USA

Arsenic in private well water contributes to low birth weight even at low levels

by Jacqueline Carey, University of Illinois at Chicago

Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain

In the largest epidemiologic study of arsenic and birth outcomes to date, researchers from the University of Illinois Chicago and collaborating institutions estimated arsenic levels in U.S. private well water sources by county and compared estimates to documented birth outcomes. They found an association between estimated groundwater arsenic concentration and risk of low birth weight.

The findings, which are reported in the journal Environment International, suggest that efforts to reduce arsenic in private wells could help more babies be born at healthy weights, particularly in rural areas.

Arsenic is a natural element that, in some forms, is highly toxic when consumed through contaminated water used for drinking, food preparation or crop irrigation. All public water systems in the U.S. are required to monitor arsenic levels, but private wells—which are used by 14% of people in the country—are unregulated. As a result, there is limited comprehensive data on the extent of arsenic contamination and associated health risks in the U.S.

"While we have known that arsenic is dangerous, this lack of data on exposures from private wells has left some U.S. communities disproportionately vulnerable to adverse health events from the contaminant," said study co-author Maria Argos, associate professor of epidemiology and associate dean for global health at the UIC School of Public Health. "Developing a method to estimate these exposure risks was the first step in understanding the true exposure risk for all people living in the U.S."

Using several machine learning algorithms, the researchers characterized the probability that specific ranges of arsenic concentration occurred in groundwater sources in nearly all 3,000-plus counties in the conterminous U.S.

"These machine learning models are based on data collected by the USGS from over 20,000 private wells located throughout the U.S.," said Melissa Lombard, hydrologist at the U.S. Geological Survey, who is also a co-author of the study. "The models allow us to estimate arsenic in areas where there are no data. The development of the models was a collaboration between hydrologists and epidemiologists to explore connections between arsenic exposure from drinking water and human health outcomes."

Probabilistic model estimates and private well usage data were linked to all live birth certificates issued in 2016. The researchers compared the models to data on birth outcomes, which are tracked by public health departments, looking at gestational age and birth weight.

While there was no observed association in gestational age, there was an inverse association with birthweight, even at moderately low levels.

The model predicted that counties with a higher probability of private well arsenic concentrations exceeding 5 micrograms per liter were associated with a birth weight 1.8 grams lower than average. Similarly, counties with a higher probability that private well arsenic concentrations exceeded 10 micrograms per liter—the standard followed by the federal government—were associated with a 2.8-gram reduction in birth weight, compared to average.

The researchers said the association they found is somewhat limited because the analysis was based on estimates of exposures rather than individual-level measured exposures, but the limitations of their model may be an underestimate of the true association.

"Birth outcomes are an indicator of health and chronic disease risk throughout the lifespan, and the results of our study offer evidence that building awareness of exposures and expanding testing resources in communities that rely on private wells should be a public health priority," Argos said.

Additional co-authors of "Arsenic in private well water and birth outcomes in the United States" are Catherine Bulka, Molly Scannell Bryan, Melissa Lombard, Scott Bartell, Daniel Jones, Paul Bradley, Veronica Vieira, Debra Silverman, Michael Focazio, Patricia Toccalino, Johnni Daniel, Lorraine Backer, Joseph Ayotte and Matthew Gribble. Collaborating institutions include the National Institutes of Health, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the University of North Carolina and the University of Alabama.New report shows high levels of arsenic and uranium in some wells

More information: Catherine M. Bulka et al, Arsenic in private well water and birth outcomes in the United States, Environment International (2022). DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2022.107176

Journal information: Environment International 

Provided by University of Illinois at Chicago 

New study offers insight into past—and future—of west-side wildfires

Peer-Reviewed Publication

USDA FOREST SERVICE - PACIFIC NORTHWEST RESEARCH STATION

 

IMAGE: SMOKE PLUME FROM THE RIVERSIDE FIRE ON MOUNT HOOD NATIONAL FOREST, OREGON, IN SEPTEMBER 2020 view more 

CREDIT: USDA FOREST SERVICE

When the 2020 Labor Day Fires torched more than 300,000 hectares over the span of two weeks in parts of western Oregon and Washington, they devastated communities and put the threat of west-side fires squarely into focus. A new study led by the USDA Forest Service’s Pacific Northwest Research Station examines the context surrounding the fires and offers insight into the historical role of large, high-severity fires—and the future of wildfires—west of the Cascades.   

"Without a doubt, the 2020 Labor Day Fires were a significant fire event on many levels, and one that was a wake-up call for the region,” said Matthew Reilly, research forester and lead author of the study, which is published in the journal Ecosphere. “The goal of our study was to help understand how this event compared to past west-side fires so that we can help inform adaptation strategies aimed at preventing or mitigating similar events in the future.” 

Drawing from a literature review, extensive historical data, and new analysis, Reilly and his co-authors explored five questions surrounding the 2020 Labor Day Fires: how the 2020 fires compared with historical fires in the region, the role of weather and climate, the effects of forest management and pre-fire forest structure on burn severity, the impacts of these fires on west-side landscapes, and what can be done to adapt to similar fires in the future. Ultimately, they found that the 2020 fires were remarkably consistent with historical fires on the west side, both in terms of their timing and size and the cause of their rapid spread—dry conditions combined with strong east winds.  

“Our findings suggest that these severe fires are normal for west-side landscapes when you look at historical fire regimes at longer time scales,” Reilly said. In fact, the researchers identified similarly large historical fires in the early 20th century under similar weather conditions—some even burning right around Labor Day—in some of the same locations that burned in 2020.  

Because of the abundant and productive forests characteristic of the west side and the driving role of extreme winds, conventional fire management tools used in dry forests, like prescribed burning and fuels management, will likely be less effective in west-side forests than they are on the east side. This is particularly the case, their study found, when fire weather conditions are as extreme as those witnessed during the 2020 fires.

