KAKAMMPI News

Christine Kim, Reuters Posted at  Oct 25 2017 12:41 PM SEOUL - The only western-funded university in North Korea is scrambling to recruit teachers not from the United States after a U.S. travel ban to the isolated country forced the school to start the September semester with only half of its faculty. According to a recruitment notice from a faculty member of Pyongyang University of Science and Technology (PUST) reviewed by Reuters, the school is on a "vigorous lecturer recruitment campaign" for the spring semester slated to start next year. The notice, which said the recruitment focus is "non-U.S. professors" mainly from Asia and Europe, suggests that discussions with the U.S. State Department about receiving special exemptions for PUST's volunteers have not gone well. Of the roughly 130 foreigners at PUST including faculty members, staffers and family members, about 60 had been U.S. citizens, according to people familiar with PUST operations....

FIRST PERSON Published  October 26, 2017 2:06pm  By CHERIE M. QUEROL MORENO, Philippine News VISEU, Portugal — On the 100th anniversary of the apparitions at Fatima, in the land where churches dominate the landscape, we counted unexpected blessings:  We witnessed up close and evaded wildfire lapping up the countryside of this intruguing nation. At press time, 27 fatalities were reported as a result of the catastrophe fanned by winds following hurricane Ophelia, which had slammed Ireland, killing scores. The day after Oct. 15, which Portugal authorities branded “the worst day of the year for fires,” we stared down one of 100 left of 523 wildfires reportedly raging throughout one of the oldest nations in the world.  In June, similar conflagration already claimed 64 lives on this side of Iberia. Our family of five was among 45 travelers driving back up from the Algarve region of Portugal when the horizon began looking familiar – foggy from af...

  OTTAWA -  The proportion of Canada's population that was born abroad had risen to 21.9 percent, for a total of 7,540,830, in the decade to 2016 when the last census was taken, the government statistical agency announced Wednesday. The proportion is close to the 22.3 percent recording the 1921 census, which was the "highest since confederation" in 1867, Statistics Canada said. This increasing share is due to a larger and larger number of immigrants admitted each year, along with relatively low fertility levels in Canada. For the first time, Africa ranked second ahead of Europe as a source of recent immigrants, from 2011 to 2016, Statistics Canada noted. Asia, including the Middle East, remained the top source. The top source countries in these two regions were Nigeria, Algeria, Egypt, Morocco and Cameroon, and the Philippines, India, China, Iran, Pakistan, Syria and South Korea, respectively. Indigenous population Canada's indigenous popu...

  OTTAWA -  The proportion of Canada's population that was born abroad had risen to 21.9 percent, for a total of 7,540,830, in the decade to 2016 when the last census was taken, the government statistical agency announced Wednesday. The proportion is close to the 22.3 percent recording the 1921 census, which was the "highest since confederation" in 1867, Statistics Canada said. This increasing share is due to a larger and larger number of immigrants admitted each year, along with relatively low fertility levels in Canada. For the first time, Africa ranked second ahead of Europe as a source of recent immigrants, from 2011 to 2016, Statistics Canada noted. Asia, including the Middle East, remained the top source. The top source countries in these two regions were Nigeria, Algeria, Egypt, Morocco and Cameroon, and the Philippines, India, China, Iran, Pakistan, Syria and South Korea, respectively. Indigenous population Canada's indigenous popul...

Published  October 25, 2017 9:18pm  A group of forwarders has welcomed the Bureau of Customs' (BOC) decision to suspend its order mandating proof of purchase for items inside balikbayan boxes sent to the Philippines. A report by GMA News' Ivann Mayrina on 24 Oras on Wednesday said the decision was a timely one considering the expected influx of balikbayan boxes during the holiday season. Door to Door Consolidators Association of the Philippines general counsel James Ian Dela Vega said the suspension was especially good news for blue collar workers who do not have their passports in their possession. "Kung ang passport lamang ang valid na document na nagpapatunay na ikaw ay isang Pilipino at wala nang iba, napakahirap nito at mama-marginalize natin ang karamihan sa ating mga OFW na either wala sa kanila 'yung passport o walang passport habang sila ay nasa ibang bansa," he said. The report said 60 percent of balikbayan boxes sent to t...

