A painful wait to bury Kosovo's war victims

For 16 years in one small village in Kosovo's central region, the relatives of missing war victims visited empty graves. Some had photographs, some did not.

But it was at least a place where they could bring flowers, talk to the picture, and mourn the loss of a loved one whose body had not been found. "We waited for a long time - 16 years," said 62-year-old Habib Morina.

Morina's brother, uncle, and cousins were killed in the early hours of April 17, 1999, in the village of Cikatova e Vjeter, allegedly by Serbian security forces, during the 1998-1999 war in Kosovo.

"We knew they were dead. But we wanted to know where the bodies were," Morina said from a tent in the capital Pristina.

Ethnic-Serb President Slobodan Milosevic's forces cracked down on separatist ethnic-Albanian rebels and their civilian supporters in the late 1990s. The conflict in Kosovo killed about 13,000 people, most of them ethnic Albanians.

By the time the war came to an end after 78 days of NATO air strikes, which drove out Milosevic's military, police and paramilitary forces, an estimated 4,500 people were missing.

Another relative, 48-year-old Zylfije Morina, also lost her husband when he was killed in the same village. His body disappeared as well. "It was very hard. It was even harder when we used to visit their empty graves," she said.

The Morina family has waited since that fateful day to receive news that the remains of missing relatives had been found and a DNA or blood sample match had been made.

Last fall, they finally received the news and began making preparations for a proper reburial.

They chose April 17, 2015, the 16th anniversary of the massacre in Cikatova e Vjeter, as the day for the ceremony.

Habib Morina and his 29-year-old son, Behar, travelled to Kosovo from the US state of California, where they have lived as refugees since June 1999. They had come to join other relatives to finally bury the remains of 19 war victims from the Morina family who were found in a mass grave in Serbia last year.

Prenkë Gjetaj, head of the Kosovo government's commission on missing persons, said to date 900 bodies had been found in mass graves in Serbia and transported to Kosovo. His office is responsible for coordinating with local and international partners on the process for finding missing war victims.

Gjetaj said last year the remains of 54 war victims, including those from the Morina family, were found in one mass grave in Rudnica, Serbia. "Everything was done in order to hide the truth, the tracks of the crime," Gjetaj said, describing how the army moved bodies of war victims from Kosovo to unidentified locations in Serbia, where many still lay hidden.

According to the commission, there are 1,650 people still missing from the war period.

More than 10,000 people had been killed and Gjetaj admitted the process of finding the missing is long and difficult, but, he said, "we must do it".

With the help of the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP) - created in 1996 to help resolve the fate of those missing from the conflicts in the former Republic of Yugoslavia - blood samples from Kosovo's war victims were analysed.

In an effort to show the country the missing war victims are not forgotten, this year, the government launched the country's first "Missing Persons Week", scheduled to coincide with the commemoration of the April 27, 1999 massacre in Meja, considered to be the worst massacre of the conflict.

A monument dedicated to the 1,650 still missing was unveiled recently in the garden of Kosovo's parliament.

"To mark this date, we had activities for a week, by visiting family members, the places where the crimes took place, memorials, as a sign of honour, as a sign to show the people that we are still committed and working on shedding light on the fate of their most loved ones," said Gjetaj.

Driton Morina, 34, remembers the sweater his father wore before he was killed. The sweater, along with other tattered clothing found with his father's remains, was stiff from the dirt and dried mud.

Morina refused to bury the clothes with his father's remains because he wanted to keep them as evidence for future generations that the crime happened. He said he hopes that one day they will be shown in a museum in Kosovo.

"The strange thing is that this happened in Europe, this happened in the Balkans, and the strange thing is that the new government in the country that committed these crimes is not apologising, is not saying even sorry for the crimes that they have done," Morina said.

The day before the reburial, close relatives of the Morina family came to Pristina's main hospital to sign the paperwork that they've officially collected the remains, which were laid out in coffins and draped with the Albanian flag.

Some family members insisted on seeing the bones and clothing found in the grave.

"Usually ... we prefer for families not to open [the caskets], and to remember them as they were," said Arsim Gerxaliu, head of the Department of Forensic Medicine under the Ministry of Justice.

"But some families insist on seeing the remains - the bones - and we cannot stop them because they have a right to check the bones," Gerxaliu explained.

Forty-seven members of Gerxaliu's family were killed in the war, and he said it is his responsibility to bring the remains of other war victims back to their families.

He said he had travelled to Serbia 97 times since 1999 to search for and exhume mass graves and is planning another trip this month. "This number, 1,650, is still a problem until we find all of them, this problem will continue to exist," said Kushtrim Gata, from the missing persons commission.

For Shqipron Morina, who was five years old when his father was killed in the Cikatova e Vjeter massacre, and for his family, the return of the remains from the mass grave brought relief.

"Now we have the real place, we have the bodies in the grave," he said after burying his father.

Thursday 14 May 2015

https://en-maktoob.news.yahoo.com/painful-wait-bury-kosovos-war-victims-074220123.html

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Nepal’s latest earthquake: Death toll crosses 100, search continues for missing US Army helicopter

The death toll from Tuesday’s earthquake in Nepal has crossed 100 with more than 2,500 people injured, authorities said Thursday. The 7.3-magnitude quake hit the region less than three weeks after a powerful 7.8-magnitude earthquake killed over 8,000 people.

