Start Friday: A stormy weekend, some telling numbers

The Philippines' northernmost towns and islands are bracing for a stronger cyclone Siony.

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PHILSTAR.COM’S MORNING NEWSLETTER Your daily brief on issues, engaging stories, smart perspectives and forecasts on the Philippines and beyond. By Camille Diola November 6, 2020

1 It's looking grim up north Storm Warning Signals 1 and 2 are raised over the country's northernmost islands and towns, which are likely to witness a fiercer iteration of Severe Tropical Storm Siony this weekend. The warning may reach up to Signal No. 3 in areas within the cyclone's track, reports PAGASA. Over the rest of Luzon will likely be dark skies and rains. Our live coverage with a real-time satellite rendering of Siony is more useful if bookmarked. 2 It's looking grim overall Four of five Filipinos surveyed found their lives worse this time around compared to last year. The sentiment was echoed by the employed and the jobless alike, not to mention those among the millions who went hungry. Pricier food and costlier tuition fees were an added slap that pushed inflation to a three-month high. One thing we can expect to become cheaper are COVID-19 tests after President Duterte's order to put a price ceiling on. Hopefully, they will no longer cost as much as P12,000. 3 A bright pro-spect Emerging international tennis star Alex Eala is setting her sights on her first pro quarterfinals berth. The 15-year-old leftie is overpowering older rivals at the W15 Castellon in Spain. We're keeping her on our radar.

MOVING ON Plan B It's the time of year for a sticker-collecting tribe to down more than the usual doses of caffeinated drinks or their tamer fruit counterparts. The reward? Planners that are a marvel of printing, discount coupons good for a whole year enclosed. After months in quarantine though, it seems that last year's sticker hunters are reconsidering the seasonal acquisition.

NOT LETTING GO Katipunan's quiet battle A top university was briefly in the news last year after stories and allegations of harassment and abuse broke out on social media. Responding to the ensuing protests, Ateneo officials swore to investigate the cases against faculty members and enact reforms. Is there progress one year on? Franco Luna checks in with victims who recount the ordeals of speaking out and seeking justice.   Drugs, deaths and a discrepancy Claiming lives alongside COVID-19, illnesses and violent crime is the drug war. As of end-October, 7,987 people were shot dead in thousands of anti-narcotics operations since July 2016, the police force said. Christian Deiparine's report finds the police count inconsistent with the presidential communications' "Real Numbers PH" campaign which gives a much lower death toll.

ELSEWHERE ON PHILSTAR.COM Nagdulot ang Bulkang Mayon ng dalawang scenario ng pagyanig ng lupa. Donald Trump is preparing to go to court should Joe Biden be declared president. While the world is on edge over the election results, the United States bowed out of the 189-country Paris accord on climate change. Tycoon Manuel V. Pangilinan is no longer shooting for the Sky... Cable. The stock market was in green for the third straight day, spurred by renewed investor optimism and lower COVID-19 case counts.

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