Published  October 25, 2017 8:16pm  A balikbayan family was allegedly harassed by airport personnel who also tried to steal from them at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 2 on October 20, a relative complained through social media. In a post on Facebook, Jorge Hizon said his sister, Melinda Hizon-McNulty, and her family were stopped at the X-ray scanner counter after immigration on their way back to Los Angeles. Aristotle Alsua, one of McNulty's grandchildren, was supposedly told to take his Apple watch off by one of two male examiners at the counter and place it in a basket with his other belongings. When he could not find the watch after passing through the X-ray, Alsua pointed out the man who gave him the instruction to his grandmother, who helped him check the counter, machine and baskets for the watch. At this point, the man whom Aries pointed at left and did not return, arousing the grandmother's suspicion enough for her to ...

By RIE TAKUMI, GMA News The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Wednesday said it is "taking quick positive measures" to help the four Filipino sailors kidnapped from a German container vessel in Nigerian waters over the weekend. Foreign Affairs spokesperson Robbie Bolivar said in a text message to GMA News Online that the public will be informed of further developments that will not infringe on the privacy of the seamen's privacy and safety. "Out of concern for the safety of our kababayans and the privacy of their families, we cannot share more information than this," he said. "But rest assured the DFA will apprise the press of any developments in due course." Four Filipinos, together with a Ukranian and a Hungarian, were kidnapped from their ship on Saturday as it approached a port in the Niger Delta, a hotspot of kidnapping in the last few years. Their 12 remaining crew members remain safe in their vessel as they moved awa...

Agence France-Presse LONDON - A British parliamentary committee investigating "fake news" and suspected foreign interference in politics said Tuesday it has asked Facebook for details on Russian-linked ads used during the  Brexit vote  and June's general election.  Damian Collins, the chairman of the digital, culture, media and sport committee, said the information he requested was similar to that already provided by the social media giant to US Senate committees looking into last year's US presidential election. In the letter to Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg, Collins noted that his committee was currently undertaking an inquiry into the "phenomenon of fake news". "Part of this inquiry will focus on the role of foreign actors abusing platforms such as yours to interfere in the political discourse of other nations," he said. "It is for this reason that I am requesting that Facebook provides to my committee detai...

Agence France-Presse Saudi Arabia on Tuesday announced the launch of an independent economic zone on the Red Sea, three times the size of Cyprus and with a half a trillion dollars in projected investments. The zone, dubbed NEOM, covers an uninterrupted coastline of nearly 470 kilometres (290 miles) in northwestern Saudi Arabia and will extend into territories in neighbouring Jordan and Egypt, a statement released by the kingdom's Public Investment Fund said. Authorities in Jordan and Egypt did not immediately comment on the statement.  The announcement came hours after the opening of the Future Investment Initiative, a three-day economic conference that brings together some 2,500 dignitaries, including 2,000 foreign investors.  NEOM, which counted more than 10,000 followers on Twitter hours after the announcement, will be independent of Saudi regulation and will adopt a "separate regulatory framework," the statement said.  The Saudi government has pl...

  BERLIN - Six crew from a German container vessel have been kidnapped in Nigerian waters, a shipping company said on Tuesday. Four of those taken are Filipino, and one is a Ukrainian national, according to the Philippine Department of Labor and Ukrainian foreign ministry. Kidnapping for ransom is a common problem in parts of Nigeria. A number of foreigners have, in the last few years, been kidnapped in the Niger Delta, source of most of the crude oil which is Nigeria's economic mainstay. "The vessel was attacked by pirates on early Saturday morning when it was approaching one of the ports of Nigeria," said a spokesman for Peter Doehle Schiffahrts KG. "Six of the crew were taken off the ship and they are now held by kidnappers in Nigeria," he said. There were no German nationals among the kidnapped but the spokesman declined to say where those abducted were from. Those kidnapped comprise four Filipinos, one Ukrainian and one Hunga...

