WASHINGTON, DC, USA – Christine Blasey Ford, who will appear Thursday, September 27, at a high-stakes hearing to accuse US Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault, is a clinical psychology professor suddenly caught up in political tumult.

The 51-year-old teaches at Palo Alto University, south of San Francisco, in a consortium with Standford University – and is now widely known as the first of several women to come forward with sexual assault allegations against President Donald Trump's pick for the nation's top court.

Blasey Ford in July sent a confidential letter detailing the alleged assault to her congresswoman, as well as veteran Senator Dianne Feinstein.

Then she spoke out herself, telling The Washington Post that Kavanaugh and one of his friends – both "stumbling drunk" – pinned her down, groped her and tried to pull off her clothes. Kavanaugh also covered her mouth when she tried to scream, she said.

She was 15 at the time of the alleged incident, while Kavanaugh was 17. Both were attending prep schools in the Washington area.

In prepared testimony released on Wednesday, Blasey Ford said she feared Kavanaugh would rape her during the attack, which she said occurred in the summer of 1982.

She said she had kept silent about the alleged incident until 2012, when she and her husband attended couples therapy.

But when Justice Anthony Kennedy announced his retirement earlier this year and Kavanaugh -- respected by many as an appellate court judge -- was mentioned as the potential replacement, Blasey Ford grew nervous.

'Terrible secret'

"Her mind-set was, 'I've got this terrible secret," remembered her husband, Russell Ford in an interview with the Post.

"'What am I going to do with this secret?'"

"She wanted out," her 56-year-old husband told the Post. "She was like, 'I can't deal with this. If he becomes the nominee, then I'm moving to another country.'"

"'I cannot live in this country if he's in the Supreme Court.'"

The mother of two had taken care to keep her traumatic secret under wraps – but revealing the details of the alleged assault has put her and her family smack in the center of a very public political firestorm.

And even as everyone from attackers on social media to Trump himself are questioning her integrity, Blasey Ford's appearance at Thursday's extraordinary public hearing could sink Kavanaugh's already jeopardized nomination.

"I am here today not because I want to," she will tell US lawmakers, according to prepared testimony that she will deliver at the hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

"I am here because I believe it is my civic duty to tell you what happened to me while Brett Kavanaugh and I were in high school."

"For a very long time, I was too afraid and ashamed to tell anyone the details," she will say.

"Brett's assault on me drastically altered my life." – Rappler.com

GENEVA, Switzerland – The UN Human Rights Council voted Thursday, September 27, to set up a panel to prepare criminal indictments over atrocities committed in Myanmar, amid allegations of genocide against the Rohingya minority.

The top UN rights body voted to "establish an ongoing independent mechanism to collect, consolidate, preserve and analyse evidence of the most serious international crimes and violations of international law committed in Myanmar since 2011."

The text, a collaboration between the European Union and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, says the panel will be responsible for preparing "files in order to facilitate and expedite fair and independent criminal proceedings... in national, regional or international courts or tribunals."

Thirty-five of the council's 47 members voted in favor of the resolution while only 3 – China, the Philippines and Burundi – voted against.

The remainder either abstained or refrained from casting a vote.

The text was presented after a damning report was released to the council earlier this month, outlining in meticulous and searing detail atrocities against the Rohingya, who fled a violent military campaign that started in August last year.

The 444-page report by a UN fact-finding mission concluded there was enough evidence to merit investigation and prosecution of Myanmar's army chief and 5 other top military commanders for crimes against humanity and genocide against the Rohingya.

Troops, sometimes aided by ethnic Rakhine mobs, committed murder, rape, arson and torture, using unfathomable levels of violence and with a total disregard for human life, investigators concluded.

More than 700,000 of the stateless Muslim minority took refuge in Bangladesh, where they remain -- fearful of returning to mainly Buddhist Myanmar despite a repatriation deal between the two countries.

The military has denied nearly all wrongdoing, justifying its crackdown as a legitimate means of rooting out Rohingya militants.

The UN and rights groups meanwhile say the operations were vastly disproportionate and a troop build-up in the area occurred before insurgents attacked police posts in August 2017.

Further pressuring Myanmar, the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague independently ruled that it had jurisdiction to open a preliminary investigation, even though the country has not signed the treaty underpinning the court.

Thursday's text took note of the ICC ruling, and requested "the mechanism to cooperate closely with any of its future investigations pertaining to human rights in Myanmar."

The resolution also said the mandate of the UN fact-finding mission should be extended until the new mechanism is operational.

Thursday's decision marks the first time the Human Rights Council has itself opted to create such a mechanism.

A similar panel was created in late 2016 to build cases for the prosecution of war crimes in Syria, but it was set up following a vote in the General Assembly in New York. – Rappler.com

WASHINGTON, DC, USA – University professor Christine Blasey Ford said Thursday, September 27, she believed she was going to be raped or accidentally killed during an alleged assault 36 years ago by Brett Kavanaugh, Donald Trump's embattled nominee for the Supreme Court.

"I am here today not because I want to be," the 51-year-old Blasey Ford told members of the Senate Judiciary Committee in a charged hearing room.

"I am terrified," she said, her voice quavering on the verge of tears as she recounted the details of the 1982 incident which she says took place at a party in a suburban Maryland home. (READ: Christine Blasey Ford: her 'terrible secret' sets off a U.S. political firestorm)

"I am here because I believe it is my civic duty to tell you what happened to me while Brett Kavanaugh and I were in high school," Blasey Ford said.

Kavanaugh, a conservative 53-year-old appeals court judge, was not present as the session – which could make or break his confirmation to the nation's highest court – got underway. He is expected to testify later in the day.

The accusation, which Kavanaugh steadfastly denies, has thrust the Trump administration into the #MeToo movement's harsh glare, and threatens to derail a conservative effort to tilt the high court to the right for years to come.

Blasey Ford, wearing glasses and a sober dark blue suit, recounted the alleged assault from the witness table in the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing room.

A psychology professor in California who is married and has two children, she said she was "100 percent" certain it was Kavanaugh who attacked her and not a case of mistaken identity.

She said Kavanaugh and a friend of his, Mark Judge, were "visibly drunk" at the party and that she was pushed into a bedroom as she headed to the bathroom.

"Brett and Mark came into the bedroom and locked the door behind them," she said. "I was pushed onto the bed and Brett got on top of me.

'I believed he was going to rape me'

"He began running his hands over my body and grinding into me," she said. "I yelled, hoping that someone downstairs might hear me.

