Philippine officials say suspect in the killings of 2 Australians and a Filipino has surrendered

A suspect in the killing of two Australian nationals and a Filipino is escorted under tight security following his surrender in Tagaytay City, Cavite on July 17, 2024. (AP)
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Updated 17 July 2024
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Philippine officials say suspect in the killings of 2 Australians and a Filipino has surrendered

  • The man acknowledged taking the watch and shoes of the Australian male victim after attacking him with a knife and suffocating his partner, a Filipino woman who had acquired Australian citizenship, and her Filipino daughter-in-law, Capagcuan said

TAGAYTAY, Philippines: The suspect in the killings of two Australians and their Filipino companion at a hotel in a popular resort city south of Manila surrendered and claimed he wanted to retaliate against the hotel for firing him, Philippine officials said Wednesday.
The suspect further said that he randomly barged into the victims’ room last week because its window was open, authorities added.
The victims, whose hands and feet were tied, were found sprawled on the floor in a street-level room at the Lake Hotel in Tagaytay city on July 10 in a heinous crime that shattered the tranquility the tourism destination known for a picturesque volcano nestled in a lake, Tagaytay Mayor Abraham Tolentino said.
In a pre-dawn news conference at the city hall, Tolentino and police officials presented the handcuffed suspect, who was wearing a hoodie, dark eyeglasses and a face mask. The man, whose identity was not released, will face criminal complaints for the killings and robbery, Tagaytay police chief Charles Daven Capagcuan said.
The mayor repeated an apology to the victims’ families and to Australia for what he called the senseless killings.
“We are pleased to present to you the main suspect in this brutal crime and as promised that within a week, we will resolve and give justice,” Tolentino said, without identifying the victims as requested by their families.
In a Southeast Asian country where many criminal suspects have managed to evade arrest for months or years before getting captured, Tolentino commended the police for rapidly identifying and locating the suspect, who was then apparently pressured to give up.
Capagcuan told The Associated Press ahead of the news conference that the breakthrough in the case came when the suspect was identified by at least three hotel employees based on his image, which was captured by security cameras showing a part of his face when his mask slid down.
The identification and information from witnesses eventually led authorities to the suspect’s Batangas home province near Tagaytay, where he decided to surrender on Tuesday, the police chief said.
“He wanted to get back at the hotel management for his dismissal,” Capagcuan told reporters, adding that the suspect used to work as a swimming pool cleaner but was fired by the hotel in March after he was linked to a robbery in one of the rooms.
Police officials planned to file criminal complaints of robbery in addition to the killings against the suspect.
The man acknowledged taking the watch and shoes of the Australian male victim after attacking him with a knife and suffocating his partner, a Filipino woman who had acquired Australian citizenship, and her Filipino daughter-in-law, Capagcuan said.
“He barged randomly with a knife into the room because its window was open,” Capagcuan said.
The Australian woman and her daughter-in-law are to be buried in their family’s home province in the Philippines while the remains of the Australian man would be flown Tuesday to Sydney, Tolentino said.
The Australian couple had planned to fly back to Australia on July 10, the day they were killed, but decided to briefly take a vacation in Tagaytay, the Filipino son of the slain Australian-Filipino woman told AP. He spoke on condition of anonymity last week because he was fearful after what happened to his mother and his wife and given the suspect remained at large at that time.
During the news conference, the son, who still concealed his identity with a white facial mask and a sport cap, thanked the police and the mayor for quickly locating the suspect. He asked the suspect, who was standing near him, what made him commit the gruesome crime but the man did not respond.
Tagaytay, about 60 kilometers (37 miles) south of Manila, is popular among local and foreign tourists who flock there for its cool weather and to view one of the world’s smallest active volcanos in a lake from elevated ridges teeming with restaurants, viewing decks and hotels, including the one where last week’s killings took place.
 

