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.

bur-ash/slb/reb

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Governments help arms firms avoid Covid slump: report





Marc PRÉEL
Sun, December 5, 2021,

The world's biggest weapons manufacturers largely avoided the economic downturn caused by Covid-19 and recorded a growth in profits last year for the sixth year in a row, according to a report published on Monday.

Governments around the world have continued to buy arms during the pandemic and some also passed measures to help their big weapons firms, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

Overall, the 100 top weapons firms saw their profits rise by 1.3 percent on 2019 to a record $531 billion, despite the global economy contracting by more than three percent.


"Military manufacturers were largely shielded by sustained government demand for military goods and services," said SIPRI researcher Alexandra Marksteiner in the institute's annual assessment of arms companies.

"In much of the world, military spending grew and some governments even accelerated payments to the arms industry in order to mitigate the impact of the Covid-19 crisis."

The top five arms firms were all from the United States, Lockheed-Martin -- which counts F-35 fighter jets and various types of missiles among its bestsellers -- consolidating its first place with sales of $58.2 billion.

Britain's BAE Systems, in sixth position, was the highest-placed European firm, just ahead of three Chinese groups.

- Rise of China -

"The rise of China as a major arms producer has been driven by its aim to become more self-reliant in weapons production and by the implementation of ambitious modernisation programmes," the report said.

While China's arms sales have expanded, they still lag US and British firms, accounting for a total of 13 percent of the top 100 arms sales in 2020.

Sales by the five Chinese firms in the top 100 totalled an estimated $66.8 billion in 2020, up 1.5 percent on the previous year.

"In recent years, Chinese arms companies have benefited from the country's military modernisation programmes and focus on military–civil fusion," SIPRI senior researcher Nan Tian said.

"They have become some of the most advanced military technology producers in the world."

Of the top-producing countries, only France and Russia saw their firms' sales decline last year.

The institute said the firms had benefited from the broad injection of cash into economies, as well as specific measures designed to help arms companies such as accelerated payments or order schedules.

And as military contracts usually span several years, firms were able to make gains before the health crisis took hold.

"However, despite these and other factors, global arms production was not fully immune to the impact of the pandemic," the report said, pointing to France's Thales which blamed a 5.8 percent fall in arms sales on lockdown disruptions.

The report highlighted that the rate of increase in profits had slowed substantially between 2019 and 2020, and noted that measures taken to halt the spread of the virus had disrupted supply chains in the weapons industry just as they had across the wider economy.

SIPRI: Global arms industry flourishing despite COVID

A $531-billion business: The new SIPRI report shows that the world's top 100 arms producers have continued to increase sales — even in the pandemic year of 2020 and despite the global economy contracting.

Arms sales by German companies went up 1.3% in 2020, says SIPRI

Lockdowns, crumbling supply chains, jittery consumers: The COVID-19 pandemic has brought about massive economic slumps around the world. One sector, however, has proved immune to the virus: the arms industry. This is confirmed by the latest report on the world's 100 largest arms manufacturers by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

SIPRI researcher Alexandra Marksteiner told DW that she was especially surprised by the data from 2020, the first year of the pandemic: "Even though the IMF put global economic contraction at 3.1%, we saw that the arms sales of these top 100 companies increased nonetheless — we saw an overall increase of 1.3%."

The sales of the top 100 arms manufacturers totalled $531 billion (€469 billion) in 2020, more than the economic output of Belgium. Some 54% of this was accounted for by the 41 US companies in SIPRI's top 100. The main companies in the industry are US-based: Lockheed Martin alone sold more than $58 billion worth of weapons systems last year —  a sum bigger than the GDP of Lithuania.

Effective lobbying

Companies that big also wield political power. Markus Bayer, a political scientist at the Bonn International Centre for Conflict Studies (BICC), says arms companies are deliberately exerting influence. He quotes a report by the US NGO Open Secrets: "Defense companies spend millions every year lobbying politicians and donating to their campaigns. In the past two decades, their extensive network of lobbyists and donors have directed $285 million in campaign contributions and $2.5 billion in lobbying spending to influence defense policy."

And for the arms manufacturing giants, the spending appears to pay off. Alexandra Marksteiner explains that the US Department of Defense provided targeted support for the arms industry during the pandemic. "For example, they made sure that employees of defense companies were largely exempted from stay-at-home orders. On the other hand, there were some orders that were set up so that funds could be transferred to the companies a bit earlier, ahead of schedule, so that they would have a bit of a buffer."

Big Asian players

Simone Wisotzki has also examined SIPRI's new figures. An arms control expert at the Peace Research Institute Frankfurt (PRIF), she was especially struck by "the fact that arms companies from the Global South are becoming increasingly important." Wisotzki mentions India in particular: It has three companies in the top 100, whose combined sales total 1.2% — on a par with South Korea.

