Author: aejay_wp

A 4.8-magnitude earthquake has hit Sicily around Europe’s most active volcano Mount Etna, injuring at least two people, Italian media report.

Some buildings were reportedly damaged in what was the latest in dozens of tremors since Etna erupted on Monday.

Volcanic ash had earlier covered nearby villages, and flights to and from Catania airport had to be halted temporarily.

People on the mountainside were told to escape quickly.

The earthquake struck at 03:19 local time (02:19 GMT) on Wednesday near the municipality of Viagrande.

Pictures of damaged buildings have been posted on social media.

Italian media report panic among local residents, many of whom ran out into the streets.

There were also reports of buildings shaking in Catania, a city of more than 300,000 people.

Source: bbc.com

A two-year-old boy has died from blood loss following a failed circumcision at a migrant centre in Italy.

The boy’s twin brother also underwent the procedure in Rome’s north-western suburb of Monterondo and is recovering in hospital.

A 66-year-old man has been charged with murder, according to Italian media.

Some 5,000 circumcisions are performed in Italy each year but more than a third are carried out illegally, according to health charity Amsi.

Cultural non-profit group Arci said the procedures had taken place at a refugee centre it runs with the local council in Monterondo.

“It is a tragedy that leaves us speechless,” Arci said in a statement on Facebook, adding that it would take civil action once those responsible for the child’s death had been determined by police.

The two boys, who have not been named, were born in Italy in 2017 to a Nigerian mother who has five other children in Nigeria.

Local media say the mother had asked for the operations in respect for Nigeria’s Islamic traditions, despite being Catholic herself.

The medical credentials of the doctor are reportedly being questioned by police.

Ansa said the man arrested was an American citizen of Libyan origin.

“It is an absurd tragedy,” said Antonino Lupi, mayor of Monterondo, in an interview with the Corriere Della Sera.

Circumcision is currently unavailable in public health institutions in Italy.

Having the procedure at a private clinic can cost between €2,000 (£1,798) and €4,000 (£3,596), according to Foad Aodi, president of Amsi.

As a result, those from poorer backgrounds can “end up in the hands of unscrupulous and unskilled people, who for €50 or €20 practise circumcision,” Mr Aodi said in a statement.

Is circumcision safe?

Although it is a relatively simple medical procedure, circumcision is not entirely risk free.

Doctors may recommend that a man or boy is circumcised if he has an unusually tight foreskin, known as phimosis, or suffers from recurrent infections of the foreskin and penis, known as balanitis.

There is also some evidence that men who are circumcised have a lower risk of contracting HIV from HIV-positive female partners.

It is not clear if circumcision reduces the risk of other sexually transmitted infections too, but studies suggest it may lower the chance of catching genital warts caused by a family of viruses called HPV.

The main risks of the surgery are bleeding and infection.

In the UK, the chance of these occurring is between one in 10 and one in 50, according to the NHS website, although that is a figure for older boys and men, not newborns.

How do other European countries compare?

Circumcision is legal throughout Europe, although the practice is becoming more controversial.

A court in Germany passed a local ban in 2012 after the circumcision of a four-year-old Muslim boy led to complications, with the judge saying it “permanently and irreparably changed” the body.

However, the German government later that year clarified that the procedure is legal provided it is performed by trained practitioners.

The following year, the Council of Europe recommended countries take steps to ensure good medical and sanitary practices when performing a circumcision.

And in the UK in 2016, a court ruled that a Muslim father could not have his sons circumcised after their mother disagreed.

Source: bbc.com

 

South Korea’s government is fining BMW $10 million over its handling of a spate of engine fires in the country and the automaker’s problems don’t end there.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said Monday that as well as imposing the 11.2 billion won ($9.9 million) fine, it will refer the case to prosecutors to decide whether criminal charges are necessary.

BMW’s crisis in South Korea erupted over the summer as dozens of reports came in of its vehicles bursting into flames. The German automaker said the fires were the result of a problem with the cars’ exhaust systems and began checking vehicles that could be at risk.

But a panel set up by the government to investigate the matter found that BMW tried to hide the issue and then took too long to recall the 172,000 affected vehicles, according to the transport ministry.

In a statement Monday, BMW said it launched the recall “as soon as the root cause of the fire was confirmed.” The statement didn’t address the allegation that the automaker initially tried to cover up the problem.

