Parts of the eastern seaboard of the Philippines can expect a wet Holy Week this week as tropical cyclone Maysak approaches the country. Mayas was upgraded to a super typhoon on Tuesday, March 31 by the United States Navy’s Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) and is expected to enter the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) and be renamed “Chedeng” by Wednesday evening (April 1) or Thursday Morning (April 2). State weather bureau PAGASA and other forecasting institutions estimate that Maysak will weaken as it enters the PAR. Maysak has damaged homes in the island of Chuuk, part of the Federated States of Micronesia.

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Marathon talks aimed at stopping Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons went past the deadline and into the early hours of Wednesday, April 1. Earlier, both sides expressed cautious optimism at reaching a deal with Russia saying the chances were “high” of reaching a historic framework deal by midnight. “The prospects of this round of talks are not bad, even good I would say,” said Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. The two sides hope to seal a political framework aimed at ending a nuclear standoff that has been threatening to escalate dangerously for 12 years. But the negotiations still hung in the balance on Tuesday as uncertainty reigned on where a deal could be reached by the midnight deadline.

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Here are fast facts on Iran’s nuclear program.

China’s air force has carried out its first ever military drill over the western Pacific Ocean, state media said, highlighting Beijing’s growing military reach. Several Chinese aircraft on Monday, March 30, flew over the ocean via the Bashi Channel, which runs between Taiwan and the Philippines, according to official Xinhua news agency. China has increased its military budget by double digit amounts for several decades, but says the spending is purely defensive and not aimed at other countries. “The drill is not targeted at any certain country or targets and carries no threat against other countries and regions,” Xinhua cited an army spokesman as saying.

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The head of Thailand’s military junta said the government would lift martial law but only after replacing it with a new order retaining sweeping powers for the military. Critics said the move would “deepen dictatorship” in the kingdom. The former army chief imposed marital law and seized power last May following the ousting of Yingluck Shinawatra’s democratically elected government after months of often violent street protests. The junta is under pressure by the private sector and foreign governments to lift martial law. The military has vowed to return power to an elected civilian government, but only once reforms to tackle corruption and curb the power of political parties are codified in a new constitution.

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In separate cases on Thursday, March 31, two Indonesian women found themselves facing a guilty verdict for what they wrote on social media apps Facebook and Path. In Bandung, West Java, a court sentenced 47-year-old Wisni Yetty to 5 months in jail and slapped a fine of IDR100 million ($7,650) for “transmitting electronic content that violated decency.” Wisni had used Facebook Messenger in 2011 to tell her friend her husband was abusive towards her. In another case in Yogyakarta, postgraduate student Florence Sihombing was sentenced to a 6 month probation period for calling Yogyakarta “poor, stupid and uncultured” in a post on popular social network Path. The cases of Wisni and Florence fuel increasing calls for the ITE Law, which criminalizes online defamation, to be revised. Critics say almost 80 have been charged under the law since it was signed in 2008, with more than half in 2014 alone.

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Election campaigns all over Britain began following the dissolution of parliament on March 30 (March 31 in Manila). British Prime Minister David Cameron warned voters they face a “stark choice” in May’s tight general election as he kicked off the campaign. Analysts say the May 7 election will be the closest in decades as the incumbent Conservatives battled Ed Miliband’s opposition Labour party. Opinion polls suggest that neither the center-right Conservatives nor center-left Labour will win an outright majority in the 650-seat House of Commons.

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The co-pilot suspected of deliberately crashing a Germanwings plane in the French Alps had informed his employer that he had undergone a “previous episode of severe depression”, Lufthansa said Tuesday, March 31. The airline, which owns Germanwings, said 27-year-old Andreas Lubitz told the company in 2009 about his illness. Lubitz had stopped his flight training for 6 months around the same time in 2009. The carrier will turn over additional documents to prosecutors after “further initial investigations.” Meanwhile, at the crash site, officials say body parts of the deceased have been recovered and DNA testing is ongoing to determine their identities.

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A Brazilian priest known for conservative views on moral issues and disapproving in his sermons of kissing and sex has been suspended for sending a nude selfie to an apparent mistress on his cell phone. Father Alfredo Rosa Borges’ naked picture of himself posing in front of a mirror appeared in online media, causing a firestorm reaction. He sent the photo to a woman who later posted it online. The woman denies she had an intimate relationship with the priest. Borges authors a blog where he expresses conservative views on social issues.

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A brief total eclipse of the Moon may be visible on April 4 to skywatchers in western North America, Australia and East Asia, astronomers say. The best time to watch it for those in Asia is on the early evening of April 4, around 7:30 pm for residents in Manila and Beijing. A lunar eclipse occurs when the Sun, Earth and Moon are lined up so that the Moon passes through the Earth’s shadow. Unlike in the case of a solar eclipse, which requires skywatchers to wear protective equipment to protect their eyes, a lunar eclipse can be observed with the naked eye, or a pair of binoculars for a better view.

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Rappler is turning a new page…literally. It took weeks of deliberations, and buckets of tears (thanks, bashers) before we finally realized it was time for us to take our news reporting to the next level. In 2013, Rappler dropped “beta” and launched the Rappler app on iOS and Android. This year – 2015, Rappler is moving in a wild, new direction: We’re going print!

Find out why on Rappler.