A volcano erupted in New Zealand on Monday, spewing a plume of ash thousands of feet into the air, with Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern saying tourists were among several people unaccounted for as emergency services mounted a rescue operation.

As many as 100 people were in the vicinity when the eruption began about 2:11 pm (0111 GMT) on White Island, about 50 kilometers (30 miles) from the east coast of North Island, authorities said, sending up smoke visible from the mainland.

“We believe 100 people were on or around the island,” Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern told a news conference, adding that a rescue operation had begun, although it was too early to confirm any injuries or deaths.

“A number of people are reportedly injured and are now being transported to shore,” she added. “It does appear to be a very significant issue…particularly the scale of people affected, at this stage.”

Many of those affected could be tourists, she said.

“I’m not sure if these people were on the island or near it, but there was definitely one group out there and they definitely needed medical care,” said Judy Turner, the mayor of the coastal town of Whakatane, near White Island. “There were some injuries and the focus is on getting these injured people back safely and to get them to a hospital.”

There seemed to be no danger for people in coastal areas farther away, she added.

The island’s immediate surroundings were hazardous because of the eruption, the National Emergency Management Agency said in an statement, adding that falling ash might affect some areas.

The “short-lived eruption” threw an ash plume about 12,000 ft (3,658 m) high, New Zealand’s geoscience agency GNS Science said in a statement, but added there were no current signs of an escalation.

The White Island volcano is one of New Zealand’s most active.

(Source: Reuters)

Investigators in Germany on Thursday offered a half-a-million-euro reward for information about the spectacular heist in which robbers snatched priceless diamonds from a state museum in Dresden.

Police said the reward ($550,000) was being offered to anyone providing information “which could lead… to the capture of the perpetrators or the recovery of the stolen items”.

Police across eastern Germany are continuing their search for the thieves who launched a brazen raid on the Green Vault museum in Dresden’s Royal Palace on Monday.

Having initiated a partial power cut and broken in through a window, the thieves stole priceless 18th-century jewellery from the collection of the Saxon ruler August the Strong.

They stole objects encrusted with hundreds of diamonds, including the famous 49-carat Dresden white, the museum said on Wednesday.

Police are hunting four suspects in the theft and have released dramatic CCTV footage which showed one of them breaking into a display case with an axe.

Aside from a burnt out car that they identified as the initial escape vehicle, investigators are yet to find a significant trace of the thieves.

Dresden police said they were also in contact with colleagues in Berlin to explore possible connections to a similar heist in the capital two years ago.

In 2017, a 100-kilogramme (220-pound), 24-karat giant gold coin was stolen from Berlin’s Bode Museum.

Four men with links to a notorious Berlin gang were later arrested and put on trial.

On Thursday, police said the Dresden investigations were now being led by the state prosecutor’s department for organised crime.

The special commission set up to investigate the theft has also doubled in size to involve a staff of 40. “We will leave no stone unturned to solve this case,” said regional police president Horst Kretzschmar.

Source:  AFP

A crowded boat filled with migrants capsized in wind-whipped seas near a tiny Mediterranean island on Saturday, sending them tumbling into the water, said the Italian coastguard, which pulled 149 of them to safety.

There were fears at least two people or perhaps many more were missing.

The coastguard said the rescue, before sunset, involving four of its motorboats and two of its specialized rescue divers, took place about one nautical mile from the beach of Isola di Conigli, an uninhabited islet just off Lampedusa, an Italian island south of Sicily.

It said those rescued, who included three children and 13 women, were brought to the port of Lampedusa, a vacation and fishing island.

At portside, two of those rescued, a Libyan and an Ethiopian, told authorities that their wives weren’t among them, prompting fears the two women were missing offshore, according to Italian news agency ANSA.

Later, ANSA said migrants told authorities that there were 169 passengers when their boat set out.

That meant as many as 20 migrants might be missing.

