Sunday, February 10, 2013

World’s largest crocodile Lolong is dead


TAGUM CITY— Lolong, the world’s biggest reptile in captivity, is dead.
The 20.4-foot (6.12-meter) saltwater crocodile died at its pen in Consuelo village, Bunawan town, Agusan del Sur province, around 8:30 p.m. on Sunday, according to Mayor Edwin Elorde.
“He refused to eat since last month and we noticed a change in the color of his feces,” Elorde told the Inquirer by mobile phone. “Our personnel also noticed an unusual ballooning of the reptile’s belly.”
Rowena Bunawan, media coordinator of Bunawan, told the Philippine Daily Inquirer by phone that Lolong was declared dead Dr. Alexander Collantes, animal doctor at the Davao Crocodile Park.

Saturday, February 2, 2013

News Links

Abu Sayyaf militants release two hostages in Philippines

Twitter, Washington Post targeted by hackers


Social media giant Twitter is among the latest U.S. companies to report that it is among a growing list of victims of Internet security attacks, saying that hackers may have gained access to information on 250,000 of its more than 200 million active users. And now, The Washington Post is joining the chorus, revealing the discovery of a sophisticated cyberattack in 2011.
Twitter said in a blog post on Friday it detected attempts to gain access to its user data earlier in the week. It shut down one attack moments after it was detected.
But Twitter discovered that the attackers may have stolen user names, email addresses and encrypted passwords belonging to 250,000 users they describe as "a very small percentage of our users." The company reset the pilfered passwords and sent emails advising the affected users.

Chinese navy fleet enters West Phl Sea


A Chinese navy fleet entered the South China Sea on Friday for patrols and drills after passing through the Bashi Channel, state media in Beijing said, quoting military sources, as tensions with neighbors over disputed waters remain high.
The official Xinhua news agency reported the navy fleet that included three Chinese warships entered the South China Sea at 03:40 GMT after five hours sailing to pass through the Bashi Channel.
The Bashi Channel, situated between Taiwan and the Philippines’ Luzon island, is an international sea route connecting the South China Sea (West Philippine Sea) and the Pacific Ocean.

Bishop accuses Comelec of ‘stonewalling’ on PCOS


A Catholic bishop on Saturday accused the Commission on Elections (Comelec) of repeatedly “stonewalling” when questions are raised about the integrity of the precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines that will be used in the May 2013 automated elections.
Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo cited in particular the warnings from the election watchdog Automated Election System (AES) Watch that “wholesale cheating” could occur with the use of the PCOS machines.
AES Watch and Comelec Chair Sixto Brillantes Jr. gave a briefing for the bishops in a plenary session last month but Pabillo said the Comelec chief left them with more questions than answers.
According to the bishop, even with the elections now being completely automated, he has received information that so-called “election operators” were asking for P20 million to “fix” a provincial gubernatorial race and P70 million for a mayoralty race in Metro Manila.

No problems in mock polls, says Brillantes


There were some glitches but no major problems.
Comelec Chair Sixto Brillantes Jr. acknowledged only “minor” problems in the dry run for the May 2013 elections that the Commission on Elections (Comelec) conducted on Saturday in 10 selected areas across the country.
The glitches mainly involved the precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines not starting immediately or paper ballots jamming.
“We saw no major problem. We had some initial minor problems but everything has settled down,” Brillantes told a press conference at P. Bernardo High School in Quezon City, one of the main voting centers.
“It’s speculative but maybe since the PCOS machines were last used in the 2010 elections, or two-and-a-half years ago, we needed to heat them up a bit,” he said.
Eric Alvia, secretary general of the election watchdog National Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel), had a more extensive list that included conflicting voters’ lists, PCOS machines with missing clips, rollers that did not work, technical staff who did not report early and low turnout.