October 12, 2014 Edition

More than 4,000 people have died from the Ebola virus, the World Health Organization (WHO) said Friday, October 10. A total of 4,033 have died, the WHO said, and is out of a recorded 8,399 cases in 7 countries – a nearly 50% death rate. From Australia to Zimbabwe, and Macedonia to Spain, people who showed signs of fever or had recent contact with Ebola victims were whisked into isolation units or ordered to stay in their homes. The sharp rise in deaths came as the United Nations said aid pledges to fight the outbreak have fallen well short of the $1 billion (800 million euros) needed. 

Read more on Rappler.

A security and janitorial company identified with an associate and a “dear family friend” of Vice President Jejomar Binay has been allegedly cornering hundreds of millions of pesos in contracts yearly from the Makati City government. From 2010 to 2013 alone, Omni Security Investigation and General Services Inc, a company put up in 1999 and operated at a loss during its first year, bagged more than P1.3 billion ($29 million*) in contracts from the Makati City government. The company is linked to Binay’s close associate, Gerardo “Gerry” Limlingan.

Read the exclusive story on Newsbreak.

Almost 5 in 10 Filipinos – 48% – “are of the view that it is still possible to successfully combat governmental corruption,” a survey conducted in September showed. Respondents in the Pulse Asia survey were asked if they agreed, disagreed, or were undecided on this statement: “We can still successfully fight the corruption of officials in using public funds.” Agreement to the survey statement was highest among the richest Class ABC (54%), followed by Class D (48%), and the poorest Class D (47%).

Read the full story on Rappler.

Is he sick? On “vacation”? Injured? Speculation mounted over Kim Jong-un’s whereabouts and condition heightened after he apparently missed a key political event Friday, October 10. Kim was not listed by the state KCNA news agency as being among the officials who made an annual pilgrimage to the mausoleum in Pyongyang housing the remains of his father and grandfather. Kim, believed to be 30 or 31, has not been seen since September 3 when he attended a music concert with his wife in Pyongyang. 

Read Agence France-Presse’s report on Rappler.

It’s Nobel week, and 17-year-old Pakistani activist Malalay Yousafzai leads this year’s recipients of the world’s most prestigious awards. The week opened with the Nobel Prize in Medicine, awarded for research on the brain’s internal “GPS”; it was then followed by the physics Nobel awarded to 3 Japanese researchers for their research on blue LEDs. The chemistry Nobel, the third announced award, was given to 3 scientists for their research on nanomicroscopy, while French writer Patrick Modiano was awarded the Nobel Literature Prize. The Peace prize was given to Malala and another education and children’s rights activist Kailash Satyarthi. Nobel week will end on Monday, October 13, with the announcement of the prize for Economic Sciences.

Read more on the Nobel Season 2014 on Rappler.

The Philippines and 11 other countries signed a historic declaration on Friday, October 10, against the death penalty. Calling the declaration a “political pronouncement,” the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Philippine laws “underline its policy” against capital punishment. The declaration came as the Philippine Senate is set to discuss the death penalty again.

Details on Rappler.

The silhouette of a hand on a cave wall in Indonesia is 40,000 years old, showing that Europe was not the birthplace of art as long believed, researchers said on Wednesday, October 8. Created by spraying reddish paint around an open hand pressed against rock, the stencil was made about the same time – and possibly before – early humans were leaving artwork on cave walls around Europe that was long thought to be the first in the world.

Read Agence France-Presse’s story on Rappler.

When Emirates brought its gigantic A380 aircraft for a one-off special flight to celebrate its move to NAIA 3, the plane was flown by Filipino captain Franklyn Desiderio – the first Filipino aviator to fly the world’s largest passenger plane. A pilot for 25 years, 41-year-old Desiderio said it was an honor to fly the plane, which he describes as a “gentle giant.” No less than the President of the Philippines greeted the flight’s arrival. Desiderio hopes he can soon fly the plane in Manila on a regular basis.

Read our profile of Capt. Desiderio on Rappler.

Will this be Kobe Paras’ path towards the NBA? The former La Salle Greenhills standout has finally decided to commit the UCLA Bruins, considered as one of the breeding grounds for NBA stars. “I have made my decision…I’m really happy to say that I have committed to UCLA!,” tweeted the Batang Gilas standout Paras. Paras later issued a formal statement on his intentions. Paras was also offered scholarships to play for other Division I NCAA Schools such as Arizona State University and Fresno State University.

Read more on Rappler.

It’s a surprise comeback – the population of the endangered tamaraw increased by 10% over the past year, and is now at its highest since conservation efforts started. As of April this year, the population stood at 382, a big improvement from a low of less than 100 back in 1969. The tamaraw (Bubalis mindorensis) is the country’s largest and rarest endemic land animal, and are only found in Mindoro. Current conservation efforts are part of the Tamaraw Times Two project, which aims to double the animal’s population from 300 to 600 by 2020. The good news comes as the country marks Tamaraw Month this month.

Read more about this good news on Rappler.