At least 436 dead after storm pummels Philippines

Manila, Philippines (CNN) -- At least 436 people are dead after Tropical Storm Washi pummeled the Philippines, Red Cross Secretary General Gwen Pang said Saturday.

The vast majority of the bodies were found in the cities of Iligan and Cagayan de Oro, according to military officials and the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council. Five people were killed in a landslide, but all others died in flash flooding.

The provinces of Compostela Valley and Zamboanga del Norte were also hit, added Benito Ramos, chairman of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.

About 400 people remain missing after the storm, which is called Sendong locally. More than 2,000 have been rescued, the country's military reported.

Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin said officials are investigating reports that an entire village was swept away.

Authorities have also begun distributing food rations for some 10,000 families affected by the storm, while also handing out thousands of blankets and mosquito nets, the Red Cross reported Saturday.

Flash flooding overnight -- following 10 hours of rain -- fueled the devastation, compounded by overflowing rivers and tributaries. As much as 20 centimeters (8 inches) of rain fell within 24 hours in some areas.

Ramos said despite government warning, some did not evacuate.

An estimated 100,000 people are displaced, according to the Department of Social Welfare and Development.

At least 20,000 people were staying in 10 evacuation centers in Cagayan de Oro, Social Welfare Secretary Dinky Soliman said Saturday.

Some 20,000 soldiers embarked on search-and-rescue operations, the military said.

Officials asked for volunteers to pack food to send to those displaced.

Though Washi was headed away from the Philippines on Saturday, trouble could loom for Vietnam, as the storm's westerly path could cross Ho Chi Minh City on Tuesday.

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Japan plans expansion after quake horror

(Reuters) - Japan's professional basketball league has bold plans for expansion rather than mere damage limitation despite being plunged into chaos by the deadly earthquake and tsunami on March 11.

With the two worst-hit teams in danger of collapse, Basketball JapanLeague Commissioner Toshimitsu Kawachi told Reuters the push to increase the number of clubs from 16 to 20 would continue at full pace.

The Sendai 89ers, the team based closest to the devastating 9.0 magnitude quake, and the Saitama Broncos have had players sent out on loan after being forced to scrap their seasons.

"There is a risk (of bankruptcy) for Sendai, or that both teams will be unable to play next season," Kawachi said in an interview.

"We are doing everything we can to have them among the expanded league of 20 teams in October for 2011-12 in terms of reducing further financial burden on them from the disaster."

Tokyo Apache also halted operations as a result of the quake and giant tsunami, which triggered a nuclear crisis after smashing into a plant 150 miles north of Japan's capital.

"Our practice sites were turned into rescue shelters for the survivors," said Apache President Chris Hetherington, whose club donated $1 million to tsunami relief efforts.

"And while apparently stable, the nuclear reactor at the Fukushima power plant still presented risks. The downside risk was too great."

Unlike Sendai and Saitama, who are staring into the financial abyss, Apache have no such problems, although it remains to be seen if former NBA coach Bob Hill will return.

"It was disappointing to have to leave after all the hard work we had put in," Hill, who led San Antonio to an NBA-best 62 wins in 1994-95, told Reuters by e-mail.

"With so many folks dying ... and the quakes continuing in Tokyo, basketball seemed so unimportant."

RADIATION LEAKS

The disaster left 28,000 people dead or missing and destroyed vast areas of northeast Japan, while blackouts and fears over radiation leaks hit sporting events nationwide.

"I have no idea if I will be back again in Tokyo," added Hill, who also coached the New York Knicks, Indiana and Seattle in his NBA career.

"I have had little communication with ownership and management at this point."

Losing Hill after less than a year would be a blow to Apache, who twice finished league runners-up under Joe Bryant, father of Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe.

But former NFL fullback Hetherington had no regrets about the decision to end the team's campaign with their record at 20-14.

"This curtailed season will not hurt the Apache," he said.

"We will take this time to build a more efficient and effective business."

Apache could also rake in cash and gain extra exposure thanks to 19-year-old power forward Jeremy Tyler, who is tipped as a potential number one overall pick in June's NBA draft.

