"Tunog Pinoy aims to be a source of motivation for expatriate FIlipinos to lead a balanced life," says Amorsolo Dagdag. Courtesy Amorsolo Dagdag
"Tunog Pinoy aims to be a source of motivation for expatriate FIlipinos to lead a balanced life," says Amorsolo Dagdag. Courtesy Amorsolo Dagdag

Voice of inspiration across the airwaves



Amorsolo Dagdag is the station director and founder of Tunog Pinoy, a radio channel he helped launch in 2004 in Dubai. The station, which has 17,000 registered listeners in the emirate, is part of a 24-hour global online radio presence with DJs in Jordan, the US, the UK, the Philippines and Australia.

Here, Mr Dagdag talks about his typical day - he is both a full-time partner in an architecture firm as well as a radio host.

6am

Wake up time. I go to the gym and try to have a holistic morning with an energy drink and a newspaper. Usually I have hundreds of emails in the morning, mostly from listeners of the radio channel. It was launched in Dubai primarily as a source of inspiration for the expatriate Filipino community. Many Filipinos before they come to Dubai have a lot of dreams. But then they start going to nightclubs, spend a lot of money and go into debt. So, the radio station aims to be a source of motivation for them to lead a balanced life. It is also the home of the best western classical music and original Filipino music.

9am

If I am not visiting sites or our warehouses in Al Quoz as an interior designer, I work on my drawing board from home.

Lunch

I read newspapers or motivational books online or [by] Dale Carnegie. For lunch I have rice, vegetable and Pinakbet - all Filipino food - that is home cooked.

1.30pm

I go back to my computer if I work on my own at home. Radio station work also includes paying all the bills for the remote radio server, internet and licences.

Mid-afternoon

I do remote radio broadcasting from 2pm to 4pm from a soundproof room at home. Although the radio station has an office on Sheikh Zayed Road, I don't need to go there. I mix talking and playing songs that listeners request online. I also interact with them via Yahoo Messenger. It's funny and emotional. I hear love stories and sad stories of Filipinos away from their loved ones at home.

6pm

It's when I socialise with friends. I like talking to people and when I go back to broadcasting, I refer to the people I had met that day. Some days, like today, I met Filipino acoustic singers Jimmy Bondoc and Princess. I recorded their voices during a meeting with them for broadcasting on radio.

10pm

Have my dinner - mostly salads. No rice.

11pm

It's time to head home to get ready for another round of broadcasting. I start from midnight and continue until 3 am. I actually talk until 1am and the rest is recorded.

Wicked
Director: Jon M Chu
Stars: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey
Rating: 4/5
Which honey takes your fancy?

Al Ghaf Honey

The Al Ghaf tree is a local desert tree which bears the harsh summers with drought and high temperatures. From the rich flowers, bees that pollinate this tree can produce delicious red colour honey in June and July each year

Sidr Honey

The Sidr tree is an evergreen tree with long and strong forked branches. The blossom from this tree is called Yabyab, which provides rich food for bees to produce honey in October and November. This honey is the most expensive, but tastiest

Samar Honey

The Samar tree trunk, leaves and blossom contains Barm which is the secret of healing. You can enjoy the best types of honey from this tree every year in May and June. It is an historical witness to the life of the Emirati nation which represents the harsh desert and mountain environments

AS%20WE%20EXIST
%3Cp%3EAuthor%3A%20Kaoutar%20Harchi%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EPublisher%3A%20Other%20Press%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EPages%3A%20176%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EAvailable%3A%20Now%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs

Engine: Direct injection 4-cylinder 1.4-litre
Power: 150hp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: From Dh139,000
On sale: Now

Kanguva
Director: Siva
Stars: Suriya, Bobby Deol, Disha Patani, Yogi Babu, Redin Kingsley
Rating: 2/5
 
From Zero

Artist: Linkin Park

Label: Warner Records

Number of tracks: 11

Rating: 4/5

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
AndhaDhun

Director: Sriram Raghavan

Producer: Matchbox Pictures, Viacom18

Cast: Ayushmann Khurrana, Tabu, Radhika Apte, Anil Dhawan

Rating: 3.5/5

Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairy Tale

Starring: Nayanthara, Vignesh Shivan, Radhika Sarathkumar, Nagarjuna Akkineni

Director: Amith Krishnan

Rating: 3.5/5

If you go

The flights
Emirates (www.emirates.com) and Etihad (www.etihad.com) both fly direct to Bengaluru, with return fares from Dh 1240. From Bengaluru airport, Coorg is a five-hour drive by car.

The hotels
The Tamara (www.thetamara.com) is located inside a working coffee plantation and offers individual villas with sprawling views of the hills (tariff from Dh1,300, including taxes and breakfast).

When to go
Coorg is an all-year destination, with the peak season for travel extending from the cooler months between October and March.

T20 World Cup Qualifier

Final: Netherlands beat PNG by seven wickets

Qualified teams

1. Netherlands
2. PNG
3. Ireland
4. Namibia
5. Scotland
6. Oman

T20 World Cup 2020, Australia

Group A: Sri Lanka, PNG, Ireland, Oman
Group B: Bangladesh, Netherlands, Namibia, Scotland

Electoral College Victory

Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate. 

 

Popular Vote Tally

The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.

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COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Eco%20Way%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20December%202023%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Ivan%20Kroshnyi%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%2C%20UAE%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Electric%20vehicles%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Bootstrapped%20with%20undisclosed%20funding.%20Looking%20to%20raise%20funds%20from%20outside%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The Perfect Couple

Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor

Creator: Jenna Lamia

Rating: 3/5

Bombshell

Director: Jay Roach

Stars: Nicole Kidman, Charlize Theron, Margot Robbie 

Four out of five stars 

Disposing of non-recycleable masks
    Use your ‘black bag’ bin at home Do not put them in a recycling bin Take them home with you if there is no litter bin
  • No need to bag the mask
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets