KAKAMMPI News

Authorities in Maui recently announced that the death toll from the Lahaina wildfire has dropped from 115 to 97. The revised figures came after forensic tests recognized duplicates in a catalog of remains. Officials said that this can happen when multiple agencies are working on the recovery efforts. One Filipino in Oahu who helped in organizing donations for those affected expressed sadness over the many lives lost. “Anytime a death is announced, it's hard to process," said Gabrielle Pascual. "It's hard to think that many people have been affected, how many families, lives have been lost from this.” Of the 97 fatalities, at least 14 are of Filipino ethnicity, with four being Philippine passport holders. "We found that many of them are U.S. citizens already," said Emilio Fernandez, the Philippine Consul General in Honolulu, "immigrants or maybe even second, third generation immigrants already.” But with a large number of Filipinos in Lahaina, some...

Drone footage on Wednesday (September 20) showed brown seashore and destroyed buildings in the flood-hit Libyan eastern city of Derna that was hit hard by storm Daniel. Thousands of people were confirmed killed and thousands more are still missing from the Sept. 10 flood, when dams burst above Derna, in the storm, unleashing a torrent of water that swept away the center of the city. Officials using different methodologies have given widely varying figures of the tolls so far; the mayor estimates over 20,000 people were lost. Hundreds of bodies have been recovered from the sea since searches began and there are many left to find. (Report from Reuters; Production: Ayman Al-Sahili, Nuha Sharaf)

WASHINGTON -- US Attorney General Merrick Garland denied Republican allegations Wednesday that he had protected Democratic President Joe Biden's son Hunter while the Justice department prosecutes former president Donald Trump. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan accused the US justice chief of helping to stall a long-running investigation of Hunter Biden, which Republicans claim, without evidence, could show the elder Biden improperly benefited financially from Hunter's overseas business dealings. Meanwhile, Jordan alleged, Garland was propelling the two federal prosecutions of Trump, who is Joe Biden's top Republican rival in next year's presidential election. "There's one investigation protecting President Biden; there's another one attacking president Trump," Jordan said. "The Justice Department has got both sides of the equation covered," he said. In a heated hearing, Garland, who has appointed independent special counsels ...

UNITED NATIONS, United States — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday confronted Russia directly at the UN Security Council, denouncing the Kremlin's invasion of his country as "criminal" and urging the United Nations to strip Moscow of its veto power. Clad in his trademark military fatigues, Zelensky for the first time since the February 2022 invasion sat in the same room as a Russian official, who responded by scrolling through his smartphone with a look of conspicuous disinterest. "Most of the world recognizes the truth about this war," Zelensky said. "It is a criminal and unprovoked aggression by Russia against our nation aimed at seizing Ukraine's territory and resources." Zelensky called on the United Nations to vote to end Russia's veto power on the Security Council, where Moscow joins only Britain, China, France, and the United States in being able to block any resolution. The Ukrainian leader said this move could be a...

United Nations, United States - South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol warned world leaders Wednesday about the dangers of fake news and the mishandling of artificial intelligence, calling for the formation of a UN body to regulate the digital sphere. "If we fail to curb the spread of fake news resulting from the misuse of AI and digital technologies, our freedom will be at risk," Yoon told the United Nations General Assembly in New York. "The market economy anchored in liberal democracy will be in peril, and our very future will be under threat," he added. "We can advance the digital culture only when fair access to AI and digital technologies, as well as the safe use of digital technologies, are ensured." In July US President Joe Biden hosted a tech summit and got top American tech companies to pledge guardrails against risks from artificial intelligence, ranging from cyber-attacks to fraud. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has announced a world-fir...

An updated COVID-19 vaccine targeting the Omicron XBB.1.5 subvariant became available in Japan on Wednesday ahead of an expected surge in infections around the year-end holidays. The free vaccination campaign, in which anyone six months or older is eligible, will continue through the end of March, with the elderly and other high-risk populations encouraged to get protection. The XBB.1.5 subvariant is known for mutations that appear to help it evade the body's immune defenses and improve its ability to invade cells. The updated vaccine is also believed to be effective against the Omicron subvariant EG.5.1 that has spread in Japan. Recipients of the booster shot, mostly manufactured by U.S. companies Pfizer Inc. and Moderna Inc., should have waited at least three months from their most recent inoculation against the novel coronavirus. They can also get flu shots at the same time. Some areas may see a delay in the start of inoculations depending on the delivery situation of the va...

