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Funeral Home Sent a Grandmother’s Body to the Wrong Country, Suit Claims

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A Queens family filed a lawsuit this week against a funeral home, accusing it of sending their loved one’s body to the wrong country, according to court records.

The lawsuit, filed on Tuesday by Carlos Minchala and his siblings, says that the Rivera Funeral Home in Corona, N.Y., wrongly sent their mother, Carmen Maldonado, to Guatemala instead of Ecuador.

Ms. Maldonado, 96, died on May 18 in Queens. After a funeral service on May 22, her body was supposed to be sent to Ecuador for a second funeral and for burial, the lawsuit says.

But instead of being sent to Ecuador, the lawsuit says that Ms. Maldonado’s body was sent to Guatemala. Family members later learned that her body had been sent to the wrong country by watching a video they found on TikTok.

The video was a clip of a news report about a family in Guatemala that had received the remains of the wrong person. In the video, Leonor Valencia said she was expecting the remains of her husband, who had died in New York. Instead, Ms. Valencia said she had received the remains of Ms. Maldonado.

It was unclear how the body of Ms. Maldonado was sent to Guatemala. Ms. Valencia could not immediately be reached on Friday. It was not immediately clear where her husband’s body ended up.

EU endorses its US data-sharing deal, as privacy advocates point to loopholes

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The US is complying with a key privacy framework required to ensure Europeans’ data isn’t misused when sent overseas, the European Commission concluded in a report published on Wednesday.  

The EU-US data privacy framework regulates transatlantic data flows for thousands of companies – but privacy advocates worry it’s full of loopholes. 

“The US authorities have put in place the necessary structures and procedures to ensure that the data privacy framework functions effectively,” the Commission concluded in its review of the deal, specifically praising the set-up of a US oversight authority.  

Over 2,800 US companies are currently certified under the deal, allowing them to exchange data more easily and cheaply, the report said. 

The framework was introduced in 2023 after the EU’s highest court struck down two previous data-sharing arrangements, known as the privacy shield and safe harbour decisions. 

One year on, the Commission, alongside the European Data Protection Board (EDPB), national data protection authorities, and representatives of various US government departments, assessed its implementation.  

The new framework was intended to address judges’ concerns that the collection of European citizens’ private data by US companies and intelligence services was disproportionate.  

But critics remain sceptical. 

“The United States is not adhering to what it promised the Commission,” Philippe Latombe, a former member of the French data protection authority (CNIL) and a former MP, told Euronews. 

He pointed to the US Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), which was supposed to be abandoned but was instead renewed last spring, and which allows US intelligence to collect data from American platforms and applications such as Teams, Cisco, and WebEx. “The Commission knows this, acknowledges it, yet it fails to draw conclusions from its own findings,” Latombe added. 

The Commission’s report acknowledges FISA and concludes that future mitigation measures could be introduced. 

NOYB, an activist group focused on online privacy, has also expressed frustration with a report which it says constitutes the Commission marking its own homework.  

“We’ve lost count of the positive reports published by the Commission in recent years. Despite them, the [EU] Court of Justice has consistently found massive violations. It’s like a student claiming to have done everything perfectly, when in fact, they are bound to fail,” NOYB told Euronews. 

Latombe has already initiated legal action against the EU-US framework, and NOYB has also indicated its intention to challenge the deal. 

The industry is more positive. 

The Business Software Alliance, a lobby group representing major software manufacturers, welcomed the report, saying they “are pleased to see confirmation that US authorities have successfully put in place all the necessary elements to support the framework’s data protection standards.” 

According to the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP), the report is “welcome news for organisations seeking predictability in this area”. 

“It also confirms that adequacy remains a strategic priority for the European Commission in its support for data flows on the global stage,” IAPP added.  

The framework is next due to be assessed in three years’ time. 

Brussels urges Turkey to ‘thoroughly’ probe alleged abuse in EU-funded migration centres

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The European Commission urged Turkey on Friday to “thoroughly investigate allegations of wrongdoing” inside the migration centres that the country operates to deport Syrian and Afghan refugees with the bloc’s financial help.

The plea comes after an explosive investigation led by Lighthouse Reports found systematic mistreatment across the removal centres managed by the Turkish government and backed by €213 million in EU funds, marking a new controversial chapter in the EU-Turkey agreement signed in 2016 at the peak of the migration crisis.

The media consortium details unsanitary and overcrowded conditions in the facilities, instances of abuse and torture against migrants, and a pattern of coercion to force detainees to sign documents of “voluntary” returns to their war-torn nations.

In one case, the journalists write, a man who had fled Afghanistan after the 2023 Taliban takeover was arrested in Turkey and eventually returned to his home country, where he was “shot dead, with gunshot wounds to the neck and head.”

“We found that the EU is aware that it is funding this abusive system, with its own staff raising alarm about it internally – yet senior officials choose to turn a blind eye,” Lighthouse Reports says in its investigation, which was supported by other European outlets, including Le Monde, El Pais and Der Spiegel.

The research covered 100 sources, including testimonies from 37 people who had been detained in 22 different EU-funded facilities.

