NEWS FEED;Syria warplane downed, clashes rage in mosque

Syria warplane downed, clashes rage in mosque
Fighting raged in Syria yesterday, as peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi and Germany’s foreign minister held talks with Turkish officials amid tensions between Damascus and Ankara. 
Rebels and activists said a Syrian regime warplane was shot down near Aleppo, while part of the embattled northern city’s historic Ummayad mosque was set ablaze in fighting as rebels attacked army positions inside, monitors said. 
And a car bomb blast near Damascus killed eight people, including a child and two women, in Al Nabak on the road to Homs province, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. 
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan called for reform of the UN Security Council to help resolve the crisis, after Russia and China have repeatedly used their veto powers to block resolutions condemning Syria. 
“It’s time to change the structure of international institutions, starting with the UN Security Council,” Erdogan told reporters, calling for “wider, fairer and more effective representation”. 
In Istanbul, Erdogan and Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu also held talks on Syria with visiting Arab League chief Nabil al-Arabi, Turkish news agency Anatolia said. 
With rebels controlling large swathes of the border area, several incidents of cross-border fire from Syria this month sparked retaliatory shelling by Turkey and raised concern about potential escalation. 
After his meeting with German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle, Davutoglu repeated that Turkey would not tolerate any further border incidents. 
“We will hit back without hesitation if we believe Turkey’s national security is in danger,” he said. 
Westerwelle reiterated Germany’s support for its Nato ally Turkey while at the same time appealing for restraint. 
“We are on Turkey’s side but we also call on Turkey to show moderation,” he said. 
He also backed Turkey in a row over its interception of a Syrian plane from Moscow. 
“It was morally justified for the Turks to do that,” said Westerwelle, adding that Germany would have done the same thing. 
Turkey intercepted a Moscow to Damascus flight on Wednesday, confiscating its cargo. 
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the Syrian Air passenger plane had been carrying radar equipment that could have either civilian or military uses, and insisted that Moscow had violated no laws. 
Brahimi, a veteran Algerian diplomat who is the envoy of the UN and the Arab League, arrived in Istanbul from talks in Saudi Arabia. 
He is due in Tehran today for talks with Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi, Iranian state television channel’s website reported, a day before heading for Baghdad to meet Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki. 
The envoy is on a regional tour aimed at finding a solution to the conflict in Syria after Damascus rejected a UN call to implement a unilateral ceasefire. 
On the ground, rebels blocked army reinforcements from advancing towards the town of Maaret Al Numan, which has been under rebel control for several days, an AFP journalist in the area said. 
In its bid to retake the town, strategically located in the northwest on the road from Damascus to the embattled city of Aleppo, warplanes bombarded it, killing two civilians and destroying three homes. 
The rebel Free Syrian Army seized Maaret Al Numan on Tuesday, pushing the army out to two military bases on its outskirts and blocking the arrival of reinforcements to Aleppo. 
At least 12 rebels were killed in air strikes south of the town late on Friday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. 
And rebels shot down a warplane some 10km west of Aleppo where fierce battles were taking place, the Observatory and a defected army officer said. 
In Aleppo itself, fierce clashes raged in and around the Umayyad mosque, an AFP journalist said. Rebels entered into the complex by planting an explosive device at the southern entrance, a military source said. 
Rebels say the army used the massive mosque complex as a base of operations because of its strategic location. 
“The fighting caused a fire to break out in part of the complex,” said Syrian Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman. 
Elsewhere, rebels seized a base in Deir Foul village near the rebel-held town of Rastan in Homs, said the Observatory, and another base in Atibah in Damascus province. 
The Britain-based monitoring group said at least 101 people were killed yesterday - 36 civilians, 33 soldiers and 32 rebels. 
More than 33,000 people have now been killed since the uprising against Assad’s rule erupted in March last year, it added. Hundreds of thousands more have fled their homes. 
The UN estimates that more than 2.5mn people have been affected by the fighting. There are more than 348,000 Syrian refugees registered in neighbouring countries, but many more are unregistered. 
A new camp for the displaced at Qah near Turkey’s border has already reached its 400-person capacity, the Libyan organisation which financed the project said yesterday, adding that a second camp was to be opened in northwest Syria.

NEWS FEED:PALACE DECLARES OCT. 26 A REGULAR HOLIDAY 11 Oct 2012

PALACE DECLARES OCT. 26 A REGULAR HOLIDAY

MANILA, Philippines – Malacañang on Wednesday declared October 26, 2012 a regular holiday throughout the nation in observance of Eidul Adha or the Feast of Sacrifice.

The declaration was contained in Proclamation No, 488 signed by President Benigno Aquino III.

“Republic Act No. 9849 provides that Eidul Adha shall be celebrated as a regular holiday,” the proclamation said.

“Eidul Adha is one of the two greatest feasts of Islam, “it said.

The date of the festival, the proclamation said, was based on the declaration made by Saudi Arabia’s highest religious body.

The National Commission on Muslim Filipinos (NCMF) recommended that the observance of Eidul Adha should be on October 26, 2012 and that the Eidul Adhaprayer be performed on the final declaration of the Saudi Government.

