Daily News Highlights – March 12, 2015 Edition

“May 2, the fight of the century. It’s all about the best fighting the best,” said Floyd Mayweather as he and Manny Pacquiao finally stood across from each other atop the stage at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles on early Thursday,  March 12 (Manila time), to face the media. “The most important thing is…that the name of the Lord will be glorified,” said Pacquiao. “I want to let the people know that there is God who can raise someone from nothing into something. And that’s me. I came from nothing into something and I owe everything to God. He gave me this blessing. It’s all credit to the Lord.” After the red carpet press conference attended by over 700 credentialed reporters concluded, the two camps posed for a group photo that underlined the magnitude of this event, showing the maturity that finally brought the two sides together after years of on-and-off negotiations.

Read the full story on Rappler.

Check the liveblog of the presser on Rappler.

Danish police on March 11 arrested 10 men and raided their homes on suspicion that they paid for watching the live-streaming of children being sexually abused in the Philippines. Danish police said that “a number of money transactions” had led to the arrests being made. One of the men was remanded in custody in Herning in western Denmark while 9 others had been released pending an investigation of the computers that had been confiscated, he added. In the first Danish case of its kind, a man was last year sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison for his online involvement in the sexual abuse of children in the Philippines, having paid other adults between $21 to $43 to carry out the acts. 

Read the full story on Rappler.

In what the Binary camp has branded as part of a supposed demolition job called “Oplan Nognog,” the Office of the Ombudsman on March 11 suspended Makati Mayor Jejomar Erwin “Junjun” Binay Jr and other city officials for 6 months without pay in connection with the allegedly overpriced Makati City building.  The suspension takes effect as the Ombudsman conducts preliminary investigation into his and his father’s alleged violations of anti-graft laws, the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, and several irregularities in the procurement, and award of contracts for the design and architectural services and construction of the Makati City Hall Parking Building. The same issue was the basis of a Senate inquiry into Binay that began last year, and evolved to expose the Binay dynasty’s web of alleged corruption in the two decades the family ruled Makati, the country’s financial district.

Read the full story on Rappler.

Walden Bello resigned as representative of Akbayan, a party list that belongs to the ruling coalition and which campaigned for President Benigno Aquino III in the 2010 presidential race. In the most stinging criticism yet by an ex-ally, Bello accused the President of cover-up, of protecting friends and of refusing to listen to contrary views. The former activist said the last straw was the President’s most recent speech blaming a sacked police general for the Mamasapano bloodbath that killed 44 police troopers, 18 Moro rebels and 3 civilians. Bello was supposed to deliver a privilege speech on March 11 but very few lawmakers attended the session, prompting the leadership to adjourn early. Akbayan said they continue to support the President.

Read the full story on Rappler.

A Philippine-based human rights group suggested that the UN and prominent rights lawyer Amal Alamuddin-Clooney had been “misinformed” by the camp of jailed former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo in her claim of arbitrary detention. In a letter to the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, Karapatan said Arroyo in fact is enjoying “the most special treatment” and that under her term she “violated every single article” of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which Arroyo – through Clooney – is now invoking in her petition. It was Clooney, a renowned international human rights lawyer, who filed a case against the Philippine government before the UN working group over the alleged arbitrary detention and political persecution of Arroyo.

Read the full story on Rappler.

Senior diplomats from South Korea, China and Japan met in Seoul on March 11 to address mutual tensions and pave the way for the first meeting of their foreign ministers for 3 years. While relations between China and South Korea are probably stronger than they have ever been, both have major problems in their ties with Japan due to similar, yet separate, historical and territorial disputes. The gathering in Seoul was aimed at preparing the first meeting later this month of the three countries’ foreign ministers since April 2012. If that meeting is successful, it could lead to a 3-way leadership summit later in the year.

Read the full story on Rappler.

Smart Communications Incorporated is the top non-individual taxpayer for taxable year 2013.  A firm led by Manuel V. Pangilinan, Smart of the Philippine Long Distance Telecommunications Company (PLDT) pushed another Pangilinan-led firm, Manila Electric Company (Meralco), to 2nd place as top non-individual taxpayer. Based on the Bureau of Internal Revenue’s data as of March 6, 2015, Smart ranked first among the top 500 non-individual taxpayers for taxable year 2013, with an income tax due amounting to P10.891 billion ($245.76 million). The others on the list include San Miguel Brewery Inc, Nestlé Philippines, Chevron and Shell.

Read the full story on Rappler.

A group of “battle-hardened” armed thieves attacked two secure vans carrying jewels at a French motorway toll in the dead of night, making off with a haul worth some $11 million. The heist took place around midnight March 11 on a motorway in the Yonne district some 200 kilometers (125 miles) southeast of Paris, and police, backed by air support, are searching within a large perimeter around the area. There were around 15 robbers, all “heavily armed and battle-hardened,” said a police source. No one was hurt in the holdup. The large vans, which were transporting jewels for a planned sale in the eastern city of Besancon, were found burnt and abandoned not far from the toll station. 

Read the full story on Rappler.

London’s National Gallery has banned selfie sticks following the lead of museums around the world alarmed by the possible hazards to visitors and artworks. Selfie sticks, the hugely popular extending rods onto which a smartphone or camera can be fitted to provide a better angle for a self-portrait, are classed as tripods under the National Gallery’s rules. In Paris, the Palace of Versailles and the Pompidou Centre have both said they are considering similar moves. Selfie sticks are welcome elsewhere in London, although the British Museum, home to some of the world’s greatest culture treasures, said it was reviewing its policy. “Due to the recent popularity of selfie sticks, the National Gallery preferred to take precautionary measures,” a spokeswoman said.

Read the full story on Rappler.

The Ateneo de Manila University Lady Eagles won their 15th straight game in the UAAP Season 77 women’s volleyball beating rivals DLSU Lady Spikers, 25-18, 25-19, 25-19, in game one of this season’s finals. Ateneo allowed DLSU to attain 21 points of errors but reigning MVP Alyssa Valdez delivered her usual stellar performance scoring 25 points. The Lady Spikers moves to 15-0 this season and could finish a perfect 16-0 in their Season 77 campaign en route to a championship with a victory in game two onSaturday, March 14.

Read the full story on Rappler.