SAO PAULO, Brazil – Alarm over thousands of birth defects blamed on the mosquito-borne Zika virus spread Friday, January 22 as the United States expanded a travel warning for pregnant women.

With the sting of a mosquito bite and a fever, many pregnant women may not know that they caught the Zika virus – until it strikes their unborn child.

Now authorities in some Latin American countries are warning women to avoid getting pregnant for fear of the virus.

Babies across the region, and at least one in the United States, have been born with abnormally smaller heads – a condition doctors call microcephaly, which can cause brain damage.

The scare has struck hardest in Brazil, which hosts the summer Olympic Games in August.

It is one of 22 territories that the United States has warned pregnant women not to visit because of the Zika risk.

"I am very afraid," said Jacinta Silva Goes, a 39-year-old cleaning lady in Sao Paulo who is expecting her third child.

"For the moment, I am not using mosquito repellent because the doctor has not told me to. He has not spoken to me about Zika," she told AFP.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday extended the list of territories on its no-go list for pregnant women.

It added Barbados, Bolivia, Ecuador, Guadeloupe, Saint Martin, Guyana, Cape Verde and Samoa.

Last week, the agency urged pregnant women and women considering becoming pregnant to postpone visits to Puerto Rico, Brazil, Colombia, El Salvador, French Guiana, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Martinique, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Suriname and Venezuela.

Pregnancy postponement advised

The World Health Organization (WHO) this week noted a surge in cases of microcephaly in Brazil, the country most affected by the current epidemic.

WHO spokesman Christian Lindmeier said Friday there were 3,893 suspected microcephaly cases in Brazil, which included 49 deaths. Before last year there were about 160 cases of microcephaly in Brazil on average.

"The link between the Zika and the microcephaly... is still being investigated," Lindmeier said, but acknowledged that Zika "seems the strongest candidate."

He said there were "about 20 countries in the Americas which are reporting Zika cases, and about 10 in Africa, Asia and the Pacific," but the biggest outbreaks were in Brazil, Colombia and elsewhere in Latin America.

Scientists from Brazil's Fiocruz Institute and Parana Catholic University published a study of a case that showed the virus had passed from an infected woman to her baby through the placenta.

Across Latin America, citizens and officials have responded to the scare.

The price of mosquito repellent has risen in Brazil, where Health Minister Marcelo Castro said Friday that a "war" against the Aedes aegypti type, which carries dengue, chicungunya and Zika, was failing.

"For nearly 30 years the mosquito has been transmitting these illnesses to our population and since then we've been fighting, but we are losing," he was quoted as saying by Brazil's G1 news site.

In the Peruvian capital Lima, authorities disinfected a big cemetery for fear that Zika-bearing mosquitos were breeding in the flower pots.

Ecuador, Colombia and El Salvador have advised couples to avoid pregnancy for the time being. A medical school in Honduras issued the same advice.

Olympic disruption threat

Originating in East Africa, Zika landed in Latin America last year and has spread across virtually the whole region via Aedes aegypti mosquitos, says the Panamerican Health Organization.

There is no overall figure for the number of cases detected.

Zika has also been reported in the United States: 3 cases were detected in Florida in people who had recently traveled to Latin America.

The CDC said a newborn in Hawaii was found to have brain damage linked to Zika.

The baby was born to a woman who had been living in Brazil early in her pregnancy.

The scare came as many people prepared to travel to and around Brazil for the February carnival – not to mention months before visitors from around the world will come for the Olympics.

The organizing committee for the Games said it hopes the slightly cooler, dryer weather in August will ease the problem by curbing the breeding of the mosquitos.

In Paris, Emilie Goldman, 33, had been planning a holiday to Bahia in northeastern Brazil, but canceled it at the last minute because she is pregnant with her first child.

"No one was talking about it in France, but I started talking to doctors to know about the possible effects," she told Agence France-Presse.

"I realized that for a week of holidays, it was not worth the risk." – Rosa Sulleiro, AFP/Rappler.com

WASHINGTON DC, USA – From immigration to the thorny issue of gun control, from America's flimsy economic recovery to the fight against jihadists, White House rivals are clashing on multiple fronts as they woo voters.

If the state of the economy dominated the 2012 race in the aftermath of the financial crisis, the debate over keeping Americans safe amid heightened concerns over the threat of terrorism has emerged as a primary topic in 2016.

Here is what the candidates are focused on in the run-up to Iowa, which kicks of the presidential nominations contest on February 1. (READ: US election process: Quirky, months-long grind to glory)

National security

After savage attacks in Paris claimed by Islamic State extremists and the killing of 14 people in San Bernardino, California by a US-Pakistani couple, the American appetite for waging war against IS radicals grew dramatically.

The issue vaulted to the top of the list of voter priorities, according to at least two major polls, and White House aspirants – particularly Republicans – seized on the fear.

Republican frontrunner Donald Trump fueled concerns about Muslims, insisting – without evidence – that thousands of Muslims in New Jersey were seen cheering the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center.

Trump and other Republicans, including Senator Ted Cruz and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, increased their saber-rattling rhetoric, slamming President Barack Obama's Syria policy as too weak and demanding both an intensified bombing campaign and more US special forces on the ground there.

Most Republicans also denounced Obama's landmark nuclear deal with Iran. The accord lifts sanctions on Tehran, and Republicans argue Washington gave away too much while receiving little in return.

Among Democrats, whose nomination contest has sparked less intense passion, former secretary of state Hillary Clinton, Senator Bernie Sanders and Maryland's ex-governor Martin O'Malley have highlighted what they say are the dangers of the Republican positions.

Democrats warn that such stances only highlight a "clash of civilizations" that serves as a jihadist recruitment tool.

Immigration: Syria and Mexico

Security issues recently have spilled into the immigration realm. The Democratic candidates are united in welcoming Syrian refugees, but Republicans say not so fast.

Trump again stands out from the crowd by calling for a ban on Muslims entering the United States – a position that has sparked international outrage.

