March 12, 2013 Edition

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  1. Rituals, the Church and a new pope

    'POLLING PRECINCT.' Cardinals hole up in the Sistine Chapel starting March 12 until they elect a new Catholic leader. File photo from AFP

    Starting March 12, cardinals perform a 700-year-old tradition that is bound by secrecy. The conclave will elect the 265th successor of St Peter, believed to be the leader of Jesus’ first apostles. From their lodging at the Domus Sanctae Marthae, the 115 cardinal electors – including Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Tagle – move to the Pauline Chapel in the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace on Tuesday, March 12, at 3:45 pm (10:45 pm in Manila). Rappler shows the conclave’s elaborate rituals that involve a solemn procession, a secret ballot, the threat of excommunication, and of course, the iconic white smoke.


    Read the full story on Rappler.

  2. Gov’t, Kirams discuss pullout

    EXPLORATORY TALKS.' Interior Secretary Mar Roxas meets with Esmail Kiram (2nd from left) and discusses

    Interior Secretary Manuel “Mar” Roxas II and the brother of Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III discussed “disengagement” as part of efforts to end the 4-week Sabah standoff. Roxas and Bantilan Esmail Kiram II met in Camp Crame, Quezon City March 11. Esmail Kiram is the younger brother of Jamalul, and the elder brother of Agbimuddin (also known as Raja Muda) who is leading the Kiram followers in Sabah. He is waiting for the Malaysian government to allow him to travel to Kota Kinabalu to discuss the resolution of the conflict in Sabah. After a first proposed meeting in Brunei did not push through, Esmail Kiram II hopes this time he will be able to talk to the Malaysians.


    Read the full story on Rappler here and here.

  3. Malaysian peace monitors in PH

    BRONZE MEDALS. The Philippine Army gives bronze medals to Malaysian troops part of the outgoing International Monitoring Team batch 7 in recognition of their efforts to monitor peace between the Philippine government and the MILF. All photos by Ferdinandh Cabrera

    Despite tensions stemming from the month-long Sabah standoff, Malaysia sent a new set of troops to Mindanao as peace monitors. The troops arrived over the weekend to replace the outgoing batch of peace monitors whose one-year tour of duty under the International Monitoring Team (IMT) batch 7 expired. Malaysia is brokering a peace deal with the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. The peace process is now in the fine-tuning phase, with the recent signing of one of the annexes on the Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro. Four of the 19 contingents are from the combined Royal Army of Malaysia, Royal Navy, Royal Police and civilian components.


    Read the full story on Rappler

  4. PH exports down nearly 3%



    The country’s exports contracted in January as the electronics sector recorded its steepest fall in over a year due to weak global demand. Data from the National Statistics Office showed exports, one of the main drivers of the economy, fell 2.7% to US$4.010 billion in January, from $4.123 billion in the same month of 2012. This was a reversal of the 10.5% growth recorded in December. Shipments of electronics, the main item accounting for 36.6% of export receipts, plunged 31.9% to $1.466 billion from $2.153 billion in January 2012. The fall was the biggest since November 2011’s 34.44% decline.


    Read the full story on Rappler.

  5. Falklands vote 98.8% in favor of staying British

    Falkland Islanders on March 11 voted overwhelmingly in favor of remaining a British oversees territory in a referendum designed to send a strong message to Argentina, which earlier derided the poll as illegal. Some 92% of the islands’ 1,672 eligible voters turned out to deliver a 98.8% “yes” vote in favor of staying an internally self-governing British territory, official figures revealed. Argentina, which invaded the islands in 1982 before its troops were ousted by a British task force after a short but bloody war, maintained its dismissive line on the vote.


    Read the full story on Rappler

  6. How many women on the ballot?



    There are more than 900 of them vying for the major elective posts this year, but women politicians are still overwhelmingly outnumbered by male rivals whose number runs to the thousands. The Commission on Election’s official list of candidates shows there are 907 women out of the total 4,678 candidates for the positions of senator, district representative, governor, city mayor, and municipal mayor in the May 13 elections.

    That is an average of one woman against 4 in the various races. In terms of percentages, there appears to be a bigger share of women candidates for the Senate, for example. For 2013, women consist 27% of senatorial candidates – 9 out of 33.


    Read the full story on Rappler

  7. Venezuela scrambles for Chavez replacement

    Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez waves upon alighting from the plane upon landing at the airport in Tachira, Venezuela, on October 20, 2011. Chavez passed away on March 5, 2013 in Caracas after a long fight with cancer, Venezuelan Vice President Nicolas Maduro announced. AFP PHOTO/ Leo RAMIREZVenezuela was plunged into a bitter election fight to succeed Hugo Chavez, with acting President Nicolas Maduro and opposition leader Henrique Capriles facing off in a flurry of name-calling. Thousands of the late president’s supporters massed outside the National Election Council as Maduro, dressed in a jacket in the colors of the Venezuelan flag, officially registered his candidacy. Venezuelans will vote in snap April 14 elections after a brief campaign that analysts say heavily favors Maduro, who Chavez picked as his successor in his last public appearance before going to Cuba for cancer surgery in December. Wearing red berets and T-shirts emblazoned with Chavez’s image, his supporters vowed loyalty to the deeply polarizing socialist revolution that the former army paratrooper championed during his 14 years in power.


    Read the full story on Rappler

  8. British police ignored evidence vs Savile

    Jimmy Saville. AFP File photo.

    British police investigated allegations of abuse against disgraced late TV presenter Jimmy Savile in 1964 but officers ignored evidence and routinely failed to follow up complaints, policing inspectors said. Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) also warned there remained a “distinct possibility” that police could make the same mistakes in the future. A police investigation in January concluded that Savile was a predatory sex offender who abused youngsters as young as eight over more than 50 years, hiding “in plain sight” behind his fame and eccentricity to rape and assault victims on BBC premises, in schools and hospitals.


    Read the full story on Rappler.

  9. NBA veteran banned from playing in PH

    BALKMANIMAL. Petron import Renaldo Balkman strangles teammate Arwind Santos after frustrating loss to Alaska. Photo from PBA Memes Facebook page

    Ruling on a choking incident last March 8, the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) has banned Petron Blaze Boosters import Renaldo Balkman from playing in the league. The NBA veteran will also be asked to pay a fine of P250,000. Balkman, visibly frustrated over the officiating in their last game against the Alaska Aces where they lost by 10 points, 83-73, took out his anger shoving away coach Biboy Ravanes and teammate Ronald Tubid. Boosters’ team captain Arwind Santos stepped in to calm the former NBA veteran down but Balkman ended up holding Arwind by the neck.


    Read the full story on Rappler.

  10. Less sleep leads to more eating, weight gain



    Sleeping a mere 5 hours a night during a workweek with unlimited access to snacks isn’t good for your waistline, according to findings released March 11. The study, led by the University of Colorado at Boulder, found that participants gained nearly two pounds (about 1 kilogram) when put in such a situation. Published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the newest findings show that, while staying awake longer did indeed require more energy, the extra calories burned were more than offset by the amount of food the study participants consumed.


    Read the full story on Rappler.

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