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 groups have disavowed. But in an unusual act of outreach, some of these ultra-Orthodox Jews have recently found an original way of engaging with people outside their own closed religious world: cooperating to save lives.

Leaders of ZAKA, an Israeli medical and rescue organization best known for its work in the aftermath of suicide bombings, has launched a program that seeks to work with Muslim and Christian counterparts on emergency rescues.

In January, ZAKA announced its own interfaith platform. It came just as tensions between religious and secular society were boiling over the issue of gender segregation. At the tensions’ peak, some Haredim rioted in the town of Beit Shemesh, even donning death camp outfits to dramatize their own sense of victimhood. Against this backdrop, ZAKA has assembled two dozen of Israel’s most respected religious leaders — from Chief Rabbi Yona Metzger to Muafak Tarif, head of Israel’s Druze community, and Mohamad Kiwan, who leads an association of imams in Israel — to sign a declaration committing themselves to a shared humanitarian vision.

The the declaration, signed on January 4 in Zichron Yaakov, reasons that because man is created in God’s image, people of all religions are obliged to “respect each and every person as he is, and to educate and transmit values and messages of peace.” On a practical level, this means that ZAKA will increase minority involvement — with outreach programs like a first aid course for Arab women — and increase the number of volunteers from Israel’s non-Jewish communities.

ZAKA’s chairman, Yehuda Meshi-Zahav, who himself was once a leader in the anti-Zionist fringes of the Haredi world, told the Forward that this new initiative represents a more sustainable form of interfaith relations than dialogue. “Every dialogue without actual action doesn’t have a future,” he said. Greek Melkite priest Touma Haddad, a signatory to the declaration, commented, “Sometimes talking is just not enough.”

Looking a little out of place in his Haredi clothes and side curls, Meshi-Zahav has spent the weeks since the declaration touring Arab villages, asking sheiks to support it by encouraging their followers to become ZAKA volunteers. Though the effect has not yet led to an increase in participation, he expects that it will do so over the next few months.

ZAKA already has 350 volunteers from Israel’s minority religions, who serve alongside the organization’s 1,150 Haredi volunteers and 350 non-Haredi Jews. When many of them gathered for the January interfaith declaration, the warm embraces and intimate conversations among them were testament to strong friendships formed over shared — and sometimes harrowing — experiences. Haredim chaired the proceedings, the Christians who provided the hall for the evening did the (strictly kosher) catering and a Muslim volunteer took photographs. “It’s the same God and the same values that make us volunteer together,” said Salach Badir, a volunteer from the Arab city of Kfar Kassem, which is located near Tel Aviv.

ZAKA was established in 1995 by Meshi-Zahav, who until a few years prior was known as the public face of the Eida Haredit, one of the most hard-line and extremist Haredi groups. He established ZAKA (the Hebrew acronym for Disaster Victim Identification) primarily to pick up body parts that were strewn about at the scene of terrorist attacks. ZAKA’s yellow-jacketed volunteers became a common sight on news reports from Israeli bomb scenes.

ZAKA expanded to provide medical and search-and-rescue services, and established an international unit that has helped after disasters occurred in Haiti, Japan and elsewhere. Its domestic operation relies on volunteers who, tapping into networks for Israel’s state emergency services, can often be first on the scene.

Since setting up ZAKA, Meshi-Zahav’s ideology has mellowed — to the extent that he is now a vocal critic of the extremist camp to which he once belonged. “I believe that as long as we in the Haredi community do not stand up and reject the actions of those extremists who are now tarring the reputation of the wider ultra-Orthodox community, we condone their unacceptable behavior with our silence,” he told the Forward in relation to the recent violence. On his Facebook page he has even likened Haredi extremists to “terrorists.”

As ZAKA expanded, its volunteer base grew beyond the Haredi community. It attracted Jews of all religious stripes, as well as people of every other religion. Volunteering became especially popular in outlying Bedouin villages. With ZAKA training, individuals can provide quick responses for their community and for others nearby, while state emergency services can take some time to arrive. In one of ZAKA’s newest programs, Haredi and Muslim volunteers have started running a course in accident prevention and first aid for women in Arab towns.

With its new declaration, ZAKA resolves to capitalize on the interfaith aspect of its work and “have ZAKA volunteers as opinion formers within their communities, working to encourage co-existence, helping and assisting others and instilling values of peace and co-existence.”
The declaration acknowledges that the imperative of various religions to “honor the living and the dead” has attracted many of ZAKA’s volunteers and should be capitalized on to increase ZAKA’s membership and further promote this interfaith ideal. It says that “with more and more volunteers working together, the barriers will come down, people’s outlook on life changes, and we become more united, focused and better people, bringing closer the prospect of peace.”

Badir said that barriers have already come down in his community — the first to run the women’s course, which he facilitated. Badir said that when he first volunteered with Haredim, “some people thought it was strange, but now it’s totally accepted.”

12 February 2012

Read more: http://www.forward.com/articles/151040/#ixzz1mCdytvmr

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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#ixzz1mCd77Oge

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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 alive when a huge Allied shell exploded above the tunnel in 1918, causing it to cave in.

Thirteen bodies were recovered from the underground shelter, but the remaining men had to be left under a mountain of mud as it was too dangerous to retrieve them.

Nearly a century later, French archaeologists stumbled upon the mass grave on the former Western Front in eastern France during excavation work for a road building project.

The bodies of 21 German soldiers entombed in a perfectly preserved First World War shelter have been discovered in France 94 years after they were killed inside the buried shelter parts of the tunnel remain intact.

Three beds, a bottle and a helmet have been preserved in the shelter

The soldiers were buried alive in mud inside the underground shelter (left) which contained items including beds, a bottle and a helmet (right)

Some 7.5million men lost their lives on the Western Front during World War One.

The front was opened when the German army invaded Luxembourg and Belgium in 1914 and then moved into the industrial regions in northern France.

In September of that year, this advance was halted, and slightly reversed, at the Battle Of Marne.

It was then that both sides dug vast networks of trenches that ran all the way from the North Sea to the Swiss border with France.

This line of tunnels remained unaltered, give or take a mile here and a mile there, for most of the four-year conflict.

By 1917, after years of deadlock that saw millions of soldiers killed for zero gain on either side, new military technology including poison gas, tanks and planes was deployed on the front.

Thanks to these techniques, the Allies slowly advanced throughout 1918 until the war's end in November.

Many of the skeletal remains were found in the same positions the men had been in at the time of the collapse, prompting experts to liken the scene to Pompeii.

A number of the soldiers were discovered sitting upright on a bench, one was lying in his bed and another was in the foetal position having been thrown down a flight of stairs.

As well as the bodies, poignant personal effects such as boots, helmets, weapons, wine bottles, spectacles, wallets, pipes, cigarette cases and pocket books were also found.

Even the skeleton of a goat was found, assumed to be a source of fresh milk for the soldiers.

Archaeologists believe the items have been so well-preserved because hardly any air, water or lights had penetrated the trench.

The 300ft-long tunnel was located 18ft beneath the surface near the small town of Carspach in the Alsace region of France.

Michael Landolt, the archaeologist leading the dig, said: 'It's a bit like Pompeii. Everything collapsed in seconds and is just the way it was at the time.

'Here, as in Pompeii, we found the bodies as they were at the moment of their death. Some of the men were found in sitting positions on a bench, others lying down. One was projected down a flight of wooden stairs and was found in a foetal position.

'The collapsed shelter was filled with soil. The items were very well-preserved because of the absence of air and light and water.

'Metal objects were rusty, wood was in good condition and we found some pages of newspapers that were still readable. Leather was in good condition as well, still supple.

'The items will be taken to a laboratory, cleaned and examined.'

French engineers stumbled upon the mass grave on the former Western Front near the town of Carspach in the Alsace region of eastern France during excavation work for a road building project

A drinks cup and the remains of a rifle that have survived almost intact for a century. Archaeologists believe the items have been so well-preserved because hardly any air, water or lights penetrated the trench

A drinks cup and the remains of a rifle that have survived almost intact for a century. Archaeologists believe the items have been so well-preserved because hardly any air, water or lights penetrated the trench

A German newspaper from 1918 lies partly preserved inside the shelter with a large hammer possibly used to help dig the tunnel

Archaeologists also uncovered the wooden sides, floors and stairways of the shelter.

The dead soldiers were part of the 6th Company, 94th Reserve Infantry Regiment.

Their names are all known - they include Musketeer Martin Heidrich, 20, Private Harry Bierkamp, 22, and Lieutenant August Hutten, 37, whose names are inscribed on a memorial in the nearby German war cemetery of Illfurth.

The bodies have been handed over to the German War Graves Commission but unless relatives can be found and they request the remains to be repatriated, it is planned that the men will be buried at Illfurth.

The underground tunnel was big enough to shelter 500 men and had 16 exits.

It would have been equipped with heating, telephone connections, electricity, beds and a pipe to pump out water.

The French attacked the shelter on March 18, 1918 with aerial mines that penetrated the ground and blasted in the side wall of the shelter in two points.

It is estimated that over 165,000 Commonwealth soldiers are still unaccounted for on the Western Front.

See article for more images of the excvated trench..

10 Febr 2012

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2099187/Bodies-21-German-soldiers-buried-alive-WW1-trench-perfectly-preserved-94-years-later.html#ixzz1lzipSYS1

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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.au/

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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 her father is a faded, black-and-white photo from 1984. A handsome 27-year-old, in jeans and a check shirt, he grins contentedly while holding his wife, Nineth, who in turn is cradling their newly born first child.

Not long after the portrait was taken, Alejandra's father, Fernando, disappeared. On 18 February, he failed to turn up to a celebration at the family home in Guatemala City. Nineth spent days frantically searching the local streets. But he was never seen again.

