Miss Earth

May 27, 2014 Edition

Valerie Castro

This is AI generated summarization, which may have errors. For context, always refer to the full article.

  1. Napoles affidavit names 100 lawmakers in scam

    Janet Napoles implicated more than 100 lawmakers in the corruption scandal in affidavits submitted to the justice department.  Napoles is the woman in the center of the scam accused of setting up fake NGOs to corner lawmakers’ pork barrel allocations in exchange for kickbacks. Whistleblowers initially named opposition lawmakers – now her affidavit linked allies of the Aquino administration. It included 9 former senators — Rodolfo Biazon, Loi Estrada, Robert Jaworski, Ramon Magsaysay, Tessie Aquino Oreta, Nene Pimentel and current senators Bongbong Marcos, Cynthia Villar, and Lito Lapid. Earlier, Napoles also asked for immunity for her children, but senators said they played key roles in the corruption scandal.

    Read the full story on Rappler.

    Read more of the story here and here.

  2. Napoles transactions with 20 senators revealed

    Alleged pork barrel scam mastermind Janet Lim Napoles provided details on her supposed transactions with the officials she implicated in the country’s biggest corruption scandal in recent history. Napoles wants to turn state witness. In the two affidavits Justice Secretary Leila de Lima submitted to the Senate on Monday, May 26, Napoles detailed how the lawmakers supposedly got their kickbacks. She also provided information about the agents who connected her to the senators– most of them staff members, a few were relatives while the rest were brokers. Napoles claimed she personally handed money to senators Manny Villar, Jinggoy Estrada, Allan Peter Cayetano, Chiz Escudero and Bong Revilla.

    Read the full story on Rappler.

  3. PH president inspects navy station near disputed islands

    Photo by Rappler

    Read between the lines. As regional tension over maritime disputes escalate, the Philippine Navy chose a naval station facing the volatile South China Sea as the venue for the culmination of month-long celebrations of its 116th anniversary. The President will inspect the improvements being made in the new naval station in Ulugan Bay, Palawan, Tuesday. The station was abuzz with activities a day before the President flies in, with warships, brand new naval choppers, and speedboats inside the bay. The navy’s anniversary celebrations are usually held in Manila or Cavite. Officials said the celebrations exemplifies the navy’s new “Frontline First” policy. The naval station in Ulugan Bay is closest to the disputed Kalayaan Group of Islands in the West Philippine Sea. Also in the area is Oyster Bay, the naval station which may be offered to the US troops.

    Read the full story on Rappler.

  4. UN: Chinese boat sinks Vietnamese fishing boat

    A Chinese vessel attacked and sank a Vietnamese fishing boat near the contested Paracel Islands, the latest incident in increasing hostilities between China and Vietnam over the deployment of an oil rig to the disputed area. Bloomberg reported Vietnam’s ministry spokesman Le Hai Binh said the incident happened around 17 nautical miles (19.5 miles) from a Chinese oil rig located near the contested islands Monday. 40 Chinese fishing vessels reportedly encircled a group of Vietnamese boats in Vietnam’s exclusive economic zone. China’s placement of the rig sparked violent protests in Vietnam this month prompting the evacuation of Chinese nationals. China and Vietnam both claim the Paracels, and while Brunei, Malaysia and the Philippines have claims to other areas of the South China Sea. Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung said last week in Manila that China’s actions violate international law and threaten peace, security and freedom of navigation.

    Read the full story on Rappler.

    Read more on Bloomberg.

  5. Thai general who got royal blessing: Protesters beware

    Photo by Diego Azubel/EPA

    The general who seized control of Thailand in a coup last week warned protesters of a crackdown after announcing he had received the king’s blessing to head the ruling military junta. In his first press conference, army chief Prayut Chan-O-Cha said elections would be held as “soon as possible” but had no timetable for returning the nation of 67 million people to civilian rule. Prayut said his military junta would stop any recurrence of the months of political protests and violence. The army’s power grab triggered a small but growing backlash with scores of people gathering at Victory Monument in Bangkok late Monday. “Thailand has had too many coups already,” said one of the protesters. The junta curbed civil liberties, abrogated most of the constitution, imposed a nightly curfew and restricted the media. US Ambassador to Thailand Kristie Kenney tweeted, “Hoping to watch @CNN in Thailand? This is what you will see. #Blocked.”

