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From  AsiaNews UN condemns spate of extrajudicial killings Since the election of Rodrigo Duterte, 704 suspected drug dealers have been killed without being brought to trial. Yury Fedotov, Executive Director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crimes (UNODC) denounces killings. During the election campaign Duterte vowed death to at least 100 thousand drug dealers. Manila (AsiaNews / Agencies) - The hundreds of extrajudicial killings in recent months by the Philippine police to fight the drug trade "contravene the provisions of international conventions on the fight against drugs" and "do not serve the cause of justice”, says Yury Fedotov, Executive Director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crimes (UNODC), who remarked that he was "very concerned" by the increase in killings of suspected drug dealers in the Philippines. Fedotov added: "I join the United Nations Secretary-General in condemning the apparent endorsement of extrajudicial killing, which is illeg...

Philippine Star  "Still on Death Row" It took only a few months for the court in Yogyakarta to convict and sentence Veloso following her arrest. The Indonesians aren’t going to wait forever for the Philippine courts to do their job. Last year Indonesians themselves staged rallies in Jakarta to pressure their government to grant Veloso a reprieve. Those last-minute appeals to save Mary Jane must not be wasted.  [full text] Sun.Star Cebu  "Sacrificed for family" FOR the family” is the common pretext made by women who stay in an abusive relationship, preferring to risk their sanity and safety, as well as that of their children, than separating from a partner whom they depend on for survival.  Inequality is at the root of poverty, which spiked the number of crimes committed against women and children last year.  The public servants that deserve the votes must answer the long-denied demand of women: “for regular jobs and decent wages,” “for access to social serv...

Philippine Star  "IS at the Door" Despite military denials about the terrorist Islamic State gaining a foothold in Mindanao, IS is seen to have at least inspired the assassination attempt on a Saudi  Arabian cleric and a Saudi diplomat Tuesday night in Zamboanga City. Mindanao is already plagued by several violent groups: the Abu Sayyaf, Jemaah Islamiyah, Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters and, in several areas, the communist New  People’s Army. The leadership of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front has promised to continue observing a truce with the government despite the failure of Congress to  pass a law creating the Bangsamoro. But IS can inspire adherents among any of the Islamic groups, including the MILF.   [full text] Sun.Star Cebu  "New Supplemental Budget" CEBU City Mayor Michael Rama is again putting the majority Bando Osmeña-Pundok Kauswagan (BOPK) councilors on the defensive after he submitted a proposed supplemental  budget, the first...

Reiterating his appeal to all believers to reject violence in the name of God, Pope Francis has sent his condolences to the families of those killed on the island of Mindanao in the Southern Philippines. The killings were perpetrated by a  breakaway Muslim rebel group who killed nine Christian civilians in a series of attack on Christmas eve. [full text]