Volcano in Iceland erupts again/node/2519331/world
Volcano in Iceland erupts again
Icelanders often refer to their country as the ‘Land of Fire and Ice’ as a tribute to its otherworldly landscape forged by glaciers and volcanoes. (AFP)
Authorities had warned of the risk of renewed volcanic activity in the area just south of the capital Reykjavik
Updated 29 May 2024
Reuters
COPENHAGEN: A volcano in southwestern Iceland erupted on Wednesday, live video from the area showed, making it the fifth outbreak since December.
The new outburst happened as another eruption on the Reykjanes peninsula recently ended after spewing fountains of molten rock for almost eight weeks.
Authorities had warned of the risk of renewed volcanic activity in the area just south of the capital Reykjavik as studies showed magma accumulated underground.
The fiery spectacle underlines the challenges the island nation of almost 400,000 people face as scientists have warned eruptions could happen over and over in Reykjanes for decades or even centuries.
The eruption was the eighth on the peninsula, home to some 30,000 people, since 2021 when geological systems that were dormant for some 800 years again became active.
Previous incidents had disrupted district heating, closed key roads and even razed several houses in the Grindavik fishing town, where only a few residents have since returned.
In an attempt to prevent further damage man-made barriers have been built to steer lava away from infrastructure including the Svartsengi geothermal power plant, the Blue Lagoon outdoor spa and Grindavik.
Icelanders often refer to their country as the “Land of Fire and Ice” as a tribute to its otherworldly landscape forged by glaciers and volcanoes which is positioned between the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates, making it a seismic hotbed.
While a 2010 eruption in a different part of Iceland grounded some 100,000 flights internationally due to huge ash clouds, Reykjanes is typically home to fissure outbreaks which do not reach into the stratosphere.
Schools closed in restive Indian state after rocket attack
Updated 3 sec ago
MUMBAI: Schools were ordered shut from Saturday in the restive Indian state of Manipur after a rocket attack by insurgents killed a civilian and wounded six others. Fighting broke out in the northeastern state more than a year ago between the predominantly Hindu Meitei majority and the mainly Christian Kuki community. The conflict has simmered since then, splitting previously cohabitating communities along ethnic lines. A local government notice said all schools in the state would be closed on Saturday, when classes are usually held, to protect the “safety of the students and teachers.” The day before, a rebel group had fired rockets in the state’s Bishnupur district, an attack that local police attributed to “Kuki militants.” A police statement said a 78-year-old man was killed in the barrage and six people were wounded. Officers responding to the attack “were fired upon by suspected Kuki militants but the police team retaliated robustly and repelled the attack,” the statement said. Local media reports said the elderly man was killed when a rocket hit the residence of the late Mairenbam Koireng Singh, a former chief minister of Manipur. The Indian Express newspaper, citing an unnamed security source, said that the rockets appeared to be “improvised projectiles” made using “galvanized iron pipes attached to explosives.” Friday’s attack came days after insurgents used drones to drop explosives in what police called a “significant escalation” of violence in the state. A 31-year-old woman was killed and six people were wounded in that incident, which police described as an “unprecedented attack” by rebels. Longstanding tensions between the Meitei and Kuki communities revolve around competition for land and public jobs, with rights activists accusing local leaders of exacerbating ethnic divisions for political gain.
North Korea sends hundreds more trash balloons south: Seoul’s military
North Korea has launched more than 900 trash balloons over the past three days
Updated 1 min 2 sec ago
AFP
SEOUL: North Korea has floated hundreds more trash-filled balloons southward, Seoul’s military said Saturday, the latest salvo in the two countries’ tit-for-tat campaigns of provocation and propaganda.
North Korea has launched more than 900 trash balloons over the past three days, including about 190 late Friday, around 100 of which have already landed, mainly in Seoul and northern Gyeonggi province, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said.
The bags attached to the balloons contained “mostly paper and plastic waste,” the military said, adding they posed no safety risk to the public.
North Korea has sent nearly 5,000 trash-filled balloons south since May, saying they are retaliation for propaganda balloons launched northwards by South Korean activists.
In response, Seoul has suspended a tension-reducing military deal with Pyongyang and restarted some propaganda broadcasts from loudspeakers along the border.
Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul, said the balloon barrages were an ineffective propaganda ploy for North Korea.
Kim Yo-jong, leader Kim Jong Un’s sister and a key regime spokesperson, “may think that trash balloons exacerbate political divisions in South Korea, but they do more to tarnish North Korea’s international image,” Easley said.
Residents of the South, however, are “annoyed by the requisite clean-up operations and worry about potential escalation,” he added.
