2015 Iglesia ni Cristo leadership controversy
Menorca later fled to Canada and filed for refugee status, which was granted in 2018, with the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada stating: "When the panel considers the links between the INC and the law enforcement authorities in the Philippines, the general climate of impunity that pervades Philippines law enforcement, particularly with respect to the issue of extrajudicial killing, and the level of corruption that exists in the Philippines government and law enforcement apparatus, the panel is satisfied Menorca would be unable to avail himself of state protection, from the risks that he fears in that country..."


2015 Iglesia ni Cristo leadership controversy, Overview, Angel and Tenny Manalo
On July 22, 2015, a video was uploaded to YouTube featuring Felix Nathaniel "Angel" Manalo, the brother to nominal INC leader Eduardo V. Manalo and a former general manager of Global Expansion Media Television (a terrestrial TV station broadcasting the INC's programs, now called INCTV), along with his mother, Cristina "Tenny" Villanueva Manalo, the widow of Eraño G. Manalo. In the video, they claimed their lives had been threatened by the INC leadership, along with that of Angel's sister, Lolita "Lottie" Manalo Hemedez. Tenny Manalo also claimed that there had been a mass kidnapping of ministers who had not been accounted for, implying that their disappearance somehow traced to the INC leadership, and that she had not been able to speak to her son.


2015 Iglesia ni Cristo leadership controversy, Overview, Angel and Tenny Manalo
However, the INC denied the claims. Bienvenido Santiago, INC's chief evangelist, announced a few hours after the video's release that the church was expelling Tenny and Angel Manalo for allegedly causing divisions in the church and wanting to seize power. Santiago claimed that their video was a sympathy ploy to gather support to meddle in the leadership of the INC and that the INC administration was acting on the wishes of Eduardo V. Manalo to prevent discord in the Church. Edwil Zabala, a spokesman for the INC, stated that the INC would consider having Tenny and Angel Manalo return to the Church if they would pledge to uphold and obey their teachings. Lottie Hemedez and another sibling, Marco Eraño "Marc" Villanueva Manalo, were also expelled.


2015 Iglesia ni Cristo leadership controversy, Overview, Angel and Tenny Manalo
After the response from the INC, an unidentified individual was photographed holding a sign saying "Tulong, hostage kami" (Tagalog: Help, we're [held] hostage) in a building that is part of the INC Central Office in the Tandang Sora district in Quezon City, Metro Manila, northeast of the capital Manila. When contacted by reporters, INC spokesman Edwil Zabala referred them to a CD recording of Santiago's statement regarding the expulsions.


2015 Iglesia ni Cristo leadership controversy, Overview, Angel and Tenny Manalo
In a press briefing that same afternoon, Santiago confirmed the expulsions. Santiago said, "Painful as it is to our brother Eduardo Manalo, they have decided to expel those who have been causing division within the Church. That is why in future worship services of the Church of Christ, from this day, the Overall Leadership will let this be known by all of our brothers".


2015 Iglesia ni Cristo leadership controversy, Overview, Angel and Tenny Manalo
The Philippine National Police, through its Quezon City Police District (QCPD), sent its personnel to the INC compound on July 23. They were able to contact Angel in the evening, and Angel himself talked to the reporters around 1:00 PST, denying he was detained and saying that sign pleading for help was done by a child joking around. QCPD Joel Pagdilao said that the police is ruling out case of abduction and described the concerned persons inside as peaceful and free.


2015 Iglesia ni Cristo leadership controversy, Overview, Angel and Tenny Manalo
Angel Manalo also spoke to the reporters and criticised the Church's Sanggunian, denied that he is challenging the leadership of his brother, Eduardo Manalo. He also advised his brother Eduardo against trusting people within the Sanggunian he alleged to be corrupt. He also criticised the decision's to build the Philippine Arena (a large indoor arena in the northern Manila suburb of Bocaue, Bulacan, the world's largest) instead of more houses of worship. He lamented the situation, saying, "Why is it that these days, there are many anomalies? Others might say we're challenging our brother. No, we love our brother.


2015 Iglesia ni Cristo leadership controversy, Overview, Angel and Tenny Manalo
But our problem is with people around him." He added "The doctrine of the Iglesia ni Cristo is now damaged. In the same way that you looked up to us before, now you can see there are many anomalies. There are many acts of corruption in the Church. That's what we want to avoid"


2015 Iglesia ni Cristo leadership controversy, Overview, Angel and Tenny Manalo
On December 15, 2015, church guards prevented Manalo and his housekeepers from allowing members of the media to enter their ancestral house at 35 Tandang Sora Avenue, following the inspection of the sheriff of the Quezon City RTC.


2015 Iglesia ni Cristo leadership controversy, Overview, Angel and Tenny Manalo
The court inspection  was requested by church officials in order to identify the occupants of property, following reports that unknown masked and hooded persons were going in and out of the compound, located beside the INC central office, as well as in response to several ex-Marines who tried to go inside the compound, led by renegade soldier Capt. Nicanor Faeldon, and who were only stopped by INC security. INC spokesman Zabala also claimed that the Tandang Sora property was owned by INC. Angel Manalo also protested the construction of the high fences in the compound. The next day, the Quezon City Regional Trial Court (RTC) branch 22 ordered the INC to restore the electricity supply of the compound, remove and dismantle the blocking fences, and remove the guardhouse and portable toilet that blocked the vehicle gate #3 of the Manalo's home.


2015 Iglesia ni Cristo leadership controversy, Overview, Angel and Tenny Manalo
The INC planned to file an ejectment case against Manalo and Hemedez if the siblings refused to leave their residence in Tandang Sora. On her part, Manalo-Hemedez said that she is the real owner of the 36 Tandang Sora Avenue compound, having been owned the property since 1983. She maintained that she and her household would not leave the compound.


2015 Iglesia ni Cristo leadership controversy, Overview, Angel and Tenny Manalo
Presidential aspirant Roy Señeres visited the compound in January 2016. Guards barred Señeres from entering and refused to let him provide the occupants with food and bottled water.


2015 Iglesia ni Cristo leadership controversy, Overview, Ministers
That same day, allegations from former and current INC ministers claimed that the Manalo family were hostages. Roel Rosal, a former Iglesia ni Cristo minister who stated that he and his wife were expelled from the church for trying to expose corruption, made a public statement that ten ministers along with the Manalos were under house arrest at the INC Central Office, at the behest of INC auditor general Glicerio B. "Jun" Santos, Jr. in order to prevent the revelation of financial corruption by Santos and his staff.


2015 Iglesia ni Cristo leadership controversy, Overview, Ministers
Rosal claimed that Santos had pilfered and misused church offerings, and is holding the Manalos for "revenge." Supporters of Tenny and Angel Manalo gathered outside the compound demanding to know the whereabouts of the Manalos and missing ministers. GMA News reported that they saw an individual resembling Angel Manalo inside of the house, along with guards wielding long firearms.


2015 Iglesia ni Cristo leadership controversy, Overview, Ministers
At least ten ministers are reported to be missing according to expelled minister Roel Rosal. One of the reported ministers, Lowell Menorca II was reported to have been arrested by the Philippine National Police in Dasmariñas, Cavite, located south of Manila after two construction workers were allegedly threatened by Menorca with a grenade. Menorca's lawyer, Allen Blair Boy from the New Era University Legal Aid, questioned whether he was abducted and Boy said that Menorca told him that he was indeed arrested. It is not clear why he was in Dasmariñas, as Menorca was based in Sorsogon province in the southern part of the island of Luzon.


2015 Iglesia ni Cristo leadership controversy, Overview, Ministers
On July 29, 2015, Rosal reiterated his claims against the INC leadership. He also accused the Quezon City Police Department of taking sides in the conflict by supporting the INC administration, and denying Angel and Tenny Manalo deliveries of food and water. Rosal also claimed that the captives in the Manalo compound were running out of food and water.


2015 Iglesia ni Cristo leadership controversy, Overview, Ministers
In a press conference held July 23, INC minister Isaias Samson, Jr. cited Menorca's case alleging that the military had taken him from Sorsogon to Dasmariñas. He said that the missing ministers were held at Rosalia Compound and the headquarters of the Quezon City Police Department in Quezon City.


2015 Iglesia ni Cristo leadership controversy, Overview, Ministers
Arnel Tumanan, Joven Sepillo of Tacloban, and Nolan Olarte of Cebu are among the other reported missing ministers.


2015 Iglesia ni Cristo leadership controversy, Overview, Ministers
The INC, thru attorney Serafin Cuevas, Jr., filed libel charges against Samson and Joy Yuson, former administrative coordinator of Global Expansion Media TV, then the TV arm of INC, for accusing the church and its Sanggunian members of involvement in various anomalies and alleged abductions of ministers. preliminary investigations for the said case started on September 16, 2015 at the Quezon City RTC.


2015 Iglesia ni Cristo leadership controversy, Overview, Ministers
Menorca released a video on October 23, 2015, a few days after he was allegedly rescued from abduction by the Sanggunian and the filing of writ of habeas corpus by his brother Anthony and sister-in-law Junko Azuka. In the video, he supported the claim that he, together with his wife, children, and housekeeper, were abducted and illegally detained from July 25 to October 21 in the Central Compound by the Sanggunian. He further claimed that he and his family never asked to the Church to give them a house, or to be put into protective custody. The supposed rescue of the Menorca household was first supported by attorney Trixie Cruz-Angeles, the lawyer of the INC's expelled ministers, including Jun Samson.


2015 Iglesia ni Cristo leadership controversy, Overview, Ministers
During the alleged illegal detention they claimed to have been barred from leaving the premises and accepting guests. Cellphones and gadgets were also said to not be allowed in the premises. After the video was uploaded, the Menorcas were expelled by the INC. The expulsion papers were signed by minister Radel Cortez.


2015 Iglesia ni Cristo leadership controversy, Overview, Isaias Samson, Jr.
Isaias Samson, Jr. was a second-generation INC minister, former Sanggunian member and head of the Foreign Department. He had been demoted due to some cases in his department to the position of an editor of the INC's Pasugo magazine (a section of INC's Evangelism Department). He held a press conference on July 23 confirming his own detention, stating that he and his family were placed under house arrest by the INC administration, with the involvement of military and police officials.


2015 Iglesia ni Cristo leadership controversy, Overview, Isaias Samson, Jr.
Samson stated that he was detained because of his opposition to Santos and gave a rough estimate of the amount of fund misused by Santos as in the "millions" of pesos, but he gave no evidence. Samson also stated that communication from the outside world was cut off and that passports, computers, phones and other electronic devices were confiscated. He was accused by INC leadership of being "Antonio Ebangelista," a pseudonym used by a minister who had written critical articles that revealed details on Church administration and Santos, a charge Samson denies.