If Republican rivals believe such a policy is beyond the pale, they agree with him on the need to halt the influx of refugees from Syria and Iraq until the US administration is better able to vet those who apply.

Democrats, for their part, largely favor policies that would legalize most of the 11 million people living in the country illegally, half of whom are from Mexico.

Republicans stand vehemently opposed, although a few, like Jeb Bush, recognize the need for comprehensive immigration reform.

Once again, Trump is the most bombastic of all, declaring he would build a wall on the US-Mexico border and seek to deport most undocumented workers.

Gun control

It is a uniquely American challenge. After each deadly mass shooting at a school, the topic is resurrected, only to fade away.

Earlier this month, Obama announced a series of executive orders to tighten regulations on firearm sales, including those conducted online.

The president's measures would strengthen the existing background check system, and allow health care providers to report names of mentally ill patients into the database.

The orders were welcomed by the Democrats, who have largely backed his push for stronger gun control.

Republicans, who are historically closer to the pro-gun lobby, reacted with anger, arguing the policies violate the US Constitution.

The economy

If Republicans are hitching their 2016 success to national security, immigration and gun rights, the Democrats have made the economic record of the past 7 years their rallying cry.

The US unemployment rate is 5.0%, its lowest since February 2008 before the financial crisis.

Since the crisis, more than 13 million US jobs have been created and stocks have rebounded, although the last month has seen a dramatic retreat in US markets.

There is still considerable debate over taxes.

Sanders, a self-described democratic socialist, has proposed tax increases for households earning more than $250,000 annually, as well as higher burdens for businesses and a payroll tax hike for employees to help fund Sanders's proposed $1.38 trillion universal health care system.

Clinton, too, wants to raise taxes on the wealthiest Americans, but she opposes dramatic changes to the existing Affordable Care Act.

Republicans are broadly opposed to tax hikes, but are divided over supporting a "flat tax," a measure championed by Cruz.

His chief rival Trump calls for tax cuts across the board but has suggested an increase in tariffs on Chinese goods. – Rappler.com

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti – Haiti was once again plunged into political limbo Friday, January 22 after plans to hold an imminent presidential run-off were abandoned in the face of an opposition boycott and fierce street protests.

As angry crowds flooded into the streets of the capital, the chairman of the Provisional Electoral Council (CEP), Pierre-Louis Opont, said the planned vote on Sunday, January 24 had been pushed back because of "obvious security concerns."

No new date has been set.

Opont complained that CEP personnel had been attacked and that several polling stations had been burned overnight.

After his announcement, there were scenes of panic outside CEP headquarters as police violently dispersed a crowd. An Agence France-Presse reporter heard gunfire within a hundred yards (meters) of the presidential palace in downtown Port-au-Prince.

At least one protester was shot and wounded and shop windows were smashed in the busy Petionville commercial district near the electoral agency headquarters.

The poorest country in the Americas had been due to go to the polls to elect a successor to President Michel Martelly and seek a way out of a deep crisis that now threatens to leave a political vacuum.

Opposition activists feared the vote would be rigged in favor of Martelly's hand-picked successor, Jovenel Moise, and their champion Jude Celestin is boycotting the poll.

Martelly was initially scheduled to broadcast a national address on the crisis but later canceled it, leaving the government's position on the CEP's decision unclear.

Opont said that, having concluded it was impossible to hold a vote on Sunday, he was waiting for "the response of the executive" before deciding how to proceed.

For his part, Celestin welcomed the postponement as "a victory for democracy, not only for me because I was not the only one opposed to this 'selection'."

Angry crowds had already gathered in Port-au-Prince, burning cars, clashing with police and threatening to disrupt any attempt to allow voting to go ahead.

The decision will be seen as a blow to the ambitions of the United States, Haiti's key foreign partner, which had pushed for voting to go ahead despite the violence.

Martelly, who has accused critics of trying to destabilize Haiti, is constitutionally barred from seeking re-election and has vowed to hand over to a successor on February 7.

In October's first round vote, his hand-picked ally Moise was credited with 32.76% of the vote over opposition flag-bearer Celestin's 25.29%.

But many polling stations remained closed due to unrest or electoral skullduggery and voter turnout was tiny.

Celestin's supporters cried foul, accusing Martelly of mounting an "electoral coup d'état."

The government allowed a hastily assembled independent commission to review the ballots, but the opposition was not been mollified and Celestin refused to campaign.

Political impasse

On Monday, January 18, Tuesday, January 19, and again on Friday, protesters descended onto the streets of Port-au-Prince, a capital still scarred by a 2010 earthquake that left more than 200,000 dead.

They blocked several downtown streets and fought running battles with police.

This week, an umbrella body of poll observers declared they would not take part in an event "that the CEP wants to pass off as an election."

And on Tuesday, observers from the Organization of American States, expressed "concern on the current political impasse ahead of Sunday's second round of elections."

The US State Department had no immediate reaction to news that Sunday's poll had been canceled.

On Thursday, January 21 spokesman Mark Toner had said Washington wanted voting to go ahead.

He also offered US support for "efforts to dialogue among Haitian actors to enhance the credibility and transparency of the electoral process."

But for his part, Martelly did not appear on Thursday to be in the mood for dialogue and negotiation, denouncing instead a "vast plot to try to destabilize us."

He accused the opposition of trying to run out the clock to undermine the legitimacy of the planned handover of power.

"They want to take power their way, because they can't take it through the ballot," he alleged Thursday.

Haiti has seen its share of chaos.

Since 1986, when president-for-life Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier fled a revolt, the Caribbean island nation has struggled repeatedly to hold credible elections.

And to political chaos and gang violence has been added the fury of nature, with first the 2010 earthquake and then a cholera epidemic ravaging the population. – Amelie Baron, AFP/Rappler.com

ISABELA, Philippines – After the controversy over "fake rice", the National Food Authority (NFA) faces yet another issue – a "fake" administrator again.

