BRASÍLIA, Brazil – Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff was just hours from probable suspension late Wednesday, May 11, ahead of an impeachment trial that could end 13 years of leftist rule in Latin America's biggest country.

In a marathon debate in the Senate, momentum was clearly gathering against Rousseff, who is accused of illegal accounting maneuvers to hide budget holes in an election year. Voting was expected in the early hours of Thursday, May 12.

A simple majority in the 81-member Senate will trigger Rousseff's 6-month suspension pending the outcome of her impeachment trial. She would be replaced by her vice-president-turned-enemy Michel Temer, from the center-right PMDB party.

A 2/3 majority would then be needed to remove Rousseff permanently at the conclusion of the trial, probably in several months, with Temer remaining president until 2018 elections.

Rousseff has denounced the impeachment drive as a coup attempt, saying Temer has conspired against her to return the country to the right.

However despite her fierce fight back, the writing appeared to be on the wall.

Rousseff did not speak in public all day and her staff have already begun cleaning out desks at the presidential palace, known as the Planalto.

Brazilian media reported she would be officially notified of the vote's result at 10 am local time (1300 GMT) Thursday and would make a statement. A spokesman for her Workers' Party told Agence France-Presse that a crowd of supporters would gather outside to salute her as she drove off.

Temer was to form a new cabinet the same day, a spokesman told Agence France-Presse.

Trauma

Due to host the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro in less than 3 months, Brazil is struggling with its worst recession in decades and a corruption scandal reaching deep into the political and business elite.

The multiple crises have left the country divided between those blaming Rousseff and those loyal to the Workers' Party, whose transformative social programs have lifted tens of millions of people from poverty.

Senate President Renan Calheiros, who was overseeing the proceedings, told reporters that impeachment would be "traumatic" for Brazil.

But Rousseff's chances of escape evaporated as the Supreme Court denied her attorney general's last-ditch attempt to stop the process.

National divisions were plain to see outside Congress, where police erected a giant metal fence to keep apart small rival groups of demonstrators. Riot police pepper sprayed a group of Rousseff supporters.

Pro- and anti-impeachment protesters briefly also scuffled in Rio.

As the Senate session got under way, the square outside – Brasilia's most famous landmark – was shut off by police and eerily deserted.

A government worker heading into the presidential palace said the atmosphere inside was "very sad."

"Many of us are looking for new jobs," said the woman, who asked not to be named.

Temer a solution?

Senators made their cases in 15-minute blocks.

Senator Paulo Paim, a Rousseff ally, told journalists there would not be any "miracle" and that his side would concentrate on defeating impeachment when it came to the vote at the end of the trial, which could be months away.

His camp will be hoping to sway colleagues such as ex-football star Romario, who is now a senator for Rio de Janeiro, and was backing impeachment.

"I carefully went through (the impeachment documents)... and concluded that there is enough indication to admit the process," Romario said.

"Then, we will have the chance to know the facts better. That's what we'll do in the coming months."

But Magno Malta, a senator from the opposition PR party, said impeachment was the bitter medicine needed to heal a sick country.

"As soon as we vote for impeachment, the dollar will fall (against the Brazilian real), our stock market will rise and the patient will breathe again," he said.

Even some of those opposing Rousseff doubt that a change of power will resolve the country's underlying problems of corruption and mismanagement.

Pro-impeachment protester Sulineide Rodrigues said that even if she wanted Rousseff out she had few hopes for Temer improving things.

"We don't think Temer will be any better," Rodrigues, 59, said.

"But you know what we'll do? We'll keep coming back and keep having impeachments until there's someone there who listens to us Brazilians." – Sebastian Smith, AFP / Rappler.com

DAVAO CITY, Philippines – Expect presumptive president Rodrigo Duterte to appoint more women in high-level government positions.

His spokesperson,  Peter Laviña, made the assurance during a media briefing at the Duterte national campaign headquarters in this city on Thursday, May 12.

With Laviña was Senator Pia Cayetano, who has been tasked to advise Duterte's transition committee "in view of the fact that we want to identify, vet and select more women leaders to join government."

"This is not response to criticism that the mayor is anti-women. In Davao City, you will note, the mayor has appointed many women leaders in the city government," said Laviña. 

Cayetano is the sister of Senator Alan Peter Cayetano, Duterte's running mate. She is known as an advocate for women's rights who also championed the Reproductive Health Law.  

Cayetano is also the newly-elected Taguig Second District represenative.

Duterte has been criticized about his numerous remarks about women, the most controversial of which was his joke on the rape-slay of Australian lay missionary.

Cayetano earlier told Rappler that she does not condone Duterte's remarks about rape, but she understands where he is coming from.

On Thursday, Cayetano said she is "very excited" to give her contribution in ensuring that Duterte's administration will be "gender-balanced."

"What I want to ensure is that as early as the selection process, the names of these candidates are given. It's important that we have a gender-balanced leadership, the voice of women are heard, and the concerns of women are addressed at the highest level because it will flow," she told members of the media.

'Gender-sensitive' admin 

According to Cayetano, her experience as a 3-term senator who had chaired various committees led her to meet many undersecretaries and directors of different government agencies. 

"There is talent there," she said. 

Cayetano said the positions for women she will be recommending to the transition committee will not be limited to a particular cluster. 

"Women traditionally are perceived as being active in the social concerns, and that is true. But many women are qualified for any positions and I know for a fact that the door is open for all women in this administration," said Cayetano.

She added that the transition team's goal is to appoint Cabinet members and high-level officials whk are "gender-sensitive" whether they are male or female.

"They ran their department in a manner that is conducive to the growth of women within the departments, addressing the concerns of women for that particular sector so it does not matter. It should not matter because at the ned of the day, collectively, we will  have a gender-sensitive administraiton," she said.

As of press time, the transition team is yet to release the names of people in their shortlist already, though they are targetting to finalize all appointments by Duterte's inauguration on June 30.

"We cannot announce until Mayor Duterte has been officially announced [as president] by the Board of Canvassers," said Laviña. 

Duterte himself, however, has already bared initial details about his wish list Cabinet.

During the last presidential debate, Duterte had said that he would likely appoint a woman to head the Department of Tourism. – Rappler.com

SYDNEY, Australia – Two pieces of debris found in South Africa and Mauritius "almost certainly" came from Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, Australia said Thursday, May 12, after an expert examination.