"Brett groped me and tried to take off my clothes," she said. "He had a hard time because he was very inebriated.

"I believed he was going to rape me," Blasey Ford said. "I tried to yell for help.

"When I did, Brett put his hand over my mouth to stop me from yelling," she said. "This is what terrified me the most and has had the most lasting impact on my life.

"It was hard for me to breathe, and I thought that Brett was accidentally going to kill me," she said.

"Indelible in the hippocampus is the laughter, the uproarious laughter between the two, and them having fun at my expense," she said when asked about her most powerful memory of the incident.

Blasey Ford said she managed to escape when Judge jumped on the bed, sending them all toppling.

Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Senator Chuck Grassley opened the hearing with an apology to both Blasey Ford and Kavanaugh.

"Both Dr Ford and Judge Kavanaugh have been through a terrible couple weeks. They and their families have received vile threats," Grassley said.

"So I want to apologize to you both for the way you've been treated."

Outside the US Capitol, pro- and anti-Kavanaugh demonstrators gathered as senators pondered the fate of a nominee who could impact the balance of the top US court for decades.

Trump nominated Kavanaugh to replace Justice Anthony Kennedy, who had been a swing vote on a court currently divided between four conservative and four liberal justices.

The Republican president has fiercely defended his pick -- but said Wednesday he would watch the highly charged hearing and was open to changing his mind.

"I can always be convinced," Trump said. "If I thought he was guilty of something like this, yes, sure.

"It's possible I'll hear that, and I'll say, 'Hey, I'm changing my mind.'"

At the same time, Trump said he was skeptical because he personally had been the target of "false charges" by various women.

'No one's pawn'

Blasey Ford rejected suggestions she had political motivations.

"I have been accused of acting out of partisan political motives," she said. "Those who say that do not know me.

"I am a fiercely independent person and I am no one's pawn," she said.

Kavanaugh has also been accused of exposing himself to a classmate, Deborah Ramirez, during an alcohol-fueled Yale University party a few years later.

On Wednesday, a third woman, Julie Swetnick, came forward with explosive allegations, saying she witnessed sexually abusive behavior by Kavanaugh when he was a teenager and claimed she had been drugged and gang-raped at a party he attended in the early 1980s.

Kavanaugh strongly denies all the charges.

The Kavanaugh nomination has turned into a political firestorm ahead of November congressional elections and is threatening to derail Trump's push to get a conservative-minded majority on the top court ahead of the vote.

The hearing has brought back memories of the confirmation process nearly three decades ago for Supreme Court justice Clarence Thomas, who was accused of sexual harassment by Anita Hill.

"In 1991, Republicans belittled Professor Hill's experience," California Senator Dianne Feinstein said. "She was treated badly."

"The entire country is watching how we handle these allegations," Feinstein said.

"This is not a trial of Dr Ford," she added. "It's a job interview for Judge Kavanaugh." – Rappler.com

OTTAWA, Canada – Canada's parliament voted unanimously on Thursday, September 27, to effectively strip Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi of her honorary Canadian citizenship over the Rohingya crisis.

Ottawa had given the long-detained democracy advocate and Nobel laureate the rare honor in 2007.

But her international reputation has become tarnished by her refusal to call out the atrocities by her nation's military against the Rohingya Muslims minority, which Ottawa last week declared a genocide.

"In 2007, the House of Commons granted Aung San Suu Kyi the status of honorary Canadian citizen. Today, the House unanimously passed a motion to remove this status," said Adam Austen, spokesman for Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland.

A brutal military campaign that started last year drove more than 700,000 Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar into neighboring Bangladesh, where they now live in cramped refugee camps – fearful of returning to mainly Buddhist Myanmar despite a repatriation deal.

Many have given accounts of extrajudicial killings, sexual violence and arson.

The military has denied nearly all wrongdoing, justifying its crackdown as a legitimate means of rooting out Rohingya militants.

But after a fact-finding mission, the United Nations on Thursday set up a panel to prepare indictments against Myanmar's army chief and 5 other top military commanders for crimes against humanity.

Suu Kyi's democratically-elected government remains in a delicate power balance with the generals, whose presence in parliament gives them an effective veto on constitutional changes.

Austen cited Suu Kyi's "persistent refusal to denounce the Rohingya genocide" for the withdrawal of the Canadian honor, which is symbolic and comes with no special privileges.

"We will continue to support the Rohingyas by providing humanitarian assistance, imposing sanctions against Myanmar's generals and demanding that those responsible be held accountable before a competent international body," he added.

Honorary Canadian citizenship has only been granted to 5 others including the Dalai Lama, girls education advocate Malala Yousafzai and Nelson Mandela. – Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – The United Coconut Planters Life Assurance Corporation (Cocolife) has asked the anti-graft court Sandiganbayan to allow its direct negotiation with the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) to settle the award of coco levy funds.

In a much-awaited ruling in August, the Sandiganbayan said that at least P75 billion in coco levy funds and assets belong to the government, and by virtue of a Supreme Court ruling, shall be used for the benefit of farmers and the coconut industry.

The August ruling was expected to end years of legal dispute and clear the way for the government to pass the necessary issuances to start awarding the money to benefit farmers.

In a motion sent to the Sandiganbayan's 2nd Division, however, Cocolife said that without an amicable settlement, the issue will once again be tied up in complex litigation.

A negotiated settlement, it said, would  “pave the way for a swift execution of the partial summary judgment.”

"Movant is exploring the opportunity to address the matter through amicable processes by directly negotiating with representatives of the government through the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG)," Cocolife said.

Cocolife is one of the companies created using coconut levy funds during the Marcos regime. Following the ouster of the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos, government investigators found that taxes paid by poor coconut farmers funded such crony-owned companies.

Cocolife is insisting that the best way to move forward is to deal with the PCGG, an agency which has once expressed openness to withdrawing civil suits against the Marcoses and their cronies "depending" on future policies of the Duterte administration.

President Rodrigo Duterte had earlier said there was a discussion with the Marcoses  to return their ill-gotten wealth in exchange of dropping suits. 

Solicitor General Jose Calida, a loyal supporter of the Marcoses, is also trying to get the PCGG under his direct supervision. (READ: Court drops $5-M Marcos wealth case, leaves it to Calida to pursue)

“Given PCGGs contemplated role under the pending legislation, movant believes that there is a good chance to give an opportunity for a negotiated settlement,” Cocolife said.

