MANILA, Philippines – A decision by the Commission on Audit (COA) will pave the way for a Guimaras public school teacher to receive the correct salary 11 years since her promotion.

In a decision released in March, COA ruled in favor of Josefina Pabraquel, who filed a petition for payment of salary differential after she was denied her rightful pay grade from September 2006 to October 2015.

Pabraquel is expected to receive P109,989.20. 

First hired as Teacher I in January 2004 under the Alternative Learning System (ALS) and promoted to Teacher II in 2006, she was eventually deployed as a mobile teacher to the Guimaras Division of the Department of Education (DepEd) Western Visayas.

But the DepEd regional superintendent recalled her promotion to Teacher II because her position as a mobile teacher only allows Teacher I. The rank of Teacher II is considered a regular teacher item position for elementary education.

In its decision, COA pointed out that this move was not allowed under the Revised Administrative Code of 1987, which states that an appointment accepted cannot be withdrawn or revoked by the appointing authority. It should remain in force unless disapproved by the Civil Service Commission (CSC).

"The appointment of Ms Pabraquel cannot be recalled or revoked," COA said. "Therefore, when Ms Pabraquel assumed the position of Teacher II, she acquired a legal right to the position." – Rappler.com

VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis called Sunday, April 1, for an end to "carnage" in Syria and "reconciliation" in the Middle East in his traditional Easter message.

"Today we implore fruits of peace upon the entire world, beginning with the beloved and long-suffering land of Syria," the pontiff said in the "Urbi et Orbi" (To the City and the World) address.

Appealing to the "consciences of all political and military leaders," Francis urged "that a swift end may be brought to the carnage" as tens of thousands of pilgrims listened in St Peter's Square and millions watched the speech broadcast live around the world.

The head of the world's 1.2 billion Catholics asked that "provisions be made to facilitate access to the aid so urgently needed by our brothers and sisters, while also ensuring fitting conditions for the return of the displaced" to Syria.

As he spoke, a final deal was reportedly reached for fighters and civilians to leave the last opposition-held pocket of Eastern Ghouta.

That would mark a major milestone in Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's efforts to regain control of territory seized by rebel factions during the seven-year civil war which has left some 350,000 dead and displaced millions.

The 81-year-old Francis said the Holy Land was "also experiencing... the wounds of ongoing conflict that do not spare the defenceless", singling out the conflict in Yemen where some 10,000 people have died since March 2015.

Praying for the "fruits of peace upon the entire world", Francis then called for the "fruits of dialogue for the Korean peninsula", that the "discussions under way may advance peace and harmony within the region."

'Relationships of trust' 

"May those who are directly responsible act with wisdom and discernment to promote the good of the Korean people and to build relationships of trust within the international community," the Argentine pope said.

February's Winter Olympics triggered a fast-moving rapprochement that will see the North's Kim Jong Un sit down with the South's President Moon Jae-in in late April, with a US summit with President Donald Trump planned for May.

Earlier Sunday the pontiff celebrated Easter mass in the flower-bedecked square, which was under tight security.

Tourists and clergy alike had formed long queues to have their belongings checked and pass through metal detectors.

"Rome is the centre of the Catholic faith," anti-terror prosecutor Federico Cafiero de Raho said Saturday. 

"For those who believe in the radical form of holy war, Rome represents so many things put together -- there's the pope, the Vatican..." 

Italian authorities are concerned that some of the estimated 120 radicalised Italians who left for Syria or Iraq to fight with jihadist groups could be returning to the country posing as migrants. 

Last week saw a wave of anti-terror arrests, with Interior Minister Marco Minniti warning of a high risk of an attack. – Rappler.com

KUWAIT CITY – A Kuwaiti court on Sunday, April 1, sentenced in absentia a Lebanese man and his Syrian wife to death by hanging over the murder of a Filipina maid, a judicial source said.

The court issued the sentence in the first hearing in the case of Joanna Demafelis, the 29-year-old maid whose body was found in a freezer in Kuwait earlier this year. (READ: 'A national shame': The death and homecoming of Joanna Demafelis)

The sentencing can still be appealed if the couple returns to Kuwait, the source told Agence France-Presse on condition of anonymity. 

The Demafelis murder triggered a diplomatic crisis between Kuwait and the Philippines, prompting Manila to impose a departure ban for its citizens planning to work in the Gulf state.

The Lebanese-Syrian couple was arrested in February in the Syrian capital Damascus following an Interpol manhunt. 

Syrian authorities handed the husband, Nader Essam Assaf, over to Lebanese authorities, while his Syrian wife remained in custody in Damascus. 

An estimated 252,000 Filipinos and Filipinas work in Kuwait and depend on remittances to help their families back home. 

Rights groups have raised alarm around the plight of workers in the Gulf and other Arab countries, where migrant labor is regulated under a system known as "kafala." 

The kafala, or sponsorship, system ties migrant workers' visas to their employers, prohibiting workers from leaving or changing jobs without prior consent. (READ: Duterte lists down demands for OFW protection in Kuwait) – Rappler.com

MOSCOW, Russia – Russian diplomats expelled from the United States arrived in Moscow on Sunday, April 1, with post-Cold War tensions peaking in the wake of a nerve agent attack on a former spy in Britain.

A deepening crisis in ties between Russia and the West has over the past weeks seen the biggest wave of tit-for-tat diplomatic expulsions in recent memory.

In further signs of tension, Russia warned its nationals on Saturday, March 31, to think twice before travelling to Britain, where it said they could be singled out for harassment by local authorities.

By expelling 60 Russian diplomats, the US joined a score of Britain's allies in responding to the poisoning of former double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in the English city of Salisbury on March 4.

Two planes arrived at Moscow's Vnukovo airport on Sunday, bringing home a total of 171 people – the 60 diplomats and their families – from Washington and New York.

Russian television showed passengers disembarking from a government plane while several buses waited to pick them up.

More than 150 Russian diplomats have now been ordered out of the US, EU members, NATO countries and other nations.

