Rival Moro politicians forge election peace deal

March 18, 2025 | 7:58 pm

COTABATO CITY — Feuding politicians in two Bangsamoro provinces, locked in immense political rivalries, forged a peace deal on Tuesday, binding them to abide by the Omnibus Election Code.

Suharto T. Mangudadatu and Tucao O. Mastura, gubernatorial candidates for the newly created Maguindanao del Norte, re-electionist Maguindanao Gov. Mariam Sangki-Mangudadatu and contender Datu Ali M. Midtimbang affixed their signatures to the compact after a peace dialogue at the headquarters of the Army’s 6^th Infantry Division (ID) in Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao del Norte.

The dialogue, organized by officials of 6^th ID led by Major Gen. Donald M. Gumiran, was jointly presided over by George Erwin M. Garcia, chairman of the Commission on Elections (Comelec), Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity Carlito G. Galvez, Jr., Brig. Gen. Romeo J. Macapaz, director of the Police Regional Office-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region, the commander of the military’s Western Mindanao Command, Lt. Gen. Antonio G. Nafarrete, and Bangsamoro Chief Minister Abdulrauf A. Macacua.

Two aspirants for congressional representative in Maguindanao del Sur, re-electionist Mohamad P. Paglas and Esmael T. Mangudadatu, vice gubernatorial candidates in the province, Benzar A. Ampatuan and Sheik Hashim D. Nando, and two contenders for vice-governor of Maguindanao del Norte, Marshall I. Sinsuat and Ainee Limbona-Sinsuat, also signed the covenant.

The agreement enjoined all signatories to cooperate in ensuring safe, peaceful and clean elections in the adjoining Maguindanao del Sur and Maguindanao del Norte provinces.

“We are peace and security deputies of the Comelec during the 2025 elections. We will, thus, exhaust all means of ensuring safe and clean elections in these two provinces,” Mr. Nafarrete said. — John Felix M. Unson

Ceasefire over as Israel launches deadly airstrikes across Gaza

March 18, 2025 | 7:50 pm

CAIRO/JERUSALEM — Israeli airstrikes in Gaza killed at least 200 people, Palestinian health authorities said, as attacks hit dozens of targets early on Tuesday, ending a weeks-long standoff over extending the ceasefire that halted fighting in January.

The Palestinian militant group Hamas issued a statement accusing Israel of breaching the ceasefire.

Strikes were reported in multiple locations, including northern Gaza, Gaza City and the Deir al-Balah, Khan Younis and Rafah in central and southern Gaza Strip. Palestinian Health Ministry officials said many of the dead were children.

The Israeli military, which said it hit dozens of targets, said the strikes would continue for as long as necessary and would extend beyond airstrikes, raising the prospect that Israeli ground troops could resume fighting.

The attacks were far wider in scale than the regular series of drone strikes the Israeli military has said it has conducted against individuals or small groups of suspected militants and follows weeks of failed efforts to agree an extension to the truce agreed on Jan. 19.

In hospitals strained by 15 months of bombardment, piles of bodies in white plastic sheets smeared with blood could be seen stacked up as casualties were brought in.

The Palestinian Red Crescent said its teams dealt with 86 killed and 134 wounded, but others were brought to overwhelmed hospitals by private cars.

Officials from Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis, Al-Aqsa Hospital in the central Gaza Strip and Al-Ahly Hospital in Gaza City, which have all been extensively damaged in the war, said that altogether they had received around 85 dead. Authorities also reported separately that 16 members of one family in Rafah, in southern Gaza had been killed.

A spokesperson for the Gaza Health ministry said the death toll was at least 200.

Hamas said Israel had overturned the ceasefire agreement, leaving the fate of 59 hostages still held in Gaza uncertain.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office accused Hamas of “repeated refusal to release our hostages” and rejecting proposals from US President Donald J. Trump’s Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff.

“Israel will, from now on, act against Hamas with increasing military strength,” it said in a statement.

In Washington, a White House spokesperson said Israel had consulted the US administration before it carried out the strikes, which the military said targeted mid-level Hamas commanders and leadership officials as well as infrastructure belonging to the militant group.

