KAKAMMPI News

Kuwait's Minister of Finance and Minister of State for Economic Affairs and Investment Dr. Anwar Al-Mudhaf and a delegation accompanying him took part in a joint ministerial meeting in Abu Dhabi between the GCC and the UK to discuss a free trade agreement between the two parties. Kuwait's Ministry of Finance said on Tuesday in a statement to KUNA that the meeting discussed the agreement thoroughly as well as a roadmap for fulfilling the free trade agreement's requirements' between the GCC and the UK which benefits mutual interests. It added that the meeting was attended by GCC Secretary-General Jassem Al-Budaiwi and UK's Secretary of State for Business and Trade Kemi Badenoch as well as GCC ministers concerned with the free trade negotiations. - KUNA

Enlarged abdominal aortic aneurism fixed For the Fenestrated Endovascular Aortic Repair procedure, Dr. Al-Ali explained that this required high-level laser technical skills and a renowned medical team that holds certifications from the United States and Canada to perform with the utmost precision. The conventional alternative to this new laser procedure is an open abdominal surgery that is not suitable for high-risk patients, Dr. Al-Ali said. He pointed out that the conventional procedure was available for cardiac (heart) catheterization through the purchase of stents with exact patient measurements, explaining that the stents are made-to-order and are only available after six to 12 weeks. Some patients, however, require immediate medical intervention. Dr. Al-Ali added that there are few facilities equipped to perform this laser procedure; therefore, it is taking place in Mubarak Hospital, which speaks volumes about the Kuwaiti Ministry of Health, which strives to provide the best an...

KUWAIT: Kuwait Airways celebrates its 70th anniversary on Tuesday by launching its new logo and expanding its services, which reflect their vision for achieving their goals. Chairman of the Board of Directors Abdulmohsen Al-Fagaan said in a press conference that Kuwait Airways seeks to develop its systems by using the latest technology in the fields of aviation. He added that Kuwait Airways is collaborating with national food companies to improve the food quality on their aircraft and launching a luggage home delivery service for passengers arriving in Kuwait. Al-Fagaan also stated that they launched the ‘Blue Bird Channel’ on all airplane screens, which contains programs and documentaries that meet the passengers’ entertainment needs. He also added that the company is operating 50 flights to 46 destinations daily during the current winter season, noting that the number will increase to 54 destinations during the upcoming summer season. Flights to London will increase to two daily, fo...

KUWAIT: The Cabinet decided on Tuesday to hold snap parliamentary elections on April 4, which coincides with the last 10 days of the holy fasting month of Ramadan, government spokesman Amer Al-Ajmi said. Ajmi said that during its meeting on Tuesday “the Cabinet approved a draft Amiri decree inviting voters to elect the National Assembly on Thursday, April 4”. The draft decree has been sent to His Highness the Amir Sheikh Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah. He said that the decree will be issued on March 3 and registration of candidates will start the following day. The registration of hopefuls for a seat in the 50-member National Assembly will continue for 10 days, in accordance with the Kuwaiti elections law. Ajmi said that the last day for the withdrawal of candidates will be March 28. Voting will start at 12 noon and end at 12 midnight, based on the elections law issued by the Cabinet last week because elections will be held in Ramadan. His Highness the Amir, who became ruler on De...

AMMAN: The Jordanian army said it had carried out a series of humanitarian aid drops of food and other supplies into the besieged Gaza Strip, one of them by a French army plane. Jordanian forces made “four air drops carrying aid for the people of Gaza”, under the directive of Jordanian King Abdullah II, a statement said. The operation came on the same day that two human rights groups accused Zionists of further limiting humanitarian aid into Gaza - where the UN has warned of famine - despite an order from the UN’s top court. Jordan has conducted a total of 16 air-drop operations since the war brokeout on October 7 between Zionists and Hamas militants in Gaza. Previously announced air drops, including a joint operation with the Netherlands, sent medical and other aid to the Jordanian field hospital in northern Gaza. Monday’s operation “aimed at delivering aid to the population directly and drop it along the coast of the Gaza Strip from north to south,” the Jordanian army statement sai...

