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GROUP 1

Arroyo asks SC for five-day birthday leave from hospital arrest

By Rey G Panaligan, Manila Bulletin
March 14, 2016

Former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has asked the Supreme Court
(SC) for a five-day leave from hospital arrest starting April 3 to celebrate her birthday with her family
on April 5.

In a motion, Mrs. Arroyos lawyers told the SC that to allow the former President a five-day furlough
to celebrate her birthday with her family would benefit her considering her frail health condition.

Mrs. Arroyo is on hospital arrest at the Veterans Memorial Medical Center in Quezon City while
waiting for the trial of her plunder case at the Sandiganbayan.

Earlier, the SC had extended up to April 20 its order that stopped the Sandiganbayan from proceeding
with the trial of the plunder case involving alleged misuse of P366 million in funds of the Philippine
Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) from 2008 to 2010.

In a full court resolution issued last March 8, the SC said: Extend the status quo ante order (SQAO)
issued on Oct. 20, 2015 for another period of sixty (60) days from Feb. 20, 2016 or until April 20,
2016.

Mrs. Arroyos motion for birthday furlough sought her temporary release from hospital arrest
from April 3 up to April 7 to be with her family in their Quezon City home.

It is the opinion of her doctors that her continued confinement is injurious to her health. A five-day
furlough to celebrate her birthday and be with family and friends will do the former President some
good, motion stated.

Petitioner Arroyo appeals anew to the humanity of the Honorable Supreme Court and respectfully
asks that she be granted a similar furlough for her birthday on 5 April 2016. To this day, the law
presumes petitioner Arroyo innocent. She is not a flight risk and has no intention of fleeing, the
motion also stated.

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Last December, the SC allowed Mrs. Arroyo to spend her Christmas and New Year with her family in
her residence in Quezon City.

In a full court resolution, the SC granted Mrs. Arroyos Christmas and New Year furloughs for the
inclusive periods of 8:00 in the morning of Dec. 23, 2015 to 5:00 in the afternoon of Dec. 26, 2015,
and of 8:00 in the morning of Dec. 30, 2015 to 5:00 in the afternoon of Jan. 2, 2016, to be spent
exclusively at her residence at No. 14 Badjao Street, La Vista Subdivision, Quezon City.

Retrieved from http://www.mb.com.ph/arroyo-asks-sc-for-five-day-birthday-leave-from-hospital-

arrest/ last March 15, 2016.

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GROUP 2

China reaffirms its commitment to North Korea sanctions

By Associated Press
March 15, 2016

BEIJING China, North Koreas most important ally, has reaffirmed its commitment to fully
implement United Nations sanctions against Pyongyang over its recent nuclear tests and missile
launches.

In a phone conversation with his Japanese counterpart, Fumio Kishida, Chinese Foreign Minister
Wang Yi also called for new talks with North Korea on nuclear disarmament, Chinas Foreign Ministry
said Tuesday.

Since agreeing to the new sanctions, China has redoubled calls for a two-track solution aiming to
resolve the nuclear issue while forging a permanent peace agreement to replace the armistice that ended
the 1950-53 Korean War.

While China remains North Koreas biggest source of economic assistance and diplomatic support, it
agreed to the sweeping new measures out of frustration at Pyongyangs defiance of both previous UN
resolutions and Beijings persistent calls to avoid provocations.

The latest tensions began in January, when North Korea conducted its fourth nuclear test before
launching a long-range rocket.

In discussing the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue, the two sides agreed that the sanctions must be
fully and completely implemented, while during the process of implementing the resolution, ways be
explored into how to restore a means of resolving the peninsula nuclear issue through negotiations,
the Chinese Foreign Ministry said.

In their phone conversation Monday, the two foreign ministers also discussed the often-strained
relationship between their countries, with Wang urging Japan to make constructive efforts to
improve ties, the ministry said.

Wang told reporters at a news conference last week that he saw little ground for optimism in the
outlook for China-Japan relations. While giving no specifics other than Japans wrong approach to

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history and other issues, he accused Japanese leaders and politicians of making trouble for China at
every turn.

Relations between the two neighbors have been generally calm since violent anti-Japanese riots broke
out in several Chinese cities in 2012 after Japan nationalized a chain of uninhabited islands claimed
by China.

Yet, while a brief 2014 meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Japanese Prime Minister
Shinzo Abe marked a restoration of high-level contacts, ties have since moved at a glacial pace.

Retrieved from http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/773893/china-reaffirms-its-commitment-to-north-korea-

sanctions last March 15, 2016.

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GROUP 3

Sharapova fails drug test, Nike suspends ties

By Mark Lamport-Stokes, Reuters

March 8, 2016

LOS ANGELES Russian tennis star Maria Sharapova said on Monday she had failed a drug test at
the Australian Open due to a substance she was taking for health issues, leading longtime sponsor Nike
to announce it was suspending ties during the investigation.

