The body of a man killed by an unidentified gunman lies on a street in Manila, Philippines on February 17, 2017. Noel Celis / Agence France-Presse
The body of a man killed by an unidentified gunman lies on a street in Manila, Philippines on February 17, 2017. Noel Celis / Agence France-Presse
The body of a man killed by an unidentified gunman lies on a street in Manila, Philippines on February 17, 2017. Noel Celis / Agence France-Presse
The body of a man killed by an unidentified gunman lies on a street in Manila, Philippines on February 17, 2017. Noel Celis / Agence France-Presse

Murders continue in Philippine drug war, despite police withdrawal, rights group says


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MANILA // Unknown assassins have killed scores of poor victims in the Philippines since president Rodrigo Duterte ordered police last month to withdraw from his deadly drug war, according to a human rights monitor.

The mystery assailants are killing between nine and 10 people daily, said Amnesty International’s Philippine branch. This is fewer than the 30 or so a day being killed by police and others when officers were still leading the crackdown, but the targets are the same.

“The targets are still the same, as far as we are concerned: people linked to drugs and who live in poor neighbourhoods,” campaign official Wilnor Papa said.

Mr Duterte pulled police from the crackdown on January 31 after a seven-month campaign in which 2,555 drug suspects were killed by law enforcers, with 3,930 other people murdered in unexplained circumstances.

The latest tally from showed there were 4,076 “murder cases under investigation” on February 13.

This was 146 more than the end of January, which human rights groups said showed extrajudicial killings had decreased but were nevertheless continuing in the drug war.

Police found four men shot dead inside a shanty in northern Manila before dawn on Thursday, in a scene very similar to those covered at the height of the drug war.

Witnesses said unknown suspects broke into the house and started shooting, while three other men were shot dead in separate incidents elsewhere in the same district that night, local police said.

Mr Duterte ordered police operations in the drug war to cease so he could tackle the widespread corruption in the force. .

This came after anti-drug officers kidnapped a South Korean businessman then murdered him inside the national police headquarters as part of an extortion racket, according to an official investigation.

But Mr Duterte promised the war would continue and more addicts, as well as traffickers, would be killed as he sought to eradicate drugs in society.

Amnesty issued a report earlier this month accusing police of systemic human-rights abuses in the drug war, including shooting dead defenceless people, paying assassins to murder addicts and stealing from those they killed.

It also said police were being paid by their superiors to kill.

Mr Duterte has since ordered the much smaller drug enforcement agency to lead the drug crackdown, with the support of the military.

Derrick Carreon, spokesman for the 1,791-member drug agency, said there had been far fewer killings by authorities since it took charge, without giving figures.

“(But) there is no point in comparing these figures because the police is a much larger organisation, capable of conducting more operations,” Mr Carreon said, adding the military had mostly acted as observers so far.

The national police force has 160,000 officers.

Agence France-Presse

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THE SIXTH SENSE

Starring: Bruce Willis, Toni Collette, Hayley Joel Osment

Director: M. Night Shyamalan

Rating: 5/5

Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
  • 600-seat auditorium
  • Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
  • An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
  • AR and VR-enabled learning centres
  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets

Brolliology: A History of the Umbrella in Life and Literature
By Marion Rankine
Melville House

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Company%20Profile
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Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
  • Priority access to new homes from participating developers
  • Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
  • Flexible payment plans from developers
  • Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
  • DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Upcoming games

SUNDAY 

Brighton and Hove Albion v Southampton (5.30pm)
Leicester City v Everton (8pm)

 

MONDAY 
Burnley v Newcastle United (midnight)

The bio

Favourite vegetable: Broccoli

Favourite food: Seafood

Favourite thing to cook: Duck l'orange

Favourite book: Give and Take by Adam Grant, one of his professors at University of Pennsylvania

Favourite place to travel: Home in Kuwait.

Favourite place in the UAE: Al Qudra lakes

Key figures in the life of the fort

Sheikh Dhiyab bin Isa (ruled 1761-1793) Built Qasr Al Hosn as a watchtower to guard over the only freshwater well on Abu Dhabi island.

Sheikh Shakhbut bin Dhiyab (ruled 1793-1816) Expanded the tower into a small fort and transferred his ruling place of residence from Liwa Oasis to the fort on the island.

Sheikh Tahnoon bin Shakhbut (ruled 1818-1833) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further as Abu Dhabi grew from a small village of palm huts to a town of more than 5,000 inhabitants.

Sheikh Khalifa bin Shakhbut (ruled 1833-1845) Repaired and fortified the fort.

Sheikh Saeed bin Tahnoon (ruled 1845-1855) Turned Qasr Al Hosn into a strong two-storied structure.

Sheikh Zayed bin Khalifa (ruled 1855-1909) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further to reflect the emirate's increasing prominence.

Sheikh Shakhbut bin Sultan (ruled 1928-1966) Renovated and enlarged Qasr Al Hosn, adding a decorative arch and two new villas.

Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan (ruled 1966-2004) Moved the royal residence to Al Manhal palace and kept his diwan at Qasr Al Hosn.

Sources: Jayanti Maitra, www.adach.ae

Top New Zealand cop on policing the virtual world

New Zealand police began closer scrutiny of social media and online communities after the attacks on two mosques in March, the country's top officer said.

The killing of 51 people in Christchurch and wounding of more than 40 others shocked the world. Brenton Tarrant, a suspected white supremacist, was accused of the killings. His trial is ongoing and he denies the charges.

Mike Bush, commissioner of New Zealand Police, said officers looked closely at how they monitored social media in the wake of the tragedy to see if lessons could be learned.

“We decided that it was fit for purpose but we need to deepen it in terms of community relationships, extending them not only with the traditional community but the virtual one as well," he told The National.

"We want to get ahead of attacks like we suffered in New Zealand so we have to challenge ourselves to be better."

Specs

Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request

The studios taking part (so far)
  1. Punch
  2. Vogue Fitness 
  3. Sweat
  4. Bodytree Studio
  5. The Hot House
  6. The Room
  7. Inspire Sports (Ladies Only)
  8. Cryo
How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE

When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.

Results

STAGE

1 . Filippo Ganna (Ineos) - 0:13:56

2. Stefan Bissegger (Education-Nippo) - 0:00:14

3. Mikkel Bjerg (UAE Team Emirates) - 0:00:21

4. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) - 0:00:24

5. Luis Leon Sanchez (Astana) - 0:00:30

GENERAL CLASSIFICATION

1. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) - 4:00:05

2. Joao Almeida (QuickStep) - 0:00:05

3. Mattia Cattaneo (QuickStep) - 0:00:18

4. Chris Harper (Jumbo-Visma) - 0:00:33

5. Adam Yates (Ineos) - 0:00:39

Dubai Bling season three

Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed 

Rating: 1/5