Kawachi's staff, meanwhile, continue to work tirelessly to keep Saitama and Sendai, two of the trail-blazing six teams who launched the league in 2005, afloat.

"Okinawa are the top team in the West right now and would have a player on loan from Sendai for the final four in Tokyo on May 21-22," said the commissioner.

"There will be bus loads down from Sendai! We will be collecting money from a full house of 20,000. We will take every step to keep these two teams operating.

"The disaster resulted in a big financial loss for the league too but cancelling the whole season would not have been correct.

"Sport has shown it has the power to bring hope to people in despair. It has given us all added incentive to come out of this bigger and better."

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Yao Ming's Asian comeback a mystery

(Reuters) - Yao Ming's participation at this year's Asian basketball championships remains shrouded in mystery as he battles back from his latest injury, Chinese media reported on Wednesday.

The towering NBA center, who suffered a serious ankle fracture playing for the Houston Rockets last November, has refused to speculate on his comeback.

But China's captain Liu Wei expressed cautious optimism about the appearance of the seven-foot six-inch (2.28-meter) Yao in Wuhan this September.

"Nothing is certain right now," Liu, a former team mate of Yao's at the Shanghai Sharks, told the China Daily.

"He will stay in Shanghai for a while and then go back to the States for an injury check. Nobody knows if he will be able to play until the results come out."

The September 15-25 tournament guarantees the winners a spot at next year's London Olympics.

"We must secure the title at the Asian Championship this time," said Liu, mindful of China's loss to Iran in the 2009 final at home.

"Not only paving the way to London but winning back respect in Asia."

Yao, selected first overall by Houston in the 2002 draft, has caused Chinese interest in the NBA to soar, but has been cursed by injury throughout his career in the United States.

He played just over half a season in 2005-06 because of a toe infection and a broken foot, limiting his playing time over the following two years.

Yao then suffered a hairline fracture in his foot in 2008-09 before breaking his left ankle in Houston's loss to the Washington Wizards in November.

Despite the fact the 30-year-old only took off his protective boot a month ago, China placed their prized asset on their roster for summer training this month.

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5th Asian Awards

(MB) HONG KONG – It may have been a singular apparition but it made the biggest sensation.

“Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives,” the lone entry by Thailand that’s nominated in just one category at the 5th Asian Film Awards (AFA), lassoed in Best Film in ceremony held at the Hong Kong Convention Exhibition Centre on March 21.

Directed by Apichatpong Weerasethakul, the triumph of “Uncle Boonmee” at the 5th Asian Awards is deemed more prestigious in that it lambasted competitors that were nominated in several other categories, even winning in some of these. These films were “Aftershock” and “Let the Bullets Fly” (both from Mainland China/ Hong Kong), “Confessions” (Japan), “Peepli Live” (India) and “Poetry” (South Korea).

Then again, this probably didn’t come as a surprise to the cineastes that have been following the results of other film festivals. In 2010, “Uncle Boonmee” won the Palme d’Or at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival---the first Asian film to win the award since 1997.

“Uncle Boonmee” tells the story of the last days in the life of an old man in northern Thailand. Painterly beautiful and meditative, the film has been described as “a masterful work on the eternal themes of death and memory.”

Although Thailand copped the highest honor, South Korea cornered the lion’s share of the trophies, winning five out of 18. These were for Best Director and Best Screenplay (Lee Chang-dong, “Poetry”), Best Actor (Ha Jung-woo, “The Yellow Sea”), Best Supporting Actress (Yoon Yeo-Jeong, “The Housemaid) and Best Editing (Nam Na-young, “I Saw The Devil”).

Japan, towards which almost everyone at the awards expressed condolence in light of the recent earthquake that shook the country, grabbed two honors namely Best Production Designer (Hayashida Yuji, “13 Assassins”) and Best Cinematographer (Mark Lee Ping-bin, “Norwegian Wood”).

