To qualify as a country worthy of investment, certain standards must be met.

A World Bank Group report highlighted four factors — the country’s people, environment, relationships, and framework — that propel both individuals and corporations to invest in a given country’s natural resources, markets, technologies, or brands.
Guided by the report from the World Bank Group, U.S. News identified the best countries to invest in for 2018.

Last month, U.S. News released their 2018 Best Countries ranking. To determine the overall list, U.S. News surveyed over 21,000 people worldwide about 80 different countries, measuring them on 65 different attributes, including cultural influence, entrepreneurship, and quality of life.

For the best countries to invest in ranking, U.S. News focused on just eight of the 65 attributes: entrepreneurship, economic stability, favorable tax environment, innovation, skilled labor, technological expertise, dynamism, and corruption. Responses from over 6,000 survey participants — who act as decision makers in business around the globe — were then used to determine the ranking.

See below for the rankings, which includes the country’s population, GDP, and the GDP growth percentage in 2016.

20. Chile

f11photo/Shutterstock

Population: 17.9 million
Total GDP: $247 billion
GDP growth: 1.6%

19. France

Mike Hewitt/Getty Images

Population: 66.9 million
Total GDP: $2.5 trillion
GDP growth: 1.2%

18. Brazil

Nacho Doce/Reuters

Population: 207.7 million
Total GDP: $1.8 trillion
GDP growth: -3.6%

17. United Kingdom

Shutterstock

Population: 65.6 million
Total GDP: $2.6 trillion
GDP growth: 1.8%

16. Netherlands

Margriet Faber/AP

15. Ireland

Shutterstock/Yudai

Population: 4.8 million
Total GDP: $294.1 billion
GDP growth: 5.1%

14. Turkey

Murad Sezer/Reuters

Population: 79.5 million
Total GDP: $857.7 billion
GDP growth: 3.2%

13. Uruguay

RPBaiao/Shutterstock

Population: 3.4 million
Total GDP: $52.4 billion
GDP growth: 1.5%

12. Finland

njus05/Shutterstock

Population: 5.5 million
Total GDP: $236.8 billion
GDP growth: 1.9%

11. Czech Republic

Photoillustrator/Shutterstock

Population: 10.6 million
Total GDP: $192.9 billion
GDP growth: 2.6%

10. Oman

David JALLAUD/Shutterstock

Population: 4.4 million
Total GDP: $66.3 billion
GDP growth: –%

9. India

Getty Images/Daniel Berehulak

Population: 1.3 billion
Total GDP: $2.3 trillion
GDP growth: 7.1%

8. Thailand

Muzhik/Shutterstock

Population: 68.9 million
Total GDP: $406.8 billion
GDP growth: 3.2%

7. Spain

4kclips/Shutterstock

Population: 46.4 million
Total GDP: $1.2 trillion
GDP growth: 3.3%

6. Australia

iPhoto-Thailand/Shutterstock

Population: 24.1 million
Total GDP: $1.2 trillion
GDP growth: 2.8%

5. Singapore

Aneoho/Shutterstock

Population: 5.6 million
Total GDP: $297.0 billion
GDP growth: 2%

4. Malaysia

Shutterstock

Population: 31.2 million
Total GDP: $296.4 billion
GDP growth: 4.2%

3. Poland

Photo Credit:

Population: 37.9 million
Total GDP: $469.5 billion
GDP growth: 2.9%

2. Indonesia

Shutterstock

Population: 261.1 million
Total GDP: $932.3 billion
GDP growth: 5%

1. Philippines

Manila, Philippines ARTYOORAN/Shutterstock

Population: 103.3 million
Total GDP: $304.9 billion
GDP growth: 6.9%

Source: businessinsider.com.au

Continue Reading

Photo Credit: newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org

MANILA, Philippines — Four indigenous plants found in the Cordillera Administrative Region were confirmed to have medicinal properties that could be used as alternative to commercially available antibiotics.