The items were brought to the Australian Transport Safety Bureau's laboratories for testing, as authorities seek to work out what happened to the plane, which vanished en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8, 2014.

It follows a wing part recovered last year from the Indian Ocean island of Reunion, which neighbours Mauritius, being confirmed as coming from the jet.

Since then two more items found about 220 kilometers (140 miles) apart from each other in Mozambique in December 2015 and February 2016 have been examined.

The ATSB in March said these were also "almost certainly" from the Boeing 777 aircraft operating as MH370 that disappeared with 239 passengers and crew on board.

One of the new parts, found at Mossel Bay in South Africa, was an aircraft engine cowling, identified from a partial Rolls-Royce stencil.

While there was no direct link on the cowling unique to MH370, the ATSB said the stencil was consistent with those developed and used by Malaysian Airlines.

The other part, which washed up on Rodrigues island, was a decorative laminate from a "work table" in the main cabin, used by no other Boeing 777 customer than Malaysia Airlines.

Given this, it concluded that "part no.3 was a Malaysian Airlines Boeing 777 engine cowling segment, almost certainly from the aircraft registered 9M-MRO", which operated as MH370.

"Part no.4 was a Malaysian Airlines Boeing 777 panel segment from the main cabin, associated with the Door R1 closet, almost certainly from the aircraft registered 9M-MRO."

One of the pieces found in Mozambique, which had a number stencilled on it, was identified as a segment from a Boeing 777 flap track from the right wing, with stencilling on it conforming to that used by Malaysia Airlines.

The other, which had the words "No Step" on it, was part of a Boeing 777 horizontal stabiliser panel with stencilling also consistent with that used by the carrier.

Australia is leading the search for the plane in the remote southern Indian Ocean, believed to be its final resting place, and has so far scoured 105,000 square kilometres of deep ocean floor without finding any trace.

If nothing is found once the designated 120,000 square kilometre zone is searched, it is likely to be abandoned, Australia, Malaysia and China have jointly said. – Rappler.com

The 2016 Philippine elections are over, but the canvassing of votes have just begun. Watch the livestream of the canvassing at the Philippine International Convention Center on Rappler. – Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – Senator Alan Peter Cayetano has conceded the vice presidential race to Camarines Sur Representative Leni Robredo and called on other candidates to "respect the people's will."

"I humbly concede my vice presidential bid to Rep Leni Robredo, who, by all accounts and with 96% of the votes already tallied, is our country's presumptive Vice President-elect," said Cayetano in a press release sent to media on Thursday, May 12.

He then called for healing and unification, echoing the post-election message of his standard-bearer and now presumptive president Rodrigo Duterte.

"While losing an election hurts, nothing is more painful than the sight of a divided country. Thus, I call on all the other candidates to respect the people's will and rally behind presumptive President-elect Rodrigo "Rody" Duterte and his presumptive Vice President-elect Leni Robredo," he said.

Could it be a message to Senator Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr who continues to contest the lead Robredo has gained over him in the partial election results? (READ: Marcos camp insinuates cheating as Robredo grabs lead)

The Robredo camp had denied the allegation, and urged the Marcos team to just wait for the final election results. (READ: Robredo camp to Marcos: Stop the 'mind conditioning')

Though the results are not yet final, Cayetano believes Robredo has clearly emerged victorious.

"Rep Leni is not only leading the race, she has clearly won it," said the senator from Taguig.

Cayetano said he puts his trust on Robredo to support Duterte's agenda for the country. 

"I am confident that Vice President-elect Leni will likewise respect and value the people's will by giving her full support to the country's new President and his vision to end the disorder in the people's lives and introduce real change to our country," he added.

As of 10:56 am on Thursday, with 95.73% of precincts reporting, Cayetano was still in 3rd place with 5.66 million votes. Robredo kept her lead, however slim, at 13.97 million votes compared to Marcos' 13.76 million. – Rappler.com

SYDNEY, Australia – Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull is named in the Panama Papers, it emerged Thursday, causing an unwanted headache for the multi-millionaire former banker in the middle of an election campaign.

He is listed as a former director of a British Virgin Islands company, Star Technology Services Limited, set up by Panama law firm Mossack Fonseca in the 1990s.

The link was uncovered by the Australian Financial Review, days after details on more than 200,000 secret offshore companies associated with the tax haven company were published.

The use of shell companies, foundations or trusts in offshore jurisdictions is often legal and Turnbull rejected any wrongdoing.

"Can I just say to you that as the article acknowledged, there is no suggestion of any impropriety whatsoever," he told reporters on the campaign trail in Melbourne ahead of national polls on July 2, which are shaping up as a close race.

"There is nothing new there. The company concerned was a wholly-owned subsidiary of a public-listed Australian company."

While not incriminating, the revelation piled pressure on Turnbull as he seeks to win the July poll against Labor opposition leader Bill Shorten on a platform of boosting jobs and economic growth.

Turnbull said the company had been listed on the Australian Securities Exchange, Australia's principal stock exchange, adding that "Neville Wran (former state premier of New South Wales) and I were both directors for about two years".

The newspaper said Turnbull and Wran joined the board of the company in October 1993, hoping to develop a Siberian gold mine called Sukhoi Log. They both resigned two years later and the company went bust in 1998.

Asked if the company paid any tax in Australia, Turnbull said it would have done if profitable.

"Had it made any profits, which it did not, regrettably, it certainly would have paid tax in Australia," he said.

Deputy Labor leader Tanya Plibersek said: "We've got a PM who now seems to have some very sharp questions to answer when it comes to his own involvement in companies set up in the Virgin Islands."

Turnbull is not the first political leader linked to Mossack Fonseca.

Reports in April based on the explosive dossier linked some of the world's most powerful leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, British Prime Minister David Cameron and others to unreported offshore companies.

The data forced the resignations of Iceland's prime minister Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson, and Spain's industry minister Jose Manuel Soria. – Rappler.com

TAIPEI, Taiwan – Buildings shook violently in Taiwan's capital Taipei Thursday, May 12, as a 5.6-magnitude quake hit off the island's northeast coast.

The shallow quake struck at a depth of 10 km (6 miles), the US Geological Survey said, just east of the coastal city of Yilan, 60 kilometers from Taipei. There were no immediate reports of damage.

