March 16, 2012 Edition

Turkmenistan defeated the Azkals 2-1 in the semifinals of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Challenge Cup on Friday, March 16 in Kathmandu, Nepal. Their loss spelt a foregone ticket to the finals. Phil Younghusband scored the sole goal for the Philippines on the 25^th minute, bringing the score to 1-0. The loss will pit them against whoever loses the North Korea-Palestine match, for a shot at 3^rd place. Earlier, the men’s Philippine football team made history by qualifying for the semifinals of the AFC Challenge Cup. It’s a first for the Azkals. They beat Tajikistan 2-1 on March 13 and India 2-0 on March 11. The game this Friday was  interesting to watch for many reasons. Rappler lists 5 of them. 

The Taliban broke off talks with the US while Afghan President Hamid Karzai asked the US to confine its troops to major bases by 2013. These twin developments spell a setback in efforts to bring about an orderly withdrawal of Nato troops from Afghanistan and speed up the transfer of security responsibilities to local forces. Karzai’s pronouncement came in the wake of reports about widespread Afghan anger over an American Army staff sergeant who went on a shooting spree, killing 16 civilians on Sunday, March 11. The unnamed soldier has been transferred to Kuwait. Details can be read here.

More from the New York Times. 

One of the rising stars of China, Bo Xilai, has been axed. The Communist Party chief of Chongqing – the largest metropolis in southwest China – was removed from his post, following a scandal that involved one of his deputies. Wang Lijun, a decorated policeman appointed by Bo to be his province’s police chief, later became vice mayor of the city and was instrumental in targeting mafia-like criminal groups in Chongqing. Wang however became the center of intrigue when he stayed for a day in the US consulate in Chengdu, six hours away by car from Chongqing. This fueled speculations of defection, which prompted an investigation. Bo was replaced by Zhang Dejiang, former party secretary of Guangdong. Both men are members of the policy-making bureau of the Communist Party. Details can be read here. 

More from the Washington Post. 

Shipping companies may have found a new tool to combat piracy: Twitter. Security experts have discovered that Somali-based pirates like to tweet, blog and post on Facebook. Increasingly, pirates have become more sophisticated and tech-savvy. Ransom payments have allowed them to purchase laptops, iPhones, and iPads, which have given them access to the World Wide Web and a better understanding of the shipping industry. As a result, security experts say, the high-seas clashes between pirates and commercial shippers has become a technology race as well. Al-Qaeda’s affiliate Al-Shabaab runs a Twitter account and publicizes its attacks and activities. In 2011, the total cost of piracy was pegged at US$7-B. More in this report from CNN. 

Tony Awards winner and Broadway play In the Heights runs again in Manila starting Friday, March 16, at the Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium of the RCBC Plaza in Makati. With Broadway creator and lead actor Lin-Manuel Miranda in the audience watching, the local cast led by singer Nyoy Volante recreates the story of a community’s dreams and individuals’ struggles for identity and independence. Miranda, who wrote the play in 2000 when he was a college sophomore, first played the lead role of Usnavi on Broadway. Director Bobby Garcia gave In the Heights a distinct Filipino flavor when Atlantis Productions first staged it in 2011. More in Rappler. 

The Bureau of Internal Revenue has targeted two real estate companies controlled by the former accountant of Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile. It has filed tax evasion charges worth P100.4-M against Virkar Realty Corp and Woodheights Realty and Development Corp, along with their corporate officers. BIR Commissioner Kim Henares led the filing of the cases at the Department of Justice. Among those named as respondents were Nora Bitong and Reynaldo Bitong. The former used to be a top executive of the Jaka Group of Companies, the Enrile family’s holding firm engaged in, among others, real estate. More in Rappler. 

In the extended discussions over the properties of impeached Chief Justice Renato Corona, what matters most in trying to prove corruption is acquisition cost. Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile told senators, prosecutors and defense counsels on Day 30 of the impeachment trial that fair market value, assessed value and current fair market value were irrelevant. Defense counsels said they wanted to establish that the amoutns declared by Corona in his Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN) had legal basis. Corona did not declare in his SALNs the acquisition cost of his properties. Details can be read here. 

Research shows that sleep is crucial for good health. It helps memory and mood, strengthens the immune system, fights inflammation, keeps you trim and your heart in good shape. Lack of sleep may affect your heart, in particular. Studies have shown that people who get less than 6 hours of sleep a night, along with those who don’t spend enough time in the deepest stages of sleep are candidates for heart attacks and strokes. Recent research also shows that lack of sleep could be contributing to problems like diabetes and weight gain. This is because sleep deprivation reduces sensitivity to insulin, while making it harder to metabolize blood sugar properly. Inadequate sleep also boosts levels of hormones that make us hungry, thus paving the way to weight gain. More here.

It was the wrong choice of song for Jessica Sanchez, the Filipino-Mexican-American 16-year-old contestant in American Idol. Singing Gloria Estefan’s “Turn the Beat Around,” Sanchez, who has been getting rave reviews, failed to wow the show’s judges during American Idol’s performance night. But despite a less-than-perfect performance on Wednesday, March 14 (Thursday, March 15 in Manila), Sanchez made the cut and can still become the next “American Idol.” The 16-year-old singer, who made it to the Top 10 finalists, will be officially part of the “American Idol” concert tour this summer. The teener admitted that her chosen song was “a bit of a challenge.” Details in Rappler.

Senator Manuel Villar supports the President’s anti-corruption campaign but is doubtful that removing Chief Justice Renato Corona from office is the right approach. Appearing on #TalkThursday for an exclusive interview with Rappler’s Maria Ressa, Villar warned that zeroing in on Corona might be tantamount to persecution. He added that the fight against corruption must be accompanied by economic growth. This kind of growth, he said, is the only sustainable approach to fighting corruption. On the impeachment, he refused to speculate how voting will turn out since many factors are at play in the impeachment court’s decision – including politics. Read more in Rappler. 

The video replay of the interview may be viewed here.