At the time, Guatemala was in the throes of a 36-year civil war which ranks as one of the most brutal conflicts of the 20th century. More than 200,000 people died, from a population which at the start of hostilities was about four million. Roughly 80 per cent of the casualties were suspected left-wing dissidents. Many were executed, without trial, by soldiers or police officers loyal to the country's ruling military junta.

Fernando Garcia, a student activist whose only crime was taking part in several demonstrations against the government, was one such victim. In the days after his disappearance, witnesses came forward to claim he had been snatched off the streets by men who appeared to be out-of-uniform police officers. Then he was bundled into an unmarked pick-up truck and driven away.

It has been 28 years since Fernando went missing, and almost 16 years since peace accords which turned Guatemala into a functioning, if somewhat troubled, democracy. But Alejandra and her family are only now on the verge of nailing those responsible. Hector Bol de la Cruz, the country's former police chief, is about to face a belated trial for ordering his detention and apparent killing.

The charges against Bol de la Cruz, now 71, represents a landmark moment in Guatemala's long-running effort to draw a line under its past. In a country which remains hobbled by corruption, with a track record of treating dishonest officials with impunity, he becomes the first police chief to ever be prosecuted for his actions.

"I think about how my dad would feel," Alejandra said, with regard to Bol de la Cruz's imminent trial. "He would be happy to finally see a little bit of justice in this country."

The forthcoming prosecution stems from a remarkable detective story which began by accident in 2005, when investigators looking into an explosion at a dilapidated munitions dump near Guatemala City stumbled upon a series of vaults holding a vast collection of official documents and photographs.

The paperwork alone ran to about 80 million pages. Much of it had been soaked by rainwater from leaky windows. But it soon became clear that it represented a large portion of the National Police Force's official archives relating to the civil war.

This was a surprising and potentially game-changing discovery. During the 1996 peace process, the National Police Force had angrily denied the existence of a formal record of its operations. Since the hidden archive suggested otherwise, human rights groups in 2005 began the laborious process of sifting through the paperwork for clues that might help bring about prosecutions.

Seven years on, their work is starting to bear fruit, with records being cross-checked with evidence from the cemetery where security forces often dumped bodies in mass graves, identifying them as "XX". So far, families of some 45,000 of the "disappeared" have asked for information which might relate to their loved ones. Searching for it is gradually becoming easier, thanks to an online database created by the University of Texas at Austin, which currently holds about 12 million of the documents.

Although some of the war's victims were guerrillas killed in combat, many were civilians put to death for simply being suspected of harbouring sympathy for the revolutionaries. The exact circumstances of their deaths are now starting to emerge.

Fernando Garcia is a case in point. Shortly after he went missing, Bol de la Cruz claimed to know nothing of his disappearance. But documents from the archives reveal that in early 1984, he signed a letter praising a senior officer called Jorge Gomez for ordering the arrest of "subversive criminals" on 18 February, in the exact location where Mr Garcia went missing.

Records show that Mr Gomez ordered a patrol car with four officers to monitor the street where Mr Garcia vanished. Those arrested were never seen again. Two of the policemen were prosecuted in 2010, and sentenced to 40 years in prison, largely thanks to the archive; the others have been declared fugitives.

Human rights groups now hope the archive can be used to establish that knowledge of unlawful killings ran to the top of Guatemala's police force. "These documents have been fundamental," said Alejandra Garcia, now a 29-year-old attorney.

Lawyers for Bol de la Cruz, who ran the force from 1983-1985, are currently trying to prevent one of the judges in the 2010 trial from presiding over his case. The former police chief continues to protest his innocence.

If cases like this begin to stick, then it could prove awkward for senior figures in government. In November, the country elected as its new president Otto Perez Molina, a retired, right-leaning general who served during the civil war as head of military intelligence.

Molina has always denied any involvement in war crimes and has publicly stated he will do nothing to impede any prosecutions related to the era. But rumours about his past persist. One case the President will no doubt be keeping a close eye on is the murder trial of Efrain Rios Montt, who (backed by the Cold War-era US) was the country's leader during 1982 and 1983, when some of the worst atrocities of the civil war were committed.

Last month, it emerged that Montt will be tried for genocide and crimes against humanity for allegedly ordering his army to massacre indigenous Mayans suspected of supporting left-wing guerrillas. Prosecutors accuse Montt of "planning, designing and overseeing the military counter-insurgency plans against the indigenous population," and say they have documents to prove it. Lawyers for the former president deny responsibility, saying he was "never on the battlefield".

Molina, as a senior officer in the army, very much was on the battlefield during Montt's reign, however. Only time will tell whether his name will crop up in this, or any of the wave of other trials related to Guatemala's bloodiest era.

Timeline: In the wars

1960 Guatemala's brutal 36-year civil war begins as battles between left-wing guerrillas and government military forces escalate.

1982 A military coup sees General Efrain Rios Montt installed as dictator. He is overthrown in another coup led by General Mejia Victores and an amnesty for guerrillas is declared.

1984 Fernando Garcia, a 27-year-old student activist, disappears on 18 February. He is never seen again. In 2012, former police chief Hector Bol de la Cruz stands trial for masterminding the kidnapping.

1989 Civil-war death toll reaches 100,000 and 40,000 are missing.

1993 President Jorge Serrano Elias resigns after his authoritarian measures spark protests.

1996 Alvaro Arzu is elected president. He purges senior military officers and signs an agreement with the rebels, finally ending the civil war.

1999 Security forces were behind 93 per cent of all civil-war atrocities, according to a UN-backed report.

2004 The state pays $3.5m to victims of civil war, after admitting guilt in several human-rights crimes.

2006 A Spanish judge issues an arrest warrant for Montt.

2009 An ex-paramilitary officer is the first to be jailed for civilian disappearances during the civil war.

2012 A court rules that Montt will face trial on charges of genocide and crimes against humanity.

Friday 10 February 2012
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/the-xx-files-the-hunt-for-victims-of-guatemalas-36year-war-6699789.html

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Duikers 'redden' teddybeer uit cruiseschip [in Dutch]

Teddy beer saved from Costa Concordia cruiseship. Demonstrates the sentimental value of personal effects in disasters..

ISOLA DEL GIGLIO - Duikers van de Italiaanse brandweer zijn opnieuw het half gezonken cruiseschip Costa Concordia ingegaan om een teddybeer te 'redden'. Een jongen had het knuffelbeest op de noodlottige vrijdag 13 januari in zijn hut achtergelaten.

Sindsdien bleef het jongetje uit Verona naar de teddybeer vragen als hij moest gaan slapen. De jongen en het knuffelbeest waren onafscheidelijk sinds hij zijn moeder had verloren.

De halfwees en zijn vader werden na de ramp opgevangen door een gezin op het eiland Isola del Giglio. De vader had het in een bedankmail ook erover hoe het jongetje zijn knuffel miste. Het gezin stapte naar de burgemeester van Isola del Giglio. Die vond deze week snel duikers bereid om nog eens af te dalen in het cruiseschip, dagen nadat de zoektocht naar vermisten was gestaakt. De teddybeer is inmiddels onderweg naar Verona, aldus Italiaanse media donderdag.

09 February 2012

http://www.telegraaf.nl/buitenland/11481042/__Beer_gered_uit_cruiseschip__.html?sn=binnenland,buitenland

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Experts identify critical factors in CTV collapse

Intense ground shaking, non-ductile columns and the asymmetrical layout of shear walls were the critical factors contributing to the collapse of the CTV building during the 22 February 2011 Christchurch earthquake, a Department of Building and Housing technical investigation has found.

The Government ordered the investigation in March 2011, along with investigations into the failure of the Pyne Gould Corporation, Forsyth Barr, and Hotel Grand Chancellor buildings, following the 22 February 2011 6.3 magnitude earthquake, which claimed the lives of 184 people, including 115 in the CTV building.

The Department of Building and Housing established a group of leading engineering consultants to conduct the investigations, which were peer reviewed by an expert review panel, chaired by construction law expert Sherwyn Williams.

The comprehensive investigations included eye witness accounts, photographs, site examinations, sampling and testing of materials, structural analysis and testing of various hypotheses using established engineering models.

The investigation into the 1986 CTV building was conducted by Hyland Consultants and StructureSmith.

Three critical factors were found that contributed to the building’s collapse:
1. Intense horizontal ground shaking.
2. Lack of ductility in the columns, making them brittle.
3. Asymmetrical layout of the shear walls, making the building twist during the earthquake, placing extra strain on the columns.
4.
The ductility of the columns (and strength) and the asymmetrical layout of the shear walls were found to have not met the building standards of the day (1986).

Other factors that may have contributed to the CTV collapse included:
• Low concrete strengths in some of the critical columns.
• Exceptionally high vertical ground movement.
• Possible interaction of columns and concrete spandrel panels (on the external face of the building), making the columns less flexible.
• Separation of floor slabs from the north core of the building.
• Structural influence of the concrete masonry walls, making lower floors more rigid than upper floors, which placed additional stress on the upper columns during the earthquake
Although it is not possible to be definitive on the sequence of the building’s collapse, the common denominator in all collapse scenarios identified by the Expert Panel was the failure of one or more columns on the east face of the building. This is consistent with eye-witness accounts of the building during the earthquake.

Current building requirements are more stringent now than in the 1980s when the CTV building was constructed. Standards have progressively improved over time as more is understood about how buildings respond in earthquakes.

Department of Building and Housing Chief Executive, Katrina Bach, said the Department has already taken action on some of the Expert Panel’s recommendations, and will implement the others working with the building and construction sector and local government over the coming months and years.