MANILA, Philippines —The city government of Cotabato has received a mobile waste processing facility from the Japanese government. The facility is equipped with a multi-purpose shredder and glass pulverizer, plastic melter and three bio-gas digesters. The donation was part of an initiative titled “Accelerating Nationally Determined Contributions through Circular Economy in Cities,” a collaborative venture of the government of Japan, United Nations Development Program (UNDP), Department of Environment and Natural Resources and Japan’s Ministry of Environment, Natural Resources and Energy. The turnover ceremony was attended by Japanese embassy deputy chief of mission Kenichi Matsuda, Cotabato City Mayor Mohammad Ali Matabalao, UNDP Philippines deputy resident representative Edwine Carrie and city officials. Matsuda expressed confidence that the project would enhance the city’s capacity in waste management and encourage sustainable practices among its communities toward shifting to a ...

SAN FRANCISCO, United States — OpenAI has concluded a deal with investors that reportedly values the California start-up at $80 billion or more, after a roller-coaster year for the inventor of ChatGPT. The agreement, reported by The New York Times but not yet confirmed by OpenAI, would mean the value of the company -- a world leader in generative artificial intelligence -- would have nearly tripled in under 10 months. The reported deal would have the San Francisco-based firm selling existing shares to investors led by Thrive Capital. It would permit executives and employees to sell shares at a highly favorable price, just three months after the firm survived a major crisis when company co-founder and chief executive Sam Altman was fired and then brought back only days later. OpenAI led a revolution in artificial intelligence when it placed its ChatGPT program online in late 2022. The immediate success of the interface sparked tremendous interest in the cutting-edge technology, cap...

PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES — The UN chief warned Monday that an invasion of Rafah in far-southern Gaza would "put the final nail in the coffin" of aid operations, after Israel said its army had readied a plan to move civilians out of the packed city. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Rafah -- where around 1.4 million Palestinians have sought refuge near the Egyptian border -- is also "the core of the humanitarian aid operation" in the Gaza Strip where Israel has been fighting Hamas militants for nearly five months. With tensions high across the region, Israel fired the first strikes on Lebanon's east since the start of the Gaza war, killing two Hezbollah fighters far from Lebanon's southern border. In a political shock, Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas accepted the resignation of prime minister Mohammad Shtayyeh's government in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. A presidential decree said the government will stay on in an interim cap...

MANILA, Philippines — The Embassy of India in Manila will host a technology summit in March aimed at fostering deepering collaboration between the South Asian nation and the Philippines in the digital domain. Over 57 Indian tech companies will present their digital products and solutions in areas like fintech, agritech and healthtech at the first ever India-Philippines Tech Summit on March 5 in Taguig City. Indian Ambassador to Manila Shambhu Kumaran said the event marks the beginning of a structured dialogue between the two countries on digital technology. “The Philippines is seen in India as an economy with extremely bright prospects. And our companies are keen to explore opportunities,” Kumaran told reporters last Friday. Over 30 Indian tech firms have invested in the Philippines, employing between 150,000 and 200,000 Filipinos. “There’s already a legacy of engagement between India and the Philippines in the information technology (IT) sector. But what we are lacking so far ...

Businessworld / File MANILA, Philippines — Fintech GCash announced its plans to establish a swift incident response system, in cooperation with the Department of Information and Communications Technology's (DICT) Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC), to combat fraud and cybercrimes on its platform. In a press conference on Monday, DICT Secretary Ivan Uy said that the partnership with the fintech company aimed to establish a “rapid incident response” on fraud-related crimes committed through GCash. “The collaboration puts together rapid incident response mechanism so the public can be protected in time," Uy said. According to CICC Undersecretary Alexander Ramos, the initiative between GCash and the CICC will “properly protect” the public and prevent online scammers from getting more victims. Ramos also advised victims of online scams to promptly report incidents to GCash and the CICC, rather than posting on social media. In a separate press release, GC...

Pixabay/TheDigitalArtist SHANGHAI, China — The Chinese government on Monday called for heightened data security measures and anti-hacking protections for sensitive domestic companies, vowing to "effectively prevent and control major risks" by 2026. China has in recent years accused other governments and foreign groups of launching cyberattacks on its digital infrastructure, while being blamed itself for sponsoring attacks abroad, including in the United States. Beijing's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology on Monday called for the construction of a "data security protection system" in a document addressed to local governments and Chinese businesses. Local governments must focus their attention on "businesses that have mastered key technologies... are related to the security and stability of the industrial chain, or have a bearing on national security", the ministry said. Officials must also "guide businesses to strengthen risk mo...

