Opinion: Aung San Suu Kyi's plan for Myanmar has failed

Hopes were high in 2015 after Aung San Suu Kyi and her party gained power. However, her attempt to lead the country into a better future with nonviolent means has been unsuccessful, says DW's Rodion Ebbighausen.

    

Many thought that Aung San Suu Kyi was on the right path to change the country's fortunes

When the court in Myanmar's capital, Naypyitaw, hands down the first verdict in the trial against Nobel Peace Prize laureate and de facto head of government Aung San Suu Kyi on Monday, the military government will draw a legal line as well under the country's political awakening embodied by Suu Kyi.

To be clear: The expected verdict is not based on the rule of law — the court is merely enforcing what the military junta has decreed. Among other charges, Suu Kyi is on trial for incitement against the military and corruption.

Since entering politics in 1988, Suu Kyi — inspired by India's Mahatma Gandhi — has symbolized the pursuit of achieving political aims with nonviolent means.

She wanted to break the vicious cycle of confrontation and retaliation that characterizes the country and its endless civil war to this day. In 2015, it seemed the time had finally come. Suu Kyi and her party won a majority in largely free elections. Six years later, the bloody coup in early February has rendered those achievements null and void.

Return to nonviolence ruled out

DW editor Rodion Ebbighausen

The military junta wants to criminalize Suu Kyi. The trial is further evidence that the military rulers have no interest at all in reaching a political solution. Instead, to prop up their authoritarian rule, they resort to even more intimidation and violence. The facts speak for themselves: Approximately 1,300 civilians have been killed so far this year by security forces; opposition members have been abused and tortured — their haunting images posted on social media by soldiers.

What shouldn't be forgotten, however, is that a substantial segment of the opposition that used to rally behind Suu Kyi has also rejected a nonviolent approach. They argue that the junta's brutality leaves them with no other choice.

Bombings and arson attacks on military installations and police stations, on civil servants and also on infrastructure such as electricity and water supplies are commonplace. Supposed or actual informers are murdered and sometimes their children, too — tragic, but unavoidable collateral damage, says the opposition.

A missed opportunity

The military is waging an all-out, brutal war. International conventions are ignored, appeals for peace brushed aside. The military leadership's strategy is to completely destroy the enemy — and the opposition is making it easy for them. There's no intact chain of command to speak of, let alone a strategy to rally the many and disparate resistance cells around a common goal and a code of conduct. Making it even more complicated are the countless armed ethnic groups pursuing their own goals. As a result, the spiral of violence is increasing.

Many in the country today view Aung San Suu Kyi's ideas of pursuing nonviolent politics as anachronistic, even absurd.

This is all the more tragic because Suu Kyi's perseverance and doggedness in trying to achieve change through nonviolent means helped the country live through a decade of relative openness from 2011-2021.

In hindsight, it will be viewed as a missed opportunity — but it was the best one the country has had since it gained independence in 1948.

This article has been translated from the original German

 

Soil — dull and dirty? Think again …

To mark World Soil Day, we’re taking a look at the humble resource beneath our feet that nourishes entire ecosystems and keeps the world fed.

    

Soil: Time to take a closer look

"A nation that destroys its soil, destroys itself." Such were the words of Franklin D. Roosevelt back in 1937 when the United States was in the midst of its dust bowl years. Overplowing and the displacement of prairie grasslands that anchored the topsoil had reduced once-fertile plains to a parched, barren wasteland swept by dust storms. 

We still use the word "dirt" to mean soil. But there is a world of difference between the rich, fertile earth that nourishes ecosystems and the desiccated ground that gave the US depression — compounded by crop failures — the nickname the "dirty thirties."

A teeming microcosm of biodiversity 

Soils are the living, breathing surface of our planet. A mix of mineral and organic matter, they are among the most species-rich habitats in the world, teeming with worms, insects, bacteria and fungi. A square meter of soil can contain up to 10,000 different species, and a single gram can be home to a billion bacteria. 

The humble earthworm: making our soils rich and fertile

These organisms decompose leaf litter, dead plants and animals, recycling precious nutrients back into the soil to feed new generations of plants.

Earthworms, ants and other creepy crawlies further enrich the soil as they burrow, mixing the rich debris of the topsoil into the layers below. At the same time, they help give soil its structure, ensuring it's well aerated and can absorb and drain water. 

Intensive agriculture drains soils of life

Only a fraction of the organisms living in our ground have been properly studied. But what scientists do know is that our soils are in bad shape and their biodiversity is fast declining.

Over 50% of the world's arable land is devoted exclusively to rice, maize, soy and wheat. Planting huge expanses of a single crop can boost yield — at least in the short term — and makes mechanized harvesting easier. 

But as the same crop draws the nutrients it needs from the soil year after year, that soil becomes depleted. This means that farmers have to rely on artificial fertilizers, which pollute water sources and disrupt the natural balance of ecosystems. Synthetic pesticides and fertilizers also kill off vital microbes in the soil.

