U.S. Army identifies remains of last missing soldier in Iraq

Washington (CNN) -- The U.S. Army said Sunday it has identified the remains of the last missing American service member unaccounted for in Iraq. Staff Sgt. Ahmed K. Altaie of Ann Arbor, Michigan, was kidnapped October 23, 2006, after he left the Green Zone in Baghdad. The military said Altaie, then 41, and serving as a translator for the U.S. military, was visiting family members when he was abducted. A group in February 2007 claimed on a militant Shiite Web site that it had Altaie, and posted a 10-second video of a man it claimed was him. The man in the video was Altaie, his uncle told CNN then. Altaie's remains were identified on Saturday by the Armed Forces Medical Examiner at the Dover Port Mortuary in Delaware, the Army said. 27 Febr 2012 http://edition.cnn.com/2012/02/26/world/meast/iraq-missing-soldier-id/index.html?eref=mrss_igoogle_...

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Bus plunges into ditch in Bangladesh, killing 15

DHAKA, Bangladesh (BNO NEWS) — At least fifteen people were killed on Friday when a bus plunged into a water-filled ditch in central Bangladesh, police said. Dozens more were injured. The accident happened when the overcrowded bus was crossing a diversion road built for temporary use during the construction of a bridge on the highway. The bus went out of control due to the dilapidated condition of the road and plunged into a ditch, leaving 15 dead and 50 others injured. Witnesses told the Daily Star newspaper that fourteen people died on the spot of the accident while another succumbed to his injuries on the way to the hospital. The injured were transferred to a nearby hospital, including six in critical condition. The bus was heading to the southern Barisal district and was carrying more than 100 passengers who were due to attend a congregation. Many also got onto the top of the bus, witnesses said. Road accidents are common in Bangladesh...

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Valentine’s Day Mass Burial For Over 120 Bodies

Over 100 unclaimed bodies at the Police Hospital in Ghana will be buried in a mass grave at the Awudome Cemetery in Accra. The Police hospital Mortuary in Accra designated for unknown bodies is congested and cannot admit new dead bodies by the middle of next month. The hospital has two fridges, one for identified bodies and the other for unknown bodies, which though designed to accommodate 30 bodies, now has over 120. The Public Relations Officer of the hospital, Inspector Juliana Obeng, Speaking to the Times yesterday said the situation had compelled the hospital authorities to transfer some of the bodies to the Korle-Bu Teaching hospital Mortuary. To solve the problem, the Police Hospital will from Tuesday February 14, begin disposing of all such bodies through mass burial. There hospital is therefore giving relatives and the public who have deposited their dead bodies at the hospital mortuary up to February 14 (valentine’s day) to...

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Anger as Argentina finds 51st train victim

Rescue workers in Argentina have found another body in the wreckage of a train that crashed two days earlier, raising the death toll to 51 and prompting angry reaction from family and friends of the victim. Lucas Menghini Rey's body was missed in the chaotic response to Wednesday's crash, which has focused widespread anger at the government's failure to protect passengers from long-known safety threats in the train system. Relatives and friends were in tears at Friday's news, while others keeping vigil at the station threw objects at passing buses and taxis. Menghini Rey's identification was confirmed by sources investigating the crash, Argentina's state-owned Telam news agency and official Channel 7 reported. Riot police responded to the protest with tear gas and batons, clearing the station and making arrests. At least one police officer was injured. Some rioters started small fires and looted stores in the station as Menghini Rey's...

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Bangladesh: Dhaka ill-prepared for quakes

Bangladesh’s capital, Dhaka, is ill-prepared for earthquakes due to lack of awareness and unplanned urbanization, say experts. “Total disregard for the national building code by the builders has left Dhaka extremely susceptible,” said earthquake expert and civil engineer Mehedi Ahmed Ansary, from Bangladesh University of Engineering & Technology (BUET). In 2011 Dhaka’s roughly 11 million people were rocked by three earthquakes each registering at least six on the Richter scale - but without any casualties or damage, according to the Bangladesh Meteorological Department. The Department said the most recent quake in September did not cause casualties due to “sheer luck” because the tremor stopped in less than two minutes. But had luck not been on the capital’s side, the population would have been ill-prepared for any fallout, said Manish Kumar Agarwal, a programme manager for disaster preparedness at Oxfam’s Dhaka office. In...

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Families want NZ mine photos released

The families of the 29 men killed in the Pike River Coal mine have applied to have photos showing the bodies of two workers made public. Spokesman for the families, Bernie Monk, says they have been...

