November 18, 2013 Edition

President Benigno Aquino III said he intends to stay in Tacloban for as long as it takes, or until he’s satisfied with the results of relief efforts in the two provinces badly hit by Super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan): Leyte and Eastern Samar. The President conceded he failed to see some changes he had hoped to witness one week after the onslaught of the killer typhoon. The government however claimed all 40 municipalities of Leyte now have access to relief supplies. The total cost of damage has breached the P10-billion mark, while official death toll stood at 3,976 as of November 17.

Read two stories on this on Rappler here and here.

Super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) is an example of climate change that should serve as a warning to mankind, said UN leader Ban Ki-moon. The UN chief said the world was facing a tipping point, as countries thresh out a deal to be signed in 2015 to cut Earth-warming greenhouse gas emissions. “There are a lot of people on Earth who seem to believe we have two Earths,” Ban lamented. But what has happened in the Philippines shows how climate change “is affecting all of us on Earth.”

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Responding to calls for transparency in the aftermath of Super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan), the government has launched an online tracker of humanitarian aid given by foreign countries and organizations. The Foreign Aid Transparency Hub (FAiTH) is “an online portal of information on calamity aid and assistance – both in cash and in kind – that are received by the Philippines from other countries, multilateral organizations, and those sent through Philippine embassies abroad.” As of November 17, FAiTH, which can be accessed at www.gov.ph/faith, reported that the Philippines has received a total of P9.11 billion worth of foreign aid, with P4.73 bilion in cash, P2.09 billion in non-cash donations, and P2.29 billion in pledges.

Read the full story on Rappler.

The impact of Haiyan will likely reduce 4th-quarter Gross Domestic Product growth by as much as 0.8 percentage point, according to Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan. The country’s economy is expected to grow by only 4.1% in coming quarter, he added. Before Yolanda struck, the Philippine economy was projected to grow over 7%. Eastern Samar, for instance, saw 80% of its coconut trees – the base of the region’s economy – destroyed, and congressman Ben Evardone said it would take a minimum of 3 to 5 years for new plantings to bear fruit.

Read the full story on Rappler.

A Boeing 737 belonging to a domestic Russian airline crashed on November 17 while attempting to land at an airport in western Tatarstan, killing all 50 people on board. “According to preliminary information, all the people on board the flight, 44 passengers and six crew members, were killed,” a ministry spokeswoman said. He added there were no children among the passengers. The jet, arriving from Moscow’s Domodedovo airport, crashed on landing in the city of Kazan.

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With ties already strained, reports said November 18 that Australian spy agencies attempted to listen to the phone calls of Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and targeted his wife and senior ministers. Secret documents leaked by US intelligence fugitive Edward Snowden, obtained by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and The Guardian newspaper, name the president and 9 of his inner circle as targets of the surveillance. This prompted Indonesia to announce it was recalling its ambassador to Australia. Yudhoyono’s office also demanded an explanation from Canberra.

Read the full story on Rappler.

South Africa’s Nelson Mandela remains “quite ill” and is unable to speak, using facial expressions to communicate as he receives intensive medical care at home, his former wife said. Winnie Madikizela-Mandela said the 95-year-old was not on life support but he was no longer talking “because of all the tubes that are in his mouth to clear (fluid from) the lungs.” Mandela was discharged on September 1 to his home in Johannesburg’s upmarket Houghton suburb after nearly 3 months in hospital for a lung infection.

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Opponents of the construction of a party venue at the historic Taal Basilica in Taal, Batangas, has won a breather from a local court. The Taal Regional Trial Court has temporarily stopped the construction of the controversial Jubilee Hall events venue following a petition filed against it. Sculptor Ramon Orlina, who campaigned to stop the construction, earlier asked the court to issue a temporary restraining order to Taal parish priest Alfredo Madalangbayan, who is behind the party venue project. A presidential decree states that altering the original features of a National Historical Landmark without permission from the National Historical Commission is illegal.

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For her humanitarian work in at least 40 missions around the world, movie star Angelina Jolie was awarded an honorary Oscar on November 16, at the Governors Awards ceremony in Hollywood. Since 2012, Jolie has travelled around the world as a special envoy for the United Nations Refugee Agency. “It was only when I began to travel that I understood my responsibility to others,” Jolie said upon receiving the award. “I realized how sheltered I had been and I was determined never to be that way again.”

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Team Pacquiao is leaving Monday, November 18, on a chartered flight to Macau where he faces the acid test of proving he still has what it takes to become a world boxing champion again. The fight with hard-punching American Brandon Rios will be held in Macau on Sunday, November 24, at the Cotai Arena of the posh The Venetian Hotel. Pacquiao last fought in December 2012, when he suffered a heartbreaking knockout loss to perennial nemesis Juan Manuel Marquez. Team Pacquiao says it’s going to be a different story on Sunday.

Read the full story on Rappler.