SUMMARY
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- Arrests, protests over film
Libya announced it has made arrests over the deadly attack at a US consulate in Benghazi that killed an American ambassador. US and Libyan officials are also looking into the possibility that Islamic militants are using the protests against an anti-Islam film to launch coordinated attacks in the region. In Yemen, 4 more people were killed as protests spread and after authorities dispersed a mob that tried to storm the US embassy there. In Washington, the White House said it was monitoring security at US diplomatic posts since it was expecting more anti-American protests following Friday’s Muslim prayers.
Read the full story on the Libyan arrests here
Read the full story on the Yemen protests here - Police protect filmmaker
The man suspected of having started it all has been identified by the US police and is now under protection. Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, a 55-year-old Coptic Christian, lives in a Los Angeles suburb in California. Nakoula is believed to have uploaded a 14-minute trailer for the movie “Innocence of the Muslims” to the YouTube video-sharing site under the pseudonym “Sam Bacile,” and police said he had asked for protection. Little is known about Nakoula, who was sentenced to 21 months in prison in 2010 for bank fraud.
Read the full story on Rappler - US donor vs top PH NGO
It’s the first of its kind in recent history. The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has filed fraud charges against a multi-awarded Philippine NGO that’s at the forefront of the country’s anti-human trafficking campaign. The USAID is accusing the Visayan Forum of producing fake receipts and documents to justify some P200 million in spending that didn’t go to intended projects. Singled out is the group’s multi-awarded executive director, Cecille Oebanda, whom the US State Department named an anti-trafficking hero in 2008. The project in question, according to VF legal counsel Laurence Arroyo, is the USAID-funded ports project. For this project, Arroyo said VF had to build halfway houses for human trafficking victims in airports and harbors. Among the funded projects that the USAID wanted probed is the plan to build halfway houses for trafficked Filipinos.
Read the full story on Rappler - Cabinet skips Senate hearing
Presidential friend Rico Puno faced the Senate on September 14, but not the 4 Cabinet Secretaries who were called to attend the hearing that was called to investigate Puno. He was forced to quit as Interior and Local Government Undersecretary following allegations he was being probed for alleged anomalies. Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago chided Malacañang for its decision to questioning the legality of the investigation. The previous Arroyo administration did the same and stopped Secretaries from testifying in investigations targeted against former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and her husband.
Read the full story on Rappler - Terrorist carried gov’t firearm
The Philippine National Police (PNP) is investigating whether a PNP-issued firearm was used by a terrorism suspect shot down by security forces in Indonesia. According to the Jakarta Post, a 9mm Beretta pistol with the marking “Property Philippines National Police” on its side was recovered by Indonesian police after the August 31 anti-terrorism operation in Surakarta, Central Java province, which ended with two 19-year-old suspected militants and one officer dead after a shoot-out. The PNP has yet to verify the authenticity of the “sketchy” report, said a spokesman. Indonesian officials said the suspects were members of Jemaah Anshorut Tauhid (JAT), founded in 2008 by Indonesia’s so-called father of Islamic militancy, Abu Bakar Bashir.
Read the full story on Rappler - 6 China ships in disputed islands
Six Chinese government ships sailed into waters around disputed islands claimed by both Beijing and Tokyo September 14. The Japanese coastguard had issued warnings telling them to leave. The arrival came just days after the Japanese government completed its planned nationalization of the islands, which it administers and knows as Senkaku, but which China claims as Diaoyu. Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda vowed to maintain utmost vigilance.
Read the full story on Rappler - Elections and the mining reform bill
Local, foreign and other stakeholders in the mining industry are watching closely how the Philippine government is handling this extractive business. An amendment to the Mining Act is expected to be pursued in Congress. This is crucial since only when Congress passes it will the moratorium on new mining contracts be lifted. But the bill, which aims to increase government share on mining operations, is not the priority. It may have to wait until after the 2013 elections.
Read the full story on Rappler - It’s Pacman vs Marquez
World boxing champion Manny Pacquiao was to leave on September 14 for the US to sign a 4th fight with Juan Manuel Marquez. The fight is scheduled on December 8, five months before the May 2013 elections in which Pacquiao, now congressman, will run for governor of Sarangani. Analysts believe that among the contentious issues preventing Pacquiao from agreeing to another fight deal with Marquez is his guaranteed purse.
Read the full story on Rappler - Apl.de.ap, Anne Curtis new ‘ambassadors’
A team of celebrities joined the quest for peace in the Philippines as part of a new campaign to rally more support for the negotiations between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). “I am for Peace” is the slogan for the campaign joined by personalities such as Black Eyed Peas band member Apl.de.ap, actress Anne Curtis, composer Noel Cabangon, and Internet icon Ramon Bautista. Actors Epy Quizon, Gerald Anderson, Megan Young, and Mikael Daez, and musical artists Christian Bautista, Datu Khomeini, Ebe Dancel, and Gloc-9 were also tapped as National Peace Ambassadors by the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process. The government and the MILF hope to sign a peace deal this year to end 4 decades of conflict in central Mindanao.
Read the full story on Rappler - Kate says no to wine
The “pregnant rumors” surrounding Kate Middleton continue to hound the royal couple in Singapore, where they’re on a tour. The paparazzi spotted Kate holding a glass of water – instead of wine – on two occasions where a toast was asked. Kate said no to wine at a state dinner hosted for them in Singapore, according to US newspapers quoted by the Huffington Post. This is a big deal since royal watchers say drinking at these events is de rigeur for her. So, is she expecting? The rumor machine hopes the couple’s Asia tour would reveal more clues.
Read the full story on Huffington Post
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