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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Updated 13 September 2024
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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

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.


Ukraine downs a Russian warplane and Russia claims gains in the east

Ukraine downs a Russian warplane and Russia claims gains in the east
Updated 53 min 36 sec ago
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Ukraine downs a Russian warplane and Russia claims gains in the east

Ukraine downs a Russian warplane and Russia claims gains in the east
  • The Russian bomber was shot down near the city of Kostiantynivka in the Donetsk province
  • Also in the partially occupied Donetsk province, Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed Saturday that it had taken control of the village of Zhelanne Druhe

KYIV: Ukrainian forces said they shot down a Russian fighter plane on Saturday while Russia claimed it made gains in Ukraine’s east.
The Russian bomber was shot down near the city of Kostiantynivka in the Donetsk province, head of the Kostiantynivka Military Administration Serhiy Horbunov was quoted as saying by Ukraine’s public broadcaster, Suspilne. Photos showed charred remains of an aircraft after it landed on a house that caught fire.
Also in the partially occupied Donetsk province, Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed Saturday that it had taken control of the village of Zhelanne Druhe.
If confirmed, the capture would come three days after Ukrainian forces said they were withdrawing from the front-line town of Vuhledar, some 33 kilometers (21 miles) from Zhelanne Druhe, following a hard-fought two-year defense.
Although unlikely to change the course of the war, the loss of Vuhledar is indicative of Kyiv’s worsening position, in part the result of Washington’s refusal to grant Ukraine permission to strike targets deep inside Russian territory and preventing Kyiv from degrading Moscow’s capabilities.
Zelensky will present his victory plan to allies
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Saturday that he will present his “victory plan” at the Oct. 12 meeting of the Ramstein group of nations that supplies arms to Ukraine.
“We will present the victory plan — clear, concrete steps toward a just end to the war. The determination of our partners and the strengthening of Ukraine are what can stop Russian aggression,” he wrote on X, adding that the 25th Ramstein meeting would be the first to take place at the leaders’ level.
Zelensky presented his plan to US President Joe Biden in Washington last week. Its contents have not been made public but it is known that the plan includes Ukraine’s membership of NATO and the provision of long-range missiles to strike inside Russia.
Russia shells southern Ukraine and a Ukraine drone hits a bus
Meanwhile, two people died in Russian shelling in Ukraine’s southern Zaporizhzhia region, regional Gov. Ivan Fedorov said.
Ukraine’s air force said that Russia had launched three guided missiles and 13 attack drones at Ukraine overnight into Saturday. It said the missiles were intercepted, three drones were shot down over the Odesa region and 10 others were lost.
Nine people were wounded when a Ukrainian drone struck a passenger bus in the city of Horlivka in the partially occupied Donetsk region, the city’s Russian-installed Mayor Ivan Prikhodko said.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said Saturday that air defenses shot down 10 Ukrainian drones overnight in three border regions, including seven over the Belgorod region, two over the Kursk region, and one over the Voronezh region.


Afghanistan’s brain drain continues as job security, education prospects fade

Afghanistan’s brain drain continues as job security, education prospects fade
Updated 05 October 2024
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Afghanistan’s brain drain continues as job security, education prospects fade

Afghanistan’s brain drain continues as job security, education prospects fade
  • Taliban blames Western countries for taking away country’s talent
  • But ban on women’s education seen as one of main reasons young people leave

KABUL: Abdullah Jalal is counting down the days to his relocation overseas — a move that will mean him restarting his career but give him the employment security he no longer believes is possible in Afghanistan.

The 29-year-old data management expert has been working for an international organization but said “the future is extremely uncertain.”

“With the current situation in the country, a whole generation is being punished and opportunities are taken away from young experts. I know many friends who have left the country in the past few years or are planning to leave,” he told Arab News.

“Specializations and expertise are not valued in the country anymore … The future employment prospects are not very good.”

