October 14, 2013 Edition

It’s unprecedented. Local government officials suspended all classes in the entire National Capital Region (NCR) on Monday, October 14, to give way to a huge medical mission of the Iglesia ni Cristo. The event was expected to draw 1.6 million people. Called “Kabayan Ko, Kapatid Ko” (My Countrymen, My Brethren), it’s part of the religious group’s countdown to its centennial in 2014. The INC has held similar events for at least 14 times since April 13, when the program was launched a day after the INC founder’s 50th death anniversary. The biggest drew 1.65 million people in Bicol.

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Damage to agriculture left by typhoon Santi (international codename Nari) in two provinces alone has reached more than P2.9 billion. The provinces of Aurora and Nueva Ecija – two of the worst hit by the typhoon – reported a total of P2,933,072,890.00 in damage to crops, fisheries, and related industries. A total of 747,353 people (154,766 families) were affected by the typhoon across Regions I, II, III, and IV-A. Santi’s death toll remains at 13, while 32 people were injured.
A major clean-up operation was also under way in Luzon.

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After holding a session for more than 18 hours, the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) failed to agree on how power will be shared between the proposed Bangsamoro political entity and the national government in the 41st round of talks. The last day of the negotiations in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia started at on October 12, and extended until about 5 am of October 13, in a bid to complete the power-sharing annex. An MILF source both panels reached a “technical impasse,” with their failure to reach a consensus on details regarding the Bangsamoro’s ministerial form of government.

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A stampede on a bridge outside a Hindu temple killed 91 people in India on October 13, with many of the victims leaping to their deaths in the water below. The deaths cast a long shadow over celebrations on October 14, marking the end of one of the holiest festivals in the Hindu calendar. Ten more people were fighting for their lives after the tragedy on a bridge outside the temple in the central state of Madhya Pradesh which was also the scene of a deadly stampede in 2006. While officials said the panic appeared to have been sparked by a false rumor, witnesses said that the situation escalated when police weighed in with batons.

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Some two million pilgrims poured out of the Muslim holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia on October 13 to begin the annual hajj, their numbers reduced on fears of the deadly MERS virus. Saudi Health Minister Abdullah Al-Rabia said that authorities had so far detected no cases among the pilgrims of the virus which has killed 60 people worldwide, 51 of them in Saudi Arabia. At least 100,000 troops have been deployed to ensure the safety of the pilgrims. Riyadh has imposed a 20% cut this year on the quota for pilgrims coming from abroad.

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Attackers swooped on a UN water convoy in Sudan’s troubled Darfur region on October 13, killing 3 Senegalese peacekeepers. It was the second deadly attack on the UN mission in Darfur in 3 days and UN leader Ban Ki-moon called on the Sudanese government to act over the incidents. The UN did not identify the group behind the latest attack in which a fourth Senegalese soldier was also wounded. UN peacekeepers have increasingly become a target for ambushes and attacks in the western region of Sudan which has been at war for the past decade. The UN says at least 300,000 people have died in the conflict.

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The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank held annual meetings this week in Washington under a cloud of financial constraints and questions about their legitimacy as bulwarks of the global economy. With all eyes fixed this week on the US budget crisis, the grand reception of the world’s finance leaders in the US capital spared the IMF another uncomfortable debate on the damaging effects of the austerity it imposes, particularly in the eurozone. But the IMF’s imbalanced representation once again was made clear: the emerging economies have complained for years that their relatively small voting rights in the institution insufficiently reflect their real power in the world economy.

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Facebook is ending a feature that allowed users to hide from the billion-plus members of the social network. This means that someone looking for another Facebook user can more easily find that person. Facebook announced last year it was ending this feature for new users, but allowed a transition for a “small percentage” of users who had that feature enabled. Under scrutiny by privacy advocates, Facebook recently revamped its search functions to include so-called “graph search” that allows users to search through a wide range of posts on the world’s biggest social network. Richter said the changes should not have an impact on overall privacy.

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In countries that have 4 seasons, autumn means a huge change in color. Manila wants to be very much a part of this, as the wet season gets wetter and women see it as a perfect way to channel fall trends. For Tory Burch, the darker colors of autumn fall together as scarabs and dragonflies are a good inspiration for this season’s collection. In an in-store launch party last week, celebrity stylist Alyanna Martinez showcased Tory’s new pieces that consist of bolder prints. Kate Spade also brought something new to Manila for this season — the iconic Beau bag, its to competitors’ epochal bags such as Louis Vuitton’s Speedy and Michael Kors’ totes.

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It all boiled down to who had more gas — and composure. Coached by rookie Juno Sauler, the De La Salle University basketball team won a heart-stopping 71-69 overtime game over University of Santo Tomas (UST) in Game 3 of the 76th UAAP men’s basketball finals on October 12 at the Mall of Asia Arena. The finals drew one of the biggest crowds in UAAP history. The win allowed Sauler to duplicate UST coach Pido Jarencio’s feat as a coach who won the UAAP title in his first year at the helm. It also gave Jeron Teng his MVP award but broke the heart of his older brother Jeric, the graduating gunner who gave UST 24 points but couldn’t get the touches in the end game.

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