“Hamas could have released hostages to extend the ceasefire but instead chose refusal and war,” White House Spokesperson Brian Hughes said.

In Gaza, witnesses contacted by Reuters said Israeli tanks shelled areas in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, forcing many families who had returned to their areas after the ceasefire began to leave their homes and head north to Khan Younis.

STANDOFF
Negotiating teams from Israel and Hamas had been in Doha as mediators from Egypt and Qatar sought to bridge the gap between the two sides after the end of an initial phase in the ceasefire, which saw 33 Israeli hostages and five Thais returned by militant groups in Gaza in exchange for some 2,000 Palestinian prisoners.

With the backing of the United States, Israel had been pressing for the return of the remaining 59 hostages still held in Gaza in exchange for a longer-term truce that would have halted fighting until after the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan and the Jewish Passover holiday in April.

However, Hamas had been insisting on moving to negotiations for a permanent end to the war and a full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, in accordance with the terms of the original ceasefire agreement.

“We demand that the mediators hold Netanyahu and the Zionist occupation fully responsible for violating and overturning the agreement,” the group said.

Each side has accused the other of failing to respect the terms of the January ceasefire agreement, and there were multiple hiccups during the course of the first phase. But until now, a full return to the fighting had been avoided.

Israel had blocked deliveries of aid from entering Gaza and had threatened on numerous occasions to resume fighting if Hamas did not agree to return the hostages it still holds.

The army did not provide details about the strikes carried out in the early hours of Tuesday but Palestinian health authorities and witnesses contacted by Reuters reported damage in numerous areas of Gaza, where hundreds of thousands are living in makeshift shelters or damaged buildings.

A building in Gaza City, in the northern end of the strip was hit and at least three houses were hit in Deir Al-Balah in central Gaza. In addition, the strikes hit targets in the southern cities of Khan Younis and Rafah, according to medics and witnesses.

Among those killed was senior Hamas official Mohammad Al-Jmasi, a member of the political office, and members of his family, including his grandchildren who were in his house in Gaza City when it was hit by an airstrike, Hamas sources and relatives said. In all, at least five senior Hamas officials were killed along with members of their families.

Much of Gaza now lies in ruins after 15 months of fighting, which erupted on Oct. 7, 2023 when thousands of Hamas-led gunmen attacked Israeli communities around the Gaza Strip, killing some 1,200 people, according to Israeli tallies, and abducting 251 hostages into Gaza.

The Israeli campaign in response has killed more than 48,000 people, according to Palestinian health authorities, and destroyed much of the housing and infrastructure in the enclave, including the hospital system. — Reuters

US reports first outbreak of deadly H7N9 bird flu on a farm since 2017

March 18, 2025 | 7:49 pm

PARIS — The United States reported the first outbreak of the deadly H7N9 bird flu on a poultry farm since 2017, as the country continues to grapple with another bird flu strain that has infected humans and caused egg prices to hit record highs.

The spread of avian influenza, commonly called bird flu, has ravaged flocks around the world, disrupting supply and fueling higher food prices. Its spread to mammals, including dairy cows in the US, has raised concerns among governments about a risk of a new pandemic.

The strain that has caused most damage to poultry in recent years and the death of one person in the US is the H5N1.

The H7N9 bird flu virus has proved to have a high death rate for humans worldwide killing 616 people or 39% of the 1,568 people infected worldwide since it was first detected in 2013 in China, the World Health Organization (WHO) said.

The WHO has said that both forms of the bird flu virus do not appear to transmit easily from person to person.

The latest outbreak of H7N9 in the US, detected on a farm of 47,654 commercial broiler breeder chickens in Noxubee, Mississippi, was confirmed on March 13, the Paris-based World Animal Health Organization said in a report on Monday, citing US Authorities.

The Mississippi Departments of Agriculture and Health did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The US response to bird flu was disrupted in the early weeks of the Trump administration, when federal agencies canceled congressional briefings and meetings with state animal health officials, according to Reuters reporting.

