When Jaime Alfonso Zobel de Ayala took the wheel at ACMobility, the Ayala Group’s automotive arm, his decision to partner with Chinese electric vehicle (EV) giant BYD in late 2023 was viewed by some as a high-risk gamble. Fast forward to 2026, and the gamble didn’t just pay off. It is fundamentally rewriting the country’s automotive landscape.

AstraZeneca has officially moved its experimental drug, elecoglipron, into late-stage trials after mid-stage clinical data revealed that a simple, once-daily pill can deliver double-digit weight loss. According to results published in The Lancet, patients taking the tablet shed an average of 10.5% of their body weight over 26 weeks, with the highest dose increasing this to 11.8% by week 36.

A recent Pulse Asia survey shows most Filipinos favor working with like-minded countries such as the United States, Japan, Australia, Canada, and South Korea to uphold the Philippines’ rights in the WPS and strengthen a rules-based order in the region.