Announced at his 80th birthday celebration in August 2006 that he was giving half of his shares of the company—worth $200 million then—to the Gokongwei Brothers Foundation, which he chairs. That donation is the country's largest ever and is now funding the first batch of 34 Filipino postgraduates—GBF China Scholars—who are in Beijing for 14 months to study the country's language and culture.
* All the Tea in Thailand—Sawasdee
Roselle and bael fruit are probably the best-known of the traditional teas. Roselle is a type of hibiscus (specifically, Hibiscus sabdariffa) and makes the most tasty Thai tea. If you find the petals, dissolve a couple of handfuls in a liter of water and boil for 20 minutes. Boiling longer creates a deeper purple-red and more concentrated taste. Hot and straight, with a twist of lime, roselle might pass ...
* Echoes of Seattle’s undone business resound in UN trade conference
U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan voiced the views of ministers from the developing world when he said the “main losers in today’s unequal world” weren’t people who had been over-exposed to globalization, but those who had been excluded from it.
* A wayward Marxist state of mind
It’s still a terrific country for tourists. Laotians are chatty and relaxed, with neither the rapacity of the Vietnamese nor the trip-wire tempers of the Cambodians. Perhaps inspired by the American journalist Bob Woodward, Kremmer claims to have extracted the fatal details from a Pathet Lao cadre during a fantastic meeting deep in the heart of the Lao gulag. For anyone familiar with Laos, the telecommunications and logistics required for such a meeting are inconceivable.