However, there are far more weapons leaving the factories of India's northern neighbor, China. SIPRI has been including Chinese companies in its studies since 2015, despite the many problems with transparency. China's five companies on the list are benefiting from the Chinese military's modernization program, and their shipments now account for 13% of the top 100's sales.

Wisotzki says India has not signed up to the international

 arms agreement

Looking at the Chinese entries, Marksteiner notes that "these companies are capitalizing on what is called military-civilian fusion," citing the largest Chinese arms conglomerate as an example: "There was a satellite system that NORINCO co-developed, and it makes quite a bit of revenue from that, and it's used both for military and civilian purposes."

China has been modernizing its military

Militarized information technology

Simone Wisotzki also notes that the boundary between civil and military technologies is becoming increasingly blurred. "Information technology can no longer be separated from weapons technology," she says. In its new report, SIPRI specifically looks at the growing role tech companies play in the arms business.

Marksteiner emphasizes that, if you want a clear picture of the arms industry, "you can't just talk about traditional players like Lockheed Martin." SIPRI says that, in recent years, some Silicon Valley giants like Google, Microsoft and Oracle have sought to deepen their involvement in the arms business and have been rewarded with lucrative contracts.

SIPRI gives the example of a deal between Microsoft and the US Department of Defense worth $22 billion. The company has been contracted to supply the US Army with a type of super-glasses, called the Integrated Visual Augmentation System, which will provide soldiers with real-time strategic information about the battlefield.

The US military's interest in Silicon Valley is easy to explain. "They realize that, in these new enabling technologies, be it artificial intelligence or machine learning or cloud computing, these Silicon Valley companies' expertise is far beyond what you would see from traditional arms industry players," says Marksteiner. "There is a chance that some of these companies will actually end up entering the [SIPRI] top 100."

The line between technology for civilian use and miltary use is becoming increasingly blurred

Russia is falling behind

Along with France, the biggest drop in arms sales was recorded by Russia. The nine Russian companies on the list sold 6.5% fewer weapons last year than in 2019. The BICC's Markus Bayer believes this drop, to just 5% of the top 100's total sales, is directly related to India and China having developed arms factories of their own. Both countries were previously big buyers of Russian armaments.

Bayer cites the example of aircraft carriers. The first Chinese carrier was based on a Soviet-built ship purchased by Beijing in 1998. The Chinese carrier, named Liaoning, came into service in 2012.

A lot has happened since then, says Bayer. "In the last 20 years, China has not just caught up with Russia in terms of aircraft carrier production capabilities, it's overtaken it. Russia hasn't put a single aircraft carrier into service in that time. And now India has developed its own carrier as well, based on what was originally Soviet technology."

The Soviet aircraft carrier Warjag turned into the Chinese vessel Liaoning

Where does Europe stand?

The European arms industry has a combined 21% of the top 100's sales on its books. In 2020, the 26 European companies listed sold $109 billion worth of weapons. The four wholly German arms companies accounted for just under $9 billion of this total.

There are also trans-European companies like Airbus, which handled arms deals worth almost €12 billion — 5% more than in 2019. Europe is increasingly relying on joint ventures like these. Markus Bayer explains: "Europe is now trying, by political means, to expedite such cooperative ventures for the development of a 'Next Generation Weapon System,' the 'Future Combat Air System,' or the 'Main Ground Combat System,' so it can bear the high development costs for new systems like these."

These joint productions certainly make sense from a cost point of view. But as far as arms export control is concerned, they can often be problematic, says Simone Wisotzki. Referring to the Eurofighter Typhoon, a fighter jet developed by Germany, Britain, Italy and Spain, the PRIF analyst comments that "it is also specifically supplied to problematic third countries, such as Saudi Arabia, which is still waging war in Yemen." National export regulations are often not applied to joint productions — and it seems that Europe is still a long way from implementing effective joint controls on arms exports.

This article was translated from German

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Ilhan Omar calls Kevin McCarthy 'liar' and 'coward' for not condemning Lauren Boebert's anti-Muslim remarks

Colin Campbell
·Managing Editor
Sun, December 5, 2021

Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., harshly criticized House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy on Sunday for his tepid response to anti-Muslim remarks made by Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo.

"McCarthy is a liar and a coward. He doesn't have the ability to condemn the kind of bigoted Islamophobia and anti-Muslim rhetoric that are being trafficked by a member of his conference," Omar said on CNN's "State of the Union."

"We have to be able to stand up to them. And we have to push them to reckon with the fact that their party, right now, is normalizing anti-Muslim bigotry," she continued.



Omar was responding to McCarthy's answer after being asked on Friday why he didn't forcefully condemn Boebert's comments In a video clip that emerged last month, which the Colorado lawmaker on stage comparing Omar to a terrorist. ”Well, she doesn’t have a backpack. We should be fine,” Boebert said about a time she allegedly shared an elevator with Omar. (Omar denies the incident ever happened.) Boebert also called Omar a member of the "jihad squad."

