Rappler Newscast | October 17, 2014

Today on Rappler.

• Police say the killing of a transgender Filipino is a hate crime. 
• An Abu Sayyaf deadline passes without word on the fate of the German hostages.
• A survey says Vice President Binay will win over President Aquino if he runs for a second term.

KILLING OF JENNIFER LAUDE A ‘HATE CRIME’ – POLICE REPORT
Olongapo City police say the killing of Filipino transgender woman Jennifer Laude, legal name Jeffrey, was a case of hate crime.
The police suspect US Marine Private First Class Joseph Scott Pemberton engaged Laude’s services for sex but was angered to find out Jennifer was “gay.”
Laude was found dead at Celzone Lodge Sunday with neck injuries.
An autopsy report said the victim died of drowning.

ABU SAYYAF DEADLINE PASSES, NO WORD ON HOSTAGES
Local terrorist group Abu Sayyaf’s deadline to behead a German hostage passes Friday.
There’s still no word on the fate of the captives.
Initially set at 3pm, the Abu Sayyaf later said it will extend the deadline if assured the ransom money was on the way.
Army spokesperson Harold Cabunoc confirms operations are ongoing but is tight-lipped about the details.
He says there’s been no firefight so far.

LT COL HAROLD CABUNOC, SPOKESPERSON, PHILIPPINE ARMY: Di ko masabi yung exact, basta yung tropa natin andun. Ongoing ang law enforcement operations. Di ko lang masabi kung saan, kailan o saan specifically dahil ayaw natin mapahamak ang buhay.
(I can’t give exact details, but our troops are there. Law enforcement operations are ongoing. I just can’t say where, when specifically because we don’t want to endanger lives.)

BINAY WILL WALLOP AQUINO IN 2016 – SURVEY
A Rappler exclusive: In a two way fight, if President Aquino runs for a second term in 2016 Vice President Jejomar Binay will wallop him in the ballots at 62% vs 36%.
This is the result of a new survey commissioned by Binay’s supporters and conducted by Laylo Research Strategies.
If Binay were to be battle it out with rival Mar Roxas, the interior secretary would suffer a worse beating.
The survey was conducted nationwide in September during the Senate’s probe into Binay’s alleged anomalous contracts in Makati.
Sources close to Aquino say Binay met with the President and “begged” him to stop the Senate probe.
Binay denies negotiating with Aquino, saying they only chatted about the good old days.

MRT3 BUYOUT BEGINS IN JANUARY 2015
The Philippine government expects to purchase the privately-owned equity shares of the Metro Rail Transit Corporation or MRTC by January 2015.
MRTC operates the Metro Rail Transit line 3 or MRT.
An accident involving a derailed train last August prompted the Senate to probe the problematic rail system.
President Aquino ordered the MRTC takeover as early as 2013.
The takeover also aims to fast track procurement of maintenance contracts.

MALAYSIA WINS SEAT AT UN SECURITY COUNCIL
The United Nations elects Malaysia to its Security Council.
Running unopposed, it highlights its role as a facilitator in the peace process between the Philippines and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

ANIFAH AMAN, FOREIGN MINISTER, MALAYSIA: Malaysia aims to among others continue advocating the vision for peace and moderation, promote mediation as an approach to a peaceful conflict resolution, promote the enhancement of peacekeeping operations.

But how do countries become part of the UN Security Council?
Watch Ayee Macaraig’s vlog on Rappler to find out.

THE wRap: YOUR WORLD IN ONE READ

PHILIPPINES, INDONESIA TO SET POSSIBLE UNDERSEA BOUNDARY
The Philippines and Indonesia agree to a possible undersea boundary.
Both countries ink a historic maritime deal on their overlapping exclusive economic zones.
The undersea mass between the Philippines and Indonesia is rich in mineral resources.
Experts hail the agreement as a model in settling maritime disputes.

HONG KONG POLICE DISMANTLE PROTEST SITE
Hong Kong police tear down tents and barricades in protest sites early Friday morning… with no resistance from protesters.
This comes hours after leader Leung Chun Ying renewed offers to  talk, to end nearly 3 weeks of clashes.
Protesters have been holding rallies against China for weeks to demand their democratic right to vote.

For the full top 10 visit Rappler.com’s ‘the wRap.’

APPLE CONFIRMS IPAD AIR 2, IPAD MINI 3
Apple unveils its latest array of tablet and desktop devices.
It launches tablets iPad Air 2 and iPad Mini 3, and desktop devices iMac with Retina Display and Mac Mini.
The iPad Air 2 is 18% thinner than its predecessor, with an A8X chip expected to perform faster and better and comes in a gold version.

For more tech news, watch Techrap this Sunday.

– Rappler.com

Newscast Production Staff