BMW said the government investigation reached a similar conclusion to the company on the cause of the fires: a defect in the vehicles’ exhaust gas recirculation unit, a system that channels some fumes back into the engine to reduce pollution. But the transport ministry said the problem was the result of a design deficiency, which BMW denies.
More than 50 BMWs have caught fire in South Korea this year, but no deaths or injuries have been reported as a result. At one point, the government ordered local authorities to ban people from driving any of the potentially fire-prone cars that hadn’t been brought in for checks.

The company said Monday that it’s trying to complete the recall in South Korea “as quickly as possible” and apologized “for the concern and inconvenience” its customers have suffered.

“The BMW Group is cooperating with the ongoing investigation and is committed to resolving the issue,” it said.

BMW was the second most popular brand of imported cars in South Korea last year, selling nearly 60,000 vehicles, according to the Korea Automobile Importers & Distributors Association. The German company sold more than 2 million vehicles worldwide last year.

Source: bbc.com

US actor Kevin Spacey has been charged with sexually assaulting a teenager at a bar in Massachusetts.

He will appear in court on 7 January over the incident, which allegedly occurred in Nantucket in July 2016.

On Monday, Mr Spacey posted a video in which he appears to deny any wrongdoing while in character as Frank Underwood from House of Cards.

“I’m certainly not going to pay the price for the things I didn’t do,” he says in the clip.

“You wouldn’t believe the worst without evidence, would you?” he asks. “You wouldn’t rush to judgements without facts.”

The alleged victim is the son of former television news presenter Heather Unruh, who spoke publicly about the incident last year.

She accused Mr Spacey of buying her then 18-year-old son alcohol – the drinking age in Massachusetts is 21 – and then groping him.

In the video, Mr Spacey speaks in Frank Underwood’s accent and addresses the viewer directly, much like he did throughout his five seasons on House of Cards.

“Of course some believed everything,” he says. “They’re just waiting with bated breath to hear me confess it all.”

“They’re going to say I’m being disrespectful, not playing by the rules,” he adds. “Like I ever played by anyone’s rules before. I never did. And you loved it.”

Frank Underwood was the power-hungry and conniving protagonist of the Netflix series, and murdered a journalist and a politician before he was killed off ahead of season six.

The three-minute clip, which is titled Let Me Be Frank, marks Mr Spacey’s first public appearance since the first allegation of sexual assault was made against him last November.

He was accused by actor Anthony Rapp of making a sexual advance in 1986 and a number of other allegations have since emerged.

Mr Spacey said he had no memory of the event but publicly apologised before issuing an “absolute” denial of the other allegations.

Separately, in September, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office said Mr Spacey would not be prosecuted over an accusation of sexual assault that allegedly took place in 1992.

It said it fell outside of California’s statute of limitations.

UK police are also investigating several allegations that centre around his time serving as artistic director at London’s Old Vic theatre.

The controversy has led to Mr Spacey being axed from a number of roles, including from House of Cards and the 2017 film All the Money in the World, which was re-shot without him.

A film in which he appears, Billionaire Boys Club, also took a record-breaking low of $126 (£98) on its first night in US cinemas in August.

Source: bbc.com

Hundreds of panicked residents, many sobbing and clutching small children, tried to flee Sumber Jaya village Tuesday as word spread that another tsunami was about to smash into the shattered Indonesian community.

At a busy intersection several hundred meters back from the beach, people clambered onto the back of trucks and motorbikes or ran through the traffic in a bid to reach the safety of higher ground, as the water level rose in the sea.

“Run up to the hills — water!” they screamed.

Police and search-and-rescue workers tried to help get people out, but the local mosque soon calmed the chaos over its loudspeaker: the rising waterline was just a regular tidal surge, not a repeat of Saturday’s killer tsunami.

The desperate exodus underlines the level of fear along Indonesia’s gutted coastline after the volcano-triggered tsunami struck without warning, killing over 400 people.

It swept over popular beaches on southern Sumatra and the western edge of Java, inundating tourist hotels and coastal towns, including Sumber Jaya, leaving a trail of death and destruction in its wake.

Abdul Aziz, a disaster aid volunteer who was working in Sumber Jaya when Tuesday’s chaos erupted, said gossip about another tsunami triggered the rush of people out of town.

“There was information that the water was rising, but it was only a rumour,” he told AFP.

It wasn’t the first time since Saturday’s disaster that whispers about fresh waves sowed panic among nervous area residents.

Officials say an eruption of the rumbling Anak Krakatoa volcano, which sits in the strait between Java and Sumatra, caused a section of the crater to collapse and slide into the ocean, triggering the tsunami.