Rescue operations continued Thursday even as bodies buried under rubble were being recovered with the use of heavy machinery. Tuesday's earthquake also claimed the lives of at least 17 people in neighboring India and one person in China. On Thursday, Prime Minister Sushil Koirala visited Charikot, one of the hardest-hit villages by the latest earthquake and subsequent aftershocks.

"After the first quake, we were not prepared for a second one so big," Koirala said, according to the Associated Press (AP), adding that the upcoming monsoon season poses a challenge to the impoverished Himalayan country where hundreds of thousands of people have been left homeless. Nepal's army and police force, along with rescue teams from different countries, have been deployed in the country to carry out rescue and relief operations since the April 25 earthquake, which was the worst one to hit the country in 80 years.

Meanwhile, a major search operation for a U.S. Marine Corps helicopter entered a third day with U.S. and Nepalese military helicopters and hundreds of ground troops scouring eastern Nepal. A team also reportedly sent out a drone on Thursday to look for the missing aircraft, which was conducting relief work in Charikot, about 81 miles from the capital Kathmandu. An aerial search for the aircraft on Wednesday had found "nothing of note," Col. Steve Warren, a Pentagon spokesman, said, according to AP.

“We are still trying to locate it. There is no evidence to prove that it has crashed,” Marines spokeswoman Capt. Cassandra Gesecki said, according to the Irish Times.

Thursday 13 May 2015

http://www.ibtimes.com/nepals-latest-earthquake-death-toll-crosses-100-search-continues-missing-us-army-1921864

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More bodies found in Philippines slipper factory fire

Officials said the death toll in a rubber slipper factory fire in a suburb of the Philippines’ capital had climbed to at least 72 on Thursday as police continued to retrieve charred bodies from the gutted building. Dozens more remained missing and feared dead.

A fierce blaze quickly took hold of the Kentex Manufacturing Corp factory in Valenzuela city north of Manila on Wednesday. On Thursday Eduardo Nazar, village council chief of Ugong where the factory is located, said: “The [police forensic officers] will do all they can to identify the victims because they are totally burned.”

The flames were so intense that even jewellery the victims wore that might have helped with their identification had melted in the heat or fallen off, Nazar said.

The local mayor, Rex Gatchalian, said retrieval of the remains resumed on Thursday after it was suspended late on Wednesday because of the heat and worries about the instability of the two-storey building.

He said relatives of the missing were asked to provide lists of clothing items, body features, dental records and other items to help identify the victims.



Dionesio Candido, whose daughter, granddaughter, sister-in-law and niece were among the missing, said iron grilles reinforced with fencing wire covered windows on the second floor that “could prevent even cats from escaping”.

He said he was allowed by authorities to enter the gutted building where he saw charred remains “piled on top of each other” but could not say how many.

District fire marshal Wilberto Rico Neil Kwan Tiu said he was among the first to reach the second floor of the gutted building after the fire and saw “numerous bodies” but could not immediately say how many.

The owner of the factory, which is operated by Kentex Manufacturing and produces rubber flip flops and sandals, said about 200 to 300 people were inside the building at the time of the fire.

The mayor of the Valenzuela district, Rexlon Gatchalian, told the AFP news agency he did not expect the death toll to rise much further, as the number of bodies retrieved matched the number of people missing.

Local media reports quoted relatives as saying their kin sent text messages saying they were on the second floor but contact was lost shortly after.

Gatchalian said the fire was apparently ignited by sparks from welding work being done at the factory’s main entrance door, triggering an explosion of the chemicals used to make the slippers.

Workers fled to the second floor where they were trapped, he said. He was unsure if there were any fire escapes there.

Tiu, the fire marshal, said the building had other exits but apparently the workers were overwhelmed by the thick black smoke from the burning rubber and chemicals, which are highly flammable and caused the blaze to spread quickly.

Survivors and relatives of the victims told the news agency that factory employees worked for below minimum wage, surrounded by chemicals, and unaware of fire safety standards.

Thursday 14 May 2015

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/may/14/more-bodies-found-in-philippines-slipper-factory-fire

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10 killed after mosque collapses in Kenya

At least 10 people have died after the partial collapse of a mosque in Nairobi due to heavy rainfall.

Emergency services were continuing rescue operations in Mukuru, a slum of Nairobi, and have not ruled out the possibility of more bodies being found under the rubble.

Nairobi police chief said early investigations suggested that the wall surrounding the mosque was weakened after being soaked by rain.

In the slums, buildings are made with very poor materials, like clay, making them vulnerable to the elements.

Several parts of Kenya have been hit by flooding after abnormally high rainfall.

In north-eastern Kenya, heavy rains have forced hundreds of families to leave their homes different villages across the region.

In the worst-hit town of Jarajira in north-eastern Garissa county, about 1,000 families had left for higher ground, one local official told the BBC's Bashkas Jugsodhaay in Garissa.

The rains have also affected nomadic communities in the region, with many of them losing their livestock, he says.

Wednesday 13 May 2015

http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2015/05/12/10-killed-after-mosque-collapses-kenya

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-32707150

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Flight MH370: what will happen if the plane is found?

