Schools in England are ‘teetering on the edge’ with 36% struggling with staff absence rates in excess of 10%; Brazilian president says he will not vaccinate his 11-year-old daughter as infection rates soarNovak Djokovic not being held ‘captive’ and fre…
Goldfinch raises $25M from a16z to power its DeFi lending protocol for borrowers in developing countries
For all of the excitement pulsing through the so-called web3 space in the past year, most of the heartiest sums of investor dollars have seemed to find their way towards products touching users in the United States, but an increasing number of startups are looking to tap opportunities in developing nations where existing centralized financial […]
Facebook is making two-factor mandatory for high-risk accounts
Facebook, a recently added subsidiary of Meta, said it will make two-factor authentication (2FA) mandatory for high-risk accounts likely to be targeted by malicious hackers. The move is part of a major expansion of Facebook Protect, the social networking giant’s enhanced security program that’s intended to protect the accounts of people who may be at […]
True Philippine Ghost Stories
Romano Santos (Vice, 10/27/2021), “Remembering the Thrill of Reading ‘True Philippine Ghost Stories'”: “‘Very chilling stories, indeed. I can’t imagine ever seeing someone’s doppelgänger. But for sure, I am not looking forward to seeing mine,’ Mendoza …
‘A triumph of truth over lies’: joy in the Philippines over Maria Ressa’s Nobel prize win
The award has put a spotlight on the struggle of journalists and activists fighting President Rodrigo Duterte’s attacks on press freedomThe news that journalist Maria Ressa has been awarded the Nobel peace prize has been greeted with joy by defenders o…
In Rodrigo Duterte’s war on press freedom, Maria Ressa stands up for the truth | Rachel Obordo
As a fellow Filipino journalist, I was inspired by the news that the Rappler founder had won the Nobel peace prizeFor the first time, a Filipino person, Maria Ressa, has been awarded the Nobel peace prize – “a win for Filipinos, for journalists, and fo…
The Nobel Peace Prize goes to Maria Ressa and Dmitry Andreyevich Muratov
“for their efforts to safeguard freedom of expression, which is a precondition for democracy and lasting peace.” The award celebrated Ressa and Muratov’s years of work in the Philippines and Russia, respectively. The Nobel Committee added that this yea…
Manila’s newly homeless tell of survival in lockdown – photo essay
As Covid hit, thousands of Filipinos were left trapped in the capital without work. Many ended up on the street and are still waiting to rebuild their livesLike so many others before her, Michelle Sicat, a 28-year-old single mother from the province of…
Komunidad, a Philippines-based environmental intelligence platform, lands seed round
The Philippines is one of the most disaster-prone countries in the world, with geography that makes it vulnerable to typhoons, floods, volcanos, earthquakes and droughts. While working in IT, Felix Ayque began compiling cyclone reports and sending them as email alerts to communities. His work evolved into environmental intelligence platform Komunidad, which collects data from […]
‘I’m quitting politics’, says Rodrigo Duterte – for a second time
Fears that controversial leader is lining up his daughter as his successorPhilippine president Rodrigo Duterte has announced that he will retire from politics and abandon his bid to become vice-president in next year’s election, fuelling speculation th…