More than 40 House Democrats have called on Boebert to be stripped of her committee assignments, saying in a joint letter last week that there "must be consequences when Members of Congress demonize an entire religion and promote hate from their positions of public trust." A handful of GOP lawmakers have also condemned Boebert.

On Friday, though, McCarthy claimed that Boebert had already resolved the issue.

"Let me be very clear. This party is for anyone and everyone who craves freedom, that supports religious liberty," the House GOP leader said. "She apologized publicly. She apologized personally," McCarthy said.

But Boebert didn't issue a full public apology. She had tweeted that she apologized “to anyone in the Muslim community I offended,” without mentioning Omar. And by both lawmakers' accounts, their phone call afterward went awry, with Omar asking for a direct public apology, being rebuffed and hanging up on Boebert.

"Rep. Boebert refused to publicly acknowledge her hurtful and dangerous comments," Omar said in a statement after the phone call. "She instead doubled down on her rhetoric, and I decided to end the unproductive phone call."

Boebert offered more incendiary rhetoric in her own when recounting of the phone call.

"Rejecting an apology and hanging up on someone is part of 'cancel culture 101,' and a pillar of the Democrat Party. Make no mistake, I will continue to fearlessly put America first, never sympathizing with terrorists. Unfortunately, Ilhan can't say the same thing," Boebert said in an Instagram video.

How McCarthy has handled this controversy sheds light on his effort to become the next House speaker if Republicans retake control of the chamber next year. He has largely avoided directly criticizing far-right members of his caucus who spark firestorms with their attacks on Democrats.

McCarthy responded similarly to a recent controversy in which Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., posted an animated video depicting him killing Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and swinging a sword at President Biden. Democrats stripped Gosar of his committee assignments; McCarthy said he would restore them as speaker.

Ilhan Omar: Kevin McCarthy Is a ‘Coward and a Liar’ for Not Condemning Boebert’s Islamophobic Comments

Peter Wade

ROLLING STONE
Sun, December 5, 2021

Ilhan Omar - Credit: CNN/Screencap

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) called Republican Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy a “liar and a coward” for his refusal to condemn remarks by Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) where she suggested that Omar, a Muslim who wears a hijab, was a terrorist who might detonate an explosive device in the Capitol. But, Omar said, she is “confident” that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will take “decisive action” against Boebert.

Omar called Boebert’s comments “shocking” and “unacceptable” during an interview with Jake Tapper on Sunday, adding, “It’s very unbecoming of a congresswoman to use that kind of derogatory, dangerous, inciting language against a colleague.”

More from Rolling Stone

Ilhan Omar Plays Voicemail of Vile Death Threat She Received After Boebert Video


Lauren Boebert Got a Lot of Mileage Out of Her Bigoted Ilhan Omar Elevator Story, New Video Shows


Lauren Boebert Confirms Her Apology to Ilhan Omar Was Bullshit

Since video of the remarks started circulating on social media, Omar — who is one of the first Muslim women to serve in Congress — has said she’s received numerous death threats. Last week she played a voicemail aloud at a press conference where a man told her, “You’re a fucking traitor. You will not live much longer, bitch.”

When asked about Republican Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy’s refusal to condemn Boebert’s remarks and his claims that Boebert has apologized (even though she doubled-down , Omar said, “McCarthy is a liar and a coward.” Omar continued, “He doesn’t have the ability to condemn the kind of bigoted Islamophobia and anti-Muslim rhetoric that are being trafficked by a member of his conference.”

Tapper interjected, asking, “Why doesn’t he have the ability to do that?”

“This is who they are,” the congresswoman answered. “And we have to be able to stand up to them and we have to be able to push them to reckon with the fact that their party right now is normalizing anti-Muslim bigotry.”

Tapper pointed out that a few Republican members of the House have condemned Boebert’s comments. Omar responded by noting that those members have been attacked for doing so. “Which tells you that their conference condones this, and that’s why it’s dangerous. Because people across the world, not just in the United States, are seeing this and they’re worried. As you know, Islamophobia is on the rise … This isn’t about me, this is about all of the young girls across this country who wear the hijab so proudly who are afraid for their lives.”

The conversation then turned to whether Democrats can take action can be taken against Boebert for her bigotry. “We should punish and sanction Boebert by stripping her of her committees, by rebuking her language, by doing everything that we can to send a clear message to the American public that if Republicans are not going to be adults and condemn this, that we are going to do that.”

Omar added, “I’ve had a conversation with the speaker and I’m very confident that she will take decisive action next week.”

She further explained why she trusts Pelosi: “As you know, when I first got to Congress, I was worried that I wasn’t going to be allowed to be sworn in because there was a ban on the hijab. She promised me she would take care of it. She fulfilled that promise. She’s made another promise to me she will take care of this, and I believe her.”