More details soon. – Rappler.com

SINGAPORE (UPDATED) – Singapore's finance minister, who is regarded as a potential future premier, collapsed during a cabinet meeting Thursday, May 12, due to a stroke, the country's prime minister said.

Heng Swee Keat, 54, was rushed to hospital where doctors were attending to him, Lee Hsien Loong said in a Facebook post.

"We were having our weekly cabinet meeting just now when Heng Swee Keat suddenly collapsed," Lee said.

"The doctors in Cabinet (we have three) attended to him immediately. We called an ambulance, which took him to TTSH," he added, referring to the government-run Tan Tock Seng Hospital.

"A CT scan showed that he had had a stroke. Hope Swee Keat will be alright – he is a valuable member of my team."

Heng, who formerly headed the education ministry and central bank, is among the younger cabinet ministers considered by analysts and the media as someone who can succeed Lee.

"He is one of Singapore's finest sons, and a leader with much promise," said Tharman Shanmugaratnam, one of the city-state's two deputy prime ministers, on Facebook.

Home affairs minister K. Shanmugam said on social media he noticed that his cabinet colleague seemed "very tired" and had told Heng that he was "overworking so much that it will affect his health." – Rappler.com

ALEPPO, Syria (UPDATED) – An aid convoy was refused entry to Syria's Daraya Thursday, May 12, the Red Cross said, dashing hopes for the first such delivery since regime forces began a siege of the rebel-held town in 2012.

A truce in Syria's battleground city Aleppo expired, meanwhile, with no new last-minute prolongation after it had been extended twice through last-minute intervention by Moscow and Washington.

World powers are to meet in Vienna next week to try to push faltering peace talks towards ending a 5-year conflict that has killed more than 270,000 people.

In the Damascus region, an aid convoy was refused entry to Daraya, which has been besieged by government forces since November 2012.

"We urge the responsible authorities to grant us access to Daraya, so we can return with desperately-needed food & medicines" outside the capital, said the International Committee of the Red Cross.

A 5-truck convoy organized by the ICRC, the United Nations, and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent had been due to deliver baby milk and medical and school supplies.

"Beyond allowing this initial convoy through, the ICRC and its partners need concerned authorities to let it provide other essentials such as food," said the ICRC.

A UN spokesman said it had decided not to go ahead with the convoy after "nutrition items" were removed from the convoy.

UN envoy Staffan de Mistura and the resident humanitarian coordinator had "decided to abort the mission to Daraya because of the removal of nutrition items for children other than vaccines from the UN convoy at the last checkpoint," said Stephane Dujarric.

Aleppo truce ends

One civilian died in regime shelling in Daraya on Thursday afternoon, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

In the northern city of Aleppo, emergency workers reported no deaths in eastern rebel-held areas since the local truce expired on Wednesday night.

But two civilians including a woman died in sniper fire on the divided city's regime-controlled west, said the Observatory.

That truce came after a spike in violence that killed more than 300 civilians on both sides of the city last month.

The meeting next Tuesday between world powers in Austria comes as jihadists have dealt a series of setbacks to President Bashar al-Assad's troops in the country's center.

In Hama province, Syria's Al-Qaeda affiliate – Al-Nusra Front – and its allies Thursday captured Zara village, where most residents hail from the same offshoot of Shiite Islam as the president, the Observatory said.

In nearby Homs, also central Syria, fighting has raged near the Shaer gas field – one of the biggest in the province – after the Islamic State group seized it from the regime last week.

ISIS also cut a main regime supply road between Palmyra and Homs on Tuesday, just weeks after the regime recaptured the historic city.

Assad's troops retook Palmyra with support from Russian air strikes on March 27 – an achievement his regime celebrated with concerts in its ancient amphitheater last week.

Stalling peace talks

Al-Nusra and ISIS are not included in a fragile nationwide ceasefire between the regime and non-jihadist rebels implemented in late February to set the ground for peace talks.

The last round of peace talks in Geneva reached a deadlock in April when the main opposition group suspended its participation over mounting violence and lack of humanitarian access.

Talks have also faltered over the fate of Assad, with the opposition insisting any peace deal must include his departure. But Damascus says his future is non-negotiable.

The head of Syria's main opposition group taking part in negotiations has told AFP forces fighting the regime need "actions, not words" from countries that support them.

"What we want are practical and effective measures on the ground. We don't need statements or pretty words in the media because that doesn't produce any results," said Riad Hijab.

He called for tougher action against Assad, who he claimed had effectively received a "green light" from Moscow and Washington to continue bombing civilian areas.

Millions have fled Syria's conflict since it started with anti-government protests in 2011.

These include 20% of Syria's Palestinian refugees, the head of the UN Palestinian refugee agency said Thursday.

Before the war, Syria was home to about 560,000 Palestinians whose ancestors fled the 1948 foundation of Israel and ensuing conflicts. – Karam al-Masri, AFP / Rappler.com

DEVESLU, Romania (UPDATED) – A US anti-missile defense system in Romania aimed at protecting NATO members from threats by "rogue" nations became operational on Thursday, May 12, triggering Russian fury despite US insistence it does not target Moscow.

Located in Deveselu in southern Romania, the missile interceptor station will help defend NATO members against the threat of short- and medium-range ballistic missiles, particularly from the Middle East, officials said.

"Today the United States and Romania make history in delivering this system to the NATO alliance," said the US commander in Europe and Africa, Mark Ferguson, at an inauguration ceremony with NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg.

But Russia sees the missile system as a security threat right on its doorstep, despite the US and NATO insisting it is not aimed at undermining Moscow's defenses.

"According to our experts' opinion, we are convinced that the deployment of the missile defense system is truly a threat to Russia's security," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters in Moscow.

Relations between NATO and Moscow have sharply deteriorated since Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in March 2014, sparking fears among other eastern European countries that they too could be the targets of Russian aggression.

Stoltenberg said the missile installation in Romania "represents a significant increase in the capability to defend European allies against proliferation of ballistic missiles" as it becomes part of a broader NATO missile shield with an installation in Poland as well.

But he stressed that the system was not aimed at Russia and in fact was not capable of intercepting Russian missiles.