“Our study indicates we need very different approaches and adaptation strategies in west-side forests compared to those we use in dry forests,” Reilly said. 

The study was conducted as part of the Pacific Northwest Research Station’s ongoing West-side Fire Research Initiative, which was launched in 2019 to develop science-based tools to help resource managers respond to wildfire risk in west-side forests. The study’s coauthors are from the Washington State Department of Natural Resources, University of Washington, Oregon State University, and USDA Forest Service’s Pacific Northwest Region.   

Highlights

• The 2020 Labor Day Fires were much larger and more severe than others in the recent record, but they were remarkably consistent with many historical fires. Strong east winds and dry conditions are the common denominators in both large historical fires of the past and the 2020 fires.  
   
• Forest management and fuel treatments are unlikely to influence fire severity in the most extreme wind-driven fires, like the 2020 Labor Day Fires. Pre-fire forest structure, largely the result of previous forest management activities, had little effect on burn severity when east winds were strong during the 2020 fires.
   
• Fuel treatments around homes and infrastructure may still be beneficial under low and moderate fire-weather conditions. 
   
• Adaptation strategies for similar fires in the future in west-side communities might, instead, focus on ignition prevention, fire suppression, and community preparedness.  

---

JOURNAL

Ecosphere

DOI

10.1002/ecs2.4070 

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Not applicable

ARTICLE TITLE

Cascadia Burning: The historic, but not historically unprecedented, 2020 wildfires in the Pacific Northwest, USA

 

Multiple lab analyses of Antarctic minerals offer a better understanding of Mars

by Planetary Science Institute

Elizabeth C. Sklute uses a Bruker ALPHA Fourier-transform infrared spectrometer to study the mineral products created through the bioreduction of iron (hydr)oxides by microbes. Credit: E.C. Sklute, PSI.

Results of multiple and complementary lab analyses of minerals found in samples of material from Antarctica could give scientists a better understanding of the surface and subsurface environment of Mars, and indicate locations of potentially habitable subsurface locations, says a new paper by Planetary Science Institute Research Scientist Elizabeth C. Sklute.

Samples of intermittent brine discharge at Blood Falls at the terminus of Taylor Glacier, Antarctica were collected by Jill Mikucki of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville across two field seasons. The brine flows out from a subsurface body of water that has been isolated for possibly thousands of years. The brine flow deposits material that [is the] surface manifestation of a subsurface environment that hosts a thriving community of microbial life. Initially the brine is clear, but the deposits reddens with time on the surface, earning Blood Falls its name. These surface grab samples were tested at Sklute's lab using Fourier transform infrared, Raman, visible to near-infrared, and Mössbauer spectroscopies. Samples were further characterized using microprobe and inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy for chemistry, and X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy for mineralogy, crystallography, and chemistry.

"We took dry samples and we analyzed them by shining light of different wavelengths at them. Each wavelength of light makes the bonds and atoms in a sample react in a different way. Using them all together, it lets us figure out what is there," said Sklute, lead author of "A Multi-Technique Analysis of Surface Materials From Blood Falls, Antarctica" that appears in Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Science.

"We take each of these little pieces of information and we paste them together to form a whole image because one technique may be really good at telling you if certain things are there and another technique may completely miss it, simply because the bonds or atoms don't react to those energies," Sklute said. "These results showcase the strengths and weaknesses of different analytical methods and underscore the need for multiple complementary techniques to inform the complicated mineralogy at this locale.

"Combining these techniques, we have determined the detailed mineralogical assemblage of this Mars analog site and we have learned that the deposit is mostly carbonates and that the red color of Bloody Falls is from the oxidation of dissolved ferrous ions (Fe2+) as they are exposed to air, likely in combination with other ions. Instead of forming ferric (Fe3+) minerals, which is what usually happens on Earth, this brine turns into amorphous (no long range structure) nanospheres containing iron and a bunch of other elements, like chlorine and sodium. Amorphous materials have been found to be ubiquitous in Gale Crater on Mars by the Curiosity rover," Sklute said. "To date, we haven't been able to determine what the amorphous material on Mars is made of. Finding what may be similar material in a natural environment on Earth is really exciting.

"We do not say this is a biosignature because it is not produced by the microbes but rather by the chemistry where the microbes live. It does, however, give us a road map for a place to look on another frozen world," Sklute said.

"The method we have used in this study will also provide a powerful tool to help us understand how things can change with time if returned from another planet. It helps us understand the variability in phases that are really below the detection limit of most common techniques," Sklute said.

PSI Senior Scientist M. Darby Dyar is a co-author on the paper.Machine learniElizabeth C. Sklute et al, A Multi-Technique Analysis of Surface Materials From Blood Falls, Antarctica, Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Sciences (2022). DOI: 10.3389/fspas.2022.843174

Provided by Planetary Science Institute 

Climate damage caused by growing space tourism needs urgent mitigation

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON

Published today in the journal Earth’s Future, researchers from UCL, the University of Cambridge and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) used a 3D model to explore the impact of rocket launches and re-entry in 2019, and the impact of projected space tourism scenarios based on the recent billionaire space race.

The team found that black carbon (soot) particles emitted by rockets are almost 500 times more efficient at holding heat in the atmosphere than all other sources of soot combined (surface and aircraft) – resulting in an enhanced climate effect.

Furthermore, while the study revealed that the current loss of total ozone due to rockets is small, current growth trends around space tourism indicate potential for future depletion of the upper stratospheric ozone layer in the Arctic in spring. This is because pollutants from solid-fuel rockets and re-entry heating of returning spacecraft and debris are particularly harmful to stratospheric ozone.

