MANILA, Philippines - The Supreme Court on Monday junked three petitions questioning the constitutionality of the controversial $329 million national broadband deal between the government and the Chinese firm ZTE Corp. saying that the petitions were "moot."

The three petitions - filed by Iloilo Vice Governor Rolex Suplico, a group called Lawyers and Advocates for Accountability, Transparency, Integrity and Good Governance (Latigo), and the Amsterdam Holdings Inc., which also vied for the NBN project - was dismissed on the basis of an 11-3 vote.

Those who dissented were Associate Justices Antonio Carpio, Conchita Carpio-Morales and Ma. Alicia Austria-Martinez.

Justice Minita Chico-Nazario was on official leave.

The decision was contained In an 18-page en banc decision penned by Associate Justice Ruben Reyes.

In it, the SC said the petitions became moot when President Arroyo decided to cancel the project during a meeting held on October 2, 2007 in China with its President Hu Jintao.

“Since we consider the act of cancellation by President Arroyo of the proposed ZTE-NBN project with the Chinese President as an official act of the executive department, the Court must take judicial notice of such official act without need of evidence," the Court said.

The Court explained that under Section 1, Rule 129 of the Rules of Court, it is mandatory for the Court to take judicial notice of the official acts of the President of the Philippines without introduction of evidence.

“Pontificating on issues which no longer legitimately constitute an actual case or controversy will do more harm than good to the nation as a whole. Wise exercise of judicial discretion militates against resolving the academic issues, as petitioners want this court to do," the SC added.

The SC said that even it disregards the mootness of the case, it cannot completely rule on the merits of the case because the resolution of the three petitions involves settling factual issues which definitely requires reception of evidence and that the SC is not a "trier of facts."

The court also said that it would be impossible to annul and set aside the award of the ZTE contract without evidence to support a prior factual finding pointing to any violation of law that could lead to such an annulment order.

In its petition, AHI sought full access to all agreements entered into by the respondents involving the NBN project pursuant to Article VIII, Section 5 (1) of the Constitution.

But the high court said that it would be too presumptuous to summarily compel public respondents to comply with pertinent provisions of law regarding procurement of government infrastructure projects without any factual basis or prior determination of particular violations committed by specific government officials of the executive branch.

In the same decision, the SC also dissolved its earlier temporary restraining order on the issue.

That TRO was issued on September 11, 2007.

No comment - Palace

Asked to comment, Malacanang offiicials said they prefer to review the Supreme Court decision before making any comment.

Press Secretary Jesus Dureza and Presidential spokeman Anthony Golez said they want to "get the full context of the decision" before making any comment.

"We are not prepared to issue any statement yet until and unless we get a copy of the said ruling. However, may I point out that in our jurisdiction, it is axiomatic that when the Supreme Court issues a final ruling, it settles with finality any controversy brought before it for adjudication," Dureza said.

"Everyone must submit to such ruling as it is the court of last resort. evidently, the reglamentary period will start to run from the date of promulgation. The parties can still pursue remedies available. So it is best to wait for the moment," he added.

Deal was void ab initio

In his dissenting opinion, Justice Carpio said the ZTE-NBN deal is void ab initio (from the beginning) for being contrary to the Constitution, the Administrative Code of 1987, the Government Auditing Code of the Philippines, and the Government Procurement Reform Act.

He said that the supply contract is void from the beginning in the absence of any of these three requirements - an appropriations law, a certificate of appropriation and fund availability and public bidding.

“As such, the ZTE Supply Contract is legally non-existent. The Philippine government’s decision ‘not to continue with the (project)’ during the pendency of the case, even if deemed a cancellation of the contract, had no legal effect on the status of the contract and did not moot this petition," Carpio said, noting the transcendental importance of the case.

He noted that the contract was signed without an appropriation from Congress and without public bidding, and that the SC has a duty to resolve the important issues in this case, including the novel question on the status of executive agreements that conflict with national law and prevent a recurrence of government contracts that violate the Constitution and existing statutes.

“This case puts to the test the efficacy of constitutional and statutory proscriptions designed precisely to prevent such contracts… Not only are the legal issues in this case ‘capable of repetition yet evading review.’ The ZTE supply contract itself is capable of being resurrected," he said.

Carpio pointed out that the cancellation of the contract was just a unilateral declaration as per Indorsement of the DOTC,.

He added that ZTE has not manifested to the Court its consent to the discontinuance or cancellation of the supply contract, thus the decision of the government to abandon the NBN-ZTE project has not rendered the petitions moot.

Under the RP-China agreement, the NBN project would be financed by the Export-Import Bank (EximBank) of China with a three percent annual interest and 20-year repayment period.

The original NBN contract with ZTE for $329-million was signed by Arroyo on April 20, 2007 in Hainan, China.