"The site in Romania as well as the one in Poland are not directed against Russia. The interceptors are too few and located too far south or too close to Russia to be able to intercept Russian intercontinental ballistic missiles," he said.

'Purely defensive'

The Deveselu site will host a battery of SM-2 missile interceptors and will officially be integrated into the NATO missile shield at the bloc's summit in Warsaw in July.

Work on the site began in October 2013 and is thought to have cost $800 million (700 million euros).

The Western military alliance insists the role of the missile shield is a "purely defensive" response to external threats, notably from so-called "rogue states," having referred in the past to Iran and North Korea.

The US ambassador to NATO, Douglas Lute, has described the activation of the missile system as a gesture of his country's commitment to Article Five by which all 28 NATO members pledge a one-for-all, all-for-one response to any military threat if a member invokes the treaty clause in the face of an attack.

But Russia meanwhile is bolstering its forces to counter what defense officials said was the NATO build-up close to its borders.

"It is a step towards the military and political containment of Russia," senior foreign ministry official Andrei Kelin said of the deployment, Interfax reported.

Kelin warned that it would "only worsen" the already tense relations between Russia and NATO.

And Russia's ambassador to NATO, Alexander Grushko, said he was not "convinced by NATO declarations that the American anti-missile system is not aimed at Russia."

Cited by Interfax, he also condemned "anti-missile defense systems deployed in the region, always ready for combat," and "military infrastructures moving closer to Russia's borders."

Launched in 2010, NATO's anti-missile shield system – based essentially on US technology – involves the progressive deployment of missile interceptors and powerful radar in eastern Europe and Turkey.

The Deveselu site is part of the second phase of the project, after the deployment of radar in Turkey and 4 Aegis warships with anti-missile defense capacity in the Spanish port of Rota.

The third phase involves Poland.

Work on a site in Redzikowo in the north of the country is to be completed at the end of 2018. Situated some 250 kilometers (150 miles) from the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad, it will host 24 land-based SM-3 missiles as well as anti-aircraft systems. – Mihaela Rodina, AFP / Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – Raised by the camp of Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr, the issue over an election-related hash code has been blown out of proportion, Commission on Elections (Comelec) Commissioner Christian Lim said. 

"It's being used…to discredit the elections," Lim said in an interview with reporters late Thursday afternoon, May 12.

Comelec Chairman Andres Bautista also said they expect much "political conditioning" in the tight vice presidential race pitting Marcos and the current front runner, Camarines Sur 3rd District Representative Leni Robredo.

Bautista said: "We all knew, before the elections happened, that the surveys showed that number one, there seemed to be a landslide in the presidential race. But we also knew that in respect of the vice presidential race, it was going to be close. Naturally, we see these all happening."

"Obviously, since this is a hotly contested political race, there will be a lot of political conditioning and mind games," Bautista said in a news conference.

The root of the issue – the hash code – is considered the fingerprint of any software.

The Comelec on Thursday confirmed that a change was made in the hash code of the data package containing election results. 

'There is no cheating'

Bautista, however, clarified that the change was "cosmetic" in nature.

"There is no cheating whatsoever," Bautista said. 

The elections chief explained that Smartmatic, the Comelec's technology provider, tweaked a program only so that the letter "ñ" will appear as it is in the data package.

Before this, the program displayed the letter "ñ" as a question mark.

Had he known that Smartmatic would tweak the data package, Lim said he would have opposed it.

He said the change "just added more fuel" to an already volatile situation.

"I’d rather have stability, and I’d rather answer the question of the question mark rather than the question of the 'ñ,'" Lim said. 

The Marcos camp now wants its own information technology expert to check the Comelec server involved in an alleged data breach.

Marcos is trailing Robredo in the unofficial tally as of 9:34 pm on Thursday.

Robredo has 13.99 million votes as opposed to Marcos' 13.76 million. – Rappler.com

ANKARA, Turkey (3rd UPDATE) – A deal to grant Turks visa-free travel to most of the European Union was hanging by a thread Thursday, May 12, after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan defiantly vowed Ankara would not fulfill a key condition set by Brussels.

With alarm growing over the deal's future, European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker bluntly told Erdogan that Turks would only enjoy travel to the passport-free Schengen area if all conditions were met and it would be "his problem" if this failed to materialize.

The promise of visa-free travel is a key pillar of the landmark March accord for Turkey to stem the flow of migrants to the EU and this could now also be in peril.

Erdogan accused the European Union of "hypocrisy" for telling Ankara to adapt its counter-terror laws in return for visa-free travel while it was in the throes of fighting Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) rebels.

"The EU stands up and says 'soften your approach over the terrorist organization'," Erdogan said in a speech in Ankara, referring to the PKK.

"Since when are you running this country? Who has given you the authority?" he asked, in one of his most stinging attacks in recent weeks on the EU.

"They believe they have a right for themselves (to fight terror) but find it a luxury and unacceptable for us. Let me say it clearly – this is called hypocrisy."

Explosion shakes southeast

Turkey concluded a deal with the EU in March to curb the migrant flow to Europe in return for political incentives including the visa-free travel as well as billions of euros in aid from Brussels for refugees.

Ankara however is obliged to meet the remaining 5 out of 72 conditions for its citizens to enjoy visa-free travel to Europe.

But with the Turkish military battling the PKK in the Kurdish-majority southeast, Turkey says it cannot change its counter-terror laws.

On Thursday, a blast hit the southeastern majority Kurdish city of Diyarbakir, killing 4 "bombmakers" and wounding at least 10 other people, according to the country's interior ministry.

The explosion came hours after at least 8 people including soldiers were injured by a remotely detonated car bomb aimed at a military vehicle in Istanbul, according to the local governor's office.

'Not my problem, his problem'

Speaking in Berlin, Juncker indicated the EU saw no room for negotiation if Turkey did not fulfill all the conditions.

"We consider that it is important for these conditions to be fulfilled, otherwise this deal between the EU and Turkey will not happen," Juncker said.

"If Mr Erdogan wants to pursue his strategy, then he has to answer to the Turkish people why Europe is denying free travel to Turks. That's not my problem, that will be his problem."

The EU wants Ankara to sharply narrow its definition of "terror" to prevent recent cases like the prosecution of academics and journalists for publishing "terror propaganda".

