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newyorkpost--2019-07-27--Imam buried behind mosque sparks debate in Rockland County village
| 2019-07-27T00:00:00 |
newyorkpost
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Imam buried behind mosque sparks debate in Rockland County village
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A mosque buried its imam in the backyard — and a little Rockland County village almost died of shock. Tosun Bayrak al-Jerrahi al-Halveti, who founded the Jerrahi Order of America mosque in Chestnut Ridge, died at the age of 92 in February 2018. He was laid to rest behind the house of worship a few days later. And in May of this year, the faithful erected a grand monument made from imported Turkish marble. A bench was installed next to it. Etched into the marble tomb is one of the sheikh’s favorite sayings: “The most beloved of Allah’s servants are those who engender Allah’s love in his servants and their love in Allah.” The gravesite is the picture of tranquility. But it has not been a peaceful resting place. The issue of private burials has haunted the public discourse in this village of 8,000 souls ever since, with opponents — led by a retired FBI agent — saying backyard graves are public health risks and that village officials should never have OK’d one. “I don’t think that an incorporated village where people live next door to one another on small or large parcels of land should allow the burial of human remains on properties,” said Hilda Kogut, the ex-Fed and chairwoman of Citizens United to Protect Our Neighborhoods, who called the town policy a “shock to the system.” Embarrassed village officials soon claimed they tried to stop the burial, but didn’t have the legal authority to block it. The mosque, providing correspondence as proof, said it asked for permission from the village to bury their beloved imam, and received it. The mosque “did it against our respectful wishes,” Chestnut Ridge Mayor Rosario Presti insisted. The mosque’s current sheikh, Yurdaer Doganata, noted that the congregation followed “local safety codes and health regulations and used a traditional casket. It was a green burial and there were no chemicals used. The grave site was approximately six feet deep. A member of our community who is a licensed contractor performed the ground preparations.” The coffin was made from wood with no nails, he said. The state does not have a law against home burial and allows local governments to pass their own ordinances regarding the practice. Chestnut Ridge has no law on the issue. Such interments are safe, and not uncommon in others parts of the country, according to the Funeral Consumers Alliance. “The myth of contagion from dead bodies is one of the most persistent of the American funeral industry,” reads the alliance’s website. “There is no evidence, peer-reviewed or otherwise, to justify it.” Still, New Yorkers creeped out by the prospect of living among the dead, need not be; NYC forbids private, at-home burials. Mayor Presti said the village hopes to soon draft an ordinance that bans backyard burials. But the late shiekh’s followers will not have to worry about an exhumation. “You can’t unring that bell,” the mayor said.
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Jon Levine
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https://nypost.com/2019/07/27/imam-buried-behind-mosque-sparks-debate-in-rockland-county-village/
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2019-07-27 19:27:27+00:00
| 1,564,270,047 | 1,567,535,634 |
religion and belief
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383,468 |
npr--2019-01-25--Militia Members Plead Guilty To 2017 Minnesota Mosque Bombing
| 2019-01-25T00:00:00 |
npr
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Militia Members Plead Guilty To 2017 Minnesota Mosque Bombing
|
Two men have pleaded guilty in federal court to bombing a Minnesota mosque and attempting to bomb a women's health clinic in Illinois. Prosecutors say the men and another man accused in the case were part of an Illinois militia group that called itself "White Rabbits." The U.S. Justice Department last year charged Michael McWhorter, Joe Morris and a third man, Michael Hari, with using an explosive device to damage the Dar Al-Farooq Islamic Center in Bloomington, Minn., in 2017. McWhorter and Morris pleaded guilty to five federal charges on Thursday, including the attacks on the mosque and the Illinois clinic. They had originally entered a not guilty plea. Hari, portrayed by both prosecution and defense lawyers as group's ringleader, is being held in federal custody in Illinois. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges, the Star Tribune of Minneapolis reports. Jaylani Hussein, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations in Minnesota, told reporters after the hearing that the attack was not an isolated incident. The Muslim community "has come under serious attack by white nationalists, white supremacist groups and militia groups across this country," Hussein said. He added: "We're not going anywhere. We are more resilient than ever." McWhorter and Morris admitted to traveling hundreds of miles from Illinois to Minnesota, leaving their cellphones at home and avoiding toll roads, to carry out the attack on the mosque. They smashed the mosque's window and threw a pipe bomb into the imam's office before the morning prayers. No one was injured in the attack. According to an affidavit filed last year, McWhorter told federal agents the men "did not intend to kill anyone but wanted to 'scare them out of the country' (referring to Muslims) because they push their beliefs on everyone else." McWhorter also said Hari was behind the plan to bomb the mosque. Robert Richman, an attorney for Morris, said Thursday that Hari was at fault for Morris' role in the attack, saying he was a father figure who had "essentially weaponized Joe Morris," The Associated Press reports. An indictment from last year also alleged that the men had performed numerous criminal acts, including robbing Walmart stores, attempting to extort money from Canadian National Railway railroad tracks and planting materials for explosives on someone else's property to deflect suspicion from law enforcement. The men told federal agents that they carried out Walmart robberies in Illinois and a home invasion in Indiana in conjunction with Ellis Mack, McWhorter's stepson. Mack has pleaded guilty to the federal weapons charges filed against all four men. In the November 2017 attack on a women's health clinic, the bomb failed to explode. Hussein encouraged law enforcement and the current administration to recognize the "growing threat" of violence against Muslims. He also called for a life sentence for the men, who face at least 35 years in prison when they are sentenced.
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Francesca Paris
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https://www.npr.org/2019/01/24/688402478/militia-members-plead-guilty-to-2017-minnesota-mosque-bombing?utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=news
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2019-01-25 00:00:49+00:00
| 1,548,392,449 | 1,567,550,926 |
religion and belief
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religious facilities
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404,083 |
pamelagellerreport--2019-06-03--A new mosque on the Temple Mount Judaisms holiest site
| 2019-06-03T00:00:00 |
pamelagellerreport
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A new mosque on the Temple Mount, Judaism’s holiest site
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Jewish activists are claiming that a new mosque has been inaugurated on the Temple Mount, despite a court order that the status quo be upheld on the holy site. According to the far-right Regavim organization, the Jerusalem Wakf Islamic religious trust has initiated a mosque at the Temple Mount’s Gate of Mercy. The organization petitioned the High Court of Justice on the eve of Jerusalem Day for a temporary injunction that would close the structure and restore the status quo at the site. The organization noted the installation of ceiling fans, lighting, furniture and room dividers inside a 1,400-year-old structure located at the site. These permanent changes, according to Regavim, have harmed the ancient structure and were done without any oversight from the Israel Antiquities Authority, as required by law. Shlomo Vile, who went up to pray on the Temple Mount on Jerusalem Day, confirmed Regavim’s description. He told The Jerusalem Post that from what he saw, it is “clear there is activity by the Gate of Mercy. Muslims were milling around and there were prayer rugs scattered about.” A Wakf official told the Post that the site was reopened during Ramadan as hundreds of thousands of worshippers converged on the al-Aqsa compound for Friday prayers. He said that in accordance with understandings reached between Israel and the Jordanian-controlled Wakf authorities, the site will be closed again in the near future for “renovations.” But Regavim is arguing this cannot be trusted. In 1967, there was one mosque on the Temple Mount. Today, counting the new one, there are five. “When a structure turns into a mosque, it means that they took over the place,” Regavim Spokesman Avraham Binyamin told the Post. “Once they use it for prayer, then no one else can use it – not Jews, not Christians.” This week’s petition is not Regavim’s first one to the High Court against Muslim use of the site. In March, the organization submitted a similar petition. Justice Meni Mazuz accepted the petition and allowed the government and the Wakf 90 days to respond, which the organization said allowed the Wakf time to transform the compound. Though Regavim requested the time for response be reduced, the court would not approve the request. Soon before, the defense establishment identified radical Islamist activity at the site, and the government requested a court order to shut down the site, which was issued by the Jerusalem Magistrates Court. The Wakf ignored the court order and continued its construction project. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared at the end of February that “Israel has not given its consent to opening the mosque on the Temple Mount.” A statement released by the Prime Minister’s Office at the time declared that Netanyahu had given instructions “to enforce the court order without compromise and to ensure that the site remains closed.” However, no overt action was taken. Until now, the Gate of Mercy had been closed by a court order since 2003, when the court determined that radical Muslim activity was taking place in the area. Before that, the structure had been used as a storage room. EARLIER THIS YEAR, a series of riots erupted on the Temple Mount and thousands of Palestinians stormed the gate, which led to the arrest of two senior Wakf officials, including a prominent sheikh. In response, Muslims took over the ancient structure and began the process of turning it into a mosque, threatening increased violence if Israel shut it down. Jews believe the site – venerated as holy in Judaism, Christianity and Islam alike – is where the First and Second Temples used to stand. At the time of the Muslim takeover, a group of Israeli activists countered their claim by calling on the government to establish a synagogue on the Temple Mount and open it for Jewish prayer, instead.
|
Pamela Geller
|
https://gellerreport.com/2019/06/a-new-mosque-on-the-temple-mount-judaisms-holiest-site.html/
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2019-06-03 22:00:53+00:00
| 1,559,613,653 | 1,567,539,282 |
religion and belief
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religious facilities
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404,735 |
pamelagellerreport--2019-12-17--Pamela Geller, American Thinker: The Ground Zero Mosque Project Is Back
| 2019-12-17T00:00:00 |
pamelagellerreport
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Pamela Geller, American Thinker: The Ground Zero Mosque Project Is Back
|
The news was buried under two dense paragraphs and five large photos in an article in New York YIMBY about a different project: “Construction has also yet to begin on 51 Park Place, which is slated to become a 71-foot-tall, 16,000-square-foot Islamic cultural center.” The infamous Ground Zero Mosque project, a long buried effort to build a triumphal mosque at the site of the worst jihad terror attack in American history, is back. Construction has yet to begin, but it will: the shady developer behind the Ground Zero Mosque scheme, Sharif El-Gamal, has been working to build this sinister structure for years. We defeated the Ground Zero Mosque project once before. The 16-story mosque that El-Gamal initially planned to build there has not been built. Our efforts in showing what an insult it was to the American people and to the victims of 9/11, and how many Muslims worldwide would inevitably view it as a triumphal mosque built on the site of a jihad attack, defeated it. Tens of thousands of people came out for our rallies in lower Manhattan against this celebration of this 9/11 attacks, and El-Gamal was beaten in the court of public opinion. It was a long battle. President Obama announced his support for the mosque at an Iftar dinner, no less. Then-mayor of New York City and current presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg supported the mosque as well, claiming hysterically that “if we don’t build it, the terrorists will win!” The media actively campaigned for it — the elites in their increasingly fragile ivory towers relentlessly stumped for the Cordoba mosque (euphemistically called an Islamic center with a prayer space) for years. And yet despite all this opposition and much more, the people stood up and fought the Ground Zero Mosque and won. An army of Davids. But that wasn’t the end of the story. Crains New York reported on El-Gamal’s new project in 2015 in a story that demonstrated how the developer was hoping to sneak his triumphal mosque into existence: “Mr. El-Gamal’s Soho Properties has proposed a 667-foot condominium tower at lower Manhattan’s 45 Park Place. The glass skyscraper, which has yet to break ground, will include at least 15 full-floor units of 3,200 to 3,700 square feet, and average prices higher than $3,000 a square foot, according to plans released to Bloomberg by the developer.” That sounded normal enough. But then the article added: “Adjacent to the tower, Soho Properties will build a public plaza connected to a three-story Islamic museum and prayer space.” An Islamic prayer space is a mosque. The article also said: “An Islamic museum ‘is just as much of an insult,’ Pamela Geller, a blogger and one of the center’s most vocal opponents, wrote in an email. ‘It will be like having a museum touting the glories of the Japanese Empire at Pearl Harbor.'” I think an Islamic museum at Ground Zero dedicated to the half-billion victims of jihadi wars, land appropriations, sharia, cultural annihilations, enslavements, and sharia enforcement is an excellent idea, but is that what Sharif El-Gamal had in mind? Of course not. And how did El-Gamal plan to finance this? The answer was predictable. The New York Post reported in May 2016 that “the developer of the failed Ground Zero Mosque has nailed down ‘Sharia-compliant financing’ for a new, luxury condominium tower and Islamic cultural museum on the same site, he and his banking partners said.” Then in May 2017, the New York Times ran a story entitled “Condo Tower to Rise Where Muslim Community Center Was Proposed.” The Times said that “45 Park Place, a 43-story condominium that will soon rise three blocks from the World Trade Center,” was “something of a consolation prize for the developer,” as it “replaces the developer’s 2010 plan to build a 15-story Islamic mosque and cultural center on this site, an idea that erupted into a national controversy and cable news network bonanza.” In the last couple of years, there has been virtually no news about this “Islamic museum.” But the New York YIMBY story shows that the project has been advancing under cover of darkness. A 71-foot-tall structure is three stories high, as in the revised plans announced in 2015. El-Gamal has many friends and allies among New York City’s political and media elites. It is likely that de Blasio city officials and the New York Times and other city papers all met with El-Gamal and agreed to keep the reporting on this project to an absolute minimum, so that it could get built without incurring the righteous anger of the public again. The first time around, they courted publicity and tried to make El-Gamal a hero. We demolished that and destroyed their plans. So now they’ve clearly decided to go ahead surreptitiously. It is disgusting that El-Gamal continues to taunt Americans and poke at America’s most egregious recent memory. El-Gamal was there when we had tens of thousands in the streets opposing his Ground Zero mosque. He knows how angry and upset people get at these Islamic structures on the site of jihad war. The 9/11 Muslim terrorists extolled Allah no fewer than 90 times in their last letters. Will those letters be on display at this Islamic cultural center/museum? There is an important lesson to be learned here — and one we would be wise to adopt. They never stop. No matter how absolutely they lose, how many setbacks they suffer, they keep on pursuing their supremacist goals. The Ground Zero Mosque project was and is a middle finger to the American people. There has never been a mosque of reconciliation and healing built on the site of a jihadi attack. Ever. It is, on the other hand, an Islamic pattern to build triumphal mosques on the cherished sites of conquered lands. History is riddled with triumphal mosques built on the sites of jihad attacks or appropriated from other religions: the Dome of the Rock and the al-Aqsa Mosque on the site of the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem, the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus, and innumerable mosques built on the sites of Hindu temples that were demolished by Muslims all attest to that. And now it looks as if Sharif El-Gamal is going to be able to build his own triumphal mosque at Ground Zero after all.
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Pamela Geller
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https://gellerreport.com/2019/12/gzm-back.html/
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Tue, 17 Dec 2019 16:15:50 +0000
| 1,576,617,350 | 1,576,627,621 |
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431,077 |
prisonplanet--2019-06-14--Video Brooklyn New York Mosque Broadcasts Islamic Call to Prayer to 20 Block Radius
| 2019-06-14T00:00:00 |
prisonplanet
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Video: Brooklyn New York Mosque Broadcasts Islamic Call to Prayer to 20 Block Radius
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“I am in downtown Brooklyn, but I swear it’s Saudi Arabia” A resident of Brooklyn posted a Facebook live video documenting how the Islamic call to prayer was being broadcast to a 20 block radius by a local mosque. “I am in downtown Brooklyn, but I swear it’s Saudi Arabia, y’all hear that?” asks Derrick Gibson as the words “No God but Allah, Mohammad is his messenger” are broadcast. “What the hell disturbing the peace! You gotta love it right here in America – this not Saudi Arabia” states Gibson as the noise gets louder. The mosque in question is the Masjid-Al-Aman. A previous report from 2016 documents how locals complained 156 times about the call to prayer, labeling it a nuisance. The commentary on the clip claims that the broadcast is a violation of New York City noise control ordinance. However, according to a resident, when she contacted police about the noise, she was told, ”You can report excessive noise coming from a house of worship when a service is not being held as the police WILL NOT respond if you are reporting noise during a religious service.” Police told her that it was perfectly legal to broadcast the sound using speakers during a religious service. There is a war on free speech. Without your support, my voice will be silenced. Please sign up for the free newsletter here. Donate to me on SubscribeStar here. Support my sponsor – Turbo Force – a supercharged boost of clean energy without the comedown. This article was posted: Friday, June 14, 2019 at 6:02 am
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admin
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https://www.prisonplanet.com/video-brooklyn-new-york-mosque-broadcasts-islamic-call-to-prayer-to-20-block-radius.html
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2019-06-14 11:02:50+00:00
| 1,560,524,570 | 1,567,539,098 |
religion and belief
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434,323 |
prisonplanet--2019-12-17--Has the Ground Zero Mosque Project Returned?
| 2019-12-17T00:00:00 |
prisonplanet
|
Has the Ground Zero Mosque Project Returned?
|
Has the Ground Zero Mosque Project Returned? Islamic cultural center to be built at site of 9/11 attacks. The highly controversial ‘ground zero mosque’ project that was shelved after numerous protests appears to be back in the form of a 16,000-square-foot Islamic cultural center set to be built in the same place in Manhattan. The ‘ground zero mosque’ (originally named Cordoba House) was envisioned as a 13-story Islamic community center and mosque in Lower Manhattan. It would have replaced a building that was damaged during the 9/11 attacks by plane parts and accommodated a “prayer space” for up to 2,000 Muslims. Following widespread controversy and opposition from 9/11 families, the project was abandoned, but an Islamic cultural museum with a Muslim “prayer space” was subsequently built and recently completed. However, it appears as though a larger new mosque is being planned for the site. New York YIMBY reports, “Construction has also yet to begin on 51 Park Place, which is slated to become a 71-foot-tall, 16,000-square-foot Islamic cultural center.” According to anti-Islam activist Pamela Geller, developer Sharif El-Gamal has learned from the ground zero mosque controversy and is trying to keep the new project secret. “El-Gamal has many friends and allies among New York City’s political and media elites,” she writes. “It is likely that de Blasio city officials and the New York Times and other city papers all met with El-Gamal and agreed to keep the reporting on this project to an absolute minimum, so that it could get built without incurring the righteous anger of the public again. The first time around, they courted publicity and tried to make El-Gamal a hero. We demolished that and destroyed their plans. So now they’ve clearly decided to go ahead surreptitiously.” Geller continues to insist that the notion of building a mosque at the site where Islamic terrorists slaughtered thousands of Americans is a deliberate provocation. “It is…an Islamic pattern to build triumphal mosques on the cherished sites of conquered lands,” writes Geller. “History is riddled with triumphal mosques built on the sites of jihad attacks or appropriated from other religions: the Dome of the Rock and the al-Aqsa Mosque on the site of the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem, the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus, and innumerable mosques built on the sites of Hindu temples that were demolished by Muslims all attest to that.” My voice is being silenced by free speech-hating Silicon Valley behemoths who want me disappeared forever. It is CRUCIAL that you support me. Please sign up for the free newsletter here. Donate to me on SubscribeStar here. Support my sponsor – Turbo Force – a supercharged boost of clean energy without the comedown. This article was posted: Tuesday, December 17, 2019 at 10:36 am
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admin
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https://www.prisonplanet.com/has-the-ground-zero-mosque-project-returned.html
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Tue, 17 Dec 2019 15:36:00 +0000
| 1,576,614,960 | 1,576,627,529 |
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renegadetribune--2019-03-20--Extremist Jewish Groups Prepare for Massive Raid of Al-Aqsa Mosque to Celebrate Purim
| 2019-03-20T00:00:00 |
renegadetribune
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Extremist Jewish Groups Prepare for Massive Raid of Al-Aqsa Mosque to Celebrate Purim
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Renegade Editor’s Note: It’s is always prudent to be on guard during Purim. Seriously. (MEMO) The so-called Temple Mount Groups, a body of extremist Jewish organisations, have called for massive raid of Al-Aqsa Mosque to celebrate the Jewish holiday of Purim tomorrow, the Shehabnews agency reported yesterday. According to Shehab, the groups announced their planned raid on Facebook and said that they would organise tours and other activities inside and around the different facilities of Al-Aqsa Mosque. In addition to the extremist organisations, Israeli MKs and ministers are expected to take part in the planned raid. Israeli occupation forces regularly provide protection for settlers who enter the Al-Aqsa Mosque and carry out religious rituals there. Many Palestinians, on the other hand, are banned from entry while settlers desecrate the Muslim holy site.
