May 30, 2014 Edition

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

  1. Avoid airspace tensions, US tells China

    File photo of the ADIZ over the East China Sea by Mandy Cheng/AFP

    The United States warned China against sparking tensions in international airspace after Japan accused Beijing of “dangerous maneuvers” above disputed seas. Japan has alleged that a Chinese fighter last May 24, 2014, flew within roughly 30 meters of a Japanese OP-3C surveillance plane above the waters where the countries’ air defense identification zones overlap. Another Chinese SU-27 fighter also flew close to a Japanese YS-11EB plane in the same airspace, the Japanese defense ministry said. The US State Department urged China to “establish confidence-building measures” to help lower tensions.

    Read the full story on Rappler.

  2. 5 key revelations from the Benhur Luy files

    File photo by Joseph Vidal/Senate PRIB

    An initial scan of the digital records of pork scam scandal whistleblower Benhur Luy showed how Janet Lim Napoles supposedly ran one of the country’s biggest and most sophisticated corruption scandals. Equivalent to 31,700 pages, the files were made public by Senate blue ribbon committee chairman Senator TG Guingona. The files showed that she did not just give kickbacks to the officials she dealt with, she even shouldered some of their other expenses. They are a dizzying collection of documents ranging from those listing individual officials’ kickbacks, draft endorsement letters, delivery and acceptance reports of alleged bogus projects, and even mp3 files of religious songs.

    Read the full story on Rappler.

  3. Napoles is back in jail

    LeAnne Jazul/Rappler

    After a two-month stay in the hospital where she signed affidavits naming lawmakers she had transacted with, alleged pork barrel scam mastermind Janet Lim Napoles was brought back to her detention center in Fort Sto Domingo in Laguna on Thursday evening, May 29. The police convoy left the Ospital ng Makati shortly past 9:30 pm, 8 hours after a Makati court ordered her “immediate” transfer. She had asked the court to extend her stay in the hospital, a plea rejected by the judge. Her lawyer said Napoles had also settled her hospital bills, which amounted to over P105,000 as of May 15.

    Read the full story on Rappler.

  4. UNHCR: Build permanent shelters for Yolanda survivors

    Photo courtesy of Tacloban City government

    The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said the fire that killed a mother and all her 6 children, including a 4-month-old baby, on May 28 poses a challenge to government and aid workers working to rehabilitate communities devastated by Super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan). It’s a somber reminder that authorities and aid agencies have to strengthen existing efforts to seek permanent housing solutions for the close to 4,000 Yolanda survivors who remain in tents, according to the UNHCR. The UN Development Programme administrator, Helen Clark, earlier said moving Yolanda survivors out of tents remains a “compelling need.”

    Read the full story on Rappler.

  5. Union asks Malaysian Airlines CEO to quit

    File photo by Francis Silvan/AFP

    Morale is very low. Citing this as basis, the Malaysia Airlines’ workers’ union called for the struggling carrier’s top managers to step down, adding to pressure with the fate of Flight MH370 still unknown almost 3 months on. The union will urge the government not to renew the contract of MAS chief executive Ahmad Jauhari Yahya – believed to be expiring in September, said the union’s executive secretary Jabbarullah Kadir. Two other senior managers should also resign to revive the state-controlled national carrier’s fortunes, he added. While the union had rallied behind MAS over the jet that vanished flying from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8 carrying 239 people, staff morale was “very low” over the carrier’s poor financial performance.

    Read the full story on Rappler.

  6. Leave Libya, Filipinos urged

    File photo by EPA/STR

    Citing the “worsening security situation” there, the Philippines advised its nationals on May 29 to flee Libya as it raised crisis alert level 3 (voluntary repatriation phase) in the strife-torn country. Over the weekend, gunmen stormed parliament in southern Tripoli, hot on the heels of an anti-Islamist offensive launched by a rogue general in the eastern city of Benghazi. This caused concern abroad and in oil markets. The Philippine government urged Filipinos to contact the Philippine embassy in Tripoli to coordinate their repatriation.

    Read the full story on Rappler.

  7. Study: World on brink of 6th extinction

    The world is on the brink of a sixth great extinction, according to a new study published by the journal Science. Citing the study, an Associated Press report said species are now disappearing about 10 times faster than biologists had believed. The scientists cite various factors behind this, foremost of which is habitat loss. Species are running out of places to live in because the landscape is being altered constantly by humans, the AP report added. Outside experts hailed the work as a landmark study.

    Read the full story on the Science journal.

    Read the highlights on The Daily Beast.

  8. School opening reminder: Lectures don’t work

    Lectures have been the main strategy for teaching science, notes Rappler Science columnist Maria Isabel Garcia. But it doesn’t work, she says, citing research studies that showed a dramatic difference in average failure rate between traditional lectures and active methods. In the active learning method, the focus is to give students access to connecting with the topic at hand, such as providing problem-solving activities and encouraging lively conversations. Garcia writes: “Knowing how low we rank in science education worldwide, the spectacular failure of ‘lectures’ to make us learn science may not really be a surprise factor contributing to our sad state of science education.” Do you agree?

    Read Garcia’s Science Solitaire column on Rappler.

  9. Doctors urge WHO: Embrace e-cigarette

    The world commemorates the World No Tobacco Day on May 30 with doctors and experts urging the World Health Organization (WHO) to embrace e-cigarette as a life saver. The tar-free, electronic alternative could help prevent much of the cancer, heart and lung disease and strokes caused by the toxins in traditional cigarettes, the 50-odd experts wrote to WHO chief Margaret Chan. E-cigarettes are banned in some countries like Brazil and Singapore and face increasingly strict restrictions in other countries amid uncertainty about their long-term health effects. WHO exercise leadership and guide global and national approaches to e-cigarettes, the group said.

    Read the full story on Rappler.

  10. Ex-Microsoft chief offers to buy Clippers for $1.8B

    Photo by Britta Pedersen/EPA

    Former Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer has offered $1.8 billion for the Los Angeles Clippers, with owner Donald Sterling facing moves by the NBA to strip him of the club. Citing “a person familiar with Ballmer’s interest” in the Clippers, as well as another source with knowledge of the bids Sterling’s wife Shelly has received, Forbes magazine reported on its website that Ballmer’s offer package “is strong.” The club was recently valued by Forbes at nearly $600 million, but there has been speculation that it could fetch over $1 billion thanks to its location in a large and potentially lucrative US market and upcoming negotiations regarding money-spinning television rights.

    Read the full story on Rappler.

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