Sabalenka routs Keys, books Indian Wells title clash with teen Andreeva

Arts & Culture, Books

Revenge: World number one Aryna Sabalenka shakes hands with Australian Open champion Madison Keys after beating the American in the semi-finals at Indian Wells (Patrick T. Fallon)Aryna Sabalenka avenged her Australian Open loss to Madison Keys on Friday, thrashing the American 6-0, 6-1 to book an Indian Wells title showdown with teen sensation Mirra Andreeva.Red-hot Russian 17-year-old Andreeva showed plenty of poise in a 7-6 (7/1), 1-6, 6-3 victory over defending champion Iga Swiatek, ending the second-ranked Pole’s bid to become the first woman to win three titles in the California desert.”I was hungry,” said Sabalenka, who had made no bones about wanting revenge after Keys denied her bid for a third straight Australian Open title in January.”That Australian Open match was really heartbroken for me, and I really needed some time to recover after that.”And if I would lose today again, it would get in my head and I didn’t want that to happen. I was really focused — I was just really hungry to get this win against Madison.”Keys, who was riding a 16-match winning streak, couldn’t get a foot in the door.Sabalenka was untroubled by the cold, swirling wind on Stadium Court as she won the first 11 games.”I think tactically I played really great tennis,” said Sabalenka, adding her strategy was to “just keep her out of the rhythm”.The mis-firing Keys finally held serve for 5-1 in the second, but minutes later Sabalenka sealed the win and lined up a shot at the WTA tour’s newest sensation Andreeva in what 26-year-old Sabalenka quipped would be “kind of like an old mama playing against a kid”.Andreeva beat Swiatek for the second time in as many tournaments, having stunned the Polish star in the quarter-finals at Dubai last month on the way to becoming the youngest ever WTA 1000 champion.Swiatek, who hadn’t dropped a set in winning 10 straight Indian Wells matches, looked supremely confident as she dropped just one point in her first three service games.But it was Andreeva who claimed the first break of the tense first set for a 5-4 lead.- Super comfortable -After Swiatek broke back and they reached the tiebreaker, Andreeva seized control, opening with a blistering backhand winner and pocketing the set on her first opportunity as Swiatek sent a backhand wide.”I felt like I’m gonna go and play the tiebreak like it’s the last tiebreak of my life,” she said. “So I just went for all my shots. My serve was great. I just felt super comfortable and confident,” she said.Swiatek put her frustrations aside and broke Andreeva to open the second set, breaking her twice more as the Russian’s errors multiplied under pressure from her opponent.”The second set, it was a bit weird,” Andreeva said. “I just felt like she literally overplayed me, because she was playing pretty deep with good height over the net. It was really hard to do something with these shots.”The roles reversed again, however, when Andreeva stepped up her attack and broke Swiatek to open the third, and she sealed the win with her third break of the set.”I just decided to kind of still play the same but maybe go for my shots more, trying to play a little bit more aggressive,” she said.”I feel also that I was dealing with the nerves and the pressure pretty good, so I just feel proud of myself.”bb/rcw

