September 29, 2014 Edition

An estimated 1,000 soldiers of the Philippine army was flown to the remote Sulu island group in the south, where the Abu Sayyaf militants are believed to be holding two German tourists. The group has threatened to execute one of the hostages, which reports said is an elderly man and a woman. Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin announced the Philippines would not negotiate with the Abu Sayyaf over its demands for about $5.62 million in ransom for the Germans. The Abu Sayyaf also demanded that Berlin halt its support for the US-led campaign against the IS group. The group is a loose band of several hundred Islamic militants originally organised with Al-Qaeda funding in the 1990s. The group has been blamed for the Philippines’ worst terrorist attacks.

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The Department of Health (DOH) said the full implementation of the controversial Reproductive Health (RH) law can be expected by November 30, once the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) certifies that the contraceptives to be distributed by the DOH are non-abortifacient. The RH bill was signed into law in 2012, after a 15-year struggle led by advocates and lawmakers. Despite opposition from religious groups, the Supreme Court declared the law constitutional in April 2014, and ordered the FDA to verify whether the family planning commodities to be used are safe and do not induce abortion. The RH law requires government health centers to provide condoms and birth control pills for free, mandates schools to teach sex education, and legalizes post-abortion medical care, but not abortion itself.

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Hong Kong police repeatedly fired tear gas in clashes with protesters demanding full universal suffrage from Beijing Sunday. The tear gas did little to stem the tide of demonstrators in a city that rarely sees such violence, as protesters took over the business district dubbed “Occupy Central”. Fresh protests also sprung up far from the main demonstration, with around 3,000 people blocking a major road in Mongkok. Also affected was the busy shopping district of Causeway Bay. Officers have so far made 78 arrests. Hong Kong’s leader, Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying, told a press conference his administration was “resolute in opposing the unlawful occupation actions by Occupy Central”.

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More than 30 hikers were feared dead after being found Sunday, September 28, near the peak of a Japanese volcano which erupted without warning, spewing ash, rocks and steam. Mount Ontake, which straddles Nagano and Gifu prefectures in the center of Japan, erupted around noon Saturday during a busy weekend for tourists and hikers. Around 230 hikers were able to make it to safety soon after the eruption, but rescue workers found some 30 hikers in “cardiac arrest” near the summit. The last significant eruption of Mount Ontake was in 1979 when it expelled more than 200,000 tons of ash.

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US President Barack Obama admitted the United States underestimated the opportunity that a collapsing Syria would provide for jihadist militants to regroup and stage a comeback. In an interview on “60 Minutes,” Obama said former Al-Qaeda fighters driven from Iraq by US and local forces had been able to gather in Syria to form the Islamic State (ISIS) group. He added the jihadists had become “very savvy” in using social media to lure new recruits from Europe, America, and Australia. The US president said part of the solution to fight the group involves Syria and Iraq resolving their domestic political crises. He also said that the US-led air strikes in Iraq is not “America against [ISIS],” adding: “This is America leading the international community to assist a country with whom we have a security partnership with, to make sure that they are able to take care of their business.”

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A White House official downplayed a report that it took the Secret Service days to realize a man shot at the presidential residence in 2011, while President Barack Obama’s daughter was home. The Washington Post report came after a series of security lapses including one that saw an intruder armed with a knife jump over a security fence and burst into the White House. While Obama and his wife were out of town in November 11, 2011, their younger daughter Sasha was inside, while older daughter Malia was due to return any time. At least 7 bullets struck the upstairs residence of the White House, fired from a car parked some 700 meters away.

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Would the proposed merger of AOL Inc and Yahoo spark a revival of the Internet pioneers? While analysts say a merger could cut up to $1 billion in costs as the companies integrate staff and systems, it would be harder to build up strong growth in their core advertising businesses. A Reuters report said some advertising experts and analysts believe there is little to gain by combining the two companies, after activist investor Starboard called on Yahoo to merge with AOL. The two companies have a decreasing share in the digital ad market, but a tie-up could help in video programming and new ways of buying ads. Reuters said AOL’s acquisition of electronic video advertising platform Adap.tv could fit with Yahoo’s efforts to deliver more online video programming.

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In a matter of days, the new social network Ello, described as the “anti-Facebook” for its stand on privacy and advertising, has become viral on the Internet. Created last year as a “private” social network, Ello (www.ello.co) recently opened its doors on an invitation-only basis. Because of the limited supply and strong demand, the invitations have been selling on eBay at prices up to $500 while some reports said Ello is getting up to 35,000 requests per hour in the past week. Ello appears to have caught on with its simple message: “Ello doesn’t sell ads. Nor do we sell data about you to third parties.” Ello’s policy states that the practice of collecting and selling personal data and mapping your social connections for profit “is both creepy and unethical.” Ello’s rise also comes amid complaints against Facebook from the gay community after it began disabling accounts using stage names instead of real names.

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The former US Secretary of State now has a new title: grandmother. On Saturday, Hillary Clinton and her husband, former US president Bill Clinton, took to social media to express their joy at the birth of their first grandchild Charlotte. Hillary called Charlotte’s birth “one of the happiest moments of our life.” The Clinton couple and their daughter, Chelsea, posted the first photos of the baby on Saturday, showing her delighted parents and grandparents. In June, the former US first lady told People Magazine she will balance becoming grandmother while preparing for what could be her second presidential campaign in 2016.

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George Clooney and Amal Alamuddin delighted crowds of onlookers as they took to the waters of Venice on Sunday, to show off their wedding rings. The Hollywood heartthrob and his bride cut an elegant pair at the prow of a vintage water taxi as they led a flotilla of boats down the Grand Canal. They are expected to spend their honeymoon in Morocco’s former imperial city of Marrakech. The pair got married late Saturday at a private ceremony in Venice’s palatial Aman Canal Grande hotel, before celebrating with a star-strewn guest list. Clooney’s breakout role in the TV series “ER” propelled him to the status of global sex symbol. Alamuddin is a human rights and international law lawyer who represented Wikileaks founder Julian Assange.

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