Rescue efforts were launched after a private citizen signaled that a 10-meter-long boat was foundering about a mile from Lampedusa, the coastguard said, adding that the distressed vessel had neither requested help nor signaled its position to the coastguard.

The coastguard said no bodies were spotted at sea during the rescue.

Risking their lives, migrants set out in unseaworthy boats launched by Libya-based human traffickers.

(Source: Reuters)

Maltese police on Friday re-arrested a tycoon in connection with the murder of investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, just hours after releasing him on bail, police said.

Yorgen Fenech had been detained on his yacht at dawn Wednesday after attempting to sail away from Malta, the day after Prime Minister Joseph Muscat promised to pardon an alleged middleman if he named the person who ordered the attack.

Investigators have described him as “a person of interest” in the 2017 murder of the blogger, who reported on corruption, including alleging links between high-level politicians and a company that it later transpired was owned by Fenech.

Under Maltese law, police had 48 hours to interrogate and then charge or release him. He was released on bail late Thursday then re-arrested Friday, a police source told AFP.

Caruana Galizia, described by supporters as a “one-woman WikiLeaks”, was blown up in a car bombing at the age of 53 near her home in the small village of Bidnija in northern Malta.

Her family welcomed Fenech’s arrest, but said Muscat’s office was implicated in the case and that he should distance himself from the investigation.

– Rushed arrest –

Muscat told reporters that police would initially have liked more time to probe new leads, but had been rushed into arresting Fenech after he attempted to leave the tiny Mediterranean island on his sleek blue and white yacht.

Friday’s re-arrest buys them another 48 hours.

Fenech, who is from a wealthy family with a sprawling business empire from energy to hotels, was also being questioned Friday over possible links to money laundering and drugs, the police source said.

A leaked Malta Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit (FIAU) report identified Fenech as the owner of a company in Dubai called 17 Black.

Caruana Galizia had written in her blog about 17 Black some eight months before her death, alleging it had connections to Maltese politicians.

Leaked emails revealed in court appeared to show that Panama companies owned by then-energy minister Konrad Mizzi and the prime minister’s chief of staff Keith Schembri stood to receive payments from 17 Black.

– ‘No place near investigation’ –

Fenech’s arrest prompted calls for Muscat’s resignation over the long-running case, which sparked outrage around the world and has raised questions about the rule of law in Malta.

Civil society groups and Maltese journalists on Friday slammed the lack of police press conferences and Muscat’s decision to “shoulder the responsibility” for informing the public on updates in the case.

“The arrest of Yorgen Fenech is an important and overdue development in the investigation into our wife and mother’s assassination,” the Caruana Galizia family said in a statement.

But it added that the prime minister had “no place near the investigation”, and it was “prepared to use all legal means at our disposal to ensure that the investigation is independent and impartial, and that it runs its full course”.

The alleged middleman in the case, taxi driver and loan shark Melvin Theuma, who was arrested last week, was hospitalised Friday for an unknown medical complaint but his condition was not serious, Muscat said.

Security was tightened at the hospital after the 41-year old was admitted, he said.

Source: AFP

French President Emmanuel Macron is set to inaugurate on Monday a monument in memory of hundreds of French soldiers who have died in foreign operations since 1963. Watch his speech live on FRANCE 24. 

The monument, a bronze sculpture of six soldiers, five men and a woman wearing caps or berets and solemnly carrying an invisible coffin, will be unveiled at the André Citroën Park in the 15^th arrondissement (district) of Paris.

Engraved on the wall beside the sculpture are the names of 549 soldiers, including two women, killed in 17 overseas military operations. Of these, 141 died in Lebanon, 129 in Chad, 85 in Afghanistan and 78 in the former Yugoslavia.

“The monument has three objectives: First, to send a message to our troops that France recognises their commitment to the nation, which sometimes entails making the ultimate sacrifice; it’s a place for families to gather; and finally, it’s meant to show the French people how defending liberty involve external military operations that demand total commitment,” Deputy Defence Minister Geneviève Darrieussecq was quoted as saying on Monday by French daily ‘Le Figaro’.

