July 8, 2013 Edition

Nina Landicho

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

  1. Pilots asked to abort landing of Asiana flight, 2 dead, 181 injured


    Pilots tried to abort the landing just 1.5 seconds before Asiana Flight 214 crashed at San Francisco International Airport. According to a CNN report, the National Transportation Safety Board says the pilots appear to have increased speed 7 seconds before impact, and they then “called to initiate a go-around 1.5 seconds to impact.”   Preliminary assessment of the plane’s cockpit and flight data recorders by NTSB show the flight was coming in too slow. But when asked if pilot error was to blame, NTSB Chairman Deborah Hersman said “I would discourage anyone from drawing any conclusions at this point.” NTSB says according to the recorders, the flight approach appeared normal as the 777 descended, and “there is no discussion of aircraft approach” among the crew. The target speed for the approach of Asiana Flight 214 was 137 knots, and the crew can be heard on the cockpit voice recorder acknowledging the speed, Hersman said. But the speed was significantly below 137 knots, and “we are not talking about a few knots,” she said.  CNN also reports a Federal Aviation Administration bulletin says the plane’s Instrument Landing System, or ILS — which helps pilots correctly approach the runway — was not operating at the time.  The NTSB has ruled out weather as a problem and said that conditions were right for a “visual landing.”  National security officials also told CNN there are no signs that terrorism was involved. The Boeing 777 touched down heavily on the runway close to the water’s edge before it disappeared in a cloud of smoke. It is still unknown why the the plane was flying close to the seawall. The pilot flying the plane was a veteran who had been flying for Asiana since 1996. Asiana Flight 214 was at the end of a 10-hour direct flight from Seoul, South Korea. The accident killed two people, injured 182 and forced the temporary closure of one of the country’s largest airports. 19 survivors remained hospitalized, six of them in critical condition.


    Read the full story here, here, and here.

    Watch related video about the plane crash on CNN

     

  2. Murray wins 1st Wimbledon, ends 77 year British drought

     

    HISTORIC. Andy Murray ends the 77-year British men drought as he dominated Novak Djokovic to win the Wimbledon title. Photo by EPA/Gerry Penny

    Andy Murray dominated Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon championship ending a 77-year wait for a Wimbledon men’s champion. Murray took 3 straight sets (6-4), (7-5), (6-4) against world number one Djokovic. It was the 26-year-old Murray’s second Grand Slam title to follow his breakthrough triumph at the US Open back in 2012. Murray and Djokovic played through 40-degree heat.  Djokovic grew increasingly frustrated as he slipped on the court several times. Djokovic was gracious in his defeat recognizing the tremendous amount of pressure that was on Murray’s shoulder with the entire UK egging him to win the Wimbledon title. “He deserves to win,” said the Serbian standout.



    Read the full story here.


  3. 36 die in clashes before ‘make or break’ peace talks with MILF

    File photo of BIFF fighters

    At least 31 Muslim rebels and 5 soldiers were killed in clashes as peace talks aimed at ending a decades-old rebellion are set to resume. The military says the splinter guerrilla group Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters set off a roadside bomb as a military truck drove past in Datu Piang, killing 3 soldiers. The rebels simultaneously attacked an army detachment in another section of the town, killing two other soldiers. BIFF spokesman Abu Misry confirms his group was behind Saturday’s attacks. Regional military commander Maj Gen Romeo Gapuz says “The BIFF is hell-bent on derailing the peace talks by launching simultaneous attacks against civilian and military installations.” Gapuz says the armed forces are pursuing the attackers. 6th Division spokesman Col. Dickson Hermoso confirms soldiers penetrated Ganta in Shariff Saydona Mustapha, a BIFF stronghold, resulting in heavy casualties on the enemy side.  The fighting occurred before the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), the country’s largest Muslim guerrilla force, were to resume talks in Malaysia Monday, July 8. The peace talks aim to create an autonomous region for the Muslim minority in Mindanao in the south.