With poor weather conditions hampering the search for Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, speculation has turned to what might happen if the plane is ever discovered. More than 75 per cent of the original search zone in the southern Indian Ocean has been explored with no sign of the aircraft or any of the 239 people believed to have perished on board. Investigators will double the search area if the plane is not found, but they have had to suspend the use of their autonomous underwater vehicles (AUV) for the winter months. This week, the Australian government announced that it had set aside an additional A$50m (£25m) to help cover the costs of the ongoing search for the missing plane. "The cost of this measure will be offset by financial contributions to the search from other countries," said the Australian Transport Safety Bureau, which is coordinating the search. "The actual cost will depend on a number of factors, including the length of the search."
One aviation expert has warned that the plane might have to be left on the ocean floor if it is found. Neil Hansford, who has more than 30 years of experience in the airline industry, told the Daily Express that the plane could be inaccessible if it is found in a deep abyss.

Last month, senior ministers from Malaysia, Australia and China met to discuss the next steps in the search and to agree the recovery arrangements if it is found.

Ministers said it was "critical" to have arrangements in place to enable a timely and effective response and said that they remained "committed to bring closure and some peace to the families and loved ones of those on board".

In the event that the aircraft is "found and accessible", evidence would be secured for investigation in accordance with Annex 13 to the Chicago Convention, they said.

This document provides the international requirements for aircraft accident investigations, they include studying the flight recorders and carrying out autopsies with the objective of preventing other disasters in the future.

Aviation law experts have said that Malaysia would likely retain authority of the investigation as it is the "State of Registry" of the aircraft, although the Malaysian government could delegate the inquiry to Australia, as it has done with the search.

"States whose citizens have suffered fatalities in an accident are also entitled to appoint an expert to participate in the investigation," according to the document.

The bulk of Air France flight 447, which crashed in stormy weather en route to Paris from Brazil in 2009, was not found until two years later. While parts of the wreckage and two bodies were found within days, the flight recorders did not turn up until 2011 and the search eventually ended with 74 bodies still missing.

The extensive search of the Atlantic was jointly financed by Air France and Airbus. After four unsuccessful search missions, the wreckage was eventually found just 6.5 nautical miles from the aeroplane's last known location. Deep sea divers only retrieved parts of the aircraft that "were useful to the investigation," leaving the rest of the wreckage on the seabed, according to the final report. The data and cockpit recorders were also recovered, providing crucial evidence about the aircraft's final moments, though some aviation experts still dispute what happened to the plane.

Wednesday 13 May 2015

http://www.theweek.co.uk/57641/flight-mh370-what-might-happen-if-the-plane-is-found

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Nepal earthquake: Dozens die in new tremor near Everest

A major earthquake has struck eastern Nepal, near Mount Everest, two weeks after more than 8,000 people died in a devastating quake. At least 48 people have been killed and more than 1,000 injured, officials say. At least 17 have also died in India.

The latest earthquake hit near the town of Namche Bazaar and sent thousands of panicked residents on to the streets of Nepal's capital, Kathmandu.

It had a magnitude of 7.3, compared with the 7.8 of the 25 April quake.

The latest quake struck at 12:35 Nepali time (06:50 GMT) and was centred about 76km (47 miles) east of Kathmandu, in a rural area close to the Chinese border.

The quake was felt in northern India, Tibet and Bangladesh. India's home ministry said 16 people had been killed in the state of Bihar, and one more in Uttar Pradesh. Officials in China said one person was confirmed dead in Tibet.

Rescue helicopters have been sent to districts east of Kathmandu that are believed to be worst hit. Police in Charikot, 80km north-east of the capital, said 20 people had died there.

Later on Tuesday, the US military said a Marine Corps helicopter involved in disaster relief efforts had gone missing while working in the vicinity of Charikot. Eight people were on board.

A spokesman for Nepal's government told the BBC that 31 of the country's 75 districts had been affected by the latest quake. Prime Minister Sushil Koirala called for "courage and patience" and urged all those who had assisted Nepal since the 25 April quake "to once again extend your helping hand".

The BBC's Yogita Limaye, who was in Nepal's mountains when the latest earthquake struck, said: "The earth shook and it shook for a pretty long time.

"I can completely understand the sense of panic. We have been seeing tremors - it's been two-and-a-half weeks since the first quake. But this one really felt like it went on for a really long time. People have been terrified."

At least four people were killed in the town of Chautara, east of Kathmandu, where a number of buildings are reported to have collapsed. The International Organisation for Migration said bodies were being pulled from rubble there.

Krishna Gyawali, the chief district officer for Chautara, said there had been a number of landslides.

Landslides were also reported by Save the Children in Sindhupalchok and Dolakha. A spokeswoman told the BBC its staff had been "dodging huge rocks rolling off the hillside".

Home Minister Bam Dev Gautam said: "Many houses have collapsed in Dolakha... there is a chance that the number of dead from the district will go up."

The BBC's Navin Singh Khadka says the new earthquake has brought down more houses and lodges in the Everest region but that local officials report very few tourists are still in the area following the 25 April quake.

A nurse in Namche Bazaar, Rhita Doma Sherpa, told Reuters: "The school building is cracked and bits of it, I can see, they have collapsed. It was lunchtime. All the kids were outside."

