
Ten killed as bus rams vehicles at Philippine toll gate
MANILA: Ten people were killed and another 37 injured when a bus ploughed into vehicles waiting at a toll gate in the northern Philippines on Thursday, police said.
The bus set off a chain reaction involving multiple stopped vehicles after first slamming into a sports utility vehicle, authorities said.
Police told AFP the driver of the bus had admitted falling asleep at the wheel before the crash near Luzon island's Tarlac City.
'Per the initial interview by our investigators ... the driver said he fell asleep and was woken up to the scene of crashed vehicles,' said Colonel Romel Santos of the Tarlac City police.
Four minors were among those killed in the accident, he said.
The crash happened as freeways were filled with families heading to and from Labour Day holidays.
Both the driver and conductor had been taken into custody, Santos said, with the former facing a potential charge of 'reckless imprudence resulting in multiple homicides'.
Investigators were still waiting at a local hospital for relatives to identify the victims taken there, he said.
The extent of injuries suffered by survivors was not yet known.
Deadly road accidents are common in the Philippines, where drivers frequently flout the rules and vehicles are often poorly maintained or overloaded.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Borneo Post
9 hours ago
- Borneo Post
Unrest in Los Angeles over immigration raids as troops sent by Trump fan out
A graffiti reads 'Return the Homies' behind Los Angeles police officers deployed next to City Hall as clashes with protesters continue into the night during a protest following federal immigration operations, in Los Angeles, California on June 8, 2025. – AFP photo LOS ANGELES (June 9): Police ordered the public to disperse from downtown Los Angeles after further unrest, with cars torched and security forces firing tear gas at protesters, in the wake of Donald Trump's deployment of National Guard troops to America's second-biggest city. Protests in Los Angeles, home to a large Latino population, broke out on Friday, triggered by immigration raids that resulted in dozens of arrests of what authorities say are illegal migrants and gang members. Critics say the US president — who has made clamping down on illegal migration a key pillar of his second term — was deliberately stoking tensions with his deployment of California's National Guard, a stand-by military usually controlled by the state governor. Demonstrators told AFP the purpose of the troops did not appear to be to keep order, with one calling it an 'intimidation tactic.' 'You have the National Guard with loaded magazines and large guns standing around trying to intimidate Americans from exercising our First Amendment rights,' protester Thomas Henning said. California Governor Gavin Newsom called Trump's order a 'serious breach of state sovereignty' and demanded the president to rescind the order and 'return control to California.' He also urged protesters to stay peaceful, warning that those who instigate violence will be arrested. 'Don't take Trump's bait,' he said on social media platform X. Authorities declared downtown Los Angeles a place of 'unlawful assembly' by late Sunday evening. Local media showed a heavy police presence blanketing mostly deserted streets in various areas. A few protesters remained scattered, with some lobbing projectiles and fireworks according to local aerial TV coverage. Trump called the protesters 'insurrectionists,' and demanded authorities 'ARREST THE PEOPLE IN FACE MASKS, NOW!' 'BRING IN THE TROOPS!!!!' he wrote on his Truth Social platform. At least three self-driving Waymo cars were torched as demonstrators thronged around downtown Los Angeles earlier on Sunday, and local law enforcement deployed tear gas and smoke grenades to disperse protesters. An Australian reporter was hit in the leg with a rubber bullet fired by a police officer while on live television. Her employer 9News said she was unharmed. Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officers established containment lines some distance from federal buildings by Sunday afternoon, preventing contact between angry demonstrators and the scores of armed National Guardsmen from the 79th Infantry Brigade Combat Team who had gathered in helmets and camouflage gear. Law enforcement had arrested at least 56 people over two days and three officers had suffered minor injuries, the LAPD said. Police in San Francisco said on Sunday about 60 people had been arrested in similar protests in the northern Californian city. – 'Troops everywhere' – Trump was unrepentant when asked about the use of troops, hinting instead at a more widespread deployment in other parts of the country. 