2015 Iglesia ni Cristo leadership controversy, Overview, Isaias Samson, Jr.
Samson and his family escaped by telling the guards they wanted to go to church service. Samson described his imprisonment as "unlawful detention," and called some in the INC administration "dishonest," but stated that he retained his faith in the INC. Samson later claimed corruption within the INC leadership regarding misuse of funds, such as in the "Lingap sa Mamamayan" fund, use of private planes, and investments in the oil industry. On July 25, 2015, INC spokesman Edwil Zabala stated that Samson and his family were expelled from the church for refusing to submit to authority.


2015 Iglesia ni Cristo leadership controversy, Overview, Isaias Samson, Jr.
Samson was replaced by Dennis C. Lovendino, a minister who became the new editor of Pasugo as of the June 2015 issue.


2015 Iglesia ni Cristo leadership controversy, Overview, Isaias Samson, Jr.
In a separate interview with CNN Philippines, Zabala said that the so-called house arrest of the family of Samson, Jr. was a disciplinary act within the Church (preventive suspension) in which Samson was under investigation, due to his connection to the group in social media that was claiming corruption issues inside the church.


2015 Iglesia ni Cristo leadership controversy, Overview, Isaias Samson, Jr.
On November 17, the Department of Justice dismissed the criminal case filed by Samson and fellow expelled member Lito de Luna Fruto against the INC leaders for lack of probable cause. Both Samson and Fruto accused the church of holding them against their will.


2015 Iglesia ni Cristo leadership controversy, Overview, Loans
News website Rappler obtained documents on loans to the Iglesia Ni Cristo in 2014 from two Philippine banks, Metrobank and Asia United Bank, despite the positions of the founder of the church Felix Y. Manalo and his son Eraño G. Manalo against the church borrowing money, specially mortgaging church properties to banks. However, unearthed loan documents shows that Iglesia Ni Cristo, represented by Glicerio Santos Jr., the church's General Auditor and his son Atty. Glicerio Santos IV availed of billions of cash loans from Metrobank and Asia United Banks.


2015 Iglesia ni Cristo leadership controversy, Overview, Loans
In addition, several church properties located in Metro Manila, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija and Baguio, including the LIG Condominium housing church ministers and workers beside the church's central office were used as mortgage collateral in exchange for the billion loans. According to the public documents, the loans were obtained to fund the completion of the church's Philippine Arena and Ciudad Victoria projects in Bulacan, despite the church leaders's initial pronouncements that the projects were wholly funded allegedly by members’ monetary offerings.


2015 Iglesia ni Cristo leadership controversy, Investigations
On July 24, 2015, the Department of Justice ordered the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to investigate allegations of abduction of INC members. However, it added that it would not interfere with internal disputes. On July 27, 2015, in a statement by Manuel Eduarte, chief of the NBI Anti- Organised Transnational Crime Division, said that the NBI concluded that insufficient evidence showed that the Iglesia ni Cristo abducted some of its ministers. However, on July 29, 2015, Secretary of Justice Leila de Lima clarified that the case had not been closed.


2015 Iglesia ni Cristo leadership controversy, Investigations
Vice President Jejomar Binay criticised de Lima's "unwarranted statements" asserting that the case remained open and noted her statement contradicts the reported findings of NBI Anti- Organised Transnational Crime Division. "By your actuations, you are promoting the image of disunity, discord and even corruption in the INC to its clear prejudice and detriment," Binay said that de Lima must respect the separation of church and state and "unwarranted interference" from the government in the church must not happen. Binay also described De Lima's dealings with the Iglesia ni Cristo controversy as akin to what he describes as a "policy of demolition" targeted towards his own person.


2015 Iglesia ni Cristo leadership controversy, Investigations, Protests in response to the investigation
On late evening of August 27, about 2,000 Iglesia members led by INC spokesman Edwil Zabala held a vigil outside the Department of Justice office in Manila and later moved to the Ortigas Interchange at Epifanio De los Santos Avenue and Ortigas Avenue, at the boundary between Quezon City and Mandaluyong, east of Manila. The demonstrators protested against the Department of Justice, led by de Lima, for allegedly persecuting their church and called for upholding the separation of church and state. They also called for the agency to prioritise more important issues.


2015 Iglesia ni Cristo leadership controversy, Reactions, Iglesia ni Cristo, Religious leaders
INC general evangelist Bienvenido Santiago, on July 23, 2015, responding to allegations made by the Manalos in a July 22 video, dismissed the accusations that some INC ministers were abducted and claimed that the two were attacking the church to make it appear that it was involved in the abductions. He also added that the video was an attempt to rally support from church members and to distract the church's management. Santiago said that the church's decision to expel the two Manalos was to show that the INC is a religion that follows the teachings of God found in the Bible, not a business.


2015 Iglesia ni Cristo leadership controversy, Reactions, Iglesia ni Cristo, Religious leaders
In a morning Sunday worship on July 26, INC executive minister Eduardo Manalo repeated that members should strictly follow the church's leadership and rules to attain salvation.


2015 Iglesia ni Cristo leadership controversy, Reactions, Iglesia ni Cristo, Religious leaders
The media reported that an INC member said that provincial ministers issued a set of tagubilin (instructions) towards the church's members during the weekend ahead of the church's 101st anniversary celebrations to be held on July 26 in Ciudad de Victoria complex in Bulacan. Among these reported instructions were that members decline media inquiries and travel by private cars to the celebrations. During the centennial celebrations, members were provided with service vehicles. Stickers for vehicles with "One with EVM" were reportedly distributed.


2015 Iglesia ni Cristo leadership controversy, Reactions, Iglesia ni Cristo, Religious leaders
The media reported an unusually high number of worshipers and vehicles at the INC church in Los Baños. Several tarpaulins bearing the words "One with EVM" were posted outside the building.


2015 Iglesia ni Cristo leadership controversy, Reactions, Iglesia ni Cristo, Expelled members
Expelled INC minister Roel Rosal and his spouse, Shirley, told reporters on July 23, 2015 that at least 10 ministers were under house arrest. Rosal claimed that auditor Jun Santos and his staff were using donations for the INC to purchase luxury vehicles. He also said that Angel and Tenny Manalo were hostages. Roel said that the expulsion of the Manalos might have been influenced by a "third party" in the church administration.


2015 Iglesia ni Cristo leadership controversy, Reactions, Iglesia ni Cristo, Expelled members
Isaias Samson, Jr. at a July 23 press conference said that government intervention in the crisis would help resolve the issue. Samson was expelled from the INC the day after his press conference.


2015 Iglesia ni Cristo leadership controversy, Reactions, Iglesia ni Cristo, Other members and supporters
Fewer than 12 supporters of the church wearing white armbands organised a vigil in support of the Manalos in front of the INC compound in Tandang Sora. By 2:00 am of July 25, no INC member was seen camping outside the compound.


2015 Iglesia ni Cristo leadership controversy, Reactions, Iglesia ni Cristo, Other members and supporters
Some members used social media to express their support for Eduardo V. Manalo and the Sanggunian. Some members changed their profile photo to an image bearing the words "I am one with EVM," in support of the leadership of Eduardo Manalo.


2015 Iglesia ni Cristo leadership controversy, Reactions, Iglesia ni Cristo, Other members and supporters
On July 25, 2015, Louie Cayabyab, the minister of the Iglesia ni Cristo locale in Fremont, California, United States, resigned his position as minister as a response to the expulsions of Samson and Tenny and Angel Manalo. Cayabyab stated, "Beloved brethren, there are two circulars that are supposed to be read this morning. The first circular is about the expulsion from the Church of the wife and children of Bro. Erano G. Manalo. And another circular is the expulsion from the Church of Bro. Isaias T. Samson Jr., former editor-in-chief of the Pasugo.


2015 Iglesia ni Cristo leadership controversy, Reactions, Iglesia ni Cristo, Other members and supporters
I decided, brethren, that I won’t read those circulars. You might be asking, 'why?' Because in my heart, in my heart of hearts, I can’t take it. It is, it is just so so difficult to betray one’s heart..." While Cayabyab asked INC members to remain in the church, he urged them to support peaceful vigils held in their areas, and implored them to support brethren in the Philippines "who are risking their lives" to expose corruption and reform the church.


2015 Iglesia ni Cristo leadership controversy, Reactions, Iglesia ni Cristo, Other members and supporters
In response to Cayabyab's resignation, members of the INC in Northern California, numbering in the "dozens," according to ABS-CBN News, held a protest at the INC's main United States office in Burlingame, California, demanding an investigation and tribunal into the corruption allegations, along with the reinstatement of Angel and Tenny Manalo. About a week later those who were identified as having taken part in the protests were expelled from the church.


2015 Iglesia ni Cristo leadership controversy, Reactions, Iglesia ni Cristo, Other members and supporters
Members of INC from 26 ecclesiastical districts picketed the Department of Justice office in Manila, when Secretary Leila de Lima, on her birthday, officially announced her 2016 senatorial bid. The assembly happened a few days after former minister Samson, Jr., his wife and son, filed illegal detention charges against eight members of the Sanggunian. A respondent of the case, Bienvenido Santiago, Sr., the church's general evangelist, wanted de Lima to focus instead on the Mamasapano clash.


2015 Iglesia ni Cristo leadership controversy, Reactions, Iglesia ni Cristo, Net 25 TV interview with allegedly missing ministers
In an interview with broadcaster Net 25 on July 29, 2015, a broadcaster owned and operated by INC affiliate Eagle Broadcasting Corporation, ministers Lowell "Boyet" Menorca II, Joel San Pedro, Jojo Nemis and Arnel Tumanan denied being held captive or tortured. They also affirmed their loyalty to the church administration and executive minister Eduardo Manalo and that they were still church members. The ministers also stated that members should not believe the claims of abduction.


2015 Iglesia ni Cristo leadership controversy, Reactions, Iglesia ni Cristo, Net 25 TV interview with allegedly missing ministers
However, Anthony Menorca, Boyet Menorca's brother, stated that his older brother was forced to deny his abduction because INC Sanggunian was holding Boyet Menorca's wife, Seiko Otsuka Menorca, and their one-year-old child. Anthony stated that in a meeting with his brother, he told him, "My brother warned us we will be killed." Anthony Menorca stated that he was in an undisclosed location and feared for the life of his brother.


2015 Iglesia ni Cristo leadership controversy, Reactions, Iglesia ni Cristo, Net 25 TV interview with allegedly missing ministers
In a new video released after he was allegedly rescued from the captivity of the Sanggunian on October 21, Menorca clarified, claiming that everything he said in the interview on Net 25 were "scripted".


2015 Iglesia ni Cristo leadership controversy, Reactions, Iglesia ni Cristo, Interview with Boyet Menorca
On August 1, 2015, Boyet Menorca, along with his wife and child, were interviewed in person outside the INC compound, wherein he denied all allegations of his abduction and pleaded for his brother to stop making claims. He added that he and his family voluntarily decided to stay within the compound because of safety concerns. He was worried that he could potentially be attacked in order to direct the resulting blame on the INC. After the interview, he and his family returned to the INC compound. Later, Menorca stated the interview was held "under duress."