(We are waiting for the decision because it is supposed to have compensatory damages. The decision should indicate how much the accused should pay to the victim's family.) De Vega said Ranara's family has already been informed of the accused's conviction and that they are grateful for the case's outcome. He, however, said the family were expecting the accused to get a life sentence. De Vega said it was explained to the family that since the accused is a minor, the sentence was reduced to 15 years in prison for murder and that he also received a one-year prison sentence for driving without license. "Parang inisip nila 'yung life imprisonment pero noong napaliwanag na hindi naman naabswelto at saka may hustisya, kunyari tayo mismo sa ating batas, exempted 'yung mga menor de edad from criminal liability as a general rule. So naintindihan pa rin nila," De Vega said. (They thought the sentence would be life imprisonment but it was explained to them that...

Five senior officers have been nominated to be the next commandant of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), replacing Admiral Artemio Abu who will retire from the service on October 19. In a statement, PCG spokesperson Rear Admiral Armando Balilo said the nominated senior officers are Vice Admiral Rolando Lizor Punzalan, Vice Admiral Ronnie Gil Gavan, Vice Admiral Joseph Coyme, Vice Admiral Allan Victor Dela Vega, and Vice Admiral Roy Echeverria. “The five candidates will undergo series of interviews and will face the senior leadership of the Department of Transportation before endorsing their names to the Office of the President,” Balilo said. "But President [Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.] who will appoint the commandant, aside from the five nominees, can still choose from the qualified flag rank officers of the PCG,” he added. Punzalan is the current PCG Deputy Commandant for Operations and a member of PMA Tanglaw Diwa Class of 1992, according to the Coast Guard. Gavan of PMA...

South Korea is considering expanding its Employment Permit System (EPS) for skilled workers, which is expected to benefit thousands of Filipino workers there, according to Ian Cruz's report on Unang Balita. "Meron kang pagkakataon na magkaroon pa ng isang kontrata na medyo mas mahaba kaysa dun sa una mong kontrata," said Philippine Ambassador to South Korea Maria Theresa Dizon-De Vega. (You will be given an opportunity to have another contract which will be a bit longer than your first contract.) South Korean authorities, however, will have to assess if the foreign worker deserves a longer contract. "Merong requirements na tinitignan nila, kasama na 'yung language proficiency," Dizon-De Vega said. (They are looking into several requirements, like language proficiency.) South Korea's EPS, which allows Korean employers to hire foreign workers if no local workers are interested on the job, has been in effect for almost two decades. The program report...

The practice of paying “blood money” is not applicable in the case of slain overseas Filipino worker (OFW) Jullebee Ranara, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Friday. DFA Undersecretary Eduardo de Vega explained why the 17-year-old suspect received lesser penalties for the brutal crime in a "24 Oras" report by Ivan Mayrina. The Kuwait Juvenile Court has convicted the suspect and sentenced him to 15 years of imprisonment for Ranara’s murder and an additional one-year in jail for driving without a license. “From the beginning, hindi naman talaga pwedeng full life imprisonment o what dahil nga sa pagiging menor de edad ng akusado. Ganunpaman, hindi naabswelto, hindi nagkaroon ng whitewash at napakabilis ng paghatol sa kanya,” said de Vega. (From the beginning, he cannot be sentenced to life imprisonment because he is a minor. But he was not absolved, and his case was not whitewashed. The resolution of the case was swift.) De Vega also said that because the court d...

