A Germanwings plane crashed in a remote area of the French Alps on Tuesday, March 24, killing all 150 on board. It is the worst plane disaster in mainland France for 4 decades. The Airbus A320 reportedly plunged for 8 minutes in a snowbound inaccessible mountain. No distress signal had been issued. Most of the 144 passengers were from Spain and Germany. There were also 6 crew members. The flight data recorded has been discovered. Germanwings is the budget carrier of Lufthansa. French authorities have set up a crisis center to coordinate search and recovery operations.

Read the full story on Rappler.

The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) released on Tuesday, March 24 its report on the Mamasapano operation which led to the death of 66 people, majority of whom were elite policemen. In its report, the MILF criticized the commanders of its 105th and 118th base commands for their “glaring failure of intelligence” in not knowing that two international terrorists were living within their stronghold. The report also said the commanders failed to detect the entry of the SAF troopers. In the same report, the MILF justified the actions of its fighters when they engaged the SAF troopers, including the confiscation of the guns and and other equipment of the policemen. The group added they will not surrender any of their fighters to the government.

Read the full story on Rappler.

President Benigno Aquino III flaunted his administration’s achievements in front of an audience of 500 business leaders, investors and policy makers at the Euromoney Investment Forum on Tuesday, March 24. Aquino mentioned the record net foreign direct investment (FDIs) of $6.2 billion in 2014, the average GDP growth rate of 6.3%, and the upgrade of the Philippines to investment grade in 2013 as among his chief accomplishments. The President added that the government will maximize every opportunity available, including increasing infrastructure spending in 2016 to 5% of GDP. He invited the business community to “bet on the Filipino people.”

Read the full story on Rappler.

Sweden will introduce in April a gender-neutral pronoun into the official dictionary of the Swedish language, editors at the Swedish Academy said on Tuesday, March 24. The word “hen” will officially refer to a person without revealing their gender. In Sweden, a man is referred to as “han” and a woman as “hon.” The word is not itself new, it was first coined in the 1960s when the ubiquitous use of “han” became politically incorrect. It will join the 13,000 new words in the Swedish dictionary.

 Read the full story on Rappler.

The body of former Singapore Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew will be transferred from the presidential palace to Parliament House on Wednesday, March 25 where it will lie in state for ordinary people to pay their respects. Mr. Lee will be accorded the highest state honors in the short 2km transfer. Earlier this week, members of the Singapore Armed Forces rehearsed the transfer ceremony. Mr. Lee died early Monday morning, March 23. He was the founding Prime Minister of Singapore and played a seminal role in its rapid development from a developing country to a first world trading hub.

Read the full story in the Straits Times.

Hollywood megastar Angelina Jolie announced Tuesday, March 24 that she has had her ovaries and fallopian tubes removed over fears of cancer. The actress had a double mastectomy in 2013 and has a gene mutation that increases her risk of cancer by 50%. Jolie made the announcement in an New York Times Op-Ed piece where she said she did not make the decision lightly. “The beautiful thing about such moments in life is that there is so much clarity. You know what you live for and what matters. It is polarizing, and it is peaceful,” she wrote.

Read the full story on Rappler.

Fast-food giant Jollibee Foods Corporation (JFC) will open its first maiden store in Canada this year with its eyes set on Toronto. Jollibee chief finance officer Ysmael Baysa made the announcement at the sidelines of the Euromoney Investment Forum on Tuesday, March 24, JFC is earmarking P9.1 billion ($203.69 million) in capital expenditures this year. The popular fast-food chain plans to open 330 stores in 2015: 220 in the Philippines and 110 overseas. It already operates a total of 612 stores overseas.

Read the full story on Rappler.

The Philippines is due to experience a big 7.2 magnitude earthquake inevitably, say geologists and state geosciences agency, Phivolcs. But are we ready for one? Government agencies, together with civil society partners, hope to remind the public what to do in the event of an earthquake: duck, take cover, and hold on until the shaking stops. Rappler, together with the Office of Civil Defense, Phivolcs, and Orange Helmets, has produced a series of Duck, Cover and Hold (DCH) educational videos as part of our #OplanPagyanig coverage. Take your own DCH videos and share them with us. Participate in the nationwide earthquake drill on Friday, March 27 at 9:00 am. Be ready, be safe!

Watch the videos here.

For fresh college graduates entering the workforce, finding a job can be a challenge with many factors to consider. But if salary were the only criteria, then the information technology sector may have all the answers. According to a report released by online job search site, Jobstreet, the IT industry pays the highest salaries for fresh graduates, with an average monthly wage of P24,000. Banks, law firms, and call centers are also known to pay above average starting salaries for college graduates. But ultimately, Jobstreet advices jobseekers to pursue their passion when choosing their future careers.

Read the full story on Rappler.

The Philippines’ “slow but open” Internet was a key topic on the agenda of RightsCon Southeast Asia, a summit series that tackles global Internet issues from a human rights perspective. International non-governmental organizations opened RightsCon in Manila on Tuesday, March 24, the first time the two-day conference is held in Asia. RightsCon Southeast Asia gathers 500 delegates, including civil society members, activists, lawyers, companies and government officials to discuss a wide range of issues from privacy to disaster preparedness using the Internet. The NGO Foundation for Media Alternatives (FMA), the local organizer of the event, told Rappler that RightsCon aims to raise awareness about issues like privacy and freedom of expression in a country dubbed the social media capital of the world.

Read the full story on Rappler.