Nearly 600 days after the devastating 2025 fires, thousands of Los Angeles residents are still waiting for more than $15bn in federal funds to rebuild their communities As thousands of residents in Spokane, Washington begin to grapple with a long recovery after a destructive set of blazes that consumed hundreds of homes in the state’s second most populated city this month, victims of the Los Angeles firestorm broke a grim record – they have faced the longest delay in modern history for federal aid.Nearly 600 days since a historic firestorm roared into communities across Los Angeles, reducing more than 16,000 structures to ash and toxic debris, the Trump administration has failed to appropriate more than $15bn in long-term recovery funds that are crucial to rebuilding. The delay in supplying the badly needed funds is months longer than the last record set when victims of the Maui fires had to wait 500 days to receive the support, LAist noted this week. Continue reading...
The catastrophic flash flood has killed at least 389 people and left more than 1,300 missing, with hundreds of tourists unaccounted forNearly 1,400 missing, mostly tourists, and hundreds killedVisual guide: how the deadly flooding unfoldedTell us: have you been affected by the flash floods?Chinese authorities have warned that an artificial lake formed after a catastrophic flash flood hit the China-Nepal border on Wednesday faces a “high risk of breaching and sending flood waters downstream”, according to state media.“According to forecasts, inflows into the lake could reach about 3 million cubic meters over the next three days amid continued rainfall, increasing the risk of a breach that could send flood waters downstream and potentially cause further damage in areas including Gyirong Port and elsewhere downstream”, state news agency Xinhua reported late Thursday.Rescue teams and military helicopters are searching for hundreds of missing people along the mountainous Nepal-Tibet border after a huge torrent of water and mud swept through communities following a glacier collapse on Wednesday.More than 390 people were killed, authorities in Nepal and China said, and more than 1,400 were missing, including hundreds of foreign citizens and pilgrims.More than 500 foreign citizens were among 826 people missing in Nepal, police and tourism officials said. Among those unaccounted for were 177 from India, 90 from the US, 34 from Australia, 33 from Britain and 25 from Canada.Chinese state media said at least 558 were missing on the Tibet side of the border, of whom at least 260 were foreign nationals.UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher said he ordered the release of $2m from the UN’s central emergency response fund to help with medical care, shelter and water.US president Donald Trump said the flooding was terrible to see, describing how “strong, well-built buildings were wiped out like they were toothpicks”.Nepalese officials said dozens of bridges were destroyed and nearly 40km of roads damaged, complicating search efforts.The Nepalese army had rescued more than 100 people by helicopter, an army spokesperson said. Army teams also evacuated people trapped inside facilities linked to the Trishuli hydropower project, he said.Dozens of injured people were transported to Kathmandu for medical care.Rescuers found bodies in Nepal’s Chitwan district, hundreds of kilometres downstream from the hardest-hit areas.The Nepal Red Cross Society said the agency has shifted its focus from rescue to large-scale relief operations in the flood-hit districts.China’s premier, Li Qiang, arrived on Thursday in Gyirong to direct rescue efforts, alongside 500 military and paramilitary personnel. Continue reading...
Campaigners accuse ministers of trying to grab headlines with announcement before a working system is readySurvivors of violent crime and families of victims have criticised the UK government for announcing “world first” plans to introduce restriction zones for serious offenders freed from prison within a few weeks without spelling out how they would work.Key campaigners who have championed the idea of the zones, designed to “lock” offenders into specific areas, accused the government of seeking to grab headlines rather than providing the detail that would reassure survivors and families. Continue reading...
Searchers dig through collapsed buildings and debris after 7.7 magnitude quake killed at least 47 peopleRescue crews dug through collapsed buildings and landslide debris in eastern Indonesia on Sunday as they searched for bodies and possible survivors a day after a powerful earthquake killed at least 47 people, injured more than 100 and displaced thousands.At least 24 people died in Manggarai regency and 17 in neighbouring East Manggarai, with additional fatalities reported in Sikka, Ngada and Ende regencies, the national disaster management agency said. Rescuers were still searching for people feared buried beneath landslides triggered by the quake across six regencies on Flores, a predominantly Catholic island in Muslim-majority Indonesia. Continue reading...
