Six people have been charged over the kidnapping of a group of people linked to the world of cockfighting in the Philippines. The group of six is thought to have been abducted on their way to a fight in the capital Manila in January. It’s part of a wave of mysterious disappearances to hit the industry, which is a popular betting sport. Taxes from livestreamed cockfights helped the government replenish its finances after the Covid pandemic. But former President Rodrigo Duterte eventually banned online fights, while allowing traditional cockfighting to resume. The six suspects reportedly deny the allegations. Meanwhile, three former police officers have also been charged with allegedly abducting a cockfighting enthusiast from his house in August 2021, according to the AFP news agency. The victim had been accused of running a fake betting website, AFP reports. The charges come as at least 27 people connected to the lucrative industry remain missing, but hope of finding people alive is fading. “I wouldn’t even want to call them missing cockfighters, but probably dead cockfighters,” Justice Secretary Jesus Remulla said this week.(BBC)…[+]

Russian authorities have started destroying the ruined theatre in Mariupol, according to an aide to the city’s exiled Ukrainian mayor. Petro Andryushchenko accused the occupying authorities of seeking to cover up the murder of hundreds of civilians when the building was bombed by Russian warplanes in March. A screen was recently erected around the ruined theatre. Video showed a bulldozer knocking down some of the rear of the building. Mr Andryushchenko said the Russians were planning to leave the front of the theatre intact and destroy the rest of the structure, to build a new theatre “on the bones of Mariupol’s people”. A screen was erected around the ruins of the theatre last month, complete with images of Russian cultural figures. Before Russia invaded Ukraine last February and laid siege to Mariupol, the theatre was a focal point of city life. This year, Russia’s proxy authority that runs the city and the occupied areas of the surrounding Donetsk region has promised the city’s remaining population alternative entertainment – a revival of a 1960s Soviet cult musical, The Bremen Town Musicians.(BBC)…[+]

The congressional panel investigating last year’s attack on the US Capitol has accused former President Donald Trump of a “multi-part conspiracy” to overturn his election defeat three months earlier. The panel has released its final 845-page report on the attack. It places the blame for the 6 January 2021 storming of Congress squarely on the former president. It also recommends barring Mr Trump from public office in the future. He did not co-operate with the panel and declared the final report a “witch hunt” after its release. Over 18 months, the committee held 10 public hearings and interviewed more than 1,000 witnesses, including Trump administration officials and staff, Trump family members, Capitol police officers, rioters, militia members, and more. On Monday, the panel of seven Democrats and two Republicans recommended the justice department investigate Mr Trump – who is mounting another White House campaign – for aiding an insurrection and three other federal crimes.(BBC)…[+]