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Happy Sunday, Rappler readers!
The Philippines marks a major milestone in its quest for peace, with the government and communist rebels agreeing on resuming formal talks. Meanwhile, Italy continues to dig under the quake rubble to save more lives, a French court rules a ban on the burkini is unlawful, and scientists are abuzz over the discovery of a new planet, just outside our own Solar System.
Here are the big stories you need to know as the weekend winds down.
Italy held a tear-drenched funeral Saturday, August 27, for dozens of its earthquake victims as the country observed a day of mourning over a disaster that killed nearly 300 people. President Sergio Mattarella, Prime Minister Matteo Renzi and other leaders were among hundreds of mourners who sat solemnly behind 35 coffins in a sports hall in Ascoli Piceno. Mattarella, Italy’s head of state, had earlier paid tribute to the “extraordinary effort” of more than 4,000 rescue professionals and volunteers on a brief visit to Amatrice, the small mountain town hit hardest by the quake.
The peace talks between the Philippine government and communist rebels took a big step forward Friday, August 26, when they agreed to resume formal talks and to an indefinite ceasefire. The successful first round of talks comes after the releases of an unprecedented number of political prisoners, among them the biggest names in the communist movement. The next round of talks will happen October 8-12, where the panels will begin to discuss contentious issues. To celebrate the Oslo talks, the two sides took part in a yummy boodle fight.
Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno appealed to law schools to help those who fail the Bar examinations, and provide options for them to continue working in the legal field. “Go and try to exercise your minds so that you can create a way out for them. It is so expensive to put anyone through law school. We have a social duty to make sure that those resources are not wasted,” she said. “What is most important is that we provide options for those who do not make it,” the Chief Justice said.
The controversial ban on the burkini in a French town has been suspended by France’s highest administrative court Friday, August 26. France’s State Council ruled that local authorities could only restrict individual liberties if wearing the Islamic swimsuit was a “proven risk” to public order. The judges said there was no such risk in the case before the court concerning Villeneuve-Loubet, one of around 30 towns to have introduced the bans. The burkini bans have triggered a fierce debate about women’s rights and the French state’s strictly-guarded secularism.
Trade between the Philippines and the United Kingdom won’t be hindered by Brexit and other burning issues the two countries are facing, the UK’s trade envoy to the Philippines said. Richard Graham, UK Prime Minister Teresa May’s trade envoy to the Philippines, is upbeat about about improved bilateral trade between the two countries, and that Brexit would be a good opportunity to expand bilateral relations. Bilateral trade between Philippines and the UK has picked up in recent years, growing by an average of 7% annually since 2010. Last year, overall trade grew by 28% to hit around 628 million British Pounds or $829.7 million.
Scientists on Wednesday, August 24, revealed the presence of an Earth-like planet orbiting Proxima Centauri, the star nearest to our own Solar System – and raising the possibility that the planet could possibly support life. The exoplanet, named Proxima b, is described as a rocky planet that is just a little bigger than Earth, at 1.3 times its mass, and it orbits its parent star every 11.2 days. And with Proxima Centauri just over 4 light-years from us, Proxima b is the closest exoplanet to our own planet ever discovered. This discovery was made possible by the work of several teams of astronomers around the world, both professional and amateur.
Filipino fighter Burnard Soriano claimed his first victory in the ONE Championship. The 30-year-old Pinoy striker knocked out Indonesian journeyman Mario Satya Wirawan in their bantamweight encounter on ONE Championship’s “Titles and Titans” card on Saturday, August 27 at the Jakarta Convention Center in Jakarta, Indonesia. Soriano finished the job in just 15 seconds by delivering a well-executed spinning backfist that instantly turned the lights off on Wirawan.
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