March 13, 2013 Edition

The first black smoke emerged from the chimney on the Sistine Chapel roof on Tuesday, signalling that the cardinals meeting in a secret conclave have failed in their first vote to elect a new pope. As the smoke billowed out of the chimney, tens of thousands of onlookers in St Peter’s Square cheered in excitement or booed in mock disappointment.

Read the full story on Rappler. 

Malaysian authorities finally allowed the Philippine humanitarian and consular teams to assist Filipinos affected by the standoff in Sabah Tuesday, March 12. The teams, now in Lahad Datu and Semporna/Tawau districts, have been waiting for a go signal from the Malaysian government since Friday. Meanwhile, another batch of Filipino evacuees arrived in Bongao, Tawi-Tawi Wednesday, March 13, from Taganak Island. Around 500 evacuees fled Sandakan, Sabah, to the island.

Read more on Rappler’s PH humanitarian team finally in Sabah and Ship with Sabah evacuees waited for Mar.

Global oil prices rebounded to a two-week high on Tuesday (Wednesday, March 13) in line with the falling dollar and as traders snapped up bargain crude following recent losses. The OPEC oil cartel also held its 2013 global crude demand forecast, with US demand expected to be flat after two years of falling and Japanese consumption roughly at the same level as well. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, which accounts for 35% of global supply, projected in its March monthly report average 2013 demand of 89.7 million barrels per day, up 0.8 million from 2012.

Read the full story on Rappler.

Elections supplier Smartmatic-TIM, whose performance in the country’s first automated polls in 2010 has been heavily criticized by several quarters, has been awarded its sixth supply contract for the 2013 elections. The newest contract will have Smartmatic and its venture partner running the call center that will provide operations and technical support services to field personnel of the Commission on Elections who will be manning the vote counting machines. The contract, awarded on March 2, amounts to P111,555,454. The original budget pegged by Comelec for the project was P131,040,000.

Read the full story on Rappler.

NASA scientists says the Curiosity rover has uncovered proof of an environment that could have supported life on Mars. An analysis of a Mars rock sample by the rover showed minerals, including hydrogen, carbon and oxygen, that are the building blocks of life. The six-wheeled robot, with 10 scientific instruments on board, is the most sophisticated ever sent to another planet. The rock sample was drilled from a sedimentary bedrock sample and found to contain clay minerals, sulfate minerals and other chemicals. Based on the analysis of those chemicals, researchers were able to determine that the water that helped form the rocks were of a relatively neutral pH. John Grotzinger, Curiosity project scientist from the California Institute of Technology says the environment they found was “habitable, benign and supportive of life.”

Read the full story on Rappler.

Military tensions on the Korean peninsula have risen to its highest level in years following threats by North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un to “wipe out” the South Korean border island of Baengnyeong. North Korea came under new economic and diplomatic fire this week with the US imposing sanctions and the United Nations filing charges of gross rights abuses in response to Pyongyang’s third atomic test last month. Civilian emergency shelters on the island had been fully stocked and all village councils put on high alert. The disputed sea border off the west coast was the scene of deadly naval clashes in 1999, 2002 and 2009. In 2010, 46 people were killed when the South Korean naval vessel Cheonan was sunk in the area of Baengnyeong.

Read the full story on Rappler.

A heavy late-winter snowstorm battered northwestern Europe on Tuesday, causing the cancellation of hundreds of flights, suspension of train services and huge traffic jams. The unseasonable snowfall — coming only eight days before the official start of spring — also knocked out power to thousands of people in France and left hundreds of motorists stranded in their cars. France was worst affected but Germany, Britain, Belgium and the Netherlands also reported major disruptions.

Read the full story on the BBC.

First, the Reproductive Health (RH) law. Now, it’s the issue on mining that’s on tarpaulins being put up by local churches. In South Cotabato, the Diocese of Marbel is planning to put up tarpaulins highlighting pro- and anti-mining candidates once the campaign period for local posts stats on March 29. The tarpaulins will be put up in entrances of parishes across the Diocese, said Marbel Bishop Dinualdo Gutierrez, who is a staunch opponent of the open-pit mining operation in his area. Gutierrez said the tarps’ aim is just to inform voters, not to campaign for or against any candidate.

Read the full story on Rappler.

US authorities began investigating Tuesday, March 12, after hackers posted personal financial data belonging to First Lady Michelle Obama, the head of the FBI and several A-list celebrities online. Hackers using a Russian web address published the credit reports and social security numbers for Obama, Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Robert Mueller, US Attorney General Eric Holder, and Los Angeles Police Chief Charles Beck. They also posted social security numbers and other personal information relating to Vice President Joe Biden and former first lady and secretary of state Hillary Clinton.

Read the full story on Rappler.

The New York State Supreme Court trashed plans by New York Major Michael Bloomberg to ban the sale of large sugary drinks in establishments. According to the ruling of Supreme Court Judge Milton Dingling, Bloomberg exceeded his authority by addressing the issue before the city’s Board of Health and not the City Counci. A lawyer for Bloomberg says an appeal will be fled to address the “erred ruling”.  

Read the full story on the Wall Street Journal.