• German politicians and campaigners are calling for stronger legal protections for cancer survivors to prevent discrimination in critical life areas.
• Survivors report facing systemic barriers when attempting to secure bank loans, apply for child adoption, and obtain insurance policies.
• Susanne Weg-Remers of the German Cancer Research Centre in Heidelberg noted that the risk of developing new tumors in other organs is not significantly higher than in the general population.
Campaigners say people who have had cancer face discrimination in areas including bank loans, adoption of children and insuranceGerman politicians who have survived cancer have spearheaded proposals to protect people long in remission from what they call rampant discrimination in areas including bank loans, adoption of children and insurance.The policy known as “the right to be forgotten” (RTBF) is a central demand of a community estimated to number 5.5 million people in Germany: former cancer patients who have been given a clean bill of health by their doctors. Continue reading...
Decision comes after group of survivors claimed ex-Harrods owner’s associates must have helped facilitate his crimesAt least five victims of the former Harrods owner Mohamed Al Fayed have been confirmed by the Home Office as victims of human trafficking.A group of survivors of abuse by the deceased businessman had called for the Metropolitan police to make trafficking the main focus of its investigation, arguing that Fayed could not have committed his offences without a steady stream of women sent to him by associates. Continue reading...
Committee apologises for not concealing email addresses when alerting witnesses to final reportGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastA Victorian parliamentary committee investigating the harmful impact of cults accidentally sent the email addresses of anonymous survivors who made submissions to current members of such groups and to journalists.The committee, which had its report into “cults and organised fringe groups” tabled in parliament on Wednesday, emailed hundreds of recipients shortly after midday to inform them it had been published, but erroneously left their addresses visible. Continue reading...
Emergency workers are continuing their search for survivors in southern Japan after yesterday’s powerful earthquake ‘Race against time’: Japan earthquake death toll rises as rescue teams search for missingEmergency workers are continuing their search for survivors in southern Japan after yesterday’s powerful earthquake left widespread devastation, with buildings collapsed, roads severely damaged and emergency teams digging through rubble.At least 13 people have been killed and many reported missing after the earthquake struck the Kumamoto area on the southern main island of Kyushu with a magnitude of 7.1, according to the Japan meteorological agency. The US Geological Survey measured it at magnitude 6.8. Continue reading...
Lawyers predict ‘more suppression and no active investigations’ but victims’ groups determined to continue fightAs Donald Trump’s former defense lawyer Todd Blanche appears poised for confirmation as attorney general, numerous Jeffrey Epstein survivors have sounded the alarm that a US justice department helmed by him would derail their pursuit of justice.In a letter urging Republican senators Thom Tillis and John Cornyn to reject his nomination, these survivors said that Blanche’s handling of the Epstein case as acting attorney general was characterized by misstep after misstep. Continue reading...
Exclusive: Report from LNP-convened panel heavily criticises police responses to family violence and calls for civilian oversightGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe Queensland government has buried the findings of its own working group of domestic violence victim-survivors, after their report was heavily critical of police responses and called for a “civilian review mechanism” to escalate complaints about police.The Liberal National government has repeatedly said it would “put victims at the heart” of the state’s justice policies. Continue reading...
George Foster tells royal commission Australia’s democratic institutions fundamentally different ‘but I can’t ignore certain disturbing parallels in the social atmosphere’Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastA rise in antisemitism across Australia has “disturbing parallels” with the social climate of Nazi Germany, the president of the Australian Holocaust survivors association says.George Foster, the president of Australian Association of Jewish Holocaust Survivors and Descendants, told the antisemitism royal commission that he did not believe Australia was “becoming another Germany in the 1930s”. Continue reading...
Catholic order with a record of child abuse could be subject to hundreds of redress claims worth up to $65mFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAustralian taxpayers could be forced to cover up to $65m in payouts to hundreds of abuse victims when a failing arm of the Catholic church disappears, new court documents reveal.Last month, the Christian Brothers, a Catholic order with a shocking record of child abuse, informed a court it was going broke and would not be able to afford to pay out survivors. Continue reading...
