April 6, 2012 Edition

At least 3 people were reported injured when two explosions hit the tourist island of Palawan on Thursday, police reported. No motives could yet be established for the late afternoon attacks, Agence France Presse (AFP) reported. The blast in the capital city was traced to an explosive put in a sack of rice. The explosion occurred near a bus terminal and gas station about 4 kilometers away from the city. Injured were a tricycle driver and his passenger. AFP said the tricycle driver suffered bruises to the forehead and unspecified injuries on the ankle, while his passenger injured her ankle. An earlier blast was reported in the mainland of El Nido, a known resort town, at about 5:30 pm, not in the better-known El Nido Resorts as earlier reported. The blast occurred about 10 minutes before the Puerto Princesa explosion. An explosive was found to have been placed inside a garbage bin in front of Entalula Cottages, a small, mid-priced beachfront accommodation on the northern part of the town proper.

Read the details in Rappler.

Washington may start to ease some sanctions it had imposed on Myanmar, following the latter’s decision to embrace democratic reforms. Citing elections held in Myanmar over the weekend that saw opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi winning a seat in parliament, State Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton said the elections were the latest sign of commitment to a democratic transition. Specifically, this means a lifting of restrictions on American investments in Myanmar. Leaders of the Asean nation have been pushing for a wholesale lifting of harsh US trade sanctions, which however requires congressional approval. To other observers, the easing of sanctions might have come too soon.

Read the full story in The Washington Post. More details from the BBC.

In a stern Maundy Thursday homily, Pope Benedict XVI decried “disobedience” in the church, targeting priests seeking the ordination of women and the abolition of priestly celibacy. Instead of being driven by their “own preferences and ideas,” they should instead turn toward a “radicalism of obedience.” It was described as one of the strongest and most direct speeches of the theologian pope who will turn 85 next week. The statement also showed Benedict as a defender of orthodoxy, preferring a smaller church of ardent believers over a larger community that follows a watered-down doctrine. The pope was obviously referring to an Austrian group called Preachers’ Initiative, started by Father Helmut Schüller. The group has issued a “Call to Disobedience,” saying that the reforms they are seeking will keep the church healthy. Read the full story in the New York Times.

Read more on NY Times.

Kofi Annan, the UN-Arab League point man on Syria, urged the Bashar al-Assad regime Thursday to put a stop to violence and implement his 6-point plan for peace. “All points of the plan are crucial, but one is most urgent: the need for cessation of violence,” he said. He added, “Clearly, the violence is still continuing. Alarming levels of casualties and other abuses continue to be reported daily. Military operations in civilian populations have not stopped….We must silence the tanks, helicopters, mortars and guns, and stop all other forms of violence, too: sexual abuse, torture, executions, abductions, destruction of homes, forced displacement and other such abuses, including on children,” Annan was reported as telling the UN General Assembly by video link from Geneva. Since March 2011, violence has engulfed Syria after the government began a crackdown on peaceful protesters. 

Details on CNN.

Read more from the BBC.

Mitt Romney accused President Barack Obama of waging a “hide-and-seek” campaign that offers no solutions to the US’ persistent economic problems. This was in reaction to Obama’s earlier attack that consisted of describing the GOP as a “radical” party that had strayed from American values. Romney and Obama are expected to be almost-certain standard-bearers of their political parties. While Obama seems intent on depicting Romney and the Republicans as out of touch with middle-class concerns, Romney – who had just swept the presidential primaries in 3 states Tuesday, April 3 – wants to paint Obama and the Democrats as having neither the expertise nor the vision of reviving the US economy.

More about this story in The Washington Post.

A hacking group known as “Anonymous” has attacked and defaced about 500 websites in China, including government sites, officials agencies and trade groups. The attacks were supposedly carried out to protest strict government control over citizens. China is known to have one of the most comprehensive web surveillance systems in the world that reinforce already strong social controls. The defaced sites carried messages that read: “Dear Chinese government, you are not infallible, today websites are hacked, tomorrow it will be your vile regime that will fall.” Chinese were urged to join Anonymous and stage their own protests against the regime.

The complete story from the BBC.

No, it’s not going to happen. “I don’t think that Mayweather will be available in the fall to fight Manny. He certainly doesn’t indicate that he wants to fight him now. I would think, probably, everybody would be better off if we thought about that fight [for] next year. But everything is open,” Top Rank chief Bob Arum told Boxing Scene. The two fighters still could not agree on how winnings will be split if ever the long anticipated bout became reality. Mayweather wanted more than half but Pacquiao would not budge.
Because of the failed negotiations, Mayweather is instead facing Miguel Cotto on May 5, while Pacquiao will slug it out with American boxer Timothy Bradley on June 9.

Read the complete story in Rappler.

Apples are no longer immune from infection. About half a million Apple computers have been infected with the Flashback Trojan, according to a Russian anti-virus firm. An investigation by Dr Web says that about 600,000 Macs – half of them in the US – have installed the malware – potentially allowing them to be hijacked and used as a “botnet.” While Apple has released a security update, users who have not installed it remain vulnerable. Flashback was first detected in September 2011 when anti-virus researchers discovered software masquerading as a Flash Player update. Once downloaded it deactivated some of the computer’s security software.

More details from BBC.

Unesco announced Thursday that the wreck of the Titanic will come under its protective wing this April, as the British liner has now lain at the bottom of the Atlantic for 100 years. Having sunk in international waters, the Atlantic is not covered by state protection. After a century, however, wrecks fall under the jurisdiction of a 2009 UN Convention on the Protection of Underwater Cultural Heritage. Unesco frowns upon the plunder of cultural sites on land and equal protection will be extended to sunken heritage, the Unesco director general was quoted as saying. The Titanic was and remains one of the worst peacetime shipping disasters in history.

Read the full story in Rappler.

Read more from the BBC.

Cholesterol is not all that bad. Our bodies in fact need some of it as it helps produce some needed hormones and Vitamin D. But our dietary choices contribute to high cholesterol levels which can be destructive and devastating. Elevated levels can build up in the arteries, create plaques that result in heart diseases. Doctors usually check for 4 markers: total cholesterol, LDL or bad cholesterol, HDL or good cholesterol (keeps arteries clear), and triglycerides. There are foods that can naturally keep cholesterol at healthy levels.

Find out more from the Huffington Post.