Industrial argriculture boosts yield in the short term, but saps the soil of nutrients

Plowing takes a toll, too. It destroys natural networks of fungi and microorganisms while breaking up the resilient structure of soil, leaving it more prone to flooding and drought, and vulnerable to erosion.

In 2015, a study from England's University of Sheffield found that 33% of the world's arable land had been lost to pollution and erosion over the previous 40 years. "This is catastrophic when you think that it takes about 500 years to form 2.5 cm (1 inch) of topsoil," the authors of the study said.

Brazil, as well as some countries in the Caribbean, Central Africa and Southeast Asia, have lost 70% of their agricultural land to erosion, and around the world an estimated 3.2 billion people — particularly rural communities in the Global South — are already suffering from failing or reduced harvests as a result of land degradation.

Fertilizers are also problematic because they require a lot of energy to produce. More than 40% of the carbon footprint of an ordinary loaf of bread is down to the fertilizer used to grow the grain it's made from. 

Carbon sinks at risk 

While artificially enriching depleted soils means more emissions from fertilizers, healthy soils actually sequester greenhouse gases, helping protect us against climate change. 

Not all emissions from human activities end up in the atmosphere. They are absorbed by plants, forests and the oceans. When plants die and decompose, much of the carbon they have captured from the atmosphere is absorbed by the soil. This process takes time, but cumulatively, it makes soils a major carbon sink — sequestering twice as much CO2 as all the world's flora and our atmosphere combined.

For the sake of our climate, scientists say we have to preserve and restore the world's wetlands

 The most carbon-rich soils of all are found in wetlands, where plant debris sinks into shallow, acidic water. In this oxygen-poor environment, the plant matter doesn't decompose and instead turns into carbon-storing peat.

Peatlands make up just 3% of land on our planet, but account for about a third of the total CO2 stored in soils. 

That is all well and good as long as the carbon remains locked in, but it becomes dangerous if we let it out — which is why land-use change is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. Plowing up soils or draining wetlands for agriculture or construction releases the stored carbon into the atmosphere, heating up the planet. This is also true of permafrost soils in Antarctica and Canada, which are melting as temperatures rise. 

Siberia is laced with carbon-storing wetlands

Authors of a 2019 study published in the journal Nature say that without large-scale restoration of these habitats, up to 40% of the greenhouse gas budget still available to meet the Paris climate change targets could be used up by these areas alone.

Traditional farming practices used in subsistence agriculture and some organic farming, could also contribute to recovery of our soils — or at least slow their decline. Rotating crops, mixing different plant species together, sowing without tilling and allowing crop waste to decay where it's grown all help keep soils healthy. 

These practices are more labor-intensive and less profitable in the short term. But according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, increasing soil biodiversity could yield up to 2.3 billion metric tons (25.4 US tons) of additional crop yields per year, worth $1.4 trillion (€1.24 trillion).

Translated from German by Ruby Russell

Pakistan: Zoo animals suffer from continued neglect

The death of a rare breed of lion at a Pakistani zoo has drawn outrage after poor conditions were revealed on social media. Now advocates are concerned about the health of other animals at the country's zoos.

   

A white lion, similar to the one seen here, died at a Karachi Zoo last month

On November 24, a 15-year-old white lion died at a zoo in the Pakistani city of Karachi after succumbing to a tuberculosis infection.

After the lion's death, Pakistani animal rights activists said the lion died due to negligence from zookeepers. Soon after, the Karachi Municipal Corporation (KMC), which runs the Karachi Zoo, dismissed its director.

Conditions at the zoo had already drawn negative attention a week before the lion died, when videos of what looked like an underfed lion living in unhygienic conditions circulated on social media.

World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Pakistan's senior director, Rab Nawaz, said the lion's death appeared to be a case of negligence. He told DW the sick lion should have been kept in quarantine, adding that the zoo lacked resources, veterinarians and trained staff to care for it.  

Isma Gheewala, a Karachi-based vet, told DW the medical needs of animals at the zoo are not being met. She said the zoo does not receive enough funding, with 70 to 80% of their budget going to salaries and food.

"They have to rely on donations and cannot hire more staff, which is very important," she said.

The Karachi Zoo did not respond to DW's repeated requests for comment.

Karachi Zoo short on staff, feed and vets

Covering 33 acres, the Karachi Zoo is one of the largest in Pakistan. However, it suffers from staff shortages. It can take more than an hour to clean a large animal, and with hundreds living at the zoo, the skeleton staff struggles to keep up.

A tiger at Karachi Zoo licks an ice block during a heat wave

Amjad Mehboob, a contractor who supplies animal feed to the zoo, told DW he has not been paid since February, and has threatened to discontinue supplying the zoo if payments continue to be delayed. He said the zoo has promised to pay the money this month.

