Rappler Newscast | July 23, 2014

Today on Rappler.

• Joko Widodo is Indonesia’s new president. He says “Forget number 1 and number 2 and return to a united Indonesia!”
• Major international flights avoid war-torn Israel.
• President Benigno Aquino hits the Supreme Court for hypocrisy.

IT’S OFFICIAL: JOKOWI WON INDONESIA ELECTION
It’s official – Jakarta Governor Joko Widodo or Jokowi and former vice president Jusuf Kalla win Indonesia’s third presidential election.
The two lead by almost 8.4 million votes.
The General Elections Commission or KPU declare Jokowi and Kalla the winners 9pm Tuesday or 10 pm Manila time after citing provincial tallies…
showing the pair winning in 23 provinces and a total of 53.15%, or almost 71 million votes, of some 133 million votes cast.
As he was declared winner, Jokowi delivered a speech saying: “Let’s forget number 1, forget number 2. Let’s return to a united Indonesia.”
Number 1 was the electoral number of his rival, former general Prabowo Subianto and running mate Hatta Rajasa, while number 2 was Jokowi and Kalla’s.
Jokowi also thanked Prabowo and Hatta.
Hours before the official announcement, Prabowo withdrew from the elections and rejected the results.
He said the process was marred by massive and systematic fraud.

2 FIGHTER JETS SHOT DOWN IN UKRAINE
Two Ukrainian military fighter jets get shot down in the eastern part of the country Wednesday.
In a report from the Associated Press, Ukraine’s Defense Ministry says the Sukhoi-25 fighter jets were shot down at 1:30 pm or 7:30 pm Manila time Wednesday over an area called Savur Mogila.
The defense ministry adds, the planes may have been carrying up to two crew members each.

MH17 WRECKAGE ‘SIGNIFICANTLY ALTERED’ – INT’L GROUPS
Wreckage from MH17 had been “significantly altered” by the time international monitoring groups arrived at the eastern Ukraine crash site Tuesday…
five days after the plane was shot down.
Officials from the Organization for Security and Cooperation say the jet was sliced apart with diesel-powered saws.
NBC News reports, the group on the ground says the plane could have been sliced to retrieve victims’ bodies.
On Tuesday, a train carrying the bodies of most of the 298 victims arrived in the Ukrainian-controlled city of Kharkiv before being flown to the Netherlands.
The Amsterdam-to-Kuala Lumpur flight was carrying 193 Dutch citizens.
The MH17 tragedy involved a series of frustrations for Dutch and Malaysia Airlines investigators.
The victims’ bodies were left to decompose in 85-degree Fahrenheit weather before being loaded on a train compromising evidence from the crash site.
Ukrainian separatists turned over the black boxes from the wreckage Tuesday.

AIRLINES CANCEL ISRAEL FLIGHTS OVER GAZA ROCKET THREAT
Major US, European and Canadian airlines cancel flights to and from Israel after a rocket from Gaza struck near Tel Aviv’s international airport Tuesday.
The cancellations highlighted fears of a rocket hitting a passenger jet
in the wake of a plane allegedly being shot down over war-torn Ukraine.
In the United States, the Federal Aviation Administration or FAA banned US airlines from Tel Aviv for at least 24 hours, citing the
“potentially hazardous situation created by the armed conflict in Israel and Gaza.”
London-based EasyJet announced it would also suspend services to and from Tel Aviv for 24 hours, and said in a statement that beyond that, it would “review its operations to and from Israel on a day by day basis.”
Greece’s Aegean Airlines tweeted as of 0400 GMT Wednesday, it would suspend flights between Athens and Tel Aviv.
The European Aviation Safety Agency recommended that all European airlines avoid Tel Aviv “until further notice.”
Among the other European airlines to announce flight cancellations were Air France, Lufthansa and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines.