“The findings of the investigations and the learnings from 22 February will make a difference to the way the buildings are designed and constructed in the future – both in New Zealand and internationally.”

Ms Bach said the technical investigation would inform the Canterbury Earthquakes Royal Commission of Inquiry.

“Copies of the Expert Panel report have been provided to the Police and the Institution of Professional Engineers New Zealand for their consideration and action as appropriate.”

Ms Bach said she expected Territorial Authorities (councils) to take close notice of the reports as they developed there own programmes of work to address earthquake risks.

She also encouraged property owners and building users to seek information about the standard of their buildings.

To view the final reports visit http://www.dbh.govt.nz/canterbury-earthquake-technical-investigation

09 February 2012
http://www.dbh.govt.nz/news-2012-canterbury-earthquake-investigation

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Philippines earthquake toll rises as dig continues for landslide casualties

Rescuers have found no further survivors among dozens of people buried by landslides on a central Philippine island after an earthquake. The death toll has climbed to 15, with more than 70 people missing.

Houses flattened in remote villages on Negros island that have been cut off by fallen bridges and damaged roads

The 6.9-magnitude earthquake on Monday also collapsed bridges and damaged roads on Negros island. Soldiers and firefighters had to hike into mountains to reach remote villages. Most of the confirmed deaths were in Planas village, a part of Guihulngan town, where about 30 houses were flattened.

The Guihulngan mayor, Ernesto Reyes, said crews were using earthmoving equipment in the search for casualties.

The damage may be worse than officials first realised because the quake cut off communications to some villages, Reyes said. "We have no water and power because electric posts were toppled. Many of our roads were damaged, including bridges, and stores are closed. We're isolated."

In the mountain village of Solongon in La Libertad town, an unknown number of people were trapped under about 100 houses.

The president, Benigno Aquino, sent air force helicopters and navy and coastguard vessels to the aid of rescuers, some of whom had been digging with picks and shovels. Workers were clearing roads and fixing and bridges to bring in equipment, food and medicine.

The undersea quake was centred 44 miles north of Dumaguete, capital of Negros Oriental province, about 400 miles south-east of the nation's capital, Manila.

The Negros Oriental police chief, Edward Carranza, said at least 73 people remained missing in the province.

The casualties could top a 2004 quake on Mindoro Island, south of Manila, in which 78 people died, about half of them in a quake-triggered tsunami. A local tsunami alert was issued following Monday's quake but was soon cancelled.

Reyes said 13 residents died and at least 29 remained missing in the landslide in Planas, where an army platoon was digging for survivors. Meanwhile the landslide had blocked a mountain river that was threatening to back up and swamp houses along its banks. Residents had been told to leave.

guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 7 February 2012 05.08 GMT

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/feb/07/philippines-earthquake-toll-landslide

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Philippine quake kills 43, dozens missing

Rescuers in the Philippines are digging through rubble with shovels and their bare hands after a powerful earthquake triggered landslides, collapsed homes and killed dozens of people.

The 6.8-magnitude quake hit a narrow strait between the heavily populated islands of Negros and Cebu around lunchtime on Monday with more than 200 aftershocks, some nearly as strong, causing further panic throughout the day.

Local military chiefs said 43 people were confirmed killed but officials warned the death toll may rise.

Dozens of others are feared injured or are missing with landslides having blocked roads for rescuers in mountainous areas.

"Heavy equipment we've requested from the provincial government has not arrived yet, because the roads and bridges are impassable," said Senior Inspector Alvin Futalan, police chief of Guihulngan town on Negros that was among the most heavily damaged.

"We are using our hands and shovels to search in the rubble," he told AFP.

Thirty-nine people were reported killed in Guihulngan, a coastal city of 100,000 people flanked by mountains that was close to the quake's epicentre.

The city's public market, courthouse and private homes in the area had collapsed or were damaged, while landslides buried some houses completely, according to Futalan.

He said the city's overwhelmed 42-man police rescue squad had been joined by hundreds of army troops and volunteers in clearing debris as they raced against time to find people still believed missing.

"The army (troops) had to walk about 50km from the last stop reachable by vehicle to reach us," Futalan said.

Guihulngan is about 90km to the north of Dumaguete, the capital of Negros Oriental province that covers the southeastern edge of Negros where the worst impacts of the quake were felt.

With rescuers still to reach remote hinterland communities, Negros Oriental governor Roel Degamo said he feared there could be more unreported casualties.

"Sadly, we expect the death could still rise," Degamo told AFP.

Degamo said telephone communications in some parts were also cut off, leaving information from remote regions unobtainable.

He said the public was still in a state of shock and fearful of returning to their homes after dozens of aftershocks.

"We've also had to stop our search efforts from time to time and run to safety because of the aftershocks," he said.

Cebu, the Philippines' second biggest city with 2.3 million residents and a popular tourist destination, was 50km from the epicentre and shook violently during the initial tremor but no deaths were reported there.

The Philippines sits on the Pacific "Ring of Fire" - a belt around the Pacific Ocean where friction between shifting tectonic plates causes frequent earthquakes and volcanic activity.

February 7, 2012 - 12:14PM

http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-world/philippine-quake-kills-43-dozens-missing-20120207-1r297.html

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Lahore Building Collapse: Death Toll Set To Rise

Two more bodies have been pulled from the rubble of a factory that collapsed in Pakistan, raising the death toll to 17.

The three-storey building in Lahore, which used to manufacture veterinary medicines, was destroyed after a suspected boiler and gas cylinder explosion.

Rescue workers have spent the night digging through the debris with their bare hands, hammers, axes and chisels.

"We hope to clear most of the rubble by tonight," rescue chief Rizwan Naseer said.

He added that workers were digging tunnels under the rubble to pull out more injured and dead bodies.

"It is a very slow and difficult operation," he said.
"We have to be very careful because it involves human lives."

At least 13 people have been pulled out alive and 17 bodies found - that of 11 women, three young girls and three boys between the ages of 12 and 16.

The death toll is expected to rise further with dozens of people still believed to be trapped under the concrete mass.

Police said the factory was illegal. Local residents said it had been shut down twice since 2008, but that the owners re-opened the premises each time.

"The owners violated the court orders and broke the seals," administration official Ahad Cheema said.

The accident at the Orient Labs (Private) Limited factory, in the Multan Road area of the city, has highlighted poor safety procedures among Pakistani manufacturers and the use of child labour.

9:23am UK, Tuesday February 07, 2012

http://news.sky.com/home/world-news/article/16164654

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17 dead, 13 rescued after migrant boat capsizes

SABANA DE LA MAR, Dominican Republic (AP) — Rescuers scouring the white-capped waters off the Dominican Republic's coast have found 17 bodies and 13 survivors from a boat overloaded with migrants that capsized almost two days ago, officials said.

The boat carrying about 70 migrants from the Dominican Republic to the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico capsized before dawn Saturday morning and rescuers said hopes were fading for finding more survivors as search efforts were suspended because of darkness late Sunday.

"Tomorrow the sea will start to return the bodies," said Jeffrey Pimentel, head of firefighters at Sabana del Mar, 95 miles (150 kilometers) northeast of Santo Domingo.

Luis Castro, intelligence director of the Dominican Navy, said the bodies of 12 men and five women have been found. Thirteen survivors were rescued. The suspected captain of the smuggler's boat has been detained, he said.

Castro said that rescue efforts would resume Monday morning, but "it is difficult for anyone to survive two days swimming" under a burning sun.

Survivors said dozens of people plunged into the water when the boat, known as a "yola," capsized. Passengers grabbed at anything that might help keep them afloat.

The illegal migrants apparently were all Dominicans, but authorities could not rule out that a few Cubans or Haitians might also have been on the boat.

The U.S. Coast Guard, which had helped Dominican rescuers by sea and air since mid-Saturday, suspended its search at noon Sunday "after Dominican authorities said they no longer needed our assistance," said Guard spokesman Ricardo Castrodad in Puerto Rico.

Arismendy Manzueta, a 28-year-old farmer from the northern town of La Jagua who survived the journey, said the hopes of better economic prospects in the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico made him risk his life aboard the overloaded boat. Puerto Rico is a common destination for Dominican migrants.

"Things are very bad here. A person works and works and never has nothing," Manzueta said in a public hospital in Sabana de la Mar.

Manzueta said he did not tell his wife, who sat by his hospital bed, that he would try to sneak into the relatively wealthy Puerto Rico.

Maria Sobeida Guzman, a 28-year-old mother of three who also survived the journey, said she paid just over $1,000 for the illegal trip to Puerto Rico, where a cousin promised to get her a job giving manicures.

"What is one going to do? A person wants to improve," said an exhausted Guzman from her hospital bed.

Guzman said there was no warning when the boat overturned and began to break apart in the pre-dawn darkness. She remembered swimming for the shore with every bit of strength she had.

Another survivor, Luis Cortorreal, a 31-year-old painter who swam for six hours until he made it to land, said there were at least 10 women on the overloaded boat, including a pregnant woman he is convinced sank beneath the waves.

Survivors told the northern region's public prosecutor Fremy Reyes that the boat overturned about four hours after setting sail Friday just before midnight.

On Sunday, taxi driver Nicolas Moreno joined several other people congregated on Sabana de la Mar's main beach hoping for word about a missing loved one. Moreno said he believes that two close friends left on the doomed smuggler's boat.

"They wanted a better life for their children," Moreno said.

Thousands of poor Dominicans try to reach Puerto Rico in open boats that are ill-suited to the treacherous journey across the 160-mile (260-kilometer) Mona Passage. Many Haitian and Cuban migrants also regularly risk their lives trying to cross the often-stormy passage.

Associated Press writer David McFadden in Kingston, Jamaica contributed to this report.