No Filipinos in Libya have sought repatriation following the deadly floods there, an official from the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said on Friday. Still, DFA Undersecretary Eduardo de Vega ensured that Filipinos who need help would be assisted by the embassy. "Walang humihingi ng repatriation, wala ring nasa shelter, lahat may natutulugan. Naninirahan sila sa bahay talaga or apartment," De Vega said at the televised public briefing. (No one is asking to be repatriated, no one is staying in shelters. All Filipinos are in their homes or apartments.) "Kung may Filipino na kailangan ng assistance, financial assistance dahil nawalan ng trabaho, gusto ng umuwi ng Pilipinas, nandoon ang ating pamahalaan, nandiyan ang ating embahada para tulungan sila," he added. (If they need assistance, financial assistance if they lose their jobs or they want to return to the Philippines, the embassy is there to help them.) De Vega said there is no power supply yet in the a...

Taguig City, September 12, 2023 – Pregnancies among adolescents remain a persistent problem in the Philippines, despite a recorded fall in numbers. As revealed by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) through its 2022 National Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS), the proportion of women aged 15 to 19 years who have begun childbearing declined from 8.6% in 2017 to 5.4% in 2022. Nonetheless, data from registered births (i.e., civil registry and vital statistics) in 2020 and 2021 recorded an increasing number of livebirths among girls aged 10 to 14 years. Moreover, about 17% of the total births among 10 to 19 years old in 2020 (n=26,099) and 2021 (n=23,226) were cases of repeat pregnancies, or already the second birth and over. Factors contributing to the prevalence of adolescent pregnancies include lack of reproductive health information and services. This highlights the urgency to continue addressing the reproductive rights and empowerment of young people to make informed choices a...

The recent approval of an increase in minimum wage by the Taiwanese government would also benefit over a hundred thousand overseas Filipino workers, the Manila Economic and Cultural Office said Thursday. In a statement, MECO said the government of Taiwan approved a 4.05% hike in the monthly minimum wage of all industrial sector workers, effective January 1, 2024. “On September 13, 2023, the Taiwan ministry of labor announced that the Cabinet has approved its proposed increase in the monthly minimum wage effective next year,” said MECO chairman Silvestre Bello III. Bello said the wage adjustment will cover the 124,265 Filipino factory workers in Taiwan. However, the increase will not apply to live-in migrant caregivers and household service workers who are not covered by the Taiwan Labor Standards Act, according to Bello. The approved wage hike brings the monthly minimum pay to New Taiwan (NT) $27,470 from the current NT$26,400, while the basic hourly rate will be raised from NT$17...

The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) said Wednesday that it still has not yet received any reports of Filipinos affected by the flooding in Libya following a huge storm there. Interviewed on ANC, DMW officer-in-charge Hans Cacdac explained that the catastrophic floods happened in the city of Derna, which is in the eastern part of Libya and near the border to Egypt. “Most of the Filipinos in Libya are on the western side, the Tripoli side,” he said. Storm Daniel caused severe flooding, swept away buildings, and wiped out one-fourth of the eastern city of Derna on Tuesday, according to Reuters. At least 10,000 are missing, while more than 2,000 are feared dead. “We commiserate with the Libyan people, and at the same time hope that no Filipinos... will be affected or are affected by this flooding,” Cacdac said. The DMW officer-in-charge said authorities will continue to monitor the situation of the Filipinos in Libya, and stand ready to help in case anyone is in need. According ...

The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) said Wednesday that it still has not yet received any reports of Filipinos affected by the flooding in Libya following a huge storm there. Interviewed on ANC, DMW officer-in-charge Hans Cacdac explained that the catastrophic floods happened in the city of Derna, which is in the eastern part of Libya and near the border to Egypt. “Most of the Filipinos in Libya are on the western side, the Tripoli side,” he said. Storm Daniel caused severe flooding, swept away buildings, and wiped out one-fourth of the eastern city of Derna on Tuesday, according to Reuters. At least 10,000 are missing, while more than 2,000 are feared dead. “We commiserate with the Libyan people, and at the same time hope that no Filipinos... will be affected or are affected by this flooding,” Cacdac said. The DMW officer-in-charge said authorities will continue to monitor the situation of the Filipinos in Libya, and stand ready to help in case anyone is in need. According ...