Enzymes extracted from four folkloric herbal plants were found to be effective against a type of multi-resistant bacteria that can cause pneumonia and bloodstream infection, a study conducted by researchers from the University of the Philippines-Baguio revealed.

Discovered with medicinal properties were Nepenthes alata, a pitcher plant locally known as kakallong; Bauhinia purpurea or butterfly tree; Ficus septica or tibig, and Melastoma malabathricum or bakgi.

The four were among 13 indigenous plants tested for medicinal properties by introducing them to pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a type of bacteria that has a rapid ability to develop resistance to multiple classes of antibiotics.

“Preliminary results of this investigation proved that these indigenous folkloric plants indeed have medicinal purposes,” read the paper published in the Indian Journal of Traditional Knowledge earlier this year.

“Their bioactive compounds can be used as an alternative to the commercially available antibiotics since they can significantly control the growth of the multi-resistant P. aeruginosa,” it added.

Considered as vital to the medical field due to its rapid ability to develop resistance to antibiotics, the bacteria Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a leading pathogen among patients with lung diseases.

It is also known to contribute to bloodstream infection, accounting for high patient mortality rate.

In their study, biologists Charlotte Elmido, Kryssa Balangcod and Teodora Balangcod used various parts of 13 indigenous plants to test their anti-bacterial capabilities.

Most effective were enzymes extracted from the stems of tibig plant found on Mt. Polis in Mountain Province, followed by the leaves of butterfly tree from Sablan in Benguet.

The researchers said tibig contains enzymes known to have anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory properties, while the butterfly tree has potential bioactive compounds that can inhibit the harmful bacteria.

Meanwhile, pitcher fluid extracted from kakallong, also found on Mt. Polis, confirmed a previous study that showed antibacterial properties of the plant.

Ointment made from enzymes extracted from leaves of bakgi, from Atok in Benguet, also showed wound healing properties, with the bioactive compounds effective in blocking or reducing pain.

In their paper, the researchers underscored the unexplored diversity of indigenous plants in the Cordillera and their potential in the field of pharmaceuticals and medicine.

“Thirteen plants tested is just a small representative of the highly diverse and unexplored indigenous plants of Cordillera region,” read the paper.

“It is recommended that more plants in the region will be studied to discover useful plant species that have novel antibacterial compounds to attenuate bacterial pathogenicity,” it added.

Tested but found ineffective against Pseudomonas aeruginosa were enzymes extracted from the stems of agayap di nuang (Drynaria cordata).

Also tested were leaves from bottlebrush (Callistemon citrinus), mango (Mangifera indica), malatabako (Elephantopus mollis), ro-ot (Dicranopteris linearis), purple top (Verbena bonariensis), sabfog (Ficus minahassae), puriket or burburtak (Ageratum conyzoides) and coffee (Coffea robusta).

Source: philstar.com

Continue Reading

Photo Credit: NewsLocker

The southwest monsoon will be affecting the western section of Luzon on Thursday, PAGASA reported in its early morning forecast.

Ilocos Region, Batanes, Babuyan Group of Islands, Zambales and Bataan will have cloudy skies with scattered rains and thunderstorms caused by the southwest monsoon.

Metro Manila and the rest of the country will have partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rainshowers due to localized thunderstorms.

Flash floods and landslides may occur during severe thunderstorms, PAGASA reminds the public.

The forecast wind speed for northern and central Luzon is light to moderate moving southwestward while coastal waters will remain slight to moderate.

For the rest of the country, wind speed forecast is light to moderate moving south to southwest while coastal waters will be slight to moderate.

Source: gmanetwork.com

Continue Reading

Photo Credit: wheninmanila.com

MILAN, Italy – A string orchestra from Zambales received a rousing welcome here during their recent performance at the Santa Maria del Carmine Church.

