SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador – Central America's so-called Northern Triangle – Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras – recorded a total 17,422 murders in 2015, 11% higher than for 2014, according to preliminary police tallies.

The figures released this week confirmed the region's reputation for the worst homicide rates in the world outside of war zones, driven by gangs that wage vicious turf battles and seek to exert brutal control over citizens.

The everyday danger of violent death has helped push many residents in those countries to try to emigrate to the United States.

"The rising death tally in the Northern Triangle is shameful and clearly shows that the social conflict is major and needs regional efforts to confront it," a Salvadoran analyst and university professor, Roberto Canas, told Agence France-Presse.

According to the police numbers, El Salvador was the country mainly responsible for the Northern Triangle increase. 

It had 104 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants last year, for a murder toll of 6,657 – a staggering 67% jump on the figures for 2014.

That propelled El Salvador to the top of the list of countries with the highest murder rate – overtaking even Venezuela, whose rate jumped 12% to 90 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants.

Honduras was still very dangerous with 57 murders per 100,000 people, calculated from the 5,047 murders it recorded in 2015. But that was a decrease from 2014, when its murder rate was 68 per 100,000 inhabitants.

Guatemala's rate for 2015 was little unchanged: 36 homicides per 100,000 people, with 5,718 murders – slightly less than the 38 per 100,000 rate recorded in 2014.

By way of comparison, per 100,000 inhabitants, Britain's homicide rate is around one, the United States' is around 4, and Brazil's is around 25, according to the latest available data from the UN Office on Drugs and Crime. 

In an bid to stem immigration from Central America, the United States has started raiding homes to round up and deport migrants who have failed to convince courts to let them stay.

At the same time, the US government has allocated $750 million to the Northern Triangle countries to try to improve security and prosperity this year, in an effort to mitigate the violence prompting would-be migrants to leave. – Rappler.com

OREGON, USA – A small group of armed activists remained holed up on Tuesday, January 5, at a remote US federal wildlife refuge in Oregon, vowing to leave only if asked by local residents.

Ammon Bundy, who has led the revolt at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge since the weekend, said the siege would continue until the federal government abandons control of the reserve to local residents.

"It is our goal to get the logger back to logging, to get the rancher back to ranching, to get the miner back to mining, the farmer back to farming and to jump-start this economy in Harney County," he told reporters.

He said his group, which took over the refuge on Saturday, January 2, in protest at the jailing of two local ranchers convicted of arson, would hold its ground unless asked to leave by the local population

"There are a lot of good things that are happening," he said. "We have been very active in forwarding our plan, in assisting the people of Harney County in claiming and using their rights."

He said once the group's mission was accomplished, they would then go home.

He did not elaborate or specify whether any local residents had accepted the offer for land, or how his group would go about stripping the federal government of ownership.

On Monday, January 4, Harney County Sheriff David Ward called for the activists to pack up and leave town, as many locals denounced the group's tactics.

Dwight Hammond and his son Steven, the two ranchers who prompted the standoff and who have been sentenced to prison for setting fire to federal land, have also distanced themselves from the group.

"The Hammonds have turned themselves in. It is time for you to leave our community," Ward said, addressing Bundy and the rest of the group. 

"Go home, be with your own families and end this peacefully."

The occupation of the refuge reflects a decades-old dispute over land rights in the United States, where the federal government controls just over half of territory in 13 states.

In Oregon, nearly 53% of the land is federally owned and that has led to tensions with local communities over mining, ranching, grazing and logging rights.

While many disagree with the tactics used by the armed occupiers at the wildlife refuge, they say they illustrate mounting frustration over excessive federal government control over local communities.

They point, among other things, to mounting environmental regulations that have made it harder for locals to eke out a living from the land.

Bundy is the 40-year-old son of Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy, who was at the center of a previous armed standoff with government authorities in 2014, that time over grazing rights on public lands. – Rappler.com

SEOUL, South Korea – A landmark deal between South Korea and Japan to end a decades-old feud over wartime sex slaves is struggling to overcome a diminutive but daunting obstacle in the form of the small statue of a teenage girl.

"I am here to defend the peace monument," 22-year-old Jung Woo-Ryung defiantly declared, as she stood guard Tuesday, January 5, beside the seated bronze figure that was erected on the pavement opposite the Japanese embassy in Seoul in 2011.

Depicting a young, barefoot women, dressed in a traditional Korean hanbok dress and with her fists clasped tight in her lap, the statue is both a symbol of the suffering endured by so-called "comfort women" forced to work in Japanese military brothels during World War II, and of their struggle to extract a formal apology and compensation from Tokyo.

Last week, Japan offered an apology and a one-billion yen ($8.3 million) payment to the 46 surviving Korean comfort women under an agreement which both countries described as "final and irreversible".

But the deal has triggered confusion over the fate of the comfort woman statue, which has now become a focus for South Korean activists who accuse the government of selling out to Tokyo.

A confused deal

Japan insists the agreement included a clear undertaking from South Korea to remove the statue, with Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida stating Monday, January 4, that he understood it would be "relocated appropriately".

But Seoul says it only promised to look into the possibility of moving the bronze and called in a senior Japanese embassy official to protest what it called Kishida's provocative comments.

South Korea's foreign ministry has also stressed that because the statue was put up by civic groups, it has no right to order its removal.

And the group that spearheaded the campaign to create and erect the bronze is adamant that it isn't going anywhere.

The statue cannot be "a condition or means of any agreement," the Korean Council for the Women Drafted for Military Sexual Slavery by Japan said in a statement on its website.

"And the Korean government cannot mention anything about the removal or moving of the monument," it added.

South Korean public sentiment about the overall agreement is evenly divided, but on the specific issue of the statue passions run high, with surveys showing up to 75% of people opposed to the slightest relocation.

Tricky balancing act

Bong Young-Shik, a senior research fellow specialising in Japan at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies in Seoul, said the row placed the South Korean government in a tight spot, given the substantial political capital it has already expended on making the deal with Japan.

"The issue of the wartime sex slaves is a highly emotive issue in Korea and the statue is its symbol," Bong told Agence France-Presse.

"The public is infuriated by Japanese attempts to remove the statue, but even more outraged because it looks like the Korean government is collaborating," he added.

The bronze figure that has stared across the road at the Japanese embassy for the past 4 years was set up with public donations totalling 30 million won ($25,000).