    Read the full story here and here.

  4. Islamists challenge Morsi’s overthrow

    PROTESTS. Supporters of ousted Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi gather as they protest near the headquarters of the Republican Guard, in Cairo, Egypt, 06 July 2013. Photo by EPA/KHALED ELFIQI
    American diplomats are trying to persuade the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt to accept the overthrow of President Mohamed Morsi even as the islamist group vows to broaden its protests. The New York Times reports American diplomats contacted Brotherhood leaders to persuade them to reintegrate into the political mainstream. An Islamist, speaking on condition of anonymity says “They are asking us to legitimize the coup,” adding that accepting the ouster of an elected president would spell the death of Egyptian democracy. The United States Embassy in Cairo declined to comment. This early, splits among the country’s newly dominant political forces show. On Saturday, state news media said Nobel Prize-winning diplomat Mohamed ElBaradei had been chosen as prime minister, but the presidency later backed away from the report after ultraconservatives rejected ElBaradei for being too secular. The infighting leaves a power vacuum that makes it unclear who is running the country. Over the past few days, authorities rounded up Muslim Brotherhood officials and shut down television stations, including Islamist channels. Since then, thousands of Islamists have held a vigil for Mr. Morsi at their new base in Rabaa al-Adawiya Square and outside the officers’ club of the Republican Guard. At the same time, supporters of the military takeover redoubled their efforts to gain international support for Mr. Morsi’s ouster.

    Read the full story here, here and here.

  5. Abu Qatada deported from UK for trial in Jordan

     

    ABU QATADA. A handout picture from the British Home Office shows radical Islamist cleric Abu Qatada stepping out of a police van before boarding a privately chartered jet at the RAF Northolt base in west London, early on July 7, 2013, as he gets deported to Jordan. AFP PHOTO/ HO / SGT RALPH MERRY ABIPP RAF / MOD CROWN

    Radical cleric Abu Qatada is being held in a high security jail near the Jordanian capital Amman, after being deported from the UK. A BBC report says Prime Minister David Cameron is “delighted” at his removal. Abu Qatada was first arrested in the UK over terrorist connections in 2001 and has fought deportation since 2005. The cleric’s deportation was finally able to proceed after the UK and Jordan signed a treaty agreeing that evidence obtained through torture would not be used against him. Abu Qatada, whose real name is Omar Othman, was granted asylum in the UK in 1994 but was later seen by authorities as a threat. Military prosecutors charged Abu Qatada with conspiracy to carry out a plot to bomb American and Israeli tourists during Jordan’s millennium celebrations. His associates include Richard Reid, the would-be mid-Atlantic shoe bomber, and Zacarias Moussaoui, another terrorist. In deporting Abu Qatada, Home Secretary Theresa May says she has succeeded where many other home secretaries failed. The government intends to change the law to ensure fewer deportation appeals.

    Read the full story here and here.

  6. 5 dead, at least 40 missing as investigators probe rail disaster in Canada

     

    INFERNO. An aerial photograph shows a fire caused by the derailment of a 73 car freight train hauling crude oil as it consumes a large part of Lac Megantic, Quebec, Canada. Photo by EPA/Royal Canadian Mounted Police

    Five people died and at least 40 are missing after a freight train hauling crude oil is derailed in the Quebec town of Lac Megantic. Saturday’s catastrophic crash decimates the center of the small town, leveling more than 4 blocks of the downtown area.  It took firefighters 18 hours to contain the blaze. About 2,000 were forced to flee their homes. The operator of the train, Montreal Main & Atlantic Railway Inc., says the train stopped in the neighboring town of Nantes for a crew changeover. An engineer inspected the train, checking that it was running and that its air-brake system was engaged to hold it in place. For unknown reasons, the train was switched off, which may have disengaged the brakes. Police say several investigations are ongoing to determine the cause of the derailment.