Despite the lack of payment, Mehboob has yet to discontinue supplying feed to the zoo, because he does not want the animals to suffer. However, he admitted that it was hard for him to keep the supplies steady.

Animal rights activists have been concerned about the well-being of animals at Karachi Zoo for some time.

Owais Awan, an Islamabad-based animal activist and lawyer, told DW that a top concern is the lack of veterinarian checkups being done at Karachi Zoo.  

During a visit earlier this year, he noticed some of the elephants behaving strangely. He asked zoo officials to carry out an examination of the animals, but said those requests were ignored.

Awan said he had to approach the local high court, which then ordered a veterinary examination of four African elephants at the zoo, and at the nearby Safari Park.

One of the elephants being examined by a vet at the Safari Park in Karachi

At-risk elephants

The zoo insisted on bringing in a local vet for the examination, but the court appointed a foreign organization. On Sunday, a team of experts arrived. Among them was Frank Göritz, lead veterinarian at Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research in Berlin, who made the trip on behalf of the Austria-based animal protection organization Four Paws.

He told DW the purpose of the visit was to examine and potentially diagnose the four elephants.

Thomas Hildebrandt, from the veterinary medicine department at the Freie Universität in Berlin, told DW that some of the elephants the team examined had signs of edema on their bellies.  He said the animals need better food and care.

Following their visit to the Karachi Zoo and Safari Park, the expert team submitted a report with the Sindh High Court on Tuesday. It said both elephants living at Safari Park suffer from severe food problems while elephants at the Karachi Zoo have dental issues that require attention.

The experts recommended that better conditions and regular checkups be provided to the animals. However, with funding unlikely to come from Pakistan's cash-strapped coffers, it is unclear where the zoos will find resources for improved conditions.

Shah Fahad contributed to this report.

Edited by: Wesley Rahn

Incumbent Barrow declared winner of Gambia's presidential vote as opposition cries foul

Issued on: 05/12/2021

Supporters of Gambian president and presidential candidate Adama Barrow celebrated after partial results of the presidential elections showed Barrow leading in Banjul, Gambia, on December 5, 2021.

 © Zohra Bensemra, Reuters

Adama Barrow was on Sunday declared the victor of The Gambia's presidential election by the electoral commission, winning a second term in office in the tiny West African nation.

Commission chairman Alieu Momarr Njai declared Barrow the winner, announcing the final results to journalists hours after rival candidates had challenged partial results that gave him a commanding lead.

Saturday's election, the first since former dictator Yahya Jammeh fled into exile, is seen as crucial for the young democracy.

Earlier Sunday, Ernest Bai Koroma, head of an election observation mission from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), appealed to all the candidates "to accept the outcome of the election in good faith.

"There will be no winner or loser but only one winner, The Gambian people," he said in his statement.

Before the full results were announced, three of Barrow's rival candidates had rejected partial results that gave the incumbent president an early lead.

"At this stage we reject the results announced so far" by the electoral commission, his main rival Ousainou Darboe and two other candidates said in a joint statement. "All actions are on table."

Some of Barrow's supporters, however, were already beginning to celebrate victory in the streets of the capital Banjul.

Test of democracy

It was Barrow who defeated Jammeh five years ago. This election is being closely watched as a test of the democratic transition in The Gambia, where Jammeh ruled for 22 years after seizing power in a bloodless coup in 1994.

Jammeh was forced into exile in Equatorial Guinea in January 2017 after Barrow, then a relative unknown, defeated him at the ballot box.

Barrow, 56, faced five challengers in his re-election bid, and the vote count was slow in part because of the country's unusual voting system.

Illiteracy is widespread in The Gambia, so voters cast their ballot by dropping a marble into a tub marked with their candidate's colour and photo -- a practice dating back to the country's past as a British colony.

Many of the roughly one million eligible voters in the nation of more than two million people are hoping for an improvement in their living standards.

The Gambia, a sliver of land about 480 kilometres (300 miles) long surrounded by Senegal, is one of the poorest countries in the world.

About half of the population lives on less than $1.90 per day, the World Bank says.

The tourism-dependent economy was dealt a severe blow by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Barrow ran on a continuity ticket, pointing to infrastructure projects completed under his watch, as well as increased civil liberties.

His main rival Darboe is a political veteran, a lawyer who has represented opponents of Jammeh, and who ran for president against the former dictator several times.

He served as foreign minister and then vice president under Barrow before stepping down in 2019.

Jammeh legacy

Jammeh lost to Barrow in the 2016 election, but had to be removed by a military intervention from other west African states.

Barrow himself has already gone back on a promise to remain in power for only three years, and has weakened rhetoric about prosecutions for crimes committed under Jammeh.

Questions over Jammeh's continuing role in politics, and his possible return from exile, were central themes in the run-up to the election.

