June 14, 2013 Edition

The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) confirmed two persons died on June 14, and 15 remain missing after a ship sank off Burias Island, Masbate because of still undetermined reasons. PCG chief petty officer Bayani Belisario said authorities have rescued 40 passengers and crew of the ship, MV Lady of Mount Carmel. The ship carried 57 people when it sank at around 5:30 am. Ship captain Lauro Mateo said not all passengers managed to wear life jackets. It took only a minute for the ship to sink, Mateo said.

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The United States will provide “military support” to Syrian rebels, after concluding the Syrian regime used chemical weapons to quash the rebellion. “The president has made a decision about providing more support to the opposition. That will involve providing direct support to the (rebel) Supreme Military Council. That includes military support,” said deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes on June 13. The US, working with European allies, said the Syrian regime has used chemical weapons against the rebels, killing up to 150 people. Earlier, a US defense official said the United States would keep F-16 fighter jets and Patriot anti-missile weapons in Jordan – which borders Syria – after a joint military exercise ends this month.

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Only 28 senatorial candidates managed to submit their statements of contributions and expenditures (SOCE) to the Commission on Elections by noon of June 14. The Comelec Law Department said as of noon on Friday, Joseph Victor “JV” Ejercito was the only Senate winner who has failed to submit his SECE. Defeated bets Risa Hontiveros, Rizalito David, and Marwil Llasos have not filed their SOCEs as well. The Comelec said the poll body will fine those who don’t meet the deadline. Those who don’t file at all, can’t assume office, the Comelec added. The SOCE is meant to disclose how much contributions a candidate got, and how much he or she spent, and if the amounts comply with campaign spending cap prescribed in the election law, which election players say is outdated.

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Turkish protest leaders went into emergency talks with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, after demonstrators rejected his “last warning” to evacuate an Istanbul park at the center of mass anti-government protests. Thousands of defiant protesters spent another night under the stars in Gezi Park after rebuffing Erdogan’s olive branch to clear out in return for a referendum on the park’s planned redevelopment. The fight to save the park’s 600 trees prompted a brutal police crackdown two weeks ago, snowballing into nationwide protests against Erdogan and his Islamic-rooted government, seen as increasingly authoritarian. Taksim Solidarity representatives traveled to the capital Ankara for late-night talks with Erdogan, their first since the unrest began.

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The world’s population will hit 7.2 billion next month and is projected to reach 10.9 billion by 2100, powered by births in poor countries, the United Nations said June 13. With the number of future global dwellers linked to fertility, the number at the end of the century could be as high 16.6 billion or even fall to 6.8 billion, the UN said in its “World Population Prospects.” The population of developing countries is projected to rise from 5.9 billion in 2013 to 8.2 billion in 2050 and 9.6 billion 2100, the report said. The poorest are projected to double in size from 898 million inhabitants of what the report defines as less developed countries this year to 1.8 billion in 2050 and to 2.9 billion in 2100.

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The World Bank has slashed its growth forecast for China’s economy this year to 7.7% from 8.4%, warning of a potential “sharp” slowdown triggered by a fall in investment. The projection is lower than the 7.8% expansion the country recorded in 2012, which was its weakest in 13 years, and comes as a slew of data indicate the economy is struggling to pick up pace. Chinese household debt is around two to 3 times higher than the level before 1997 when the Asian Financial Crisis hit, the report said. The World Bank’s forecast cuts followed a recent lowering by the International Monetary Fund to 7.75% from the previous 8%.

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The Bureau of Immigration has ordered the deportation of the 12 Chinese fishermen who were aboard the fishing vessel that ran aground in Tubbataha reef on April 8. Tubbataha park superintendent Angelique Songco said the order raises concerns that the charges against the alleged poachers would eventually be dropped. Songco said she fears the fishermen will apply for bail soon and that the case against them “could slip through our hands like the ones before it.” The Chinese vessel destroyed 3,902 square meters of corals, 66% larger than the final damage measurement caused by the USS Guardian. The proposed fine against the Chinese fishermen is estimated at P95 million.

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Naturally occurring human gene sequences cannot be patented but artificially copied and replicated DNA can be, the US Supreme Court ruled on June 13. “A naturally occurring DNA segment is a product of nature and not patent eligible merely because it has been isolated but cDNA is patent eligible because it is not naturally occurring,” the court ruled. The nine justices reviewed a 2012 appeals court decision that allowed a biotechnology company, Myriad Genetics Inc, to patent two genes it found had links to breast and ovarian cancer.

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The Dalai Lama waded into Australia’s bitter gender war, saying his successor as the spiritual leader of the Tibetans could be a woman. “If the circumstances are such that a female Dalai Lama is more useful, then automatically a female Dalai Lama will come,” he told a press conference in Sydney to launch a 10-day tour of Australia. The exiled 77-year-old was questioned about the gender conflict reignited by Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard this week. He replied that the world faces a “moral crisis” of inequality and suffering and needs leaders with compassion. “In that respect, biologically, females have more potential,” the Dalai Lama said. “Females have more sensitivity about others’ well-being.

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News Corp chief Rupert Murdoch filed papers to divorce his 3rd wife Wendi Deng on June 13, citing an “irretrievably” broken marriage to a woman 38 years his junior. The 82-year-old media tycoon’s Chinese-born partner is perhaps best known for a 2011 incident when she leapt to defend her husband by striking a pie-wielding protester, prompting headlines calling her a “tiger wife.” A source close to News Corp said the couple had a pre-nuptial agreement but did not elaborate. The divorce will not affect the way in which the media empire is run as Deng does not have stock or voting rights in News Corp. News of the impending divorce was not seen as a sign of problems at the company, and shares in News Corp rose 2.39% June 13 to close at US$31.68.

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