The contract was signed supposedly to save the government some P3.4 billion yearly in telephone bills. - GMANews.TV <http://www.gmanews.tv/story/106876/SC-junks-3-petitions-vs-ZTE-deal-says-govt-cancelled-it>

The US government has announced sweeping measures to shore up the nation's two largest mortgage finance companies, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae.

The plan calls on Congress to expand the companies' access to credit and allow the Treasury to buy shares in the companies if needed.

The two firms own or guarantee almost half of all US home loans - more than $5 trillion (£2.5 trillion) of debt.

Their share prices sank last week on fears they may struggle to raise funds.

The BBC's Greg Wood in New York says the emergency measures are meant to allay fears that the two companies are about to run out of money. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7504122.stm>

In 2004, 10 workers were killed in a steel factory outside Delhi when the scrap metal they were melting down in the furnace caused a blast.

The price of scrap metal has doubled in less than a year

The consignment was later thought to have included war scrap from Iran.

This led to the government considering a complete ban on the use of scrap metals from war zones in this trade, but four years on, the law is yet to be implemented.

In June this year, two boys were injured in an industrial estate in Tamil Nadu when they were handling old cartridges while looking for metal in a scrap pile.

The authorities seized the bags of ammunition and an investigation has been ordered.

But for those involved in the trade, the health risks continue to be more than ever before. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7505164.stm>

"Investors are worried that there might be more bank failures, especially small banks in the United States." <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7506886.stm>

The news conference was dominated by talk of new titles

Microsoft is hoping to woo new consumers to its Xbox 360 platform with a focus on social gaming and its blockbuster franchises.

At the E3 games summit in Los Angeles, the firm announced a re-design of its online games system Xbox Live with an emphasis on building communities.

Microsoft's Don Mattrick said the aim was to put the Xbox 360 "at the heart of the living room".

However, reports of a price cut for the console did not materialise. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7506927.stm>

Google bought YouTube in 2006

Viacom has "backed off" from demands to divulge the viewing habits of every user who has ever watched a video on YouTube, the website has claimed.

Google had been ordered to provide personal details of millions of YouTube users to help Viacom prepare its case on alleged copyright infringement.

Google, owners of YouTube, will now hand over the database but without data that could identify users.

Viacom has a $1bn (£497m) copyright infringement lawsuit against Google.

A class action by other organisations including the English Premier League has also agreed to the new terms.

"We are pleased to report that Viacom, MTV and other litigants have backed off their original demand for all users' viewing histories and we will not be providing that information," said a statement on the YouTube blog.

The decision will be welcomed by privacy activists, many of whom expressed concern over a US judge's order for Google to provide the data in early July. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7506948.stm>

Senator: Jpepa ruling strains SC credibility and impartiality

Pope Benedict XVI has attacked popular culture and consumerism in a formal address to tens of thousands of young Roman Catholics.

The pontiff also warned that natural resources were being squandered, in the speech in Sydney, Australia.

The pope is visiting the city for World Youth Day, a six-day gathering of young Catholics from across the globe.

Security is tight for the visit - during which he is also expected to apologise for sexual abuse by priests.

Earlier Pope Benedict met top leaders and praised the Australian government for apologising to the country's indigenous people for past injustices.

He called the apology a "courageous decision" that had offered hope to other disadvantaged people around the world.

The Pope travelled by boat across Sydney Harbour to the site of his address in the suburb of Barangaroo.

In pictures: Pope in Sydney

"Our world has grown weary of greed, exploitation and division, of the tedium of false idols and piecemeal responses, and the pain of false promises," he told the crowd.

There were numerous signs something was amiss in modern society, the pontiff said.

He highlighted drug and alcohol abuse as examples of modern woes, and hit out at television and the internet for promoting sex and violence as entertainment.

"I ask myself, could anyone standing face to face with people who actually do suffer violence and sexual exploitation explain that these tragedies, portrayed in virtual form, are considered merely entertainment?" he said.

The 81-year-old pontiff also called for greater protection of the environment for future generations.

He spoke of "scars which mark the surface of our earth - erosion, deforestation, the squandering of the world's mineral and ocean resources in order to fuel an insatiable consumption". <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7510862.stm>

Access to diagnostic equipment is key, say experts

There is a huge variation in cancer survival rates across the world, a global study shows.

The US, Australia, Canada, France and Japan had the highest five-year survival rates, while Algeria had the worst, Lancet Oncology reported.

The UK fared pretty poorly, trailing most of its western European neighbours - although the data is from the 1990s since when survival rates have risen.

Spending on health care was a major factor, the study of 31 countries said.

Researchers said higher spending often meant quicker access to tests and treatment.

The report is the first major study to compare cancer survival across five continents and has highlighted the stark differences in survival between poor and wealthy countries Dr Lesley Walker, of Cancer Research UK

The research was carried out by more than 100 scientists across the world led by Professor Michel Coleman, of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

It involved analysing data on more than two million cancer patients who were diagnosed and treated during the 1990s.