2015 Iglesia ni Cristo leadership controversy, Reactions, Iglesia ni Cristo, Menorca recounts capture and being held hostage
On October 21, 2015, Lowell Menorca's brother Anthony petitioned the Supreme Court of the Philippines to issue writs of habeas corpus and amparo against the INC administration. The request was granted and on October 25, Menorca stated that he was illegally detained by INC, kidnapped by police officers allegedly in INC's employ and had been interrogated for 17 hours. He also stated that police officials tried to kill him afterwards using a hand grenade and that he had to beg for his life, successfully convincing a police officer allegedly hired to murder him not to go through with the killing.


2015 Iglesia ni Cristo leadership controversy, Reactions, Iglesia ni Cristo, Menorca's arrest in connection with libel charges
On January 20, 2016, on his way to the Court of Appeals to attend a hearing on the illegal detention case, policemen wearing civilian clothes and without badges led by Supt. Ed Leonardo and INC member, arrested Menorca on libel charges filed by SCAN International (the INC's amateur communications and disaster relief arm) in Kapatagan, Lanao del Norte, in the southern Philippines. A standoff between the police, Menorca and his wife Jinky occurred in Manila along Roxas Boulevard and Quirino Avenue when Menorca refused the arrest and claimed that the court had not notified him of libel charges. After the commotion, 20 policemen in uniform showed up to arrest Menorca. MPD Director Chief Supt. Rolando Nana stopped the standoff and told Menorca to go to MPD Station 5 for booking.


2015 Iglesia ni Cristo leadership controversy, Reactions, Iglesia ni Cristo, Menorca's arrest in connection with libel charges
The church, through spokesman Edwil Zabala, said the INC strongly denied any involvement with the standoff and told Menorca to face the libel charges against him.


2015 Iglesia ni Cristo leadership controversy, Reactions, Iglesia ni Cristo, Key figures flee the Philippines
Menorca fled to Vietnam in March 2016. Moises Tolentino Jr., a lawyer for the Iglesia ni Cristo responded that: "Beset by several libel suits and an adultery charge to boot, [Menorca] took the cowardly option. He took a hurried flight last night bound for Vietnam. He is now a fugitive from justice..." and "Menorca is supposed to be the aggrieved party. If they were sincere, if they believed that they were in the right, they should not leave the country.


2015 Iglesia ni Cristo leadership controversy, Reactions, Iglesia ni Cristo, Key figures flee the Philippines
They should face all opportunities that should be given to respondents..." Menorca left Vietnam two weeks later and traveled to Thailand planning to move to Seattle, Washington, since he had a valid United States visa, but because the rest of his family did not, he proceeded instead to seek asylum in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. He then filed an application for refugee status with the Government of Canada claiming that his life and that of his family members were threatened by the administration of the Iglesia ni Cristo.


2015 Iglesia ni Cristo leadership controversy, Reactions, Iglesia ni Cristo, Key figures flee the Philippines
The Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (IRB) granted Menorca refugee status in 2018, stating that Menorca was "a person in need of protection from a risk of cruel and unusual treatment or punishment and a risk to his life."


2015 Iglesia ni Cristo leadership controversy, Reactions, Iglesia ni Cristo, Key figures flee the Philippines
The IRB further stated, "When the panel considers the links between the INC and the law enforcement authorities in the Philippines, the general climate of impunity that pervades Philippines law enforcement particularly with respect to the issue of extrajudicial killing, and the level of corruption that exists in the Philippines government and law enforcement apparatus, the panel is satisfied [Menorca] would be unable to avail himself of state protection, from the risks that he fears in that country...." and that "[The INC's] power and influence extends to an ability to utilise [police] to target the claimant."


2015 Iglesia ni Cristo leadership controversy, Reactions, Iglesia ni Cristo, Key figures flee the Philippines
Aedtnavye Juntilla “AJ” Lazo, who was accused by her husband of having an affair with Menorca, was arrested in Cebu on June 22, 2019 for her failure to attend the mandatory court hearing in her adultery case, according to authorities. Both Lazo and her husband, Davis Chavez Flores, are members of Iglesia ni Cristo. Menorca replied to the accusations “Right now, no comment; they are digging up dirt and fabricating stories against me. I already talked to my lawyers about that."


2015 Iglesia ni Cristo leadership controversy, Reactions, Iglesia ni Cristo, Key figures flee the Philippines
Rovic Gloria Canono : The First Filipino recognized by Canada as Convention Refugee on the Basis of Iglesia Ni Cristo Religious Persecution


2015 Iglesia ni Cristo leadership controversy, Reactions, Iglesia ni Cristo, Key figures flee the Philippines
Rovic Gloria Canono who was allegedly behind a blog entitled Sher Lock that supposedly denounced the corruption within the church's ranks, also fled the Philippines after being charged with various cases by church members including a libel case filed by INC top leader Eduardo Manalo. Canono arrived and applied for asylum in Canada in December, 2016. In a hearing in February 2017, his claim  was accepted by the Immigration and Refugee Board on the basis of religious persecution as mandated by the United Nations Convention on Refugees of 1951.


2015 Iglesia ni Cristo leadership controversy, Reactions, Iglesia ni Cristo, Key figures flee the Philippines
Canono was allegedly found guilty of concubinage filed by members of Iglesia Ni Cristo. In 2019, Canono, a past president of the Rotary Club, was honoured by the Rotary Club of Circuit Makati with the Rovic Canono Human Rights Award for his valuable work in the protection of victims of human rights violations and religious persecution. The award is given to films that examine human rights in the Philippines.


2015 Iglesia ni Cristo leadership controversy, Reactions, Iglesia ni Cristo, Assassinations and disappearances of Iglesia ni Cristo critics
Jose Norulito Fruto was expelled from the INC in the early part of 2015 for his critical statements against the church. Fruto, who was also an American citizen, was initially under the witness protection program by the Philippine government in April 2015, as he claimed to have received threats due to his allegations against the INC leadership. In November 2015, he filed a complaint against members of the INC's top administrative body, the Sanggunian, accusing them of coercion, harassment, threats, and arbitrary detention.


2015 Iglesia ni Cristo leadership controversy, Reactions, Iglesia ni Cristo, Assassinations and disappearances of Iglesia ni Cristo critics
Fruto said he had been forcibly taken at gunpoint from his Caloocan residence based on a complaint of alleged rape against him, which he said was fabricated by INC. Fruto claimed that they were held by the INC against their will because of their supposed exposes against the church. He also said the judge in the rape case, who also slapped Fruto with a hold departure order, was a member of the INC.


2015 Iglesia ni Cristo leadership controversy, Reactions, Iglesia ni Cristo, Assassinations and disappearances of Iglesia ni Cristo critics
On May 24, 2017, whilst driving to Cavite, he was shot dead by an unidentified gunman at the southern terminus of the Cavite Expressway (CAVITEX), at the intersection with Tirona Highway in Kawit, Cavite, southwest of Manila. In a statement, Menorca hailed him as 'one of the bravest people" he knew, adding, "We just lost a comrade at arms, this is a sad day for truth-loving Christians all over the world."


2015 Iglesia ni Cristo leadership controversy, Reactions, Iglesia ni Cristo, Assassinations and disappearances of Iglesia ni Cristo critics
At the height of the INC church crisis, two former members of the Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) have gone missing, in two separate incidents that occurred within days of each other. Danilo Patungan, a security guard for a condominium in Bonifacio Global City district of Taguig, Metro Manila, has been missing since leaving for work the afternoon of April 11, 2017. Days later, another expelled INC member, Felix Villocino, also went missing and had not returned to his Quezon City residence in days.


2015 Iglesia ni Cristo leadership controversy, Reactions, Iglesia ni Cristo, Assassinations and disappearances of Iglesia ni Cristo critics
Several excommunicated INC members fear that this was a repeat of the reported abductions of expelled church ministers. Both Patungan and Villocino had links to Angel Manalo. Patungan had been a security guard for Angel for 16 years, before moving to his current job at the condominium. Villocino, meanwhile, had long been delivering food and other supplies to the Manalos' residence in Tandang Sora, Quezon City. Villocino was expelled after siding with Angel Manalo. On April 20, 2017, Antonio Ebangelista, the pseudonymous blogger involved in leaking information regarding the internal structures of the INC, confirmed a radio report that a body found in Bustos, Bulacan north of Manila was that of Villocino.


2015 Iglesia ni Cristo leadership controversy, Reactions, Governmental, Politicians
The Bulacan chapter of the League of Municipalities of the Philippines (LMP) posted tarpaulin streamers with photographs of 20 mayors in the province greeting the church on its 101st anniversary. Pandi Mayor Enrico Roque, president of LMP Bulacan, said that the tarpaulin was displayed to express their continuing friendship and respect to the church, in response to a report that a Bulacan mayor complained to church leaders that a minister from the INC attempted to extort money from the official. Roque said that the group says that they are in complete support of the INC.


2015 Iglesia ni Cristo leadership controversy, Reactions, Eli Soriano
On his Twitter account, Eli Soriano of Members Church of God International expressed support for Secretary de Lima and urged her not to resign.


2015 Iglesia ni Cristo leadership controversy, Reactions, Other groups, Commission on Human Rights
Commission on Human Rights chairperson José Luis Martin "Chito" Gascon on July 24 said that the human rights body is monitoring the situation and had yet to launch a formal investigation. The rights body stated that it was avoiding a "premature conclusion" regarding the situation. It described the situation as "primarily a police matter" and is looking into allegations before taking action.


2015 Iglesia ni Cristo leadership controversy, Reactions, Other groups, Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines
Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas, president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines, on July 24 requested prayers for Iglesia members. Villegas said in Tagalog, "As with their plea, I also ask that we pray for our brethren in the Iglesia ni Cristo...Brother Angel and his relatives are requesting prayers, that we pray for them." He added that he respected the decision of the Iglesia, which like the church, is "bound by rules and regulations".


2015 Iglesia ni Cristo protests
The 2015 INC protests were a series of marches which occurred between August 27–31, 2015. Supporters of the Iglesia ni Cristo, a religious body led by executive minister Eduardo V. Manalo, protested against the Department of Justice for allegedly meddling in internal church affairs by taking action on an illegal detention case filed by expelled minister Isaias Samson, Jr. Samson alleged that he was illegally detained by the church and has accused the church of corruption.


2015 Iglesia ni Cristo protests, Timeline, August 27
About 2,000 Iglesia Ni Cristo members led by its spokesperson, Edwil Zabala organized a vigil outside the office of the Department of Justice along Padre Faura Street in Manila. The demonstrators protested against the government agency, led by De Lima, for allegedly persecuting their church and called for upholding the separation of church and state. They also called for the agency to prioritize more important issues. The start of the protests was inline with De Lima's 56th birthday and the justice secretary hinting of her intention to run as senator in the 2016 Philippine elections saying that she was 80 percent sure of pursuing a senatorial campaign.


