 2012, has won several Best Actor trophies from various international film festivals in recent years, among them “Redlights” at the IFFM 2016.

Other wins for the Philippines at the IFFM 2017 include: Christopher de Leon, Lifetime Achievement Award in Acting, Best Ensemble Acting Award for the movie “Across The Crescent Moon” – Christopher de Leon, Matteo Guidicelli, Dina Bonnevie, Sandy Andolong, Gabby Concepcion and Joem Bascon; Independent Achievement Award, “Sikreto Sa Dilim” produced by Ramon Roxas and Mike Magat; and Best Director for “The Guerilla Is A Poet,” directed by Sari Dalena and Kiri Dalena.

Going back to Leon Miguel, he is also in the cast of “EJK,” an official movie selection for Best Picture at the recent Los Angeles-Philippines International Film Festival (LAPIFF).

Directed by Rolando Sanchez and also starring Mon Confiado, Felix Roco and DJ Durano, “EJK” is based on events about alleged extra judicial killings in the Philippines.

• • •

‘No’ to more beauty tax

Flawless has publicly expressed its displeasure on Instagram about the current issue on taxes being proposed on all luxury beauty treatments and products.

While clientele of cosmetic clinics span a wide bracket of incomeearners, Flawless believes the decision to be beautiful is a right and a privilege that shouldn’t be oppressed and its consumers should not be discriminated.

The bill is being pushed by Sen. Sonny Angara and is contained in Section 30 of Senate Bill 1592. It comes in the wake of the news that luxury cars will have additional taxes too, and its implementation starts next year.

• • •

Tidbits: Happy b-day greetings today, Nov. 11, go to former Vice Pres. Jejomar Binay, AiAi de las Alas, Rowell Santiago, Willie Schneider, Rene-An Gomez, Alice Lopez Lim, Atty. Abet and Vaness Bernales, Marilú Caballes, Jojo Baltazar, Aida Ver, Nini Go, Director Al Quinn, Steven Fermo, Bing Carrion, Emelio Uy and Mon DavidNov. 12: Gov. Imee Marcos, Malou Choa-Fagar, Atty. Teresita Sison, Diego Cagahastian, Rene Tiongco, Anna Marie Gutierrez, Christina Hermoso Zaldarriaga, Barbie Bermundo, Bobby Enciso, Vangie Go, Dr. Wendell Lozano, Mike Aguirre, Reynaldo Campos, Rico Laxa, Ron Morales and Sandara Park…Belated b-day greetings to Marilou Andres-FloresNov. 13Cecille Guidote-Alvarez, Techie Ysmael-Bilbao, Winnie Castillo, Babes Suva-Alfonso, Chula Ramos Sembrano, Babes Suva-Alfonso, Buddy Zabala, Doris de Guia, Eli Maniquis, Gloria Garchitorena Goloy, Noel Paderes of Malate’s Silya Restaurant, Ron Diokno, Leon Flores III, Nicole Noriega, Michelle Centeno, Rinella Gane Fernandez Banajera, Florante Salvador, Margaret Co Que, Gilda Custodio, Melanie A. Arguelles, Howard Dy, and Dimples Romana

PH, Japan eye early subway completion

The proposed Metro Manila Subway Project (MMSP) remains on track, the Transportation department said on Wednesday as it denied a report that the start of construction could be pushed back to December next year.

“In fact, instead of the original completion date for the entire system in 2025, the DOTr (Department of Transportation) … has successfully agreed with the Japanese government to pursue the advance completion of a segment of MMSP by the 2nd quarter of 2022,” the department said in a statement.

Following the National Economic and Development Authority’s (NEDA) approval of the project last September, the department said an exchange of notes would be held during next week’s Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit, to be followed by the signing of the loan agreement in January next year.

“Pre-construction activities” such as the preparation of designs, acquisition of right-of-way and the bidding out of construction and supply packages are also being undertaken.

“For the partial operability segment of MMSP, the above pre-construction activities are scheduled to be completed from the fourth quarter of 2017 to the third quarter of 2018, with groundbreaking scheduled in the fourth quarter of 2018. All activities leading to this are on track,” the Transportation department said.

Wednesday’s statement was prompted by news that a NEDA official had told a forum that the project schedule could be revised given an estimated timetable submitted by the Japan International Cooperation Agency.