In September, Barrow's NPP party announced a pact with Jammeh's APRC -- a controversial move that was viewed as an electoral ploy.

Jammeh said the decision had been taken without his knowledge, and his supporters formed a rival party. But rights groups fear the pact will diminish chances of a trial.

The former dictator retains significant political support in The Gambia and has sought to influence the vote, remotely addressing rallies of supporters during the campaign period.

A truth commission Barrow set up to probe alleged abuses under Jammeh's rule heard testimony from hundreds of witnesses about state-sanctioned death squads, witch hunts and forcing bogus cures on AIDS patients.

The commission recommended in November the government pursue criminal charges, in a final report delivered to Barrow but not released to the public.

(AFP)

REFUGEES ARE NOT IMMIGRANTS

Nobel literature winner Gurnah to receive medal in UK


Gurnah, 72, won the Literature Prize in October for his novels unflinchingly portraying the effects of colonialism and the plight of refugees (AFP/Tolga Akmen)


Sun, December 5, 2021

British novelist Abdulrazak Gurnah, winner of this year's Nobel Prize for Literature, will on Monday receive his medal in London.

Gurnah, 72, won the Literature Prize in October for his novels unflinchingly portraying the effects of colonialism and the plight of refugees.

The Swedish ambassador to London, Mikaela Kumlin Granit, will present the writer with his Nobel medal and a diploma at her official residence at 1200 GMT, ahead of the main awards ceremony in Oslo on December 10.

The prize also comes with a sum of 10 million Swedish kronor (about $1.1 million).

The Nobel Foundation announced in September that the winners for medicine, physics, chemistry, literature and economics would receive their prizes in their home countries for the second straight year, due to "uncertainty about the course of the pandemic".

Gurnah became the fifth African to win the Nobel Literature Prize, with the most recent previously being South African writer J.M. Coetzee in 2003.

Born in Zanzibar off the coast of east Africa, now part of Tanzania, Gurnah fled to Britain as a refugee in the late 1960s, later acquiring British citizenship.

The Swedish Academy said Gurnah was honoured "for his uncompromising and compassionate penetration of the effects of colonialism and the fate of the refugee in the gulf between cultures and continents".

"I write about these conditions because I want to write about human interactions and... what is it that people go through when they are reconstructing lives," Gurnah told reporters at a news conference in London after his win.

- 'Something is getting through' -

The head of the Academy's Nobel committee, Anders Olsson, said Gurnah's writings had particular resonance after a record 82 million people fled wars, persecution and violence in 2020.

"The Nobel prize, it's an enormous honour," Gurnah told AFP when the prize was announced.

"It means that something is getting through -- that's what the work attempts to do, persuading or successfully reaching through to people. I love that, I'm so happy about that."

After his Nobel win, he urged Europe to see African refugees as people who "come out of need" and who "quite frankly... have something to give".

He has also spoken out against Brexit and the "Windrush" scandal, which saw immigrants from the Caribbean targeted by the government in recent years despite moving to Britain legally in the 1950s and 1960s.

"I'm speaking because this is how I would speak... whether I had won the Nobel prize or not. I'm not playing a role, I'm saying what I think," he told journalists.

Gurnah began writing as a 21-year-old in England. Although Swahili was his first language, he had learnt English in Zanzibar, a British protectorate until unification with Tanzania, and chose it as his literary tool.

The author of 10 novels and a number of short stories, he is best known for his 1994 breakthrough novel "Paradise", set in colonial East Africa during World War I, which was shortlisted for the Booker Prize.

Gurnah also had a successful career in academia, recently retiring as professor of English and postcolonial literatures at the University of Kent in Canterbury. He lives in Brighton on the south coast of England.

On Tuesday he will deliver his Nobel Prize lecture, which will be streamed live on the prize's website.

This year has seen writers from Africa dominate top literary awards with South African Damon Galgut winning Britain's Booker Prize and 31-year-old Senegalese Mohamed Mbougar Sarr becoming the first writer from sub-Saharan Africa to win France's top literary award, the Prix Goncourt.

am/har

NO ONE IS ILLEGAL
Pope Francis says immigration progress 'terribly absent' in visit to Lesbos

Pope Francis said progress on immigration is "terribly absent" as he visited a refugee camp on the Greek island of Lesbos Sunday.

 Photo by Vatican Media/EPA-EFE

Dec. 5 (UPI) -- Pope Francis visited refugees in the Greek island of Lesbos on Sunday as he called on nations in Europe to take in asylum seekers.

Speaking to several dozen migrants in a white tent, Francis said that progress on immigration has been "terribly absent," adding it was an "illusion" to believe society could protect itself without offering help to those who "knock at our door."

"Human lives, real people, are at stake!" Francis said.

The pope thanked the residents of Lesbos for welcoming refugees and walked along the streets of the camp lined with storage containers that house the refugees.

"Please let us stop this shipwreck of civilization!" Francis said.

