Pinoy Entrepreneurs

Hundreds of horizontally-challenged men and women lined up for The Biggest Loser Asia live auditions held recently at the Fitness First branch in SM Megamall. The Biggest Loser franchise came to Asia in search for the biggest weight loser in the region. In cooperation with Fitness First, The Biggest Loser Asia toured Fitness First clubs in countries such as the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia to conduct live screen test auditions for participants who would want to be part of the show.

“Fitness First is honored to have been part of this Asia-wide rollout of The Biggest Loser as our company has always emphasized the importance of being fit and healthy,” says Fitness First Philippines’ country manager Mark Ellis.

Since its debut in 2004 in the US by NBC reality television, The Biggest Loser has become a worldwide hit viewed by millions, airing in over 90 countries and produced in 25 countries. This is the first reality show where obese contestants are challenged and encouraged under guided expert supervision to undergo strenuous physical and mental training in order to shed kilos. The one who loses the most weight not only wins a grand cash prize of US$100, 000 but also gains a healthier and better quality of life.

Produced by Imagine Omnimedia, producers of Contender Asia, for the Hallmark Channel in Asia, Biggest Loser Asia will help change the lives of obese Filipinos who want to take up the challenge of shedding bad lifestyle habits and embracing healthier ones. The Biggest Loser Asia does not only look into the physical challenges of the contestants’ personal journeys but also their emotional and psychological trials and tribulations as they lose the kilos, inspiring and empowering others to do the same. More…

Source: PhilStar
Photo Credit: anaimphotography.com

SINGAPORE – DOUBLE world champion Fernando Alonso is set to join Ferrari in 2010 with a decision coming as soon as next weekend at the Japanese Grand Prix, reports said on Monday.

Speculation has been rife in the Formula One paddock of an impending move and the driver himself said his mind was made up.

‘I don’t think the podium changes the decision on who I drive for next season,’ he said after
finishing third for Renault at the Singapore Grand Prix. ‘I have taken the decision already. You will know soon.’

The respected autosport.com website said lawyers had been working hard on the last few details of Kimi Raikkonen’s release from his contract with Ferrari, a move that is likely to pave the way for the Finn to return to McLaren.

It said everything could be sorted out by next weekend, with Alonso partnering Felipe Massa, now back in training after the severe injuries he sustained at the Hungarian Grand Prix in July.

‘I think that as soon as we are ready we will let you know. We don’t want to wait too long,’ Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali was quoted as saying.

When asked if that announcement could come as early as Suzuka, Domenicali said: ‘It is a possibility, but it is not guaranteed.’

Renault’s stand-in managing director Jean-Francois Caubet said he would be sad to see Alonso leave. ‘I think Fernando will miss Renault and Renault will miss Fernando,’ he said. More…

Source: StraitTimes
Photo Credit: ST-Terence Tan

Beijing launched anti-dumping and anti-subsidy investigations into imports of US chicken products on Sunday in a snub to conciliatory actions from US lawmakers, who plan to lift a ban on imports of Chinese poultry products.

The Obama administration on Friday praised a decision to lift import restrictions and replace them with stricter inspections of Chinese supply chains, after the main opponents of Chinese
poultry imports in Congress withdrew support for a blanket ban.

That decision did not stop China’s ministry of commerce from launching investigations into US chicken imports two days later in a move the US poultry industry has warned could seriously harm trade with its biggest export market.

The ministry said the investigation was being conducted at the request of Chinese poultry producers and that it “believes their request meets the legal requirements to establish a case and has decided to open an investigation into the unfair trading behaviour of the US in dumping and subsidising its chicken products.”

US poultry exports to China were worth $676m (€460m, £422m) last year and the US accounted for 90 per cent of the 407,000 tonnes of chicken products China imported in the first half of this year, according to figures reported in state media.

About half of those exports were chicken feet, which sell for just two cents a pound in the US but fetch more than 20 times that price in China, where they are considered a delicacy. More…

Source: CNN
Photo Credit: Brent and MariLynn

Tropical storm “Ondoy” (international codename: Ketsana) left the country yesterday, leaving behind a trail of 95 people dead, 29 missing, and some 247,555 affected families.

The figures, however, could go higher as reports from the provinces have yet to reach the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) as of press time.

Rescuers struggled through heavy traffic and darkness of the night to bring residents of flood-stricken areas, who were perched on their roofs carrying their children and cherished possessions, to safer grounds.

Images of onrushing mud and stranded people clinging to corrugated rooftops filled television screens broadcasting the events in real time.

Some individuals were even seen holding signs in a desperate attempt to call the attention of military helicopters hovering above waterlogged cities.

Two men converted a car rooftop into a makeshift raft, and were hauling themselves by rope across what was once a road but now a river.

Students, faculty members and others struggled howling out of their respective cars while flashflood rushed into a hospital parking lot.

Elsewhere, dog and chicken carcasses floated in the water as rescuers in rubber boats tried to navigate a mountain of debris.

Distress calls and e-mails from thousands of residents and their worried relatives flooded TV and radio stations overnight. More…

Source: PhilStar
Photo Credit: Times News Network