Three mayors from this province reported an alleged “fake” administrator of the NFA soliciting money for a medical mission, the agency said on Friday, January 22.

In a press release, NFA administrator Renan Dalisay said the poseurs were also able to collect money from “unsuspecting” rice importers and cooperatives.

“The poseur/s had allegedly been calling rice importers and cooperatives, and introducing himself/themselves as NFA Administrator Renan B. Dalisay,” the press statement said.

The alleged “fake” administrator used the mobile phone numbers 09955132593; 09064697941; 09152075487; and 09158530037 to contact victims.

Dalisay said he has called on NFA personnel to investigate and arrest the suspect, adding, “[We] cannot allow them to destroy the good name and reputation of our agency.”

In a phone interview, NFA spokesperson Angel Imperial clarified that the mayors of Isabela did not give money to the poseurs.

“The administrator was called by Herculano “Joji” Co, president of the Philippine Confederation of Grains Association, and reported that Aurora, Isabela Mayor [William] Uy received calls from the poseur administrator,” Imperial told Rappler.

The two other mayors were not identified.

Not the first time

NFA Deputy Administrator Tomas Escarez issued a memorandum calling on all NFA officials and employees to conduct an intensive information drive about the modus operandi.

He warned the public to “refrain from transacting any business or honoring any call or calls from anybody presenting himself as the NFA Administrator.”

This is not the first time that an incident like this has happened.

In July 2015, Dalisay already reported hearing about 10 incidents involving an impostor administrator calling NFA contractors and telling them he was selling import permits.

Import permits are valuable because they are given to only a few private rice importers who pass NFA accreditation standards.

In 2014, a certain Ramon Villar from Las Piñas was arrested in Isabela for faking his identification card and introducing himself as Dalisay.

Villar was charged with usurpation of authority and swindling charges. – Rappler.com

TOKYO, Japan – Japan accepted only 27 refugees last year and rejected almost all applications, officials said Saturday, January 23 as rights groups urged the government to allow more people in.

The country has long been nervous about an influx of refugees into its homogeneous society and has tightly restricted the number it accepts.

Of the thousands seeking refugee status, 5 were Syrian, only 3 of which were accepted – a far cry from the massive influx of Syrians into Europe from the war-torn Middle East nation last year.

The justice ministry said it received a record 7,586 refugee applications in 2015, meaning more than 99% of requests were rejected.

Other accepted applicants included 6 from Afghanistan, 3 Ethiopians and 3 Sri Lankans.

The ministry said number of refugees accepted last year was a jump from 11 in 2014 and 6 in 2013.

The Japan Association for Refugees said despite the progress in recent years, more applicants should be accepted.

"We hope that (Japan) will hold discussions with UNHCR and NGOs and swiftly consider measures to certify refugees in line with international standards," the association said.

Human rights activists, lawyers and migrant communities in Japan have complained for years about harsh treatment by immigration officials and about conditions at detention centers.

The UN refugee agency says Japan is home to 2,419 refugees, compared to its Group of Seven ally the United States with 267,222 and Turkey, which has 1.8 million refugees. – Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – Bayan Muna Representative Neri Colmenares said he would advocate for a genuine agrarian reform program in the country should he win as senator in the May elections. 

“[For me], genuine agrarian reform is not merely a social justice tool; it is also a development tool. In my opinion, no country can develop without genuine agrarian reform,” said the senatorial aspirant during Rappler’s #TheLeaderIWant Forum at the De La Salle University on Wednesday, January 20.

Colmenares, who is running under the tandem of Senators Grace Poe and Francis “Chiz” Escudero, has long been an advocate of House Bill No 252 or the Genuine Agrarian Reform Bill (GARB), which is currently languishing in Congress.

Several legislators from the House of Representatives’ Makabayan bloc have been pushing for GARB as an alternative to the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program Extension with Reforms (CARPER) law. 

Unlike CARPER, GARB seeks to distribute for free all agricultural lands to landless farmers. There has been a long-standing dispute on a fair agrarian reform program in the Philippines, where landless farmers continue to call on feudal lords to give them access to the land they till. (READ: 28 years on: Still no justice for Mendiola Massacre victims)

Colmenares, a supporter of GARB, believes the government must subsidize agrarian reform.

“Like most countries around the world, gobyerno ang nagbabayad ng lupang ito (the government should be subsidizing the land). In the same manner that the government spends hundreds of billions of pesos on roads and bridges that lead to nowhere, government must also spend for a genuine agrarian reform,” he said.

He was taking a swipe at the provision under CARPER that requires farmer-beneficiaries to pay amortizations for their CARPER-awarded land for a period of 30 years.

“Kapag pinabayaran mo sa magsasaka ang agrarian reform, katulad ng CARP ngayon, isang bagyo lang ‘yan, tumba lahat ng palay niyan, goodbye land reform na ‘yan. Isang anak niya lang madala sa ospital, wala siyang bayad sa ospital, ‘di na po ‘yan makakabayad ng amortization,” said Colmenares.

(If you ask a farmer to pay for agrarian reform like in CARP now, you would have to say goodbye to land reform when a single typhoon destroys the farmer’s crops. He won’t be able to pay for his land amortization if he would need to send his child to the hospital and he doesn’t even have the money to pay for that.)

Apart from a genuine agrarian reform program, the 3-term party-list congressman said he would support the industrialization of local businesses should he secure a Senate seat to provide more jobs to Filipinos.

Colmenares added that he would also champion pro-labor legislation on a pension hike and tax reforms. – Rappler.com

NEW YORK, USA – Three people in New York have tested positive for the Zika virus, which has been blamed for a surge in babies born with abnormally small heads in Latin America, city officials said Friday, January 22.

All 3 had travelled to areas outside the United States where the mosquito-borne ailment is spreading rapidly, the New York State Department of Health said, without specifying where.

Officials said one person has completely recovered, while the others are still getting better.