The latest quake struck at a depth of 15km (9.3 miles), according to the US Geological Survey - the same depth as the April quake. Shallow tremors are more likely to cause greater damage at the surface.

Tuesday's earthquake is likely to be one of the largest to hit Nepal, which has suffered hundreds of aftershocks since 25 April.

The 7.3 quake was followed by six aftershocks of magnitude 5.0 or higher.

One tremor that hit 30 minutes later, centred on the district of Ramechhap, east of Kathmandu, had a magnitude of 6.3.

Scientists are already producing some preliminary analyses of Tuesday's quake.

The epicentre this time is about 80km (50 miles) east-north-east of Kathmandu, halfway to Everest. On 25 April, the big quake began 80km to the north-west of the capital.

In April, we saw the fault boundary rupture eastwards for 150km (93 miles). And the immediate assessment suggests Tuesday's tremor has occurred right at the eastern edge of this failure.

In that context, this second earthquake was almost certainly triggered by the stress changes caused by the first one. Indeed, the US Geological Survey had a forecast for an aftershock in this general area.

Its modelling suggested there was 1-in-200 chance of a M7-7.8 event occurring this week. So, not highly probable, but certainly possible.

Quake experts often talk about "seismic gaps", which refer to segments of faults that are, to some extent, overdue a quake. Tuesday's big tremor may well have filled a hole between what we saw on 25 April and some historic events - such as those in 1934, that occurred further still to the east.

Wednesday 13 May 2015

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-32701385

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Whereabouts of 91 missing people during quake still unknown

The whereabouts of 91 missing persons in Constituency no 3 in Sindhupalchowk district since the April 15 quake is still unknown while the bodies of many deceased ones are still left to be retrieved from the rubble, the local police have said.

Of total 24 VDCs in the district, Duwachaur has the highest death toll, standing at 154 while thousands have sustained injuries and some are still missing , shared Central Investigation Bureau DSP Bhim Dahal,who is currently deployed in this quake-hit district.

The Police so far have identified the dead bodies of 1,409 people in the constituency number 3 of the district while many missing persons are assumed to be dead and their bodies were yet to be dug out of debris, DSP Dahal added.

Some four people in Melamchi have gone missing following the 7.6-magnitude quake. The missing persons, who hail from Terai region, are assumed to have been buried under the rubble of their houses, the police said.

Similarly, police have not been successful to pull out the bodies as many people are believed to have been killed during the quake in Ichowk VDC-8 in Nuwakot.

The number of the deceased in the Constituency No 3 of Sindhupalchok district stands at 1,500. Police have been carrying out search-and-rescue operations in collaboration with the Nepal Army and local authorities.

Tuesday 12 May 2015

http://www.ekantipur.com/2015/05/11/top-story/whereabouts-of-91-missing-people-during-quake-still-unknown/405100.html

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Fresh avalanches in Nepal force workers to call of search for bodies in buried village

Fresh avalanches forced rescuers in a village buried by a landslide in northern Nepal to stop searching for bodies in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake, officials said Sunday.

The avalanches on Friday and Saturday made the work dangerous for police and army rescuers, and they moved to higher and safer ground, said government administrator Gautam Rimal.

Weather conditions also deteriorated with continuing rainfall and fog, he said.

The April 25 earthquake killed more than 8,000 people and injured more than 16,000 others, as it flattened mountain villages and destroyed buildings and archaeological sites in the Himalayan region.

So far, 120 bodies have been recovered from Langtang Valley, a scenic village on a popular trekking route located about 60 kilometres (35 miles) north of Nepal’s capital, Kathmandu.

Among the bodies were those of nine foreigners, and it was still not clear how many people were buried in the village that was covered by a mudslide set loose by the magnitude-7.8 quake.

Hundreds of thousands of people have been left homeless and are still living in tent camps scattered across central and northern Nepal.

Sunday 10 May 2015

http://www.570news.com/2015/05/10/fresh-avalanches-in-nepal-force-workers-to-call-of-search-for-bodies-in-buried-village/

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May 11, 1985: Triumph turns to tragedy as football fans perish in Bradford City stadium fire

The worst-ever British football stadium fire happened on this day in 1985 at Valley Parade, home of Bradford City, claiming the lives of 56 fans and injuring at least 265 others.

Hundreds more were taken into hospital suffering from burns and smoke inhalation after flames engulfed the stadium’s main stand, a mainly wooden structure that had not been altered since its creation in 1911.

Over 11,000 supporters were in the ground – nearly double the season’s average crowd – to see Bradford lift the Third Division trophy, and the mood among them was one of celebration before their final game of the season against Lincoln City.

But at 3.40pm flames were spotted at the back of the main stand. The cause of the fire has never been definitively proved, but it is generally accepted that a supporter stubbed out a cigarette in a polystyrene cup, which smouldered then ignited an accumulation of rubbish underneath the stand.

Strong winds circulating around the ground fanned the flames, spreading them with terrifying speed; within four minutes, the whole stand was ablaze. Its wooden roof also caught fire, sending burning timber and molten asphalt and bitumen down onto spectators.

Fans flee the fire in the stand at Valley Parade.

