Health & Wellness Confex 2024 Highlights Gov’t, Private Sector Collaboration

The Health & Wellness Confex 2024 recently concluded at the SMX Center in Pasay City, on a high note, with government and private sector representatives pledging to work together to promote the Philippines as a prime health and wellness tourist destination. 

The event, a three-day gathering of health and tourism industry stakeholders that began on Friday, Jan. 26, was kicked off by such luminaries as Department of Health (DOH) secretary Dr. Teodoro J. Herbosa, Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) secretary Benjamin C. Abalos, Jr., Department of Tourism (DOT) undersecretary Myra Paz Valderrosa-Abubakar, and Pasay City Mayor Imelda Calixto-Rubiano.

In his keynote address, Herbosa said supporting wellness tourism is now a priority for the DOH. This was confirmed by Dr. Maria Francia Miciano-Laxamana, DOH undersecretary for medical tourism, who pointed out in her presentation that ensuring the safety and health of tourists is a major department objective. 

Producers James Wan & Jason Blum, director Bryce Mcguire talk about their new supernatural thriller “Night Swim”

Horror classics such as Poltergeist, Christine, Burnt Offerings and Jaws inspired Night Swim – well, these and a touch of aquaphobia. 

“I’ve always had water on the brain,” director Bryce McGuire says. “Growing up in Florida, surrounded by ocean on three sides, in a climate that can only really be survived by partaking in water ritual, knowing friends who drowned, hurricanes that flooded homes, boating accidents, shark attacks, you come to have a kind of fear and reverence for the water.”

Get ready for a whole new level of ghost busting in the new trailer for “Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire”

Bill Murray and Paul Rudd in
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire

A new army of ghosts is threatening New York and only the Ghostbusters can stop it. Watch the new trailer for Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, only in cinemas April 10, 2024. McKenna Grace, Finn Wolfhard, Paul Rudd and Carrie Coon reprise their roles in the 2021 hit Afterlife, with Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd and Ernie Hudson playing their characters once again from the original films. 

Watch the new trailer: 

https://youtu.be/6VKmGxhF-GY

Philippine Softball: From Grassroots to Global under Jean Henri Lhuillier

In the international sports arena, only a few Philippine teams can rival the achievements and successes garnered by Philippine National Softball teams. For more than 20 years, the many different members of multi-time SEA games gold medalists RP Blu Boys and RP Blu Girls accomplished their dreams by honorably and triumphantly representing the country in a lot of prestigious international softball competitions. 

Softball is not a commonly played sport in the Philippines, thus, it is quite extraordinary that Filipino softball teams have proven to be highly competitive and even victorious in international tournaments throughout many years. 

Worthy of note is the outstanding showing of the RP Blu Boys and RP Blu Girls in international competitions has catapulted the Philippines to the number 14 ranking of the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) in both the men’s and women’s division. Last year, no less than four national teams have qualified for the World Cup, namely the RP Blu Girls, RP Blu Boys, U15 Women’s and the Philippine Co-Ed Slow Pitch Team.

Beko Revolutionizes Home Living with Durable, Innovative, and Sustainable Appliances

In the fast-paced world we live in, finding balance and tranquility is essential. Global appliance brand Beko commits that they don’t just offer a wide range of home appliances, but a lifestyle – the "Beko State of Mind." This unique approach centers around the reliability and convenience offered by Beko appliances, transforming the way we experience daily life at home.

In the Philippines, families have relied on Beko’s high quality range of appliances to help them store food, prepare and cook meals, make sure the home is clean, and wash and iron clothes. For example, Beko refrigerators with HarvestFresh use a three-color light system that simulates the 24-hour natural sun cycle to preserve essential vitamins and minerals in fresh produce for longer. Most importantly, it helps you to lessen your grocery visits as you get to enjoy your fruits and vegetables for a longer time, allowing you and your family to enjoy more healthy dishes.

Meet the characters of “Lisa Frankenstein,” starring Kathryn Newton, Cole Sprouse and Liza Soberano, your pre-Valentine’s movie, in cinemas Feb. 7

Lisa Frankenstein director Zelda Williams says that her enthusiasm for the film was rooted in her deep admiration for Diablo Cody’s singular voice as a screenwriter, especially when it comes to the characters in her stories. 

“The thing I enjoy most about her writing is the personality infused into all of it,” says Williams, who had auditioned for Juno (also written by Cody, for which she won the Best Original Screenplay Academy Award) very early in her acting career. “It’s clear immediately who these characters are, whether they’re for you or not. That sort of strong flavor choice will always be my cup of tea.”

In Lisa Frankenstein, it’s 1989 and Lisa Swallows (Kathryn Newton), an awkward 17-year-old, is trying to adjust to a new school and a new life after her mother’s death and her father’s hasty remarriage. Despite the unwavering support offered by her plucky cheerleader step sister Taffy (Liza Soberano), Lisa only finds solace in the abandoned cemetery near her house, where she tends to the grave of a young man who died in 1837 – and whose corpse she unwittingly reanimates (Cole Sprouse). Feeling obligated to help the poor soul regain his humanity, Lisa embarks on a quest to breathe new life into her long-dead new companion. All she needs to succeed are some freshly harvested body parts and Taffy’s broken tanning bed.

Things just got a little more despicable. Watch the trailer for “Despicable Me 4,” in cinemas July 3

Gru, Lucy and the girls are back – with a cute new member of the family who can certainly give the minions a run for their money! 

Watch the trailer: https://youtu.be/w6zvCQDLqKw?si=rqOdKL3xfrV_RZHH 

In the first Despicable Me movie in seven years, Gru, the world’s favorite supervillain-turned-Anti-Villain League-agent, returns for an exciting, bold new era of Minions mayhem.