AFP/Jiji Press TOKYO, Japan — Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg met with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida while on a visit to Japan, with reports saying they discussed the risks of generative AI. "We had a good, productive conversation about AI and the future of technology," local media quoted Zuckerberg as saying after the 30-minute meeting on Tuesday. "I'm really excited for the work that is happening here in Japan," the Facebook founder said after the talks, which reportedly included Joel Kaplan, Meta's vice president of global public policy. Spearheaded by OpenAI's ChatGPT, generative artificial intelligence is a technology that can conjure up text, image and audio in just seconds from simple prompts. Its rapid development has been heralded as potentially revolutionary for everything from video games to politics -- but with negative as well as positive consequences. This month, Meta was one of 20 major tech firms including OpenAI to sign a pledge to crack...

US President Joe Biden's reelection campaign joined short-form video app TikTok on Sunday, using the NFL's Super Bowl to kick off its new account to reach young voters ahead of the presidential election in November. The campaign's launch on TikTok is notable given that the app, which is owned by Chinese tech giant ByteDance, is under review in the US for potential national security concerns. Some US lawmakers have long called for the app to be banned over concerns that the Chinese government could access user data or influence what people see on the app. Last year, the Biden administration ordered government agencies to remove TikTok from federal government-owned phones and devices. TikTok has maintained that it would not share US user data with the Chinese government and has taken substantial measures to protect the privacy of its users. The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Sunday. Biden campaign advisors said in a statement it would ...

The Philippines is closely watching the US presidential race but would view any change in leadership as an opportunity to renew the strengthening alliance between the two countries, Manila's longtime envoy to Washington said on Thursday. Security engagements between the defense treaty allies have stepped up considerably under US President Joe Biden and Philippine counterpart Ferdinand Marcos Jr., with both leaders keen to counter what they see as China's aggressive actions in the South China Sea and near Taiwan. The Philippines, a former US colony, is Washington's closest ally in Southeast Asia and its proximity to Taiwan makes it crucial to US efforts to counter a potential invasion by China of the democratic island it views as its own territory. "The only challenge that we face, especially for us in the embassy in Washington DC, is what happens in November. It's a concern for every country who would be the next president ... everybody is preparing for that,...

The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) and the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos (NCMF) signed an agreement on Thursday to enhance the protection and employment opportunities of Muslim Filipinos. In a statement, the DMW said the memorandum of agreement (MOA) with the NCMF covers comprehensive support mechanisms for Muslim overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), from pre-departure orientation, deployment, and on-site employment to their eventual reintegration. The MOA calls for collaboration between the two agencies on the following initiatives: -developing a registration system for Muslim OFWs -conducting pre-departure seminars with the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) -providing Arabic language training in collaboration with the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) -launching joint campaigns against illegal recruitment and human trafficking "We are committed to the full implementation of this agreement through all the stages of our Musli...

BEIJING — Two people were killed after a barge collided with a bridge over a waterway in China's Pearl River Delta near Guangzhou City, causing part of the bridge to break off, plunging vehicles into the water, Chinese state media reported on Thursday. The Guangzhou Maritime Safety Administration said in a statement on their WeChat social media account the barge was travelling from Foshan city to a southern district of Guangzhou, when it crashed into the bridge at 5:30 a.m. (2130 GMT) in the Hongqili Waterway. Images on state-owned China Central Television (CCTV) showed an empty container barge lodged between two columns of the Lixinsha Bridge with part of the bridge's two-lane road deck missing. All road traffic on the bridge was halted. Four vehicles and an electric motorbike fell off the bridge. Two vehicles, which included a bus, plunged into the water and three other vehicles ended up on the barge, CCTV said. The bus was carrying only its driver. It was not immediately ...

The Department of Education (DepEd) was named the most trusted government agency, while the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) was considered best performing by a recent survey by OCTA Research. According to a recent Tugon ng Masa survey for the fourth quarter of 2023, the Education Department scored an 84% trust rating, a 5% jump from the 79% rating from the third quarter which it also topped as the most trusted agency. DepEd was followed closely by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) at 83%, DSWD at 82%, the Department of Health (DOH) at 80% and the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) at 75%. The five aforementioned agencies were the same ones to have topped the list of publicly trusted government agencies from the third quarter, and were also the same top-performing agencies with DSWD garnering the highest score at 86%. Similar to the previous survey, higher trust and performance ratings for government offices were recorded in the Visayas and Mi...

