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Through sport we learn about glory and defeat, the sacrifices made to be the best, the intoxicating joy of victory, and the pain of the near-misses. But sport can be much more than that; it can shine a light on injustice, it can educate; it can change minds.

Jorge Masvidal had to fly halfway around the world on six days' notice to get the first UFC title shot in his 17-year mixed martial arts career. Masvidal isn't mad about the twists that sent him to Abu Dhabi this week with minimal time to train for his fight with Kamaru Usman on Saturday night. Three spectacular wins last year turned Masvidal into one of the UFC's top rising stars at the tender age of 35, and he plans to ride his momentum all the way through the reigning welterweight champion at UFC 251. "The reason I'm here is because I've taken opportunities like this in the past," Masvidal said. "I've just got to take advantage of it. It's what I love to do. It's what I've d...

Keep on reading: Masvidal finally gets title shot on short notice at UFC 251

NEW DELHI --- India's coronavirus cases have passed 800,000 with the biggest spike of 27,114 cases in the past 24 hours, causing nearly a dozen states to impose a partial lockdown in high-risk areas. The new confirmed cases took the national total to 820,916. The Health Ministry on Saturday also reported another 519 deaths for a total of 22,123. A surge in infections saw the cases jumping from 600,000 to more than 800,000 in nine days. The ministry said the recovery rate was continuing to improve at more than 62%. Eight of India's 28 states, including the worst-hit Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, and New Delhi, account for nearly 90% of all infections. The most populous state of...

Keep on reading: India cases pass 800,000 with record daily jump

Iraqi lawmaker Ghida Kambash died Friday after contracting the novel coronavirus, parliament announced, its first member to succumb to the virus as its spread ramps up across the country. The 46-year-old was a three-time MP from Baquba, northeast of Baghdad, and helped pass laws on education reform and social welfare. She leaves behind four children. Last month, parliament speaker Mohammed al-Halbussi said up to 20 deputies were confirmed to have been infected with COVID-19. In total, Iraq's health ministry has declared around 70,000 coronavirus cases, of whom nearly 3,000 have died and 40,000 recovered. After seeing a relatively slow spread in the first five months of...

Keep on reading: Iraqi lawmaker dies of COVID-19 as cases jump 600%

LUCENA CITY --- Police arrested a suspected peddler of "shabu" or crystal meth in a buy-bust operation here Saturday. Police Colonel Audie Madrideo, Quezon provincial police chief, reported that anti-narcotic agents collared Ruel Pabellano, 55, after he sold P10,000 worth of shabu to an undercover police officer in a transaction inside a middle-class subdivision in Barangay (village) Isabang at around 10:30 a.m. Authorities seized 11 plastic sachets of a still unspecified amount of shabu from the suspect, he said. The suspect is facing charges for violation of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002....

Keep on reading: Suspected drug pusher falls in Lucena sting

SPIELBERG, Austria --- Red Bull driver Max Verstappen posted the fastest time and Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton lacked pace in the second practice session for the Styrian Grand Prix on Friday. Verstappen was .043 seconds quicker than Valtteri Bottas --- Hamilton's teammate at Mercedes --- and .217 ahead of Racing Point driver Sergio Perez. "The car already feels better than last week, the balance is a lot nicer and we have made a good step," said Verstappen, who did not finish last Sunday's season-opening Austrian GP after starting from second. "It is too early to say how we are looking against Mercedes, but we are quite happy. We have tried a few different directions ...

Keep on reading: F1: Verstappen shows speed at Styrian, Hamilton off practice pace

MANILA, Philippines --- Pillion riding on motorcycles for LGBT couples is allowed, as long as they present proper identification to show that they live under one roof, Joint Task Force COVID-10 Shield commander Lt. Gen. Guillermo Eleazar said Saturday. "Kung titignan po natin, binanggit ng National Task Force na ito ay para sa married couple and others na live-in partners," Eleazar said during the Laging Handa online press briefing. (If we look into, the National Task Force said that this protocol is for married couples and other live-in partners.) "So in essence, kung 'yung ating mga kasamahan sa LGBTQI ay sila po ay magkasama sa isang bahay at sila naman ay live-in partners, k...

Keep on reading: Eleazar: LGBT couples living together OK to pillion ride

WIMBLEDON, England --- Wimbledon will pay out $12.5 million in prize money to 620 players despite the tournament's cancellation because of the coronavirus pandemic, the All England Club said Friday. After consulting with its insurance provider, club officials said 256 players who would have competed in the main draw will each receive 25,000 pounds ($31,000), while 224 players who would have competed in qualifying will each receive 12,500 pounds ($15,600). "Immediately following the cancellation of The Championships, we turned our attention to how we could assist those who help make Wimbledon happen," All England Club chief executive Richard Lewis said. In addition, 120 playe...

Keep on reading: Wimbledon to allocate prize money despite cancellation

TOKYO --- Japan's professional baseball league opened the delayed season three weeks ago. Now fans are back, too. After playing in empty stadiums to get started, Japan began allowing up to 5,000 fans into the games on Friday, or 50% of the stadium capacity --- whichever is smaller. Officials hope to allow stadiums to be filled to 50% capacity beginning on Aug. 1. Japan's soccer J-League is also allowing fans to return, beginning on Friday, under the same guidelines. "I think starting with 5,000 spectators is a good idea," said Hidetoshi Yuasa, who attended Friday's game between the the Lotte Marines and the Seibu Lions played on the outskirts of Tokyo in suburban Chiba prefe...

Keep on reading: Baseball is back in Japan, and so are fans in the stadiums

A garment manufacturer in downtown Los Angeles with over 300 confirmed coronavirus cases among employees has been ordered closed after an investigation into the deaths of four workers, county health officials said Friday.