    Read the full story here and here

  7. Brazilian mob decapitates soccer referee after he stabs player

    Otavio Da Silva photo via Facebook.com

    A football referee in northern Brazil is decapitated by an angry mob after he fatally stabbed a player for refusing to leave the pitch. The BBC reports referee Otavio da Silva stabbed Josenir dos Santos during a June 30 match, after Santos challenged the referee and refused to leave the field after being sent off. The referee then pulled out a knife and repeatedly stabbed Santos, who died on his way to the hospital. The player’s friends and relatives stormed the field and stoned the referee to death before decapitating him. Police say one man has been arrested for the killing and investigations continue.

    Read full story here and here.

  8. Pope sets standards, Villegas new CBCP president

    MODEL PRIEST. Pope Francis embraces a new priest during Mass at St Peter's Basilica in Vatican City, April 21. During the mass the Pope ordained 10 new priests. File photo by EPA/Ettore Ferrari

    Known for his simple lifestyle, Pope Francis hits priests and nuns seeking luxurious lives, renewing a call for a modest lifestyle. In a Vatican event Saturday, Francis tells seminarians and novices, “It hurts my heart when I see a priest or a nun with the latest model of cars.” He adds, “Cars are necessary. But take a more humble one. Think of how many children die of hunger and dedicate the savings to them.” Since his election in March, Francis’ modest lifestyle — beginning with his decision to live in the Vatican guesthouse instead of the papal residence — has surprised the world. Meanwhile in the Philippines, the bishops’ collegial body names a protégé of the late Manila Archbishop Jaime Cardinal Sin as its new president. Archbishop Socrates Villegas of Lingayen-Dagupan will succeed Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma as head of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines. He assumes his new post on December 1, 2013.

    Read full story here and here

  9. Company, NGO contribute beyond their means to elex campaigns

    Graphic by Raffy De Guzman

    There’s something curious about some of the biggest contributors to the campaign of senatorial bets Jack Enrile and JV Ejercito. An NGO with a startup capital of only P90,000 gave P44 million to Ejercito’s campaign, while a family business with an income of P82 million contributed P135.96 million to the Enrile campaign. Based on the Schedule of Contributions Received submitted by the candidates to the poll body, Enrile got P150.8 million in campaign contributions. The Enrile family’s Pacific Royal Basic Foods Inc. practically bankrolled his failed bid with a generous P135.96 million contribution — even though the company only had a net income of P81.84 million in 2011. JV Ejercito’s own bid got P20 million from his mother, re-elected San Juan Mayor Guia Gomez. His biggest contributor though was an NGO called JV Para sa Bayan Movement Inc, which poured P43.69 million into his campaign — this, despite reporting a capital of only P90,000. The NGO was incorporated on December 13, 2012, or 5 months before this year’s midterm elections. Its incorporation papers say the NGO aims to “uplift the lives and standard of the Filipino youth through education and employment.”

    Read full story here

  10. Nicaragua and Venezuela offer asylum to Snowden

    edward snowden nsa whistleblower

    Nicaragua, Venezuela and Bolivia offer asylum to fugitive US whistleblower Edward Snowden, who remains stranded in a Moscow airport after leaking details of a secret government surveillance program. Nicaragua reveals details of Snowden’s letter, in which the ex-intelligence contractor says he is seeking asylum “because of the risk of being persecuted by the (US) government and its agents.” He writes, “Under the circumstances, it is unlikely that I would receive a fair trial or appropriate treatment before trial.” Nicaragua is one of three Latin American countries in recent days to offer possible asylum to Snowden. On Saturday, Russian lawmaker Aleksei Pushkov says political asylum in Venezuela would be the “best solution” for Snowden. He tweets, “The country has a sharp conflict with the United States. It will not be worse.” The New York Times reports the US and Venezuela recently began talks for reconciliation, but a senior US official says this would end if Venezuela helped Snowden.

    Read the full story here and here.

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