The Philippines did not get a nomination this year but Filipino director Brillante Mendoza was one of those who presented The Asian Film Award for Outstanding Contribution to Asian Cinema special award to Kim Dong-ho, the founding director of the Pusan Film Festival. The Pinoy connection is also at play through Mendoza who is jointly directed “Quattro Hong Kong 2” with Weerasethakul, and two other Asian directors. “Quattro Hong Kong 2” opened the 35th Hong Kong International Film Festival on March 20.

Musical numbers rendered at the 5th Asian Film Awards were by Chinese pop singer Han Geng and Indian band Indian Ocean (whose song, “Peepli Live,” won Best Music Score).

Three other special awards were presented at the ceremony: The Promotion of Asian Cinema Award - Fortissimo Films; The Lifetime Achievement Award - Raymond Chow; and The Asian Film Award for 2010’s Top-Grossing Film – “Aftershock.”

Other winners of the 5th AFA are:

 BEST ACTRESS - Xu Fan / “Aftershock” (Mainland China / Hong Kong)

 BEST NEWCOMER- Mark Chao You-Ting / “Monga” (Taiwan)

 BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR - Sammo Hung Kam-po / “IP MAN 2” (Hong Kong)

 BEST VISUAL EFFECTS - Phil Jones, Zhang Yan-ming / “Aftershock” (Mainland China/ Hong Kong)

 BEST COSTUME DESIGNER- William Chang Suk-ping / “Let The Bullets Fly” (Mainland China / Hong Kong)

Moët & Chandon has pledged to donate HK$10,000 for each Award category and each of the four special Awards distributed to support the Japan Disaster Relief, with a total of HK$180,000.

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Asia stocks mixed amid uncertainty in Japan, Libya

(AP) BANGKOK –  Stocks in Asia were mixed following a retreat on Wall Street on Wednesday, as the staggering toll exacted by Japan's worst-ever earthquake came into sharper focus and uncertainties grew about the outcome of Western military action against Libya.

Japan's Nikkei 225 slid 1.2 percent in early trading to 9,496.21 after a strong day of gains after a newspaper reported that government estimates of damages from the catastrophic March 11 earthquake and tsunami that devastated Japan's industrial northeast could exceed $300 billion.

The disaster also triggered a crisis at a nuclear power plant that forced the evacuation of tens of thousands of people and forced power cuts due to the shutdown of 11 of Japan's 54 nuclear power plants.

Three of the country's biggest brands — Toyota Motor Corp., Honda Motor Co. and Sony Corp. — put off a return to normal production due to shortages of parts and raw materials because of earthquake damage to factories in affected areas.

Toyota and Honda said they would extend a shutdown of auto production in Japan that already is in its second week, while Sony said it was suspending some manufacturing of popular consumer electronics such as digital cameras and TVs. The production slowdowns hit their stock prices: Toyota drooped 1.5 percent; Honda was down 1.4 percent, and Sony lost 0.8 percent.

Elsewhere, South Korea's Kospi index was up 0.1 percent to 2,016.35, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index dropped 0.3 percent to 22,798.01.

Meanwhile, investors had a separate worry: the crisis in Libya and the real possibility that Moammar Gadhafi could stave off military action by Western powers intended to keep Gadhafi from overwhelming rebel forces trying to end his four-decade rule.

Oil prices hovered near $105 a barrel Wednesday in Asia as violent uprisings in the Middle East kept traders nervous about possible crude supply disruptions. OPEC-member Libya, which produces enough oil to meet nearly 2 percent of world demand, has almost totally stopped shipping it.

On Wall Street, stocks edged lower Tuesday, ending a three-day rally that had lifted the Dow Jones industrial average above 12,000 for the first time since an earthquake hit Japan more than a week ago.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 17.90 points to close at 12,018.63. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 4.61, or 0.4 percent, to 1,293.77. The Nasdaq composite index fell 8.22, or 0.3 percent, to 2,683.87

In currencies, the euro dropped to $1.4169 from $1.4207 late Tuesday in New York. The yen was unchanged against the greenback at 80.90.

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