Those near the front of the stand jumped onto the pitch to avoid the flames, but many others tried to escape through exits at its rear – only to find them shut, and in some cases locked. 27 of those who died were found by exit K and turnstiles six to nine at the rear centre of the stand.

An inquiry into the disaster chaired by Sir Oliver Popplewell introduced new legislation to govern safety at sports stadia in the UK, including the banning of any new wooden stands, the banning of smoking in existing stands, and a requirement for stewards to undergo safety training.

Monday 11 May 2015

https://home.bt.com/news/world-news/may-11-1985-triumph-turns-to-tragedy-as-football-fans-perish-in-bradford-city-stadium-fire-11363980334912

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300 of an estimated 25,000 illegal migrants die in Bay of Bengal in 2015, says UN agency

UN refuge agency on Friday said more than 25,000 people from Bangladesh and Myanmar lured by traffickers set sail illegally for overseas jobs through the Bay of Bengal in the first three months of the year.

Of these illegal travelers an estimated 300 people were killed during the risky voyages through the rough sea, it said.

United Nations High Commission for Refugee came up with the statement on the heels of discovery of at least 30 graves of migrant workers at abandoned concentration camps run by the traffickers in remote jungle of Thailand.

The bodies of the migrant workers, who were subjected to persecution for ransom, are suspected to be of Bangladeshi nationals and stateless Rohingya from Myanmar. They were died of illness or abuse, said the agency.

Thai police have launched an investigation into the reported trafficking in human and the government closed duty of more than 50 policemen for their inaction over the incidents of brutality in the camps. Four local government officials were also arrested.

“But we also appalled by these deaths. Smugglings networks by sea from the Bay of Bengal area to Thailand and onwards to Malaysia have become increasingly lucrative for smugglers, and increasingly dangerous for their human cargoes,” the agency said in a statement posted on its website.

A UNHCR periodic report estimates that some 25,000 Rohingya and Bangladeshis boarded smuggler’s boats between January and March this year- almost double the number over the same period in 2014.

The agency called for urgent actions from the governments of the countries concerned. It added that the UNHCR members spoke to several hundred survivors of such journeys during the reporting period.

Their accounts signal a shift in how smugglers recruit passengers for the boats. Initial boarding fees are often low and in some cases people are given free-passage on condition that they repay the debt with future earnings in Malaysia, it added.

“We heard of children being abducted off the streets or while fishing, and forced onto boats. People are unaware that money will be extorted from them later in the journey and what started with being smuggled soon turns into trafficking in persons,” it said.

One survivor who spent 62 days in such conditions compared it to a graveyard and said he lost hope of reaching shore alive.

Friday 8 May 2015

http://newsnextbd.com/300-of-an-estimated-25000-illegal-migrants-die-in-bay-of-bengal-in-2015-says-un-agency/

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Death toll climbs to 7,903 in Nepal quake

The death toll in the devastating earthquake of April 25 has reached 7,903, according to the latest update made available by the Nepal Police on Friday.

The police said the bodies of 7,779 people have already been handed over to their family members and 6,086 people are receiving treatment in various hospitals across the country.

A total of 17,803 people were injured in the quake.

Citing the latest data, police said that 6,69,775 people have been displaced in the country.

Kathmandu, Lalitpur, Bhaktapur, Sindhupalchok, Dhading, Rasuwa and Nuwakot were the worst hit districts in the quake besides Gorkha district, which was the epicentre of the quake.

Of the over 5,22,820 people displaced in the mid-region, 66,780 have been displaced in Kathmandu alone.

Police said that 2,90,756 houses have been fully damaged and 10,801 government buildings have collapsed in the quake.

At least 264 Nepali nationals and 111 foreigners have been missing after the disaster.

Friday 8 May 2015

http://www.newkerala.com/news/2015/fullnews-55403.html

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Italy says may have found ship that carried 900 drowned migrants

Italy's navy said on Thursday it believed it had found the wreck of a boat that sank last month killing up to 900 migrants off the coast of Libya, the Mediterranean's most deadly migrant tragedy in living memory.

Only 24 bodies have been recovered since the April 18 disaster and the discovery of the wreck 375 metres (1,235 feet) underwater some 135 km (85 miles) north of Libya would notably increase the chances of finding more remains.

Search teams based on two minesweepers and a smaller navy vessel used sonar instruments and a submersible to locate the hulk of a 25-metre blue boat which fitted the description of the one that sank, the navy said in a statement.

Asked if Italian authorities believed the migrant boat had now been found, a navy spokesman said, "Yes ... The location and length are correct, but we cannot be certain."

Lawlessness in Libya, where two rival governments are vying for control, has given almost free rein to traffickers. Two survivors of the disaster were arrested on the island of Sicily last month on suspicion of trafficking people on the ship.

After interviewing survivors, prosecutors concluded that more than 750 people were likely to have been aboard, many locked in the hold. Other reports suggested the death toll could be up to 900. Twenty-eight people were saved.

The scale of the disaster shocked the European Union into tripling funding for its sea patrol mission Triton, which replaced Italy's now-defunct, broader "Mare Nostrum" mission.