Britain has said it is "highly likely" that Russia was responsible for the Skripal attack using the Soviet-designed Novichok nerve agent. Russia has angrily denied any involvement.

The US alleged the 60 diplomats were "spies" and sent them home from posts around the country and at the Russian mission to the United Nations, as well as closing Russia's consulate in Seattle.

However Washington has since said that Russia is free to apply to accredit more diplomats to replace those expelled.

Moscow responded by expelling 60 US diplomats and closing Washington's consulate in Saint Petersburg on Saturday.

'Work to improve ties'

US President Donald Trump has often appeared reluctant to criticise Russian leader Vladimir Putin and has said the two could meet for a summit in the near future.

"Now the consulate is closed but our work to improve Russian-US ties is continuing," the US embassy in Moscow said on Twitter.

Moscow also issued further retaliatory measures against Britain on Saturday, demanding that London further slash its diplomatic presence.

"Russia suggested parity. The British side has more than 50 more people," foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told Agence France-Presse.

The call came after 23 British diplomats were expelled from Russia last month.

Moscow also closed a British consulate in Saint Petersburg and suspended all projects of the British Council for the first time in nearly 60 years.

'Threatening rhetoric' 

The Russian embassy in London urged Russians to think carefully before travelling to the UK or sending children to summer school there.

The embassy warned that British authorities including police could single out Russians for additional checks, citing "the anti-Russian policies and an escalation of the British side's threatening rhetoric".

Britain acknowledged Saturday that border officials had searched an incoming Aeroflot flight from Moscow in what Russia blasted as an act of "blatant provocation".

Britain said it conducts routine checks on aircraft to protect the UK from organised crime and people attempting to bring harmful substances into the country.

Earlier this week Moscow summoned British ambassador Laurie Bristow, giving London a month to cut the number of diplomatic staff in Russia to the same number Russia has in Britain. 

He was handed a protest note over the "provocative and unfounded actions of the British side which instigated the unwarranted expulsion of Russian diplomats from a variety of states," the Russian foreign ministry said. 

Bristow was summoned along with the heads of missions from 23 other countries -- most of them EU member states -- who were told that some of their diplomats had to leave.

France, Germany, Canada and Poland each said that Russia was expelling four of their diplomats. 

Other countries including Australia, Ukraine, the Netherlands, Sweden, the Czech Republic, Finland, Lithuania and Norway were also told to pull their envoys. – Rappler.com

JERUSALEM – Israel rejected calls for an independent probe on Sunday, April 1, after its soldiers killed 16 Palestinians and wounded hundreds more when a major demonstration led to clashes along the border with the Gaza Strip.

Israel's military has faced questions from rights groups over its use of live fire on Friday, March 30, the bloodiest day in the conflict since a 2014 war, while Palestinians accuse soldiers of firing on protesters posing no threat.

Both UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and EU diplomatic chief Federica Mogherini have called for an independent investigation.

On Saturday, the United States blocked a draft UN Security Council statement urging restraint and calling for an investigation of the violence, diplomats said.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised soldiers' actions for "guarding the country's borders," while Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman said the protests were not a "Woodstock festival".

Lieberman said calls for an independent investigation were hypocritical and on Sunday repeated his rejection of such an investigation.

"There will be no commission of inquiry," he told Israel's public radio.

"There will be no such thing here. We shall not cooperate with any commission of inquiry."

Netanyahu also hit back at Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan over his sharp criticism of what he called Israel's "inhumane attack" in Gaza.

"The most moral army in the world will not be lectured to on morality from someone who for years has been bombing civilians indiscriminately," Netanyahu tweeted.

He has previously labelled Erdogan as someone who "bombs Kurdish villagers".

'Hard to believe'

On Friday Israeli troops opened fire on Palestinians who strayed from a main protest camp attended by tens of thousands and approached the heavily fortified fence cutting off the blockaded Gaza Strip.

The military has defended the soldiers' action and said they opened fire only when necessary against those throwing stones and firebombs or rolling tyres at soldiers.

It said there were attempts to damage the fence and infiltrate Israel, while alleging there was also an attempted gun attack against soldiers along the border.

Israel accuses Hamas, the Islamist group that runs Gaza and with whom it has fought three wars since 2008, of using the protest as cover to carry out violence.

In addition to the 16 Palestinians killed, more than 1,400 were wounded Friday, 758 of them by live fire, with the remainder hurt by rubber bullets and tear gas inhalation, the health ministry in Gaza said.

No casualties were reported among Israelis.

The armed wing of Hamas said five of those killed were its members who were participating "in popular events side-by-side with their people".

The Israeli army alleges 10 of the dead had "documented terror backgrounds" in Hamas and other groups and were killed "whilst carrying out acts of terror".

Unverified videos being shared online have fuelled the debate, including one appearing to show a protester running with a tyre being shot while seeming to pose no threat.

Israel's army has issued a statement saying footage is being "edited and fabricated," without referring to specific videos.

Rights groups including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have criticised Israel's use of live fire.

Israel had deployed troop reinforcements along the border, including more than 100 special forces snipers, saying it would prevent attempts to break through the fence.

"While some Palestinian demonstrators have thrown stones and other objects towards the fence, it's hard to believe how this would be an imminent danger to the lives of well-equipped soldiers protected by snipers, tanks and drones," Amnesty said.

More protests ahead 

The protest, which includes tents erected at various areas, is designed to last six weeks, ending around the time the United States moves its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in mid-May.

The embassy move has deeply angered the Palestinians, who see Jerusalem's annexed eastern sector as the capital of their future state.

But while tens of thousands attended Friday's start of the protests, demonstrations have since dwindled. Several hundred attended on Saturday, while on Sunday dozens milled around protest tents.

The protests may however again see large crowds after Friday's main Muslim prayers and for upcoming key dates.

May 14 will mark 70 years since the creation of Israel and is when the United States is expected to open its new Jerusalem embassy.

Palestinians will mark what they call the Nakba, or "catastrophe," the following day.

The Nakba commemorates the more than 700,000 Palestinians who either fled or were expelled from their homes in the war surrounding Israel's creation in 1948.

