May 17, 2012 Edition

Top leaders of the House of Representatives are eyeing a review of the vast powers of the Ombudsman. These powers surfaced during the impeachment trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona. Senators and defense lawyers raised legal questions over the interpretation by Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales of her own powers. For instance, she was able to acquire — without a court order — bank records of Chief Justice Renato Corona from the Anti-Money Laundering Council. Speaker Feliciano “Sonny” Belmonte Jr said there may be a need to revisit the Ombudsman law (RA 6770), clarify and limit it, if found to be too vast. At the same time, he said, there was no abuse of authority by Morales in her exercise of her powers.

Read the complete story on Rappler. 

After Day 39 of the impeachment trial, there are 3 vital lessons that government officials and citizens interested in maintaining transparency and accountability can take stock of. These include the importance of the Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth submitted by officials; the need to update antiquated bank secrecy laws; and the power of the Office of the Ombudsman to pursue graft and corruption. Being in public service is demanding, journalist Marites D. Vitug wrote, because shady characters have no space in it. Likewise, there is a need to amend the country’s bank secrecy standards to make them fully compliant with global standards. And finally, Vitug pointed out, the higher good of promoting transparency and accountability among public officials should prevail over bank secrecy laws.

Read the complete piece by Marites D. Vitug on Rappler. 

Notwithstanding a throat condition, American Idol survivor and finalist Jessica Sanchez sang 3 songs that got mixed reactions from the judges. She sang “My All” by Mariah Carey, “I Don’t Wanna Miss A Thing” by Aerosmith, and “I’ll Be There” by the Jackson 5. While the songs were warmly applauded and received, Idol judge Randy Jackson said he did not like her rendition of the Jackson song all that much because there was “never a ‘moment’ moment.” The song was chosen by Idol mentor and music executive Jimmy Lovine because it would appeal to older audiences but still show Sanchez’s youth. On the other hand, rock star Steven Tyler, one of the judges, and the original voice behind “I Don’t Wanna Miss A Thing,” stood up and applauded her. “You just took a great song and made it greater. Thank you,” he said. Jennifer Lopez, for her part, praised Sanchez’s rendition of “My All,” saying, “You did it in your own way.”

Read the complete story on Rappler. 

The net income of the country’s second largest media group dropped by 27% in the first quarter of this year compared to the same period in 2011. It registered a net income of P388 million, compared to 2011’s P534 million. The drop was attributed to income from revenues which slipped from P2.87 billion also in the first quarter in 2011 to P2.7 billion in 2012. During a press conference, chairman Felipe L. Gozon said that unlike its main competitors ABS-CBN and TV5, they do not have “captive advertisers.” ABS, he said, has Colgate, while TV5 has Smart, Meralco, and the Philippine Long Distance Telephone company.

Read the complete story on Rappler. 

Will Greece leave the euro zone, where 17 countries use a single currency? Will elections set for June 17 bring about greater economic and political stability? These are among the lingering questions that Greeks are wrestling with, following a failure to form a coalition government earlier this May. Many Greeks are experiencing confusion, fear and frustration even as they prepare for new elections on June 17. Only last Monday, May 14, about 800 million euros were pulled out of the Greek banking system, sparking fears this would trigger a panic. Despite assurances that European leaders will support Greece, the Greek people still suffer from belt-tightening measures.

Read more on CNN. 

A decade after winning independence from Indonesia, East Timor, also known as Timor-Leste, will elect a new prime minister and government in elections this coming July. This Saturday, May 19, a day before its 10-year anniversary, President Jose Ramos-Horta, will hand over power to his elected successor, Taur Matan Ruak. It is a largely ceremonial post for Ruak, a former armed forces chief and ex-guerrilla fighter who won in an election that was regarded as orderly and fair. He will need to rebuild a nation that needs to fight corruption, poverty and an over-dependence on energy revenues.

Read the full story on Rappler. 

If you can distinguish between “gay” and “straight” faces within a fraction of a second, your “gaydar” is working.  American research has found that most people have an automatic “gaydar” that allows them to evaluate sexual orientation in less than a blink of an eye. It is more accurate when directed at women. Participants in the research were 65% accurate when guessing the sexual orientation of women, but only 57% correct when it came to men. The research, which involved 129 college students, was published in the online journal Public Library of Science ONE.

Read the full story on World News Australia.    

Coffee drinkers, rejoice! A report published online Wednesday, May 16, in The New England Journal of Medicine, said that frequent coffee drinkers have a lower risk of dying from a variety of diseases than those who drink little or no coffee. The study analyzed the coffee-drinking habits of more than 400,000 men and women from 50-71 years old. This is the largest-ever study of the link between coffee consumption and health. The study found that while coffee is a stimulant, it also contains hundreds of compounds and anti-oxidants that are beneficial to health. Data showed that the more coffee consumed by a person, the less likely he or she would die from health problems like heart disease, diabetes, and respiratory diseases, among others.

Read the full story in the New York Times. 

The details of the study are available in the New England Journal of Medicine. 

The new iPhone that will be released this year will likely have a screen that will measure 4 inches diagonally compared to the 3.5 inches than the current iPhone 4S has. Production by Asian suppliers is set to begin in June but Apple has refused to comment. Sources quoted by The Wallstreet Journal said Apple is working with South Korea’s LG Display Co, Japan’s Sharp Corp and Japan Display Inc. It has kept the iPhone’s 3.5-inch screen since its launch in 2007. Apple’s main competitor, Samsung, sells a more diverse variety of phones. Market research firm Strategy Analytics said Samsung has grabbed 30.6% of the global market in the first quarter of 2012, besting Apple’s 24.1% share. Both companies account for more than half of the world’s smartphones.

The full details are available in The Wallstreet Journal.