Sunday, February 05, 2012

http://hosted2.ap.org/COGRA/APWorldNews/Article_2012-02-05-CB-Dominican-Migrant-Deaths/id-ae440626f5534cdabde5c97e0716637a

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Deaths in makeshift boat sinking rise to 19, search suspended

Sabana de la Mar, Dominican Republic.- Authorities found another body that of a woman and now total seven recovered Sunday, from a makeshift boat headed to Puerto Rico which sank Saturday in Samaná Bay, where 18 found thus far after the 11 yesterday.

Navy regional command Captain Héctor Ramon Méndez said a US Coast Guard cutter Capella, two speedboats and two rescue craft are in the zone, joined by six boats crewed by volunteer fishermen.

Six women and 12 men are confirmed dead and the search for the rest of the undetermined number of missing has been suspension until tomorrow, the official said.

Some of the 19 survivors are being taken to the Sabana de la Mar Navy Station as suspects while others were taken to the town’s hospital, with various injuries and first and second degree burns, he Navy said in a statement.

Daniel Cepeda, one of the as yet undetermined number of survivors, said he paid 30,000 pesos (around 770 dollars) for the failed trip across the Monsa Passage.

6 February 2012

http://www.dominicantoday.com/dr/local/2012/2/5/42556/Deaths-in-makeshift-boat-sinking-rise-to-19-search-suspended-Update

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Boat capsizes off Libya coast: 15 dead

Tripoli - At least 15 Somali migrants were killed and 40 left missing after their boat capsized off the coast of Libya this week, the Somali ambassador to Tripoli said on Saturday.

"Fifteen bodies, including one child and 12 women, were recovered off the coast of Misrata after their boat sank," ambassador Abdelghami Wais told AFP, adding the bodies were found on Wednesday on the shore of the western port city.

The boat had been carrying 55 Somalis, Wais said, and the other passengers were still missing. "I've just returned from Misrata after the burials," the envoy said.

The International Organisation of Migration, contacted by AFP, said it was unaware of the accident.

Libya has for decades been a destination and a transit country to European shores for hundreds of thousands of African migrants seeking jobs and a better life.

The ousted regime of slain dictator Muammar Gaddafi used the issue to exert pressure on Europe and asked for €5bn from the European Union last year to stem the flow of illegals.

'Border guard'

The new rulers of the North African country have adopted a different approach, with Interior Minister Fawzi Abdelali saying Libya will not be the "border guard" for Europe.

Citing "enormous problems" for Libya caused by the influx of thousands of migrants, Abdelali called upon Europe and neighbouring countries to help deal with the flow.

He specifically asked for assistance to rehabilitate 19 detention centres and with a system of border surveillance.

On January 19, interior ministry spokesperson General Abdelmonem al-Tunsi told AFP that illegal immigration had resumed since the end of the anti-Gaddafi revolt.

He said thousands of people from unrest-swept Syria were also entering through the Massad terminal on the border with Egypt, apart from Africans infiltrating through the southern borders.

Tunsi said that on January 10 the authorities intercepted 260 such illegal migrants who were aided by three Libyans armed with Kalashnikovs.

He said the flood of illegal immigrants began at the end of the conflict as the country's borders were not fully guarded.

When the anti-Gaddafi revolt erupted in February, tens of thousands of illegal immigrants fled Libya and few dared venture into the North African nation while fighting against Gaddafi's forces raged last year.

AFP - 2012-01-28 19:00
http://www.news24.com/Africa/News/Boat-capsizes-off-Libya-coast-15-dead-20120128

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Magnitude 6.8 quake in Philippines kills 13, buries homes

MANILA, Philippines — Rescuers dig with picks and shovels trying to reach dozens of people trapped under houses collapsed by a strong earthquake Monday that shook a central Philippine island and set off landslides.

At least 13 people were killed and 40 are believed missing, most of them along the shore near the epicenter of the 6.8-magnitude quake that struck in a narrow strait just off Negros Island.

In the mountain village of Planas, 9 miles (15 kilometers) from coastal Guihulngan town in Negros Oriental province, as many as 30 houses were buried with at least 40 residents believed trapped, said Gov. Roel Degamo.

“Their situation is bad because if you are covered by landslide for one hour, two hours, how can you breathe?” Mayor Ernesto Reyes said. “But we just hope for the best, that there are still survivors.”

Army troops and police were deployed to help in the rescue.

At least 10 people were confirmed dead in Guihulngan, including students at a college and an elementary school and others in a town market that collapsed, Reyes said. About 100 were injured.

The quake, which hit at 11:49 a.m. (0349 GMT), triggered another landslide in the mountain village of Solongon in La Libertad town, also in Negros Oriental. An unknown number of people were trapped, said La Libertad police chief inspector Eric Arrol Besario.

“We’re now getting shovels and chain saws to start a rescue because there were people trapped inside. Some of them were yelling for help earlier,” Besario told The Associated Press by phone. Three key bridges in the town cracked and were no longer passable, he said.

Food and medicines were waiting in the provincial capital of Dumaguete, but the aid could not reach the villages in need because of damaged roads and bridges.

“There is a Canadian and an Indian doctor who are here for an earlier scheduled medical mission and it’s good that they are helping us,” said Reyes. “They have some medicines with them but that may not be enough.”

Nine bridges were damaged in Negros Oriental, including four that were not passable, said Gov. Degamo. The worst damage was concentrated in the province’s mountainous northern portion, he said.

Philippine seismologists briefly issued a tsunami alert for the central islands. Huge waves washed out five bamboo and wooden cottages from a beach resort in La Libertad, but there were no reports of injuries, said police Superintendent Ernesto Tagle. Elsewhere along the coast, people rushed out of schools, malls and offices.

Two people died in another town close to the epicenter, Tayasan, including a child when a concrete fence of a house collapsed, said Benito Ramos, head of the Office of Civil Defense.

Another child was killed in a church when a wall collapsed during a funeral in Negros Oriental’s Jimalalud town, Mayor Reynaldo Tuanda said.

Tayasan police officer Alfred Vicente Silvosa told AP by phone that aftershocks were preventing people from returning to their homes.

“We are outside, at the town plaza. We cannot inspect buildings yet because it’s dangerous,” Silvosa said. “I felt the building shaking, so I rushed out of the building. Our computers, shelves, plates, the cupboards, water dispenser all fell.”

A three-story office building also collapsed in La Libertad, but occupants escaped.

Negros Oriental police chief Edward Carranza said the temblor damaged many houses in Guihulngan and he ordered his men to help displaced residents find shelter.

Officials in some areas suspended work and canceled classes. Power and telecommunications were knocked out in several places.

Carranza said police rushed out of his building when the quake struck. “All my personnel ran out fearing our building would collapse,” he said.

“Now it’s shaking again,” he said as an aftershock hit. “My keychain is dancing.”

The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake was centered 44 miles (72 kilometers) north of Dumaguete city on Negros and hit at a depth of 29 miles (46 kilometers). The area is about 400 miles (650 kilometers) southeast of the capital, Manila.

The Philippines is in the Pacific “Ring of Fire” where earthquakes and volcanic activity are common. A 7.7-magnitude quake killed nearly 2,000 people in Luzon in 1990.

Associated Press, Updated: Monday, February 6

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia-pacific/magnitude-68-earthquake-shakes-central-philippines-no-immediate-reports-of-casualties/2012/02/05/gIQAXDdxsQ_story.html

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At least five dead after Philippines earthquake

At least five people were killed today when a strong earthquake shook the central Philippines, destroying buildings and triggering landslides which buried dozens of houses, trapping residents.

The 6.8-magnitude quake, in a narrow strait just off Negros Island, caused a landslide in Guihulngan, a city of about 180,000 people in Negros Oriental province. As many as 30 houses were buried and at least 29 people were missing, Mayor Ernesto Reyes said.

Mr Reyes said four people died there, including a student at a college and two others in an elementary school. Another person died in the collapse of a town market.

The quake, which hit at 11.49am local time (3.49am GMT), triggered another landslide in the mountain village of Solongon in La Libertad town, also in Negros Oriental. An unknown number of people were trapped, said La Libertad police chief inspector Eric Arrol Besario.

“We're now getting shovels and chainsaws to start a rescue because there were people trapped inside. Some of them were yelling for help earlier,” he told The Associated Press by phone.

Three key bridges in the town suffered cracks and were no longer passable, he added.

Philippine seismologists briefly issued a tsunami alert for the central islands.

Five bamboo and wooden cottages were washed out from a beach resort in La Libertad by huge waves, but there were no reports of injuries, said police Superintendent Ernesto Tagle.

Elsewhere along the coast, people rushed out of schools, shopping centres and offices.

The epicentre was closest to Tayasan, a coastal town of about 32,000 people flanked by mountains in Negros Oriental province. A child there died when a concrete fence of a house collapsed, said Benito Ramos, head of the Office of Civil Defence.

“So far one dead, but we could not yet account for the damage to buildings,” Tayasan police officer Alfred Vicente Silvosa told The AP by phone. He said there were still aftershocks “so we are outside, at the town plaza. We cannot inspect buildings yet because it's dangerous.”

“I felt the building shaking, so I rushed out of the building. Our computers, shelves, plates, the cupboards, water dispenser all fell,” he said.

A three-storey office building also collapsed in La Libertad, but the occupants managed to run out.

Negros Oriental police chief Edward Carranza said the quake damaged many houses in Guihulngan and he ordered his men to help displaced residents find shelter.

Officials in some areas suspended work and cancelled classes. Power and telecommunications were knocked out in several places.

Mr Carranza said police rushed out of his building when the quake struck. “All my personnel ran out fearing our building would collapse,” he said.

“Now it's shaking again,” he said as an aftershock hit. “My keychain is dancing.”

