You plan to move to the Philippines? Wollen Sie auf den Philippinen leben?

There are REALLY TONS of websites telling us how, why, maybe why not and when you'll be able to move to the Philippines. I only love to tell and explain some things "between the lines". Enjoy reading, be informed, have fun and be entertained too!

Ja, es gibt tonnenweise Webseiten, die Ihnen sagen wie, warum, vielleicht warum nicht und wann Sie am besten auf die Philippinen auswandern könnten. Ich möchte Ihnen in Zukunft "zwischen den Zeilen" einige zusätzlichen Dinge berichten und erzählen. Viel Spass beim Lesen und Gute Unterhaltung!


Visitors of germanexpatinthephilippines/Besucher dieser Webseite.Ich liebe meine Flaggensammlung!

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Tuesday, August 8, 2023

PH women spikers bow to veteran Thais in SEA V.League

BY KRISTEL SATUMBAGA-VILLAR



AT A GLANCE

  • The Philippines succumbed to a more aggressive Thailand side, 25-19, 25-7, 25-17, in the 2023 Southeast Asia V.League at the Vinh Phuc Gymnasium in Vietnam on Saturday, Aug. 5.


The Philippines succumbed to a more aggressive Thailand side, 25-19, 25-7, 25-17, in the 2023 Southeast Asia V.League at the Vinh Phuc Gymnasium in Vietnam on Saturday, Aug. 5.

DSC00336.jpeg

The Philippine women's volleyball team absorbs its second loss in the SEA V.League. (Tournament Photo) 

 

Still licking their wounds from a loss to host Vietnam the day before, the Filipina spikers struggled to counter the strong attacks of the Thais to absorb their second straight loss in as many games.

Bella Belen led the PH squad with 10 points while Alyssa Solomon added six points, but their efforts were not enough as Thailand pounced on them with their ferocious kills anchored on Janthawisut Sasipapron.

Sasipapron spearheaded the Thais with 12 points built on 10 kills and two aces, while getting reinforcements from Srithong Wipawee and Sooksod Thanacha, who had eight and seven points, respectively. 

So powerful were Thailand’s offense that it dominated the PH bets on attacks, 49-24. The Thais also unleashed strong serves with six aces.

Thailand’s victory tied them with Vietnam with identical 2-0 marks following its straight set win over Indonesia on Friday, Aug. 4.

The PH spikers battle also-ran Indonesia at press time in their bid to end their campaign on a high note.

Ivana Alawi's topless IG snap goes viral

BY NEIL RAMOS



Ivana Alawi sure knows how to please fans.

Seemingly sensing how the incessant rain might have keep some of them sulking indoors, the actress took to social media to post a photo meant to warm their hearts.

Note the photo is her most daring yet.

Indeed, where prior she is only too happy to display her God-given assets wearing the skimpiest of bikinis, this time, the 26-year-old hottie decided to do away with her top.

Ivana Alawi 1.jpg

Not that she actually displayed her chest full-on.

She has one arm covering much of it.

But it was enough for fans who eagerly showered it with more than 300,000 likes.

Some of the comments:

"Game too strong..."

"Perfect for rainy days..."

"Sexiest woman alive..."

Note that Ivana recently signed with ABS-CBN anew, promising fans more exciting films, series, to come.

Reicht meine Rente aus? So lesen Sie die Renteninformation richtig


Bescheid der Deutschen Rentenversicherung
Bescheid der Deutschen Rentenversicherung. © Zoonar.com/Stockfotos-MG/Imago

Wie viel Rente bekomme ich im Alter? Darüber gibt die jährliche Renteninformation Auskunft – allerdings nur bis zu einem gewissen Grad. Eine Übersicht.

Berlin – Die meisten Menschen haben nur eine ungefähre Vorstellung davon, wie viel Geld ihnen mal im Alter bleibt. Dabei ist es ungeheuer wichtig, sich rechtzeitig auf die Rente vorzubereiten, damit es im Ruhestand nicht finanziell zu eng wird. Doch wo kann ich überhaupt sehen, welche Rente ich später einmal bekomme? Auskunft darüber gibt die jährlich per Post verschickte Renteninformation. Eine Übersicht. 