Around 350 to 400 Filipinos in Morocco might have been affected by the catastrophic earthquake that hit the North African country last week, the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) said Wednesday. DMW officer-in-charge Hans Cacdac said that most Filipinos in Morocco were in the old city of Marrakesh, where the epicenter of the magnitude 6.8 earthquake was located about 72 kilometers southwest. “The earthquake hit the central part of Morocco or south of Casablanca and Rabat where most Filipinos are. The estimate is around 350 to 400 affected Filipinos in that central part, the Marrakesh area,” he said in an ANC interview. Cacdac, however, clarified that authorities have not yet received reports of Filipinos actually affected by the quake as the situation in Morocco is still being monitored by the DMW, Department of Foreign Affairs, and the labor attaché on the ground. The Philippine Embassy in Morocco earlier said no Filipinos were reported hurt or killed following the strong earthq...

President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. on Friday lauded the Philippine Embassy in Kuwait, the Department of Migrant Workers, and the Kuwaiti authorities over the conviction of the accused in the killing of overseas Filipino worker Jullebee Ranara. Marcos said these agencies have continued the pursuit of justice for Ranara. "We hope that the appeal process will be conducted fairly, and justice will be served accordingly," he said. "I take comfort in thinking that Toots and Jullebee are looking down from heaven with smiles. Their legacy serves as a reminder of our duty to protect and support our fellow countrymen, regardless of where in the world they may be," he added. The Philippine government is waiting for the full details after the accused in the killing, the son of Ranara's employer, was convicted by a Kuwaiti juvenile court. Since the accused is a minor, the sentence was reduced to 15 years in prison for murder and that he also received a ...

TAIPEI — Taiwan lashed out at the US tech billionaire Elon Musk on Thursday for "blindly flattering" Beijing after he called the self-ruled island "an integral part" of China. Beijing claims Taiwan as its own territory awaiting "reunification" and has intensified pressure since independence-leaning Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen came to power in 2016. Musk drew Taipei's ire for comparing Taiwan to the US state of Hawaii in a podcast and calling the island "an integral part" of China. Musk "blindly flatters China and if (his) comments are made out of commercial interests, such comments are not worthy of being taken seriously and the speaker does not deserve respect," Foreign Ministry spokesman Jeff Liu told reporters. "We don't know if Musk's free will is for sale but Taiwan is not for sale, that's for sure," he said. Taiwan's foreign minister Joseph Wu earlier criticized Musk in a post on X, the plat...

A schoolgirl learns how to handle a Kalashnikov AK-47 rifle, equipped with an electronic sight, during a lesson on Thursday at the military-patriotic center in Lviv, Ukraine. Citizens in Lviv decided to open such a school in the face of the war with Russia and besides subjects in war and patriotism, conduct classes in shooting and handling weapons, self-defense, and pre-medical training.

MANILA — The Land Bank of the Philippines on Friday said it remitted a P50 billion contribution to the Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF). In a statement, the bank said it made the investment to the sovereign wealth fund through the Bureau of the Treasury on September 14, Thursday. The law requires Landbank and the national government to contribute P50 billion each to the MIF. The Development Bank of the Philippines will put in another P25 billion. "With the regulatory requirements in place, and after securing the seed capital from state-run institutions, we are confident that the Fund will be operational by yearend," said Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno. The implementing rules and regulations of the Philippines' first sovereign wealth fund were released in late August. The finance department said it has received applications from interested managers of the Maharlika fund.

International search and rescue teams dispatched in the village of Tikht in Morocco have not had success finding survivors yet, they said on Thursday. The 6.8 magnitude earthquake that struck the High Atlas Mountains late on Sept. 8 killed 2,946 people and injured 5,674, according to the latest official figures, making it Morocco's deadliest since 1960 and most powerful since at least 1900. The government has said it is doing everything it can to help all earthquake victims. (Production: Miguel Pereira, Emilie Madi, Armelle De Oliveira)

The West Maui Region of Hawaii will reopen soon to the public. Hawaii Governor Josh Green announced that the area will once more welcome visitors starting Oct. 8, two months since the deadly wildfire in the island. Lahaina's displaced residents now anxiously await for what's in store for them, including one Filipino-American who has been hopping off from one place to another over the past month. "I'm starting to worry," said Debra Arellano. "I'm like, should I just wait it out? Have faith in Josh Green that feels secure these contracts with the hotel to house us, all of us for 18 months more? Or do I start trying to find a rental now before the whole town gets booted out of these hotels?" Green said that the decision was made to support Maui's economic recovery. But some people feel that the move is too soon, as those displaced are still reeling from the devastation that destroyed their town. "People are still trying to figure out where...