MANILA, Philippines — The United States is confident that controversial pastor Apollo Quiboloy will eventually face the charges filed against him in the US. In a statement on Wednesday, the United States Embassy in the Philippines said Quiboloy will face justice for his “heinous crimes.” This comes after the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) Founder accused the United States government of plotting to “eliminate” him with the help of the Philippine government — accusations he spouted after being summoned by the Senate and the House of Representatives. Earlier this week, Quiboloy was slapped with a subpoena order by both chambers of Congress after he snubbed committee hearings related to KOJC and the television network it owns, SMNI. Quiboloy’s 37-minute audio message posted on social media on Wednesday alleged that the Philippine government, including lawmakers, are plotting to kill him and his church leaders. Quiboloy also alleged that a “rendition” would be conducted on him. The U...

The ITUC is now a member of the Global Coalition for Social Justice – a ground-breaking initiative aimed at intensifying collective efforts to address social justice deficits. ITUC General Secretary Luc Triangle said: “The Coalition is key to tackling increasing inequality, insecurity, and military confrontation worldwide – all these are factors that undermine democracy and erode trust in governments. “The foundation of restoring this trust and facing the major challenges of climate and technological change, is a New Social Contract based on decent jobs, workers’ rights, universal social protection for all, fair wages, equality and inclusions. This will help us deliver social justice.” The Coalition has been set up as a key and timely initiative of ILO Secretary General Gilbert Houngbo. An analysis of the last three decades of globalisation reveals governments’ capabilities to protect people's dignity have been weakened and this has contributed to a rise in extreme righ...

Science and technology (S&T) play a vital role in Philippine development, providing innovative solutions to societal challenges faced by Filipinos. In that regard, the University of the Philippines – Diliman College of Science (UPD-CS) has been at the forefront of advancing S&T in the Philippines for decades, producing basic and applied scientific research of high standards and national relevance. Year after year, research spearheaded by UPD-CS scientists is published in various journals with high impact factors. The impact factor is a variable measuring a journal’s importance based on the average number of citations of its articles. UPD-CS scientists continued the College’s long streak of quality research in 2023, with several studies they led becoming internationally recognized and included in some of the world’s most notable, high-impact journals. From examining Philippine tropical cyclones to the risk factors of breast cancer, here are some of UPD-CS’ recent scientific br...

SEOUL, South Korea — Russian President Vladimir Putin has gifted North Korean leader Kim Jong Un a Russian-made car, Pyongyang's state media said Tuesday, as the two countries bolster ties in areas from tourism to defense. Kim was "presented with a car made in Russia for his personal use by Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, president of the Russian Federation", Pyongyang's official Korean Central News Agency reported. Kim's powerful sister, Yo Jong, said the "gift serves as a clear demonstration of the special personal relations between the top leaders" of the two countries, KCNA added. The report did not specify the vehicle's model. Since Kim visited Putin last year, Pyongyang has been drawing ever closer to Moscow, with a group of Russian tourists arriving earlier this month for a four-day trip -- the first known foreign tour group since before pandemic-linked border closures in 2020. After September's Kim-Putin summit in Russia's Far East...

January 22, 2024—Ottawa—International students enrich our communities and are a critical part of Canada’s social, cultural and economic fabric. In recent years, the integrity of the international student system has been threatened. Some institutions have significantly increased their intakes to drive revenues, and more students have been arriving in Canada without the proper supports they need to succeed. Rapid increases in the number of international students arriving in Canada also puts pressure on housing, health care and other services. As we work to better protect international students from bad actors and support sustainable population growth in Canada, the government is moving forward with measures to stabilize the number of international students in Canada. The Honourable Marc Miller, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship announced today that the Government of Canada will set an intake cap on international student permit applications to stabilize new growth for a p...

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky has made an urgent appeal for more weapons to avoid a "catastrophic" situation in Europe. An "artificial deficit of weapons" will only help Russia, Mr Zelensky told an international conference in Germany. Ukrainian troops have been running out of ammunition as vital US support has been held up by supporters of former President Donald Trump in Congress. Mr Zelensky said he was prepared to tour the front lines with Mr Trump. "If Mr Trump will come, I am ready to go with him to the front line. What does it mean, the real war, not Instagram, the real war," the Ukrainian president said. President Joe Biden assured Mr Zelensky during a phone call on Saturday that the US was committed to supporting Ukraine's fight against "Russia's brutal invasion", the White House said in a statement. Mr Biden also said that earlier in the day "Ukraine's military was forced to withdraw from Avdiivka afte...