AP Technology SummaryBrief at 12:31 a.m. EDT

Technology

Critics warn staff cuts at federal agencies overseeing US dams could put public safety at riskCOULEE DAM, Wash. (AP) — Experts are warning that Trump administration workforce cuts at federal agencies overseeing U.S. dams are threatening their ability to provide reliable electricity, supply water to farmers and protect communities from floods. The Bureau of Reclamation provides water and hydropower to the public in 17 western states. Nearly 400 agency workers have been cut through Trump administration reductions. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers also operates hundreds of dams across the country and its workforce also faces cuts. Dam safety experts say without these dam operators, engineers, hydrologists and emergency managers, public safety will be put at risk.Driverless ‘bus of the future’ is tested in BarcelonaBARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Renault is testing a new driverless mini-bus in Barcelona this week. The autonomous vehicle is running on a circular route of just under 1.5 miles, with four stops in the center of the Spanish city. The French carmaker unveiled the driverless bus at the French Open venue last year, but is now testing it on the open road in Barcelona. It also has testing in Valence, France and at the Zurich airport. Europe generally lags behind the United States and China in field of driverless vehicle technology. Barcelona city officials say they’ve had no reports of accidents caused by the experimental bus.Don’t click on those road toll texts. Officials issue warnings about the smishing scamWASHINGTON (AP) — State officials are warning Americans not to respond to a surge of scam road toll collection texts. The texts impersonating state road toll collection agencies attempt to get phone users to reveal financial information, such as credit or debit cards or bank accounts. They’re so-called smishing scams — a form of phishing that relies on SMS texts to trick people into sending money or share sensitive information.One Tech Tip: Wasting too much time on social media apps? Tips and tricks to curb smartphone useLONDON (AP) — If you’ve got a smartphone, you probably spend too much time on it. It can be hard to curb excessive use of smartphones and social media, which are addictive by design but there are tips and tricks. First, delete any apps you’ve been wasting time on. You can always install them if you need to. Also, both iPhones and Android devices have onboard controls to help regulate screen time. Change your phone display to grayscale from color so that it doesn’t look so exciting. There are also many third-party apps, like Jomo, Opal, Forest, Roots and LockMeOut that are designed to cut down screen time.Meta to start testing crowd-sourced fact-checking, based on X example, next weekFacebook and Instagram parent company Meta Platforms Inc. says it will launch its crowd-sourced fact-checking program, called Community Notes, on March 18. It will initially based on a ratings system used by Elon Musk’s X. Meta ended its fact-checking program in January. CEO Mark Zuckerberg said at the time that fact-checkers had become “politically biased,” using some of the language that conservatives have long used to criticize his platforms. But media experts and those who study social media were aghast at Meta’s policy shift.Intel hires former board member as new CEO in struggling chipmaker’s latest comeback attemptStruggling chipmaker Intel has hired former board member and semiconductor industry veteran Lip-Bu Tan as the latest in a succession of CEOs to attempt to turn around the company that helped define Silicon Valley. Tan, 65, will take over the daunting job next Tuesday, more than three months after Intel’s previous CEO, Pat Gelsinger, abruptly retired amid massive layoffs and questions about the chipmaker’s ability to survive as an independent company. Intel has been led by interim co-CEOs, David Zinsner and Michelle Johnston Holthaus, after Gelsinger walked away from a job that he undertook in 2021.Blizzard Entertainment president says ‘there’s a game for you’ no matter what type of player you areIRVINE, Calif. (AP) — Johanna Faries took on her role as president of Blizzard Entertainment just over one year ago. She joined Activision Blizzard in 2018 and came to the company “through the ‘Call of Duty’ doors.” Faries discussed gaming’s growing popularity in pop culture, and why the medium is at the forefront of entertainment, with comedian Conan O’Brien at the SXSW Film & TV Festival in Texas on Tuesday.Federal student loan site down Wednesday, a day after layoffs gutted Education DepartmentWASHINGTON (AP) — An hours-long outage on StudentAid.gov, the federal website for student loans and financial aid, has underscored the risks in rapidly gutting the Department of Education. Hundreds of users reported FAFSA outages to Downdetector starting midday Wednesday, saying they were having trouble completing the form, which is required for financial aid at colleges nationwide. The National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators said it had received reports of users having trouble with FAFSA. The developers and IT support staff who worked on the FAFSA form were hard hit in the Education Department’s layoffs on Tuesday. In all, the Education Department has reduced its staff by half, to roughly 2,000, since Trump took office.Vance hopeful ‘high-level’ TikTok deal will be completed by early AprilVice President JD Vance said Friday that he was hopeful a deal to keep TikTok operating in the U.S. will be wrapped up by the early April deadline. During an interview with NBC News, Vance said he expects there to “be a high-level agreement” that satisfies the national security concerns the U.S. has about the popular platform. The news outlet noted that Vance did not offer details on who the potential buyers could be. But he said that some issues could push a final agreement past the April 5 deadline. Trump has previously said the deadline on a TikTok deal could be extended further if needed.Greece says ambitious Mediterranean power cable project is on track despite setbacksATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece has pledged that a major underwater electricity cable project connecting Greece with Cyprus and Israel by the end of the decade will overcome a series of setbacks and move forward as scheduled. Foreign Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis met his Israeli and Cypriot counterparts, Gideon Saar and Constantinos Kombos, in Athens on Thursday to discuss significant challenges, including financial disagreements. The project has also been complicated by ongoing maritime boundary disputes between Greece and Turkey. Backed by European Union funding, the project aims to link the power grids of the three Mediterranean nations through a submarine cable spanning some 1,210 kilometers (750 miles).​COPYRIGHT 2025 BY CHANNEL 3000. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS MATERIAL MAY NOT BE PUBLISHED, BROADCAST, REWRITTEN OR REDISTRIBUTED.