    Read the full story on Rappler and CNN.

  6. Nigerian military: Schoolgirls location known

    Photo from EPA

    A top Nigerian military official said he knows the location of the schoolgirls kidnapped last month by the Islamist militant group Boko Haram. Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh said Nigeria’s military won’t use force to try to rescue them. State-run News Agency of Nigeria cited him saying, “We want our girls back. I can tell you that our military can and will do it, but where they are held, can we go there with force?” He added, “We can’t kill our girls in the name of trying to get them back.” Boko Haram kidnapped 276 girls last month from a boarding school in northern Nigeria. More than 200 girls are still missing.

    Read the full story on CNN.

  7. Analysis: Why right-wing victory in France shook Europe

    Photo from EPA

    The surprising victory of Marine Le Pen’s Front National extreme-right party in France’s European elections suggests a collapse of national trust in the traditional parties – not anti-European sentiment, said French journalist and political analyst Agnes Poirier. In an opinion piece on CNN, Poirier said Le Pen’s victory shows diminishing trust in the Right and Left parties which governed France for three generations. While the Front National extreme-right party won 25.41% of the vote, former president Nicolas Sarkozy’s UMP party only garnered 20.77%, while President François Hollande’s Socialist Party got 13.97%. Is anti-European sentiment behind the extreme right vote? Exit polls showed domestic concerns dominated the issue: only 22% of Le Pen voters said they wanted out of the European Union, while the top two reasons cited were a need for a change and a protest against traditional parties. Poirier said this shows French voters are searching for “fresh and untarnished” politicians not embroiled in scandal and intrigue.

    Read the full story on CNN.

  8. Hacker helps FBI thwart 300 cyber attacks

    Lock on digital screen image via Shutterstock

    US government documents show celebrity hacker “Sabu” helped the FBI stop more than 300 cyber-attacks in the three years since he turned informant. CNN reported, the government considered the undercover cooperation of Hector Monsegur aka Sabu “extremely valuable and productive.” A member of Anonymous and LulzSec, Monsegur was part of a group of hacktivists who became notorious in 2011 for breaking U.S. government and corporate websites. He pleaded guilty to charges including identity theft and credit card fraud and is set to be sentenced Tuesday. He faces up to 26 years in prison but the government is seeking leniency. Prosecutors said his work on behalf of the FBI helped thwart attacks on websites belonging to the U.S. military, NASA and media companies. When Sabu’s role became known, Anonymous hacked a computer-security website and posted an open letter to Sabu. It read: “Sabu snitched on us…”

    Read the full story on CNN.

    Lock on digital screen image via Shutterstock

  9. Facebook takes down page describing Isla Vista killer as ‘hero’

    After refusing for more than a day, Facebook has taken down a page describing Elliot Rodger, the Isla Vista killer, as an “American hero”. The Guardian reports that the page, which described the murderer as making “the ultimate sacrifice in the struggle against feminazi ideology”, had been the subject of numerous complaints from Facebook users. All reported it for violating the site’s community standards, accusing it of breaking rules against harassment, hate speech, and threats of violence. The site initially refused to take action, telling users and groups the page didn’t violate its standards. After being contacted by the Guardian, it relented Monday, saying the page violated its Statement of Rights and Responsibilities.

    Read the full story on The Guardian.

  10. Angelina Jolie to rich moms: don’t complain

     

    Angelina Jolie told rich moms who feel the pressure of juggling family and career: think of all the single moms. In an interview with New York Daily News, Jolie said, “I’m not a single mom with two jobs trying to get by everyday.” Jolie was responding to a question about feeling “mom guilt” when she still wanted to pursue her career after having kids. Jolie told the paper she feels no guilt. “I actually feel that women in my position, when we have all at our disposal to help us, shouldn’t complain. Consider all the people who really struggle and don’t have the financial means, don’t have the support, and many people are single raising children. That’s hard.”

    Read the full story on CNN.

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