Rappler Newscast | January 1, 2014

Today on Rappler.

• Nearly 600 people injured by firecrackers in the Philippines during new year celebrations.
• Explosions hit Basilan and Cotabato on New Year’s Eve.
• Thousands march in Hong Kong to demand full democracy.

Story 1: NEARLY 600 INJURED IN NEW YEAR REVELRY
Injuries from fireworks during the New Year celebrations in the Philippines reach 599 as of 6am Wednesday.
The Department of Health or DOH says the number is 43% higher compared to the same period last year, but adds the cases are “milder.”
DOH Assistant Secretary Eric Tayag says the number is expected to rise leading to January 5 as the department gets more reports and as Filipinos continue lighting fireworks despite strong warnings and the department’s information campaign.
Tayag says the department will know by Thursday whether or not 2014 will surpass the 5-year average of more than 900 injuries.
The DOH earlier said it expected 50 to 80 injuries per hour nationwide.
Officials say banned firecrackers like Piccolo, Five Star and the Pla-pla are the leading cause of the injuries.
Among the victims of early celebrations on Tuesday include an 8-year-old boy in Cebu City who lost his right hand because of a firecracker and a 40-year-old woman in Manila with an accidental gun wound.
The Philippine National Police says there are 22 victims of stray bullets in 2014 so far, with one killed: a 3-month-old baby in Ilocos Sur.
In 2013, two died after getting hit by stray bullets during the New Year celebrations, triggering public calls for stricter gun controls.

Story 2: NEW YEAR’S EVE BLASTS IN BASILAN AND COTABATO
A bomb explodes at a New Year party in the province of Basilan, killing 6 and injuring 6 others less than two hours before midnight on Tuesday.
According to initial military reports, a bomb exploded at about 10:22pm at the home of Manuel Casineros in Barangay Tumahubong in the town of Sumisip.
Police say the motive of the attack is not clear, although Casineros was apparently helping authorities protect rubber plantation workers from extortion by armed gangs, including the Abu Sayyaf, with historical links to al-Qaeda.
Also on Tuesday, 5 people — including a 6-year-old boy — are injured after a grenade went off in Cotabato.
Police say 3 unidentified suspects threw a hand grenade at a church in Barangay Ugalingan in the town of Carmen at around 8:20 pm.

Story 3: DAVAO CITY SET TO BREAK WORLD RECORD FOR HORN BLOWERS
Davao City is set to grab a world record for gathering the most number of party horn blowers to celebrate the New Year.
At least 7,568 residents gather to blow party horns as the clock struck 12 in the city, where firecrackers have been banned for more than a decade.
Davao City is vying to set a new Guinness World record.
Japan currently holds the record with 6,961 party horn blowers.

Story 4: NEW YEAR’S EVE WORLDWIDE
Dubai attempts to smash the fireworks world record as it welcomes 2014 with a bang.
The city sets off more than 400,000 fireworks in a bid to break the Guinness World Record for the largest-ever display.
People crowd in the streets as the world’s tallest tower, the Burj Khalifa, lights up.
In 2012, Kuwait set the record with an hour-long blast of 77,282 fireworks.
Around the world, New Year revelers gather to ring in the new year.
Sydney had the first of the world’s major pyrotechnic shows, with seven tons of explosives lighting up Australia’s biggest city.
In Hong Kong, the city’s skyscrapers are lit up by an eight-minute pyrotechnics show.
The celebrations are quieter in Japan, with small fireworks displays held across the country.
But millions of people gather at local temples and shrines to greet the new year.
Some 300,000 people welcome 2014 at the Champs-Elysees in Paris, while about a million people gather in New York to mark the stroke of midnight and the traditional New Year’s Eve ball-drop in Times Square.

Story 5: US READY TO USHER IN ‘OBAMACARE’
US President Barack Obama’s landmark health care reforms take effect Wednesday, granting coverage to millions of previously uninsured Americans.
Since the Affordable Care Act, or “Obamacare”, was passed in 2010, the law survived multiple repeal attempts by Republican lawmakers, a US Supreme Court hearing and a disastrous rollout of the law’s website.
Under the Affordable Care Act, US residents are required to enroll in a health care plan.
It will now be illegal for insurers to deny coverage because of pre-existing conditions or to limit the level of annual reimbursements for essential services.

Story 6: SYRIA MISSES DEADLINE TO REMOVE CHEMICAL WEAPONS
Syria misses the deadline to remove its chemical weapons arsenal for destruction, but international inspectors say the mission remains on track.
Syria was scheduled to turn over its stockpile to several ships, for delivery to a US boat which will destroy the materials at sea.
But on Saturday, the international mission in Syria said it was “unlikely” the weapons could be transported in time for the December 31 deadline.
On Tuesday, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons or OPCW says the plan to destroy Syria’s chemical arsenal by mid-2014 is still on track.
OPCW spokesman Christian Chartier says, “Syria’s chemical arsenal has been completely neutralized, the chemical agents and chemical products are under international control…Their capacity to produce and use chemical weapons has been reduced to zero.”

Story 7: THOUSANDS RALLY FOR HONG KONG DEMOCRACY
Thousands march in Hong Kong Wednesday to demand a greater say in how their future leaders will be chosen.
Organizers say they aim to to tell China’s ruling Communist Party “that Hong Kong people need and want a real democracy.”
The rally features posters of chief executive Leung Chun-ying with an egg on his head. Leung suffers from particularly low popularity ratings.
Hong Kong residents enjoy rights and freedoms unknown on the mainland despite China’s resumption of sovereignty in 1997. It has its own government and legal system under a semi-autonomous status.
Beijing promised that its people will be able to vote for their next chief executive in 2017.
Under the current system, the city’s leader is elected by a 1,200-strong pro-Beijing committee.

Story 8: THE wRap: YOUR WORLD IN ONE READ
At number 3, Egypt accuses 3 Al-Jazeera journalists it detained for belonging to a “terrorist” group, saying they had ties with the blacklisted Muslim Brotherhood.
This comes 6 months into a crackdown by the military-installed government on the movement of ousted president Mohamed Morsi.
Al-Jazeera demands the release of the journalists.

At number 6, US tech giant Apple says it has no backdoor in its products after a security researcher and a leaked document suggested the US National Security Agency or NSA had access to the iPhone.
In a statement, Apple says it never worked with the NSA to allow backdoor entry to its products.
Speaking in a security conference in Germany, researcher Jacob Applebaum says a program called DROPOUTJEEP allowed the NSA to intercept SMS messages, access contact lists, locate a phone using cell tower data, access voice mail or activate an iPhone’s microphone and camera.
But a security expert says this does not mean the NSA has complete control of a user’s iPhone.

And at number 7, Over 200,000 people send in their applications to nonprofit organization Mars One, hoping to be one of the first to colonize the Red Planet.
1,058 applicants are shortlisted to move on to the next selection round.
Mars One hopes to turn the colonization of Mars into a reality show with a global audience.
Over the next two years, the applicants will go through a series of physical and emotional tests to see if they can adapt to life on Mars.

Story 9: SCHUMACHER ‘WAS NOT GOING FAST’ – MANAGER
The manager of Michael Schumacher says the Formula One driver was not skiing at high speed when he suffered a severe accident.
On Sunday, Schumacher suffered a head injury after he fell and hit his head while skiing on unmarked slopes in France.
Doctors say he is now in stable condition.
His manager, Sabine Kehm, denies media reports that Schumacher was skiing at high speed at the time, with some saying he could have been going as fast as 60 to 100 kilometers an hour.
Kehm says Schumacher hit a rock as he made a turn.

– Rappler.com

Newscast Production Staff