Gaza's protest is in support of refugees, including those in the Palestinian enclave who want to return to their former homes in what is now Israel. – Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – Both the camps of Vice President Leni Robredo and her rival, former senator Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr, are oozing with confidence as the ballot recount for the vice presidency is set to begin on Monday, April 2.

Why they are confident: Lawyers of Robredo and Marcos both believe the results of the recount will prove their respective clients won in the 2016 elections. (READ: TIMELINE: Marcos-Robredo election case)

Marcos' legal counsel and spokesperson Vic Rodriguez said their camp has long waited for the recount to begin. He also criticized the Vice President's camp for allegedly delaying the protest and attempting to "bury the truth." (READ: 'Why run for senator when I already won as VP?' – Bongbong Marcos)

"We have endured two years of waiting due to Robredo's habitual and intentional moves to delay the election protest and deliberate attempts to bury the truth," Rodriguez said in a text message on Sunday, April 1.

"Finally, we have reached the day when manual recount [will] finally commence and very much look forward to its final conclusion [to] determine the bona fide winner and dispel once and for all the uncertainty that beclouds the truth choice of the electorate for Vice President," he added. 

Robredo's lawyer Romulo Macalintal, meanwhile, said they are "happy" over the start of the ballot recount, as they are "confident" Robredo truly won the elections. (READ: Robredo wants VP protest resolved so Marcos 'won't have space to lie') 

"[We are] very, very confident, and we're happy that the revision and the recount will start… because of the fact that we will be able to prove to the entire Filipino people that our client, the Vice President, won in a legitimate election," Macalintal told Rappler.

The veteran election lawyer said the ballot recount process will show "there is nothing irregular" in Robredo's victory.

How the ballot recount works: Despite both camps' confidence, do not expect the ballot recount to be finished any time soon. 

The Supreme Court (SC), acting as the Presidential Electoral Tribunal (PET), will review a total of 5,418 ballot boxes from Camarines Sur, Iloilo, and Negros Oriental – the 3 pilot provinces that Marcos chose for the initial ballot recount.

The ballot recount process will be held at the 5th floor gymnasium of the SC-Court of Appeals building in Padre Faura in Manila. (READ: LOOK: Where PET will recount vice presidential votes)

As of now, the PET only has around 1,400 ballot boxes from Camarines Sur. The ballot boxes from the other two provinces will still be retrieved in the coming weeks or months, depending on the PET's schedule. 

A total of 50 revision committees will pore over every ballot box starting Monday. Each revision committee will include two revisors from the Marcos camp, another two from the Robredo camp, and an independent head revisor hired by the PET.

The PET requires them to finish a box of less than 300 ballots in 5.5 hours, a box of 300 to 699 ballots in 8.35 hours, and a box of more than 700 ballots in 11 hours.

The revision committees will work Monday to Friday, from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm, with breaks in between for a total of 6.5 hours a day.

The PET will then determine the merit of the rest of Marcos' protest based on the results from the 3 pilot provinces.

When the ballot recount will be over: Macalintal explained that the review of the Camarines Sur ballot boxes alone will take about two months. 

"Sa Camarines Sur alone, siguro mga 6 to 8 weeks. So you are talking about two months bago matapos 'yan, ano? Kasi in our experience, 'yung isang ballot box, halos an average of one ballot box a day," said the lawyer. 

(For Camarines Sur alone, it will take probably around 6 to 8 weeks. So you are talking about two months before that will be finished, right? In our experience, one ballot box is finished in a day.) 

Granting the PET will be able to have the ballot boxes from Iloilo and Negros Oriental retrieved soon, the whole ballot recount process will take at least 6 months.

But this is just a rough estimate. The PET has yet to schedule the ballot retrieval and recount for the other two provinces. – Rappler.com

SEOUL, South Korea (UPDATED) – North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un on Sunday, April 1, attended the first concert in Pyongyang for over a decade by South Korean entertainers, including a K-pop girlband, the latest gesture of reconciliation before a rare inter-Korean summit.

The visit, described by many as a cultural charm offensive by the South, came as a diplomatic thaw quickens on the peninsula after months of military tensions.

The 120-member group – 11 musical acts as well as dancers, technicians, and martial artists – gave one concert on Sunday with another set for Tuesday, April 3.

Kim and his wife, a former singer herself, came to watch Sunday's show, making him the first leader of the North to attend a concert by South Korean performers.

Kim shook hands and took photos with the Seoul stars backstage, saying inter-Korean cultural events should be held more often and suggesting another event in the South Korean capital this autumn, pool reports said.

The young couple were seen clapping their hands during the two-hour event – also attended by Kim's powerful sister, Kim Yo Jong, and ceremonial head of state Kim Yong Nam.

"He (Kim Jong-Un) showed great interest in the songs and lyrics [of South Korean singers] during the concert," Do Jong-hwan, Seoul's culture chief and the head of the delegation, told reporters.

The South's taekwondo athletes also staged a performance before an audience of 2,300 in Pyongyang on Sunday ahead of a joint display of the Korean martial art with the North's practitioners on Monday, April 2.

The rapprochement was triggered by the South's Winter Olympics, to which the North's leader Kim Jong-Un sent athletes, cheerleaders, and his powerful sister as an envoy.

A North Korean art troupe, the 140-strong Samjiyon Orchestra, staged two performances in South Korea in February to celebrate the Games.

Kim followed up by agreeing to a summit with the South's President Moon Jae-in, and offering a face-to-face meet with US President Donald Trump. Kim also met Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing last week during his first overseas trip.

The inter-Korean summit, the 3rd after meetings in 2000 and 2007, will be held on April 27. No date has been set for the US-North Korean summit although it is expected before the end of May.

In another sign of eased tensions, an annual US-South Korean military exercise which got under way in the South on Sunday will last for just one month compared to some two months normally.

This year's drills feature fewer strategic weapons such as a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, Seoul's military has said. The deployment of such powerful weaponry during past drills has frequently drawn an angry response from the North.