“The most reasonable way out of the current impasse is for Pyongyang to restart diplomacy with Seoul, contingent on South Korean civic groups voluntarily abstaining from balloon launches.”
The most recent launches took place as Japan’s outgoing Prime Minister Fumio Kishida was in Seoul for a two-day visit, meeting with South Korean leader Yoon Suk Yeol on Friday.
The two discussed the importance of “cooperation between Korea and Japan and also with the United States, to respond to the North Korean nuclear issue.”
Relations between the two Koreas are at one of their lowest points in years, with the North recently announcing the deployment of 250 ballistic missile launchers to its southern border.
Pope urges end to Papua New Guinea tribal conflicts and fair, sustainable extraction of resources
The pope appealed for a sense of civic responsibility and cooperation to prevail, to benefit everyone
Francis is on an 11-day, four-nation tour through Southeast Asia and Oceania, the longest and most challenging of his pontificate
Updated 07 September 2024
AP
PORT MORESBY, Papua New Guinea: Pope Francis called Saturday for an end to tribal conflicts that have wracked Papua New Guinea for decades and appealed for equitable development of its natural resources during a visit that also surfaced its problem of violence against women.
Dancers in swishing grass skirts performed for Francis as he opened his first full day in the South Pacific country with a mix of political and church business. He met with the governor general and dignitaries from around the region, and then addressed government authorities before visiting with local priests, nuns and street children.
Francis is on an 11-day, four-nation tour through Southeast Asia and Oceania, the longest and most challenging of his pontificate. He landed on Friday evening in Port Moresby, the capital of the Commonwealth nation, from Jakarta, Indonesia to open the second leg of his journey.
During his speech to government authorities and diplomats, Francis marveled at the diversity of Papua New Guinea’s people – there are some 800 languages spoken here – saying their variety must be “a challenge to the Holy Spirit, who creates harmony amid differences!”
An Indigenous man waits for the arrival of Pope Francis at APEC Haus in Port Moresby on Saturday. (REUTERS)
But he also noted that such diversity has long created conflict here, a reference to the tribal violence over land and other disputes that have long characterized the country’s culture but have grown more lethal in recent years. Francis appealed for a sense of civic responsibility and cooperation to prevail, to benefit everyone.
“It is my particular hope that tribal violence will come to an end, for it causes many victims, prevents people from living in peace and hinders development,” he said.
If people agree to sacrifice their personal interests for the common good, he said, “the necessary forces can be used to improve infrastructure, address the health and educational needs of the population and increase opportunities for dignified work.”
The poor, strategically important Commonwealth nation is home to more than 10 million people, most of whom are subsistence farmers.
Papua New Guinea’s governor general, Bob Bofeng Dadae, referred to the violence in his remarks, calling in particular for the need to protect women and respect their rights. It was a reference to the gender violence that has been normalized in a country where allegations of sorcery are common.
According to UN Women, 60 percent of the country’s women have experienced physical and or sexual violence from an intimate partner at some time in their lives, double the global average. Papua New Guinea ranked 160 out of 161 countries on a UN gender inequality index in 2021.
“We want to acknowledge the role of the woman and air the need for protection,” Bofeng Dadae said. “We also recognize the physical and the spiritual care that the church continues to give to those that are being abused, neglected or rejected by families and communities.”
Pope Francis hands a gift to a traditional dancer as he arrives at APEC Haus in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, on Sept. 7, 2024. (AP)
Francis amended his remarks to pick up on the theme, saying women “are the ones who carry the country forward, they give life, build and grow a country, let us not forget the women who are on the front line of human and spiritual development.”
Francis also called for fair and environmentally sustainable extraction of country’s vast natural resources, which include gold, nickel and natural gas. Disputes over how wealth should be distributed and who is entitled to mining royalties which have often led to conflicts.
Francis, who has written entire encyclicals about the environment, has long insisted that development of natural resources must benefit local people, not just the multinational companies that extract them, and be pursued in an environmentally responsible way to preserve them for future generations.
He made that argument again Saturday, saying Papua New Guinea’s resources “are destined by God for the entire community.”
“Even if outside experts and large international companies must be involved in the harnessing of these resources, it is only right that the needs of local people are given due consideration when distributing the proceeds and employing workers,” he said.
“These environmental and cultural treasures represent at the same time a great responsibility, because they require everyone, civil authorities and all citizens, to promote initiatives that develop natural and human resources in a sustainable and equitable manner,” he said.
Finally, Francis called for a “definitive solution” to the question of Bougainville, an island region whose people voted overwhelmingly to become independent from Papua New Guinea in 2019. The outcome of the nonbinding referendum has not been implemented.