An empty chair next to the young woman represents the victims who have died since the war, while a shadow engraved into the base of the statue is that of a frail old woman – reflecting the agony that still haunts the survivors.

The statue has proved to be an extremely potent and popular symbol, and is regularly wrapped in clothing with the passing seasons – such as a woolly hat and scarf in winter.

More than two dozen similar monuments have been erected around South Korea, and another dozen or so abroad in the United States, Canada and elsewhere.

Outside the Japanese embassy, Jung Woo-Ryung said she would keep guarding the statue as long as necessary.

Jung belongs to a student organisation that is one of a number of groups who have organised a rotating round-the-clock vigil to keep the bronze where it is.

"We are demanding that the issue be resolved by meeting the demands of the victims. I will continue to come here as long as the protest goes on," she said. – Hwang Sung-Hee, AFP / Rappler.com

This is a developing story. Please refresh this page for updates.

SEOUL, South Korea (4th UPDATE) – North Korea said Wednesday, January 6, it had carried out a "successful" hydrogen bomb test, a claim that – if true – massively raises the stakes over the hermit state's banned nuclear programme.

In a surprise announcement Pyongyang said it had carried out a hydrogen blast.

"The republic's first hydrogen bomb test has been successfully performed at 10 am on January 6, 2016, based on the strategic determination of the Workers' Party," a state television news reader said.

A hydrogen, or thermonuclear device, uses fusion in a chain reaction that results in a far more powerful explosion than the fission blast generated by uranium or plutonium alone.

Last month, North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un had suggested Pyongyang had already developed a hydrogen bomb – although the claim was greeted with scepticism by international experts.

North Korea has hinted before at the possession of "stronger, more powerful" weapons, but Kim's remarks were believed to be the first direct reference to an H-bomb.

The announcement by North Korean state media came two days before Kim's birthday and just over 4 years after he succeeded his father as leader of the Stalinist state.

Suspicions over a possible nuclear test – Pyongyang's fourth – were first raised by seismologists who said they had detected a 5.1 magnitude tremor next to its main atomic test site in the northeast of the country.

The website of the China Earthquake Network Centre described the seismic activity as a "suspected explosion", while the Japanese government said there was a strong possibility that "this might be a nuclear test."

The US Geological Survey said the epicenter of the quake – detected at 10 am Pyongyang time (0130 GMT) – was in the northeast of the country, some 50 kilometers (30 miles) northwest of Kilju city, placing it right next to the Punggye-ri nuclear test site.

Any confirmation of the test will trigger widespread international condemnation of North Korea, which has already conducted 3 nuclear tests in 2006, 2009 and 2013 – all at Punggye-ri.

It would certainly result in a tightening of international sanctions imposed after the North's previous nuclear and ballistic missile tests.

In Seoul, the presidential Blue House called an emergency meeting of the National Security Council, as officials scrambled to confirm the precise nature of the tremor.

Researchers at the US-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins University said last month that recent satellite images showed North Korea was excavating a new tunnel at Punggye-ri.

"While there are no indications that a nuclear test is imminent, the new tunnel adds to North Korea's ability to conduct additional detonations over the coming years if it chooses to do so," they said at the time.

A nuclear test is as a major slap in the face to the North's chief ally China and extinguish any chance of a resumption of 6-country talks on North Korea's nuclear program that Beijing has been pushing for.

After its last nuclear test in 2013, the North restarted a plutonium reactor that it had shut down at its Yongbyon complex in 2007 under an aid-for-disarmament accord.

The Yongbyon reactor is capable of producing six kilograms (13 pounds) of plutonium a year – enough for one nuclear bomb Pyongyang is currently believed to have enough plutonium for as many as six bombs, after using part of its stock for at least two of its three atomic tests to date.

It is still unclear whether the 2013 test used plutonium or uranium as its fissile material.

A basic uranium bomb is no more potent than a basic plutonium one, but the uranium enrichment path holds various advantages for the North, which has substantial deposits of uranium ore.

Uranium enrichment carries a far smaller footprint than plutonium and can be carried out using centrifuge cascades in relatively small buildings that give off no heat. – Giles Hewitt, AFP / Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – While President Benigno Aquino III continued to be the most appreciated and most trusted top Philippine official, Vice President Jejomar Binay regained lost public approval towards the end of 2015, the results of a Pulse Asia Research Inc survey showed.

Pulse Asia released the results of its December 2015 Ulat ng Bayan Survey on the performance and trust ratings of the top 5 officials of the Philippine government, and the performance ratings of key government institutions on Wednesday, January 6.

Aquino scored 55% public approval in the nationwide survey conducted from December 4-11, 2015, a 1-percentage point improvement from the last poll conducted in September.

Binay was second with 52% – a 9-percentage point increase from his 43% rating in September – closely followed by Senate President Franklin Drilon with 51%, a 1-percentage point improvement over the last survey period.

“For the most part, public opinion concerning the work of these leading government officials remains generally unchanged between September and December 2015. At the national level, only Vice President Binay posts changes in his overall ratings – a 9-percentage point increase in his approval score and a 6-percentage point decline in his indecision figure,” said Pulse Asia president Ronald Holmes.

Among the top 5 officials, Binay had the highest disapproval rating at 23%, though an improvement over his 26% disapproval rating in September.

The other two officials in the survey, Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr and Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno, both scored 29% public approval in December – a 3-percentage drop for Belmonte; unchanged for Sereno.

Holmes said that “indecision is the predominant sentiment concerning the work done” by Belmonte  (51%) “while nearly half of Filipinos (47%) are also unable to say whether they approve or disapprove of Supreme Court Chief Justice Maria Lourdes A. Sereno’s quarterly performance.”

Majority approval

He noted that across geographic areas and socio-economic classes, Aquino posted majority approval ratings in the Visayas (68%), Mindanao (62%), and Classes D (52%) and E (67%).

“Approval for presidential performance is expressed by half of those in the rest of Luzon (50%) and by a big plurality of Metro Manilans (42%). Nearly the same approval figures are recorded by President Aquino in the best-off Class ABC (44%),” the Pulse Asia chief said.