US health authorities earlier on Friday expanded a travel warning for pregnant women to avoid 22 places in Latin America and the Caribbean due to the Zika virus.

It has been linked to thousands of cases of a birth defect known as microcephaly, when babies are born with abnormally small heads, which can cause brain damage.

New York authorities warned anyone contemplating travel to warmer regions to take care.

"We are urging residents, especially pregnant women, to check all health advisories before travelling and take preventive measures when travelling to affected countries," said New York State Health Commissioner Howard Zucker.

Women in these areas are urged to take measures to avoid mosquito bites, including wearing long sleeves and pants, and applying insect repellent. – Rappler.com

WASHINGTON DC, USA – Two months after the breakthrough launch and vertical landing of a reusable rocket, the space firm created by Internet entrepreneur Jeff Bezos did it again.

The company, Blue Origin, said on Saturday, January 23, that the same New Shepard booster which blasted off and landed in November had repeated the feat, hitting an altitude of 333,000 feet (101 kilometers) before "gently" returning to Earth.

A video released by Blue Origin showed the launch and landing from the Texas site, with the rocket slowed to three miles per hour (five kilometers per hour) on its descent with the assistance of parachutes.

The breakthroughs by Blue Origin and parallel efforts by rival Internet mogul Elon Musk's SpaceX open up the potential for cutting costs for space travel and making rockets as reusable as airplanes.

In November, Bezos called the accomplishment a "game changer" which opens the door to lower costs in space travel and his vision of people living and working in space.

Bezos, who founded online giant Amazon and also owns The Washington Post newspaper, said in a statement Saturday that Blue Origin has solved the problem of balancing to keep the rocket in an upright position as it lands.

"I'm a huge fan of rocket-powered vertical landing," he said in the statement.

"Why? Because to achieve our vision of millions of people living and working in space we will need to build very large rocket boosters. And the vertical landing architecture scales extraordinarily well.

"When you do a vertical landing, you're solving the classic inverted pendulum problem, and the inverted pendulum problem gets a bit easier as the pendulum gets a bit bigger."

SpaceX in December managed a similar feat for the first time with its Falcon 9 rocket.

Previous attempts to land the Falcon 9's first stage on a floating ocean platform had failed -- with the rocket either colliding with the autonomous drone ship or tipping over. – Rappler.com

NEW YORK, USA – US billionaire and former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg is mulling an independent bid for the White House, The New York Times reported on Saturday, January 23. 

The 73-year-old businessman is drawing up plans for a potential run on a third-party ticket for which he is prepared to spend $1 billion of his personal fortune, the Times said, citing anonymous sources briefed on the matter.

The Republican-turned-independent sees a potential opening should Republican frontrunner Donald Trump and Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders – who is surging in polls – win their parties' nominations, the sources said.

The mogul has set a deadline for a final decision for early March, the Times reported, which would give him enough time to qualify to appear on ballots in the presidential election.

Bloomberg, who served as New York mayor for a record 12 years until January 2014, is remembered for his aggressive public health policies, like banning smoking in bars and restaurants, and limiting consumption of sugary drinks.

He also won plaudits as a campaigner for tighter gun laws while overhauling the city waterfront, widening green spaces, launching the popular city-bike program and restoring business optimism after the attacks of September 11, 2001.

Forbes magazine ranks him as the 14th richest person on the planet, with a total net worth of $35.5 billion. – Rappler.com

OSLO, Norway – Norway on Saturday, January 23, announced it was temporarily suspending its controversial return of migrants from Arctic Russia, following a request from Moscow.

"The Russian foreign affairs minister was in contact yesterday (Friday) with the Norwegian authorities on the subject of the return of asylum seekers via Storskog," the foreign ministry said in a statement, referring to the Storskog border crossing, 400 kilometers (about 250 miles) north of the Arctic Circle.

"Until further notice, there will not be any more returns via Storskog. The Russian border authorities want more coordination over these returns," the statement added.

Speaking in Davos to Norwegian television channel NRK, Norwegian Foreign Affairs Minister Borge Brende said the Russians had made the request citing "security reasons".

Some 5,500 migrants – mostly .

Norway is not within the European Union, but is a member of the Schengen passport-free zone.  

Many migrants arrived by bicycle as Russian authorities do not let people cross the border on foot and Norway considers people driving migrants across the border in a car or truck to be traffickers.

In November 2015, its right-wing government decided that migrants who had been living legally in Russia, or had entered Russia legally, should be immediately returned there, on the basis that Russia is a safe country.

Police police returned 13 migrants by bus to Russia on Tuesday. 

Two similar operations were scheduled for Thursday and Friday but were then cancelled, for what officials said were logistical reasons.

Several dozen migrants had been taken to the border town of Kirkenes ahead of their expulsion, but several fled and three were given shelter in a church.

Rights groups had expressed outrage at the migrants being forced to return by bike in winter, when temperatures in the far north regularly fall to minus 20 degrees Celsius (minus four Fahrenheit).

They also say that Russia has a poor record on dealing with requests for asylum. 

The process can take years, during which applicants run the risk of being arrested and expelled to their country of origin, said Marek Linha, head of the Norwegian Organisation for Asylum Seekers (NOAS).

"It's Russian roulette, because you have no guarantee of gaining asylum, you often have to pay bribes and you can have problems with the FSB," Russia's security service, Linha said.

Out of roughly 5,000 Syrians who have filed for refugee status in Russia over the last six years, only two have been granted recognition, according to the figures from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

Around 2,900 Syrians have been granted temporary protection, which campaigners say is insufficient. – Rappler.com

MONTREAL, Canada (UPDATED) – A 17-year-old male student has been charged with 4 counts of first-degree murder following a shooting spree that left two brothers and two teachers dead in western Canada, authorities said Saturday, January 23.  

The high school student was also charged with 7 counts of attempted murder over those injured in Friday's (January 22) rampage at a home and nearby school in remote La Loche, in Saskatchewan province, Royal Canadian Mounted Police Superintendent Grant St. Germaine told reporters. 