'Maze of love'

Sunday's concert to a packed audience at the elaborately decorated 1,500-seat East Pyongyang Grand Theater ended with a standing ovation after a finale in which all the stars appeared on stage to sing a song about unification.

One of the most closely watched acts was Red Velvet, part of the South's hugely popular K-pop phenomenon that has taken audiences in Asia and beyond by storm in recent decades.

The 5-member girlband – known for its signature K-pop mix of upbeat electronic music, stylish fashion, and high-voltage choreography – performed two of their hits, "Bad Boy" and "Red Flavor."

Joy, one of the 5 members, missed the trip to Pyongyang due to her TV drama shooting schedule.

"The North's audience applauded to our performance much louder than we expected and even sang along to our songs... it was a big relief," band member Yeri told reporters.

"I told myself, 'let's do our best even if there's no response [from the audience]... but they showed so much reaction," added a member called Wendy.

Another member, Seulgi, appeared red-eyed as she bid farewell to the audience at the end of the concert, apparently overcome with emotion.

Despite the North's isolation and strict curbs on unauthorized foreign culture, enforced with prison terms, K-pop and Seoul's TV shows have become increasingly popular there thanks to flash drives smuggled across the border with China.

The emcee of Sunday's concert was a popular member of K-pop girlband Girls' Generation, Seohyun, who had performed with the visiting Pyongyang singers during their Seoul concert in February.

Legendary South Korean singer Cho Yong-pil, who held a solo sell-out concert in Pyongyang in 2005, was another star of the show.

Kim's late father and longtime ruler, Kim Jong-Il, was known to be a fan of the 68-year-old Cho.

Another famous singer, Choi Jin-hee, also performed for the 4th time in the North and sang "Maze of Love" – a pan-peninsula hit and another of the late Kim's favorites.

But not all onlookers were receptive to the K-pop offensive.

During the taekwondo event, a previously raptured audience member turned stone-faced when the athletes showcased a performance combining K-pop dance and Taekwondo routines to a hit song of ultra-popular boyband BTS.

The stiffened crowd refused to respond to the athletes who motioned them to clap their hands to "Fire" – an intense electro-dance score peppered with rapid-fire rap delivered in both Korean and English. – Rappler.com

DHAKA, Bangladesh – Bangladesh has begun relocating 100,000 Rohingya refugees to safer ground before the monsoon season for fear of deadly landslides and floods in the congested camps, an official said Sunday, April 1.

The United Nations says about 150,000 refugees in Bangladesh's southeast – where nearly one million Rohingya in total live in shanties on hillsides – are extremely vulnerable to disease and disaster this rainy season.

Humanitarian groups have been racing to reinforce the basic shelters erected hastily by the Rohingya as they fled across the border after a fierce army crackdown on the community in western Myanmar.

Nearly 700,000 refugees have crossed the border since August into the Cox's Bazar region, clearing trees and packing whole hillsides with unstable shanties.

Bangladesh's refugee commissioner Mohammad Abul Kalam said 100,000 refugees living in "priority" areas most at risk from floods and landslides would be relocated before June.

"We have already shifted some 10,000 refugees from different locations to safer settlements," he told Agence France-Presse.

Bangladesh had allocated roughly 3,500 acres (14 square kilometers) of forested land in Cox's Bazar to the newly-arrived Rohingya to build simple shelters.

But the forest is being felled at a rate of 4 football fields a day, Kalam said.

The refugees, who use the firewood for cooking, have already cleared 5,000 acres of forest, Cox's Bazar deputy district administrator Mahidur Rahman told Agence France-Presse.

The once lush hillsides have turned barren, exposing the topsoil and leaving them highly vulnerable to landslides during heavy rain, he said.

"Some 200,000 people are vulnerable to landslides," he said.

Monsoon rains wreak havoc every year in Cox's Bazar and the adjacent Chittagong Hill Tracts, a tropical forest zone home to wild elephants.

Last season heavy rain triggered landslides in the tract region, killing 170 people. Experts blamed deforestation for worsening the impact of the mud avalanches.

More than 100 people were killed in landslides in the region in 2012, and two years earlier heavy rain killed around 50.

In the past week UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has expressed fears the Rohingya were "extremely vulnerable" to the annual storms.

He told reporters he had stressed to Bangladesh that "higher ground is the best place for this kind of relocation."

Dhaka had earlier said about 100,000 refugees from the persecuted Muslim minority would be shifted to an island in the Bay of Bengal where the Bangladesh navy is building accommodation for the refugees.

But Abdul Mannan, the Chittagong regional commissioner, told Agence France-Presse the Rohingya would not be relocated to the island before the end of the year. – Rappler.com

HANOI, Vietnam – China and Vietnam vowed Sunday, April 1, to keep the peace in the South China Sea, the resource-rich waterway that has long been a source of tension between Hanoi and its powerhouse communist neighbor.

China claims most of the disputed sea, which is believed to be rich in oil and gas reserves and is highly strategic for trade and defense.

Beijing has built up artificial islands capable of hosting military installations in recent years, stoking ire from claimants like Vietnam, which has emerged as China's most vocal opponent in the waterway.

Foreign ministers from China and Vietnam vowed Sunday to address disputes peacefully.  

"Both sides should abide by the basic governing principles on resolving maritime issues. Both sides should not apply unilateral measures that would complicate the situation," China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi told reporters in Hanoi during an official visit to Vietnam.

His Vietnamese counterpart echoed calls to peacefully resolve disputes. 

"We are ready to work with China to resolve arising issues," Vietnamese Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh told reporters. 

He added both sides should "properly manage differences, not expand disputes, [and] respect legitimate rights and interests of the other in accordance with international law."

Taiwan, Brunei, and the Philippines also have claims in the sea. But the Philippines' China-friendly leader Rodrigo Duterte has backed off disputes with Beijing after a landmark international tribunal ruling in 2016 in Manila's favor. 

Vietnam's tensions with Beijing in the waterway have largely played out behind closed doors. But violent protests erupted in Vietnam in 2014 after Beijing moved an oil rig into Vietnamese-claimed territory. 