Published  October 24, 2017 9:05pm  The Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) is now tracking down the mother of the three children seen on a viral video being abused by their own father, GMA News' Susan Enriquez reported on 24 Oras on Tuesday. The mother is reportedly a domestic worker in Kuwait who has stopped sending money to her family in the Philippines and is allegedly having a relationship with another man. Police suspect this is what drove the father in General Santos City to physically abuse their children — aged 8, 6 and 3 years — and even take a video of it. "We are now coordinating with our Philippine labor office sa Kuwait, labor attache, at welfare office ng OWWA para makausap 'yung nanay at matanong siya kung ano ang nais niya, kung gusto ba niyang umuwi ay tutulungan siya ng OWWA," said OWWA administrator Hans Leo Cacdac. Two of the children are already under the custody of social workers, while the six-year-old...

DESPITE PROMISE Published  October 24, 2017 6:08pm  Filipinos working in Hong Kong on Sunday picketed the Philippine Consulate to slam the government's failure to phase out the Overseas Employment Certificate as it promised. About 200 Filipino migrant workers joined the picket in front of the lobby of the United Centre, where the PCG's offices are located.  "Hanggang sa ngayon, nanatiling pangako na tila bang mapapako ang pagtanggal ng OEC na patuloy sa pamemerwisyo sa mga OFWs," a statement from the United Filipinos-Migrante HK said. "Subalit ang pangako ay nanatiling isang pangako lang. Panahon na upang ipaalala muli na kaakibat ng pagbabago ay pagtupad sa mga pangako." Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III has promised OFWs to do away with the OEC and replace it with an iDOLE card. GMA News Online has reached out to the Department of Labor and Employment for its comment, but it has yet to issue a formal statement as of po...

Published  October 23, 2017 8:24pm  Jealous after learning that his wife is allegedly living with another man, a father in General Santos City has vented his ire on his three children, GMA News' Susan Enriquez reported on 24 Oras on Monday.  The father even took videos of how he abused the kids, the youngest being three years old, reportedly so that he can show them to his wife, who is a domestic worker in Kuwait. The videos have since gone viral on social media. In one video, the man was seen beating his six-year-old son, who was crying and trying to run away from him. The father then shifted his focus on his two daughters aged eight and three years. He was seen beating his youngest daughter even after she fell on the ground. In another video, the father seemed to be strangling the youngest daughter, who was crying and was obviously in pain, as she tried to remove the rope around her neck. The videos have reached the Department of Soc...

Published  October 23, 2017 11:09am  Valenzuela police arrested a soldier and a hired gun four days after killing a 63-year-old Filipino-American, according to a report by Mav Gonzales on Unang Balita on Monday. Staff Sergeant Gilberto Raro Jr. and Avelino Tamayo Jr. were taken in for murder after they shot Antonio Fermo inside the taxi he was riding along Macarthur Highway in Dalandanan, Valenzuela on October 18. According to police, Tamayo had Fermo accompany him to the bank under the pretense of hiring the victim. CCTV footage showed Raro following the taxi Tamayo and Fermo were riding along Macarthur Highway in a van driven by Sofronio Bigtas, who was hired under false pretenses. "Nu'ng pumayag ako sabi ko, 'Sige, aantayin mo 'ko diyan, at sabi niya may isasakay lang tayong mga gamit na pambahay at dadalhin ko kasi may kausap ako dito,'" Bigtas explained. Both taxi and van took a u-turn along the highway before the taxi st...

  The United States is in need of physiotherapists and physical therapists, and qualified Filipinos are encouraged to apply, GMA News' JP Soriano reported on 24 Oras on Friday. Based on data from the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA), the US has 3,600 job orders for the said professions. Qualified applicants are those with minimum three-year experience in the field of interest and those who will pass the language proficiency exam TOEFL or Test of English as a Foreign Language. Lucky applicants could earn $30 to $35 per hour, or equivalent to more or less P270,000 per month, according to the POEA. "Pasok lang sila sa website ng POEA, makikita na nila kung saan may opening ng physiotherapist o physical therapist, and then pumunta na sila dun sa agency wherein merong vacancies for that," said Jocelyn Sanchez, POEA deputy administrator. Meanwhile, the POEA has received over 5,000 job orders from Japan for welders and frame ...