On Binay, he said: “Most of those in the rest of Luzon (55%), Mindanao (52%), and Class E (66%) are appreciative of the performance of Vice President Binay in the last quarter of 2015. Near majority approval ratings are obtained by the latter in Metro Manila (46%), the Visayas (49%), and Class D (49%) while public assessment of vice-presidential performance is split three-ways in Class ABC (30% approval, 27% indecision, and 43% disapproval).”

Drilon, for his part, received majority approval scores from those in the rest of Luzon (52%) and Visayans (60%), and those belonging to Classes D (51%) and Class E (52%). 

Approval for the lawmaker’s work is the plurality opinion in Metro Manila (46%) and Mindanao (45%). And in Class ABC, Senate President Drilon registers practically the same approval and indecision figures (45% and 37%, respectively).

Holmes noted that based on the December survey results, Binay enjoyed higher approval ratings in Luzon (+8 percentage points) and the Visayas (+13 percentage points); among socio-economic groups, his approval rating surged by 20 percentage points among the poorest Class E.

“The only other official who experiences a movement in his performance ratings in these sub-groupings is House Speaker Belmonte whose indecision figure goes up in the Visayas (+14 percentage points),” he said.

Trust ratings 

Among the top officials, only Aquino obtained majority trust ratings at 53%, 4 percentage points higher than in September. 

“President Aquino obtains majority trust ratings from Visayans (64%), Mindanaoans (61%), and those in Classes D and E (51% and 64%, respectively). Big plurality to near majority presidential trust ratings are posted in Metro Manila (42%) and those in the rest of Luzon (48%). Essentially the same trust and indecision figures may be noted in Class ABC (43% and 31%, respectively),” Holmes said.

The Vice President registered the biggest jump in trust ratings – to 49% in December from 39% in September. Holmes said that “two majority trust scores are recorded by Vice President Binay across geographic areas and socio-economic classes – 52% in the rest of Luzon and 62% in Class E.”

But Binay also registered the highest distrust rating of 24%, though 3 percentage points lower than in September. 

Among social classes, distrust in Binay is highest among the well-off Class ABC, spiking by 8 percentage points in December, or to 42% from 34%. 

Holmes said trust in Binay “is expressed by big pluralities to near majorities in Metro Manila (46%), the Visayas (43%), Mindanao (49%), and Class D (46%). Public assessment of vice-presidential trustworthiness is split three-ways in Class ABC (31% trust, 28% indecision, and 42% distrust).”

Drilon’s trust rating is unchanged at 47%. Among geographical locations, he obtained majority trust of 57% only from his fellow Visayans.

Belmonte obtained 24% trust of Filipinos – 5 percentage points lower than in September – while Sereno’s trust rating is at 25%, from 26%.

“One in two Filipinos (50%) is unable to say if he/she trusts or distrusts Supreme Court Chief Justice Sereno while ambivalence is the majority sentiment toward the trustworthiness of House Speaker Belmonte (54%),” Holmes said.

Malacañang said on Wednesday that the boost in the trust and approval ratings of the President among the poorest Class E – an increase of 10 and percentage points, respectively – “indicates a growing support for the government’s programs and initiatives that benefit the poor and marginalized sectors of our society.”

“We are greatly humbled by the show of support and trust by our citizens even as we continue to serve with greater passion and determination in order to deliver on vital social reform and development programs in the remaining months of the administration,” said Palace Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr.

In the weeks leading to the survey, and during the survey period, the dominant issues included the filing of certificates of candidacy (COCs) of aspirants in the 2016 elections, the Senate Electoral Tribunal decision favoring Senator Grace Poe's assertion that she is a natural-born Filipino, and the Commission on Election (Comelec) divisions favoring the cancellation of Poe's COC.

The other major issues were the dismissal of Makati Mayor Jejomar Erwin "Junjun" Binay Jr over the alleged overpricing of the Makati City Hall Building II, the Philippines’ hosting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit, the guilty verdict on US Marine Lance Corporal Joseph Scott Pemberton in connection with the death of Filipino transgender Jennifer Laude, the commemoration of the second anniversary of Super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan), and the Paris climate change talks.

During the period, the Philippines concluded its arguments before the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, Netherlands, on its case against China. 

The survey was conducted among 1,800 registered voters 18 years old and above.

The nationwide survey has a 2% error margin at the 95% confidence level. Subnational estimates for the geographic areas covered in the survey have the following error margins at 95% confidence level: 6% for Metro Manila, 3% for the rest of Luzon and 5% for each of Visayas and Mindanao. – Rappler.com 

MANILA, Philippines – Among the 3 key government institutions in the country, Filipinos are most appreciative of the work of the Senate, according to the results of a survey conducted by Pulse Asia Research Incorporated. 

Pulse Asia released the results of its December 2015 Ulat ng Bayan Survey on the performance and trust ratings of the  top 5 officials of the Philippine government, and the performance ratings of key government institutions on Wednesday, January 6. (READ: Aquino tops, Binay bounces back in Pulse Asia poll)

Pulse Asia president Ronald Holmes noted that none of the key institutions – the Senate, the House of Representatives, and the Supreme Court – obtained big plurality to near majority approval among Filipinos in the nationwide survey conducted from December 4 to 11, 2015.

The survey results showed that public approval for the Senate rose to 47% in December from 44% in September, while disapproval dipped to 13%, from 19%. 

The High Court obtained a public approval rating of 45%, a 4-percentage point drop from its rating in September.

Public approval is lowest for the House at 40%, a 1-percentage point improvement over its September rating.

“These institutions record almost the same disapproval figures (13% to 15%). During the period September to December 2015, the only notable movements in these institutions’ ratings are the increase in the indecision rating of the Supreme Court (+6 percentage points) and the drop in the Senate’s disapproval score (-6 percentage points),” Holmes said.

He said that the Senate obtained a majority approval rating in the Visayas (56%), and near majority approval figures in Mindanao (50%) and Classes D (47%) and E (48%).

“Practically the same approval and indecision scores are posted by the Senate in Metro Manila (44% and 38%, respectively), the rest of Luzon (42% and 43%, respectively), and Class ABC (33% and 43%, respectively),” Holmes added.

Metro Manila ratings

Among geographical locations, the Senate and the House of Representatives enjoyed the biggest improvement in their approval and disapproval ratings in Metro Manila.

Among Metro Manilans, approval of the Senate’s performance improved by 11 percentage points or to 44% in December from 33% in September. The Senate’s disapproval rating in the National Capital Region also decreased by 11 percentage points during the period, or to 17% from 28%.