Some of that coordination has since resumed and the USDA says it will spend $1 billion to tackle the spread of the virus. — Reuters

US Commerce department bureaus ban China’s DeepSeek on government devices

March 18, 2025 | 7:47 pm

US COMMERCE department bureaus informed staffers in recent weeks that Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) model DeepSeek is banned on their government devices, according to a message seen by Reuters and two people familiar with the matter.

“To help keep Department of Commerce information systems safe, access to the new Chinese based AI DeepSeek is broadly prohibited on all GFE,” said one mass e-mail to staffers about their government-furnished equipment or GFE.

“Do not download, view, access any applications, desktop apps or websites related to DeepSeek.”

The Commerce department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Reuters could not immediately determine the extent of the ban throughout the US government.

DeepSeek’s low-cost AI models sparked a major sell-off in global equity markets in January, as investors worried about the threat to the United States’ lead in AI.

US officials and members of Congress have expressed concerns about the threat of DeepSeek to data privacy and sensitive government information.

Congressmen Josh Gottheimer and Darin LaHood, members of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, in February introduced legislation to ban DeepSeek on government devices. Earlier this month, they sent letters to US governors urging them to ban the Chinese AI app on government-issued equipment.

“By using DeepSeek, users are unknowingly sharing highly sensitive, proprietary information with the CCP — such as contracts, documents, and financial records,” the lawmakers wrote in a March 3 letter, referring to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). “In the wrong hands, this data is an enormous asset to the CCP, a known foreign adversary.”

Numerous states have banned the model from government devices, including Virginia, Texas and New York, and a coalition of 21 state attorneys general has urged Congress to pass legislation. — Reuters

Harvard offers free tuition to students from families earning $200,000 or less

March 18, 2025 | 7:47 pm

WASHINGTON — Harvard University said on Monday it would make tuition free for undergraduate students from families earning less than $200,000 a year and would also cover health insurance, housing and other expenses for those earning less than $100,000.

The offer will take effect in the 2025-26 academic year, the university said in a statement.

The Ivy League school, which in the past offered free tuition to undergraduates from families earning less than $85,000 a year, said it wanted to make the educational institution affordable to more students, especially those who came from middle-income families.

Tuition and fees, including housing and food, at Harvard College, the university’s undergraduate program, cost more than $82,000 in the 2024-25 academic year, according to the school’s website.

The tuition offer may help Harvard arrest or reverse a decline in the racial diversity in its student body since the US Supreme Court in June 2023 rejected affirmative action as a means to admit more people of color.

“Putting Harvard within financial reach for more individuals widens the array of backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives that all of our students encounter, fostering their intellectual and personal growth,” Harvard University President Alan Garber said in a statement.

Since taking office in January, President Donald J. Trump has issued executive orders to dismantle diversity, equity and inclusiveness initiatives at universities, forcing them to create new ways to retain students of different races and backgrounds.

The offer, which follows similar moves at other prominent universities, will enable about 86% of US families to qualify for financial aid, the university added.

Real median household income was $80,610 in 2023 in the US, according to the US Census. — Reuters

UK freezes government credit cards in drive for savings

March 18, 2025 | 7:46 pm

LONDON — Thousands of government-issued credit cards accounting for hundreds of millions of pounds of spending will be frozen this week, Britain’s Labor government said, as it tries to repair the country’s strained public finances.

Against a backdrop of slowing growth forecasts and bound by fiscal rules that limit day-to-day borrowing, ministers are seeking to cut budgets wherever they can. Sweeping welfare cuts are expected on Tuesday before a fiscal update on March 26.

The decision to freeze almost all of around 20,000 “Government Procurement Cards” falls under efforts to reduce wasteful spending, the cabinet office said in a statement late on Monday.

According to the Cabinet Office, spending on government credit cards has more than quadrupled since the 2020-21 financial year, rising to over 675 million pounds ($876.83 million) in 2024-2025 from around 155 million pounds.

