August 29, 2013 Edition

Fugitive Janet Napoles ended up meeting with no less than President Benigno Aquino III on Wednesday night, August 28, after Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda initiated talks with her lawyer. In a press briefing, Lacierda said he called lawyer Lorna Kapunan, a former colleague in a law firm of former Sen Raul Roco, to confirm reports her client wanted to surrender. Kapunan confirmed the reports and they ended up meeting at the Heritage Park cemetery at past 9 pm. She told Lacierda that Napoles wanted to surrender only to the President because of the threat to her life. Aquino and Napoles spoke for about 10 minutes before she was turned over to the custody of Local Government Secretary Mar Roxas.

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A related story about her surrender is also on Rappler.

An earlier report on Napoles meeting with the President is on Rappler.

At 9:37 pm Wednesday, August 28, fugitive and alleged pork barrel scam mastermind Janet Napoles surrendered to President Benigno Aquino III. Ordered arrested on August 14, she was wanted on charges of serious illegal detention arising from the alleged kidnapping of personal assistant and cousin Benhur Luy. It is a non-bailable offense. Napoles went into hiding until her surrender on Wednesday. President Aquino then turned over Napoles to the custody of Interior and Local Government Secretary Mar Roxas and Philippine National Police Director-General Alan Purisima for processing and booking, a Palace statement said. Charges relating to the multi-billion pork barrel scam have yet to be filed against Napoles.

Read the full story on Rappler.

A related story on Napoles meeting with the President in Malacañang is also on Rappler.

Justice Secretary Leila de Lima on Thursday, August 29, admitted she was not informed about details pertaining to surrender plans of Janet Lim-Napoles, the alleged mastermind of a multi-billion pork barrel scam. She however knew about the surrender feelers sent to the Palace. De Lima, who has been leading the investigation into Napoles, said she respects the decision of the President. Napoles had indicated she wanted to surrender only to President Benigno Aquino III, indicating she (Napoles) was uncomfortable with surrendering to agents of the National Bureau of Investigation who have been investigating and pursuing her. “Whatever I feel or the feelings I have does not matter. I am a public servant,” De Lima said.

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A possible strike on Syria is among the options being considered by global powers, following reports of attacks by Syria using chemical weapons. Western powers are looking at military options and have been holding emergency meetings, CNN reported, recognizing the need for quick military intervention. The United Kingdom has suggested to the 5 permanent members of the UN Security Council that all necessary measures be authorized to protect civilians in Syria. Russia however wants the United Nations to first complete investigation into the supposed use of chemical weapons before discussing any resolution.

Read the full story on CNN.

A related story is on BBC.

US President Barack Obama said the US has concluded Syria carried out attacks using chemical weapons against its people. This declaration comes amid a possible diplomatic showdown that involves intervention by global powers who may opt to strike against the Syrian military. Obama however said he has not made a decision on whether to strike against Syria. Earlier Russia and China walked out of a UN Security Council meeting after Britain said it would pursue a resolution to authorize the use of force against Syria, CNN reported. Obama said, “We do not believe that, given the delivery systems, using rockets, that the opposition could have carried out these attacks. We have concluded that the Syrian government in fact carried these out.”

Read the full story on CNN.

A related story is on BBC.

The Philippines grew 7.5% in the second quarter, the National Statistics and Coordination Board announced on Thursday, August 29. This performance is slower than the 7.7% revised growth in the first quarter, but marks the 4th consecutive quarter the economy grew above 7%.

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A slowing in global warming that climate skeptics say undermines the greenhouse theory is simply a “hiatus” from higher temperatures, scientists said on Wednesday, August 28. Grasping one of the thorniest issues in climate politics, the researchers said the recent slowdown lies in a natural but temporary cooling in the tropical Pacific Ocean. Contrary to earlier predictions, warming of Earth’s surface in recent years has not occurred in lock-step with rising levels of heat-trapping gas in the atmosphere. Over the last 50 years, temperatures have risen by an average of 0.12°C (0.21°F) per decade. But over the last 15 years, the increase has slowed to a rate of 0.05°C (0.09°F) per decade, even though fossil-fuel carbon emissions continue to break new records.

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Eight new cases of the deadly coronavirus MERS, a SARS-like infection, have been registered in Saudi Arabia, the World Health Organization said on Wednesday, August 28. Of the 8, 2 men from the capital Riyadh had died, the WHO said. Both had underlying medical conditions. 3 women and 3 men, all from Riyadh or the southern region of Asir, have also contracted the virus, which affects the respiratory system. Experts are struggling to understand MERS – Middle East Respiratory Syndrome – for which there is still no vaccine and which has an extremely high fatality rate of more than 51 percent. It is considered a cousin of the SARS virus that erupted in Asia in 2003 and infected 8,273 people, nine percent of whom died. Like SARS, MERS is thought to have jumped from animals to humans, and it shares the former’s flu-like symptoms – but differs by also causing kidney failure.

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A start-up specializing in tuning into online banter by TV viewers said Wednesday that it has been bought by Twitter. Trendrr chief executive Mark Ghuneim announced in a blog post that the New York-based firm is becoming part of the globally popular messaging service. Trendrr software tracks and analyzes in real-time social network exchanges about television shows or ads to provide insights into what viewers think of programming. Internet lifestyle trends include people using “second screens” such as smartphones or tablets to share thoughts on Facebook, Twitter and other online venues.

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Hollywood A-listers Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones, one of Tinseltown’s most high-profile couples, have decided to split, at least for a while, their publicists said Wednesday, August 28. American star Douglas and Zeta-Jones — both Academy Award winners — have been married 13 years and they have two children, Dylan, 13, and Carys, who is 10. They decided to live apart after Douglas returned from the Cannes Film Festival in May, shortly after his wife checked in for a second round of treatment for bipolar disorder, People magazine reported. Neither star has filed for divorce or legal separation, according to People, which featured the couple of its cover with the headline: “Their Marriage Crumbles.” “Michael and Catherine love each other very much, (but) they’re taking a break,” a close confidant told the magazine, adding: “No legal people are involved whatsoever.”

Read the full story on Rappler.