(FRANCE 24 with AP)
 

Refugees and pro-migrant activists have staged a rally in the Italian capital, Rome, protesting a tough immigration bill that was introduced during former interior minister Matteo Salvini’s time in office.

Despite Salvini having stepped down in September, the controversial bill, which has made immigration to Italy very difficult, has remained in effect since October 2018.

Footage of the Saturday rally showed protesters marching past the Colosseum, carrying banners and placards denouncing the “hate-decree of Salvini.”

“Why don’t they cancel this hate-decree of Salvini? Salvini is not in the government but his decree still exists. How is it possible to live this barbarism? We are really jaded,” said Mahamadou Quasid, a refugee.

The protesters also denounced the racist incidents that have occurred in Italian stadiums in recent months, where players such as Kalidou Koulibaly and Mario Balotelli have been abused due to their skin color.

Large numbers of asylum seekers — who have since 2015 been risking their lives by taking the perilous journey across the Mediterranean Sea on debilitated boats from North Africa and the Middle East to reach Italian ports — will be asked to leave Italy because of the “Salvini Decree.”

The perilous journey, harsh living conditions at the destination, and the risk of deportation have reduced the overall number of asylum seekers heading to Europe more recently. Data from refugee organization including the UNHCR, IOM and Frontex show that the overall numbers of asylum seekers entering Europe has significantly decreased.

However, European leaders have warned of a refugee crisis “even greater” than the one that hit the continent in 2015.

In an unprecedented refugee influx, over one million people arrived in the European countries in 2015, most of them fleeing from conflict zones in the Middle East and North Africa.

A year later, Turkey became Europe’s gatekeeper after signing a deal with the EU aimed at controlling the inflow of refugees into the continent. The agreement ended the influx, bringing the number down to around 30,000 annually in the following years. Recently, numbers have seen a slight rise as implementation of the deal has reportedly become lax.

Source: Presstv

‘Yellow Vests’ protesters took to the streets of Paris on Saturday as the first anniversary since the demonstrations began on November 18 last year approaches.

Demonstrators marched under police supervision from Porte de Clichy to Place de la Bataille de Stalingrad, carrying French flags and anti-Macron posters, chanting slogans and playing drums.

The Yellow Vest protests were initially sparked by a fuel tax, but the movement quickly spread throughout France and evolved into a general expression of dissatisfaction with the status quo. 

(Source: Ruptly) 

Momentum is building in France for what appears to be the largest general strike since 1995. Starting December 5th, public transport workers, truck drivers, students and others have already committed to an unlimited strike until President Emmanuel Macron’s sharply unpopular pension rollback is totally withdrawn. 

The changes would install a radical, one-size-fits-all universal system and raise the retirement age to 64. Many call it “unjust” and “out of touch”, while the government claims it is necessary to reduce the national debt, which has ballooned after banker bailouts and a decade of cutting taxes on the wealthy and corporations.

Wildcat train strikes are already reducing services nationwide, hundreds of hospitals have had staff on strike for months, and medical professionals protested again in Paris. 

After pensioners, health care has been the area of society the most negatively impacted by budget cuts in France. At the turn of the century, France’s health care system was ranked number one in the world, but the quality of care for the average person has plummeted. 

Macron increased perceptions that he is a so-called “liberal strongman” in a recent, rare interview. He said he wouldn’t show any type of “weakness or complacency” in forcing through his pension legislation no matter how many families or workers were affected by the strike, or if it it increases his already low approval ratings. 

The Macron era has witnessed near-constant social unrest caused by unpopular right wing reforms, with the long-running Yellow Vest movement being the most prominent example of the widespread discontent. 

Source: Presstv

Hundreds of people marched along the Tiber River on Saturday to demand Rome mayor Virginia Raggi resign over the state of the Italian capital.

“Raggi is turning the city into somewhere to run away from, instead of a city where people can live with dignity, work and build their future,” the Tutti per Rome (Everyone for Rome) organisation said ahead of the rally.