A European diplomat told Agence France-Presse: "We don't have a plan B" if the deal – which so far helped migrant flows to Europe fall sharply – collapses.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who spearheaded efforts to conclude the deal, said, "We must recognize that we need such an agreement with Turkey in any case and that it is worth the effort to negotiate it even if difficulties arise".

The Turkish minister of European affairs, Volkan Bozkir was set to meet Johannes Hahn, the commissioner for European enlargement negotiations, in Brussels on Friday morning, May 13.

Turkey has for decades sought to become a member of the EU but its bid has hit repeated stumbling blocks, sparking increasing bitterness in Ankara.

Erdogan, who has sought to build closer relations with key Arab and Asian states during his presidency, said Turkey had alternatives to the EU.

"In the period ahead of us, either we will develop our relations with the EU and finally get on this road or we will find a new road for ourselves," he said.

"We prefer to build a new Turkey together with our European friends. We will now await our European friends' decision." – Fulya Ozerkan, AFP/Rappler.com

AKLAN, Philippines – In a town in the province of Aklan, 10 votes separated the loser and winner.

Jeserel Templonuevo of the Liberal Party (LP) clinched the mayoral seat in Numancia, Aklan with 8,360 votes or 50.02%, while his rival, Pepito Iligan from the Nationalist People's Coalition (NPC), got 8,350 or 49.98%.

Of the 17 barangays, Iligan prevailed in Albasan, Aliputos, Badio, Camanci Norte, Dongon East, Dongon West, Laguinbanua West, and Marianos.  

Templonuevo, son of former Numancia mayors Ernesto and Elvirita Templonuevo, dominated in Bubog, Bulwang, Camanci Sur, Joyao-Joyao, Laguinbanua East, Navitas, Poblacion, Pusiw, and Tabangka.

Templonuevo challenged Iligan, also a former Numancia mayor, after his younger brother and incumbent Numancia mayor Jozyl Isidore Templonuevo decided to relinquish his reelection bid. 

According to the Commission on Elections (Comelec), 17,539 out of 19,908 registered voters or 88.10% voted in 34 clustered precincts in Numancia last Monday, May 9.

In the vice mayoral race, Romeo Ricafuente (LP) won by 527 votes in the final tally, after garnering 8,343 votes. His opponent, Bayani Cordova (NPC), had 7,816.

The winning municipal councilors were Mariel Cielo Coching (NPC) who got 8,760 votes; Jerome Vega (LP) with 7,759; independent candidate Rogelio Enero II with 7,624; Adelfa Regalado (LP) with 7,573; Minggot Ibabao (LP) with 7,224; Rose Nepomuceno (NPC) with 7,145; Pong Fernandez (LP) with 7,075; and Adolfo Iligan (United Nationalist Alliance) with 6,937.

The winning candidates were proclaimed on Tuesday, May 10 by the Comelec's municipal board of canvassers. – Rappler.com

DAVAO CITY, Philippines (UPDATED) – Three days after election day, Vice President Jejomar Binay congratulated presumptive president Rodrigo Duterte. 

"We confirm that Vice President Binay has talked to President-elect Duterte. He extended his congratulations and wished the president-elect all the best," said Binay's communications director Joey Salgado late Thursday evening, May 12.  

Duterte's executive assistant Bong Go told Rappler that Binay called Duterte at 5:40 pm.

"Nag-congrats kay Mr Pres (He said congratulations to Mr President)," said Go.

The United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) standard-bearer previously said he will not be conceding defeat until the final release of the results of the 2016 polls. 

"I have repeatedly called for respecting institutions and the democratic process. Once the process is completed, we should always respect the outcome. We should all move towards healing and unity for our divided land," said Binay in a statement late evening on May 9.  

He then briefly appeared before the media with his Alpha Phi Omega fraternity brothers, who tried to keep his spirits up despite Binay placing 4th in the ongoing transmission of votes.

As of 9:55 pm on Thursday, Duterte already had 38.5% of the transmitted votes or 15.92 million votes in the partial and unofficial results, with 95.87% of precincts reporting to the Commission on Elections' mirror server. (VIEW: #PHVote 2016 Live Results)

Binay, meanwhile, only managed to get 12.9% of the votes or 5.31 million votes, trailing behind Duterte, Liberal Party standard-bearer Manuel Roxas II, and Senator Grace Poe. 

Poe was the first to concede to Duterte late evening on May 9 and was then followed by Roxas on May 10.

Of the 5 presidential candidates, Binay was the first to declare his bid for the presidency upon being elected Vice President in 2010. 

He was the early survey front-runner until he took a beating after the more than yearlong Senate probe into allegations of corruption and unexplained wealth against him during his time as Makati mayor. 

Binay has repeatedly called the investigation "political persecution," designed by his detractors to derail his presidential bid. – Rappler.com

GENEVA, Switzerland – Over 80% of the world's city dwellers breathe poor quality air, increasing their risk of lung cancer and other life-threatening diseases, a new World Health Organization (WHO) report warned Thursday, May 12.

Urban residents in poor countries are by far the worst affected, WHO said, noting that nearly every city (98%) in low- and middle-income countries has air which fails to meet the UN body's standards.

That number falls to 56% of cities in wealthier countries.

"Urban air pollution continues to rise at an alarming rate, wreaking havoc on human health," Maria Neira, the head of WHO's department of public health and environment, said in a statement.

The UN agency's latest air pollution database reveals an overall deterioration of air in the planet's cities, and highlights the growing risk of serious health conditions also including stroke and asthma.

The report, which focused on outdoor rather than household air, compared data collected from 795 cities in 67 countries between 2008 and 2013.

Tracking the prevalence of harmful pollutants like sulfate and black carbon, WHO found that air quality was generally improving in richer regions like Europe and North America, but worsening in developing regions, notably the Middle East and Southeast Asia.

Overall, contaminants in outdoor air caused more than 3 million premature deaths a year, the UN body said.

The quality of air pollution data provided by individual countries varies considerably, and WHO does not compile a ranking of the world's most polluted cities.

But, in a sample of selected mega-cities with a population above 14 million, New Delhi was the most polluted, followed by Cairo and Bangladesh's capital Dhaka.

Crucially, key African centers like Nigeria's mega-city Lagos were excluded from the list because of the sparse availability of air quality data in many parts of the continent, WHO said.

