Good afternoon. Luckily for you, it’s not just any sad Monday. Welcome to the debut edition of Araw Araw, your daily dose of news and updates! Today marks the beginning of our journey together to keep you informed and engaged every day. Starting tomorrow, we will be sending out the news in the morning. Like the sunrise signaling a fresh start, this newsletter aims to brighten your mornings with essential updates and interesting stories. So, let's kick off this new adventure and dive into today's headlines!

Stocks

Local News

💦 Hydration Heroes: P&G and World Vision's Clean Water Mission

By Tobias Bautista

Water, the essence of life, keeps our bodies ticking. While we're busy grooving to such inspirational lyrics – “make me sweat, make me hotter, make me lose my breath, make me water” – it’s easy to forget that water is the real star of the show, making sure our organs stay hydrated and happy. Sadly, not everyone has easy access to clean drinking water, especially in marginalized communities, leading to waterborne diseases. But fear not! Procter & Gamble, in cahoots with World Vision Philippines, has been sprinkling their magic with Purifier of Water technology, bringing clean water to nearly 50,000 Filipino kiddos and their families. This innovative powder, a brainchild of P&G scientists and the CDC, works wonders by purifying 10 liters of water in just 30 minutes, making even the murkiest water crystal clear. From the marshes of Agusan del Sur to the floating houses of Manobo families, P&G and World Vision are on a mission to keep the water flowing, ensuring every child has the chance to dream big and stay hydrated—sorry, Tyla, but water's the real MVP here!

World News

⚔️ Escalating Tensions: Iran's Attack on Israel Sparks Global Concern

By Tobias Bautista

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) launched dozens of drones and missiles at Israel late on Saturday, sparking concerns of a major escalation between the regional adversaries. The attack, reportedly involving over 100 drones, comes amid heightened tensions following an earlier strike on Iran's Damascus consulate, allegedly carried out by Israel. The United States has pledged support to Israel in the face of potential retaliation. The situation has raised alarms globally, with European Union, Britain, France, Mexico, Czechia, Denmark, and the Netherlands condemning Iran's actions. Amidst the escalating conflict, Hezbollah, Iran's ally, fired rockets at an Israeli base, further exacerbating the volatile situation. Additionally, Iran's seizure of the Portuguese-flagged MSC Aries has drawn international criticism, with Israel accusing Iran of piracy.

Sports

🏀 NBA regular season caps off today, let’s put you up to speed

By Koby del Rosario

The weather’s been scorching hot, and so has the last stretch of the 2023-2024 National Basketball Association (NBA) season been as all 30 teams are set for action today, April 15th. To say it’s been competitive is an understatement, as heading into today, there are only three confirmed scenarios for the postseason: the Boston Celtics as the first seed in the East, an exciting No. 4 versus 5 matchup between the Los Angeles Clippers and the Dallas Mavericks, and the Chicago Bulls playing host against the Atlanta Hawks in their Play-In Game on Wednesday, April 17th.

In particular, the Western Conference has been hotly contested, with this season possessing the league’s first ever 3-way tie for the No. 1 seed with only a game left—as the Denver Nuggets, Minnesota Timberwolves, and Oklahoma City Thunder are all vying for the top spot. Fan favorites Lebron James, Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, De’Aaron Fox, and Zion Williamson will have their respective team’s standings determined after today, as only a game separates both the sixth and seventh seeds along with seeds eighth through tenth.

While only a Play-In matchup has already been set, it’s still a bit cooler in the East. The Boston Celtics already clinched the conference three weeks ago, meaning the Milwaukee Bucks and the New York Knicks will have its tie-breaker for the second seed. The same can be said for seeds five through eight as the Cleveland Cavaliers sit solely as the fourth seed. 

Truly, it’s going to be a crazy day of hoops. Make sure to get your popcorn ready.

In other news, Nikola Jokic still steadily leads the race to the NBA Most Valuable Player Ladder. OKC star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander slides back to second as fans worldwide continue to give Dallas’ Luka Doncic his flowers despite him dropping to third.

🥊 UFC 300 was a bonafide thriller, and we loved it 3000

By Koby del Rosario

Yesterday, the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) produced its 300th official event at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada and boy, it was a night to remember.

Headlined by the Light Heavyweight Championship bout between champion Alex Pereira and challenger Jamahal Hill, the main card featured three title fights and a title eliminator. It was extra exciting for the fighters as the event would award a whopping $300,000 in bonuses for the Fight of the Night and the Performance of the Night—as opposed to the usual $50,000.

The main event of the evening saw Pereira retain his belt in dominant fashion, as he ended his fight early against Hill with a rattling left hook that led to the subsequent ground-and-pound that caused the stoppage win. Hill actually came into the fight without legitimately losing his belt, as an Achilles injury sidelined the former champion—with Pereira winning the vacated title back in UFC 295.

What arguably stole the show was Max Holloway versus Justin Gaethje for the Lightweight BMF title. Holloway was assertive against the defending BMF title holder for three straight rounds. Gaethje would retaliate with a right hand that shook his opponent in Round 4, but Holloway was still in command heading into the final period. As there was 10 seconds left in the match with Holloway running away victorious, in true badass form, he invited Gaethje to duel punches out with him in the center of the octagon and just when the bell was about to be rung, he knocked out Gaethje with a right hook. Living up to the belt’s gimmick, he won both of the event’s bonuses. Well-deserved.

The co-main event was equally as entertaining, as Zhang Weili successfully defended her Strawweight Championship against Yan Xiaonan via unanimous decision in a neck-in-neck five-round fight. Rounding out the main card was Arman Tsarukyan’s win against former Lightweight Champion Charles Olivera via split decision.

Oh, and have we mentioned that Dana White announced in the post-event press conference that Conor McGregor is set to return to the octagon on June 29th to challenge Michael Chandler in UFC 303? What a time to be a UFC fan.

Lifestyle

🎶 So, is it Drake versus everybody?

By Koby del Rosario

Earlier yesterday, Drake’s new diss track, “Push Ups”, was said to have been leaked online and he made sure to take shots at everybody that has called him out on the song.

Not one soul knows, however, if it’s just an AI-generated record or it’s actually Drizzy’s response back to Kendrick Lamar, Metro Boomin’, The Weeknd, and Rick Ross—who has already clapped back with a piece of his own.

The “OVO” rapper also called out his alleged teammate J.Cole. The Charlotte-born rapper made headlines recently after he dropped a surprise album titled, “Might Delete Later”, that included a diss song against Lamar at the end named, “7-Minute Drill”. He, in fact, deleted it later on as the track is no longer available on major streaming services after he cleared the air on him and K.Dot’s beef.

Surprising enough, J.Cole is also featured on Metro Boomin’ and Future’s second-straight collaboration album, “We Still Don’t Trust You”; which is the successor to their previous release of, “We Don’t Trust You”, that included Lamar’s, “Like That”, that triggered this whole fiasco.

We still have to wait for Drake’s camp to confirm if it’s an actual release of theirs (or they may never not to further confuse the public on this situation). With big-name rappers seemingly taking their sides already in this rap civil war, it seems as though Toronto's very own, is well, on his own.

News Roundup

• Attacker in Westfield Bondi Junction Mall in Sydney, Australia stabbed and killed 6 people

• 37 Million Pesos worth of smuggled Marijuana was seized in Manila Port, according to the Bureau of Customs

• AP.Bren and MOONTON Games win big awards in PH Esports Awards

• Apple plans to release their M4 chip later this year

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