With volcanic activity still high, experts have warned that more killer waves could slam the stricken region — and thousands of evacuees are still too afraid to return home.

“I’ve been here three days,” said Neng Sumarni, 40, who was sleeping with her three children and husband on the floor of a school with some three dozen others in hard-hit Carita.

“I’m scared because my home is right near the beach.”

Source: France24

A pregnant woman rushed to hospital by two police officers has said thank you – by naming her baby after them.

PCs James Ireland and Dan Bellingham were battling the rush hour traffic near Chelmsford, Essex, when they came across a panicked man whose wife was in the final stages of labour.

The officers blue-lighted the couple to hospital, where baby James Daniel arrived 10 minutes later.

PC Ireland, who is based in Stanway, said it was “an amazing job for us”.

James’ father Steve, who flagged the officers down on the A12, said they were “heroes”.

“We felt that they definitely executed their duties with distinction,” he said.

PC Ireland added: “We were more than happy to help the couple. We wish them all the best with their new addition.”

Source: bbc.com

The Royal Family has greeted hundreds of well-wishers after attending the Christmas Day church service at Sandringham.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge left the service on the Queen’s estate in Norfolk with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and Prince Charles.

The Duchess of Cornwall missed church due to a heavy cold.

The Duke of Edinburgh also stayed at home but is said to be in good health.

BBC correspondent Charlotte Gallagher said there were “huge cheers” for the Royal Family as they arrived – especially the Queen.

Many of those gathered had brought bouquets of flowers and called out “Merry Christmas” as the royal party went past.

The son of the Princess Royal, Peter Phillips, attended with his daughters Savannah and Isla followed by Princess Beatrice and Peter’s wife Autumn Phillips.

Behind them were Princess Eugenie and her husband Jack Brooksbank; the Earl and Countess of Wessex with their children, Lady Louise Windsor and Viscount Severn; and Princess Anne and Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, and Zara and Mike Tindall.

Tariro, aged 7, got up at 3:00 GMT to get a good view of the royals arriving.

Speaking to the BBC, she said the Queen was her favourite because “she is always wearing the crown with beautiful jewels”.

Her twin sister Tatenda said she was looking forward to seeing the Duchess of Sussex whose “elegant dresses” she admired.

Source: bbc.com

Gunfire and explosions rocked Libya’s foreign ministry on Tuesday as attackers stormed the building in the capital Tripoli, killing at least one person, witnesses and a security source said.

A car bomb exploded in front of the ministry, after which “three or four assailants” entered, the source told AFP from the scene.

A suicide bomber then struck inside and gunfire broke out, according to the source, who said the victim was a civil servant.

Plumes of smoke were seen rising from the building as ambulances, paramedics and security forces gathered outside.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

Torn apart by power struggles and undermined by chronic insecurity, Libya has become a haven for jihadists since the ouster and killing of Moamer Kadhafi in 2011.

Two competing administrations, rival militias, tribes and jihadists have been competing for control of territory and the country’s vast oil wealth.

The Islamic State jihadist group (IS) took advantage of the chaos to gain a foothold in the coastal city of Sirte in 2015.

Forces loyal to the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) regained control of the city in December 2016 after eight months of deadly fighting.

Since then, some jihadists have returned to the desert in an attempt to regroup and reorganise.

In September, IS claimed responsibility for a suicide attack on the headquarters of Libya’s National Oil Company in the heart of Tripoli which left two dead and 10 wounded.

Four months earlier, it claimed an attack on the electoral commission’s headquarters which left 14 dead.

In April, the GNA launched an operation to track down IS fighters operating in areas of western Libya under its control.

Last month IS claimed responsibility for an attack on militia forces in southeastern Libya in which at least nine people were killed.

The US military has regularly carried out strikes on jihadists in Libya, particularly south of Sirte.

The GNA was set up under a 2015 UN-brokered deal, but a rival administration based in the country’s east aligned with military strongman Khalifa Haftar refuses to recognise its authority.

Rival Libyan leaders had agreed to a Paris-brokered deal in May to hold a nationwide election by the end of the year.

But instability, territorial disputes and divisions have delayed plans for elections.

Two days of meetings last month in Italy laid bare deep divisions between key players in the crisis with some delegates refusing to sit side by side.

Source: France24

Luke Shaw has asked Manchester United fans to respect what Jose Mourinho achieved at the club.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer started his reign with an impressive 5-1 win at Cardiff City on Saturday but Shaw said supporters should not forget that Mourinho won the EFL Cup, the Europa League and the Community Shield in his two-and-a-half years at Old Trafford.