NEWS FEED;Stock exchange president confident of rally into next year 11 Oct 2012

Stock exchange president confident of rally into next year
The Philippine stock market has gone from strength to strength in a record year of gains in 2012 and the operator of the country’s stock exchange is confident the rally will be sustained through next year, on the back of solid economic growth, a spending boost from elections in May and a long-awaited upgrade of the country’s sovereign credit ratings to investment grade. 
The Philippine Stock Exchange is also looking at a solid pipeline of new products such as exchange traded funds, real estate investment trusts and Shariah-compliant products, which it hopes will further boost liquidity and deepen the range of financial instruments traded on the bourse, PSE President Hans Sicat said in an interview late Monday. 
“I don’t think we’ll necessarily top it (this year’s gains) but what’s been set is a higher level of activity. We do think that interest rates and inflation will continue to stay low and basic growth of the economy will hover at the 6% level,” Sicat said. The 30-company benchmark index PSEi has closed at record highs 23 times this year, the last on Oct 7 at 5443.74 points. As of 0615 GMT yesterday, the PSEi was trading 0.4% lower, bringing this year’s gains to 23.8% and making the Philippines the third-best performing stock market in Asia this year, behind Pakistan and Thailand. 
The PSEi’s strong gains has emboldened local companies to raise funds through the stock market, generating 175bn Philippine pesos ($4.2bn) in proceeds as of the end of September, already eclipsing the PHP107.5bn all-time high for the whole of 2011. 
More crucially, Sicat said that the local equities market would most surely get a lift from an expected upgrade of the country’s credit rating to investment grade within the next twelve months. 
Credit ratings agencies Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services and Fitch Ratings both have the Philippines at a notch below investment grade, while Moody’s Investors Service still has Manila at two notches below investment grade. Analysts have said that the Philippines could be due for an upgrade in 2013, with ratings agencies typically conducting their reviews every 12-18 months. Fitch Ratings last upgraded the Philippines in June 2011 while S&P lifted the country’s rating in July. 
“We’d likely benefit from one event next year: A re-rating event. We’ve seen it in other countries like Indonesia, Brazil and many other economies,” said  Sicat, pointing to stock market rallies elsewhere, which followed on the heels of a credit upgrade. An actual investment grade rating will still draw into local securities foreign funds that otherwise can’t invest in economies rated as junk, he said. 
Meanwhile, the government can do more to boost the domestic securities market, including cutting taxes on transactions, expediting regulations on new products like exchange traded funds and by overcoming a political impasse to pave the way for the launch of REITs, Sicat said. 
The Department of Finance and property developers have clashed on the manner in which assets are to be transferred to REITs. The DOF wants to impose a value-added tax on initial asset transfers to REITs and proposes increasing minimum public ownership to 67% within three years from an initial 40%. Developers have objected to the proposed rules, citing the provisions of the 2010 REIT law. Sicat said property developers have urged Congress to revise the law to clarify provisions on minimum ownership and taxation and that he expects a resolution to come after the May 2013 congressional and local elections. 
Separately, the Securities and Exchange Commission is expected to finalize rules on ETF trading within the year, which will allow the products to be listed by early 2013, Sicat said. 
The stock exchange is also consulting with other groups to draw up a list of Shariah-compliant products that could attract investments from the Middle East. These products, targeted at Islamic investors, don’t invest in industries like gambling and the manufacture of alcoholic products, which are deemed contrary to Islamic principles. 
“With our goal of increasing overall liquidity in the stock market, that could be very helpful,” said Sicat, noting that globally there is around $1.2bn in investible funds for Shariah-compliant stocks. He said many Filipino Muslim investors had turned to Indonesia and Malaysia for Shariah-compliant investments. Foreign funds have been net buyers of PHP95.21bn of Philippine stocks in the first nine months of the year, six times the PHP15.61bn invested in the same period last year. They accounted for 40% of total trading volume in the first nine months and a further increase could bolster the market, said Sicat. 
Daily average trading volume in the nine months to September has increased 28% to PHP7.07bn from PHP5.54bn in the year-earlier period. 
Even as the PSE seeks additional liquidity, Sicat said, the bourse isn’t about to move back the end-2012 deadline for listed companies to comply with the minimum 10% public ownership requirement, even if doing so would mean the delisting of major blue chips like San Miguel Brewery Inc. The move to impose a 10% minimum public float is aimed at wider public participation in the stock market. 
PSE data indicate that around two dozen firms out of 256 listed companies have public ownership below the 10% minimum level. Firms that can’t comply will be suspended from trading on the stock exchange starting January and will eventually be delisted. Dow Jones

NEWS FEED;Khamenei in call for unity as woes grow 11 Oct 2012

Khamenei in call for unity as woes grow
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told Iranian officials yesterday to stop bickering over mounting economic woes as Tehran grapples with Western-imposed sanctions, voicing concern heightened by the collapse of the rial currency. 
His comments touched on divisions between Iranian government agencies and political factions exacerbated by the rial’s fall over the past several weeks, fanning an atmosphere of crisis in the world’s No 5 oil-exporting state. 
“The country’s officials should know and accept their responsibilities and not blame each other,” Khamenei said in a televised speech in the northeastern city of Bojnourd. “They should be united and sympathise with each other.” 
The rial plunged some 35% in the free market to a record low against the US dollar over the 10 days to October 2, reflecting a decline in Iran’s oil income wrought by tightened sanctions imposed over its disputed nuclear programme. 
Iranian savers have rushed to convert their rials into hard currency, and riot police briefly clashed with crowds protesting against the rial’s slide near Tehran’s Grand Bazaar last week. 
The debacle has fed criticism of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad by political enemies eager to pin Iran’s economic difficulties on his administration. Parliament speaker Ali Larijani, seen as a possible presidential candidate in elections next year, has been trading barbs with Ahmadinejad. 
Senior clerical figures close to Khamenei were fiercely critical of Ahmadinejad’s economic management in sermons delivered at last week’s Friday prayers, Iranian media reported. 
In his speech yesterday, Khamenei said: “The illogical sanctions of the West are barbaric,” and he acknowledged that inflation and unemployment were pressing problems. 
But he insisted Iran could withstand the sanctions and brushed off last week’s street protests, saying they consisted of a few people setting trash cans on fire. 
He added that Tehran’s merchants, who as a class were instrumental in the 1979 Islamic Revolution, should be praised for distancing themselves from the demonstrations. 
Khamenei also denounced Western officials who thought the rial’s plunge showed Iranian weakness. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said last week that the depreciation arose from decisions by the Iranian government, an allusion to Tehran’s refusal to curb its nuclear programme. 
“Are we worse off or you? In the streets of major European countries there are demonstrations day and night ... The problems of the West are much more complicated than ours,” Khamenei said, alluding to Europe’s debt crisis. 
“The West’s economy is frozen. You are worse off and you are moving towards collapse and recession. These problems cannot bring the Islamic Republic to its knees.” 
Legislators announced yesterday that they had collected 102 signatures in favour of questioning Ahmadinejad in parliament and presented the motion to the deputy speaker. But there was no word on when this might happen. 
Political infighting is not new in Iran’s ungainly multipolar power structure and there is no sign that the discontent poses a threat to Khamenei, who is Iran’s highest authority but has avoided blame for economic problems. 
However, there are signs that government agencies are taking aim at each other over the crisis and this could backfire badly if it restricts Tehran’s ability to respond to economic issues. 
Armed forces chief Hassan Firouzabadi said this week the central bank was primarily responsible for the currency crunch. 
“The problems in the last few days were caused because some in the banking system did not pay attention and the central bank took some issues lightly,” Firouzabadi said on Monday, according to the Fars news agency. 
Intelligence Minister Heydar Moslehi was quoted as blaming the rial’s descent on poor co-ordination between government bodies and a government failure to heed predictions made by his ministry as long ago as April 2011, Mehr news agency said.

NEWS FEED:Hatton wants revenge vs Pacquiao, Mayweather 10 Oct 2012

Hatton wants revenge vs Pacquiao, Mayweather

MANILA, Philippines – Forer world champion Ricky Hatton has finally bared the real reason for his comeback bid.