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renegade
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http://www.renegadetribune.com/extremist-jewish-groups-prepare-for-massive-raid-of-al-aqsa-mosque-to-celebrate-purim/
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2019-03-20 14:16:34+00:00
| 1,553,105,794 | 1,567,545,557 |
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461,180 |
renegadetribune--2019-06-25--In Israel the Push to Destroy Jerusalems Iconic Al-Aqsa Mosque Goes Mainstream
| 2019-06-25T00:00:00 |
renegadetribune
|
In Israel the Push to Destroy Jerusalem’s Iconic Al-Aqsa Mosque Goes Mainstream
|
The iconic golden dome of the Dome of the Rock and Al-Aqsa mosque, located on the Temple Mount or Haram el-Sharif, is the third holiest site in Islam and is recognized throughout the world as a symbol of the city of Jerusalem. Yet, this ancient site that dates back to the year 705 C.E. is being targeted for destruction by increasingly influential extremist groups that seek to erase Jerusalem’s Muslim heritage in pursuit of colonial ambitions and the fulfillment of end-times prophecy. Some observers may have noticed the growing effort by some Israeli government and religious officials to remove the Dome of the Rock and Al-Aqsa mosque from the Jerusalem skyline, not only erasing the holy site in official posters, banners and educational material but also physically removing the building itself. For instance, current Knesset member of the ruling Likud Party, American-born Yehuda Glick, was also the director of the government-funded Temple Institute, which has created relics and detailed architectural plans for a temple that they hope will soon replace Al-Aqsa. Glick is also close friends with Yehuda Etzion, who was part of a failed plot in 1984 to blow up Al-Aqsa mosque and served prison time as a result. “In the end we’ll build the temple and it will be a house of prayer for all nations,” Glick told Israeli newspaper Maariv in 2012. A year later, Israel’s Agriculture Minister Uri Ariel stated that “[w]e’ve built many little, little temples…but we need to build a real Temple on the Temple Mount.” Ariel stated that the new Jewish Temple must be built on the site where Al-Aqsa currently sits “as it is at the forefront of Jewish salvation.” Since then, prominent Israeli politicians have become more and more overt in their support for the end of Jordanian-Palestinian sovereignty over the mosque compound, leading many prominent Palestinians to warn in recent years of plans to destroy the mosque. In recent years, a centuries-old effort by what was once a small group of extremists has gone increasingly mainstream in Israel, with prominent politicians, religious figures and political parties advocating for the destruction of the Dome of the Rock and Al-Aqsa mosque in order to fulfill a specific interpretation of an end-times prophecy that was once considered fringe among practitioners of Judaism. As Miko Peled, Israeli author and human-rights activist, told MintPress, the movement to destroy Al-Aqsa and replace it with a reimagined Temple “became notable after the 1967 war,” and has since grown into “a massive colonial project that uses religious, biblical mythology and symbols to justify its actions” — a project now garnering support from both religious and secular Israelis. While the push to destroy Al-Aqsa and replace it with a physical Third Temple has gained traction in Israel in recent years, this effort has advanced at a remarkably fast pace in just the past few weeks, owing to a confluence of factors. These factors, as this report will show, include the upcoming revelation of the so-called “Deal of the Century,” the push for a war with Iran and Lebanon’s Hezbollah, and the Trump administration’s dramatic lenience in regards to the activity of Jewish extremist groups and extremist settlements in Israel. These factors correlate with a quickening of efforts to destroy Al-Aqsa and the very real danger the centuries-old holy site faces. While the U.S. press has occasionally mentioned the role of religious extremism in dictating the foreign policy of prominent U.S. politicians like Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, it has rarely shone a light on the role of Jewish extremism in directing Israel’s foreign policy — foreign policy that, in turn, is well-known to influence American policies. When taken together, the threats to Al-Aqsa are clearly revealed to be much greater than the loss of a physical building, though that itself would be a grave loss for the world’s Muslim community, which includes over 1.8 billion people. In addition, the site’s destruction would very likely result in a regional and perhaps even global war with clear religious dimensions. To prevent such an outcome, it is essential to highlight the role that extremist, apocalyptic interpretations of both the Jewish and Christian faiths are playing in trends that, if left unchecked, could have truly terrifying consequences. Both of these extremist groups are heavily influenced by colonial ambitions that often supersede their religious underpinning. In Part I of this two-part series, MintPress examines the growth of extremist movements in Israel that openly promote the destruction of Al-Aqsa, from a relatively isolated fringe movement within Zionism to mainstream prominence in Israel today; as well as how threats to the historic mosque have grown precipitously in just the past month. MintPress interviewed Israeli author and activist Miko Peled; Rabbi Yisroel Dovid Weiss of Neturei Karta in New York; Imam and scholar of Shia Islam, Sayed Hassan Al-Qazwini, of the Islamic Institute of America; and Palestinian journalist and academic Ramzy Baroud for their perspectives on these extremist groups, their growing popularity, and the increasing threats to the current status quo at Haram El-Sharif/Temple Mount. The second part of this series will detail the influence of this extremist movement in Israeli politics as well as American politics, particularly among Christian Zionist politicians in the United States. The ways in which this movement’s goal have also influenced Israeli and U.S. policy — particularly in relation to the so-called “Deal of the Century,” President Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, and the push for war against Iran and Lebanon’s Hezbollah — will also be examined. Though efforts to wrest the contested holy site from Jordanian and Palestinian control have picked up dramatically in recent weeks, the Al-Aqsa mosque compound had long been targeted prior to Israel’s founding and even prior to the formation of the modern Zionist movement. For instance, Rabbi Zvi Hirsh Kalisher — who promoted the European Jewish colonization of Palestine from a religious perspective well before Zionism became a movement — expounded on an early form of what would later be labeled “religious Zionism” and was particularly interested in the acquisition of Haram el-Sharif (i.e., the Temple Mount) as a means of fulfilling prophecy. As noted in the essay “Proto-Zionism and its Proto-Herzl: The Philosophy and Efforts of Rabbi Zvi Hirsch Kalisher” by Sam Lehman-Wilzig, Professor of Israeli Politics and Judaic Studies at Bar-Ilan University in Israel, Kalisher sought to court wealthy European Jews to finance the purchase of Israel for the purpose of resettlement, particularly the Temple Mount. In an 1836 letter to Baron Amschel Rothschild, Kalisher suggested that the eldest brother of the wealthy banker family use his abundant funds to bring Jewish sovereignty to Palestine, specifically Jerusalem and the Temple Mount: Kalisher’s request was met with a noncommittal response from Baron Rothschild, leading Kalisher to pursue other wealthy European Jewish families, like the Montefiores, with the same goal in mind. And, though Kalisher was initially unsuccessful in winning the support of the Rothschild family, other notable members of the wealthy European banking dynasty eventually did become enthusiastic supporters of Zionism in the decades that followed. Kalisher was also influential in another way, as he was arguably the first modern Rabbi to reject the idea of patiently waiting for God to fulfill prophecy and proposed instead that man should take concrete steps that would lead to the fulfillment of such prophecies, a belief that Kalisher described as “self help.” For Kalisher, settling European Jews in Palestine was but the first step, to be followed by other steps that would form an active as opposed to a passive approach towards Jewish Messianism. These subsequent steps included the construction of a Third Temple, to replace the Second Temple destroyed by the Romans around the year 70 C.E., and the reinitiation of ritual animal sacrifices in that Temple, which Kalisher believed could only be placed on the Temple Mount, where Al-Aqsa then sat and still sits. Kalisher wasn’t alone in his views, as his contemporary, Rabbi Judah Alkalai, wrote the following in his book Shalom Yerushalayim: Though Kalisher wasn’t the lone voice promoting these ideas, his beliefs — aside from promoting the physical settlement of European Jews in Palestine — remained relatively fringe for decades, if not more than a century, as secular Jews were hugely influential in the Zionist movement after its official formation. However, prominent religious Zionists did influence the Zionist movement in key ways prior to Israel’s founding. One such figure was Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook, who sought to reconcile Zionism and Orthodox Judaism as the Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Palestine, a position he assumed in 1924. Yet, Rabbi Yisroel Dovid Weiss of Neturei Karta, an ultra-Orthodox Jewish group based in New York that opposes Zionism, told MintPress that many religious Zionists have since latched onto Kalisher’s ideas, which were widely rejected during his lifetime, in order to justify neocolonial actions sought by secular Zionists. “This rabbi, at the time, other rabbis ‘roared’ against him and his beliefs weren’t accepted,” Rabbi Weiss stated, “But now, the ones who are talking about building this Third Temple….these are Zionists and they have found some rabbi whose ideas benefit them that they have been using to justify Zionist acts” that are not aligned with Judaism “and make them kosher.” Weiss further expanded on this point, noting that the participants of the modern religious Zionism movement that seek to build a new Jewish temple where Al-Aqsa currently stands are, at their core, Zionists who have used religious imagery and specific interpretations of religious texts as cover for neo-colonial acts, such as the complete re-making of the Temple Mount. “It’s like a wolf in a sheepskin…These people who want to incorporate the teachings of this rabbi [Rabbi Kalisher] are proudly saying that they are Jewish, but are doing things Jews are forbidden from doing,” such as ascending to and standing upon the Temple Mount, which Rabbi Weiss stated was “a breach of Jewish law,” long forbidden by that law according to a consensus among Jewish scholars and rabbis around the world that continued well beyond the formation of the Zionist movement in the 19th century. Rabbi Weiss noted that, for this reason, the Muslim community that has historically governed the area where Al-Aqsa mosque stands never had any problems with the Jewish community in relation to the Temple Mount, as it has been known for centuries that Jews cannot ascend to the area where the mosque currently sits and instead prayed only at the Western Wall. He also stated that the prophetic idea of a Third Temple was, prior to Zionism, understood as indicating not a change in physical structures on the Temple Mount, but a metaphysical, spiritual change that would unite all of mankind to worship and serve God in unison. Rabbi Weiss asserted that the conflict regarding Al-Aqsa mosque started only with the advent of Zionism and the associated neo-colonial ambition to fundamentally alter the status quo and structures present at the site as a means of erasing key parts (i.e., Palestinian parts) of its heritage. “This [the use of religion to justify ascending to and taking control of the Temple Mount] is a trap for conning other people into supporting them,” concluded the Rabbi. Nonetheless, Kalisher’s impact can be seen in today’s Israel more than ever, thanks to the rise and mainstream acceptance within Israel of once-fringe elements of religious Zionism, which were deeply influenced by the ideas of rabbis like Kalisher and have served in recent decades as an incubator for some of Israel’s most radical political elements. Meanwhile, as the debate within Judaism over the Temple Mount has changed dramatically since the 19th century, its significance in Islam has remained steadfast. According to Imam Sayed Hassan Al-Qazwini, “Al-Aqsa is the third holiest mosque in Islam…it is considered to be the place where the Prophet Muhammad ascended to heaven and has been mentioned in the Qoran, which glorifies that mosque and identifies it as a blessed mosque. All Muslims, whether they are Sunni or Shia, revere that mosque” — a fact that has remained unchanged for over a millennium and continues to today. The modern rise of the religious Zionist movements that promote the destruction of Al-Aqsa mosque and its replacement with a Third Jewish Temple is most often traced back to the Six Day War of 1967. According to Miko Peled, who recently wrote a piece for MintPress News regarding the threats facing Al-Aqsa, “religious Zionism” as a political force became more noticeable following the 1967 war. Peled told MintPress: Peled further noted that this model, employed by the religious extremist groups that founded illegal West Bank settlements like Kiryat Arba, “has been used successfully since then and it is now used by the groups that are promoting the new Temple in place of Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem.” He continued, pointing out that “whereas 20-30 years ago they were considered a fringe group, this year they expect more than 50,000 people to enter the compound to support the group and their goals. Religious Israeli youth who opt out of military service and choose national service instead may work with the [Third] Temple building organizations.” Dr. Ramzy Baroud — journalist, academic and founder of The Palestine Chronicle — agreed with Peled’s sense that the Third Temple movement or Temple Activist movement has grown dramatically in recent years and has become increasingly mainstream in Israel. Baroud told MintPress: However, Rabbi Weiss disagreed with Peled and Baroud that this faction presents a real threat to the mosque, given that the mosque’s destruction is widely rejected by Diaspora Jewry (i.e., Jews living outside of Israel) and that destroying it would not only cause conflicts with the global Muslim community but also numerous Jewish communities outside of Israel. Weiss argued that many of these religious Zionists in Israel that are pushing for a new Temple “do not follow Jewish law to the letter and don’t come from the very religious communities, including the settlers…They don’t go to expressly religious schools, they go to Zionist schools. Their whole view is built on Zionism and [secondarily] incorporates the religion,” as opposed to the reverse. As a result, the destruction of the Al-Aqsa mosque, in Weiss’ view, could greatly alienate the state of Israel from these more religious and ultra-orthodox communities. In addition, Rabbi Weiss felt that many Jewish and secular Israelis would also reject such a move because it would create even more conflicts, which many Israelis do not want. He described the Temple Activists as “a vocal minority” that represented a “fringe” among adherents to Judaism and a group within Zionism that has tried to use the Temple Mount “in order to be able to excuse their occupation and to try to portray this [the occupation of Palestine] as a religious conflict,” with the conflict surrounding the Temple Mount being an extension of that. Weiss believed that the push to take over the Temple Mount was a “scare tactic” aimed at securing the indefinite nature of the occupation, and noted that many Israelis did not want a spike in or renewal of conflict that would inevitably result if the mosque were to be destroyed. He also added that he did not think there was a “real threat” of the mosque being targeted because international rabbinical authorities have stood fast in their opposition to the project promoted by the Temple Activists. It is hardly a coincidence that the growth of Temple Activism and associated movements like “neo-Zionism” have paralleled the growth in threats to the Al-Aqsa mosque itself. Many of these threats can be understood through the doctrine developed by Rabbi Kalisher and others in the mid-19th century — the idea that “active” steps must be taken to bring about the reconstruction of a Jewish Temple at Haram El-Sharif in order to bring about the Messianic Age. Indeed, during the 1967 war, General Shlomo Goren, the chief rabbi of the IDF, had told Chief of Central Command Uzi Narkiss that, shortly after Israel’s conquest of Jerusalem’s Old City, the moment had come to blow up the Al-Aqsa mosque and the Dome of the Rock. “Do this and you will go down in history,” Goren told Narkiss. According to Tom Segev’s book 1967, Goren felt that the site’s destruction could only be done under the cover of war: “Tomorrow might be too late.” Goren was among the first Israelis to arrive at the then-recently conquered Old City in Jerusalem and was joined at the newly “liberated” Al-Aqsa compound by a young Yisrael Ariel, who now is a major leader in the Temple Activist movement and head of the Temple Institute, which is dedicated to constructing a Third Temple where Al-Asqa mosque currently stands. Narkiss rejected Goren’s request, but did approve the razing of Jerusalem’s Moroccan quarter. According to Mondoweiss, the destruction of the nearly seven centuries old Jerusalem neighborhood was done for the “holy purpose” of making the Western Wall more accessible to Jewish Israelis. Some 135 homes were flattened, along with several mosques, and over 700 Palestinians were ethnically cleansed as part of that operation. Following the occupation of East Jerusalem, Al-Aqsa has come under increasing threat, just as extremist movements who seek to destroy the site have grown. In 1969, a Christian extremist from Australia, Daniel Rohan, set fire to the mosque. Rohan had been studying in Israel and, prior to committing arson, had told American theology student Arthur Jones, who was studying with Rohan, that he had become convinced that a new temple had to be built where Al-Aqsa stood. Then, in 1984, a group of messianic extremists known as the Jewish Underground was arrested for plotting to use explosives to destroy Al-Aqsa and the Dome of the Rock. Ehud Yatom, who was a security official and commander of the operation that foiled the plot, told Israel’s Channel 2 in 2004 that the planned destruction of the site would have been “horrible, terrible,” adding that it could provoke “the entire Muslim world [into a war] against the state of Israel and against the Western world, a war of religions.” One of those arrested in 1984 in connection with the bomb plot, former Jewish Underground member Yehuda Etzion, subsequently wrote from prison that his group’s mistake was not in targeting the historic mosque, which he called an “abomination,” but in acting before Israeli society would accept such an act. “The generation was not ready,” Etzion wrote, adding that those sympathetic to the Jewish Underground movement “must build a new force that grows very slowly, moving its educational and social activity into a new leadership.” “Of course I cannot predict whether the Dome of the Rock will be removed from the Mount while the new body is developing or after it actually leads the people,” Etzion stated, “but the clear fact is that the Mount will be purified [from Islamic shrines] with certainty…” Upon his release from prison, Etzion founded the Chai Vekayam (Alive and Existing) movement, a group that Al Jazeera’s Mersiha Gadzo described as aimed at “shaping public opinion as a prerequisite for building a Third Temple in the religious complex in Jerusalem’s Old City where Al Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock are located.” Gadzo also notes that “according to messianic belief, building the Third Temple at the Al Aqsa compound — where the First and Second Temples stood some 2,000 years ago — would usher the coming of the Messiah.” Six years later, another group called the Temple Mount Faithful, which is dedicated to building the Third Temple, provoked what became known as the Al-Aqsa massacre in 1990 after its members attempted to place a cornerstone for the Third Temple on the Temple Mount / Haram El-Sharif, leading to riots that saw Israeli police shoot and kill over 20 Palestinians and wound an estimated 150 more. This was followed by the riots in 1996 after Israel opened up a series of tunnels that had been dug under Al-Aqsa mosque that many Palestinians worried would be used to damage or destroy the mosque. Those concerns may have been well-founded, given the involvement of then- and current Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Third Temple activist groups in creating the tunnels and in subsequent excavations near the holy site, which were and continue to be officially described as “archaeological” in nature. During the 1996 incident, 80 Palestinians and 14 Israeli police officers were killed. Some Israeli archaeologists have argued that these tunnels have not been built for archaeological or scientific purposes and are highly unlikely to result in any new discoveries. One such Israeli archaeologist, Yoram Tseverir, told Middle East Monitor in 2014 that “the claims that these excavations aim at finding scientific information are marginal” and called the still-ongoing government-sponsored excavations under Al-Aqsa “wrong.” When those “archaeological” excavations at Al-Aqsa resulted in damage to the Western Wall near Al-Aqsa last year, a chorus of prominent Palestinians, including the spokesman for the Fatah Party, claimed that Israel’s government had devised a plan to destroy the mosque. Since 2000, Al-Aqsa mosque has been the site of incidents that have resulted in new state crackdowns by Israel against Palestinians both within and well outside of Jerusalem. Indeed, the Second Intifada was largely provoked by the visit of the then-Likud candidate for prime minister, Ariel Sharon, who entered Al-Aqsa mosque under heavy guard. Then-spokesman for Likud, Ofir Akounis, was later quoted by CNN as saying that the reason for Sharon’s visit was “to show that under a Likud government it [the Temple Mount] will remain under Israeli sovereignty.” That single visit by Sharon led to five years of heightened tensions, more than three thousand dead Palestinians and an estimated thousand dead Israelis, as well as a massive and still continuing crackdown on Palestinians living under Israeli occupation and in the blockaded Gaza Strip. Dr. Ramzy Baroud told MintPress that Sharon’s provocation in particular, and subsequent provocations, are often planned and used by Israeli politicians in order to justify crackdowns and restrictions on Palestinians. He argued: While there have long been efforts to destroy the historic Al-Aqsa mosque and the Dome of the Rock, recent weeks have seen a disturbing and dramatic uptick in incidents that suggest that the influential groups in Israel that have long pushed for the mosque’ s destruction may soon get their way. This reflects what Ramzy Baroud described to MintPress as how support for the construction of the Third Temple where Al-Aqsa currently sits is now “greater than at any time in the past” within Israeli society. Earlier this month on June 2, a religious adviser to the Palestinian Authority (PA), Mahmoud Al-Habbash, took to social media to warn of an “Israeli plot against the Al-Aqsa Mosque,” adding that “If the Muslims don’t act now [to save the site]… the entire world will pay dearly.” Al-Habbash’s statement was likely influenced by a disturbing event that occurred that same day at the revered compound when Israeli police provided cover for extremist Israeli settlers who illegally entered the compound during the final days of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. Israeli police used pepper spray and rubber bullets to disperse Palestinian worshippers who had gathered at the mosque during one of Islam’s most important holidays while allowing over a thousand Israeli Jews to enter the compound. Forty-five Palestinians were wounded and several were arrested. Though such provocative visits by Jewish Israelis to Al-Aqsa have occurred with increasing frequency in recent years, this event was different because it up-ended a long-standing agreement between Jordan’s government, which manages the site, and Israel that no such visits take place during important Islamic holidays. As a consequence, Jordan accused Israel’s government of “flagrant violations” of that agreement by allowing visits from religious nationalists, which Jordan described as “provocative intrusions by extremists.” Less than a week after the incident, Israel’s Culture and Sports Minister, Miri Regev, a member of the Netanyahu-led Likud Party, called for more settler extremists to storm the compound, stating: “We should do everything to keep ascending to the Temple Mount … And hopefully, soon we will pray in the Temple Mount, our sacred place.” In addition, Regev also thanked Israel’s Interior Security Minister, Gilad Erdan, and Jerusalem’s police chief for guarding the settler extremists who had entered the compound. In 2013, then-member of the Likud Party Moshe Feiglin told the Knesset that allowing Jewish Israelis to enter the compound is “not about prayer.” “Arabs don’t mind that Jews pray to God. Why should they care? We all believe in God,” Feiglin — who now heads the Zehut, or Identity, Party — stated, adding, “The struggle is about sovereignty. That’s the true story here. The story is about one thing only: sovereignty.” In other words, Likud and its ideological allies view granting Jewish Israelis entrance to “pray” at the site of the mosque as a strategy aimed at reducing Palestinian-Jordanian control over the site. Feiglin’s past comments give credibility to Rabbi Weiss’ claim, referenced earlier on in this report, that the religious underpinnings and religious appeals of the Temple Activists are secondary to the settler-colonial (i.e., Zionist) aspect of the movement, which seeks to remove Palestinian and Muslim heritage from the Temple Mount as part of the ongoing Zionist project. Feiglin, earlier this year in April, called for the immediate construction of the Third Temple, telling a Tel Aviv conference, “I don’t want to build a [Third] Temple in one or two years, I want to build it now.” The Times of Israel, reporting on Feiglin’s comments, noted that the Israeli politician is “enjoying growing popularity.” Earlier this month, and not long after Miri Regev’s controversial comments, an event attended by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Israeli mayor of Jerusalem, Moshe Leon, used a banner that depicted the Jerusalem skyline with the Dome of the Rock noticeably absent. Though some may write off such creative photo editing as a fluke, it is but the latest in a series of similar incidents where official events or materials have edited out the iconic building and, in some cases, have replaced it with a reconstructed Jewish temple. The day before that event, Israeli police had arrested three members of the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound’s Reconstruction Committee, which is overseen by the government of Jordan. Those arrested included the committee’s head and its deputy head, and the three men were arrested while performing minor restoration work in an Al-Aqsa courtyard. The Jordan-run authority condemned the arrests, for which no official reason was given, and called the move by Israeli police “an intervention in their [the men’s] reconstruction work.” According to Palestinian news agency Safa, Israeli police have also prevented the entry of tools necessary for restoration work to the site and have restricted members of the authority from performing critical maintenance work. In addition, another important figure at Al-Aqsa, Hanadi Al-Halawani, who teaches at the mosque school and has long watched over the site to prevent its occupation by Israeli forces, was arrested late last month. Arrests of other key Al-Aqsa personnel have continued in recent days, such as the arrest of seven Palestinian residents of Jerusalem, including guards of the mosque, and their subsequent ban from entering the site. The Palestinians were arrested at their homes last Sunday night in early morning raids and the official reason for their arrest remains unclear. So many arrests in such a short period have raised concerns that, should the spate of arrests of important Al-Aqsa personnel continue, future incidents at the site, such as the mysterious firethat broke out last April at Al-Aqsa while France’s Notre Dame was also ablaze, may not be handled as effectively owing to staff shortages. Soon after those arrests, 60 members of a settler extremist group entered the al-Aqsa compound under heavy guard from Israeli police. Safa news agency reported that these settlers have recently been accompanied by Israeli intelligence officials in their incursions at the site. All of these recent provocations and arrests in connection with the mosque come soon after the King of Jordan, Abdullah II, publicly stated in late March that he had recently come under great pressure to relinquish Jordan’s custodianship of the mosque and the contested holy site upon which it is built. Abdullah II vowed to continue custodianship over Christian and Muslim sites in Jerusalem, including Al-Aqsa, and declined to say who was pressuring him over the site. However, his comments about this pressure to cede control over the mosque came just days after he had visited the U.S. and met with American Vice President Mike Pence, a Christian Zionist who believes that a Jewish Temple must replace Al-Aqsa to fulfill an end times prophecy. In May, an Israeli government-linked research institute, the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, wrote that Abdullah II had nearly been toppled in mid-April, just weeks after publicly discussing external pressure to relinquish control over Al-Aqsa. The report stated that Abdullah II had been a target of a “plot undermining his rule,” which led him to replace several senior members of his government. That report further claimed that the plot had been aimed at removing obstacles to the Trump administration’s “Deal of the Century,” which is supported by Israel’s government. Last year, some Israeli politicians sought to push for a transfer of the site’s custodianship to Saudi Arabia, sparking concern that this could be connected to plans by some Third Temple activists to remove Al-Aqsa from Jerusalem and transfer it piece-by-piece to the Saudi city of Mecca. On Thursday, the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs published an article asserting that “tectonic shifts” were taking place in relation to who controls Al-Aqsa, with a Saudi-funded political group making dramatic inroads that could soon alter which country controls the historic mosque compound. Sayyed Hassan Al-Qazwini told MintPress that, in his view, the current custodianship involving Jordan’s government is not ideal, as control over the Al-Aqsa mosque “should in the hands of its people, [and] Al-Aqsa mosque belongs Palestine;” if not, at the very least, a committee of Muslim majority nations should be formed to govern the holy site because of its importance. As for Saudi Arabia potentially receiving control over the site, Al-Qazwini told MintPress that “the Saudis are not qualified as they are not even capable of running the holy sites in Saudi Arabia itself. Every year, there has been a tragedy and many pilgrims have died during hajj time [annual Islamic pilgrimage].” The threat to Al-Aqsa mosque and the Dome of the Rock compound, the third holiest site in Islam and of key importance to three major world religions, is the result of the dramatic growth of what was once a fringe movement of extremists. After the Six Day War, these fringe elements have fought to become more mainstream within Israel and have sought to gain international support for their religious-colonialist vision, particularly in the United States. As this article has shown, the threats to Al-Aqsa have grown significantly in the past decades, spiking in just the past few weeks. As former Jewish Underground member Yehuda Etzion had called for decades ago, an educational and social movement aimed at gaining influence with Israeli government leadership has been hugely successful in its goal of engineering consent for a Third Temple among many religious and secular Israelis. So successful has this movement been that numerous powerful and influential Israeli politicians, particularly since the 1990s, have not only openly promoted these beliefs, and the destruction of Al-Aqsa mosque and the Dome of the Rock, but have also diverted significant amounts of government funding to organizations dedicated to replacing the historic mosque with a new temple. As the second and final installment of this series will show, this movement has gained powerful allies, not just in Israel’s government, but among many evangelical Christians in the United States, including top figures in the Trump administration who also feel that the destruction of Al-Aqsa and the reconstruction of a Jewish Temple are prerequisites for the fulfillment of prophecy, albeit a different one. Furthermore, given the influence of such movements on the Israeli and U.S. governments, these beliefs of active Messianism are also informing key policies of these same governments and, in doing so, are pushing the world towards a dangerous war. Feature photo | Israeli police stand next to the Dome of the Rock mosque at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem’s Old City, July 27, 2017. Mahmoud Illean | AP Whitney Webb is a MintPress News journalist based in Chile. She has contributed to several independent media outlets including Global Research, EcoWatch, the Ron Paul Institute and 21st Century Wire, among others. She has made several radio and television appearances and is the 2019 winner of the Serena Shim Award for Uncompromised Integrity in Journalism
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renegade
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http://www.renegadetribune.com/in-israel-the-push-to-destroy-jerusalems-iconic-al-aqsa-mosque-goes-mainstream/
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2019-06-25 14:35:58+00:00
| 1,561,487,758 | 1,567,538,224 |
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rferl--2019-11-09--India's Supreme Court Awards Contested Site Of Destroyed Mosque To Hindus
| 2019-11-09T00:00:00 |
rferl
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India's Supreme Court Awards Contested Site Of Destroyed Mosque To Hindus
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India's Supreme Court has awarded a bitterly contested religious site in the north of the country to Hindus, dealing a defeat to Muslims who also claim the land that has ignited some of India's bloodiest riots since independence from British colonial rule. The ruling on November 9 in the dispute between Hindu and Muslim groups clears the way for the construction of a Hindu temple on the site in the northern town of Ayodhya near the city of Faizabad. The proposed construction of the Hindu temple has long been supported by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ruling Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The judgment has been criticized as unfair by a lawyer for the Muslim group involved in the case. But the Muslim organization that lost the case said it accepts the verdict and has called for peace between India's majority Hindus and Muslims, who constitute 14 percent of the country's 1.3 billion people. A Hindu mob destroyed the 16th-century Babri Mosque on the site in 1992, triggering riots across the country in which about 2,000 people were killed -- most of them Muslims. Court battles over the ownership of the site followed the destruction of the Babri Mosque. Based on reporting by Reuters and AP
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https://www.rferl.org/a/india-s-supreme-court-awards-contested-site-of-destroyed-mosque-to-hindus/30261835.html
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Sat, 09 Nov 2019 20:54:43 +0000
| 1,573,350,883 | 1,573,346,327 |
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sottnet--2019-03-17--Build it and they will come Sweden Democrat proposes building mosque to attract immigrants up north
| 2019-03-17T00:00:00 |
sottnet
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Build it and they will come: Sweden Democrat proposes building mosque to attract immigrants up north
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A Sweden Democrat politician from Kramfors, on Sweden's northern Baltic coast, is facing possible expulsion after proposing that his municipality build a mosque to draw more immigrants to the city."My idea is that if you have a mosque and a cultural centre, then you empower the Muslims to be responsible for our town and the area up here," the told The Local. "Hopefully we will get a lot of them to come up and stay."The city, he said, was losing 100 people a year, whereas Västernorrland as a whole was losing as many as 500 citizens a year.Even the refugees housed in the municipality following the 2015 crisis had moved south as soon as they were able to, he complained."They left as well, and I don't blame them. They're very cosmopolitan and that's part of the trouble. They're very social and don't want to sit in a cabin watching snowflakes fall."But he said that he believed immigrants remained the group in Sweden the municipality had the best hope of attracting. "Who else is going to come up here?" he said. "The one group in Sweden that is mobile is the immigrant community, and they're very business minded, and that's what we need, because there are opportunities galore up here, but there's just not enough people."Collins moved to Sweden from the United States in 1974, after which he trained as a vet, setting up a clinic in Borrby, Skåne. He moved his clinic to Kramfors two years ago so that he and his Swedish wife could be near their son, who works as a doctor.Soon afterwards he was invited to stand as a Sweden Democrat in the council elections. "It's not a good idea electing an 'Irish genius'. It's not a good idea," he laughed, admitting that his motion had not gone been well received by other party members, especially since it was reported in the local Allehanda newspaper, and the Dagens Nyheter newspaper nationally."It's probably not gone down so well. I don't think they get it," he said. "I read on the internet that I'm going to get thrown out." Collins said that he had initially joined the party during the refugee wave of 2015, as he felt the Sweden Democrats were the only party willing openly and honestly to discuss the potential impacts of Sweden receiving such large numbers of immigrants."It was the only party that I felt was honest to me during the great immigration rush. The propaganda, the censorship. There was all this behind the scenes stuff going on and there wasn't an open debate about it, as there was in Denmark and Norway."But he said he believed the Sweden Democrats now needed to become a "future-looking party". "They lost the debate on immigration. They [the immigrants] are here. So we can't just sit around whining about it," he said. "It's over, and I think they [the Sweden Democrats] are having a hard time moving on."
