May 20, 2013 Edition

The Philippines’ National Board of Canvassers on Saturday proclaimed Cynthia Villar, JV Ejercito, and Gringo Honasan senators. Other senators-elect who attended the proclamation included Nancy Binay and Koko Pimentel. Both were proclaimed earlier but held off attending their proclamation ceremonies. Pimentel earlier criticized the proclamation as premature. The proclamation of the last 3 senators means that of the 12 senators to assume office in June, 9 will come from the Liberal Party (LP)-led coalition, Team PNoy, and only 3 from the opposition group United Nationalist Alliance (UNA).

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70 precincts post 100% voter turnout for the 2013 elections, with 54 precincts coming from the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao — an area historically known for irregularities during elections. Automated Elections System Watch co-convener Pablo Manalastas says it is “statistically improbable” that there will be a 100% turnout in precincts, unless there is a concerted community effort to go out and vote.
Damaso Nagbual of Namfrel says anecdotal experience in ARMM elections shows that in a 100% turnout, “the manipulation of the votes is a likelihood.” The ARMM has earned a reputation for being the poll cheating capital in the country.

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Taiwanese Minister for Foreign Affairs David Lin says Taipei and Manila have reached a consensus on initiating a joint investigation into the shooting of Taiwanese fisherman in Philippine waters. “Both sides have agreed to arrange for the other side to conduct fact-finding trips in their respective countries to discover the truth behind the fatal shooting.” Taipei Times reported that the bilateral cooperation on the case was termed, both by Lin and Philippine Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, as a “parallel investigation” instead of a “joint investigation” to avoid concerns on both sides about sovereign interference. Lin’s remarks came after Taiwanese probers who arrived in Manila last week returned to Taiwan empty-handed.
Justice Secretary Leila de Lima confirms a ‘parallel investigation’ would indeed take place. The Taiwanese government has banned the hiring of new workers from the Philippines in retaliation over the incident. The Philippine government, through MECO, has conveyed its apologies over the incident. Perez also says the Philippines is waiting for tempers in Taiwan to cool before settling the dispute.

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South Korea says it is ready for more missile tests from the North, after Pyongyang fired four short-range missiles into the Sea of Japan over the weekend. On Monday, Seoul’s Defence Ministry spokesman Kim Min-Seok says, “Our military is closely monitoring activities by the North’s military since there is a possibility of additional launches in the future.”
Media reports say the missiles might be KN-02 surface-to-surface weapons with a range of up to 160 kilometers. South Korea calls the North’s military tests “deplorable” and “provocative”, while UN chief Ban Ki-moon urges Pyongyang to resume dialogue and lower tensions. The North’s latest missile tests come at a time of heightened tensions on the Korean peninsula. Following the North’s nuclear test in February and subsequent UN sanctions, Pyongyang has been issuing threats against the South and the United States.

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Syrian troops backed by Lebanon’s Hezbollah storm the strategic rebel stronghold Qusayr on Sunday, a day after President Bashar al-Assad defies calls for him to step down. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights watchdog says Qusayr was struck from the air and pounded with artillery fire before the ground operation began. The attack kills 52 people, at least 21 of them rebels. Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman says Hezbollah militants from Lebanon were “playing a central role” in Sunday’s attack. The opposition Syrian National Council denounces the “barbaric and destructive bombing” of Qusayr and calls for an urgent meeting of the Arab League. The United States and Russia are working to organize a peace conference next month, trying to find a political solution to the two-year conflict.

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France becomes the 14th country to legalize same-sex marriage and gay adoption after President Francois Hollande signs the measure into law on Saturday, following months of bitter political debate. In April, the main right-wing opposition UMP party of former president Nicolas Sarkozy challenged the measure on constitutional grounds. But on Friday, the Constitutional Council said same-sex marriage “did not run contrary to any constitutional principles,” and that it did not infringe on “basic rights or liberties or national sovereignty”. Gay rights groups hail the move, but opponents of the measure vow to continue the fight, calling for a major protest rally in Paris on May 26. The issue of gay marriage has divided France, which is officially secular but overwhelmingly Catholic. Protests against the bill drew thousands, with a number of hard-core protesters clashing with police.

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As India turns introspective after a series of sex crimes, prominent lawyers, professors, women’s advocates and even some judges say the views of some of India’s judiciary can be an obstacle to justice. Just weeks after a gang-rape, a retired Supreme Court justice startled listeners when he said it can be appropriate for women to marry their alleged rapists in order to avoid the stigma of a public trial. National Law University professor Mrinal Satish’s research shows that courts have given shorter sentences to rapists of women judged not to be virgins, compared with rapists of virgins. A lower-court judge also suggested that “wife-beating is a normal facet of married life.” Another lower court ruled that a woman was lying, citing among other things the fact that she could have scratched the man’s genitals, but didn’t. Courts can sometimes turn against the accuser if she is perceived as disobedient to her family. In January the Supreme Court overturned a state-court acquittal of more than 30 men accused of raping a teenager and holding her as a sex slave. The lower court had acquitted based partly on testimony that the girl had once lied to her parents. Human rights lawyers add, ‘There is a prejudice that plays itself out in judgments.’

Read more on The Wall Street Journal.

Myanmar President Thein Sein makes the first visit to Washington by a leader of his country in nearly 50 years as the United States throws its support behind his reforms. The former general, who initiated a wave of reforms after taking office in 2011, flew into Washington and held private meetings before talks at the White House on Monday. Thein Sein will meet with US businesses, which are now free to invest in Myanmar.
The last time a leader of Myanmar visited the White House was in 1966, as the country entered decades of military rule that estranged it from the United States. In November, US President Barack Obama visited Myanmar and suspends major sanctions against the country in hopes of showing benefits to reforms. But critics point to recent anti-Muslim violence in the country, where security forces are accused of supporting sectarian attacks.

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The Wall Street Journal reports internet firm Yahoo! is set to buy popular blogging platform Tumblr for $1.1 billion in cash. If confirmed, the deal would be the largest for the company since Marissa Mayer took over as chief executive last year and could help the struggling Internet pioneer capture younger audiences. The WSJ says Yahoo’s board unanimously approved the deal, which may be announced Monday in New York. While the popular blogging site generates little cash, its inclusion in the Yahoo! family could open new advertising and other revenue sources.
Douglas McIntyre, analyst at 24/7 Wall Street, says the deal “looks too rich” for a company that generates only $15 million in annual revenues.
He adds, “If Yahoo! cannot significantly lift Tumblr sales, the deal will be a bust.” Founded in 2007 and headquartered in New York, Tumblr says it has more than 108 million blogs, 50 billion postings in 12 languages and 175 employees. Online data group Survata reports Tumblr is more popular than Facebook among those aged 13 to 25.

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“Star Trek Into Darkness” opened Wednesday at the top of of the US box office, earning $70.55 million over the weekend, according to its studio estimates, for a total of $84 million from launch. While good, it’s $16 million less than what Paramount, which co-financed the film with Skydance Productions, forecast. Still, there’s much to love here for Trekkies and non-Trekkies alike. This is the second Star Trek film directed by J.J. Abrams which skillfully integrates the first generation 75 episode series from the 60s with the prequel and sequel movies.

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See Rappler’s review here.