January 22, 2013 Edition

The Philippine government announced Tuesday, January 22, that it will elevate its territorial dispute with China to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS).

In a press conference today, Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario said the government decided to bring the disputes in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) to Annex VII arbitration under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). The Philippines will ask the arbitral tribunal to declare China’s claims as invalid, and that the said maritime areas should follow. Del Rosario said the PH asserts that the 9-Dash Line claim is against the UNCLOS, of which both the Philippines and China are signatories, and thus “unlawful.”


Read more on Rappler. 

Five years after the global financial crisis hit, unemployment numbers continue to soar, with a record 202 million people worldwide expected to be officially jobless in 2013. According to the International Labor Organization’s (ILO) annual report on global employment trends jobless numbers rose by 4 million to 197 million in 2012 close to the all-time record of 199 million reached at the height of the global financial crisis in 2009. Young people have been especially hard-hit by the expanding jobless trend, ILO points out that there are currently some 73.8 million youths, aged 15 to 24, without work worldwide.


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Barack Obama was publicly sworn in Monday for a second term as US president, before a flag-waving crowd of hundreds of thousands. Obama raised his right hand and rested his left on Bibles once owned by Martin Luther King and Abraham Lincoln, on an outdoor platform set on the West Front of the US Capitol building and below its elegant white dome. The president, the first African American to hold the office, launched his second term with a private swearing-in ceremony on Sunday, before basking in the full pomp of his office with public celebrations Monday.In his inaugural address the President talked about the challenges America faces today and how they are related to the founding principles of America. He called for unity and collective action, “My fellow Americans, we are made for this moment and we will seize it so long as we seize it together.” 


Read more on Rappler here and here. 

Six Filipinos are among the 37 hostages that were killed in a Algeria gas hostage according to the Department of Foreign Affairs. DFA Spokesperson Raul Hernandez said, “The deaths of the 6 Filipinos were a direct result of the hostage taking incident in the area and mostly by gunshot wounds and the effects of the explosions.” Four other Pinoys who were also held hostage remain missing. The identities of the Filipino fatalities have not yet been released to the public.


Read more on Rappler. 

The US Navy ship that ran aground on Tubbataha Reef Natural Park has started to flood.

A US Navy Publication dated Monday, January 21 says “multiple spaces” are flooded on board. The same publication notes that the digital mapping system misplaced the location of the reef by about 8 nautical miles and that this “may have been a significant factor” that led to the crash. At least 17 m of the hull have already penetrated the reef after the vessel turned 90 degrees due to the strong currents and winds. Aerial surveys conducted by American air craft indicate that there are no fuel leaks, but “the hull continues to be battered, particularly on the port side.” The US Navy has apologized for the accident but may still face fines if found guilty of entering the area without permission and destroying natural resources inside the award-winning conservation project and UNESCO World Heritage site.

Read more on Rappler. 

The City Council of Davao has placed 15 barangays under a state of calamity after a flooding that affected more than 40,000 residents. P53.53 million, from the 217.3 million disaster funds of the local government, was also released to provide assistance to more than 12,000 families or 40,000 residents affected by the flood. According to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), continuous heavy downpour caused flooding in Davao del Norte, Davao City, Compostela Valley, North Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, and Misamis Oriental. At least 3 persons were confirmed dead. The NDRRMC said P5.16 million-worth of food and non-food relief packages has been delivered to affected residents in Davao City and Sultan Kudarat. Search and rescue operations are still being conducted in several affected areas.


Read more on Rappler. 

Prince Harry’s 5-month deployment to Afghanistan has ended. Britain’s second in line to the throne speaking about his role as an Apache helicopter pilot says that he has shot and killed Taliban insurgents. Responding to a journalist, “you are the man with the trigger in your hand, and if called upon, you will fire, and presumably you have and you will kill the enemy?” The royal answered “Yeah, so lots of people have. If there’s people trying to do bad stuff to our guys, then we’ll take them out of the game.” The prince adds that sometimes in order to save a life, one must take a life, but he clarifies that they are more of a deterrent than anything else. Prince Harry is the first member of the Royal Family to go into active duty since his uncle Prince Andrew was deployed to the Falklands War in 1982.


Read more on BBC. 

Authorities in the US and Japan have begun looking into a Japanese battery manufacturer and an American manufacturer of electronic components used in Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner aircraft. This follows a recent incident involving an All Nippon Airways (ANA) Boeing 787 aircraft that was forced to make an emergency landing due last week due to a battery malfunction. All 50 Dreamliners currently in operation have been grounded by authorities. Batteries on another Dreamliner operated by Japan Airlines also caught fire last January 7. 

Boeing says it will put deliveries of 787s on hold until the matter is resolved.


Read more on BBC.
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A new study shows that cases of Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in US children have increased 24% in the past decade. ADHD is a medical condition characterized by difficulty focusing/concentrating and impulsive behavior. The study is based on a review of medical records of children covered by the Kaiser Permanente Southern California health plan. Experts believe a driving factor for this increase may be the heightened awareness of the disease.


Read more on USA Today. 

Following rumors of the Samsung Galaxy Note 8, executives from Samsung revealed plans to set launch an 8-inch tablet at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. Korean site iNews24 says the announcement was made by Samsung Mobile Business Head Jong-Kyun Shin. Aside from its size no other specs were revealed. The device will go head-to-head with Apple’s iPad mini. Samsung android tablets include a 10.1-inch Galaxy Note 10.1 and the 5.6-inch Samsung Galaxy Note 2.


Read more on Engadget.