August 13, 2014 Edition

The World Health Organization (WHO) authorized on Tuesday, August 12, the use of experimental anti-Ebola drugs to treat people infected with the virus as the death toll continues to rise. The announcement comes weeks after the WHO declared the Ebola outbreak in west Africa to be an international emergency. On Tuesday, a US drug company sent all of its available experimental serum called ZMapp to hard-hit west Africa. The drug was administered to two US aid workers who have reportedly reacted positively to the treatment. A third elderly aid worker from Europe died even after taking ZMapp. At least 1,013 people have died from contracting the virus in 2014 alone.

Read the full story on Rappler here and here.

The Armed Forces of the Philippines have revealed more details of the surveillance operation that brought about his arrest. It was dubbed Project Runway, a play on the Filipino word paliparan (airport). On Monday night, August 11, Palparan was spotted withdrawing money from an ATM machine before returning to his safe house. Agents of the Naval Intelligence and Security Force (NISF) and members of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) raided the house and found Palparan alone and unarmed. Palparan reportedly congratulated the arresting agents and said he had been “lax.” At a press conference following his arrest, Palparan insisted the evidence against him was manufactured and that he had no regrets for what he did.

Read the full story on Rappler.

Police revealed on Tuesday, August 12, more details behind the apparent suicide of comedian and actor Robin Williams. The Marin County Sheriff’s Office said Williams was found dead in his bedroom with a belt secured around his neck and superficial cuts on his wrist. He died from asphyxia although an official report will only be released upon completion of toxicology tests. Williams’ wife Susan Schneider was the last person to see him alive on Sunday night before retiring to bed. Schneider left the house on Monday morning, August 11, assuming Williams was asleep in a separate room in the house. Williams, 63, had battled in the past with depression, alcoholism and drug abuse and even spoke openly about it. He is survived by his three children and third wife.

Read the full story on Rappler.

The news of comedy legend Robin Williams’ apparent suicide has brought the topic of depression to the limelight with many taking to social media to express how badly affected they were by his death. Williams is not the first Hollywood star to have suffered from depression. The likes of Catherine Zeta-Jones and Stephen Fry have also battled the ailment. According to Michel Reynaud of the Paul Brousse Hospital’s psychiatry department in Paris, celebrity artists may be more vulnerable to depression than the average person. “Artists are often people who are more sensitive, who feel emotions more strongly,” said Reynaud. The World Health Organization (WHO) says more than 350 million people of all ages suffer from depression. Medical experts say, though the condition can manifest itself in various ways, people who show signs of depression should always seek help.

Read the full story on Rappler.

Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario criticized China on Monday, August 11, for refusing to “recognize” the problems in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) territorial dispute. This, he said, makes it difficult for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to resolve the issues surrounding the dispute. China earlier rejected the Philippines’ proposal to freeze provocative activities in the disputed waters under its Triple Action Plan (TAP). China has criticized the plan saying the Philippines does not abide by its proposal to withdraw “provocative actions.” China sees the Philippines’ move to file an arbitration case before an international judicial body as a provocative action.

Read the full story on Rappler.

US President Barack Obama on Tuesday, August 12, called for patience and calm after the death of a black teenager killed in a police shooting in Missouri sparked rioting. Looters targeted more than a dozen businesses in a St. Louis suburb on Saturday, August 10, after a vigil for Michael Brown erupted into clashes with police at the scene. The 18-year-old Brown was shot in broad daylight on Saturday, August 9. Obama called the death “heartbreaking” but urged the public to remember the young victim in “a way that heals, not in a way that wounds.” The FBI opened an investigation into the incident on Monday.

Read the full story on Rappler.

Google has announced plans to build a new undersea cable called FASTER in partnership with five Asia-based telecom companies. Mashable reports that NEC, KDDI, China Telecom Global, SingTel, China Mobile International, and Global Transit are all part of the consortium. The cable will be capable of delivering speeds of up to 60 terabytes per second and will cost $300 million. It is scheduled to be completed by the second quarter of 2016.

Read the full story on Mashable.

A mother from Agusan del Sur took to social media on Tuesday, August 12, to share her ordeal at a Butuan hospital which she claims declined to admit her ailing daughter because the family could not pay the deposit fee. Tutz Salarda-Chan narrated in a Facebook post that she transferred her daughter, Yanna Chan, to the Butuan Doctors Hospital in the hopes of getting better medical treatment. But the admissions office there declined to admit Yanna because they could not immediately pay the P30,000 deposit fee for the intensive care unit (ICU) room. As it was late at night, Salarda-Chan pleaded to be allowed to pay in the morning but the staff refused. Salarda-Chan decided to transfer Yanna to another hospital but she expired en route. Rappler tried to contact both the mother and the hospital but was unable to get any official statement.

Read the full story on Rappler.

A 29-year-old cop has piqued the interest of the online community after joining and qualifying for a pageant. Meet Police Officer 2 Mariano Perez Flormata Jr or “Neil Perez” from the PNP’s Aviation Security Group. He is one of the contestants in the Misters of the Philippines 2014 pageant. “Promoting the healthy lifestyle of the PNP personnel, PO2 Flormata serves as a model to all police officers who want to be fit and healthy while protecting our community from different crimes,” said the PNP in a statement on Tuesday, August 12. “Misters of the Philippines pageant can bring additional opportunities for me in terms of exposure, which will eventually help me financially. Through this pageant, I can also show to other people that I can do more aside from being a police officer,” the PNP quoted Flormata as saying.

Read the full story on Rappler.

Gilas Pilipinas head coach Chot Reyes revealed through his Twitter account the roster of Team Philippines for the 2014 Asian Games. In a tweet posted Wednesday, August 13 the Gilas head coach listed the 12-man lineup that will represent the Philippine flag in the 17th Asian Games, which will be held in Incheon, South Korea, from September 17 onwards. Most revealing is the inclusion of Andray Blatche, a NBA Brooklyn Nets player who was recently naturalized as a Filipino citizen. Blatche will play in place of Marcus Douthit, another naturalized Filipino citizen. FIBA rules state that a team can field only one naturalized player in international competitions.

Read the rest of the line up and the full story on Rappler.