2015 Iglesia ni Cristo protests, Timeline, August 28
The protests continued near the Department of Justice office but the demonstrators later moved to Epifanio De los Santos Avenue or EDSA in the evening. At 6:00 pm the National Capital Region Police Office went full-alert. Task Force Manila Shield  was activated. At 8:30pm protestors started to gather outside the SM Megamall Fashion Hall in Mandaluyong and the EDSA Shrine in Quezon City, a few hundred meters away, before marching to Shaw Boulevard.


2015 Iglesia ni Cristo protests, Timeline, August 28
By 9:30pm, both the southbound and northbound lanes of EDSA in front of Robinsons Galleria were filled with protestors, leaving only the EDSA-Ortigas flyover passable and leaving motorists stranded for over four hours. Margarita “Tingting” Cojuangco, and Council of Philippine Affairs (Copa) head Pastor Boy Saycon were also reported to have joined the protests by 11:30pm.


2015 Iglesia ni Cristo protests, Timeline, August 28
The protesters shouted in unison, "Hustisya" or Justice in Filipino but later switched and shouted “hostess siya, De Lima.” (She's a hostess, De Lima). "Hostess" in Philippine colloquialism means prostitute. When an ambulance passed by near the protest site, some protesters called for putting De Lima inside the passing vehicle. “Leila, Leila Labandera” was also chanted by the demonstrators to the tune of The Battle Hymn of the Republic and they yelled “pabebe, De Lima!” when a Higantes-themed effigy of De Lima was brought to the protest site.


2015 Iglesia ni Cristo protests, Timeline, August 28
One of the hosts of the protests alleged that De Lima's alleged giving priority to the illegal detention case by Samson was related to her plans for the 2016 elections. In response to De Lima's reaction that she was just doing her job, the host said that the job of the secretary "was not to listen to hearsays" and that De Lima must focus on more important issues such as the case of the SAF 44.


2015 Iglesia ni Cristo protests, Timeline, August 28
About 5,000 was estimated to have taken part in the August 28 protest as estimated by the police.


2015 Iglesia ni Cristo protests, Timeline, August 29
Former Tarlac Governor, Margarita “Tingting” Cojuangco spoke before the Iglesia Ni Cristo protesters at EDSA-Shaw corner at evening of August 29. She called for justice of the SAF 44 who were killed in the Mamasapano clash and called for the police officers which were asked to secure the site of the protests to join her on stage. INC spokesperson Zabala apologised for the heavy traffic caused by the protests, and reminded protesters that the media were not their enemy after an ABS-CBN cameraman was reported to have been attacked on August 28. The Mandaluyong government had given them a permit to protest until August 30 which could be extended.


2015 Iglesia ni Cristo protests, Timeline, August 30
Protests continues in EDSA as parts of the avenue were rendered impassible. The number of protesters swelled to around 15,400 according to police reports. The Mandaluyong city government's permit to the protesters only allowed the protesters to gather at a designated 1,200-sq.m. area at EDSA-Shaw. It was reported that some protesters occupied the portion near the EDSA Shrine in Quezon City. It was also reported that as early as August 29, Iglesia Ni Cristo members from other parts of Luzon were converging in Metro Manila for the protests. Similar protests in Cebu, Puerto Princesa, and Davao starting on evening of August 30 were also planned.


2015 Iglesia ni Cristo protests, Timeline, August 31
Through the INC-ran television channel NET 25, General Evangelist Bienvenido Santiago announced the end of the protests after he said that the church and government officials held talks and made clarifications to their respective sides. Palace spokesperson Abigail Valte, clarified that there was no deal struck between the government and the church. Planned demonstrations in Cebu were cancelled. Some protesters were already gathered at the INC house of worship along Gen. Maxilom Avenue when the cancellation of protest were announced. It was planned that they would head toward Plaza Independencia to stage a vigil.


2015 Iglesia ni Cristo protests, Political Analysis
Ramon Casiple, executive director of the Institute for Political and Electoral Reforms, based in Manila, described the protests' goal as to pressure the government to back out from taking action on the filed illegal detention case. Casiple added that the government was unlikely to yield and stop the legal process. He added that "The one on trial here is the Iglesia ni Cristo. They have to show their unity... their strength,"


2015 Iglesia ni Cristo protests, Reactions, Relevant parties, Isaias Samson Jr.
Samson's lawyer, Trixie Cruz-Angeles, speaking on his behalf said that “The Sanggunian, the people who we filed charges against are running scared, they are very, very afraid,”. Cruz-Angeles alleges that the church leadership are using the protesters as human shields. "First they thought Ka Jun (Samson) would not put his money where his mouth is, so to speak, that he was afraid. They thought they had neutralized him. But with his coming out and filing cases, these are only the first cases. There are more. And they know that,” she added referring to the Samson's camp opinion on the Sanggunian.


2015 Iglesia ni Cristo protests, Reactions, Others, Individual Politicians
Vice President Jejomar Binay said in a statement on August 29 that the Iglesia ni Cristo was only practicing its freedom to assembly and religious freedom. He also criticized the current administration. “We cannot fault the INC for resorting to mass action to protect the independence of their church from a clear act of harassment and interference from the administration,” Binay said. He called for the justice of SAF 44 which he believes that the DOJ must prioritize.


2015 Iglesia ni Cristo protests, Reactions, Others, Individual Politicians
Senator Grace Poe said that she respects the protesters. “For me, those people are defending their faith. We respect that and they also have to protect their rights,” Poe said. She also called for the government to clarify the actions taken to the Iglesia ni Cristo and noted that the DOJ is already handling many cases when asked if the DOJ should handle the illegal detention case. “The INC certainly has the right to stage a peaceful mass action to express their sentiments in defense of their faith,”. Senator Francis Escudero had a similar opinion to Poe and added that the DOJ must respect the separation of church and state.


2015 Iglesia ni Cristo protests, Reactions, Others, Individual Politicians
Senator Bongbong Marcos said in support to the Iglesia ni Cristo. He said that the DOJ's investigation must be both transparent and impartial.


2015 Iglesia ni Cristo protests, Reactions, Others, Individual Politicians
Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago express the support to Iglesia ni Cristo. She said “The envelope has been pushed too far. As a matter of faith, they (members of the INC) want a regime change, even only in attitude, among our present corrupt politicians”.


2015 Iglesia ni Cristo protests, Reactions, Others, Individual Politicians
However Former Davao City Mayor and now President Rodrigo Duterte said that he will allow members of Iglesia ni Cristo to hold a rally in front of the city's Hall of Justice as long as they do not keep the public out.


2015 Iglesia ni Cristo protests, Reactions, Others, Catholic Church
The Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines issued a statement to Catholics said "The EDSA Shrine is a Catholic center of worship. It is a church. There is a Catholic priest assigned to it. We ask that all respect the sacred character of the EDSA Shrine," and added that "Unless it is convincingly shown that a law offends moral precepts, obedience to the law is a Christian duty. Sons and daughters of the Church cannot be less observant of the law than other citizens of the Republic,"


2015 Iglesia ni Cristo protests, Reactions, Others, Commission on Human Rights
The chairman of the Commission on Human Rights, Chito Gascon, in a text message to the media said that he disagrees with the belief held by the protesters that the DOJ violated the separation of church and state. “separation of Church and State does not arise at all in this instance. This is a matter involving the proper exercise of powers by the Justice department, involving an investigation of a case that may involve violation of law that exempts no one.” Gascon explains. He added that the separation of church and state only ensures that “the State does not favour any particular religion” and that “every person is able to believe and practice faith.”


2015 Iglesia ni Cristo protests, Reactions, Others, Commission on Human Rights
Gascon further added that “On matters of criminal law, the justice system must be allowed to take its due course no matter who may be the perpetrators involved, otherwise, people will ultimately be taking the law or interpretation thereof upon themselves, which would undermine it,” and that the “rule of law” must be secured to ensure human rights.“ No person or institution under our constitutional system can place themselves above or beyond the reach of law,” he added.


2015 Iglesia ni Cristo protests, Reactions, Others, Other figures
Former Akbayan partylist representative, Walden Bello expressed support to the move of the DOJ to handle the illegal detention case filed by Samson, and condemned politicians who expressed sympathy to the protesters. He also termed the protest as "disruption" of Metro Manila and views it as unacceptable. “If a Roman Catholic priest is accused of sexual exploitation of minors, he would be subject to secular prosecution by the state and would never be allowed to invoke the separation of church and state principle to protect him from prosecution,” Bello reasoned.


2015 Iglesia ni Cristo protests, Reactions, Others, Social media
Supporters of De Lima and critics of the protests by Iglesia ni Cristo members made the hashtag #DeLimaBringtheTruth trending with about 138,000 tweets as of evening of August 29. Supporters of the Iglesia ni Cristo also came up with their own hashtags: #IglesianiCristo (19,600 tweets)


2015 Iglesia ni Cristo protests, Reactions, Others, Social media
On Facebook as well as Twitter, netizens expressed displeasure over the actions of the INC members, taking them to task for rallying without permits and for disrupting the flow of traffic. Because the protests were held on a payday that preceded a long holiday weekend, commuters were inconvenienced by trips that took far longer than their usual duration. This was compounded by the mall-wide sales scheduled for that weekend by both Robinson's Galleria and SM Megamall, which further contributed to the traffic jam. When INC members protesting in the streets were interviewed live on why they were protesting, statements such as 'our loved minister told us to' resonated - leading to public opinion branding INC as a cult. Public hatred towards the Iglesia ni Cristo rose because of the event.


2015 Il Lombardia
The 2015 Il Lombardia (also known as the Giro di Lombardia or the Tour of Lombardy) was a one-day cycling classic that took place around Lake Como in Lombardy in northern Italy on 4 October 2015. It was the 109th edition of the Il Lombardia one-day cycling race and was the final cycling monument of the 2015 season, as well as being the final race of the 2015 UCI World Tour. The race was organised by RCS Sport, who also organise the Giro d'Italia.


2015 Il Lombardia
The course was difficult, taking in several hard climbs over the 245-kilometre (152 mi) route, including the famous Madonna del Ghisallo climb. It started in Bergamo and reached the coast of Lake Como about halfway through the race. The final 75 kilometres (47 mi) contained most of the climbing, with the final climb coming in the last 10 kilometres (6.2 mi). This was followed by a descent to the finish line in Como itself.


2015 Il Lombardia
There was aggressive racing from the climb of the Madonna del Ghisallo and the very difficult Muro di Sormano that followed it. A small group came to the final climbs together. Vincenzo Nibali (Astana), who had targeted the race following his expulsion from the Vuelta a España, attacked on the penultimate descent. Despite losing some time to the chasers on the final climb, he came to the finish line alone to take his first ever Monument victory. Daniel Moreno (Team Katusha) was second, with Thibaut Pinot (FDJ) third.