He added that "we are living in the era of barbed wire and walls" but the COVID-19 pandemic has shown that "we are all in the same boat."

"Let us stop ignoring reality," he said."Stop constantly shifting responsibility, stop passing off the issue of migration to others."

Pope Francis last visited Lesbos in 2016, when he brought 12 refugees with him aboard the papal Alitalia jet back to the Vatican.

Pope ends visit to Greece focused on the plight of migrants




Sun, December 5, 2021

Pope Francis on Monday wraps up a landmark three-day visit to Greece which has been marked by his calls for better treatment of migrants in Europe and a visit to asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos.

After a last meeting with young people at a Catholic school, the pope is due to leave Athens to return to Rome at the end of the morning.

Since his arrival in Greece on Saturday, Francis has met with the head of the Greek Orthodox Church and visited the Mavrovouni tent camp on Lesbos, where he called the neglect of migrants the "shipwreck of civilisation".

Following his visit to the migration flashpoint, he celebrated mass for some 2,000 faithful in Athens, where he urged respect for the "small and lowly".

In 2016, Francis visited the sprawling Moria camp on Lesbos, when the island was the main gateway for migrants heading to Europe.

His visit to Mavrovouni was shorter than in 2016 but he was warmly welcomed by a crowd of migrants at the camp, which houses nearly 2,200 asylum seekers.

People later gathered in a tent to sing songs and psalms to the pontiff, who listened to them, visibly moved.

"I am trying to help you," Francis told one group through his interpreter.

The Mavrovouni camp was hurriedly erected after Moria, then the largest such site in Europe, burned down last year.

- 'Grim cemetery without tombstones' -

In his speech, Francis warned that the Mediterranean "is becoming a grim cemetery without tombstones" and that "after all this time, we see that little in the world has changed with regard to the issue of migration".

The root causes "should be confronted -- not the poor people who pay the consequences and are even used for political propaganda", he added.

According to the International Organization for Migration, 1,559 people have died or gone missing attempting the perilous Mediterranean crossing this year.

About 40 asylum-seekers, mostly from Cameroon and the Democratic Republic of Congo, participated in an Angelus prayer in a camp tent with the pope, in the presence of Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou, EU vice-president Margaritis Schinas and Greek Migration Minister Notis Mitarachi.

"His visit is a blessing," said Rosette Leo, a Congolese asylum seeker carrying a two-month-old baby as she waited in line for the ceremony.

However, Menal Albilal, a Syrian mother with a two-month-old baby whose asylum claim was rejected after two years on the island, said refugees "want more than words, we need help."

"The conditions here are not good for a baby," she told AFP.

"The Greek government should think about us, we've been here for two years without work or education," said Francois Woumfo, from Cameroon.

The pope has long championed the cause of migrants and his visit came after he delivered a stinging rebuke to Europe which he said was "torn by nationalist egoism".

Before arriving in Greece, the pope visited Cyprus, where authorities said that 50 migrants will be relocated to Italy thanks to Francis.

The 84-year-old pope is himself from a family of Italian migrants who settled in Argentina.

bur/mtp/reb

UPDATED

Indonesia volcano erupts again, hampering rescue operations
 

Haeril Halim

Sun, December 5, 2021

Indonesia's Mount Semeru spewed more ash on Monday, hampering the search for survivors as aerial images showed the extent of the devastation unleashed by the volcano's deadly weekend eruption.

The biggest mountain on the island of Java thundered to life Saturday, ejecting a mushroom of volcanic ash high into the sky and raining hot mud as thousands of panicked people fled their homes. At least 15 were killed.

Aerial photos showed entire streets filled with grey volcanic ash and mud, which had swallowed many homes and vehicles, including whole trucks.

Indonesia's national disaster agency said 27 people were still missing.

"I'm still hoping my son will be found... Every time I hear victims have been found, I hope it is my son," said Maskur Suhri of Sumberwuluh village, who was collecting palm tree sap when Semeru erupted.

"There's a very small chance he survived... Maybe it's my son's fate, but I still hope he will be found, even just his body."

Fresh volcanic activity on Monday hampered search efforts, forcing rescue teams to pull out from some areas.

"There was a small fresh eruption and it could endanger the evacuation teams," said rescue worker Rizal Purnama.

Dangerous thick plumes of smoke continued to emerge from areas blanketed by the volcanic ash, while rescuers in hardhats tried to dig through the mud to try and find survivors -- and recover bodies.

Their task was made more difficult as the volcanic debris had started to harden.

"It's very difficult... with simple tools," Rizal Purnama said. "It is very likely bodies that have not been found are buried under the hot mudflow."

Other rescuers helped desperate villagers salvage their belongings from wrecked homes. Some locals lifted mattresses and furniture on their shoulders while others carried goats in their arms.