Jalal is among the many skilled young professionals who choose to leave Afghanistan every year in search of better opportunities abroad. The numbers peaked in 2021, when hundreds of thousands of Afghans fled as the Taliban regained control of the country.

Three years on, with sanctions slapped on the Taliban administration and a devastating economic and humanitarian crisis, the brain drain continues, further limiting Afghanistan’s capacity for growth.

The trend has been worsened by Taliban policies banning women from attending secondary school and university and most forms of paid employment.

Some parents, like Abdul Saboor, choose to send their daughters overseas so that they can pursue their education. One of his daughters wanted to complete a master’s degree in computer science, but that is no longer possible in Afghanistan.

“Before the suspension of university education, she was teaching at a private university and took some freelance assignments to earn an income and support the family. She is very talented. She taught at a private university and developed websites for some organizations, but she couldn’t continue working,” Saboor said.

“I had to send her — along with my younger daughter who has graduated from high school — to Pakistan to pursue their studies and stay with their aunt. Not all families have this opportunity. I couldn’t see my daughters stay dull at home and continue to live with depression.”

While data about the exact numbers of skilled professionals and graduates leaving the country is unavailable, the International Organization for Migration estimates that in September more than 166,000 Afghans left the country for neighboring Pakistan and Iran alone.

Over the past four decades of wars in the country, 6.4 million Afghans have resettled abroad.

“The brain drain continues to happen even after several years of Islamic Emirate’s rule, creating major gaps in the society,” Dr. Sohaib Raufi, director of the Center for Strategic and Regional Studies in Kabul, told Arab News.

“The educated generation of the country, including university professors and other experts, have fled Afghanistan and continue to leave the country for various reasons, such as a lack of studying and teaching prospects, fading hopes for a better future.”

Last year, the Taliban called on Western countries to stop taking Afghan talent out of the country, but it is their own policy that is contributing to it, according to Raufi.

“A major factor contributing to the growing brain drain is the continuing suspension of school and university education for girls. Job security is another reason experts leave the country because in some instances expertise and profession is not prioritized in Afghanistan, leaving many outside the workforce,” he said.

“This may, in the long term, lead to scarcity of experts in the country negatively impacting the country’s economy, development and political stability.”


Militants kill 6 Pakistani soldiers in a shootout

Militants kill 6 Pakistani soldiers in a shootout
Updated 05 October 2024
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Militants kill 6 Pakistani soldiers in a shootout

Militants kill 6 Pakistani soldiers in a shootout
  • The troops died in an overnight operation in North Waziristan district on Saturday, according to an army statement
  • It said six militants also were killed

PESHAWAR: Militants killed six Pakistani soldiers in a shootout, the army said Saturday, the latest unrest in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan where armed groups including the Pakistani Taliban are active.
The troops died in an overnight operation in North Waziristan district on Saturday, according to an army statement. It said six militants also were killed.
The army said a separate operation killed two militants in Swat, also in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. One of them was said to be involved in an attack on a convoy of foreign ambassadors in the area earlier this month.
Also Saturday, cellphone services remained suspended in Islamabad as it entered a second day of a lockdown aimed at thwarting rallies in support of ex-leader Imran Khan. He is in prison on multiple charges.
Shipping containers blocked off the city’s entry and exit points, but videos from Khan’s PTI party showed supporters piled into vehicles and attempted to head toward Islamabad.
The chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Ali Amin Gandapur, and others in the convoy worked throughout the night to remove shipping containers from the road, according to the party.
The PTI later said that security forces arrested Gandapur for entering Islamabad in defiance of a ban on rallies. Police and officials did not immediately confirm the arrest.
Clashes broke out between Khan supporters and security forces in D-Chowk, which is close to several key government buildings including Parliament and the Supreme Court.
The PTI also said it planned to hold a rally in Lahore.