In NCR, public approval for the House’s performance increased by 7 percentage points to 39% from 32%, while public disapproval ebbed to 21% from 27%.

“Virtually or exactly the same percentages of those in Metro Manila (both at 39%), the Visayas (46% and 39%, respectively), Mindanao (41% and 45%, respectively), and all socio-economic classes (34 to 42% and 43% to 47%, respectively) express either approval for or indecision concerning the work done by the House of Representatives,” Holmes said.

He added that “in the rest of Luzon, the plurality opinion is one of ambivalence on the matter of approving or disapproving the legislative chamber’s performance (45%).”

The Supreme Court obtained a majority approval rating in the Visayas (58%) in December, and near majority approval score in the poorest Class E (47%). 

“In the other geographic areas and socio-economic classes, the High Court posts almost the same approval and indecision figures (38% to 47% and 38% to 43%, respectively),” Holmes said.

In the weeks leading to the survey, and during the survey period, the dominant issues included the filing of certificates of candidacy (COCs) of aspirants in the 2016 elections, the Senate Electoral Tribunal decision favoring Senator Grace Poe's assertion that she is a natural-born Filipino, and the Commission on Election (Comelec) divisions favoring the cancellation of Poe's COC.

The other major issues were the dismissal of Makati Mayor Jejomar Erwin "Junjun" Binay Jr over the alleged overpricing of the Makati City Hall Building II, the Philippines’ hosting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit, the guilty verdict on US Marine Lance Corporal Joseph Scott Pemberton in connection with the death of Filipino transgender Jennifer Laude, the commemoration of the second anniversary of Super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan), and the Paris climate change talks.

During the period, the Philippines concluded its arguments before the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, Netherlands, on its case against China. 

The survey was conducted among 1,800 registered voters 18 years old and above.

The nationwide survey has a 2% error margin at the 95% confidence level. Subnational estimates for the geographic areas covered in the survey have the following error margins at 95% confidence level:  6% for Metro Manila, 3% for the rest of Luzon and 5% for each of Visayas and Mindanao. – Rappler.com

TOKYO, Japan – Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe condemned North Korea's announcement that it had carried out a hydrogen bomb test on Wednesday, January 6, calling it a "serious threat" to Japan and a "grave challenge" to nuclear non-proliferation efforts.

"I strongly condemn this," Abe told reporters.

"The nuclear test that was carried out by North Korea is a serious threat to the safety of our nation and we absolutely cannot tolerate this," he said.

Abe suggested that the UN Security Council would take up the case as it violates past sanction resolutions.

"This clearly violates UN Security Council resolutions and is a grave challenge against international efforts for non-proliferation," he said.

"Our country, as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council, will take resolute measures by coordinating efforts with the United States, South Korea, China, and Russia, including dealings at the UN Security Council," Abe said. – Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – Lest the country goes into a "political crisis," one of the accusers of Grace Poe urged the Supreme Court (SC) to uphold the Commission on Elections (Comelec) decision barring the senator from running for the presidency in the 2016 elections.

On Wednesday, January 6, De La Salle University professor Antonio Contreras filed a 41-page comment before the SC, slamming Poe for politicizing a legal and constitutional issue.

"The petitioner [Poe] is forcing the republic toward a political crisis. In arguing that we allow her to continue her candidacy, she in effect is demanding that we grant her the privilege of seeking refuge in her alleged honest mistake, or in the incompetence or ignorance of her legal advisers," Contreras said.

He asked the SC to "consider the enormous political impacts...on the stability of our political institutions, on the integrity of our law and our political processes, on the rationality of the electoral process, and on the rationality of the electoral process, and on the general health of our republic" if it recognizes Poe's argument.

Contreras is one of the 4 petitioners who filed disqualification cases against Poe before the Comelec. He alleged that the senator is not qualified to run for the presidency because of her "failure to meet the 10-year residency requirement." (READ: Grace Poe's residency in PH: When do we start counting?)

Five out of 7 Comelec commissioners agreed with Contreras that Poe has not met the residency requirement for presidential candidates, but only 4 of them believe there was deliberate intent on the part of Poe to mislead the public on her residency status.

Still, the Comelec en banc's majority decision upheld the rulings of two Comelec divisions cancelling Poe's certificate of candidacy (COC) for president. (READ: How Comelec commissioners voted on Grace Poe's case)

The SC, however, temporarily stopped the poll body from cancelling her COC after Poe filed two petitions for certiorari. The High Court has scheduled the oral arguments on Poe's petitions on January 19. 

Defending the Comelec, Contreras told the SC on Wednesday that the poll body did not commit grave abuse of discretion. In fact, he argued there is solid jurisprudence backing the Comelec's ruling that Poe failed to meet the residency requirement.

"The Comelec was correct in basing its judgment on presence of intent to deceive and mislead purely on the facts and circumstances that were presented, as fresh evidence had to be adjudicated on their faces," he explained. – Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines on Wednesday, January 6, said it is alarmed at reports that North Korea successfully tested a hydrogen bomb.

“The Philippines is gravely concerned over reports that the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) tested a hydrogen bomb,” the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said in a statement.

The DFA also said the Philippines “strongly condemns any violation” of United Nations Security Council Resolutions, saying that North Korea should not conduct further nuclear tests. 

“We join our international partners in strongly urging the DPRK to desist from continuing these acts of provocation and abandon all nuclear weapons and programs in the interest of peace and stability in the region,” the DFA said.

This comes after North Korea on Wednesday said it had carried out a “successful” miniaturized hydrogen bomb test.

Claim questioned

It was a shock announcement that, if confirmed, would massively raise the stakes in the hermit state’s bid to strengthen its nuclear arsenal.

The announcement triggered swift international condemnation but also skepticism. 

A hydrogen, or thermonuclear, bomb uses fusion in a chain reaction that results in a far more powerful explosion than the fission blast generated by uranium or plutonium alone.

Last month, North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un suggested Pyongyang had already developed such a device.

The claim was questioned by international experts at the time, and there was continued skepticism over Wednesday's test announcement, which took the entire international community by surprise. – with reports from Agence France-Presse/Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – Police personnel assigned to protect VIPs, including candidates in the coming 2016 elections, incumbent public officials, and private individuals, have been recalled by the Philippine National Police (PNP) ahead of the election period beginning January 10, 2016.

