July 21, 2014 Edition

Ukrainian rebels said they put the bodies of MH17 crash victims in refrigerated train carriages until “the experts arrive” adding they had done so “out of respect for the families”. The news comes as Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said International forensic experts will finally reach the Ukrainian rebel-held crash site even as authorities in Kiev said they cannot guarantee the safety of investigators on the ground. Rutte said that the Dutch would be coordinating the task of identifying the 298 dead. Insurgents also claimed they had in hand material resembling black boxes and promised to give them to “international investigators if they arrive”. Rutte declined to answer questions about possible Dutch or NATO military intervention to secure the site amid growing anger in the Netherlands over lack of access to the bodies. The crash was the second airline disaster for Malaysia Airlines after the disappearance of MH370 only 4 months ago. The airlines said it would offer full refunds to customers who want to cancel their tickets without penalty until Thursday for travel throughout the rest of the year.

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Read more on victims’ bodies put in train on BBC.

Read more on Malaysia Airlines offering full refunds.

What should have been happy days of reunion turned into days of waiting for the family of Malaysia Air Flight MH17 passenger Irene Pabellon Gunawan. Irene, along with her Indonesian husband, Budy Janto, and two children, Sherryl Shania, 15 and Darryl Dwight, 20, were on their way to an annual family reunion in her hometown in Pagbilao, Quezon. Her brother, Tirso Pabellon said “I’ve run out of tears” as he narrated how his younger sister was putting his son through school, supporting her siblings and sending them emergency money. Social media gave a glimpse of the family when they were alive through their digital footprints. Darryll Dwight Gunawan, posted a photo Instagram with the caption, “Off to The Philippines & Vietnam for a month!”  The Gunawans were among 298 people from at least 7 nations on board the ill-fated plane. Last week, Australian media reporter as many as 100 anti-AIDS workers were on the flight. The International AIDS Society clarified Saturday only 6 colleagues were on board MH17 travelling to Melbourne to attend the global AIDS summit. Organizers confirmed that the organization’s former president, Joep Lange, a pioneer of cheap anti-retrovirals for the poor was among the list.

Read the full story on Rappler.

Read more on the Gunawans’ and social media.

Read more on AIDS summit attendees on MH17.

United States Secretary of State John Kerry laid out “extraordinary circumstantial evidence” that Ukrainian pro-Russian rebels shot down a Malaysian jet with weapons from Russia.  Kerry said US intelligence suggests that a sophisticated SA11 missile system was used to bring down flight MH17 on Thursday, July 17. The plane flew 33,000 feet over Ukraine en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur. Kerry told CNN, the Ukrainians “did not have such a system anywhere near the vicinity at that point in time”. Talking to NBC, he said, “It is clear that Russia supports the separatists, supplies the separatists, encourages the separatists, trains the separatists.”  In the CNN interview, Kerry also complained about “drunken separatists piling the remains of people into trucks in an unceremonious fashion … interfering with the evidence in the location.” Kerry’s media blitz comes as anger spreads across Europe at Russia over the crash, with the clamor for stiffer sanctions versus Kremlin growing stronger.

Read the full story on Rappler.

Read and watch: Kerry on “drunken separatists.”

Read more on Europe’s growing anger over the crash.

Indonesia’s presidential elections last July 9 is unique, what some called its “Obama moment” – the first time an outsider from its political elite has a chance at its top post. More than 130 million voters trooped to the polls over 6 hours in nearly 14,000 islands of the world’s largest archipelago. Indonesia, the world’s 3rd largest democracy, has the world’s largest Muslim population. Initial reports say 72% of the population went out to vote. Like the voter turn-out, the volunteeer turn-out was also high, as watchdog groups signed-up thousands to guard the vote counting online and onsite.

Watch Rappler’s documentary on #INDOvote.

Read more on high volunteer turn-out to guard the vote.