The Pundaquit Virtuosi String Orchestra was greeted by stomping and standing ovations during their performance on June 6, putting premium in the quality of their music. They played classics by Italian composers Vivaldi and Verdi and favorites by Jenkins, Tchaikovsky, and Offenbach.

The orchestra’s 6-week, 8-country concert trip through 17 venues is led by international violin virtuoso Alfonso “Coke” Bolipata.

The youth string group composed of 30 kids aged 11 to 23 completed the first leg of its 2019 European tour as part of the 20th edition of the Ostend Anchor Festival in Brussels, Belgium from May 26 to 28. This was followed by well-received and remarkable performances in the Vatican, Rome, Florence, Bergamo, and Paris.

“The whole objective of the consular diplomacy program was to bring Filipinos to Europe, as well as part of the diaspora is to kind of show the world that Filipinos are good at a lot of things including classical music. So we come to bring that kind of excellence at the same time bring our music at home to the Filipinos here,” Bolipata said.

Pundaquit Virtuosi is the result of 26 years of devoted commitment by Casa San Miguel in Zambales, a remote fishing village, where natural disasters and precarious environmental situations have always made survival difficult.

The volcanic eruptions of Mount Pinatubo, very close to the Zambales town, then irrevocably marked the history of the people.

Seminars, exhibitions of paintings and local works of sculpture, concerts, and filmographic reviews mounted since 1993 enriched the Zambales area, a Central Luzon province naturally inspiring with its exotic landscape.

This was where Bolipata’s art flourished, and since 1993 the maestro has been recruiting and educating young people, mostly fishermen’s children.

Guest conductor Ruggero Barbieri, also principal conductor of the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra commanded the programs in Italy with a selection of famous pieces from the classical repertoire and pieces from the traditional Filipino repertoire.

He was first invited to conduct the orchestra last year.

“Personally, finding myself in Manila as music director of the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra from 1996 to 2005, I listened to these young talents in 1997, at the invitation of Maestro Bolipata, as a spectator,” Barbieri said.

“…[T]he enthusiasm, the talent and the joy in making music of those “little” musicians struck me so much that in May 2018, at the invitation of Ayala Corporation to conduct a concert in Manila with the talents of Pundaquit Virtuosi, I did not hesitate to accept,” said Barbieri

The group is set to have shows in Germany, Austria, Spain, and Portugal until July 4.

Source: news.abs-cbn.com

Continue Reading

Photo Credit: Picdeer

The sun rises for the lowly Philippine mango. Just a few days after the Department of Agriculture (DA) announced the country had a surplus of two million kg of mangoes from the recent harvest, a Japanese fruits importer said it was buying 100,000kg of the tropical fruit from the Philippines this season.

Diamond Star Corporation, which has been operating in the country since 1987, said it was looking to buy a huge volume of Carabao mangoes in the country last week – in time for the launching of DA’s mango marketing programme on Monday.

“The Japanese company has been importing papayas, pineapple, mango, bananas and even turnips from the Philippines .?.?. It signified the intent to buy mangoes through Philippine agriculture attache to Japan Dr Samuel Animas [last week],” Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Pinol said on his Facebook page.

“The DA will arrange a meeting between the Japanese importers and the mango farmers of Luzon,” he added.

The deal also came five days after President Duterte went to Japan to seal trade agreements. The country expects to get nearly 300 billion pesos ($5.78 billion) worth of investments from the visit.

Local mango growers have complained of low prices since the onset of harvest – dropping between 14 and 16 pesos per kg. Farmer leaders said these rates were lower than their production cost.

Due to the unanticipated oversupply, the DA arranged a series of selling events for Philippine mangoes dubbed as “Metro Mango”, the first of which would be held in the Bureau of Plant Industry office in Manila.

DA director for agribusiness and marketing Bernadette San Juan said bulk of the produce would be coming from Ilocos, Zambales and Nueva Ecija. Select farmers from Mindanao and Eastern and Central Visayas were expected to join.

Source: phnompenhpost.com

Continue Reading