Canadian Prime Minster Justin Trudeau called the shooting "every parent's worst nightmare."

Unlike in the United States, mass shootings are rare in Canada, where firearms are more regulated than south of the border.

The teenager, who has not been named, is suspected of having killed two brothers – Drayden and Dayne Fontaine, aged 13 and 17 – at their home before going to a nearby school.

There, he allegedly opened fire again and shot dead two teachers, 21-year-old Marie Janvier and 35-year-old Adam Wood, while also injuring 7 other people, according to police.

He was taken into custody after police received an emergency call about "a person discharging a weapon in the community," RCMP superintendent Maureen Levy said earlier. 

The suspect was also charged with one count of unauthorized possession of a firearm, according to St. Germaine. He is due to make a court appearance in the coming days.

The possible motive for the crime was not immediately clear.

Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall called the incident in the small aboriginal community a "terrible tragedy ... unimaginable and surreal."

Candles burned all night outside La Loche Community School and on Friday night, hundreds of people held a vigil in memory of the victims.

The families of the two young teachers paid emotional tribute to their loved ones.

"My cousin Marie was among those murdered in La Loche today. She was a charming, sweet young woman and I loved her so much," Patrick Wagenaar wrote on Facebook.

"My thoughts go out to my family and those affected by this tragedy. I'm so sorry."

Wood's family issued a statement saying: "Adam had just begun his teaching career in La Loche last September and was enjoying his time. 

"Adam was quite an adventurer, had a passion for life, and would often make you laugh until your stomach hurt."

In Australia, Canadian tennis player Milos Raonic dedicated his Australian Open win to the victims. 

"Today's victory was for that community and a quick recovery. All of Canada, and I'm sure the world, is behind you," an emotional Raonic told the crowd.

'I got scared'

Located deep in Canada's northern boreal forest, 800 kilometers (500 miles) north of the provincial capital of Regina, La Loche has about 3,000 inhabitants.

Because it is so isolated, authorities had to send in police reinforcements and dispatch a medical helicopter to airlift some victims to a hospital.

La Loche students said they heard 6 or 7 shots ring out at around 1 pm (1900 GMT).

Pupils described how they fled, terrified for their lives.

One boy, 13, told the Toronto Star how he watched his teacher shot dead in front of him.

The teenager was in math class when he heard several shots ring out.

"I got scared and I got down to, like, behind the desk," he said. 

The teacher told students to go against the wall, but as the children obeyed, someone fired into the classroom and hit the tutor in the back.

Trudeau was in Davos, Switzerland, where he was attending the World Economic Forum, at the time of the shooting.

The new prime minister said his Liberal government would have to reflect on Canada's current gun laws in the coming weeks and months in light of the shooting.

The previous Tory government had scrapped a short-lived national registry of rifles and shotguns. 

Many Canadians living in rural areas own long guns like the one that appears to have been used in the shooting, and led a strong opposition to the registry they said wrongly targeted farmers and hunters. – Marc Braibant, AFP / Rappler.com

"Lahi gyud ang devotion ng Cebuano sa Santo Niño (There is nothing like the Cebuano's devotion to the Santo Niño)," Francine, a first-year student at University of the Philippines Cebu, said. I spoke with her at the Ayala Center, during a chorale showcase celebrating the opening of the 51st International Eucharistic Congress (IEC) which begins Sunday, January 24, here in Cebu.

There are plenty of Cebuanos who would agree with Francine – myself included.

While she does not consider herself religious, she said she believes in the devotion, and celebrates the Santo Niño every year.

"Ni-ampo ko na makatiwas gyud ko ug eskwela (I prayed that I will really finish school)," she said.

Even while growing up in the United States, the Santo Niño was a very central image in our home. It could never be placed anywhere low to the ground; it had to be cleaned frequently. And there was no better way to anger my Cebuano parents than to horseplay near the Santo Niño.

The Sinulog festival is meant to honor the Señor Santo Niño or the Child Jesus. An image of the Santo Niño, housed in the Basilica Menore de Santo Niño in downtown Cebu, is believed to be the gift of Portuguese conquistador Ferdinand Magellan to Rajah Humabon and Hara Amihan of Cebu in April 1521.

While the grand parade was almost a week ago on January 17, remnants of the festival are still seen across the city.

Shops around the Ayala Center and SM mall have not yet erased the "Viva Pit Senyor!" greeting from their windows. This is the popular greeting of Sinulog which means to call, ask, and plead to the King.

The bright Santo Niño statue still illuminates Fuente Osmeña Circle, which is the last stop in the long Sinulog parade.

There is a unique spirit in the air in Cebu after in January. This festive mood in the city is displayed by the vibrant colors, felt through the syncopated 2-step beat of the Sinulog music, and expressed when locals begin to greet each other with 'Pit Senyor!'

That's when everyone knows Sinulog is near.

Before this year, I've only experienced the festival through stories my mother and father – both born and raised in Cebu – who would tell me about, and through my cousins who regularly join the religious celebration and street parties.

After moving to Cebu last December, I was determined to experience this for myself – and to really understand why the Santo Niño is so important to Cebuanos.

During the masses at the Basilica Minore del Santo Niño, people would bring the images from their homes, hold it close to their hearts, and many would cry.

So I asked one of my aunts here in Cebu who so many get emotional over the Santo Niño. She said they are crying in gratitude. They pray to the Santo Niño for good health, and they give thanks when they get it. They pray for their children to finish school, and they don't forget to thank Him in prayer once they do.

This is still the true essence of the Sinulog – despite the street parties that have been criticized for diluting the meaning of the religious celebration.

After the festivities, friends from Manila and around the world would ask me what makes the celebration in Cebu unique compared to other festivals around the country.

No words can adequately explain that. But I have realized that at the core of Catholic Cebuano identity is an undying passion for prayer, and love for the Santo Niño. The Sinulog, more than the parade and parties, is the expression and celebration of Cebu's collective identity, as what the IEC calls "the cradle of Philippine Christianity."