“It’s not very nice when something as big as that happens at the club but I think we as players and as a team show respect in what happened,” Shaw said. “People might be quick to forget what Jose did for United — the three trophies he won — he did a lot.

“One of the trophies was one we had not won before. He took us to three trophies in one season so those people need to respect him and remember what he did for not only us as a team to win those trophies but the fans as well.”

Solskjaer has been given until the end of the season to stake his claim for the top job, although sources have told ESPN FC that Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino is the club’s preferred choice.

Shaw knows the Argentine well from their time together at Southampton but the 23-year-old is not yet thinking about a reunion.

“I’m not too focused on what’s going to happen in the summer,” he said. “I think the most important thing is now the position we’re in, it’s to focus on the team and what Ole wants from us as players and we will do all we can to maximise everything that he can get out of us and focus on the season before anything happens in the summer.”

The 5-1 win at the Cardiff City Stadium was the first time United have scored five in a Premier League match since Sir Alex Ferguson’s last game in charge more than five years ago.

After five months of stuttering performances under Mourinho this season, the team looked rejuvenated under Solskjaer but Nemanja Matic was at a loss to explain the sudden turnaround.

“I don’t know,” said Matic, who played under Mourinho at Chelsea and Old Trafford. “This is the question that probably no one can answer but we are sure to continue, to fight, and we try to do it.”

Mourinho paid the price for a poor start to the season that left United out of the title race and adrift of the top four but Matic said the players must take share some of the blame.

“In football, this happens,” he said. “We know, also, it’s not only the manager’s fault that results are not good but this is football and we have to carry on and to fight for the club.

“I said after the Liverpool game we also needed to take responsibility and to do our best to play better and to win games.”

Source: Kwese.espn.com

A man who pretended to be a priest for more than 18 years has been dismissed by the Catholic Church in Spain.

Miguel Angel Ibarra carried out weddings and baptisms, first in Colombia and then in southern Spain, despite having never been ordained.

Those ceremonies will still be recognised, the Church says, but not his communions or the confessions he heard.

He was found to be an impostor after a complaint was filed in Colombia.

The complainant alleged Mr Ibarra had forged his documents.

After a “thorough investigation”, it was found that he had never been ordained and he has now been ordered to return to Colombia, Church officials say.

Mr Ibarra moved to Spain last October, settling in the town of Medina-Sidonia, which is home to more than 11,000 people.

“Events like this could overshadow the work of parishioners and ordained priests, who serve the Church every day in an exemplary way,” the local diocese said in a statement.

This is not the first time someone has been caught in the act of pretending to be a Catholic priest.

In 2008, a man who had not been ordained was found to be hearing confessions in St Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican.

He was wearing clerical robes, but was later unmasked as a fake after his documents were checked by the Italian authorities.

Source: bbc.com

There are some questions no-one should ever ask.

“What does this red button do?”

“What do people say about me?”

“Do you believe in Santa Claus?”

Now we all know Santa Claus exists. But for some reason, the US president threw doubt on this when speaking to one child on Christmas Eve.

The scene was the State Dining Room in the White House.

Donald Trump and his wife Melania were taking calls from American children as the couple sat under two gargantuan Christmas trees.

All the children who called in had done so in the hope of getting through to Norad, the government agency that tracks Santa’s movements around the world at Christmas (that is still operating despite a partial government shutdown).

Some of those calls were patched through to Mr Trump and his wife, and thanks to pool reporter Kevin Diaz, we know some of what the president said.

This is how Diaz reported the exchange:

Trump (in booming voice) to a kid named Coleman: “Hello, is this Coleman? Merry Christmas. How are you? How old are you?…. Are you doing well in school? Are you still a believer in Santa?”

Footage of the incident circulating on social media shows Mr Trump then telling the boy: “Because at seven, it’s marginal, right?”

Coleman’s response is not clear.

And nor is it clear why Mr Trump asked this particular question, because, of course, Santa’s existence is beyond dispute.

These photos taken around the world over the past few hours provide overwhelming evidence he exists:

The rest of the calls passed without incident, with warm wishes from both Trumps to those who called in.

“I hope your dreams come true,” Melania told one caller.

Source: bbc.com

Five weightlifters, including two Olympic champions, have been provisionally suspended after reanalysis of urine samples provided during the 2012 London Olympics, the International Weightlifting Federation announced on Monday.

