November 28, 2013 Edition

The Philippine economy grew 7% in the 3rd quarter of 2013, according to the National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB). This brings the country’s 9-month average growth to 7.4%, well above the full-year target of between 6%-7%. In a press briefing on Thursday, November 28, NSCB Secretary General Jose Ramon Albert said real estate and renting activities, along with accelerated growth of the industry sector were the primary engines of growth. In the 1st quarter, economic growth stood at 7.7%, followed by 7.6% in the 2nd quarter. The numbers however do not yet reflect the impact of Super Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda).

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The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) warned on Wednesday, November 27, that without urgent and much-needed aid, farmers affected by Super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) will face a “double tragedy.” They need help to clear their land and irrigation channels, and plant crops, otherwise they will remain dependent on humanitarian food assistance. The FAO said international donors should contribute at least US$11 million to speed up recovery and rehabilitation. The Philippine agriculture department has asked FAO to support a cash-for-work scheme that covers 150,000 hectares and 80 kilometers of communal irrigation canals. It takes 10 days for one person to clear a hectare of farmland.

Read the full story on Rappler.

Former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi was expelled by the Italian Senate on Wednesday, November 27, over his tax fraud conviction in October 2012. The tax fraud was committed in connection with the purchase by his company Mediaset of TV rights to American films. Berlusconi’s expulsion means he has lost immunity from prosecution and may face possible arrest over other criminal cases. “It is a bitter day, a day of mourning,” the 77-year-old ex-Prime Minister said. He said he would continue his struggle outside parliament, leading his Forza Italia, a party that still enjoys electoral support.

Read the full story on the BBC.

More details are available from the New York Times.

Almost 3 weeks after Super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) ravaged Eastern Visayas, corpses remain still unburied in parts of Tacloban City in Leyte. The decaying corpses found in Village 83 have not been collected, prompting volunteers of the barangay to retrieve bodies from the debris scattered all throughout. Barangay captain Emelita Montalban said that out of her constituents of 11,000, at least 1,000 are believed to have died. Most of them lived along the coast.

Read the full story on Rappler.

A crane collapsed at the Arena Corinthians stadium which is set to host the 2013 World Cup in Brazil. The accident killed two workers aged 44 and 42. They were crushed to death when a crane lifting a 500-ton metallic piece to the top of the roof collapsed. It was the “last and heaviest piece of the stadium roof,” one worker said. The accident might have been caused by “an error in the operation of the crane or by the weight of the structure which was being lifted,” civil defense coordinator Jair Paca de Lima said. Football’s governing body FIFA has given Brazil a December 31 deadline to complete work at the stadium.

Read the full story on Rappler.

HIV infections in Europe and Central Asia increased by 8 percent in 2012 compared to a year earlier, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control announced November 27. The rise of 131,000 new cases was driven by a 9% increase in the Eastern Europe and Central Asia region, accounting for 102,000 new infections – around three-quarters of them in the Russian Federation alone. Among the reasons for the increase is the lack of awareness of anti-retroviral treatments.

Read the full story on Rappler.

Belgium, one of only a few countries to allow euthanasia, moved a step closer to extending mercy-killing to terminally-ill children. A proposed draft bill to extend the practice some experts say already takes place outside the law was approved by the Senate’s justice and social affairs committee on November 27, after months of discussion held alongside a heated public debate. A recent poll shows three quarters of Belgians approving the move. A 2002 law made Belgium the second country in the world after The Netherlands to legalize mercy killings for those suffering from incurable illnesses.

Read the full story on Rappler.

Documents from 2012 provided by Edward Snowden and released by the Huffington Post note how the US National Security Agency gathered records of ‘online sexual activity and evidence of visits to pornographic websites.’ The records were proposed to be used as salvos against the reputations of Islamist radicals who were trying to radicalize others.

Read the full story on The Huffington Post.
Learn more from this Guardian report.

Former Hollywood power couple Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher are officially divorced, two years after she announced their split, according to legal documents released Wednesday, November 27. “The parties are restored to the status of single persons,” said documents filed Tuesday, November 26, and cited by People magazine, while TMZ said the papers were formally entered by Kutcher’s lawyer Laura Wasser. That announcement was preceded by months of media reports about problems between the couple, who married in 2005 when she was 42 and he was 27. She had earlier been married to actor Bruce Willis for 13 years.

Read the full story on Rappler.

International singer Rihanna and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) have joined forces for the benefit of children affected by Super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan).Digital campaign “There for the Philippines” invites people to use social media to donate funds and spread awareness regarding UNICEF’s relief work aimed at providing potable water, medicine, and protection to affected children in the Visayas. Participants are encouraged to change their Facebook profile pictures and tweet messages of support. Aside from kickstarting the campaign, Rihanna, who held a concert here in September, also donated US$100,000 to the relief efforts.

Read the full story on Rappler.