Your daily round-up of today's news...
- A copy of the first edition of the novel "El Filibusterismo" by Dr. Jose Rizal has made history as the most expensive book ever sold in the country. According to Leon Gallery, which held the auction for the novel, the book sold for ₱21 million at the 2026 Asian Cultural Council Auction from its starting price of ₱5 million.
- The National Unity Party (NUP) has asked House Speaker Faustino "Bojie" Dy III to take action and lead the discussion on the charter change through the Constitutional Convention. This was stated in a letter to Speaker Dy sent by House Deputy Speaker Ronaldo "Ronnie" Puno, who is also the NUP Chairman, after Senate President Vicente "Tito" Sotto III announced that he is open to meeting with the House regarding this.
- Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. urged Filipinos to welcome the Year of the Fire Horse with discipline, hard work, and clear goals. According to the President, quick action is not enough, but the right direction must be taken.
- The International Space Station (ISS) is back in full operation after four new astronauts arrived on Saturday, February 14, to replace their colleagues who were evacuated early due to health issues. Launching from Cape Canaveral, SpaceX sent astronauts Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway of NASA, Sophie Adenot of France, and Andrei Fedyaev of Russia to operate on the ISS for eight to nine months. Meir, a marine biologist, and Fedyaev, a former military pilot, are no strangers to the ISS, having previously been there and lived there.
- UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer abandons plan to delay 30 local council elections in England in May.
- The United Nations Human Rights Council's Advisory Committee convenes its 34th session from now until the 20th of February, 2026, with an Iranian regime official, Afsaneh Nadipour, taking her seat for the first time as a full member and contributing to discussions on “gender perspectives,” “democratic international order,” and “gender-based violence.”
- An annular solar eclipse will be visible as a "ring of fire" in Antarctica. Maximum eclipse occurs at 12:12 UTC, with annularity lasting 59 minutes from 11:43 to 12:41 UTC, starting overall at 09:56 UTC and ending at 14:28 UTC. The event belongs to the Saros series 140, where the Moon's apparent smaller size allows sunlight to encircle it, a phenomenon recurring every 18 years. The next annular eclipse in this series is in 2044.
- Barcelona will remain on the Formula 1 calendar on a rotational basis beyond this year, alternating with Spa-Francorchamps until 2032.
- Izzy Hammond, the daughter of former Top Gear presenter Richard Hammond, crashed the Lola Formula E car during the post-race EVO Session in Saudi Arabia. As expected, she survived. Izzy's part of the Senor Frogs team alongside TheBurntChip and Calfreezy. The team won the Evo Session against the Quickstars team.
- Telecom Animation Film takes over TMS Entertainment.
- The .hack// franchise announced the upcoming installment, titled .hack//ZERO.
- The match between boxing legends Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Mike Tyson was rescheduled to April 25 in the Congo.
- A resolution for the proposed clash between Vergil Ortiz Jr. and Jaron Ennis is expected this week after the Golden Boy Promotions' restraining order.
- Veteran actor Albert Martinez plans his imminent departure from the Batang Quiapo TV series.
TTFN.