Ukrainian Oleksiy Torokhtiy, Olympic -105kg gold medallist six years ago, and Uzbek Ruslan Nurudinov, who won the same category in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games, both tested positive for anabolic steroids.

Only Torokhtiy stands to lose his title, as the samples retested were given four years before Nurudinov’s gold-medal winning performance in Brazil.

Valentin Hristov of Azerbaijan, currently serving an eight-year ban following two positive doping tests in 2013 and 2015, could lose his 2012 bronze medal from the -56kg category after also testing positive for an anabolic agent.

The other two athletes to test positive — Armenia’s Meline Daluzyan and Belarusian Mikalai Novikau — did not win medals in London.

Last month, the International Olympic Committee announced that new analysis of samples from the 2012 Games using “the most recent scientific methods” would be entrusted to the newly-formed International Testing Agency.

The remains of a horse still in its harness have been discovered at a villa outside the walls of Pompeii, in what archaeologists are hailing as a find of “rare importance”.

The horse was saddled up and ready to go, possibly to help rescue Pompeians fleeing the AD79 eruption of Mount Vesuvius that buried the town in ashes.

It was found with the remains of other horses at the Villa of the Mysteries.

The villa belonged to a Roman general or high-ranking military magistrate.

Mount Vesuvius buried Pompeii and other nearby towns under millions of tonnes of volcanic debris.

Archaeologists at the luxurious Villa of Mysteries (Villa dei Misteri) overlooking the sea have already found wine presses, ovens and extraordinary frescoes.

The latest discovery came during an excavation of a stable at the villa to the north of Pompeii, according to Massimo Osanna, the director of Pompeii’s archaeological park.

The apparently well-groomed horse, along with a saddle and a harness with fragments of wooden and bronze trimmings, was found alongside two other thoroughbred horses.

The horses had all come to a “fierce and terrible end”, Mr Osanna said, suffocated by ashes or by the boiling vapours from Vesuvius’s ash cloud.

The estate was originally dug up early in the 20th Century but much of it was reburied and has since been targeted by looters.

“The whole area will be excavated and returned to the public,” said Mr Osanna.

Source: bbc.com

Queen Elizabeth II will call for respect and civility in a Christmas message delivered with Britain badly divided over its impending exit from the EU.

Tuesday’s annual television appearance gives the 92-year-old monarch a rare chance to share some personal thoughts about Brexit.

British royalty traditionally steer well clear of politics — a unifying position that puts them above the daily fray of Westminster and Downing Street.

The queen will not make an overt reference to Britain’s departure from the European Union after 46 years on March 29, according to extracts released by Buckingham Palace.

But she will note that “even with the most deeply held differences, treating the other person with respect and as a fellow human being is always a good first step towards greater understanding.”

Her address caps a stormy month that saw Prime Minister Theresa May survive a leadership challenge attempt staged by her party’s most hardened foes of the EU.

May’s entire Brexit strategy is in danger of falling apart at the finish line when parliament debates it next month.

The prime minister was forced to pull a scheduled December vote on her deal with the EU after admitting that it would badly lose.

May penned a Christmas opinion piece in which she urged lawmakers to end the saga and let people “focus on what really matters”.

“The sooner MPs agree the right Brexit deal, the sooner we can all get back to dealing with those issues and building a country that works for everyone,” May wrote.

Opposition Labour party leader said in his own pre-recorded address that Christmas was a time to ponder how “we can build a fairer society which works for everyone”.

– ‘Never out of date’ –

Britain’s split from the EU without a trade agreement threatens to unleash economic doom over the short term.

Those who back Brexit say it is a price worth paying for regaining sovereignty from officials in Brussels who subject Britain to their own rules.

The debate over the whole thing is as emotional and personal for many as it was the day Brexit was backed by a 52-48 margin in a 2016 vote.

The nation has been holding an unending argument ever since.

The queen will say that the message of peace carried by the birth of Jesus in the Christmas story was particularly relevant now.

“I believe his message of peace on earth and goodwill to all is never out of date.

“It can be heeded by everyone; it’s needed as much as ever,” the queen will say.

The queen’s 66-year reign has seen her government run by 13 prime ministers dating back to Winston Churchill.

Her longevity and good humour have made the queen into one of the most popular people in a country that loves to poke fun at other royals.

But her age has forced inevitable thoughts about the transition that will see Prince Charles — the queen’s less popular 70-year-old son — take charge of Buckingham Palace.

The queen will say that she drew strength from her family as times changed and the political sands shifted.