'I think you're going to see some very strong law and order,' he told reporters. Responding to a question about invoking the Insurrection Act — which would allow the military to be used as a domestic police force — Trump said: 'We're looking at troops everywhere. We're not going to let this happen to our country.' US Northern Command, part of the Department of Defense responsible for national defense, said 'approximately 500 Marines… are in a prepared-to-deploy status should they be necessary to augment and support' the ongoing federal operations. The National Guard is frequently used in natural disasters, and occasionally in instances of civil unrest, but almost always with the consent of local authorities. Trump's deployment of the force — the first over the head of a state governor since 1965 at the height of the civil rights movement — was criticized by Democrats, including Kamala Harris. The former vice president called it 'a dangerous escalation meant to provoke chaos.' Newsom said Trump was 'putting fuel on this fire.' 'Commandeering a state's National Guard without consulting the Governor of that state is illegal and immoral,' he said on X. 'California will be taking him to court.' – 'Intimidation' – However, Republicans lined up behind Trump to dismiss the pushback. 'I have no concern about that at all,' said House Speaker Mike Johnson, accusing Newsom of 'an inability or unwillingness to do what is necessary.' Demonstrator Marshall Goldberg, 78, told AFP that deploying Guardsmen made him feel 'so offended.' 'We hate what they've done with the undocumented workers, but this is moving it to another level of taking away the right to protest and the right to just peaceably assemble.' Raids by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency in other US cities have triggered small protests in recent months, but the Los Angeles unrest is the biggest and most sustained against Trump's immigration policies so far. – AFP immigration Los Angeles mass deportation Protests raids


The Sun
12 hours ago
- The Sun
Kenyan Families Seek Justice After Protest Disappearances
NAIROBI: Susan Wangari has lost count of the morgues, hospitals and police stations she has visited in search of her son, who went missing at the height of Kenya's mass protests last June. She last saw Emmanuel Mukuria, 24, on the morning of June 25, 2024, the day that thousands of Kenyan youths thronged the streets of Nairobi and stormed parliament in protest at planned tax rises and corruption. 'It would be better if my son were dead; at least I could visit his grave,' she told AFP. Rights groups say at least 60 people were killed during the protests in June and July, and more than 80 abducted by the security forces since then, with dozens still missing. Mukuria's friends say he was arrested during the protests in the city centre, where he worked as a minibus tout. 'We do not have peace in this house,' his mother, 50, told AFP during a visit to her single-room home in the Kasarani slum area. 'I sleep lightly at night in case he comes knocking at my window like he always did,' she said. 'Every time we hear that bodies have been found somewhere, we are anxious to know whose they are.' Two men told her they shared a cell with Mukuria, but they are too afraid to speak publicly about their ordeal. One was only released in February, giving her hope that her son is still alive in captivity. 'They told me they were beaten and questioned about the protests. They were being asked who paid them to participate,' Wangari said. Last month, President William Ruto, in a clear admission that security forces had engaged in kidnappings, said all those abducted during the protests had been 'returned to their families'. Rights groups say dozens are still missing and police have shown little progress in investigating the disappearances despite Ruto claiming an 'accountability mechanism' was put in place. Questioned by AFP, the president's office said the police were 'handling the brief', while a police spokesman referred AFP back to the president's office. The police spokesman said they had no information on Mukuria's case. An officer-in-charge at the station where Wangari reported him missing said the matter was still under investigation. Delayed justice Many other families are still dealing with the aftermath of the violence. Rex Masai, 29, was the first to die during the protests, shot and killed in the city centre on June 20. The inquest into his death is still dragging on. 'We are hoping for the best but we are not near the truth,' Masai's mother Gillian Munyao told AFP at her home, where a photo of her dreadlocked son hangs on the wall. She found her son lying lifeless in a pool of blood at a clinic where he was taken that day. The state prosecutor has said a lack of witnesses has delayed progress in the case. One potential witness was scared off for fear he might be 'forcibly disappeared' by the police, Munyao said. Hussein Khalid, head of rights group Vocal Africa, blamed a 'lack of cooperation by the authorities'. 'When you get evidence, the unfortunate bit is you have to take it to the police themselves,' he said. He lost count of the number of funerals he attended after the protests, estimating between 20 and 30. 'Was it necessary to unleash this kind of brute force against young, innocent Kenyans?' he said. Politicians have shown little interest in accountability or learning from the unrest. 'People were killed, we sympathised, we moved on,' Bashir Abdullahi, a member of the ruling coalition, told parliament during a debate on the protests last month. But for victim's families, the search for justice 'means a lot', said Masai's father, Chrispin Odawa. 'The wound will never heal,' he said.


