July 15, 2013 Edition

Under the wealth-sharing annex signed by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (and the government Sunday, July 14, revenues will be divided between the Bangsamoro regional government and the national government using the following ratios: 75-25 in favor of the Bangsamoro for taxes and charges; 75-25 in favor of the Bangsamoro for profits from natural resources, such as metallic minerals; Equal share” for income from energy sources, such as petroleum, natural gas and uranium. For the “equal sharing” on energy sources, government peace panel chair Miriam Coronel Ferrer says “The principle there is for the Bangsamoro to benefit from these resources but at the same time, to be able to provide their contribution to the country.” The sharing allows the Bangsamoro government to achieve its goal toward fiscal autonomy. Both sides still need to finish two annexes – on power-sharing and normalization. The first annex – on transitional arrangements and modalities – was signed in February. The parties will meet again after Ramadhan.

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Cory Monteith, one of the stars of the US television show “Glee,” was found dead in a hotel room in Vancouver, Canada, on Saturday, July 13 (July 14 in Manila). The actor’s body was found at the Fairmont Pacific Rim Hotel. Police said the cause of death was not immediately apparent, but  ruled out foul play.  A statement by Vancouver PD disclosed that Monteith, 31, checked into the hotel on July 6 and was due to check out on Saturday. The hotel staff discovered his body after he missed his check-out time. In April, the star admitted himself to a drug treatment facility.

Read the full story here and here
Watch related video on Vancouver police news conference

Pakistan teenager Malala Yousafzai reaffirms her message the Taliban and other extremists “do not understand the importance of education.” The Taliban were among “people who think that when a woman goes to school she will be empowered, and they are afraid of it,” she emphasized. She also says she does not want to be known as the girl the Taliban tried to kill but as “the girl who struggled for her rights.” A day after making a widely hailed speech at the United Nations, the 16-year-old said she would devote her life for the education of girls. The UN appearance was Malala’s first public speaking engagement since a Taliban gunman shot her in the head last October in a bid to end her campaign to get girls into schools. The teenager, considered a strong candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize, said she was determined to keep her her struggle “for a right to live in peace, for a right to go to school.”

Read the full story here and here.

A Florida jury finds neighborhood watchman George Zimmerman not guilty of murdering unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin in a racially charged trial that polarized the nation. Zimmerman was accused of pursuing the teenager in Sanford, Florida, and shooting him during an altercation on February 26, 2012. Prosecutors say Zimmerman racially profiled Martin and instigated the confrontation, while his defense attorneys claim he acted in self-defense after Martin wrestled him to the ground and slammed his head on the pavement. Florida’s controversial “Stand Your Ground” law allows people to use deadly force to defend themselves. Following the verdict, protest marches were staged overnight in various US cities. In a statement issued by the White House Sunday, US President Barack Obama urges the nation to accept the verdict. Obama says, “The death of Trayvon Martin was a tragedy…I know this case has elicited strong passions. And in the wake of the verdict, I know those passions may be running even higher. But we are a nation of laws, and a jury has spoken.”

In its analysis of the trial, CNN says the nation was divided in how it saw the killing. To one side, Zimmerman was a gun-toting predator. To the other, he was just an overzealous citizen. To one side, Martin was an innocent teenager. To the other, he was a young man who decided to attack when he could have talked with Zimmerman or gone to the police.

Read the full story here, here, on NY Times and CNN

The death toll from the train disaster in Canada hits 35, after 2 more bodies are found Sunday in downtown Lac-Megantic. On July 6, a train with 72 tanker cars loaded with crude oil derailed in the Quebec town near the Canada-US border, triggering a massive fire in the town center. 50 are presumed dead. Two damaged and unstable buildings in the disaster zone are demolished Sunday afternoon to allow authorities safer access to the area as the search for corpses continues. The railway’s chairman says the disaster appears to have been caused by an engineer’s failure to properly set the hand brake on the runaway.

Read full story on Rappler

Asiana Airlines plans to sue US transport authorities and a TV station for mistakenly confirming and airing false and offensive names for the pilots behind its fatal crash in San Francisco last weekend. Fox network affiliate KTVU news Channel 2 in Oakland identified the pilots of the Asiana Boeing 777 as “Sum Ting Wong,” “Wi Tu Lo,” “Ho Lee Fuk,” and “Bang Ding Ow.” KTVU cited the National Transportation Safety Board as its source, but quickly realized the mistake and apologized. The NTSB later apologized for the “inaccurate and offensive names that were mistakenly confirmed” as those of the Asiana pilots. The agency explained an intern “acted outside the scope of his authority” by erroneously confirming the names of the flight crew. But Asiana says the incident “seriously tarnished the dignity of the four pilots as well as the company”. Three people died when Asiana Airlines Flight 214 crashed while landing at San Francisco International Airport on July 6.
More than 180 were injured.

Read full story here.

In a day of shame for athletics, three sprinters reveal they tested positive for banned drugs. On Sunday, Tyson Gay says he was told by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency that a sample from a test he took in May turned out positive. The former world champion from the U.S. pulled out of the world championships in Russia following the news, and added he did not knowingly take performance-enhancing substances. Reuters quotes him as saying, “I don’t have a sabotage story. I basically put my trust in someone and was let down. I made a mistake.” Later Sunday, Asafa Powell said the banned stimulant oxilofrine showed up in a test he took last month. In a statement, the former world-record holder from Jamaica says, “I have never knowingly or willfully taken any supplements or substances that break any rules. I am not now, nor have I ever been a cheat.” 28-year-old Sherone Simpson also reveals she tested positive for oxilofrine. The athlete, who won gold at the 2004 Athens Olympics in the 4×100-meter relay, says she would not  “intentionally take an illegal substance of any form into my system.”

Read the full story here.

Well-known British author J.K. Rowling is revealed to be the author of a critically acclaimed crime novel published under a pseudonym. The Sunday Times newspaper unveils the author of the best-selling Harry Potter books as the writer behind “The Cuckoo’s Calling”, a debut novel about a private detective who investigates a model’s suicide. It was purportedly written by Robert Galbraith, described by the publisher as a former member of the Royal Military Police. The newspaper looked into Galbraith after suspicions were raised at how a first-time author could write such an assured debut novel. After being outed, Rowling says, “I had hoped to keep this secret a little longer because being Robert Galbraith has been such a liberating experience. It has been wonderful to publish without hype or expectation, and pure pleasure to get feedback under a different name.” “The Cuckoo’s Calling” won praise from fellow crime writers when it was published in April. The Sunday Times says the book sold more than 1,500 copies in hardback and a follow-up is expected next year. Following Rowling’s revelation, the book shot up to the top of the charts in Barnes & Noble Inc.’s online store and at Amazon.com Inc.

Read the full story on Rappler, Wall Street Journal, and CNN 

Researchers who studied the rise of hookup culture among young people assumed most women were more interested in romance than in casual sex. But there’s growing realization that young women are initiating hook ups as a way to balance their personal goals and have an enjoyable sex life. In her book “The End of Men,” Hanna Rosin argues hooking up is a functional strategy for ambitious young women who want the best of both worlds. Sociologist Elizabeth A. Armstrong adds women at elite universities choose hookups because relationships are perceived to be too demanding and distracting from their goals. She says more young women see college as a life stage to focus on their own self-development. But Princeton alumna Susan Patton says these ambitious young women are making a mistake. In a letter she wrote in March to The Daily Princetonian, Patton urges young women not to waste the chance to hunt for a husband. She says, “They have gotten such strong, vitriolic messages from the extreme feminists saying, ‘Go it alone — you don’t need a man.'”

Read the full story on NY Times 

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