The move is in compliance with a Commission of Elections (Comelec) resolution that says “all authority granting security personnel or bodyguards are hereby revoked at the start of the Election Period.”

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, January 6, PNP Police Security and Protection Group (PSPG) Chief Superintendent Alfred Corpus said private individuals who had been assigned police personnel were told on December 10 their security detail would be recalled by January 9.

Corpus said at least 800 cops are expected to report back to the PSPG office on January 11.

The recall affects the following:

1. Candidates for the…2016 elections or their immediate family members within the second degree of consanguinity or affinity
2. Incumbent public officials, whether elected or appointed
3. All private individuals

Those who still need security should “seek clearance and authority from the Comelec,” said Corpus.

Republic Act 7166 says that during the official election period, “no candidate for public office, including incumbent public officers seeking election to any public offices, shall employ, avail himself of or engage the services of security personnel or bodyguards, whether or not such bodyguards are regular members of the Philippine National Police, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) or other law enforcement agency of the Government.”

The law further states that should “circumstances warrant, including but not limited to threats to life and security of a candidate,” he or she can ask the Comelec to allow a PNP or Armed Forces of the Philippines member to provide him or her security.

Corpus, however, told reporters that candidates, should they be allowed by Comelec, can only avail of “protection agents” and not police personnel.

Politicians not seeking a post in 2016 can still be assigned a maximum of two security personnel but should also seek Comelec clearance, said Corpus.

Cops recalled from their previous assignments will undergo retraining and refresher courses, or will be assigned to different key PSPG units and tasks, including securing the Comelec itself.

During the election period, persons are not allowed to carry or transport firearms and other deadly weapons in public. The issuances of new firearms licenses will also be suspended during the same period.

Exceptions to the rule are members of the PNP, AFP, and other law enforcement agencies duly deputized in writing by the Comelec, but they should also be in full uniform and in “actual performance of [their] election duty in the specific area designated by [Comelec].” – Rappler.com

BUSTOS, Bulacan – Senator Gregorio "Gringo" Honasan approves the re-opening of the Senate investigation into the botched "Oplan Exodus," which killed 44 Philippine National Police Special Action Force troopers in an operation in Mamasapano.

The vice presidential candidate of the United Nationalist Alliance says the additional hearings would shed light on remaining questions surrounding the bloody police operation.

Mara Cepeda files this VLOG. – Rappler.com

BEIJING, China – China landed two more planes on a contested reef in the South China Sea Wednesday, January 6, state media said, despite international condemnation of a landing at the same location days earlier.

Two civilian aircraft landed Wednesday morning on Fiery Cross reef in the disputed Spratlys island group during "test flights", the official Xinhua news agency said. Vietnam also claims the reef.

The planes departed from and returned to the city of Haikou, the capital of the southern island province of Hainan – a two-hour journey each way.

"This successful test flight proves that this airport is equipped with the capacity to ensure the safe operation of large civilian aircraft," said Xinhua.

It said the facility would help transport supplies, personnel and medical aid.

China claims virtually all the South China Sea, while the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also have partial claims. (READ: Q and A: Is South China Sea now a superpowers' battleground?)

China has asserted its claim by rapidly building artificial islands, including airstrips said to be capable of hosting military jets.

Several other claimants have also built facilities but at a slower pace, and China's activities have heightened tensions in the region.

It began work in 2014 on the 3,000-meter (9,842 feet) runway on Fiery Cross reef, around 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) from Hainan.

Last Saturday, January 2 China said it had landed a civilian plane on the runway in an initial test flight – the first time it had been used.

That landing sparked a formal diplomatic complaint from Hanoi, which labelled it a violation of sovereignty.

The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs has also said it would file a protest at the weekend incident. – Rappler.com

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (UPDATED) – Iranian diplomats have left Saudi Arabia after the kingdom severed all ties with Tehran following attacks on its mission in the Islamic republic, Saudi state media said on Wednesday, January 6.

The staff of the Iranian embassy in Riyadh and those of the consulate in Jeddah left "on board a private Iranian plane," state news agency SPA reported.

Iran's official state broadcaster IRIB said the diplomats have arrived in Tehran, showing pictures of their plane after it landed at Tehran’s Mehrabad Airport.

It said the plane carried 54 Iranian diplomats and their families, who were welcomed by one of Iran’s deputy foreign ministers.

Saudi diplomats in Iran returned to the kingdom on Tuesday, January 5, Saudi media reported.

Riyadh severed diplomatic ties and air links with Tehran after angry crowds set fire to its embassy in the Iranian capital and its consulate in Mashhad.

The weekend protests were in response to Riyadh's execution of leading Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr, a driving force behind Shiite protests in 2011.

The Iranian ambassador to Saudi Arabia Hossein Sadeghi was quoted on state television as saying that anger at Nimr's execution was natural but the response was not.

"Although protest is a civil right, an assault on an embassy and infringing commitments can damage the image of the Islamic republic," he said.

"This move was unacceptable and wrong and we should learn a lesson so that, while preserving the right to protest, such an act should not happen," he added. – Rappler.com

ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast – Ivory Coast's government resigned on Wednesday, January 6, in a move President Alassane Ouattara said would bring more "efficiency" to the West African state just two months after he was re-elected.

Prime Minister Daniel Kablan Duncan presented his resignation and that of his government at what was to have been the first cabinet meeting of the year in a move observers said was expected.

A new cabinet will be "put in place in the coming days – targeting greater cohesion and more efficiency of government action," Ouattara declared.

He did not indicate whether he would retain Kablan Duncan, a 73-year-old economist, as premier or select a new head of government as he moulds a "new Ivory Coast" to draw a line under the turmoil engendered by the civil war in 2011.

Reelected for a second 5-year term on October 25, Ouattara has said he wants to deepen national reconciliation and draw up a new constitution which he plans to put to a referendum.

Other aims include redistributing uneven wealth and tackling high youth unemployment.

'A new dynamic'

Following the vote, which observers hailed as generally smooth and peaceful, Ouattara himself indicated he wanted to see fresh faces in government, including more women in cabinet posts.

But he praised Kablan Duncan's team, expressing gratitude for "your competence, your leadership and your action at the head of the government", and hailing the cabinet for its "good conduct" in state affairs.