ABS-CBN News Posted at  Oct 18 2017 11:14 PM MANILA – President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday said he has stayed quiet on the situation of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who face illegal drug charges. "Yung mga drug cases even in Indonesia right now, you have not heard me talk about it because I hate drugs. True or not, I simply find it almost incongruous to me to be talking about these things because I really do not...I am the unforgiving, especially against drugs and slavery," Duterte said in a speech at the 7th anniversary of a public service show for OFWs in Pasay City. In April, the mother of Filipino death row convict Mary Jane Veloso and relatives of other OFWs set for execution abroad  asked  President Duterte to save their loved ones. Duterte, however, advised OFWs on Wednesday, to just follow the laws of the countries where they are employed because he cannot help them. "So ngayon sabihin ko sa mga kababayan natin, sumunod kayo. Because pag n...

Rose Eclarinal, ABS-CBN News Posted at  Oct 17 2017 06:51 PM Filipino nurses in the United Kingdom are known for their excellent clinical skills and very high standard of spoken and written English. So when a recent news came out about nurses recruited for a hospital  failing the language test , many Pinoys were baffled.  Pinoy nurses recruited for jobs in UK fail English test According to the report, 52 of the 59 candidates at the Medway Maritime Hospital in Kent failed their International English Language Testing System (IELTS) exams. All non-EU trained nurses are required by the Nursing and Midwifery Council or NMC to have a band score of 7 in each of the category of the IELTS. NMC is the regulator for nursing and midwifery professions in the UK. Many who have already taken the IELTS exam admit it wasn’t easy to pass the language proficiency exam.  “Sa akin kasi, nahirapan ako sa writing. So, ang advise ko lang, for example, sa reading, they...

THE Philippine Embassy in Baghdad yesterday reiterated its advisory for Filipinos in the Kurdistan Region to remain calm but alert and to stay away from Kirkuk and nearby areas due to news reports of some exchanges of fire between Iraqi Security Forces and Kurdish Peshmerga in Kirkuk Province during the past several hours. At the same time, the Embassy requested Filipinos in Kurdistan to limit non-essential movement and to continue to monitor the Embassy’s Facebook Pages for updates.

  The Philippine Embassy in Iraq has advised Filipinos in the Kurdistan region to postpone travel plans and to remain calm amid tensions between the central government and local Kurd authorities. According to the embassy, those who will travel out of Kurdistan may have trouble returning to Iraq if they don't have valid Iraqi visas, as the Iraqi government has decided to suspend all international flights to and from the region. "Filipinos going on vacation would have to take Iraqi Airways to Baghdad to board their connecting flights to the Philippines or elsewhere outside the country," the embassy said. "Filipinos who entered Kurdistan directly and without valid Iraqi visas will only be allowed to board their connecting flights out of Baghdad after paying a fine of $420.00 to immigration authorities," it added. Majority of the estimated 4,000 Filipinos working in Iraq are in the Kurdistan region. The embassy said it has yet to receive any gu...

By  MICHAELA DEL CALLAR Starting November 1, Filipino visitors can now enjoy visa-free entry to Taiwan, Taipei’s representative office in Manila announced on Monday. “Philippine nationals who intend to visit the Republic of China (Taiwan) for the purpose of tourism, business, visiting relatives, attending functions or events can enjoy visa-free entry to Taiwan, ROC, for a duration of stay up to 14 days,” the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) said in a statement. The visa-free initiative, aimed at “building closer people-to-people exchange between the Philippines and Taiwan,” will have a nine-month trial period until July 31, 2018, according to TECO . “The Philippines is not only Taiwan’s closest neighbor but also Taiwan’s important partner of ‘new southbound policy,’” said Gary Song-Huann Lin, Taiwan’s representative to the Philippines. The granting of visa-free privilege to all Filipinos, he said, will build “strong bilateral relations and a closer...

  A Filipino died in the wildfire in Northern California, the Philippine Consulate General in San Francisco said. In its report to the Department of Foreign Affairs, the Consulate General said the Filipino's remains were recovered on Saturday in Napa County.  The remains have yet to be identified. Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano condoled with the family of the victim, the Department of Foreign Affairs said in a statement issued Tuesday. “We offer our sincere sympathies and prayers to the family of our kababayan who perished in this horrific fire.  I have instructed our Consulate General in San Francisco to offer all possible assistance to the family and to continue to closely monitor the welfare of other Filipinos in the affected areas,” he said. The Consulate General in San Francisco has offered assistance to the family of the victim, including coordinating arrangements for the repatriation of the remains, said Deputy Consul ...