KAKAMMPI News

HONG KONG - Hindi lang sa maayos na pagtatrabaho nakatutok ang mga Pinoy sa Hong Kong, binibigyang oras din nila ang ilang sports at hobby para mapanatili ang magandang kalusugan. Kasagsagan pa ng pandemya noong Hulyo 2021 nang sumabak sa 100 peaks challenge sa Hong Kong ang OFW na si Alina Ilyn Vaso. 254 na kilometro ang hiking at may 18,000 meters na taas ang tuktok na kanyang inakyat na katumbas umano ng pag-akyat sa Mount Everest ng dalawang beses sa loob ng anim na araw. Dito niya napagtantong kaya niyang sumabak sa mahahabang hiking. “Huwag po kayo matakot na sumubok sa mga ganitong patimpalak. Hindi natin alam mayroon din kayong potential sa pagtakbo. And ‘wag kayo matakot maghike dito po sa Hong Kong. Napakasafe po ang paghahike po. Napakaganda ng trail nila dito sa Hong Kong,” sabi ni Vaso. Nitong Pebrero sumabak na rin siya sa trail running kung saan nanalo siya sa 100-kilometer trail run. Na-inspire tuloy ang Pinay na si Anna Rose Autor at sumabak na rin sa trail run...

Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada ordered Japan's Self-Defense Forces Saturday to be at higher readiness for the possibility of a North Korean rocket falling over Japanese territory, with one set to be launched carrying Pyongyang's first reconnaissance satellite. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ordered his country's space agency to make final preparations for the satellite's launch, its state media reported earlier this week, although the precise schedule was not mentioned. The SDF will work to deploy ground-based Patriot Advanced Capability-3 interceptor missiles and Aegis-equipped destroyer warships carrying sea-based Standard Missile-3 interceptor projectiles, government sources said. Japan is considering stationing the PAC-3 system to the Nansei Islands, stretching southwest from Kyushu toward Taiwan. It was previously deployed on the same islands in 2012 and 2016, the sources said. The PAC-3 is designed to shoot down approaching missiles that evade sea-based int...

Military expenditure globally hit an all-time high of $2.24 trillion in 2022, rising 3.7 percent from the previous year, due largely to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, an international security think tank said Monday. The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute said total spending grew for the eighth straight year but at a faster pace compared to the increase of 0.7 percent in 2021. It marked the largest rise since 1988 when comparable data became available. The top five spending countries were the United States, China, Russia, India and Saudi Arabia, accounting for 63 percent of the global total. Ukraine's military spending shot up 7.4-fold from the year before and reached $44 billion, comprising 34 percent of its gross domestic product in 2022, becoming the 11th-largest military expenditure from 36th place the previous year, the report said. It also joined the top 15 for the first time. Russia, which invaded Ukraine in February 2022, saw its military expenditure ri...

TOKYO - Japan's planned end of existing COVID-19 border control measures early next month is fueling hopes for a further recovery in inbound tourists to pre-pandemic levels and beyond. The country is set to change its legal classification of the coronavirus and start treating it the same as the seasonal flu on May 8. Incoming travelers will no longer be required to show proof that they have been vaccinated at least three times or present a negative test result. Inbound tourism had already become an integral part of Japan's economy prior to the imposition of COVID restrictions and its revival will likely be a welcome boost. The government has set a target for spending per visitor of 200,000 yen ($1,490) in 2025, up from the pre-pandemic figure of about 160,000 yen. It also wants to encourage foreign visitors to spend more time in the countryside on trips. They spent only a night or so on average in 2019. A weaker yen and pent-up demand are expected to serve as a tailwind to ...

KHARTOUM, Sudan - Foreign countries on Sunday rushed to evacuate their nationals from battle-torn Sudan where deadly fighting raged into a second week between forces loyal to two rival generals. As gunfire again echoed through Khartoum and fighter jets roared above, foreigners also fled the capital in a long United Nations convoy, while millions of frightened residents hunkered down inside their homes, many running low on water and food. Across the city of five million, army and paramilitary troops have fought ferocious street battles since April 15, leaving behind charred tanks, gutted buildings and shops that have been looted and torched. More than 420 people have been killed and thousands wounded, according to UN figures, amid fears of wider turmoil and a humanitarian disaster in one of the world's poorest nations. US special forces launched a rescue mission early Sunday for around 100 embassy staff and their relatives, swooping in with Chinook helicopters to fly them to a m...

British Ambassador Laure Beaufils said Filipino nurses and other health workers remain in high demand and have carved a “phenomenal” reputation among UK citizens for their "care and concern and kindness.” Smiling broadly in a recent interview with GMA News Online when the topic turned to Filipino health workers in the UK, Beaufils surprisingly used a Tagalog word to sum up the trait that she said sets them apart in the minds of many British people: “Malasakit.” "Yes, because of the malasakit,” the ambassador replied in a tone brimming with pride, pronouncing the Tagalog word casually and clearly, when asked if Filipino nurses remain in demand in the UK. “The number of anecdotal stories that I’ve heard is just phenomenal. Everyone has a story about how a family member has been looked after by a Filipino nurse, and that is just wonderful. Really wonderful,” Beaufils said. “That’s why the Philippines has a great reputation in the UK.” Filipino health workers are loved fo...

Five overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) were jailed in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates (UAE) after a complaint was lodged against a video they posted on social media. According to Mariz Umali's report in "24 Oras," the OFWs uploaded a video on TikTok on March 12, 2023 just for fun among friends. They had no idea, however, that the would land them in jail. “Ako po ay humihingi ng tulong sa ating embahada, napagkamalan po silang prostitute,” said a sibling of one of the arrested OFW. (We are asking for help from the embassy, they were misconstrued as prostitutes.) Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) Secretary Toots Ople provided some details about the case. “They have been arrested, they were brought to jail and may case number na at hihintayin na lang natin yung schedule ng court hearings sa Sharjah court. Meron na silang legal retainer na nakuha para irepresent itong karapatan nitong ating limang OFWs sa korte,” said Ople. Meanwhile, the Philippine Embassy and Labor Att...