Some 51,000 migrants have reached Europe by sea this year, 30,500 of them via Italy, according to the U.N. refugee agency, and calmer seas in the run-up to summer have encouraged thousands to take the risk in recent weeks.

About 1,800 people are thought to have drowned in the Mediterranean so far in 2015. In the latest known tragedy, members of a group of roughly 240 migrants who arrived in Sicily on Tuesday said they had been travelling with about 40 others who had drowned.

Thursday 7 May 2015

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/reuters/article-3072313/Italy-says-ship-carried-900-drowned-migrants.html

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South Korea, US experts excavate for Korean War remains

South Korea and the United States have begun exhuming the remains of soldiers killed during the 1950-53 Korean War. The project is not the first of its kind – since 2000 the South Korean military has conducted excavations of war remains, Yonhap reported.

To date, most of the 9,500 bodies recovered have been identified as South Korean soldiers.

The U.S. Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, or DPAA, sent a team to jointly excavate the remains on Wednesday in the South Korean region of Masan in the southeast, reported South Korean newspaper Donga Ilbo.

In August 1950, the area was the scene of brutal fighting between North Korean forces and the Allied Command, which consisted mostly of South Korean and U.S. soldiers. Due to the high number of casualties, soldiers called the area "Death Valley."

The three-day excavation began on Wednesday and will involve 15 South Korean experts and eight U.S. analysts from the DPAA.

According to the U.S. team chief, the bodies of 8,000 dead U.S. soldiers remain unaccounted for. In Masan, the U.S. 25th Infantry Division under the command of Maj. Gen. William Keen repelled North Korean incursions toward the port city of Busan. In the course of bloody battles, however, many lives were lost.

South Korea's defense ministry decided to launch an investigation in Masan after ministry staff member Hwang U-ung said he heard stories about the area from his mother and suggested an investigation.

According to Hwang, locals said U.S. soldiers were buried in a nearby mountain, and superstition suggested digging in the area would bring bad luck.

The Korean War began in June 1950, when North Korean forces invaded Seoul, and continued for three years until a truce was signed in 1953.

Friday 8 May 2015

http://www.military.com/daily-news/2015/05/07/south-korea-us-experts-excavate-for-korean-war-remains.html

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12 killed in illegal cracker factory explosion in Midnapore

Twelve persons were charred to death and four others injured in an explosion at an illegal firecracker factory at Pingla in West Midnapore district of West Bengal. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee ordering a CID investigation into the incident. “Twelve charred bodies have been recovered from the blast spot, while four injured have been admitted to hospital,” IGP (Western Range) S N Gupta told PTI.

The house owner Ranjan Maiti has been arrested, he added. Police said the factory was illegal and the blast took place shortly before 10 PM last night and the raging fire has been put out. All the victims were employees of the factory who were brought from Murshidabad district, police said. The bodies were charred beyond recognition and it is difficult to even identify their gender. The bodies were sent to Midnapore Medical College and Hospital for post-mortem.

To a question if the incident was like the Burdwan blast that took place in October last year and claimed the lives of two suspected Jamaat-ul Maujahideen Bangladesh terrorists, Gupta replied in the negative. “It is (Pingla blast) an accident in a cracker factory.” Asked if any central probe team, specially the NIA, had visited the spot or contacted him, Gupta said, “The question does not arise since it is a case of accident in a cracker factory.”

On the reason behind the blast, West Midnapore superintendent of Police B Ghosh said, “We are looking into it. Probably something went wrong during the manufacturing of crackers.” The Chief minister, who ordered a CID probe into the explosion, wondered, “How could so many firecrackers be prepared at one place and how so many explosive substances were accumulated in one place ?” “I ask all Green police (civic police) personnel in all villages to keep a watch on such activities and to inform the local police station if they find explosive substances being accumulated at any place,” she said at a programme at Namkhana in South 24 Paraganas district. Police said that it is on the look out for another person in connection with the explosion.

Neighbouring areas like Sabang and Baliachak, besides Pingla were being scanned for other such firecracker units, it added. CID sources in Kolkata said a CID team would visit Pingla and a central forensic team has already reached there. Meanwhile, Congress and BJP have demanded a probe by NIA into the incident. Congress leader Manas Bhunia, an MLA from neighbouring Sabang, visited the spot and demanded NIA probe. Bhunia, who earlier met governor K N Tripathi on the issue, said it was unlikely that police did not know about the existence of the illegal cracker unit.

Thursday 7 May 2015

http://www.india.com/news/india/12-killed-in-illegal-cracker-factory-explosion-in-midnapore-one-arrested-375646/

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Panna bus accident bodies to be kept in Bhopal hospitals

District administration in Panna decided on Wednesday not to bury 21 bodies of victims of bus accident in Panna that took place on Monday. Now, bodies will be kept in three hospitals of Bhopal till DNA reports are received.

Bodies were brought to state capital on Wednesday.

As all dead were charred beyond recognition, relatives were not able to identify their kith and kin. Samples of dead as well as those of relatives for DNA were taken and report is awaited.

District collector SN Chouhan said that instead of burying them till DNA report is received, we decided to keep them in mortuaries of three hospitals in Bhopal.

They are Hamidia hospital, People's Hospital and JK hospital. He said DNA report is expected in a month, he said.