Meanwhile, Congress approved the final version of the coconut levy bill on August 1 but the measure failed to meet farmers' expectations. The bill that provides guidelines for the distribution of the funds to farmers is awaiting Duterte's signature. (READ: Final version of coco levy bill shatters farmers' hopes)

Farmer groups have called on Duterte to ensure that the law will truly benefit them.

Coconut Industry Investment Fund (CIIF) assets are estimated to be around upwards of P83 billion, based on 2015 PCGG estimates. This includes at least P74 billion from the redemption of San Miguel Corporation shares currently held by the Bureau of Treasury. – Rappler.com 

MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque on Friday, September 28, sought to clarify that President Rodrigo Duterte was "not serious" when he admitted that extrajudicial killings are his only sin.

"Alam mo naman si Presidente, ano. Hindi na naman iyan seryoso (You know the President. He again wasn’t serious),” Roque said in an interview with  DZRH on Friday, September 28.

The day before, Duterte had said in a Palace event that "extrajudicial killings," was the only "sin" he was guilty of.  At the time, he was railing against criticisms of his presidency.

It was an apparent admission that he was behind the summary killings linked to the administration’s crackdown on illegal drugs, which had claimed some 4,000 deaths, according to Philippine National Police statistics. Other groups cite an even higher number – up to 12,000 dead.

According to Roque, Duterte was not admitting to anything and had only made the remark in reference to what critics consistently accused him of.

“Sinasabi lang niya iyan kasi nga palaging sinasabi ‘yan ang ginagawa niya (He only said that because that is what people are always saying),” said his spokesman.

This was echoed by Chief Presidential Counsel Salvador Panelo in another radio interview.

"Kaya kapag sinabi niyang ang kasalanan ko lang ay extrajudicial killing, ibig sabihin, ang isyu lang sa akin bilang Presidente ay extrajudicial killing (So when he said his only sin is extrajudicial killing, it means the only issue against me as president is extrajudicial killing)," Panelo said in an interview with DWFM.

Roque described Duterte as using "playful" language to emphasize that while critics accuse him of being behind summary killings, they could not accuse him of stealing from government coffers.

"That’s the President being himself, being playful – highlighting the point that he isn't corrupt," Duterte's spokesman said.

As in similar explanations of Duterte’s most outrageous statements, Roque advised the public not to take the Chief Executive literally.

“I don’t think the context there was literal,” he said in a mix of English and Filipino.

For his part, Panelo offered a tip on how the media and the public should interpret Duterte's vague or surprising remarks.

"Pero mali. Dapat kasi kapag sasabihin ng Presidente, titingnan mo iyong mga previous statements niya. Kailangan consistent doon sa dati na niyang sinasabi," he said.

(It's wrong. It should be that when the President says something, you look at his previous statements. You should interpret it in a way that is consistent with what he said before.)– Rappler.com 

MANILA, Philippines – Metro Manila minimum wage earners can expect at least a P20 increase in their daily pay late October.

Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said the wage order that sets the minimum wage at P512 in the capital region is expiring in October 5.

"It could be [a] minimum of P20 and above. That's within the range," Bello said in a media briefing Thursday, September 27.

The regional wage board will soon call for a hearing with concerned government agencies, stakeholders in the private sector, as well labor groups.

Bello said the increase will depend on what will be discussed during the public hearing. The pay hike will be effective immediately once a resolution is decided.

He also said that the interests of the stakeholders need to be balanced or else "it's workers that will suffer."

"We have to balance the interest of management and also the labor. You cannot give a very high wage hike to the workers. It will only help in the short term. Eventually business will close with that set up, and that would take away jobs," Bello said.

Based on Republic Act No. 6727 or the Wage Rationalization Act, each region in the Philippines has a unique minimum wage set by the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Boards based on the poverty threshold, employment rate, and cost of living specific to the region.

Under the law, wage orders determine how much the minimum wage would be within a period of 12 months.

Measly amount

Some labor groups found the increase of P20 per day a "measly" amount, amid high prices of goods. Associated Labor Unions-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (ALU-TUCP) said the amount is "demeaning."

"With the kind of extraordinary inflation that we have, it’s demeaning. It’s insensitive…The wage board will (be) further ostracizing themselves from the workers. The board will continue to become irrelevant and obsolete," Tanjusay said in a statement.

Labor group Sentro said that at least a P28.17 hike is needed to "recover from the lost value" brought by inflation. They insisted that a "real increase" be provided as prices of goods are still seen to increase later within the year.

"[S]ince prices are still expected to increase until the end of the year, minimum wage will continue to be eroded. Thus, a P20 increase may not be enough to maintain the purchasing power of workers from last year," Czar Joseph Castillo said, the resident economist of Sentro.

Several other regions had new wage orders this year, with Davao receiving as much as P56.43 increase and Western Visayas receiving a P41.50 hike.

Some labor groups are calling for around P750 to P832 daily wage for workers to be able to live a "decent life." Kilusang Mayo Uno has demanded for a national daily minimum wage to be set at P750.

Back in September 2016, Bello said the government was considering a national minimum wage law which would adjust minimum salaries comparable to Metro Manila. (READ: Is it time for a national minimum wage?) – Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – President Rodrigo Duterte should repent now that he has publicly confessed that his "only sin" involves extrajudicial killings (EJKs), Caloocan Bishop Pablo Virgilio David said on Friday, September 28.

"We should welcome this public confession," said David in a Facebook post Friday morning. 

David, whose diocese is a hotspot of EJKs, is one of the bishops most outspoken against drug war killings under Duterte. An internationally trained Bible scholar, he is also the vice president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines.

David added on Friday, "We must remember, however, that the sacrament of reconciliation has 3 other components aside from confession. They are contrition, penance, and absolution."

"Confession is admission; it is already a good start! If only it can go with sincere repentance or contrition and concrete acts of penance or reparation for the wrong that is done, God will always be magnanimous with his forgiveness (absolution)," the bishop added. 

David made this comment after Duterte on Thursday, September 27, admitted to EJKs in a speech at the oath-taking of new career executive service officers in Malacañang.

"Ano kasalanan ko? Nagnakaw ba ako diyan ni piso? Did I prosecute somebody na pinakulong ko? Ang kasalan ko lang 'yung extrajudicial killings," Duterte said. (What is my sin? Did I steal even one peso? Did I prosecute somebody who I ordered jailed? My sin is extrajudicial killings.)

On Friday, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque downplayed Duterte's remarks, saying the chief executive was "not serious." Roque, a former human rights lawyer, said on Friday, "That's the President being himself, being playful – highlighting the point that he isn't corrupt."