Later Saturday, Francis was visiting with charity workers who care for street children and then meeting with Papua New Guinea’s clergy and religious sisters at a Marian sanctuary. On Sunday, he travels deep into the jungle to meet with Argentine missionaries.
Despite the rigors of the trip and jet lag (Papua New Guinea is eight hours ahead of Rome time), the 87-year-old Francis appeared in relatively good form, though he coughed through his speech. He smiled as he handed out candies to young children dressed in traditional clothes who had performed for him.
Francis is the second pope to visit Papua New Guinea, after St. John Paul II visited first in 1984, then in 1995 to beatify Peter To Rot, a Catholic layman who was declared a martyr for the faith after he died in prison during World War II.
Brazil probes ice buildup in plane crash that killed 62
Updated 07 September 2024
Reuters
BRASILIA/SAO PAULO: A preliminary report into the August crash of an airliner in Brazil found signs of ice buildup on the plane but no definite cause for the accident, the country’s Center for Research and Prevention of Aeronautical Accidents (Cenipa) said on Friday.
The document pointed out that icing detectors had been activated on airline Voepass’ aircraft, and a Cenipa official told a press conference that cockpit recordings showed the copilot said there was “a lot of icing” during the flight.
According to investigators, that comment indicates that the plane’s de-icing system might have failed, but Cenipa said that information still needed to be confirmed.
Three experts interviewed by Reuters suggested that icing could have played a role in the crash, but urged caution as the report is preliminary and accidents are caused by multiple factors.
The ATR-72 aircraft from local carrier Voepass swirled out of control before plunging to the ground on Aug. 9, killing all 62 on board.
According to Cenipa, investigations into the crash will probably last for over a year.
US aviation safety expert Anthony Brickhouse said: “Everything I have read from the report today is consistent with icing, but accidents are rarely caused by one single event.”
According to officials, loss of speed alerts were triggered, but the ATR’s crew never declared an emergency situation before the plane spiraled down to the ground.
Cenipa officials on Friday also said it is still unclear to them why an aircraft with all necessary certifications ended up losing control and falling. “What we know is that the airplane was flying in an area with severe icing conditions,” said lieutenant colonel Paulo Froes.
The carrier said in a statement that the report confirmed that the aircraft and the pilots were properly certified, adding that the ATR’s required systems were in operation. It added the company would continue cooperating with the investigations.
British PM Starmer visits Ireland seeking to reset relations after election win; sets US trip next week
Starmer is seeking better co-operation with EU countries, looking to improve diplomatic ties and trading relations without revisiting the fundamental basis of Britain’s departure from the bloc
Updated 07 September 2024
Reuters AP
DUBLIN/LONDON: Keir Starmer will go to Dublin on Saturday, the first visit to the Republic of Ireland by a British Prime Minister for five years, as his new government seeks to improve relations with its nearest neighbor and other members of the European Union.
Next week, he will visit Washington for talks that are expected to touch on the wars in Ukraine and Gaza and other issues.
After his Labour Party won a July election to return to power for the first time since 2010, Starmer has sought better co-operation with EU countries, looking to improve diplomatic ties and trading relations without revisiting the fundamental basis of Britain’s departure from the bloc.
Britain’s 2016 referendum decision to leave the EU put particular strain on Anglo-Irish relations, as trading rules governing Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom and has a land border with Ireland, became the major sticking point for a deal.
Starmer hosted his Irish counterpart Simon Harris in July, shortly after an election result which has also been seen in Dublin as the opportunity for a reset in relations.
“Our relationship has never reached its full potential, but I want to change that. We have a clear opportunity to go further and faster to make sure our partnership is fully delivering,” Starmer said in a statement ahead of the visit.
“(Harris) and I are in lockstep about our future, and we look forward to deepening our collaboration further.”
The two will meet businesses before watching a soccer match between the Republic of Ireland and England later in the day.
A match between the two sides in Dublin in 1995 — played three years before the Good Friday Agreement which largely ended three decades of violence in Northern Ireland — was abandoned due to a riot. However, a 2015 fixture between the teams passed off without significant incident.
White House talks
On Friday, Joe Biden will host Starmer as the US president looks to step up engagement on the international stage in his final months in office.
US allies and adversaries are also intently watching how the race to succeed Biden between Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris and Republican former President Donald Trump plays out.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement that the visit, the second by Starmer since he was elected earlier this summer, will focus on continuing Western support for Ukraine as it tries to repel Russia’s invasion, ongoing efforts to secure a hostage and ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, threats to commercial shipping in the Red Sea posed by the Houthis, an Iranian-backed group, as well as shared concerns about the Indo-Pacific.
Starmer visited the White House two months ago for one-on-one talks with Biden when he was in Washington for the NATO Summit.