Hatton said that the ultimate goal for his return is to exact revenge against tormentors, Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr.

“I have only been beaten by the two best boxers of our generation, so ultimately it would be good to have redemption by fighting one of them again and winning,” Hatton told World Boxing News. 

The Manchester native, who reached the peak his career by uniting the World Boxing Association (WBA) and International Boxing Federation (IBF) junior welterweight crowns, suffered his first career defeat when he challenged Mayweather for the World Boxing Council (WBC) welterweight title in 2007.

Hatton was able to bring the fight to Mayweather in the early rounds, but the crafty American made adjustments later in the fight to score a 10th round stoppage against the Briton.

After recovering with a couple of victories against Juan Lascano and Paulie Malignaggi, Hatton absorbed a more stinging defeat from Pacquiao in 2009.

Pacquiao crushed Hatton in just two rounds, prompting the latter to put his career in hiatus.

After spending 3 years away from boxing, Hatton has decided to box again.

Hatton will test himself against Ukrainian boxer Vyacheslav Senchenko at the Manchester Arena on November 24.

But his ultimate goal, he said is getting back at Pacquiao and Mayweather.

“I want to get back up there at the top of my game, so I suppose that would be the ultimate goal for me to get back at the very top.”

NEWS FEED:Greek ire for Merkel 10 Oct 2012

Greek ire for Merkel
Greek police fired teargas and stun grenades at protesters in central Athens yesterday when they tried to break through a barrier and reach visiting German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Tens of thousands of demonstrators defied a ban on protests, gathering in Syntagma square to voice their displeasure with the German leader, who many blame for forcing painful cuts on Greece in exchange for two EU-IMF bailout packages worth over 200bn euros.
Some pelted police with rocks, bottles and sticks, and tried to bust through a barricade set up to protect Merkel and her delegation, who were meeting with Prime Minister Antonis Samaras at his office several hundred metres away.
Police detained dozens of protesters in what they said was one of the biggest demonstrations in months.
Merkel is visiting Greece for the first time since Europe’s debt crisis erupted here three years ago to deliver a message of support, but no new money, to a nation hammered by recession and fighting to stay in the euro.

Merkel has become a public hate figure in Greece

The German chancellor was given the red carpet treatment and full military honours when she arrived at Athens airport in the early afternoon.
Samaras greeted her with a handshake as she exited the German air force jet and a band played the German and Greek national anthems.
In the centre of Athens, the reception was less warm.
On the central square next to parliament, four people dressed in German military uniforms and riding on a small jeep, waved black-white-and-red swastika flags and stuck their hands out in the Nazi salute.
Banners read “Merkel out, Greece is not your colony” and “This is not a European Union, it’s slavery”.
There were Communists, members of the far-right nationalist party but also ordinary non-political workers gathered in a departure from the ancient Greek tradition of welcome to strangers. 
As television pictures showed a smiling Merkel being greeted by Samaras, a large ministerial delegation and an honour guard of Greek commandos at the start of her fleeting visit the mood on the street was one of fury.
“Merkel thinks she is going to buy Greece,” said one demonstrator.
Banners rammed home the point.”You are not welcome, Imperialisten Raus” (Imperialists out)” or “No to the Fourth Reich”. Some were even marked with the Nazi swastika.
Protesters burned a Nazi flag in front of a steel fence erected in front of parliament.
Thousands of police had fanned out across the capital, attempting to impose a ban on all gatherings and protests in key parts of the centre. 
A group of young people hurled rocks and chunks of stone at police to cries of “war against the imperialist’s wars.
The stench of tear gas drifted over the Greek capital.
“The middle class and the newly-impoverished are paying the country’s debt,” said Athina Kefala, a 57-year-old unemployed actress. “We are living an economic illusion with virtual money, and as a result we have nothing.”
Main opposition leader Alexis Tsipras, head of the radical leftist Syriza party was there.
“The Europe of peoples will beat the Europe of (debt deals) and barbarity ... the tradition of European democracy will not permit turning a European people into a crisis guinea pig, and to turn Greece into an endless social graveyard,” he said.
At a separate protest by her party, Communist leader Aleka Papariga declared: “Those peoples who do not hesitate to break their class chains will win. This for us is the point of today’s gatherings.”
Police have deployed 6,000 officers, including anti-terrorist units and rooftop snipers, to provide security during the six-hour visit. German sites in the Greek capital, including the embassy and Goethe Institute, are under special protection.
After steering clear of Greece for the past five years, Merkel decided to visit now for several reasons.
She wants to show support for Samaras, a fellow conservative, as he struggles to impose more cuts on a society fraying at the edges after five years of recession.
At a joint appearance before the press, she is expected to confirm her desire to keep Greece in the eurozone, after members of her government flirted with the idea of an exit earlier this year.
With a year to go until Germany holds an election, Merkel also hopes to neutralise opposition criticism that she has neglected Greece and contributed to its woes by insisting on crushing budget cuts.
Greece is in talks with its “troika” of lenders – the European Union, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) – on the next tranche of a 130bn-euro ($170bn) loan package, its second bailout since 2010.
Without the 31.5bn-euro tranche, Greece says it will run out of money by the end of November.
Many Greeks say they cannot take more of the wage cuts and tax hikes that have left a quarter of the workforce jobless and slashed the country’s economic output by a fifth.
Ties between Germany and Greece run deep. Thousands of Greeks came to Germany after World War II as “guest workers” to help rebuild the shattered country and more than 300,000 Greeks currently reside there.
But the relationship is clouded by the atrocities Greeks suffered at the hands of the Nazis during World War II.
Samaras’ own great grandmother committed suicide when she saw Nazi tanks rolling down the streets of Athens after Germany occupied Greece, flying the swastika flag from the Acropolis.
Greek President Karolos Papoulias, whom Merkel also met yesterday, fought against the German Wehrmacht as a teenager, before fleeing to Cologne to escape persecution by the Greek military dictatorship.
The crisis has revived long-dormant animosities, with Greek protesters burning effigies of Merkel in Nazi gear and German media playing up images of lazy Greeks keen for German cash.
Relations hit a post-war low early this year when Merkel’s finance minister, Wolfgang Schaeuble, likened Athens to a “bottomless pit” and proposed imposing a European “Sparkommissar” on Greece to control its finances.
“The average German voter is irritated at the thought of dispatching more taxes or savings to feckless southerners, yet is desperate for the respect and goodwill to Germany that comes from public displays of magnanimity,” said David Marsh, chairman of think-tank OMFIF. “When Merkel flies to Athens, she’s showing she’s in charge, and she cares.”