A sample of European data showed that Rome had slightly worse air than Berlin, followed by London and Madrid.

Key factors

Carlos Dora, coordinator at WHO's public health and environment department, pointed to several key factors that determine the quality of a city's air.

First was transportation, Dora said, noting that cities which succeed in reducing vehicle traffic while promoting walking, cycling, and mass public transport inevitably see their air quality improve.

Energy inefficiency – especially with respect to heating and cooling buildings – is a major cause of dirty air, along with the widespread use of diesel generators as a replacement for cleaner electricity sources, Dora added.

Another crucial factor, especially in developing countries, is waste management, with the smoke generated by burning garbage ranking among the top pollutants. – Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – Caught in a tight race with Camarines Sur 3rd District Representative Leni Robredo, vice presidential bet Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr insinuated fraud even before the May 9 elections.

Comelec Chairman Andres Bautista, however, said Marcos has not filed any formal complaint about alleged cheating.

On April 25, Marcos already said "several" votes for him went to another vice presidential candidate, Senator Gregorio Honasan II, during the overseas absentee voting that ran from April 9 to May 9.

"If it's just one incident, we could say it is merely an isolated case, but we are seeing the same incidents in areas so far apart. There is clearly a pattern here," Marcos said back then.

The senator – the son of ousted dictator Ferdinand Marcos, who himself was accused of election fraud in 1986 – disclosed this in a press release and not a formal complaint.

On Tuesday, May 10, the Marcos camp again hinted through the media that there was cheating.

Marcos' adviser, Representative Jonathan dela Cruz, pointed out possible cheating after Robredo overtook Marcos in the vice presidential race at past 3 am on Tuesday.

"While the country is sleeping, we have seen a steep degree of his lead from one million to now trailing by 500 votes," Dela Cruz said on that day.

A day later, the Marcos camp came up with another allegation.

This time, it revolved around a change in part of the system that receives election results from vote-counting machines. The Marcos camp said the change in the hash code coincided with the supposedly dubious rise in Robredo's votes.

'Political conditioning, mind games'

Bautista on Thursday afternoon, May 12, said Marcos also has not filed any formal complaint about the change in the hash code of the data package containing election results.

"Wala (None)," the Comelec chief told Rappler on Thursday, when asked if Marcos has formally complained about reported cheating incidents before the poll body.

Bautista said he expected to "see these all happening" because of the close vice presidential race.

"Obviously, since this is a hotly contested political race, there will be a lot of political conditioning and mind games," he added.

Comelec Commissioner Christian Lim, for his part, said the hash code issue has been blown out of proportion.

"It's being used…to discredit the elections," Lim said in an interview with reporters late Thursday afternoon.

On Wednesday, Comelec Commissioner Rowena Guanzon reacted to another statement made by the Marcos camp through the media. 

The Marcos camp said it wants the Comelec to stop the unofficial tally of votes to avoid confusion when the official results come out. (READ: Comelec on Marcos bid vs tally: 'Right to know' at stake)

Guanzon said: "But he has not written us. His lawyers have not filed anything. I think they are just saying it in the media, but there is no petition for us to act on." 

Among vice presidential candidates this year, only Marcos has said he was possibly cheated.

Other vice presidential bets – Senators Francis Escudero, Alan Cayetano, Antonio Trillanes IV, and Gregorio Honasan II – have already conceded. Cayetano on Thursday conceded specifically to Robredo. – Rappler.com

BANGKOK, Thailand – The sexual abuse of children by tourists and travelers is a growing scourge around the globe that has largely managed to outwit attempts to curb it in the last two decades, a major study warned Thursday, May 12.

The landmark report released in Thailand, South Africa, and Washington makes for grim reading, with researchers concluding that "no region is untouched by this crime and no country is 'immune.'"

More than 70 child protection agencies, charities, and academics contributed to the UN-backed "Global Study on Sexual Exploitation of Children in Travel and Tourism" – trailed as the most comprehensive review of its kind.

"We now have the largest bank of information ever gathered on this issue. And the main finding is that, despite 20 years of hard work... exploitation in travel and tourism has expanded across the globe, outpacing attempts to stop it," Dorothy Rozga, executive director of ECPAT International which oversaw the report, said at the Bangkok launch.

While the nature and level of child sex abuse by travelers varies region to region, the report's authors pinpoint two major contributing causes for its spread: cheap travel and new technology that allows predators to share information and abuse more easily.

The authors say public and policing perceptions of child sex tourism are often outdated.

"White, Western, wealthy, middle-aged men are no longer the typical offender," they write.

Instead offenders can come from all walks of life, with many perpetrators opportunists and not people who would consider themselves serial pedophiles.

"They do, however, have one thing in common: the chances of being arrested, charged and punished remain slight. Repeat offenders target the countries with the weakest legislation and enforcement. There is a valid sense of 'impunity,'" Rozga said.

Local and regional abusers

An example of child sex tourism's changing nature can be seen in Southeast Asia, long one of the globe's biggest child sex tourism hotspots.

The authors note that while white Western pedophiles are still a problem, enforcement has tightened thanks to increased cooperation between Western governments and Southeast Asian nations.

Dutch ambassador Karel Hartogh highlighted that work at the Bangkok launch but said much more needed to be done.

"Right now millions of children around the world are still at risk of sexual abuse. We should and can better protect them," he said.

In Southeast Asia victims are more likely to be targeted by local or regional travelers – such as Japanese, Chinese, and South Korean tourists – primarily because they travel throughout the region in far greater numbers.

Child protection charities however say they have seen less cooperation from regional countries than Western authorities.

"Unfortunately the level of cooperation from the regional governments is far different from what we receive from Western law enforcement agencies," said Seila Samleang, director of APLE (Action Pour Les Enfants) which runs investigations to ensnare pedophiles in Cambodia.

"For example, we have been working on many cases involving Chinese nationals, but there was not one case where the Chinese police became involved in the investigation or prosecution of their own citizens.

"It's the same for many governments and law enforcements agencies nearby as well."

Europe, once known as primarily a source of pedophile tourists, is now emerging as a destination, especially in some Central and Eastern European nations that are lacking child protection laws.

In the Middle East and North Africa, the authors cite ongoing conflicts, the low status of women in many cultures and traditions such as "temporary marriage" as contributing factors.

