July 31, 2012 Edition

Michelle Fernandez

This is AI generated summarization, which may have errors. For context, always refer to the full article.

  1. GMA-7, TV5 in make-or-break deal

    RINGING IN THE FUTURE. GMA Network Chairman and CEO Felipe L. Gozon spoke to media after ringing the opening bell at the Philippine Stock Exchange in celebration of GMA's 5th anniversary as a listed company. Photo courtesy of Katherine Visconti.

    If there’s no agreement within the year, the deal is off. GMA-7 Network chairman Felipe Gozon said on Tuesday, July 31, the much-anticipated deal with TV5 chair Manuel V Pangilinan may push through in 2012, otherwise it will be terminated. The big boss of the country’s second largest media group said they “must prepare for new and better opportunities” ahead as negotiations with Pangilinan have entered a make-or-break period. Speaking at the Philippine Stock Exchange floor to mark GMA-7’s fifth anniversary of listing at the Stock Exchange, Gozon said TV is “in a constant state of flux” owing to technological advancements. He said he urges network employees to “strive to do better today than yesterday.”

    Read the full story on Rappler

  2. Lithuanian is first 15-year-old swim champ in 40 years; North Korean sets new record in weighlifting

    Ruta Meilutyte became the first 15-year-old in 40 years to become an Olympic swimming champion. The blonde schoolgirl was also the first swimmer to win a gold medal for Lithuania. She won the 100-meter breaststroke gold medal on Monday, July 30, besting American world champion Rebecca Soni. She clocked one minute 05.47 seconds, winning by just eight-hundredths of a second. Meanwhile North Korean Kim Un-Guk set a world record in total as he won the gold in the men’s 62-kg Olympic weightlifting event. Kim snatched 153 kg, a new Olympic record, and lifted 174 kg on the Clean and Jerk event for a total of 327 kg. He beat the previous record of China’s Zhang Jie by 1 kg.

    Read the full story on Rappler

    Read the full story on the new Olympic weighlifting record on Rappler

  3. UN convoy attacked in Syria

    A convoy of unarmed observers of the United Nations (UN) was attacked in Syria, UN leader Ban Ki-moon said on Monday, July 30. “Fortunately there were no injuries,” he told reporters. The 5-vehicle convoy carrying UN mission chief Gen Babacar Gaye came under small arms fire near the protest city of Homs. It was not known who fired the shots. Ban pleaded to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to stop the “violent measures” of his forces in Homs and Aleppo, the target of a major new assault. Ban said, “We are deeply concerned that they are using all sorts, all kinds of heavy equipment, including airplanes and attack helicopters and heavy weaponry. This is an unacceptable situation….The situation is getting worse and worse.”

    Read the full story on Rappler

  4. Next iPhone and smaller iPad out on September 12

    Reports have it that the next generation iPhone, along with an “iPad mini” will be announced on September 12. An MSNBC report quoting iMore’s Rene Ritchie says the new iPhone will start shipping on September 21. There’s been no word on the expected release date for the iPad mini but it should be available in time for the holidays. The iPhone will be similar to the iPhone 4S but will be slightly thinner, have a larger screen, and 4G LTE connectivity. The new iPad is expected to be about 8 inches diagonally with a plain, non-Retina display. It will be priced in the $250 range, or well over P10,000. The Wall Street Journal has confirmed that Apple will be holding an event during the week of September 12.

    Read the full story on MSNBC

    More details are available at iMore

    More from the AllThingsD.

  5. Earth’s rising temperatures caused by humans

    Over the past 250 years, the average temperature of the earth’s land has risen by 1.5 degrees centigrade, according to Berkeley Earth Project findings released on Monday, July 30. The project team led by professor Richard Muller, a formerly sceptical climate scientist, said that human activity is “the most straightforward explanation” for global warming. They cited the good correspondence between historical data on carbon dioxide emissions and the new temperature record. In an opinion piece written for The New York Times, Muller wrote, “Last year, following an intensive research effort involving a dozen scientists, I concluded that global warming was real and that the prior estimates of the rate of warming were correct. I’m now going a step further: Humans are almost entirely the cause.”

    Read the full story on BBCNews

    Other details are available in The New York Times

  6. Repairs on ‘leaning’ Collosseum delayed anew

    The Colosseum in Rome, Italy, 30 April 2007. Photo by David Iliff. License: CC-BY-SA 3.0 (via Wikipedia)

    Rome’s leaning ancient Colosseum needs urgent repairs but work has been pushed back to December. The former battleground of gladiators is tilting about 16 inches or 40 centimeters on its southern side, possibly due to cracked foundations. Site director Rosella Rea said, “It could be due to several factors: flaws in the original construction – though 40 centimeters is rather a lot for that case – or problems with the foundations.” The 3-year restoration project was supposed to start in March but was postponed to July and pushed back to December. Considered as one of the masterpieces of Roman architecture, the Colosseum was designed as a 50,000-seat amphitheater completed in 80 AD under Emperor Titus. Chunks of the amphitheater arches fell in December 2011, following similar reports of damage the year before.

    Read the full story on Rappler

  7. 3-girl Russian punk band pleads not guilty to hooliganism

    An all-girl, Russian punk rock band, Pussy Riot, pleaded not guilty on Monday, July 30, to charges of hooliganism after performing a song that criticized President Vladimir Putin. “Mother Mary please drive Putin away,” the band screamed in February inside Christ Savior Cathedral, one of Moscow’s most sacred cathedrals. Calling it a punk prayer, the members of the feminist protest band were arrested soon after and have been in custody ever since. Hooliganism carries with it a potential 7-year sentence and Amnesty International on Monday said the singers must be released immediately. They had been making “a legitimate protest – this is not a criminal offense.” Pussy Riot specializes in sudden, often illegal public performances, including one in Moscow’s Red Square.

    Read the full story on CNN

  8. JBC decides De Lima’s fate next week

    The Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) will decide on Monday, August 6, whether or not it will disqualify Justice Secretary Leila de Lima from its shortlist of nominees for chief justice. The shortlist will be submitted to the president for his final selection. He has until August 29 to name a new chief justice. The complaints against De Lima stemmed from her decision to defy an order of the Supreme Court (SC) to allow the Arroyo couple to travel abroad. The SC on the other hand will hold oral arguments this Thursday, August 2, on the plea by lawmakers to reconsider an earlier SC ruling that reduced their representation in the JBC to only one. The Senate and the House of Representatives believe they should each have one representative because the legislature is bicameral. Pending decision by the High Court, representatives of the legislative branch pulled out of the JBC deliberations. Sen Joker Arroyo will argue for the Senate before the SC.

     

    Read the full story on Rappler.

    A related story on the Supreme Court oral arguments is available on Rappler.

     
  9. Nothing to fear – China

    On the eve of the 85th anniversary of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), the Chinese defense ministry said the development of the Chinese armed forces “poses no threat to any nation” as they merely aim to “safeguard state sovereignty, security, and development interests.” Wu Xihua, PLA vice director of the Emergency Response Office, said the military has a long way to go to match “the world’s advanced levels” even as China opposes military intervention in the South China Sea. At the same time, Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario said the Philippines has no intentions of matching China’s military capabilities. Instead, he said, “What we are looking for is to establish a minimum credible defense posture.” The pronouncements come in the wake of territorial disputes in the South China Sea. China has established a military garrison while the Philippines filed a diplomatic protest over this incident on July 24.

     

    Read the full story on Rappler.

     

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