Addressing the president, Kablan Duncan explained that the decision to resign was motivated by Ouattara's desire to bring "greater efficiency" to the management of government affairs.

"At the last 2015 cabinet meeting on December 23, you expressed your wish to inject a new dynamic into government action, undertaking a government reshuffle targeting greater efficiency in dealing with our fellow citizens' primary concerns," he said.

"In view of this, and as you embark on your second term, I would like.. to present to you my resignation as prime minister," Kablan Duncan said.

A respected member of Ivory Coast's Democratic Party (PDCI), which was founded in the 1940s by former president Henri Konan Bedie, Kablan Duncan, took over as prime minister in November 2012.

He formed a broad team of figures drawn from the coalition which propelled Ouattara to power although several key posts were reserved for technocrats.

Kablan Duncan replaced fellow PDCI member Jeannot Kouadio Ahoussou, a surprise casualty of disagreements which emerged within the coalition.

Kouadio Ahoussou served as premier for 8 months in 2012, replacing Guillaume Soro who served in the post for 5 years. Before becoming premier, Soro headed the Patriotic Movement rebel force which led a 2002 rebellion against former president Laurent Gbagbo, which triggered the first civil war.

Soro is now head of the National Assembly.

Last year's poll took place without incident in Ivory Coast, a key West African economy and the world's prime cocoa producer, enabling the country to turn the page on a wave of bloodshed and violence which claimed some 3,000 lives in the wake of Ouattara's initial election triumph over Gbagbo in 2010.

Now 74, Ouattara – a former high-flying economist – won a solid victory in the October elections, cementing Ivory Coast's return to stability after years of turbulence. – Evelyne Aka, AFP/Rappler.com

TEHRAN, Iran – Iran warned Saudi Arabia Wednesday, January 6 to stop working against as their diplomatic crisis intensified despite efforts to defuse a row that has raised fears of greater regional instability.

As diplomats arrived home after being told to leave Saudi Arabia, Shiite-dominated Iran fired the latest verbal salvo in a dispute that has seen Riyadh and some Sunni Arab allies cut diplomatic ties with Tehran.

At a press conference in the capital, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Riyadh must end prolonged efforts to confront Iran.

Citing longstanding differences that became a full-blown split after Saudi Arabia executed Shiite cleric and activist Nimr al-Nimr, Zarif said the Sunni-ruled kingdom had sought systematically to inflict damage.

"For the past two-and-a-half years, Saudi Arabia has opposed Iran's diplomacy," he said at the press conference with Iraqi Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari.

"Saudi Arabia has moved against our efforts and, unfortunately, they opposed the nuclear agreement," Zarif said, also accusing Riyadh of "taking measures against the Iranian people" through its efforts to keep oil prices low.

"This trend of creating tension must stop. We need to stand united... and stop those who are adding fuel to the fire," he added.

The spike in tensions comes after Iran last year secured a historic nuclear deal with world powers led by the United States, causing major concern in longtime US ally Riyadh. (READ: Timeline of the latest Iran-Saudi crisis)

That deal, when finally implemented, will end sanctions on Iran's oil and gas industry that could see the Islamic republic challenge Saudi Arabia's role as the Middle East's dominant energy and economic power.

Saudi cuts oil price

Oil prices have fallen by more than 60% since mid-2014 as OPEC kingpin Saudi Arabia refuses to lower production in a bid to push competitors out of the market, hurting the income of other producers, including Iran.

On Tuesday, January 5 Riyadh cut the February price of its export oil to Europe in another move to win market share.

Nimr's death sparked demonstrations in many countries including Iran, where protesters stormed and set fire to the Saudi embassy in Tehran as well as the kingdom's consulate in second city Mashhad.

Riyadh cut ties with Tehran in response and was joined by some of its Sunni Arab allies including Bahrain and Sudan. The United Arab Emirates also downgraded relations with Iran and Kuwait recalled its ambassador.

Staff at Iran's embassy in Riyadh and its consulate in Jeddah flew home Wednesday, Saudi state news agency SPA reported.

Iran's state broadcaster IRIB said a plane carrying 54 Iranian diplomats and their families had landed at Tehran’s Mehrabad Airport.

The dispute has raised fears of an increase in sectarian tensions in the Middle East that could derail efforts to resolve pressing issues including the wars in Syria and Yemen.

The United Nations and Western governments have expressed deep concern, urging both sides to reduce tensions. (READ: Saudi beheadings wrong response to criticism – Iran president)

US Secretary of State John Kerry has made repeated calls to both Iranian and Saudi leaders.

"He is urging calm. He is stressing the need for dialogue and engagement, and thirdly, reminding that, again, there's lots of work to be done in the region," State Department spokesman John Kirby said Tuesday.

Saudi Arabia and Iran are on opposing sides in some of the Middle East's worst conflicts.

In Syria, Iran is supporting the government of President Bashar al-Assad against rebel groups, some backed by Saudi Arabia.

And in Yemen, Riyadh is leading a military intervention against Iran-backed Shiite rebels who have seized control of large parts of the country.

Iran-linked 'terror' cell

Within hours of the embassy attack, Iran's President Hassan Rouhani called the violence "totally unjustified" but accused Saudi Arabia Tuesday of focusing attention on the incident to "cover its crime" of executing Nimr.

Zarif reiterated that the embassy's ransacking had no official blessing. "All Iranian officials condemn it," he said.

Jaafari, who was to also hold talks with Rouhani, said Iraq was seeking a potential diplomatic role to help resolve the crisis and echoed the concerns about sectarianism.

"I have spoken to the foreign ministers of some of the Arab countries to reduce the consequences of this issue and prevent enemies from dragging the region into a war that can have no winners," Jaafari said.

Shiite-majority Iraq has close ties with Tehran.

In a further sign of tensions, Sunni-ruled but Shiite-majority Bahrain said it had dismantled an Iran-linked "terror" cell that was planning attacks in the kingdom.

The cell was allegedly linked to Iran's Revolutionary Guards and Lebanon's Tehran-backed Hezbollah militia and planning a "series of dangerous bombings" on the tiny Gulf kingdom, the interior ministry said.

Nimr, one of 47 men executed Saturday, January 2 was a driving force behind 2011 anti-government protests in Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province.