“It’s not right that hundreds of millions of pounds are spent on government credit cards each year, without high levels of scrutiny or challenge,” Cabinet Office Minister Pat McFadden said.

“Only officials for whom it is absolutely essential should have a card.”

Only a minority of staff, including diplomats working in crisis areas, will be spared. Frozen cards will be reallocated to those who can justify a need for them, or else be canceled by the end of the month.

The aim is to cut the number of cards in circulation by at least 50%. — Reuters

De La Salle and Ateneo to fight in second round of UAAP volleyball

March 18, 2025 | 6:35 pm

Games on Wednesday
(Filoil EcoOil Centre)
9 a.m. – La Salle vs Ateneo (men)
11 a.m. – La Salle vs Ateneo (women)
3 p.m. – UST vs Adamson (men)
5 p.m. – UST vs Adamson (women)

RED-HOT De La Salle University shores up its drive for a twice-to-beat incentive against its fierce but struggling rival Ateneo de Manila University at the start of the crucial second round of action in the UAAP Season 87 women’s volleyball on Wednesday at the FilOil EcoOil Centre in San Juan.

Game time is at 11 a.m. with the DLSU Lady Spikers (5-2) eyeing their fifth straight win to keep with the University of Santo Tomas Golden Tigresses in a mad scramble for the second seed behind unbeaten and reigning champion National University Lady Bulldogs (7-0).

Santo Tomas (5-2), which saw its five-game winning run end at the hands of NU in a five-set thriller last weekend to end the first round, shoots for the same mission against the free-falling Adamson University (2-5) in the main game at 5 p.m.

Their men’s teams also battle in the pivotal Final Four placing with La Salle (4-3) and Ateneo (4-3) facing off at 9 a.m. followed by the duel between Santo Tomas (4-3) and Adamson (1-6) at 3 p.m.

The spotlight, however, is on La Salle as Santo Tomas still holds the tiebreaker in a share of the No. 2 seed following its big win in the season opener.

“I want to see the maturity of the team in the second round,” said coach Ramil de Jesus, whose squad was quick to recover from a 1-2 start — tied for the school’s worst in almost 20 years — with four straight wins to end the first round.

“We had a good run to end the round but I want to see consistency. We still have some things to polish from the start to the end of the second round. That’s our goal.”

More than its fifth straight win, the Lady Spikers will also be out in the battlefield to keep mastery of the Blue Eagles with 15 straight wins in their rivalry since 2017.

La Salle, which last bowed to Ateneo in the UAAP Season 79 finals, ran away with a 25-15, 25-14, 20-25, 25-19, win over the latter in the first round before sweeping FEU to cap its campaign.

The Blue Eagles, on the other hand, just came off a 20-25, 25-16, 22-25, 25-15, 15-13 win over the University of the East Lady Warriors to snap a three-game losing skid and gain a share of fifth spot with Adamson at 2-5. — John Bryan Ulanday

TNT Tropang Giga and Barangay Ginebra clash in series tone-setter Game 3

March 18, 2025 | 6:34 pm

Game on Wednesday
(PhilSports Arena)
7:30 p.m. – TNT vs Barangay Ginebra (Finals Game 3)
Series tied, 1-1

BOTH TEAMS are putting much premium on defense. So don’t be surprised if protagonists TNT and Barangay Ginebra won’t churn out a shoot-the-lights-out, “pogi basketball” type of match anytime soon.

“Since the start of it, coach Tim (Cone) is saying it’s going to be a defensive series and some games, we just going to have to win ugly,” Ginebra import Justin Brownlee said after the Gin Kings nipped the Tropang Giga, 71-70, to tie the PBA Commissioner’s Cup title series at 1-1.

“I think that (Game 2 squeaker) was a perfect example, a low-scoring game. So yeah, if we want to continue having success in this series, it’s going to be very important we use all our effort on defense and try to I guess make the game ugly.”

The finals opener saw TNT winning, 95-89, blending tough guarding with hot shooting from the three-point line.

But as Ginebra reasserted its defensive might in the Game 2 strike-back, the Tropang Giga brace for more grind-it-out outings not only on Wednesday’s Game 3 but beyond.

