March 25, 2013 Edition

Michelle Fernandez

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

  1. Another clash in Sabah

    MORE DEATHS. Four are killed in another firefight in Sabah

    Malaysian authorities and suspected members of the Sulu royal army clashed again in Lahad Datu, Sabah on Sunday, March 24. Four people, including two children, were killed and two were hurt. Malaysian newspaper The Star said 4 bodies were recovered in a house in Tanjung Batu after a firefight with suspected followers of Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III. The dead included a man, a woman, a boy and a girl. 

    Malaysian security forces claimed over 60 people died in their encounters with members of the royal army. Kiram’s attempt to reclaim his “ancestral legacy” has had disastrous effects on Filipinos living in Malaysia. Refugees are pouring in to Tawi-Tawi and Sulu in small uncovered boats, many of them undocumented by the country’s social welfare agency. Filipinos in Malaysia, many of them without passports, fear a crackdown by Malaysian authorities is imminent.

    Read more on Rappler here and here


  2. Rodwell freed, 6 more foreigners held hostage

    U.S. forces assisted in transporting Rodwell from Pagadian City to Zamboanga City

    After 15 months in captify Australian Warren Rodwell is free. He was abducted from his home in Zamboanga Sibugay in December 2011.
    The Abu Sayyaf Group released Rodwell at the port area in Pagadian City. A short video taken by a journalist at the police station early Saturday showed a gaunt but smiling Warren Rodwell taking off his T-shirt to show off his body, smiling as he points to his ribs and says: “lose weight.” Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr on Saturday welcomed the release of Rodwell, congratulating the Philippines on its handling of the case. Australian Prime Minister Julia Gilliard also told a press conference she welcomed the release of Rodwell. “I think all Australians will be very pleased to hear this news and delighted on behalf of the Rodwell family.” The Abu Sayyaf previously released a series of video clips of Rodwell as proof he was still in their custody. In one of the videos, Rodwell said his captors were demanding US$2 million in ransom. After initially denying ransom was paid, Basilan Vice Governor Al Rasheed Sakalahul said he saw P4 million or about US$100,000 counted in front of Abu Sayyaf leader Puruji Indama and Roger Gutang, the brother of Rodwell’s wife. Rappler’s sources say a total of P7 million was paid with only P4 million reaching the kidnappers. There are 6 foreigners left behind in Abu Sayyaf hands after Rodwell’s release: Japanese Toshio, European birdwatchers Dutch Ewold Horn and Swiss Lorenzo Vinciguerra, Jordanian Al-Arabiya journalist Baker Atyani and 2 Malaysians, Wai Tung and Jie Tung. *Note: additions later with Rodwell’s families statements

    Read more on Rappler here and here

  3. Cyprus scrambles for & gets bailout

    EU and IMF officials struck a last-minute deal with Cyprus to resurrect a bailout for the island — but Bank of Cyprus will take a giant hit. The bank has one third of all holdings and holds most of the island’s offshore Russian deposits. The agreement involves breaking up Cyprus’ second largest lender Laiki and the Bank of Cyprus undergoing a forced wipeout of investment value, on all deposits of more than 100,000 euros. The new deal though protects smaller account holders, who will be covered by the European Union’s deposit guarantee legislation, which runs to the 100,000-euro threshold. Last week, the Cypriot Parliament rejected the original deal which would impose a one-time tax on all deposits in Cyprus banks to raise 5.8 billion euros.

    Read more on Rappler and New York Times

  4. Musharraf returns to Pakistan

    Pakistan’s former military ruler Pervez Musharraf returns Sunday after more than four years in exile to contest the country’s historic general elections on May 11. Musharraf seized power in a coup as army chief in 1999 and left the country in August 2008, when Asif Ali Zardari was elected president after the murder of his wife, former prime minister Benazir Bhutto. Bhutto’s assassination in December 2007 is blamed on Musharraf, with a 2010 United Nations report accusing his government of failing to provide her with adequate protection. But Musharraf points to the Pakistani Taliban as behind the killing. Musharraf is wanted by the courts over Bhutto’s death, the 2006 death of Akbar Bugti, a Baluch rebel leader in the southwest, and for the 2007 sacking and illegal arrest of judges. The Pakistani Taliban also threatened to dispatch suicide bombers to assassinate Musharraf. As ruler, Musharraf escaped three Al-Qaeda assassination attempts. He became a target for Islamist extremists after making Pakistan a key US ally in the “war on terror” after the 9/11 attacks.

    Read more on Rappler

  5. Syrian opposition leader who wanted talks quits

     

    Moaz al-Khatib announces his resignation as the president of the main coalition of the Syrian opposition in exile. Khatib, who pushed for talks between the Syrian government and its armed opponents, hits foreign nations for withholding aid to the rebels and for trying to manipulate events for their own interests. It is not clear if Khatib is referring to the reluctance of Western countries to provide weapons or interfering in the choice of an interim prime minister. A coalition member says Khatib resigned because of interference from Saudi Arabia, which threatened to cut off financing if its favored candidate for prime minister is not elected. Khatib’s resignation comes five days after the coalition elected interim prime minister Ghassan Hitto, who rejects dialogue with the Syrian government. Some say Khatib’s resignation could set back the opposition’s efforts to end the two-year-old conflict. The Syrian Opposition Coalition still faces challenges in establishing leadership, even though it is recognized by several countries as the legitimate representative of the Syrian people.