He was arrested in 2012 after calling for two governorates to be separated from the kingdom.

Riyadh has said the executions were an internal security matter, and among those put to death were many Al-Qaeda-linked militants convicted of attacks in the kingdom.

In his first reaction to the controversy, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan refused Wednesday to condemn the executions, saying it was an "internal legal matter" of the kingdom. – Arthur MacMillan, AFP/Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – The lawyer representing a US Marine found guilty of killing a transgender Filipina filed an appeal on Wednesday, January 6, seeking to reverse his conviction.

Lance Corporal Joseph Scott Pemberton was convicted of homicide last month by a Philippine court, in a case that reignited long-simmering anti-American sentiment in the former US colony. 

The American's lawyer Rowena Garcia-Flores also filed a separate motion seeking a reduced sentence for the marine in the event that the acquittal is not granted.

"Of course, we want an acquittal but what is the likelihood the court will grant that?" she told Agence France-Presse.

Pemberton met the transgender Filipina Jennifer Laude in October 2014 in a bar in the city of Olongapo, after the marine took part in a joint US-Philippine military exercise.

During the trial, the court heard that Pemberton and Laude agreed to have sex after meeting in Olongapo's red light district, but that the drunken marine turned violent when he discovered Laude still had male genitals.

He acted out of "passion and obfuscation", the court said, adding that "in the heat of passion, he arm-locked the deceased, and dunked his (her) head in the toilet".

Pemberton was sentenced to 6 to 12 years in jail and is being held in a cell in the country's military headquarters in Manila.

If Pemberton's conviction is upheld, his attorney said the case could be raised to a higher court.

Pemberton's homicide conviction is the first under a visiting forces agreement between the two countries signed in 1998, covering the legal liability of US troops taking part in military operations in the Philippines. – Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – Barely two weeks after Malacañang started investigating allegations against him, immigration chief Siegfred Mison was replaced with a Malacañang official, Deputy Executive Secretary Ronaldo Geron Jr.

The justice department announced Geron’s appointment as new immigration chief on Wednesday, January 6, saying he took his oath that day.

A deputy of Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr, Geron is a 1987 graduate of the University of the Philippines College of Law and had served as provincial administrator of Batangas under the late Governor Armand Sanchez.

He is said to be closely associated not only with Ochoa but also with the incumbent justice secretary, Alfredo Benjamin Caguiao, former presidential legal counsel and Ateneo classmate of President Benigno Aquino III.

The immigration office is under the Department of Justice (DOJ).

Complaints

On December 20, Malacañang announced that it had asked the DOJ to investigate Mison following complaints he misused government funds.

Former BI Intelligence chief Faizal Hussin accused Mison of violating Republic Act 3019 concerning overtime pay and bonuses for employees from the Express Lane Trust Fund, saying Mison is not eligible to receive them as he is the Chief Executive Officer of the bureau.

Another ex-BI official, Ricardo Cabochan also alleged that Mison and other officials of the bureau are involved in the sudden disappearance of fugitive Chinese national Fu Gaofeng, arrested for not having a working visa or permit.

Mison has repeatedly said these charges were concocted by sectors opposed to the reforms he has initiated in the bureau. (READ: 'Exciting times' for the Bureau of Immigration)

The Inquirer reported that the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) found Mison guilty of grave misconduct for allowing the detention of a Korean in a cell in the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP), a move that supposedly allowed him to escape from custody in October 2015.

The bureau has been entangled in allegations of bribe-taking by top officials over the non-deportation of Koreans and Chinese fugitive Wang Bo. The Chinese embassy had sought the deportation of Wang who is wanted in China for allegedly embezzling $100 million.

Mison voted in favor of the Chinese embassy but was outvoted by his deputy then, Gilbert Repizo, and Deputy Commissioner Abdullah Mangotara. There were allegations of a P100-million bribe given by Wang to secure his release but these were unsubstantiated. Wang was eventually deported in August 2015.

As early as November, Mison was reportedly being eyed for suspension over the allegations. But other sources said he may have been the victim of power play as one group in Malacañang wanted full control over the DOJ and subsequently, the BI.

He was appointed to the bureau by then Justice Secretary Leila de Lima in July 2013. De Lima quit the DOJ to run for the Senate in the May 2016 race.

Others who knew Mison said the former BI chief had no pending administrative cases when De Lima was still justice secretary. He had her full support.

Mison's statement

In a statement, Mison said he welcomes Geron and encourages everyone in the bureau to extend to him as much cooperation and teamwork as they had extended to him during his 4-and-a-half years as Commissioner.

"As I leave the Bureau, I thank President Aquino for giving me the opportunity to serve in his administration and the Filipino people....On my part, I did what I could to follow the straight path with much dedication expected from any public servant," Mison said.

On the NBI report about the escape of a Korean fugitive, Mison said he would answer "all such allegations in the proper venue and at the proper time."

A West Point graduate, Mison joined the Philippine military shortly after his graduation in 1987. While assigned in the intelligence community, he took up law and eventually retired as a major after passing the bar.

He is a son of Salvador Mison Sr, a longtime customs bureau chief and retired general.

He replaced Ricardo David Jr, a retired Armed Forces chief of staff who was appointed to the bureau in 2011 by Aquino. David quit last July 12 following persistent problems in the bureau. – Rappler.com

DOHA, Qatar – Qatar has recalled its ambassador to Iran following an attack on the Saudi Arabian embassy in Tehran, state media in Doha said on Wednesday, January 6.

"Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs recalled today Qatar's Ambassador to Tehran following the attacks on the Embassy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in Tehran and general consulate in Mashhad," said foreign ministry director, Khalid bin Ibrahim al-Hamar, quoted by the Qatar News Agency.

The response by Doha is similar to action taken by other countries in the Gulf following the attack on the Saudi missions, carried out by protestors angry at Riyadh's execution of prominent Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr.

Saudi Arabia and Bahrain have broken off diplomatic ties with Iran in response and Kuwait has recalled its ambassador. – Rappler.com

CARACAS, Venezuela – Venezuela's opposition laid claim Wednesday, January 6, to a big legislative majority that could empower it to oust President Nicolas Maduro.

The defiant move further deepened a tense political standoff in the recession-struck South American oil-producing country.

The opposition has vowed to find a way to get rid of Maduro within 6 months.