The two dispute a pivotal 2-1 upper hand in the best-of-seven contest at 7:30 p.m. at the PhilSports Arena. Game 3, according to Mr. Cone, is going to be the “tone-setter.”

“Obviously, they’re not going to be happy about the Game 2 loss tonight and though we’re happy we won, we’re certainly not satisfied,” he said.

“As well as we played defensively, we still don’t feel we played that well of a game on the offensive side so we feel there’s a lot of improvement. They’re going to improve, we’re going to improve. I think it’s going to be a hell of a game on Game 3 and the rest of the series.”

Going into the tiebreaker, Mr. Brownlee reminded the Gin Kings of the fact that Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and TNT denied them of the title in two previous finals faceoffs.

“We’ve got to stay hungry, especially with the past history. We know how good this team (TNT) is and they’ve beat us before.” — Olmin Leyba

Philippine Football Federation partners with GoTyme Bank

March 18, 2025 | 6:32 pm

THE Philippine Football Federation (PFF) and its new partner GoTyme Bank are laying the groundwork for the staging of a major international competition in September.

To be called the GoTyme Bank Cup 2025, the tournament intends to pit the Philippines against tough rivals during the September window.

Invitations were sent to South Africa, Vietnam, Indonesia and Singapore for the meet, which will serves as a major highlight of the newly-established partnership between the federation and the bank.

In addition to the Cup, GoTyme Bank has pledged financial support to the PFF not only for the men’s and women’s teams but also for grassroots development for the next three years.

The bank will also prepare exclusive merchandise, special events, ticket promos and more beginning with the Pinoy booters’ opening game against Maldives in the third round of the AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers on Tuesday against Maldives at the New Clark Stadium in Capas.

The partnership was launched in a press conference on Tuesday in Mandaluyong. In attendance were GoTyme Bank Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Nate Clarke, co-CEO Abet Tinio, PFF national teams director Freddy Gonzalez, coach Albert Capellas and players Sandro Reyes and Amani Aguinaldo of the men’s team and Kaya Hakwinson of the Filipinas.

“There is an undeniable love for football in the country and it’s only continuing to grow. Our partnership with the PFF allows us to be there for athletes and fans alike. We want to be part of the story of bringing Philippine football onto the global stage,” said Mr. Clarke.

“We both share the goal of bringing football further not only by supporting our national teams but also developing training camps for young kids. This is a shared vision that shows GoTyme Bank is the right partner to help us build the future of Filipino football,” said Mr. Gonzalez. — Olmin Leyba

Hart ties NY Knicks’ triple-double mark in win against Miami Heat

March 18, 2025 | 6:32 pm

JOSH HART tied a franchise record with his eighth triple-double of the season on Monday night for the host New York (NY) Knicks, who overcame a slow start to rout the reeling Miami Heat, 116-95.

Hart finished with 12 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists, matching the mark set by current Knicks broadcaster Walt “Clyde” Frazier in 1968-69.

Karl-Anthony Towns scored 15 unanswered points early in the second quarter as the Knicks erased a 13-point deficit. It was the longest stretch of unanswered points by a New York player since Mike Sweetney scored 12 straight points against the Boston Celtics on Nov. 6, 2004.

Mikal Bridges then made a run at Towns’ mark by scoring nine unanswered points to extend the Knicks’ lead to 64-54. The guard finished with 15 points in the third quarter, during which New York outscored the Heat 41-15 to turn a two-point halftime deficit into an 88-64 lead.

Bridges ended with a game-high 28 points for the Knicks (43-24), who improved to 3-2 since Jalen Brunson was lost indefinitely with a sprained right ankle. Towns finished with 23 points while Miles McBride and Mitchell Robinson had 10 each.

Duncan Robinson had 22 points for the Heat (29-39), who raced out to a 12-0 lead before suffering their eighth straight loss and falling to 4-14 since trading Jimmy Butler. Tyler Herro scored 20 points while Bam Adebayo (12), Davion Mitchell (12) and Kel’el Ware (10) also reached double figures.

