April 7, 2014 Edition

It will be rainy in most parts of the country at the start of the week as Tropical Storm Domeng (international name Peipah) entered the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) on Sunday night, April 6. As of 4am, April 7, Domeng was located 880 kilometers east of Davao City and is forecast to move a slow 15kph in a west-northwest direction. PAGASA said that Domeng has maintained its strength, with maximum sustained winds of 65 kph near the center, and gustiness of up to 80 kph. The state weather bureau said the storm may make landfall by Wednesday afternoon, April 9. Residents in affected areas are advised to expect moderate to heavy rainfall, particularly in Eastern and Central Visayas.


Get the full weather forecast on Rappler.

Australia on Sunday, April 6, sent planes and ships to investigate signals detected by a Chinese ship in the hunt for a missing Malaysian jet, saying they matched black box beacons and were an “important and encouraging lead.” China’s Haixun 01 vessel twice detected an underwater signal on a frequency used for flight data and cockpit voice recorders. A third ping was also being scrutinized by the Australian vessel Ocean Shield. Britain’s HMS Echo and the Ocean Shield – both equipped with black box locators – and Australian air force planes are in the area to help discount or confirm the signals. But Australia, which is leading the search off its coast, cautioned that the information was preliminary and could yield nothing helpful. The Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 with 239 people aboard vanished on March 8 during a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. No debris has yet been found despite extensive aerial and sea searches, prompting authorities to switch to undersea acoustic surveillance in hopes of finding the aircraft.


Read the full story on Rappler.

Indians began voting in the world’s biggest election Monday, April 7, which is set to sweep the Hindu nationalist opposition to power at a time of low growth, anger about corruption and warnings about religious unrest. India’s 814-million-strong electorate are forecast to inflict a heavy defeat on the ruling Congress party, in power for 10 years and led by India’s famous Gandhi dynasty. The 9-phase parliamentary election ends on May 12 and the results should be announced 4 days later.


Read the full story on Rappler.

US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel on Saturday, April 6, cautioned China against taking any unilateral action on its territorial claims that could anger its neighbors and the international community. “All nations deserve respect, no matter how large or how small,” Hagel said during a visit to Tokyo. Hagel also drew a parallel reference with Russia and its annexation of Crimea. “You cannot go around and redefine boundaries, violate territorial integrity and sovereignty of nations by force, coercion and intimidation – whether it’s in small islands in the Pacific, or large nations in Europe,” Hagel added. His recent statements comes on the heals of a reaffirmed military alliance between the US and Japan as well as the deployment of two more ballistic missile defense ships to Japan. Hagel is now in China for talks with his defense counterpart.


Read the full story on Rappler.

With 8 bricks of high-grade cocaine still missing from the discovered cache in a container yard in this city, Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte on Sunday, April 6, announced a “shoot-to-kill order” against anyone caught selling the illegal drugs who resist arrest. Duterte explained that once the missing drugs are sold in the local market, those who hid the remaining bricks would be considered as drug lords. The hidden stash of cocaine was discovered on March 22, hidden in the ceiling of a 40-footer container van meant for banana exports, inside the Sumifru container yard in Tibungco District.


Read the full story on Rappler.

Genetic mutations found in brain tumors in children have opened up intriguing avenues to tackle this lethal form of cancer, researchers said on Sunday. Investigators found telltale mutations in a gene called ACVR1, which appears to play a role in a currently incurable form of childhood brain cancer called diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma, or DIPG. The mutations were found in 20 to 33% of DIPG biopsies in three different studies published in the journal Nature Genetics.


Read the full story on Rappler.

These girls grew up surrounded by challenges and the lack of opportunities. Today, they are members of the Philippine team competing at the Street Child World Cup in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The World Cup pits over 200 youngsters from 19 countries around the world as the premier football tournament for underprivileged youth. While the boys squad fell short to Pakistan in the quarters, the girls team is gearing up for the finals against host country Brazil, which takes place Sunday, April 6 at 11 pm PH time. “Each of them have their own story. It’s a very mixed group, and that’s great because it represents the different kind of street children and child laborers in the country,” Roy Moore, coach of Team Philippines, tells Rappler.


Read more about these young talented Filipino on Rappler.

Prince William and wife Kate Middleton along with their baby, Prince George, arrived in Sydney, Australia on Monday morning, April 7 on their way to New Zealand for a three week tour. The Duke of Cambridge was seen carrying several bags and his son’s kangaroo soft toy while the Duchess of Cambridge carried the young baby George. The family will spend 9 days in New Zealand and 10 days in Australia. Both countries were former colonies of the United Kingdom. Unlike his parents, Prince William is traveling light with an entourage of only 12 compared with the 20 people Prince Charles had with him when he visited Australia with the young Prince William in 1983.


Read the full story on Rappler.

In a remote coastal town of Talibon, Bohol, fisherfolk and local officials connect to the Internet with ease, thanks to TV airwaves. TV White Space technology allows remote areas to connect to the world wide web by utilizing the unused bandwidth of television signals. On Friday, April 4, government officials and partners from the private sector formally turned over TV White Space technology to Talibon and 5 other seaside towns in Bohol. Other than enabling locals to use social media or search the Net, TV White Space technology will help the government attain its goal of having all municipal fisherfolk in the country register into a database.


Read the full story on Rappler.

Comedian and talk show host Stephen Colbert is CBS’ top choice to replace the retiring David Letterman, according to Mashable. The digital magazine reports that though Colbert has not had any formal discussions with CBS, he is at the “front-and-center” of potential candidates, which include fellow comedian Jon Stewart. Mashable also adds that Colbert’s contract to host The Colbert Report on Comedy Central runs through the end of 2014, which would free him up in time to move over to CBS when Letterman ends his 33-year run in late-night TV.


Read the full story on Mashable.