And the IEC pilgrims, many of whom began arriving in Cebu on Saturday, January 23, will soon learn this too: "Lahi ra gyud ang devotion ng Cebuano." – Rappler.com

ATHENS, Greece – Greece wants EU border agency Frontex to help send back to Turkey migrants deemed ineligible for asylum in Europe, Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias told reporters Saturday, January 23.

The minister's comments came a day after he shared this proposal with his German counterpart Frank-Walter Steimeier in Berlin, Greek news agency ANA and a ministry source said. 

Frontex currently operates 15 patrol boats in the Aegean Sea, whose mission is to assist Greek coastguard in their surveillance and rescue operations.

The minister said Frontex should deploy about 100 boats in the narrow stretch of water separating Greece from Turkey, the main launching pad for 850,000 refugees and migrants who reached Greece's shores last year.

Greece has repeatedly called on Frontex to help send back people deemed ineligible for asylum in Europe, such as migrants from Morocco and Pakistan. 

Athens also wants Ankara to be pressured into honouring repatriation agreements signed with Greece and Europe.

Kotzias' remarks came as Austria, Hungary and Slovenia put pressure on Greece to stop the flow of migrants and refugees through its territory.

Athens and EU powerhouse Berlin are in talks on the migrant crisis – Europe's worst since World War II. 

The focus of these talks is not to stop the flow of refugees, but rather to manage it better. – Rappler.com

MANAGUA, Nicaragua (UPDATED) – Thirteen Costa Ricans died Saturday, January 23, when a small ship carrying 32 tourists from Central America and the United States sank off Nicaragua's Little Corn Island in the Caribbean, officials said.

Nicaraguan government spokeswoman and First Lady Rosario Murillo said that "of the 32 passengers, 13 lost their lives, all of them are Costa Rican." 

She said the other passengers survived and were taken to nearby Big Corn Island.

"This is a big tragedy," she said.

"They were tourists vacationing in Little Corn Island and they headed off even though, according to our navy, they were told they shouldn't.

The Corn Islands, made up of Big Corn Island and Little Corn Island, are located around 70 kilometers (45 miles) off Nicaragua's mainland. Although remote, they are becoming increasingly popular with tourists.

Costa Rica's foreign ministry identified 9 of its citizens who drowned, two of whom were US residents.

It said in a statement there had been 25 Costa Ricans, 4 US citizens and 3 Nicaraguans on the small vessel, which got into trouble "after strong winds... on Little Corn Island."

Media reports said the captain, who also owns the vessel, was arrested after being rescued, as authorities began an investigation. – Rappler.com

TOKYO, Japan – Japan's aging Emperor Akihito travels to the Philippines this week to visit World War II memorials, his latest pacifist pilgrimage which appears increasingly at odds with the government's rightward drift.

Akihito, 82, has made honoring Japanese and non-Japanese who died in the conflict a touchstone of his near 3-decade reign – known as Heisei, or "achieving peace" – and now in its twilight.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, meanwhile, wants to revise Japan's war-renouncing "peace constitution", seeing it as an embarrassing remnant of its WWII defeat and occupation by the United States.

In the Philippines, which saw some of the war's fiercest fighting, Akihito and Empress Michiko will visit the national Heroes' Cemetery and a memorial for Japanese war dead during a 5-day visit starting Tuesday, January 26.

"The emperor has been very consistent with the fact that Japan is apologetic about their aggression," said Richard Javad Heydarian, a political science professor at De La Salle University in Manila.

Such contrition, decades of Japanese economic aid and the Philippines' search for allies in a maritime dispute with increasingly powerful China have made Abe's nationalist lurch – which includes strengthening his military – palatable in Manila.

"We in the Philippines are OK with Japan becoming a normal power," Heydarian said.

Akihito is strictly limited to "symbol of the state" under Japan's constitution imposed by Washington, which aimed to prevent any return to the militarism in the early reign of his father, Hirohito. 

Abe last year pushed through legislation that under certain conditions could allow Japanese troops to fight abroad for the first time since 1945, passage which came amid protests and fears the country could be dragged into conflict in support of allies, particularly the US.

Despite constitutional restraints, the soft spoken Akihito, 11-years-old when the war ended in the nuclear obliteration of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, is still seen as getting his point across about the importance of cherishing Japan's postwar peace.

"He is the emperor so he really can't speak from a political standpoint," said Fumiko Imagawa, who went to the Imperial Palace early this month to hear Akihito's brief annual New Year's message. 

But she added: "His own thoughts are conveyed in each word." 

'Profound remorse'

Akihito has previously journeyed to other Pacific battle sites where Japanese troops and civilians made desperate last stands in his father's name. 

On visits to Saipan in 2005 and Palau last year he prayed not just for the Japanese soldiers and civilians who perished, but also colonial subjects such as Koreans and troops from its wartime enemy, the US.

In remarks in August at a memorial marking the 70th anniversary of Japan's 1945 surrender, Akihito expressed "profound remorse" for the war fought in his father's name, reportedly the first time he used those words at the annual event.

Author Masayasu Hosaka says Akihito has become clearer in his pacifist comments in recent years.

"The reason is perhaps that in reflecting on his life he is looking back on what he should have done as emperor, seeing if there are things he has not spoken enough about or words he wants to leave behind," Hosaka wrote in a recently published book.

To be sure, "peace" and "remorse" are words Abe himself utters, and in August as the world watched he said Japan would stand by previous war apologies.

But other comments and actions, including having prevaricated over whether Japan's wartime aggression amounted to "invasion" and his 2013 visit to Yasukuni Shrine, where 14 Class A war criminals are sanctified, have raised questions of sincerity.

In December his ruling party launched a group to review modern history amid reports it would consider issues including the 1937-38 Nanjing massacre, which Tokyo is accused of playing down.

