Ariara Isle in Palawan is Named One of the World's Top Private Islands

Palawan has once made the country proud by putting the Philippines in the world map.

After the inclusion of Puerto Princesa Underground River in the list of provisional winners in the New7Wonders of Nature contest, an island called Ariara has been named as one of the World's Top 10 Private Islands by British newspaper The Sunday Times.

Ariara is one of the islets in the Calamian group of islands in Palawan. It was bought and developed by British couple Charles and Carrie McCulloch. According to the resort's website, the island's remote location made it "untouched by the negative influences of pollution, development or tourism."

160 miles southwest of Manila and 4 hours away from Hong Kong, they developed the island in a way that people "who don't do hotels" will enjoy the sun, sea and sand. The beach cottages and jungle villas are designed by renowned Filipino architect Jorge Yulo. "The property provides luxurious and spacious accommodation (25,000 square feet) for up to 18 guests."

For more info, you can visit the website by clicking here.

Joining Ariara in the World's Top 10 Private Islands by The Sunday Times are Boca Brava in Panama, Eilean Shona in Scotland, Henriksholm in Sweden, Jicaro in Nicaragua, Lankayan in Borneo, Philipkutty's Farm in India,Quilalea in Mozambique, Sovalye in Turkey and Taprobane in Sri Lanka.

Sinag Pilipinas Beats Thailand; Wins Gold at 26th SEA Games

Sinag Pilipinas, Philippine national basketball team to the Southeast Asian Games (SEAG), won against Thailand during the finals of the men's basketball tournament of the 26th SEAG held Sunday night at Kelapa Gading Sports Mall in Jakarta, Indonesia.

The game ended with the score of 85-57 in favor of Sinag Pilipinas making them the winner of the tournament.

Pacquiao Wins Fight Against Marquez (November 12, 2011)

Filipino boxing champ and Saranggani congressman Manny Pacquiao won the match against the Mexican Juan Manuel Marquez in the fight held on November 12, 2011 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

Pacquiao was declared the winner via majority decision after a very close fight that lasted 12 rounds.

This was the third fight between the two boxers. Their 2004 match ended in a draw while in 2008, their fight ended in a split decision in favor of Manny Pacquiao.

Pacquiao was guaranteed to receive $20-M for this fight, and that's win or lose. That doesn't include the sum he would make on HBO's Pay Per View. It was said that Pacquiao's fights are among those that register the highest income for the cable channel, so we can only imagine how much money he would bring home.

Filipino-American and American Idol 10 finalist Thia Megia sang the US National Anthem before the fight. The Philippine National Anthem, on the other hand, was sung by Filipino-Canadian and YouTube sensation Maria Aragon.

Puerto Princesa Underground River Made It in the New7Wonders of Nature

The Philippines' Puerto Princesa Underground River made it to the provisional list of the New 7 Wonders of Nature as announced by Bernard Weber, founder and president of the New7Wonders campaigns.

The announcement was made at the N7W Headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland after the first count of votes. The results are provisional and the counting calculations will be checked, validated and independently verified over the coming weeks.

"It may be the case that one or more of the provisional winners announced today is not confirmed during this process and we will issue an update should this happen. Once the voting validations process is completed in early 2012, we will then work with the confirmed winners to organize the official inauguration event during which each winner will receive the official plaque and become officially confirmed as one of the new 7 wonders of nature," Weber further explained.

The Provisional New 7 Wonders of Nature (in alphabetical order):
1. Amazon (South America)
2. Halong Bay (Vietnam)
3. Iguazu Falls (Argentina and Brazil)
4. Jeju Island (South Korea)
5. Komodo (Indonesia)
6. Puerto Princesa Underground River (Philippines)
7. Table Mountain (South Africa)

When the New 7 Wonders of nature are confirmed, they will join the Man-Made New 7 Wonders of the World in becoming part of global memory for humankind forever.

Weber also invites everyone to support the 3rd New7Wonders campaign – the global election of the New7Wonders Cities. "Nominations are now open and we invite both the supporters and the world's most interesting and exciting cities as well as the official authorities and organizations to cast their nominations to choose the 7 cities that will become part of history forever."

Watch Bernard Weber's announcement video after the jump.