The US Geological Survey said the quake was centred 44 miles (72km) north of Dumaguete city on Negros and hit at a depth of 29 miles (46km). The area is about 400 miles (650km) south-east of the capital, Manila.

President Benigno Aquino III's spokesman said authorities did not force people to evacuate but implored those along the shore to be vigilant. The coast guard grounded all vessels while the tsunami alert was in effect.

A shopping centre in San Carlos city in neighbouring Negros Occidental province was damaged when its windows were shattered by the shaking, said civil defence chief Mr Ramos.

The quake was also felt in Cebu, where it lasted about 30 seconds.

The Philippines is located in the Pacific “Ring of Fire” where earthquakes and volcanic activity are common. A 7.7-magnitude quake killed nearly 2,000 people in Luzon in 1990.

AP - Monday 06 February 2012

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/at-least-five-dead-after-philippines-earthquake-6579629.html

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Chicago morgue 'lost mother's body for 14 months' while stuffed beyond capacity

The family of a missing Chicago woman whose body took over a year for a morgue to admit identification is suing behind claims they lost her among a pile of bodies stuffed over capacity.

The body of Carmelita Johnson, 47, was recovered from a South Shore beach over 14 months ago but her family claim they were never notified by the Cook County medical examiner's office but instead tipped off by a police detective.

'It's devastating,' Ms Johnson's daughter Leslie Jackson told NBC Chicago this month.'A lot of things could have been prevented. We don't know the cause of death, but if the [Medical Examiner's] office had done their jobs, we could've had some type of closure,' she said.

The suit follows leaks by morgue staff of photos showing hundreds of bodies stacked, some rotting for over a year in the facility, while a cooler stored nearly 500 others despite a capacity of 300, according to an anonymous source speaking to the Chicago Tribune.

The county's chief Medical Examiner Dr Nancy Jones claims the figures to be too high while admitting struggle within their office to house the bodies.
'Our morgue population fluctuates every single day, and this particular incident was an anomaly that occurred because last summer the state cut public funding for indigent burials,' she told the Chicago Tribune last month.

The Cook County Medical Examiner's office has admitted their facility was over capacity prior to this year but they are working diligently to find proper locations for their hundreds of bodies

With this leaked photo by a morgue employee come reports of 400-500 bodies stacked inhumanly in the facility meant for a maximum of 300. That cut ruled that families who could not afford funeral services for their deceased would have those bodies automatically donated to science.

But until they could be buried or used at the state's intention, they reportedly stacked up, with Ms Johnson's body included, whose family says they never learned the cause of her death.
'I've been as disturbed and ... discouraged and disappointed by information that has come to my attention about the medical examiner’s office,' Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle said at a news conference in January according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
'I expect people to lose their jobs,' she said.

Painful wait: The family of the missing woman say they were only tipped off of her body's location in the morgue by a police detective, having not known what happened to her for over a year

Among the office's physical stack of controversies to come to light was a 2011 report of mass burials taking place in a Cook county cemetery, including one case of 26 babies found in a single wooden box together with other unidentified limbs and bones.

The practice of mass burial for the unidentified is a standard one for Cook County however.
Sheriff Tom Dart said he's working to change that saying the practice impedes criminal investigations as the bodies simply disappear from record.
'There is no grid system. You couldn't find people if you wanted to find them,' Mr Dart said at a news conference early last year according to CBS.
'From a law enforcement we were disturbed,' Mr Dart said, 'from a human standpoint we were absolutely appalled.'

Prior to Ms Johnson's disappearance in January of 2010 she told family she was concerned for her safety after ending a rocky relationship.
'My mother was in a very abusive relationship,' her daughter told UPI. 'He would make threats that he was going to kill her.'
While working on the missing persons case for Ms Jackson's mother, Chicago Police Detective Pamela Childs took DNA samples from her family, including her dental records according to the family.

Mass burial: A photo of a wooden coffin holding the bodies of 26 babies was reported last February of 2011 leading to police arguments of mass burials of those without identification impeding criminal investigations

With cuts in state funds for indigent burials, the practice of mass graves is a standard practice but one that can easily mask a loved one's body, like Ms Johnson's, who was missing to the family for over a year

Police told the Chicago Tribune that in contrast they were told that dental records didn't exist for Ms Johnson, hindering the investigation and her body's identification.
Ultimately the detective's work was what informed the family of her body's recovery and not the medical examiners office.

'I’m very upset and angry that it took this long to identify my mother’s body,' Ms Jackson told the Tribune. 'Whether it was good or bad, I just wanted to know ... we have some closure, but we have unanswered questions,' she said.

The details of the family's suit have not been released while only saying they hope justice will be be served and the chief medical examiner, Dr Jones, will step down from her position.

5th February 2012

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2096759/Chicago-morgue-lost-mothers-body-14-months-stuffed-capacity.html#ixzz1lYNQQEZs

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DNA profiling centre to be launched at AFMC

Lt Gen H Kakaria,Director General, Armed Forces Medical Services, will launch the DNA profiling centre at the AFMC on February 8 on the sidelines of the four-day 60th armed forces medical conference, which will begin in the city on February 7.

Presently, the identity of dead armed forces personnel is established by examining personal belongings on the body, studying the identification marks, comparing photographs and others. However, these methods become futile when there is extensive mutilation, disfigurement and decomposition of the body, officers said.

Such accidents happen when personnel are employed in hazardous tasks like bomb disposal, flying fighter planes, research in explosive materials as well as troops deployed in militancy-infested areas. Following such catastrophes, DNA profiling of the available body parts is the only fool-proof scientific method of establishing identity.

This conclave is an unique feature in the calendar of events of the Armed Forces as it brings together officers from all specialties to discuss, deliberate and disseminate new ideas. As the AFMC enters into golden jubilee year of its undergraduate wing, the highlight of this years conference is the 50th meeting of the Armed Forces Medical Research Committee (AFMRC) — the apex body which guides research in the medical services of the Armed Forces.

Express News Service - 5 February 2012

http://m.indianexpress.com/news/dna-profiling-centre-to-be-launched-at-afmc/908410/

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NBI tags four more unidentified bodies of Typhoon Sendong victims

OZAMIZ CITY, Misamis Occidental, Feb. 5 (PIA) – At least four (4) additional unidentified dead bodies have been tagged by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) in Iligan City, last Feb. 1, this year.

This brings to 1,292, the total dead bodies of Typhoon Sendong victims, of which only 923 have been identified and accounted for by the Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (RDRRMC), region 10, as of the period.

Regional Director Ana Caňeda of the Office of Civil Defense (OCD), region 10 and Chairperson of the RDRRMC-10, said the total figure already include the dead bodies recovered from the following areas: Cagayan de Oro City (CDO), 657, Iligan City, 490, and Manticao and El Salvador towns of Misamis Oriental, 80, Bukidnon province, 45, Zambaonga area, 9, municipality of Lopez Jaena and Jimenez in Misamis Occidental and from the Misamis Oriental area, 5.

The suicide case involving a 33-year old male inside the evacuation center at the City Central School in Cagayan de Oro, last Jan. 6, was not included in the list of the dead since the death was by non-natural cause,

She said the number of injured was also noted at 1,977, that is: 1,799 from Iligan City, 168 from CDO, nine (9) from Bukidnon and one (1) from Misamis Oriental.

Latest data gathered by RDRRMC-10, also show that there are now 194 barangays in the entire region that were affected by Typhoon Sendong, the highest number of which is 115 from eight (8) towns in Misamis Oriental including CDO.

This was followed by Bukidnon, with 41 barangays from Valencia City and seven (7) towns of Bukidnon and Iligan City with 30 barangays.

Meanwhile, the Dead Victim Identification (DVI) Cluster of the Post Sendong Operations Center, headed by the NBI, reported that they have gathered a total of 947 DNA specimens, i.e., 521 from CDO and 426 from Iligan City, as of Jan. 25, this year.

It also gathered a total of 747 ante mortem data and processed and buried a total of 358 unidentified bodies, from CDO and Iligan Cities, as of the period. (PIA-10 Mis. Occ.)

Sunday 5th of February 2012

http://www.pia.gov.ph/news/index.php?article=1451328426836

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PNG ferry disaster victims ‘likely dead’

Port Moresby - Papua New Guinea authorities scaled back their search on Sunday for survivors from the sinking of a passenger ferry, saying none of the more than 100 people still missing were likely to be found alive.

The Pacific nation's National Maritime Safety Authority (NMSA) moved from search to recovery mode after scouring the waters for 56 hours without finding a survivor of Thursday's sinking of the MV Rabaul Queen near the city of Lae.

“Whilst rescue operations are likely to continue, weather permitting, for some more time, basically we are looking for bodies from now onwards,” said NMSA rescue coordinator Nurur Rahman.

A fifth body was found on Sunday but Rahman said the number of survivors remained the same at 246 and there was little hope, given the thoroughness of the search and amount of debris picked over, of finding any others.

“There is a high degree of confidence, that if there were any active survivors or persons inside life rafts or with lifejackets within the search area, that they would have been sighted and recovered by now,” he said.

The ferry went down after being hit by what its operator described as a freak wave in the early hours between the popular New Britain dive spot Kimbe and Lae, carrying 351 passengers and 12 crew.

It is believed to be among PNG's worst sea accidents.

Military and police observers flew over the scene in fixed-wing aircraft and the coastline was scoured by helicopter from south of Finschafen to north of Fortification Point without spotting a single survivor.

Strong winds forced the suspension of aerial surveillance on Sunday afternoon and Rahman said it was unlikely to resume unless there was “significant intelligence information”.

PNG disaster officials were meeting with the relatives of victims twice daily at Lae to keep them updated with developments, he added.