The study showed the US had the highest five-year survival rates for breast cancer at 83.9% and prostate cancer at 91.9%.

Japan came out best for male colon and rectal cancers, at 63% and 58.2% respectively, while France faired best for women with those cancers at 60.1% and 63.9%.

The UK had 69.7% survival for breast cancer, just above 40% for colon and rectal cancer for both men and women and 51.1% for prostate cancer.

There were also large regional variations within the UK, which were linked to differences in access to care and ability of patients to navigate the local health services. Both are directly linked to deprivation.

Algeria, the only African country involved, came bottom in all types of cancer. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7510121.stm>

No roads lead to Golgola, only a muddy track through a lush, green valley. On either side rise the Niyamgiri hills, thick with forests - wisps of cloud wreath their slopes and a light, misty drizzle coats everything.

Then you plunge into the jungle. A slippery path snakes through bamboo thickets and under giant jackfruit and mango trees laden with ripe fruit. For two hours you have to climb what looks an impossibly steep slope. In the humid air sweat soon drenches everything. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7486252.stm>

Sir Cliff Richard's first hits are due to go out of copyright on 1 January 2009

Performers currently lose the rights to their recordings after 50 years.

Veteran artists like Sir Cliff Richard and Roger Daltrey are among those who have campaigned for it to be extended.

The EU has now announced a scheme for copyright on recordings to last for 95 years. EU governments and the European Parliament still need to give approval.

Under the current regime, the first rock 'n' roll recordings will go out of copyright in the coming years.

That means performers, producers and record labels would no longer get paid for sales or airplay, and the songs could be released cheaply by any record label.

A 95-year term would bridge the income gap that performers face when they turn 70, just as their early performances recorded in their 20s would lose protection Charlie McCreevy EC Single Market Commissioner

Sir Cliff's first hits will go out of copyright on 1 January next year, while The Beatles' catalogue will start to enter the public domain in 2013.

Sir Paul McCartney and U2 have also spoken out in favour of extending the copyright.

But the EU plan is potentially more important for the thousands of lesser-known band members, session musicians and producers who may be in greater need of an income during their retirement.

The proposals were unveiled by European Commission Single Market Commissioner Charlie McCreevy.

"A 95-year term would bridge the income gap that performers face when they turn 70, just as their early performances recorded in their 20s would lose protection," his scheme said. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7511224.stm>

The world's first computer mouse didn't make any money for its inventor

A Gartner analyst predicts the demise of the computer mouse in the next three to five years.

Taking over will be so called gestural computer mechanisms like touch screens and facial recognition devices.

"The mouse works fine in the desktop environment but for home entertainment or working on a notebook it's over," declared analyst Steve Prentice.

He told BBC News that his prediction is driven by the efforts of consumer electronics firm which are making products with new interactive interfaces inspired by the world of gaming .

Guitar Hero has been praised for its innovative interfaces

"You've got Panasonic showing forward facing video in the home entertainment environment. Instead of using a conventional remote control you hold up your hand and it recognises you have done that," he said.

"It also recognises your face and that you are you and it will display on your TV screen your menu. You can move your hand to move around and select what you want," he added.

"Sony and Canon and other video and photographic manufacturers are using face recognition that recognises your face in real time," he said. "And it recognises even when you smile."

"You even have emotive systems where you can wear a headset and control a computer by simply thinking and that's a device set to hit the market in September."

"This" Mr Prentice said, "is all about using computer power to do things smarter." <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7508842.stm>

Anil Kumar on hidden camera footage checking fake documents

Widespread unlawful job practices, squalid housing, and a thriving trade in fake documents were uncovered.

More than 40 houses packed with illegal immigrants were identified in one square mile of Southall, west London.

The young, mostly male Punjabis are not here lawfully and, although most know the risks, they have few legal rights.

They are surrounded by forgers, criminals and ruthless employers.

The investigation centered on Southall in west London Enlarge Map

Among them, the team of undercover reporters met and filmed a man who called himself Vicki.

He was careful about his security - moving the car in which they talked away from CCTV cameras - but open about the fake documents he could obtain, and boasted about customers as far afield as Sheffield, Bradford and Coventry.

Palace to invoke executive privilege if Senate probes Northrail

RP’s Northrail project could be world’s costliest railway – Drilon

There is big money to be made in scrap metal in Jamaica.

Any scrap metal can be converted into cash

But the thriving trade is starting to have an effect on the island's infrastructure as thieves cash in by cutting down telephone cables and uprooting underground water pipes.

For many people across the island, collecting metallic waste to sell has become a cottage industry.

Job opportunities here can be scarce, so for many it has been a good way to earn a living.

Most of the trade is based around Riverton, a poor inner-city community on the outskirts of the capital, Kingston.

Fuel price rollback fails to stem anti-EVAT sentiments