Wer erhält eine Renteninformation?

Die Deutsche Rentenversicherung (DRV) verschickt die Renteninformationen automatisch an alle Versicherten, die mindestens 27 Jahre alt sind und fünf Jahre Beitragszeiten erworben haben. Die DRV versichert, dass die Informationen immer auf der aktuellen Rechtslage basieren und Änderungen des Rentenrechts berücksichtigt werden. Sie wird unter bestimmten Voraussetzungen auch ins Ausland verschickt. 

Regelaltersrente, Erwerbsminderung: Was steht in der Renteninformation?

In der Renteninformation werden unter anderem die erworbenen Rentenansprüche und eine Hochrechnung der voraussichtlichen Altersrente dargestellt. Sie soll Ihnen eine erste Hilfestellung sein, um sich klar zu werden, wie viel Geld Sie im Alter erhalten werden. Folgende Informationen gibt es für Versicherte, wenn sie den Brief Stück für Stück durchgehen:

1. Regelaltersgrenze: Im ersten Absatz erfahren Sie, ab welchem Jahr Sie Ihre Regelaltersgrenze erreicht haben – also, ab wann Sie ohne Abschläge Ihre gesetzliche Rente beziehen können. Darauf folgen drei Beträge, die in einem Kästchen abgebildet sind. Sie bezeichnen von oben nach unten. 

2. Rente bei voller Erwerbsminderung: Das ist der Rentenanspruch, den Sie heute erhalten würden, falls Sie vollkommen erwerbsgemindert wären, also gesundheitlich so eingeschränkt sind, dass Sie keiner Arbeit in irgendeiner Form nachgehen können.

3. Höhe der künftigen Regelaltersrente: Das sind die momentan erworbenen Ansprüche auf die volle Rente. Wenn man noch sehr jung ist, ist diese Zahl natürlich sehr niedrig. Diese Information ist interessant, wenn man sich beispielsweise gerade selbstständig macht und in Zukunft keine Rentenbeiträge mehr zahlen muss – denn der Anspruch auf diese Rente bleibt trotzdem erhalten. MEIN BEREICH

4. Höhe der künftigen Regelaltersrente: Diese Zahl gibt an, wie hoch Ihre Rente im Alter ausfallen wird, wenn Sie so weiter verdienen wie jetzt. Dabei handelt es sich um eine Hochrechnung.

Wichtige Faktoren: Rentenanpassung, Kaufkraft, Beiträge

Diese Angabe ist natürlich nicht in Stein gemeißelt: Wenn sich Ihre Erwerbssituation verändert – Sie beispielsweise weniger arbeiten und weniger verdienen, verringert sich der Rentenanspruch. Zusätzlich kann es sein, dass es Rentenanpassungen gibt, auch darauf wird in der Renteninformation hingewiesen. Dann kann die Rente unter Umständen höher ausfallen – diese Erhöhungen sind allerdings nicht im Voraus abzusehen. 

Auch nicht vorauszusehen ist der Kaufkraftverlust durch die Inflation. Das bedeutet, dass es sein kann, dass Sie sich in 20 Jahren für 2000 Euro viel weniger leisten können als heute. Die DRV betont deshalb auch, dass eine zusätzliche Altersvorsorge zur gesetzlichen Rente immer wichtiger wird.

Auch wichtig: Die Beträge in der Renteninformation sind in Brutto angegeben. Das bedeutet, dass von dem genannten Rentenbetrag noch Kranken- und Pflegeversicherungsbeiträge sowie teilweise auch Steuern anfallen können.

Der Rente-Newsletter: Wege in die Frührente
Wichtige Entwicklungen rund um Ihre Rente erhalten Sie wöchentlich am Mittwoch

Jetzt neu: Die digitale Rentenübersicht

Ab jetzt gibt es auch eine Möglichkeit, die Renteninformation online abzufragen. Auf der Plattform rentenuebersicht.de können sich Bürger seit kurzem einen Gesamtüberblick über ihre gesetzliche, betriebliche und private Altersvorsorge verschaffen und sich über die im Alter zu erwartende Finanzsituation informieren.

