March 17, 2014 Edition

Valerie Castro

This is AI generated summarization, which may have errors. For context, always refer to the full article.

  1. Crimea chooses to join Russia

    Photo by Yuri Kochetkov/EPA

    With more than half of the ballots counted in a referendum, an overwhelming 95.5% of voters in Crimea opted to leave Ukraine and join former political master Russia. The West has branded the referendum “illegal,” with White House Spokesman Jay Carney saying it is contrary to Ukraine’s constitution. The international community, he said, “will not recognize the results of a poll administered under threats of violence and intimidation from a Russian military intervention that violates international law.” The vote will result in a redrawing of the European map, the most radical to happen since Kosovo’s declaration of independence from Serbia in 2008.


    Read the full story on Rappler.

    More details are on CNN.

  2. More countries join search for missing plane

    Photo by Malaysian Maritime Enforcement/AFP

    25 countries have joined the search for Malaysia Airlines 370, missing for over a week now. Malaysian defense and transport minister Hishammuddin Hussein said the number of countries involved “in the search and rescue operation has increased from 14 to 25, which brings new challenges of coordination and diplomacy to the search effort.” Earlier on Saturday, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said someone on board the plane had deliberately manually switched off the aircraft’s communications systems. The Guardian also reported that the person who sent the last message to air traffic controllers in Kuala Lumpur, “All right, good night” was aware that the Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System had, by then, been already manually shut down. This further adds to the suspicion the plane was hijacked, according to the report. This has, however, been downplayed by Malaysian officials.

    Read the full story on Rappler.

    A related story about the aircraft being deliberately diverted is also on Rappler.

    More information is available from The Guardian.

  3. Plane captain an engineering buff

    Photo from AFP

    The captain of the missing Malaysia Airlines 370, 53-year-old Zaharie Ahmad Shah, is an engineering buff who assembled his own flight simulator. A pilot with 18,365 flight hours, he is said to be also a flight instructor. According to CNN, he has given tips on tinkering with a refrigerator and an air conditioner on social media. Police have searched his home and were examining the flight simulator he built at home. Colleagues have described him to be a “superb pilot.” His flight partner Fariq Abdul Hamid, meanwhile, is said to be a mild-mannered “good boy.” His landing technique was “textbook-perfect” when he flew CNN correspondent Richard Quest in February 2014 from Hong Kong to Kuala Lumpur. Authorities have started to check on the plane’s crew and passengers, following reports of deliberate switching off of communications systems.


    Read the full story on Rappler.

    A related story is on CNN.

  4. Aquino to cadets: Follow honor code beyond PMA

    Addressing Philippine Military Academy Class 2014 Siklab Diwa, President Benigno Aquino III on Sunday, March 16, asked graduating cadets to stand by their honor code beyond the walls of the academy. The day before, Aquino met with cadet Aldrin Jeff Cudia and his family, who sought his intervention in Cudia’s dismissal case. The committee ruled that Cudia violated the honor code when he lied in explaining his tardiness in class. Lying is considered a serious offense, a violation of the honor code, and grounds for dismissal. In his speech, Aquino said in Filipino, “If lying is not allowed in class and among cadets, shouldn’t it be the case that we should also not allow soldiers to lie to anyone and break the law?” Cudia’s lawyers disclosed on Sunday he was prepared to leave the academy, his home of 4 years.


    Read the full story on Rappler.

    A related story on cadet Cudia leaving PMA is also on Rappler.

  5. QC loses P250M a year to flawed garbage system

    All photos by Pia Ranada/Rappler

    The largest and most populous city in Metro Manila, Quezon City, is losing at least P253 million annually in taxpayers’ money from the non-implementation of Republic Act 9003 or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act. The city spends the most on garbage collection and disposal, paying close to P1 billion a year to 6 private contractors who haul residents’ trash to a sanitary landfill in Payatas. RA 9003 requires local government units (LGUs) to decentralize garbage collection and disposal, and mandates all barangays to have their own materials recovery facility where recyclables and compostable trash are sorted and segregated from residual garbage. Local officials do not seem keen on implementing it because garbage is a “cash cow for many LGUs, especially in Metro Manila,” Froilan Gate, Mother Earth Foundation president, said.

     
    Read the full story on Rappler.

  6. Ateneo Lady Eagles conquer DLSU Lady Spikers

    It was a totally unexpected victory for the Ateneo Lady Eagles who swept the De La Salle University (DLSU) Lady Spikers in 3 straight sets, 25-23, 26-24, 25-21 on Saturday, March 15. They dashed DLSU’s bid for a 4th straight UAAP Women’s Volleyball title, even as they brought home Ateneo’s first-ever UAAP Volleyball  title. Team captain Alyssa Valdez, who led her team to victory, was the season’s Most Valuable Player. The Lady Eagles overcame a thrice-to-beat handicap against the UAAP defending champions.


    Read the full story on Rappler.

  7. How ‘pagpag’ is transformed into meals for the poor

    Recycled leftover food or pagpag – mostly from fastfood chain trash – nourishes many of the country’s poor. Picked up from garbage trucks that bring them to dump sites, leftover parts of chicken, mostly bones, are washed before being boiled or fried, and being recooked in poor households. Some of them even make a living out of pagpag, selling them to those who would care to buy. Filmmaker Giselle Santos, who produced a documentary on pagpag, said she found out that dumpsites have their own supervisors who seek out the help of Tondo in sorting recyclable materials. They too, get to take home pagpag. “It’s quite saddening and frightening to realize that the gap between the poor and rich in our country can be measured by what we throw in our bins,” Santos said.


    Read and watch the full story on Rappler.

  8. Lessons from the Pope: Laugh, live simply

     File photo from news.va

    Unlike his predecessors, Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict, Pope Francis has the ability to laugh in the presence of other cardinals. Cardinal Orlando Quevedo said his lasting image of Francis is a pope who is “very simple, very affable, soft spoken, and sort of jolly.” Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle also said Francis has made the papal office more accessible to people, showing by example how having a simple lifestyle is possible. Pope Francis, from the time he was Buenos Aires Archbishop Mario Bergoglio to the time he became pope, has remained the same “personable, person-oriented” man he has always been, Tagle added. Francis marked his first year in office on Thursday, March 13.


    Read the full story on Rappler.

  9. What you should know about ear wax

    A body secretion, ear wax is something most of us deal with in the privacy of our rooms. Yet it holds a lot of secrets. For instance, researchers have found that it had been used as lip balm and salve for puncture wounds, according to the BBC. It can also be used to diagnose conditions and measure the build up of pollutants in the body. Interestingly, Asian and non-Asian ears produce different types of wax, with Caucasian earwax having more amounts of odorous compounds. This could be an initial step in detecting disease.
     

    Read the full story on the BBC.

  10. Jessica Sanchez sings for Haiyan victims

    Photo by Jay Ganzon/Rappler

    American Idol first runner-up Jessica Sanchez returned to Manila Sunday, March 16, to headline the anniversary concert of Solaire, whose proceeds will also benefit the victims of Super Typhoon Haiyan, locally known as Yolanda. Earlier, she also performed at New York’s Madison Square Garden for the Pinoy Relief Concert. The sales of her last single released, “Lead Me Home” will also go to Yolanda victims. Asked why it was important for her to do something for the victims of the super typhoon, Sanchez said, “These are my people and this is my home country, or my second home. I’m proud to do it.”

    Read the full story on Rappler.

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