NEWS FEED:Body of slain Mexican drug lord snatched 10 Oct 2012

Body of slain Mexican drug lord snatched

Mexico says it has killed the leader of the brutal Zetas drug gang, the most powerful kingpin to fall in a six-year battle against cartels, but in a surreal twist, his body was snatched from a funeral home by armed men.

Mexico’s Navy said yesterday that fingerprint tests had confirmed that Heriberto Lazcano was killed in a firefight in the northern state of Coahuila on Sunday afternoon.

Lazcano, alias “The Executioner,” was the highest profile drug lord to be killed or captured in a military offensive launched when President Felipe Calderon took office in late 2006. The US had a $5mn bounty on his head.

However, in a scene straight out of a movie, an armed group snatched Lazcano’s body and that of another Zetas member from a funeral home in northern Mexico before dawn on Monday, just hours after they were killed.

“A masked, armed group overpowered the personnel, took the bodies and forced the owner of the funeral home to drive the get-away vehicle,” Homero Ramos, Coahuila’s state prosecutor, told a news conference yesterday.

While the government - and rival gangs - may welcome Lazcano’s death, the failure to properly guard his body is embarrassing and a battle for control of the Zetas could become a major headache for President-elect Enrique Pena Nieto, who takes office on Dec. 1.

Ramos said Lazcano and the other man were confronted on Sunday by Marines who had received a tip-off about two men in a vehicle acting suspiciously.

In the ensuing fight, the men attacked the Marines with grenades. A grenade launcher and host of weapons were later found inside the vehicle.

Photographs published by the Navy showed the body of a man in a dark shirt stained with mud lying on a table, his face similar to mugshots of Lazcano, a former Mexico special forces soldier who defected to join the Gulf Cartel in the 1990s.

He and other army deserters built up the Zetas group as enforcers for the cartel but then broke away in 2010 to fight a bloody turf war with their former bosses and other drug gangs.

The Zetas are now considered one of the two most powerful drug gangs in Mexico and have carried out some of the worst atrocities in a drugs war that has killed about 60,000 people during Calderon’s term.

Lazcano, also known as “Z-3,” was one of Mexico’s most-wanted men. Only Joaquin “Shorty” Guzman, boss of the Sinaloa Cartel, would represent a bigger prize to the government.

Under Lazcano’s leadership, the Zetas grew into a gang of more than 10,000 gunmen with operations stretching from the Rio Grande, on the border with Texas, to deep into Central America.

They have rapidly displaced Mexico’s older cartels in many areas, giving them a dominant position in the multibillion-dollar cross-border drug trade, as well as extortion, kidnapping and other criminal businesses.

But the Zetas appear to be splitting, with a longstanding rivalry between Lazcano and his deputy Miguel Trevino, alias “Z-40,” exploding into violence in recent months.

Since 2009, government troops have caught or killed more than 20 major drug lords. Senior Zetas boss Ivan Velazquez, also known as “El Taliban” or “Z-50”, and Gulf Cartel head Jorge Costilla, alias “El Coss,” were both captured last month.

The Zetas’ alleged leader in Tamaulipas state was arrested on Saturday. He is believed to be responsible for the murders in 2010 of dozens of migrants and an American who was killed as he jet skied on a lake on the Texas-Mexico border.

NEWS FEED:Egypt amnesty positive step but vague: activists 10 Oct 2012

Egypt amnesty positive step but vague: activists

Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi’s decision to pardon protesters detained over the 2011 revolution is a positive step but the vague wording could see some left behind bars, rights activists said yesterday. 

“It’s a very good decision but the distinction between a political detainee and a criminal one is fundamentally problematic,” said Heba Morayef, a Cairo-based researcher with Human Rights Watch. 

On Monday, a decree published on the presidency’s official Facebook page announced an amnesty for deeds “committed with the aim of supporting the revolution and bringing about its objectives in the period January 25, 2011 to June 30, 2012, with the exception of crimes of murder”. 

The decree “allows for wriggle room and leaves the door open for (authorities) to say these are not revolutionaries”, Morayef told AFP. 

Massive protests erupted on January 25 last year that eventually toppled longtime dictator Hosni Mubarak. 

Hundreds were detained during the 18-day uprising and hundreds more in the protests that followed when a military council, the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), was in charge of the country. 

But according to rights groups many of those detained were convicted after rushed and arbitrary investigations and questionable evidence. 

The amnesty is “a step in the right direction but it is not enough”, said longtime political activist Wael Khalil. 

He believes Mursi should have ordered the retrial of those convicted of crimes. 

“That would have been the principled thing to do,” Morayef agreed. 

Mursi’s amnesty declaration covers protesters who already have convictions and those who are still under investigation or are on trial, according to the decree. 

But defining those protesting “with the aim of supporting the revolution” could see many left behind bars, one rights activist said. 

“The decision is very vague,” said Maha Mamoun of the group No to Military Trials of Civilians. 

“The problem is not so much with the (crackdowns during) demonstrations, but also with the random street arrests,” she told the independent daily Al Shorouk. 

Several particularly bloody clashes in the areas surrounding Tahrir Square—the epicentre of the Egyptian revolt—saw the largest crackdowns on protesters by security forces. 

Hundreds have been released during the military-led transition but many hundreds still remain behind bars. 

The decree comes 100 days after Mursi, who emerged from the powerful Muslim Brotherhood, took office in June to become the first freely elected president of Egypt and its first civilian head of state. 

“The timing of the decision is significant at a time when people are evaluating Mursi’s performance, and it comes on the anniversary of the Maspero events and the upcoming anniversary of the Mohamed Mahmoud events,” Morayef said. 

The presidential decree was issued on the eve of the first anniversary of the Maspero massacre of more than 20 protesters during a Coptic Christian demonstration after the torching of a church. 

It also comes ahead of the anniversary of five days of battles last November between police and anti-SCAF protesters on Mohamed Mahmoud Street near Tahrir Square in which more than 40 people died and hundreds were injured. 

In a recent report, Amnesty International had urged Mursi to end the “bloody legacy” of abuse rampant during the Mubarak years. 

Mursi “has a historic opportunity to tackle the bloody legacy of police and army and guarantee that no one is above the law in Egypt,” the human rights watchdog said. 

It called on him to introduce “sweeping reform” to the security forces, highlighting alleged human rights violations during the military-led transition that followed the uprising.

