April 15, 2014 Edition

The Guardian and the Washington Post shared a Pulitzer Prize for reporting on the vast US spying network exposed by former National Security (NSA) contractor Edward Snowden. The two newspapers won the award for public service journalism for sparking debate on secretive NSA programs. In arguably the most influential story of the decade, The Guardian and Post broke sensational ground by exposing how the US government monitors the data of millions. Both newspapers relied on documents leaked by Snowden. The leaks embarrassed the US government and strained relations with allies. In a statement, Snowden said the Pulitzer decision “is a vindication for everyone who believes that the public has a role in government.” But Republican congressman Peter King hit the move on Twitter, saying: “Awarding the Pulitzer to Snowden enablers is a disgrace.” Among the other Pulitzers, The Boston Globe staff won the breaking news award for its coverage of the Boston Marathon bombings. The New York Times won awards for breaking news photography and feature photography.

Read the full story on Rappler. 

The phone of the co-pilot of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 was on and made contact with a cell tower in Penang, Malaysia about the time the plane disappeared from radar. CNN cited a U.S. official saying there was no evidence the co-pilot, Fariq Abdul Hamid, had tried to make a call. The Penang tower detected the co-pilot’s phone searching for service roughly 30 minutes after authorities believe the plane made a sharp turn westward. The U.S. official said the information reaffirms radar and satellite data that the plane was off course and flying low enough to get a signal from a cell tower. The revelation belied earlier reports in a Malaysian newspaper that the co-pilot had tried to make a phone call while the plane was in flight. The search for the missing Malaysian plane enters a new phase with the deployment of underwater vehicle Bluefin-21 to search for the black box and the plane’s wreckage.


Read the full story on Rappler and CNN.

A new survey showed 7 out of 10 Filipinos are satisfied with the performance of President Benigno Aquino, but his approval ratings dropped among the upper and middle classes. The Social Weather Stations or SWS survey said 66% are satisfied with Aquino’s performance while 21% say they are dissatisfied for a net rating of +45 or “good.” Aquino’s March net satisfaction rating is 4 points lower than in December 2013, when he scored a +49. The most significant drop in his approval rating was among Class ABC. In March 2014, Aquino got a “good” +39 rating down 29 points compared to his “very good” +68 rating in December 2013. The survey results also showed Aquino got higher approval ratings in rural areas than in urban areas, although the latest net figures were lower compared to December last year.

Read the full story on Rappler.

Planning to travel during Holy Week? If you’re leaving by sea, expect more passengers at the ports on Holy Tuesday. Based on the latest data from the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), 14,215 outbound passengers are recorded in the ports. The number is expected to peak at 200,000 until Tuesday morning.  The PCG has been on heightened alert in preparation for the Holy Week. Most Filipinos travel by land, sea, or air to visit their provinces in time for Semana Santa. In Metro Manila, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority on Monday announced the schedule of concrete road blocking along EDSA during the Holy Week. Road work along EDSA southbound will begin at 2 pm on Wednesday and will end at 8 pm on Friday. EDSA northbound work will begin at 8 pm on Friday and will end at 5 am on Monday. Check the list of affected roads on Rappler.

Read the full story here and here.

The Philippines warned its overseas nationals about a deadly disease in the Middle East that has reportedly affected 7 Filipinos. This figure includes two who died and 5 others who “remain in quarantine as a precaution.” In a statement, the Department of Foreign Affairs advised Filipinos in the Middle East to “take necessary precautions and to follow the advice of the local health authorities in their host countries.” On Friday, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported 212 laboratory-confirmed cases of MERS infection worldwide. The MERS virus is considered a deadlier but less-transmissible cousin of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) virus that erupted in Asia in 2003 and infected more than 8,000 people. Of the 212 MERS victims the WHO recorded, 88 have died.

Read the full story on Rappler.

The prosecution accused Oscar Pistorius of faking emotion to dodge tough questions about the death of his girlfriend, as his second week of testimony in the murder trial began Monday. Frustrated with the athlete’s frequent crying in the witness box, prosecutor Gerrie Nel toughened his questioning and accused Pistorius of crocodile tears. Nel said, “Mr Pistorius, you’re not using your emotional state to escape, are you? You’re getting frustrated because your version is improbable and you’re getting emotional.” During six days of testimony, Pistorius often broke down when asked about the moments he fired the 4 shots that killed Steenkamp. He has repeatedly claimed that he fired the shots fearing an intruder was behind the bathroom door.

Read the full story on Rappler.

US lawmakers want electronic cigarettes to be treated just like tobacco when it comes to sales and marketing. Senate and House Democrats said Monday that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has the legislative authority to step in. The FDA is expected to issue regulations on e-cigarettes later this year, but it is unclear whether it will include an advertising ban or sales restrictions to youths. E-cigarettes are battery-operated aerosols that deliver vaporized nicotine inhaled by the user. A report by 11 lawmakers called “Gateway to Addiction” found that of the nation’s nine manufacturers of e-cigarettes, six sell flavors such as Cherry Crush or Chocolate Treat that could appeal to children. The lawmakers estimated e-cigarette sales neared $2 billion in 2013.

Read the full story on Rappler.

A report by an analytics group says most mobile games have only a day to catch a player’s interest. According to Swrve’s New Players Report, only 33.9% of those trying a game out keep playing after the first day. Swrve also notes a “steep fall off,” with only 5.5% continuing to play a game past its 30th day. While 54.5% of those playing spent 5 sessions playing the game, 19.3% of players stop playing after their first try.

Videogame veteran Ben Cousins responded to the report by tweeting that 40% of players returning on the second day – “is great numbers, a sign of a real hit.” He says that such numbers “are totally normal” and “can drive success.”

Read the full story on Rappler.

One news article blurted out, “I climax every 30 seconds” to another write-up that said, “I have 100 orgasms a day!” Women with Persistent Genital Arousal Disorder (PGAD) are repeatedly and incorrectly labelled nymphomaniacs. The Guardian reported, “PGAD actually has very little to do with orgasms, and absolutely nothing to do with pleasure.” The condition, mostly experienced by women, is characterised by a feeling of genital congestion and pelvic pain. The Guardian described it as being “permanently on the verge of an orgasm that they can’t complete – a sort of chronic clitoral constipation.” A standard medication for PGAD does not exist.

Read the full story on The Guardian.

“King Charles III,” a play with an audacious plot about the British royalty opened in London to glowing, if somewhat scandalized, reviews. The New York Times reported the new play by Mike Bartlett imagines Charles as paranoid and power obsessed, dissolving Parliament and parking a tank outside Buckingham Palace. Prince William’s steely and pragmatic wife, Kate, plays a decisive role in saving the monarchy and preventing civil war. Ads for the play – showing the real Prince Charles dressed for his coronation – were banned until replaced with a heavily pixelated version. Most advance tickets have already sold out. Written like a Shakespearean play, NYT said it “explores what might happen if a British monarch bucked centuries of tradition and refused to rubber-stamp the will of Parliament.”

Read the full story on NY Times.