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Argentines discover 51st victim in train wreck

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina - Argentine rescue workers found another body Friday in the wreck of a train that crashed two days earlier, raising the death toll to 51. Supporters of the victim's devastated family vented their fury over failed government oversight at riot police. The search for 20-year-old Lucas Menghini Rey, whose body was missed in the chaotic response to Wednesday's crash, focused widespread anger at the government's failure to protect passengers from long-known safety threats in the train system. His identification was confirmed by sources investigating the crash, Argentina's state-owned Telam news agency and official Channel 7 reported. Family and friends collapsed together in tears at the news, while others keeping vigil at the station erupted in anger. Some shouted "throw them all out, not one should remain!" The phrase became iconic during the protests of a decade ago, when public outrage over a failed economy forced...

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The doctor will sea you now: Hospital boat could rescue victims of natural disasters

We've all heard of the flying doctors - now we could soon have the floating doctors thanks to a hospital boat developed by an Italian yacht designer. Marino Alfani, 29, came up with the concept after...

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Scores killed in Argentina train crash

A packed train slammed into a barrier at a Buenos Aires station today, killing 49 people and injuring hundreds of morning commuters. Federal Police Commissioner Nestor Rodriguez said the dead include...

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Five-year-old girl among eight bodies found on Costa Concordia

A five-year-old girl was among eight bodies found inside the crippled Costa Concordia cruise ship. Dayana Arlotti, from Rimini, whose father William Arlotti is also missing, is the youngest person who died in the disaster. The grim discoveries came as prosecutors announced that they had widened their investigation to include four more of the ship’s officers and three employees of Costa Cruises, the Genoa-based company that owns the liner. The bodies were found by Italian fire service divers on the fourth deck of the giant ship, which was at the start of a week-long cruise of the Mediterranean when it ran aground on Giglio island, off the coast of Tuscany, on Jan 13. The first four bodies were found in the morning, with another four located in the flooded hull later in the day. Aside from the little girl, rescue officials said the dead included a man and a woman. It was not known whether they were passengers or crew members. The discovery...

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Chile sends experts to Honduras to investigate prison disaster

TEGUCIGALPA – This afternoon, the first group of experts from Chile’s Legal Medical Service (Servicio Médico Legal), or SML, arrived in Honduras to collaborate in the identification of the victims of the Comayagua prison, where a fire left more than 350 inmates dead. Their arrival was confirmed by the Minister of Justice, Patricia Pérez, who hopes that the four experts who left early this morning will be able to start their work immediately. The remaining eight professionals will arrive in Honduras tomorrow, and will collaborate with local authorities on how to best use their skills to help out however they can. “The Servicio Médico Legal and the Civil Registry are both services of the Ministry of Justice, which has gained experience in tragedies, not only what occurred in San Miguel prison, but also in other unfortunate events that have afflicted the country, such as the earthquake and the tragedy of Juan Fernández,” said the Minister...

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Volta Lake Disaster: 10 Bodies Retrieved As Boat Owner Flees

Ten bodies including a three-month-old baby have been retrieved from the Volta Lake at Krachi West after a boat with 12 passengers onboard capsized on Sunday. The coordinator of the National Disaster and Management Organisation (NADMO) in the area, Amudu Baba Seidu, confirmed the incident to Citi Eyewitness News on Monday. He said the boat, which was travelling from Keta to Krachi West hit a stamp in the lake resulting in its wreckage. He said the 10 people who died included four children and six mothers. “On the boat they were 12, but when the boat capsized 10 died and two were able to swim across the river. Four were younger girls including a three-month-old baby and then six were mothers,” he said. Mr. Seidu said all the 10 victims have been identified and relief items are being sent to their families, adding that NADMO would also help offset the bills for the burial of the victims. According to Mr. Seidu, the owner of the boat managed...

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Search for disaster victims held on Fukushima coast

SENDAI — Some 100 officers from the Miyagi Prefectural Police force conducted an intensive search Monday for remains near an elementary school in Ishinomaki that lost 70 of its 108 students to the quake...

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Christchurch begins grim memorial

A special cemetery for victims of the February 22 earthquake was officially opened today - a day before the one-year anniversary of the Christchurch disaster. The unidentified remains of four earthquake victims were laid to rest earlier today in a communal grave at Avonhead Park Cemetery in the west of the embattled city. Four of the 185 people who died in the disaster, and whose remains could not be formally identified, were buried in a single casket in a private interment ceremony. The victims: Shawn Lucas, 40, of Christchurch, Rhea Mae Sumalpong, 25, Philippines, Elsa Torres De Frood, 53, Peru, and Valeri Volnov, 41, a Russian-born New Zealand resident, were all in the CTV building that collapsed and caught fire, killing a total of 115 people. At 6pm, Christchurch mayor Bob Parker officially unveiled a memorial plinth to the unidentified, and unfound, victims of the killer magnitude-6.3 quake ahead of tomorrow's poignant and emotional...

