Tag: victims

Identifying Hamas victims is a new ordeal for Israel

RAMLA, Israel, Oct 16, 2023 (AFP) – When Rabbi Israel Weiss opens the doors of the refrigerated containers holding the bodies of hundreds of victims of the Hamas attacks the smell is overwhelming, but he said that most of all, he feels the suffering. The former military chief rabbi came out of retirement to become one of the leaders of an Israeli operation to identify the more than 1,400 dead from the raids by Hamas […]

Grief turns to anger after gunman murders 21 at Texas school

by Michael Mathes / Gerard MARTINEZ Grief at the massacre of 19 small children at an elementary school in Texas spilled into confrontation Wednesday, as angry questions mounted over gun control — and whether this latest tragedy could have been prevented. The tight-knit Latino community of Uvalde on Tuesday became the site of America’s worst school shooting in a decade, committed by a disturbed 18-year-old armed with a legally bought assault rifle. Wrenching details have […]

Pres. Duterte declares state of calamity in six regions devastated by super typhoon Odette

PHL President visiting and touring areas hit by Odette since Saturday, Dec. 18   (Eagle News) — President Rodrigo Duterte has signed Presidential Proclamation No. 1267 declaring a State of Calamity in six regions namely MIMAROPA (Region 4-b), Western Visayas (Region 6), Central Visayas (Region 7), Eastern Visayas (Region 8), Northern Mindanao (Region 10), and CARAGA Region (Region 13). Duterte, in his Talk to the People on Tuesday night, December 21, said that with the […]

French Catholic Church probe uncovers some 3,000 paedophiles

Some 3,000 paedophiles have operated inside the French Catholic Church since 1950, the head of an independent commission investigating the scandal told AFP days ahead of the release of its report. The commission’s research uncovered between 2,900 and 3,200 paedophile priests or other members of the church, said Jean-Marc Sauve, adding that it was “a minimum estimate”. The commission’s report is due to be released on Tuesday after two and a half years of research […]

‘Pulse’ sparks hunt for survivor one month after Beirut blast

  by Layal Abu Rahal and Dylan Collins Agence France Presse BEIRUT, Lebanon (AFP) — Rescuers resumed a search Friday for a possible survivor under the rubble in Beirut, buoyed by faint hopes of a miracle a month after a monster blast ripped through the city’s port. The cataclysmic August 4 explosion killed 191 people, making it Lebanon’s deadliest peacetime disaster. One month on, Lebanese across the grieving country observed a minute of silence on […]

Victims of London Bridge attack lauded by their families

LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — British police on Sunday named the two victims who died in the London Bridge terror attack, as their families paid glowing tributes to the pair. Jack Merritt, 25, from Cambridgeshire in eastern England, and 23-year-old Saskia Jones of Warwickshire in the West Midlands, were both killed by convicted terrorist Usman Khan during his rampage Friday, the Metropolitan Police said. Merritt, a course coordinator at Cambridge University’s criminology institute, and Jones, […]

US Catholic abuse victims sue Vatican to name predatory priests

  WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Five Americans who say they were sexually molested by Catholic priests filed a lawsuit against the Vatican on Tuesday to compel the church to open its archives and hand over the names and details of abusive clergy. The plaintiffs “were harmed as a result of the Defendant Holy See’s practice and policy of not reporting suspected child abuse to law enforcement officials,” stated the lawsuit filed in US federal […]

New Zealand falls silent, a week after mosque massacres

by Jerome TAYLOR The Muslim call to prayer rang out across New Zealand on Friday followed by two minutes of nationwide silence to mark a week since a white supremacist gunned down 50 people at two mosques in the city of Christchurch. As the call was broadcast around the country, thousands — including Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and wounded survivors — stood in a park opposite the mosque where the killing began, as the nation […]

‘He leaped on someone to save them’: stories of New Zealand massacre victims

  CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand (AFP) — A right-wing extremist has been charged over Friday’s horrifying gun attacks on two New Zealand mosques, which left 49 people dead and dozens more injured. The worshippers and their families caught up in the attacks in the normally peaceful city of Christchurch came from around the world. Here are some of their stories: The Afghan who ran into gunfire An Afghan man, thought to be in his 60s or […]

JUST IN: Cimatu sacks top officials of MGB in Region 7 following deadly landslide in Naga, Cebu

(Eagle News)–Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu has relieved officials  of the Mines and Geosciences Bureau in Region 7. This was following the landslide in Naga, Cebu that claimed the lives of over 20 individuals. Marian Codilla, information officer of the MGB in Cebu, said residents in Barangays Tina-an and Naalad had been advised to evacuate some two weeks ago after fissures were seen on the ground. Cimatu also suspended quarrying activities nationwide for 15 days. Search operations […]

Duterte to visit victims of landslide in Cebu

(Eagle News) — President Rodrigo Duterte on Friday, Sept. 21, will visit Naga, Cebu, where a landslide has claimed over 20 lives, and where dozens are still missing. After his visit to the area, Duterte will proceed to  the Asia Pacific Association of Gastroenterology (APAGE) 3rd Inflamatory Bowel Disease Clinical Forum, where he will serve as keynote speaker. He will then proceed to Cagayan de Oro, where he will visit wounded soldiers.  

Catholic Church’s Pope Francis faces calls for action over abuse, ‘shame’ in Ireland

  by Joseph Stenson and Catherine Marciano Agence France Presse DUBLIN, Ireland (AFP) — The Catholic Church’s Pope Francis expressed “pain and shame” over the Church’s failure to deal with abuse and met with eight victims during a visit to Ireland on Saturday where the prime minister pressed him to take action. Francis said the “failure of ecclesiastical authorities… adequately to address these repellent crimes has rightly given rise to outrage, and remains a source […]