Study co-author Dr Eloise Marais (UCL Geography) said: “Rocket launches are routinely compared to greenhouse gas and air pollutant emissions from the aircraft industry, which we demonstrate in our work is erroneous.

“Soot particles from rocket launches have a much larger climate effect than aircraft and other Earth-bound sources, so there doesn’t need to be as many rocket launches as international flights to have a similar impact. What we really need now is a discussion amongst experts on the best strategy for regulating this rapidly growing industry.”

To calculate the findings, the researchers collected information on the chemicals from all 103 rocket launches in 2019 from across the world, as well as data on reusable rocket and space junk re-entry. They also used the recent demonstrations by space tourism entrepreneurs Virgin Galactic, Blue Origin and SpaceX and proposed yearly offerings of at least daily launches by Virgin Galactic to construct a scenario of a future formidable space tourism industry.

These data were then incorporated into a 3D atmospheric chemistry model to explore the impact on climate and the ozone layer.

The team show that warming due to soot is 3.9 mW m-2 from a decade of contemporary rockets, dominated by emissions from kerosene-fuelled rockets. However, this more than doubles (7.9 mW m-2) after just three years of additional emissions from space tourism launches, due to the use of kerosene by SpaceX and hybrid synthetic rubber fuels by Virgin Galactic.

The researchers say this is of particular concern, as when the soot particles are directly injected into the upper atmosphere, they have a much greater effect on climate than other soot sources - with the particles 500 times more efficient at retaining heat.

The team found that, under a scenario of daily or weekly space tourism rocket launches, the impact on the stratospheric ozone layer threatens to undermine the recovery experienced after the successful implementation of the Montreal Protocol.

Adopted in 1987, the Montreal Protocol global ban on substances that deplete the ozone layer is considered one of the most successful international environmental policy interventions.

Study co-author Dr Robert Ryan said: “The only part of the atmosphere showing strong ozone recovery post-Montreal Protocol is the upper stratosphere, and that is exactly where the impact of rocket emissions will hit hardest. We weren’t expecting to see ozone changes of this magnitude, threatening the progress of ozone recovery.

“There is still a lot we need to find out about the influence of rocket launch and re-entry emissions on the atmosphere - in particular, the future size of the industry and the types and by-products of new fuels like liquid methane and bio-derived fuels.

“This study allows us to enter the new era of space tourism with our eyes wide open to the potential impacts. The conversation about regulating the environmental impact of the space launch industry needs to start now so we can minimise harm to the stratospheric ozone layer and climate.”

 

Notes to Editors

For more information or to speak to the researchers involved, please contact Evie Calder, UCL Media Relations. T: +447858 152143 E: e.calder@ucl.ac.uk

Robert G. Ryan, Eloise A. Marais, Chloe J. Balhatchet, Sebastian D. Eastham, (2022) Impact of Rocket Launch and Space Debris Air Pollutant Emissions on Stratospheric Ozone and Global Climate will be published in Earth’s Future on Saturday 25 June 14:00 UK time / 09:00 US Eastern time and is under a strict embargo until this time.

The DOI for this paper will be 10.1029/2021EF002612

 

About UCL – London’s Global University

UCL is a diverse global community of world-class academics, students, industry links, external partners, and alumni. Our powerful collective of individuals and institutions work together to explore new possibilities.

Since 1826, we have championed independent thought by attracting and nurturing the world's best minds. Our community of more than 43,800 students from 150 countries and over 14,300 staff pursues academic excellence, breaks boundaries and makes a positive impact on real world problems.

We are consistently ranked among the top 10 universities in the world and are one of only a handful of institutions rated as having the strongest academic reputation and the broadest research impact.

We have a progressive and integrated approach to our teaching and research – championing innovation, creativity and cross-disciplinary working. We teach our students how to think, not what to think, and see them as partners, collaborators and contributors.  

For almost 200 years, we are proud to have opened higher education to students from a wide range of backgrounds and to change the way we create and share knowledge.

We were the first in England to welcome women to university education and that courageous attitude and disruptive spirit is still alive today. We are UCL.

www.ucl.ac.uk | Follow @uclnews on Twitter | Read news at www.ucl.ac.uk/news/ | Listen to UCL podcasts on SoundCloud | Find out what’s on at UCL Minds

 

Links to online profiles and social media accounts:

Eloise Marais UCL profile: https://www.geog.ucl.ac.uk/people/academic-staff/academic-staff/eloise-marais

Marais Research Lab: https://maraisresearchgroup.co.uk/people.html

Rob Ryan UCL profile: https://www.geog.ucl.ac.uk/people/research-staff/robert-ryan

Rob Ryan Twitter handle: @rsquared_aus

UCL Geography Twitter handle: @UCLgeography

---

JOURNAL

Earth s Future

DOI

10.1029/2021EF002612 

ARTICLE TITLE

Impact of Rocket Launch and Space Debris Air Pollutant Emissions on Stratospheric Ozone and Global Climate

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

25-Jun-2022

‘Total bloodbath’: Witnesses describe Ethiopia ethnic attack


Hundreds of people were slaughtered in a village and its surroundings this month in the latest explosion of ethnic violence in Ethiopia. (AP Graphic)

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The heavily armed men appeared around the small farming village in Ethiopia’s Oromia region, frightening residents already on edge after recent clashes between government troops and rebels.

“The militants assured us that they will not touch us. They said they are not after us,” resident Nur Hussein Abdi told The Associated Press. “But in reality, they were surrounding our whole village for a deadly massacre. What happened the next day was a total bloodbath.”

Abdi escaped by hiding on a rooftop, a horrified witness to one of the worst mass killings in Ethiopia in recent years. Hundreds of people, mostly ethnic Amhara, were slaughtered in Tole village and the surroundings on June 18 in the latest explosion of ethnic violence in Africa’s second most populous nation.