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https://www.sott.net/article/409318-Build-it-and-they-will-come-Sweden-Democrat-proposes-building-mosque-to-attract-immigrants-up-north
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2019-03-17 21:40:30+00:00
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sottnet--2019-03-17--Dozens of Jewish settlers storm Al-Aqsa Mosque in East Jerusalem
| 2019-03-17T00:00:00 |
sottnet
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Dozens of Jewish settlers storm Al-Aqsa Mosque in East Jerusalem
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On Thursday, around 150 Jewish settlers, backed by at least 30 Israeli policemen, stormed East Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque complex, according to Palestinian officials."About 150 Jewish settlers - backed by at least 30 policemen - have forced their way into the mosque compound since morning," Firas al-Dibs, a spokesman for Jerusalem's Religious Endowments Authority, told Anadolu Agency, also adding that some of the settlers tried to perform Talmudic rituals before exiting the site. The Talmud is the main text of Rabbinic Judaism.The complex is known in Judaism as the Temple Mount and in Islam as the the Noble Sanctuary.In Islam, the Noble Sanctuary is the site of the al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock, a seventh-century shrine where the Prophet Muhammad's journey to heaven is believed to have begun. On the other hand, in Judaism, the eastern gate of the compound is believed to be where the Messiah will enter Jerusalem.On Tuesday, Israeli police shut down the Al-Aqsa Mosque after one of the Israeli police stations near the compound was set on fire. According to reports, Israeli police entered the compound and attacked many of the Muslims who were praying inside.The compound was eventually opened a day later.In April, UNESCO's executive board released and then adopted a similar resolution, calling Israel "the Occupying Power" and urging it to "stop all violations against Al-Aqsa Mosque." A total of 33 countries voted for the resolution, Sputnik previously reported.
| null |
https://www.sott.net/article/409263-Dozens-of-Jewish-settlers-storm-Al-Aqsa-Mosque-in-East-Jerusalem
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2019-03-17 00:52:31+00:00
| 1,552,798,351 | 1,567,545,962 |
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sottnet--2019-04-09--Athens Greece opens its first mosque since 1830 but not everyone is pleased
| 2019-04-09T00:00:00 |
sottnet
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Athens, Greece opens its first mosque since 1830 but not everyone is pleased
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The Votanikos Mosque in Athens is set to open its doors to worshippers in the coming weeks, after years of backlash from the Orthodox Church and protests from locals.Deputy Foreign Minister Marcos Bolaris confirmed on Tuesday that the mosque - financed by the Greek state at a cost of almost €900,000 - will open its doors in the coming weeks. Multiple applications to build the mosque had been debated and stalled since 2000, and construction on the current building finally began in late 2016, albeit after police had cleared protesters from the site.Estimates of Athens' Muslim population range from less than 100,000 up to 500,000, when illegal immigrants and refugees are taken into account. Until now, these Muslims have been forced to pray in converted living rooms and basements dotted around the city.Opposition to the mosque has been stiff. Nikolaos Michaloliakos, leader of the far-right Golden Dawn party, savaged the proposal in parliament in 2016. Calling the mosque a "shrine to slavery," Michaloliakos asked "Are we returning to Turkish occupation?"While Golden Dawn occupy the farthest right political position in Greece,. A 2017 survey found that only a third of the country's population viewed the term 'Muslim' positively. 28 percent viewed the term 'Turks' positively, indicating that to many, Islam is a concept inseparable from the dark days of the Ottoman Empire.. Archbishop Ieronymos II of Athens, the leader of the church in Greece, warned that the mosque's construction was part of a plan to "de-Hellenize and de-Christianize" the nation, and called mosques breeding grounds of radicalization."Are these people going to pray there or will mosques become schools for jihadism and fundamentalism? Who is going to monitor this?" he asked on Greek TV in 2016.With the mosque set to finally open, some Greek Muslims have complained that the finished building is too small. "Is this the mosque they've been telling us about for so many years?" Naim Elghandour, president of the Muslim Association of Greece, asked on Thema 104.6 radio last month, complaining that the building will hold only 300 men and 50 women when open.Elghandour claimed that the Votanikos Mosque, which has no minarets or loudspeakers, is barely bigger than the makeshift mosques the city's Muslims pray in already.
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https://www.sott.net/article/410845-Athens-Greece-opens-its-first-mosque-since-1830-but-not-everyone-is-pleased
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2019-04-09 20:44:33+00:00
| 1,554,857,073 | 1,567,543,521 |
religion and belief
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500,231 |
sottnet--2019-04-14--Israel converts confiscated historical mosque into bar and event hall
| 2019-04-14T00:00:00 |
sottnet
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Israel converts confiscated historical mosque into bar and event hall
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The Israeli municipality in Safed has turned Al-Ahmar Mosque into a bar and events hall, Al-Quds Al-Arabi reported yesterday.As one of the most historical mosques in the Arab city, which was occupied by the Jewish gangs in 1948 , the building was first turned into a Jewish school, then into a centre for Likud's elections campaigns and then into a clothes warehouse before finally being converted into a nightclub.The London-based newspaper reported that the mosque was turned to a bar and wedding hall by an firm affiliated to the Israeli municipality. Its name was changed from Al-Ahmar Mosque to Khan Al-Ahmar.Khair Tabari, secretary of Safed and Tiberias Islamic endowment, said that he had been waiting for the Nazareth court to take a decision regarding a complaint he filed requesting the evacuation of the mosque and returning it to the endowment.He said he attached documents to prove Islamic ownership of the mosque. He called for the different political and popular bodies to increase their cooperation with him in order to save the mosque from violations.Tabari said that the mosque is now open for use for everything except prayers by Muslims.
| null |
https://www.sott.net/article/411147-Israel-converts-confiscated-historical-mosque-into-bar-and-event-hall
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2019-04-14 17:26:48+00:00
| 1,555,277,208 | 1,567,543,023 |
religion and belief
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religious facilities
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500,332 |
sottnet--2019-04-16--Hmmm Al Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem catches fire at the same time as Notre Dame cathedral
| 2019-04-16T00:00:00 |
sottnet
|
Hmmm... Al Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem catches fire at the same time as Notre Dame cathedral
|
As the iconic cathedral of Notre Dame burned in Paris, a fire broke out at Al Aqsa mosque in JerusalemA fire broke outin Jerusalem.The blaze didn't cause significant damage, but it did endanger a part of the worship site that's over 2,000 years old.The Palestine News Agency cited a guard as saying Monday that ", and the fire brigade of Jerusalem Islamic Waqf handled the matter successfully."The fire brigade of the Jerusalem Islamic Waqf department managed to control the blaze, while the area is currently closed to examine the cause of the fire.Al Marwani prayer room is located underneath the southeastern corner of Haram Al Sharif, which contains both the Dome of the Rock and Al Aqsa Mosque.The prayer room is an underground vaulted space used as a Muslim prayer hall, some 600 square yards in area, at the bottom of stairs which lead down from Al Aqsa Mosque.Shaikh Azzam Al Khatib, director general of the Jerusalem Waqf and Al Aqsa Mosque Affairs Department, told Jordan's Al Mamlaka TV thatand investigations are under way.
| null |
https://www.sott.net/article/411239-Hmmm-Al-Aqsa-mosque-in-Jerusalem-catches-fire-at-the-same-time-as-Notre-Dame-cathedral
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2019-04-16 10:20:37+00:00
| 1,555,424,437 | 1,567,542,896 |
religion and belief
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520,242 |
sputnik--2019-01-05--UK Mosque Cancels Event Honouring Muslims Who Saved Jews Amid Backlash
| 2019-01-05T00:00:00 |
sputnik
|
UK Mosque Cancels Event Honouring Muslims Who Saved Jews Amid Backlash
|
The exhibition at the London mosque, which was devoted to Muslims who helped save Jewish lives during the Holocaust, has been cancelled without an official explanation, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) reported. The cancellation of the event, held by the Centre for Islamic Understanding in Golders Green, was preceded by Muslim protests that were largely fuelled by statements of Roshan Salih, the editor of a Muslim media outlet called "5 Pillars". The man slammed the organisers of the exhibition for preparing it "in conjunction with Israeli oppressors ", suggesting that the Centre shouldn't have done it in collaboration with Yad Vashem, a Jewish holocaust memorial organisation. Salih praised the mosque for "responding to community concerns" and cancelling the event. A Jewish activist who helped the Centre for Islamic Understanding organise the exhibition, Rabbi Natan Levy, stressed the importance of remembering how "Jewish and Muslim communities have historically always supported each other". Levy hopes that by spending time together and better understanding their "commonalities and differences", Jews and Muslims will learn to stand as "united front against hatred". The Arab-Israeli conflict broke out upon the foundation of the Jewish state in 1948, resulting in several major armed conflicts and numerous minor clashes on the Israeli border that led to thousands of deaths and left many more displaced. While certain Muslim states have abandoned the rivalry, others, like Iran, have vowed to destroy Israel, denying its right to exist.
| null |
https://sputniknews.com/europe/201901051071245011-uk-mosque-exhibition/
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2019-01-05 16:30:10+00:00
| 1,546,723,810 | 1,567,553,860 |
religion and belief
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religious facilities
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528,141 |
sputnik--2019-03-15--WATCH Dozens of Jewish Settlers Storm Al-Aqsa Mosque in East Jerusalem
| 2019-03-15T00:00:00 |
sputnik
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WATCH: Dozens of Jewish Settlers Storm Al-Aqsa Mosque in East Jerusalem
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"About 150 Jewish settlers — backed by at least 30 policemen — have forced their way into the mosque compound since morning," Firas al-Dibs, a spokesman for Jerusalem's Religious Endowments Authority, told Anadolu Agency, also adding that some of the settlers tried to perform Talmudic rituals before exiting the site. The Talmud is the main text of Rabbinic Judaism. The complex is known in Judaism as the Temple Mount and in Islam as the the Noble Sanctuary. In Islam, the Noble Sanctuary is the site of the al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock, a seventh-century shrine where the Prophet Muhammad's journey to heaven is believed to have begun. On the other hand, in Judaism, the eastern gate of the compound is believed to be where the Messiah will enter Jerusalem. On Tuesday, Israeli police shut down the Al-Aqsa Mosque after one of the Israeli police stations near the compound was set on fire. According to reports, Israeli police entered the compound and attacked many of the Muslims who were praying inside. Around 16 Palestinians are believed to have been injured during the clashes with Israeli police, according to multiple reports. The compound was eventually opened a day later. In 2016, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) passed a resolution that denies any Jewish historic link to the Temple Mount and surrounding holy sites in Jerusalem. In April, UNESCO's executive board released and then adopted a similar resolution, calling Israel "the Occupying Power" and urging it to "stop all violations against Al-Aqsa Mosque." A total of 33 countries voted for the resolution, Sputnik previously reported.
| null |
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201903161073285840-jewish-settlers-storm-al-aqsa-mosque-east-jerusalem/
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2019-03-15 22:11:30+00:00
| 1,552,702,290 | 1,567,546,173 |
religion and belief
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religious facilities
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528,371 |
sputnik--2019-03-18--Jordanian Parlt Calls for Expelling Israeli Envoy Amid Al-Aqsa Mosque Tensions
| 2019-03-18T00:00:00 |
sputnik
|
Jordanian Parl't Calls for Expelling Israeli Envoy Amid Al-Aqsa Mosque Tensions
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The proposal was voiced by Speaker Atef Tarawneh after a meeting of the Jordanian parliament’s lower house earlier in the day. The lawmakers also demanded that the government appeal to the United Nations and the Arab League for urgent measures to protect the mosque, which is considered the third holiest site in Islam, from Israel. On Sunday, an Israeli court ordered the closure of Al-Aqsa Mosque compound’s Rahma Gate — a move that has already been condemned by Palestine and Jordan, a current custodian of Muslim sacred sites in Jerusalem. Al-Aqsa mosque, which is situated close to both Christian and Jewish holy sites, has been one of the flashpoints of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The mosque is a part of the Temple Mount area which has repeatedly seen violent confrontations in recent years between Palestinian worshipers and Israeli servicemen.
| null |
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201903181073344950-jordan-israel-envoy/
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2019-03-18 15:22:55+00:00
| 1,552,936,975 | 1,567,545,842 |
religion and belief
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528,728 |
sputnik--2019-03-21--Arsenal Star Suarez and WAG Selfie at Kuwait MOSQUE Provokes Massive Backlash
| 2019-03-21T00:00:00 |
sputnik
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Arsenal Star Suarez and WAG Selfie at Kuwait MOSQUE Provokes Massive Backlash
|
Arsenal star Denis Suarez has become a talking point all over Kuwaiti social media, after a picture of him and his partner visiting one of the country’s most iconic tourist attractions, the Grand Mosque, popped up online. Many instantly took issue with the Spanish footballer taking a selfie at the Muslim holy site, expressing their discontent in comments below the snapshot sporting him, standing a step behind his bombshell girlfriend, Nadia Aviles, who posed in a beige scarf covering her head and shoulders matching the flowing upper part of her attire. “He even doesn’t know what to do in the mosque”, one commenter said, with another one continuing along the same lines: “U don't do that in a mosque hope u apologize to god if u believe in him if not delete this pic”. Some speculated about Suarez entering the mosque wearing shorts, although it is not clear from the picture whether this really is the case: “You should know something when you go to a mosque you should cover all your leg it is just for respecting the place”, one remarked. However, it is the caption that fuelled most reaction. “I will be always behind you!” Suarez wrote to accompany the picture. “Fight for your place! Denis! We are Arsenal!?” one user wrote adducing a fire symbol, whereas another attempted to joke, remarking saucily: Another chose to explain seriously how a man should behave in a Muslim sanctuary: “It's OK to be always behind her but not in the mosque because in the mosque you will be in front of the God (Allah)” There were, however, those who rose in the tourists’ defence, underscoring that they were just visiting. "To those who are going hysterical over the fact the Denis Suárez toured the Grand Mosque, there's nothing in Sharia or law that doesn't allow him to!! Stop being so ignorant and stupid!" one user said, with another one trying to correct those who brought up certain rules that regulate visiting mosques: "Anyone can go in, even non-Muslims and there's no sanctity for these spaces at all". Meanwhile, the couple’s visit to the mosque went on to trend on Kuwaiti Twitter and has been covered on a number of local television channels. In wake of the uproar caused by the incident, the general manager of Kuwait's Grand Mosque, Roumi Al Roumi, responded with a statement. While he didn't openly state that the couple went around some rules, he made the mosque's visitation guidelines clear, citing a certain code of conduct, which, among other things, prohibits people from wearing shorts or sleeveless tops when entering the space, al Rai newspaper reported. "Those guidelines are available to visitors of the mosque in both Arabic and English", Al Roumi explained, adding that the mosque can in actual fact be entered upon the approval of the Ministry of Endowments, which, per the edition, has been responsible for the mosque's special visitation permits since 1994.
| null |
https://sputniknews.com/viral/201903211073434596-arsenal-star-wag-selfie-kuwait-mosque/
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2019-03-21 16:45:00+00:00
| 1,553,201,100 | 1,567,545,417 |
religion and belief
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religious facilities
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531,405 |
sputnik--2019-04-16--Blaze Erupts at Jerusalems Historic al-Aqsa Mosque as Notre Dame Burns VIDEO
| 2019-04-16T00:00:00 |
sputnik
|
Blaze Erupts at Jerusalem’s Historic al-Aqsa Mosque as Notre Dame Burns (VIDEO)
|
Notre Dame de Paris wasn't the only beloved house of worship that caught fire Monday. Part of the Haram ash-Sharif, the huge Jerusalem mosque built where a pivotal event in the prophet Muhammad's life is believed to have occurred, also caught fire, damaging a part of the structure dating to Judean King Herod the Great's reign. The fire broke out in the guard room outside the al-Marwani Prayer Room Monday evening, according to a statement by the mosque's Islamic Waqf (Endowments) Department. According to The New Arab, a guard reported a short gap in guard rotations between 7:15 and 7:30 p.m. local time. The waqf department praised the responsiveness of staff firefighters, who quickly put out the blaze. The fire seems to have been started by children fooling around, and the waqf's statement urged worshipers "who live around the mosque and in the Old City to educate their children not to tamper with fire, especially inside al-Aqsa mosque." Israeli police told al-Araby they were opening an investigation into the incident. Israel has governed the entire city since 1967, when it seized the territory from Jordan. The United States has recently recognized Israel's claim that Jerusalem is its capital, but few nations have followed suit, with most sticking by the many United Nations resolutions condemning Israel's annexation of the territory. Al-Aqsa means "the farthest" in Arabic; a house of worship was built in the site because of a verse in the Quran describing the prophet Muhammad's "Night Journey," which says he went to the farthest mosque before ascending to heaven atop a flying horse named Buraq ("lightning, in Arabic). It's unclear which caliph founded the modern structure, but it was almost certainly built in the late seventh century and steadily expanded ever since. The al-Aqsa grounds also include the Dome of the Rock, an intricately decorated shrine built on the physical site from where it's believed Muhammad ascended to heaven. Also known as "Solomon's Stables," al-Marwani was most likely built by Herod the Great, a Judean client king of the Roman Empire during the first century BC. While a Muslim caliph named Marwan I is credited with turning the stables into usable rooms, it wasn't until 1996 that the Palestinian Waqf converted the structure into a modern mosque capable of holding 7,000 worshipers.
| null |
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201904161074167005-Blaze-Erupts-Jerusalems-Historic-al-Aqsa-Mosque/
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2019-04-16 00:36:00+00:00
| 1,555,389,360 | 1,567,542,872 |
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religious facilities
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531,649 |
sputnik--2019-04-17--SHOCK as Israeli Firm Reportedly Turns Mosque Into Nightclub
| 2019-04-17T00:00:00 |
sputnik
|
SHOCK as Israeli Firm Reportedly Turns Mosque Into Nightclub
|
Many Palestinians are up in arms that a historic 13th-century mosque in Palestine's Safad district is now being used as 'a nightclub'; an Israeli company linked to the local officials created a wedding hall inside the building, according to the News. Commenting on the transformation, Khair Tabari, secretary of the Palestinian Islamic endowment agency, said, as quoted by the Al-Quds Al-Arabi newspaper, that she was "shocked" and encountered "aspects of sabotage inside the mosque." Since the creation of Israel in 1948, the Al Ahmar (Red) Mosque has been subject to several acts of "desecration", the Palestinian online outlet The News stated.
| null |
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201904171074217835-palestine-mosque-nightclub/
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2019-04-17 13:04:00+00:00
| 1,555,520,640 | 1,567,542,741 |
religion and belief
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religious facilities
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534,796 |
sputnik--2019-05-29--Ex-Imam of Meccas Grand Mosque Slams Gender Segregation as Phobia of Women
| 2019-05-29T00:00:00 |
sputnik
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Ex-Imam of Mecca's Grand Mosque Slams Gender Segregation as 'Phobia of Women'
|
Speaking on the Saudi Broadcasting Corp. (SBC) this week, Adil al-Kalbani, former imam of the Grand Mosque in Mecca, suggested that gender segregation has now become a “phobia or fear of women”, Arab News reported. The cleric, who has repeatedly gone against mainstream beliefs, including refusing to consider Shia Muslims as heretics, argued that modern interpretations of gender segregation were more conservative than those in the era of Prophet Mohammad. Al-Kalbani claimed that in the early days of Islam, men and women used to pray in the same room, while in modern mosques women have a separate space for prayers. “Sadly today, we are paranoid — in a mosque — a place of worship. They are completely separated from men, they cannot see them and can only hear them through microphones or speakers. And if the voice has been cut off, they wouldn’t know what is going on (during prayer). In the Prophet’s era… the men used to pray in the front and women prayed in the back of the mosque without a partition, not even a curtain”, the cleric said, as cited by Arab News. He, however, noted positive changes in Saudi society, which has become more inclusive of women, including a royal decree lifting a ban on female drivers. “This is a kind of phobia of women, fear of them doubt in them. Until recently, we were scared to give her a car, to let her go out. We began to constantly hear that a woman became a deputy minister, ambassador and other high ranking positions”. Having opened up the world of entertainment to women, the kingdom has since hosted a whole row of concerts (female-only, mixed-gender), a Comic-Con pop culture festival, and a mixed-gender national day celebration, when people danced to electronic music for the very first time. In addition, the Saudi king lifted the ban on women driving cars and allowed them to attend sport events at stadiums. Likewise, for the first time in its history, Saudi Arabia appointed a woman, Princess Reema bint Bandar bin Sultan, as ambassador to the United States.
| null |
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201905291075447460-saudi-imam-slams-gender-segregation-women-phobia/
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2019-05-29 14:07:00+00:00
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541,737 |
sputnik--2019-08-23--Live Video Opening Ceremony for Europes Largest Mosque Held in Chechnya
| 2019-08-23T00:00:00 |
sputnik
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Live Video: Opening Ceremony for Europe's Largest Mosque Held in Chechnya
|
An opening ceremony for the largest mosque in Europe is being held today, with more than 200 guests from 43 countries in attendance. The new mosque has been heralded as 'The pride of Muslims'; it is situated in the city of Shali, Chechnya and will be capable of seating up to 20,000 worshippers. Construction of the mosque took seven years; the structure is spread across five hectares, its central dome is 40 metres tall and it features four 63-metre-tall minarets. Follow Sputnik Feed to Find Out More!
| null |
https://sputniknews.com/world/201908231076615082-live-video-opening-ceremony-for-europes-largest-mosque-held-in-chechnya/
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2019-08-23 08:02:42+00:00
| 1,566,561,762 | 1,567,533,634 |
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547,436 |
sputnik--2019-10-18--Kabul Condemns Mosque Blasts in East Afghanistan, Blames Taliban - Presidential Spokesman
| 2019-10-18T00:00:00 |
sputnik
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Kabul Condemns Mosque Blasts in East Afghanistan, Blames Taliban - Presidential Spokesman
|
Earlier in the day, two blasts hit the mosque located in Jaw Dara area of Huska Meyna district during Friday prayers. At least 62 people were killed. No group has taken responsibility for the blast so far. Earlier in September, US President Donald Trump called off the peace talks with Taliban after a bomb attack by the group in Kabul killed a US servicemember. The aim of the talks was to sign the agreement at Camp David in Maryland that would see most US forces withdraw from Afghanistan in exchange for a pledge by Taliban to renounce terrorism.
| null |
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201910181077087156-kabul-condemns-mosque-blasts-in-east-afghanistan-blames-taliban---presidential-spokesman/
|
Fri, 18 Oct 2019 17:48:02 +0300
| 1,571,435,282 | 1,571,423,719 |
religion and belief
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religious facilities
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554,475 |
sputnik--2019-12-26--Babri Mosque Panel to Move India's Top Court Over Debris of Demolished 16th Century Structure
| 2019-12-26T00:00:00 |
sputnik
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Babri Mosque Panel to Move India's Top Court Over Debris of Demolished 16th Century Structure
|
A month after India’s top court gave away disputed land in Ayodhya to Hindus for building a Lord Ram Temple where the Babri Mosque once stood, a committee which fought for the Muslim side has now decided to approach the Supreme Court to collect the demolished mosque’s rubble. The All-India Babri Masjid Action Committee (AIBMAC), which strove against the claim of the Ram Temple being demolished by Mughal Emperor Babur for the Babri Mosque’s construction in Ayodhya town of Uttar Pradesh state, declared its next move on Thursday. Zafaryab Jilani, the AIBMAC convener, said that the matter would also be discussed with the All-India Muslim Personal Law Board, a non-governmental Muslim organisation. The top court in November resolved the land dispute by awarding the site to Hindus for the construction of a temple and allotting five acres of alternate land near the site to Muslims. The AIBMAC is preparing to file a curative petition in the Supreme Court after multiple review pleas challenging the high-profile verdict were quashed by the top court, leaving the petitioners with the final option of filing a curative petition. Jilani said that the top court stated in its judgment that the demolition of the mosque was illegal and unlawful. Meanwhile, preparations for the construction of a grand temple in the city are on. A Ram Mandir Trust is to be finalised, as per the Supreme Court's directions. Uttar Pradesh state chief Yogi Adityanath, who is also a well-known Hindu leader, has called on families in the state to donate Rs.11 (16 cents) and a stone towards the construction of the Lord Ram Temple in Ayodhya.
| null |
https://sputniknews.com/asia/201912261077870733-babri-mosque-panel-to-move-indias-top-court-over-debris-of-demolished-16th-century-structure/
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Thu, 26 Dec 2019 17:00:11 +0300
| 1,577,397,611 | 1,577,406,743 |
religion and belief
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religious facilities
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583,149 |
theblaze--2019-05-14--Connecticut mosque was set on fire intentionally officials say
| 2019-05-14T00:00:00 |
theblaze
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Connecticut mosque was set on fire intentionally, officials say
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Connecticut mosque was set on fire intentionally, officials say
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Jana J. Pruet
|
https://www.theblaze.com/news/connecticut-mosque-intentionally-set-on-fire
|
2019-05-14 22:02:08+00:00
| 1,557,885,728 | 1,567,540,750 |
religion and belief
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religious facilities
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694,571 |
theguardianuk--2019-03-23--Sixth Birmingham mosque targeted by vandals
| 2019-03-23T00:00:00 |
theguardianuk
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Sixth Birmingham mosque targeted by vandals
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A sixth Birmingham mosque has been targeted by vandals. Police are examining CCTV after criminal damage was caused to the building in Cromer Road, Balsall Heath, on Saturday morning. Detectives do not believe the incident is linked to other attacks on mosques in the city earlier this week. An investigation involving counter-terrorism officers was launched after five mosques had their windows broken with a sledgehammer in the early hours of Thursday morning. West Midlands police said a 34-year-old man arrested on suspicion of racially aggravated criminal damage after handing himself into a city police station on Friday has been detained under the Mental Health Act. No one else is being sought in relation to the first five incidents and detectives do not believe the suspect was part of an organised group, although the investigation is ongoing. A 38-year-old man from Yardley, who was arrested after being detained by members of the community on Friday afternoon, has been released without charge and will face no further action. Assistant chief constable Matt Ward of West Midlands police said: “We continue to work in partnership with mosques and local communities around the West Midlands. “There will be a visual police presence at key locations to offer reassurance to our communities. “It is incredibly important that we unite together against those who seek to create discord, uncertainty and fear.”