On Monday, a bus carrying passengers from Chhatarpur to Rewa rammed a culvert and plunged 15 feet down into a dry nullah 13 kms away from Panna on NH-75. Bus caught fire leaving 21 dead and 14 injured.

Meanwhile, in the neighbouring Chhatarpur, district administration has learnt that a large number of buses plying from district head quarter to New Delhi carrying a large number of people who migrate to the national capital in search of job, did not have permits.

Chhatarpur bus owners association Abid Siddique raised this issue in a meeting with the district administration. He said these buses were issued permit for carrying wedding parties during wedding season but they are making illegal trips to New Delhi.

Thursday 7 May 2015

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bhopal/Panna-accident-bodies-to-be-kept-in-Bhopal-hospitals/articleshow/47185565.cms

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Nepal remembers quake victims on conclusion of religious mourning period

Families and relatives of thousands of Nepal's earthquake victims prayed and conducted Hindu after-death rituals on Thursday marking the end of the 13-day mourning period.

Nearly 80% of Nepal's population are Hindus and most the over 7,600 dead belonged to that faith. Families can resume their routine lives once the mourning period is over.

"Family members of those who passed away on the day of the quake on April 25 conducted 'kriya-karma' (religious rites) to mark the end of the mourning period," said Govinda Tandon, member secretary of Pashupati Area Development Trust (PADT).

In Kathmandu, many victims were cremated at the cremation ground of Pashupati Temple located on banks of the holy Bagmati. Last rites of over 660 bodies were performed at the temple's 'arya-ghat'.

Family members of the deceased stay in small dwellings near the cremation ground and conduct religious rituals till the mourning period is over.

"On the 13th day they pray for the freedom and peace to the departed's soul, offer donations to priests and share meals with family members and relatives," he said.

Hundreds gathered at Kathmandu's Basantapur Darbar Square, where many world heritage structures were destroyed by the quake, to offer condolences and prayers to those dead. Candlelight prayers were also held in the evening at other places.

Obituaries with photos of the victims placed by friends, families, colleagues, classmates to mark the 'punya-tithi' (auspicious day) covered several pages of Nepal's prominent vernacular dailies.

Besides those dead, over 16,000 sustained injuries in the quake. Among the 410 missing till date, 106 are foreigners. Most dead bodies have been handed over to relatives. But 31 of them including 4 foreigners still lie unclaimed at Kathmandu's Teaching Hospital.

In another development, the Indian embassy in Kathmandu issued a release terming as baseless news reports about Indian Air Force aircrafts carrying relief material without coordinating with Nepali authorities.

Thursday 7 May 2015

http://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/nepal-remembers-quake-victims-on-conclusion-of-religious-mourning-period/article1-1344886.aspx

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Indonesian doctors to help identify quake victims in Nepal

Indonesian doctors will help identify victims of the large-scale earthquake that hit Nepal recently, according to the director of the Indonesian Citizen Protection division of the Foreign Ministry, Muhammad Iqbal.

Iqbal said in Jakarta on Wednesday that at least 13 doctors were expected to help identify up to 120 bodies evacuated from the avalanche in Langtang, Nepal.

The doctors visited Tribuvan Teaching University hospital in Kathmandu on Tuesday, Iqbal said as reported by kompas.com. The bodies to be identified, however, had not reached the hospital in Kathmandu as of Tuesday, so the identification process would start Wednesday.

The doctors are part of the Indonesian evacuation team, which consists of members of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB), the Air Force's special force Paskhas and volunteers.

Iqbal said that the team would remain in Kathmandu for a while to help the humanitarian aid operations.

The team, he went on, would help the search and rescue activities carried out by the Nepalese Military Forces following the powerful earthquake, which devastated parts of Nepal.

Wednesday 6 May 2015

http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/05/06/indonesian-doctors-help-identify-quake-victims-nepal.html

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In Nepal, Rabbi’s search continues

The Nepal-based rabbi who has been a driving force in search and rescue is making daily visits to rows of bodies in a village near Kathmandu, expecting to discover more Jewish dead.

When the body of Or Asraf, the only Israeli fatality in the quake, was finally retrieved on Sunday, it was widely believed that all Jews missing in the quake have been accounted for. But Rabbi Chezky Lifshitz, director of Nepal Chabad, has serious doubts.

“We have already found some bodies with Jewish names in Langtang,” he reported. “We don’t know if they are Jewish, but we’re checking.”

He visits the rows of bodies that are outdoors in the notoriously tragic Langtang village because he thinks there is a high chance that families of missing Jews from Europe or America may not have contacted him or another Jewish organization.

He also thinks that information does not always flow correctly, even if details of religious persuasion have been reported by families to national authorities. He said that on Tuesday, he informed the German embassy of three Germans whom he had identified in his searching — and found that they were not actually considered missing.

Lifshitz examines the bodies of foreigners, which are usually separated out from Nepalese, and looks for names on documentation in wallets. Looking at facial features has become less relevant as time goes by. “It’s difficult after five or six days to see something like this [facial features],” he said.