The US has vetoed a resolution at the UN demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza after proposing its own draft urging a temporary ceasefire. Washington said the Algerian-proposed resolution would "jeopardise" talks to end the war. But the move has been condemned, with US allies expressing regret the original ceasefire motion was blocked by the White House. In its own resolution the US warned Israel not to invade the city of Rafah. The US has previously avoided the word "ceasefire" during UN votes on the war, but President Joe Biden has recently made similar comments. Thirteen countries on the 15-member body backed Algeria's resolution, while the UK abstained. Linda Thomas-Greenfield, Washington's ambassador to the UN, said it was not the right time to call for an immediate ceasefire while negotiations between Hamas and Israel were continuing. The draft resolution proposed by the US calls for a temporary ceasefire "as soon as practicable" an...

The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) on Monday said over a thousand checks had been credited to overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who were displaced following the bankruptcy of their companies in Saudi Arabia. In a press briefing, DMW Officer-in-Charge Hans Leo Cacdac said 1,204 checks had been processed; 1,100 of which had been credited to the affected OFWs or were due for encashment. “That’s an increase. It was 843 when the President first announced this about a week ago. We’re up to 1,100 checks paid out. That covers around SAR57 million or USD15 million,” he said. The DMW expected more payments to be made in the coming days. Earlier this month, President Ferdinand ''Bongbong'' Marcos Jr. disclosed that the displaced OFWs had started receiving compensation. In November 2022, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman allocated SAR2 billion for the unpaid salaries of 10,000 OFWs employed by construction companies that declared bankruptcy in 2015 and 2016. DMW Und...

COTABATO CITY — The Marines now operate a livelihood skills training center for villagers in the former main enclave of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front which is surrounded by municipalities in Maguindanao del Norte, Lanao del Sur and Cotabato provinces. The Skills Development Center or SDC, established for the Navy’s 1st Marine Brigade by the Australian government via its Australian Aid, and the Philippine Business for Social Progress, is located in the heart of the MILF’s historic erstwhile Camp Abubakar in Barangay Tugaig in Barira, Maguindanao del Norte. Camp Abubakar, now a “peace zone,” is covered by the front’s peace accords with Malacañang, the 2012 Framework Agreement on Bangsamoro and subsequently, the 2014 Comprehensive Agreement on Bangsamoro that paved the way for the setting up in 2019 of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao that replaced the then 27-year Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao that had lesser political, fiscal and administrative powers. ...

WARSAW, Poland — Yulia Navalnaya on Monday vowed to continue her husband Alexei Navalny's fight after his death in a Russian prison last week, for which she blamed the Kremlin. She spoke as the Kremlin said it had no details about his death, while his mother Lyudmila was denied access to his body for a third day. Navalnaya's address came shortly before she met EU foreign ministers in Brussels, where she had been invited after the death of her husband triggered Western outrage. "I will continue the work of Alexei Navalny. I will continue to fight for the freedom of our country," Navalnaya said. "And I call on you to stand by me." Navalnaya, an economist, stood by her husband as he galvanised mass protests in Russia, flying him out of the country when he was poisoned before defiantly returning to Moscow with him in 2021, knowing he would be jailed. The announcement she will replace Navalny is a momentous and unpredictable turn for Russia's exiled and ...

NIRIM, Israel — Rockets at dawn, gunfire outside, hours of anxiety: a survivor of the October 7 attack shared his account of the day Gaza militants stormed his southern Israeli community, speaking into a video camera. Arnon Avni's story is one of several hundred witness accounts of the deadly Hamas attack being collected by Israel's national library in partnership with local and international initiatives. He was speaking recently at Nirim kibbutz, about two kilometres (a mile) from the Gaza Strip, often interrupted by the sound of nearby fighting more than four months into the Israel-Hamas war. Avni, 70, a graphic designer and caricaturist, said he had spent 10 hours hiding in a safe room with his grandchildren as militants rampaged through the small village, killing five kibbutz residents, kidnapping five others and torching homes. Three of those captives have been freed, while Nirim -- like most Israeli communities near the Gaza border -- has remained largely deserted sin...

MANILA, Philippines — Members of the Senate and the House of Representatives have threatened to arrest and cite in contempt pastor Apollo Quiboloy for evading their summons to separate committee investigations on his actions as the leader of a megachurch and founder of television network SMNI. Urged to face the accusations against him — including allegations he sexually and physically abused members of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC), according to Senate witnesses — Quiboloy has instead opted to hurl conspiracies on social media that he is in hiding due to an “assassination” plot against him approved by the president, among others. In a 37-minute audio recording posted on Facebook, Quiboloy claimed that the United States government is in cahoots with President Marcos Jr. to conduct “rendition” on him instead of extradition and that the plot involves “killing” him and his church leaders. “I have been given to foreigners. If this is true, own up to it. If I’m wrong, correct me. My ...

