Indonesia Commutes Filipina's Death Sentence to Life in Prison

The Indonesian government has agreed to commute Mary Jane Veloso's death sentence to life imprisonment. Velosi was convicted of drug smuggling (See Philstar for story).

PH's Chelsea Manalo Is Miss Universe Asia 2024

Miss Universe Philippines Chelsea Manalo (Source: Wikipedia | Youtube)

Miss Universe Philippines 2024 Chelsea Manalo did not go home empty handed as she was declared as one of the continental queens of the pageant. Manalo was declared as Miss Universe Asia 2024 along with 3 other queens from their respective continents (See ABS-CBN for story).

Fil-Am Wesley So Vaults to 2nd Place in Tata Int'l Tournament

Wesley So won his last six matches on Sunday, November 17, and vaulted to second place behind world No. 1 Magnus Carlsen in the 2024 Tata Steel Chess India blitz tournament at the Dhomo Dhanyo Auditorium in Kolkata (See Rappler for story.)

UP Manila Scientists, Researchers on 'World's Top Scientists' List

The University of the Philippines Manila’s scientists, academicians, and researchers made it to the 2024 “World’s Top 2 Percent Scientists” list by Stanford University, released through the prestigious Elsevier Data Repository (See UP Website for story).

Newest US Coast Guard Cutter Named After Filipina American War Hero

The newest U.S. Coast Guard Fast Response Cutter now bears the name of Florence Ebersole Smith Finch, a Filipino American woman who assisted Filipino guerrillas and US troops during World War II (See AsAmNews for story)

There Are Now More US-Born Fil-Ams Than Immigrants

There are now more U.S. born Filipinos than immigrants (52% vs. 48%), according to a Pew survey (See PewResearch.org for story).

TIME Names Filipino Conservationists Among Its Next Generation Leaders

TIME Magazine names Masungi Georeserve co-founders and conservationists Ann and Billie Dumaliang in its 2024 Next Generation Leaders list (See Rappler for story).

US National Abducted in Southern PH

The Philippine police said Friday it has launched a search after gunmen reportedly abducted an American national, Elliot Onil Eastman, who was shot in the leg as he tried to resist before being spirited away from a southern Philippine coastal town by speedboat (See AP for story).