|
Press Association
|
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/mar/23/mosque-window-smashing-suspect-held-under-mental-health-act-in-birmingham
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2019-03-23 16:10:18+00:00
| 1,553,371,818 | 1,567,545,127 |
religion and belief
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religious facilities
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774,868 |
theindependent--2019-11-09--Ayodhya verdict: Site of destroyed Babri Masjid mosque must be given to Hindus for construction of R
| 2019-11-09T00:00:00 |
theindependent
|
Ayodhya verdict: Site of destroyed Babri Masjid mosque must be given to Hindus for construction of Ram temple, Supreme Court rules
|
India's Supreme Court has ordered that the disputed site where a mosque was torn down in 1992 should be handed over to the government for the construction of a Hindu temple. The judges came to a unanimous verdict, after many decades of dispute and at-times deadly riots over the Ayodhya site that once housed the Babri Masjid mosque. Five acres of land in the city must be handed over to the Sunni Waqf Board, representing Muslims in Ayodhya, for the construction of a new mosque, the judges said. Many Hindus believe that the Ayodhya site is the birthplace of the deity Lord Ram, and say the mosque was built in the 16th century over an ancient temple marking the spot. An archaeological survey of the site found no evidence of this, only that an unspecified structure existed prior to the mosque. But the issue reached a head in December 1992 when thousands of Hindus descended on the site, tearing down the mosque and triggering deadly communal riots across the country. There were concerns on Friday that the Supreme Court's judgement would lead to a new backlash. The government has announced special measures in several places, including parts of Delhi and Mumbai, banning public assembly. In their judgment, the Supreme Court justices found in favour of Ram Lalla Virajman, the child deity worshipped by Hindus at the site, and ordered the government to set up a trust within three months tasked with managing the site on the deity's behalf. In practice, the judges accepted, this would likely mean the construction of a temple to Lord Ram. Narendra Modi's Hindu nationalist BJP government has long campaigned for a Ram temple to be built at the site, making it a key pledge ahead of this year's general election. Ranjan Gogoi, the Chief Justice of India presiding over the panel of judges, said it was not the court's job to rule on faith or politics, but that "as a secular institution [it] should uphold all faiths and religions". He concluded that Hindus had "always believed birthplace of Lord Ram was in inner courtyard of mosque", and that the existence of a small shrine to Ram in the outer courtyard meant members of both faiths had used the site continuously. "There is no evidence to indicate the possession was exclusive by Muslims," he said, meaning the Sunni Waqf Board had failed to establish "possessory control" of the site. The judgment nonetheless shot down a 2010 high court decision splitting up the site, saying that it must be allocated as a whole. And the judges cited the Archaeological Survey of India's report on Ayodhya, noting that "the Babri Masjid was not constructed on vacant land". They gave credence to the ASI's assertion that there may have been a temple at the site, despite the fact that independent archaeological experts have disputed this conclusion. Vishnu Shankar Jain, a lawyer who represented the Hindu community, called it a "historic moment for Hindus". He said the case had been a struggle over many years. "It was a huge legal battle and we are happy that we convinced the Supreme Court," he said. Zafaryab Jilani, a lawyer for the Sunni Waqf Board, said the Muslim community was disappointed with the outcome and assessing its options, while respecting the authority of the court. "We are not satisfied with the verdict and it's not up our expectation," he said. "These 5 acres of land don't mean anything to us. We are examining the verdict and whatever legal course is open for us." That could include a review petition to the court, he suggested. At the same time, he joined in the government's calls for the public to remain calm and maintain peace.
|
Adam Withnall
|
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/ayodhya-ram-temple-babri-masjid-mosque-supreme-court-verdict-hindus-a9196096.html
|
Sat, 09 Nov 2019 05:57:00 GMT
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786,996 |
theirishtimes--2019-05-15--Permission for Kilkenny mosque overturned by An Bord Pleanala
| 2019-05-15T00:00:00 |
theirishtimes
|
Permission for Kilkenny mosque overturned by An Bord Pleanála
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Plans for the development of a mosque and Islamic cultural centre in Kilkenny city have been rejected by An Bord Pleanála. The proposal by the Kilkenny Islamic Trust was granted planning permission last year by Kilkenny County Council for the proposed development at the Hebron Industrial Estate on the edge of the city. However, a number of appeals were lodged with the board and a decision was made this week to overturn the council’s decision. One objector said the decision was “better than an All-Ireland victory”. The proposed development included a mosque, a two-storey community building, two guest apartments, two two-storey four-bedroom semi-detached houses, classrooms, a café and a halal shop. The plan caused controversy last year and there were angry scenes at a public meeting held to provide information to local people. An Bord Pleanála said it decided to overturn the planning permission because of the proposed development’s location and scale. It said the development would have been “contrary” to the Hebron Road design strategy of 2017 and would “seriously injure” the amenity of adjoining properties and would be contrary to the proper planning and development of the area. About 40 objections were lodged with the council following the original application, with one objector collecting more than 1,000 signatures from people opposing the proposal. The nearby O’Loughlin Gaels GAA Club made a submission raising concerns about the impact on traffic locally, saying that the area is already subject to congestion at certain times. One objectors, Eugene McGuinness, a brother of Fianna Fáil TD John McGuinness who is standing in this month’s local elections as an independent candidate, said he was “absolutely delighted” with the decision. “I have put in 14 months on this,” he said. “ It’s been a difficult 14 months because as soon as you object to a development with a religious aspect to it you’re branded a racist or a xenophobe. That surprised me.” He said his problem with the proposal was not on religious or anti-Islamic grounds, but because of the existing traffic problems near Hebron Road. “We have an Islamic community in Kilkenny and, as such, they are entitled to their place of worship,” he said. He said the council made a mistake in granting permission after being pushed into supporting the proposal “not by the Islamic community, but by keyboard warriors”. The online Kilkenny Journal, whose editor Michael McGrath is standing in the local elections as an independent, described the decision on its Facebook page as “better than an All-Ireland victory”. “The mosque planned was too big for the area, it was obviously a mosque being built for the entire southeast and even further afield,” he said. “(People should) get out and celebrate - it’s a great day for Kilkenny. A powerful day for freedom in our history.” Kilkenny Imam Ibrahim Ndure said there was “misinformation peddled” about the proposed centre. “We haven’t been given the reasons and rational for the rejection and until then it is impossible to comment any further.”
| null |
https://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/religion-and-beliefs/permission-for-kilkenny-mosque-overturned-by-an-bord-plean%C3%A1la-1.3893161
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2019-05-15 12:23:51+00:00
| 1,557,937,431 | 1,567,540,606 |
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794,194 |
themanchestereveningnews--2019-01-29--Didsbury Mosque given all-clear by counter-terror police over controversial jihad speech
| 2019-01-29T00:00:00 |
themanchestereveningnews
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Didsbury Mosque given all-clear by counter-terror police over controversial 'jihad' speech
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Counter terror police who investigated the contents of a sermon delivered by an Imam at Didsbury mosque say ‘no offences have been committed’. A BBC investigation revealed that imam Mustafa Graf, from Chorlton, referenced ‘jihad’ and ‘mujahideen’ during a speech delivered at the mosque, on Burton Road, in West Didsbury. However bosses at the mosque said the comments, which were recorded onto a tape, were taken out of context. The broadcaster aired parts of an audio recording which sparked an investigation by Greater Manchester Police’s Counter Terrorism detectives in August last year. Senior investigating officers now say they have determined that ‘no offences have been committed’ following consultation with the Crown Prosecution Service and after receiving expert advice. Though people may have been concerned at the ‘tone’ of the speech, mosque trustees are committed to dealing with ‘extreme’ behaviours, they said. In a joint statement, Manchester City Council and Counter Terrorism Policing North West said: “We recognise that mosques have a very important and valuable role to play within our communities and we will always seek to work with trustees to strengthen those community relationships. “Although at all times freedom of expression must be respected we understand that people may be concerned by the content of the BBC report, in particular the tone of the speech. “We have engaged with the Mosque Trustees for several months and they have committed themselves to monitoring and dealing with behaviours which could be considered extreme while maintaining their right to freedom of expression. “We will continue to work with these trustees.” According to BBC News, Mr Graf delivered the sermon during Friday prayers at Didsbury Mosque on December 16, 2016 - six months before the Manchester Arena bombing. They reported that the Muslim cleric said: “We ask Allah to grant them mujahideen - our brothers and sisters right now in Aleppo and Syria and Iraq - to grant them victory.” The broadcasters also claim he said: “Jihad for the sake of Allah is the source of pride and dignity for this nation.” Speaking to the M.E.N last summer, the mosque’s trustees said Mr Graf was highlighting the plight of Syrians after chemical bombings in the country. They said his use of the words ‘jihad’ and ‘mujahideen’ had been misinterpreted. A mosque spokesman said at the time: “Jihad is an Arabic word meaning to struggle or strive for good, and it is often used incorrectly. “This sermon was after the chemical bombings in Syria. There was a big charity campaign in the UK to try to raise funds for the victims. “The Imam was saying that everyone should put their money where their mouths were and give to charity. When speaking in Arabic he used the work jihad, meaning to struggle and strive, or to give. “The English translation said something like ‘you must all give to charity’. But instead of translating the full sermon they [the BBC] have translated all the Arabic words around jihad, but left that as it is. That’s what’s really frustrating, and it doesn’t make sense. “We do not tolerate or instigate any form of preaching that breaches both Islamic principles and the laws of England and Wales.” The BBC previously rejected claims that they had mistranslated the sermon, which they say was spoken in English. The family of Manchester Arena bomber Salman Abedi worshipped at the mosque, which is also known as the Manchester Islamic Centre. Abedi killed 22 people and injured hundreds more when he detonated a deadly device at the Arena during an Ariana Grande on May 22, 2017. The BBC said it was not known if Abedi or members of his family were at the mosque when Mr Graf delivered the speech. But the corporation claimed that Abedi bought a ticket to the Ariana Grande concert just 10 days later. The mosque previously told the M.E.N. that the suicide bomber last visited the mosque during Eid ‘seven or eight years ago’ - and said records showed he wasn’t present when Mr Graf delivered the sermon. They said Mr Graf no longer gives sermons and, at the time of the recording, two preachers were delivering sermons on a rotation basis. The M.E.N has contacted the BBC for comment.
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Beth Abbit
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https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/didsbury-mosque-given-clear-counter-15746144
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2019-01-29 10:27:46+00:00
| 1,548,775,666 | 1,567,550,406 |
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804,378 |
themanchestereveningnews--2019-09-05--Designs for new Cheadle mosque plans have been revealed
| 2019-09-05T00:00:00 |
themanchestereveningnews
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Designs for new Cheadle mosque plans have been revealed
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Fresh designs for a new mosque have been revealed after architects discovered ‘fundamental issues’ with the original proposals. Plans to knock down Cheadle Mosque and Community Centre and replace it with a new building ‘with a sense of place and purpose for the community’ were given the green light in 2017. Manchester-based Four Architects were tasked with delivering the plans by Cheadle Mosque Association – but found problems with the ‘design and function’ of the proposed place of worship. The firm has now developed a new set of proposals for the site in Wilmslow Road, Heald Green , based upon the ‘design ethos and philosophy that the trust had at the outset’. A technical review highlighted areas which could be ‘redesigned to enable a better use of space’ while also reducing costs. These included not having structural columns in the main halls and ensuring access to classrooms was not only via the main prayer hall – described as ‘the most important element’ of the scheme. In a design and access statement submitted with the application, the company says its guiding principle was to ‘create a space in which the community felt comfortable and inspired’. This involved creating a ‘hierarchy of spaces’ in which the main prayer hall was the most important element. The document adds: “Having successfully designed and built a new mosque previously we felt that we would be able to draw on our experience to provide a building that functioned efficiently, provided a cost effective solution but also looked very desirable.” It continues: “It needed to look first and foremost like a mosque. The design intention was to provide a contemporary form with traditional elements which would fit with the context and locality of the site.” Among the problems the firm identified in the plans passed in 2017 were that access to classrooms was only via the main prayer hall, both staircases were ‘much too wide’ the curved wall would prove difficult to build. The latest proposals would see the complex almost double in size from 627 square metres to 1,210, including the loss of the caretaker’s house and modular buildings. Describing the benefits of the new design the statement concludes: “What we have been able to do in the redesign of the building is produce an extremely efficient layout which has minimised the use of circulation space and dead spaces. “This has enabled us to give the correct amount of space and proportions to each room in the building while not increasing the footprint or the volume of the building.” The plans also include 109 parking spaces and 11 cycle spaces. An earlier plan to redevelop the mosque which would have seen it triple in size were dropped in 2014 following a backlash which generated more than 1,600 objections.
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[email protected] (Nick Statham)
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https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/designs-new-cheadle-mosque-plans-16872243
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2019-09-05 15:25:11+00:00
| 1,567,711,511 | 1,569,331,267 |
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804,676 |
themanchestereveningnews--2019-09-11--Teenager who brandished machete at mosque during funeral after snitches get stitches threat is spa
| 2019-09-11T00:00:00 |
themanchestereveningnews
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Teenager who brandished machete at mosque during funeral after 'snitches get stitches' threat is spared jail
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An assault victim who brandished a machete in a room full of people attending a funeral at a mosque has been spared jail because of 'very exceptional circumstances'. Mustafa Zaidi, 18, waved the blade in the air in a prayer room at Dar-uluoom Mosque in Longsight last month, after three men came into the room and started attacking his friend. He was sentenced at Manchester Crown Court on Tuesday, after previously admitting one count of possession of a bladed article. The offence usually carries an immediate jail term, but judge Judge Elizabeth Nicholls chose to suspend the sentence after hearing that Zaidi was 'living in fear' after a photograph of a witness statement he made to police when he was violently assaulted the week before had been circulated online with the caption 'snitches get stitches.' The court heard he had also had been subjected to a campaign of harassment while on remand since the August 7 offence, which included having his food laced with excrement, after he was placed in the same prison as his alleged attackers. The court was shown CCTV of the incident, which happened in a room full of children and adults waiting to attend a funeral service. Three men came into the room and assaulted Zaidi's friend, punching him in the head and kicking him while he was on the ground. Other mourners stepped in stop the assault, giving Zaidi and his friend the chance to escape. But as he was leaving the room, Zaidi removed the blade from his waistband and waved it around, before running down the stairs and out onto Stamford Road. He handed himself in the following day. Defending, Mr Ahmed Nadim told the court that while the offence was 'unforgivable' it must be understood in the context of the events that led up to it. A week before the offence, Zaidi was attacked by a group of men on Wilmslow Road, which left him with several wounds and led to police arresting three men. The court heard that a photograph was somehow obtained of a statement Zaidi gave police about his attack, which was then widely shared on social media with the caption 'snitches get stitches.' Mr Nadim said that Zaidi was concerned about what might happen to him on the way to the funeral, so he took a machete, which his father kept for gardening, from his family home and brought it with him to the mosque. He went on to explain that Zaidi, who has been in custody for the past month, had been sent to the same prison as his alleged attackers. During his time on remand at the prison, which was not named in court, he had been subjected to a series of threats of violence and had excrement thrown at him and put in his food. Mr Nadim said this continued even after Zaidi was put in isolation for his own safety. He told the court Zaidi acted in a 'panic' when he pulled out the knife and has since had to endure 'intolerable behaviour' from other criminals. He said: "He was wrong to produce the machete, but it was not used to threaten anyone, it was to show the assembled that he had the machete and they should not come near him. "The production was for no more than two or three seconds". Sentencing, Judge Nicholls stressed that in any other circumstances, Zaidi would have gone to jail for having the weapon, and that his case should in no way be viewed as a precedent. She said: "You took with you a machete, a vicious weapon that can cause significant harm to others, you expected some form of trouble. "You of all people should understand the dangers of taking a weapon on the streets, having been the victim of a knife crime just a few weeks before. "Sometimes you must look at others, look at that CCTV, there were young children there, elderly people there, people remembering the man whose funeral you attended, and you disrupted that. "You escalated an incident that was almost resolved by the time you pulled that knife." Zaidi, of Burnage, was sentenced to 13 months in prison, suspended for two years, made the subject of a curfew and must carry out 150 hours of unpaid work. Get breaking news first on the free Manchester Evening News app - download it here for your Apple or Android device. You can also get a round-up of the biggest stories sent direct to your inbox every day with the MEN email newsletter - subscribe here. And you can follow us on Facebook here.
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[email protected] (Helen Johnson)
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https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/teenager-who-brandished-machete-mosque-16898047
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2019-09-11 06:14:43+00:00
| 1,568,196,883 | 1,569,330,433 |
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1,000,978 |
thetelegraph--2019-03-11--Khizra mosque - a correction
| 2019-03-11T00:00:00 |
thetelegraph
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Khizra mosque - a correction
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An article of 23 Jan reported that the 466th Manchester Scouts based at Khizra mosque was being investigated by the Scouts Association and implied that the Mosque had been referred to the police because of reports of segregating children by gender. We are happy to clarify that the 466th Manchester Scouts is a mixed group and neither it nor Khizra Mosque are under investigation by the police. We apologise for this error.
| null |
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/03/11/khizra-mosque-correction/
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2019-03-11 19:00:00+00:00
| 1,552,345,200 | 1,567,546,714 |
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1,004,065 |
thetelegraph--2019-04-08--Extremist admits planning to blow up London mosque in suspected revenge for Manchester bombing
| 2019-04-08T00:00:00 |
thetelegraph
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Extremist admits planning to blow up London mosque in suspected revenge for Manchester bombing
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An anti-Islamic terrorist has admitted planning to blow up a mosque with a home-made bomb to avenge the killing of an eight-year-old girl in the Manchester Arena bombing. Steven Bishop, 41, tampered with fireworks and bought a detonator on the dark web. He was arrested by counter-terror police at his mother's home in Morden, south London, last October after admitting that he planned to attack the local mosque. Bishop, from Thornton Heath, south London, initially denied one count of possession of an explosive substance with intent to endanger life or cause damage to property contrary to the Explosives Substance Act 1883 but changed his plea to guilty on the first day of his trial at Kingston Crown Court. Simon Drew, prosecuting, told an earlier hearing that Bishop was a “dangerous and unpredictable man who has a violent past.” He was said to have had an “obsession” with the Manchester terrorist attack in 2017 and the death of eight-year-old Saffie Rose Roussos, the youngest of the 22 killed in the bombing.
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Victoria Ward
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https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/04/08/extremist-admits-planning-blow-london-mosque-suspected-revenge/
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2019-04-08 19:53:44+00:00
| 1,554,767,624 | 1,567,543,577 |
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1,024,500 |
thetorontostar--2019-05-14--Lawmakers announce plan for more security after mosque fire
| 2019-05-14T00:00:00 |
thetorontostar
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Lawmakers announce plan for more security after mosque fire
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Federal, state and local authorities are investigating Sunday afternoon’s blaze that damaged two floors of New Haven’s Diyanet Mosque as arson. HARTFORD, Conn. - Authorities have found evidence that an incendiary device or material was used to start a weekend fire at a Connecticut mosque, New Haven’s mayor said Tuesday. Mayor Toni Harp said in a statement Tuesday that if it’s proven the fire was intentionally set, the city will use all its resources to find those responsible. She did not detail what the incendiary device was. Several online fundraisers have been started to help with mosque repairs. Authorities have offered a $2,500 reward for information leading to an arrest. The Muslim Coalition of Connecticut’s page had more than $66,000 in pledges Tuesday afternoon. A bi-partisan group of Connecticut lawmakers also announced plans to free up $5 million in state bonding to increase security at houses of worship across the state. State Sen. Saud Anwar, a Democrat from South Windsor and one of the main sponsors of the legislation, said the money will help create a sense of resiliency and protection at churches, synagogues and mosques. “We don’t yet have all the facts and details regarding the arson attack in New Haven, but no one should feel unsafe or unwelcome in their place of worship,” he said. The legislation would establish a competitive grant program similar to one that already makes money available to schools to install such things as remote door entry systems, video monitoring and shatter-proof windows.
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The Associated Press
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https://www.thestar.com/news/world/us/2019/05/14/mayor-evidence-of-incendiary-device-found-in-mosque-fire.html
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2019-05-14 21:17:41+00:00
| 1,557,883,061 | 1,567,540,753 |
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1,025,951 |
thetorontostar--2019-06-20--Court document Mosque bombing suspect tried to escape
| 2019-06-20T00:00:00 |
thetorontostar
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Court document: Mosque bombing suspect tried to escape
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MINNEAPOLIS - An Illinois man who faces trial in the 2017 bombing of a Minnesota mosque had tried to escape from custody earlier this year. A court document filed by prosecutors says 48-year-old Michael Hari tried to flee when he was being transported to a Minnesota jail. The report gives no details about the escape attempt. Prosecutors say Hari was later moved to another Minnesota jail, and was placed in administrative segregation after trying to disable a security device in his cell. Hari is the leader of a white militia group in Clarence, Illinois, and alleged ringleader behind the attack at Dar al-Farooq Islamic Center in Bloomington, Minnesota. No one was injured in the bombing, which one co-defendant says was meant to scare Muslims into leaving the U.S. Hari has pleaded not guilty. His two co-defendants have pleaded guilty .
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The Associated Press
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https://www.thestar.com/news/world/us/2019/06/19/court-document-mosque-bombing-suspect-tried-to-escape.html
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2019-06-20 01:11:16+00:00
| 1,561,007,476 | 1,567,538,637 |
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1,031,332 |
thetorontostar--2019-12-18--Prayer at Kashmir’s biggest mosque for 1st time in 4 months
| 2019-12-18T00:00:00 |
thetorontostar
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Prayer at Kashmir’s biggest mosque for 1st time in 4 months
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SRINAGAR, India - A call to afternoon prayer rang out from the central mosque in disputed Kashmir’s largest city for the first time in more than four months on Wednesday, ending a virtual ban on religious practice in the Muslim-majority region’s biggest mosque. The Jamia Masjid in Srinagar was shut Aug. 5 as part of India’s security lockdown after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist-led government stripped Kashmir of its semi-autonomous status. About 100 worshipers gathered in the mosque to offer noon prayers. “We were waiting for conditions to improve and the mosque gates to be opened by the police,” said Mufti Ghulam Rasool, who leads daily prayers at the mosque. The centuries-old Jamia Masjid, made of brick and wood, is one of the oldest mosques in this city of 1.2 million, 96% of whom are Muslim, and often draws thousands to prayer. That it was a target for authorities is neither surprising nor new. Friday sermons at the mosque mainly revolve around the decades-old Kashmir conflict, in which rebels have demanded an independent Kashmir or a merger with Pakistan, which administers half of the territory. In surrounding neighbourhoods, stone-throwing protesters often clash with government forces as part of an ongoing anti-India rebellion. “Jamia Masjid is symbol of our faith,“ said Bashir Ahmed, a local trader. “The assault on us is not just physical, they’re also desecrating our sacred symbols of our faith.” “My heart was burning all these months,” Ateeqa, an elderly woman who uses only one name, said as she hugged one of the 378 wooden pillars in the mosque. The portion of divided Kashmir that India controls was already one of the most militarized places in the world before the government began pouring in more troops last summer. It imposed a security lockdown, blocking internet and phone services, shuttering important mosques, restricting assembly and arresting thousands of people. While some of the conditions have been eased, some mosques and Muslim shrines either remain shuttered or have had their access limited. Kashmiri Muslims have long complained that the government curbs their religious freedom on the pretext of law and order while promoting Hinduism. Authorities have banned prayers at the mosque for extended periods during unrest in 2008, 2010 and 2016. Official data show the mosque was closed at least 250 days in those three years combined. Freedom of religion is enshrined in India’s constitution, allowing citizens to follow and freely practice religion. The constitution also says the state will not “discriminate, patronize or meddle in the profession of any religion.” The Organization of Islamic Cooperation raised concerns about India’s lockdown in Kashmir in August and called for authorities to ensure that Kashmiri Muslims could exercise their religious rights. Authorities have gradually eased restrictions on gatherings at mosques, shrines and religious festivals in Kashmir.
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Aijaz Hussain - The Associated Press
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https://www.thestar.com/news/world/asia/2019/12/18/prayer-at-kashmirs-biggest-mosque-for-1st-time-in-4-months.html
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Wed, 18 Dec 2019 06:40:08 EST
| 1,576,669,208 | 1,576,670,537 |
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windowoneurasiablog--2019-04-21--Almost a Quarter of Norilsk Residents are Muslims Imam of Russias Northernmost Mosque Says
| 2019-04-21T00:00:00 |
windowoneurasiablog
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Almost a Quarter of Norilsk Residents are Muslims, Imam of Russia’s Northernmost Mosque Says
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Staunton, April 21 – “The Muslim diaspora of Norilsk” now forms almost 25 percent of that city’s population, its life centered around the bright green minaret of the Nurd Kamal mosque that stands out even during the long polar night, according to its imam, Radik Bakiyev, an ethnic Bashkir, who has led the Muslim community there for a decade. Born in a Bashkortostan village in 1978, Bakiyev worked in the oil and gas industry both in his home republic and in Norilsk before acquiring Islamic training in Moscow and becoming imam in Norilsk in 2009, a city which, he says, you have to love in order to remain there because of the severe climate and distances to other parts of Russia. Despite its difficulties, Bekiyev continues, “Norilsk attracts people. We live here as one family; there are no divisions. We [Muslims] all interact with one another and with our brothers, the Orthodox, too.” The imam admits that there have been some extremist groups which have emerged from the Muslims there, the result, he says, of ignorance and pride, the failure of Muslim leaders to provide an understanding of the nature of Islam and of Russian officials especially in the 1990s to pay attention to what was going on and take adequate measures. As to Muslim extremists, he says, “in contemporary language, one can call them sectarians. Whatever religious denomination you look at has them. Our Orthodox brethren also have sectarians,” products of the same things: “ignorance, pride, and what is most important, failure to life according to the laws of the Most High Creator.” Bekieyv says his mosque offers a special class for young people that sends a message to them that they must accept Islam as a whole rather than take selected passages and act on those alone without recognition of the ways in which the ideas expressed in one passage are affected by other passages of the Koran. Bekiyev is clearly someone who regrets the demise of the USSR. He misquotes Vladimir Putin’s observation about that and says that the Kremlin leader believes that “our biggest mistake was the destruction of the Soviet Union.” As his interviewer points out, Putin in fact said “whoever doesn’t regret the disintegration of the USSR has no heart, but whoever wants to restore it in its former shape has no brain.” Bekiyev concedes that the restoration of the Soviet Union is impossible, but adds, “look around, in Norilsk is represented the entire Soviet Union. We live together in a friendly way: Tajiks, Uzbeks, Kyrgyz, Azerbaijanis. Tomorrow at five in the morning, our little mosque will be full of people; there won’t be any empty places.” The city has only one mosque and one prayer room. It would be good to have another, but that requires funds and it is hard for people now to come up with them, the imam continues. The current mosque began to be built in 1992 as a result of contributions from a local entrepreneur, Mitkhad Bikmeyev. Imam Bekiyev says his city’s Muslim community is in many ways unique: “there is nothing similar to Norilsk” on “’the continent’” of Russia. Because of the hardships of life, Muslims and Orthodox Christians cooperate closely. And as a result, people feel free to move among confessions. “Among us,” he says, “there are Russian boys” and even some Russian girls. We don’t ask them why they are coming to Islam – each has his or her reasons – we simply try to explain what Islam is among and how it is similar and different from Orthodoxy, he continues with obvious pride. This religious fluidity can lead to mixed marriages: his own daughter in law is a Russian, Bekiyev says. But that isn’t a problem: “Russian girls come to us consciously. Let them live, let us Russians become more numerous. Because you know the birthrate with us is a serious issue.” And this can help. Some shout that “’Islam is attacking! Soon there won’t be any Russians!’” but in fact, “everyone will be, everyone will remain. These are empty words. And may God grant that between us the devil will not come to divide us. But our roots are one, Russia. It is great, so that we can peacefully coexist with other nations, a model for emulation in the entire world.”
