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Philippine ‘Son of God’ preacher pleads not guilty to sex trafficking charges

Philippine ‘Son of God’ preacher pleads not guilty to sex trafficking charges
Apollo Quiboloy, center, arrives under heavy police guard to attend the arraignment at Pasig City Regional Trial Court in Metro Manila on Sept. 13, 2024. (AFP)
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Philippine ‘Son of God’ preacher pleads not guilty to sex trafficking charges

Philippine ‘Son of God’ preacher pleads not guilty to sex trafficking charges
  • Apollo Quiboloy is followed by millions of people in the Philippines, where church leaders hold heavy sway in politics
Updated 3 sec ago
Reuters
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MANILA: Philippine celebrity pastor Apollo Quiboloy, the self-proclaimed “Appointed Son of God,” pleaded not guilty on Friday to charges of sex trafficking, his lawyer said.
“He is innocent,” lawyer Israelito Torreon told reporters after an arraignment in Manila. A pre-trial hearing is scheduled for October, Torreon said.
Quiboloy is also facing charges of child abuse before another court.
“It is our firm belief that the truth regarding the alleged criminal acts of Apollo C. Quiboloy and his co-accused will ultimately be disclosed,” Joahna Paula Domingo, a co-counsel of the alleged victim, said in a statement released ahead of the morning arraignment.
“It is worthy to note that these cases have been filed in 2019 and we have long been seeking justice for the complainant since then,” she said.
Quiboloy and four other co-accused arrived in a police minibus around 45 minutes before his scheduled arraignment. Handcuffed and in an orange detainee shirt, the preacher was almost unrecognizable underneath a bulletproof helmet and vest.
Quiboloy, who is facing a raft of charges in the Philippines and the United States including sex trafficking, money laundering and child abuse, was arrested on Sunday after a weeks-long search of his church’s sprawling 30-hectare (74-acre) compound by more than 2,000 security personnel.
When asked by a reporter as he arrived at court what his message to followers was, he said “tatag lang, tatag lang”, Filipino words for ‘stay strong, stay strong’.
Quiboloy is followed by millions of people in the Philippines, where church leaders hold heavy sway in politics. He is a longtime friend of former president Rodrigo Duterte.

Topics: Philippines Apollo Quiboloy

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Taiwan hopes delayed F-16s start arriving by end of this year

Taiwan hopes delayed F-16s start arriving by end of this year
Updated 2 sec ago
Reuters
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Taiwan hopes delayed F-16s start arriving by end of this year

Taiwan hopes delayed F-16s start arriving by end of this year
  • The US in 2019 approved an $8 billion sale of Lockheed Martin F-16 fighter jets to Taiwan
  • Taiwan has been converting 141 F-16A/B jets into the F-16V type and has ordered 66 new F-16Vs
Updated 2 sec ago
Reuters
TAIPEI: Taiwan’s defense ministry said on Friday it was aiming for delivery of the first new F-16V fighter jets by the end of this year, blaming “acute fluctuations” in the international situation for delays in the island receiving them.
The United States in 2019 approved an $8 billion sale of Lockheed Martin F-16 fighter jets to Taiwan, a deal that would take the island’s F-16 fleet to more than 200 jets, the largest in Asia, to strengthen its defenses in the face of a stepped up threat from China, which views Taiwan as its own.
Taiwan has been converting 141 F-16A/B jets into the F-16V type and has ordered 66 new F-16Vs, which have advanced avionics, weapons and radar systems to better face down the Chinese air force, including its J-20 stealth fighter.
But Taiwan has complained of delays for the new F-16Vs, saying problems include software issues.
In an update on the deliveries, Taiwan’s defense ministry said the first batch of new F-16Vs was meant to have been sent in the third quarter of this year.
“Because of acute fluctuations in the international situation, which have resulted in a compound impact such as delays in deliveries of some suppliers and adjustments to the US assembly schedule, there has been a partial adjustment in when they will leave the factory,” it said in a statement.
The ministry will “strive to complete the shipment of the first aircraft in the fourth quarter.”
The air force will keep a close watch on the production schedule and make factory visits with the aim to have the deliveries completed by the end of 2026, it added.
Lockheed Martin did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Taiwan has reported delays to US weapons deliveries such as Stinger anti-aircraft missiles since 2022, as manufacturers give supplies to Ukraine to help it battle Russian forces, and the issue has concerned US lawmakers.
Taiwan’s air force is well-trained but some of its fighter jets are aging, including its French-made fleet of Mirage 2000s first received in 1997. One crashed into the sea this week during a training exercise.
The air force has repeatedly scrambled to see off Chinese military aircraft flying near the island in the past five years.
Taiwan’s government rejects China’s sovereignty claims.