After being excluded from the shortlist of potential future justices of the Supreme Court, Solicitor General Francis Jardeleza asked the tribunal itself to stop the President from making the appointment. Jardeleza, the government’s chief lawyer, and considered one of President Benigno Aquino III’s favored nominees, decried his exclusion from the shortlist prepared by the Judicial and Bar Council. The President may select only from the names presented by the JBC as replacement for retired Justice Roberto A. Abad. In a petition, Jardeleza asked for 3 things: First, declare Chief Justice Ma. Lourdes Sereno and the JBC as having acted in grave abuse of discretion for not including him in the shortlist. Second, direct the JBC to include him in the shortlist, and, third, issue a restraining order directing the President to desist from appointing a replacement for Abad. Jardeleza’s petition is unprecedented in the country’s judicial history. He is effectively asking the Supreme Court’s members to censure their leader and to block the chief executive from exercising his constitutional mandate.

Read the full story on Rappler.

It’s the bloodiest single day in Gaza in five years. At least 100 Palestinians and 13 Israeli soldiers were killed in a blistering hours-long Israeli assault on Shejaiya, near Gaza City, Sunday. The Palestinian president called for an immediate meeting of the UN Security Council as regional leaders met in Doha for urgent talks on a ceasefire. The Palestinian death toll soared to 438 as Israel ramped up its major military offensive in Gaza. Pushing truce efforts, UN chief Ban Ki-moon condemned the “atrocious action” in Shejaiya and urged Israel to “exercise maximum restraint”. As war rages, experts said the children suffer the most. The spiralling number of children killed in conflict between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas raised international concern. As of last count, at least 73 children have been killed by Israeli fire in the Gaza Strip. The UN children’s agency, UNICEF, said children made up one-third of civilian casualties in the conflict so far. More than half of the children killed are under the age of 12.

Read the full story on Rappler.

Read more on children making up a third of casualties.

Myanmar’s opposition gathered millions of signatures in support of changes to a constitution that bars its leader Aung San Suu Kyi from becoming president. Suu Kyi travelled the country to drum up support against provisions in the 2008 charter that blocks anyone whose spouse or children are overseas citizens from leading the country – a clause widely believed to be targeted at Suu Kyi, whose two sons are British. Suu Kyi spent most of two decades locked up under the junta, but now joins former generals in parliament. The petition, which was launched in May, had gathered around three million signatures by early July. While the campaign has generated headlines, experts say it is unclear what effect it will have. A member of the constitution amendment committee said the petition would make no difference to its deliberations. Independent Myanmar expert Renaud Egreteau said “there is no support for a change to this article” within Myanmar outside Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy party.

Read the full story on Rappler.

The loneliness epidemic among younger adults drew concern in Britain, a month after the Office of National Statistics found Britain to be the loneliness capital of Europe. The study said the British are less likely to have strong friendships or have someone to rely on in a crisis than most people in the European Union. In a report, The Guardian said loneliness is a greater concern among young people than the elderly. The paper cited the close relationship between loneliness and mental health problems like increased stress, depression, and anxiety. What can young people do to fight loneliness? Social media could be a double-edged sword. While it allows for instant communication with loved ones, young people may withdraw socially when they expect to have the idealized versions of their friends’ lives as portrayed on social media.

Read more on the The Guardian.

Lonely girl image from Shutterstock

Maroon 5 lead singer Adam Levine is officially off the market. The hearthrob crooner married his girlfriend, Namibian model Behati Prinsloo at the Flora Farms in Los Cabos, Mexico, on Saturday. US Weekly reported the wedding was attended by around 300 guests, including guitarist James Valentine and Stevie Nicks who performed at the couple’s wedding. The website said the couple plan to celebrate  their honeymoon in South Africa. Levine and Prinsloo started dating in June 2012, a month after Adam split up with model Anne Vyalitsyna. The couple briefly split up in March 2013 but later reconciled. Levine proposed to the Namibian model in July 2013.

Read the full story on Rappler.

Prince George showed he has got the hang of walking in a new picture released by his parents Prince William and Kate to mark the future king’s first birthday Tuesday, July 22. The little boy, wearing striped dungaree shorts over a navy blue top, was photographed confidently on his feet with his arms outstretched and his eyes fixed on his destination. A low-key party at the family home at Kensington Palace will mark the occasion.

Read the story on the new photo.

Read more on baby George’s upcoming birthday.