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paul goble ([email protected])
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http://windowoneurasia2.blogspot.com/2019/04/almost-quarter-of-norilsk-residents-are.html
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2019-04-21 12:21:00.001000+00:00
| 1,555,863,660 | 1,567,542,242 |
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1,110,213 |
wnd--2019-11-19--Court rules mosque must go, ancient temple restored
| 2019-11-19T00:00:00 |
wnd
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Court rules mosque must go, ancient temple restored
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It's a stunning court decision: An Islamic mosque must be removed from land that is considered sacred and it will be replaced with an ancient temple that reportedly once stood there. This decision, however, is not about Jerusalem's Temple Mount and the admittedly unsolvable dispute between those who support the al-Aqsa Mosque there and those who believe it is the site of the former Jewish temples of history, and of the future Jewish temple of prophecy. This one is about a situation in India, although reports confirm "some see this as a precedent paving the way for the return of a Jewish Temple." It is Breaking Israel News that is reporting on the situation. The report cites the decision from the Supreme Court of India, all 1,182 pages, that "ruled an ancient temple must be rebuilt and a mosque that was built in its place must be relocated elsewhere." The decision came in a decades-long legal fight over the small parcel of land in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh. The five judges agreed "to allow the rebuilding of the Hindu temple and the relocation of the Muslim mosque claimed to have been built on its ruins in 1528. According to the court's decision, all disputed territory would pass to the Hindu 'temple groups' as they are known in India." The fight actually started back in the 1980s when Hindu groups claimed the right to rebuild their temple, originally built in the 10th century, on the site of an Islamic mosque that had been erected somewhere in the 16th century. The first court decision was to divide the 2.8 acres of land into three parcels. But given the fact a survey "determined that the remains of a 10th-century temple existed under the mosque," the high court said it should be handed over to Hindus. The Muslims were provided an alternate site for their mosque, the report said. Islamic officials refused to accept the result and "threatened a violent reaction," the report said. "Justice was not done fully as Muslims cannot shift the mosque, therefore, accepting an alternative land for the mosque is absolutely out of the question," the Sunni Waqf board said in a statement. "While the legal option is available, there is also Shariah obligation to defend the masjid till the last breath." Mordechai Kedar, of Bar-Ilan University, explained why such an issue is so important to Muslims. "Islam is, at its core, replacement theology," Kedar told BIN. "Not only do they see themselves as the proper replacement for all previous beliefs, but they also believe that everything in those beliefs belongs to Islam. All of the figures in the Bible are Muslims. Muslims claim that Jesus and all of the figures in the New Testament are Muslim." He said one of the practices of Islam is to "take over" the holy sites for other faiths. Reported BIN, "Assaf Fried, the spokesman for the Temple Organizations, noted the unmistakable similarities between the case in India and the situation on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem." He explained, "This is a powerful precedent. The situation is precisely like the one in Jerusalem. Though it cannot be used in Israeli jurisprudence, conceptually, it is compelling." BIN reported, "Yaakov Hayman, chairman of the United Temple Movements, agreed that the case in India was identical to the situation at the Temple Mount but he did not feel the same tactic would work in Israel."
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WND Staff
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https://www.wnd.com/2019/11/court-rules-mosque-must-go-ancient-temple-restored/
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Tue, 19 Nov 2019 01:08:15 +0000
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bigleaguepolitics--2019-12-16--WTF: Church of Sweden to Remove Homosexual Orgy Mural Due to Fears It May Be Transphobic
| 2019-12-16T00:00:00 |
bigleaguepolitics
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WTF: Church of Sweden to Remove Homosexual Orgy Mural Due to Fears It May Be Transphobic
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The Church of Sweden recently unveiled a mural at the St. Paul’s church in Malmö modeled after the Garden of Eden that featured a homosexual orgy with a transgender individual depicted as a serpent holding an apple. This blasphemous display was presented prominently in the church in the name of diversity. But now, it is being removed for alleged transphobia because the transgender individual being pictured as the snake is considered offensive. Trending: Meet the Female Georgia Republican Who Plans to Dismantle Planned Parenthood take our poll - story continues below The degenerates at Out magazine explain the controversy: The Church of Sweden has reportedly removed its LGBTQ+ inclusive altarpiece over fears it may be perceived as anti-trans. The issue stems from a depiction in which a transgender person is holding a snake — a figure which, in the Bible, is a stand-in for Satan. While the Church of Sweden claimed that the fact that there “are two gay couples in the artwork is completely uncontroversial,” it feared the altarpiece, which was displayed in St. Paul’s Church in Malmö, could be mistaken as an endorsement of transphobia. “[T]here is a snake, which traditionally stands for evil,” the church said in a statement, “and that it also turns into a trans person means it could be interpreted that a trans person is evil or the devil. The Church of Sweden certainly cannot stand for that.” A pastor with St. St. Paul’s Church added that the artwork has been removed from the main room and relocated, claiming “it has too many unanswered questions.” “I would like to emphasise that this has nothing to do with where Church of Sweden stands on the [LGBTQ+]issues, which we work tirelessly on,” the church leader claimed in a statement. This has happened because the Swedish people have largely abandoned Christianity and God, and they are among the most secular nations on Earth. The Local reported in 2015 that “almost eight out of ten Swedes are either ‘not religious’ or ‘convinced atheists’, according to a new global study that concludes the Nordic nation is the least religious in the West.” “Swedes’ beliefs contrast dramatically with the vast majority of most other nationalities on the planet, with more than six out of ten people surveyed across 65 different countries describing themselves as ‘religious,’” the site continued. Abandoning the truth of Christ has left Sweden rife for conquest, and Muslim “refugees” commit crimes with relative impunity as diverse liberal leaders open the borders to these third-world invaders. Judith Bergman of the Gatestone Institute reported that there were 120 bombings in Sweden from the start of 2019 to the end of July. Killings have doubled since 2014, and sexual abuse rates have tripled over the same time period. Half of the country’s unemployed population were born outside Sweden, and they are quickly swelling the nation’s welfare rolls. Having abandoned Christianity, it seems Sweden has lost God’s favor and is headed toward societal collapse.
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Shane Trejo
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https://bigleaguepolitics.com/wtf-church-of-sweden-to-remove-homosexual-orgy-mural-due-to-fears-it-may-be-transphobic/
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Mon, 16 Dec 2019 21:39:30 +0000
| 1,576,550,370 | 1,576,543,878 |
religion and belief
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religious facilities
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71,313 |
breitbart--2019-04-23--Another French Church Burns on Easter Sunday Probable Arson
| 2019-04-23T00:00:00 |
breitbart
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Another French Church Burns on Easter Sunday, Probable Arson
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The fire was started in a large, wooden confessional around 4:30pm and proceeded to consume a dais in the presbytery of the eighteenth-century church located in the southern French town of Eyguières, near Provence. “Flames several meters high were coming out of the church,” said the mayor of Eyguières, Henri Pons, before a team of 30 firefighters with six vehicles arrived and managed to contain the blaze. An area of some 20 square meters in the church was destroyed but observers have noted that the damage would have been far worse had it not been it not for the bold intervention of a local inhabitant. A man who lives in front of the church saw the flames emerging from a stained-glass window, the mayor said. He “used fire extinguishers from the village movie theater and courageously entered the church while waiting for firefighters to arrive.” “If this brave citizen, a former top sportsman, had not intervened, the church would probably have burned to the ground,” the mayor reported. “It was Easter Sunday and there was almost nobody in the village.” The local hero, a judo champion by the name of Joel Jouve, said afterward that the air in the church was “unbreathable” and there was very little light when he entered, but he was able to find two holy water fonts, which he emptied onto the fire. “I shouted for someone to find me fire extinguishers and I used them on the fire,” he said, adding he was just happy to have “saved something.” According to the local parish priest, the Catholic community is still in shock. “After Notre-Dame in Paris and especially the attacks in Sri Lanka, this fire moved the faithful who were preparing to celebrate the joy of Easter,” said Father Christophe Nowak. “They are in shock and messages of support have been arriving.” “It is an ordeal but life must go on,” the priest said. An investigation has been opened to determine the causes of the fire, enlisting the assistance of experts from the Gendarmerie Scientifique. Investigators are treating the blaze as arson. A dozen Catholic churches were desecrated across France over the period of just one week this past March and the recent spate of church profanations has puzzled both police and ecclesiastical leaders.
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Thomas D. Williams, Ph.D.
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http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/breitbart/~3/VIx971q8MqE/
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2019-04-23 11:16:05+00:00
| 1,556,032,565 | 1,567,541,985 |
religion and belief
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religious facilities
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76,336 |
breitbart--2019-11-24--Virginia Church Turns Neglected House into Home for Women Veterans
| 2019-11-24T00:00:00 |
breitbart
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Virginia Church Turns Neglected House into Home for Women Veterans
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Members of a Baptist church in Hampton, Virginia, unveiled a remodeled home for women veterans on Saturday after spending three years renovating the formerly neglected space. The West End Baptist Church in Hampton saved $25,000 to go towards renovations to transform the space into what is now the Victory House, a transitional space for women veterans, 13News Now reported. “We wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for your love and your giving, cause it was your giving that made this happen,” said Pastor Paul Thomas during the ribbon-cutting ceremony on Saturday. The Victory House will not only provide women recently transitioning out of the military into civilian life an affordable place to live, it will also provide them with job training and access to medical care with the Hampton VA Medical Center three miles away. The women will only have to pay $500 a month to access the home and its services. WAVY reported that the house hopes to start accepting residents on December 1. “A lot of times, once [veteran women] they’re released from the military, they don’t even know where to get resources…they don’t know where to start,” said Vernissa Thomas, the church’s first lady and the person behind the idea of Victory House. Vice Mayor of Hampton Jimmy Gray thanked the congregation for their work in lifting these women veterans out of poverty. “Many [veteran women] fall on hard times and need a hand to lift them up and put them in a better position so that they can continue living a productive life, and I think that’s what this home is gonna do by providing a place to live and helping veterans make a transition and get the services they need,” said Gray.
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Katherine Rodriguez
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http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/breitbart/~3/QgV6F_r-xwc/
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Sun, 24 Nov 2019 18:27:19 +0000
| 1,574,638,039 | 1,574,642,425 |
religion and belief
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religious facilities
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77,463 |
breitbart--2019-12-14--Not Woke Enough: Swedish Church Removes Gay Painting, Not Pro-Trans
| 2019-12-14T00:00:00 |
breitbart
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Not Woke Enough: Swedish Church Removes Gay Painting, Not Pro-Trans
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The St. Pauli church in Malmö has removed a controversial LGBT painting from its altar in case viewers see the transgender individuals as being associated with evil. While many have criticised the LGBT painting in the church, according to pastor Per Svensson, the painting will be moved to another area not because of conservative backlash but because of its portrayal of transgender individuals, SVT reports. Pastor Svensson said that the gay couples in the painting were not a problem for the church at all, but the possible association of transgender people with the snake of the Garden of Eden, a symbol of temptation and evil, was not something he could stand for. “At first I did not realise the complexity, but upon closer reflection and careful discussion with the management, there is no alternative but to move the board from the church room,” he said. Bishop of Lund, Johan Tyrberg, weighed in on the issue, saying that the painting could be interpreted as being both pro-LGBT and as being anti-LGBT depending on the perspective of the person viewing it. He went on to add that the church should have discussed the painting with the County Administrative Board before hanging it above the church altar. “It would have been appropriate to make the decisions first and then hang the painting,” he said. The hanging and subsequent removal of the painting is part of a trend in the Swedish church of being one of the most “progressive” and pro-LGBT churches in the world, with its own Stockholm archbishop Eva Brunne being an open lesbian. Archbishop Brunne, along with several other senior clergy, has also expressed very pro-Islam views, to the extent that Brunne claimed earlier this year that she had more in common with Muslims than with conservative Christians. In 2015, Brunne even went as far as asking Stockholm churches to removes crosses from their walls and set up Muslim prayer spaces during the height of the migrant crisis.
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Chris Tomlinson
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http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/breitbart/~3/g_bytDez234/
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Sat, 14 Dec 2019 15:44:35 +0000
| 1,576,356,275 | 1,576,411,643 |
religion and belief
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religious facilities
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78,324 |
breitbart--2019-12-30--Pastor at Texas Church Thankful Congregants Could Defend Themselves: ‘There Is Evil in This World’
| 2019-12-30T00:00:00 |
breitbart
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Pastor at Texas Church Thankful Congregants Could Defend Themselves: ‘There Is Evil in This World’
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The pastor at the West Freeway Church of Christ in White Settlement, Texas, where a man shot two parishioners to death before he was killed by an armed member of the congregation, said he is thankful for the state law that allowed the church to protect itself. “I’m thankful our government has allowed us the opportunity to protect ourselves,” Britt Farmer said. He also said that protection is needed because, “There is evil in this world.” Farmer announced the church would be gathering on Monday night to continue the service that was cut short by the attack. “We lost two great men today but it could have been a lot worse,” Farmer said. “Today is one sermon I will never preach. It was called ‘Leaving a Legacy,’ and two men today left a legacy.” The Daily Caller reported the Texas Department of Public Safety Director described the armed members quick response as “heroic” and “miraculous.” “The citizens who were inside that church undoubtedly saved 242 other parishioners, and that might get swept aside,” Jeoff Williams said. “It was miraculous. The true heroes in all this are the people who were sitting in those pews today and responded, the immediate responders … it was truly heroic.” Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said the incident only lasted six seconds thanks to the church’s volunteer security team members, a team formed after the passage of the state law that allows licensed gun owners to carry weapons inside houses of worship. “Two of the parishioners who are volunteers on the security force drew their weapons and took out the killer immediately, saving untold number of lives,” Patrick said. Authorities have not identified the victims or the shooter, according to CNN.
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Penny Starr
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http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/breitbart/~3/PSEaAvlCzxw/
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Mon, 30 Dec 2019 16:55:33 +0000
| 1,577,742,933 | 1,577,750,838 |
religion and belief
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religious facilities
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79,669 |
buzzfeed--2019-04-23--Inside The San Diego Church Where ICE And Border Patrol Bring Pregnant Women
| 2019-04-23T00:00:00 |
buzzfeed
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Inside The San Diego Church Where ICE And Border Patrol Bring Pregnant Women
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For years, ICE and Border Patrol dropped off pregnant women at Christ Ministry Center. Now, as a record number of families are overwhelming the border, the church is overcrowded and being shut down. SAN DIEGO — Around 2 a.m., about 17 hours after she crossed the border, Rose couldn’t wait any longer. The baby was coming and a cell full of people was not where she wanted to have her child. She banged on the door. When the officials came she told them what was happening and they brought her to the hospital. When she got there they said she was two centimeters dilated; she was already in labor. Soon after she had a son, a US citizen. Two days later, as she was recovering from childbirth with a tiny newborn in her arms, the hospital couldn’t keep her there anymore. She couldn’t be taken back to detention in her state; it was February and pouring buckets of rain, an aberration in Southern California — putting her out onto the streets with her newborn could have put them at risk. But she didn’t have any family in the US and had nowhere to tell them she wanted to go. So Customs and Border Protection called up the Christ Ministry Center in San Diego and told them they had another one. When you walk around the church you can see pregnant women lounging on pews and chairs, cooking with their bellies up against the stove, brand-new mothers nursing newborns on their bunk beds in the makeshift dorms. According to the ministry’s founder and reverend, Pastor Bill Jenkins, 24 babies have been born to women seeking asylum living in the church in the past year — about one every two weeks. “Sometimes I wonder if I’m running a shelter or running a maternity ward,” Jenkins likes to joke. Christ Ministry Center is the only long-term shelter in San Diego for people seeking asylum, despite the city sitting next to one of the busiest border crossings in the country. Most people crossing the border into the US have a plan for where they will go, but those who don’t, don’t have the money to get there, or need to stay in the area for their court dates end up staying in places like this church shelter or risk ending up living on the streets. The shelter has a close relationship with CBP and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Jenkins told BuzzFeed News (and ICE and CBP confirmed). From its start the shelter was a place that favored taking in families, but soon it became a place that immigration authorities knew they could drop detained pregnant women and new mothers, especially those with no family or place to go in the US. “I’m on their speed dial. I’m not kidding you. I am on ICE and Customs and Border Patrol’s speed dial,” Jenkins said, speaking from his office in the church, where a stained glass window depicting Jesus kneeling before a rock in prayer glowed behind his desk. “I get calls sometimes at 2 o’clock in the morning telling me they’re bringing around a new pregnant woman. And we almost always say yes.” An Obama-era policy prevented ICE from detaining pregnant women, but in December 2017, that policy was repealed by President Donald Trump. As a result, several women told BuzzFeed News in July that they had had miscarriages while in ICE custody and faced other mistreatment that threatened their pregnancies. And the number of women having miscarriages in ICE detention has nearly doubled since Trump took office, the Daily Beast reported, a statistic that medical workers and immigrant rights groups attribute to the higher volume of pregnant women in detention as well as the harsh conditions they often face there. It is still ICE policy to not hold pregnant women in their third trimester “except in extraordinary circumstances” (though there have been several reports of this policy being violated). In recent months, families have been crossing the border at a higher rate than ever before, and ICE has been emptying out family detention centers into border cities. Similarly, pregnant women — alone or with their partners and other children — are seemingly crossing in higher numbers as well. CBP told BuzzFeed News that it doesn’t have available data on whether more pregnant women have been crossing recently, but immigration lawyers, immigrant rights organizers, and medical workers who work at the border told BuzzFeed News that starting in 2016, they noticed an uptick in the proportion of pregnant women seeking asylum, and definitely an increase in them being detained. For many who entered the US at the San Ysidro border crossing, less than 20 miles from downtown San Diego, and had nowhere else to go, they’ve ended up here, at Christ Ministry Center. The church and the few other long-term shelters like it in other border cities have already become overwhelmed and overcrowded. That problem is slated to get worse. In late March, a Border Patrol official told BuzzFeed News that the agency was planning on releasing recently apprehended immigrant families into San Diego, among other border cities. As of last Thursday, 13,200 families crossing the border have been released by ICE into San Diego since the beginning of the year, ICE told BuzzFeed News in an email last week. “The sheer volume of family units crossing the border has overwhelmed ICE’s limited transportation resources, combined with a requirement to detain these individuals for no more than 20 days, the agency has no option but to expeditiously arrange for their release,” an ICE spokesperson told BuzzFeed News in an email on April 11. “ICE makes every attempt to coordinate the release of these individuals with NGOs that provide assistance with basic needs, but the heavy influx in recent months has inundated these organizations as well.” So inundated, in fact, that Christ Ministry Center is being shut down. In January, the San Diego fire marshal told the center that its residential areas were overcrowded and not up to code: There were between 50 and 80 people living in spaces meant to fit only a few people and that weren’t designed to be slept in. The building didn’t have sprinklers or fire exits, so if a fire started, the rooms would be a death trap. The dozens of residents had to be moved out of the apartments immediately; they moved bunk beds into the health clinics and offices in the main building and set up cots in the “social hall” where the kitchen is. The staff started making plans for a full closure for the end of March, when Jenkins said most of the residents would have to move for good. Despite being overwhelmed, Jenkins and the shelter’s head coordinator, Jimmy Marcelin, said that ICE sending them families and pregnant women is a positive thing. “Any way you look at it, [detaining pregnant women] is mistreatment,” Marcelin said. “If you have pregnant women inside the detention cell for at least two, three days without [enough] food, without showers, without proper hygiene, it hurts the baby. You know, some of them I have to rush them to the hospital [to give birth] when they get here.” The births are often premature, Marcelin said. Throughout the week the shelter was closing, staff expressed angst at what would happen to the apparent influx of asylum-seekers in their absence. “The detention facilities are about to burst open, so where are these folks gonna go?” Jenkins said in his Mississippi accent. “And the fact we’re closing this shelter down, we’ve got to find another way to make up for those beds and even expand to a greater capacity. We just have to.” Christ Ministry Center’s small, Spanish-style church and shelter is located roughly 20 minutes from the busy San Ysidro border crossing. The church is home to three single-room medical clinics, which help treat pregnant and postpartum women released from ICE and CBP custody. They share the space with more than a dozen congregations that hold services for different denominations in a variety of languages within the cramped quarters of the church. Most days music is coming from one of the two chapels, and asylum-seekers filter in and out of the large, cool rooms, attending services or listening to the songs. Twelve of the shelter’s remaining residents, all pregnant or mothers of babies and young kids, spoke with BuzzFeed News during the week of transition at the shelter. Most of them said that they did not know where they were going next, weren’t sure when they officially had to leave, and were scared or upset about being pushed out of this place they had lived for weeks or months. “We don’t know where we’re going to go,” a resident of the shelter told BuzzFeed News while cooking a stew in the large kitchen of a neighboring church. She was there with five other women, laughing, talking, and cooking food for the whole shelter, sauce bubbling on the large industrial stove. Two of the women chopped vegetables rhythmically by the large, bright windows; three were elbow-deep in large pots of delicious-smelling pork, marinated the way they said they used to do it in Haiti. “No one has told us much, and we are worried because we have small kids,” one of the women, a 33-year-old named Fleury, said, gesturing toward the row of children. Her kids were 7 and 2 years old, she said. At one point during her long trip to cross into the US, she walked for seven days holding her youngest child in her arms. He is getting bigger by the week now — too big to do that again. The women told BuzzFeed News their kids had made friends since they’d moved into the Christ Ministry Center and they had managed to find a community of other people from their countries in the same situation as them. Some of them had distant relatives they didn’t want to rely on for help, but others, like Rose, said they had no family in the US at all. “I’m scared because I don’t have anyone,” Rose, a 38-year-old with fuchsia-tipped curls, told BuzzFeed News, her tiny newborn asleep in her arms. “I must leave by March 31, but I still don’t know where I’m going. There are people here that have family and they are going there, but that’s not my case.” “I can’t sleep at night,” she added, tears coming to her eyes. “Sometimes I feel crazy, like I walk with no direction.” One woman, who asked not to be named, was in her third trimester of pregnancy and said she was worried about what would happen if she had to leave the shelter with nowhere to go before she gave birth. Another, Charienne Noèl, was only a few months pregnant when she crossed, but came with her 14-year-old and 9-year-old. Noèl was not detained, but wanted to find a steady living situation before she had her third child. “We won’t kick these women onto the streets,” Marcelin told BuzzFeed News. “They’re women with small children; we can’t. We’ll find a place.” As the women cooked, discussing the food in Creole, their kids sat in rows on the countertops, swinging their legs, eating arepas, and chatting in Spanish tinged with Haitian accents. The families had been living and traveling in Spanish-speaking countries for so long before reaching the US that some of the kids had only known Central or South America as their home. For most of them, Spanish had become their go-to language, even when surrounded by fellow Haitians. All the women at the church who agreed to speak to BuzzFeed News were from Haiti, but generally the shelter’s population was about 30% Haitian, 30% South and Central American, 30% West African, and 10% Russian and Ukrainian, Jenkins said. The residents are wary of American strangers, even new volunteers working to help with the move, because of a group that the staff have begun to refer to as “the haters.” Taped up all over the shelter were printed-out pictures from the social media accounts of a woman and a man (one selfie and one of them together, Instagram filters turning their eyes into hearts). These were two of “the haters”: anti-immigrant protesters who show up to the shelter and walk right in, the staff said, videotaping the asylum-seekers and posting the videos online for their thousands of followers. “The haters” often claim the shelter’s residents are in the country illegally and living off their tax dollars, the staff said. (All the residents of the shelter are legally seeking asylum, and the shelter does not receive local or federal funding.) Some “haters” have even physically vandalized shelter property or the lawns of pastors associated with the church, Ginger Jacobs, an immigration attorney who works with the church, told BuzzFeed News. Marcelin showed BuzzFeed News the Facebook profiles of some of the most active “haters.” In one post, a woman stood outside the gates calling the refugees “invaders” and referring to an “infestation.” One man wrote about the shelter on his Facebook page, saying, “If you need to shoot an immigrant, go here.” The threats echo the kind of violence and racism that many of the women said led them to the US and Christ Ministry Center in the first place. All the women who spoke to BuzzFeed News traveled for months, through up to eight countries, by boat, bus, and by foot, sometimes walking through the night with their young children, paying guides money wired to them by friends and family, often not knowing where they would go next or how long they would be traveling for. Oselie Franely, a 35-year-old mother of two young children, like many of the other women, said she fled Haiti after the country’s devastating 2010 earthquake, and ended up in Venezuela. Others said they, along with tens of thousands of displaced Haitians, went to Brazil where their husbands worked to help construct the Olympic stadiums for low wages. In the past few years, as the political and economic turmoil in those countries came to a head, the families started to plan to flee again. As immigrants in Brazil and Venezuela, they experienced racism, violence, and persecution, the women told BuzzFeed News. For many, it was impossible to find work, they didn’t have enough to eat, and they started feeling targeted by gangs and police. “They were all racist in Venezuela, all racist.” Franely told BuzzFeed News. She said her neighbors would try to steal their food and money all day and night, “Only because I was black.” “They scared me at night,” she said. “They started scaring my kids too. So we left.” Franely, and three of the other women who spoke to BuzzFeed News, had only arrived in the US after the shelter announced it was closing. The church sheltered its first refugees almost 10 years ago. A Haitian band that had angered their government with a music video questioning killings by police fled to the US and found the church, seeking refuge and a place to play and worship. Jenkins took them in, and lead singer–turned-pastor Jean Elise Durandisse