The teams were tied four times following Towns’ run before Adebayo’s old-fashioned three-point play put the Heat ahead 42-39. Miami expanded its lead to five points when Robinson opened the second half with a 3-pointer, but the Knicks began their decisive surge when OG Anunoby and McBride hit consecutive 3-pointers to put the hosts ahead for good. — Reuters

New Orleans Pelicans lose by franchise-record-tying 46 pts to visiting Detroit Pistons

March 18, 2025 | 6:31 pm

CADE CUNNINGHAM scored 24 points and the visiting Detroit Pistons never trailed, routing the New Orleans Pelicans 127-81 on Monday night.

Cunningham, who tied his season low with 11 points after being ejected late in the third quarter of a 113-107 loss to visiting Oklahoma City on Saturday, had nine as the Pistons (38-31) opened a 22-point lead after one quarter and remained in command throughout.

Simone Fontecchio scored a season-high 23 points, while Dennis Schroder had 12. Malik Beasley added 11 points and Ronald Holland II contributed 10 for Detroit.

Zion Williamson scored 30 points, including 22 in the second half, and Yves Missi had 12 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Pelicans (18-51), who lost second-leading scorer Trey Murphy III to a shoulder injury early in the first quarter and finished with their lowest point total of the season while tying the franchise record for largest margin of defeat.

New Orleans made just 5-of-32 3-pointers, including 1-of-16 in the first half. CJ McCollum, the team’s third-leading scorer, missed all seven of his shots from beyond the arc and finished 1-of-15 from the floor.

Williamson scored the Pelicans’ first six points as they began the third quarter with a 19-7 spurt to climb within 19 points. Cunningham scored seven points, and the Pistons rebuilt the lead to 88-63 at the end of the third quarter. — Reuters

Mavs’ roster crisis

March 18, 2025 | 6:31 pm

The Mavericks have finally received a heady dose of good news. Evidently, trade deadline acquisition Anthony Davis is now healthy enough to participate in five-on-five scrimmages with the Legends, their G League affiliates. Even though no timetable has been set for his definitive return to action in the National Basketball Association, his recovery from a lingering adductor strain has clearly progressed to the point where it’s a matter of when. And, who knows? They may yet parlay his availability into a strong regular season finish.

To argue that the Mavericks need Davis would be to understate the obvious. They’ve been in a free fall over the last three weeks, with the forced sidelining of key players leading to a woeful 2-10 slate in their last 12 outings. Once deemed a lock for the playoffs, they have been compelled to fight for the last spot in the play-in tournament. And, in this regard, he cannot but be a boon if they’re keen on salvaging what’s left of their snakebitten drive. Under the circumstances, however, the operative word is “if.”

Indeed, the Mavericks have been so affected by a debilitating rash of injuries that they’ve actually thought of punting the remainder of the 2024-25 campaign. Never mind that their controversial decision to trade away erstwhile foundational piece Luka Dončić for Davis was precisely to enhance their competitiveness in the short term. Their roster crisis is nothing short of unprecedented; at some point in their stretch run, they could well run the risk of forfeiting matches due to a lack of warm bodies.

For all the Mavericks’ plans to take one step back in order to ensure that they can move two steps forward, Davis is committed to suit up as soon as he is cleared for active duty. From his vantage point, there is to be no shutting him down for the next season. If nothing else, he is bent on showing fans of the blue and silver that he can — and will — fill in the void left by Dončić. It doesn’t matter if the magnitude of the risk is not justified by the fleetingness of the reward. Notwithstanding the likelihood of their elimination in the play-in (assuming that they even get a slot), he believes in the value of the message he will send by burning rubber.

Needless to say, the Mavericks deserve better than the bum hand they have been dealt. Then again, no small measure of good fortune has invariably been a vital ingredient for success. If it’s any consolation, the bitter taste in their mouth is not one of regret, but of anger. They’ll need to be reminded of it when they aim for vindication this time next year.

Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is a consultant on strategic planning, operations and human resources management, corporate communications, and business development.