2015 Il Lombardia, Background
Il Lombardia was the final race in the 2015 UCI World Tour. This was a change from recent years, when the Tour of Beijing was the final race. The individual victory in the World Tour had already been won by Alejandro Valverde (Movistar Team). Valverde had won two of the one-day classics that took place early in the season (La Flèche Wallonne and Liège–Bastogne–Liège) and took top ten places in both the Tour de France and the Vuelta a España. Team Katusha were leading the team rankings ahead of Movistar and Team Sky, while Spain were leading the country rankings ahead of Colombia and Great Britain.


2015 Il Lombardia, Background
Il Lombardia was also the last of a series of Italian classics. The most important of these came in two groups of three. The first three races formed the Trittico Lombardo: these were the Coppa Ugo Agostoni, the Coppa Bernocchi and the Tre Valli Varesine. Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) came second to Davide Rebellin (CCC–Sprandi–Polkowice) in the Coppa Ugo Agostoni, then won the remaining two races. The second group was the Trittico di Autunno: these were the Milano–Torino, the Gran Piemonte and Il Lombardia itself, which was the only one of the races to be part of the World Tour. Diego Rosa, Nibali's teammate, won the Milano–Torino.


2015 Il Lombardia, Teams
The seventeen UCI WorldTeams were automatically invited and obliged to attend the race. The race organisers, RCS Sport, also invited eight UCI Professional Continental teams to take part as wildcard entries. These included the five wildcard teams from the Giro d'Italia, four of which were Italian-based. UnitedHealthcare and Colombia received entries after being rejected for the Giro, with Bora–Argon 18 receiving the final place. Each team was expected to enter eight riders. Two riders failed to start the race, so the peloton initially comprised 198 riders. 99 riders finished the race.


2015 Il Lombardia, Route
The route for the 2015 Il Lombardia was announced on 11 September 2015, a little over three weeks before the race took place, with numerous changes from the previous year's route. The race took place in Lombardy in northern Italy on 4 October over a course that was 245 kilometres (152 mi) in length, with most of the difficult hills coming in the second half.


2015 Il Lombardia, Route
The route began in Bergamo, where the 2014 race had finished, on the Viale Papa Giovanni XXIII. There was a neutral zone that took the riders south and out of the city, before the racing started on the Via San Bernardino. After first heading south, the route turned to the east and then to the north. After 43.6 kilometres (27.1 mi) the riders reached Entratico, where they joined the main valley road heading north-east. The roads up to this point were almost entirely flat.


2015 Il Lombardia, Route
6 kilometres (3.7 mi) after joining the valley road, however, the route turned to the west to cross the first climb of the day, the Colle Gallo (7.4 kilometres (4.6 mi) at an average gradient of 6%). After the descent from the climb, the route continued west and returned to the outskirts of Bergamo. By this point the riders had completed 79 kilometres (49 mi) of racing.


2015 Il Lombardia, Route
The route left Bergamo again, this time to the north-west, and went past Valbrembo. After this the course turned west to come to the second climb of the day, the Colle Brianza. This was a moderate climb (approximately 3.9 kilometres (2.4 mi) at 4%) and the descent was followed by more flat roads that took the riders north towards Pescate, where they came to the shore of Lake Como for the first time. Here the course turned gradually back to the south, to pass along the eastern coast of the Lago di Annone and around its southern tip.


2015 Il Lombardia, Route
This was approximately the half-way point in the race. The roads travelled north again, through Onno and to Bellagio, again riding along the coast of Lake Como. By this point the riders had covered 172 kilometres (107 mi). The remaining 73 kilometres (45 mi) were by far the hilliest and most difficult of the race.


2015 Il Lombardia, Route
The first climb was the Madonna del Ghisallo. This is an 8.6-kilometre (5.3 mi) climb, with an average gradient of 6.2%. The middle 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) of the climb are flat, however, so the remaining 5.6 kilometres (3.5 mi) had an average gradient of over 9% and sections as steep as 14%. Immediately after the descent, the riders faced the Colma di Sormano. The first 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) of the climb had an average gradient of 6.6%. After this came the Muro di Sormano (the "wall of Sormano"), which was a 1.9-kilometre (1.2 mi) section of road with an average gradient of 15.8% and sections of almost 30%. At the top of the climb there were 50.4 kilometres (31.3 mi) to the finish line.


2015 Il Lombardia, Route
After the descent back to the shores of Lake Como, there were around 16 kilometres (9.9 mi) of flat roads that took the riders south-west into Como itself. The riders only got as far as the eastern outskirts, however, before they turned to the east for the day's penultimate climb. This was the Civiglio (4.2 kilometres (2.6 mi) at 9.7%), the summit of which came with 16.6 kilometres (10.3 mi) to the finish. The riders then descended back into Como, which they reached with 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) remaining.


2015 Il Lombardia, Route
The route left the town to the west and climbed the San Fermo della Battaglia (2.7 kilometres (1.7 mi) at 7.2%). The summit came with 5.3 kilometres (3.3 mi) remaining. There was then a descent back into town. The descent ended as the riders went under the flamme rouge with 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) remaining. There was a final corner with 600 metres (1,970 ft) to the finish line, which was on the Lungo Lario Trento on the shore of the lake.


2015 Il Lombardia, Pre-race favourites
The defending champion in the race was Dan Martin (Cannondale–Garmin), who won the 2014 edition with a late attack. He had crashed during the Vuelta a España, however, and had been forced to retire from the race due to injury. After recovering from the injury, he had raced just once since the crash: he finished in 14th place in Milano–Torino. His form before the race was therefore unclear, especially as Il Lombardia is both longer and more difficult than Milano–Torino. Il Lombardia was the final race of Martin's season and also his final race for the Cannondale-Garmin team.


2015 Il Lombardia, Pre-race favourites
With Martin's form uncertain, the favourite for the race was Alejandro Valverde. As well as performing strongly in the early-season hilly classics in the 2015 season, he had been close to success in Il Lombardia in the past: he finished second in both 2013 and 2014. Max Sciandri, a directeur sportif for the BMC Racing Team, said that the increased difficulty of the 2015 edition suited Valverde: "now it suits the climbers and good descenders rather the Classics riders ... [ Valverde] can climb, can descend and is even fast in a sprint finish."


2015 Il Lombardia, Pre-race favourites
Cycling Weekly suggested that Valverde's ability to recover from the Vuelta in time for Il Lombardia would work in his favour. Joaquim Rodríguez (Team Katusha) would also have been a strong favourite for the race: he won the 2012 and 2013 editions and had come second in the Vuelta. However, he injured his knee when he hit a sign post while training and was forced to withdraw from the race.


2015 Il Lombardia, Pre-race favourites
Vincenzo Nibali was also cited as a potential winner of the race, following a difficult season. He had struggled during the Tour de France and was subsequently thrown out of the Vuelta for holding on to a team car. He had therefore made Il Lombardia a significant target. Nibali had performed strongly in the other late-season Italian classics, while his team had shown its strength in supporting Diego Rosa to victory in Milano–Torino. Fabio Aru, who had won the Vuelta, was not present: he was riding the Tour of Almaty instead.


2015 Il Lombardia, Pre-race favourites
With Rodríguez absent, two other former champions started the race: these were Philippe Gilbert (BMC), the winner in 2009 and 2010, and Damiano Cunego (Nippo–Vini Fantini), who won in 2007 and 2008. Gilbert in particular was considered a potential winner of the race. Other favourites for the race victory included Thibaut Pinot (FDJ), Rui Costa and Diego Ulissi (Lampre-Merida), Simon Gerrans (Orica–GreenEDGE), Rafał Majka (Tinkoff–Saxo), Robert Gesink (LottoNL–Jumbo), Warren Barguil (Team Giant–Alpecin), Domenico Pozzovivo and Romain Bardet (AG2R La Mondiale), Michał Kwiatkowski (Etixx–Quick-Step) and Tim Wellens (Lotto–Soudal).


2015 Il Lombardia, Race report
The race began in Bergamo with grey skies and rain falling. The race began with a succession of attacks; eventually an eleven-rider group escaped to form the day's principal breakaway. These were Stefan Schumacher (CCC–Sprandi–Polkowice), Enrico Barbin (Bardiani–CSF), Jan Polanc (Lampre-Merida), Matteo Busato (Southeast Pro Cycling), Dennis van Winden (LottoNL-Jumbo), Simon Geschke (Giant-Alpecin), Pierpaolo De Negri (Nippo-Vini Fantini), Marco Canola (UnitedHealthcare), Cesare Benedetti (Bora-Argon 18), Jérôme Coppel (IAM Cycling) and Oscar Gatto (Androni Giocattoli–Sidermec).


2015 Il Lombardia, Race report
The break had a lead that extended to over eight minutes after the Colle Brianza, while the peloton was controlled principally by Astana, with some assistance from Movistar and Team Sky. By the foot of the Madonna del Ghisallo, the lead had been cut to just two and a half minutes.


2015 Il Lombardia, Race report
The Madonna del Ghisallo was the location for several attacks. In the breakaway, Benedetti, Canola, van Winden and Barbin broke away from the other riders. Michał Kwiatkowski was the first to attack from the peloton: he was then joined by Matteo Trentin, Carlos Verona, Łukasz Wiśniowski (all Etixx-Quick Step),  Tom-Jelte Slagter (Cannondale-Garmin), Jon Izagirre (Movistar), Robert Gesink, Timo Roosen (Lotto NL-Jumbo), Giacomo Nizzolo (Trek Factory Racing) and Tim Wellens. After this climb came the Muro di Sormano. Benedetti and Canola led at the beginning of the climb, but they were soon passed by Kwiatkowski and Wellens. Wellens had to struggle to keep up with Kwiatkowski. Meanwhile, Astana rode hard in the main peloton, reducing it to around 20 riders. Philippe Gilbert and Dan Martin were among the riders unable to stay with the group and, despite Gilbert's efforts, they were unable to regain contact.


2015 Il Lombardia, Race report
On the descent from the Sormano, Kwiatkowski and Wellens led, while Diego Rosa led the peloton on behalf of Nibali. The leading pair's advantage was reduced on the descent and then further on the flat section leading towards Como. As the climb of the Civiglio started with approximately 20 kilometres (12 mi) remaining, Kwiatkowski attacked alone; he was caught, however, by the peloton just 0.5 kilometres (0 mi) later. Astana continued to lead the peloton; their pace reduced the front group to just seven riders.


2015 Il Lombardia, Race report
Rosa was among the riders to be dropped, but he worked with Sergio Henao (Sky) to return to the group. He was then one of several riders to attack towards the top of the Civiglio, along with Mikel Nieve (Sky), Nibali and Pinot. None of the attacks were successful, as Daniel Moreno (Katusha) brought the other riders back to the leaders, and the group came to the top of the climb together.


2015 Il Lombardia, Race report
Nibali attacked again just after the summit and rode alone down the descent. Despite almost colliding with a race motorbike at one point, he used his strong descending skills to gain an advantage over the rest of the group. He used the whole width of the road and coming very close to the crash barriers at various moments. Rosa, meanwhile, came to the head of the group in an attempt to slow the chase down. Nibali's lead at the foot of the descent was around 40 seconds.


2015 Il Lombardia, Race report
As the final climb began with 7.5 kilometres (4.7 mi) remaining, Nibali was still over 40 seconds ahead of the group behind. Pinot attacked but was soon caught and passed by Moreno, who set off alone in pursuit of Nibali. Moreno made up some time during the ascent, but was unable to catch him. On the descent towards the finish line in Como, Nibali's superior skill at descending allowed him to stay ahead of Moreno and he reached the finish line alone to take the victory. Moreno finished 21 seconds later, with Pinot a further 11 seconds behind. Valverde won the sprint for fourth ahead of Rosa and Nieve.


2015 Il Lombardia, Post-race analysis, Reactions
Nibali said after the race that his victory in Il Lombardia made his expulsion from the Vuelta a "good thing" as it helped him find some anger. He went on to say that his success had got his season back on track, particularly as he was the first Italian to win one of the Monuments in a long time. The last Italian to win any of the cycling Monuments was Damiano Cunego in the 2008 Giro di Lombardia. Nibali described the victory as being as good as a win in Liège–Bastogne–Liège; he said also that, despite the risks he took on the descent from the Civiglio, Peter Sagan was "crazier" than him when descending.


2015 Il Lombardia, Post-race analysis, Reactions
Pinot described himself as "proud" at the end of the race, as Il Lombardia had been a major goal for him. He described Nibali as "the strongest, the smartest and the sneakiest" rider in the race. It was the first time Pinot had finished in the top ten of a Monument. Dan Martin, who had been unable to follow the leading riders on the Muro di Sormano, finished the race in order to repay his team's faith in him following his injury earlier in the season. He finished 52nd, nearly ten minutes behind Nibali, and said that he had not been strong enough to follow the attacks on the climb.


2015 Il Lombardia, Post-race analysis, UCI World Tour rankings
Despite the points won by Moreno's second-place finish, Katusha were not able to win enough points to win the UCI World Tour rankings. The 60 points that Valverde won were enough to secure the overall victory in the team's competition, as well as increasing his own margin of victory in the individual classification. Pinot's third-place finish earned him 70 points and moved him up to tenth place in the World Tour rankings, while the success of the Italian riders moved Italy ahead of both Colombia and Great Britain to finish second behind Spain in the national rankings.


2015 Illapel earthquake
The 2015 Illapel earthquake occurred 46 km (29 mi) offshore from Illapel (Coquimbo region, Chile) on September 16 at 19:54:33 Chile Standard Time (22:54:33 UTC), with a moment magnitude of 8.3. The initial quake lasted between three and five minutes; it was followed by several aftershocks greater than magnitude six and two that exceeded 7.0 moment magnitude. The Chilean government reported 15 deaths, 6 missing and thousands of people affected. In Buenos Aires, Argentina, a man died from a stroke while he was evacuating a building.


2015 Illapel earthquake, Earthquake
The earthquake occurred on thrust faults along the boundary of the Nazca and South American plates. The region frequently produces large earthquakes, and 15 others of magnitude 7 or higher have taken place within 400 km of the epicenter over the past 100 years.


2015 Illapel earthquake, Earthquake
The last big quake that occurred in this region was the 1943 Ovalle earthquake, reaching a magnitude in the range 7.9–8.2; however, comparisons of the associated source time function (the time history of release of seismic moment) show that the 2015 event was significantly larger than the 1943 earthquake, in terms of duration, up-dip rupture extent and tsunami size.


2015 Illapel earthquake, Earthquake
This earthquake had an unusual foreshock, just 20 seconds before the main 8.3 earthquake, reaching a magnitude of 7.2. This has been considered as one of the most complex earthquakes to be ever studied in Chile.


2015 Illapel earthquake, Damage and range
Illapel, an inland city of 30,000 residents, was reported immediately to be without electricity or drinking water. Many towns and small cities in the Coquimbo region saw a lot of damage, where the earthquake was felt with an intensity of VIII Mercalli. The panic took over the great cities like  La Serena , Valparaiso and the capital Santiago. Two days after the quake, about 90,000 people were still without electricity. On September 21, officials were reporting over 9,000 people had been left homeless by the quake.


2015 Illapel earthquake, Damage and range
Tall buildings swayed and car alarms were set off in Buenos Aires, 1,110 kilometres (690 mi) away, and the earthquake was felt in São Paulo, more than 2,600 kilometres (1,600 mi) away. The Argentine provinces of Mendoza, San Juan, Córdoba, Tucumán, La Rioja, San Luis and Santa Fe were also affected.


2015 Illapel earthquake, Tsunami
Tsunami watches, warnings, and advisories were issued in Ecuador, Peru, New Zealand, Fiji, Solomon Islands, Hawaii, California and Japan. The first tsunami waves arrived on the Chilean coast within minutes. A series of waves reaching at least 4.5 m (15 ft) high were observed along the coast of Coquimbo and the cities of Coquimbo, Tongoy and Concón nearby to Valparaiso  reported flooding; large fishing vessels were swept into the streets of Coquimbo, which reported heavy damage. The port of Coquimbo, along with the Costanera, was heavily damaged. The tsunami also damaged the iconic La Serena monumental lighthouse.


2015 Illapel earthquake, Tsunami
In the coastal city of Tongoy, large areas along the sea front were destroyed, along with the Tongoy beach itself, which was heavily affected by both earthquake and tsunami. Across the region at least 500 buildings were destroyed, while dozens of beachfront homes in Los Vilos were damaged or destroyed. A state of emergency was declared in Coquimbo a day after the tsunami, with troops to be deployed to the area.


2015 Illapel earthquake, Tsunami, Evacuations
Chilean authorities ordered the immediate evacuation of the coast due to tsunami risk, with many people in coastal areas receiving automatic notices by cellphone shortly after the quake. The undersecretary for the ministry of the interior and public security reported that the evacuation affected one million people across the country.


2015 Illapel earthquake, Tsunami, Evacuations
Although causing significant damage, the Illapel earthquake's low death toll relative to the 525 casualties of the significantly more powerful 2010 Chile earthquake was credited, in part, to its occurrence in a less-populated region, better coastal preparedness and an improved tsunami warning system, the longstanding enforcement of seismic building codes, and an improved emergency response.


2015 Illapel earthquake, Tsunami, Evacuations
Street scene near the coast in Coquimbo in the quake and tsunami aftermath.


2015 Illinois Fighting Illini football team
The 2015 Illinois Fighting Illini football team represented the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign in the 2015 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They were led by interim head coach Bill Cubit, and played their home games at Memorial Stadium. They were members of the West Division of the Big Ten Conference. They finished the season 5–7, 2–6 in Big Ten play to finish in a tie for fifth place in the West Division.


2015 Illinois Fighting Illini football team
On November 28, interim head coach Bill Cubit was signed to a two-year contract and named head coach. However, on March 5, Cubit was fired by new athletic director Josh Whitman.


2015 Illinois Fighting Illini football team, Previous season
The 2014 Illinois Fighting Illini football team finished the regular season 6–6, with a highlight win against Northwestern which brought the team bowl eligible and was invited to play in the 2014 Heart of Dallas Bowl against the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs of Conference USA. The Bulldogs defeated the Illini in Dallas, Texas 35–18 finishing their 2014 Season at 6–7.


2015 Illinois Fighting Illini football team, Head coach
On August 28, 2015—one week before the start of the regular season—head coach Tim Beckman was fired after an internal investigation found that he had made efforts "to deter injury reporting and influence medical decisions that pressured players to avoid or postpone medical treatment and continue playing despite injuries." He was replaced by offensive coordinator Bill Cubit on an interim basis for the season.


2015 Illinois Fighting Illini football team, Head coach
A few hours before the final game of the season, Cubit had the "Interim" removed from his title and was named permanent head coach. It was an appointment that would last only one game, as Cubit was removed during the following off-season by new Illinois Athletic Director Josh Whitman, on the day Whitman officially assumed the role, in favor of former Chicago Bears and Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Lovie Smith.


2015 Illinois Fighting Illini football team, Schedule
Illinois announced their 2015 football schedule on June 3, 2013. The 2015 schedule consist of 7 home and 5 away games in the regular season. The Fighting Illini will host Big Ten foes Nebraska, Northwestern, Ohio State, and Wisconsin and will travel to Iowa, Minnesota, Penn State, and Purdue.


2015 Illinois Fighting Illini football team, Schedule
The Fighting Illini hosted three of their four non conference games against Kent State, Middle Tennessee and Western Illinois. Illinois traveled to Chapel Hill, North Carolina and faced the North Carolina of the Atlantic Coast Conference on September 19.


2015 Illinois State Redbirds football team
The 2015 Illinois State Redbirds football team represented Illinois State University in the 2015 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by seventh-year head coach Brock Spack and played their home games at Hancock Stadium. They were a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference. They finished the season 10–3, 7–1 in MVFC play to win a share of the conference title with North Dakota State. They received an at-large bid to the FCS Playoffs where they lost to Richmond in the quarterfinals.


2015 Illinois State Redbirds football team, 2015 Home Attendance Average
The Illinois State Redbird Football program averaged 9,194 fans for the 2015 home football games.


2015 Illinois's 18th congressional district special election
The special election for Illinois's 18th congressional district was held on September 10, 2015, between Republican Darin LaHood and Democrat Rob Mellon to fill the remainder of the term of Republican Aaron Schock, who resigned on March 31, 2015. LaHood won the election with almost 69% of the vote.


2015 Illinois's 18th congressional district special election, History
Schock announced on March 17, 2015, that he would resign on March 31, 2015, following allegations of improper spending of political campaign funds and an impending ethics investigation.


2015 Illinois's 18th congressional district special election, History
According to Illinois state law, Governor Bruce Rauner must call the special election within five days after Schock's resignation becoming official, and it must be held within 115 days of the call. This would mean that the latest possible day for the election under Illinois law would have been July 29, 2015. However, in order to comply with the federal Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA), the general election was set for September 10, 2015, with party primaries to be held on July 7.


2015 Illinois's 18th congressional district special election, History
In April 2015, the Marshall County and McLean County governments requested that Schock or his campaign fund reimburse the counties for the special election costs, and two other counties are considering similar action. Stark County declined to request reimbursement, as it still had $12,000 left over from the April consolidated election and Schock had not been convicted of a crime.