 

Officials have advised people not to travel within five kilometres of Mt Semeru's crater (AFP/ADEK BERRY)

- 'I could only pray' -

Officials have advised locals not to travel within five kilometres (3.1 miles) of Semeru's crater, as the nearby air is highly polluted and could affect vulnerable groups.

Ash from Semeru travelled up to four kilometres away after the Saturday eruption, Indonesia's geological agency reported.

A sand mine company's office in Kampung Renteng village was buried after the eruption, trapping 15 people, according to foreman Hasim, 65, who like many Indonesians goes by one name.

"There's no news from them. Only one operator was rescued, he's now at the hospital with burns," he told AFP.

Hasim said he ran home after the eruption.

"It was pitch dark," he added. "It was only 3 pm but it looked like night."

Rescue officials said some were buried inside their vehicles, with no time to escape.

Those who managed to find shelter recounted the horror after the eruption.

Suwarti Ningsi and her daughter were trapped for five hours at home after the eruption.

"I couldn't see anything, it was just like at night. Everybody was panicking," said the 42-year-old.

"I could only pray... for me and my daughter to be saved."

 

- Threat of rain -

The ash and mud have also polluted the waterways around Mt Semeru, turning them into streams of dark grey sludge.

Rain is forecast for the area, which could further hinder rescue work.

There is also a risk of the rain causing ash sediment to form a new river of hot lava, the country's top volcanologist Surono told a local TV station.

Mt Semeru's last major eruption was in December 2020, which also forced thousands to flee and wrecked villages.

Indonesia sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire, where the meeting of continental plates causes high volcanic and seismic activity, and the country has nearly 130 active volcanoes.

In late 2018, an eruption in the strait between Java and Sumatra islands caused an underwater landslide and tsunami that killed more than 400 people.

hrl-dsa/qan/reb

Videos show residents fleeing in terror as Indonesia's Mount Semeru volcano suddenly erupts and spews a gigantic ash cloud

Joshua Zitser
Sat, December 4, 2021, 

People flee as Mount Semeru in Indonesia eruptsBNPB Indonesia


Mount Semeru in Indonesia erupted on Saturday, killing at least one person.


Health officials say at least 41 people have burn injuries, per Sky News.


Videos, shared on social media, show terrified people running away from a gigantic ash cloud.

Residents fled in terror as Mount Semeru, the tallest volcano on the Indonesian island of Java, spewed a gigantic plume of ash for the second time in a year.

The eruption, which began on Saturday afternoon, has killed at least one person, per Sky News.

Other videos, shared on social media, show parts of Java plunged into darkness. BBC News reported that witnesses said a thick rain of volcanic ash from the eruption was blotting out the sun in two districts.

Health officials said that at least 41 people had burn injuries, Sky News reported.

Around 30 buildings were destroyed in the eruption, the media outlet said.

Thoriqul Hal, a local official, told Reuters that a bridge in the area had also been badly damaged.

A video shared on Twitter appears to show the bridge before and after the eruption.

"This has been a very pressing, rapid condition since it erupted," Hal said.

Videos of Saturday's eruption show terrified locals trying to run away from a huge, fast-moving ash cloud.

Budi Santosa, chief executive of the East Java Regional Disaster Management Agency, told reporters during a Saturday press conference that his team is currently trying to conduct evacuations and is preparing refugee camps for displaced residents.

The 3,676-meter volcano last erupted in January, causing no deaths.

Semeru is on the Indonesian island of Java. Google

Death toll rises to 13 in Indonesia volcano eruption

By AGOES BASOEKI

1 of 15

A factory building is covered by ash from the eruption of Mount Semeru in Lumajang district, East Java province, Indonesia, Sunday, Dec. 5, 2021. The death toll from eruption of the highest volcano on Indonesia's most densely populated island of Java has risen with scores still missing, officials said Sunday as rain continued to pound the region and hamper the search.(AP Photo/Trisnadi)


LUMAJANG, Indonesia (AP) — The death toll following the eruption of the highest volcano on Indonesia’s most densely populated island of Java has risen to 13, with seven people still missing, officials said Sunday as smoldering debris and thick mud hampered search efforts.

Mount Semeru in Lumajang district in East Java province spewed thick columns of ash more than 12,000 meters (40,000 feet) into the sky, and searing gas and lava flowed down its slopes after a sudden eruption Saturday triggered by heavy rains. Several villages were blanketed with falling ash.

A thunderstorm and days of rain, which eroded and finally collapsed the lava dome atop the 3,676-meter (12,060-foot) Semeru, triggered the eruption, said Eko Budi Lelono, who heads the geological survey center.

He said flows of searing gas and lava traveled up to 800 meters (2,624 feet) to a nearby river at least twice on Saturday. People were advised to stay 5 kilometers (3.1 miles) from the crater’s mouth, the agency said.