 


Tulsi Gabbard, who ran for 2020 Democratic nomination, endorses Trump against former foe Harris

Updated 8 sec ago
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Tulsi Gabbard, who ran for 2020 Democratic nomination, endorses Trump against former foe Harris

  • In 2019, she was the only lawmaker to vote “present” when the House of Representatives impeached Trump for his dealings with Ukraine

WASHINGTON: Former Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard has endorsed Donald Trump’s presidential bid, furthering her shift away from the party she sought to represent four years ago and linking herself to the GOP nominee’s critiques of Vice President Kamala Harris and the chaotic Afghanistan War withdrawal.
Appearing Monday with Trump in Detroit, Gabbard, a National Guard veteran who served two tours of duty in the Middle East before representing Hawaii in the US House, said the GOP nominee “understands the grave responsibility that a president and commander in chief bears for every single one of our lives.”
The pair appeared at the National Guard Association of the United States on the third anniversary of the Aug. 26, 2021, suicide bombing at Hamid Karzai International Airport, which killed 13 US service members and more than 100 Afghans. Gabbard accompanied Trump earlier Monday to Arlington National Cemetery, where the former president laid wreaths in honor of three of the slain service members — Sgt. Nicole Gee, Staff Sgt. Darin Hoover and Staff Sgt. Ryan Knauss.
On Monday, Gabbard praised Trump for “having the courage to meet with adversaries, dictators, allies and partners alike in the pursuit of peace, seeing war as a last resort.” She condemned the Democratic White House for the US now “facing multiple wars on multiple fronts in regions around the world and closer to the brink of nuclear war than we ever have been before.”
The former president’s team announced later Monday that Gabbard would moderate a town hall with Trump that the campaign was planning for Thursday in La Crosse, Wisconsin.
Gabbard has long signaled some level of support for Trump, even while she sat in the US House as a Democrat. In 2019, she was the only lawmaker to vote “present” when the House of Representatives impeached Trump for his dealings with Ukraine.
Gabbard was known during her four House terms for taking positions at odds with her own party’s establishment. She was an early and vocal supporter of Sen. Bernie Sanders’ 2016 Democratic presidential primary run, which made her popular with progressives.
Not seeking reelection in 2020, Gabbard ran for president herself instead, saying US wars in the Middle East destabilized the region, made the US less safe and cost thousands of American lives, and that Democrats and Republicans shared the blame. She tore into Harris’ record during a primary debate and ultimately outlasted her in that race, which President Joe Biden ultimately won.
Gabbard endorsed Biden but became an independent two years later, saying the Democratic Party was dominated by an “elitist cabal of warmongers” and “woke” ideologues. In the years since she has campaigned for several high-profile Republicans, become a contributor to Fox News and started a podcast.
Another former Democratic presidential contender also just recently endorsed Trump. Last week, independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — who last year ran as a Democrat challenging Biden for the nomination — suspended his campaign and said he was backing Trump in the general election.
 

 


Judge in Texas orders pause on Biden program that offers legal status to spouses of US citizens

US District Judge J. Campbell Barker. (Screenshot of video by US Senate Judiciary Committee via Wikipedia)
Updated 21 min 10 sec ago
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Judge in Texas orders pause on Biden program that offers legal status to spouses of US citizens

  • The program has been particularly contentious in an election year where immigration is one of the biggest issues, with many Republicans attacking the policy and contending it is essentially a form of amnesty for people who broke the law

McALLEN, Texas: A federal judge in Texas on Monday paused a Biden administration policy that would give spouses of US citizens legal status without having to first leave the country, dealing at least a temporary setback to one of the biggest presidential actions to ease a path to citizenship in years.
The administrative stay issued by US District Judge J. Campbell Barker comes just days after 16 states, led by Republican attorneys general, challenged the program that could benefit an estimated 500,000 immigrants in the country, plus about 50,000 of their children.
One of the states leading the challenge is Texas, which in the lawsuit claimed the state has had to pay tens of millions of dollars annually from health care to law enforcement because of immigrants living in the state without legal status.
President Joe Biden announced the program in June. The court order, which lasts for two weeks but could be extended, comes one week after the Department of Homeland Security began accepting applications.
“The claims are substantial and warrant closer consideration than the court has been able to afford to date,” Barker wrote.
Barker was appointed by former President Donald Trump in 2019 as a judge in Tyler, Texas, which lies in the 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals, a favored venue for advocates pushing conservative arguments.
The judge laid out a timetable that could produce a decision shortly before the presidential election Nov. 5 or before a newly elected president takes office in January. Barker gave both sides until Oct. 10 to file briefs in the case.
The policy offers spouses of US citizens without legal status, who meet certain criteria, a path to citizenship by applying for a green card and staying in the US while undergoing the process. Traditionally, the process could include a years-long wait outside of the US, causing what advocates equate to “family separation.”
The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately return an email seeking comment on the order.
Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton cheered the order.
“This is just the first step. We are going to keep fighting for Texas, our country, and the rule of law,” Paxton posted on the social media platform X.
Several families were notified of the receipt of their applications, according to attorneys advocating for eligible families who filed a motion to intervene earlier Monday.
“Texas should not be able to decide the fate of hundreds of thousands of US citizens and their immigrant spouses without confronting their reality,” Karen Tumlin, the founder and director of Justice Action Center, said during the press conference before the order was issued.
The coalition of states accused the administration of bypassing Congress for “blatant political purposes.”
The program has been particularly contentious in an election year where immigration is one of the biggest issues, with many Republicans attacking the policy and contending it is essentially a form of amnesty for people who broke the law.
To be eligible for the program, immigrants must have lived continuously in the US for at least 10 years, not pose a security threat or have a disqualifying criminal history, and have been married to a citizen by June 17 — the day before the program was announced.
They must pay a $580 fee to apply and fill out a lengthy application, including an explanation of why they deserve humanitarian parole and a long list of supporting documents proving how long they have been in the country.
If approved, applicants have three years to seek permanent residency. During that period, they can get work authorization.
Before this program, it was complicated for people who were in the US illegally to get a green card after marrying an American citizen. They can be required to return to their home country — often for years — and they always face the risk they may not be allowed back in.