NEWS FEED:Court blocks controversial cybercrime law in Philippines 10 Oct 2012

Court blocks controversial cybercrime law in Philippines
The Philippine Supreme Court yesterday suspended a controversial cybercrime law, amid huge online protests over fears it would impose severe curbs on Internet freedoms. 
The court declared in a brief written notice that the law would be suspended for four months while the tribunal studies the arguments for and against it. 
“The court resolved... to issue a temporary restraining order, effective immediately and for a period of 120 days, enjoining the respondents from implementing and/or enforcing (the cybercrime act),” it added. 
Such an order stops Philippine laws from taking effect until further orders from the court, while making no immediate judgment on their legality. 
The court said it will hear the case on January 15 next year. 
Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said the government will follow the court’s order. 
“The Supreme Court temporary restraining order is an exercise of the power of judicial review. We respect and will abide by it,” de Lima told reporters. 
“Our advocacy for a safe cyberspace and interdiction of organised crime will continue,” she added. 
The 15-member Supreme Court held a meeting behind closed doors yesterday to discuss petitions seeking to outlaw the cybercrime act. 
Riot police deployed outside the court as about 100 of its opponents as well as supporters staged rival but peaceful protests. 
The law, which went into force last week, seeks to stamp out non-controversial cybercrimes such as fraud, identity theft, spamming and child pornography. However one provision which metes out heavy jail terms for online libel, tougher than for defamation in the traditional media, has caused an uproar. 
Equally controversial is a provision that allows the government to shut down websites and monitor online activities, such as video conversations and instant messaging, without a court order. 
Human rights groups, media organisations and netizens have voiced their outrage at the law, with some saying it echoes the curbs on freedoms imposed by dictator Ferdinand Marcos in the 1970s. Philippine social media has been alight with protests, while hackers have attacked government websites and petitions have been filed with the Supreme Court calling for it to overturn the law. 
Opponents hailed the court order but urged it to go a step further by striking down the law. 
Senator Teofisto Guingona, one of at least 13 people or groups to have asked the court to strike down the law, said: “With this temporary restraining order, the tyrannical powers granted by the law are effectively clipped.” 
Brad Adams, Asia director for New York-based rights monitor Human Rights Watch, said in a statement: “The court should now go further by striking down this seriously flawed law.” 
A group of Filipino bloggers calling themselves the Philippine Internet Freedom Alliance urged parliament to replace it with one that upholds freedom of expression. 
“(The alliance) vows to bring the fight to the halls of Congress to ensure that this legislative abomination gets repealed,” it said in a statement. 
Meanwhile a group called the Responsible Internet Social Empowerment urged the Supreme Court and the parliament to uphold the law as it stands. 
“Prior to the enactment of the new law, how many cybercriminals are enjoying their freedom to escape liability and punishment because there is no law covering their felonious acts?” said its spokesman Alex Deita. AFP

F1 title race turning into Alonso v Vettel 9 Oct 2012

F1 title race turning into Alonso v Vettel

The Formula One title battle is turning into a straight duel between Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso and Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel for the honour of becoming the youngest triple world champion.
By winning Sunday’s Japanese Grand Prix after Alonso had spun off at the start, 25-year-old Vettel slashed the 31-year-old Spaniard’s lead to four points with five races - a maximum 125 points - remaining.
Finland’s 2007 champion Kimi Raikkonen is third for Lotus but 37 points off the lead and has yet to win a race this season while McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton is fourth a further five points adrift.
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner refused to rule out McLaren, winners of five races this year, and Lotus but he also spelled out where the real challenge lay for the champions.
“Luck tends to balance itself out over a 20-race season and it will be down to what the two of them do on track now and the relative performances of the cars over the remaining five races,” he told reporters.
Vettel has suffered two alternator failures and not scored on three of his races, while Alonso has twice drawn a blank - both coming in the last four outings and due to first lap incidents beyond his control.
Raikkonen is where he is because of consistency - 12 races in a row in the points - while 2008 champion Hamilton and his car have been quick but erratic.
“The championship now is effectively a battle of five races between Fernando and Sebastian,” said Horner. “You can’t rule out the others but whoever does the best job over the next five races will ultimately prevail.”
After the first seven races of the season were won by an unprecedented seven different drivers, the championship has settled into a familiar pattern with the focus on Ferrari, McLaren and Red Bull.
Vettel’s commanding pole-to-flag triumph, with the fastest lap thrown in as well, at Suzuka made him the first driver this season to chalk up back-to-back wins and he joined Alonso and Hamilton as a three-times winner in 2012.
As in 2010, when the German became the youngest champion, the season appears to be coming good for Vettel at just the right time.
Alonso had led by 29 points before Suzuka but he could lose his advantage altogether when Formula One re-groups in South Korea for the 16th round of the season this weekend.
“I guess Fernando will be going home more unhappy than most, he is under pressure, more pressure frankly from Sebastian than from us but we have closed that gap and we have five races to go,” McLaren principal Martin Whitmarsh told reporters in the Suzuka paddock on Sunday.
“Red Bull were on form here and at the moment Ferrari are under some pressure from us and Red Bull,” added the Briton, who had Jenson Button fourth and future Mercedes driver Hamilton fifth on Sunday.
Ferrari president Luca Di Montezemolo expected his team to hold their nerve.
“We know we can count on the strongest driver around at the moment and it’s only mistakes from others at Spa and again at Suzuka that have prevented him from having a more comfortable lead over his rivals,” he said of Alonso on the team website (www.ferrari.com).
“But for those two collisions, today Fernando would have had at least 30 points more and that’s a conservative estimate. In sport, as in life, the wheel turns and we must not forget that.”