“Thick columns of ash have turned several villages to darkness,” said Lumajang district head Thoriqul Haq. Several hundred people were moved to temporary shelters or left for other safe areas, he said, adding that a power blackout hampered the evacuation.

The debris and lava mixed with rainfall formed thick mud that destroyed the main bridge connecting Lumajang and the neighboring district of Malang, as well as a smaller bridge, Haq said.

Despite an increase in activity since Wednesday, Semeru’s alert status had remained at the third highest of four levels since it began erupting last year, and Indonesia’s Volcanology Center for Geological Hazard Mitigation did not raise it this week, Lelono said.

National Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesperson Abdul Muhari said at least 13 villagers died from severe burns and 57 were hospitalized, including 16 in critical condition with burn injuries. He said rescuers were still searching for seven residents and sand miners along a river in Curah Kobokan village who were reported missing.

Entire houses in the village were damaged by volcanic debris and more than 900 people fled to temporary government shelters, Muhari said.

Liswanto, the head of Semeru’s monitoring post, said his office had informed the community and the miners that hot ash could tumble down from Semeru’s crater at any time, after sensors picked up increased activity in the past week.

But some residents who fled to a government shelter near Lumajang district’s head office said authorities did not convey any information to them about the volcano’s activities.

“Suddenly everything went dark, the bright afternoon turned into night. A rumbling sound and heat forced us to run to the mosque,” said Fatmah, a resident who fled to the shelter from Curah Kobokan, about 5 kilometers (3 miles) from the crater. “It was a far stronger eruption than in January.”

Transportation Ministry spokesperson Adita Irawati said her office issued a notice Saturday for all airlines to avoid routes near the volcano. She said flight operations are still running as scheduled and that authorities will continue to monitor the situation. The Darwin Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre said the spread of volcanic ash from Mount Semeru was detected to the southwest moving at a speed of 50 knots.

Television reports showed people screaming and running under a huge ash cloud, their faces wet from rain mixed with volcanic dust. The last time Semeru erupted, in January, there were no casualties.

Indonesia, an archipelago of more than 270 million people, is prone to earthquakes and volcanic activity because it sits along the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” a horseshoe-shaped series of fault lines.

 

Indonesia Volcano Eruption Death Toll Rises To 13

By Juni Kriswanto
12/04/21 

Rescuers in Indonesia raced to find survivors in villages blanketed by molten ash Sunday after the eruption of Mount Semeru killed at least 13 people and left dozens injured, officials said.

The eruption of the biggest mountain on the island of Java caught locals by surprise on Saturday, sending thousands fleeing and forcing hundreds of families into makeshift shelters.

At least 11 villages of Lumajang district in East Java were coated in volcanic ash, submerging houses and vehicles, smothering livestock and leaving at least 900 evacuees seeking shelter in mosques, schools and village halls.

The eruption left at least 11 villages coated in volcanic ash, submerging houses and smothering livestock 

Photo: AFP / JUNI KRISWANTO

Dramatic footage showed Semeru pumping a mushroom of ash into the sky, looming over screaming residents of a nearby village as they fled.

"The death toll is now 13 people. Rescuers found more bodies," national disaster mitigation agency spokesman Abdul Muhari told AFP, without specifying the cause of death.

Two of the victims have been identified, he said in a later statement.

At least 57 people including two pregnant women were injured in the eruption, of whom 41 suffered burns and were hospitalised, the agency said in a press release.

Map of Indonesia locating Mount Seberu, which erupted on Saturday 

Photo: AFP / STAFF

President Joko Widodo on Sunday ordered a rapid emergency response to find victims and treat the injured after the scale of the disaster became clear, said state secretary Pratikno, who like many Indonesians goes by only one name.

As many as 10 trapped people were rescued from areas surrounding Lumajang, according to Muhari, as villagers and rescuers worked through the night to find anyone trapped or retrieve bodies.

Local broadcaster Kompas TV reported those rescued were local workers at a sand mining site.

Evacuees take shelter at a mosque in Lumajang after the eruption of Mount Semeru Photo: AFP / JUNI KRISWANTO

Evacuations were temporarily suspended on Sunday due to hot ash clouds, Indonesia's Metro TV reported, highlighting the difficulty of the rescue operation.

There is also a risk of heavy rain causing ash sediment to form a new river of hot lava, the country's top volcanologist Surono told the station.

Most of those burnt in the immediate aftermath misunderstood the size of the eruption and subsequent lava flow so had stayed in their villages, Lumajang Public Order Agency spokesman Adi Hendro told AFP.

"They did not have time to run away," he said.

The eruption of Java's biggest mountain caught locals by surprise

 on Saturday, sending thousands fleeing 

Photo: AFP / JUNI KRISWANTO

At least seven people remain missing after the eruption, Hendro said, including two who authorities believe are still alive.

"There were signs they are still alive as there were lights maybe from their cellphones," he said.