started up the Haitian Methodist Ministry, now the church’s primary congregation. About a year later, when the earthquake hit, he and his bandmates worked with Jenkins to take in those fleeing and help send resources back home. Over time, more and more immigrants seeking asylum showed up at Christ Ministry Center’s doors. By the spring of 2016, the number of refugees seeking asylum at the church began to quickly increase from dozens to hundreds to thousands. Shelter staff told BuzzFeed News the immigrants were telling their friends crossing the border to put Christ Ministry Center down as their sponsor and tell ICE they were going there. Durandisse and Marcelin both said they had been told by shelter residents that people were writing the shelter’s name and address in public bathrooms on the common smuggling route across Central and South America taken by Haitian migrants. “ICE would bring two or three buses a day, at least 200 people a day for months,” Marcelin said about the summer of 2016. They would sleep on the pews in the church and on the stage in the social room. Just before the 2016 presidential election, the influx slowed down. Former president Barack Obama had ended Haitians’ protected status in the US, enabling their deportation for the first time since the earthquake, and the shelter started seeing fewer refugees — but a larger proportion from other countries — come through. During that time, Christ Ministry Center was one of the only shelters or churches taking in migrants in the whole city. Since then, Jenkins has formed the Safe Harbors Network, a nonprofit organization that connects with other churches and private homes to help house immigrants who have nowhere to go and need long-term shelter, but cannot work until their asylum claims are processed. Those places usually only accept one or two families at a time, however. By the week the shelter was supposed to close, there were only a few dozen shelter residents left. There was a rush to transfer those remaining refugees out of the shelter to safe homes with whatever friends and families they had in the US. Some of them had finally gotten in touch with distant relatives they hadn’t managed to reach before, or decided to reach out to people they had resisted calling because they didn’t want to be a burden on them. Multiple times a day, shelter staff members would poke their heads into one another’s offices and ask permission to buy plane tickets for more residents to fly to the house of some relatives in another state. Then they’d put them in a cab or take them to the airport in the ministry van. But for those who had no friends or family in the US or who had to stay in San Diego for their court dates, no one at the shelter really seemed to know what would happen next. And still, immigration authorities kept showing up almost every day, bringing more pregnant women and families seeking shelter. Jenkins will likely still be getting those calls even after the shelter closes, several members of the staff told BuzzFeed News. Jenkins plans for the church to remain operating as an intake center and provide refugees with aid and food, just not beds. Jacobs, the attorney who also serves on Safe Harbors’ board, works closely with ICE and CBP. She said they used to regularly collaborate with local NGOs on making sure people released by ICE or CBP on parole had a place to go, but ever-changing, unclear orders from the White House have recently caused a breakdown in the relationship. “This past winter it seems they threw up their hands and were like, ‘Okay, well we’re not gonna do that social work anymore,’ and just started dumping them onto the streets.” The majority of asylum-seekers released on parole are under an order of supervision by ICE, Jacobs said, and those orders usually require consistent check-ins with your local ICE office, or notifying ICE if you are changing cities. Shelters usually help asylum-seekers interpret the complicated stack of documents and directions given to them by ICE, which are often not in their language. “If they’re released onto the streets they’re gonna have a really hard time knowing what’s going on, and could violate the order without realizing it,” she said. In a statement sent to BuzzFeed News, ICE confirmed the existence of a new policy called the “Yuma Plan”; ICE said it informed local immigration NGOs about the policy in October. “The plan represented a change in policy due to the high volume of family units continuing to cross the border daily and ICE’s limited detention space for families,” the statement read. “The NGOs at the meeting were advised that ICE would no longer review post-release plans for families apprehended along the southwest border.” For the incoming wave of families, and anyone the shelter can’t relocate in time for the closure, Jenkins is betting on getting approval from the city to take over a large, remote, up-to-code facility that could potentially sleep more than 400 people. Jenkins asked BuzzFeed News to withhold identifying details on the sites they are considering, due to threats from the “haters.” However, the week following the original closure date for the shelter, representatives for the city government of San Diego told BuzzFeed News that this location was by no means a sure thing, that they had only just received the first of several required application materials from the shelter, and that they could not say how long the application and transfer process could take. Another, closer space— a decrepit, echoey, and strangely carpeted indoor basketball court belonging to an affiliated church — was also an option, but they still needed approval from the fire marshal to start making renovations to section it off, soundproof it, and make it fit for dozens of people to sleep in. It was clear: There was mounting risk that these pregnant women and families with tiny infants would find themselves living on the street. By April, the date the shelter was supposed to close had come and gone, and dozens of the shelter’s residents, including Rose, were still there. Stacks of plastic bags and suitcases lined the wall of the back alley of the church, and mothers spent much of the day unpacking and repacking them, trying to find clothes or toys for their kids. In a phone call with government staff for the city of San Diego in early April, the city’s deputy chief operating officer, Robert Vacchi, told BuzzFeed News that the shelter in fact had until May to close the shelter. Jenkins told BuzzFeed News that they chose to try to close the shelter a month early in order to “force the situation,” to get other churches and shelters to step up to help, but also to make sure they had enough time to sort out where everyone was going to go. “We were gonna have to close down sooner or later, we just chose to close them sooner, to bite the bullet now, and in some ways force the situation, you know what I’m saying?” Jenkins said in his office, the day after the shelter’s supposed closing date. “We forced the issue. On both ourselves and the city. You know, ‘Hey, these folks are going to the streets if something doesn’t happen.’” When asked if he thought that was dangerous, he said yes. “Very dangerous. And inhumane. Which goes against everything I’ve fought for the past 50 years and in ministry, but what else can you do,” he responded, sounding more subdued than he had at the beginning of the week. “There comes a point where I have to look out for the welfare of what’s going on in this building. The fire marshal could close down the whole building, not just the immigrant part of it. There are 12 congregations here, there are three medical clinics here, there’s a food ministry here. All those could be affected.” Just then, Durandisse knocked on the door, saying he had managed to get in touch with some distant relatives for one of the families and was hoping the shelter could buy them a plane ticket to go live with them. Jenkins approved the purchase, then sat back and sighed, looking at his hands. “Yeah. So they’re going to be in a better place,” Jenkins said quietly. “I think we’re going to land well. I have a feeling we’re going to have a soft landing on this.”●
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Ema O'Connor
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https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/emaoconnor/pregnant-women-asylum-ice-cbp-church-san-diego
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2019-04-23 02:25:20+00:00
| 1,556,000,720 | 1,567,542,084 |
religion and belief
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religious facilities
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83,638 |
cbsnews--2019-05-05--Biden goes to church in South Carolina where voters say they want a fighter
| 2019-05-05T00:00:00 |
cbsnews
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Biden goes to church in South Carolina, where voters say they want a fighter
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West Columbia, S.C. — At a private fundraiser in South Carolina on Saturday, former Vice President Joe Biden gave President Trump a nickname of his own: "Clown." On Sunday morning, congregants at the early service at the Brookland Baptist Church here said they're looking for a Democrat who is strong enough to take on Mr. Trump in the general election. While the pews were undoubtedly packed with those seeking spiritual fulfillment, two attendees shifted the conversation to politics before the prayers. Biden and Dr. Jill Biden sat in the front row of the large church, which was filled almost entirely by black congregants. Pamela Andrews Hutto, a 66-year-old retired English teacher, said her No. 1 issue is beating Mr. Trump. "Trump is destroying America," Hutto said. "There is so much hatred now. I see it." "I see it where people would keep their mouths closed years ago, but they feel free to talk about them because he does," she added. Allen Green, 56, said Biden can "straighten out" the president. "[Biden] said he wanted to take him out to the barn and I think [Mr. Trump] might need a nice little barn-settling," Green said, referring to the Biden's statement last year that he would have "beat the hell out" of the president for his comments about women. Marie Jackson, 64, said she does not view the president as "for the people." "I think he could be a little easier on the people. I don't think the wall needs to be up," Jackson said, referring to Mr. Trump's promised border wall. Since announcing his candidacy in late April, Biden's stump speech has regularly included denunciations of Mr. Trump's conduct, particularly the president's reaction to the deadly white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, in August 2017. During Sunday's service, Rev. Charles B. Jackson Sr. recognized a Christian student athlete who is heading to Iowa State on an athletic scholarship and a group of young female entrepreneurs. He then acknowledged the former vice president, and the congregation reacted with excitement — the women ushers dressed in all white cheered, while several others jumped with delight. Jackson told Biden, who is Catholic, that while he is not the first candidate to attend services here, he received a "pretty major" applause compared to the others. Kendall Corley, the Biden campaign's South Carolina state director, is a member of Brookland Baptist. There were a few congregants who told CBS News it is more important for candidates to focus their campaigns on specific policies. Michael Jackson, 47, said his top concern is affordable universal health care, and he is considering supporting Biden, Sen. Cory Booker or Sen. Kamala Harris. Other congregants, like 73-year-old Wille Wilson, said she hoped the Trump administration's tax cuts would be repealed — she said her tax refund this year was $300 less than last year. This is Biden's first trip to the Palmetto state since announcing his third bid for the presidency on April 25. He held one rally and a private fundraiser here. After praying and clapping along to the choir music with the congregants, Biden told reporters outside the church that South Carolina is "critical" for his campaign.
| null |
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/biden-attends-services-at-south-carolina-baptist-church-where-voters-say-they-want-a-fighter/
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2019-05-05 17:29:17+00:00
| 1,557,091,757 | 1,567,541,108 |
religion and belief
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religious facilities
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112,317 |
cnsnews--2019-05-01--Phoenixs St Joseph Catholic Church Destroyed by Fire on Feast of St Joseph
| 2019-05-01T00:00:00 |
cnsnews
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Phoenix’s St. Joseph Catholic Church Destroyed by Fire on Feast of St. Joseph
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As parishioners prepared to celebrate their church’s 50th anniversary, St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Phoenix, Arizona, was destroyed by a fire on Wednesday - the Feast of St. Joseph the Worker. No one was injured and the cause of the fire is under investigation, the Diocese of Phoenix reported in a statement Wednesday: “This morning we awoke to the tragic news of the fire at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Phoenix. The Phoenix Fire Department is investigating the fire. The church building was destroyed and there were no injuries. We will have more to share as it becomes available. “We are heartbroken for the St. Joseph Catholic community and we are grateful for the bravery of the fire fighters and first responders. “There are tentative plans to celebrate Masses somewhere on the church property this weekend. “Today on this feast day of St. Joseph the Worker, we ask the community to join us in prayer.” “The church was going to celebrate its 50th anniversary jubilee in just a few months,” local Fox 10 news reports. “St. Joseph Parish was established by Bishop Francis Green of Tucson on August 18, 1969. Fr. John Cullinan was appointed as the first pastor,” the church’s website says. “Sunday masses were first held in the cafeteria of Paradise Valley High School for about 300 families.” In an interview with Fox 10, Fr. Fred Adamson expressed gratitude to the other local Christian communities that have offered their support: Catholics celebrate the annual Feast of St. Joseph the Worker on May 1.
|
Craig Bannister
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https://www.cnsnews.com/blog/craig-bannister/phoenixs-st-joseph-catholic-church-destroyed-fire-feast-st-joseph
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2019-05-01 19:58:24+00:00
| 1,556,755,104 | 1,567,541,480 |
religion and belief
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religious facilities
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128,981 |
dailyheraldchicago--2019-09-11--Arlington Heights church sees religious meaning in adding solar panels
| 2019-09-11T00:00:00 |
dailyheraldchicago
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Arlington Heights church sees religious meaning in adding solar panels
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With its installation of 272 solar panels set to be complete in a week, Our Savior's Lutheran Church in Arlington Heights is making significant strides in its efforts to be more green. For church leaders like Operations Officer Jim Valentine, the work has not only financial benefits, but also religious significance. "We've done this because of our overall emphasis on caring for God's earth, of being an example for all of the Arlington Heights community," Valentine said. The project follows Our Savior's efforts to reduce its carbon footprint and move to renewable energy. The church has transitioned to LED fixtures exclusively and replaced all its appliances with Energy Star products. Its members recycle not only typical paper waste but also items like toothpaste dispensers, cosmetic containers and cereal bags. The solar panels going up on the church's roof are the "icing on the cake," Valentine said. The solar panel project will cost about $200,000, some of which was obtained through a fundraiser allowing donors to purchase panels. Half the cost will be paid through solar renewable energy credits over five years. Valentine said energy savings -- about 50 percent current costs -- will make the panels worth it. They also will help reduce the church's carbon footprint by 80 tons a year, he said.
| null |
http://www.dailyherald.com/news/20190910/arlington-heights-church-sees-religious-meaning-in-adding-solar-panels
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2019-09-11 04:21:36+00:00
| 1,568,190,096 | 1,569,330,485 |
religion and belief
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religious facilities
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129,831 |
dailyheraldchicago--2019-11-08--Chilean Catholic church looted by vandals as protests rage
| 2019-11-08T00:00:00 |
dailyheraldchicago
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Chilean Catholic church looted by vandals as protests rage
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SANTIAGO, Chile -- Hooded protesters looted a Roman Catholic church Friday near the main gathering site for three weeks of mass protests against Chile's government over inequality. An Associated Press photographer witnessed people dragging church pews, statues of Jesus and other religious iconography from La Asuncion church onto the street and setting them on fire. Ashes spread to Santiago's Plaza Italia square where thousands were chanting and holding banners, while others turned on the lights on their cellphones and waved Chilean national flags. Smoke also billowed from the nearby headquarters of Pedro de Valdivia University, though it wasn't known if protesters started the fire. Authorities said they were still investigating the cause. Most of the protests over the past 22 days have been peaceful, but some have turned violent. Some rock-throwing demonstrators have been clashing with riot police, who respond with tear gas and water cannons. The unrest began last month over a subway fare hike with students jumping turnstiles in protest. Demonstrations then erupted into clashes, looting and arson and the movement spread nationwide with a broad range of demands, including improvements in education, health care and a widely criticized pension system in one of Latin America's richest, but most socially unequal countries. "We still haven't achieved anything, so we're going to keep protesting," said 17-year-old student Ginette Pérez, who joined the crowds flooding the streets Friday. At least 20 people have died and an estimated 2,500 have been injured in the protests, which also forced the cancellation of two major international summits in Santiago. Associated Press writer Patricia Luna contributed to this report.
| null |
http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20191108/news/311089826/
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Fri, 8 Nov 2019 19:00:00 -0500
| 1,573,257,600 | 1,573,258,965 |
religion and belief
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religious facilities
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441 |
21stcenturywire--2019-07-03--Interview Fukushima is an Ongoing Global Radiological Catastrophe A Huge Coverup
| 2019-07-03T00:00:00 |
21stcenturywire
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Interview: ‘Fukushima is an Ongoing Global Radiological Catastrophe – A Huge Coverup’
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The following is a transcript of the 8th anniversary Fukushima, with an interview between Global Research host Michael Welsh and Dr. Helen Caldicott, first published on March 21, 2019 The eight year anniversary of the triple meltdowns at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear facility passed mostly without comment in mainstream media circles. In spite of ongoing radiological contamination that will continue to spread and threaten human health for lifetimes to come, other stories dominate the international news cycle. The climate change conundrum, serious though it may be, seemingly crowds out all other clear and present environmental hazards. As part of efforts to normalize this historic event and cover it up in its magnitude, the Japanese government has invested considerable financial, public relations and other resources into what they are billing the ‘Recovery Olympics‘ set to take place in a year’s time in Tokyo. But Helen Caldicott warns that the dangers associated with Fukushima have not gone away and remain a cause for concern. Dr. Helen Caldicott has been an author, physician and one of the world’s leading anti-nuclear campaigners. She helped to reinvigorate the group of Physicians for Social Responsibility, acting as president from 1978 to 1983. Since its founding in 2001 she served as president of the US based Nuclear Policy Research Institute later called Beyond Nuclear which initiates symposia and educational projects aimed at informing the public about the dangers of nuclear power, nuclear weapons, and nuclear war. And she is the editor of the 2014 book, Crisis Without End: The Medical and Ecological Consequences of the Fukushima Nuclear Catastrophe. On the week marking the eighth anniversary of the Fukushima meltdowns, the Global Research News Hour radio program, hosted by Michael Welch, reached out to Dr. Caldicott to get her expert opinion on the health dangers posed by the most serious nuclear disaster since, at least, the 1986 Chernobyl event. Global Research: Now the Japanese government is preparing to welcome visitors to Japan for the 2020 Olympic Games, and coverage of the 8th anniversary of the Fukushima disaster is hardly, it seems to me, registered given the significant radiological and other dangers that you cited and your authors cited in your 2014 book, Crisis Without End. Now it’s been more than four years since that book came out. I was hoping you could update our listenership on what is currently being recognized as the main health threats in 2019, perhaps not registered in the book, that you’re currently looking at in relation to the Fukushima meltdown. Helen Caldicott: Well it’s difficult because the Japanese government has authorized really only examination of thyroid cancer. Now thyroid cancer is caused by radioactive iodine and there were many, many cases of that after Chernobyl. And already, they’ve looked at children under the age of 18 in the Fukushima prefecture at the time of the accident, and … how many children… 100…no 201 by June 18 last year… 201 had developed thyroid cancer. Some cancers had metastasized. The incidence of thyroid cancer in that population normally is 1 per million. So obviously it’s an epidemic of thyroid cancer and it’s just starting now. What people need to understand is the latent period of carcinogenesis, ie the time after exposure to radiation when cancers develop is any time from 3 years to 80 years. And so it’s a very, very long period. Thyroid cancers appear early. Leukemia appears about 5 to 10 years later. They’re not looking for leukemia. Solid cancers of every organ, or any organ as such appear about 15 years later and continue and in fact the Hibakusha from the Hiroshima and Nagasaki who are still alive are still developing cancers in higher than normal numbers. The Japanese government has told doctors that they are not to talk to their patients about radiation and illnesses derived thereof, and in fact if the doctors do do that, they might lose their funding from the government. The IAEA, the International Atomic Energy Agency interestingly set up a hospital – a cancer hospital – in Fukushima along with the Fukushima University for people with cancer, which tells you everything. So there’s a huge, huge cover up. I have been to Japan twice and particularly to Fukushima and spoken to people there and the parents are desperate to hear the truth even if it’s not good truth. And they thanked me for telling them the truth. So it’s an absolute medical catastrophe I would say, and a total cover up to protect the nuclear industry and all its ramifications. GR: Now, are we talking about some of the, the contamination that happened 8 years ago or are we talking about ongoing emissions from, for example– HC: Well there are ongoing emissions into the air consistently, number one. Number two, a huge amount of water is being stored –over a million gallons in tanks at the site. That water is being siphoned off from the reactor cores, the damaged melted cores. Water is pumped consistently every day, every hour, to keep the cores cool in case they have another melt. And that water, of course, is extremely contaminated. Now they say they’ve filtered out the contaminants except for the tritium which is part of the water molecule, but they haven’t. There’s strontium, cesium, and many other elements in that water – it’s highly radioactive – and because there isn’t enough room to build more tanks, they’re talking about emptying all that water into the Pacific Ocean and the fishermen are very, very upset. The fish already being caught off Fukushima, some are obviously contaminated. But this will be a disaster. Water comes down from the mountains behind the reactors, flows underneath the reactors into the sea and always has. And when the reactors were in good shape, the water was fine, didn’t get contaminated. But now the three molten cores in contact with that water flowing under the reactors and so the water flowing into the Pacific is very radioactive and that’s a separate thing from the million gallons or more in those tanks. They put up a refrigerated wall of frozen dirt around the reactors to prevent that water from the mountains flowing underneath the reactors, which has cut down the amount of water flowing per day from 500 tons to about a hundred and fifty. But of course, if they lose electricity, that refrigeration system is going to fail, and it’s a transient thing anyway so it’s ridiculous. In terms… So over time the Pacific is going to become more and more radioactive. They talk about decommissioning and removing those molten cores. When robots go in and try and have a look at them, their wiring just melts and disappears. They’re extraordinarily radioactive. No human can go near them because they would die within 48 hours from the radiation exposure. They will never, and I quote never, decommission those reactors. They will never be able to stop the water coming down from the mountains. And so, the truth be known, it’s an ongoing global radiological catastrophe which no one really is addressing in full. GR: Do we have a better reading on, for example the thyroids, but also leukemia incubation— HC: No they’re not looking–well, leukemia they’re not looking for leukemia… HC: They’re not charting it. So the only cancer they’re looking at is thyroid cancer and that’s really high, and you know it’s at 201 have already been diagnosed and some have metastasized. And a very tight lid is being kept on any other sort of radiation related illnesses and leukemia and the like. All the other cancers and the like, and leukemia is so… It’s not just a catastrophe it’s a… HC: Yeah. I can’t really explain how I feel medically about it. It’s just hideous. GR: Well I have a brother who’s a physician, who was pointing to well we should maybe, the World Health Organization is a fairly authoritative body of research for all of the indicators and epidemiological aspects of this, but you seem to suggest the World Health Organization may not be that reliable in light of the fact that they are partnered with the IAEA. Is that my understanding…? HC: Correct. They signed a document, I think in ‘59, with the IAEA that they would not report any medical effects of radiological disasters and they’ve stuck to that. So they are in effect in this area part of the International Atomic Energy Agency whose mission is to promote nuclear power. So don’t even think about the WHO. it’s really obscene. GR: So what would… the incentive would be simply that they got funding? HC: I don’t know. I really don’t know but they sold themselves to the devil. GR: That’s pretty incredible. So there’s also the issue of biomagnification in the oceans, where you have radioactive debris, hundreds of tons of this radioactive water getting into the oceans and biomagnifying up through the food chain, so these radioactive particles can get inside our bodies. Could you speak to what you anticipate to see, what you would anticipate, whether it’s recorded by World Health authorities or not, what we could expect to see in the years ahead in terms of the illnesses that manifest themselves? HC: Well number one, Fukushima is a very agricultural prefecture. Beautiful, beautiful peaches, beautiful food, and lots of rice. And the radiation spread far and wide through the Fukushima prefecture, and indeed they have been plowing up millions and millions of tons of radioactive dirt and storing it in plastic bags all over the prefecture. The mountains are highly radioactive and every time it rains, down comes radiation with the water. So the radiation – the elements. And there are over 200 radioactive elements made in a nuclear reactor. Some have lives of seconds and some have lives of millions of years or lasts for millions of years will I say. So there are many many isotopes, long-lasting isotopes – cesium, strontium, tritium is another one – but many, many on the soil in Fukushima. And what happens is – you talked about biomagnification – when the plants take up the water from the soil, they take up the cesium which is a potassium analog – it resembles potassium. Strontium 90 resembles calcium and the like. And these elements get magnified by orders of magnitude in the rice and in the plants. And so when you eat food that is grown in Fukushima, the chances are it’s going to be relatively radioactive. They’ve been diluting radioactive rice with non-radioactive rice to make it seem a bit better. Now, into the ocean go these isotopes as well, and the algae bio-magnify them by – you know -ten to a hundred times or more. And then the crustaceans eat the algae, bio-magnify it more. The little fish eat the crustaceans, the big fish eat the little fish and the like. And tuna found in – off the coast of California some years ago contained isotopes from Fukushima. Also fish, being caught on the west coast of California contained some of these isotopes. So, it’s an ongoing bio-magnification catastrophe. And the thing is that you can’t even taste, smell or see radioactive elements in your food. They’re invisible. And it takes a long time for cancers to occur. And you can’t identify a particular cancer caused by a particular substance or isotope. You can only identify that problem by doing epidemiological studies comparing irradiated people with non-irradiated people to see what the cancer levels are and that data comes from Hiroshima and Nagasaki and many, many, many other studies. GR: Chernobyl as well, no? HC: Oh, Chernobyl! Well, a wonderful book was produced by the, uh, Russians, and published by the New York Academy of Sciences, called Chernobyl with over 5000 on the ground studies of children and diseases in Belarus and the Ukraine, and all over Europe. And by now over a million people have already died from the Chernobyl disaster. And many diseases have been caused by that, including premature aging in children, microcephaly in babies, very small heads, diabetes, leukemia, I mean, I could go on and on. Um, and those diseases which have been very well described in that wonderful book, um, which everyone should read, are not being addressed or identified or looked for in the Fukushima or Japanese population. May I say that parts of Tokyo are extremely radioactive. People have been measuring the dirt from rooves of apartments, from the roadway, from vacuum cleaner dust. And some of these samples, they’re so radioactive that they would classify to be buried in radioactive waste facilities in America. So, that’s number one. Number two, to have the Olympics in Fukushima just defies imagination. And uh, some of the areas where the athletes are going to be running, the dust and dirt there has been measured, and it’s highly radioactive. So, this is Abe, the Prime Minister of Japan, who set this up to – as a sort of way to obscure what Fukushima really means. And those young athletes, you know, who are – and young people are much more sensitive to radiation, developing cancers later than older people – it’s just a catastrophe waiting to happen. GR: (Chuckle). Is there anything that people can do, you know, whether they live in Japan or, say, the west coast of North America to mitigate the effects that this disaster has had, and may still be having eight years later? HC: Yes. Do not eat any Japanese food because you don’t know where it’s sourced. Do not eat fish from Japan, miso, rice, you name it. Do not eat Japanese food. Period. Um, fish caught off the west coast of Canada and America, well, they’re not testing the fish so I don’t know what you’d do. Um, I mean, most of it’s probably not radioactive but you don’t know because you can’t taste it. Um they’ve closed down the air-borne radioactive measuring instruments off the west coast of America, uh, but that’s pretty bad, because there still could be another huge accident at those reactors. For instance, if there’s another large earthquake, number one, all those tanks would be destroyed and the water would pour into the Pacific. Number two, there could be another meltdown, a release – huge release of radiation, um, from the damaged reactors. So, things are very tenuous, but they’re not just tenuous now. They’re going to be tenuous forever.