Poor countries in South Asia and Latin America that already have a reputation for weak law enforcement, meanwhile, have seen huge expansion in both local and foreign travel.

Predators are also able to abuse in increasingly remote places.

Researchers say, for example, that there is anecdotal evidence that children can be increasingly bought for sex in places such as Myanmar, Laos, Moldova, Peru, and some Pacific Island nations.

"Twenty years ago, it might have been possible to sketch a rough global map showing where international traveling sex offenders were from, and where they were going," the study says.

"Today, the distinctions between countries of origin and countries of destination are blurring."

With convictions remaining low, "more collective actions" are needed "to prevent this crime and better protect children", according to Rozga. – Aidan Jones, AFP / Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines - Is the camp of vice-presidential candidate Ferdinand Marcos making a mountain out of a molehill?

Francesca Huang of Marcos' legal team earlier claimed in a press conference that a new script was introduced into the Comelec Transparency Server stored at Pope Pius center in Manila at around 7:30 pm on May 9. Huang made a big deal out of the fact that the change altered the hash code of the results files. 

She also claimed that the senator’s lead over rival Leni Robredo began to “erode at a rather distinctive pattern.” 

It looks like what happened was nothing more than human error. 

The error lies in the failure of Comelec and Smartmatic to immediately regenerate a new hash for the results file after they had corrected a mistake in the way names with the character Ñ were displayed, according to Marlon Garcia of Smartmatic.

IT experts including Rappler's tech team agreed. Had Smartmatic immediately produced a new hash after the correction and before it transmitted the corrected results file, nobody would have noticed this issue.  

'Cosmetic' change

The diagram below reconstructs what happened based on a briefing conducted by Comelec and Smartmatic at the Transparency server room on Thursday evening, May 12. 

It is based on a sketch made by Joben Ilagan, one of the IT experts working with Rappler to analyze the results. Ilagan is the founder of Seer Technologies, one of Rappler's IT partners. 

Human error

As shown in the diagram, each of the results files, according to Smartmatic's Garcia, are transmitted by the transparency and mirror servers in zip file with the hash. 

The hash is a security feature of the system. “Hash codes are similar to the tamper-evident labels or seals you see in day-to-day items you buy in groceries,” according to Ilagan. 

“Manufacturers warn you not to consume an item if the seal is broken,” Ilagan explained. “In software, if a file's tamper-evident seal is different from what we expect, we have reason to question the setup.”

To check for the correct seal, you need to run the file and the hash through a hash validator.

Each of the workstations at Pope Pius has a hash validator where groups can check this. 

So every zipped file of election results contains folders that will show the results file and the hash for every file.

In this particular batch of results past 7 pm of Monday, it was the second hash in the zipped file that showed a mismatch. 

Before this, the Rappler IT team in Pope Pius noticed the ? sign in names that contained the letter Ñ. We notified the Comelec and Smartmatic personnel about this error, and they immediately announced to all the groups present in the server room (including media, watchdogs and accredited political parties) that the correction would be in the next batch of files.

None of the groups present, including the political parties represented, raised an objection to the correction. 

After the correction was made, the server continued to transmit results with the old hash. That's because Comelec and Smartmatic personnel forgot to regenerate a new hash results file.

Thus, hash files that accompanied the succeeding results files transmitted by the 2 servers to media and poll watchdog groups failed to match when they were run through a hash validator.

"We didn't think much of it. It was not the code that was changed. It was hash of the results file. It did not affect the results, " according to William Uy, IT Director of the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV). 

Had the hash files been regenerated, the succeeding results files would have been resealed. The hash validators would not have detected any problem. And the Marcos camp would have not screamed about it.  

Even a hash mismatch does not necessarily mean cheating, according to IT experts. A single character change, like what happened in this case, can also change the hash. 

“Hash codes can also change through human error or some other reason,” Ilagan explained.

A lawyer of the opposition United Nationalist Alliance acknowledged that they observed the "error" in the hash validation from 7:30 pm of May 9 through 8 am of May 10, 2016.

"We were validating the hash of the results file," according to Ivan Uy, lawyer for the United Nationalist Opposition (UNA).

This was reported to the Comelec and by May 10, at 8 am, a new hash was generated.

Hash demo

To demonstrate that the Ñ character correction is really the only part of the application that was changed, the Comelec and election automation vendor Smartmatic explained how results files were generated and security features of the system, including the hash to media and observers at the Transparency server room on Thursday night.

The scripts inside the server, including scheduled tasks and how the hash looked, were shown using a projector to everyone in the briefing. 

Among the groups present were some IT professionals. 

Smartmatic's Garcia explained that, for security reasons, Smartmatic and Comelec split the password to access the server into 2: one part is kept by Comelec and the other by Smartmatic.

Each time a change needs to be done, a Smartmatic representative has to input one half of the characters in the password while the other half is inputted by the authorized Comelec representative.

This means both Smartmatic and the Comelec cannot make changes to the server applications on their own. 

Garcia said it was he who corrected the Ñ error in the results generating script which generated results files received by accredited groups. (See timeline graphic above.) 

Garcia also said he will demonstrate how the hash changed. (Go to our livestream page: Canvassing of votes, 2016 Philippine elections to watch the demo) – Rappler.com

VATICAN CITY, Holy See – Pope Francis said Thursday, May 12, he would set up a commission to study the possibility of women entering the Catholic clergy in his latest potentially historic opening on a vexed issue for the Church.

In apparently off-the-cuff remarks the 79-year-old pontiff promised to examine whether women could join the clergy at the rank of deacon, one below a priest.

The pledge came in a question and answer session with members of female religious orders during a meeting at the Vatican.

In the exchanges, Francis said he had discussed the use of female deacons in the early centuries of the Church with experts on the subject but was not clear as to their exact role and status.

"I believe, yes, it would do good for the Church to clarify this point," he said, in comments first reported by the National Catholic Reporter and confirmed by the Vatican's own newspaper Osservatore Romano.

"I am in agreement. I will speak (in favor of doing) something like this."

He later added: "It seems useful to me to have a commission that would clarify this."

Progressives in the Catholic Church have long argued that women are pitifully under-represented in the hierarchy, despite the number of women in religious orders (700,000) far outweighing the number of priests and monks combined (470,000).