In the face of continued tensions with Beijing, Vietnam has publicly promoted deepening security ties with the US in recent weeks.

Earlier this month, a US aircraft carrier made a historic visit to Vietnam – the first since the end of the war in 1975 – and last week Washington handed over 6 patrol boats and equipment worth a combined $20 million to Hanoi.

Before his official meetings with Vietnamese leaders Sunday, the Chinese foreign minister attended a regional summit on economic cooperation in Vietnam, calling for open trade and deriding protectionism.

"Protectionism harms others without benefiting oneself, it is a one-way street that leads nowhere," Wang said Saturday, March 31, also lauding Beijing's ambitious Belt and Road Initiative that has flooded Southeast Asia with Chinese investments.

Observers say China is seeking to boost its trade dominance in the region amid a perceived US retreat from Asia – especially after US President Donald Trump pulled out of the massive Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal last year.

Wang, who was promoted to state councilor this month – making him a ranking member of China's Cabinet – will leave Hanoi Monday, April 2, after meeting with Vietnam's Communist Party chief Nguyen Phu Trong. – Rappler.com

CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico – Mexico's top presidential candidates launched their campaigns Sunday vowing to take a harder line against Donald Trump, with the leftist front-runner vowing his country is done being the US president's "pinata."

Just as candidates were putting the finishing touches on their opening campaign speeches for Mexico's July 1 elections, Trump crashed the kick-off party via Twitter, accusing the country of doing "very little" to stop illegal migration and drugs, and renewing his threat to axe the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

The veteran leftist leading in the polls, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, and his conservative rival, Ricardo Anaya, both hit back hard at the Republican president, whose anti-Mexican diatribes and insistence that Mexico pay for his planned border wall have made him supremely unpopular here.

"We are going to be very respectful toward the United States government, but we are also going to demand that (the United States) respect Mexicans," Lopez Obrador told a cheering crowd in Ciudad Juarez, on the US border.

"Neither Mexico nor its people will be the pinata of any foreign government."

Lopez Obrador, a former Mexico City mayor, repeated his long-standing criticism of Trump's planned border wall.

"Let this be heard near and far: neither security issues nor social problems can be resolved with walls," he said, condemning Trump's "mistaken foreign policy" and "contemptuous attitude toward Mexicans."

Anaya, who is locked in a brutal battle for second place with ruling party candidate Jose Antonio Meade, vowed to answer Trump with a "strong and dignified stance," and defied the US president to take action on security issues on his own side of the border.

"Just as the United States is worried about undocumented migrants, Mexico is worried about gun trafficking," he said.

"Eighty percent of the guns used to kill people in our country come from the United States," he added, in reference to a wave of drug cartel-fueled violence that has left more than 200,000 people dead in Mexico since 2006.

Migrant caravan

Trump's Twitter comments were an apparent response to news reports about a caravan of hundreds of people, including Central Americans, who are heading toward the US border in what they are calling a "migrant viacrucis" ("way of the cross").

On Sunday, "Fox and Friends," one of Trump's favorite TV shows, highlighted the caravan on Twitter, possibly drawing the president's attention.

"Mexico is doing very little, if not NOTHING, at stopping people from flowing into Mexico through their Southern Border, and then into the U.S.," he wrote.

"They must stop the big drug and people flows, or I will stop their cash cow, NAFTA. NEED WALL!"

Mexico sends some 80% of its exports to the United States under NAFTA, which also includes Canada. Trump calls it the worst trade deal ever signed.

Mexican Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray also reacted defensively, saying Trump's tweets were based on an "inaccurate news report."

Crime, corruption

Lopez Obrador, who is making his third bid for the presidency, has emerged as the man to beat in the race to succeed Mexico's deeply unpopular President Enrique Pena Nieto.

Recent polls for the single-round election give him just over 40 percent of the vote, with Anaya and Meade in the 20s.

Criticized for what opponents call a radical and intolerant side, Lopez Obrador has sought to steer clear of controversy this time around and soothe fears that he would wreck Latin America's second-largest economy.

Lopez Obrador, 64, said in his opening speech that his major reform would be "a government that will no longer serve a greedy minority."

Meade, 49, also hammered home on the political corruption that has long dogged Mexico, trying to distance himself from the scandals that have stained Pena Nieto and the ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) -- which chose the respected former finance minister as its candidate even though he is not a party member.

"Mexicans are fed up with corruption. I will be relentless in fighting it," he told a rally in Merida, on the Yucatan peninsula.

Anaya, 39, meanwhile homed in on the brutally violent crime plaguing the country.

"Our number one priority will be to restore peace and tranquility," he said. – Rappler.com

WELLINGTON, New Zealand – At least 4 people were killed and another was missing in Fiji after Cyclone Josie caused severe flooding in the South Pacific island nation, local media reported.

Much of the main tourist town of Nadi was underwater as Josie, with wind gusts up to 100 kilometers per hour (60 mph), caused widespread flooding before moving away from the island group.

Police director of operations Livai Driu told the Fiji Village website that 5 people were washed away and "police have retrieved 4 bodies".

The search was continuing for a missing 19-year-old man. 

The National Disaster Management office said more than 1,000 people were sheltering in evacuation centres while heavy rain and strong wind warnings remained in place for Monday.

Photos and videos posted on social media showed cars and buildings engulfed in floodwaters.

"Nadi town and some villages are all drown," said one message.

"The cyclone has already killed 5 people. So many people have been left without basic needs," read another. – Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine National Police (PNP) killed 7 and arrested 811 during Holy Week.

This was announced by PNP chief Director General Ronald dela Rosa on Monday, April 2, in a Camp Crame briefing.

The killings and arrests were all done under anti-illegal drugs raids and buy-busts as Oplan Tokhang, the literal knock-and-plead anti-drugs operation, was suspended during the holidays.

Holy Week was observed from March 28 to April 1. – Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – Vice President Leni Robredo reassured her supporters they have nothing to be afraid of as the ballot recount for the electoral protest filed against her begins on Monday, April 2.