Lava had already destroyed at least one bridge in Lumajang, preventing rescuers from immediately accessing the area 

Photo: AFP / JUNI KRISWANTO

"But we cannot go there as the ground is still very hot. We want to ensure our team's safety too."

Lava mixed with debris and heavy rain had already destroyed at least one bridge in Lumajang, preventing rescuers from immediately accessing the area.

But emergency services footage on Sunday showed a desolate scene in the village of Kebon Renteng swallowed by the eruption, with roofs of houses protruding from a coat of mud that destroyed them.

Rescue workers dressed in bright orange uniforms worked against a dark-grey backdrop in the village of about 11,000, now a scene of ruin with buckled buildings and fallen trees.

In other areas, distressed villagers desperately tried to salvage their belongings from wrecked homes. Some held mattresses and furniture on their shoulders while others carried goats alive in their arms.

The rescue teams were using heavy loaders to remove debris and clear roads, Muhari said.

Locals have been advised not to travel within five kilometres (3.1 miles) of Semeru's crater, as the air around it is highly polluted and could affect vulnerable groups, he added.

"For now, we urge people not to stay because the volcanic ash is still relatively hot," Indra Wibowo, head of the local disaster agency, told Metro TV.

Officials have sent aid to shelters, including food, tarpaulins, face masks, and body bags.

Ash spewed by the volcano travelled up to four kilometres away, Indonesia's geological agency said, reaching as far as the Indian Ocean in the southern part of Java.

But Australia's Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre, which provides advice to the aviation industry, said the ash had now dissipated around Semeru on Sunday, according to satellite imagery.

The volcano's alert status has remained at its second-highest level since its previous major eruption in December 2020, which also forced thousands to flee and left villages covered.

Indonesia sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire, where the meeting of continental plates causes high volcanic and seismic activity.

The Southeast Asian archipelago nation has nearly 130 active volcanoes.

In late 2018, a volcano in the strait between Java and Sumatra islands erupted, causing an underwater landslide and tsunami which killed more than 400 people.

Putin to land in India with eye on military, energy ties


Sun, December 5, 2021, 8:29 PM·3 min read

Russian President Vladimir Putin will arrive in India on Monday for just his second overseas trip since the pandemic, seeking to bolster military and energy ties with a traditional ally being courted by Washington.

In its efforts to address a rising China, Washington has set up the QUAD security dialogue with India, Japan, and Australia, raising concerns in both Beijing and Moscow.

India was close to the Soviet Union during the Cold War, a relationship that has endured, with New Delhi calling it a "special and privileged strategic partnership".

"The friendship between India and Russia has stood the test of time," Modi told Putin at a virtual summit in September. "You have always been a great friend of India."

It is only the Russian leader's second trip abroad since the coronavirus pandemic began -- he skipped both the G20 and COP26 summits this year -- after a June summit with US President Joe Biden in Geneva.

"It's hugely symbolic," said Nandan Unnikrishnan from New Delhi-based Observer Research Foundation think tank.

"It's indicative how they do not want the relationship to stagnate or slow down for want of something from the Russian side."

But Putin has to contend with complex regional dynamics, with tensions mounting between India and Russia's traditional ally China following deadly clashes in a disputed Himalayan region.

"Russia's influence in the region is very limited," said Tatiana Belousova of OP Jindal Global University in Haryana, "mostly because of its close ties with China and unwillingness to act in dissonance with the Chinese regional interests."

- 'Quite remarkable' -

The Kremlin said last week the talks will be dominated by defence and energy issues, with the boss of Russian energy giant Rosneft, Igor Sechin, also travelling as a "number of important energy agreements" were on the table.

Russia has long been a key arms supplier to India, which is looking to modernise its armed forces, and one of their most high-profile current contracts is for the long-range S-400 ground-to-air missile defence system.

The deal, worth over $5 billion, was signed in 2018 and deliveries have reportedly begun, but it threatens to upend the burgeoning relationship between New Delhi and Washington.

The US has threatened sanctions under the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA), which is aimed at reining in Russia, and the state department said last week that no decisions had been made on any waivers for India.

"It is quite remarkable that India still decided to go ahead with the S-400 deal, despite the US disapproval," said Belousova.

New Delhi has long sought to diversify its military imports but analysts believe it could take some time before it moves away from Russia.

Military equipment was "paramount" to India given "unabated" tensions with Pakistan, according to Unnikrishnan. "You're going to try and nurture whatever is required to ensure that."

India is also keen to increase domestic production and has launched a joint venture with Russia to manufacture AK-203 assault rifles.

India and Russia normally hold annual summits, but the leaders' last in-person meeting was on the sidelines of the 2019 BRICS Summit in Brazil.

"The leaders will review the state and prospects of bilateral relations and discuss ways to further strengthen the strategic partnership between the two countries," India's ministry of external affairs said in a statement last month.

The two countries' foreign and defence ministers will also hold talks Monday.

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