Multiple witnesses told the AP they are still discovering bodies, with some put in mass graves containing scores of people. The Amhara Association of America said it has confirmed 503 civilians killed. Ethiopian authorities have not released figures. One witness, Mohammed Kemal, said he has witnessed 430 bodies buried, and others are still exposed and decomposing.

Kemal begged Ethiopia’s government to relocate the survivors, saying the armed men had threatened to return.

“They killed infants, children, women and the elderly,” resident Ahmed Kasim said. The Amhara Association of America said the dead include a 100-year-old and a one-month-old baby, and some people were killed in a mosque where they had tried to hide.

Residents and Oromia regional officials have blamed the Oromo Liberation Army, an armed group that Ethiopia’s government has declared a terrorist organization. An OLA spokesman denied it, alleging that federal troops and regional militia attacked the villagers for their perceived support of the OLA as they retreated from an OLA offensive.

Again, Ethiopians are left wondering why the federal government failed to protect them from the violent side of the country’s ethnic tensions — and why ethnic minorities in a federal system based on identity are left so vulnerable.

Teddy Afro, Ethiopia’s much celebrated pop star, released two songs this week highlighting the crisis that has worsened in the past four years and dedicating his songs to civilians who have lost their lives.

“It’s never an option to keep quiet when a mountain of death comes in front of me,” one of his lyrics says.

On Friday, thousands of students at Gondar University in the neighboring Amhara region protested the killings and demanded justice.

Ethiopia’s Prime Minister, Abiy Ahmed, has said security forces have launched a military operation against the OLA, but many Ethiopians appear skeptical after seeing the deadly cycle play out in the past.

The president of the Oromia region, Shimelis Abdisa, on Thursday acknowledged that it will be difficult to arrange security in every location, but said the current operation “will cripple the enemy’s ability to move from place to place.”

Ethnic Amhara are Ethiopia’s second-largest ethnic group but have found themselves under attack in some areas where they are in the minority. Several dozen were killed in attacks in the Benishangul Gumuz and Oromia regions over the past three years alone.

“Ethnic Amharas who live outside of their region do not have legal and political representation, which results in no protection,” said Muluken Tesfaw, a community activist who tracks abuses against the Amhara. “There were even speeches by Oromia region government officials that seek to reduce Amharic-speaking people.”

“An anti-Amhara narrative has been spreading for over 50 years now,” said Belete Molla, chairman of the opposition NaMA party. “The Amhara living in Oromia and Benishangul are hence being targeted.” He also accused some members of the Oromia region’s ruling party of “working for or sympathizing with the Oromo Liberation Army.”

The latest mass killings brought international alarm. The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, has urged Ethiopian authorities to hold “prompt, impartial and through” investigations. The U.S. State Department called on Ethiopians to “reject violence and pursue peace.”

Ethiopia continues to struggle with ethnic tensions in several parts of the country and a deadly conflict in the northern Tigray region that has severely affected the once rapidly growing economy, but the prime minister is adamant that better days are ahead.

“There is no doubt that Ethiopia is on the path of prosperity,” he declared in a parliament address this month.

But Ethiopians who escaped the latest attack seek answers.

Nur Hussein said he and other Tole villagers had called nearby officials about the appearance of the armed men shortly before the violence exploded. “Their response was muted. They said there were no specific threats to respond to. But look at what unfolded,” he said. “God willing, we will get past this, but it is a scar that will live with us forever.”

ANTI IMPERIALIST COLLECTIVE
"We apologize": artist collective Taring Padi regrets documenta "mistake"

Following the scandal over an antisemitic artwork at documenta fifteen in Kassel, the curatorial team has now been joined by the artist collective Taring Padi in apologizing.



The vast 'People's Justice' mural created a furore over antisemitic depictions before it was dismantled


For three days, the installation 'People's Justice' by the Indonesian artist collective Taring Padi hung on a scaffold in the center of Kassel, before it was taken down after accusations of antisemitism. It showed a kind of doomsday illustration featuring, among many figures, a soldier with a pig's face and a Star of David, as well as a man with sidecurls, sharp teeth and SS runes on his hat.
"Our imagery has taken on a specific meaning in the historic context of Germany"

"We deeply regret the extent to which the imagery of our work People’s Justice has offended so many people," Taring Padi wrote in a statement on the documenta website. "We apologize to all viewers and the team of documenta fifteen, the public in Germany and especially the Jewish community. We have learned from our mistake, and recognize now that our imagery has taken on a specific meaning in the historic context of Germany. Therefore, we removed the banner from our exhibition, together with documenta fifteen."

This last statement, however, has come under criticism. Antisemitic motifs have no place at documenta or anywhere else, said Meron Mendel, director of the Anne Frank Educational Center in Frankfurt am Main: "Depicting Jews as bloodsuckers should not only be a problem in the German context, but everywhere in the world."


Dismantled: Taring Padi's "People's Justice" banner.

However, Taring Padi clearly counter the accusation that they are antisemitic: "As a collective of artists who denounce racism in all its forms, we are shocked and saddened by the media furor that has labelled us as anti-semitic. Through this statement, we want to reaffirm our respect for all human beings, regardless of their ethnicity, race, religion, gender or sexuality."
"Anti-semitism does not have a place in our hearts and minds."

The eight-by-twelve-meter banner was created collaboratively in 2002 in Yogyakarta, Indonesia by several members of the artists' collective, wrote Taring Padi: "The banner was born out of our struggles of living under Suharto’s military dictatorship, where violence, exploitation and censorship were a daily reality. Like all of our artwork, the banner attempts to expose the complex power relationships that are at play behind these injustices and the erasure of public memory surrounding the Indonesian genocide in 1965, where more than 500,000 people were murdered."