BEIJING - China began checking ballast water loaded on cargo ships arriving from Japan at some key ports, likely for radiation level inspections, at roughly the same time the neighboring country began releasing treated radioactive water from the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant, trade sources said Thursday. The monitoring of ballast water -- seawater used to provide stability and maneuverability during a voyage -- began as Beijing voiced its strong opposition to Japan's release of the treated water into the Pacific Ocean, which commenced on Aug. 24. China also suspended all seafood imports from Japan due to safety concerns. Even before the water discharge began, Beijing had already tightened controls on marine product imports from Japan in July by introducing blanket radiation testing. According to the sources, the examination of ballast water samples taken from Japanese territorial seas has been happening since July at ports in Tianjin, as well as Shandong Province in eastern C...

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un arrived in the town of Komsomolsk-on-Amur in Russia's Far East on Friday, Sept. 15, and headed straight to a vast aviation plant that produces warplanes and other equipment, TASS news agency reported and footage posted by Russian officials shows. TASS said Kim was met by the regional governor and other officials on a red carpet at the town's railway station. He was whisked off to the Komsomolsk aviation plant, named after Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, the first person in space. The plant produces Russia's most modern fighter jets, with TASS singling out the Su-35 and Su-57. The plant also manufactures civil aircraft. Regional governor Mikhail Degtyarev wrote on the Telegram messaging app that Kim was shown facilities producing parts for the military jets as well as the civilian Superjet-100 aircraft, which Russia aims to produce without imported components. Kim also saw a demonstration flight of the Su-35.

TAIPEI — The Taiwan Tourism Board is currently studying the possibility of extending the 14-day visa-free entry until 2025 for Filipino tourists, allowing them to stay in Taiwan without a visa. Taiwan is one of the most visited destinations by foreign tourists, including Filipinos, with the Taiwan Tourism Board expecting to receive around six million foreign tourists, including the target of 225,000 Filipino tourists, before the end of 2023. "But I think we will just have to evaluate the possibility of extending the 14-day visa-free stay, and I think the most important thing is to welcome all the Philippine visitors to come to Taiwan," said Emily Huang, Deputy Director of the Taiwan Tourism Bureau, during a visit by a Philippine media delegation in Taiwan. To further encourage Filipino tourists to visit Taiwan, the Taiwan Tourism Board will hold a raffle where 5,000 New Taiwan Dollars, equivalent to almost P9,000.00, worth of shopping vouchers will be given to lucky touris...

The House appropriations panel on Thursday terminated the deliberations on the proposed P15-billion budget of the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) after 20 minutes amid the mourning over the passing of its Secretary, Susan "Toots" Ople. House appropriations panel vice chairperson Janet Garin made the motion to keep the deliberations short, suggesting they forgo the budget presentation so they could immediately wrap up the proceedings. Garin’s motion came after DMW Undersecretary Maria Anthonette Velasco-Allones shed tears as she paid tribute to Ople’s exemplary public service before starting the presentation of DMW’s proposed 2024 budget “at a time of grief.” “All members were furnished a copy of the DMW [budget] presentation, and we are very much aware of the hardships and challenges of the DMW family with the passing of its Secretary, Toots Ople. We move to dispense the budget presentation so we can terminate this [proceedings] early,” Garin said. Velasco-Allones sai...