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Death toll from steel plant blast in Liaoning rises to 13

SHENYANG, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- The death toll from a blast at a state-owned steel plant Monday night in northeast China's Liaoning Province has risen to 13, said local authorities and rescuers Tuesday. The accident happened when a mold exploded at 11:30 p.m. Monday at a steel-casting workshop owned by Angang Heavy Machinery Co., Ltd. in the city of Anshan, according to a statement issued by the publicity department of the provincial committee of the Communist Party of China. Ten people were found dead as of early Tuesday, while rescuers recovered the bodies of three workers who were previously identified as missing in the blast by Tuesday noon. Another 17 people were injured in the blast and they were receiving medical treatment in hospital, said the statement. Rescuers are searching for the missing worker. The cause of the accident is under investigation. The state-run Angang Heavy Machinery Co., Ltd. founded more than 70 years ago,...

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Lagos may begin cremation of corpses as bill awaits passage

If members of the Lagos State House of Assembly eventually pass the Cremation Bill 2012 into law, then cremation of corpses, especially unclaimed ones will commence in the state. The bill is titled “A Bill for a Law to Provide for Voluntary Cremation of Corpses and Unclaimed Corpses within Lagos State”, enacted by the state House of Assembly. The lawmakers, in their submissions said that inability of relations to claim corpses of their relatives contributed immensely to the bad situation of the mortuaries in the state. It also uncovered that heaps of corpses at the state mortuaries can also lead to an epidemic situation in the state. The purpose of the bill will be to establish a crematorium that will take care of unclaimed corpses and for voluntary cremation of corpses within the state to solve the problem associated with getting land for mass burial, and to decongest the state mortuaries, battling with cases of unidentified and unclaimed...

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Relatives storm Honduras morgue demanding remains

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras Hundreds of relatives of inmates who burned or suffocated to death in a Honduras prison fire have forced their way into a morgue to demand the remains of their loved ones. Prosecutors spokesman Melvin Duarte says women and a few men pushed into the morgue, broke into a refrigerated container and opened at least six body bags. He says police used tear gas to chase the people from the morgue in Tegucigalpa, which is Honduras' capital. He says no one was injured during Monday's confrontation, although at least one woman fainted. The fire in a crowded prison last week in the city of Comayagua killed 359 prisoners. There were 852 inmates at the prison, more than double the capacity. 20 Febr 2012 Read more here: http://www.tri-cityherald.com/2012/02/20/1834085/relatives-storm-honduras-morgue.html#storylink=...

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Unidentified Christchurch quake victims buried

The remains of four people who could not be formally identified after Christchurch's earthquake on February 22 last year have been laid to rest. Four of the 185 people who died in the disaster were buried in a single casket in a private ceremony at the Avonhead Cemetery on Tuesday morning, ahead of a formal dedication of the internment site in the evening. The unidentified victims were Shawn Lucas, 40, of Christchurch, Rhea Mae Sumalpong, 25, from the Philippines, Elsa Torres De Frood, 53, from Peru, and Valeri Volnov, 41, a Russian-born New Zealand resident, who were in the CTV building that collapsed and caught fire. 21 Febr 2012 http://nz.news.yahoo.com/a/-/top-stories/12966179/unidentified-chch-quake-victims-buri...

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Honduras Prison Fire: International Forensics Teams To Help Probe

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras -- Countries are reaching out to Honduras after its deadly prison fire, sending medical aid and forensic doctors, with the United States dispatching an investigative team to help...

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Funerals begin for Honduras fire victims

Forensic experts from seven other Latin American countries are joining the Honduran team identifying the bodies. Hondurans are burying victims of one of the world's worst jail fires as they search for answers about what caused the disaster. On Saturday, the death toll rose to 358 after two severely-burned inmates died in a hospital. Several funerals took place in various towns around the country Friday after authorities released the bodies of the first 24 victims of a horrific inferno that has rattled this Central American nation. "This was a barbaric crime," said Trinidad Varela, who bid a final farewell to her 28-year-old son, Edwin Ortega, in the town of Talanga, northwest of the capital. "We cannot leave it just like that." Four days after the blaze swept through the overcrowded Comayagua jail - which had held double its capacity with 852 inmates - the cause of the fire still was unclear. A US team from the Bureau of Alcohol,...