‘Worst case’ unfolding in Syria, says Turkey 9 Oct 2012

‘Worst case’ unfolding in Syria, says Turkey
Turkish President Abdullah Gul said yesterday the “worst-case scenarios” were now playing out in Syria and Turkey would do everything necessary to protect itself, as its army fired back for a sixth day after a shell from Syria flew over the border. Gul said the violence in Turkey’s southern neighbour, where a revolt against President Bashar al-Assad has evolved into a civil war that threatens to draw in regional powers, could not go on indefinitely and Assad’s fall was inevitable. 
“The worst-case scenarios are taking place right now in Syria ... Our government is in constant consultation with the Turkish military. Whatever is needed is being done immediately as you see, and it will continue to be done,” Gul said. 
“There will be a change, a transition sooner or later ... It is a must for the international community to take effective action before Syria turns into a bigger wreck and further blood is shed, that is our main wish,” he told reporters in Ankara. 
Turkey’s armed forces have bolstered their presence along the 900km border with Syria in recent days and have been responding in kind to gunfire and shelling spilling across from the south, where Assad’s forces have been battling rebels who control swathes of territory. 
Turkey’s chief of staff, General Necdet Ozel, travelled to the southern city of Adana to inspect the region patrolled by Turkey’s 2nd Army, which protects the border with Syria, the military said on its website. 
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said the escalation of the conflict along the Turkey-Syria border, as well as the impact of the crisis on Lebanon, was “extremely dangerous”. 
“The situation in Syria has dramatically worsened. It is posing serious risks to the stability of Syria’s neighbours and the entire region,” he told a conference in Strasbourg, France. 
Ban said UN and Arab League envoy Lakhdar Brahimi would be heading back to the region this week. 
The exchanges with Turkey mark the most serious cross-border violence in Syria’s revolt against Assad, which began in March last year with peaceful protests for reform and has evolved into a civil war with sectarian overtones. 
“From now on, every attack on us will be responded to immediately. Every attack that targets our sovereignty, our security of life and property will find its response,” Turkish government spokesman Bulent Arinc said after a cabinet meeting. 
Parliament last week authorised the deployment of Turkish troops beyond its borders although government officials said the move was meant as a deterrent rather than a “war mandate”. 
“Turkey will decide itself when the situation necessitates acts mentioned in the motion the parliament passed last week. Nobody should think war will follow a parliament approval ... but we are more sensitive about our independence and sovereignty than most countries,” Arinc said. 
Turkey’s Dogan news agency said some 25 warplanes had been sent to a military base in Diyarbakir, the largest city in the southeast, and reported military sources as saying this was in connection with Syria and cross-border anti-terror operations. 
It said a large number of F-16 fighter planes landed at the base yesterday afternoon. Local sources confirmed there was heightened activity at the base but said this was related to operations against Kurdish militant bases in northern Iraq, not Syria. 
Separately, a convoy of military vehicles, including tanks loaded on trucks, travelled to the town of Akcakale yesterday to be deployed on the border, Dogan reported. Fighting further inside Syria also intensified yesterday. 
Syrian government forces advanced for the first time in months into the rebel-held Khalidiya district in the besieged central city of Homs.

Hacienda Luisita to be distributed before 2013 polls — DAR chief 9 Oct 2012

Hacienda Luisita to be distributed before 2013 polls — DAR chief

The 4,335-hectare Hacienda Luisita farmland in Tarlac province will be distributed to its farmer-beneficiaries before next year’s midterm elections, Agrarian Reform  Secretary Virgilio delos Reyes said Monday.
 
"We are confident that we are going to meet our self-imposed deadline, which is April 24, 2013," Delos Reyes told senators at the hearing on the Department of Agrarian Reform’s proposed budget for 2013.
 
"Bago po sana matapos ang eleksyon ay matapos na natin ang Hacienda Luisita," he added. 
 
The department is expecting a preliminary masterlist of beneficiaries by the end of October, Delos Reyes said.
 
"Nagbibigay po kami ng dalawa hanggang tatlong buwan para doon sa mga maaring magtanong kung bakit hindi sila kasali at kung bakit dapat sila ay kasali," he added. 
 
He also said that they have already tasked a private land surveyor to start conducting a segregation survey on Hacienda Luisita, which is owned by relatives of President Benigno Aquino III.
 
After the survey, the DAR can start with land valuation and then determine who should be given the lands, Delos Reyes said.
 
In an earlier press release, DAR said it began the process of beneficiaries’ identification, screening and validation with a massive information campaign at the 10 barangays of Hacienda Luisita last May 18— a week after the department received a copy of the final and executory decision of the Supreme Court ordering the distribution of the country’s biggest sugar plantation to farmworkers who were tilling the land.
 
A total of 8,550 potential beneficiaries took part in a series of interviews conducted by DAR personnel at basketball courts and elementary schools in the 10 barangays of Hacienda Luisita since last May, the statement said. — Amita O. Legaspi/KBK, GMA News