CHINESE BLOGGER JAILED FOR RUMORMONGERING
China sentences a blogger critical of the Communist Party to 6-and-a-half years in jail.
Digital entrepreneur Dong Rubin – also known to his 50,000 Weibo followers as “Bianmin” had long taken the government to task for issues ranging from environmental safety to police brutality.
Xinhua news reports, Dong was found guilty of conducting “illegal business operations” and “fabricating and spreading online rumors for economic gain.”
Dong rose to prominence in the early days of Chinese microblogging and quickly gained a following due to his outspoken stance on issues.
In 2009 he criticized the government’s handling of the case of Li Qiaoming, a 24-year-old man who died from severe brain injuries while in police custody.
In 2013, Dong gained attention when he opposed the construction of a petrochemical plant.
China launched a national campaign against “rumors” last September, with Internet users facing 3 years in prison for writing defamatory messages reposted 500 times or viewed more than 5,000 times.

PH DEPORTS ALLEGED AUSSIE JIHADIST SUPPORTER WITHOUT CHARGES
Philippine authorities deport suspected terrorist Musa Cerantonio to his native Australia Tuesday, 11 days after he was captured.
The Bureau of Immigration says Cerantonio took a 9:10 pm Philippine Airlines flight to Melbourne, Australia.
Police say he would not be charged.
Cerantonio will arrive in Melbourne Wednesday.
The 29-year-old Cerantonio is a Christian convert to Islam.
Using social media, he urges Muslims to join the jihad in Syria and Iraq.
Australian police say Cerantonio’s social media posts are considered “offensive and disturbing,” but have “not breached Australian law to this point.”
He earlier tweeted he was leaving the Philippines to join the fighting in Iraq under terrorist group ISIS.
A source earlier told Rappler that Cerantonio stayed in the Philippines for nearly a year.
He was arrested in Lapu-Lapu City July 11.
Philippine officials earlier said Cerantonio was arrested at the request of the Australian government.
He was deported because Australia cancelled his passport, making him an illegal alien.

AQUINO: SC ‘AGREED’ WITH DAP-LIKE MECHANISM
Once again, President Benigno Aquino hits the Supreme Court over its decision to declare illegal features of the Disbursement Acceleration Program or DAP.
Speaking at the 150th anniversary of hero Apolinario Mabini in Batangas, Aquino says the DAP’s objective was to swiftly deliver benefits to the public.
Aquino continues to hit the judiciary for requesting a fund transfer under a mechanism similar to the DAP.
He insists the DAP was not a “haphazard decision.”
Aquino says the Supreme Court in July 2012 had P1.865 billion or $43.15 million in savings earmarked to augment the fund for the construction of the Manila Hall of Justice, and held a groundbreaking ceremony for the building the following month.
The President adds, in 2012 the Justice Department had P100 million or $2.3 million for the Manila Hall of Justice.
Malacañang received a letter of request from the Supreme Court to have it transferred to the tribunal.
Aquino says the Court withdrew its request in December 2013, when the executive branch was under attack over the DAP.
Aquino had been criticized for attacking the Supreme Court on its D-A-P ruling.
His own presidential campaign manager, Senator Serge Osmeña, says these are counterproductive to the administration’s bid to get the decision reversed.
Despite the public criticisms, Aquino says his administration is prepared to accept the final ruling of the Supreme Court, which the government appealed.

SANDIGAN TO BANKS: TESTIFY ON LUY’S 19 ACCOUNTS
Anti-graft court Sandiganbayan orders banks to produce records on pork scam principal state witness Benhur Luy’s 19 bank accounts.
In a subpoena issued Tuesday, the court’s 1st division ordered 5 banks to send representatives and bring records
for the bail hearing of Senator Bong Revilla.
At the hearing on Thursday, Luy will be called to testify on the diversion of Revilla’s discretionary funds to ghost projects.
Banks summoned to the hearing are: BDO Unibank, Metropolitan Bank and Trust Company, Bank of the Philippine Islands, United Coconut Planters Bank, Landbank of the Philippines in Leyte, and Landbank of the Philippines branch in the education department complex.
Stephen David, legal counsel for alleged scam mastermind Janet Napoles, says the bank records will show state witnesses such as Luy amassed millions from the scheme.

