Five virgins compete in the hope of becoming a 'Goddess'

At a sacred shrine in central Nakhon Sawan province in Thailand, a large crowd gathered to watch five beautiful young virgins of Chinese descent contends in a traditional contest that relies only on pure luck.

The winner gets the opportunity to be "worshipped" by the whole city. 

Tassayaporn Wongsaksirikul this year's Guan Yin Goddess winner

The hallowed ceremony was held at Nha Pha God-Goddess Shrine in Nakhon Sawan municipality to choose a young virgin to represent Guan Yin, the Goddess of Compassion.

It is part of the preparations for the well known Chinese New Year celebrations at Pak Nam Pho in this central province which is heavily populated by Thais of Chinese descent. 

The ceremony is to find Guan Yin and also the celebrations has been passed down through generations. The yearly grand festival will be the 101st year of the celebration and will last for 12 days from Jan 21 to Feb 1.

The five virgins are the finalists from 20 candidates ages 16 to 20. 

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For selection, the candidates required luck only, just as they have for a hundred years. All they needed to do was toss a couple of wooden bars in front of Pak Nam Pho God-Goddess three times.

At the point when the bars hit the ground, the winner twice needs one wooden bar facing up and the other facing down. The third toss she needs both pieces facing down. 

The current year's Guan Yin winner is 16-year-old Tassayaporn Wongsaksirikul, who is in Matthayom 4 in a local school.

The ceremony is viewed as holy by Guan Yin worshippers who believe the winner is specifically chosen by the Goddess. The winner's prize is the belief that she and her family have been given good fortunes and are blessed to play the part of Guan Yin.

Tassayaporn will dress as Guan Yin when she joins a parade to be held around town on Jan 30 and 31.

Her father, Narong, said his family worships the Goddess and everyone was happy with the result.

Butchered Dubai OFW

Almost four-month chase for the suspect in the gruesome murder and beheading of an overseas Filipino worker (OFW) back in May at Al Warqa, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, has ended.

Manormeeta Salwaro Dadi

Authorities captured Glin Ambro, the suspect behind the murder of domestic helper Manormeeta Salwaro Dadi, whose headless body was found by a Dubai region municipality on May 27.

In a report, Ambro, a relative of the victim, lethally stabbed and robbed her of 10,000 dirhams (P130, 000). 

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Ambro chopped off Dadi's head, legs and hands in his home before he rented an auto and burned her body parts in an abandoned region. After the heinous incident, Ambro came back to his place and discarded his murder equipment's in a dumpster. Ambro killed Dadi, who had escaped her employer seven days before her death, since he had failed to pay her back his debt.

Major General Khalil Al Mansouri, assistant to the Dubai Police chief in Criminal Investigation Affairs, told The National, "He confessed during investigations that the maid requested her money back. The man could not pay her back and decided to kill her." 

Al Mansouri said, "He cleaned the windshield of blood, lowered the chair and covered her body with a towel and drove back to Dubai."

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To build up Dadi's identity, Dubai police looked into 9,751 profiles of escaped Asian maids and analyzed DNA samples by visiting their sponsors until a DNA match for the victim was found. 

The perpetrator previously worked as a butcher before getting a salesman job in Dubai. He admitted the crime and is currently facing trial.

Source: http://globalnation.inquirer.net/145326/relative-who-butchered-runaway-dubai-ofw-nabbed

General Bato: Improvised Bomb was used in Davao blast

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine National Police (PNP) affirmed that the bombing which took 14 lives and harmed 67 at a night market in Davao City was brought on by an improvised explosive device (IED). 

PNP chief Director General Ronald dela Rosa, in a press conference at the Police Regional Office 11, said parts of IED found at the blast site were confirmed by the Special Investigative Task Group (SITG) formed to probe the incident.

blast site

Initial reports showed that the bomb was designed from mortar ammunition. 

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The Davao police are presently hot on trail of four "persons of interest," two men and women, believed to be behind the dangerous bombing on Roxas Boulevard in Davao City on Friday night. 

Dela Rosa declined to give further details, saying they are yet to release to public the cartographic sketch of the suspects.

While the Abu Sayyaf Bunch has apparently claimed responsibility of the assault, authorities said the "act of owning the explosion" is something they anticipate from the group.

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The authorities said that they are as yet checking whether the bombing was surely executed by the Abu Sayyaf and are not discounting any factors which could give light to what happened.

The PNP and the Military, in the mean time, have placed the entire forces on a nationwide full alert status.

Source: http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2016/09/03/1620260/bato-suspects-used-improvised-bomb-davao-blast

The MassKara Festival 2016

The MassKara Festival is an annual celebration by locals in Bacolod, Philippines.  It is the most anticipated festival in the country held every 3rd week of October in the "City of Smiles" where thousands of tourists flock.

The name of the celebration is obtain from the words "mass" for many, and 'kara', a local word that meant 'face'. Furthermore, local people use the name as a play on words for the local word that means 'masked'.

The festival traces its beginnings to the early 1980s during a period of crisis. When Negros Navigation’s luxury liner MS Don Juan collided with a tanker then sank, and the same year when the city experienced severe economic crisis due to the downfall of the sugar industry.  The city of Bacolod is known as the "Sugar Bowl of the Philippines" and locals relied on sugar cane as its primary agricultural harvest.

In the midst of these tragic events, the city government and artists banded together to find ways to lift the locals’ spirits and decided to hold a festival of smiles to hide the sufferings of the Negrenses. 

The festival features a street dance competition where different types of people gathered to the streets to see colorfully masked dancers battle to show their showmanship and creativity. Major activities include the MassKara Queen beauty pageant, food festivals, musical concerts, carnivals, drum and bugle corps competitions, sports events, garden shows, agriculture-trade fairs, and other special events.

The Masskara Festival maybe a fun time to others but it is the symbol of determination for locals. It uplifts Negrenses to keep on smiling no matter what crisis comes their way. If you happen travel to the Philippines in October, check out the festival in Bacolod and experience the fun at the happiest celebration in the country. For more information, visit http://www.philippinestravelhub.com/events/masskara-festival/