This comes as the International Criminal Court (ICC) is determining if it can investigatethe killings in Duterte's anti-drug campaign. On social media, Duterte critics suggest that the ICC can use Duterte's latest admission against him. 

More than 27,800 Filipinos have died in both vigilante-style killings and police operations since Duterte launched his anti-drug campaign in 2016. Meanwhile, Duterte continues to grow unpopular among Filipinos, as rising prices of goods and other issues pull down his trust and approval ratings. – Rappler.com

STOCKHOLM, Sweden – An amputated 2018 Nobel season opens next week in Stockholm, without a Literature Prize for the first time in 70 years due to a #MeToo scandal.

The Medicine Prize laureates will be revealed by the Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute on Monday, October 1, but many eyes will at the same time be turned to a Stockholm courthouse for the verdict against a Frenchman charged with rape who has close ties to the Swedish Academy.

The Academy, which has awarded the prestigious literary distinction since the Nobels were first awarded in 1901, has been torn apart by an acrimonious dispute over how to manage its affiliation with Jean-Claude Arnault.

In ruins, the Academy has decided to put off this year's Literature Prize until 2019 when it will award two prizes – the first postponement since William Faulkner's 1949 honor was awarded in 1950.

At the center of the scandal is 72-year-old Arnault, married to Academy member Katarina Frostenson and an influential figure on Stockholm's culture scene for decades. His cultural club Forum received Academy funding for years.

Six of the Academy's 18 members, who are appointed for life, no longer actively participate in the institution's work due to the discord, adding to two others who had already stepped aside for other reasons.

Without a quorum of 12 and unable to elect new members – and criticized for its conflicts of interest, culture of silence and internal rivalries – the Academy has vowed to undertake massive reforms.

Traditionally known for its integrity and discretion, the Academy's row has turned into a titillating public spectacle as members regularly exchange vicious blows via the media.

The scandal has been "disastrous to (the Academy's) reputation," Swedish literary critic at daily Svenska Dagbladet Madelaine Levy told Agence France-Presse.

The Nobel Foundation, which manages the finances and the administration of the Nobel Prizes, hopes the Academy will pull itself together in time to award the prize again in 2019.

"I think there is a chance ... but it is too early to judge," foundation director Lars Heikensten said.

Others are not convinced, amid the widely-reported ongoing struggles in the Academy's reform work.

"As things are now I wouldn't say I am certain," editor Hakan Bravinger of publisher Norstedts said.

Peace Prize for Korea?

Without the Literature Prize, this year's other high-profile Nobel is the Peace Prize, to be announced in Oslo on Friday, October 5.

As always, the names of numerous potential winners are being tossed about in the run-up to next week's announcement, some less credible than others.

It's a guessing game rendered more difficult by the fact that the identities of the candidates – there are 329 this year – are generally kept secret.

US President Donald Trump has been mentioned as a possibility for his efforts to bring peace to the Korean peninsula.

But Dan Smith, head of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), said he believed it would be "inappropriate" to honor Trump after he withdrew the US from international agreements on the climate and Iran's nuclear program.

In addition, the only known Trump nomination submitted to the Nobel committee turned out to be a fake.

What about South Korean President Moon Jae-in for his rapprochement efforts with North Korea?

"Premature," said Smith, recalling the dashed hopes after Moon's predecessor Kim Dae-jung won the prize in 2000.

Other names creating some buzz in the Norwegian capital are Congolese surgeon Denis Mukwege and Yazidi activist Nadia Murad, who both campaign against sexual violence, as well as the World Food Programme, the UN refugee agency UNHCR, jailed Saudi blogger Raif Badawi, organizations defending the media and Russian human rights champions.

Between the Medicine Prize announcement on Monday and the Peace Prize next Friday will come the awards for physics on Tuesday, October 2, and chemistry on Wednesday, October 3.

The Economics Prize will wrap things up on Monday, October 8.

This year, each Nobel comes with a 9 million kronor ($1.01-million, 870,000-euro) prize sum, to be shared if several laureates are honored in the same discipline.

The laureates receive their prizes at formal banquets held in Stockholm and Oslo on December 10. – Rappler.com

THE HAGUE, Netherlands – Dutch police arrested 7 men Thursday, September 27, suspected of plotting to carry out a "major terrorist attack" at a public event using explosive belts and an AK-47 assault rifle, the public prosecutor's office said.

"Police arrested 7 men on Thursday... suspected of being at a very advanced stage of preparation for a major terrorist attack in the Netherlands," it said in a statement, adding one of the suspects had wanted to kill "many victims".

Prosecutors and investigators were "convinced that a terrorist attack was prevented" as a result of the arrests in the cities of Arnhem and Weert which followed a months-long police operation.

Officers had placed a group of people under surveillance, a central figure being a 34-year-old man of Iraqi origin convicted in 2017 of attempting to reach territory controlled by the jihadist Islamic State group, the statement added.

Those arrested by elite special anti-terrorist police teams with helicopter support ranged in age from 21 to 34.

The suspects came from Arnhem, the port city of Rotterdam and villages close to those two cities. Two others in the group also had convictions related to attempts to travel to Iraq or Syria.

"One of the men from Arnhem wanted to commit an attack with a group at a major event in the Netherlands and kill many victims, according to the Dutch Intelligence Service (AIVD)," the prosecutor's office said.

Police had yet to identify the target of the planned attack which the prosecutor's office said was to have included a separate car bombing.

The suspects, who investigators said said were in possession of small arms when they were detained, are expected to appear in court in Rotterdam on Friday, September 28.

"They were seeking AK-47 assault rifles, grenades, explosive belts and raw materials with which to make other bombs," investigators said.

Dutch on alert

The arrests came 3 months after two men were arrested in Rotterdam on suspicion of preparing attacks in France and in the Netherlands. Prosecutors said earlier this month they were "close" to launching their attack.

There has been no mention of what the target in France might have been.

In the Netherlands the pair are said to have staked out and "identified several possible targets" in Rotterdam, including "a police station and the Erasmus Bridge", the country's second largest.

On August 31, an Afghan aged 19 and with a German residence permit stabbed and injured two American tourists at Amsterdam's busy Central Station before being shot.

The prosecutor's office said he had chosen the Netherlands for the attack believing Islam to be "frequently insulted" there.

The Amsterdam incident came following a Taliban call for attacks on Dutch troops after far-right Dutch politician Geert Wilders organised a Prophet Muhammed cartoon competition.

