MANILA: The head of the Philippines’ powerful Catholic Church called Sunday for an end to the “waste of human lives” following a brutal week in President Rodrigo Duterte’s drug war in which a 17-year-old boy was among dozens killed.
Police raids dubbed “One Time Big Time” saw at least 76 people shot dead, authorities said, as rights groups and lawmakers condemned the operation as an alarming “killing spree” in Duterte’s flagship campaign.
On Sunday, the highest-ranking Church official in the predominantly Catholic nation expressed concern about the increase in the number of deaths.
“We knock on the consciences of those who kill even the helpless, especially those who cover their faces with bonnets, to stop wasting human lives,” Manila Cardinal Luis Tagle said in a statement read in Sunday Masses in the capital.
“The illegal drug problem should not be reduced to a political or criminal issue. It is a humanitarian concern that affects all of us.”
Duterte, 72, launched an unprecedented crackdown on illegal narcotics after winning the presidency last year on a promise to kill tens of thousands of criminals.
The Church, one of the nation’s oldest and most influential institutions, had been among the few voices denouncing the deaths as polls showed Duterte continued to enjoy widespread popularity.
During the 14 months Duterte has been in power, police have confirmed killing more than 3,500 people — insisting they acted in self-defense.
More than 2,000 other people have been killed in drug-related crimes and thousands more murdered in unexplained circumstances, according to police data.
The numbers saw a sudden increase this week, with Duterte praising officers who shot dead 32 people in a single province as he urged for more.
Following Duterte’s call, at least 44 people were killed in various cities, including a 17-year-old boy whose death on Thursday sparked a national furor.
Relatives of Kian Delos Santos released CCTV footage of the boy being dragged away by two officers as they questioned a police report that he shot at them first.
In Sunday’s statement, Tagle called for nine days of prayer for people who have died in the drug war.
“Those with sorrowful hearts and awakened consciences may come to your pastors to tell your stories and we will document them for the wider society,” he said.
The Catholic Church has been a central figure in some of the Philippines’ most tumultuous political events, including the 1986 “People Power” revolution that overthrew dictator Ferdinand Marcos.
The Church had initially declined to criticize Duterte’s drug war but as the death toll of mostly poor people mounted, it began last year a campaign to stop the killings.
Church groups have sheltered witnesses and provided financial and emotional support for families of those slain.
In response, Duterte had launched a broadside against priests and bishops whom he accused of “hypocrisy.”
On Sunday, the president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines joined Tagle in denouncing the deaths, calling on the faithful to ring church bells daily in solidarity with the victims.
“The sound of the bells is a wake-up call for a nation that no longer knows how to condole with the bereaved, that is cowardly to call out evil. The sound of the bells is a call to stop consenting to the killings!” Archbishop Socrates Villegas said in a statement.
Duterte’s spokesman said Saturday the government would investigate the deaths but added the president would “vigorously pursue” his drug war.
Philippine Church head urges end to drug killings
Philippine Church head urges end to drug killings
Macron welcomes Nigerian president in first state visit since 2000
- Trip will focus on economic partnerships between France and Africa’s most populous country
PARIS: Nigerian President Bola Tinubu on Thursday began a two-day visit to France, with both sides seeking increased economic cooperation and Paris looking to boost ties in English-speaking Africa following a series of setbacks with former allies on the continent.
French President Emmanuel Macron greeted his counterpart at the historic Invalides memorial complex, with the first official state visit by a Nigerian leader in more than two
decades.
The two national anthems rang out in the courtyard of one of Paris’ landmarks, kicking off a visit focused on encouraging economic partnerships between France and Africa’s most populous country.
Macron has sought a “renewal” between Paris and Africa since his 2017 election and after military coups and changing attitudes lessened France’s influence on the continent.
The trip is “an opportunity to deepen the already dynamic relationship between France and Nigeria,” Macron’s office said.
The west African country is the continent’s leading oil producer and has a robust film industry, dubbed “Nollywood.”
But challenges posed by insecurity and corruption have left 129 million Nigerians — more than half the country’s population — living
below the poverty line.
For Nigeria, which has been battling soaring inflation and food prices, the visit represents an opportunity to tap economic investment.
Nigeria was looking to build ties in “agriculture, security, education, health, youth engagement, innovation and energy transition,” Tinubu’s office said in a statement. He and Macron will also address “shared values concerning finance, solid minerals, trade and investment, and communication,” it added.
South Korea officials say three dead in heavy snowfall
SEOUL: Heavy snowfall blanketed South Korea for a second consecutive day Thursday, resulting in three deaths overall and disrupting flights and ferry services, authorities said.
The snow caused three fatalities in Gyeonggi province around the capital Seoul, officials said, including one person killed when a tent-style garage collapsed during snow removal.
Another died when a golf practice net gave way amid the extreme weather.
The prolonged snowfall led to the cancellation of 156 flights and disrupted 104 ferry services across 79 routes, the interior ministry said.
The second day of snow came after Seoul on Wednesday recorded its heaviest November snowfall since records began over a century ago, according to the country’s weather agency. The record snowfall also marked the capital’s first snow of the season.
