March 14, 2013 Edition

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  1. New pope is chosen, champion of the poor

    HISTORIC POPE. Jorge Mario Bergoglio takes on the name Francis I. Photo from AFPWhite smoke billowed from Vatican City on Thursday morning, March 14 (Philippine time), signalling the choice of a new pope, Jorge Mario Bergoglio. Going by the papal name Francis, the 76-year-old Bergoglio of Buenos Aires became the 266th pope, the first Latin American to lead the Catholic Church, and the first Jesuit to do so. His chosen name takes after St Francis of Assisi who lived a life of poverty. At the balcony of St Peter’s Basilica, he addressed the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics, ending a two-day conclave to elect the new pope. The crowd chanted “Habemus Papam!” (We have a Pope!) According to CNN, his chosen name Francis mirrors the values of “poverty, humility, simplicity and rebuilding the Catholic Church.”


    Read the full story on Rappler.
    Other details are on the BBC.
    A related story on the announcement of the new pope is also on Rappler.
    A backgrounder on St Francis of Assisi, after whom Pope Francis takes his name, is on CNN. 

  2. Who is Pope Francis?

    POPE FRANCIS I. Argentina's low-profile cardinal, Jorge Bergoglio, is the new pope.He is either an intellectual or someone who collaborated with military dictators. Reports say Jorge Mario Bergoglio or Pope Francis is an “austere Jesuit intellectual” who modernized what had been one of the most conservative Roman Catholic churches in Latin America. The 76-year-old Argentine is the first pope from the Americas and the first from outside Europe in more than a millennium. Initially trained as a chemist, he taught literature, psychology, philosophy and theology before becoming archbishop of Buenos Aires in 1998. He has spoken strongly against hypocritical priests who refuse to baptize children of single mothers but rejected liberation theology. During Argentina’s 7-year military dictatorship, he was accused of cooperating with the military junta. History shows him to be “opposed to all innovation in the church and above all, during the dictatorship, it shows he was very cozy with the dictatorship,” said a former dean at the University of Buenos Aires. Reports also say he shunned ornate church mansions, took public transportation and cooked his own meals.

    Read the full story on Al Jazeera.
    More details are on Rappler
    Pope Francis’ role in Argentina’s ‘Dirty War’ is on the Digital Journal. 

  3. Aquino-Sison meeting called off

    Image via http://www.josemariasison.org/A historic meeting between President Benigno Aquino III and Jose Maria Sison, founding chair of the Communist Party of the Philippines, did not push through early this year because of failure to agree on key points. The two would have met in Hanoi, Vietnam to revive talks similar to the one held with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. The National Democratic Front said the government scuttled the meeting when it failed to address issues relating to the release of detained consultants and a proposed ceasefire. The Hanoi meeting was supposed to be facilitated by the Norwegian government.


    Read the full story on Rappler

  4. Unlikely embalming of Chavez’ body

    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 RAMIREZ

    The body of former Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez will most likely not be preserved and displayed like Lenin, Ho Chi Minh or Mao Tse Tung. Acting president Nicolas Maduro said that according to Russian experts, it would no longer be possible to preserve Chavez’ body because it had not been properly prepared in time. It was during a speech that Maduro, who is running for president in the April 14 elections, said that Russian and German scientists had arrived to embalm Chavez but that it would be very difficult because the process should have started immediately after he died on March 5. He also said that any attempt to preserve the former president’s body would be too complicated. The official mourning period has been extended to Friday, March 15.


    Read the full story on the BBC

  5. No rights abuses – Malaysia



    Malaysia strongly rejected allegations of human rights abuses in Sabah, following reports of arrests and physical abuse of followers of Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III. A statement released by the Malaysian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said reports published by local media intended to “damage and strain the good and close relations between Malaysia and the Republic of the Philippines.”  But Filipinos interviewed by local media said the Malaysia police in Sabah had separated the Tausugs from other Filipino ethnic groups. Malaysia also denied “randomly targeting” Tausugs, the dominant ethnic group in Sulu and Tawi-Tawi. Following reported abuses, the Department of Foreign Affairs has ordered a probe in the situation in Sabah.

    Read the full story on Rappler

  6. Xi Jinping is China’s new president

    AFP PHOTO/Mark RALSTON

    Xi Jinping was appointed China’s president on Thursday, March 14, during a meeting of the National People’s Congress. The appointment formalizes his leadership of the world’s second largest economy and the world’s most populous nation. The 59-year-old leader is being elected for a 5-year term but will hold the post for 10 years. While he has threatened to crack the whip on corruption because grafters could “kill the party,” Xi may be compromised by reports that his own family had amassed hundreds of millions of dollars in assets. He has however managed to remain free of accusations of wrongdoing.

    Read the full story on Rappler


  7. Close to half of Catholics in Latin America

    AFP PHOTO / ANDREAS SOLARO

    Latin America – where the new pope comes from – is where more than 40% of the world’s 1.2 billion Roman Catholics reside. A Pew Research Center study on religions around the world says Latin America has 432 million Catholic worshippers, with 3 in 4 Latin American inhabitants saying they are Catholic. Brazil is the largest Catholic country in the world (134 million worshippers), followed by Mexico (96 million), Colombia (38 million), and Argentina (31 million).  Catholics in the pope’s homeland represent a little more than 75% of the population.

    Read the full story on Rappler 

  8. World’s largest observatory opens in Chile

     ESO/C. Malin

    It’s the largest yet in the world insofar as a ground-based observatory is concerned. The Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) space observatory was inaugurated March 13 in Chile on a desert plateau about 5,000 meters above sea level. A huge telescope 16 kilometers in diameter, ALMA was described by astronomer Gianni Marconi as “the largest observatory that has ever been built.” ALMA’s ultra precise equipment can peer through the clouds and capture the faint glow and gas present in the formation of the first stars, galaxies and planets, and possibly provide answers to questions about the universe.

    Read the full story on Rappler 

  9. Facebook redesigns Timeline

    Screengrab from newsroom.fb.com

    After announcing a new News Feed look, Facebook is improving its Timeline. This is is response to users’ claims that the “current timeline layout is sometimes hard to read.” The new design will allow users to organizer the “About” section, while applications like Flixster and Netflix will allow users to add movies they like or are currently watching. Likewise, Instagram users can choose to make their photo stream appear as a section on their Timeline. Described by Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg as a new way to “share the story of your life on a single page,” Facebook’s new Timeline will roll out in the next few weeks.

    Read the full story on Rappler 

  10. Wintour is new Conde Nast artistic director

    Photo from AFP

    Vogue’s celebrity editor Anna Wintour was named artistic director of the magazine’s parent company Condé Nast on Wednesday, March 13. In her expanded role, she will “curate and cultivate the creative vision for the company…to shape its artistic inspiration and innovation across all platforms,” Charles Townsend, Condé Nast chief executive, said in a statement. British-born, she supported the re-election campaign of US President Barack Obama by holding several fundraising events for him. She was touted as a possible ambassador to France or Britain.

    Read more on Rappler 

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