The artwork "presents these internal and external powers in a pictorial scene and tries to capture the complex historical circumstances through a visual language that is at once as disturbing as the reality of the violence itself," the collective said. However, it was "never intended as hatred directed at a particular ethnic or religious group, but as a critique of militarism and state violence. We depicted the involvement of the government of the state of Israel in the wrong way – and we apologize. Anti-semitism does not have a place in our hearts and minds."


The Indonesian artist collective Ruangrupa, the curators of documenta fifteen

In response to the controversy, documenta, together with the Anne Frank Educational Center, is organizing a panel on "Anti-Semitism in Art" on June 29 in Kassel. Among others, Mendel and Hortensia Völckers, artistic director and member of the board of the German Federal Cultural Foundation, will discuss the issue.

"We apologize for the disappointment, shame, frustration, betrayal, and shock this stereotype has caused the viewers and the whole team," wrote Indonesian art collective and documenta fifteen curators, Ruangrupa, in a statement on Thursday.

The curators acknowledged that the imagery contained in a mural banner that on Tuesday was removed from a public square in Kassel — where documenta has been staged every five years since 1955 — "connects seamlessly to the most horrific episode of German history in which Jewish people were targeted and murdered on an unprecedented scale."

The group called the Jewish community in Kassel and Germany "our allies," adding that they continue to "live under the trauma of the past and the continued presence of discrimination, prejudice and marginalization."

Jewish groups demand resignations

But for Jewish groups like the Central Council of Jews in Germany, the apology has come too late as calls grow for documenta general director Sabine Schormann to resign.

She remains in the job, however, and is determined to move forward with the event, saying her priority is "getting the ship back on course." Speaking Thursday in Kassel to German press agency, dpa, she said that "in rough seas, a captain does not jump ship."

In an interview with Spiegel magazine, she also stated that she has "organizational responsibility" for documenta 15 and is "not responsible for the artistic processes" in which the mural was hung.

She explained that the work went up a day before the art show opening due to some last-minute repairs, and that there was no time to properly inspect the large banner.

Claudia Roth, Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Sabine Schormann at the opening of documenta fifteen

The curators acknowledged that they had "collectively failed to spot the figure in the work, which is a character that evokes classical stereotypes of antisemitism.''

"It clearly contains antisemitic imagery" that "crosses borders and hurts feelings," said Schormann. "We all regret this from the bottom of our hearts."

Taring Padi, the Indonesia artist collective who produced the offending work, "People's Justice," have also apologized.

Meanwhile, Jörg Sperling, the chairman of a supporting body for the event, documenta Forum, has resigned after criticizing the removal of the Taring Padi work.
Putting artwork in historical context

Despite the wave of apologies in the wake of the antisemitism scandal, Schormann also noted that Taring Padi created the mural twenty years ago "in a completely different context."

She said it was important to take into account that "the disputed motifs are frequently used in the visual language in Indonesia," mentioning, for example, "satirically exaggerated" figures in local puppet theater.

The members of the Finding Committee for the Artistic Direction of documenta fifteen also backed Taring Padi, expressing "respect for … their long struggle against the oppression and dictatorship of the Suharto years in Indonesia."

In a statement, the committee also said that "we stand fully behind our selection of ruangrupa to curate this year's edition of the historic exhibition in Kassel."

The mural is gone but debate rages on

Documenta to have more federal influence?

Meanwhile, German State Minister for Culture and the Media, Claudia Roth, has called for potential restructuring of the global art exhibition so that the federal government oversees the event to ensure that no further antisemitic works appear.

She said the federal government's withdrawal from documenta's supervisory board in 2018 was a "serious mistake."

The federal government has otherwise distanced itself from the current scandal, with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz confirming on Wednesday evening that he will not attend the global art show.

"Chancellor Olaf Scholz finds the said image in Kassel disgusting," said a spokesperson.

Edited by: Dagmar Breitenbach

Norway shaken by attack that kills 2 during Pride festival

By MARIA SANMINIATELLI and KARL RITTER

1 of 19

People react as they lay flowers at the scene of a shooting in central Oslo, Norway, Saturday, June 25, 2022. A gunman opened fire in Oslo’s night-life district early Saturday, killing two people and leaving more than 20 wounded in what Norwegian security service called an "Islamist terror act" during the capital’s annual Pride festival. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)


OSLO, Norway (AP) — A gunman opened fire in Oslo’s nightlife district early Saturday, killing two people and leaving more than 20 wounded in what the Norwegian security service called an “Islamist terror act” during the capital’s annual LGBTQ Pride festival.

Investigators said the suspect, identified as a 42-year-old Norwegian citizen originally from Iran, was arrested after opening fire at three locations in downtown Oslo.

Police said two men, one in his 50s and and the other his 60s, died in the shootings. Ten people were treated for serious injuries, but none of them was believed to be in life-threatening condition. Eleven others had minor injuries.

The Norwegian Police Security Service raised its terror alert level from “moderate” to “extraordinary” — the highest level — after the attack, which sent panicked revelers fleeing into the streets or trying to hide from the gunman.

The service’s acting chief, Roger Berg, called the attack an “extreme Islamist terror act” and said the suspect had a “long history of violence and threats,” as well as mental health issues.

He said the agency, known by its Norwegian acronym PST, first became aware of the suspect in 2015 and later grew concerned he had become radicalized and was part of an unspecified Islamist network.

Norwegian media named the suspect as Zaniar Matapour, an Oslo resident who arrived in Norway with his family from a Kurdish part of Iran in the 1990s.

The suspect’s defense lawyer, John Christian Elden, said his client “hasn’t denied” carrying out the attack, but he cautioned against speculation on the motive.