As Lifshitz searched for more Jewish dead this week, Israeli backpackers were trying to absorb the news that Asraf has been confirmed dead. “It could have been me,” said Iyyar Schwartz, a 25-year-old who is finishing an eight-month stint travelling. “I also did that trek, and I know the area where he was.” She said that alongside the sense of tragedy, there is a feeling of thankfulness that the body was retrieved. “On the one hand it feels awful, but on the other hand we feel relieved that there’s a body to bury,” she said.

Israelis like Schwartz are grappling with what has happened around them. “People basically want to get out now and don’t know what to feel,” she said, as she departed Kathmandu, cutting her time in Nepal short and heading to Thailand. “I can’t believe that the village I stayed in doesn’t exist anymore and the people I met are probably not alive.”

Signs of the earthquake are visible everywhere in Kathmandu, with piles of rubble and collapsed buildings, and some of them are particularly haunting. At one building, rooms and even furniture are visible from the front, as part of the building collapsed while another part was left intact. Locals can be seen sorting through the rubble there for their family’s belongings. They say that some 27 people died there.

Ashraf’s body was found on a ridge following a complicated search operation by the Israelife Joint Disaster Response Team, which consists of volunteers from ZAKA, United Hatzolah and F.I.R.S.T. The team searched by foot through difficult terrain, in danger of mudslides, avalanches and rock falls.

Eli Beer, founder of the Israelife Foundation and president of United Hatzolah, said: “We are very sad that our mission has ended in this way. Throughout all the days of the search, we remained hopeful that we would find Or alive and bring him home to his family. Unfortunately, despite our efforts, we found Or when he was no longer alive. We find some comfort in the fact that, as a result of the efforts of our volunteers, Or will be brought to burial in Israel.”

Wednesday 6 May 2015

http://www.thejewishweek.com/news/international/nepal-rabbis-sad-search-continues

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Four dead, nine missing following Indonesian landslide

Four people were killed and nine others remain missing after a landslide buried homes on Indonesia's main island of Java, an official said Wednesday.

A landslide triggered by a pipeline explosion on Tuesday engulfed eight homes and trapped villagers in a West Java village.

The pipeline, belonging to a geothermal project in the area, had been damaged in a previous landslide caused by days of torrential rain.

"The search for victims of the landslide continues," said Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, spokesman for the National Disaster Management Agency.

More than 100 residents, fearing further landslides, had taken refuge in a village hall, he added.

Landslides are common in Indonesia, one of the world's most natural-disaster prone nations.

The national disaster agency estimates around half the country's 250 million population live in areas prone to landslides.

Wednesday 6 May 2015

http://www.rappler.com/world/regions/asia-pacific/indonesia/92319-four-dead-nine-missing-following-indonesian-landslide

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After a disaster: Ensuring families can honour the dead

As part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement's assistance to communities affected by the Nepal Earthquake, the ICRC sent forensic expert Shuala Drawdy to help with our response.

Shuala talks about the role that she and her other colleagues are playing in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake, which has left thousands dead and countless more injured and homeless.

The ICRC is supporting the Nepal Red Cross Society in their response to the escalating needs of families and affected communities. This includes restoring contact between family members separated by the earthquake, and providing critical first aid materials and support. Thanks to the availability of emergency kits, NRCS volunteers were among the first who arrived to treat the wounded and to rescue those still trapped.

The ICRC is also promoting proper and dignified management of dead bodies avoiding that unidentified bodies are cremated or hastily buried. To this end, we have provided 400 dead body bags to the Department of Forensics Medicine. In addition, 7 sets of dressing modules have been provided to the hospitals to treat quake injured people.

What assistance can an ICRC forensic expert provide?

Forensic experts from the ICRC can give advice and support to authorities and local experts on how forensic science can help address humanitarian challenges, such as how to deal with dead bodies.

After a disaster, the ICRC can offer guidance on gathering information about those who have died, and provide technical advice to ensure local systems can identify and properly manage dead bodies, with dignity while maintaining respect for cultural practices.

We also provide training to emergency responders in the recovery and transport of dead bodies, and to people who have the role of identifying the dead – so that their families can be located and bodies can be returned.

What is the current situation in Nepal and what assistance is being provided by the ICRC's Forensic Services?

The situation is quite challenging. The focus has been on searching for the wounded and on rescuing those trapped under rubble.

There are thousands of unrecovered bodies in the communities that were affected by the earthquake. The extent of the aftermath is not fully known, but in the areas the ICRC has had access to we have already begun to distribute body bags and assist these communities with how they can manage their dead.

The ICRC is also working directly with local authorities, providing advice and support as needed. It is essential that unidentified bodies are not cremated, so their families can have the opportunity to carry out their own funerary rites once identification has taken place.

Who deals with dead bodies after a disaster – the ICRC or the authorities?

The responsibility of managing dead bodies lies always the authorities—they have jurisdiction and this should be respected. However, the ICRC can provide assistance to local authorities if requested and required, and has the expertise to work with and provide support to families who are seeking missing relatives.

Are there any myths or perceptions about dead bodies that you would like to dispel?

The biggest myth is that dead bodies cause epidemics. This is not true. The bodies of people who have died in a disaster do not cause epidemics, because they have normally died as a result of traumatic injury, drowning or fire.

Wednesday 6 May 2015

https://www.icrc.org/en/document/after-disaster-ensuring-families-can-bury-their-loved-ones

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