Zoe Watts and Amanda Stanhope launched network after being repeatedly assaulted by partners while unconsciousTwo women who were drugged and raped by their partners while they were unconscious have said hundreds of people – including about 80 in the UK alone – have come forward to a support group for victims of the crime.Zoe Watts and Amanda Stanhope, who were both repeatedly assaulted by their partners while unconscious, are calling for tighter laws to stop men sharing images and videos of sexual assaults and rape online. Continue reading...
‘Obviously disturbing’ if Catholic order’s historical sales of millions in property for $1 results in lack of money for victims, NSW supreme court hearsFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastLawyers for the federal government say they are concerned at the “disturbing” potential that the Christian Brothers Catholic order may have inappropriately transferred property to another entity years before claiming it was broke and couldn’t afford to pay abuse survivors’ civil claims.The New South Wales supreme court on Thursday ordered a moratorium on all abuse claims against the Christian Brothers, a Catholic order that played a significant role in the church’s child sexual abuse scandal. Continue reading...
Order wants to set up its own scheme outside of court to pay survivors, who have been told they will not get what they are owed in fullGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAn abuse survivor feels as if he has been stabbed with a “sharp, long, bladed knife to the back” after his trial was aborted at the 11th hour due to an unprecedented legal tactic by the Christian Brothers.Last week, the Christian Brothers sought a permanent halt to hundreds of cases lodged by survivors of abuse at its schools and orphanages, arguing it was about to go broke and could not afford to meet them. Continue reading...
At least 1,450 are known to have died but the number is expected to riseThe president of Venezuela’s National Assembly has warned time is running out to rescue survivors trapped under the rubble.The death toll from the earthquakes has risen to at least 1,450 people, with 3,150 injured and 12,721 others displaced, Jorge Rodríguez said yesterday in a televised address. Continue reading...
• Descendants of civil rights activists, including Cassie Schwerner of the Morningside Center for Teaching Social Responsibility, are warning that the U.S. is regressing in its commitment to voting rights.
• The concern centers on the erosion of protections for voters, specifically citing a 2013 Supreme Court decision that removed the requirement for certain jurisdictions to seek Department of Justice approval before changing voting laws.
• This shift is viewed as a betrayal of the sacrifices made by those who died fighting for the landmark Voting Rights Act as the nation nears its 250th anniversary.
• Survivors of activists who died fighting for voting rights are warning that the U.S. is regressing as the nation nears its 250th anniversary.
• The concerns center on the erosion of the Voting Rights Act, a landmark law enacted six decades ago to protect minority voters.
• A critical turning point was the 2013 Supreme Court decision that removed the requirement for jurisdictions with discriminatory histories to seek Department of Justice approval before changing voting rules.
Worst incident of its kind in country for more than 125 years leaves many searching for multiple family members – and pleading for international helpScenes of destruction after deadly earthquakes in Venezuela – visual guideNearly all of Ligia Level’s family lived in a trio of apartment blocks along Hotel Avenue, a seafront sweep of palm-specked resorts and high-rise condos along Venezuela’s Caribbean coast.When a powerful “doublet” of earthquakes jolted the region on Wednesday afternoon, those buildings and the lives within them came crashing down. Continue reading...
“We hope to rescue as many living people as possible’, says the acting president, Delcy Rodríguez, but authorities fear the death toll will be in the thousandsA senior American military official has arrived in Venezuela’s capital Caracas to oversee US relief efforts, the US Southern Command (Southcom), whose area of responsibility covers Latin America and the Caribbean, said.US Marine Corps Maj Gen Kevin Jarrard is serving as the senior Southcom official on the ground to coordinate relief operations with local teams, Southcom said in a post on X. Continue reading...
Education secretary describes historical practice in England as a ‘shameful period’ in country’s historyDowning Street is to make a full apology on behalf of the state to those affected by historic forced adoption in England, the education secretary has confirmed.Bridget Phillipson, giving evidence to MPs on the education select committee on Wednesday, described it as a “shameful period” in the country’s history. Continue reading...