Canberra said an Australian military aircraft sent to help with the search returned home overnight after completing its mission.

“The Australian government greatly regrets the loss of life following the sinking of the MV Rabaul Queen and will offer any assistance we can to Papua New Guinea,” said parliamentary defence secretary David Feeney. - Sapa-AFP

February 5 2012 at 12:10pm

http://www.iol.co.za/news/world/png-ferry-disaster-victims-likely-dead-1.1227395

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Raising the dead: The grim quest for bodies on board the capsized Costa Concordia

After the tragedy has come the quiet heroism of the Italian rescue teams. Live was given exclusive access to the divers and sappers who are searching for bodies in a half-submerged hulk they know could slip into the depths at any moment – with unthinkable consequences

A briefing with Italian Navy special forces divers at dawn at Giglio Porto, a restaurant by the harbour that has been turned into an operations room. The commander, Captain Roberto Monzani, is pointing to a rear section of the Concordia where the divers will place explosive charges to blow open entry points into the ship for the coastguard divers

The shrill sound of his mobile phone ringing at 1.30am shook coastguard diver Umberto Carrieri from his bed. To receive a call at that time in the morning could only mean trouble.
He picked up the handset. His boss was on the line.

‘You need to be ready to move in half an hour. A cruise liner is sinking and there are people trapped.’
Carrieri asked him to elaborate.
‘It’s a liner called Concordia,’ he was told.
‘She has run aground off the island of Giglio. There are more than 4,000 passengers and crew on board and the captain has given the order to abandon ship.’
Carrieri packed his mask, flippers and warm clothing, and 14 minutes later was outside his barracks and in a truck ready for the 200-mile drive to Porto Santo Stefano and the ferry to Giglio.

Divers make their way past debris littering one of the bars on Concordia. Conditions inside the ship are atrocious and getting worse
Six hours later he caught his first sight of the 950ft-long Costa Concordia lying on her side, the red of her hull exposed to the sky, stranded at the foot of the rocks known as Seagull Point.

The image has been etched in our minds ever since. Day after day divers look for survivors. They also made their way into the cabin of Captain Francesco Schettino, just below the bridge, to retrieve his suitcases, safe and personal papers, acting on the orders of prosecutors.
But their job quickly changed into a gruesome search for victims’ bodies.
Now, Live has been granted access to the operations centre for the divers, where they co-ordinate this increasingly complex and perilous undertaking. Conditions inside the ship are atrocious and getting worse.

A team of special forces and coastguard divers head towards the stricken vessel. Their route into the ship is through a series of holes blown into the Concordia's submerged hull by the navy divers

Visibility below the water is at best just 2ft and at worst a few inches.
Even with powerful torches, the divers – who are drawn from the coastguard, navy and fire brigade – have trouble illuminating the bowels of the vessel, which lies in around 70ft of water. Because the ship has tilted almost 90 degrees, floors and ceilings have become walls.

Dive crews have to swim through all manner of debris, from tablecloths and curtains to chairs and food. They mark their route through Concordia using an ‘Ariadne’s thread’, a line that shows the way they’ve come and, if necessary, the way out if the ship starts to move from the rocky shelf on which it’s dangerously balanced. The term derives from the story of Theseus entering the Labyrinth to kill the Minotaur – Ariadne gave him a ball of thread to mark his route back.‘It’s a lifeline for the divers,’ says Rodolfo Raiteri, head of the coastguard dive team.
‘It’s their link from inside the ship to the outside world, and they can’t lose sight of it. They run their hands along it at all times so they know where they are and how to get out if there’s an emergency.’

A coastguard diver is sprayed with disinfectant after returning from a mission in the polluted water inside Concordia, where food and flesh are now rotting

Compressed-air tanks give them a breathing time of 50 minutes, although most dives last around 40 minutes – the extra air is in case of emergency. So they can pick their way through the darkness, the divers have two torches positioned on their helmets, and they also carry spare batteries in their pockets.

The water temperature is at best 10°C, so they wear thermal long johns and T-shirts beneath their thick anti-tear Kevlar suits.

Getting ready for a dive takes around 20 minutes, and before getting into the water they’re checked by a doctor to ensure sure they’re fit enough for the arduous task ahead.
At the pre-dive briefings – one of which Live is permitted to attend – divers are told which section of the ship to focus on. Large maps are pinned to the walls of the operations room, and targets are marked on laminated diagrams they then take into the water.

A close-up of the map of Concordia at the dive briefing. Because the ship has tilted almost 90 degrees, floors and ceilings have become walls
Their route into the ship is through a series of holes blown into the Concordia’s submerged hull by the navy divers.

The holes also provide an escape route should she slip from her resting place and plunge to the sea floor, 300ft down.

Leonardo Cherici, 34, from Civitavecchia, the very port from which Concordia set sail, was one of the first divers into the ship, smashing his way into the restaurant on deck four with an iron bar in what was initially a frantic hunt for survivors, but which turned into the sombre task of recovering bodies.

Those they recovered had to be carefully removed and taken to the surface in a delicate operation, as after days in the water any sharp movement could have led to damaged body parts breaking away in their hands.

Speaking from the briefing tent of the coastguard diving team, he explains his route through Concordia on a series of maps showing the decks of the liner.

‘The thing I remember seeing first was a mountain of chairs, dozens and dozens all piled onto one side in the restaurant.
'You really had to be careful, as the visibility was so poor. We could see barely anything in front of us and our vision was being blocked constantly by the debris that we were swimming through.
‘That ship carried 4,000 people. It was a floating village. It had just set sail, so there was enough food and provisions to last a week, and we were swimming through most of it.
'As you went deeper inside the ship the visibility dropped away completely – the water changed colour because of all the debris that was floating around.
‘I was swimming through carpets, curtains and tablecloths.
'One thing I remember is that half-empty wine bottles would every now and then come shooting towards us from below. They’d been trapped under chairs or other debris, and as they became dislodged they would shoot to the surface like missiles.’

Divers leaving for a dawn operation. Even with powerful torches, they have trouble illuminating the bowels of the vessel, which lies in around 70ft of water.
The dive teams had to make their way through the confined spaces of the ship, squeezing into narrow passageways as they carried out the grim task of looking for bodies in more than 1,500 cabins.

Cherici was the first diver to find victims from the disaster – two elderly men who were both wearing life jackets.
‘They were next to each other by a muster station,’ he says.
‘And that’s what really hit me – they were so close to the lifeboats and so close to being saved. One of them was holding a woman’s handbag, which I later found out belonged to his wife.
‘The first thing we had to do was cut the life jackets off. If we don’t do that it’s like trying to carry a balloon underwater. You try not to get emotional, but it’s very difficult. We are not robots; we have feelings and emotions like everyone else.

A coastguard diver writes notes with a waterproof pad and pencil that he can take with him into the ship

‘When you see the victims wearing life jackets and so close to the lifeboats, you start asking yourself questions. Why didn’t they make it into a lifeboat? Why didn’t they jump into the water? You can only hope they were knocked out by the impact as the ship turned, otherwise if they were still alive they would have been in the dark and helpless, terrified as they were engulfed by a mountain of water.‘That’s when you start to reflect on things,’ he adds.
‘These people were on a holiday and supposed to be enjoying themselves – they were all dressed very elegantly as if they were going to a party. The bodies I’ve recovered before from drownings have been in swimming costumes, not evening wear.’

Raiteri says of his team, ‘They can only spend 50 minutes at a time below the water at the most.

A coastguard briefing, led by commander Rodolfo Raiteri, before a search-and-rescue mission
'They dive in pairs and are always connected so they can rely on one another if they hit trouble. Communication is via gestures – there’s no way of speaking with the surface boat. If they don’t return after the allotted time then we go down to find them.
‘The other problem we’re facing is that food and flesh are starting to rot down there and the water is getting very polluted.
'One of the guys told me that some of the water went into his mask and the stench was unbearable. 'That’s why after the last few dives we’ve had to disinfect the divers and the suits with sprays and detergents to make sure they’re not exposing themselves to any bacteriological risks. They’re being washed in units that are designed for germ warfare.’

Divers undertake meticulous preparations for a dive. Before getting into the water they're checked by a doctor to ensure sure they're fit enough for the arduous task ahead
Outside the briefing tent, Carrieri is preparing for his final dive before returning to his base after almost two weeks on site.

Pulling on his suit he says, ‘On the way here I truly didn’t imagine I would see a tragedy of this dimension. The ship reminds me of a beached whale, just lying there helpless. It’s so surreal. Then you go below the water and things get even more surreal.
'The first time I went into the restaurant you could tell the disaster happened just as dinner was being served – the room is full of plates, cutlery and glasses. Everything was ready for a pleasant evening.

‘When you see the size of the hole in the hull and the size of the rock that’s embedded in there, then you can really sense the horror and scale of what happened.
'The power of the sea and nature and the foolishness of man all rolled into one.’

4th February 2012

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/moslive/article-2094871/Costa-Concordia-Grim-quest-bodies-board-capsized-cruise-ship.html#ixzz1lY9bGNT2

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18th Nordic Conference on Forensic Medicine, Aarhus, Denmark, 13-16 June 2012

It is a great pleasure for The Department of Forensic Medicine, Faculty of Health Science, Aarhus University and the Danish Society of Forensic Medicine to invite you to participate in the 18th Nordic Conference on Forensic Medicine, which will take place in Aarhus, Denmark, on 13-16 June, 2012.

The theme of the Conference is “New Techniques and Progress in Forensic Medicine”. It will cover a variety of different topics in Forensic Medicine with internationally renowned experts within the field giving lectures.

Furthermore, we intend to offer preconference workshops on topics such as Education, Disaster Victim Identification, Forensic Anthropology and Forensic Epidemiology.