“He has not given any reason. It is too early to conclude whether this is hate crime or terrorism,” Elden said in an email to The Associated Press.

Upon the advice of police, organizers canceled a Pride parade that was set for Saturday as the highlight of a weeklong festival. Scores of people marched through the capital anyway, waving rainbow flags.

Police attorney Christian Hatlo said it was too early to say whether the gunman specifically targeted members of the LGBTQ community.

“We have to look closer at that, we don’t know yet,” he said.

Police said civilians assisted them in detaining the man in custody, who was being held on suspicion of murder, attempted murder and terrorism, based on the number of people targeted at multiple locations.

Investigators seized two weapons after the attack: a handgun and an automatic weapon. Hatlo described both as “not modern” but did not give details.

Not far from Oslo’s cathedral, crime scene tape cordoned off the bars where the shootings took place, including the London Pub, which is popular with the city’s LGBTQ community.

Crowds gathered outside and dropped off cards and flowers at impromptu memorials.

Martin Ebbestad, 29, had walked by earlier, seen the memorials and returned with flowers.

London Pub “is our go-to place. My boyfriend left 20 minutes before (it happened). He was sitting outside in the smoking area,” Ebbestad said. “We know this place so well. It doesn’t feel unsafe, but it does feel very close.”




Norwegian television channel TV2 showed footage of people running down Oslo streets in panic as shots rang out in the background. Olav Roenneberg, a journalist from Norwegian public broadcaster NRK, said he witnessed the shooting.

“I saw a man arrive at the site with a bag. He picked up a weapon and started shooting,” Roenneberg told NRK. “First I thought it was an air gun. Then the glass of the bar next door was shattered and I understood I had to run for cover.”

Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere called the shooting a “cruel and deeply shocking attack on innocent people.”

He said that while the motive was unclear, the shooting had caused fear and grief in the LGBTQ community.

“We all stand by you,” Gahr Stoere wrote on Facebook.

Christian Bredeli, who was at the London Pub, told Norwegian newspaper VG that he hid on the fourth floor with a group of about 10 people until he was told it was safe to come out.

“Many were fearing for their lives,” he said. “On our way out we saw several injured people, so we understood that something serious had happened.”

Desta G. Selassie, a co-owner of the London Pub, told AP that employees who witnessed the  had a criminal record that included a narcotics offense and a weapons offense for carrying a knife.

PST said it spoke to him in May this year “because he had shown a certain interest in statements that were interpreted as insults to Isla
“In these conversations, it was assessed that he had no intention of violence, but PST is aware that he has had challenges related to mental health,” the agency said in a statement.

Organizers of Oslo Pride canceled the parade and other scheduled events, and encouraged “people all over Norway to show solidarity” in their homes, neighborhoods and on social media instead.

“We’ll be back later, proud, visible, but right now it’s not the time for that,” Inge Alexander Gjestvang, leader of FRI, a Norwegian organization for sexual and gender diversity, told TV2.

Like its Scandinavian neighbors, Norway is considered progressive on LGBTQ rights. There is widespread support for same-sex marriage, which was legalized in 2009. In 2016, Norway became one of the world’s first countries to allow transgender people to legally change their gender without a doctor’s agreement or intervention.

Norway’s King Harald V offered condolences to the relatives of victims and said the royal family was “horrified” by the attack.

“We must stand together to defend our values: freedom, diversity and respect for each other. We must continue to stand up for all people to feel safe,” the monarch said.

World leaders condemned the attack on their way to a Group of Seven summit in Germany. The summit’s host, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, tweeted, “The Norwegian people can be sure of our sympathy. The fight against terror unites us.” French President Emmanuel Macron offered his condolences in a tweet in Norwegian.

John Kirby, spokesman for the White House National Security Council, told reporters while flying with U.S. President Joe Biden to the G-7 summit, “Our hearts obviously go out to all the families there of the victims, the people of Norway, which is a tremendous ally, and of course the LGBTQI+ community, there and around the world, quite frankly.”

Norway has a relatively low crime rate but has experienced a series of so-called lone wolf attacks in recent decades, including one of the worst mass shootings in Europe. In 2011, a right-wing extremist killed 69 people on the island of Utoya after setting off a bomb in Oslo that left eight dead.

In 2019, another right-wing extremist killed his stepsister and then opened fire in a mosque but was overpowered before anyone there was injured.

Last year, a Norwegian man armed with knives and a bow and arrow killed five people in a town in southern Norway. The attacker, who was diagnosed with schizophrenia, was sentenced Friday to compulsory psychiatric care.

___

Ritter reported from Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany. Jari Tanner in Helsinki and Sarah Hambro in Oslo contributed to this report.

Gunman kills two during Oslo Pride festival

25 June 2022

The Norwegian Police Security Service raised its terror alert level from ‘moderate’ to ‘extraordinary’ – the highest level – after the attack.

A gunman opened fire in Oslo’s nightlife district early on Saturday, killing two people and leaving more than 20 wounded in what the Norwegian security service called an “Islamist terror act” during the capital’s annual LGBTQ Pride festival.

Investigators said the suspect, identified as a 42-year-old Norwegian citizen originally from Iran, was arrested after opening fire at three locations in central Oslo.

Police said two men, one in his 50s and the other in his 60s, died in the shootings.

Ten people were treated for serious injuries, but none of them was believed to be in life-threatening condition.

Eleven others had minor injuries.

The Norwegian Police Security Service raised its terror alert level from “moderate” to “extraordinary” – the highest level – after the attack, which sent panicked revellers fleeing into the streets or trying to hide from the gunman.

The service’s acting chief Roger Berg called the attack an “extreme Islamist terror act” and said the suspect had a “long history of violence and threats”, as well as mental health issues.

