October 17, 2014 Edition

The governor of Sulu province on the island of Mindanao ordered the military and the police to prepare for “law enforcement operations” a day before the Friday deadline set by the terrorist Abu Sayyaf group to behead one of its German hostages. The military said it would not be cowed by threats of lawless elements, and would “start moving and preparing for law enforcement operations,” which could happen “anytime.” Aside from the Germans, among the other hostages believed to be with the Abu Sayyaf include European birdwatchers Ewold Horn and Lorenzo Vinciguerra. They were abducted in February 2012.

Read the full story on Rappler.

The local police in Olongapo City said the killing of a Filipino transgender woman by US Marine Private First Class Joseph Scott Pemberton was a case of hate crime. According to the investigation report, the suspect engaged Laude for “sex service,” but was angered upon discovering that the victim was “gay.” Laude was found dead at a lodge, with saw injuries on the neck. An autopsy report later said the victim died of drowning.

Read the full report on Rappler.

A survey commissioned by private individuals who want to measure the Vice President Jejomar Binay’s chances in the 2016 presidential elections showed that in a two-way fight, he would easily defeat President Benigno Aquino III, 62% vs 36% nationwide. Binay would also dominate across island groups. If Binay were to be battle it out with the President’s party mate Manuel Roxas II, the the interior secretary would suffer a worse beating. The survey of likely voters was conducted in nationwide while Senate subcommittee was investigating an alleged anomalous contract in Makati when Binay was mayor. The justice secretary has since ordered the investigation of the entire Binay family, while a senator ally of the President threatened to expose more anomalous contracts involving Binay.

Read Rappler’s exclusive report on the survey here.

Western countries scrambled to review safety measures at airports and borders on Thursday, October 16, amid a mounting wave of fear that West Africa’s Ebola outbreak will spread worldwide. As US lawmakers grilled officials over how an infected nurse was allowed to board a crowded flight, European officials promised a review of how passengers from Ebola-hit countries are screened.  US President Barack Obama also said Thursday that closing US borders to citizens of three West African countries hardest hit by the Ebola epidemic would be counter-productive as they might attempt to skirt safety controls in place. Meanwhile, the Philippines’ Department of Health (DOH) also announced Thursday that the Philippines will not yet send health workers to West African countries badly hit by the deadly Ebola virus.

Read the full story on Rappler.

Read more on Obama’s statement on Rappler.

Read more on the PH response to ebola on Rappler.

Learn more about the world response to ebola on Rappler.

Malaysia will assume two key posts in the global stage by 2015. Besides leading the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Kuala Lumpur will also take its seat at the world’s so-called “top table.” Also winning non-permanent seats are Angola, Venezuela, New Zealand, and Spain. Turkey only obtained 60 votes, less than the required two-thirds or 129. It took 3 ballots to determine if Spain or Turkey will clinch the seat. Malaysia will replace South Korea in the UN body in charge of maintaining international peace and security. It will start its two-year on January 1, 2015, the year when it will also chair ASEAN as the regional bloc aims for political, security, economic and socio-cultural integration.

Read the full story on Rappler.

A Spanish judge on Thursday, October 16, ordered ex-IMF head Rodrigo Rato to pay a 3-million-euro bond as a court probes allegations that former bank bosses spent millions on nightclubs, safaris and other treats using company credit cards. Rato and more than 80 others face possible charges of corporate crimes over allegations that they spent a total of 15 million euros with secret company credit cards when they worked at Caja Madrid and the Bankia group. In a closed-door hearing, judge Fernando Andreu ordered Rato to pay a three-million-euro ($3.8 million) bail within 3 days or have his assets frozen, a judicial source said.

Read the full story on Rappler.

Five months after the two countries sealed a historic maritime deal where they agreed to draw a boundary between their overlapping exclusive economic zones, the Philippines and Indonesia agreed to discuss setting a possible boundary in their overlapping portions of the continental shelf, an undersea mass often exploited for mineral resources, in the Mindanao Sea and Celebes Sea. The memorandum of understanding was signed by foreign ministers in the presence of presidents Benigno Aquino III and Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono at the 7th Bali Democracy Forum. Experts hailed the previous agreement as a model in settling maritime disputes, as the Philippines is embroiled in a dispute with China over the South China Sea.

Read the full story on Rappler.

Hong Kong police swooped at dawn to partially clear a democracy protest site Friday, tearing down tents and barricades hours after the city’s embattled leader reopened his offer of talks to end nearly 3 weeks of disruptive demonstrations. Mongkok has seen violent scuffles between demonstrators calling for full democracy in the southern Chinese city and pro-government groups. The dawn raid was met with no resistance from demonstrators, and came as the city’s Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying renewed his offer for talks with student protesters a week after abruptly pulling out.

Read the full story on Rappler.

Nepalese rescuers on Thursday, October 16, scoured Himalayan hiking routes for more than 100 trekkers who have been out of contact since a snowstorm and avalanche that have killed around 32 people, including foreign tourists and guides. Local officials said that 24 bodies had been found on the popular Annapurna circuit, while five climbers who were staying at a mountain base camp when it was hit by an avalanche could not be found and were presumed dead. Among the searches, rescuers were searching for two Slovakian mountaineers and three Nepalese guides who went missing after an avalanche struck teams stationed at the base camp of 8,167-meter (26,795 foot) Mount Dhaulagiri on Tuesday night, October 14.

Read the full story on Rappler.

Social networking site Facebook announced a new system that would allow users to let their friends know that they are safe a disaster. Called Safety Check, the tool will allow a user’s friends to also check on him and mark him as safe. Safety Check automatically activates when a natural disaster occurs. If a user is in an affected area, a Facebook notification will ask if the user is safe. This is done by “looking at the city you have listed in your profile, your last location if you’ve opted in to the Nearby Friends product, and the city where you are using the Internet.”

Read the full story on Rappler.