“Through the many changes I have seen over the years, faith, family and friendship have been not only a constant for me but a source of personal comfort and reassurance,” the queen will say.

Source: RFI

Troubled UK high-street retailers shed almost 150,000 jobs this year, hit by high business property taxation, flagging growth and rising online sales, a study showed Monday.

Some 148,132 jobs were axed as 20,000 shops and restaurants closed, according to Britain’s Press Association news agency which published data from the Centre for Retail Research (CRR).

And more gloom is forecast next year as retailers continue to struggle in anticipation of Britain’s departure from the European Union.

“While parliament is obsessed with Brexit, business rates and low growth are killing the high street,” said Professor Joshua Bamfield, who is director of the CRR consultancy.

“We feel that 2019 is going to be a repeat of these dire figures unless or until the government takes action to provide a level playing field for both online retailers and the high street.”

This year, a string of major British retailers fell victim to fierce online competition, rising business taxes and stretched household budgets — all coming amid Brexit uncertainty.

One major casualty, British budget chain Poundworld, collapsed earlier this year with the loss of some 5,100 jobs.

Department store chain Debenhams meanwhile decided to shut about one third of its shops. That came after its UK rival House of Fraser was rescued from collapse having been bought by retailer Sports Direct.

Property specialist Altus Group argues that rising business rates — a taxation which is levied on non-domestic property use — have piled on pressure.

Despite the gloom, official data showed last week that retail sales rebounded in November as shoppers bagged Black Friday bargains.

Sales jumped 1.4 percent compared to October, the Office for National Statistics calculated, with non-food items helped by heavy price discounts.

But the outlook for consumers is weak. Consumer confidence dived to a five-year low in December, according to a GfK survey published last Friday.

“Consumer surveys show that people are not feeling confident about the future, despite an increase in wages,” said Stephen Beer, chief investment officer at Epworth Investment Management.

“This is partly due to interest rates going up and the mood music from the Bank of England.”

The central bank last week froze its main lending rate at 0.75 percent faced with “intensified Brexit uncertainties”.

The BoE had in August voted unanimously to raise the rate by a quarter-point to 0.75 percent amid Brexit-fuelled UK inflation.

That was only the second hike since the global financial crisis a decade ago and was in response to above-target UK annual inflation.

Rising interest rates leave borrowers with less disposable income to spend on the high street.

Source: RFI

Coastal residents near Indonesia’s Anak Krakatau volcano have been warned to keep away from beaches amid fears it could trigger a new tsunami.

On Saturday, giant waves crashed into coastal towns on the islands of Sumatra and Java, killing at least 281 people and injuring 1,016.

It is thought that volcanic activity set off undersea landslides which in turn generated the killer waves.

Anak Krakatau erupted again on Sunday, spewing ash and smoke.

Video shot from a charter plane captured the magnitude of the volcanic event in the Sunda Strait, between Sumatra and Java.

Rescue efforts are being hampered by blocked roads but heavy lifting equipment is being transported to badly hit areas to help search for victims.

What warning was given?

The spokesman for the National Disaster Management Agency, Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, told a news conference that another tsunami is a possibility because of the continued volcanic eruptions of Anak Krakatau.

“Recommendations from [the] Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysical Agency are that people should not carry out activities on the beach and stay away from the coast for a while,” he said.

Anak Krakatau, which emerged in 1927 from the caldera that was formed during the eruption of Krakatoa in 1883, has seen increased activity in recent months with people asked to avoid the area around its crater.

On Monday Mr Sutopo put out a series of tweets explaining why there was no early warning for this tsunami. He said that Indonesia’s early warning system is set up to monitor earthquakes but not undersea landslides and volcanic eruptions, which can also generate deadly waves.

But, he added, that with 13% of the world’s volcanoes in Indonesia alone, it was crucial for the country to develop such system.

He confirmed there was no tsunami advance warning system the night of the disaster, adding that because of lack of funds, vandalism to the buoys and technical faults there had been no operational tsunami warning system since 2012.

Why was Saturday’s tsunami so deadly?

The tsunami struck at 21:30 local time (14:30 GMT) during a local holiday, with few of the warning signals that might have come had it been generated by an earthquake.

Sea water did not recede as it would with an earthquake tsunami and experts say that even if there had been warning buoys near the volcano, there would have been minimal alert time.

Band Seventeen were performing on stage when the tsunami hit
The waves destroyed hundreds of buildings, sweeping away cars and uprooting trees in several popular tourist destinations including the Tanjung Lesung beach resort, west Java.