The organizing committee invites everybody with an interest in forensic medicine, but also welcomes participants from other professions including social and health workers, police officers, judges, prosecutors, lawyers etc.

http://nordic-conference-2012.au.dk/

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6th European Academy of Forensic Science Conference, The Hague, 20-24 August 2012

The Netherlands Forensic Institute (NFI) takes pride in announcing that the 6th European Academy of Forensic Science Conference will be held in The Hague, the International City of Peace and Justice, from 20 to 24 August 2012. The title of the conference reflects the momentum of forensic sciences: Towards Forensic Science 2.0. This clearly indicates that the conference will take us to new heights in forensic science.

The program of EAFS2012 will consist of a scientific program of the highest standard, an attractive social program and an interesting partner program. In addition, there will be a well designed Trade Exhibition.

http://www.eafs2012.eu/

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First Saudi International Conference of Forensic Medical Sciences, Riyadh, 12-14 March 2012

The first Saudi International Conference of Forensic Medical Sciences will be held in the capital Riyadh, from 12th to 14th March 2012, under the patronage of His Royal Highness Prince Naif bin Abdullaziz Al-Saud, The Crown Prince, First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior. It will be organised by the Saudi Society of Forensic Medicine in collaboration with the Director General of King Fahad Security College. Over three days the Conference will comprise oral and poster presentations plus workshops, and aims to attract participants from around the world.

http://www.scfms.org/

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Niger buries 18 unclaimed corpses of Madalla bombings in mass grave

Eighteen unclaimed corpses from the Christmas Day bombing in Madalla, Niger State, have been buried in a mass grave. The director general of the state's emergency management agency, Mohammed Shaba, said the bodies were beginning to rot after no relatives came forward to claim them.

He said the state government had made frantic search for relations of the victims, so it could pay out the one million Naira it had set aside for each of the victims of the carnage as a token relief.

“We have paid N27 million out to the families of the victims, whose relations had been verified, after thorough investigation by the church and the state government, to avoid fraudsters cashing in on the situation for their personal gains.

“However, we are yet to verify any relations of these categories of the deceased persons, who were not members of the church but passersby killed by the bomb blast,” he said.

Mr. Shaba appealed to the relations of the victims to come forward for screening by the relevant committee before the money is released to them.

He said the state government had expended over N10 million on the treatment of the 84 victims currently receiving treatment in various hospitals in the state and the Federal Capital Territory.


Pray for corruption too

During the mass burial of the bomb victims at the St Theresa Catholic Church, Madalla, the former president of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), John Onaiyekon, urged Nigerians not only to pray against terrorism but also against corruption which has destroyed every facet of our society.

“We shall not only pray against terrorism but pray against the corruption that has almost destroyed our country”

He praised the unprecedented crowd that had gathered in the church for sparing the time to honor those that met their untimely death in a bomb blast that claimed over 40 lives.

“We have come together today to bury those whose mortal bodies were identified and the deceased are supposed to be listed as martyrs”.


In his speech, the Reverend Father of the Church, Issac Achi, thanked government, groups and individuals that stood by them at the trying moment.

In response, Mr. Shaba said the state government would continue to pay for their treatment and also provide N250, 000 each to the 84 injured persons to serve as succour to them.

“The money we are giving out is not compensation but a token relief for them.

Mr. Shaba said the state government had donated N5 million to the churches whose property was affected by the blast and appealed to the National Emergency Management Agency to fulfill its pledge to repair the damaged structures.

2 February 2012

http://premiumtimesng.com/news/3648-niger_buries_18_unclaimed_corpses_of_madalla_bombings.html

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About 100 feared trapped in sunken Papua New Guinea ferry

(Reuters) - About 100 people are feared trapped inside a ferry that sank in rough weather off Papua New Guinea, a rescue official said on Friday, a day after the crowded boat went down with about 350 people on board.

Rescuers plucked 238 people from the sea off PNG's northeast coast after the MV Rabaul Queen was hit by three large waves and quickly sank, Rony Naigu, a rescue official from Papua New Guinea's maritime safety authority, said on Friday.

While a definitive passenger list was not available, rescuers believed 352 people were on board the ferry when it sank and about 100 people were thought to have been trapped inside, Naigu told Reuters by telephone.

Naigu, who spent Thursday at the scene, said survivors told how the ferry rolled and sank in deep water after it was hit by the waves in stormy conditions.

Scores of passengers survived by clinging to debris before being picked up by at least six merchant vessels that diverted to the scene after being alerted by Australian maritime safety authorities.

"We found a number of (opened liferaft) capsules with no people in them," Naigu said.

As rescuers resumed their search on Friday, relatives of those missing vented their anger over a lack of information from authorities, Australian media reported.

Survivors had been taken to Lae on PNG's north coast early on Friday, said Nurur Rahman, acting chief of Papua New Guinea's maritime authority.

"As you would expect people who have been in the water for such a long time have a bit of dehydration, and they are very tired," Rahman told Reuters by telephone.

No bodies had been recovered on Thursday before nightfall halted the search, he added.

Police in West New Britain said relatives angry at the lack of information about their family members on the ship threw stones at the offices of the ferry operators, Rabaul Shipping, Australian Broadcasting Corporation Radio reported.

"There were a lot of people crying and then they wanted to know the fate of their loved ones, the people actually who were on board the Rabaul ship," Inspector Samson Siguyaru said.

Papua New Guinea Prime Minister Peter O'Neill has promised a full investigation into the tragedy.

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority said three merchant ships and four rescue aircraft were taking part in the search, near where the 47 meter (155 ft) ship sank about 9 nautical miles off the South Pacific nation's northeast coast.

The ship's owners said they had no information about what caused the accident.

PNG, Australia's nearest neighbor, is largely undeveloped, with poor infrastructure and limited facilities despite enormous resources wealth.

The majority of its six million people live subsistence lives in villages clinging to jungle-clad mountains or scattered around its many islands. The island nation relies heavily on sea transport

Thu Feb 2, 2012 7:25pm EST

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8 illegal immigrants drown in Malaysia boat sink

Eight illegal immigrants have drowned when their boat capsized off Malaysia's southern coast, officials said Thursday. Eighteen others have been rescued.

Marine police official N.Kalai Chelvan said the boat was heading to Indonesia's Batam island early Wednesday when it sank in choppy waters. He said the boat was carrying a group of men from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iraq who were likely trying to reach Australia through Indonesia.
Chelvan said 14 men were initially believed to have drowned but officials later verified that only eight bodies were recovered from the sea. They included four Pakistanis and one Afghan, while the identities of the other victims have not been established.

Another 13 Afghans and five Iraqis were rescued close to the shore and investigations are ongoing to determine how many people are missing, Chelvan said. He said the men were believed to have entered Malaysia by land from Thailand.

Malaysia is a known transit point for people from impoverished or war-torn regions trying to get to Australia.

The New Straits Times newspaper quoted a 22-year-old Afghan known only as Sayed as saying that the 36-foot (11-meter) boat was rather small to fit the group but they were assured it was safe.
"The journey was initially smooth, but about two hours later, the sea became choppy and I could see water getting into the boat," he told the newspaper. "It was at this time that the boatman turned off the engine and everyone panicked. Suddenly, the boat started to sink. We all jumped into the water."

Associated Press | Posted: Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Read more: http://chippewa.com/news/world/asia/illegal-immigrants-drown-in-malaysia-boat-sink/article_b927fc16-9791-5ddc-871c-891ddbd9de08.html#ixzz1lHKNpFHQ

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More Than 70 Die In Egyptian Football Riot

At least 74 people have been killed and 1,000 injured after a football pitch invasion in Egypt, according to reports.

Clashes are said to have broken out as fans flooded the field seconds after the game in the northern coastal city of Port Said finished.
There were reports of rocks, bottles, flares and fireworks being thrown as politicians in the country criticised a lack of security at the match.
Doctors treating the victims said some had been stabbed to death. One player caught up in the rioting described it as "a war".
Troops have now been deployed on the streets and dozens of people have been arrested.

One player likened the scenes in Port Said to 'war'

Witnesses said most of the deaths involved people who had been trampled in the crush of panicked crowds, or who fell from terraces.

Deputy health minister Hesham Sheiha told state television: "This is unfortunate and deeply saddening. It is the biggest disaster in Egypt's soccer history."

Fans of the home team, Al Masry, swarmed the field after a rare 3-1 win against Al Ahly, one of Egypt's top teams.

Khalil Fahmy, Sky News Arabia correspondent, said police had been heavily criticised for doing nothing to intervene at the ground.He said: "Many people were crying for help, for police or army intervention. They spent almost an hour without any army or police protection - this resulted in the bad injuries of hundreds of people.

As details of the violence emerged, a football match in Cairo, 200km (125 miles) away, was called off in mourning and television footage showed sections of the stadium on fire. An announcer said the blazes had been started by fans angry over the cancellation.
Some players in Port Said were taken to a locker room for protection, reports said.

Military helicopters were reportedly sent in on an emergency evacuation to pull Al Ahly fans and players out of the confrontation amid fears they face attack.
A Port Said medic said some of the dead were security officers.

The country's football federation has now "indefinitely delayed" all premier league matches, the state prosecutor has called for an investigation and the country's parliament is to convene for an emergency meeting on Thursday.

There are suggestions of a political dimension to the incident, with Egyptian Islamists blaming supporters of Hosni Mubarak - who was ousted as president in Egypt revolution a year ago - for provoking the violence.

Albadry Farghali, a member of parliament for Port Said, accused officials and security forces of allowing the disaster, saying they still had ties to Mubarak's old regime.