Many Muslims consider images of the prophet to be blasphemous.

The likelihood of a terror attack in the Netherlands "remained substantial", the Dutch anti-terror agency NCTV said last week, with terror threat levels remaining at level 4 out of 5. – Rappler.com

WASHINGTON DC, USA – Donald Trump whole-heartedly backed Brett Kavanaugh, whose Supreme Court nomination will be put to an initial vote Friday, September 28, after a dramatic Senate hearing that saw him furiously fight back against sexual assault allegations dating back decades ago.

America watched transfixed as the gripping day-long hearing opened with Christine Blasey Ford, 51, recounting to a packed room the harrowing details of what she said was an attempted rape by Kavanaugh 36 years ago.

In a passionate defense, the 53-year-old conservative judge insisted before the Senate Judiciary Committee that it never happened, accused Democrats of destroying his reputation and condemned his confirmation battle as a "national disgrace" and a "circus."

"Judge Kavanaugh showed America exactly why I nominated him," the president tweeted just minutes after the close of the hearing.

"His testimony was powerful, honest and riveting," Trump said. "Democrats' search and destroy strategy is disgraceful and this process has been a total sham and effort to delay, obstruct and resist. The Senate must vote!"

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Judge Kavanaugh showed America exactly why I nominated him. His testimony was powerful, honest, and riveting. Democrats’ search and destroy strategy is disgraceful and this process has been a total sham and effort to delay, obstruct, and resist. The Senate must vote!</p>&mdash; Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1045444544068812800?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 27, 2018</a></blockquote>
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Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Trump would get his wish, with the Judiciary Committee – which has 11 Republicans and 10 Democrats – set to vote on its recommendation Friday before the nomination goes to the full Senate, where Republicans hold a slim 51-49 edge.

"We're going to vote in the morning and we're going to move forward," McConnell told journalists.

The allegations against Kavanaugh by Blasey Ford, a psychology professor in California, have threatened to derail Trump's bid to tilt the nation's highest court to the right for years to come.

They come against a backdrop of the #MeToo movement and the hearing included sharp exchanges between Republicans and Democrats mirroring the atmosphere of bitter political partisanship in Washington.

"I categorically and unequivocally deny the allegation by Dr Ford," Kavanaugh said in an opening statement during which his voice shook with anger, repeatedly fighting back tears.

"I've never sexually assaulted anyone, not in high school, not in college, not ever," he said. "I am innocent of this charge."

Earlier, during 4 hours of testimony, Blasey Ford said she was "100%" certain that Kavanaugh was her assailant and it was "absolutely not" a case of mistaken identity.

"I am here today not because I want to be," Blasey Ford said as she recounted the alleged assault at a high school party at a suburban Maryland home.

"I am terrified," she said, her voice often quavering. "I am here because I believe it is my civic duty to tell you what happened to me."

'Character assassination'

The married mother-of-two, wearing glasses and a sober dark blue suit, appeared nervous but poised as she sat at the witness table, consulting occasionally with her lawyer.

She said Kavanaugh and a friend of his, Mark Judge, were drunk at the 1982 party when they pushed her into a bedroom.

"Brett and Mark came into the bedroom and locked the door behind them," she said. "I was pushed onto the bed and Brett got on top of me.

"I believed he was going to rape me," she said. "I tried to yell for help. When I did, Brett put his hand over my mouth to stop me from yelling.

"It was hard for me to breathe, and I thought that Brett was accidentally going to kill me," she said.

Blasey Ford said she managed to escape after Judge jumped on the bed, toppling the 3 on to the floor.

Kavanaugh said he did not watch Blasey Ford's testimony but he categorically denied her allegations.

"This whole two-week effort has been a calculated and orchestrated political hit fueled with apparent pent-up anger about President Trump and the 2016 election," he said. "This is a circus."

"My family and my name have been permanently destroyed by vicious and false accusations," Kavanaugh continued. "This confirmation process has become a national disgrace."

But he said he would not be "intimidated" into withdrawing his candidacy for a spot on the 9-member Supreme Court. "You may defeat me in the final vote but you'll never get me to quit. Never," he said.

'I believe you'

Trump nominated Kavanaugh to replace Justice Anthony Kennedy, who had been a swing vote on a court now divided between 4 conservative and 4 liberal justices.

Democrats on the committee praised Blasey Ford for coming forward and repeatedly questioned Kavanaugh about his drinking habits in high school, asking if he had ever "blacked out" while drunk.

"I believe you," Senator Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat from Connecticut, told Blasey Ford.

Blumenthal also hit out at Trump for failing to authorize an FBI investigation into Blasey Ford's allegations, a move he said "amounts to a cover-up."

Several Republican senators accused Democrats of trying to delay Kavanaugh's nomination until November in the hopes of capturing control of the Senate.

"This is the most unethical sham since I've been in politics," said Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina. "I hope the American people can see through this sham.

"I intend to vote for you and I hope everybody who is fair-minded will," he told Kavanaugh. – Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – Who are the more avid book readers? Children or adults? The 2017 National Book Development Board (NBDB) readership survey said it’s the kids who take this point.

Results from the NBDB readership survey showed 93% of respondents aged 6 to 17 years old spent an average of 13.7 hours reading “non-school books” per month, compared to about 80% adult respondents 18 years old and above. “Non-school books” were considered all books other than textbooks, which were either in printed, audio, or e-book format.

Dr Dennis Mapa, Dean of the School of Statistics, University of the Philippines who conducted the survey, said the finding was especially true in urban areas where children had access to technology.

“Mas madaling ma-access 'yung mga bata doon sa mga books on the net or reading materials on the net in particular. In fact, may mga child respondents kami na talagang sinasabi na doon na sila nag-search ng materials kasi 'yung mga “non-school books” ay printed form, e-book form, and audio,” Mapa said at a forum on the survey’s results Friday, September 28.

(Children easily access books on the Internet or reading materials on the Internet in particular. In fact, we had child respondents who said this was really where they searched for materials since “non-school books” were either printed, (in) e-book form, and audio.)

Part of this, Mapa said, was the fact that technology plays a big role in the lives of youth. “(The) technology aspect is playing a role here…. children now are born with a gadget in their hand,” he said.

Marpa added this was expected, though, as access to materials was “generally expected to get better” by generations. The survey also found that parents and teachers were among those who encouraged children to read the most.

What else do Filipinos read? Next to “non-school books,” 69.3% of adult respondent said they read the news either printed or digitally, while 37% of children read online articles. The survey did not specify what type of online articles these may be.