THE wRap: YOUR WORLD IN ONE READ

TAIWAN BATTERED BY ITS FIRST TYPHOON FOR 2014
Typhoon Matmo battered the island-state of Taiwan with Category 2 winds of up to 165 kilometers per hour.
Matmo made landfall early morning Wednesday.
Prior to landfall, residents were urged to tie down commercial signs and construction scaffolds.
Around 5,400 tourists were evacuated from Green Island and Orchid Island, two popular scenic spots off the southeastern Taitung country Tuesday.
Several ports were packed with hundreds of fishing vessels that returned from sea to avoid the typhoon.

ROBERT DOWNEY JR. IS HIGHEST PAID-ACTOR – FORBES
Forbes Magazine lists Iron Man star Robert Downey Jr as the highest-paid Hollywood actor for the second straight year in a row.
Downey reportedly earned $75 million from June 2013 to June 2014, with much of the earnings coming from the third Iron Man movie.
Former wrestler Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson lands in second place, with an estimated $52 million.
Bradley Cooper came in third with $46 million, followed by Leonardo DiCaprio with an estimated $39 million.

For the full top 10 visit Rappler.com’s ‘the wRap.’

EXHIBITION GAME BETWEEN GILAS, NBA ALL-STARS CANCELLED
The exhibition game between select NBA players and national team Gilas Pilipinas turns out to be a PR calamity.
On Tuesday, fans anticipated a three-point shootout and a slam dunk contest
during PLDT Home’s ‘Last Home Stand’ All-Star Charity Event.
But the event went from spectacle to disaster in a matter of hours.
Gilas head coach Chot Reyes announced to fans in the auditorium that instead of an exhibition matchup a live practice involving drills between both sides would take place.
And what was supposed to be a two-day treat for basketball fans was cut short with the cancellation of the Wednesday event.
The audience took their frustrations online with a flurry of tweets carrying the event hashtag #LastHomeStand mostly furious over the event’s unkept promise of a game.
A rule in the contracts of the NBA players prohibit them
from participating in non-sanctioned events.
Reports say this triggered the cancellation.
President of event handler East West Private Maria Espaldon said the event was never advertised as a game.

MARIA ESPALDON, EAST WEST PRESIDENT: We have always told everybody that you cannot announce a game. If you look back, we’ve vetted everything. Tweets by MVP have been very, very clear. We’ve not actually said that there was a game.

PLDT chair and Gilas patron Manny Pangilinan apologized to Filipinos who paid to see an exhibition game but had to settle for practice drills.
Disappointed fan Red Ollero says he feels cornered over the refund.

RED OLLERO, BASKETBALL FAN: They offered a refund pero sabi nila para daw sa charity so, na-corner kami, wala kaming magawa. They were all hyping it up na “sinong mas magaling dito, point guard natin o si Kyle Lowry, and wala. Masaya sana ‘to but as you can see people are going out and they’re not satisfied with what they paid for.

(They offered a refund but reminded us the event was for charity so we felt cornered, we couldn’t do anything. They were hyping it up like “which player is better, our point guard or Kyle Lowry,” but it didn’t happen. This was supposed to be fun.)

But Tiger Villanueva, a fan who brought his son to the event, is expecting a refund.

TIGER VILLANUEVA, BASKETBALL FAN: Maybe the sponsors can do something about it. We understand that maybe they had nothing to do with it. So maybe they can just do something for us to be able to get our money back.

Organizers said those unhappy with the live practice can claim refunds for the price of admission they paid.
Ticket prices ranged from P750 to P23,300.

– Rappler.com

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER / WRITER	Lilibeth Frondoso
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	Emerald Hidalgo
	Jaene Zaplan
TECHNICAL DIRECTOR / CAMERAMAN	Charlie Salazar
	Adrian Portugal
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GRAPHICS	Jessica Lazaro
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