March 8, 2015 Edition

As the country observes Women’s Day on Sunday, March 8, how do Filipinos recognize women in power and power in women?

The Philippines has seen much progress in promoting gender equality over the years, but official statistics reveal otherwise. Traditional gender roles still triumph over certain aspects of life, as reflected in participation gaps in labor and governance.

Read more on Rappler.

Malaysia’s prime minister said Sunday, March 8, that his nation remained committed to the so-far fruitless hunt for flight MH370 a year after it went missing, and was hopeful the plane would be found.

“Together with our international partners, we have followed the little evidence that exists. Malaysia remains committed to the search, and hopeful that MH370 will be found,” Najib Razak said in a statement to mark the first anniversary of the plane’s disappearance.

Read more on Rappler.

Hundreds of Muslim rebels lined up in Mindanao Saturday, March 7, to register as voters, keeping faith with a 2014 peace pact that was thrown into doubt after 44 policemen were killed in a botched terror raid.

The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebels, unarmed and wearing civilian clothes, had their photographs and fingerprints taken at a government building in the southern town of Sultan Kudarat to qualify for voter identification cards.

Read more on Rappler.

The EU formally adopted on Friday, March 6 climate change targets for December’s Paris conference including a 40% cut in emissions by 2030, climate commissioner Miguel Arias Canete said.

The targets were agreed on by leaders of the 28 European Union member states at a summit in October, but the confirmed benchmarks have now been officially sent to the UN, Canete said.

Read more on Rappler.

As we go on with our daily activities, we observe 3 clocks: the biological clock, the solar clock, and the social clock. Are Filipinos able to synchronize these clocks every day?

In 2010, research group PhilSHIFT began a project that aims to study chronotypes of Filipinos. A chronotype refers to one’s internal timing and reflects how the biological clock fits into the 24-hour day.

Read more on Rappler – and you can take the survey here.

Boko Haram pledged allegiance to the Islamic State (ISIS) group in an audio message published online on Saturday, March 7, after 3 bombs wreaked havoc in northeast Nigeria, killing 58 and wounding scores.

“We announce our allegiance to the Caliph of the Muslims, Ibrahim ibn Awad ibn Ibrahim al-Husseini al-Qurashi,” Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau said, referring to IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

Read more on Rappler.

The Boy Scouts of the Philippines (BSP) is amidst a scandal, the first time in its more than 100-year history that this low-key organization is buffeted by a crisis.

Ernesto Mercado, who used to be Jejomar Binay’s alter ego in the BSP, put the spotlight on this volunteer organization when he revealed a suspicious business deal with Alphaland wherein Binay, as BSP president, supposedly got close to P200 million for himself. He allegedly used this for his campaign funds in 2010 when he ran for vice president. Binay has denied this.

This controversy has raised questions on the integrity of the leadership of the Boy Scouts and the decision-making process and culture of the organization.

Read more on Rappler.

The US space probe Dawn began orbiting the dwarf planet Ceres on Friday, March 6 on a voyage of discovery into the solar system’s main asteroid belt, where it will collect a trove of data and photos, NASA said.

The probe – the first to orbit a dwarf planet – will stay over the mysterious body for 16 months to study its structure and gather clues to help mankind better understand how Earth and the other planets were created.

Read more on Rappler.

After electing not to make a prediction regarding the long-awaited bout between this generation’s two decorated boxers, Miguel Cotto is now favoring Manny Pacquiao to win over Floyd Mayweather Jr.

The 34-year-old Puerto Rican had a change of tone by giving Pacquiao his nod to take home the victory. “I’m going for Manny,” Cotto said in an interview with New York Post.

Read more on Rappler.

We’re getting closer to coronation. The Binibining Pilipinas 2015 candidates were at Cubao Saturday, March 7 to participate in the annual Parade of Beauties. The parade began at the Expo Centro and concluded at the Gateway Pavillon.

See all the beautiful photos here, on Rappler.