The Vice President delivered a 6-minute speech after attending a multi-sectoral Mass organized by the Kaya Natin! Movement for Good Governance around two hours before the Supreme Court (SC), acting as the Presidential Electoral Tribunal (PET), kicked off the ballot recount. 

Robredo likened her message for her supporters gathered at St Scholastica's College Manila's chapel to the day's Gospel message of hope on Jesus Christ's resurrection. (READ: Robredo on Easter: Unite amid threats to democracy) 

"Kaya siguro to all our supporters and our friends who are here today, 'yung pinapasabi din ng ating mga lawyers: Wala tayong dapat ikatakot. Wala tayong dapat ikatakot kasi katotohanan ang ating ipinaglalaban," said the Vice President. 

(This is perhaps my message to our supporters and our friends who are here today, the same message our lawyers want to convey: We have nothing to fear. Have no fear for we are fighting for the truth.) 

She acknowledged her supporters have many reasons to fear. The electoral protest she is facing was filed by former senator Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr, son and namesake of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos. (READ: TIMELINE: Marcos-Robredo election case)

Robredo had also resigned in December 2016 as housing czar of President Rodrigo Duterte, who had barred her from attending Cabinet meetings. Duterte, a known ally of the Marcoses, supported the hero's burial for the late strongman.

But the Vice President remains hopeful about the results of the ballot recount. 

"This is a time of fear, fear of what is going to happen next, pero manalig tayo. Gawin lang 'yung dati na nating ginagawa. 'Wag paghinaan ng loob. Maraming limitasyon, pero sa liit ng mundo natin ngayon, kailangan tayo. Kailangan tayo para patuloy na magbigay ng liwanag," said Robredo. 

(This is a time of fear, fear of what's going to happen next, but have faith. Keep on doing what you have been doing. Do not let your resolve be weakened. There are many limitations, but given how small the world is, we are needed. We need to keep on going to continue giving light.) 

"Kasi kung tayo mismo ang umayaw, lalong didilim ang paligid, and so many people are looking up to us, for us to fight for them. Kaya patuloy lang tayo," she added.

(Because if we will give up, the world will be darker, and so many people are looking up to us, for us to fight for them. Let us keep on going.)

Robredo's speech was heard by nuns from the Order of Saint Benedict, her legal team led by lawyers Romulo Macalintal and Bernadette Sardillo, and her supporters who were clad in white.

Her lawyers also participated in the Mass, with Macalintal reading the First Reading and Sardillo joining the offertory. 

The Vice President's legal team was also blessed by Fr Ted Gonzales, who celebrated the Mass, and other priests present.

Robredo beat Marcos by only 263,473 votes in the 2016 polls, leading the latter to allege cheating and to file the electoral protest against her two years ago.  

Marcos is seeking to recount ballots from 36,465 clustered precincts and also nullify votes in Basilan, Lanao del Sur, and Maguindanao. His bid to question the integrity of the 2016 elections as a whole was already junked by the PET.  

Robredo, meanwhile, filed a counter-protest, which seeks to recount ballots from 30,000 polling precincts in various provinces where Marcos won.

On Monday, Senior Deputy Executive Secretary Menardo Guevarra said Malacañang welcomes the ballot recount.

"The Palace welcomes the recount para ma-settle na 'yang long-festering dispute na 'yan (so the long-festering dispute will finally be settled). This is a judicial matter, this is before the PET already, so we leave it to the coequal branch to handle that," said Guevarra. – Rappler.com

BEIJING, China – A defunct Chinese space lab plunged through Earth's atmosphere on Monday, April 2, breaking apart as it headed towards a watery grave in the South Pacific, Beijing said.

The Tiangong-1 "mostly" burnt up above the vast ocean's central region at 8:15 am (0015 GMT), China's Manned Space Engineering Office said, moments after predicting a slightly later re-entry over the Atlantic.

Space officials had stressed that the craft would not cause any earthly damage when it returned, with Chinese space officials saying its disintegration will offer a "splendid" show akin to a meteor shower.

Space officials had warned that knowing the exact location of the re-entry would not be possible until shortly before it happened, and China's space agency had predicted it would be off Sao Paulo just moments before the Tiangong-1 made its actual return.

The European Space Agency had indicated earlier that the Tiangong-1 was likely to break up over water, which covers most of the planet's surface.

It described the probability of someone being hit by a piece of debris from Tiangong-1 as "10 million times smaller than the yearly chance of being hit by lightning".

Tiangong-1 – or "Heavenly Palace" – was placed in orbit in September 2011, an important step in China's efforts towards building its own space station.

The module – which was used to practice complicated manual and automatic docking techniques – was originally intended to be used for just two years, but ended up serving considerably longer.

During its brief lifespan, it hosted Chinese astronauts on several occasions as they performed experiments and even taught a class that was broadcast into schools across the country.

Out of control?

Tiangong-1 had been slated for a controlled re-entry, but ceased functioning in March 2016. Space enthusiasts have been bracing for its return ever since.

The ESA has said that ground controllers were no longer able to command Tiangong-1 to fire its on-board engines, which could have been used to control where it re-entered Earth's atmosphere.

In contrast, Russia brought down its massive Mir space station through a controlled re-entry over the Pacific Ocean in 2001.

A Chinese spaceflight engineer denied earlier this year that the lab was out of control.

Chinese media have downplayed comments by the ESA and others that the country's engineers have lost control of the lab, with reports saying that the idea it is "out of control" is an invention of foreign media.

But on Chinese social media, commenters criticised the government's reluctance to own up to the situation.

"Can you or can't you report that you've lost control of the situation?" one person wrote on the Twitter-like Weibo.

"It's not unusual that something this complicated would have a mishap."

Beijing began its manned spaceflight programme in 1990 after buying Russian technology that enabled it to become the third country with the ability to launch humans into space, following the former Soviet Union and the United States.

China sent another space lab, Tiangong-2, into orbit in September 2016 as a stepping stone to its goal of having a crewed space station by 2022.

