#ThewRap: Things you need to know, October 27, 2016

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#ThewRap: Things you need to know, October 27, 2016
Hello! Here are the stories you shouldn't miss this Thursday.

Hello, Rappler readers! 

If you think only those in the Philippines are getting frustrated over the toxicity on social media, then you’re mistaken. Over in the United States, many netizens are also getting fed up with the tone of the political debate online. The positive note on the upcoming presidential elections in the US, however, is that more Filipino American candidates are trying to break racial barriers at the polls.  

Here are the other big stories you shouldn’t miss: 

 

PH affirms defense partnership with ‘special friend’ Japan

In their bilateral meeting on Wednesday, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe tackled the following: Japan’s decision to give the Philippine military TC-90 training airplanes as well as “high-speed small vessel and equipment” for counter-terrorism efforts; Abe’s support for a peaceful settlement of the Philippines’ maritime disputes with China in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea); and infrastructure projects in both metropolitan and rural areas in the Philippines. 

 

China’s West PH Sea island builder gets Davao reclamation deal 

Chinese firms that bagged some big-ticket infrastructure deals that the Philippines announced in President Duterte’s visit to China are involved in controversies and murky agreements. Another firm, which got the contract to reclaim 208 hectares of reclaimed land in Davao City (where Duterte was mayor), was reportedly the one that built artificial islands in the disputed area of the West Philippine Sea despite Manila’s protests.

 

Brother of EJK victim also gunned down

Remember Lauren Rosales, the 26-year-old who was gunned down in a passenger jeepney by unidentified assailants in Makati last July? Her brother and only sibling, Petronio “JR” Rosales Jr, was also shot to death in Makati on Wednesday. Someone close to the family said JR, who is based in the United Kingdom, was only here in Manila to follow up on his sister’s Social Security Service benefits. He was supposed to have left a long time ago to rejoin his wife in the UK. Family members now fear for their lives. 

 

Great Barrier Reef experiences worst-ever bleaching – scientists 

More corals are dying and others are succumbing to disease and predators after the worst-ever bleaching on Australia’s iconic Great Barrier Reef, scientists said. It is the third time in 18 years that the World Heritage-listed site, which teems with marine life, has experienced mass bleaching after previous events in 1998 and 2002.

 

Another Toyota recall: Called-back Takata airbags now at 23.1M 

Toyota said it was recalling another 5.8 million Takata-made airbags in a global safety scandal blamed for a string of deaths and injuries: 1.47 million airbags installed in cars sold in Europe, 1.16 million units in Japan, 820,000 units in China, and 2.35 million in other regions excluding the United States. Tokyo-based auto parts giant Takata is facing huge compensation costs over the airbag defect linked to at least 16 deaths in the global auto industry’s biggest-ever safety recall. Toyota’s latest recall brings its total of called-back Takata airbags to 23.1 million.

 

Guidelines for PH corruption complaints hotline issued

President Rodrigo Duterte has signed an executive order laying down the mechanisms and terms for the 8888 Citizens’ Hotline and Complaint Center. EO Number 6 was signed last October 14, almost 3 months after the hotline was launched in August. In the EO, the complaint center is defined as a “mechanism where citizens may report their complaints and grievances on acts of red tape as defined under RA No. 9485 and other relevant laws, and/or corruption of any national government agency, government-owned or -controlled corporation, government financial institution, and other instrumentalities of the government.”

 

 

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