2015 Imo State gubernatorial election
The 2015 Imo State gubernatorial election was the 8th gubernatorial election of Imo State. Held on April 11, 2015 and April 25, 2015 due to inconclusive, the All Progressives Congress nominee Rochas Okorocha won the election, defeating Emeka Ihedioha of the People's Democratic Party.


2015 Imo State gubernatorial election, APC primary
APC candidate, Rochas Okorocha clinched the party ticket. The  APC primary election was held in 2014.


2015 Imo State gubernatorial election, PDP primary
PDP candidate, Emeka Ihedioha clinched the party ticket. The PDP primary election was held in 2014.


2015 Imo State gubernatorial election, Results
A total of 22 candidates contested in the election. Rochas Okorocha from the All Progressives Congress won the election, defeating Emeka Ihedioha from the People's Democratic Party. Valid votes was 782,528, votes cast was 806,764.


2015 Incarnate Word Cardinals football team
The 2015 Incarnate Word Cardinals football team represented the University of the Incarnate Word in the 2015 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Cardinals were in their third transition season of collegiate football at the FCS level. They were led by fourth-year head coach Larry Kennan. This was the Cardinals second season with a full Southland Conference schedule since becoming members of the conference. They played their home games at Gayle and Tom Benson Stadium. They finished the season 6–5, 5–4 in Southland play to finish in fourth place.


2015 Incarnate Word Cardinals football team, TV and radio
All Incarnate Word games will be broadcast on CBS Sports Radio 860 AM with the voices of Gabe Farias and Shawn Morris. CBS Sports Radio 860 AM broadcasts will be available at their . will also produce a student media broadcast every week, that will be available online, and they will provide streaming of all non-televised home games via .


2015 Incarnate Word Cardinals football team, Previous season
The 2014 season marked the Cardinals's first season of Southland Conference play. They were led by third-year head coach Larry Kennan. Home games were played at Gayle and Tom Benson Stadium. They finished the season 2–9, 2–6 in Southland play.


2015 Incarnate Word Cardinals football team, Postseason honors
The following Cardinals received postseason honors for the 2015 season:


2015 Incarnate Word Cardinals football team, Postseason honors
Associated Press FCS All-America Second-TeamLB  Myke Tavarres - SeniorSTATS FCS All-America First-TeamLB  Myke Tavarres - SeniorAFCA FCS All-America First-TeamLB  Myke Tavarres - SeniorAll-Southland Conference First-Team TE  Cole Wick - SeniorLB  Myke Tavarres - SeniorAll-Southland Conference Second-TeamDB  Kobie Douglas - SeniorAll-Southland Conference Honorable MentionQB  Trent Brittain - SophomoreOL  Nathan Thompson - SeniorDE  Alex Jenkins - JuniorLB  Josh Zellars - JuniorDB  Robert Johnson - SeniorKR  Kody Edwards - SophomorePR  Jordan Hicks - JuniorSouthland Conference Newcomer of the YearLB  Myke Tavarres - SeniorNFLPA Collegiate Bowl InviteeLB  Myke Tavarres - SeniorSouthland Conference Academic All-ConferenceQB  Trent Brittain - SophomoreTE  Cole Wick - SeniorDE  Alex Jenkins - JuniorLB  Padyn Giebler - SeniorDB  Daryl Irby - JuniorCoSIDA Academic All-America First-TeamLB  Padyn Giebler - Senior


2015 Incheon United FC season
The 2015 season was Incheon United's eleventh season in the K-League in South Korea. Incheon United competed in the K League Classic and the Korean FA Cup.


2015 Incheon United FC season, Current squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2015 Incheon United FC season, Current squad, Out on loan
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2015 Independence Bowl
The 2015 Independence Bowl was a college football bowl game that was played on Saturday, December 26, 2015 at Independence Stadium in Shreveport, Louisiana in the United States. The 40th annual Independence Bowl featured the Virginia Tech Hokies of the Atlantic Coast Conference against the Tulsa Golden Hurricane of the American Athletic Conference. Sponsored by Camping World, the game was officially known as the Camping World Independence Bowl. The first half of the game, in which 76 points were scored, was the highest scoring half in college football bowl history until the second half of the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl the next year.


2015 Independence Bowl, Team selection
The game was to feature a team from the Atlantic Coast Conference against a team from the Southeastern Conference. However, college football analyst Phil Steele projected prior to the game that neither an ACC nor an SEC team would be selected for the game, projecting that the Minnesota Golden Gophers of the Big Ten Conference and the San Jose State Spartans of the Mountain West Conference would be selected for the game instead. Virginia Tech was chosen from the ACC, and Tulsa was chosen after the SEC did not have enough eligible teams.


2015 Independence Bowl, Team selection, Virginia Tech Hokies
With the announcement that he would retire after the season, Virginia Tech head coach Frank Beamer took the field one last time to coach the Hokies in the Independence Bowl. Beamer has led the Hokies to 23 straight bowl appearances in 25 seasons as an FBS team (Beamer has coached at VT for a total of 29 seasons). He held a 10–12 career bowl record going into this game. The Hokies won their final game of the season over rival Virginia on a last-second INT, gaining bowl eligibility and extending Beamer's career one more game.


2015 Independence Bowl, Team selection, Tulsa Golden Hurricane
This was Tulsa's first bowl appearance since a 31–17 win over Iowa State in the 2012 Liberty Bowl. It was also the first career bowl appearance for first-year head coach Philip Montgomery. The Golden Hurricane program was 9–10 all-time in bowl games but was 5–3 since 2003.


2015 India GDP rebasing
In 2015, the Central Statistics Office (an office under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation) of the government of India made a number of changes to the way it calculated the gross domestic product of India, including a change in the base year relative to which calculations are done. This change was known as the 2015 India GDP rebasing or just the rebasing.


2015 India GDP rebasing, Timeline
The new method was used to release updated numbers for Fiscal Year 2013 (April 2013 to March 2014) and 2014 (April 2014 to March 2015). Initial announcements about the change were made in February 2015, and additional series were released in 2015; much of the commentary on the changes happened in April 2015.


2015 India GDP rebasing, Changes made
There were two main changes made to bring Indian GDP calculations more in line with international standards as enshrined in the System of National Accounts: change of the base year to 2011/12, and switch to market prices. A number of other minor changes were made, such as better data sources, and new classification and calculation methods.


2015 India GDP rebasing, Changes made, Change of base year
Since January 2010, the base year used by statisticians in India's Central Statistics Office was the months endinyear for calculations to the year ending March 2012 (i.e., the 2011/12 year). According to the Frontier Strategy Group, India changes the base year for its GDP calculation about once every five years, so this change was in keeping with past changes.


2015 India GDP rebasing, Changes made, Change to using market prices
The change also switched GDP calculation to using market prices rather than factor costs. to take into account gross value addition in goods and services as well as indirect taxes and subsidies (adding taxes and reducing subsidies). The change was claimed by the government to be more in line with global practices, and specifically in line with the recommendations of the System of National Accounts (SNA) 2008. Commentators generally agreed; Tim Worstall of Forbes called the previous system of factor costs a relic of the state-driven, manufacturing-focused approach to the economy of the Nehruvian Fabian socialist era.


2015 India GDP rebasing, Changes made, Incorporation of more and better survey data
The government of India identified three new categories of data sources that were now being used in GDP calculation to make it more reliable:


2015 India GDP rebasing, Effect on data series and reception of the change, Composition of GDP
Under NAS 2011-2012, the services sector constitutes a smaller proportion of overall GDP at 50.91% as of the fiscal year that ended March 2014 compared to 57.03% under the previous system. Under the new calculation method, industry became 31% compared to the old 25%, whereas services became 51% compared to the old 57%. Within industry, all three components, mining, manufacturing, and construction, were raised. This contrasted significantly with the results of past GDP rebasings, such as the 2010 Ghana GDP rebasing, and the 2014 Nigeria GDP rebasing and similar rebasings in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, and Zambia. FY14 growth rate was revised upward significantly, from 5% to 6.9% and the FY13 growth rate from 4.7% to 5.1%.


2015 India GDP rebasing, Effect on data series and reception of the change, Composition of GDP
Some critics of the new method also noted that the downward revision of nominal GDP adversely affected various economic risk ratios.


2015 India GDP rebasing, Effect on data series and reception of the change, The growth rate of GDP
GDP growth rates under the new series appeared to be higher than they had been under the old series; however, per the preceding section, this increase was achieved because the estimate of GDP level for previous years was lower in the new series than the old.


2015 India GDP rebasing, Effect on data series and reception of the change, The growth rate of GDP
Initially, there was a lack of data points released with both the old and new methods for a meaningful comparison (specifically, the new series was not extended back in time so that its differences with the old series could be better understood). A number of people were critical of CSO for not providing this data.


2015 India GDP rebasing, Effect on data series and reception of the change, The growth rate of GDP
The increase was considered suspicious by commentators who noted that other indicators (such as tax revenues) seemed to show a slowdown in economic growth, suggesting that either the role of the informal, untaxed sector was increasing fast, or some of the data was wrong.


2015 India Super Series
The 2015 India Super Series was the second super series tournament of the 2015 BWF Super Series. The tournament took place in Siri Fort Sports Complex, New Delhi, India from 24–29 March 2015 and had a total purse of $275,000. A qualification was held to fill four places in both singles events and Men's doubles of the main draws. Results and scores are provided in detail in the page.


2015 Indian Border Security Force King Air crash
On 22 December 2015, a light aircraft of the Indian Border Security Force crashed within the grounds of Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi, India. Ten personnel of the Border Security Force, three officers and seven senior technicians, were killed. The 22-year-old Beechcraft B200 King Air took off for Ranchi just before 9.30am, before crashing shortly afterwards.


2015 Indian Border Security Force King Air crash, Accident
After the King Air's engines were started the crew reported that there was a problem (the nature of which has not been reported), but continued with the flight after advice from ground staff. The aircraft took off at 9:27am local time, with an expected arrival time at Ranchi of 12:00pm.


2015 Indian Border Security Force King Air crash, Accident
Soon after taking off, the crew informed air traffic control that something was wrong and that they would return the aircraft to Delhi. The crew were then cleared to make an emergency landing on Delhi's Runway 28. At 9:40am contact was lost with the aircraft. The King Air veered to the left, narrowly missing a village. It brushed a tree before hitting the perimeter wall of the airport, it then crashed into a sewage treatment plant within the airport complex. The aircraft then caught fire and was almost completely destroyed. All ten occupants were killed; one person on the ground was injured.