Russia expels six British diplomats it accuses of spying and sabotage activity

Russia expels six British diplomats it accuses of spying and sabotage activity
Updated 38 min 10 sec ago
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Russia expels six British diplomats it accuses of spying and sabotage activity

Russia expels six British diplomats it accuses of spying and sabotage activity
  • The six diplomats were named on Russian state TV, which also showed photographs of them
Updated 38 min 10 sec ago
Reuters

Russia’s FSB security service said on Friday it had revoked the accreditation of six British diplomats in Moscow whose actions it said showed signs of spying and sabotage work.
Britain’s embassy in Moscow did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
The FSB, the main successor agency to the Soviet KGB, said it had documents showing that a British foreign office department in London responsible for Eastern Europe and Central Asia was coordinating what it called “the escalation of the political and military situation” and was tasked with ensuring Russia’s strategic defeat in its war against Ukraine.
“Thus, the facts revealed give grounds to consider the activities of British diplomats sent to Moscow by the directorate as threatening the security of the Russian Federation,” the FSB said in a statement.
“In this connection, on the basis of documents provided by the Federal Security Service of Russia and as a response to the numerous unfriendly steps taken by London, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia, in co-operation with the agencies concerned, has terminated the accreditation of six members of the political department of the British Embassy in Moscow in whose actions signs of spying and sabotage were found,” it said.
The six diplomats were named on Russian state TV, which also showed photographs of them.
“The English did not take our hints about the need to stop this practice (of carrying out intelligence activities inside Russia),so we decided to expel these six to begin with,” an FSB employee told the Rossiya-24 state TV channel.
The FSB said Russia would ask other British diplomats to go home early if they were found to be engaged in similar activity.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova was cited by the state TASS news agency as saying the activities of the British embassy in Moscow had gone well beyond diplomatic convention and accusing it of carrying out deliberate activity designed to harm the Russian people.

Topics: Russia-Ukraine Conflict

Sweden says to pay immigrants up to $34,000 to leave

Sweden says to pay immigrants up to $34,000 to leave
Updated 13 September 2024
AFP
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Sweden says to pay immigrants up to $34,000 to leave

Sweden says to pay immigrants up to $34,000 to leave
  • Immigrants who voluntarily return to their countries of origin from 2026 would be eligible to receive up to 350,000 Swedish kronor
Updated 13 September 2024
AFP

Stockholm: Sweden plans to boost payments to up to $34,000 to immigrants who leave the nation that has been a haven for the war-weary and persecuted, the right-wing government said Thursday.
The Scandinavian country was for decades seen as a “humanitarian superpower,” but over the years has struggled to integrate many of its newcomers.
Immigrants who voluntarily return to their countries of origin from 2026 would be eligible to receive up to 350,000 Swedish kronor ($34,000), the government, which is propped up by the anti-immigration Sweden Democrats, told a press conference.
“We are in the midst of a paradigm shift in our migration policy,” Migration Minister Johan Forssell told reporters, as the government presented its latest move to crack down on migration.
Currently immigrants can receive up to 10,000 kronor per adult and 5,000 kronor per child, with a cap of 40,000 kronor per family.
Immigrants groups could not immediately be reached for comment on the change.
“The grant has been around since 1984, but it is relatively unknown, it is small and relatively few people use it,” Ludvig Aspling of the Sweden Democrats told reporters.
Forssell said only one person had accepted the offer last year.
Aspling added that if more people were aware of the grant and its size was increased, more would likely take the money and leave.
He said the incentive would most likely appeal to the several hundred thousand migrants who were either long-term unemployed, jobless or whose incomes were so low they needed state benefits to make ends meet.
“That’s the group we think would be interested,” Aspling said.
A government-appointed probe last month advised the government against significantly hiking the amount of the grant, saying the expected effectiveness did not justify the potential costs.
The Nordic nation has struggled for years to integrate immigrants, and the head of the inquiry, Joakim Ruist, said that a sizeable financial increase would send a signal that migrants were undesirable, further hampering integration efforts.
Other European countries also offer grants as an incentive for migrants to return home.
Denmark pays more than $15,000 per person, compared to around $1,400 in Norway, $2,800 in France and $2,000 in Germany.
Sweden’s conservative Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson came to power in 2022 with a minority coalition government propped up by the Sweden Democrats, vowing to get tough on immigration and crime.
The Sweden Democrats emerged as the country’s second-largest party with 20.5 percent support in that election.
Sweden has offered generous foreign development aid since the 1970s and has taken in large numbers of migrants since the 1990s.
Most of Sweden’s immigrants have come from conflict-ridden countries such as the former Yugoslavia, Syria, Afghanistan, Somalia, Iran and Iraq.
In 2015 alone, at the height of the migration crisis in Europe, Sweden took in 160,000 asylum seekers, the highest per capita in the EU.
With much higher rates of unemployment among those born abroad, the situation had widened Sweden’s wealth inequalities and straining its generous cradle-to-grave welfare system.
The 2015 migration crisis proved a turning point, with the then-Social Democratic government announcing soon afterwards that it was no longer able to continue its open door policies.
A slew of measures have been taken by both left and right-wing governments since then to curb migration, including issuing only temporary residence permits to asylum seekers, tightening family reunifications requirements, and hiking income requirements for work visas for non-EU citizens.
Kristersson’s government also plans to make it easier to expel migrants for substance abuse, association with criminal groups or statements threatening Swedish values.