Although deacons cannot celebrate mass on their own or hear confessions, they are ordained and can carry out many tasks in place of a priest, while remaining free to marry and have a family.

Deacon tasks can include presiding over baptisms, weddings and funerals as well as prayer services. They also often play a role in parish management and in offering pastoral guidance to believers.

Historians say women played this role in the first centuries of the Church, but the practice died out and calls for women to be allowed to become priests were categorically rejected by Pope John Paul II in 1994.

A commission charged with studying the term "deaconess" in 2001 concluded there was no basis for ordaining women to the role.

Francis's remarks appeared to have caught Vatican officials off-guard. "I cannot confirm anything, until the full transcript of the conversation is published," his spokesman said. "These were off-the-cuff remarks."

'Indefensible discrimination'

The pope's comments were warmly welcomed by the Women's Ordination Conference (WOC), a US-based group which lobbies for the Church to start appointing women to all levels of the clergy, as the Anglicans have done in recent decades.

"Opening a commission to study the diaconate for women would be a great step for the Vatican in recognizing its own history," the organization said in a statement.

WOC said the first women deacons were featured in the Bible and that there was "no scriptural barrier to women's priestly ordination."

A commission on the deacons issue "could begin to restore the Gospel values of equality and justice," it added.

Francis made it clear he did not see women being allowed to carry out the Eucharist, one of the central parts of the Catholic mass involving the consecration of the bread and wine that, for the faithful, represent the body and blood of Christ.

At this moment, prior to believers taking communion, priests are said to be in "Persona Christi" – representing the body of Christ, a role only men can perform.

Feminist Catholics reject the teaching that a male body is a necessary condition for representing the body of Christ.

"Upholding this discrimination as though it were the will of God, is simply indefensible," WOC said.

Francis has often championed the special qualities of the female sex, saying in December 2014: "Women are like strawberries on a cake – you always need more of them."

He has also repeatedly said since becoming pope in 2013 that he does not represent all Church teaching as being set in stone.

He has tried to make the global institution more understanding, less judgemental in its approach to divorced, cohabiting, and gay believers.

Some critics say he has delivered little concrete change in the face of stiff resistance from Church conservatives.

But Vatican expert Marco Politi told AFP his latest comments were proof of his radical credentials.

"Francis feels time is passing and he has to make courageous decisions even if the majority of the Church's hierarchy is not ready to make these sort of changes." – Angus MacKinnon, AFP / Rappler.com

If you or your partner in life were told that you had a fatal disease, would you and your partner abandon your careers and register for a PhD to do research to find a cure? Chances are you will go to all avenues promising a cure but not be part of the medical research team who will work to come up with the cure. That is why the story of Sonia and Eric are as rare as the genetic mutation that Sonia has.

Sonia is a lawyer and Eric is an urban planner. They are now at Harvard together, under a PhD program working on a cure for a rare genetic disease which Sonia has. Sonia has inherited a very rare genetic mutation which causes Fatal Familial Insomnia (FFI), which her mother died of at 52. I read their story and interview and was so impressed at their decision not just to rely on science to find the cure for her genetic disease but also to be an actual part of the quest, as professional scientists. Unlike Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s Love in the Time of Cholera where the cholera outbreak, real and supposed, serves as the dramatic backdrop of a love that waited for so long, this rare form of insomnia drives the couple to an even higher refinement of reason: they do PhD research on FFI.   

Fatal Familial Insomnia (FFI) is a disease where the one afflicted would be unable to sleep and would exist in a sort of permanent hallucination.  This is caused when you have the gene that sends a message that gives rise to an abnormal shape of a protein called a prion which also nudges other proteins to be misshapen. These prions accumulate in the brain and cause diseases like this inescapable nightmare. This is what Sonia’s mother had and which Sonia inherited.  

FFI is caused by a genetic mutation and genetic mutations happen all the time. Every living being is a product of genetic mutations. The diversity of life is living proof of these mutations. Mutation is how it happens that you are not the exact copy of Mom or Dad. Rather, here and there, because of the tambiolo jumble of both their genes, you come out both different and the same as them. This is what makes you unique among any other member of your family tree or the larger family of humans.  

Each of us has about 3 billion base pairs of the DNA nucelotides A,T, C and G. A mutation could be an insertion of a base into a series or, substitution or a deletion.  A mutation could also mean a change in a long or short sequence of these base pairs.  Now, whether it is an insertion, deletion, a change in short or long sequences – they would affect how proteins are formed, not formed or interrupted while forming.  

Proteins are the teams needed for the big “construction” project that is you. These teams are like the groups responsible for all the functions we will have as human beings just like we have teams for mechanical, plumbing, architectural, electrical, among others, in a construction project.  These teams will function according to the instructions given to them and in each project, no set of instructions are ever the same. There will always be tweaks here and there and while they make for an interesting variety of humans, sometimes, these tweaks sometimes could also result in major successes or disasters.

The tweaks or changes are largely driven by chance and also by the environment. When damage happens to DNA, often, cells are able to repair them but sometimes, the repair itself causes mutations since these have to be done fast. Radioactivity is known to delete chunks of DNA. Even extreme poverty and abuse in childhood can change DNA and derail their development. The mutation that Sonia inherited is disastrous and getting to the heart of correcting a mutation could only be done by medicine based on genomics - the study of our genes.

This is why the promise of personalized medicine depending on your genes is so alluring. It goes deeply into our individual biology and not the one-size fits all of traditional medicine. A recent piece in The Economist mentioned that over 30% of drugs now in clinical development are “associated with either a known DNA variant or with a variation in the specific structure of a protein, ultimately traceable to DNA.” How fast this reach those who will be helped by it will depend on a lot of things, including patents, affordability and patient education.

Asked in the interview what is the most difficult working together as husband and wife as a research team, Eric said that, on the contrary, he feels “incredibly lucky that he gets to spend all day everyday with her” and Sonia said that he has seen Eric in many other ways because of what they just took on together and that “it is impossible to feel sorry for myself for one second when I look at the beautiful human being with whom I get to spend my life with.”

And when asked how they could keep their objectivity given how emotionally invested they are in their research, Sonia’s answer sparkled with clarity and wisdom: “We don’t think of this as a conflict at all – we have the most to gain by being true to what the science tells us.” Science, life and meaning all rolled up in a rare mutation of a story. – Rappler.com