“The whole world pities us,” it said.

The march came a day after trade unions in Rome staged a general strike, with workers including bus drivers and garbage collectors taking a stand against the mayor and her ruling Five Star Movement administration.

The Eternal City’s streets are riddled with potholes, buses regularly catch fire and officials have warned the perennial garbage crisis constitutes a health risk, with rat control services working overtime as bins overflow near tourist sites, homes and schools.

Raggi became the capital’s first female mayor in 2016 by tapping into anger over corruption scandals — in particular the infiltration of crime families in the city’s waste management system.

In April this year she defended herself against accusations she had failed to turn the situation around, saying Rome was “under attack” from mobsters determined not to release their grip on a lucrative sector.

Source: AFP

Hundreds of thousands of demonstrators waving pro-independence flags and chanting “freedom for political prisoners” joined marches across Catalonia on Friday, the fifth day of protests against the jailing of nine separatist leaders over a failed bid to break away from Spain in 2017.

The marchers, some of whom began their trek on Wednesday from municipalities across the northeastern Spanish region, were set to reach the regional capital Barcelona later in the day.

Tensions between Madrid and Catalonia have been rising since Monday, when Spain’s Supreme Court sentenced nine politicians and activists to up to 13 years each in prision.

The sentences set off the worst sustained street violence Spain has seen in decades, with clashes between protesters and police, posing a major challenge both for the Spanish government and regional pro-independence authorities.

The Spanish soccer federation (RFEF) said in a statement on that Barcelona’s Oct. 26 home match against Real Madrid, one of the biggest rivalries in the sport, had been postponed due to security concerns.

Friday’s marchers, ranging from families pushing prams to cyclists wheeling their bicycles, took over a highway lane and other major roads as they walked peacefully towards the Catalan capital, many sporting yellow ribbons – a sign of protest against the jailing of Catalan independence leaders.

Major roads were blocked off across Catalonia and several main streets in Barcelona were closed to traffic in anticipation of the marches, as well as picket lines that had begun springing up, while regional trains and the city’s metro system were running on a reduced timetable after pro-independence unions called a strike.

Flights cancelled

Barcelona’s El Prat airport, forced to cancel around 150 flights this week after it was barricaded by thousands of people, was running normally for the most part, according to Spain’s Ministry of Public Works. Around 36 flights operated by Vueling were cancelled on Friday due to the strike, the low-cost Spanish airline owned by IAG said on Twitter.

Barcelona town hall said 700 garbage containers were set ablaze since protests began on Monday and estimated that the city had suffered damage totaling more than 1.5 million Euros ($1.67 million).

Thursday began with largely peaceful protests as young people draped in Catalan flags tossed balls and skipped rope. The mood shifted later in the night, with protesters setting fire to cafe chairs lining the fashionable Rambla de Catalunya street in the heart of Barcelona’s tourist district.

An official from Barcelona town hall said around 10 trees were set ablaze on Thursday.

Regional police said 16 people were arrested across Catalonia on Thursday, while health officials said medical aid was provided to 42 people.

Carmaker Seat, a unit of Volkswagen AG (VOWG_p.DE), said it had halted production at its plant in Martorell, near Barcelona, from Thursday afternoon until Saturday over concerns that the marches would disrupt traffic, a company spokeswoman said.

Barcelona’s wholesale market, MercaBarna, said visits to its fish sellers were down 85% on Friday, while flower stalls at the market saw 90% fewer customers.

Pro-independence leaders went ahead with a 2017 referendum on independence, despite it being deemed illegal by Spanish courts, followed by a declaration that the region was breaking away from Spain. Madrid responded to this by seizing control of the Catalan administration, and putting the ringleaders on trial.

Catalonia’s former leader, Carles Puigemont, who fled to Belgium after the failed independence bid, told reporters on Friday that Belgian authorities had allowed him to remain free without bail after Spain’s Supreme Court targeted him with a European arrest warrant.

(Source: Reuters)