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Funerals of victims of Honduras jail fire begin

TEGUCIGALPA - Hondurans have begun burying victims of a deadly fire in a jail, which left 356 people dead this week, as questionmarks still hung over the role of the authorities in the disaster. Several funerals took place in various towns around the country Friday after authorities handed over to families the bodies of the first 24 victims. "This was a barbaric crime," said Trinidad Varela, who bid her final farewell to her 28-year-old son, Edwin Ortega, in the town of Talanga, northwest of the capital. "We cannot leave it just like that." Four days after the blaze swept through the overcrowded Comayagua jail - which had held double its capacity with 852 inmates - the cause of the fire was still unclear. A U.S. team from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) arrived late Thursday and Chilean experts also searched the jail. The death toll from one of the world's worst prison catastrophes rose by one to 356, after...

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Coal mine accident kills 15

CHANGSHA, Feb. 16 (Xinhua) -- Fifteen miners were killed, and three others injured, following a mine-car crash Thursday morning in central China's Hunan province, local authorities said. The accident happened around 12:30 a.m. in the Nanyang township of the Leiyang city, after six cars of an eight-car carriage carrying 18 miners unhooked and plunged into a tunnel rapidly in the Hongfa Coal Mine, according to the Hunan Provincial Administration of Coal Mine Safety. The 15 were killed instantly in the crash, while the other three were injured after jumping or being thrown out of the car, according to rescuers. An initial probe found that the miners had violated safety rules by riding in the mine cars, which are designed to transport coal only. Police have taken custody of the coal mine's managers. Hongfa Coal Mine is a licensed coal mine. http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/china/2012-02/16/c_131413504....

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Inmate Blamed For 'Nightmare' Prison Blaze

A fire that killed at least 358 people at a Honduras prison was started deliberately by one of the inmates, according to a local politician. Paola Castro, the governor of Comayagua, said: "One inmate...

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Honduras prison fire kills hundreds

At least 300 prisoners have been killed after a massive fire swept through a jail in Honduras, officials say. Many victims were burned or suffocated to death in their cells in Comayagua, north of the...

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Analysis technique could help to identify bodies more reliably

A new corpse-analysis technique could help forensic scientists identify bodies more reliably and cheaply than with current methods. Researchers from the University of Granada in Spain developed a method of comparing a set of reference points on a skull and those on a picture of the subject while they were alive to see if they match. Lead researcher on the project Fernando Merino said this craniofacial superimposition technique was faster and more reliable than other forensic identification methods. click here ‘As this technique is much less expensive, forensic scientists might use it firstly and, only when necessary, resort then to other techniques. ‘This technique can be complementary to other techniques, as it can serve to discard potential identities before using more expensive or slower identification techniques, such as DNA analysis.’ In particular, the researchers think the new technique could be useful for identifying a corpse...

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Missing War Victims Identified in Zagreb

[ZAGREB] Nine exhumed victims of the war in Croatia were identified on Monday by their families in Zagreb, leaving a total of 1,768 missing persons yet to be found in Croatia. Victims identified yesterday at Zagreb Judiciary medicine institute were exhumed in the Vukovar and Sisak areas of Croatia as well as in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Ten families were invited to identification, but one did not come. Five of the identified men were Croatian soldiers during the war. The status of the other victims wasn't revealed, nor it was explained what happened to those exhumed in Bosnia. Croatian veterans minister Predrag Matic was at the identification, expressing condolences to the families. "We won't leave off until we have found the last missing person," Matic said. "All hopes that your relatives could be found alive have vanished, but you have bravely carried that burden. The government and war veterans ministry will support you in all your...

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PNG ferry death toll likely to rise to at least 200

THE death toll from the sinking of the passenger ferry MV Rabaul Queen off the Papua New Guinea coast two weeks ago is likely to be more than 200 - double the previous official estimate - according to the director of the disaster response effort. A preliminary list of 183 missing was published in a national newspaper yesterday, together with an appeal to relatives and friends for help in confirming the final tally. With the search for survivors and bodies likely to be called off tomorrow, 14 days after the overloaded ferry sank in heavy seas on the way from Kimbe, on the island of New Britain, to the mainland port of Lae, officials are still trying to reconcile reports of missing passengers with the ''defective'' passenger manifest provided by the shipping company, said Patilias Gamato, director of the disaster response and deputy administrator of Morobe Province. Advertisement: Story continues below Three life rafts from the MV Rabaul...