NEW YORK --- The CEO of food company Goya is facing an uproar over his praise for President Donald Trump, with some Latino families purging their pantries of the products and scrambling to find alternatives to the beloved beans, seasoning and other products that have long been fixtures in their cooking. But the controversy is also drawing attention to the mixed political sentiments of Latinos in the U.S. Many of them oppose Trump because of his derogatory comments about Hispanics and harsh policies toward immigration, most notably the separation of families at the U.S.-Mexico border. Hispanics have also been disproportionately hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic and related econo...

Keep on reading: ‘A slap in the face:’ Goya faces boycott over Trump praise

Authorities are using sonar equipment and a specially-trained dog to search for "Glee" actress Naya Rivera in murky waters, saying the recovery operation could take days.

Teams are using sonar and robotic devices in what could be a long search for "Glee" star Naya Rivera, who authorities believe drowned in a Southern California lake. "We don't know if she's going to be found five minutes from now or five days from now," Ventura County Sheriff's Capt. Eric Buschow said at a news conference Friday, two days after Rivera's 4-year-old son was found asleep and alone on a boat the two had rented a few hours earlier. Search teams on Lake Piru are towing sonar devices across the surface that scan the bottom for shapes that might be a body, then employing small remote controlled devices to explore the underwater spaces that show promise. Two such shap...

Keep on reading: Sonar, divers search for ‘Glee’ star thought to have drowned

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO--Real estate firm Premier Central Inc.(PCI) has donated a portion of the Paskuhan Village to the city that local officials hailed as another step to redevelop some areas of the disputed "cultural treasure." Mayor Edwin Santiago and Jeffrey Lim, PCI president, signed a deed of donation agreeing that PCI would give 5,000 square meters of land where the firm would build a two-story building and an amphitheater for the city. PCI bought the 9.3-hectare land for P939 million in 2014 from the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority under then general manager Mark Lapid. But Deputy Speaker Aurelio Gonzales Jr. said the issue was "far from over." "The re...

Keep on reading: Portions of Paskuhan Village donated to Pampanga city

TACLOBAN CITY- At least 11 people from Eastern Visayas have been found positive of the new coronavirus, bringing to 625 the total number of COVID-19 cases in Region 8. The Department of Health-Eastern Visayas (DOH-8) office reported on July 11 that the new COVID-19 cases are from the towns of Barugo, Leyte and Naval town in Biliran which has three cases each; two cases each in Biliran and Almeria town, all in Biliran province; and one from Guiuan, Eastern Samar province. The 11 patients are all locally stranded individuals (LSIs) who went back to their provinces. Guiuan Mayor Annaliza Gonzales-Kwan said that while the town has recorded its first COVID-19 case, the patient, a wom...

Keep on reading: Eastern Visayas records 11 new COVID-19 cases; infected now at 625

MANILA, Philippines --- The Intelligence Division of the Bureau of Immigration (BI) has recommended the filing of a deportation case against a Chinese woman who in a viral video, was seen attacking traffic enforcers in Makati City. In the Laging Handa online press briefing on Saturday, BI national operations center chief Melvin Mabulac said the agency's intelligence division has recommended the filing of deportation charges against 27-year old Dong Li. Mabulac added that Dong was discovered to be a tourist, and has not complied with requirements needed to update her status. "Yung ating intelligence division, nag-recommend sa legal division na magkaroon ng kaso ng deportation cas...

Keep on reading: BI division eyes deportation of Chinese who attacked Makati traffic enforcers

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO--Kindergarten to Grade 12 enrollment in seven Central Luzon provinces climbed to 2.016 million as of July 7, reaching 69 percent of last year's listing, data from the Department of Education (DepEd) shows. DepEd says 1,904,111 pupils were enrolled in public schools; 13,164 in the basic literacy program and alternative learning system; and 99,058 in private schools. Enrollment will continue until the start of classes on Aug. 24. Many parents prefer the use of printed modules and online learning, said Michelle Catap Lacson, public information officer of DepEd in Central Luzon. The DepEd division here has begun the dry-run of Fernandino Kids TV on the regional ...

Keep on reading: DepEd: Enrollment for K-12 classes in Central Luzon hits 69 percent

CEBU CITY - "Be like Fr. Rudy." This was the call echoed by an alliance of groups here as Cebuanos commemorated the 35th year of the abduction and disappearance of Fr. Rosaleo "Rudy" Romano on July 11. In a statement, the Movement Against Tyranny (MAT) encouraged people to emulate the Redemptorist priest, who, despite all odds, stood up for what was right during the reign of the late dictator, Ferdinand Marcos. Romano, a leader of the anti-Marcos movement in Cebu and vice president for the Visayas of the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan), was a popular advocate for protecting the poor and led the campaign against human rights abuses. In 1985, he was abducted by armed men in ...

Keep on reading: Cebuanos remember Fr. Rudy Romano on 35th year of disappearance

A bloody Mon Confiado in a scene from the upcoming South Korean film "The Golden Holiday" (Image: Showbox Corp Korea via Facebook/@mconfiado) Mon Confiado shared with fans the first stills from the upcoming South Korean adventure-crime flick "The Golden Holiday," in which the veteran actor will be appearing. Confiado took to Facebook yesterday, July 10, to share the said photos, which included one that shows him bloodied and beat up while donning a Philippine police uniform. "The Golden Holiday," produced by Showbox Entertainment Corp., was directed by Kim Bong-han, who is known for films "Can You See Me?" and "Ordinary Person," among others. Confiado is joined by actor...

Keep on reading: LOOK: Mon Confiado reveals first stills from upcoming South Korean film