Tag Archives: murdered

Israeli military recovered the bodies of five Israelis taken to Gaza as hostages

5-Hostages-recovered-from-Gaza-Reuters

Important Takeaways:

  • The bodies of kindergarten teacher Maya Goren as well as the soldiers Major Ravid Aryeh Katz, Master Sergeant Oren Goldin, Staff Sergeant Tomer Ahimas and Sergeant Kiril Brodski were found during an operation in the Khan Younis area.
  • The military said it had determined that Ms. Goren was murdered in captivity, while the soldiers were killed in combat on 7 October and their bodies then abducted.
  • The announcement means 111 of the 251 people taken hostage are still being held in Gaza, including 39 who the military says are presumed dead.
  • The Hostages and Missing Families Forum praised what it called the “crucial and decisive military action that provides their families with important closure and eternal rest for the murdered”.

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The horrifying truth – Israel releases images of babies murdered and burned by Hamas

Babies-killed-israel

Important Takeaways:

  • Israel today released harrowing images of tiny babies who were murdered and burned by Hamas terrorists amid their ruthless attacks this weekend that saw hundreds of Israeli civilians killed in their homes.
  • One appalling image shows the small body of a baby, who couldn’t be more than 12 months old, lying on a now bloodied white body bag that is too large for it.
  • Another two photographs released by Israel show the blackened and charred bodies of two babies who were murdered by the Hamas gunmen when they stormed their homes in southern Israel.
  • An Israeli military spokesman this morning appeared to confirm reports that Hamas terrorists beheaded babies amid their ruthless attacks this weekend that saw hundreds of Israeli civilians killed in their homes.

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Pastor in Laos tortured and murdered for sharing the gospel

Laos Persecution

Matthew 5:10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven

Important Takeaways:

  • Pastor and Dad of 8 Reportedly Tortured, Murdered For Sharing His Christian Faith in Laos
  • Locals discovered Pastor Seetoud’s body last month after he failed to show up for an Oct. 20 meeting with fellow believers, according to Morning Star News.
  • The preacher — a husband, and father of eight children — was heading to the meeting, 62 miles away from his village, on his motorbike. After he failed to arrive, at least 20 people came together to search for him around a nearby mountain and at a local hospital.
  • Provincial police reportedly believe he was tortured before his death and was “severely disfigured,” with speculation brewing those responsible were officials at the local level where Pastor Seetoud lived.
  • Laos is one of the worst nations in the world for Christians, ranking 26th on Open Doors USA’s World Watch List

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U.S. launches anti-violence effort for indigenous women, girls

U.S. launches anti-violence effort for indigenous women, girls
By Ellen Wulfhorst

NEW YORK (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – U.S. President Donald Trump launched a task force on Tuesday to help protect Native American women and children, calling the rate of violence among indigenous people “heartbreaking.”

The task force aims to improve coordination and communication among federal, state and tribal authorities in response to cases of missing and murdered indigenous women and children, the White House said in a statement.

Native American women in some tribal communities are 10 times more likely than the average American to be murdered, it said, and the initiative called Operation Lady Justice is an “aggressive, government-wide strategy” to address the crisis.

“The statistics are sobering and heartbreaking,” Trump said at a White House ceremony where he signed an executive order creating the task force. “Too many are still missing and their whereabouts are unknown.

“We’re taking this very seriously,” he added.

Research by the National Institute of Justice, a government research agency, has found more than four out of five American Indian and Alaska Native women – more than 1.5 million women – have experienced violence in their lifetime.

More than 5,700 American Indian and Alaska Native women and girls were reported missing in 2016, according to the National Crime Information Center, a government data agency.

American Indian women are two-and-a-half times more likely to be sexually assaulted than women of all other races, while one in three reports having been raped, the U.S. Department of Justice has said.

“It’s imperative that this changes, in a manner that we’re looked at not as the second-class citizens but looked like, looked at as any other group that exists within the continent of the United States,” said Kevin DuPuis, chairman of the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, at the White House event.

“It’s very, very important that we, as a people, have a true identity. And when we lose our women and we lose our children that goes with them,” he said.

Several leading Native American rights organizations did not respond to requests for comment on the new task force.

Law enforcement and prosecutions are often hampered by a maze of jurisdictions and justice systems based on such factors as whether a crime occurred on tribal land or whether the victim or the accused is a tribal member.

Last week the government announced an initiative to spend $1.5 million for law enforcement to help coordinate Native American missing persons cases.

Nearly seven million Native Americans live in the United States making up about 2% of the population, according to census figures.

Trump’s signing of the order came two days before the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday which commemorates a harvest celebration shared by Native Americans and European settlers in the 17th century.

(Reporting by Ellen Wulfhorst, Editing by Chris Michaud (Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, women’s and LGBT+ rights, human trafficking, property rights and climate change. Visit http://news.trust.org)

Canadian inquiry calls deaths of indigenous women ‘genocide’

A woman holds a sign during the closing ceremony of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls in Gatineau, Quebec, Canada, June 3, 2019. REUTERS/Chris Wattie

OTTAWA (Reuters) – The deaths in Canada of more than a thousand aboriginal women and girls in recent decades was a national genocide, a government inquiry into murdered and missing indigenous women concluded in a report on Monday.

The 1,200-page report, which resulted from an inquiry launched by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government in 2016, blamed the violence on long-standing discrimination against indigenous people and Canada’s failure to protect them.

It also made sweeping recommendations to prevent future violence against indigenous women.

Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his wife Sophie take part in a moment of silence during the closing ceremony of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls in Gatineau, Quebec, Canada, June 3, 2019. REUTERS/Chris Wattie

Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his wife Sophie take part in a moment of silence during the closing ceremony of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls in Gatineau, Quebec, Canada, June 3, 2019. REUTERS/Chris Wattie

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police revealed in 2014 that 1,017 aboriginal women had been murdered between 1980 and 2012.

The inquiry, which was beset by delays and staff resignations, opened painful wounds as it heard testimony from 468 family members of missing or murdered women.

“The truths shared in these National Inquiry hearings tell the story and or, more accurately, thousands of stories of acts of genocide against First Nations, Inuit and Métis, women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people,” the report read.

The 2SLGBTQQIA group refers to two-spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, intersex and asexual people.

“This violence amounts to a race-based genocide of Indigenous Peoples, including First Nations, Inuit, and Métis, which especially targets women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people.”

The final report, called “Reclaiming Power and Place,” was presented during a ceremony in Gatineau, Quebec, near the Canadian capital, and was attended by some of the hundreds of family members of those missing or murdered, and by government officials including Trudeau.

While aboriginal people account for only about 4 percent of Canada’s population, they on average suffer from higher rates of crime, poverty and addiction.

(Reporting by Steve Scherer; Editing by Paul Simao)