June 10, 2014 Edition

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  1. Social media reacts to a singing Bong Revilla

    Screengrab from Rappler live stream

    He spoke, he sang, and he drove them crazy. Senator Bong Revilla delivered an emotionally-charged MTV-style privilege speech before the Senate Monday. On the verge of tears, Revilla pulled out his own list, which turned out to be a “thank you” list honoring family, friends and supporters. He caps the speech with a music video featuring a song he sung himself. Public outrage and disbelief ensued on social media, with netizens turning current catchphrase “Boom Panes”, a disparaging retort into “Bong Panes”. Gabrielle de Juras tweeted, “It’s a little insulting to think that the senator thinks he can sway the Filipinos with such theatrics.” Jodesz Gavilan said, “Revilla pulled a Beyonce on us. Debuted a song without prior marketing.” Adrian Cuenca used the emoticon of a dog poo to express his feelings. He said, “This is what I think of his speech.” The Janet Napoles parody account said she’s hurt, she wasn’t mentioned in Revilla’s thank-you list. Memes included memorable phrases from the speech such as “tama na ang pagbebengga” and “my conscience is clear.” And of course someone created a parody Twitter account – @songrevilla.

    Read the full story on Rappler.

  2. China claims Vietnam rammed its ships 1400 times

    File photo by Luong Thai Linh/EPA

    On Sunday, China defended deploying an oil rig in waters also claimed by Vietnam. A statement on China’s foreign ministry website said the drilling operations near the Paracel Islands fall within China’s “sovereignty and jurisdiction.” Tensions over the oil rig sparked violent anti-Chinese riots in Vietnam last month. It accused Vietnam of acting aggressively towards Chinese personnel by “illegally and forcefully disrupting” work and ramming Chinese boats 1,400 times. A Vietnamese fishing boat sank near the rig on May 26. Vietnam released footage showing a large Chinese ship chasing and ramming the fishing boat. China claims nearly all of the South China Sea conflicting with claims by Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan, Vietnam and the Philippines.

    Read the full story on Rappler.

  3. Boxing champ now a basketball head coach

    Photo by Josh Albelda

    After dominating the world of boxing and entering public service, Manny Pacquiao turned to professional basketball. On Monday, the boxer was named head coach of the KIA Columbian Autocar Corporation in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). KIA is one of 3 new teams entering the PBA in its 40th season, which will start on October 19. Pacquiao said his modest, short-term goal for the team is to not be an embarrassment. The Sarangani representative is also preparing for his next bout on November 23 which will collide with the PBA’s season-opening Philippine Cup conference. Pacquiao assured basketball and boxing fans that everything will be a matter of time management.

    Read the full story on Rappler here and here.

  4. Angelina Jolie leads summit vs sexual violence in conflict

    Actress Angelina Jolie, special envoy for the UN Commissioner for Refugees, will join British Foreign Secretary William Hague and delegations from over 100 countries in a summit that aims to put an end to using rape as a tool of war. A Filipino delegation composed of key figures in the peace process in Mindanao will also participate in the summit. To raise awareness, the #TimeToAct campaign released a video animation featuring child-like drawings “to illustrate the awful reality that many children, women and men face in conflict zones.”  UN figures show that between 100,000 and 250,000 women were raped during the 3 months of genocide in 1994 in Rwanda. More than 60,000 women were raped during the civil war in Sierra Leone in 1991-2002, more than 40,000 in Liberia in 1989-2003, up to 60,000 in the former Yugoslavia in 1992-1995, and at least 200,000 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo since 1998.

    Read the full story on Rappler here and here.

  5. Arrests follow viral video of sex assault

    File photo by Wael Hamzeh/EPA

    Egyptian police arrested seven men accused of sexually assaulting women at inauguration celebrations for President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. The arrests came after a graphic video of one attack went viral triggering public outrage. The footage shows a crowd of men surrounding the young woman, who was stripped off her clothes and badly bruised, as police escorted her to an ambulance on Cairo’s iconic Tahrir Square. The video appears to have been taken on a mobile phone. A security official authenticated the video, saying police had arrested seven men for assaulting and stripping the 19-year-old student. One twitter user said, “Sexual harassment in Tahrir… is absolutely disgusting. I have no words. So appalled and ashamed.” The Egyptian interior ministry said police had arrested seven men aged 16 to 49 as “they had harassed a number of girls during the celebrations in the Tahrir area.”