It has taken control of the National Assembly for the first time since 1999, the year the late socialist leader Hugo Chavez came to power.

At its first regular legislative session on Wednesday, the opposition-controlled assembly swore in 3 anti-government lawmakers, defying Maduro who had secured a court injunction to suspend them.

The 3 extra deputies boost the total number of opposition seats in the legislature to a 2/3 "supermajority" that could enable them to remove Maduro by constitutional means.

The government side vowed to charge the opposition with contempt of court.

The number two in Maduro's leadership, former assembly speaker Diosdado Cabello, said the swearing-in of the suspended deputies "flagrantly violated the constitution."

Removing Chavez's portrait

Opposition leaders earlier had portraits of the socialist government's hero Chavez removed from the assembly building.

"I don't want to see portraits of Chavez or Maduro. Take all this stuff away to the presidential palace, or give it away," the new speaker, Henry Ramos Allup, told workmen who were removing the portraits, in a video released by his staff.

He said his side would within 6 months propose a way "to change the government by constitutional means."

Maduro responded: "I will be there to defend democracy with an iron hand. They will not make me give ground or waver."

But on Wednesday, he announced a reshuffle of his government.

In elections on December 6, the opposition MUD coalition won a majority in the assembly for the first time in nearly 17 years.

Under Venezuelan law, with a 2/3 majority, the opposition could from next April launch measures to try to force Maduro from office before his term ends in 2019.

But it was not clear whether they will succeed in pushing ahead at odds with the court injunction.

The government side insisted any legislation passed with the votes of the suspended deputies would be null.

Cabello said the government would "paralyze" the assembly by withholding its budget from the treasury.

"No change of government is easy. Everything will depend on the situation in the country in a few months," said Juan Manuel Rafalli, an expert in constitutional law.

"I foresee great social conflict and enormous pressure for change."

US 'interference'

One of the first measures the opposition wants to pass is an amnesty for some 75 political prisoners, but Maduro has vowed to veto that move.

The US State Department backed the call for political prisoners to be released, with spokesman John Kirby calling Tuesday, January 5, for a "transparent" resolution of the dispute.

Venezuelan Foreign Minister Delcy Rodriguez rejected that as "interference," in a Twitter message.

December's election result was widely seen as a protest by voters over the state of Venezuela's economy.

It threw up the toughest challenge to the president's authority and Chavez's socialist "revolution" since Maduro took over from his late mentor in 2013.

Venezuela has the world's biggest known oil reserves but has suffered from a fall in the price of the crude on which its government relies.

It is in deep recession, with citizens suffering shortages of basic goods and soaring inflation. Now they face the uncertainty of a political conflict.

"If the government uses its institutional control in a focused way, it could get its way in the short term," said analyst Luis Vicente Leon, head of polling firm Datanalisis.

"While the Chavistas and the opposition get involved in a political debate, the people will feel a great lack of solutions to their main problems." – Maria Isabel Sanchez, AFP / Rappler.com

SENTILJ, Slovenia – It's the first time that Arman Butt, a Pakistani man desperately seeking to reach western Europe, sees snow.

But as the 30-year-old goes limp in the harsh chill, stuck at the Slovenian-Austrian border, he wishes it was not quite so cold.

He is one of some 50 men braving freezing temperatures and walking the short distance that separates the Austrian border post from Slovenia.

Butt is from Lahore, in the east of Pakistan. He has been on the move since September 20.

A few hours ago, he was pushed back into Slovenia by Austrian border guards. Wearing canvas shoes, his feet are frozen and he can barely walk.

Yet he is determined to keep trying until he makes it across.

Slovenian civil defence teams and army troops march alongside the migrants towards Austria's Spielfeld frontier post.

Every day, some 900 refugees and migrants who have braved freezing-cold temperatures arrive here on trains from Croatia, further south.

Most people reaching Europe's shores have fled wars, violence and persecution in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan.

Many others though, like Butt, are in search of a better life. They are facing major difficulties in getting across borders on the so-called Balkan migrant route to western Europe.

Another large group of men at the Slovenian border post of Sentilj – mainly Moroccans and Algerians – told Agence France-Presse they have been pushed back from the Austrian frontier up to 5 times each in recent days, leaving them in a state of limbo between the two countries. 

During the last week of December, Austrian police manning the border post of Carinthia said they had pushed back "several hundred" migrants suspected of having claimed a false nationality in a bid to get through.

The Slovenian interior ministry on Tuesday, January 5, said Austria had pushed back 956 migrants since December 26.

"Most of them eventually went into Austria, after a new registration process and additional checks," the ministry said in a statement.

'Nothing can stop them'

Several European states have introduced unprecedented border controls since the peak of the migrant crisis last year. EU powerhouse Germany – the migrants' preferred destination – and Austria tightened controls in mid-September.

Sweden, long seen as a haven for refugees, introduced temporary controls on Monday, January 4, triggering a knock-on effect and prompting Denmark to do the same on its frontier with Germany.

Butt said he left Pakistan in September because he was convinced that "Europe had opened up its borders".

"We can't go backwards, we have spent too much money to come here," he said, adding that he has already spent 7,000 euros ($7,500).

He has paid smugglers exorbitant sums to cross the Aegean Sea and then non-EU member Macedonia, which has made it especially hard since November for people not fleeing war zones to enter.

At a transit camp for migrants at Gevgelija near the Macedonian border with Greece, many people have fallen ill in recent days, "especially children," because of the low temperatures that have hit Europe and the Balkans since the start of the year, according to aid worker Lence Zdravkin.

"More and more people are arriving here without any money, unable to continue their journeys," Zdravkin said, adding that many had been left penniless by their smugglers.

People "arrive wet and with colds, with wet shoes kids have fever and are coughing," said Jasmin Rexhepi, who works for a Macedonian NGO named Legis.

Further north in Serbia, where temperatures have reached -8 degrees Celsius, a bus system has been set up to help migrants on the move reach the transit camp in Presevo near the Macedonian border.

"However it does not stop refugees, who are still arriving with children, elderly and even disabled people," said Dafina Aliji, a local humanitarian activist.

"Nothing can stop them."

More than a million refugees and migrants arrived in Europe in 2015 in the worst crisis of its kind to face the continent since World War II. – Sophie Makris, with Armend Nimani in Presevo, Serbia, AFP / Rappler.com