Footage shared on social media showed a large wave crashing into a tent in the resort, in which popular Indonesian rock band Seventeen was performing

Members of the band were seen being swept away as the wave destroyed the stage.

Everyone in the region will have been aware of Anak Krakatau, the volcano that emerged in the sea channel just less than 100 years ago. But its rumblings and eruptions have been described by local experts as relatively low-scale and semi-continuous.

In other words, it’s been part of the background.

And yet it is well known that volcanoes have the capacity to generate big waves. The mechanism as ever is the displacement of a large volume of water.

The first satellite imagery returned after the event on Saturday points strongly to a collapse in the west-southwest flank of the volcano. This would have sent millions of tonnes of rocky debris into the sea, pushing out waves in all directions.

Indonesia is prone to tsunamis because it lies on the Ring of Fire – the line of frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions that circles virtually the entire Pacific rim.

In September, more than 2,000 people died when a powerful earthquake struck just off the central Indonesian island of Sulawesi, setting off a tsunami that engulfed the coastal city of Palu.

Indian Ocean tsunami: Then and now
On 26 December 2004, a series of huge waves triggered by a powerful earthquake in the Indian Ocean killed about 228,000 people in 13 countries, mostly in Indonesia.

However, tsunamis caused by volcanic activity like this are less frequent.

Source: bbc.com

“Cute” might sound like a tepid endorsement, but it’s the quickest way to describe “Second Act,” an old-fashioned star vehicle for Jennifer Lopez.

The movie frankly feels like three stories in one — without fully servicing any of them but skates by, barely, on the strength of Lopez’s charm and some amusing supporting players.

The ad campaign accentuates one of the three identifiable plots – the idea that Lopez’s Maya Vargas, after quitting a job in Queens, gets a taste of life among the Manhattan elite at a big consumer-products firm. Of course, landing that gig requires presenting a bogus resume filled with Ivy League credentials after her best friend’s son, a computer whiz, manufactures one without her knowledge.

Maya is thus left trying to navigate her web of deceit – sometimes to comedic effect while proving that “street smarts” can trump “book smarts,” and as an added degree of difficulty, overcoming skepticism toward a woman in her 40s.

The “Working Girl” riff, however, garnished by Lopez’s earlier rom-com “Maid in Manhattan” alternates with other key threads, including one that comes somewhat jarringly out of left field. Broadly, they involve Maya’s relationship with a younger co-worker (Vanessa Hudgens), who’s the daughter of the boss (Treat Williams), and the monkey wrench all this throws into Maya’s romance with her too-perfect boyfriend, in what amounts to a “What I did on my ‘This Is Us’ hiatus” role for Milo Ventimiglia.

But as they say in late-night TV ads, wait, there’s more. Maya receives frequent help from her aforementioned pal, Joan (Leah Remini, making the hammy most of her screen time), and is surrounded by a colorful assortment of co-workers, ranging from the snobby and suspicious to the nerdy and needy.

That’s a lot indeed, too much to juggle. Fortunately, the side characters actually produce a handful of laughs, which is helpful, since Maya sports a pained expression much of the time, dealing with both the stress of her charade and a sensitive memory from her past.

Directed by Peter Segal (“Anger Management”), the movie underdevelops its most promising theme, with Maya feeling held back by “the educated people,” who look down on those who don’t share the same academic pedigree regardless of how innovative and industrious they are – qualities Maya abundantly possesses. It’s easier, rather, to show montages of her oohing and aahing at her new-found perks, like getting dragged by the wide-eyed Joan on a corporate shopping spree.

The extent to which the movie works thus largely depends on how generous the audience is feeling going into it. Assuming moviegoers come with modest expectations, “Second Act” possesses enough smarts – book, street or otherwise to surround its appealing lead with a veritable buffet of narrative options. Opening amid aspiring blockbusters, the best that can be derived from those ingredients amounts to a small, mildly tasty, pre-holiday snack.

Source: cnn.com

Actor Lennie James has written and recorded his memory of the first Christmas he spent in care aged 10.

The Walking Dead star reflected on the “dread” he and his brother felt at facing the day without their mother, who had died a few months earlier.

In his story, “That First Without Her Christmas Day”, he described himself as being “all but silenced by grief”.

Justin Webb, a presenter on BBC Radio 4 Today, admitted to being moved to tears after hearing James’ story.

His memories are included in “Home For Christmas” – a book produced for the homeless charity The Passage.

