April 5, 2012 Edition

Saying they were “responsible for the planning and execution of the attacks of Sept 11, 2001,” the United States on April 5 announced charges against Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and 4 others. It took a decade to firm up the charges against them. If convicted, they could be sentenced to death, CNN quoted the US Defense Department as saying. Aside from Mohammed, the others charged were Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak Bin ‘Attash, Ramzi Binalshibh, Ali Abdul Aziz Ali, and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi. They were charged with “terrorism, hijacking aircraft, conspiracy, murder in violation of the law of war, attacking civilians, attacking civilian objects, intentionally causing serious bodily injury, and destruction of property in violation of the law of war. The convening authority has referred all charges to a joint trial.”

Read the full story on CNN

Read the profile of Mohammed (better known as KSM) on Rappler

The militant al-Shabab group bombed a theater in Mogadishu that killed 8 people, including the head of Somalia’s Olympic committee and its football chief, and wounded 3 local TV journalists. Police said a woman carried out the suicide attack, but the armed group insisted it planted the bomb. The theater was just re-opened more than 2 weeks ago, and at the time of the attack Somalia’s prime minister was addressing guests who joined the first anniversary of the launch of the government’s TV station. Officials said this would not deter ongoing peace efforts in Somalia.

Read the full story on BBC

The first contingent of United States Marines has arrived in Darwin, Australia, to take part in so-called training exercises with the Australian Defence Force. The move has irked China, but US and Australian leaders said the deployment isn’t meant to contain the Asian giant. The Marines are on a 6-month stay, and this marks the first time the US has committed to a permanent rotation of its troops in Australia. American forces are already deployed in Japan, Guam, South Korea, and the Philippines, and Chinese officials have questioned the need for yet another American presence in the region.

Read the full story on BBC

About 2.4-M people in the world are victims of human trafficking at any one time, and majority of them are exploited as sex slaves, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime in New York. The UN report, made public April 3, said that criminals earn  US$32-B a year from this illegal trade, which has become one of the fastest growing crimes. Two out of 3 of victims are women, the report added. In contrast, only one out of 100 victims of trafficking is ever rescued.

Read the full story on Huffingtonpost.com

A 24-year-old Filipina was among the 7 people killed in a shooting at a California university Monday, April 2. Kathleen Ping, who worked as a secretary at the Oikos University in Oakland, California, was first taken hostage by the Korean-American gunman before she was shot, according to the police. The suspect, One Goh, apparently brought Ping and other students inside a classroom, where he shot them one by one. The suspect hails from South Korea and is a former nursing student at Oikos University.

Read the full story on abs-cbnnews.com

Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong will visit North Korea this year as part of Asean’s attempts to help ease tensions on the Korean Peninsula. Hor Namhong will make the trip before an Asian security forum in July hosted by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, according to Asean Secretary-General Surin Pitsuwan. Cambodia holds Asean’s rotating leadership and has close ties with Pyongyang. The Philippines has filed a protest against North Korea’s planned rocket launch, which is expected to happen middle of April.

Read the full story on Rappler

The 2013 senatorial and local elections may yet turn out to be messier than expected. Vice President Jejomar Binay has formed a coalition between his PDP-Laban party and the Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino of former President Joseph Estrada — with the goal of fielding a powerful senatorial slate in 2013. The problem is, President Benigno Aquino III is doing the same. The ruling Liberal Party which he heads is also finalizing its senatorial line-up. Both sides are not too keen on joining forces for a common slate.

Read the full story on Rappler

Saying it needed to turn the Internet company around and make it “smaller, nimbler, more profitable,” Yahoo! announced its plan to cut 2,000 staff, or 14% of the workforce. Yahoo expects this move to yield savings of US$375-M, though severance pay will probably cost the company anywhere between $125-M to $145-M. This is the company’s 6th round of redundancies in the last 4 years, according to reports. Yahoo’s webmail service has been overtaken by social media, while Google continues to lead the search engine business.

Read the full story on Rappler

Read more details on BBC

Mindanao is bursting with good stories despite conflicts in certain parts of the region. Take, for example, Gumasa in Sarangani, home to Mindanao’s biggest beach party, the Sarangani Bay Festival. The festival itself has become the province’s great leveler – where a farmhand can rub elbows with celebrities and politicians. One can discover the most rural of settings and still get one of nature’s few remaining unspoiled beauties.

Read the full story on Rappler

And check out how to get to Gumasa

He’s back on Her Majesty’s Secret Service – and his latest assignment: to open the 2012 Olympics. Daniel Craig, who plays the iconic British spy, was reportedly filming inside Buckingham Palace in London for a short film that will be part of the opening ceremonies of the Olympic Games on July 27, The Sun newspaper reported Sunday, April 1. The film is being directed by award-winning director Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire), who is also the ceremonies’ creative director, and is being shot reportedly at the request of Her Majesty The Queen herself, in her private chambers. Details of the filming are being kept under wraps, with crew under strict instructions not to disclose information on the shoot.

Read the full story on Rappler