February 27, 2015 Edition

France has made a loan offer to the Philippines worth 50 million euros ($56.6 million) to help fund projects that would help avert “further disasters.” French President Francois Hollande expressed his country’s desire to continue its assistance in rebuilding parts of the Philippines that were devastated by recent natural disasters. “We will work together on innovations that will be a point of reference, examples for the entire world,” he said, as he and President Benigno Aquino III launched a call to action to arrest climate change. The two countries agreed to step up their cooperation in the fight against terrorism as their leaders called on the international community to close their ranks against the scourge.

Read the full stories on the loan offer and the anti-terror cooperation on Rappler. See also our fast facts on Philippine-France relations.

The Philippine military said China has turned 3 more reefs in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) into artificial islands to establish its claim on parts of the maritime territory that the Philippines also claims. Manila has a pending case before an international court against Beijing, and is hoping that sanctions will be imposed on China and force it to demolish its developments in the disputed area. Reclamations are being done in Mabini (Johnson) Reef, Burgos (Gaven) Reef, and Keenan Reef.

See the photos of China’s developments exclusively on Rappler.

Mirroring his father’s time when the country’s economy was sinking while the family’s wealth was shooting over the roof, Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr’s wealth continues to rise even as his family businesses are operating at a loss. With a declared net worth of only P600,000 in 1992 after securing a seat in the House of Representatives for the 2nd district of Ilocos Norte, the 57-year-old Marcos scion’s net worth has jumped to P197.47 million or P441.997 million, depending on the basis of the computation in his Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth. Whichever computation is used, he remains the third richest senator, following Senators Ralph Recto and Cynthia Villar.

Read the full story on Rappler.

Call it hospital tales, all involving Senator Juan Ponce Enrile, who is detained for allegedly earning millions of pesos in commission from the illegal diversion of his office’s development funds. Enrile was rushed to the Makati Medical Center on Thursday, February 26, for pneumonia after he stopped responding to medications given to him at the Philippine National Police General Hospital, where he was detained. He will remain in the private Makati hospital “indefinitely.” Meanwhile, several police officials have been relieved after it was discovered that senators Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr and Jinggoy Estrada, who are also detained for the pork barrel scam, were able to sneak into Enrile’s birthday celebration at the PNP hospital on February 14. The two senators used the false excuse of needing to go to the emergency room because of their headache.

Read on Rappler the full stories on Enrile’s transfer and the relief of PNP detention guards.

For varied reasons – “whether it’s for professional growth, familial ties, or personal relations” – more and more Filipinos abroad are returning to the Philippines for good, the Commission on Filipino Overseas said. The CFO chairperson said, “While we appreciate the remittances of our kababayans abroad, that contribute to the country’s GDP growth while helping support their families, their will to share their talents and passions within the homeland is their greatest gift.” There are government programs to encourage these Filipinos to come to the Philippines and share their knowledge and skills with their kababayan. Budget Secretary Florencio Abad, speaking at the ongoing summit on the diaspora, said the government is doing its best to strengthen the economy so that leaving the country would become a choice, not a necessity for Filipinos.

Read on Rappler the full story on balikbayans for good.

“Jihadi John”, the masked Islamic State (ISIS) militant apparently responsible for beheading Western hostages, was named on Thursday, February 26, as Kuwaiti-born London computer programmer Mohammed Emwazi by experts and the media. The International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation at London’s King’s College, a leading resource for studying foreign jihadists, said it believed the identity “to be accurate and correct.” The New York Times quoted a senior British security official saying that Emwazi had been identified by the government “some time ago” but the name had not been disclosed “for operational reasons.”

Read the full story on Rappler.

At least six young Canadian men and women from Montreal and its suburbs travelled overseas last month to join the Islamic State group (ISIS), local media reported Thursday, February 27. Some of them, including two young women, were students at Montreal CEGEP College de Maisonneuve. They flew to Turkey on January 16 with the aim of crossing its border into Syria, the Montreal daily La Presse said. It is unclear if they reached their final destination. The six are aged 18 to 19 and of Middle Eastern and North African descent.

Read the full story on Rappler.

Over a million people have received blood and marrow stem cell transplants for life-threatening diseases in the past 57 years, but too many are still waiting, a study said Friday, February 27. Haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) often offers the only possibility of a cure for blood diseases and rare cancers like myeloma or leukemia. The procedure involves taking healthy stem cells from the blood or marrow of the patient or from a healthy donor, with which to boost the system of someone whose blood-manufacturing bone marrow or immune system is damaged or defective. The analysis found huge discrepancies between rich and poor countries. Of the HSCTs performed, 52.5% were in Europe, 31% in the Americas, 15% in southeast Asia and the western Pacific, and less than two percent in the eastern Mediterranean and Africa.

Read the full story on Rappler.

US regulators on Thursday, February 26 (February 27 Manila time) approved landmark Internet rules that would prevent broadband providers from separating online traffic into slow and fast lanes. The Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) 3-2 vote in favor of so-called “net neutrality” followed an intense debate in Washington pitting backers of online services like Netflix, Twitter and Yelp against big Internet service providers like AT&T and Verizon. The ruling, climaxing a years-long regulatory battle, sets a new standard that treats all Internet traffic as equal, preventing Internet firms from charging fees for better access. In a separate decision, the FCC, also in a 3-2 vote, said it would use its authority to overturn state rules in North Carolina and Tennessee that block municipal broadband firms from expanding, saying the decision will help promote expanded access to high-speed Internet.

Read the full story on Rappler.

Filmmaker Lav Diaz is among the 2015 Asian Film Awards nominees, announced Wednesday, February 25. Diaz is nominated for Best Director for his film Mula sa Kung Ano ang Noon (From What Is Before), which tells the story of a small village in the Philippines at the time right before then President Ferdinand Marcos declared Martial Law in 1972. Diaz’s film has since been screened locally and in different film festivals around the world, like the Singapore Film Festival and the Toronto Film Festival, to name a few. It also received the Golden Leopard prize at the Locarno Film Festival in Switzerland in August 2014. The Asian Film Awards ceremony will take place at The Venetian Macau on Wednesday, March 25.

Read the full story and find a full list of nominees on Rappler.