Meanwhile, magazines were the 3rd most read reading material for respondents with 47.7% of adults and 26% children saying they read either printed or digital magazines.

Love of learning: If you asked Filipinos why they read, majority would answer they did so to learn more things or “expand their current knowledge.” This was the case for 43.83% of adult respondents and 40.98% of child respondents.

After this, 20.26% of adults said they read to keep up with current events, followed by 19.49% who read for leisure, and 15.66% to improve their vocabulary, comprehension, and grammar.

For children, reading to learn was followed by 27.37% who said they read to improve their reading ability, comprehension, and vocabulary. This was followed by those who read for leisure at 22.5% and the last, with those who read to keep up with current events at 8.73%.

Overall, however, the NBDB said majority of Filipinos enjoyed reading. The survey found such was the case for 96% of youth and 94% of adult respondents.

The NBDB readership survey was conducted May to June 2018 and covered a total of 2,400 respondents nationwide, except for the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao. – Rappler.com

LA PAZ, Bolivia – Two former Bolivian presidents rejected an amnesty offered on Thursday, September 27, by incumbent Evo Morales as part of a bid to garner their support in his territorial dispute with Chile over access to the Pacific Ocean.

The International Court of Justice in The Hague is due to rule on Monday, October 1, on the case Bolivia brought in 2013 seeking to regain access to the sea that it lost following an 1879-84 war it fought against Chile and alongside Peru.

Earlier on Thursday, Morales pardoned Carlos Mesa and Jorge Quiroga but both were quick to turn it down, protesting their innocence.

Mesa faces a trial over decrees during his 2003-05 presidency that affected Chilean mining company Quiborax, leading the World Bank's investment dispute arbitration institution to order Bolivia to pay $42.6 million in compensation.

Writing on Twitter, Mesa said: "I appreciate the president's gesture. But I don't accept the presumption of guilt."

Quiroga is in the dock for allegedly signing agreements with oil companies without parliament's consent during his one-year tenure from 2001-02.

"I've nothing to be pardoned for," he said in a press conference. "If there was justice in Bolivia, 'Tuto' Quiroga would be decorated."

Earlier on Thursday, Morales said in a statement that he had "taken the decision that no ex-president, except those accused of crimes against humanity or genocide, should have legal cases" while the country is fighting for "the defense of our maritime rights."

Such an amnesty would need to be approved by Congress, although that is controlled by the left-wing president.

Bolivia and Chile are involved in a pair of disputes that have been taken to the ICJ.

The first is over Bolivian claims to a sovereign passage to the Pacific Ocean.

Defeat in the 19th century war left Bolivia landlocked and today it is one of the poorest countries in South America, despite vast gas reserves.

In 1978, Bolivia tried to negotiate a deal but rejected Chilean counterdemands for a territory swap. The neighbors have not had diplomatic relations since then.

More recently, they have been at loggerheads over the nature of the Silala river that runs along their border.

Two years ago, Chile asked the ICJ to recognize the Silala as an international river, giving the two countries equal rights to share its water.

But Bolivia submitted a counterclaim arguing that the river was made artificially 100 years ago by Chilean canalization and that the water source originates in wetlands in its territory. – Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) on Friday, September 28, called out President Rodrigo Duterte for "toying" with the sanctity of life when he remarked in a public event that his only "sin" was extrajudicial killings.

CHR Spokesperson Jacqueline Ann de Guia made the statement after Palace officials sought to clarify that Duterte’s supposed admission to the killings should not be taken seriously.

"Sagrado ang buhay. Hindi ito dapat pinaglalaruan. Hindi rin tama na gawing paksa ng biro ang pagkamatay ng libu-libong Pilipino na patuloy na humihingi ng hustisya (Life is sacred. It should not be toyed with. The deaths of thousands of Filipinos who continue to seek justice is no joking matter)," De Guia said.

On Thursday, September 27, Duterte said in his speech before new and veteran civil servants in Malacañang that he never stole a single peso from the people and that his "only sin is extrajudicial killings."

Duterte faces a complaint before the International Criminal Court over extrajudicial killings in his drug war.

The following day, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque explained that the Chief Executive was just being "playful" when he made the statement, and did so only to highlight that he was not corrupt.

Duterte is known for making conflicting statements about his involvement in death squads and summary killings, both in Davao City where he was mayor for two decades and in nationwide crackdowns on drug suspects.

The CHR said it continues to investigate each EJK case in the Duterte administration’s campaign against illegal drugs.

De Guia also reminded police of their duty to hold accountable erring law enforcers. – Rappler.com

UNITED NATIONS – Israel's prime minister on Thursday, September 27, accused arch-enemy Tehran of harboring a secret atomic warehouse, making deft use of ample props and vowing that his country would never let Iran develop nuclear weapons.

Iran "hasn't abandoned its goal to develop nuclear weapons," Benjamin Netanyahu told the UN General Assembly, where his annual appearance has frequently focused on Israel's chief enemy, the Islamic republic.

"Israel will never let a regime that calls for our destruction to develop nuclear weapons. Not now, not in 10 years, not ever," he said. "Israel will do whatever it must do to defend itself against Iran's aggression."

"What Iran hides, Israel will find," the prime minister added.

Israel bitterly opposes the Iran nuclear deal, brokered by the United States, Russia, China and European nations in 2015 and has congratulated President Donald Trump for walking away from the deal.

Netanyahu opened his speech by claiming that Iran had a secret atomic warehouse in Tehran, holding up a map and a photograph of an outwardly "innocent looking compound" which he urged the UN atomic agency to inspect.

"Today I'm disclosing for the first time that Iran has another secret facility in Tehran, a secret atomic warehouse for storing massive amounts of equipment and material from Iran's secret nuclear weapons program," he said.

He also claimed that the Iranian-linked Lebanese Shiite militia Hezbollah had positioned 3 missile sites near Beirut airport, holding up what he called "a picture worth a thousand missiles" and titled "Beirut Precision Guided Missile."

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif later ridiculed Netanyahu's allegations, saying that previous claims by Israel had not stood up to scrutiny when investigated by the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency.

"Netanyahu has to explain how Israel, being the only regime that has nuclear weapons in the region, can so cynically level such allegations against a country whose nuclear program's peacefulness has been repeatedly certified by the IAEA," Zarif told Iran's official IRNA news agency.