By contrast, early last year Akihito said Japanese should "study and learn from the history" of the war "as we consider the future direction of our country".

Manila-based Heydarian says what helps Filipinos reconcile is that history weighs less heavily on them, while their government does not "peddle this narrative of historical victimhood", alluding to China, where sentiment remains bitter.

Sonny Sanchez, a retired businessman, concurs that his compatriots are not the type to hold grudges, but he also points to frequent Japanese natural disaster aid and support for Manila in its dispute with Beijing in the South China Sea.

"I love the emperor and his family," he said after watching the palace New Year's greeting on a trip to Tokyo with his wife and sons.

"That's why we came here, just to take a glimpse of him for a few seconds." – Kelly Olsen, AFP / Rappler.com

NEW YORK, USA (2nd UPDATE) – A massive blizzard that claimed at least 16 lives in the eastern United States finally appeared to be winding down Sunday, January 24, giving snowbound residents the chance to begin digging out.

The near-record snowstorm clobbered the eastern United States Friday and Saturday (January 22 and 23), shutting down New York and Washington DC and affecting some 85 million residents.

More than 4,400 flights were canceled, airports in New York, Philadelphia, Washington DC, and Baltimore ground to a halt, the US capital shut down transport and America's most populous city banned travel.

The 16 fatalities occurred in Arkansas, Kentucky, New York, North Carolina, Maryland and Virginia, while more than 200,000 people were left without power and 2,200 National Guard personnel were drafted in.

Forecasters said the storm – dubbed "Snowzilla" – dumped 22.2 inches (56 centimeters) in Washington. The  25.1 inches of snow that fell in New York's Central Park, was the third highest accumulation since records began in 1869.

With the storm tapering off overnight, officials in New York planned to lift a travel ban at 7 am Sunday (1200 GMT) – restoring access to roads throughout the city, and in Long Island and New Jersey.

"You never like to disrupt transportation and commerce. However, the storm was fast and furious," said New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo. "This is a storm that is nothing to be trifled with."

Strong winds raised concerns of flooding for much of the east coast, the National Weather Service warned, with streets in some New Jersey coastal towns filled with water and ice.

Parked cars buried by snow

In New York, bus services were suspended and overland commuter and subway trains were shut as Broadway canceled performances, museums closed, shops shuttered and the region's pro sports teams rescheduled matches.

Metro and bus networks were shut down in Washington for the entire weekend, and largely shut in Philadelphia and New Jersey. Thousands of motorists were stranded for hours on highways further south.

The vast majority of flights were canceled across much of the region, but authorities said they were working around the clock to restore operations Sunday, with the first arrivals and departures expected at midday in New York.

Plows struggled to clear streets, where parked cars were buried under the snow and visibility worsened Saturday as night fell and howling winds created massive snowdrifts. 

Reagan National and Dulles International airports in the US capital were expected to remain closed through Sunday.

Officials said the storm, which forecasters predicted would end by early Sunday in the Washington area, could cause more than $1 billion in damage.

Amid the hardship there was a moment of levity provided by Tian Tian, the baby panda at the National Zoo in Washington. Footage of the panda rolling in the snow quickly went viral.

{source}

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{/source}

Power outages

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, a Republican presidential contender, left the campaign trail to oversee the emergency response in his snowbound state, where he said there were 90,000 power outages.

"For folks who lose power, please, given how cold the weather is, try to go and shelter in the home of a friend or family member if you can. Don't stay in the cold," he told a news conference.

Nearly 120,000 power outages were reported in North Carolina, emergency officials said.  

In Washington the national monuments, Capitol building and Smithsonian museum were all closed. 

Even a massive snowball fight in Washington's Dupont Circle, which 3,000 people said on Facebook they would attend, was postponed until Sunday due to the storm's ferocity.

"We just came back from some holidays in India so the weather is a difficult adjustment," said Justin Wilcox, 32, out taking selfies in the capital.

Snow and sleet also hit the southern states of Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky, North Carolina, West Virginia and Virginia – unusual for the region. – Jennie Matthew, AFP / Rappler.com

CEBU CITY, Philippines – The representative of Pope Francis, Cardinal Charles Maung Bo, arrived in Cebu City for the 51st International Eucharistic Congress that begins Sunday, January 24.

Bo, the archbishop of Yangon, Myanmar, is set to open the IEC by presiding over a Mass at 4 pm on Sunday.

Bishop Mylo Hubert Vergara, communications head for the IEC, described the papal legate as a cardinal “in touch with the peripheries.”

“Expect an Asian cardinal who will be one with us,” Vergara said in a news conference on Sunday. “We see here a cardinal who is in touch with the masses, so definitely, we will see Jesus in him.”

Held every 4 years, the IEC is one of the biggest events in the Catholic Church. The IEC tackles the Eucharist or the Mass, the most important form of worship for Catholics. (READ: From airport to mall, IEC vibe fills Cebu City) 

The event draws the most important Catholic leaders, including Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle and New York Archbishop Timothy Cardinal Dolan, as speakers. (READ: IEC: The event that helped make Tagle a ‘papabile’)

Vergara said around 12,000 people have registered for the IEC. Of these registrants, around 1,500 delegates come from outside the Philippines, representing 72 countries.

Vergara called the IEC as a “spillover of grace” from the Pope’s trip to the Philippines in January 2015.

“Expect another one-week retreat,” Vergara said. 

The Philippine National Police, for its part, appealed to Cebuanos to show their “sense of hospitality” in securing the thousands of IEC delegates. 

Chief Superintendent Manuel Gaerlan told Cebuanos, “Protect our visitors.” – Rappler.com

BERLIN, Germany – Austria's interior minister said Sunday, January 24, that a new national cap on the number of asylum seekers it takes in this year could be reached by the summer, as Europe grapples with its worst migrant crisis since World War II.

The migrant hotspot said Wednesday it would seek to cap the number of asylum seekers at 37,500 in 2016, compared to the 90,000 claims it received last year, which Austria's foreign minister said should serve as a "wake-up call" to push Europe to find a common solution to resolve its migrant crisis.