News Feed: cyber law 3 oct 2012

SC won't stop cyber law implementation 
MANILA, Philippines - The Supreme Court (SC) deferred yesterday action on the bid of various groups to stop the implementation of certain provisions of Republic Act 10175 or the Cybercrime Prevention Act, virtually allowing the new law to take effect today. In their regular session, the justices opted to set aside deliberations on seven petitions questioning the constitutionality of the provisions, to have more time to examine the issues before they tackle the case again at their next session on Tuesday. “The SC did not issue a TRO (temporary restraining order) in the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 petitions, which are up for further study,” SC public information office chief Ma. Victoria Gleoresty Guerra announced. The high court also did not require the respondents in the petitions to submit their comments. Four of the 14 justices were not present at the meeting. Three of them – Associate Justices Lucas Bersamin, Diosdado Peralta and Mariano del Castillo – were abroad on official trips while Associate Justice Roberto Abad was on leave. A total of seven petitions against RA 10175 were included and consolidated in the session of the justices and assigned to Associate Justice Presbitero Velasco Jr. as writer of the decision or ponente. Five petitions were filed last week by businessman Louis Biraogo, a group of journalists belonging to Alab ng Mamamahayag (ALAM), a group of bloggers and Internet law experts led by Jose Jesus Disini Jr. of the Internet and society program of UP College of Law, Sen. Teofisto Guingona III and another group of journalists, bloggers and lawyers led by UP law professor Harry Roque Jr. The two others were filed last Monday by a group of lawmakers, bloggers, members of academe and students led by Kabataan party-list Rep. Raymond Palatino; and militant groups Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan), Anakpawis, Karapatan and Kilusang Mayo Uno. Among the provisions in the new law questioned in the petitions is section 4, which includes cyber defamation, cyber threats and Internet libel in the list of cybercrimes subject to prosecution by the Department of Justice. Petitioners argued that section 6 of the law, which hands down a higher degree of punishment for people found guilty of libel and allows them to be charged separately under the Revised Penal Code for the same offense, is unconstitutional. They also sought the nullification of section 19, which gives the secretary of justice the power to block or restrict access to any content upon prima facie finding of violation of the law even without trial. They said that these provisions violate “constitutional rights to due process, speech, expression, free press and academic freedom.” ‘Black protest’ vs cybercrime law Bayan Muna Rep. Teddy Casiño and his supporters held a program in front of the SC building, protesting what they said was insertion of the provisions on online libel and takedown powers of the DOJ by the Senate. They were joined by members of Philippine Internet Freedom Alliance, who gagged themselves with black tape while holding a banner that read “Stop Cyber Martial Law.” A social networking group, headed by Marlene Aguilar and her Facebook friends, also came to join the demonstration. Their manner of protest, however, was a bit bolder – simultaneously putting up the dirty finger to express their dismay at the assailed law. Another group of photographers and bloggers also came to take part in the protest. All of them wore black shirts in the program dubbed as “black protest,” which was also seen in popular networking sites Facebook and Twitter where profile photos turned black. Damage control A number of senators are now scrambling to win back the protestors of the law, whom they alienated by voting to approve the bill. Sen. Francis Escudero has prepared a bill to repeal certain provisions of the law, particularly on libel, which was the main gripe of bloggers and other people active on social media. In Escudero’s bill, Section 4 (c) (4) of RA 10175 will be repealed based on the “unequivocal constitutional provision on freedom of speech.” He previously explained that his move was consistent with his advocacy to decriminalize libel as contained in Senate Bill 2162, which he filed in July 2010. “With today’s modern technology, the crime of libel does not only prove antiquated but to the contrary, even overarching as a state tool to restrain freedom of speech,” Escudero said in his current proposed bill. He expressed concern that the Anti-Cybercrime Law even broadens the coverage of libel to include the use of computer systems or other means that may be devised in the future. Sen. Pia Cayetano, who just like Escudero voted to approve the bill on third reading at the Senate, has also signified her intention to file her own bill either to amend or repeal RA 10175. Cayetano, in a series of tweets she posted while in Shanghai, China, said that she is currently reviewing the law and working with some groups on the possible amendments or repeal of provisions of the law. “As a blogger myself, I understand the concern of netizens. We don’t want to hamper intelligent public discourse online. That said, I’m open to discuss suggested amendments to the contentious provisions of the law with the sponsor, Sen. Angara,” she said in a previous tweet. Cayetano said that she is looking to file her proposed bill next week when Congress resumes session after a two-week break. When the bill was taken up for voting on third reading at the Senate, only Senator Guingona voted against it. He has now filed a petition against the law and urged the SC to act swiftly to protect Internet users from any harm caused by the erratic provisions. “Let me say this once again, the state has no right to gag its citizens and convict them for expressing their thoughts. The Philippines is a democratic country. Filipinos should never be left to cower in the sidelines. Their thoughts and voices should not be shackled by fear and intimidation. The people should not be afraid of their own government,” Guingona said. He said implementation of the law “will take back the Filipinos to the Dark Ages where freedom of speech and expression were not recognized.” Aurora Rep Juan Edgardo Angara, one of the authors of the law, said he is open to amend the contentious provisions, which he clarified did not emanate from the House of Representatives. Casiño and Kabataan party-list Rep. Raymond Palatino, on the other hand, filed House Bill 6613 seeking to repeal the contentious provisions of the new law. Passing the buck Malacañang gave assurance yesterday that the government was aware of the opposition to the law and the SC and legislators would have to act now. Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said it would be best to wait for the SC decision since petitions against the new law had been filed. Valte said the Department of Justice was well aware of the rights of every citizen and “we can assure you that those rights will be protected when it comes to matters that are raised under this particular law.” Asked about Justice Secretary Leila de Lima’s own reservations on some provisions of the law, particularly online libel, she said it would be up to De Lima to discuss this matter with President Aquino. “Secretary De Lima is already aware of the protests. I understand that DOJ is part of the three agencies that will craft the IRR (implementing rules and regulations) along with the DOST-ICTO (Department of Science and Technology-Information and Communications Technology Office) and the DILG (Department of the Interior and Local Government),” Valte said. She said she could not answer for the senators as to why they were questioning the law now when they themselves were there during deliberations. “Perhaps we can see in the minutes of Senate deliberations but, as of the moment, I am not aware of how engaged a particular senator was in the deliberations,” Valte said. With the decision of the SC to defer action on petitions against the cybercrime law, De Lima said there is no legal impediment for its implementation. She said the law will take effect today even pending drafting and publication of its implementing rules and regulations. “Effectivity of that law is not conditioned upon the adoption of the IRR and the setting up of the Office of Cybercrime. No legal impediment for the law’s implementation, given the absence of a TRO or injunction,“ she told The STAR. Meanwhile, a group of hackers calling themselves Philippine Cyber Army hacked one of the official websites of the Philippine National Police (PNP) yesterday. PNP spokesman Chief Superintendent Generoso Cerbo Jr. said the leadership of PNP-Police Community Relation Group (PCRG) had its website pnp.pcrg.gov.ph deactivated and their IT unit is working to fix the problem. – Marvin Sy, Paolo Romero, Aurea Calica, Cecille Suerte Felipe

news feed katrina halili isa ng ganap na ina 20 sept 21012

Isa nang ganap na ina ang Kapuso actress na si Katrina Halili matapos niyang isilang ang anak nila ng singer na si Kris Lawrence kagabi, September 18.

Babae ang anak nina Katrina at Kris.Nanganak si Katrina, via caesarean section, bandang alas-siete ng gabi sa St. Luke's Hospital sa Quezon City.

Ayon sa report na nakuha ng PEP.ph (Philippine Entertainment Portal), may timbang na 6.6 lbs ang sanggol na pinangalanan nilang "Katrence."

Parehong nasa mabuting kalagayan ngayon sina Katrina at Katrence.

PROUD DAD. Hindi naman maitago ni Kris ang kanyang kasiyahan sa pagdating ng anak nila ni Katrina.

Sabi niya sa kanyang Twitter account: "Katrence is here!!!! She's the most beautiful thing ive ever seen..."

Dagdag pa ng Party Pilipinas mainstay:

“When u look at ur own kid & she looks back at you...everything around you turns into a blur, stops, mutes and its just the 2 of you...wow."

