BORONG (UCAN): It was 10 long years ago when Aleksius Dugis was shackled and locked in a tiny filthy hut by his family in East Manggarai district on the island of Flores, Indonesia.
 
His legs were tied to a heavy wooden post, which means he could hardly move about. During the rainy season, the hut leaked and he ended up covered in mud mixed with his own faeces. During the dry season, he had to endure extreme heat.
 
People were concerned, but did not venture inside the hut because of the foul smell.
 

HONG KONG (SE): Authorities in Indonesia have raised the danger level for Mount Anak Krakatau in the Sunda Strait, following a devastating tsunami on December 22, which swept over the west coast of Java island and the south coast of Sumatra. 
 
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said in a statement on December 26 that 430 people are dead, 1,495 injured, 159 are missing and an estimated 22,000 displaced.
 

MANILA (UCAN): Catholic humanitarian agencies from around the world have vowed support for Philippine relief and rehabilitation efforts in the wake of the devastation wreaked by Typhoon Mangkhut (Ompong) in the country’s northern provinces.
 
Caritas Internationalis launched an appeal to help finance relief operations for thousands of families affected by the super typhoon.
 
“After the storm has passed people will need help to restore their livelihoods,” it said in a statement.
 

Manila (UCAN): “The ambush of soldiers while delivering relief goods is deplorable,” Father Edwin Gariguez, the executive secretary of Caritas-Philippines, said.
 
Fifty gunmen from the New People’s Army shot at troops from Philippine Army’s 20th Infantry Battalion who were assisting families in the town of Catubig, Northern Samar province in the central Philippines, which was battered by the tropical storm, Kai-tak, a week before Christmas.
 

BERLIN (SE): The Global Catholic Climate Movement announced on October 3 that a coalition of 40 Catholic institutions has decided to pull out its collective investments in fossil fuel-related industries estimated to be worth over $US5 trillion ($38.75 trillion) and place it in more environmentally friendly activities.
 

ROME (SE): Children account for one half of all refugees in the world today, an appeal from Caritas calling for proper protection to be accorded to them says.