Authorities have shut down more than 40 illegal recruitment agencies across the country so far this year, an official of the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) said Tuesday. “Mahigit 40 ang naipasara natin ngayon lamang taon na ito, at daan na po 'yung sinampahan at tinulungan natin na mga kaso,” said DMW Undersecretary Bernard Olalia during a televised public briefing. (We have closed more than 40 agencies this year alone and we have filed and helped hundreds of cases.) “Tayo po ay aktibong tumutulong doon sa prostitusyon ng mga illegal recruitment at tumatayo tayong private prosecutor para po bigyan ng hustisya yung mga nabiktima ng illegal recruitment,” he added. (We are actively helping address the proliferation of illegal recruitment and we stand as private prosecutors in cases to give justice to the victims of illegal recruitment.) One-strike policy Olalia said after the agency imposed a one-strike policy against recruitment agencies of land-based overseas Filipino wor...

US remembers 9/11 attacks First responders salute as the American flag is unfurled prior to the Pentagon 9/11 Observance Ceremony at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia on Monday. The USA is commemorating the 22nd anniversary of the terrorist attack of 11 September 2001, when terrorists flew hijacked planes into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and crashed a plane in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

BENGHAZI, Libya — At least 150 people were killed when freak floods hit eastern Libya, officials said Monday, after storm Daniel swept the Mediterranean, lashing Turkey, Bulgaria and Greece. Images filmed by residents of the Libyan disaster area showed massive mudslides, collapsed buildings and entire neighborhoods submerged under muddy water. Speaking on Libyan network Almasar, Oussama Hamad, prime minister of the east-based government, reported "more than 2,000 dead and thousands missing" in the city of Derna alone, but no medical sources or emergency services have confirmed such figures. While media outlets in eastern Libya have largely picked up on Hamad's remarks, separate tolls reported from various areas add up to far lower figures. Mohamed Massoud, a spokesman for Hamad's Benghazi-based administration, said earlier that "at least 150 people were killed as a result of flooding and torrential rains left by storm Daniel in Derna, Jabal al-Akhdar region a...

Hong Kong police have cordoned off some properties on Monday over the government's safety concerns after a landslide at Redhill Peninsula in Hong Kong, China. Cliffside multi-million properties are on the brink of collapse following landslides caused by the heaviest rains recorded in 140 years in early September. The area is a popular real estate choice among celebrities and businessmen.

SYDNEY — Australia's most populous state announced Tuesday a logging ban in a forest haven for koalas, aiming to protect the local population from being wiped out. Logging has been halted in 8,400 hectares of forest, home to 106 "koala hubs" that are highly populated by the marsupials, the New South Wales government said. The koala-rich area would form a key part of a planned 315,000-hectare Great Koala National Park on the mid-north coast and "save koalas from extinction in the state", it said. The move was a "historic step forward", said Nature Conservation Council acting chief executive Brad Smith, describing the area as "the most important koala habitat in the world". "This decision is also a recognition that logging has a devastating impact on koalas and biodiversity," he added. WWF-Australia spokesman Dr Stuart Blanch said koala numbers in NSW had suffered a dramatic decline, falling by more than 50% between 2000 and 2020...

WASHINGTON, United States - The United States on Monday approved Covid vaccines with formulations that more closely target currently circulating variants, as infections are once more on the rise. The new approvals relate to updated vaccines produced by Moderna and Pfizer that correspond to an Omicron sublineage. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) concluded that the benefits of receiving the shots outweighs the risk for those aged six months and up. "Vaccination remains critical to public health and continued protection against serious consequences of COVID-19, including hospitalization and death," senior FDA official Peter Marks said. Both companies released statements saying they expect their vaccines to be widely available in pharmacies and clinics within the coming days. A panel convened by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will meet tomorrow to offer clinical recommendations about who should receive the updated vaccines. However, President Joe Biden...

SEOUL — North Korea's Kim Jong Un headed for Russia Tuesday on his armored train, for likely arms talks with President Vladimir Putin in his first trip abroad in four years. Wearing a black suit and flanked by his top military officials in uniform, state media images showed an unsmiling Kim waving from the doorway of his private train with green-and-gold livery. Meanwhile senior officials and Pyongyang residents gave him "a warm send-off", according to the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). Experts say Putin is seeking artillery shells and antitank missiles from North Korea for Moscow's war in Ukraine, while Kim is reportedly in search of advanced technology for satellites and nuclear-powered submarines, as well as food aid for his impoverished nation. Kim "left here by his train on Sunday afternoon to visit the Russian Federation," KCNA said. State media images showed Kim walking to his train on a red carpet with honor guard through the statio...