 


UN chief calls rising seas a ‘worldwide catastrophe’ that especially imperils Pacific paradises

Updated 27 August 2024
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UN chief calls rising seas a ‘worldwide catastrophe’ that especially imperils Pacific paradises

  • Globally, sea level rise has been accelerating, the UN report said, echoing peer-reviewed studies. The rate is now the fastest it has been in 3,000 years, Guterres said

NUKU’ALOFA, Tonga: Highlighting seas that are rising at an accelerating rate, especially in the far more vulnerable Pacific island nations, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres issued yet another climate SOS to the world. This time he said those initials stand for “save our seas.”
The United Nations and the World Meteorological Organization Monday issued reports on worsening sea level rise, turbocharged by a warming Earth and melting ice sheets and glaciers. They highlight how the Southwestern Pacific is not only hurt by the rising oceans, but by other climate change effects of ocean acidification and marine heat waves.
Guterres toured Samoa and Tonga and made his climate plea from Tonga’s capital on Tuesday at a meeting of the Pacific Islands Forum, whose member countries are among those most imperiled by climate change. Next month the United Nations General Assembly holds a special session to discuss rising seas.
“This is a crazy situation,” Guterres said. “Rising seas are a crisis entirely of humanity’s making. A crisis that will soon swell to an almost unimaginable scale, with no lifeboat to take us back to safety.”
“A worldwide catastrophe is putting this Pacific paradise in peril,” he said. “The ocean is overflowing.”
A report that Guterres’ office commissioned found that sea level lapping against Tonga’s capital Nuku’alofa had risen 21 centimeters (8.3 inches) between 1990 and 2020, twice the global average of 10 centimeters (3.9 inches). Apia, Samoa, has seen 31 centimeters (1 foot) of rising seas, while Suva-B, Fiji has had 29 centimeters (11.4 inches).
“This puts Pacific Island nations in grave danger,” Guterres said. About 90 percent of the region’s people live within 5 kilometers (3 miles) of the rising oceans, he said.
Since 1980, coastal flooding in Guam has jumped from twice a year to 22 times a year. It’s gone from five times a year to 43 times a year in the Cook Islands. In Pago Pago, American Samoa, coastal flooding went from zero to 102 times a year, according to the WMO State of the Climate in the South-West Pacific 2023 report.
While the western edges of the Pacific are seeing sea level rise about twice the global average, the central Pacific is closer to the global average, the WMO said.
Sea levels are rising faster in the western tropical Pacific because of where the melting ice from western Antarctica heads, warmer waters and ocean currents, UN officials said.
Guterres said he can see changes since the last time he was in the region in May 2019.
While he met in Nuku’alofa on Tuesday with Pacific nations on the environment at their leaders’ annual summit, a hundred local high school students and activists from across the Pacific marched for climate justice a few blocks away.
One of the marchers was Itinterunga Rae of the Barnaban Human Rights Defenders Network, whose people were forced generations ago to relocate to Fiji from their Kiribati island home due to environmental degradation. Rae said abandoning Pacific islands should not be seen as a solution to rising seas.
“We promote climate mobility as a solution to be safe from your island that’s been destroyed by climate change, but it’s not the safest option,” he said. Barnabans have been cut off from the source of their culture and heritage, he said.
“The alarm is justified,” said S. Jeffress Williams, a retired US Geological Survey sea level scientist. He said it’s especially bad for the Pacific islands because most of the islands are at low elevations, so people are more likely to get hurt. Three outside experts said the sea level reports accurately reflect what’s happening.
The Pacific is getting hit hard despite only producing 0.2 percent of heat-trapping gases causing climate change and expanding oceans, the UN said. The largest chunk of the sea rise is from melting ice sheets in Antarctica and Greenland. Melting land glaciers add to that, and warmer water also expands based on the laws of physics.
Antarctic and Greenland “melting has greatly accelerated over the past three to four decades due to high rate of warming at the poles,” Williams, who was not part of the reports, said in an email.
About 90 percent of the heat trapped by greenhouse gases goes into the oceans, the UN said.
Globally, sea level rise has been accelerating, the UN report said, echoing peer-reviewed studies. The rate is now the fastest it has been in 3,000 years, Guterres said.
Between 1901 and 1971, the global average sea rise was 1.3 centimeters a decade, according to the UN report. Between 1971 and 2006 it jumped to 1.9 centimeters per decade, then between 2006 and 2018 it was up to 3.7 centimeters a decade. The last decade, seas have risen 4.8 centimeters (1.9 inches).
The UN report also highlighted cities in the richest 20 nations, which account for 80 percent of the heat-trapping gases, where rising seas are lapping at large population centers. Those cities where sea level rise in the past 30 years has been at least 50 percent higher than the global average include Shanghai; Perth, Australia; London; Atlantic City, New Jersey; Boston; Miami; and New Orleans.
New Orleans topped the list with 10.2 inches (26 centimeters) of sea level rise between 1990 and 2020. UN officials highlighted the flooding in New York City during 2012’s Superstorm Sandy as worsened by rising seas. A 2021 study said climate-driven sea level rise added $8 billion to the storm’s costs.
Guterres is amping up his rhetoric on what he calls “climate chaos” and urged richer nations to step up efforts to reduce carbon emissions, end fossil fuel use and help poorer nations. Yet countries’ energy plans show them producing double the amount of fossil fuels in 2030 than the amount that would limit warming to internationally agreed upon levels, a 2023 UN report found.


