November 23, 2012 Edition

Three years ago today, 58 people were massacared in Ampatuan, Maguindanao. It’s all in the numbers…of the 197 identified suspects, 99 have been arrested but no convictions have been made. 130 motions have been filed by the defense panel, 3 potential witnesses have been killed, 27 is the number of years estimated for a verdict to be reached. Rappler takes you back on a 59 second journey of remembrance. Our hope is that many other voices will stand for theirs. 

Read more on Rappler

Israeli soldiers stationed near the Northern Gaza border and Hamas supporters in Gaza City hold separate celebrations over the recently forged cease-fire between Israel and Gaza, both parties claiming victory. The truce negotiated by Egyptian President Mohamed Morsy took effect Wednesday after 8 days of counter-strikes that resulted in the death of 163 Palestinians and at least six Israelis. In a televised speech, Islamic Jihad leader Mohammed Hindi thanked those who supported the resistance acknowledging the important role that Iran played in terms of funding and the provision of weaponry. Hindi also called for continued vigilance despite the truce, “We should be ready through our unity, through our resistance, to keep the perseverance and steadfastness of our people.”

Read more on CNN

Fresh from his recent success in brokering the truce agreement between Israel and Gaza, Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi gave himself new powers that prevent courts from overturning any decree he has made since assuming office last June. These powers will exist until a new constitution is put in place. This move saw the ire of Morsi’s political rivals who say effectively the President has afforded himself executive, legislative and judiciary powers. On Twitter former presidential aspirant Khaled Ali called it, “the birth of a new dictator.” A 100-man council formed to draft a new Egyptian constitution are also protected by a new decree that prevents the council from being dissolved. The council has 6 more months to finish.

Read more on CNN

Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Tagle will be appointed cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church on Monday November 24, along with 5 other non-European prelates. Pope Benedict XVI will appoint them in an unexpected second consistory within the year  – a move welcomed by critics concerned that the body which will elect the future pope is too Eurocentric. Observers consider Tagle, a potential papal contender. Noted for his young, modern approach, Tagle has, in less than a year become a prominent voice in the global Catholic Church. Shortly after being named cardinal in October 2011, Tagle challenged the Church to be humbler saying that people will not listen if the church continues to be a, “know-it-all type of institution.”

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“Pilgrim style,” is how one American described his Thanksgiving meal, less than a month after Hurricane Sandy ravaged the United States East Coast, leaving at least 131 dead. Americans all over the country celebrated the annual holiday through different means: those whose homes were damaged by the superstorm had Thanksgiving dinner in emergency shelters; the better-off offered food to those in need, seeing the holiday as a chance to give back; in New York City, one of the areas worst-hit by the storm, the annual Macy’s day parade managed to bring cheer into a city still reeling from the damage caused by Sandy. 

Read more about how Americans are celebrating Thankgiving post-Sandy on the Chicago Tribune. 

Israeli police have arrested a man suspected to be involved in a Wednesday bombing of a bus in Tel Aviv which left 17 injured. The suspect, an Arab-Israeli from Taibeh in Israel, detonated the bomb using a cellphone, and allegedly acted on orders from Hamas and Islamic Jihad, according to Israeli police spokesperson Mickey Rosenfeld. An investigation on the blast is ongoing. The bombing occurred as the US, the UN, and the Egyptian government tried to broker a truce between Israel and Hamas. The ceasefire was declared a few hours later at 1900 GMT on Wednesday. 

Read about the bombing on Rappler, the arrest on CNN and the Gaza truce on Rappler 

Royal Opera House’s Tony Hall joins the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) as it’s new director director general in the wake of child sex offender allegations against Jimmy Savile. Hall’s appointment comes after a 10-day emergency selection process. He will receive 450,000 pounds a year for the job. Speaking during an appearance at Broadcasting House, Hall said “it’s been a difficult few weeks for this organization” but that he is confident that “together we’ll get through it.” Hall also remarked that he “cares passionately about the BBC, about what it can do,” and that he plans “to build a world-class team for this world-class organization”. Hall’s predecessor, George Entwistle resigned  over the corporation’s reporting of child sex abuse.

Read more on Guardian

A male dolphin transferred from the Philippines to a marine park in Singapore died during its flight Thursday, November 22. WenWen, a 10 year old bottle nose was imported from the Solomon Islands and brought to the Philippines where he was trained. He along with 25 other dolphins were transferred to the SEA Aquarium and Adventure Cove Waterpark in Singapore. The park, set to open next year is touted as the world’s largest with 100,000 marine animals. Wildlife activists in both Singapore and the Philippines had fought to stop the transfer. A Philippine court had initially granted the transfer but another court overturned it. 

Read more on Rappler

After more than a decade of being on world maps, the world coastline database, and being visible via Google Earth – researchers from Sydney discovered that Sandy Island in the Coral Sea off Australia does not exist. The team of geologists were on a 25-day expedition to study plate tectonics when they realized the island was in their route but as crew member Dr. Steven Micklethwaite points out – they were surprised with their discovery, “We decided to actually sail through the island…lo and behold there was nothing! The ocean floor didn’t ever get shallower than 1300 meters below the wave-base. There’s an island in the middle of nowhere that doesn’t actually exist.” According to Danny Dorling president of the British Society of Cartographers, says the case of Sandy Island is probably due to  human error but didn’t rule out the possibility of the island actually existing somewhere nearby.

Read more on Guardian

Rihanna rules the Billboard Hot 100 Songs chart with her latest single ‘Diamonds’, making it her 12th chart-topper. She joins the ranks of pop powerhouses Madonna, Michael Jackson, The Beatles, and Mariah Carey. Her latest album made it to the number one spot in iTunes charts in 43 countries.  Last year’s singles S&M and We Found Love also landed the number one spot.

Read more on BBC