CHRISTCHURCH: Dozens of graves were being dug in a Christchurch cemetery on Monday for the 50 worshippers killed in two mosque attacks, as families clamoured for the return of their dead.
Coroners said they hoped to let grieving relatives fulfil Islamic burial customs soon, but insisted they had to move carefully through their investigation into the horrific multiple murder. As New Zealand grappled to come to terms with the slaughter -- the worst attack on Muslims in a Western country in modern times -- tales of heroism, suffering and incredible grace emerged.
Australian police search homes linked to New Zealand mosque gunman: Australian counter-terrorism police searched two homes early Monday linked to the gunman accused of killing 50 people at two New Zealand mosques last week, police said.
The homes were in the New South Wales towns of Sandy Beach and Lawrence, both near the town of Grafton where Brenton Tarrant, the alleged shooter, grew up. "The primary aim of the activity is to formally obtain material that may assist New Zealand police in their ongoing investigation," a police statement said.
Facebook scrubs 1.5mn Christchurch attack videos but criticism goes viral: Facebook says it removed a staggering 1.5 million videos showing harrowing viral footage of the Christchurch mosque rampage but criticism of social media giants for failing to block images of the "real-time terror attack" is also spreading fast.
As the alleged gunman callously picked off his victims in Christchurch's Al Noor mosque, he livestreamed the gruesome scene on Facebook Live, apparently using a camera mounted on his body, after also tweeting a racist "manifesto." Facebook said it "quickly" removed the video, plus the gunman's account and Instagram, and in the first 24 hours scrubbed 1.5 million videos worldwide "of which 1.2 million were blocked at upload." Spokeswoman Mia Garlick from Facebook New Zealand said the firm was "working around the clock to remove violating content using a combination of technology and people."