“Im feeling emotions that i never even knew existed...thank you Lord. This is the best 

news feed

MANILA, Philippines - Interior and Local Government Secretary Manuel Roxas II received his confirmation yesterday from the C
ommission on Appointments (CA) after Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago withdrew her threat to block it by invoking her one-person veto power.
Malacañang later thanked Santiago for her “magnanimous gesture.”
Roxas had faced the CA before in various capacities, from trade secretary to transportation secretary.
Being a former member of both the Senate and the House of Representatives, Roxas had a relatively easy time getting confirmation from the CA despite Santiago’s threat and the appearance of one person opposing his appointment.
The CA committee on local government chaired by Senate Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III took up the lone opposition to Roxas’ confirmation raised by a certain Marivic Sarao, president of the union of the Bureau of Immigration. She was represented by lawyer Henry Tubban.
Tubban questioned Roxas on his supposed role in taking away the grant of overtime pay to the Customs, Immigration and Quarantine officers.
Since the matter has already been referred to both the Senate and the House of Representatives, the CA ruled that it was not the proper forum to raise the complaint.
During the plenary session of the CA yesterday, Santiago rose to exercise her one-person veto power under section 20 of CA rules.
Although not required to explain her veto, Santiago told the CA that she was “deeply insulted” by the failure of Cabinet members – including Roxas – to attend her committee’s hearing last Sept.14 on the controversies involving resigned DILG undersecretary Rico Puno.
“I now want to stand by the principle that the executive branch cannot effectively prevent the legislative branch of the government from holding any inquiry in aid of legislation, a constitutionally protected power, simply by agreeing among themselves that they will not show up,” Santiago said.
“I resent that a certain person cannot be investigated on a mere say so of the Cabinet. Who is he, untouchable? I deeply regret that as collateral damage I have to take counter action and exercise my power of one-person veto over all Cabinet members who were summoned but did not attend,” she added.
During his confirmation hearing, Roxas said he had written Santiago explaining his absence during her committee hearing.Roxas said he did not intend to snub her hearing but felt that his presence wouldn’t matter much since he was not yet officially the DILG secretary and that he knew nothing about Puno.
“As you may know, I have not yet passed through the required confirmation process by the Commission on Appointments,” Roxas told the CA members.
“I am not as yet officially the DILG secretary and have not assumed any function, duty or responsibility as such. Since I am not yet familiar with the issues pertaining to the DILG, I will be unable to contribute any constructive information and cannot speak with authority on these matters,” Roxas said.
“Inasmuch as I have not worked with Undersecretary Puno, I will not be able to render a cogent evaluation of his work performance,” he said.
Sotto promptly appealed to Santiago to reconsider her decision and withdraw her threat to veto. Santiago relented and withdrew her motion.
“My high intelligence quotient dictates that I should reconsider and therefore withdraw my motion to suspend,” Santiago said.
Unlike Roxas, his successor at the Department of Transportation and Communications, Cavite Rep. Joseph Emilio Abaya, breezed through his confirmation hearing and was even showered with praises during the plenary session.
Santiago even took note that both Roxas and Abaya were descendants of great historical figures, namely former President Manuel Roxas and the country’s first president, Emilio Aguinaldo.
Abaya is a great grandson of Aguinaldo and a descendant of revolutionary hero Isabelo Abaya. His father Plaridel Abaya was a three-term congressman.
The new DOTC secretary graduated with honors from the US Naval Academy in Annapolis where he earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics in 1988.
He also has a degree from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York where he completed a Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering.
Abaya, chairman of the House committee on appropriations, said that he would stay on as a congressman until the proposed P2-trillion national budget for 2013 is approved on third reading.
Asked by reporters if she would still block the confirmation of Justice Secretary Leila de Lima and Environment Secretary Ramon Paje Jr., Santiago said she would think about it first.
Also confirmed during yesterday’s plenary session were the promotions of 106 senior and junior officers of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
At the end of the CA plenary session, Roxas expressed his gratitude to the members of the CA.
“I wish to thank members of the CA who gave me support, particularly Sen. Miriam who reconsidered her position and who was the first to declare that I am competent and qualified for the job,” Roxas said.
After his confirmation, Roxas vowed to continue the initiative of the late DILG Secretary Jesse Robredo, particularly with regard to transparency and accountability of local officials.
At Malacañang, presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda thanked Santiago for withdrawing her objection to Roxas’ appointment, saying the “office of the DILG is a very important position.”
“It deals with local governments and peace and security. We are very happy that Senator Santiago has placed national interest above her concerns on the snubbing of Secretary Mar Roxas,” he added. “For that, we thank Senator Santiago for her magnanimous gesture.”
The opposition bloc in the House of Representatives also welcomed the confirmation of Roxas and of Abaya.
House Minority Leader and Quezon Rep. Danilo Suarez said while Roxas is more fit to head the DOTC, the former senator can ably lead in his new post just as well.
“He (Roxas) has the main prerequisite for any leader in any post – he’s clean,” Suarez said. “That’s very important.”
He said Roxas can use his managerial expertise in running his department. – Rainier Allan Ronda, Paolo Romero, Delon Porcalla

NEWS FEED 16 sept 2012

BEIRUT - They have all heard stories of foreign housemaids being abused in Lebanon, and some may even have suffered themselves, but on Sunday Asians and Africans set such demons aside and joined in joyously as Pope Benedict XVI celebrated mass in Beirut.

Lebanon has earned such a bad reputation over mistreatment of domestics that Madagascar, the Philippines and Ethiopia have all stopped their citizens from travelling to the country to work.

If most maids are well treated, others have been virtually enslaved. Their passports have been confiscated on arrival by their employers, and they have been beaten, humiliated, not paid or not given days off.

But among the estimated 350,000 people gathered on Beirut's waterfront on Sunday to join Benedict in the last mass of his three-day visit, groups of Africans and Asians could be seen celebrating as well.

Amid the festive atmosphere, they sang melodies from home and danced, cheering the pontiff as fervently, if not more, than the Lebanese among whom they moved.

Among them were two young men from South Sudan, one waving the country's flag and the other holding a banner saying: "We hope you visit our new country, South Sudan, to have your blessing. We love you, pope."

Derly, a 30-year-old Filipina, a small golden cross hanging round her neck, exclaimed: "I am so happy. This is the first time that I see the pope."

"I will pray for my family, whom I haven't seen in two years," she said, highlighting the pain of separation that so many of these women feel.

Another Filipina, Joy, aged 43, echoed that sentiment.

"I would so much have loved for my family to be with me to share this moment, but the Philippines is so far away and my country has imposed restrictions because of the abuse."

But with a bandana round her head bearing the words "Philippines love Benedict XVI" and her broad smile, there was no doubt how she felt.

And one of her compatriots shouted out defiantly: "Sunday is our day off, but even if they hadn't given it to me I would have come anyway."

Mary, another Filipina, who is married to a Lebanese, wore a T-shirt advertising a centre that helps foreign workers who have been victimised.

"I came to see the pope and to get his blessing; here I feel in communion with the whole world," she said.

That was echoed by Josephine, a 20-year old Senegalese.

"This makes me feel good, it's a joy to be here among the Lebanese. They chant, we sing. We feel a bond."

There is also a down side, however.

"We just want them to accept us as we are," she added, perhaps thinking of how some clubs ban Asians and Africans from their swimming pools because some members might feel uncomfortable.

But Raymond Aoun, a Lebanese shopkeeper standing nearby, was thrilled.