It also plans to send a manned mission to the moon in the future. – Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Ronald dela Rosa has mixed feelings about beatings inside police and military academies.

While he categorically says beatings inside training schools are illegal, he admits the blows he's taken during his Philippine Military Academy (PMA) days are what made him who he is today.

"Hindi ko jinujustify ha...Porke dinaanan ko na 'yan, natapos na ako ng 4 years na bugbugan sa academy, jinujustify ko na? But again for me, coming from me, I must tell you: 'Yung lahat ng dinaanan kong paghihirap, diyan ako naging disiplinado at diyan ako naging director ngayon, bakit ako sometimes I am very tough, and sometimes I am very soft because of 'yung dinaanan kong training," Dela Rosa said in a Camp Crame press conference on Monday, April 2.

(I am not justifying it, okay. Just because I went through that and I finished 4 years of beatings in the academy, I am already justifying it? But against, for me, coming from me, I must tell you: All the hardships that I went through, that's how I became disciplined, and that is how I became a director now. It's why I am sometimes very tough and sometimes very soft is because of the training that I went through.)

Dela Rosa was pressed for his take on police and academy beatings after a video surfaced showing what appears to be a hazing activity under the roof of the PNP Academy (EXCLUSIVE: Video in 2017 shows beating at PNP Academy )

Why it matters: As the PNP chief, Dela Rosa holds influence on the indoctrination of all cops in the Philippines, be it directly through the PNP Academy, or indirectly through the statements he makes in public.

His recent pronouncements point to what he himself admits is a "culture" deeply embedded in the Philippine security forces.

"Alam mo, we're nagdedeal kasi kami ng tao eh, kalaban. You should be tough. Ang kalaban mo diyang mga criminals, ang kalaban ng mga military mga NPA or mga Abu Sayyaf. So kung hindi mo i-subject sa tough training 'yung police at sundalo, you will have a very weak armed forces atsaka pulis," Dela Rosa explained.

(You know, it's because with people, enemies. You should be tough. Your enemies are criminals, the enemies of the military are the NPA  or the Abu Sayyaf. So if you don't subject police and military to tough training, you will have a very weak police and armed forces.)

Are beatings the only way? Dela Rosa said "toughness" is not confined to underground academy paddlings, explaining that upperclassmen can just subject erring underclassmen to strenuous physical activities like, as Dela Rosa thrusted as an example, "having them do push-ups for an entire day."– Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – State prosecutors slammed on Monday, April 2, the recommendation of the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC) to suspend the prosecutors who signed the resolution that dismissed drug trade charges against suspects Kerwin Espinosa and Peter Lim.

“Sadly, we find this conduct to be reckless and malicious,” said Jolly Claro-Mendoza of the State Prosecutors and Prosecution Attorneys Association Inc (SPPAAI) during the flag ceremony of the Department of Justice (DOJ) on Monday morning.

The PACC, led by chairman Dante Jimenez, recommended to President Rodrigo Duterte the preventive suspension of former Acting Prosecutor General Jorge Catalan, Senior Deputy State Prosecutor Rassendell Gingoyon, and Assistant State Prosecutor Michael Humarang. 

The PACC recommended a lifestyle check on panel head Aristotle Reyes, who was recently promoted Judge of Lucena, Quezon.

Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II has scrapped the panel’s decision, and has ordered a fresh investigation following a backlash not just from the public but also from the President. 

The state prosecutors defended the decision of their colleagues, saying: “As prosecutors, we are bound to decide each case based on the evidence presented before us. We can neither take popular opinion nor public outcry as ground for filing a case or dismissing a complaint.”

Aguirre had also earlier ordered the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to probe the prosecution panel, a move that Reyes described as “saddening”. 

In its statement, the SPPAAI stood by Aguirre.

“Lastly, we thank our good Secretary of Justice Vitaliano N. Aguirre for his unending support to the State Prosecutors and Prosecuting Attorneys Association, Inc. and the National Prosecution Service, as a whole, in ensuring an efficient and equitable administration of justice,” the SPPAAI said. – Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – Ilocos Norte Governor Imee Marcos said on Monday, April 2, that nothing is definite yet on the Marcos family’s plans for 2019.

“Wala pang maliwanag, pinakaimportante sa pamilya ko ay matuloy na muna ang protesta,” Imee said on Monday at the Supreme Court (SC) as she joined her brother, former senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr, for the first day of initial recount for his electoral protest.

The SC sitting as the Presidential Electoral Tribunal (PET) began on Monday the recount of 5,418 clustered precincts covering the pilot provinces of Camarines Sur, Iloilo, and Negros Oriental.

Bongbong chose the pilot provinces for the electoral protest he filed against Vice President Leni Robredo. (READ: Robredo on VP ballot recount: 'Have no fear, we fight for truth')

“The results of the revision of pilot provinces shall thereafter determine whether the instant protest will proceed with the remaining 31,047 protested clustered precincts,” the PET said in a statement.

Bongbong also arrived to greet his supporters in front of the SC, after which he immediately proceeded to the revision site inside the SC building where media is not allowed.

Imee had earlier said that a Marcos will run for national office in 2019, presumably the Senate.

Pressed on Monday which Marcos would vie for the Senate, Imee didn’t elaborate.

“Tinutulak lang namin 'yung protesta, ipinagdadasal ng nanay ko na talagang Baclaran mainstay na po siya, ako po naman ay nasa Quiapo, inaasahan ko na tuloy-tuloy na ang pagbibilang ng tamang boto,” she said.

(We’re just pushing the protest, my mother is already a Baclaran mainstay praying for this, I go to Quiapo, and I really expect the recounting of ballots to proceed as planned.)

She added: “Ito yung inaasam-asam namin na dalawang taon na at tamang-tama kasi talagang marubdob ang aming panalangin buong Semana Santa na matuloy na at inaasahan namin na sana’y matuloy na ang repaso ng mga boto."

