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Thousands abused by members of Portuguese Church in past 70 years

LISBON (Reuters) - At least 4,815 children were sexually abused by members of the Portuguese Catholic Church over the past 70 years, a commission investigating the issue said in its final report on Monday.

"(We want) to pay a sincere tribute to those who were abuse victims during their childhood and dared to give a voice to silence," said the head of the commission, child psychiatrist Pedro Strecht. "They are much more than a statistic."

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'People mustn't forget:' Iran's queer refugees push back from abroad

Melika Zarr, not her real name, at home in Berlin, where she helps others and recalls her own desperation. Annette Riedl/dpa

When Melika Zarr thinks of her native Iran, she is overcome by difficult emotions, not just because of the way nationwide protests are being brutally suppressed.

"My family controlled me fiercely," says Zarr, 30, in her apartment in Berlin. "My parents wanted me to dress in a more stereotypically feminine way. I wasn't allowed to wear sneakers and had to go to school wearing high heels."

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Woman pulled alive from rubble in Turkey a week after earthquake

By Ali Kucukgocmen and Henriette Chacar

ANTAKYA/ELBISTAN, Turkey (Reuters) - Rescuers pulled a woman alive from the rubble of a collapsed building in Turkey on Monday, broadcaster CNN Turk reported, a week after a major earthquake struck Turkey and Syria killing more than 33,000 people.

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All-male BOJ picks another blow for gender equality in Japan

By Elaine Lies and John Geddie

TOKYO (Reuters) - Once again, three men are set to lead the Bank of Japan (BOJ), underscoring the hurdles women face in reaching leadership positions in a country that ranks the lowest among advanced economies for gender equality.

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Philippines' Marcos open to a troop pact with Japan

MANILA (Reuters) - President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said on Sunday he saw no reason why the Philippines should not have a Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) with Japan if it would boost maritime security and ensure greater protection for Filipino fishermen.

Marcos, however, also told reporters he would exercise care in pursuing a potential pact with Tokyo "because we do not want to appear provocative."

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U.S. urges U.N. vote to approve more aid access to Syria via Turkey

By Michelle Nichols

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The United States on Sunday called for the United Nations Security Council to "vote immediately" to authorize the delivery of U.N. aid to rebel-held northwest Syria through more border crossings from Turkey after last week's deadly earthquake.

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Hundreds of thousands protest in Madrid against public health cuts

Thousands of people take part in a protest under the slogan "Madrid stands up and demands public healthcare" against the dismantling of public healthcare at Plaza de Cibeles. Juan Barbosa/EUROPA PRESS/dpa

Hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets of Madrid to protested against plans to cut public health care on Sunday.

The organizers of the rally said around 1 million people had gathered at Cibeles Square in the city centre, far exceeding the numbers who came to rallies against austerity programmes.

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Saudi Arabia names man and woman for Axiom 2 mission to International Space Station

ORLANDO, Fla. — The names of the two astronauts from Saudi Arabia headed up for a short stay on the International Space Station were announced Sunday. Rayyanah Barnawi, the nation’s first female astronaut, will join Ali AlQarni as two of the four crew for the private Axiom Mission 2 from Axiom Space slated to launch atop a Falcon 9 rocket in a SpaceX Crew Dragon from Kennedy Space Center as early as May. The two join Axiom Space’s Director of Human Spaceflight and former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, who will command the mission, and aviator John Shoffner, who has been named mission pilot. Sho...

Berlin chooses change in rerun election with clear lead for conservatives

By Riham Alkousaa

BERLIN (Reuters) -Germany's conservative CDU party was course for a clear victory in a repeat election in Berlin, in a blow to Chancellor Olaf Scholz's Social Democrats who have governed the city state for 22 years.

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US is training Haiti police to combat gangs, but that’s not its only security worry

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — Kidnappings are rampant, averaging one every six hours last year, while killings are up, with 2,200 homicides in 2022, a dramatic increase over the previous year. The size of Haiti’s national police force is less than half of what it needs to be. Corruption and collusion with gangs are serious problems. Morale is low and so is the pay. Last year, during a training exercise, officers didn’t even have bullets for target practice. And rampaging gangs made last month the deadliest for Haitian cops in recent memory, killing 14 officers. Todd Robinson, the Biden administratio...

Trudeau says teams hunting for debris of UFO shot down over Yukon

OTTAWA/WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Sunday that investigators are hunting for wreckage of the mysterious flying object shot down by a U.S. fighter jet over Yukon territory the day before.

"Recovery teams are on the ground, looking to find and analyze the object," Trudeau told reporters before departing for a previously scheduled fund-raising event in Yukon.

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Children among those pulled from destroyed buildings in Turkey's Hatay

(Reuters) - A father and daughter, a toddler and a 10-year-old girl were among survivors pulled from the ruins of collapsed buildings in the southern Turkish province of Hatay on Sunday. Monday's earthquake flattened swathes of towns and cities in parts of Turkey and Syria, killing at least 28,000 people. As rescue efforts enter their sixth day, time for crews to reach trapped victims alive under the rubble is running out, but emergency crews are still finding survivors.Video released by the Istanbul Municipality showed rescuers in Hatay pulling a 10-year-old girl through a hole in the floor ...

After spy balloon incident, can China and the U.S. talk again?

By David Brunnstrom and Michael Martina

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - When U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken this month called off his trip to Beijing, he chose his words carefully. China's launch of a spy balloon on a high-altitude journey over the United States was unacceptable and irresponsible, he said, but he was postponing - not canceling - his visit.

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