Police alumni and families of the fallen Special Action Force 44 marched from Cavite to Quezon City Sunday to call for justice and accountability for the fallen heroes. It would have been another march, except that a text message had circulated within the alumni group discouraging members from joining. The text message said “desist from joining the march” and “uphold public interests over and above all other interests.” Rally organizer and retired Chief Superintendent Tomas Rentoy III said he confronted Philippine National Police Academy Alumni Association (PNPAAAI) chapter president Jerome Baxinela about it. Rentoy said, “He told me that it wasn’t an order but mere advice.” Rentoy added the PNPAAAI might consider “ostracizing” Baxinela.

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A Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) rebel killed in an encounter in Maguindanao was wearing a SAF uniform. Authorities said at least 4 members of the BIFF were killed in two separate encounters in Maguindanao province. Marine Battalion Landing Team-8 commander Lt. Col Willy Manalang said, “I believe that this bandit is one of those who butchered the members of police last month in Mamasapano.” The military ordered an all-out-offensive against the BIFF last February 25. Four camps of the rebels were reportedly overrun. The ongoing conflict has displaced over 75,000 people.

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Cavite Vice Governor Jolo Revilla was discharged from the hospital, Sunday evening, March 8. Revilla family lawyer Raymond Fortun confirmed to Rappler that Revilla was discharged after being confined due to a self-inflicted gunshot wound on February 28. He will spend the next few weeks recovering at home. It will take around 3 to 4 weeks before Revilla can make a full recovery and report back to work. Doctors drained half a liter of blood from Revilla’s lungs – a result of the gunshot on his right chest. The Revilla family maintains the vice governor’s gunshot wound was due to an accident. Revilla is the son of Senator Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr., who is currently detained in Camp Crame over plunder and graft charges in connection with the pork barrel scam.

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A year after, a report said there are still no leads to the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight 370. The report found no red flags relating to the crew or aircraft to shed light on the cause of the disappearance. An international team of investigators probed a range of issues including the Malaysia Airlines captain and co-pilot’s personal, psychological, and financial profiles, and the backgrounds of the 10 cabin crew. “There were no behavioral signs of social isolation, change in habits or interest, self-neglect, drug or alcohol abuse of the Captain, First Officer and the Cabin Crew,” the report said. The jet is believed to have crashed in the Indian Ocean after diverting from its Kuala Lumpur-Beijing route.

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A sixth suspect in the murder of top Russian opposition figure Boris Nemtsov blew himself up after a standoff with police in the capital of the Chechen Republic. Quoting state-run television, CNN reports Beslan Shavanov, 30, was holed up in a building in Grozny, threw a grenade at police officers before blowing himself up. The news came as Russian authorities said two out 5 other suspects have been formally charged. Nemtsov, one of President Vladimir Putin’s most outspoken critics, was shot in the back on a Moscow bridge in February. The slain opposition leader’s daughter, Zhanna Nemtsova said Putin shares “political responsibility” for her father’s assassination and said she doesn’t believe in the official investigation.

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A young Iranian woman accused of marrying – and divorcing – 10 men in less than two years in what officials call an elaborate con trick has been charged with fraud. The alleged deception was made possible under Islamic rules that entitle a woman to a financial sum agreed before marriage but retrievable “on demand” any time after a ceremony takes place. In a report from an Iranian daily, the 20 year-old woman married the men and immediately demanded her payment, never consummating the relationships. A divorced woman in Iran can wipe her husband’s name off her identity card if she can prove – using a doctor – she is still a virgin. The woman is accused of repeatedly taking such steps to conceal her past from her unsuspecting victims.

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Actresses Meryl Streep, Charlize Theron, and pop icons Beyonce and Lady Gaga are among 36 prominent women who signed a petition calling on the G7 and the African Union to tackle female poverty. The petition was organized by the London-based non-governmental organisation ONE, founded by U2 singer Bono. It is addressed to German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who hosts this year’s G7 summit in June, and South Africa’s Minister of Health Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, the AU Commission chair. They are both convening a women’s summit this year. The petition says “poverty is sexist” and if done right, every woman will be “out of poverty by 2030” ONE published a report saying women had not benefited as much as men from the fight against extreme poverty, and still represented two thirds of the world’s illiterate population.

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An image of a battered woman in a tight-fitting gold and white dress triggered a social media storm in abuse-ridden South Africa and around the world. The picture was part of a Salvation Army campaign highlighting the scourge of abuse of women in South Africa. The woman wearing “the dress” has dark bruises visible on her face and body. The dress recently generated a massive online debate as to whether it was white and gold or black and blue. The caption reads “Why is it so hard to see black and blue?” With over 3,000 tweets in the space of an hour, the abuse picture went viral on Twitter. As this developed, Eighteen-year old American Idol contestant Jax jumped on the bandwagon, performing “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” during the March 5 episode of the show wearing the dress.

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Former boxing world champion Antonio Tarver believes Manny Pacquiao would give Floyd Mayweather Jr a difficult time when both men collide in the ring May 2 (May 3 in Manila). Tarver stated that although Mayweather successfully kept his unblemished record intact for 19 years, he has not faced an opponent like Pacquiao. Tarver said that Pacquiao’s southpaw stance and speed would play a factor in the long-awaited encounter against Mayweather at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Tarver views Mayweather as the quicker man, but he assumes that Pacquiao is fast enough to land his shots. Tarver said Mayweather may take a decision victory if the fight goes the distance, but he did not rule out Pacquiao winning by a knockout.

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Rescuers found a 18-month old baby girl strapped to her car seat, still alive, in a car that had plunged into the Spanish Fork River in Salt Lake City, Utah, 14 hours before. CNN reports the car was discovered by a fisherman who noticed a car upside-down in the water. Rescuers also found the body of 25 year old Lynn Jennifer Groesbeck, the baby’s mother. A resident told authorities he heard a loud crash the night before but saw nothing unusual when he stepped outside to check. Family members of the mother told police she had left Salem, Utah, and was supposed to be heading to her home in Springville, about 9 miles away. The baby, in a car seat in the rear passenger side, was not submerged during the ordeal. The baby was taken to a Salt Lake City hospital, where she was in critical condition.

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