August 29, 2012 Edition

On the eve of the 7th Anniversary of Katrina, category one storm “Hurricane Isaac” made landfall, hitting the southeastern portion of Louisiana state in the United States. The National Hurricane Center warns of “strong winds and a dangerous storm surge” along the Gulf coast. New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu also warned residents to stay indoors to avoid flying debris. The storm has already caused storm surges and flooding in several locales including Shell Beach in Louisiana and Waveland, Mississippi. Forecasters predict the surges will get worse with water levels expected to rise between 6 to 12 feet on the coast of the Mississippi. Most parts of New Orleans should expect power outages. Entergy Corp is reporting 150,000 homes are without power.  No casualties have been reported.

Read more on CNN and Guardian

Typhoon Bolaven ravaged South Korea on Tuesday, August 28 leaving at least 10 dead and forcing 222 people to evacuate their homes. The typhoon triggered massive flooding, and massive power failures across to about 1.76 million households across the country. South Korea’s National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) says the most severely damaged areas were in South Jeolla Province and Jeju Island. The most fatal accident involved two Chinese fishing boats that were smashed against rocks of the coast of Jeju Island. 18 crew members were rescued, 5 died, and 10 remain missing. 

Read more on Yonhap News

In what was mere formality, Mitt Romney officially became the Republican presidential nominee during the party’s national convention in Tampa, Florida Tuesday, August 28.

During the roll-call vote, Romney secured 2061 delegates, almost double the required number needed to clinch the nomination. Romney goes up against incumbent President Barack Obama in elections that take place on November 6, just over two months from now. Romney’s running mate Rep. Paul Ryan also received a nomination. 

Read more on USA Today

Prosecutors in France have agreed to open an inquiry that will look into the 2004 murder of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. Medical records state that Arafat died in a military hospital near Paris of a stroke resulting from a blood disorder, but family members have called for an investigation on claims that Arafat was died of polonium poisoning. The findings were revealed by Swiss-scientists hired by a documentary crew found traces of the radio active element polonium-210 on some of Arafat’s belongings including his trademark keffiyeh. 

Read more on BBC

10 days after his tragic death, the Philippines bid farewell to Interior and Local Government secretary Jesse Robredo. Robredo was cremated after being given full state honors in his home town of Naga City. His remains were laid to rest at the Eternal Gardens Memorial Park also in Naga. Robredo and his two pilots died when their plane crashed off the coast of Masbate on a last minute flight from Cebu to Naga last August 18. President Benigno Aquino III.

Read more on Rappler

Things seem to be looking up for the Philippines. After recording a 6.4% growth rate in the first quarter of 2012, reports from international observers are mostly optimistic. The most recent is an article by the New York Times dubbing the Philippines as “Asia’s bright spot”. The August 27 report makes an interesting case in favor of the the country’s high population growth rate, calling it “a driving force for economic growth.” Other positive signs include recent credit upgrades, a 4-year high record of the peso against the dollar, and the continued growth of the country’s Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) industry. 

Read more on Rappler

Syrian opposition fighters claim that up to 400 people were killed last weekend in the town of Daraya, located southwest of the capital city Damascus. If the figures are accurate the incident would be the worst single attack by government forces since the civil war broke 17 months ago.The attack on Daraya is being portrayed by as a counter terrorism operation. Government officials reported the area was cleansed of “terrorists” following the operation. Human rights groups however say most of the dead were civiliams. Meanwhile 27 people were killed and at least 48 were injured when a car bomb exploded in the a suburb of the Syrian capital city of Damascus Tuesday, August 28. The car bomb was targeted at a funeral procession held for two supporters of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad who died in a separate incident Monday. 

Read more on Rappler

The Yosemite National Park in California has warned 1700 visitors who stayed in the park’s cabins from June to August  2012 of possible exposure to a deadly virus. Two related deaths have been reported, both victims are said to have died of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome. The disease is transmitted through urine, saliva and droppings of mice and other rodents. Symptoms arise one to 6 weeks from expose.  There is currently no specific treatment for the disease which has a fatality rate of 30%. Park authorities are already working on cleaning and inspecting all 408 cabins. Park Spokesman Scott Gediman assures that efforts are being undertaken to keep the situation under control, “Specialists have come in from across the country. We’re monitoring the area and doing everything we can to make it safe.”

Read more on USA Today

At 101 years old Florence Detlor is Facebook’s oldest user. A California native, Detlor recently visited Facebook’s corporate offices in Palo Alto where she met Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and COO Sheryl Sandberg. Zuckerberg who is 28 is almost 4x younger than Detlor. Detlor has been a Facebook user since August 2009, she has 1,253 Facebook friends, and regular posts new status messages. On July 25 she posted, “Another day……and the sun shines.”  

Read more on CNN