The book also includes stories by authors Michael Morpurgo and A.S. Byatt with a foreword by broadcaster Sue Lawley.

‘Trying to be brave enough’

In his story, James, now 53, remembered being in bed on Christmas morning “trying to be brave enough” to start the day without his mother’s “life and soul”.

He added that, if it hadn’t have been for his 12-year-old brother’s help, he would have stayed in bed.

He was told the council only gave £5 per child for presents – but, to his surprise, he unwrapped books, a cassette, and a new blue and red skateboard.

He said the care home staff topped up the presents fund with their own money.

James said he will never forget that day “not for how it started… but for the kindness, care, consideration and generosity shown to us by people unknown and unrelated to us”.

Speaking on the Today programme, James said it was a “tragedy” that so many children in care went on to become homeless.

He said the problem of homelessness was seen “in a sharper context over the Christmas period, because that is traditionally when we all go home”.

James praised his care home for providing “an environment we could come back to” after he and his brother had left care.

According to the charity Become there are over 95,000 looked-after children in the UK.

Source: bbc.com

Togo President Faure Gnassingbe’s party won most seats in parliamentary elections, according to provisional results on Monday, in polls overshadowed by pre-ballot clashes and an opposition boycott.

But the party will need support from other legislators to secure a fourth-fifths majority for constitutional change giving Gnassingbe the chance of staying in power beyond 2020.

His Union for the Republic (UNIR) won 59 of the 91 seats in the National Assembly in the December 20 legislative polls, the provisional results said.

A 14-party opposition coalition refused to take part.

The election went ahead after a year of political upheaval which saw demonstrators demanding Gnassingbe step down.

Gnassingbe has been in power since 2005 after succeeding his father, General Gnassingbe Eyadema, who ruled the country with an iron fist for 38 years.

Earlier this month, at least four people were killed when opposition supporters and security forces clashed in the capital Lome and several other cities. The opposition put the figure at six dead.

UNIR previously held 62 seats and had hoped to secure 73, the threshold for passing laws unchallenged, including changes to the constitution paving the way for Gnassingbe to run for office in 2020 and 2025.

The ruling party’s 59 seats was thus below its target but it will be supported by its main ally, the Union of Change Forces (UFC) of former opposition leader Gilchrist Olympio, who has six MPs. Other independent MPs can also lend support.

A total of 850 candidates for 12 political parties, plus independents, took part in the election.

The official turnout was about 60 percent of registered voters.

Before the vote, opposition parties had called for an overhaul of the electoral commission, more transparency and constitutional reforms to limit the number of presidential terms.

Observers from the African Union (AU) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) welcomed the provisional results.

Source: France24

The body of a Guatemalan migrant girl, who died in US custody after illegally crossing the border with her father, returned home Sunday in a white casket.

The December 8 death of Jakelin Caal, seven, reignited a debate in the United States on immigration policy and the treatment of migrants.

It also shocked residents of the indigenous farming village from where her father Nery Caal, 29, fled with her in hopes of finding work in the US.

Guatemalan foreign ministry officials at the airport in Guatemala City received Jakelin’s casket, adorned with gold-colored trim, before a hearse carried it on the 10-hour journey to her village of San Antonio Secortez, about 150 kilometers (93 miles) north of the capital.

She and her father left the village, which has neither electricity nor running water, on November 30 in what the girl’s mother said was a “necessity” — a quest for work.

Together, Jakelin and her father travelled more than 3,000 kilometers.

Thousands of other migrants have made the same journey, citing gang violence or poverty, but US President Donald Trump has made clamping down on illegal immigration a central plank of his administration and has repeatedly tried to link immigrants with crime.

The US Department of Homeland Security confirmed the death of Jakelin, saying she died of dehydration and exhaustion in an El Paso, Texas hospital less than 24 hours after being detained as part of a group of 163 illegal boundary crossers in a remote New Mexico border area.

The DHS confirmation came only after the case was reported by The Washington Post.

Joaquin Castro, a Texas congressman who led a delegation to look into the death, blamed “some very disturbing systematic failure in how the young girl’s condition was handled.”

As he prepared to watch over his granddaughter’s body, Nery’s father Domingo Caal told AFP: “We cannot condemn anybody.”

Rita Elizondo, assistant secretary of the National Migrant Assistance Council, called for urgent measures to avoid further tragedies.

These include efforts to alert Guatemalans to the dangers of crossing Mexico and into the United States, as well as development programs to attack poverty, Elizondo said.

Jakelin’s father is seeking asylum in the United States.

Source: France24