The 28-year-old Sharapova, a five-time grand slam champion and the highest paid woman in sports,
will be provisionally suspended starting March 12, the International Tennis Federation (ITF) said.

She is the seventh athlete in a month to test positive for meldonium, which is used to treat diabetes and
low magnesium, and was only banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) as of Jan. 1.

I made a huge mistake. I let my fans down and I let the sport down, said Sharapova, a teenage tennis
prodigy who became the third-youngest Wimbledon champion. I take full responsibility for it.

I know that with this I face consequences and I dont want to end my career this way. I really hope
that I will be given another chance to play this game, former world number one Sharapova told a
news conference in a downtown Los Angeles hotel.

Nike, the worlds largest sportswear maker, said it was saddened and surprised by the news and
released a statement saying it was putting ties on hold with the player.

We have decided to suspend our relationship with Maria while the investigation continues, it said.

The ITFs anti-doping program calls for a four-year suspension for a positive test, but that ban can be
reduced in various circumstances, such as for first-time offences or if the player shows no significant
fault or negligence.

If a player bears no fault or negligence, there is no suspension.

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TAKEN MELDONIUM FOR 10 YEARS

According to Forbes, she earned $29.5 million in 2015, mostly from endorsements.

Sharapova said her family doctor had been giving her mildronate, which is also called meldonium, for
10 years after she frequently became sick, had irregular EKG results, a magnesium deficiency and a
family history of diabetes.

It is very important for you to understand that for 10 years this medicine was not on WADAs banned
list and I had been legally taking the medicine. But on January the first, the rules have changed and
meldonium became a prohibited substance.

WADA declined to comment until ITF issues a final decision.

Meldonium is used to treat chest pain and heart attacks among other conditions, but some researchers
have linked it to increased athletic performance and endurance. It is listed by WADA among its
prohibited metabolic modulators, along with insulin, and some researchers say it can also help
recovery.

It is not approved in the United States but is available in Russia, Latvia and other countries in that
region.

Over the past month, Russian cyclist Eduard Vorganov, Russian figure skater Ekaterina Bobrova,
Ethiopia-born athletes Endeshaw Negesse and Abeba Aregawi, and Ukraine biathletes Olga Abramova
and Artem Tyshchenko have all tested positive for meldonium.

Sharapova is the most prominent tennis player to test positive for a banned substance in recent years.

Croatias Marin Cilic was banned for nine months in 2013 after testing positive for a prohibited
stimulant, though the suspension was cut to four months on appeal.

Former world number one Martina Hingis retired after receiving a two-year suspension for a positive
cocaine test in 2007, though the Swiss denied taking the drug.

WTA SADDENED BY NEWS

Last year, the sport banned U.S. player Wayne Odesnik for 15 years after his second doping violation,
testing positive for steroids and other banned substances.

Sharapova is the biggest name in sport to test positive since New York Yankees baseball slugger Alex
Rodriguez was banned for a year in 2013 after using performance-enhancing drugs and American
cyclist Lance Armstrong was banned for life from racing in 2012 after a U.S. Anti-Doping
investigation.

Sharapova, one of the most popular figures in global sports, has long been a favorite with her sponsors.
Cosmetics maker Avon Products Inc declined to comment on its endorsements.

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Steve Simon, CEO of the Womens Tennis Association, said in a statement he was saddened to hear
the news.

Maria (Sharapova) is a leader and I have always known her to be a woman of great integrity, he said.

Nevertheless, as Maria acknowledged, it is every players responsibility to know what they put in
their body and to know if it is permissible. The WTA will support the decisions reached through this
process.

The news came a day after Sharapovas management team said she was going to make a major
announcement, which had many speculating that she was going to announce her retirement from
professional tennis.

Sharapova, who has struggled with a series of injuries in recent years, has not competed since she lost
to Serena Williams in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open in January.

Renowned for her never-say-die approach, a gritty baseline game and high-decibel shrieking,
Sharapova at 17 became the first Russian woman to win Wimbledon when she beat Serena Williams
6-1 6-4 in the 2004 final.

That victory also made her the third-youngest Wimbledon champion, behind only Lottie Dod and
Hingis, and the fourth-youngest grand slam winner in the open era after Hingis, Monica Seles and
Tracy Austin.

Retrieved from http://www.mb.com.ph/sharapova-fails-drug-test-nike-suspends-ties/ last March 15, 2016.

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Group 4

How GMA-7 cornered 'Carrot Man'

By Rappler
Published 1:52 AM, February 28, 2016
Updated 10:22 PM, February 28, 2016
(UPDATED) Other TV networks have to make do with interviews with neighbors and relatives. Or
they can opt for so-called copycats like Cabbage Man, Sayote Man, and Patatas Man.