Allerdings ist die Seite noch nicht vollständig. Die Rentenversicherung ist darauf angewiesen, dass sich die privaten Altersvorsorge-Anbieter beteiligen und ihre Daten zur Verfügung stellen. Im Laufe des Jahres soll das ausgebaut werden. Registrierung und Login laufen über die Online-Funktion des Personalausweises mit der dazugehörigen „AusweisApp2“ auf dem Smartphone. Außerdem benötigt man seine Steuer-ID.

Climate change: The record summer that scorched Asia



Mohammad Shukkur Ali, 50, a Bangladeshi rickshaw puller, says the heat this year has been extreme
Image caption,
Mohammad Shukkur Ali, 50, a Bangladeshi rickshaw puller, says the heat this year has been extreme

Rain or shine, Mohammad Shukkur Ali, a rickshaw puller in his 50s, shows up for work on the streets of the Bangladesh capital Dhaka. The work is already punishing as it requires massive physical effort. But this year, the heat has made things even worse. Temperatures in the city hit 40.6C (105.8F) in April - a record high.

But Mr Ali, who lives with his wife and two children in a rented room, says he has no choice but to endure the discomfort.

"I need to work because we are poor," he said.

Mr Ali works eight-hour shifts every day in Gulshan, an affluent district in Dhaka which houses fancy apartments, sprawling corporate offices and several foreign embassies. To be even allowed into the area, he has to wear a jacket over his shirt - a uniform of sorts - which makes the heat even more uncomfortable.

The gruelling heat in the country has been made worse by fuel shortages- a consequence of the Ukraine war - which has led to frequent power cuts.

Millions of people across the world, including in North America and Europe, have experienced blistering heat this year.

A large number of cities have reported record temperatures, with scientists saying that July is "virtually certain" to be the world's warmest month on record.

Countries have pledged to keep the world from warming past 1.5C - a limit seen as a key threshold to prevent the worst of the impacts of climate change by reducing fossil fuel emissions. But scientists say there is a high chance that this limit will be breached in the next four years.

The globe is now about 1.1C warmer than pre-industrial times. But alarmingly, that increase has been even higher in Asia this year.

A recent report, compiled by nearly two dozen climate scientists, found that temperatures earlier this year were up by 2C in many parts of Asia, a region home to more than 4.5 billion people.

And the impact of this year's extreme heat has been felt in countries across the continent.

At least 23 people have died from heat-related injuries in between May and August, more than triple the number from the same period last year. Temperatures had risen to as high as 38C in parts of the country. On Thursday, Hundreds of participants at the 25th World Scout Jamboree in Buan, were hit by heat exhaustion. Other parts of the country witnessed heavy rainfalls and floods.

Japan issued heatstroke alerts across half of the country in mid-July after temperatures broke records in many parts of the country. The country's capital Tokyo alone saw temperatures reach a record-high of 38C (100.4F), 8C higher that an average Tokyo summer. And in just one week in July, local media reported that more than 9,000 people were hospitalised due to heatstroke across the country.

China recorded its hottest temperature, when the mercury in a dusty western Xinjiang province town surged to 52C (125F) in July. Just a month earlier, the capital Beijing recorded its hottest June day in more than 60 years at 51C (123.8F).

In India, an intense heatwave swept through the north of the country in May, with temperatures climbing to a record 49.2C (120.5F) in parts of the capital, Delhi. 

IMAGE SOURC
Image caption,
Temperatures in Thailand reached 45.4C (114F) on 15 April, its hottest day in history

South East Asia also saw record temperatures in a number of countries in both April and May - which are typically the hottest months for the region.

Heatwaves are among the deadliest natural disasters in the world, sometimes killing more people than earthquakes, typhoons, or floods. They can also melt roads, destroy infrastructure, and start forest fires. Some experts call heatwaves a silent disaster because the deaths are often not immediately obvious - they can also trigger pre-existing conditions like diabetes, which are exacerbated in the heat and increase chances of dehydration.