U.S. Prof. Jeffrey Sachs warns Africa: Don’t bank on USA

Technology

A world renowned American economist and Harvard Professor Jeffrey Sachs has warned African nations not to put their hope and trust in the American government of President Donald Trump who, according to him, “will not help Africa with even one dollar.”  Speaking at the 2025 Obafemi Awolowo Memorial Webinar on March 6, Sachs urged Africans to forget the Western powers and look up to China, India to leapfrog into becoming an economic superpower.  Rather than being divided, Sachs says Africans should come together as one politically and economically, to be a global superpower.  I was at the webinar organised by the Awolowo Foundation and recorded Prof. Sach’s powerful and motivating keynote address which I have meticulously transcribed as a souvenir for my readers.  Here is Jeffrey Sachs at his bluntest, giving candid advice to African leaders.  He starts with taking a dig at Donald Trump!
***
Everybody knows we are in a period of tremendous disruption and flux right now.  Donald Trump is just a part of that.  He is definitely a part of that.  We are in a period of massive geopolitical change.  The rise of China is certainly the most significant geopolitical reality of our age.  But it’s not only the rise of China.  Many parts of the world are experiencing a massive advance in technology in the geopolitical weight.  India is another example, Russia obviously is a great power in the world today.  And I count Africa being the same way in the coming year which I will speak about.  But geopolitics is changing rapidly. 
 

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Of course, the technological revolution is changing our economies dramatically, faster than we can keep up.  The advances in Artificial Intelligence are very real.  The advances in robotics are very real.  The advances in space-based technologies surveillance and the ability for satellite imagery to change many ways that governments are functioned, unfortunately ways the army is functioned.  But these technologies are deep and are changing rapidly.  At the same time we have the environmental crises that actually have accelerated dramatically just in recent years. The earth has warmed just in the last four years by 0.3 degrees Celsius.  This is absolutely remarkable.  In the past, that might have taken 20 years to happen.  But in just four years, we have a warming 0.3 degrees Celsius.  So we actually exceeded the 1.5 degree Centigrade limit that was agreed in Paris in 2015 as the upper limit that we would do everything to avoid. And we have massive demographic change on the way as well.  In some parts of the world, populations have peaked and are beginning to decline.  China is a case in point.  China’s population has peaked at 1.4 billion.  But if current assessments of future fertility are borne out, China’s population would be under one billion by the end of this century, and even around 700 million according to the United Nations forecast.  At the same time, Africa’s population continues to soar.   It’s about 1.5 billion today. By mid-century, perhaps 2.5 billion, and according to UN estimates, it could be as much as 3.5 billion by the end of the century.  Roughly, 35 to 40 per cent of the world population.  So we are in the midst of massive change. 
From Africa’s point of view, the main question is how should Africa as a united country be positioned for success in the coming years?  How should Africa as a union move forward rapidly, economically, technologically in terms of the quality of infrastructure?  How should Africa as a unit face the challenges of the climate change, the threat to biodiversity, the loss of the Congo basin rainforest to deforestation and many other environmental challenges as well?  And how should Africa participate in a very tough geopolitical world that is now multi-polar, where great powers, the major powers, the United States, Russia, China, India, are in quite intense dangerous competition as well?  Where those major powers have their eyes on Africa’s natural resources.
I started the day in a Zoom meeting in India.  And the main topic of that session was strategic minerals.  All of the talk was about how the major powers would secure their strategic mineral supply chains.  But frankly they were talking about you (Africans).  It was mainly about competition among Russia, India, China and the United States.  Africa was not in that particular discussion but it was the object of the discussion in part.  Ukraine too basically holds the pieces now in part because of competition for the strategic minerals in Ukraine.
So, what do I envision in all of this?  What would I, broadly speaking, recommend for the 1.5 billion people of Africa and what would soon be 2, 3 and more billion people in Africa?  First, quite obviously, I believe that the next 40 years can be and absolutely needs to be a period of extremely rapid economic growth.  And I would like Africa to follow the path that China and India have been on.  China during the period from 1980 to 2020 achieved around ten per cent per year economic growth.  And that meant more than 30 times increase the size of the Chinese economy.  India today is growing at around six per cent per year.  I think it would increase to around seven per cent per year.  And that is also a rapid rate that is transforming India’s economy, ending its extreme poverty and putting India also into advanced technologies.  As for Africa, I believe that Africa can aim for and can achieve economic growth on the order of eight to ten per cent per year for the four decades up to when we say 2063 to the hundredth anniversary of African unity.  So, I would like Africa to model and implement a very high growth strategy in the coming 40 years.  And the roadmap that China achieved and India is achieving is very helpful for Africa as well.  Africa currently is growing at three or four per cent per year aggregate and because of rapid population growth around two or two-and-a-half per cent.  That is not good enough in per capita terms. That is of course absolutely unsafe and insufficient for Africa.  So the growth rate needs to be increased markedly.  And the questions are: how to do that?  The first point is that high growth results from high investment rates.  And those investments are of multiple kinds.  They are most importantly investments in education and the skills of young people.  And Africa is the youngest continent in the world.  Almost half of the population is of school age.  And those young people need quality education.  And there is no time to miss for them.  And when they drop out in lower secondary or before finishing upper secondary, this is a cost for a whole lifetime and a cost for the society.  So the first order in business in achieving the next 40 years of rapid growth is achieving a very high level of the educational attainment.  And that is expensive and it takes a long time to realise the returns.  It takes 20 years to educate a child but the returns are the highest returns a society can achieve.  It takes around 20 per cent internal rate of returns to educate a child through upper secondary education.         
(To be continued)