Without it the ‘true scale’ of former Harrods owner’s alleged network will stay hidden, says survivors’ groupSurvivors of abuse perpetrated by the former Harrods owner Mohamed Al Fayed are calling for a full trafficking investigation to be launched, arguing that without it the “true scale” of the billionaire’s alleged network would remain hidden.Survivors at No One Above (NOA), a collective founded by victims of abuse at the hands of Fayed, are calling for the Metropolitan police to broaden their investigation into the billionaire and make trafficking the main focus. Continue reading...
• Driven by public demand and survivor advocacy, members of the U.S. Congress are attempting to set aside party politics to seek accountability for Jeffrey Epstein’s sexual abuse network.
• The effort focuses on identifying those who enabled Epstein, though survivors argue that the U.S. response has been insufficient compared to international efforts.
• In contrast to the U.S., senior government officials in the UK, Sweden, Norway, and Slovakia have already been forced to resign due to their ties to Epstein.
Survivors to return to ‘scene of the crime’ for shadow congressional hearing into abuses committed by EpsteinSurvivors of r Jeffrey Epstein will return to the “scene of the crime” in Palm Beach, Florida, on Tuesday for a shadow congressional hearing into abuses committed by the late sex offender.Several members of the Democratic House oversight caucus are scheduled to join the victims and several expert witnesses at the hearing close to Epstein’s former waterfront mansion where he procured girls as young as 14 to perform sexual services for wealthy guests. Continue reading...
Letter coordinated by Survivors Against Terror, which includes bereaved relatives, after spate of attacks on Jewish communityDozens of survivors and bereaved relatives of 19 separate terror attacks have written an open letter of solidarity to the Jewish community, saying: “Standing together in the face of hatred is not just the right thing to do – it’s the most effective way of defeating terrorism.”The letter was coordinated by the group Survivors Against Terror (SAT), after terror attacks on two Jewish men in north London earlier this week, in what was the latest in a series of attacks on the community in the UK. Continue reading...
Sky Roberts said survivors ‘still fighting to be heard’ after king, whose brother Andrew was accused of assault by Giuffre, did not meet with themThe brother of the late Virginia Giuffre criticized King Charles III for not meeting with survivors of Jeffrey Epstein’s abuse during his visit to the United States this week.“Survivors are here sitting with members of Congress, still fighting to be heard, still pushing for real accountability, while many of the powerful figures connected to these systems remain just out of reach, unable to acknowledge survivors face to face,” Giuffre’s brother Sky Roberts said. “You would expect this to be a moment for the king to give a message to the world that he stands with survivors.” Continue reading...
Exclusive: State government commits to strengthening laws as Higgins labels Albanese government’s response to women’s safety issues ‘disheartening’Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe Victorian government will strengthen laws regarding the use of victim-survivors’ confidential communications after a push by advocates including Brittany Higgins, who described her experience of having counselling records subpoenaed as a “violation”.In an interview with Guardian Australia, Higgins was also critical of the federal government’s lack of action following a sweeping review into the justice system’s responses to sexual violence, saying it had “completely fallen off the agenda”.Information and support for anyone affected by rape or sexual abuse issues is available from the following organisations. In Australia, support is available at 1800Respect (1800 737 732). In the UK, Rape Crisis offers support on 0808 500 2222. In the US, Rainn offers support on 800-656-4673. Other international helplines can be found at ibiblio.org/rcip/internl.html Continue reading...
Efforts continue to free two trapped passengers in wreckage after long-distance train collides with commuter train outside Jakarta, injuring 81Rescuers were racing to reach survivors on Tuesday morning outside the Indonesian capital of Jakarta after two trains collided overnight, killing at least seven people and injuring scores.Rescuers were working to get to two people still trapped alive in the wreckage, a spokesperson for the state-owned KAI rail company told local television in the early hours. Continue reading...
Justice for Fayed and Harrods Survivors group claim there are ‘dozens of individuals who must be held to account’A group of 50 survivors of alleged sexual abuse by Harrods’ former owner Mohamed Al Fayed are calling for “meaningful consequences” for those who they claim facilitated and ignored the abuse.“If they think the money is the important factor they are so far off the mark,” said Jen Mills, a member of the Justice for Fayed and Harrods Survivors group. They claim there are “dozens of individuals who must be held to account”, from a range of eras. Continue reading...