"The only purpose of this is to undercut the reality that Israel is the biggest threat to the region and Netanyahu himself has stood in a facility that produces nuclear weapons and threatened the annihilation of other nations."

'European appeasement'

Netanyahu also accused Iranian agents of plotting attacks in the United States and Europe, as well as being an aggressor in the Middle East.

He accused the Iranian regime of brutally oppressing its own people for 4 decades, and of waging violence in Iraq and Syria, arming Hezbollah in Lebanon, financing Hamas in Gaza and firing missiles into Saudi Arabia.

He tore into Europe for its policy of "appeasement" with Iran, a word that evokes in history European capitals' reluctance to stand up against Adolf Hitler in the run-up to World War II.

"Have these European leaders learnt nothing from history? Will they ever wake up?" Netanyahu hectored. "We in Israel don't need a wake-up call because Iran threatens us every day."

He said Israel was "deeply grateful" to the Trump administration for withdrawing from the Iran deal, an agreement which he claimed had had the "unintended consequence" of bringing Israel closer to its Arab neighbors.

"By empowering Iran, it brought Israel and many Arab states closer together than ever before ... in an intimacy and friendship that I've not seen in my lifetime and would have been unimaginable a few years ago." – Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – The Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) will be busy in the coming months screening applications for multiple vacancies in the Supreme Court, most important of which is for the replacement of Chief Justice Teresita Leonardo de Castro, who will be retiring on October 8.

Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra, a JBC member, said that the applications for chief justice will open September 29 and will end October 15.

By tradition, the most 5 senior justices of the Court will be automatically nominated. (READ: The test of legacy for Chief Justice De Castro)

They are: Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio, Associate Justices Diosdado Peralta, Lucas Bersamin, Mariano del Castillo and Estela Perlas-Bernabe.

Peralta and Bersamin have vied before for the appointment that was given to De Castro. Carpio declined, but he will have a chance to reconsider for this round. Carpio passed up the Sereno vacancy out of principle, as he voted against the quo warranto ouster.

Aside from the Chief Justice replacement, the JBC is in the process of drawing up a short list for the replacement of Ombudsman Samuel Martires.

One of the en banc’s recommendations for the Martires vacancy is Court Administrator Midas Marquez, whose application was opposed by Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte Carpio for supposedly colluding with Duterte supporters to secure the appointment.

The JBC has also started accepting applications for the vacancy that was created by De Castro when she became Chief Justice. The application for that vacancy is on October 1.

In the event that the next Chief Justice comes from the incumbent justices, another vacancy will be created.

Several justices are also set to retire in 2019, which means that by 2022, the Supreme Court will be filled with Duterte appointees. – Rappler.com 

MANILA, Philippines – Human rights groups and opposition lawmakers on Friday, September 28, said President Rodrigo Duterte's "admission" of extrajudicial killings can be used as evidence to support the complaints filed against him before the International Criminal Court (ICC). 

In a media briefing on Friday, September 28, opposition Senator Antonio Trillanes IV said that Duterte only hastened the probe against him before the international tribunal. (READ: Yes, Int'l Criminal Court can prosecute Duterte for killing spree)

"That admission will be taken seriously by the International Criminal Court. We would like to take this opportunity to call on the ICC to expedite the investigation of crimes against humanity committed by Mr Duterte to the Filipino people," Trillanes said.

On Thursday, September 27, Duterte appeared to admit to extrajudicial killings while addressing new and veteran civil servants in Malacañang. Palace officials, however, later clarified that such remarks should not be taken seriously, since Duterte was known to be "playful" in his choice of words.

Trillanes disagreed and said Duterte's remarks in his unguarded moments were "bits and pieces of truth." The senator said they will submit to the ICC a transcript and a copy of Duterte's speech. (READ: International Criminal Court issue will mark Duterte presidency)

Last year, Trillanes and Magdalo Representative  Gary Alejano filed before the ICC a supplemental complaint against Duterte over killings related to the administration's war on drugs. It affirmed the allegations of Filipino lawyer Jude Sabio in his complaint filed on April 24 in the Hague, Netherlands. (READ: Complaint vs Duterte filed before Int'l Criminal Court)

Speed up probe

Human Rights Watch (HRW) urged the ICC to speed up its preliminary examination of complaints filed against the controversial Philippine leader, in light of Duterte's statement.

"This admission should erase any doubt about the culpability of the President. It is time for Duterte to answer for what may amount to crimes against humanity, especially because the killings continue to happen on a daily basis, more than two years since the brutal campaign started the day Duterte took office on June 30, 2016," HRW said in a statement.

Lawmakers and human rights groups found Duterte's remarks to be enough evidence for the ICC to establish jurisdiction over the thousands of killings linked to the administration's campaign against illegal drugs.

ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda is conducting a preliminary examination into Duterte's drug war, where she will try to establish jurisdiction over the alleged crimes. 

Opposition Senator Risa Hontiveros said that Duterte's EJK remark "establishes his clear and direct accountability for the killings."

"It is a public admission of guilt. It completely demolishes the argument peddled by his apologists that while there are EJK cases under his term, they were carried out by rogue police personnel without the President's express orders and approval," Hontiveros said.

Senator Paolo Benigno Aquino IV for his part, said, "Panahon nang harapin ang katotohanan sa war on drugs at iwasto ang kultura ng karahasan at patayan na bumabalot sa ating bayan (It's high time to face the truth about the war on drugs and to correct the sulture of violence and killings that surround our nation)."

Duterte ordered the withdrawal of the Philippines from the ICC, but this move the has been questioned before the Supreme Court. 

The International Peoples' Tribunal in Belgium recently handed down a guilty verdict on Duterte for crimes against humanity over the alleged "gross and systematic violations of human rights." This will be transmitted to the ICC as well.

Police have said that at least 3,967 drug personalities have been killed in legitimate operations while at least 16,355 deaths are still under investigation, for a total of 20,322 drug-related deaths since the brutal campaign began. – Rappler.com

BACOLOD, Philippines – A school here drew flak online after it posted videos about the “good side” of the tyrannical regime of the late president Ferdinand Marcos at the university lobby. 

A student at the University of Negros Occidental-Recoletos (UNO-R), Daniel Pollentes, posted on Facebook about his school showing “Justice for Marcos” videos. 

He asked if it reflects the school policy. “I hope they don't forget to ask for justice for the more than 3,000 killed,” he added. 

In response, the UNO-R, on its Facebook page run by the school’s external affairs, justified that the videos were part of the “series of videos” which presented the “two sides” of the Marcos dictatorship. 