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21wire
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https://21stcenturywire.com/2019/07/03/interview-fukushima-is-an-ongoing-global-radiological-catastrophe-a-huge-coverup/
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2019-07-03 05:46:11+00:00
| 1,562,147,171 | 1,567,536,990 |
disaster, accident and emergency incident
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accident and emergency incident
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518 |
21stcenturywire--2019-08-12--Americas Forgotten Nuclear Disaster Church Rock Still Poisoning Navajo Tribe 40 Years Later
| 2019-08-12T00:00:00 |
21stcenturywire
|
America’s Forgotten Nuclear Disaster: Church Rock Still Poisoning Navajo Tribe 40 Years Later
|
IMAGE: The imposing and stunning sight of Church Rock in the Navajo Nation, located in northwestern New Mexico. Here is the true cost of the American empire. In 1945, the first atomic bomb was tested at the U.S. defense facility at Alamogordo, New Mexico. Just 34 years later, the area also suffered the worst nuclear waste disaster in its history – which did not receive nearly as much media and political attention than other high-profile incidents. And there is a reason for this. On July 16, 1979, at the Church Rock uranium mines, occurred the worst spill of radioactivity release to our environment in the history of the nuclear industry. The radiation is invisible to this day, still devastating communities living along the Puerco River in northwestern New Mexico. There you will witness the devastation wrought on residents, including high levels of cancer, as well as the impact of other toxic substances left-over from the Church Rock disaster. In the words of Larry King, an underground surveyor at the United Nuclear Corporation’s Church Rock Uranium mine in New Mexico, “Three Mile Island had more coverage and people were compensated right away.” He added, “I always say we don’t get the same attention because we live in impoverished native community… We live in a sacrifice zone.” After 40 years, the problem still persists, and appears to much larger than previously thought. Early in the summer of 1979, Larry King, an underground surveyor at the United Nuclear Corporation’s Church Rock Uranium mine in New Mexico, began noticing something unusual when looking at the south side of the tailings dam. That massive earthen wall was responsible for holding back thousands of tons of toxic water and waste produced by the mine and the nearby mill that extracted uranium from raw ore. And as King saw, there were “fist-sized cracks” developing in that wall. He measured them, reported them to his supervisors, and didn’t think anything more of it. A few weeks later, at 5:30 a.m. on July 16, 1979, the dam failed, releasing 1,100 tons of uranium waste and 94 million gallons of radioactive water into the Rio Puerco and through Navajo lands, a toxic flood that had devastating consequences on the surrounding area. “The water, filled with acids from the milling process, twisted a metal culvert in the Puerco,” according to Judy Pasternak’s book Yellow Dirt: A Poisoned Land and the Betrayal of the Navajos. “Sheep keeled over and died, and crops curdled along the banks. The surge of radiation was detected as far away as Sanders, Arizona, fifty miles downstream.” According to a Nuclear Regulatory Commission report, radioactivity levels in the Puerco near the breached dam were 7,000 times that of what is allowed in drinking water. The heavily contaminated water flowed over the river banks, creating radioactive pools. “There were children up and down the river playing in those stagnant pools, and they were deadly poisonous,” Jorge Winterer, a doctor with Indian Health Service in Gallup, New Mexico, said after the spill. Earlier this year, standing in his yard next to an old Chevy, King pointed in the direction of the now dry Rio Puerco. “It came right through there,” said King. The unleashed river of waste had flowed through his family’s land just a half-mile from his house. “I remember the terrible odor and the yellowish color of the water.” He recalls seeing an elderly woman who had burned her feet crossing the Puerco while watering her sheep that day. King still lives on the family land, two miles downstream of the rebuilt dam in the Church Rock chapter of the Navajo Nation. His home is surrounded by a beautiful, unforgiving landscape of red rock cliffs, a scattering of Navajo residences and, if you look closely, fencelines with KEEP OUT signs marking the numerous abandoned uranium sites. Forty years later, the Church Rock spill remains the largest single largest accidental release of radioactivity in U.S. history, worse in terms of total radiation than that of the partial meltdown at Three Mile Island and second in world history only to the 1986 Chernobyl catastrophe, both of which have loomed much larger in the cultural imagination. The effects of the spill have lingered for an entire generation: In 2007, the Church Rock Uranium Mining Project found widespread contamination of drinking water sources in the Church Rock area. Navajo residents say they have not been given the attention given to other victims of nuclear accidents, even as they remain under the catastrophe’s long shadow, dealing with poisoned livestock and ongoing health problems amid other aftereffects. “We have never been a priority,” said King. “Forty years after the spill and nothing has been done.” “Our generation is afraid of having children,” said Faith Baldwin, who grew up on the Navajo nation surrounded by abandoned uranium mines. “Cancer runs in our family but it shouldn’t. Cancer, diabetes were nonexistent in Navajo rez.” (…) For many residents, the spill has come to embody the broader toxic legacy of the uranium industry on the indigenous lands of the West. According to the EPA, there are over 500 abandoned uranium mines, mill sites, and waste piles on Navajo Nation land that continue to contaminate water, soil, livestock and housing. “The Church Rock spill symbolizes the governmental and societal indifference to the impacts of uranium development on Indigenous lands,” said Jantz. “The Church Rock spill is the third largest nuclear accident after Fukushima and Chernobyl, and the largest in the US in terms of radiation released, but nobody knows about it.”
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21wire
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https://21stcenturywire.com/2019/08/12/americas-forgotten-nuclear-disaster-church-rock-still-poisoning-navajo-tribe-40-years-later/
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2019-08-12 16:40:51+00:00
| 1,565,642,451 | 1,567,534,321 |
disaster, accident and emergency incident
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accident and emergency incident
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738 |
21stcenturywire--2019-12-09--EXCLUSIVE: Indigenous Bolivia Ready to Go to War Against Fascism
| 2019-12-09T00:00:00 |
21stcenturywire
|
EXCLUSIVE: Indigenous Bolivia Ready to Go to War Against Fascism
|
Bolivia, December 2019, three weeks after the fascist coup. It is devilishly cold. My comrade’s car is carefully navigating through the deep mud tracks. Enormous snow-covered mountain peaks are clearly visible in the distance. The Bolivian Altiplano; beloved, yet always somehow hostile, silent, impenetrable. So many times, in the past I came close to death here. In Peru as well as in Bolivia. More often in Peru. Now, what I do is totally mad. Being a supporter of President Evo Morales from the beginning until this very moment, I am not supposed to be here; in Bolivia, in the Altiplano. But I am, because these mud huts on the left and right, are so familiar and so dear to me. My comrade is a Bolivian farmer, an indigenous man. His hands are red, rough. He usually does not talk much, but after the coup, he cannot stop speaking. This is his country; the country that he loves and which has been stolen from him, from his wife and from his children. We can both get screwed here, but if we do, that’s life; we know the risk and we are happy to take it. Carlos (not his real name), my driver and a friend, explained: “I called them, the elders, and they said it is OK that you come. I sent them your essays. You know, people here now read, even in the deep villages. After 14 years of Evo’s government, the entire country is covered by the mobile phone network. They read your stuff translated into Spanish. They liked what they read. They agreed to give you a statement. But they said, ‘if he is not really a Russian-Chinese left-wing writer, but instead some Camacho crony, we will break his head with a stone.’” Camacho; Luis Fernando Camacho, a member of the fascist, U.S.-backed Revolutionary Nationalist Movement, and the Chair of the Civic Committee of Santa Cruz since 2019. A major adversary of Evo Morales, a man who during the 2019 Bolivian general election, sided with the West, with the treasonous Bolivian military (trained in the United States), and demanded Evo’s resignation, on 5 November 2019. I am fine with what they say. We are going. We drive up, and then, at approximately 4,100 meters above sea level, we level up. A new, wide road is being constructed. Of course, it is a project from the days of Evo’s presidency. But it is not only the road building that can be detected all around us. There are water towers and water pumps and faucets in every village. Water is free, for all. There are schools, medical centers as well as sport facilities, and carefully attended fields. The drive is long, tough. But at one point, we see a few buses and cars parked on the top of a hill. There is a small plateau, and a giant white speaker sitting in the middle of the field. People in colorful outfits are scattered all around the site: men, women and children. A group of elders is seated in a closed circle. They are chanting, and their appeal is broadcasted through the speaker. They are addressing what is sacred to them: Mother Earth. They need strength in order to go on, to struggle, to defend themselves. Deeply Rooted: Indigenous people in Altiplano gather to speak with Mother Earth (Photo: Andre Vltchek 2019©) I am first ‘scanned’ by the people, and only then allowed to approach the elders. I explain who I am, and soon, the formalities are over. “Please record but do not film our faces, for security,” I am told. “But later, you can film the gathering.” Soon after, I sit down, and they begin to talk: “The situation which we are living in these days in our country, in the communities up here, in the Andean communities is very difficult. In reality we feel frustrated, often abandoned because during the previous government led by President Evo Morales, we as farmers and indigenous people, felt very good. Even if, sometimes, we did not receive too much help, still, the government, the very President Evo Morales, is of our own blood, our own class. For that reason, we were supporting him. And we keep supporting him.” “And this, what we have, now is a government – dictatorship. They say the contrary, but it is a fascist government. It is a government which is burning Wiphala, our symbol. It dishonors us. We feel humiliated, we feel discriminated against. For that reason, we realize that we cannot fail; we cannot stay here like this, we will continue fighting. There will be elections in our country, and we will continue supporting that one person who has elevated our name; the name of the native people, of workers, of working people, and of the poor.” “First, we will go to the elections, if of course there are elections. We will go and support our people; our leaders. In case that they will produce electoral fraud, then yes, we will rise!” Indigenous elders gather to discuss the current state of affairs in their country (Photo: Andre Vltchek 2019©) I told them that I have known their country, and Altiplano, for more than 25 years. Everything has changed. The villages consisting of mud huts came to life. They woke up, began to bloom. Water for all began to run through the pipes provided by the government. Modern ambulances have been deployed, serving all corners of the nation. Health centers opened their doors to millions of students, and so did schools, and vocation centers. New roads have been built. The government encouraged ecological farming. Bolivia, for decades and centuries living under monstrous apartheid has been exploited, humiliated and robbed of everything, but lately has begun rising to its feet. I told them this. I told them how I used to come here, again and again, in the 1990’s, from Peru; a country devastated by the so-called “Dirty War” which I have described in my novel “Point of No Return”. Peru was terribly broken, but here, in Bolivia, people were half-alive. There was no hope, only silent, frightening misery. Now Bolivia, once the poorest country in South America, has been way ahead of Peru, a state which has been relentlessly cannibalized by the neo-liberal economic model, while still racially and socially divided to the extreme. I asked the elders, whether they agreed. They did. “Certainly. Because with our own eyes we have seen enormous economic changes and we have witnessed how Bolivia rose and after those 14 years, got ahead of this entire Latin American region.” Before we left, an elderly woman approached the car, and screamed something in a local language. “We will all fight those evil beings who declared themselves our rulers. If they don’t disappear, soon again we will close the roads between El Alto and La Paz, and they will have to eat their own excrement. Our people will never again be defeated. Say this wherever you go!” I said that I will. Real transparency: Bolivia’s president publishes his government’s financial account on billboards (Photo: Andre Vltchek 2019©) In 1971, the great Uruguayan writer, journalist and poet, Eduardo Galeano, published his book Open Veins of Latin America, which soon became the most important tome for the Latin American left-wing thinkers and revolutionaries. Inside the book, which was regularly banned all over the continent, Galeano had written about those 500 years of monstrous plunder, deceit and cruelty, committed by the Europeans and the North Americans against the people of South and Central America. Some of the most terrible crimes were committed on the territory which is now Bolivia, particularly in the silver mines of the city of Potosi, which helped to make Europe rich, but whose tens of thousands of people died, while forced to live and work as slaves. Not long before he passed away, I worked with Eduardo Galeano in his café, in the old city of Montevideo. It was during the heady days of the “Pink Revolutions” wave. We were celebrating our victories, sharing hope for the future. But at one point, Eduardo paused, and said, simply: “You know, all of our comrades who are holding power now have to be very careful. They have to understand that the poor people who voted them in, or who supported them when they were taking power, have only one thing left in their life, and that is hope. You take away their hope, and they are left with nothing. Robbing them of hope is like killing them. That is why, whenever I encounter our left-wing leaders, and I do it very often, I always tell them: ‘Comrades, careful, Do not play with hope! Never promise to people what you cannot deliver. Always keep your word.” Juan Evo Morales Ayma, the first Bolivian indigenous president, understood Galeano and his work perfectly well. He and his Movement for Socialism (MAS), never betrayed the trust of the poor people. That is why he was never forgiven by the West, and by many individuals coming from the treasonous Bolivian elites and the military. After my meeting with the indigenous leaders, I asked Carlos to drive us around Altiplano, without any particular plan. I wanted to talk to people; to the poorest of the poor of Bolivia. At one point, we arrived at a tiny hamlet. A dog with a broken leg welcomed us with loud but innocuous barking. There were two sheep near the entrance to the house. An elderly farmer, his blind wife and a daughter were working in the field. They were not afraid to speak, even to be recorded and photographed, as long as I promised not to reveal their names. The farmer had half of his teeth missing, and he was leaning to one side, but his thoughts and words were clear: “Thanks to Evo for everything. There is his work, and it speaks for itself; that road, infrastructure. Even this little house that we have is because of him.” “Here we don’t want that so-called President Añez. She wants to mislead us, she lies to us. We are with MAS; all of us up here are strongly supporting MAS. We are supporting our brother Evo. We have always been suffering here, but Evo came with excellent projects… but now all progress will stop.” The daughter is perhaps 14 years old. She is a product of Evo’s government. Neatly dressed, with nice glasses, she speaks fluently. Her words are well formulated: “Those coup leaders have no pity on us. They have been shooting at us, beating us, gassing us. They have been violating our women. Lately, our mothers, our fathers suffered tremendously in La Paz. People were injured, people died, and the military and the coup leaders have no mercy. We don’t want to be slaves, like before. After the coup, the new government said terrible things about our president; things that we don’t like at all. We don’t want to be slaves, nor to be dammed by that new lady-president and by her people. She is a racist. The truth is that she is too racist. They call us ‘Indios’, and say things about us that make us furious. They are discriminating against us in all possible ways.” “I don’t,” she smiled. “I am with MAS. And MAS is going to be victorious. We will defeat those who are behind the coup.” We left, heading towards the main road. The family members spoke over each other: “In November, Camacho sent here several buses full of his supporters, from Potosi. They arrived, and began beating us up, insulting us, killing our animals and destroying our houses. They forced us to our knees, tying our hands behind our backs. They called us the most insulting names. They humiliated us. They said that it is over, that now we will know again where we belong.” I asked Carlos whether he had heard these stories before. He replied, without thinking: “Of course. You can ask anyone up here, and they will confirm what you just heard.” Before descending to La Paz, in El Alto, I asked Carlos to stop at several places, where in November, dozens of people died, blocking the capital as the protest against the coup, and against forcing Evo Morales into exile. The bullet holes that damaged the walls were still visible, and they were clearly marked. There were flowers there, where people had fallen. Soon, hopefully very soon, there will be monuments. The graffiti all over El Alto, spoke clearly and loudly: “Añez, we will finish you off – you coup-maker!”, “Añez – dictator!” and “Añez – killer!” Bullet holes are marked in front indigenous woman and her daughter waiting to cross the road in El Alto (Photo: Andre Vltchek 2019©) Unpopular US-backed puppet: Anti-Añez graffiti can be seen in cities and town (Photo: Andre Vltchek 2019©) Just half a year ago, I witnessed great fiestas in El Alto. I filmed colorful processions, people dancing, fireworks. I admired the new public spaces, super-modern cable cars, public swimming pools as well as the playgrounds constructed for children. Now, the city felt like a cemetery. It was eerie, silent, gloomy. The enormous Mount Illimani, the symbol of this ancient land, was covered by snow. It was beautiful now, but it is always stunning, in good times as well as during the disasters. La Paz, sitting in a tremendous crater, was clearly visible from above. “The Yankees coming,” said Carlos. “You know, Añez has restored full diplomatic ties with Washington. And their spies and agents are flooding the embassy; all in civilian clothes, of course…” “With their backs covered by the treasonous Bolivian military,” I uttered, sarcastically. Carlos was quiet for some time. Then he decided to speak: “When I was young, I was in the military myself. In Cochabamba, you know, during the water crises, and popular rebellion aimed at making water free. I never told you. Those were tough times. People stood up, and some died. Our unit consisted of mainly indigenous soldiers. The officers were white; almost all were. At one point, we let them know that we would not fire at our brothers and sisters. They shat their pants: captains, colonels; you should have seen them: they were running around, in barracks and outside, with no marks of their ranks. You know, at one point, if they were to have forced us to slaughter our people, we would have refused, and slaughtered them, instead.” “They were trained in the West?” I asked. “And now Carlos? What about now?” He began whispering, although no one seemed to be around: “I have two relatives in the army. I talked to one of them, a few days ago. It is the same as when I was serving in Cochabamba. The upper ranks are with the Yanquis, but the troops, most of them, are with MAS; they are with Evo. You see, if there is a mutiny, and there very well may be one, soon, then Añez, Camacho and their gringo friends will all soon be fucked!” Police are stationed everywhere, at the ready, but still very uneasy (Photo: Andre Vltchek 2019©) I went to the luxury hotel Suites Camino Real in La Paz, for lunch. I had to see “them”, the other side. Those who import exquisite beef from Santa Cruz province, those who consume it here, those who are now celebrating. And celebrating they were. Several parties were taking place, simultaneously. People were jumping around, hugging each other, shouting like mad. All white, all “tall and beautiful”, all blonde, peroxide or real. Wine was flowing. Most of the waiters were indigenous, dressed in Western clothes; hushed and uncertain. I met a former top economist in Evo’s government, Ernesto Yañez, who at one point served as the vice-President of the Central Bank of Bolivia. It was safe to meet here. We found a quite corner where we could talk: “I certainly call what happened here, a coup. There was no election fraud.” “Without any doubt, Evo’s years in power were marked by great economic stability. Especially in the beginning, there were almost no economic problems. The poverty rate decreased from 55% to below 30%. Quality of life increased dramatically.” “In relatively poor Bolivia, poverty rates are lower than in the richest country on the continent, Argentina, after the reign of the neo-liberal President Macri”, I could not help but mention. “Yes, but after the coup, the economy here is collapsing,” Ernesto said. Former economist in the Morales government, Ernesto Yañez (Photo: Andre Vltchek 2019©) Half a year ago, I was here, and there were violent strikes by doctors all over Bolivia. Many of them were educated for free, by the state, but after that, they were demanding a neo-liberal medical system, in which doctors and nurses would gain unrealistically high salaries. Many Cuban doctors have been deployed by the government, all over the country, in order to improve medical care. “During Evo’s government, millions of people moved from lower to middle class. Most of them were young. Which means, before the coup, and after 14 years of MAS rule, many young middle-class people had no idea what it is to live in misery. They took all the achievements of Evo and MAS for granted. Then, when certain hardships arrived, including the slowing down of the economy after 2014, they saw them as the failures of Evo’s government.” “You know, for instance the doctors that you mentioned; they thought that if they brought down MAS, all their requests would be immediately fulfilled by the right-wing government. It never happened. Now they have no idea what to do.” “The same as in Santa Cruz,” I agreed with him. “Fuel and utility prices are going up. Now the right-wingers will realize what it is to have their dream come true – a neo-liberal regime. They are getting wiped-out; desperate.” “You, know, Evo made many Bolivian businessmen rich, too. The country and its economy were very stable, for years. Before he came to power, the big players were North Americans, Europeans and Chileans. During his mandate, Bolivian companies were given priority. Bolivian elites were always racist, for them, Evo was ‘un Indio mas’ (just another Indian). But they hid their feelings well. It is because Evo did things well. He changed this country for the better, almost for everybody.” “But now, things have gone from bad to worse. The new president comes with the bible and cross, burns Wiphala, and people die. Now the Indigenous people want Evo back.” And not only indigenous people, although almost all indigenous people who I met this time in Bolivia, do. State of Emergency: Army still controlling roads in La Paz (Photo: Andre Vltchek 2019©) I walked to Plaza Murillo in La Paz, where the Presidential Palace and the National Congress of Bolivia are located. The police and military were everywhere. During Evo’s government, this was a quiet, open space, full of green trees, children and pigeons. In front of the National Congress, several ladies dressed in beautiful indigenous clothes, were gathering, talking to each other. These were deputies from MAS. I pulled out my cameras and approached them. Immediately, security dudes in plainclothes began approaching me, but the two lady-deputies made protective gestures with their arms, smiled at me, and rebuffed the security officers: “Leave him alone, he is with us.” I knew we had no time, and I asked only one thing: “Are we standing, comrades?” They did not hesitate: “We are standing. They will not defeat us. MAS is the legitimate government of Bolivia.” And so, this is what I am reporting from the Plurinational Republic of Bolivia: The country is under attack from the United States and its allies. It has been injured by its treasonous cadres, both military and civilian. Blood has been spilled. The legitimate president and vice-president are in exile. According to Reuters, “Bolivian minister seeks Israel help in fighting alleged leftist ‘terrorism.” Meaning, the legitimate government. But the country is standing. People are not on their knees. First there will be a vote, but if there are any tricks from Washington or from the Organization of American States (OAS), there will be a fight. Evo Morales and MAS won the recent elections. There is absolutely no way that MAS will not win again. I spoke to people, and now, even more than before, they are closing ranks around the Movement towards Socialism which made Bolivia one of the greatest nations in the Western Hemisphere. The indigenous people of Bolivia and the rest of South America are not beggars or slaves. Long before the arrival of those brutal religious fundamentalists and badly brought-up looters – the Spanish conquerors – they were the owners of this beautiful land. Their civilization was much greater than that of their tormentors. Evo’s government did much more than just improving the social situation in his country. He began reversing 500 years of cruel injustice on this continent. He gave power to the powerless. He returned pride to the people who had been robbed of everything. Washington shows clearly where it stands. Despite its hypocritical “political correctness”, it is on the side of racism, colonialism and fascist oppression. Instead of defending freedom, it oppresses freedom. Instead of promoting democracy (which is “rule of the people”), it is raping democracy: here in Bolivia, and elsewhere. Until Bolivia is free again, the entire freedom-loving world should be waving the Wiphala. The Wiphala flag can still be seen flying on some buildings (Photo: Andre Vltchek 2019©) The elders from the Altiplano sent a clear message to the world. Elections will take place, but if the people are robbed of their government, there will be an uprising and an epic battle. Sadly, if there is a battle, some people will join the Earth. But also, the Earth will not stay idle – it will join her People. Añez together with her colonialist symbols, is already being cursed by the majority of Bolivian people, and so are Camacho and several other traitors. But perhaps, technically, they are not “traitors”, after all. Their allegiances are to those nations which had attacked and have been looting this part of the world, for several long centuries. After 500 years of being tormented and humiliated, the mother Earth, Pachamama, is embracing her children. Evo and MAS brought them together. This is a tremendous moment in history. People here realize it. European, racist elites realize it. Washington is well aware of it. Right now, there is a moment of silence; a brief one. If the fascist coup leaders do not back up, there will be huge thunder, and the people of Altiplano will rise, Wiphala in hand, supported by their ancient, sacred Earth. *** Author Andre Vltchek is a philosopher, novelist, filmmaker and investigative journalist. He has covered wars and conflicts in dozens of countries. Five of his latest books are “China Belt and Road Initiative: Connecting Countries, Saving Millions of Lives”, “China with John B. Cobb, Jr., Revolutionary Optimism, Western Nihilism the revolutionary novel “Aurora” and a bestselling work of political non-fiction: “Exposing Lies Of The Empire”. View his other books here. Watch Rwanda Gambit, his groundbreaking documentary about Rwanda and DRCongo and his film/dialogue with Noam Chomsky “On Western Terrorism”. Vltchek presently resides in East Asia and the Middle East, and continues to work around the world. He can be reached through his website and his . Visit his Patreon page. HELP SUPPORT OUR INDEPENDENT MEDIA PLATFORM – BECOME A MEMBER @21WIRE.TV
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21wire
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https://21stcenturywire.com/2019/12/09/exclusive-indigenous-bolivia-ready-to-go-to-war-against-fascism/
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Mon, 09 Dec 2019 08:48:43 +0000
| 1,575,899,323 | 1,575,893,233 |
disaster, accident and emergency incident
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accident and emergency incident
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2,637 |
abcnews--2019-11-26--Evacuations ordered near Southern California wildfire
| 2019-11-26T00:00:00 |
abcnews
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Evacuations ordered near Southern California wildfire
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Most of the thousands of people who fled a raging California wildfire in the mountains north of Santa Barbara were told they could return home Tuesday as an approaching storm offered hope the flames would be doused. About 4,000 of the nearly 5,500 evacuees were affected when authorities reduced the size of the evacuation zone. The blaze had blackened more than 6.5 square miles (16.8 square kilometers) of the rugged Santa Ynez Mountains, but most of that acreage was scorched in its first hours Monday. Fire commanders described a fierce battle that saved homes as the blaze consumed brush in an area that hadn’t burned in 29 years. “We’ve had winds move up slope, down slope, across the slope,” Santa Barbara County fire Battalion Chief Anthony Stornetta said. An infamous 1990 wildfire in the same area destroyed more than 400 homes. “It’s just a hard, difficult piece of country to fight fire in and the weather is the most extreme anywhere around,” said Jim Harris, Los Padres National Forest fire chief. Rudy Gruber, 79, watched the smoke and flames from the top of a hill near his house in Santa Barbara. Despite orders to evacuate, he said he decided not to leave because he didn't think the fire would cross a canyon to his home. Plus, it'd be tough to move his 50-pound tortoise, Amstel. Even so, he’s been prepared for about a year, packing photo albums, computers and a carrier for his cat Scooter. Gruber, who’s lived in the area since 1976, was facing his fifth fire but said he’s only evacuated once, when he saw smoke in his neighborhood in 1978. He didn’t see any this time, so he decided to stay put. “We’re better prepared than we used to be,” Gruber said. “We’ve gone through it so many times now.” Helicopters dropped water on the fire during the night, and daylight allowed air tankers to drop long strips of fire retardant to box in the flames. The fire began in Los Padres National Forest as winds gusted to 30 mph (48 kph) and higher. Miryam Garcia, 21, and her mother, Norma Ramos, 47, fled their home as flames approached. “I was just kind of praying that it didn’t get to our house,” Garcia said. She and her mother stayed overnight with friends and then went to a Red Cross shelter at a community center in Goleta, west of Santa Barbara. Red Cross official Tony Briggs said 34 people stayed overnight at the shelter, where face masks were being handed out. Fire officials said as much as an inch of rain was expected to hit the area by midnight. The possible arrival of rain also posed hazards, ranging from shifting winds to debris flows from steep mountainsides. Gruber said he’s going to visit cousins in Orange County for Thanksgiving and isn’t worried about his house. “I’m counting on the rain to kind of snuff“ out the fire, he said. The dangerous cycle of fire and flood is a raw memory for many others in the region. In January 2018, a downpour on burned slopes just east of Santa Barbara unleashed massive debris flows that devastated Montecito, killing 23 people and destroying homes.
| null |
https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/evacuations-ordered-southern-california-wildfire-67318394
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Tue, 26 Nov 2019 17:40:42 -0500
| 1,574,808,042 | 1,574,813,157 |
disaster, accident and emergency incident
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accident and emergency incident
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2,677 |
abcnews--2019-11-27--Rain may douse California wildfire threatening homes
| 2019-11-27T00:00:00 |
abcnews
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Rain may douse California wildfire threatening homes
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Firefighters are hoping rainy weather will douse a wildfire that threatens thousands of homes in the coastal foothills north of Los Angeles. The wind-whipped fire that erupted Monday raged through tinder-dry brushy canyons in the same area where a 1990 blaze destroyed more than 400 homes. No homes had burned as of Tuesday night but about 2,400 homes and other buildings in the Goleta area near Santa Barbara remained threatened, fire officials said. The National Weather Service expected rain to hit the region before dawn Wednesday, with up to an inch possible as the storm moved through. The rain should help drench the flames. Forecasters said it probably won’t fall strongly enough to trigger any major mudslides on the fire-stripped ground. In January 2018, a downpour on burned slopes just east of Santa Barbara unleashed massive debris flows that devastated Montecito, killing 23 people and destroying homes. Most of the fire’s growth occurred Monday and while the burned area increased on Tuesday, most of the 5,500 people who had been ordered to evacuate were being allowed home. The fire was 10% contained Tuesday night after burning nearly 7 square miles (17 ½ square kilometers), much of it in Los Padres National Forest. The steep terrain, coupled with dry vegetation and erratic winds, made for a tough firefight. “It’s just a hard, difficult piece of country to fight fire in and the weather is the most extreme anywhere around,” said Jim Harris, Los Padres National Forest fire chief.