The COVID-19 pandemic is officially over and the World Health Organization (WHO) has declared it finished. Other news items have long superseded the coronavirus in the headlines. However, some Germans are worried because the number of recorded infections has been rising in recent weeks This is — still — no reason for concern, according to Professor Stefan Kluge, the diirector of the Clinic for Intensive Care Medicine at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf. "At the moment, we are treating 182 patients with COVID-19 in intensive care in Germany, half of those because they have pneumonia caused by the virus. That is 1% of all patients in intensive care. It is a very stable situation, even though we have observed more infections among staff and patients in recent weeks." However, the shortage of skilled staff in hospitals could become a problem, especially in winter, Kluge said. Pirola and Eris are coming There are currently two new variants of the virus, which a...

JAKARTA — The Philippines and Vietnam are finalizing a 5-year rice cooperation agreement to ensure food security and agricultural production, Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said on Thursday. The Vietnamese leader assured Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. during their bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit that his country is ready to come to the aid of the Philippines. “Our two countries will conclude an inter-government agreement on rice trade so that our rice export to the Philippines will ensure food security in the Philippines,” he told Marcos Jr. “We look forward to having a stable framework of cooperation on rice trade for a long period of at least 5 years,” he said. “With that we can ensure our production and you can also ensure imports from Vietnam,” he added. Marcos Jr., who also heads the Philippines’ Department of Agriculture, earlier imposed a price ceiling on several rice varieties as the government curbs traders who have allegedly h...

PARIS -- The number of people under 50 diagnosed with cancer has surged worldwide in the last three decades but it is not fully clear why, a study said on Wednesday. Cases of cancer among people aged 14 to 49 rose by nearly 80 percent, from 1.82 million to 3.26 million, between 1990 to 2019, according to the study published in the journal BMJ Oncology. While experts cautioned that some of that increase was explained by population growth, previous research has also indicated that cancer is becoming more commonly diagnosed among under-50s. The international team of researchers behind the new study pointed to poor diet, smoking and alcohol as major risk factors underlying cancer in the age group. But "the increasing trend of early-onset cancer burden is still unclear," they added. A little over one million people under 50 died of cancer in 2019, up 28 percent from 1990, the study said. The deadliest cancers were breast, windpipe, lung, bowel and stomach cancers, according ...

VOLOS, Greece-- Storms have killed at least 14 people in Greece, Turkey and Bulgaria, with a Greek region hit by more rain in 24 hours than it normally sees in a year, officials said Wednesday. A period of extreme heat has given way to heavy storms, turning streets in northwestern Turkey into rivers and hitting Greece with unprecedented downpours as it recovers from weeks of wildfires. "Everything saved from the fire we had in July has been destroyed by this bad weather," said Christos Kleftakis, 49, in Nea Anchialos, near the central Greek city of Volos. "This is unprecedented -- these severe weather events, the strength of the rain, the wind. I've never seen anything like that before," he added. As the world warms, the atmosphere contains more water vapor which increases the risk of heavy precipitation in some parts of the world, notably in Asia, Western Europe and Latin America. Combined with other factors such as urbanization and land-use planning, thes...

The Department of Justice, through the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT), on Thursday announced that it will temporarily suspend the implementation of the revised travel guidelines for outbound Filipino travelers. In a statement, the DOJ stressed that the revised guidelines were to streamline the departure procedures. “The revisions were not intended to burden the general public but rather to enhance the overall experience of departing passengers,” it said. The DOJ also reaffirmed its dedication to upholding the rights and welfare of the public, including the right to travel freely. “We assure the public that the revised guidelines aim to strike a balance between national security and the facilitation of smooth and efficient travel,” it said. This came after the Senate adopted two resolutions against the new guidelines. It also approved another resolution authorizing Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri to file a temporary restraining order (TRO) with the Supreme Cou...