Extreme heat also forces the heart to work harder. Just a half degree rise in core body temperature can raise the heart rate by 10 beats per minute. Heatstroke can occur when the core body temperature rises and stays above 40C (104F), according to Mayo Clinic. It can lead to organ failure, cardiac arrest, and even death if left untreated.

Heat increases moisture in the air and "the sweat on your skin simply can't evaporate [and take the heat away] in the humidity," said Winston Chow, an associate professor of Urban Climate at Singapore Management University. "It becomes dangerous when the body loses the natural ability to cool off."

A 35C (95F) wet-bulb temperature - what scientists call the measure of heat plus humidity - is the "absolute limit" of human tolerance, according to Zach Schlader, a physiologist at Indiana University Bloomington. 

Senthil Logesh, a 26-year-old Indian construction worker in Singapore, said heat shelters and water points had to be installed on site where he currently works. Temperatures in parts of the city, which is humid throughout the year, had hit 37C (98.6F) in May, matching a record set four decades ago.

The wet-bulb temperature was monitored on the site, and workers were asked to rest when it got too high. But even then, Mr Logesh, who works 10 hours almost every day of the week, said that everyone was always "wet from sweating a lot."

Over the next decades, population is expected to double in Asia, with the growth mainly in tier-two cities in countries like Thailand, Indonesia, and Vietnam, according to Prof Chow, who also co-chairs the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the UN's top climate science agency that assesses the socio-economic impact of climate change.

"Not only will there be more construction taking place, but it will also happen in hotter conditions, so we need to start looking at reducing risks for many vulnerable people," he said.

While reducing emissions is important to prevent the world from warming further, Prof Chow said that countries also need to adapt to heatwaves, which will only increase in intensity and frequency.

Dealing with heatwaves

In South East Asia's wealthier countries like Singapore for instance, infrastructures exist to shield people from the heat, like air-conditioning in malls and homes. The country also plans to build more green spaces, covered walkways, and change building designs to offer more shelter.

However, poorer countries in the same region are unable to implement similar measures. Even when plans to tackle heat exist, they are typically underfunded and often overlook poorer communities.

Thailand, for example, has a national-level early warning system for heatwaves, asking people to find shelter or wear light-coloured clothing, according to Chaya Vaddhanaphuti, a co-author of the Asia heatwave report.

"But not everyone can do that, such as homeless people, the disabled, or the elderly. The plans need to be tailored to these groups as well," she told the BBC. "This is all assuming people actually do as they are told. These plans serve more as general recommendations than specific instructions."

One example of a low budget plan that has seen some success is one developed by the western Indian city of Ahmedabad in 2013, after experiencing a devastating heatwave that killed 1,344 people. Authorities used white paint on the tin and asbestos roofs of the homes of migrant slums to cool them. They make up a quarter of the city's households. Public parks are also kept unlocked throughout the day for street stall owners and construction workers to find shade. Other Indian cities have since tried replicating this plan.

Krishni Tharu works in construction in Nepal to support her family
Image caption,
Krishni Tharu works in construction in Nepal to support her family

But critics say more can be done for the poorest communities who still suffer the brunt of natural disasters like heatwaves as they often don't have the means, or access to infrastructure, to cope.

On hot summer nights in Nepal, 30-year-old Krishni Tharu falls asleep in the same room with her two children and mother-in-law, the whole family sharing a single standing fan. In the western city of Nepalgunj, where she works as a construction labourer, temperatures hit 44C (111F) in June.

Nepal, home to Mount Everest, gets warm during the main summer period from May to July. Government data also shows that the temperature has been steadily on the rise every year.

She's usually exhausted after working 10-hour days, from dawn to dusk, earning about US$4.50 each shift to support her family. Such gruelling, outdoor labour has only gotten harder in recent years as the heat has gotten worse, she said.

But she can't stop. Cutting off her family's precious income is not an option, she told the BBC. "There is no escape. I have to work."

Orchi Othondrila is a BBC Bangla reporter based in Dhaka. Bimala Chaudhary is a BBC Nepali reporter based in Kathmandu.