Retired Pinoy Priest Invents Digital Confession Box

A retired Filipino priest in Phoenix, Arizona, has invented a computerized confession tool for the speech and hearing impaired, reports ABS-CBN News. Fr. Romuald Zantua calls it the St. Damien confession box—an innovation borne out of the need he saw when he worked with patients dealing with hearing loss.

Pinoys Told Not to Carry Bullet Amulets Into Macau

Filipinos who are going to Macau have been advised against carrying bullet amulets or anting-anting as they are categorized and thus prohibited in the Chinese territory, reports GMA News. The Philippine Consulate in Macau gave the advice after noting an increase in the number of Filipinos apprehended during routine security checks in Macau ports of entry because they had bullet amulets in their checked in and carry-on luggage.
 

Filipino Food Named Among Best US Food Trends

American TV host, chef, food writer and teacher Andrew Zimmern named Filipino food  among the best trends of 2013 in the United States, reports Interaksyon.com. In a December 12, 2013 post on People.com, the host of “Bizaare Foods” (on the Travel Channel) mentioned “brilliant Filipino food!” among “the highs” of the year.

Rich Europeans Trust Pinoys with Their Mansions

Filipinos around the world have gained the trust of their employers, like Pinoys living on the Spanish island of Mallorca where most work as caretakers of mansions and summer villas owned by affluent British and German families, reports ABS-CBN News.

Fil-Am Composer Nominated for Golden Globe Award

Filipino-American Robert Lopez and his wife, Kristen Anderson-Lopez, were among the people who woke up Thursday morning to find they had been nominated to the Golden Globe Awards, reports Inquirer.net. Robert, award-winning cocreator of “Avenue Q” and “The Book of Mormon”—whose father is part-Filipino—and Kristen nabbed a best original song nod for their powerful ballad, “Let It Go,” sung by Idina Menzel from the animated film, “Frozen.”

12 OFWs Abandoned By Korean Employer in Saudi

Twelve Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW's) who were hired by a Filipino agency in Ermita to work for a Korean company in Saudi Arabia have been dumped with no money, no food and no assistance from the agency when the Korean employers and staffers decamped, probably back to Seoul, reports Balita Pinoy.

Religious Women Form Anti-Trafficking Network

A formidable multibillion-dollar human-trafficking industry has driven Catholic religious women to collaborate among themselves and with other sectors of society to stop what Pope Francis has called "the most extensive form of slavery of the 21st century," reports the National Catholic Reporter. The anti-trafficking network of women religious has developed a program of activities in partnership with a central office in Rome as well as a network of local anti-trafficking teams.

Six of Seven Filipinos Killed in Yemen Identified

Six of the seven overseas Filipino workers who were killed in the terrorist attack on the Defense Ministry Complex in Yemen have been identified, reports ABS-CBN News. The Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) identified the fatalities as Dr. Ruben Valenzuela, Marian David, Hezel Pueblos, Edward Anthony de Guzman, Marivic Corilla Badenas and Aurora Yumol Gormate who are nurses and medical workers.