MANILA, Philippines — The SM Group, the largest mall operator and developer in the Philippines, is cementing further its retail dominance with the opening of its 87th mall in the country this week.

Aya Batrawy is an NPR International Correspondent. She leads NPR's Gulf bureau in Dubai. She joined NPR in 2022 from the Associated Press, where she was an editor and reporter for over 11 years.

Partly cloudy. Slight chance of a shower in the west, near zero chance elsewhere. Snow possible above 1300 metres. Winds south to southwesterly 15 to 25 km/h becoming light in the late evening. Sun ...

Cloudy. Very high chance of showers. The chance of a thunderstorm. Winds southerly 15 to 20 km/h. Sun protection recommended from 9:00 am to 4:10 pm, UV Index predicted to reach 9 [Very High] Partly ...