Up to 40 centimeters of snow accumulated in parts of the capital by 11 am (GMT 02:00), the interior ministry said, while other areas outside Seoul saw snow piles reaching nearly 45 centimeters.
The second day of snow prompted the city government to deploy 11,000 personnel and 20,000 pieces of equipment for snow removal operations in the capital.
France arrests 26 as South Asian migrant trafficking ring smashed
- Traffickers are suspected of having smuggled several thousand people from India, Sri Lanka and Nepal
- Authorities estimate the network generated several million euros in illegal profits
PARIS: French authorities arrested 26 people and seized 11 million euros ($12 million) as they smashed a migrant trafficking ring suspected of bringing several thousand people from South Asia into France, border police told AFP on Thursday.
Charging between 15,000 and 26,000 euros per person, the traffickers are suspected of having smuggled several thousand people from India, Sri Lanka and Nepal into France since September 2021, the force said.
Authorities estimate the network generated several million euros in illegal profits, which were laundered through construction companies, gold trafficking and informal transfers of money back to South Asia.
The arrests took place between March and November 2024, said Julien Gentile, director of the French border force at Paris Charles De Gaulle airport.
“The smugglers facilitated migrants’ travel to the European Union via Dubai or African states, while providing them with illegally obtained tourist, work or medical visas,” said Gentile.
The head of the network is still at large, with France’s request for his extradition from Dubai yet to be agreed, according to the border force.
Of the 26 men arrested, 15 were placed in pre-trial detention with seven under judicial supervision.
The remaining four, who were recently arrested, were to be presented on Thursday to the investigating judge.
The 11 million euros’ worth of assets included properties, luxury cars, jewelry and gold.
Cellphone outage in Denmark causes widespread disruption and hits emergency services
- The network provider, TDC Net, said in a press release Thursday afternoon that the problems were likely due to an update carried out in the past 24 hours
- They had no reason to believe that disruptions could be due to cyberattacks
COPENHAGEN: One of Denmark’s largest cellphone networks suffered severe outages Thursday that prevented people from contacting emergency services, forced at least one hospital to reduce non-critical medical care, and prompted security services in some regions to patrol the streets in search of people in need of help.
The network provider, TDC Net, said in a press release Thursday afternoon that the problems were likely due to an update carried out in the past 24 hours and they had no reason to believe that disruptions could be due to cyberattacks.
TDC said later on Thursday that its operations had returned to normal and it was now investigating the cause of the outage.
Trains and buses in parts of the country also suffered delays due to signaling issues, with chaos in stations and people stuck on trains, Danish media reported.
The Center for Cyber Security, Denmark’s national IT security authority, and a branch of the Danish Defense Intelligence Service could not confirm if the two incidents were related.
TDC Net said Thursday evening it had implemented a fix that allowed customers to make calls, although with a reduced sound quality. The company urged customers needing to call 112, Europe’s emergency number, to remove the SIM card from their phone before placing the call.
Russia jails lawyer for 7 years for criticizing Ukraine campaign
- Dmitry Talantov, 63, was arrested in July 2022 after describing the acts of the Russian army in the Ukrainian cities of Mariupol and Bucha as being reminiscent of “Nazi practices“
- Safronov is now serving a 22-year sentence on treason charges
MOSCOW: Russia on Thursday sentenced a senior lawyer who had defended a jailed journalist in a high-profile case to seven years in prison for denouncing Moscow’s Ukraine offensive on social media.
Dmitry Talantov, 63, was arrested in July 2022 after describing the acts of the Russian army in the Ukrainian cities of Mariupol and Bucha as being reminiscent of “Nazi practices.”
Talantov was for many years president of the Udmurtia lawyer association and in 2021 was the defense lawyer for Ivan Safronov, a journalist covering military affairs whose arrest shook Russia’s media community.
Safronov is now serving a 22-year sentence on treason charges.
A court in the Udmurt Republic found Talantov guilty of actions aimed at spreading hatred and of knowingly distributing “fake” information on the Russian army — charges made possible with a censorship law adopted shortly after Moscow sent troops to Ukraine.
In an emotional speech in court, Talantov said he feared he would not survive the prison term, but also stood by his convictions.
“I am 64 and it is hard for me to imagine that I will come out of prison alive,” Talantov said, according to an audio of the speech published by rights group Perviy Otdel.
Talantov has been in pre-trial detention for two and a half years and has spent two years in an isolation cell, saying the Russian national anthem blasts out there in the evening and at dawn, before a staunchly pro-Kremlin radio show is played.
“I am waiting for words of peace. They do not come,” he said.
He described his conditions as a “Middle-Ages cell with only a (toilet) hole and a tap,” saying “time kills a person” in isolation.
His voice breaking, he addressed his wife saying: “Olga, forgive me, I love you.”
According to a letter he sent to Perviy Otdel, Talantov was arrested while at his summer home in the summer of 2022.
More than 300 lawyers had signed a petition calling for his release at the time.