(This is what we’ve wanted for the last two years and it’s only right because we prayed for this profusely during all of Holy Week, that the recount of ballots pushes through.) – Rappler.com

SEOUL, South Korea – North Korean leader Kim Jong-un smiled, clapped and said he was "deeply moved" by a rare performance by South Korean K-pop stars in Pyongyang, state media reported Monday, April 2.

The high profile appearance of Kim and his wife, former singer Ri Sol Ju, at the concert was unusual as his authoritarian regime typically struggles to prevent any infiltration of the South's pop culture among his isolated people.

Kim, the first North Korean leader ever to attend a show by entertainers from the South, shook hands with the performers and "expressed his deep thanks to them," the North's official KCNA news agency reported.

"He said that he was deeply moved to see our people sincerely acclaiming the performance, deepening the understanding of the popular art of the South's side," KCNA said.

The visit by the South's entertainers, seen as part of a cultural charm offensive by Seoul, comes as a diplomatic thaw gathers pace on the peninsula ahead of a landmark inter-Korean summit later this month.

Kim said he was likely to be busy "because of his complicated political program early in April," so he was glad to make it to the concert which he credited with bringing the "spring of peace."

Kim and his wife were seen clapping their hands during the two-hour Sunday event, which was also attended by Kim's younger sister, Kim Yo Jong, and the North's ceremonial head of state Kim Yong Nam.

The concert at the elaborately decorated 1,500-seat East Pyongyang Grand Theatre ended with a standing ovation by the packed audience after a finale featuring all the stars singing a song about unification.

'They sang along'

One of the most closely watched acts was Red Velvet, part of the South's hugely popular K-pop phenomenon that has taken audiences in Asia and beyond by storm.

Even leader Kim acknowledged that there had been "so much interest in whether I'd come to see Red Velvet or not".

The 5-member girlband – known for its signature K-pop mix of upbeat electronic music and high-voltage choreography – performed two of their hits, "Bad Boy" and "Red Flavour".

"The North's audience applauded our performance much louder than we expected and even sang along to our songs... it was a big relief," band member Yeri told reporters.

The ongoing rapprochement was triggered by the South's Winter Olympics, to which the North's leader Kim Jong Un sent athletes, cheerleaders and his sister as an envoy.

Kim followed up by agreeing to a summit with South Korean President Moon Jae-in, and offering a face-to-face meet with US President Donald Trump. Kim also met Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing last week during his first overseas trip.

The inter-Korean summit, the third such event after meetings in 2000 and 2007, will be held on April 27. No date has been set for the US-North Korean summit although it is expected before the end of May. – Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – While violence has no place within the Philippine National Police (PNP) – and even among would-be cops– it seems there are cases where trading blows could be acceptable in the police force: violence "in jest."

And, according to PNP chief Director General Ronald dela Rosa, this may have been the case in the video showing what appears to be a hazing activity at the PNP Academy. ([EXCLUSIVE] Video in 2017 shows beating at PNP Academy)

Dela Rosa speculated on Monday, April 2, that the cadets could have done the paddling out of celebration.

"Per se, talagang manhandling 'yun. There was physical contact dahil nga pinapalo, but 'yung context nu'n parang celebratory, parang masaya sila. Ewan ko if that was a form of punishment or a form of cariño brutal on their part. Para bang nagtatawanan sila 'di ba," Dela Rosa told reporters in a Camp Crame news conference.

(Per se, it was really manhandling. There was physical contact because they were being hit. But the context seems like it was celebratory, it seems like they were happy. I don't know if that was a form of punishment or a form of cariño brutal on their part. It seems like they were laughing, right?)

The cadets in the video do appear like they were laughing, but only those who were delivering the blows.

{source}<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/JAmM0fQ5Fp0" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe>{/source}

Even generals trade blows in jest, according to Dela Rosa. He even demonstrated in the press conference how he "punches" fellow generals just for laughs.

Midway during the press conference, an unknowing Deputy Director General Archie Gamboa, the PNP's 4th top official, was held in place by Dela Rosa. The top cop then planted restrained punches on the gut of his subordinate.

He said, "Eh kami nga, ito nga kahit heneral ito, suntukin ko ito. Ito, masaya ako, 3-star general 'yan, susuntuk-suntukin kong gano'n. Ano'ng tingin mo diyan? Is that a physical injury? Greetings namin 'yan." 

(Look at us, even if he's a general, I can punch him. Here, I'm happy, he's a 3-star general, I just punch him like this. What do you think of that? Is that a physical injury? We greet each other that way.)

Gamboa – a batch mate of Dela Rosa in the Philippine Military Academy– just smiled and chuckled during the demonstration. – Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – Labor groups hoping for President Rodrigo Duterte to end contractualization through an executive order (EO) may be in for a disappointment.

Senior Deputy Executive Secretary Menardo Guevarra sought to temper expectations about the upcoming EO, after the Office of the Executive Secretary began studying a draft EO proposed by labor groups.

"The total ban itself is something we cannot do by EO," he said on Monday, April 2, during a Palace press conference.

Guevarra said the "main problem" of the EO submitted by labor groups is that the substantial provisions can only be achieved by amending the country's Labor Code – something the legislative branch can do, but not the executive branch.

"You need a law to repeal or amend that particular provision of the Labor Code. An EO is meant only to supplement or give the implementing details of what the law provides but it cannot add or subtract or substantially alter what the law provides. I hope you will understand the limitations of an EO," he said.

Thus, any Duterte-signed EO on contractualization would be more to reinforce existing regulations on labor and workers' rights.

Asked how different the EO would be from Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) orders, Guevarra said, "Honestly, not much." (READ: DOLE denies delaying signing of EO vs contractualization)

All Malacañang would be able to do to aid the effort in ending contractualization is to make a strong push for it among Congress leaders.

Guevarra said this would likely happen when the EO is released and labor groups are not satisfied with it. 

"If the labor sector is still unhappy about the EO, then that's probably the time we do consultations with Congress," he said.

In Duterte's campaign for the presidency, he promised he would end contractualization. (READ: 62% of 2017 endo targets completed – DOLE) – Rappler.com