KUWAIT CiTY, Kuwait (AFP)–A delegation of Philippine labor officials were in Kuwait City Sunday to assess the impact of a new ban on Filipinos working in the emirate, a source of much-needed remittances. President Rodrigo Duterte earlier this month announced a departure ban for Filipinos planning to work in Kuwait, after the murder there of 29-year-old Joanna Demafelis. Her body was found in a freezer and a Lebanese-Syrian couple suspected of her murder have been […]
Tag: abuse
In photos: President Duterte during his visit to Demafelis’ wake where he vowed justice for the slain OFW
Seen here are some of the photos taken by Malacanang when President Rodrigo Duterte visited the wake of the slain overseas Filipina worker (OFW) Joanna Demafelis on February 22, where he personally condoled with the parents of the murdered Filipina. He gave them at least half a million pesos in financial assistance, and assured them that justice will be served as soon as those responsible for the abuse and killing of Joanna will be […]
Couple in Kuwait murder of Demafelis already arrested, says Lebanese official
BEIRUT, Lebanon (AFP) — The employers of a Filipina maid found dead in a freezer in Kuwait were both arrested in the Syrian capital Damascus, a Lebanese judicial official said on Saturday. Syrian authorities surrendered Nader Essam Assaf to Beirut on Friday because of his Lebanese citizenship but his Syrian wife Mona remains in custody in Damascus, the official said. The murder of Joanna Demafelis sparked outrage in the Philippines and prompted President Rodrigo […]
Turkey considers chemical castration for child abusers
ANKARA, Turkey (AFP) — Turkey’s government said on Tuesday it would consider introducing chemical castration for child abusers after several cases of sexual assault on children sparked public outcry. “The courts will decide on the use and duration of chemical castration to limit or eliminate sexual desire,” said Justice Minister Abdulhamit Gul. The government was putting the issue back on its agenda and would be revisited again “within a few days”, he added. Turkey introduced […]
Pope revives sexual abuse panel
by Olivier Baube Agence France Presse VATICAN CITY, Holy See (AFP) — The Vatican said Saturday it has renewed its anti-pedophile panel as Pope Francis acts to quell the global scandal over the sexual abuse of children by priests. The panel had come under fire from two high-profile members, former sex abuse victims who quit at what they saw as a lack of reform and obstruction at the highest level of the Catholic Church. […]
Duterte offers gov’t help to OFWs in Kuwait
President Rodrigo Duterte on Friday pledged government help to evacuate Filipinos wanting to leave Kuwait, blasting the Gulf state for “inhuman” treatment of migrant workers after reports of a gruesome killing in the country. Duterte, who last month temporarily banned citizens from traveling to Kuwait to work, said 120 workers had died in the country last year and that the body of one Philippine woman had been found stuffed into a freezer in recent days. […]
Disgraced USA Gymnastics doc sentenced to another 40-125 years
by with Nova SAFO in Chicago / Rena LAVERTY Agence France-Presse CHARLOTTE, United States – Larry Nassar, the former USA Gymnastics doctor who sexually abused girls and young women for decades under the guise of medical treatment, was sentenced Monday to an additional 40 to 125 years in prison. Nassar already faced a lifetime behind bars for two prior sentences after pleading guilty to sexually assaulting women and girls in his role as a high-profile sports medicine […]
Nassar hearing halted as father lunges at disgraced doctor who abused at least 265 female athletes
https://youtu.be/IAFzWERy5So by Nova Safo Agence France Presse CHICAGO, United States (AFP) — A father whose three daughters say they were sexually abused by Larry Nassar lunged at the disgraced former USA Gymnastics doctor in a Michigan courtroom Friday, bringing his sentencing hearing to an abrupt halt while order was restored. The disruption came on the last day of victim impact statements before Nassar — already condemned to spend dozens of years behind bars on […]
Duterte threatens Mideast work ban; tells those countries to do something to stop OFW abuse
President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday threatened to ban Filipinas from working in the Middle East as he said Overseas Filipino Workers were being raped in Kuwait. Over two million Filipinos, many of them maids, are employed in the region, helping to prop up the Philippine economy with billions of dollars in salary remittances to their families each year. Last week, Duterte barred Filipinos from seeking work in Kuwait over reports of widespread abuse, exploitation and […]
Myanmar army’s admission of killings a ‘positive step’: Suu Kyi
YANGON, Myanmar (AFP) — Myanmar’s civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi has welcomed an unprecedented army admission that security forces carried out extra-judicial killings of Rohingya Muslims as a “positive step”, state-backed media reported Saturday. After months of staunch denials of abuse, the army on Wednesday said a probe found four members of the security forces helped kill 10 Rohingya militant suspects at Inn Din village on September 2, leaving their bodies in a hastily […]
Vatican takes over scandal-hit Catholic group in Peru
By Agence France Presse VATICAN CITY (AFP) — The Vatican has taken control of a Catholic movement in Peru whose founder is accused of sexual abuse, just days before the pontiff visits the country. Pope Francis has been “following with concern” developments at the Sodalitium Christianae Vitae (SCV) and the investigation into its scandal-hit founder Luis Fernando Figari, the Vatican said Wednesday. Figari and several other high-ranking figures in the lay organisation have been […]
Cambodia sends maids to HK to plug gap after abuse scandals
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AFP) — Cambodia sent its first batch of maids to work in Hong Kong on Wednesday, December 27, as the Asian financial hub scrambles to meet growing demand for domestic helpers after a series of abuse scandals. Hong Kong is home to more than 300,000 foreign maids, mostly from the Philippines and Indonesia. But high-profile cases of abuse and forced labor have seized global headlines in recent years and threatened to […]





