International

Filipinos Seeks Freedom, Demand Right To Divorce

Published

3 years ago

May 31, 2023

520 Views

The Philippines is the only place outside the Vatican where divorce is outlawed, as a Philippine mother-of-three, Stella Sibonga is desperate to end a marriage she never wanted. But divorce in the Catholic-majority country is illegal, and a court annulment takes years.

Pro-divorce advocates argue the ban makes it harder for couples to cut ties and remarry, and escape violent spouses.

People wanting to end their marriage can ask a court for an annulment or a declaration that the nuptials were invalid from the start, but the government can appeal against those decisions.

The legal process is slow and expensive — cases can cost as much as $10,000 or more in a country plagued by poverty — with no guarantee of success, and some people seeking a faster result fall for online scams.

“I don’t understand why it has to be this difficult,” said Sibonga, who has spent 11 years trying to get out of a marriage that her parents forced her into after she became pregnant.

Sibonga’s legal battle began in 2012, when she applied to a court to cancel her marriage on the basis of her husband’s alleged “psychological incapacity”, one of the grounds for terminating a matrimony.

After five years and $3,500 in legal fees , a judge finally agreed. The former domestic worker’s relief was, however, short-lived.

The Office of the Solicitor General, which as the government’s legal representative is tasked with protecting the institution of marriage, successfully appealed the decision in 2019.

Sibonga said she requested the Court of Appeals to reverse its ruling, but is still waiting for an answer.

“Why are we, the ones who experienced suffering, abandonment and abuse, being punished by the law?” said Sibonga, 45, who lives near Manila.

“All we want is to be free.”

International

Man jailed for keeping dead mother in freezer to claim £78,000 in benefits

Passing sentence, Judge Lloyd-Clarke said Phillips repeatedly deceived medical professionals to hide the fact that his mother had died.

Published

1 day ago

August 4, 2026

OCHEFA

15 Views

•Christopher Phillips

A 60-year-old man has been sentenced to two years and four months in prison after keeping his late mother’s body in a chest freezer for nearly three years while fraudulently collecting more than £78,000 in her pension and benefits.

Christopher Phillips was jailed by Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court after admitting to preventing the lawful and decent burial of his 89-year-old mother, Silvia Phillips, and pleading guilty to two counts of fraud.

The court heard that Phillips concealed his mother’s death after she died on March 8, 2023, by storing her body in a chest freezer in the living room of their home in Porthcawl, Wales.

Prosecutors said he failed to notify the Department for Work and Pensions and Bridgend County Borough Council of her death, allowing her pension and benefits to continue being paid into bank accounts he could access.

Passing sentence, Judge Lloyd-Clarke said Phillips repeatedly deceived medical professionals to hide the fact that his mother had died.

“You continued to collect her prescriptions and misled medical professionals about her whereabouts, lying when enquiries were made about your mother, repeatedly telling medical staff that she did not wish to attend appointments or undergo tests,” the judge said.

(Source: Tribune)

International

Russia Issues International Wanted on Telegram Founder Durov

Russian-born Durov — a serial tech founder who has lived outside Russia for years and holds French and United Arab Emirates passports — has frequently clashed with the Russian authorities as Moscow has tightened its grip on the internet.

Published

1 week ago

July 29, 2026

OCHEFA

69 Views

•Telegram founder Pavel Durov

Russia announced on Wednesday that it was seeking the arrest of Telegram founder Pavel Durov over accusations of “complicity in terrorism”, alleging he had let the platform be used for recruitment by Ukraine’s security services.

His Telegram messenger is one of the country’s main communications platforms and officials have repeatedly tried to block access or thwart its success in a bid to pressure Durov to hand over user data or push Russians to use an unencrypted state-backed alternative.

The FSB security service said it had launched international search proceedings for Durov, who is also Telegram’s CEO.

“An international wanted notice has been issued… for the head of the Telegram administration, P. Durov,” it said in a statement.

International

Just In: People trapped in Japanese mall hit by earthquake, with others missing after factory chimney collapse

Reports in Japan say 20 to 30 shopping centre staff may be missing – but the figure has not been confirmed.

Published

1 week ago

July 28, 2026

OCHEFA

86 Views

Image credit : BBC

Many people are trapped inside a Japanese shopping centre after an earthquake, the fire service says.

One witness reported the second floor of the mall in Kumamoto collapsing – BBC Verify has looked at some of the images from the site.

Reports in Japan say 20 to 30 shopping centre staff may be missing – but the figure has not been confirmed

Elsewhere in the Kumamoto prefecture, people are reported missing at a paper factory after a chimney collapsed

A magnitude 7.1 earthquake hit inland on Kyushu island at 16:27 local time (07:27 GMT), causing power cuts, damaged roads, a collapsed castle wall, and a destroyed footbridge.