Rappler Newscast | November 8, 2012

Today on Rappler.

• The head of China’s Communist Party calls for reform as the party’s leadership transitions.
• Chinese President Hu Jintao says China should become a “maritime power.” 
• The Philippine Ambassador to the United States says Washington supports a code of conduct to settle disputes in the South China Sea.

Story 1: CALLS FOR REFORM IN CHINA PARTY CONGRESS
Chinese President Hu Jintao calls for an economic revamp as he opens a week-long congress Thursday to inaugurate a new slate of leaders.
In his address, Hu says the Communist Party must fight corruption.
He adds, “If we fail to handle this issue well…it could cause the collapse of the party and the fall of the state.”
The congress, held every five years, will end next week with the installation of Vice President Xi Jinping as the party’s new general-secretary.
He is in line to succeed Hu as state president next March.

Story 2: HU: CHINA SHOULD BECOME ‘MARITIME POWER’
Chinese President Hu Jintao says China should become a “maritime power.”
Hu says China should “resolutely safeguard [its] maritime rights and interests.”
His comments come as China is locked in territorial disputes with its neighbors.
Relations between China and Japan worsen because of a row over a Japanese-controlled group of islands the two countries claim.
The Philippines and Vietnam are also contesting China’s claims in the South China Sea.
While noting China’s commitment to peaceful foreign relations, Hu says Beijing should build up its military power.

Story 3: U.S. ELECTIONS: IMPACT ON ASIA
Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose Cuisia talks about the impact of the US presidential elections on Asia.
With Barack Obama winning a second term, Cuisia says the re-electionist president will work more with Republicans to help solve America’s problems.

AMB. JOSE CUISIA, PHILIPPINE AMBASSADOR TO THE U.S.: I think the president will probably reach out to the Republicans much more to be able to tackle the problems that face the US particularly the fiscal deficit, the fiscal cliff, the huge debt that the US now has and which continues to grow. And he is aware that this can be solved only if the Republicans and Democrats can come to an agreement.

On territorial disputes in the South China Sea, Cuisia says Washington supports more dialogue among nations.
He adds, a code of conduct may provide a way to resolve disputes.

CUISIA: This code of conduct is expected to be a binding agreement that will of course be binding on all the members who signed that agreement and will have a dispute settlement mechanism. The declaration of conduct which was signed in 2002 between ASEAN and China is unfortunately a non-binding agreement and does not have a dispute settlement mechanism. The code of conduct will correct that. And we are hopeful that that code of conduct will be signed by China and ASEAN. We cannot say of course when but we hope that happens sooner rather than later.

Story 4: DESPITE OBAMA VICTORY, CLINTON STILL AIMS TO LEAVE
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton still plans to step down as America’s top diplomat despite President Obama’s re-election.
Obama earlier said he asked Clinton to stay on, but she refused.
US officials say Clinton intends to see through a smooth transition of a successor before stepping down at the end of her four-year term in January.
The secretary of state also rules out speculations she might aspire once again to become America’s first woman president.
Obama defeated her in the 2008 Democratic party presidential primaries.

Story 5: BRACE FOR ANOTHER STORM, PINOYS IN US EAST COAST TOLD
Filipinos in the US East Coast are advised to prepare for another storm, just barely a week after superstorm Sandy battered the region.
Although less powerful than Sandy, the storm is expected to bring strong winds and rain.
On Wednesday, the Philippine Consulate General in New York issued an advisory urging Filipinos to stay indoors and take precautions.
Affected communities in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Maine are advised to check updates on the storm.

Story 6: US JUDGE JAILS ANTI-MUSLIM FILMMAKER FOR A YEAR
The man behind the anti-Islam video blamed for sparking protests in the Muslim world is jailed Wednesday for breaching the terms of his probation for a previous offense.
Mark Basseley Youssef will spend a year behind bars after admitting four allegations of using false identities, violating the terms of his probation for a 2010 bank fraud conviction.
He is identified as the man behind the film “Innocence of Muslims,” which offended Muslims and sparked protests in September.
The film is linked to the attack on the US consulate of Benghazi which killed ambassador to Libya Chris Stevens.

Story 7: THE wRap: YOUR WORLD IN ONE READ
At number 7, Nate Silver, a stats whiz who came up with an algorithmic model for his election statistics blog, beats the pundits and calls the elections accurately in all 50 states.
His blog, fivethirtyeight.com, gives an electoral vote estimate and the probability of each candidate winning for each state.
In 2008, Silver’s model predicted 49 out of 50 states.

At number 8, Remember the hologram in 2008? In 2012, it’s the Empire State Building.
CNN delivers a spectacular election coverage feature.
The iconic Empire State Building used a custom LED panel technology that allows the building’s facade and mast to change lighting scenes in real-time.
When CNN projected Barack Obama as the winner of the presidential election, the tower lights of the Empire State Building changed colors to all-blue.

And at number 9, Turkish officials announce they are looking into deploying Patriot missile batteries along the Turkey-Syria border.
The move could provide a safe-haven to Syrian rebels by creating a no-fly zone over northern Syria.
The developments come in the middle of escalating attacks by Syrian insurgents.
The rebels blew up a judge who is also a top Assad loyalist — the second high-profile killing of a Syrian official.
The insurgents intensify attacks by lobbing mortar shells at a neighborhood that houses central government offices and a military airfield.

Story 8: STRONGER AZKALS TEAM TO COMPETE IN SUZUKI CUP
The Philippine men’s football team will begin their AFF Suzuki Cup campaign on November 24 in Bangkok, Thailand.
The Azkals will face three-time champion Thailand, 2008 champion Vietnam, and qualifier winner Myanmar.
Philippine head coach Michael Weiss believes the team will be competitive in the tournament.
He says, “They know each other better now and have cohesion.”
Team captain Chieffy Caligdong is modest in his assessment of the team.
He says, “We consider ourselves to be underdogs, but they should not underestimate us.”

– Rappler.com