He said the agency, known by its Norwegian acronym PST, first became aware of the suspect in 2015 and later grew concerned he had become radicalised and was part of an unspecified Islamist network.

Norwegian media named the suspect as Zaniar Matapour, an Oslo resident who arrived in Norway with his family from a Kurdish part of Iran in the 1990s.

The suspect’s defence lawyer, John Christian Elden, said his client had not talked to investigators, and he cautioned against speculation on the motive.

“He has not given any reason. It is too early to conclude whether this is hate crime or terrorism,” Mr Elden said in an email to the Associated Press.

Women comfort each other as they come to lay flowers at the scene of the shooting in central Oslo, Norway (Sergei Grits/AP)

Upon the advice of police, organisers cancelled a Pride parade that was set for Saturday as the highlight of a week-long festival.

Scores of people marched through the capital anyway, waving rainbow flags.

Police lawyer Christian Hatlo said it was too early to say whether the gunman specifically targeted members of the LGBTQ community.

“We have to look closer at that, we don’t know yet,” he said.

Mr Hatlo said the suspect was being held on suspicion of murder, attempted murder and terrorism, based on the number of people targeted at multiple locations.

Police said civilians assisted them in detaining the man in custody.

“Our overall assessment is that there are grounds to believe that he wanted to cause grave fear in the population,” Mr Hatlo said.

One of the shootings happened outside the London Pub, a bar popular with the city’s LGBTQ community, just hours before the parade was set to begin.

Police at the scene of the shooting in central Oslo (Javad Parsa/NTB Scanpix via AP)

Benjamin Lau-Henriksen, 15, and his friend Li-Sullivan Koker Bolstad, 16, walked past the London Pub on their way home from a nearby Pride party for young people about two hours before the shooting.

Had they been of drinking age, they would have been at the bar, they said.

“Had we been over 18 yesterday, we would have been there and we could have died,” Li-Sullivan said.

Olav Roenneberg, a journalist from Norwegian public broadcaster NRK, said he witnessed the shooting.

“I saw a man arrive at the site with a bag. He picked up a weapon and started shooting,” Mr Roenneberg told NRK.

“First I thought it was an air gun. Then the glass of the bar next door was shattered and I understood I had to run for cover.”

Another witness, Marcus Nybakken, 46, said he saw a lot of people running and screaming and thought it was a fistfight.

“But then I heard that it was a shooting and that there was someone shooting with a submachine gun,” Mr Nybakken told Norwegian broadcaster TV2.

Flowers are left at the scene (Hakon Mosvold Larsen/NTB Scanpix via AP)

Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere said in a Facebook post that “the shooting outside London Pub in Oslo tonight was a cruel and deeply shocking attack on innocent people”.

He said that while the motive was unclear, the shooting had caused fear and grief in the LGBTQ community.

“We all stand by you,” Mr Gahr Stoere wrote.

Christian Bredeli, who was at the London Pub, told Norwegian newspaper VG that he hid on the fourth floor with a group of about 10 people until he was told it was safe to come out.

“Many were fearing for their lives,” he said.

“On our way out we saw several injured people, so we understood that something serious had happened.”

Norwegian television channel TV2 showed footage of people running down Oslo streets in panic as shots rang out in the background.

People react laying flowers at the scene of the shooting (Sergei Grits/AP)

Investigators said the suspect was known to police, as well as to PST, but not for any major violent crimes.

His criminal record included a narcotics offence and a weapons offence for carrying a knife, Mr Hatlo said.

Mr Hatlo said police seized two weapons after the attack: a handgun and an automatic weapon, both of which he described as “not modern” without giving details.

Police advised organisers of the Pride festival to cancel a parade scheduled for Saturday.

“Oslo Pride therefore urges everyone who planned to participate or watch the parade to not show up. All events in connection with Oslo Pride are cancelled,” organisers said on the official Facebook page of the event.

Inge Alexander Gjestvang, leader of FRI, a Norwegian organisation for sexual and gender diversity, said the shooting shook the Nordic country’s LGBTQ community.

“We’ll be back later, proud, visible, but right now it’s not the time for that,” he told TV2.

Norway’s Crown Prince Haakon, centre left, and Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere, centre right, visit the scene of the shooting in central Oslo (Javad Parsa/NTB via AP)

King Harald V offered condolences to the relatives of victims and said the royal family was “horrified” by the attack.

“We must stand together to defend our values: freedom, diversity and respect for each other. We must continue to stand up for all people to feel safe,” the monarch said.

Norway has a relatively low crime rate but has experienced a series of so-called lone wolf attacks in recent decades, including one of the worst mass shootings in Europe.

In 2011, a right-wing extremist killed 69 people on the island of Utoya after setting off a bomb in Oslo that left eight dead.

In 2019, another right-wing extremist killed his stepsister and then opened fire in a mosque but was overpowered before anyone there was injured.

Last year, a Norwegian man armed with knives and a bow and arrow killed five people in a town in southern Norway.

The attacker, who was diagnosed with schizophrenia, was sentenced on Friday to compulsory psychiatric care.

By Press Association

In Lebanon, how to say ‘I do’ sparks fierce debate

By MARIAM FAM and BASSEM MROUE

1 of 6

Mazen Jaber and Dona-Maria Nammour, who had a civil marriage in Cyprus earlier this year, laugh as they speak during an interview with The Associated Press at their home in Beirut, Lebanon, Friday, June 3, 2022. In Lebanon, the question of civil marriage is a contentious issue mired in fierce religious and political debates.

 (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

BEIRUT (AP) — Dona-Maria Nammour was looking for a love story. The night she met Mazen Jaber for the first time, they ended up dancing for hours.