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‘Keep records of moles, scars, tattoos’

A leading forensic pathologist has urged families, especially those living in disaster-prone areas, to keep files on each member’s distinguishing marks such as scars, tattoos and moles, and have copies of fingerprints and dental records on hand to make identification easier in case tragedy strikes. Dr. Raquel del Rosario-Fortun of the University of the Philippines College of Medicine pathology department said the suggestion was prompted by the experience of a group of UP alumni who went to Iligan City last month to help find survivors of Tropical Storm “Sendong.” Fortun said she was haunted by the photos of missing persons and the numerous corpses in varying states of decomposition awaiting identification that she saw in two funeral parlors. Had there been more detailed descriptions accompanying the photos, it was possible the authorities would have been able to make faster matches with the corpses, she said. Fortun, who joined Sen....

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Unusual rise in piano sales linked to earthquake

The number of pianos, other than electronic pianos, sold in the country last year totaled 18,164, up 11 percent from the previous year, marking the first rise in 17 years, according to an instrument manufacturing association in Shizuoka Prefecture. The Hamamatsu-based association, which takes statistics of domestic piano sales and production, said piano sales increased as a result of robust demand for replacements after many pianos were destroyed or damaged in the Great East Japan Earthquake. Piano sales in 1992, when the association started taking such statistics, stood at 113,500. However, sales began to drop since 1995, with only 16,356 sold in 2010. The association said the slump was due to a low birthrate and an increase in the number of people buying low-priced and high-quality electronic pianos. Asked about the recent surge in piano sales, an official of Kawai Musical Instruments Mfg. Co. in Hamamatsu said, "Piano sales in Sendai...

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‘Politicking’ in relief distribution slammed

GUIHULNGAN CITY, Negros Oriental—The parish priest of a Negros Oriental town ravaged by earthquake and landslides has deplored politicking in the distribution of assistance to victims. Fr. Felipe Luis Ferolina of the San Sebastian parish in La Libertad town also lambasted those who took advantage of the disaster for personal gain. He cited business owners who significantly increased the prices of their products after the calamity stuck. “This is an emergency. Instead of taking advantage, we must be united in helping and sharing what we have,” Ferolina told the Inquirer. La Libertad, along with Guihulngan City, was the worst hit in the 6.9-magnitude earthquake and landslides that struck Central Visayas on February 6. The death toll in the disaster was 41 as of 2 p.m. Sunday. Fifty-six residents remained missing—18 in Barangay (village) Planas in Guihulngan and 38 in Barangay Solonggon in La Libertad. Ferolina said “politics came into...

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Reaching Out To Save Lives - Haredi Rescue Group Builds Interfaith Cooperation

ZICHRON YAAKOV, ISRAEL — The image of Israel’s Haredim has taken a public battering over the past few months, particularly over the issue of discriminatory conduct toward women, which even a few Haredi...

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Remains of another 9/11 victim identified

Remains of another 9/11 victim have been identified. The New York City Chief Medical Examiner's Office announced Friday that it had identified remains of Karol Ann Keasler. She was 42 when she died in the terrorist attack a decade ago. She worked in the World Trade Center at investment bank Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Inc. The new identification was made when officials retested remains gathered during the initial recovery efforts. More than 2,750 people were reported missing in the attack on the twin towers. The newest identification brings the number of victims to have some portion of their remains identified to 1,633. Another 1,120 never had any remains recovered. February 10, 2012 Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/remains_of_another_victim_identified_m8MxMu1JaBElCI5Qx0DiDJ#ixzz1mCd77...

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Archaeologists find the bodies of 21 tragic World War One German soldiers in perfectly preserved trenches where they were buried alive by an Allied shell

The bodies of 21 German soldiers entombed in a perfectly preserved World War One shelter have been discovered 94 years after they were killed. The men were part of a larger group of 34 who were buried...

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21st International Symposium on the Forensic Sciences, 23-27 September 2012, Tasmania

On behalf of the 2012 Organising Committee, we are delighted to invite you to participate in the 21st International Symposium on the Forensic Sciences of the Australian and New Zealand Forensic Science Society (ANZFSS), to be held in Hobart from 23 to 27 September 2012 at The Hotel Grand Chancellor, Tasmania More info: http://www.anzfss2012.com....

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The XX files: The hunt for victims of Guatemala's 36-year war

The discovery of a vast hidden archive may finally bring closure to those whose relatives 'disappeared' after being detained by the police or military. Alejandra Garcia's most treasured memento of...

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