He said: "The security forces did this or allowed it to happen. The men of Mubarak are still ruling. The head of the regime has fallen but all his men are still in their positions.
"Where is the security? Where is the government?"

Last updated: 2012-02-01 21:05:21
http://news.sky.com/home/world-news/article/16161259

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Florida Pile-Up: 11th Body Found In Wreckage

An 11th body has been found in the charred wreckage of a deadly Florida pile-up after days of searching by investigators, it has emerged.

At least a dozen cars, six lorries and a motor home were involved in a series of collisions on the busy Interstate 75 early on Sunday.

Initially it was thought 10 people were killed, but a team sifting through wreckage found the newly-discovered victim in a crushed and badly-burned pick-up truck that crashed into a lorry.
Two other bodies had earlier been found in the vehicle.

The pile-up was blamed on heavy smoke from marsh fires and fog, which blinded motorists.
Some of the cars were crushed by trucks and others burst into flames near Gainesville, home to the University of Florida.

A further 18 people needed hospital treatment after the incident, which was described by one witness as "like the end of the world".

Officials have released the names of eight people killed in the crash.
Investigators enlisted anthropologists to help identify some of the bodies by their bones and
teeth.

1 February 2012
http://news.sky.com/home/world-news/article/16161361

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Disclosure of 32 mass graves of al Qaeda in Diayala

Shafaq News/ The director of the Iraq organization Talib Khazraji said in a statement "Shafaq News" has been informed "The security forces in Diayala province found since 2008 till today 36 mass graves scattered in different parts of the province," he said, adding that "32 cemetery belong to the victims of terrorism who were killed by the hands of armed groups during the period of the security deterioration that has occurred between the years 2006-2008, ".

"The tombs contain some 360 bodies belonging to women and children, and their presence is concentrated in the south and east of Baquba," He said noting that " some of the tombs have been opened under the formal decision issued by the Iraqi judiciary."

"The security services in the province found three mass graves containing the bodies of other elements and leaders of al Qaeda in southern Buhriz, south of Baquba," Khazraji added ,pointing out that "these graves contain the bodies of more than 263."

The Ministry of Human Rights announced during last year that 400 mass graves have been found in Iraq after the fall of the former regime in 2003, pointing at the same time it can not open more than a dozen graves in a year because they need a great effort of exhumation and identification of their owners.

Tuesday, 31 January 2012 08:30

http://www.shafaaq.com/en/news/2273-disclosure-of-32-mass-graves-of-al-qaeda-in-diayala.html

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No probe for illegally disposed bodies of riot victims

Ahmedabad: Suspended IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt, on Monday, claimed the Supreme Court-appointed SIT has not made any efforts to probe into allegations of bodies of the Naroda Patiya riot victims being illegally disposed of in a well despite specific documents supplied by him.

The allegation was made in a letter written by Bhatt to SIT chairman RK Raghavan.

Bhatt also reiterated his request to get his statement recorded before a magistrate under the provisions of Section 164(1) of CrPC in the missive.

Along with the letter, Bhatt has also annexed copies of the letters issued by State Intelligence Bureau (SIB) intimating the Ahmedabad Police Commissioner about reports of foul smell purportedly emanating from the decomposed bodies of the riot victims that were allegedly disposed of in the abandoned well on an open ground behind the State Transport Workshop in Naroda Patiya area.

"I had submitted detailed information and documents to the SIT regarding the illegal disposal of unaccounted dead bodies of the Naroda massacre of February 28/March 01, 2002," Bhatt stated in his letter to Raghavan.

"I believe that no genuine and sincere efforts have been made till date by any agency, including the SIT, to excavate the site for exhumation of the remains of the unaccounted and unidentified victims of Naroda (Patiya) massacre," he alleged.

"These documents were being submitted for sole purpose of ensuring that crucial evidence is not disregarded or concealed by the SIT with a view to screen powerful and influential offenders from legal punishment," Bhatt said.

Ninety-five people were killed at Naroda Patiya in the communal violence triggered by the Godhra train burning incident.

The documents annexed included a letter dated March 18, 2002 written by the then SIB chief GC Raiger to the Ahmedabad police commissioner asking for further information on reports that bodies of some of the riot victims of Naroda Patiya being disposed of in an abandoned well behind State Transport Workshop and then covered with rubble.

Raiger's letter further stated that the matter came to light after local people in the locality complained of foul smell coming from the well.

The other documents annexed by Bhatt included the follow-up SIB messages on the same day (March 18, 2002) to city police commissioner seeking thorough investigation into the matter and further stating that some people have tried to hamper police investigations by throwing a dead pig into the well also know as 'Tisra Kuva'.

The follow-up messages in Gujarati said that the site needed to be properly excavated and examined on the allegations that bodies of riot victims were illegally disposed of there.

Source: PTI | Last Updated 01:05(31/01/12)
http://daily.bhaskar.com/article/GUJ-AHD-no-probe-for-illegally-disposed-bodies-of-riot-victims-bhatt-2804355.html

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Remains of '17 roses' exhumed from mass grave in Spain

GERENA, Spain - Archaeologists are unearthing the remains of 17 women who were shot during Spain's 1936-39 civil war and dumped in a mass grave, one of the conflict's most notorious events.

Since the exhumation began last week, the remains of 14 of the 17 women have been discovered at the cemetery in the southwestern town of Gerena, said 25-year-old Lucia Socam, whose great-aunt Granada Hidalgo was among one of the victims.

The skeleton of one of the women was removed from the mass grave Monday so her descendants can give her a proper burial, she added.

The women, dubbed the "17 roses", were rounded up and shot by General Francisco Franco's forces in 1937 for being relatives of people on the opposing Republican side.

The exhumation, which is expected to take another week, comes as top Spanish judge Baltasar Garzon prepares to testify for the first time on Tuesday at his trial for abuse of power for trying to prosecute atrocities of the Franco regime.

Thousands of people marched through the streets of Madrid on Sunday in support of the 56-year-old judge, who won international fame with his attempt to extradite Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet from London.

"He is the only person who dared to attack the crimes of the Franco regime," said Maria Jose Dominguez, 45, the grand-daughter of another one of the 17 slain women.

Archaeologists working on the exhumation found bullets, buttons and a comb near the women's bones.

"It is hard because the grave raises many things: We can see how they were thrown into it, one on top of the other," said Socam.

"But we are happy of course because it is the end of such a long wait, it is more of a happy feeling than one of being bitter."

AFP - Tuesday, Jan 31, 2012

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Stay extended on exhumation case against Setalvad

The Supreme Court on Monday extended the stay on criminal proceedings pending before a Gujarat trial court against social activist Teesta Setalvad for her alleged role in exhuming the bodies of post-Godhra riot victims at Pandarwada and surrounding villages in 2006.

A Bench of Justices Aftab Alam and Ranjana Desai posted the matter for final hearing in July.

Earlier, Justice Alam asked the Gujarat Government how it annexed the statements of witnesses when the Supreme Court had granted a stay. However, counsel Hemantika Wahi clarified that “the witnesses' statements which supported the allegation of “fabricating” evidence, purportedly at the behest of Ms. Setalvad, were recorded prior to the stay on proceedings.”

Counsel said: “The investigation was carried out by the police and the statements of witnesses were recorded on the orders of the [Gujarat] High Court.”

Ms. Setalvad's appeal was directed against a May 27, 2011 High Court order, refusing to quash the First Information Report registered against her at the Panchmahal police station.

The FIR related to exhuming bodies of the 2002 riot victims from a graveyard near the Panam river. It alleged that Ms. Setalvad was the prime conspirator. She was implicated in the case by one of her former close aides, Rais Khan, who had been associated earlier with Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP). Mr. Khan alleged that the bodies were exhumed at her instance.

In its response, the State government annexed the statements of seven witnesses, who recorded their evidence between July 22 and 25 last before a senior police officer as per the orders of an Ahmedabad court.

KHAN'S CLAIM

Mr. Khan had alleged that he was removed as a field co-coordinator of the NGO in January 2008, as he refused to “do certain acts which were not in the interest of communal harmony.”

He said he was facilitating witnesses in preparing affidavits at her behest. He said most of the victims and witnesses were poor and uneducated but still their affidavits were prepared in English, on the pretext that Gujarati was not accepted in the High Court and the Supreme Court, with the help of a particular advocate and court notary.

Denying the allegations, Ms. Setalvad said: “Far from being pathetic or aggrieved acts of an innocent former employee, these are actions well-heeled and motivated not simply to launch a vicious and vindictive campaign against an upright legal rights group aiding hapless victims but, in a sinister fashion, seek to curb the freedom of my movement.”

NEW DELHI, January 31, 2012
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article2845549.ece

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Costa Concordia: Divers End Hunt For Bodies

Divers have officially abandoned their search for bodies still missing inside the wrecked Costa Concordia.

The decision has come despite there being 16 people unaccounted for after the cruise ship disaster - including a five-year-old girl and her father."We have definitively stopped the underwater search inside the ship," a fire brigade spokesman from the Tuscan island of Giglio has been quoted as saying. The Costa Concordia capsized on January 13

The decision to call off the search inside the ship was taken because conditions underwater have been deemed too dangerous for divers.

Italy's Civil Protection agency has said that technical studies indicated that the deformed hull of the ship created too many safety concerns to continue the search.

An underwater breach in the hull of the Costa Concordia

It said in a statement that relatives and diplomatic officials representing the countries of the missing have been informed of the decision.

The Concordia ran aground off the island of Giglio on January 13 when the captain deviated from his planned route and struck a reef, creating a huge gash that capsized the ship.

The number of bodies that have been recovered stands at 17.

4:11pm UK, Tuesday January 31, 2012

http://news.sky.com/home/world-news/article/16160191

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