Published February 25, 2020, 10:12 PM By Reuters CAIRO – Hosni Mubarak, who died on Tuesday, never expected to be president. But when a very public assassination thrust the former bomber pilot into the job, he made it his mission never to give it up. Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak arrives with his son Gamal… Keep Reading

Published February 25, 2020, 10:09 PM By Reuters MILAN – Italian authorities have opened a probe into skyrocketing online prices for hygienic masks and sanitizing gels following the coronavirus outbreak in northern Italy, two senior magistrates said on Tuesday. A couple wearing protective masks look at a phone next to the Colosseum in Rome, Italy,… Keep Reading

Published February 25, 2020, 10:07 PM By Reuters Mastercard’s chief executive officer of 10 years, Ajay Banga, will step down at the start of the next year, the company said on Tuesday, and be replaced by Chief Product Officer Michael Miebach. Banga, who took charge of the company just after the 2008-09 financial crisis, has… Keep Reading

Published February 25, 2020, 9:54 PM By Reuters GENEVA – The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) called on the warring sides in Idlib, Syria, on Tuesday to allow safe passage for civilians to escape attacks and it reminded them that hospitals, markets and schools are protected by law. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s forces,… Keep Reading

BRUSSELS – The European Commission has advised its staff not to travel to the northern Italian region of Lombardy over coronavirus concerns and told officials who went to the most affected areas in northern Italy to stay at home for two weeks. A crowd of Italians wearing protective masks wait outside a closed supermarket in… Keep Reading

Published February 25, 2020, 9:45 PM By Reuters LONDON – The Scottish parliament on Tuesday is due to approve plans to make sanitary products freely available to all women – the first nation in the world to do so. Feminine hygiene products are seen in a pharmacy in London, Britain March 18, 2016. Prime Minister… Keep Reading

Published February 25, 2020, 9:43 PM By Reuters ANKARA/ISTANBUL – All 132 passengers and crew on a Turkish Airlines plane from Tehran will be quarantined for 14 days and tested for possible coronavirus infection at a hospital in Ankara, Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said on Tuesday. (REUTERS) The flight from Tehran was carrying Turkish… Keep Reading

Published February 25, 2020, 9:40 PM By Reuters PALERMO/ROME – Italian authorities on Tuesday reported a woman had tested positive for coronavirus in Sicily, the first case south of Rome, as the country struggles to prevent the outbreak spreading from its origin in the northern regions of Lombardy and Veneto. (REUTERS) Sicily’s regional governor Nello… Keep Reading

WOUNDED LAND. A tree shows of its scar as a result of an eight- day forest fire from Feb. 11 to 18 at Mount Pulag in Kabayan, Benguet. The fire damaged more than 160,000 trees and saplings. (PNA photo by BFP-Kabayan Fire Station) LA TRINIDAD, Benguet – An eight-day forest fire at the “playground of the… Keep Reading

World body, however, warns of pandemic risk as infections rise outside China Published February 25, 2020, 8:52 PM By AFP, Xinhua, and Bloomberg GENEVA – World Health Organization (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has insisted the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) could still be contained, but warned that it could still grow into a pandemic as infections… Keep Reading

INNOVATION CENTER. Davao Inventors Association president Virgilio Sangutan looks forward to the establishment of the Invention, Innovation, and Promotion Center of Davao City. In an interview on Monday, he says a proposed measure creating the center has already hurdled committee hearings and is expected to be passed by the end of next month. (PNA photo… Keep Reading

SEIZED EVIDENCE. Authorities seized 6.5 grams of suspected shabu with an estimated street value of PHP104,000 from two drug suspects during an operation in Davao City on Monday evening (February 24). Police identified the suspects as Kathy Mortillano, 34, and Jhonson Mangin, 28, both Davao City residents. (Photo courtesy of the Talomo Police Station) DAVAO… Keep Reading

NABBED AT CHECKPOINT. Government forces arrest Joselyn Fortuna Curiba, 42, an alleged finance officer of a communist New People’s Army’s guerrilla front at a checkpoint in Barangay Sico-sico, Gigaquit, Surigao del Norte, on Monday, February 24. Authorities say she has a pending warrant of arrest for kidnapping and serious illegal detention. (Photo courtesy of PRO-13… Keep Reading

PEOPLE POWER. Joey Concepcion (5th from right), Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship and Vice-Chairman of the Edsa People Power Commission, leads the wreath-laying rites for the observance of the 34th anniversary of the Edsa People Power Revolution at the People Power Monument on Tuesday (Feb. 25, 2020). The occasion commemorates the peaceful revolution which restored democracy… Keep Reading

CHALLENGE ACCEPTED. Ben Jason Tesiorna, Mati City Information Office head, says the inclusion of the Pujada, Mayo and Balete bays in Davao Oriental into the ‘Most Beautiful Bays in the World’ is seen to boost the city and the province’s tourism sector. During a press briefing on Monday (February 24) in Davao City, Tesiorna says… Keep Reading

BIG-TICKET PROJECTS. Governor Nelson Dayanghirang (center), also Davao Oriental Provincial Development Council chairperson, and the members of the PDC executive committee, unanimously approve the resolutions endorsing big-ticket projects to the Regional Development Council during a meeting on Monday (Feb. 24, 2020).  Dayanghirang says the projects range from infrastructure to tourism development initiatives. (Photo courtesy of… Keep Reading

COVID THREAT. Government, health, and disaster officials agreed on Tuesday (Feb. 25, 2020) to cancel the permit issued to the “Run for Jesus” event expected to gather 20,000 people. The cancellation is meant to protect this city from the spread of the coronavirus disease. (Photo courtesy of Joseph Paul Tarrosa) ILOILO CITY — The permit for the… Keep Reading

Published February 25, 2020, 8:31 PM By Genalyn Kabiling The President Security Group (PSG) should “leave no room for mistakes” in providing security for President Duterte and his family amid the threats from criminal and rebel groups, the opposition, and oligarchs, new group commander Col. Jesus Durante III said. Col. Jesus Durante III (PSG photo)… Keep Reading