“UNO-R is an educational institution that educates,” it said. 

The school also apologized to “those who feel insulted of the video.”

“Our apologies, but they were not shown to purify a dictator but to present what martial law was all about,” it said, adding that “the pro-martial law videos are online videos presenting us that there are those who still get the dictator as their hero.”

The school said it downloaded the videos from YouTube. 

The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) Bacolod chapter said it is appalled by the showing of videos on the Marcos dictatorship at the university lobby. 

The justification given by the school’s external affairs office for showing what it has confirmed were pro- and anti-Marcos videos, all downloaded from YouTube – to “educate” people with a balanced presentation of the “pros and cons” of the dictatorship – is already, on its face, an attempt at historical revisionism, the NUJP-Bacolod statement said. 

“After all, ample historical, scholarly, legal and even personal accounts exist of the plunder and gross human rights violations under Marcos’ brutal regime. We are sure UNO-R itself has ample material about that dark chapter in our history without resorting to showing, without context, ‘as is’ videos from sources that have not been vetted for accuracy and credibility,” it added.

Far from educating, this disgraceful exercise is more likely to sow confusion and disinformation, the journalists also said. – Rappler.com 

*Screenshot of Marcos video from Daniel Pollentes' Facebook page; photo of University of Negros Occidental-Recoletos from Wikipedia. 

UNITED NATIONS – Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas tore into the Trump administration Thursday, September 27, refusing to accept the United States as the sole mediator in the Middle East conflict, a day after Donald Trump promised a "very fair" peace plan.

The 82-year-old Palestinian Authority president used his address to the UN General Assembly to lambast the United States for closing the Palestine Liberation Organization office in Washington, recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, moving its embassy and slashing Palestinian aid money.

Speaking a day after the US president said he favored a two-state solution to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and vowed to unveil a new peace plan within months, Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed Trump for his "unwavering support".

Abbas, however, said Trump had forfeited his right to be regarded as a neutral broker.

"We will also not accept sole American mediation in the peace process," he said, accusing the former real estate tycoon of being "biased" towards Israel since taking office in January 2017.

"With all of these decisions, this administration has reneged on all previous US commitments, and even undermined the two-state solution," Abbas told the world body in a nearly 40-minute speech.

"It's really ironic that the American administration still talks about what they call the 'deal of the century.'"

Palestinian leaders have long seen Trump's administration as blatantly biased in favor of Israel and seeking to blackmail them into accepting their terms.

The Palestinian leadership cut off contact with the White House after Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital last December and the United States has also cut more than $500 million in Palestinian aid.

"From this august platform, I renew my call to President Trump to rescind his decisions and decrees ... in order to salvage the prospects for peace," Abbas said.

'Extend our hands for peace'

Last February, Abbas called for an international conference to relaunch the peace process under a new mediator to replace the United States, in an address to the UN Security Council.

On Thursday, he said there could be no peace without an independent Palestinian state with east Jerusalem as its capital, calling on countries to recognize the state of Palestine.

"We are not against negotiations," he added. "We will continue to extend our hands for peace."

Trump pledged Wednesday, September 26, to unveil a new peace plan by the end of the year, turning heads by supporting for the first time a two-state solution.

His son-in-law Jared Kushner is part of a team working on the plan, whose efforts have been met with derision by Palestinians who note that Israel has not been asked publicly for any concessions in return for the Jerusalem recognition.

When meeting Netanyahu on the sidelines of the General Assembly, Trump said he backed a two-state solution since "that's what I think works best."

His endorsement of the goal of a Palestinian state, long the focus of US peace efforts before he came into office, was decidedly lukewarm – and he slightly backtracked from it later.

"If the Israelis and the Palestinians want one state, that's OK with me," he said. "If they want two states, that's OK with me. I'm happy if they're happy."

While Trump's comments sparked concern among some Israeli right-wingers who hoped he would bury the idea of Palestinian statehood once and for all, Netanyahu had warm words for the president.

"I look forward to working with President Trump and his peace deal," said Netanyahu in his speech in which he also praised Trump and the American ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, for their "unwavering support" at the world body.

Israel has long argued that the UN's Palestinian refugee agency, known as UNRWA, has perpetuated the Middle East conflict by maintaining the idea that millions of Palestinians are refugees with a right to return to homes in what is now Israel.

The announcement last month that the US – which had been UNRWA's biggest contributor – would no longer fund the agency raised a question mark about the future of a range or social and welfare programs as well as fears that many schools would have to close.

UNRWA received pledges of $118 million Thursday from donor countries to help plug some of the gap. Kuwait and the European Union were among the biggest contributors, UNRWA chief Pierre Kraehenbuehl told reporters.

Aside from cutting funds to UNRWA, the Trump administration has also cut $200 million in bilateral aid to the Palestinians for projects in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. – Rappler.com

TOKYO, Japan – A large, very strong typhoon churned towards Japan Friday, September 28, with the weather agency warning the storm would rip through the nation over the weekend, bringing violent winds and torrential rain.

Typhoon Trami, packing gusts of a maximum 162 kilometers (100 miles) per hour near its center, was in the Pacific spiraling slowly towards Japan's southern islands.

"As it is forecast to go across Japan at a high speed, we are urging people to be vigilant" in the days ahead, Sakiko Nishioka from the meteorological agency told Agence France-Presse.

The typhoon was now moving northwest slowly but was expected to turn eastward, coming very close to the islands of Okinawa and Amami on Saturday, September 29, the agency said in a statement.

"Please be on high alert against violent winds, high waves and heavy rainfall," it said.

After dumping torrential rain on the outlying islands, the typhoon is forecast to pick up speed and approach western Japan on Sunday, September 30, remaining very strong as it barrels over the mainland.

Images from the International Space Station posted on Twitter by astronaut Alexander Gerst on Tuesday, September 25, showed Trami's enormous eye which he said was "as if somebody pulled the planet's gigantic plug".

Japan's main two airlines JAL and ANA have already started to cancel some domestic flights, scrapping more than 100 between them to the islands.

If the forecast holds, it will be the latest in a series of extreme natural events to strike Japan.

Western parts of Japan are still recovering from the most powerful typhoon to strike the country in a quarter of a century, that claimed 11 lives and shut down the main regional airport in early September.

Deadly record rains also hit western Japan earlier this year and the country sweltered through one of the hottest summers on record.

Also in September, a magnitude 6.6 earthquake rocked the northern island of Hokkaido, sparking landslides and leaving more than 40 people dead. – Rappler.com