September 23, 2013 Edition

It will be the second time around. And will he get away with it again? President Benigno Aquino III on September 22 said it is preparing rebellion charges against Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) founder Nur Misuari over the bloody standoff between government troops and rebels here which the President himself said is about to end. Regional state prosecutor Peter Medalle said the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group has witnesses who can testify against Misuari. The MNLF leader faced the same rebellion charges in 2001 after his supporters launched a deadly attack against a police station in Sulu and torched houses there. Misuari escaped to Sabah after the attack but was later deported. The case was eventually dismissed, however.

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Read Aquino’s announcement about the crisis ending soon here.

Janet Lim Napoles is scheduled to be arraigned on Monday, September 22, at the Makati City Regional Trial Court for serious illegal detention charges filed by her cousin-turned-whistleblower Benhur Luy. Elite police forces will escort Napoles from Fort Sto Domingo, Sta Rosa, Laguna, where she is detained, to the Makati court. Aside from this case, Napoles also faces a plunder complaint before the Ombudsman. A fellow respondent, Jessica “Gigi” Reyes, former chief of staff of ex-Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile who himself also faces plunder charges, stirred controversy over the weekend after she posted her thoughts about “betrayal” on Facebook.

Read the full story on Rappler.

Read the full story on Gigi Reyes on Rappler.

The city of Olongapo was placed under a state of calamity on September 23, as monsoon rains bring widespread floods to the city and other areas in Zambales and Bataan. The city government made the declaration as the city continued to be flooded by rain that has been pouring since Sunday evening, September 22. Olongapo City Councilor Winnie Ortiz said the flooding in the city is the worst they have seen in history. People there carried their shivering children as they waded through the floodwaters amid submerged cars. Continuous rain also flooded Metro Manila, crippling key cities and forcing the suspension of classes.

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It’s a collaborative and long-term project that brings in more than 30 partners for top-down governance and bottom-up civic engagement to address climate change and help reduce and manage disasters. Launched on September 21 at the PH+SocialGood: The Manila Social Good Summit, Project Agos aims to build a platform for preparedness, response and recovery. In the next 2-6 months, Rappler along with its partners such as the United Nations Development Program, the Department of Social Welfare and Development, and the Climate Change Commission, aim to get the first phase of the platform functional.
After launching the project, Rappler CEO Maria Ressa led the audience in the declaration of a unity statement: a pledge to promote a culture of safety and resilience through social media.

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Chancellor Angela Merkel captured a landslide victory in German elections September 22, for guiding Europe’s top economy unharmed through the debt crisis, decisively winning a third term and nearing an absolute majority. Voters punished her pro-business junior partner, the Free Democrats, who have been plagued by power struggles, kicking them out of parliament for the first time since their founding after World War II. Merkel’s stunning score – the conservatives’ best result since the country’s joyous reunification in 1990 – meant that she nearly became the only chancellor to win an absolute majority since Germany’s first post-war leader, Konrad Adenauer, 56 years ago.

Read the full story on Rappler.

Kenyan troops backed by Israeli agents on September 22 cornered Somali militants holding hostages inside a Nairobi shopping mall in a terrifying siege that has left at least 68 people dead. The army said it had managed to secure most of the upmarket, part Israeli-owned Westgate complex, and that most of the hostages had been rescued. It said it was trying to bring the 36-hour-long bloodbath to a “speedy conclusion. Terrified witnesses recounted scenes of horror as the masked gunmen tossed grenades and sprayed automatic gunfire in the packed centre in a brazen attack around midday on September 21, sending panicked shoppers fleeing for their lives.

Read the full story on Rappler.

The Pentagon has scrapped the Twitter account of an agency that counters homemade explosives after it posted joking comments about a bombing in the Philippines.
After explosions at two movie theaters in the Philippines, a staff member at the Joint Improvised Explosive Device Organization (JIEDDO) wrote in a tweet that perhaps the cinemas were showing the film “Gigli,” a 2003 romantic comedy starring Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez that flopped at the box office. After negative reactions on Twitter, JIEDDO issued an apology. “Tweet was in poor taste. We apologize.”

Read the full story on Rappler.

“Grand Theft Auto V” raked in more than a billion dollars in a record-shattering first 3 days on the streets for the unabashedly violent videogame. Take-Two Interactive Software said it believed that the blistering pace of GTA V sales “marks the fastest that any entertainment property, including video games and feature films.” Play in Grand Theft Auto games has included simulated sex with prostitutes and drunken driving. The latest version is said by reviewers to be rife with more of the same, along with profanity-packed dialog.

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Sebastian Vettel took a huge step towards his fourth straight world title September 22, with a superlative victory in Singapore that left his rivals fighting for scraps. The German, starting from pole, fought off Nico Rosberg in the first corner and despite a safety car intervention, he was untouchable as he scored his third win in a row and a hat-trick of wins in Singapore. The 26-year-old has now won 4 of the last 5 grands prix and is a racing certainty to become the sport’s youngest four-time world champion, joining Michael Schumacher and Juan Manuel Fangio as only the third man to win 4 in a row.

Read the full story on Rappler.

The 65th Primetime Emmy Awards took place on September 22 at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, California. Hosted by Neil Patrick Harris, the event initially gave awards to individuals for their outstanding roles in particular shows. Julia Louis-Dreyfus won the award as outstanding lead actress for her role in the comedy series “Veep.” Jeff Daniels of “Newsroom” won the “outstanding lead actor in a drama series” award.

Check our live coverage of the event here.