DRCongo voices ‘regret’ after French diplomats assaulted

Congolese policemen walk in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo. (REUTERS file photo)
Updated 27 August 2024
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DRCongo voices ‘regret’ after French diplomats assaulted

  • “Members of the police and the prosecutor’s office” were among the assailants, “some of whom have already been arrested,” the ministry said

KINSHASA: DRCongo authorities on Monday expressed regret over an assault on three French diplomats in the capital Kinshasa, government and diplomatic sources told AFP.
Police officers were among a group that raided a site used by the French embassy in a bid to “oust a French diplomat,” the justice ministry said in a statement.
An embassy cultural cooperation diplomat was struck while being held for nearly three hours, while two other diplomats were “shoved around but with no wounds,” a diplomatic source added.
“Members of the police and the prosecutor’s office” were among the assailants, “some of whom have already been arrested,” the ministry said.
A DR Congo court last year ruled in favor of France in a dispute over the ownership of the site where the incident took place, occupied by the embassy since 1972, the diplomatic source said.
France’s ambassador Bruno Aubert met with President Felix Tshisekedi on Monday. Foreign Minister Therese Wagner Kayikwamba had already expressed “deep regret” Saturday over “an incident that violated international conventions.”
“We discussed this situation and the measures that will be taken, some already, by the Congolese authorities to ensure such an incident does not happen again,” Aubert said in comments released by Kayikwamba’s office.
 

 


NATO denounces ‘irresponsible’ acts by Russia as Poland searches for drone

Updated 27 August 2024
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NATO denounces ‘irresponsible’ acts by Russia as Poland searches for drone

BRUSSELS: NATO strongly condemned what it called Russia’s ongoing attacks against Ukrainian civilians and civilian infrastructure after Poland said a drone likely entered its airspace during a Russian attack on Ukraine early on Monday.
“Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Russian drone fragments and missiles have been found on allied territory on several occasions,” NATO spokesperson Farah Dakhlallah said. “While we have no information indicating an intentional attack by Russia against allies, these acts are irresponsible and potentially dangerous.”