"According to forecasts, this (the new cap) should be reached before the summer," Interior Minister Johanna Mikl-Meitner told German newspaper Die Welt.

She said Austria was considering whether to continue accepting applications after the cap is met, or to stop people entering at its border.

"We must address the root of the problem," she said. "What we are actually seeing has nothing to do with the search for safety but is to do with the search for the most economically attractive country. It cannot continue like this."

Vienna has argued that as long as countries like Austria and Germany are willing to keep a door open to refugees, other EU nations will have no incentive to budget.

Austria is itself a key transit country for hundreds of thousands of migrants and refugees entering the EU, with many headed for Germany which took in 1.1 million asylum seekers in 2015.

The country's foreign minister told Bild newspaper in the wake of the announcement that it was "above all a wake-up call to Brussels."

"I believe that in the long-term there is a European solution. But as long as that is not there, we have to protect ourselves," Sebastian Kurz said. – Rappler.com

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti – Thousands of protesters took to the streets of Haiti's capital Saturday, January 23, setting tires ablaze and demanding the resignation of outgoing President Michel Martelly following the postponement of a runoff to pick his replacement.

Haiti's electoral authority called off the Sunday vote due to "obvious security concerns" on Friday, less than 48 hours before the polls were set to open.

Crowds gathered in Port-au-Prince Friday and Saturday to show their anger at the move. Many voters say the first-round presidential election was marred by fraud favoring Jovenel Moise, Martelly's hand-picked successor.

On Saturday, a mob targeted a market next to the presidential palace. Security guards fired live bullets into the air, an action that only fueled the crowd's anger, a witness reported.

Protesters hurled rocks and police responded with blasts of water laced with an irritant. In another show of discontent, tires were set on fire. 

One person suffered a gunshot wound, 3 vehicles were set ablaze and several storefront windows were smashed when a mob struck Friday near the headquarters of the Provisional Electoral Council (CEP).

More than a dozen polling stations were attacked or burned Thursday to Friday before the postponement.

No banana 

The protests, which have increased in frequency since November, reject the idea that Moise even participate in the election.

"We didn't vote for a banana, we will not eat that banana" is one of the top protest slogans, a reference to Moise's banana export operations.

"What is the greatest violence when a government tries to steal the will of the people? When a president tries to provoke and humiliate an entire people?" asked Evel Fanfan, an attorney for one of the main political parties.

"When the violence is the result of violence for freedom and for democracy, I would say that is good violence," Fanfan told Agence France-Presse at a Saturday march.

Opposition politician Assad Volcy, meanwhile, stated what many in the crowd wanted: "We now demand the departure of Michel Martelly and (Prime Minister) Paul Evans, and the formation of a transitional government before February 7 to lead the electoral process."

Call for 'quick' runoff 

Moise separately urged a "quick organization of the second round" at a Saturday news conference.

He also said he thought "the people are ready to vote for Jovenel Moise en masse." 

However, Moise's opponent, Jude Celestin, went so far as to boycott the poll in protest.

Moise took 32.76% of the vote over opposition flag-bearer Celestin's 25.29% during the October first round-vote.

But with many polling stations closed due to unrest and electoral dirty tricks, Celestin's supporters cried foul, accusing Martelly of mounting an "electoral coup d'etat."

A runoff had been scheduled for December 27 but was then cancelled and moved after fraud allegations. 

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon also called Saturday for the runoff to be held "without delay."

Martelly has said nothing in public statements since the vote was postponed. He was scheduled to address to the nation late Friday, but the speech was abruptly postponed without explanation.

Organization of American States monitors urged "consensual, constructive dialogue to overcome the current political crisis and complete the electoral process." 

The vote's indefinite postponement plunges Haiti into a fresh political crisis.

Since 1986, when president-for-life Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier fled a revolt, the Caribbean island nation, which is wracked by poverty and the after effects of a devastating 2010 earthquake, has struggled repeatedly to hold credible elections. – Amelie Baron, AFP/Rappler.com

CEBU CITY, Philippines – "We would like to appeal to Cebuanos sense of hospitality."

Philippine National Police (PNP) Region 7 Acting Director Chief Superintendent Manny Gaerlan echoed this appeal on the first day of the International Eucharistic Congress (IEC) in Cebu City on Sunday, January 24.

Gaerlan, head of the security task force of the combined PNP and military resources deployed to protect IEC participants, reiterated that there has been "no reported terrorist threats" to the international conference.

About 6,000 police officers from around the region and 2,000 from the army, coast guard and other military branches have been deployed to patrol areas where international and domestic pilgrims are staying.

Delegates joining the congress are staying at hotels and in the homes of Cebuanos across the city.

About 8,000 military and police officers will help protect the registered delegates of the conference, now numbering around 12,000, with the goal of "zero incidents," Gaerlan said.

Authorities are using the security protocols used during the recent Asian Pacific Economic Conference (APEC), which held meetings in Cebu last November, as a framework.

The conference also coincides with the January 26 visit of the Japanese emperor and empress in Manila, but Gaerlan said that the government has allocated enough resources and equipment for the security of both events.

For big gatherings taking place outside of the pavilion, he advised the public to arrive early because of traffic and they will also need time to go through security checks.

The opening mass is scheduled for 4 pm at Plaza Independencia. He said it would take at least 4 hours to process everyone who will participate in the mass.

Media and congress delegates are required to wear wristbands and IDs before being allowed to enter the IEC pavillion in Mabolo, Cebu City.

Baggage scanners and metal detectors are being set up around the pavillion's entrances and will be used on Monday, January 25.

Gaerlan said regular patrols of the city police will not be interrupted.

The event is taking place a week after the terrorist attacks in Jakarta, Indonesia, that killed 7 people. (READ: Tighter security for IEC in Cebu after Jakarta attacks)  – Rappler.com