The Sun
15 hours ago
- The Sun
Bolsonaro to appear in Brazil court over attempted coup charges
BRASÍLIA: Brazil's right wing former president Jair Bolsonaro will appear at the Supreme Court Monday, facing charges of trying to stage a coup to retain power after losing the 2022 elections. In February, prosecutors accused the 70-year-old far-right leader, who governed Brazil from 2019 to 2022, of leading a 'criminal organization' plotting to overturn the election results and preventing the inauguration of leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. The plot failed, the charge sheet says, because of a lack of military backing. Bolsonaro also stands accused of having been aware of an alleged plot to assassinate Lula, his vice president Geraldo Alckmin, and judge Alexandre de Moraes -- an arch-foe. Bolsonaro, who is hoping to make a comeback in 2026 presidential elections despite being barred from running, denies the charges. He, along with seven other former aides, are facing sentences of up to 40 years behind bars if convicted. ' Moment of truth' Although he has the right to remain silent, Bolsonaro told reporters last week that he plans to respond 'without any problem' to questions from the court. 'It's an excellent idea to speak openly about the coup. I will be very happy to have the opportunity to clarify what happened,' the former army captain said on Thursday. 'It's the moment of truth.' The Supreme Court headquarters in Brasilia, where Bolsonaro will take the stand, is one of the buildings raided by his supporters, known as the Bolsonaristas, in January 2023 as they urged the military to overthrow Lula. Testimonies will be broadcast live and could last all week. Bolsonaro figures sixth on the list of witnesses and is expected to take the stand on Tuesday or Wednesday. For the former president, the trial will mark a reunion with former allies and sworn enemies. Seven of his co-defendants have also been called to testify, including his former right-hand man Mauro Cid, who has been labeled a traitor by the Bolsonaristas for turning state's witness. Cid's testimony allowed the police to identify the various actors in the coup plot and to lay hands on compromising information exchanges, according to the investigation. Four former ministers and the former heads of Brazil's navy and intelligence agency will also be seated in the dock. While on the stand, Bolsonaro will not only face questions from prosecutors and defence attorneys, but also judge Moraes, whom the former president calls a 'dictator.' 'History' in the making The judicial process has been swifter than usual in this case, said Rogerio Taffarello, a criminal law expert at the Getulio Vargas Foundation. But the end is still a way off, with the court able to call new witnesses as the trial proceeds before getting to the closing arguments and sentencing deliberation. Since the alleged plot was conceived over a long period, and because some of the charges brought are new to the Brazilian system, 'an extremely complex legal discussion' is expected, Taffarello told AFP. Bolsonaro spent the weekend with his lawyers preparing his testimony at the residence of Sao Paulo state governor Tarcisio de Freitas, local media reported. In a preliminary phase, Freitas, who served as Bolsonaro's infrastructure minister, testified for the defence, insisting his boss had 'never touched' on the subject of a coup or 'mentioned any attempt at constitutional disruption.' But two former army commanders confirmed that Bolsonaro had hosted a meeting where the declaration of a 'state of siege' was discussed as a means to overturn Lula's election victory. 'Brazil's history will be written,' Marcio Coimbra, head of the Casa Politica think tank told AFP, pointing out that the trial marked the first ever for an attempted coup under a democratic regime in the country.