Young and published: Meet the Philippine Book Festival kid authors 

Arts & Culture, Books

At an age when most kids are interested in playing outside or online, a remarkable group of young writers is already making a mark in Philippine literature. 

These talented authors, some barely in their teens, prove that storytelling knows no age as they share their published works at the 3rd Philippine Book Festival (PBF).

Xander Gabriel “X.G.” Antazo, for instance, was only 10 years old when he published his first book, Rey Collins and the Stag of Leighis. 

Now 13, he has already published the second book of the trilogy and is already writing the third one. 

“I didn’t like reading before and my mom had to push me to read Geronimo Stilton books, until at one point, I became interested in reading,” Gabriel shared.  

“I didn’t even realize I would be an author soon,” added Gabriel, who reads books by Mitch Albom, among others.

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Gabriel’s books were a product of his training and mentorship with the Book Writers Club (BWC) of the Catholic Filipino Academy. He’s one of the pioneer mentees of the BWC, which guides young authors from writing their manuscripts up to publishing their books by connecting them with other creatives to help them write their stories.

SUPPORTING KIDS. The Book Writers Club trains kids as young as 9 years old to write and publish their own books. All photos by Elle Guison/Rappler  

Gabriel is joined by over 40 children who have also published their own books. These children have the opportunity to sell copies of their books, conduct reading and book-signing sessions, and inspire other children who also dream of becoming published authors at the PBF.

Trained at a young age

Apart from Gabriel, there were other young authors manning their booth at the PBF. The group includes Pio Calungcaguin, Luna Paulo, Faith Bullena, and Gabriel’s younger sister, Chayylielle Antazo. These kids published their first book at ages 9 to 13.

“When Kuya Gabe joined The Writers’ Club and published his first book, I was inspired to do the same so I joined that club,” Chayylielle said.

“After some training sessions, I was picked by Teacher Rhoda Osalvo to participate in the next batch of writers who have the potential and skills to publish a book.” 

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Osalvo, the club founder and one of the editors, along with other teachers, carefully select children who are ready to take on the challenge of writing their own book and join the Book Writers Club. 

Prior to being part of the BWC, most of the children were enrolled in training sessions conducted by The Writers’ Club (TWC).

These trainings from both clubs are available to children who go to the Catholic Filipino Academy, but it is also open to the public.

Training sessions cost P5,000 per cycle and it comes with 10 sessions spanned across 10 weeks. They can take more lessons as they go on, but if selected to join the BWC, they are invited to avail the package which includes two TWC cycles, book publications services for editors, beta readers, illustrators, etc, a virtual book launch, and freebies like inclusion in fairs such as the PBF. 

Publication costs are separate and shouldered by the kids’ parents, but BWC also connects them with a partner publisher. 

As per Osalvo, the parents are also invited to join trainings about sales and promotion. They’re also taught how to assist their kids when they ask for help in their writing process.

“It’s more expensive than the TWC training, but in this program, BWC provides the children with everything they’re going to need during the whole book-writing process: that includes an editor, proofreader, beta readers, text layout artists, and graphic designers or book cover illustrators,” said Mei Antazo, mother of Gabriel and Chayylielle.

PUBLISHED. Booth visitors show more interest in the books when they find out that they were written by children.

The book-writing process usually lasts two to three months, but other children may take longer depending on the revisions. 

While this duration may sound too short, the children shared that this time frame helped them be more disciplined about their writing schedule. 

According to 14-year-old Luna, she allocated at least one hour per day when she was writing her book, Ghosting You.

Osalva said they also teach the children how to receive comments from their beta readers and editors.

“I explain to them that it’s possible that one reader will say that a certain part is nice and they should keep it, but another may say that it lacks substance,” she noted. “In this case, they have to assess if they should stand their ground and keep the text, but also consider the comments of their editor.”

This project was a longtime dream of Osalva and she shared that it makes her very happy that these kids have achieved a dream she had when she was younger. 