South Africa: hundreds march for Gaza on war anniversary

South Africa: hundreds march for Gaza on war anniversary
Updated 05 October 2024
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South Africa: hundreds march for Gaza on war anniversary

South Africa: hundreds march for Gaza on war anniversary
  • The marchers — many of them wearing the keffiyeh scarf that symbolizes the Palestinian struggle against Israel — walked to parliament in a protest

CAPE TOWN: Several hundred people marched through central Cape Town Saturday waving Palestinian flags and chanting anti-Israel slogans in a pro-Gaza rally to mark the first anniversary of the Israel-Hamas conflict.
With placards accusing Israel of genocide and racism, the marchers — many of them wearing the keffiyeh scarf that symbolizes the Palestinian struggle against Israel — walked to parliament in a protest organized by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign.
“Israel is a racist state” and “We are all Palestinian,” chanted some of the marchers. Others held up placards stating: “We are all Hamas” or “Zionism is racism.”
Some marchers said they agreed with the South African case before the International Court of Justice that alleges the Israeli military operation in Gaza, launched in response to the October 7 attack on Israel by Hamas militants, amounts to “genocide.”
“I am appalled at Israel and the genocide and the attack on innocent people, children... and now moving on into Lebanon,” Linelle Arendse told the News24 channel.
Many South Africans compare Israel’s stance toward Palestinians with the racially oppressive system of apartheid that imposed white-minority rule on South Africa until the first all-race election in 1994.
“I have been through the apartheid struggle so I know the pain of the Palestinians and Lebanese,” Shafiek Barnes told News24. “I am here because I am Muslim and I feel the pain that they are going through.”
The organizers of the march handed to parliament a memorandum demanding the government implement the UN’s 1973 Apartheid Convention which declares apartheid systems a crime and allows for action against them, such as boycotts.
Also called the International Convention on the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid, it was signed by the South African government in May 2024.
Pro-Gaza marches were also due Saturday in the cities of Johannesburg and Durban and around the world ahead of the anniversary of the October 7 attack.


Pakistan capital at standstill as Imran Khan’s supporters protest

Pakistan capital at standstill as Imran Khan’s supporters protest
Updated 05 October 2024
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Pakistan capital at standstill as Imran Khan’s supporters protest

Pakistan capital at standstill as Imran Khan’s supporters protest
  • Former prime minister barred from standing in the February elections that were marred by allegations of rigging, sidelined by dozens of legal cases
  • Protests were also due Saturday in Lahore, however the main motorway linking the eastern megacity to the capital was blocked

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s capital was locked down on Saturday, swarmed by security forces with mobile Internet cut as supporters of jailed ex-prime minister Imran Khan attempted to seize the streets in protest.
Khan was barred from standing in the February elections that were marred by allegations of rigging, sidelined by dozens of legal cases.
But his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party has defied a crackdown to needle the government with regular demonstrations.
PTI activists began driving to Islamabad on Friday from his powerbase in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, but were met with shipping container roadblocks and volleys of tear gas.
On Saturday, small and scattered convoys pressed in on Islamabad in defiance of the government which approved troops for deployment on the streets — citing the need to guarantee security ahead of a Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit due to open on October 15.
“I am so proud of all our people,” said a message from Khan posted on social media site X on Saturday afternoon. “You showed unfaltering resilience and courage as you came out yesterday and overcame unbelievable obstacles.”
Protests were also due Saturday in Lahore, however the main motorway linking the eastern megacity to the capital was blocked.
Amnesty International said the communications cuts and road blockades “infringe on people’s right to freedom of expression, access to information, peaceful assembly and movement.”
“These restrictions are part of a worrying clampdown on the right to protest in Pakistan,” the rights group said.
The social media site X — formerly Twitter — has also been blocked across Pakistan since after the election, when mobile Internet was likewise cut on polling day and PTI allege widespread vote tampering took place.
The 72-year-old Khan served as prime minister from 2018 to 2022, when he was ousted in a parliamentary no-confidence vote after falling out with the powerful military establishment considered Pakistan’s political kingmakers.
As opposition leader he led an unprecedented campaign of defiance before becoming tangled in slews of court cases he claims have been orchestrated to prevent his return to power.