2015 Indian Federation Cup Final
The 2015 Indian Federation Cup Final was a football match between Dempo and Bengaluru FC played on 11 January 2015 at Fatorda Stadium in Margao, Goa. The match was the culmination of the 2014–15 Indian Federation Cup. This was the 36th edition of the Federation Cup, the national cup tournament of football in India which is administered by the All India Football Federation (AIFF). Bengaluru FC won the final by defeating Dempo 2–1 with goals scored by Sunil Chhetri and Robin Singh while the Dempo goal came from a spot kick by Tolgay Ozbey. This was the first time Bengaluru FC had won the tournament.


2015 Indian Federation Cup Final
Dempo qualified for the final by defeating Salgaocar in the semi-final 2–0 while Bengaluru FC qualified by defeating Sporting Goa in the semi-finals 3–0.


2015 Indian Federation Cup Final, Road to the final
The Federation Cup is an annual Indian football competition open to all I-League teams. Ten of the eleven I-League clubs participated in the tournament the season with Bharat FC being the excluded club. The 2014–15 edition was the 36th of the competition.


2015 Indian Federation Cup Final, Road to the final, Dempo
Prior to reaching the 2014 final, Dempo had reached the final of the Federation Cup five times. They began their 2014–15 Federation Cup campaign on 29 December 2014 in the first match of the group stages against fellow I-League side East Bengal. The match took place at the Fatorda Stadium in Margao, Goa . The venue would turn out to be the only stadium Dempo play in throughout the entire tournament. A Romeo Fernandes first-half header helped local giants Dempo SC down East Bengal by a solitary goal in the Group A tie. Dempo went on to win 1–0 to open their season on a winning note.


2015 Indian Federation Cup Final, Road to the final, Dempo
Dempo then played their second match of the group on New Year's Eve against fellow I-League Goan side Sporting Goa. Tolgay Ozbey scored two from the spot in a well deserved hattrick to set up a convincing 4-1 Dempo win. Ozbey scored two penalties either side of halftime after opening the floodgates in the 11th minute to script a comprehensive win for the Goan heavyweights thus sailing smoothly towards a last-four berth. Beevan D’Mello pulled one back when the score read 3-1 but Romeo Fernandes added gloss to the score with a late strike.


2015 Indian Federation Cup Final, Road to the final, Dempo
Joyner Laourenco was at fault this time felling the 28-year-old inside the area to give away the second penalty of the match. Tolgay converted with aplomb to bring up his hattrick – the first of the tournament so far – sending Nandy the wrong way to tuck home low into the bottom left corner. Romeo put the icing on the cake at the end of the match latching onto substitute Alwyn George's pass to go solo and power home low into the back of the net.


2015 Indian Federation Cup Final, Road to the final, Dempo
Dempo then played their third match of the group on 5 January 2014 against Mumbai. First-half strikes from India International Clifford Miranda and the impressive Romeo Fernandes made sure the Dempo juggernaut kept rolling as Arthur Papas's wards made short work of Mumbai FC who needed to win this match to stay in the hunt, without the services of talisman Tolgay Ozbey who was not even named on the bench. Coming to the match, it took the team to beat of the tourney 13 minutes to surge ahead.


2015 Indian Federation Cup Final, Road to the final, Dempo
Romeo's corner was aimed Holicharan – seamlessly slipping into Tolgay's shoes – who mistimed his shot with the ball falling to an unmarked Clifford who had the easiest of tasks of nodding the ball into the back of the net. It was one way traffic all the way and Dempo soon after doubled their tally.


2015 Indian Federation Cup Final, Road to the final, Dempo
In the final match of the group stage, Dempo faced off against new I-League entrants Royal Wahingdoh. Romeo Fernandes scored the winning goal to confirm the semi-final berth for Dempo. He latched on to a loose ball on the edge of the area to sidestep Loveday Okechukwu delicately and make space for himself before firing the ball into the far post with aplomb. The goal made him part of the triumvirate of top-scorers along with Salgaocar's Douhou Pierre and India and Bengaluru FC Captain Sunil Chhetri. Romeo also holds the record of scoring in all of Dempo's four matches, the only player in the tournament to do so. Earlier, Bekay Bawar gave the Shilong outfit the lead in the 36th minute.


2015 Indian Federation Cup Final, Road to the final, Dempo
On 9 January 2015, Dempo played in the semi-final of the Federation Cup against Goan rivals Salgaocar. Salgaocar made it through to the semi-finals by beating Shillong Lajong, Mohun Bagan and Pune. Their only loss was against Bengaluru FC in their group. The one-time champions stayed true to their reputation with Tolgay Ozbey at the double either side of halftime. The Aussie scored off a deflection in the first half and bettered his tally from the spot after the break.


2015 Indian Federation Cup Final, Road to the final, Dempo
Salgaocar got their best chance in the second half through Douhou Pierre but the former Pune FC man failed to connect. Salgaocar on the hand were forced to make one change to their line up from the last match, Brian Mascarenhas having to fill the big shoes of injured Darryl Duffy. Dempo made it through to the final through a handsome 2–0 win over Salgaocar.


2015 Indian Federation Cup Final, Road to the final, Bengaluru FC
This was the first time Bengaluru FC made it to the final of the Federation Cup since its establishment in 2013. The Tilak Maidan in Vasco served as the venue for all group stage matches for Bengaluru FC. Bengaluru FC began their 2014–15 Federation Cup campaign on 28 December 2014 against I-League side Salgaocar at the Tilak Maidan which was also the opening match of the competition. Sunil Chhetri scored two and set up the other as Bengaluru FC braved a stiff challenge from Salgaocar FC to script a 3–2 win in the opener.


2015 Indian Federation Cup Final, Road to the final, Bengaluru FC
Chhetri got the first goal of the tournament after Rooney's shot from inside the box hit Pawan Kumar's hand. The referee pointed towards the spot and the Captain was at hand to place the ball just perfectly into the bottom right corner with India colleague Subrata Paul guessing right but to no avail. But the I-League champions' joy was short-lived as the local outfit pegged back after just seven minutes. Gurjinder sent in a dipping free kick from almost 35 yards which bounced awkwardly for keeper Lalthuammanwia Ralte and bundled in. With four minutes to go on the clock Bengaluru FC added their third. Chhetri turned provider this time, setting up Rooney on the left with the Australian placing it to the keeper's left.


2015 Indian Federation Cup Final, Road to the final, Bengaluru FC
Bengaluru FC played Mohun Bagan on 30 December. Both sides found themselves on the wrong side of luck as the woodwork came in between once apiece for either team in the second half. The match ended in a goal less draw. The best BFC could muster was a half opportunity where Darren failed to meet a Beikhkhei- Beingaichho cross in front of goal.


2015 Indian Federation Cup Final, Road to the final, Bengaluru FC
Bengaluru FC then played their third match on 2 January 2015 against Shillong Lajong. Robin Singh scored five minutes after coming on at halftime, receiving a pass from captain Sunil Chhetri in the centre of the pitch and making space for himself to slot home albeit with the help of a slight defection off the inside back post. Coach Ashley Westwood was back on the touchline after serving a four-match ban from last season – tinkered with his starting XI making four changes from the last game against Mohun Bagan which ended goalless. BFC went on to win the match 1–0. The win helped BFC inch closer to the semifinal berth.


2015 Indian Federation Cup Final, Road to the final, Bengaluru FC
Bengaluru FC played their last group stage match against Pune. Sunil Chhetri found the back of the net twice in the 43rd and 47th minute to give BFC a 2–0 lead at half time. Pune Coach Karim Bencherifa ringed in the changes after the break to reverse their fortunes. Mathew Golsalves was taken off for the more adventurous Munmum Lugun at right-back at halftime while Anthony D’Souza – already among goals –replaced Ryuji Sueoka at the hour mark. Haokip scored the only goal for Pune getting just enough on a high ball which the keeper failed to collect neatly after a Nikhil Kadam drive ballooned up and high. With this win Bengaluru FC became the first team to enter semifinal of the competition.


2015 Indian Federation Cup Final, Road to the final, Bengaluru FC
On 9 January 2014, Bengaluru FC played their semi-final match against Goan club Sporting Goa. Sean Rooney gave Bengaluru FC the lead in the 28th minute with India Captain Sunil Chhetri joining him on the scoresheet ten minutes later with another wonderful strike from a narrow angle. Late into the second half, Eugeneson Lyngdoh added gloss to the scoreline with a cool finish. Sporting on their part tried hard after the break but could find the woodwork late in the second half through Anthony Wolfe. Rino Anto also cleared off his line in the first half off a Wolfe header.


2015 Indian Federation Cup Final, Road to the final, Bengaluru FC
Beikhokhei Beingaichho – coming in place of Robin Singh – sent in a teasing cross for Sunil Chhetri but Ravi Kumar was up to the task. At the other end Rino Anto made a goalline clearance off Wolfe's header from a Cajetan Fernandes corner. That was that for the Flaming Oranje before their rivals surged ahead riding a flurry of attacks. Sunil Chhetri picked out Keegan with a delightful ball on the left.


2015 Indian Federation Cup Final, Road to the final, Bengaluru FC
The left-back on the overlap slid in for Rooney inside the box with the Aussie striker having the easiest task of tapping the ball into an empty net. Wolfe's freekick was first well saved by Lalthuammawia Ralte and sometime later the Trinidad & Tobago striker hit the woodwork from 30 yards. The next minute, BFC made sure of the points. Eugeneson collected substitute Robin Singh's pass from the left to place the ball calmly into the back post. The match went out of had for Sporting and Bengaluru FC stormed into the final with a thrashing 3–0 win.


2015 Indian Ocean Island Games
The 2015 Indian Ocean Island Games, officially known as Jeux des îles de l'océan Indien Réunion 2015 or simply JIOI Réunion 2015, was the 9th edition of this multi-sport event for athletes representing the National Olympic Committees of Indian Ocean island nations. It was held in La Réunion from August 1 – August 9, 2015.


2015 Indian Ocean Island Games, The Games, Participating IOCs
Over 2,000 athletes, from 7 countries, participated in the 2015 Indian Ocean Island Games.


2015 Indian Ocean Island Games, The Games, Participating IOCs
The Comoros were to participate but withdrew, protesting the waving of the French flag and singing of the French national anthem for the Mayotte team.


2015 Indian Ocean Island Games, The Games, Sports
A total of 14 sports were represented in the 2015 Indian Ocean Island Games.


2015 Indian Open
The 2015 Indian Open was a professional ranking snooker tournament that took place between 10 and 14 March 2015 at the Grand Hyatt in Mumbai, India. The tournament was originally scheduled for 13–17 October 2014, but was postponed until March due to the State Election in Maharashtra.


2015 Indian Open
Mumbai played host to the tournament for the first time, having previously being held at the Le Meridien Hotel in New Delhi.


2015 Indian Open
Ding Junhui was the defending champion, but he lost 3–4 against Thepchaiya Un-Nooh in the last 64.


2015 Indian Open
Michael White  won his first ranking event by defeating Ricky Walden 5–0 in the final.


2015 Indian Open, Prize fund
The breakdown of prize money for this year is shown below: