PINOY TRIP

Agence France-Presse TOKYO -- US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice voiced deep regret Wednesday over the alleged rape of a Japanese girl by a US Marine, saying she hoped it would not hurt ties between the close allies. Rice pledged to see that justice would be served following the case on the southern island of Okinawa, which has caused outrage across Japan. Visiting Tokyo on the last leg of a three-nation regional tour, Rice also expressed guarded optimism about North Korea, leaving her chief negotiator in China to help break a logjam over the communist state's nuclear disarmament. The incident on Okinawa -- a key military hub close to the strategic Taiwan Strait and home to half of the more than 40,000 troops stationed in Japan -- has put a strain on relations between US forces and the Japanese public. US ambassador Thomas Schieffer and military commanders have already offered apologies, and US troops have been placed under a sweeping curfew in a bid to curb public a...

By Julie M. Aurelio MANILA, Philippines – A construction worker accused of rape was sentenced to life imprisonment by a Pasay City court. Judge Pedro de Leon Gutierrez of the Regional Trial Court Branch 119 also ordered Gilbert Penilla, who was 23 when the crime was committed, to pay P50,000 in damages to the victim. Gutierrez dismissed Penilla’s defense that sex with the victim was consensual. The judge said the complainant could have been much older than the accused, but that was no reason to think that she willingly submitted to his wishes. The victim was an egg vendor who rented a room near the accused in Pasay City in 1999. Court records showed that at midnight on Oct. 22, 1999, Penilla woke up the victim and, threatening her with a six-inch knife, raped her despite her pleas. The accused allegedly also wanted the victim to perform oral sex. When she refused, Penilla reportedly raped the victim again. The victim reported the incident four days later to the barangay ...

By Josh Grossberg So much for Judgment Day. The Terminator has been assigned a new target: May 22, 2009. That's the date Warner Bros. has scheduled to unspool its heavily anticipated Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins, per the trades. The sequel, which will also serve as the first installment of another planned trilogy in the fabled man vs. machine sci-fi tale, picks up shortly after the first Terminator trilogy left off. Christian Bale plays the adult John Connor, leading a rebellion against the sentient computer network known as Skynet that seeks to wipe out all of humanity. The studio will distribute Terminator Salvation in North America after securing a pact with Halcyon Co., which owns the franchise rights. Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions Group will control international distribution. Warner Bros.' summer tent pole will bow the same day Twentieth Century Fox plans to roll out Night at the Museum II: Escape from the Smithsonian, the follow-up to its ...

Some of Microsoft's own top executives had trouble getting Windows Vista to work in the weeks after its release, according to company e-mails unsealed today. by Gregg Keizer Microsoft officials, including a member of the Microsoft board of directors, voiced some of the same complaints about missing drivers and crippled graphics that users have raised since Vista debuted in January 2007. They had trouble getting Windows Vista to work in the weeks after its release, according to company e-mails unsealed today. Steven Sinofsky, the Microsoft senior vice president who took charge of Windows development the day after Vista's retail release, was among the top officials who said some of their hardware wouldn't work with the new operating system. "My home multi-function printer did not have drivers until 2/2 and even then [they] pulled their 1/30 drivers and released them (Brother)," said Sinofsky in an e-mail dated Feb. 18, 2007. "People who rely on using...

With stretch run looming, Kobe has edge over LeBron by Marty Burns Back in December, I offered my early views of the MVP race . At the time, the Celtics were running roughshod over the NBA, and Kevin Garnett was my choice. Now Boston has come back to the pack a little, while teams like the Lakers, Hornets, Pistons, Jazz and Rockets have surged. With the season now almost two-thirds complete, it's a good time to take another look at the MVP race. Right now, it appears to be a three-man race between Garnett, Kobe Bryant and LeBron James . It probably will come down to how voters view the award. If they go with the best player, then it will be between Kobe and LeBron. If they go for the guy who has made the biggest impact in terms of leadership and team success, Garnett still has a great chance. As for me, I usually opt for the best player approach. But there are years when a guy makes such a huge difference in terms of leadership and clutch play while leading his team to ...

By Ronnie Nathanielsz Filipino boxing icon Manny Pacquiao, exuding confidence during an open public workout at the Titanium Training Center in San Francisco says that WBC super featherweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez won’t be able to handle his power when they clash in a much awaited rematch at the Mandalay Bay Resort Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas on March 15. Pacquiao, the devastating punching machine from General Santos City in Mindanao, received a fantastic reception from hundreds of fight fans who rocked the bay area with excitement. Many young families with children jam-packed the center to watch Pacquiao put on an awesome display like he did when Top Rank promoter Bob Arum watched him work out at the Wild Card Gym last week which Arum described as "unbelievable" emphasizing that "nobody in the world can beat Manny Pacquiao when he trains hard and his totally focused" which he is right now. In a conversation with scores of media people who crowde...

Filipino boxing star mobbed during public workout in San Francisco By NICK GIONGCO Manny Pacquiao has been intense, almost ruthless against his sparring partners, one whom was unfortunate to absorb one of the Filipino’s lightning-fast punches, went down then went home the following day, perhaps concluding the money he gets is not worth the pain. Pacquiao’s trainer Freddie Roach recalled this incident as he played the co-starring role with the Filipino puncher when they held a public workout Wednesday at the Titanium Training Center in San Francisco where a huge crowd cheered and mobbed Pacquiao. "He’s been very tough on his sparring partners. One got hit on the chin, went down, continued but went home the next day," Roach told publicist Fred Sternburg without identifying who among Daniel Cervantes, David Rodela, Dean Byrne and Juan Garcia became the recipient of Pacquiao’s fists of fury. "Manny is very serious about (Juan Manuel) Marquez, which he should be. I...

by dennis PRINCIPE ONE-time world title challenger Z “The Dream” Gorres is set to be back in action as he takes on a Tanzanian opponent on May 3 in Mandaue City. Gorres, 25, will take on Francis Miyeyusho of Tanzania in a 12-round bout for the Filipino’s International Boxing Federation (IBF) Intercontinental superflyweight crown. The 25-year-old Miyeyusho is a southpaw fighter and is a former Tanzanian and East & Central Africa Professional Boxing Federation champion. Miyeyusho has a record of 20-5-2 with 9 knockouts. He actually lost of his last five fights in the United Kingdom and Russia but both fights were in the superbantamweight and Featherweight divisions. Sportsnews.ph

FILIPINO boxing superstar Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao returned to San Francisco, the place where he first set foot in the United States, for his media day and public workout in front of a large crowd at the Titanium Training Center last Wednesday. Pacquiao did his training in front of fans, signed autographs, posed for photographs and did interviews. The Filipino icon thinks that Juan Manuel Marquez is the last one of the great Mexican fighters in the super featherweight division. Paquiao already beat the other two legendary Mexicans, Marco Antonio Barrera and Erik Morales, twice each. “I’ve never trained harder for a fight. Two days ago I hit the mitts with Freddie Roach for 17 straight rounds with no timeouts. I run high in the mountains every day, then I go to the Wild Card gym and train 3 hours non-stop. I don’t like timeouts while training and do not use them. I am very serious about this fight as I know Marquez is the last great Mexican to beat. There is no more Morales or Bar...

By Ted Sares On February 9, 1996, Rustico Torrecampo, 11-4-4, met Manny Pacquiao, 11-0 coming in, in Mandaluyong City, Philippines. After an uneventful two rounds, it happened. In the third round, Manny was hit by a brutal left to the stomach with all of Torrecampo’s weight and incoming speed behind it. Manny went down and out. He was lifted up by the referee like a rag doll. It was a startling sight to behold, but it was no fluke. Rustico’s only other noteworthy win came by 6-round KO against Noel "The Eel" Tunacao, 28-4-2 at the time after which “The Eel” went on a ten fight win streak. Prior to that fight, he lost on points to rugged Leo Ramirez, 39-24-7 for the Philippine light flyweight title. He did beat Baby Lorona Jr. in 1993 by first round stoppage, but Baby was only 2-1-1 at the time; he is now 40-24-4. Still, while Torrecampo had pop in his punch, that he knocked out Pac Man in such convincing style defied all logic. The light flyweight from Manila last fought...

We've gathered up our best downloads and put them in handy, browseable collections. PC World Downloads Team These are among the most popular collections of downloads we've produced in recent months. When you open a link, you'll see a list of the downloads we've picked. Simply click on the name of the download that interests you, read our mini-review, and if you're still interested, download away! * Great Downloads: Award-Winning Indie Games -- These mostly free downloads were among the winners and finalists at the 2007 and 2008 Independent Games Festival. Playable, fun, and sometimes quite weird. * System Tune-up Tools --Use these tools to clean out the junk and add new pep to your PC. * The 15 Best Downloads of the Year --Our downloads gurus have selected the 15 best utilities, productivity tools, and other apps of 2007 from PC World's vast Downloads Library. * Dress Up Your PC --Tired of the way Windows looks? No problem ...

By John Leyden Spammers, fresh from the success of cracking the Windows Live captcha used by Hotmail, have broken the equivalent system at Gmail. Internet security firm Websense reports that miscreants have created bots which are capable of signing up and creating random Gmail accounts for spamming purposes, defeating Captcha-based defences in the process. It reckons the same group of spammers are behind both attacks. Captcha (Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart) challenge-response systems, which are used to prevent accounts being created until a user correctly identifies letters in an image, are designed to ensure requests are made by a human rather than an automated program. The technique has been used to defeat automatic sign-ups to email accounts by services including Yahoo! Mail and Gmail for years, and hackers are increasingly successful in defeating the approach. For example, the HotLan Trojan has created more than 500,000 spam emai...

Assessing the playoff race in rough-and-tumble West Fifty wins just aren't what they used to be, are they? Eight teams in the Western Conference are on track to put 50 Ws in the bank. A ninth team, Denver, also isn't far off the pace to reach a mark that usually guarantees a playoff berth. Overall, 10 teams (including fading Portland) are fighting for only eight postseason invitations. There's a good chance that at least one West team will become the best non-playoff club in league history, a distinction held by the 45-win Rockets of 2000-01. With a little more than a quarter of the season left, let's handicap one of the NBA's best playoff races in recent memory (the difference between the conference leader and the No. 9 team was only 6½ games entering Wednesday's play). Below we assess each contender's chances of reaching the postseason, based on the games left as of Wednesday morning. Los Angeles Lakers Games remaining: 15 home, 10 away Games v...

Photo: Chris Farina/Top Rank "I want to fight in San Francisco," said Manny Pacquiao. "It thrills me that so many people are here. I'm going to ask Mr. Arum to do a fight in San Francisco. Bedlam broke out when Manny Pacquiao arrived at the Titanium Training Center. The Pacman was mobbed by adoring fight fans. He will be engaging in a workout shortly. The Pacman has landed! Manny Pacquiao has arrived in San Francisco and is currently in a SUV en route to the Titanium Training Center (1436 Polk Street @ California) where hundreds of Pacmaniacs are patiently waiting. Source:fightnews.com

By Rod Mijares Manny Pacquiao explained to a reporter when asked where his boxing namesake “Pacman” originated from. He said that “Pac” came from the first three letters of his last name while “Man” came from the first three letters of his first name. However, with the way Manny is putting his opponents into submission, losses and worst subjecting them into retirement, “Pacman” could have been originated from the electronic computer game “Pac-Man” wherein a monster eating circular disc with a missing segment devours other icons that comes into its path while eluding attacks as it travels into a maze as it scores more points for the player. “Pacman” the boxer is a classic like Pac-Man the game. Like the game, Manny the “Pacman” will be around for the long haul. He will be tested by most boxers in the course of his pursuit of history, as the game will be tested for its popularity by other games that are invented and will be invented. But since they both carry with them the charism...

By Ronnie Nathanielsz Filipina Gretchen Abaniel, a two-fisted punching machine, will battle South Korea’s Cho Rong Son for the WBA female world minimum weight title in Seoul on March 16, the same day Filipino ring icon Manny Pacquiao takes on WBC super featherweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez in an eagerly awaited rematch in Las Vegas. Abaniel, a former outstanding amateur is ranked No. 4 by the WBC and No. 8 by the WBA in the women’s category. She is undefeated in 6 fights with 2 knockouts while the Korean champion who is making the third defense of her title is also undefeated with 9 wins, 3 by way of knockouts. Abaniel currently holds the WIBA minimum weight intercontinental title as well as the WBC atom weight international title and is managed and trained by former Australian boxer Terrance Mogg who has effectively developed a compact stable of female boxers as well as a few promising male fighters including Warlito Parenas. Mogg said Abaniel who put on a sensational pe...

Filipino star’s weight down to 135-136 lb By Roy Luarca MANILA, Philippines -- It’s biting cold in Los Angeles, but Manny Pacquiao continues to push hard in training for his rematch with Juan Manuel Marquez on March 15. “Ito na ang pinakamatinding pagsasanay sa buong career ko (This is the hardest I’ve ever trained in my career,” said Pacquiao in a phone patch interview Wednesday. “Ang payat-payat ko na nga eh (I’m already very thin).” According to Pacquiao, he now weighs between 135 and 136 pounds, losing two pounds after undergoing a punishing 33-36 rounds of daily training, instead of his normal 25-28 rounds, last week. Tuesday night, Pacquiao sparred for 11 rounds at trainer Freddie Roach’s Wild Card Gym in Los Angeles and intends to raise it to 12 on Thursdays and Saturdays for him to reach his goal of 130-140 rounds of sparring. Barely 18 days before Pacquiao-Marquez II is held at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, the Filipino ring superstar is five-...

Juan Manuel Marquez says beating Manny Pacquiao would make him a true Mexican great. Marquez takes on the 'Pacman' on March 15 in Las Vegas, four years after they fought a thrilling draw in their first meeting. That time Marquez was down three times in the first round before fighting back magnificently to earn a share of the spoils. Now he's in Mexico City preparing hard for the rematch - which he sees as a career-defining fight. "It will give me the truly highest honour of being among the other great Mexican warriors who have come before and whose names stand throughout the incredible boxing history of our great country. Also it will give me the fame, glory and the commercial boxing value that is at the top of the sport. "The fight is very interesting. I do not feel I have to prove anything because I feel like I won the first fight, even though they declared it a draw", added Márquez. "But this time I want to make a new history. I know the ...

By Ronnie Nathanielsz IBF/IBO flyweight champion Nonito “The Filipino Flash” Donaire has buckled down to serious work after an apparently fun-filled visit to the Philippines with his girlfriend and taekwondo jin Rachael Marcial which saw him bloat to over 130 pounds. Nonito’s elder brother Glenn “The Filipino Bomber” Donaire who won a unanimous eight round decision in a bloody fight against Brazil’s 2000 Sydney Olympian Jose Albuquerque said Nonito was training with his father/trainer Nonito Donaire Sr since his return to the US and “is getting better and is really strong.” Glenn noted that his brother’s opponent in the April 18 fight card in Dubai, Australia’s Hussein Hussein was “a really good fighter and he’s tough.” However, the elder Donaire who dropped down from flyweight and fought Albuquerque as a light flyweight said “I am not worried (about his weight) because when my brother and I train with my dad we really train.” The manager of the Donaire brothers Cameron Dunkin...

by dennis PRINCIPE Shaw on Marquez-Pacquiao II VETERAN International promoter Gary Shaw believes that whoever between Juan Manuel Marquez and Manny Pacquiao will struggle in making the weight limit will be in for a tough night. In a recent interview Shaw told this writer that the weight more than the age will be a key factor in determining who will be more prepared between Marquez and Pacquiao come fight night. “I think at this stage the age doesn’t make a difference. The real question is what weight will they come into the ring. That could be the difference in the fight. How much trouble they had to get to the fighting weight,” said Shaw. Marquez, 34, will defend his World Boxing Council (WBC) super featherweight crown against the 29-year-old Pacquiao in a highly-awaited rematch on March 15 at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, Nevada. Shaw perhaps knows what he is talking about as he has promoted several classic fights where a few of them had serious issues regarding the wei...

By Abac Cordero Manny Pacquiao yesterday pronounced himself out of danger in making the weight for his forthcoming showdown with Juan Manuel Marquez in Las Vegas. Pacquiao said from his training camp in Los Angeles he’s at 135 to 136 lbs, and with still 18 days left before the big fight should be considered within the safe zone. “Ang payat-payat ko na nga eh (I’m so thin),” Pacquiao told Pinoy scribes through phone patch during a press conference hosted by GMA-7 and Solar Sports. “Ito na siguro ang pinaka-matindi kong training (I consider this as my toughest training ever),” added the 29-year-old slugger who’s been training in LA since Jan. 15. Reports came out 10 days ago that Pacquiao was at 139 lbs, which is way over the super-featherweight limit of 130 lbs for the March 15 title bout at Mandalay. With GMA honcho Gualberto Duavit Jr. and Solar Sports brass Wilson Tieng, Peter Chan Liong and Ralph Roy listening, Pacquiao assured everyone that he’d make the weight. The ...

By Beth Celis MANILA, Philippines -- Not only are the PBA legends excited over the grand reunion scheduled in four California cities this March, they are also eagerly looking forward to the prospect of playing with boxing champ Manny Pacquiao in San Diego. I don’t know where this piece of news originated, but this was the talk last Tuesday at Gerry’s Grill Trinoma where owner Jerome Ngo hosted the sendoff for the legends. They said Pacquiao was not only gracing the last event of the California series in San Diego, he was also going to suit up for one of the teams. The Manila-based legends, composed of Alvin Patrimonio, Allan Caidic, Atoy Co, Johnny Abarrientos, Olsen Racela, Hector Calma, Vergel Meneses, Jerry Codiñera, Arthur dela Cruz, Ronnie Magsanoc, Dindo Pumaren, Mon Fernandez, Manny Victorino, Gerry Esplana, Bong Alvarez, Alex Marquez, Bogs Adornado, Robert Jaworski, Manny Paner and Philip Cezar, will play in Union City on March 8, Sacramento on March 9, Carson City on ...

BACOLOD CITY -- When Manny Pacquiao enters the ring on March 15 (Las Vegas time) to challenge Juan Manuel Marquez for the latter's World Boxing Council (WBC) super featherweight title, a familiar figure will also be with him to carry once again the championship belt of the Filipino punching machine. Bacolod Mayor Evelio Leonardia said he can't say if Pacquiao considers him a lucky charm, but he will definitely carry the boxer's belt inside the ring come fight time at the Mandalay Bay Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. "He asked me to carry his belt again in the ring. He is my friend and I'm going to do it. It's an honor to be doing this, and I don't mind what they say since I will be doing this for the country," Leonardia told Sun.Star Davao Tuesday night. Leonardia was referring to some individuals in Bacolod who criticized him for doing such routine when he is a mayor and Pacquiao is only a boxer. "They criticized me for bowing to...

By “Old Yank” Schneider Boxing trilogies are easy to predict, right? We all knew Joe Frazier was going to retire on his stool at the end of the 14th round in the final leg of his trilogy against Mohamed Ali. Micky Ward was bound to come up short after dropping Arturo Gatti in the 6th stanza of their third meeting. The outcome of the final bout of the Marco Antonio Barrera series against Erik Morales was easy to predict and as certain as the non-controversial scorecards in their first two meetings. And Riddick Bowe and Evander Holyfield were surely going to bore us to death in their final meeting, so who even bothered to tune in? Since Rafael Marquez is a virtual unanimous decision guarantee in the trilogy bout against Israel Vasquez, this is bound to be as easy to predict as all great trilogies. I mean, since Vasquez is a lay-up certainty in stopping Marquez inside the distance, just plan on setting up your bookie for the easiest pickpocket session of the century.. What I actually...

Data enables cybercriminals to upload malware to compromised systems more easily By Jaikumar Vijayan A fresh discovery by security vendor Finjan Inc. provides yet another example of how easy it is becoming for almost anyone to find the tools needed to break into, infect or steal data from corporate Web sites. The San Jose-based vendor announced today that it has uncovered an illegal database containing more than 8,700 stolen File Transfer Protocol server credentials including usernames, passwords and server addresses. Anyone can purchase those credentials and use them to launch malicious attacks against the compromised systems. The stolen credentials belong to companies from around the world and include more than 2,500 North American companies, some of whose Web sites are among the world's top 100 domains, according to Yuval Ben-Itzhak, Finjan's chief technology officer. The FTP credentials would allow malicious hackers to break into and upload malware of their ch...