    Read the full story on Rappler.

  6. What are the signs of malnutrition?

    Graphic by Mara Mercado/Rappler.com

    Malnutrition is a national problem. More than half a million Filipino schoolchildren are too thin for their height, while globally, one-third of all child deaths are related to malnutrition. How do you spot a child suffering from malnutrition? Malnourished children tend to have brittle, sparse and yellowish hair; long, curly eyelashes (due to poor protein synthesis and lack of keratin); a smooth tongue (sign of chronic deficiencies of Vitamin B12, folate or iron); a weak immune system, eye infections, bloated stomach (due to water retention in body tissues); and skin wounds that don’t heal properly. Bodily functions are also impaired, such as the function of the heart, kidney, brain, and intestines.

    Read more on how to help prevent and treat malnutrition. See Rappler’s #HungerProject.

  7. Anesthesia before age one can harm memory

    A study says general anesthesia before the age of one may impair memory later in childhood and even throughout a person’s life. Scientists who compared the recollection skills of two groups of children found that those who were anesthetized as babies had about 28% less recollection on average than their peers. Recollection plays a role in autobiographical memory, classroom learning and reading comprehension. The team said this may reduce the child’s potential to learn over time, but added the more research is needed to determine how long the impairment will last. Other studies have shown that anesthesia can kill brain cells and affect the working of synapses, but its impact on human memory has been unclear. It is also not known whether anesthesia might have a similar brain effect when given to older children or adults.

    Read the full story on Rappler.

  8. Police crackdown on pre-World Cup protest

    File photo by Fernando Bizerra Jr/EPA

    Police in Sao Paulo fired tear gas at about 300 protesters supporting a subway strike three days before the city hosts the World Cup kick-off. Subway workers earlier staged a strike to demand an increase in wages, despite a labor court ruling the strike was illegal. The move caused massive traffic jams and transport chaos in the city of 20 million people. The protests come as World Cup teams arrive in Brazil, with heads of state expected to arrive for the opening ceremony and match. Authorities are keen to resolve the latest labor dispute and avoid further embarrassment in a World Cup hit by delays and cost overruns even before it has started.

    Read the full story on Rappler.

  9. The best of the World Cup songs

    Jennifer Lopez pulls out of performing the official World Cup song “We Are One,” which has been criticized for being generic. But there are other alternative, unofficial anthems to appeal to football fans. BBC Culture picked five of the best songs: an updated version of Monty Python’s 1979 track “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life;” Shakira’s follow-up to her 2010 World Cup song, a new beat with thumping rhythms called “La La La (Brazil 2014)”; the viral hit song Zinedine Zidane by the band Vaudeville Smash; the “official unofficial” US World Cup anthem by The Soccer Gods titled “Red, White and Blue;” and Lily Allen’s garage pop tune “Bass Like Home.”

    Read the full story on BBC.

  10. Highlights of Tony Awards 2014

    Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions/AFP

    Emotional wins and powerhouse performances from some of the best of theater mark this year’s Tony Awards. Among the highlights of theater’s big night: a killer performance of “Frozen” star Idina Menzel, with her rendition of “Always Starting Over” from If/Then, and being introduced as the “wickedly talented” Idina – a throwback to her flubbed introduction at the Academy Awards. Audra McDonald makes history after winning her Tony for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play for her work in Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill. She now has 6 Tonys, the most wins for an actress. Neil Patrick Harris also wins his first Tony, and staged a performance that included giving Sting a lapdance and planting a big kiss on longtime partner David Burtka. The classic Les Miserables returns to the stage, with Ramin Karimloo in the lead as Jean Valjean, while popular musical “Wicked” celebrates its 10th anniversary.

    Read the full story on Rappler.

    See the full list on Rappler.

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