Topics: Sweden immigrants

Putin ally accuses NATO of already being party to Ukraine war

Putin ally accuses NATO of already being party to Ukraine war
Updated 26 min 55 sec ago
Reuters
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Putin ally accuses NATO of already being party to Ukraine war

Putin ally accuses NATO of already being party to Ukraine war
  • Vyacheslav Volodin: ‘They are waging war with our country’
Updated 26 min 55 sec ago
Reuters

MOSCOW: The chairman of Russia’s State Duma, the lower house of parliament, on Friday accused NATO of being a party to military action in Ukraine, suggesting it was already heavily involved in military decision-making.

The comments, by Vyacheslav Volodin, a close ally of President Vladimir Putin, came a day after Putin warned that the West would be directly fighting with Russia if it allowed Ukraine to strike Russian territory with Western-made long-range missiles, a move he said would alter the nature of the conflict.

Volodin, who did not reference documentary evidence to back his assertions, accused the US-led military alliance of helping Ukraine choose which Russian cities to target, of agreeing specific military action, and of giving Kyiv orders.

“The United States, Germany, Britain and France are discussing the possibility of strikes (by Ukraine) using long-range weapons on the territory of our country. This is nothing but an attempt to camouflage and conceal their direct participation in military action,” Volodin wrote on his official Telegram channel.

“In fact, the United States and its allies are actually trying to give themselves permission to carry out acts of aggression with missiles against Russia.”

He said the use in Ukraine of NATO advisers and instructors had now been complemented by what he called mercenaries and spoke of entire units armed with NATO weaponry.

Reuters could not independently confirm his assertions.

“They (NATO personnel) determine which cities in our country will be attacked, coordinate military actions and give orders. NATO has become a participant in military actions in Ukraine. They are waging war on our country,” said Volodin.

Topics: Russia-Ukraine Conflict Russia Ukraine NATO

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Animal rights groups object to Buckingham Palace guard’s distinctive bearskin caps

Animal rights groups object to Buckingham Palace guard’s distinctive bearskin caps
Updated 13 September 2024
AP
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Animal rights groups object to Buckingham Palace guard’s distinctive bearskin caps

Animal rights groups object to Buckingham Palace guard’s distinctive bearskin caps
  • Price of caps soared 30% in a year to more than 2,000 pounds apiece for the hats made of black bear fur
  • “Stop wasting taxpayer pounds on caps made from slaughtered wildlife and switch to faux fur today,” PETA said
Updated 13 September 2024
AP

LONDON: An animal rights group trying to get real fur out of the bearskin caps worn by King’s Guards at Buckingham Palace took aim Thursday at the cost of the ceremonial garb.
The price of the caps soared 30 percent in a year to more than 2,000 pounds ($2,600) apiece for the hats made of black bear fur, the Ministry of Defense said in response to a freedom of information request by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.
“Stop wasting taxpayer pounds on caps made from slaughtered wildlife and switch to faux fur today,” the group said in a statement.
A luxury fake fur maker has offered to supply the army with free faux bear fur for 10 years, PETA said.
The military said it was open to exploring alternatives if they pass muster in durability, water protection and appearance. But “no alternative has met all those criteria to date,” a ministry spokesperson said in a statement.
The distinctive tall black hats, worn by guards in bright scarlet tunics, are seen by millions who watch the regular changing of the guard ceremony at the palace. They also appear at other royal events including the annual Trooping the Color ceremony honoring the monarch’s birthday in June.
The cost of the caps rose from 1,560 pounds ($2,035) each in 2022 to 2,040 pounds ($2,660) in 2023, the ministry said. More than 1 million pounds ($1.3 million) was spent on them in the past decade.
The price went up because of a contract change for fur that comes from bears killed in licensed hunts in Canada, the military said. Each cap requires one bear pelt, PETA said.
PETA, hich has been pushing for more than two decades to scrap the fur hats, said each cap requires one bear pelt. The group claimed that the defense department is propping up the “cruel” Canadian bear-hunting industry.
The ministry denied that charge and said if it stopped buying the pelts, it would not reduce the numbers of bears being killed.
Parliament debated the issue in July 2022 after an online petition with more than 100,000 signatures called for using fake fur in the caps.
“This hunting involves the violent killing of bears, with many bears being shot several times,” Martyn Day, then a Scottish National Party member of Parliament, said at the time. “It seems undeniable, therefore, that by continuing to purchase hats made from the fur of black bears the MOD is funding the suffering of bears in Canada by making the baiting and killing of those animals and the sale of their pelts a profitable pursuit for the hunters.”
Day said a poll at the time found 75 percent of the UK population found real bearskins were a bad use of taxpayer money and supported replacing the hats.
He noted that the late Queen Elizabeth II had ceased buying fur for her wardrobe.
Earlier this year, Queen Camilla, wife of King Charles III, pledged to buy no more fur products.

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Philippine ‘Son of God’ preacher pleads not guilty to sex trafficking charges
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