In a bid to challenge the male-dominated landscape of nonfiction literature, the inaugural Women’s Prize for Nonfiction has emerged as a beacon of change. Spearheaded by British historian Suzannah Lipscomb, this groundbreaking prize aims to amplify the voices of female authors in a genre often overshadowed by male counterparts. Highlighting the disparity in nonfiction publishing, Lipscomb emphasized the need to bridge the “authority gap,” where women authors often receive less recognition and exposure than their male counterparts. With only 26.5% of nonfiction books reviewed in Britain's newspapers authored by women, the Women's Prize for Nonfiction seeks to address this imbalance head-on. The prize’s longlist features an eclectic array of works from authors hailing from various corners of the globe, including the Philippines. Notably, journalist Patricia Evangelista’s Some People Need Killing offers a poignant exploration of the Philippines’ drug war, adding a crucial perspe...

Tight academic calendar schedules, ineffective reading breaks, and slow responses to mental health needs are among the pleas of CS students in the student-led CS-wide consultation held at the National Institute of Physics Auditorium on February 12, 2024. The student-led event, organized by the CS Student Council (CSSC), was an avenue for CS students to raise issues on the academic calendar, reading breaks, learning modes, and student welfare. “It's important to gather these sentiments as we gear forward to a much better system and policies in the future,” CSSC Chairperson Zedwin Sta. Monica said. One of the most common sentiments of students was the tight academic calendar schedules. The first-semester schedule, from September to January, only included a few days of holiday break. Some expressed concern that it had been too short to justify spending expensive travel fees to return home to their provinces. A few chose not to make the trip at all and used the break to catch up ...

MANILA, Philippines — A lawmaker is seeking a temporary suspension of the PhilHealth premium contributions for minimum wage earners to utilize the unspent funds of the state insurer to subsidize the premiums of low-income individuals. Rep. Stella Quimbo (Marikina City) filed House Resolution 1595 on Tuesday to provide financial relief to minimum wage earners — whether employed or self-employed — while also using existing resources within PhilHealth to subsidize the monthly premiums of “economically vulnerable” workers. For two years, PhilHealth has had billions of surplus funds from unspent allocations that were meant for subsidizing the premiums of indigent and vulnerable persons. In 2022, Congress earmarked P80 billion to subsidize health insurance premiums for indigent families, senior citizens and persons with disabilities. Despite this allocation, PhilHealth reportedly left P24 billion untouched. In 2023, Congress again designated funds for premium subsidies, this time total...

OTTAWA, Canada - Canada added 37,000 jobs in January, pushing down the unemployment rate 0.1 percentage points to 5.7 percent, the national statistical agency said Friday. The unexpected employment gains were driven by an increase in part-time work, according to Statistics Canada. The drop in the unemployment rate, meanwhile, was the first observed since December 2022. It had been moving upward through most of 2023, rising from 5.1 percent last April to 5.8 percent in December. "The employment data suggests that June is now more likely for the first Bank of Canada rate cut of this cycle than April," Desjardins analyst Royce Mendes reacted in a research note. He and others adjusted downward by 25 basis points their predictions that interest rates would be cut, bit by bit, to end the year at 3.75 percent. The bank has held its key lending rate at 5 percent in recent months after aggressively hiking it in a bid to tame soaring inflation from a record low of 0.25 percent in ...

The Philippine Air Force (PAF) and the United States Pacific Air Force (PACAF) held a joint patrol over the West Philippines Sea (WPS) on Monday as part of the 3rd Maritime Cooperative Activity (MCA). In a statement, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said three PAF FA-50s accompanied a B-52H bomber aircraft of PACAF from the west of Ilocos Sur to Mindoro Strait. “It is the air component of the said activity that demonstrates the commitment of both armed forces to enhancing interoperability and advancing regional peace and security in the Indo-Pacific,” the AFP said. “It also further strengthens the capability of the AFP to perform its mandate and maintain its presence over the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone,” it added. In a separate statement, the PAF said the activity was Phase 2 of the 3rd MCA covering areas 90 nautical miles west of Candon, Ilocos Sur and 50 nautical miles northwest of Lubang, Mindoro. “This cooperative activity aims to bolster cooperation betwee...