In reaction, the Commission said all EU money provided for managing removal centres and voluntary returns in Turkey was “in full respect of EU and international standards.”

The EU executive, however, insisted the ultimate responsibility to probe and crack down on violations of fundamental rights was up to the Turkish authorities, effectively putting the ball in Ankara’s court.

“Türkiye has its own set of legislation when it comes to recognition of refugees and migration management. In this context, the enforcement and protection of these formal rights remain the responsibility of Türkiye,” a Commission spokesperson said on Friday.

“The fundamental rights of individuals and the principle of non-refoulement must always be respected when enforcing any return decisions,” the spokesperson added, referring to the international principle that forbids deporting migrants to nations where they would face persecution, torture or any other form of ill-treatment.

“It is the responsibility of the Turkish authorities to thoroughly investigate allegations of wrongdoing and we urge them to do so.”

The spokesperson did not confirm if the Commission had been made aware of the abusive conditions inside the removal centres and noted EU officials based in Turkey “regularly” conduct monitoring missions to the sites.

According to UN figures, Turkey is one of the largest refugee-hosting countries worldwide, with around 3.2 million Syrian refugees alongside other nationalities.

Since 2011, the EU has provided Turkey with almost €10 billion to support the management of asylum seekers.

While Brussels and member states argue the financing and the 2016 deal have helped curb flows of irregular migration, critics counter the scheme has empowered President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to threaten the bloc and extract concessions.

Abu Dhabi Judo Grand Slam 2024: Home glory for UAE

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After a successful staging of the World Judo Championships earlier this year, The World Judo Tour is back in Abu Dhabi for the first Grand Slam since the Paris Olympic games.

It was Sabina Giliazova who claimed the lightest female weight in the Mubadala Arena at -48kg.

A clever Sumi-gaeshi from Giliazova in the dying seconds left STOJADINOV with no chance to reply.

IJF President, Mr Marius VIZER awarded her with the gold medal.

Iznaur SAAEV took on France’s Cedric REVOL at -60kg.He took home the win with a waza-ari in golden score after a tight battle.

Balazs FÜRJES, IOC Member representing Hungary, awarded the medals.

Khorloodoi BISHRELT of the United Arab Emirates brought home the gold for the home nation at -52kg, a historic moment for the UAE women’s team.

Mohammed Bin Tha’aloob Al DERIE, UAE Judo Federation President awarded the gold.

“It was really hard but I wanted this medal. These people support me and this competition is important for me,” said BISHRELT.

Murad CHOPANOV was on fine form at -66kg. In an enthralling final, he caught France’s Daiki BOUBA twice! First for waza-ari, and then for the decisive Ippon!

Icona Capital CEO, Max-Hervé GEORGE was on hand to award the medals.

“A big thank you to Abu Dhabi! I have a lot of friends here who are competing and representing the UAE team. I wish them luck and to make their team proud. Now I will celebrate my success and relax,” said CHOPANOV.

Seija BALLHAUS was the class of the field at -57kg. She controlled the final, and took the win with a powerful waza-ari score!

Medals were presented by Rene Fasel, Life President of the International Ice Hockey Federation.

Just 7 seconds into the day, Team UAE also provided the tournament’s very first ippon! Giving them a dream start.

Montenegro to Extradite Do Kwon to South Korea, Rejecting U.S. Request

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Terraform Labs co-founder and fraudster Do Kwon is once again set to be extradited from Montenegro to his native South Korea, after a ruling from the Balkan nation’s court of appeals Thursday.

The Appellate Court of Montenegro issued a ruling confirming an earlier decision from a lower court, the High Court of Podgorica, to send Kwon to South Korea instead of the U.S., which is also seeking his extradition.

Both countries want to try Kwon for criminal charges tied to the $40 billion implosion of the Terra/LUNA ecosystem in May 2022. Terra was the first proverbial domino to fall in a sequence of high-profile crypto company collapses that year including FTX, the second-biggest crypto exchange in the world.

Kwon went on the lam shortly after Terra’s collapse. In September 2022, Interpol put out a red notice for Kwon. Six months later, in March 2023, he was arrested and subsequently jailed in Montenegro for attempting to use a fake Costa Rican passport to fly to Dubai. Kwon was initially given a four-month sentence for using falsified documents, but remained in prison until March of this yeart, when he was released on bail without his real passport, which was confiscated to prevent him from leaving the country.

Thursday’s decision is expected to put an end to months of back-and-forth over whether Kwon should be extradited to South Korea, which submitted its extradition request first, or the U.S. Kwon successfully fought against earlier rulings to extradite him to the U.S. but, when the High Court of Podgorica ruled to send him to South Korea, the country’s Supreme Court stepped in to postpone it after the country’s top prosecutor issued a statement arguing that the court’s decision overstepped the limits of its power. There have been numerous court rulings overturning previous decisions to send him to one or another of the two countries.

A truly final decision on where Kwon will be extradited can only be made by Montenegro’s minister of justice, according to the Office of the Supreme State Prosecutor. Montenegro’s Prime Minister, Milojko Spajic, is a personal investor in Terraform Labs, Bloomberg reported earlier this year.

No date for Kwon’s extradition has yet been set.