As their mentor, her ultimate dream for them is to be internationally published authors, and possibly later on, become National Artists for Literature and Nobel Peace Prize awardees.

Different genres

These young authors have published various books of different genres: a recipe book with short stories, fantasy fiction, drama, mystery, and stories with moral lessons, among others — all of which can be seen at booth K104 at the Philippine Book Festival. 

The books, priced at P349 to P549, can be purchased and signed at BWC’s booth where visitors can get a chance to meet and chat with the brilliant young authors.

The Book Writers Club is just one of the 104 exhibitors — 95% are local publishers — in the 2025 edition of the Philippine Book Festival, which runs until Sunday, March 16, from 10 am to 8 pm at the Megatrade Hall in SM Megamall.

The highly anticipated fair by the National Book Development Board (NBDB) once again opened its doors to book lovers, authors, artists, and publishers from all over the country for a four-day book experience featuring author meet-and-greets, art workshops, talks, and exhibits centered around Philippine books.

FOR KIDS, BY KIDS. Young writers and readers get to interact with fellow kids at the festival.

The event returns with a Filipino Fiesta theme and the same four thematic realms, including Kid Lit — inspired by the Dinagyang Festival, and designed by Juno Abreu — which is an engaging space designed to immerse young readers in the magic of children’s literature. This area is devoted to picture books, chapter books, and young adult novels.

“The Philippine Book Festival is our venue to have an evolving discussion. More than large-scale procurement of books, we are raising young Filipinos with a sense of self and community because when we shape readership, we also shape minds,” said Department of Education (DepEd) Secretary Senator Sonny Angara in his speech during the PBF’s opening program.

But apart from a venue to convene book lovers of all ages, the NBDB set up the festival as a concerted effort to improve access to and distribution of quality, affordable Filipino-authored books.

As a marketplace for both retail and institutional purchases, the PBF is one of the book agency’s endeavors to address gaps in access to quality books, ensuring that relevant and accessible Philippine-authored books saturate the market and schools across the country.

Books for Filipino children

The festival presents numerous genres for various audiences, but ultimately, it aims to inspire more children to develop a love for reading. 

One of the ways this is made possible is PBF being a cost-effective platform for procurement and collaboration for institutional stakeholders, such as the DepEd buyers and procurement officers.

COLLECTION. Since its first run in 2023, the PBF has been reinventing the traditional book festival.

This year, the first day of the festival was attended by over 650 scopers, teachers, and institutional buyers from the DepEd to facilitate the purchase of P2.4 billion worth of books that will be used in DepEd schools and libraries across the country. These scopers will review and evaluate local titles for inclusion in DepEd’s Supplementary Learning Resources (SLR) program.

The festival’s 2025 edition presents a new feature that will help facilitate these processes: the availability of book counselors for each of the four realms at the fair. 

Book counselors are staff from the NBDB who will advise the teachers listing the books they need for their schools, libraries, and local reading hubs.

BOOK COUNSELORS. Daniel Lorenzo Mariano, one of the book counselors manning the Kid Lit realm, explains the counseling process to DepEd scopers and teachers.

“In the end, these are just books for our kids. In this festival, we put ourselves in the shoes of our children and we create this third space that is fun and exciting for all,” said NBDB executive director Charisse Aquino-Tugade

For the young authors at the PBF, the festival is an avenue not just to meet readers and writers alike, but also one to inspire other children of the same age who dream to publish their own book one day.

“I love reading and writing because it allows me to explore my imagination,” Gabriel said, encouraging other children to write all their ideas, just as he did when he started his journey to becoming an author.

“I have the freedom to create any world that I want and it will still be mine.” – Rappler.com 

Clark College Launches Surgical Technology Degree Program

Technology

Courtesy MGN Online

Vancouver, WA – Clark College is now offering an Associate of Applied Technology degree program for surgical technology program. College officials said the two-year program will equip students with the necessary skills to assist surgeons and nurses in operating rooms.
Students can begin taking foundational classes this spring term, starting April 7. Before students are admitted to Clark’s program, they must complete prerequisite courses including microbiology, a sequence of two anatomy and physiology courses and more.
“Graduates from this new program will meet a critical workforce need,” said Clark College President Dr. Karin Edwards. “This program will ensure that our hospitals will have well-trained surgical technologists. We are dedicated to preparing a trained workforce for our community to meet current and future needs.”
College officials said this program is the first of its kind in Southwest Washington, with the closest Washington programs offered at community colleges in the Puget Sound region. In the metro area, the closest program is at Mount Hood Community College in Gresham.
The full program begins this fall, with the first students expected to graduate in spring of 2027.