    Read more on New York Times


  6. Cardinal Tagle inspires future leaders

     

    Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle returns from the Vatican in time to address the Ateneo de Manila University’s Class of 2013. With no script prepared, Tagle delivers an hour-long message to the graduates, telling them to find their true purpose in life and learn to find God in all things. He says, “When someone comes up to tell me, ‘I feel lost,’ I find myself replying: Just wait to be found. As you are searching for God, God is searching for you.” Tagle also shares anecdotes from his experience at the conclave to elect the new pope.
    Because he was often cited as a potential papal candidate, Tagle kept getting requests for photos from tourists, an experience that was starting to annoy him. But his encounter with a Filipina domestic worker made him rethink the purpose of all the attention. Tagle tears up and his voice cracks as he recalls how she thanked him for making the Filipino known to the world. Tagle’s message also draws tears from the audience and a standing ovation.

    Read more on Rappler

  7. Virtual Visita Iglesia? Click.

    VIRTUAL TOUR. This church in Mahatao, Batanes is one of the churches we will visit during Rappler's virtual Visita Iglesia. Photo by Fung Yu

    Rappler offers a multimedia tour of 14 Philippine Catholic churches in a virtual Visita Iglesia as part of a week-long package called Holy Week Online. Holy Week for Catholics formally opens on Palm Sunday, marking the start of events leading up to the death of Jesus Christ. 

    It ends with Easter Sunday, when he rises from the dead and brings salvation to the world. Some of the faithful visit churches (Visita Iglesia) to pray and reflect on the passion and death of Christ. If you’re unable to do the traditional Visita Iglesia, go on a virtual tour with Rappler’s multimedia package, which brings together visuals, music, and one-minute Bible readings to give the faithful time to pause in today’s fast-moving, stressful times. For the virtual Visita Iglesia, a version of the Stations of the Cross by the Vatican’s Office for the Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff serves as guide.

    Read more on Rappler

     


  8. PH maid Evangeline Vallejos loses permanent residency case

    View of Hong Kong and Kowloon from Victoria Peak, 2011. Photo courtesy of Wikipedia/chensiyuan

    Hong Kong’s top court rules foreign maids are not eligible to seek permanent residency. In a ruling Monday, the Court of Final Appeal says foreign domestic helpers are obliged to return to his or her home country. It adds, “Admission is not for the purposes of settlement and that dependants cannot be brought to reside in Hong Kong.” The decision ends a two-year legal battle by Filipina maid Evangeline Banao Vallejos, a mother of five who has lived in the city since 1986.
    In 2011, Vallejos won a High Court ruling granting her the right to request permanent residency status, denied to the city’s 300,000 foreign maids until then. But the decision was overturned on a government appeal. Foreigners can apply to settle in Hong Kong after seven years of uninterrupted residency, gaining access to voting rights and the right to live in the city without a work visa. Maids are specifically excluded.

    Read more on Rappler 

  9. TechRap’s BlackBerry Z10 Review

    Get your latest tech news in one bite on Rappler’s TechRap. Here’s the rundown: Twitter celebrates it’s 7th year. YouTube reaches 1B monthly users. Samsung confirms it is working on a smart watch, will it beat Apple to the punch? Just over a month after its launch MailBox is acquired by cloud storage firm Dropbox. And after Apple releases iOS version 6.1.3 which fixes the lock screen vulnerability, users soon discover the update brings about yet another lock screen vulnerability. And finally, following its media launch earlier this month, TechRap gives a hands-on review of the BlackBerry Z10.

    Read more on Rappler

  10. WHO raises alarm on rise of untreatable TB

    Blood samples are seen in the South African Tuberculosis Vaccine Initiative (SATVI) at Brewelskloof Hospital, on January 27, 2011, in Worcester, South Africa. AFP PHOTO/RODGER BOSCH

    Disease experts called for decisive leadership worldwide and more research funding to fend off the “very real” risk of an untreatable strain of tuberculosis as more people develop resistance to existing drugs. Extensively drug resistant (XDR) TB, thus far reported in 84 countries, does not respond to a wide range of drugs. “The widespread emergence of XDR tuberculosis could lead to virtually untreatable tuberculosis,” wrote the authors of one study. Most needed are new drugs and better, quicker diagnostic tools. WHO says 8.7 million people fell ill with TB and 1.4 million died in 2011. Over 95 percent of TB deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries, and it is among the top three causes of death for women aged 15 to 44. XDR TB requires about two years of treatment with even more expensive drugs that often cause side-effects and offer no guarantee of a cure.

    Read more on Rappler

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