At least 800,000 employment opportunities for foreign workers will be opening up in Taiwan—and Filipinos will be favored for jobs in some sectors, according to the Manila Economic and Cultural Office in Taipei, Taiwan. In a "24 Oras" report by JP Soriano on Wednesday, Taiwan Labor Representative Cesar Chavez, Jr. said Taiwan aims to hire more Filipino employees, particularly in the service and hospitality sector, which will be expanded in the coming months. Hundreds of thousands of workers from other countries are said to be the target, and Filipinos are among the favored groups. “The target is mga December daw mag a-announce na and something like 800,000 workers,” said Chavez. The demand for Pinoy English teachers is also high, according to MECO. Since Taiwan holds a bilingual program, the country is looking for more English teachers. “‘Yung LET passer na teacher ay averaging 72,000 NT$, so that’s around P130,000 a month. Yung mga non-let passer, 40,000 NT$ so mga P70,0...

Budget carrier Cebu Pacific on Thursday announced a four-day sale for one-way promotional fares as low as P1 for select domestic and international destinations for travel in 2024. In an advisory, the carrier said the P1 one-way base fare will be available from Thursday, September 7, 2023, until Sunday, September 10, 2023, with a travel period from April 1 to August 31, 2024, exclusive of surcharges and other fees. Among the destinations covered by the promotional fares are Bacolod, Cebu, Iloilo, Kalibo, Laoag in the Philippines, Ho Chi Minh City, Macau, Seoul, Singapore, and Taipei. Cebu Pacific also announced a 27% discount on transfers for all its routes serving Boracay, where it has eight flights daily from Manila, two daily from Cebu, and six weekly from Clark. Passengers can choose to use their existing travel funds to book flights or opt to transact through payment centers, credit or debit cards, and e-wallets. The carrier currently flies to 35 domestic and 24 international ...

The Department of Education (DepEd) is still behind its 28.8 million enrollment target for School Year 2023-2024 as its database showed only 24.7 million learners enrolled as of Thursday afternoon. Based on DepEd’s Learner Information System (LIS), a total of 24,772,003 students in public schools, private schools, State Universities and Colleges (SUCs), and Local Universities and Colleges (LUCs) were enrolled as of 2 p.m. of August 31. Most enrollees this school year came from Calabarzon at 3,672,271. This was followed by Central Luzon with 2,753,328, National Capital Region with 2,597,582; and Central Visayas with 1,916,234. There were also 217,631 students enrolled under the Alternative Learning System, and 15,483 enrolled in Philippine schools overseas. DepEd deputy spokesperson Assistant Secretary Francis Cesar Bringas earlier said that the enrollment figure is still a running number as schools continue to upload their respective data in the LIS. “The final count will only b...

President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. on Thursday highlighted the need to support research and development in the Philippines to improve the country's health and technology sector. "I have asked all of those who are involved that we need to now be very conscientious and put together a program wherein we can support in whatever way that the government can on research and development, and as I think all of us know that some of the problems are in the development side," Marcos said in a speech. "We kept talking about what are the ways that we can – what are the methods that we can do so that the R&D or the new knowledge, the new technologies can be brought to market as it were, as quickly as possible," he added. This as he conferred the Order of National Scientist to Dr. Carmencita D. Padilla for her pioneering work as a world-renowned clinical geneticist as well as for the establishment of the Philippine Genome Center (PCG) at the Malacañang P...

The Senate will continue its inquiry into the new guidelines released by IACAT (Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking) on Departure Formalities for International-Bound Filipino Passengers despite the Department of Justice’s suspension of its implementation. “So isu-suspend muna nila, but at the same time, they have to explain to us how did they come up with these guidelines. Ano ba ang pagbabasehan nila dito sa mga guidelines na ito?” Zubiri said in a press conference Thursday. Among the topics that will be discussed during the hearing is how will the government address human trafficking without imposing strict guidelines on all out-bound passengers. “What are the reasons why you have these guidelines? Alam po natin to combat human trafficking but there are ways of doing it. Why don’t we target the illegal recruiters, why don’t we target the human trafficking syndicates? Yan ang kailangan gawin,” he said. “I am thankful to the Secretary for heeding the suspension calls of the Se...