European, Asian airlines take steps to avoid Tokyo

FRANKFURT — Airlines from Asia and Europe halted flights to Tokyo on Tuesday, diverting planes south as fears grow of nuclear contamination in the wake of Japan's devastating earthquake and tsunami.

Deutsche Lufthansa said it was diverting flights to Osaka and Nagoya at least until the weekend, adding that planes returning from Tokyo on Monday were not contaminated.

Air China said it had cancelled flights to Tokyo from Beijing and Shanghai, mainly due to the lack of operational capacity at some airports, while Taiwan's EVA Airways said it would cancel flights to Tokyo and Sapporo until the end of March.

Other airlines took steps to limit staff presence in Tokyo. Other international companies such as SAP and Infineon, are moving staff out of the capital to locations further south because of radiation concerns.

Air France-KLM, Europe's largest carrier by revenue, moved all of its crew on Monday out of Tokyo to Osaka, KLM spokeswoman Gedi Schrijver told Reuters on Tuesday.

Swiss International Air Lines said it had introduced an interim stop to Hong Kong on its route to Tokyo in order to shorten turnaround times in the Japanese capital.

Others, such as British Airways, Virgin Atlantic and Finnair, said they were still flying to the Narita and Haneda airports in the Japanese capital.

Governments also issued travel warnings in the wake of rising radiation levels.

Britain and the Netherlands advised against all but essential travel to Tokyo and the north-east of Japan. Italy recommended people avoid the country altogether and in particular the northeast.

As with the unrest in Egypt and Tunisia, Air France also said it was sending larger planes to Japan to accommodate demand. (report from Reuters)

Internet funeral for New Zealand quake victim

DUBLIN, Ireland - The grieving New Zealand-based family of an Irish victim of the Christchurch earthquake was to watch his burial in his homeland through the Internet on Tuesday.

Owen McKenna, 40, a psychiatric nurse, was killed when his car was crushed by falling debris in the quake on February 22.

A funeral service has already been held in New Zealand, where he had lived for seven years, but his wife and two young children were unable to travel to Ireland for the burial.

So the service was to be streamed live through the Internet.

"Owen always expressed a wish to be buried at home," said Father Sean Nolan, parish priest in Carrickroe, County Monaghan.

"We are conscious of Owen's family and friends in New Zealand and in consultation with the family here we decided to link up with them live on the Internet. It will be a tremendous comfort to the family.

"Owen was a very outgoing person and had a huge capacity for friendship so there will be many people remembering him in New Zealand."

McKenna trained as a nurse in London before he worked in Saudi Arabia where he met his wife New Zealand-born Sarah.

In Ireland, Owen is survived by his widowed mother Theresa, four sisters and three brothers.

The official death toll from the Christchurch quake stands at 166, but police expect the figure to rise to more than 200. (report from Agence France-Presse)

PBB cancels audition in Naga City

MANILA, Philippines - The scheduled audition for the next housemates of "Pinoy Big Brother" (PBB) set for Wednesday, March 16 in Naga City, Camarines Sur has been cancelled.

In a message sent to abs-cbnNEWS.com, the PBB production unit decided to cancel the much-awaited audition due to an impending transport strike in the said city.

"Due to the transport strike in Naga, we are cancelling the PBB audition scheduled tomorrow, March 16. We will schedule another audition date. We are very sorry for this unfortunate event but we cannot risk the safety of the auditionees in terms of their means of transportation," the PBB unit said.

The PBB auditions in Davao (March 19) and Laguna (March 24) will still push through. (report from abs-cbnNEWS.com)

Angeline's hit is 'Maria La del Barrio's' theme song

MANILA, Philippines – "Star Power's" grand winner Angeline Quinto shared her excitement as she was chosen to do the theme song of ABS-CBN's remake of Mexican hit series "Maria La del Barrio."

The song "Patuloy Ang Pangarap," which is included in her self-titled album, was chosen as the theme song for Erich Gonzales's and Enchong Dee's upcoming series.

"Bali yung 'Patuloy ang Pangarap' ay isa sa theme song ng Maria La del Barrio. Natuwa talaga ako kasi noong narinig ko yon, akala ko hindi ako. Akala ko may ibang kumanta ng 'Patuloy Ang Pangarap' kaya tuwang-tuwa ako na ginamit po yon," Quinto said.

"Patuloy ang Pangarap," composed by Jonathan Manalo, was the winning piece of Quinto in "Star Power."

The new "Maria La del Barrio" will be played by Gonzales. The series tells the story of María, a scavenger who will fall in love with a rich guy, Fernando.

Dee will play the role of Fernando.

The Mexican "Maria la del Barrio" was originally aired from 1995 to 1996. It starred popular Mexican actors Thalia and Fernando Colunga. (report from abs-cbnNEWS.com)

Special screening of Robin-Mariel movie draws celebs

MANILA, Philippines – Celebrities, relatives and close friends of show business couple Mariel Rodriguez and Robin Padilla came in full force for the special screening of “Tum: My Pledge of Love” at the Powerplant Mall Rockwell in Makati Monday night.

Before the screening, Rodriguez revealed in an interview how excited she is for the public to see what their movie has to offer.

“Thank you, thank you sa lahat ng pumunta. Excited ako kasi ngayon makikita na nila kung gaano kagaling si Robin bilang isang direktor. Sobra niya talagang galing dito,” said Rodriguez.

The actress-host also expressed her gratitude for the people who came to see the special screening of their movie.

“We would like to thank all of you for being here tonight. We are just really overwhelmed...it means so much to me, so much to Robin. Thank you so much,” the host-actress said.

Padilla said his wife was his inspiration in creating the film. He added that their love for each other was the reason why he was able to write the story of “Tum: My Pledge of Love.”

“Gusto lamang po namin iparating sa lahat na itong pelikulang to ay ginawa sa pag-ibig at sana habang pinanonood po natin ay pag-ibig ang yumabong sa ating mga puso,” he said.

Meanwhile, Queenie Padilla, who is also part of the cast, said there’s more to the storyline of “Tum: My Pledge of Love” than just the love story.

“Talagang makikita niyo dito sa pelikulang ito, hindi lang love story, may action, may puso rin ang story. Sana po magustuhan niyo,” she said.

Spotted in the event were director Cathy Garcia-Molina, Pokwang, Toni Gonzaga, Alex Gonzaga, Bianca Gonzalez, Bianca Manalo, Empress Shuck, Mark Gil and Optical Media Board Chairman Ronnie Ricketts.

ABS-CBN news anchor Julius Babao attended the event with his wife Tintin.

Actors Bing Loyzaga, Eddie Garcia, and Ejay Falcon -- who all had roles in the film -- also graced the event.

Padilla’s mother and Rodriguez’s grandparents also attended.

With 90% of the movie shot in India, the celebrity couple excitedly invited everyone to catch its nationwide premiere on April 6.

This is the first movie of Rodriguez and Padilla since they got married. It is written and directed by Padilla. (report from Sheila Reyes, abs-cbnNEWS.com)