(UPDATED) As early as 11 pm Saturday, February 27, local tourists were already lined up at the Post
Office Park as well as on the overpass below Session Road in Baguio City.

They lined up flattened cardboard boxes on the pavement so that they would get the best views Sunday
morning, February 28, for the grand float parade of the Panagbenga Flower Festival.

They had been doing this for the past 5 years: sleeping on the pavement despite the chilly 16 degrees
Celsius weather. Last Friday, maybe the same people also camped out for the street dancing. But on
Saturday, some Baguio residents actually decided to sleep on the streets.

Why? Because Carrot Man is rumored to be joining the GMA-7 float. On top of that, Cabbage Man
will reportedly join the float.

Carrot Man Jeyrick Sigmaton is the newest Internet sensation to sweep the country.

A week ago, he was an ordinary 21-year-old dropout harvesting carrots in their farm in Monamon Sur
in Bauko, Mountain Province. All that changed when a local tourist, Edwina T. Bandong, saw him
while she was on her way to Sagada.

Bandong, owner of Eriels Cake and Pastries in Nueva Ecija, which has an outlet in a coffee shop in
Session Road, decided to upload her photos on Facebook on February 19.

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Her album included shots of Sigmaton, veiled in fog, carrying a load of carrots. Her photos of the
sweaty long-haired Sigmaton in a layered grey sweatshirt, whom she christened "Carrot Man," were
shared quickly, garnering 150 shares on February 20, until it reached 1,200 shares on February 22.
Now, Carrot Man and Jeyrick Sigmaton have 10 Facebook pages, including two administered by
Bandong.

The local media caught up with Carrot Man on February 23, with some even spending nights looking
for him.

As it turned out, GMA-7 was said to have won the bidding war, reportedly getting an exclusive contract
with Sigmaton until the end of February. Even the Bauko police had to secure him for the television
company.

After that, GMA-7 maximized its time with Sigmaton. He was interviewed by the Jessica Soho team
on February 25, and was made to pose in a G-string, together with the Miss Lang-ay (the main festival
of Mountain Province).

Meanwhile, the other TV networks had to make do with interviews with neighbors and relatives. So-
called copycats like Cabbage Man, Sayote Man, and Patatas Man have sprouted on the Internet, all
carrying sacks of highland vegetables.

One of the FB pages attributed to Carrot Man announced that Sigmaton will be leaving Bauko for
Baguio, and eventually Manila on Saturday. This sparked the rumor that he will be joining the GMA-
7 float Sunday morning during the Panagbenga.

However, he instead went straight to Manila, and did not join the parade. On Sunday, February 28, he
was later seen at the SM Mall of Asia in Pasay City.

And that is why people are sleeping on the pavement of Baguio this Saturday through Sunday.
Rappler.com

Retrieved from http://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/inside-track/123948-gma7-carrot-man-

panagbenga-festival-baguio last March 15, 2016.

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Group 5

Overweight mothers have larger babiesstudy

By Agence France-Presse
March 16th, 2016

WASHINGTONOverweight or obese women give birth to larger babies, says new research which
could make some pregnant women think twice before reaching for that box of ice cream.

Mothers with high blood sugar or diabetes, even within a healthy range, also tend to have bigger babies,
according to a study published Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Conversely, having higher blood pressure during pregnancy causes women to deliver smaller babies,
researchers at the British universities of Bristol and Exeter, who led the study, found.

Being born very large or very small can carry health risks for a newborn baby, particularly when
thats at the extreme end of the spectrum, said Rachel Freathy of the University of Exeter Medical
School, who co-wrote the report.

Understanding which characteristics of mothers influence birth weights may help reduce the number
of babies born too large or too small, she added.

The researchers examined data from more than 30,000 healthy women and their babies across 18
studies.

All the women had European ancestry and lived in Europe, North America or Australia. They gave
birth between 1929 and 2013.

The researchers examined genetic variants associated with womens body mass index, blood glucose
and lipid levels and blood pressure, together with measurements of those characteristics during
pregnancy and babies birth weights.

A four-point higher body mass index (BMI) for mothers results in a 1.9 ounce (54 grams) higher birth
weight for babies, the study found.

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Researchers also determined ratios for correlations between higher glucose levels in mothers blood
and higher birth weights, as well as higher blood pressure in mothers and lower birth weights.

The estimated associations between these maternal traits and birth weight (either increased or
reduced) are substantial and of clinical importance, the authors wrote.

They support efforts to maintain healthy gestational glucose and blood pressure levels to ensure
healthy fetal growth.

The researchers also found that lipids, or fat levels, in mothers blood do not appear to affect baby
sizes, contrary to the findings of some previous studies.

Retrieved from http://technology.inquirer.net/47259/overweight-mothers-have-larger-babies-study

last March 15, 2016.

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