January 17, 2014 Edition

The Philippines’ National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) said the “cash for cybersex” scheme has become a “cottage industry,” where syndicates move operations to different homes to create cybersex dens. NBI Anti-Human Trafficking Division chief Dante Bonoan said these dens are usually located in poor areas. In most cases, parents or older family members are involved in the prostitution of a minor. The NBI said this setup makes it difficult to identify abusers, with children often afraid to speak out against their own families. In 2012, an NBI entrapment operation led to the capture of a couple allegedly running a local child sex abuse ring in Cordova City, Cebu.

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The United Nations’ child rights watchdog in Geneva grilled the Vatican to flesh out its commitment to stop child sex abuse by priests. Pope Francis promised zero tolerance of abuse, but members of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child said the Vatican has not established mechanisms to investigate and prosecute priests accused of sex crimes. Past cases were often covered up by superiors, who transferred offenders to new parishes instead of turning them over to police. The Holy See’s is legally responsible only for implementing the UN Convention on children’s rights within the Vatican City. The Vatican said it continues to receive around 600 claims against abusive priests every year. Pope Francis alluded to the abuse revelations in a homily on Thursday, calling them “the shame of the Church.”

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Overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) are often hailed “modern day heroes” for propping up the Philippine economy with remittances, but not everyone returns home a success story. Former OFWs Eugene Asio and Arthur Villeta now spend their days collecting bottles for money and waiting in line at soup kitchens for daily meals. The Overseas Workers Welfare Administration has reintegration programs available for repatriated OFWs, but neither benefited from these programs. Asio added, “These agencies call us heroes when we’re abroad… Now that we’re no longer useful, they don’t care about us anymore.”

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The World Economic Forum (WEF) said the growing gap between the rich and the poor is the biggest global risk this year. In its annual Global Risks survey, the institution said, “The chronic gap between the incomes of the richest and poorest citizens is seen as the risk that is most likely to cause serious damage globally in the coming decade.” After income gap, the next most likely risk was extreme weather, followed by unemployment and underemployment, climate change, and cyberattacks. The WEF added that survey respondents were highly concerned about the possibility of more fiscal crises, in the wake of the eurozone debt crisis.

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A US Senate report said the attacks that killed four Americans in Libya in 2012 could have been prevented. The report came after Senate Intelligence Committee investigators conducted hearings on the September 2012 attack that targeted the US diplomatic facility and the nearby CIA annex in Benghazi. Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three others were killed in the attack. The report said the State Department failed to follow warnings to boost security, despite the deteriorating security environment in Libya. In a statement, the panel said, “The committee found the attacks were preventable based on extensive intelligence reporting on the terrorist activity in Libya… and given the known security shortfalls at the US mission.”

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French actress Julie Gayet sued Closer magazine over its report that she is having an affair with President Francois Hollande. Gayet is seeking 50,000 euros in damages and 4,000 euros in legal costs from the magazine over a report she claimed breached France’s privacy legislation. If she wins, Closer will have to publish the legal verdict on its cover page. At a press conference Tuesday, Hollande expressed his “total indignation” over Closer’s publication of photos showing the two arriving separately for secret trysts at a borrowed flat. Even if forced to pay Gayet, the magazine still stands to earn big. Earlier this week, it said it was on track to sell 600,000 copies, twice its usual circulation. The magazine promised another series of pictures and new revelations about the affair in its next edition.

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Initial tallies by state media showed more than 90 percent of voters approved the Egyptian new constitution following a two-day referendum. The official results are expected by Saturday. The government hailed the referendum as a strong show of approval of the army’s ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi. Officials say army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who led Morsi’s ouster, was monitoring the vote for a sign of support as he mulls running for the presidency. A coalition led by Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood claimed the referendum was a “farce” and promised further protests. The Muslim Brotherhood had hoped a low turnout would send a message of discontent over Morsi’s overthrow and the crackdown on his supporters.

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Five-division boxing champion Floyd Mayweather Jr shot down questions about a potential fight with Manny Pacquiao, saying he didn’t need to fight the Filipino boxer because his recent fights have been high-grossing events. He also said Pacquiao’s tax situation plays a role in the Filipino’s desire to fight him. Pacquiao reportedly owes $68 million in the Philippines and United States. Mayweather added, “He has tax problems now. So, two losses and tax problems later, now he all of a sudden want to say, ‘You know what? I’d do anything to make the fight happen,’ when he’s really saying, ‘Floyd, can you help me solve my tax problems, get me out of debt?'” Mayweather said on a number of occasions that he would not deal with Pacquiao’s promoter Bob Arum following a bitter split from Top Rank nearly a decade ago. Pacquiao said Mayweather was a “coward” for not accepting the fight.

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Crime caper “American Hustle” and 3D space saga “Gravity” topped the Oscar nominations list with 10 each, followed by historical drama “12 Years a Slave” with 9. Other movies nominated for best picture: “Captain Phillips,” “Dallas Buyers Club,” “Her,” “Nebraska,” “Philomena,” and “The Wolf of Wall Street.” For best actor, the nominees were Christian Bale, Bruce Dern, Leonardo DiCaprio, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Matthew McConaughey. Nominated for best actress were Amy Adams, Cate Blanchett, Sandra Bullock, Judi Dench and Meryl Streep. Nominated for best director were David O. Russell for “American Hustle,” Alfonso Cuaron for “Gravity,” Alexander Payne for “Nebraska,” Briton Steve McQueen for “12 Years a Slave” and Martin Scorsese for “The Wolf of Wall Street.” The surprises were multi-nominations for “The Wolf” with its divided critics over the portrayal of hedonist financial traders, “Dallas Buyers Club”, a low budget film of the life of an HIV-positive man, sleepers “Nebraska” and “Philomena”. CNN reported the “biggest shocker” was the snub of Tom Hanks for “Captain Phillips”. Other disappointments: Robert Redford for “All is Lost”, Emma Thompson for “Mary Poppins” author P.L. Travers, and Oprah Winfrey for “Lee Daniels’ The Butler”. Pixar, was also left out again for animated feature.

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Read the full list of 2014 Oscar nominees here.

Justin Bieber is under investigation for his alleged involvement in an egg attack on his neighbor’s house in exclusive Oaks community in Calabasas, California. Using a felony search warrant for the pop star’s mansion, sheriff’s deputies seized the pop star’s iPhone and examined security video. CNN reports Bieber may face possible prosecution if detectives find evidence of his involvement in the attack. This is not the first time neighbors complained about the pop star’s behavior. Bieber was accused of speeding down neighborhood’s streets and spitting on a neighbor’s face during a heated argument. The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office did not prosecute, saying it couldn’t prove the accusations in court.

Read the full story on CNN.