But their tale is about more than a meet-cute to happily-ever-after romance. It is also about frictions in their native Lebanon over sectarian politics and civil rights, the role of religion and rival visions for how the crisis-ridden country moves forward.

When the couple decided to get married, they wanted a civil ceremony, not a religious one — and not only because on paper she’s Catholic and he’s Druze; they also wanted to leave religious authorities out of their nuptials. “It is the best option for equality between us,” Nammour said.

So they traveled to Cyprus to tie the knot.

In Lebanon, an on-again, off-again debate over whether such civil marriages may be held inside the country, and for whom, is contentious and mired in religious and political entanglements.

The issue has flared up anew after a few recently elected lawmakers raised their hands in approval when asked on television whether they would support “optional” civil marriage. That infuriated those insisting marriages must remain under religious authorities’ purview.

Civil marriage proponents argue that the cultural battle over how to say “I do” is part of a larger fight about increasing civil and personal rights, eroding the religious power within the country’s sectarian system and, ultimately, chipping away at the sectarian divides ingrained in politics and beyond.

“Resentment of the sectarian system has increased demands for a civil one because the sectarian system has been negatively affecting our economic life and leading to covering up of corruption,” said Leila Awada, a lawyer and co-founder of KAFA, a secular, feminist organization lobbying for a personal status law that would include civil marriages for all.

Opponents decry civil marriage as an affront to faith and say it would open the door to legalizing a myriad of practices that violate religious rulings and teachings. Backlash against the new lawmakers’ stance came swiftly: One Muslim cleric called it a war on God.

The parliamentarians are part of a small group — informally dubbed the “change seekers,” in Arabic — that won election in May, building on a protest movement that challenged traditional parties. They are up against an entrenched sectarian system and a political elite blamed by many for Lebanon’s crises.

One’s faith can open and close doors in Lebanon, home to multiple officially recognized religious faiths. The presidency is given to a Maronite Christian, the parliament speaker post to a Shiite and premiership to a Sunni, and parliamentary seats are divided based on religious affiliation.

With memories still fresh for many of a 15-year civil war that ended in 1990, some fear that disrupting the delicate power-sharing formula could cause chaos. Others accuse political leaders of fueling such worries to maintain power and cementing sectarian loyalties by passing out jobs and favors to members of their faith communities, weakening the state in the process.

When it comes to marriage, divorce and child custody, Lebanon’s faith groups legally govern their own communities’ affairs. Supporters say this protects religious freedom and diversity.

Civil rights activists, however, accuse religious courts of discriminating against women and say that on these key family issues, Lebanese are treated differently depending on their religious affiliation.

Those seeking civil marriages generally travel abroad — Cyprus is a favorite spot.

Nader Fawz, 37, also chose a civil marriage even though he and his wife share a religious affiliation.

They opted against leaving the country for their 2020 wedding and instead challenged the status quo by marrying in Lebanon. After striking religious references from their state records, the couple married under an old decree cited to argue for a civil ceremony loophole for religiously unaffiliated people.

“We wanted to say that this right exists in Lebanon ... but that the political authorities are stopping it and that the religious authorities are exerting pressure to prevent it so they can maintain their interests,” Fawz said.

Based on some other couples’ experiences, they didn’t expect Lebanese authorities to fully register their marriage and issue them the customary family ID. So they didn’t bother seeking one.

“It’s not this grand revolutionary act,” Fawz said. “But it’s a document of protest in the face of the ruling system.”

Later, they got a civil marriage in Cyprus and eventually relocated there.

Joseph Bechara, the notary who officiated their marriage in Lebanon, said he has conducted dozens of similar ceremonies since 2012. Some got fully registered, but many others were blocked by “executive obstacles.”

Supporters of keeping marriage in the hands of spiritual authorities defend the current personal status system.

“We have an Islamic Shariah that we abide by, and this Shariah is not in any way an obstacle against societal unity,” said Khaldoun Oraymet, a Sunni religious judge.

With the country struggling amid an economic meltdown that has led to shortages of necessities like electricity and prompted many to leave and seek opportunity elsewhere, Oraymet and others have argued that raising the civil marriage issue now is a distraction from more important problems.

“People now need power, water, fuel and a solution for unemployment,” he said.

The Rev. Abdo Abou Kassm, director of the Catholic Center for Information, agreed, saying, “Does Lebanon’s salvation come through a civil marriage law? Shouldn’t we dig ourselves out of the hole we’re in?”

Awada, the lawyer, said it was exactly because of such crises that change was needed.

Abou Kassm said his church does not accept civil marriages as a replacement for the sacramental Catholic ceremony and would oppose an optional civil marriage law because “we shouldn’t confuse people or put them in a position that could shake their faith.”

If the state were to mandate civil marriages the church would comply with the law, he said, but still urge its followers to have Catholic weddings too.

For Nammour and Jaber, a civil marriage was a no-brainer. On paper they belong to different faith groups, and in reality, she identifies as an atheist and he doesn’t like to put a label on his beliefs. But it’s also about rights “in a patriarchal society that gives men the upper hand,” Nammour said, adding they would have opted for a civil marriage regardless of faith backgrounds.

Just before the latest controversy erupted, Nammour and Jaber exchanged vows in Cyprus. A cousin of hers doubled as both guest and witness since the trip proved too costly for other family members. Nammour held Jaber’s hand, stared into his eyes and promised to share his joys and sorrows for eternity.

“Mabrouk,” the wedding officiant said, congratulating the newlyweds in Arabic as they kissed and embraced.

Now back in Beirut, Nammour believes the struggle to gain civil marriage rights will be a long one.

“Maybe not in our generation’s lifetime,” said Nammour, who is pregnant with the couple’s first child together. “But it will happen.”

___

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.