| null |
https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/rain-douse-california-wildfire-threatening-homes-67337063
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Wed, 27 Nov 2019 04:36:49 -0500
| 1,574,847,409 | 1,574,856,355 |
disaster, accident and emergency incident
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accident and emergency incident
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5,124 |
activistpost--2019-07-30--NOW Is The Time To Demand 5G Wireless Health Environmental Impact Studies At YOUR State Capitol Or
| 2019-07-30T00:00:00 |
activistpost
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NOW Is The Time To Demand 5G Wireless Health & Environmental Impact Studies At YOUR State Capitol Or Regret Not Doing It Later On
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Sample state legislation establishing a commission to evaluate the environmental and health effects of the deployment of 5G wireless technology. If the great State of New Hampshire did it, so can you, the readers, in your respective home states capitols. What did ‘proactive’ activists in New Hampshire, The Granite State, accomplish regarding 5G? New Hampshire became the first U.S. state to enact legislation establishing a commission to evaluate environmental and health effects of 5G wireless technologies. Here is a proposed legislation, which Americans for Responsible Technology suggests everyone uses to contact his/her state capitol legislators in order to get an unbiased evaluation of effects from a never-tested for human and environmental impacts 5G safety broadband network. However, I do not agree with the makeup of the ART’s proposed Commission; it’s already ‘slanted’ from what I read. Respectfully, there are no provisions set forth for accredited 5G or other RFR technology INDEPENDENT researchers suggested for nomination, such as: Who should those scientists, MDs and PhDs be? Magda Havas, PhD., Associate Professor Trent University School Biological Effects of Electromagnetic Fields. See Dr. Havas’s studies in live blood cells and electrosmog causing clumping technically called “Rouleaux.” https://magdahavas.com/live-blood-cells-and-electrosmog/ Martin Pall, PhD., Professor Emeritus of Biochemistry and Basic Medical Sciences, Washington State University. See Dr. Pall’s 90-page, online book regarding the effects of 5G here https://peaceinspace.blogs.com/files/5g-emf-hazards–dr-martin-l.-pall–eu-emf2018-6-11us3.pdf David O. Carpenter, MD., Director, Institute for Health and the Environment, University of Albany, co-editor of the BioInitiative 2012 wherein 1800 new studies regarding bio-effects evidence are published about various stresses, health and environmental stressors are documented. https://bioinitiative.org/table-of-contents/ Report charts https://bioinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/pdfs/BioInitiativeReport-RF-Color-Charts.pdf Any one of the 250 scientists who signed the Petition to the UN “Warning about EMF.” https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/scientists-sign-petition-warning-about-emf/ It is my most sincere, plus scientific, opinion if any of the new state-by-state 5G impact studies legislation do not include at least two of the above-named research scientists, then we might as well forget it, since it will be a waste of time, money and a prolonged effort, as I can tell you right NOW what those results will be. The results will coincide only with consensus EMF/RFR science ICNIRP, World Health Organization, United Nations Agenda 21 and 2030 dictates, BECAUSE 5G is integral platform to implement the Internet of Things (IoT) and AI (Artificial Intelligence)—the most unholy grail of consensus science to control humans, the weather and the environment! Where have all the trees gone? To make way for 5G transmissions! Do you want that? Where have all the forests gone? To understand more fully “controlling the weather” via weather geoengineering, Dane Wigington of Weather Geoengineering.org explains the climate control horrors that have been ongoing for close to 70 years, which now result in a hopefully-not ‘final’ destructive Solar Radiation Management (SRM) strategy that is second to none, including the onslaught of 5G platforms that will pump out microwave RFRs (millimeter waves) at one hundred (100) times the oscillation powers of 4G, which is not in full capacity transmissions! In addition to 4G having much better coverage, it will actually improve with the deployment of the upcoming spectrum like AWS-3and 600MHz. The carriers are going to continue to deploy their existing spectrum and future 4G spectrum that will continue to justify investment as they try to increase capacity and coverage in 4G where they can realistically make money . Below is a 22 minute video regarding the ‘purposeful’ use of forest fires smoke to effectuate Solar Radiation Management. Please take the time to watch it, as it just may change your mind.
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Activist Post
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https://www.activistpost.com/2019/07/now-is-the-time-to-demand-5g-wireless-health-environmental-impact-studies-at-your-state-capitol-or-regret-not-doing-it-later-on.html
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2019-07-30 20:20:57+00:00
| 1,564,532,457 | 1,567,535,298 |
disaster, accident and emergency incident
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accident and emergency incident
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7,881 |
aljazeera--2019-01-09--Trump threatens to cut off funds for California wildfire relief
| 2019-01-09T00:00:00 |
aljazeera
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Trump threatens to cut off funds for California wildfire relief
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US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he has ordered a halt to federal disaster relief for California's wildfires unless state officials involved in forest management "get their act together". "Billions of dollars are sent to the State of California for Forest fires that, with proper Forest Management, would never happen," Trump wrote on Twitter, a day after western governors asked for greater federal investment in fire prevention. "Unless they get their act together, which is unlikely, I have ordered FEMA to send no more money. It is a disgraceful situation in lives & money!" the president said, referring to the Federal Emergency Management Agency. California has suffered a series of increasingly massive, deadly blazes in the past two years that have destroyed homes and businesses and put burned areas at a greater risk of mudslides. Governor Gavin Newsom said 167 people have been killed by fires and floods over that time. Trump's move targets a state that is home to some of his biggest political rivals, including Democratic US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who is leading the fight in Congress against Trump's demands for $5.7bn in funding for a border wall on the Mexican border. Writing on Twitter, Pelosi blasted Trump, saying his "threat insults the memory of scores of Americans who perished in wildfires last year & thousands more who lost their homes". Newsom, also a Democrat, said at his swearing-in ceremony this week that the Trump administration is "hostile to California's values". FEMA, which provides grants for home repairs or rental assistance after disasters, said it could not respond to queries about Trump's order due to the partial government shutdown, and it was unclear whether there would be any immediate effect. More than half of the 13.4 million hectares (33 million acres) of forest in California are managed by federal government agencies, according to the University of California's Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources. State and local agencies control only three percent, and the rest is privately controlled. On Tuesday, the governors of California, Oregon and Washington asked federal agencies to "double" their investment in forest management in a letter to the White House. California plans to spend $1bn on forest management over the next five years, the letter said, and has spent $111.3m since 2017, just under half on federal lands. During a November tour of the wreckage of the Camp Fire, the deadliest in California history, Trump blamed what he called poor forest management for the fire, and threatened to end FEMA funding. The California Professional Firefighters organisation, with more than 30,000 members, said at the time Trump's assertion was "dangerously wrong".
| null |
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/01/trump-threatens-cut-funds-california-wildfire-relief-190109191023713.html
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2019-01-09 20:39:48+00:00
| 1,547,084,388 | 1,567,553,309 |
disaster, accident and emergency incident
|
accident and emergency incident
|
9,136 |
aljazeera--2019-02-01--Bangkok chokes as pollution busting efforts falter
| 2019-02-01T00:00:00 |
aljazeera
|
Bangkok chokes as pollution busting efforts falter
|
Bangkok, Thailand - The small park in Bangkok's Rama III district is mostly popular with runners circling its neatly trimmed garden track to the sound of birdsong. But on Thursday, they were joined by a convoy of fire trucks and half a dozen military drones, drawing dozens of curious onlookers. After an hour setting up, the drones and water cannon were pumping thick plumes of water into the empty sky above. Speakers blared warnings about the operation and instructed runners to keep their distance. The odd display was the Thai government's latest attempt at curbing the alarmingly high levels of pollution that have been plaguing the capital for weeks. The drones, geared with water tanks and fire-fighting sprinklers, were supposed to break up the smog that has been smothering the city of around 10 million people for at least a month. Initially, Thailand's authorities said the worsening pollution was being blown over from China, predicting that it would be gone within a week or so. Then, as the smog persisted, they tried cloud seeding. Now, drones and water cannon are their latest salvo. "Do they actually think this is going to help?" asked Gong, a 50-year-old man who comes to the park often to use its free-weight gym. "The only thing happening today is that runners are getting wet and they have to watch out for these drones," he said, drawing laughter from weightlifters nearby. As amusing as they might have found the scene, Bangkok residents are welcoming any attempts to combat the toxic smog that has forced authorities to close more than 400 schools, advise people to wear a mask when they're not indoors and limit the time they spend outside. New research from Thailand's National Institute of Development Administration (NIDA) suggests Bangkok's air has reached particularly concerning levels of toxicity, with the lingering smog being full of dangerous heavy metals and various carcinogenic compounds. Professor Siwatt Pongpiachan, director of NIDA and a global leading expert on urban pollution, told Al Jazeera he was concerned to find that Bangkok's air contained dangerous levels of cadmium, tungsten, arsenic and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) inside the fine dust air, known as PM 2.5. Siwatt explained that their levels are particularly dangerous, based on the World Health Organization's (WHO) standards for measuring safe air, adding that Bangkok's pollution was largely coming from within the city itself. PAHs are toxic carcinogenic compounds that can be sourced to forest fires, car exhausts, cigarette smoke and insecticides, among others. The Thai capital, meanwhile, has some 10 million registered vehicles, pollutant-pumping factories and numerous daily cremations. Siwatt said the widespread burning of sugarcane fields in northern provinces is also contributing to the crisis, which makes tackling the problem extremely difficult. The WHO has been campaigning to decrease toxic pollution around the globe for years, educating the public on the dangers to health and urging governments to prioritise clean air as megacities such as New Delhi and Beijing struggle with debilitating levels of pollution. Its guideline for PM2.5 is for an annual average of no more than 10 micrograms/cubic metre. Bangkok has never seen pollution on this scale, and many residents were shocked at the smog lurking above. On social media, where Thais often go to express their outrage, memes comparing the city to post-apocalyptic backdrops in films such as Bladerunner 2049 and Mad Max have been widely shared. Many are concerned the government is focusing on the symptoms rather than the cause of the problem. "I think we need to push the government with a sense of urgency if we want to see positive results," said Sirima Panyametheekul, an academic in the Department of Environmental Engineering at Thailand's Chulalongkorn University. "We need urgent measures to be implemented, like reducing the density of traffic and cleaning the streets." Thailand also needs to adopt more stringent measures for PM2.5, she added. The density of the microscopic particles can reach 50 micrograms for each cubic metre volume before the government has to act, according to Sirima, who recommends that level be halved. Currently, air quality is sitting around 61 to 93 micrograms/cubic metre depending on the location. "I know that's challenging," she said. "But it's important. If not 25, we can at least start at 35 or 30." The government, which dropped a plan to use sugar water that was supposed to "capture" the toxins, stands by its approach to the current air crisis. "It's going to work," said Somjiak Nonthagaew, the director of Bangkok's Fire and Rescue Department, on deploying drones and fire-fighting equipment to combat the smog. "It should definitely help, but of course not 100 percent. We would have liked to do more, but we have limited options and resources. But we sprayed at six locations today, and we think it was a success," added Nonthagaew, between shouting loud updates into his phone as the mist began to descend over the park. But Siwatt is not convinced. He says Thailand needs to develop policies that would reduce the toxic compounds in the air, citing neighbouring countries such as Singapore and the Philippines. He's also urging authorities to introduce a Clean Air Act, like the one the British government rolled out after the deadly 1952 London Smog, which blanketed the UK capital for several days. Thai authorities say that the current smog should lift in a few days as a result of their tackling operations. According to Somjiak, they plan to deploy water cannons and drones until the air quality improves. But without major changes, the smog is bound to return. "It's going to take a few years before we see any Clean Air Act laws," Siwatt said. "And before thinking about the timeframe, we need to convince the government and all the future political parties to agree that Thailand really needs clean air."
| null |
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/02/bangkok-chokes-pollution-busting-efforts-falter-190201040547251.html
|
2019-02-01 08:32:51+00:00
| 1,549,027,971 | 1,567,549,992 |
disaster, accident and emergency incident
|
accident and emergency incident
|
11,452 |
aljazeera--2019-04-01--China says 30 killed fighting forest fire in Sichuan province
| 2019-04-01T00:00:00 |
aljazeera
|
China says 30 killed fighting forest fire in Sichuan province
|
At least 27 firefighters have died after they were sent to tackle a forest blaze in remote mountains in southwest China's Sichuan province at the weekend, authorities said on Monday. The deaths occurred after a change of wind on Sunday as the firefighters were battling the blaze in a rugged area at an altitude of 3,800 metres, according to the Ministry of Emergency Management and the military. The ministry said three local residents recruited to help fight the blaze also died. Nearly 700 people were battling the fire in Sichuan's Muli county that erupted on Saturday, but contact was lost on Sunday with the 30. Two helicopters carrying medical staff and military personnel were dispatched to help in the search. China has been battling forest fires in recent weeks in various parts of the vast country, including on the outskirts of Beijing, fed by dry weather and high winds across many northern areas. The death toll among the firefighters appeared to be the worst since 2015, when an explosion at a chemical warehouse in the port city of Tianjin killed 173 people, most of them firefighters and other first responders. That blast was blamed on illegal construction and unsafe storage of volatile materials. Scores of workers have also died in recent industrial accidents, including 85 in a pair of explosions last month.
| null |
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/04/china-30-killed-fighting-forest-fire-sichuan-province-190401115308882.html
|
2019-04-01 14:20:35+00:00
| 1,554,142,835 | 1,567,544,492 |
disaster, accident and emergency incident
|
accident and emergency incident
|
11,678 |
aljazeera--2019-04-05--Thousands evacuated after South Koreas wildfire
| 2019-04-05T00:00:00 |
aljazeera
|
Thousands evacuated after South Korea's wildfire
|
Thousands of firefighters and soldiers are starting to contain wildfires in South Korea which has killed one person and forced more than 4,000 people to flee their homes. The fires broke out in eastern Gangwon Province on Thursday evening from a transformer spark near a resort, according to Choi Jin-ho, a fire captain at Gangwon Fire Headquarters. The fire then spread to the cities of Sokcho and Gangneung, burning about 525 hectares and around 198 homes, warehouses and other buildings by early Friday, the government said. About 2,263 people have been evacuated to gymnasiums and schools by early Friday, down from about 4,230 citizens earlier, and 52 schools were closed due to the fires. The fire in the Sokcho region has been contained, the government said, while about 50 percent of the fire in the Gangneung region has been contained. Around 872 fire trucks and 3,251 firefighters from all over the country are currently working to contain the wildfire, the National Fire Agency said. The Ministry of Defense said almost 16,500 soldiers, 32 military helicopters and 26 military firetrucks have been deployed as well, and there are plans to provide meals for 6,800 people. Videos posted to social media in South Korea showed tall flames rising from large areas of forest, the air filled with embers and debris as cars drove by the raging fire. News photos showed a burned-out bus, fire engulfing a hill, and residents evacuating apartment complexes and filing into gyms. The region is close to the border with North Korea. South Korea's Unification Ministry said Friday it plans to inform North Korea of details about the forest fires. Another Gangwon fire official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of office rules, said at least 11 people were being treated for injuries.
| null |
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/04/thousands-flee-wildfire-south-korea-eastern-coast-190405053750773.html
|
2019-04-05 06:03:34+00:00
| 1,554,458,614 | 1,567,543,912 |
disaster, accident and emergency incident
|
accident and emergency incident
|
13,833 |
aljazeera--2019-06-26--Europe heatwave Temperatures soar as heat nears record levels
| 2019-06-26T00:00:00 |
aljazeera
|
Europe heatwave: Temperatures soar as heat nears record levels
|
Tourists in Rome and Paris have scaled back their sightseeing in sweltering temperatures, dousing themselves at fountains and cooling down with ice cream as a heatwave continued in continental Europe. "With this hot sun we try and keep to the cooler places," said Fari, a Spanish tourist to the Italian capital, speaking by the Trevi fountain on Tuesday. "From 8 o'clock we are out looking at Rome, and from midday we eat ice cream," he added. Southern France has also been particularly hot with the southern town of Carpentras breaking its temperature record. An average June provides a pleasant 28 degrees Celsius in Carpentras on any day. The unusually hot weather reached Poland on Monday, where Krakow recorded 32C, 10 degrees above average but not quite a June record. It stretched to Lithuania where Vilnius, the capital, measured 29C, eight above average. The heat will build more during Thursday and Friday in France, Italy and Spain. On Friday, extreme highs up to 43C are possible in southern France, northeast Spain and northern Italy. This would break June heat records. According to reports, the high temperatures have already claimed the lives of three people. French meteorological service Meteo-France has issued an orange alert, the second highest level of weather warning. "We could see temperatures in localised areas hit record highs," Meteo France said on Monday. "This heatwave could be remarkable for how early it has come as well as its intensity." The current conditions have brought memories in France of August 2003, when the temperatures hit as high as 44.1C causing the deaths of some 15,000 people. In Spain, AEMET warned of an "extreme risk" of forest fires. While in Italy, at the coastal town of Eloro in Sicily, 41 cars were engulfed in flames on Monday after a fire broke out close to a car park where beachgoers had left their vehicles. In Germany, Berlin police have been asked to wear full summer uniforms, including long trousers and closed shoes, but may be allowed to remove their caps under the current circumstances, a spokesman said on Wednesday. In what is now becoming a familiar story, the weather pattern is static again over Europe. "This produces an extreme of conditions, dependent upon the time of year. We are now in early summer so the result is a building heatwave," Al Jazeera's Rob McElwee said. The controlling force of the weather is the Jet Stream, a fast-flowing wind-river that loops around the northern hemisphere at a height of 10 kilometres. "The forecast from climate change models and the actuality of the last few years has shown a change to this Jet Stream," McElwee said. "It now has much greater loops, draped over North America and Eurasia, whereas a tighter, straighter flow used to be the norm. A looped Jet Stream induces long-lasting, low-pressure circulations and high-pressure domes," he added. Such a set-up has drawn air up from North Africa, in a southerly breeze, to cover Western Europe. Over the coming days the heatwave will be increasingly confined to France, Italy and Spain as a cooler breeze flows across northern and central Europe. According to scientists, heatwaves can become really dangerous when they take place in early summer. Europe's 2003 heatwave resulted in the deaths of an estimated 70,000 people.
| null |
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/06/europe-heatwave-temperatures-soar-heat-record-levels-190626094107819.html
|
2019-06-26 15:34:52+00:00
| 1,561,577,692 | 1,567,538,049 |
disaster, accident and emergency incident
|
accident and emergency incident
|
13,896 |
aljazeera--2019-06-27--Hell is coming Europe on alert as heatwave intensifies
| 2019-06-27T00:00:00 |
aljazeera
|
'Hell is coming': Europe on alert as heatwave intensifies
|
Europe's record-breaking heatwave is forecast to intensify further on Thursday with authorities on high alert as temperatures threaten to exceed 40 degrees Celsius in some parts of the continent. The stifling heat prompted traffic restrictions in France, sparked forest fires in Spain, and fanned debate in Germany over public nudity as sweltering residents stripped down. Meteorologists blame a blast of hot air from northern Africa for the heat this week, which has already set new records in Europe for June. According to reports, the high temperatures have already claimed the lives of three people. Exceptional for arriving so early in summer, the heatwave will on Thursday and Friday likely send mercury above 40C in France, Spain and Greece. In Spain, hundreds of firefighters and soldiers, backed by water-dropping aircraft, battled on Wednesday to put out a wind-fuelled forest fire that erupted in Torre del Espanol in the northeastern region of Catalonia. The worst is expected on Friday when 33 of the 50 Spanish provinces face extreme temperatures, which could reach 44C in Girona. In France, temperatures "unprecedented" for their timing and intensity since detailed surveys started in 1947 were expected to reach at least 39C over two-thirds of the country, said weather service Meteo-France. Health official Jerome Saloman said the effect of the extreme heat was starting to be felt in France, with an increase in weather-related calls to emergency medical services. Some schools were expected to close on Thursday and Friday while several cities - including Paris and Lyon - restricted traffic to limit a build-up of air pollution. French authorities were taking no chances after the August 2003 heatwave was blamed for 15,000 deaths in the country, with television and radio broadcasts issuing warnings. In Greece, where about 100 people were killed in last year's deadly fires at the Mati coastal resort, hospitals and officials were on red alert with temperatures of 45C. With the mercury soaring, firefighters were battling to contain a wildfire near an arms factory some 50km from the capital, Athens. The fire had forced the evacuation of a small refugee camp but was not threatening homes. The fire service said three water-dropping helicopters were assisting more than 40 personnel with 19 fire engines and water tankers near the town of Lavrio, southeast of the capital. Strong winds are fanning the flames through low vegetation. Another wildfire on the island of Evia was under partial control, the fire service said. Scientists warn global warming linked to human fossil fuel use could make such scorchers more frequent. "Global temperatures are increasing due to climate change," said Len Shaffrey, a professor of climate science at the University of Reading. "The global rise in temperatures means the probability that extreme heatwave will occur is also increasing." But French winemakers said the hot weather was more than welcome as it could produce a superior vintage. "Two of three days of a heatwave in Bordeaux at this time, it's magic," said Philippe Bardet, head of the Bordeaux Wine Council. Temperatures above 40C would help burn off any of the mildew caused by residual damp, which is "very, very good for quality", Bardet said. The 70-year-old record for the highest temperature recorded for June was beaten in Germany as 38.6C was recorded in Brandenburg, the German Weather Service (DWD) confirmed on Wednesday. Meanwhile, police in Brandenburg cautioned a naked man for driving his moped wearing only his helmet and sandals. And in Munich, security guards ordered a group of women sunbathing topless on the banks of the Isar River to cover up. The move backfired, according to the Munich newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung, which quoted another sunbather as saying she and others took their tops off "out of solidarity". It said an urgent motion was introduced in a city council meeting to allow topless bathing. Scores of people have drowned in Poland and Lithuania as they tried to cool off in lakes and rivers, authorities said. The Polish weather institute IMGW said the country's highest ever June temperature was recorded on Wednesday in the southwest: 38.2C. The Czech Hydrometeorological Institute also recorded the country's highest June temperature: 38.9C in the northern town of Doksany. In Belgium, vastly different temperatures were expected with 19C on the north coast and 33C in the south, according to broadcaster RTBF.
| null |
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/06/coming-europe-alert-heatwave-intensifies-190627074914756.html
|
2019-06-27 11:54:23+00:00
| 1,561,650,863 | 1,567,537,896 |
disaster, accident and emergency incident
|
accident and emergency incident
|
13,964 |
aljazeera--2019-06-28--Spain Catalonia battles worst wildfire in 20 years amid heatwave
| 2019-06-28T00:00:00 |
aljazeera
|
Spain: Catalonia battles worst wildfire in 20 years amid heatwave
|
Catalan firefighters are battling the worst wildfire the Spanish region has seen in 20 years as Europe swelters in the grip of an intense heatwave. Hundreds of firefighters struggled to contain a wildfire in the northeastern region of Catalonia on Friday that has scorched more than 5,500 hectares of land and forced the evacuation of some 53 residents. A day earlier, authorities warned that the blaze, which began on Wednesday afternoon, could easily devour 20,000 hectares if it was not contained. A military unit with 230 specialists joined local firefighters on Thursday, toiling overnight to control the blaze in the Tarragona province. In a statement on Friday morning, the Catalan regional government said while progress had been made to contain the fire, it was not yet fully extinguished and operations would continue with the support of planes and helicopters dropping water on the flames. Authorities described the blaze as the worst in Catalonia in two decades. In comments to local radio station Catalunya Radio, Interior Minister Miquel Buch recalled a "hard night" made worse by the province's hilly terrain. "The difficulties are such that we can't talk about a fire that is under control or in the extinction phase, but rather that we're at a moment when the blaze is getting bigger". Buch added that authorities suspect the cause of the outbreak was a deposit of improperly-stored chicken manure at a farm in the village of La Torre de l'Espanyol that high temperatures caused to combust. Firefighters said that temperatures over 30 degrees Celsius, low humidity and high winds fanned the flames, helping the fire to spread. Many evacuees told the Spanish media that they had fled the flames with just the clothes on their backs. "All I took with me were my car keys, my mobile phone, my wallet and my dogs. Nothing else," one unidentified man told Spain's Telecinco TV channel. Around 30 people, including British and German residents, spent a second night huddled in a school in the village of Flix on Thursday, local media reported. Emergency services have ordered the roughly 250 residents of the nearby village of the Bovera and some 900 people in Maials village to stay indoors to avoid inhaling the poisonous smoke spewed by the fire. The charred land includes vineyards, olive groves and fruit orchards. A farm burned down in La Torre de l'Espanyol, killing more than 200 sheep and at least two horses, according to an AFP news agency's photographer at the scene. The fire raged just seven kilometres from the Asco nuclear plant, but officials said the site was not at risk since winds were blowing the flames away from it and it was located on the other side of a river. However, Catalan President Quim Torra warned that Friday was expected to be the hottest day of the heatwave and that "the situation will be critical" in all of Catalonia. He announced on Thursday night that the harvesting of crops would be banned for 48 hours to avoid accidentally sparking fires, and that access to mountains and a national park would be restricted as a precaution as long as the high temperatures continue. Several roads were also closed. Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, currently attending the G20 summit in Japan expressed his concern about the situation on Wednesday and thanked emergency services and troops for their efforts. The fire comes amid a record-breaking heatwave in Europe that has seen traffic restrictions, school closures and forest fires in several countries. Meteorologists blame a blast of hot air from northern Africa for scorching temperatures early in the European summer, which could send thermometers towards 40 Celsius in France, Spain and Greece on Friday.
| null |
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/06/spain-catalonia-battles-worst-wildfire-20-years-heatwave-190628052701107.html
|
2019-06-28 09:18:14+00:00
| 1,561,727,894 | 1,567,537,734 |
disaster, accident and emergency incident
|
accident and emergency incident
|
14,464 |
aljazeera--2019-07-21--More than 1000 firefighters battle wildfires in central Portugal
| 2019-07-21T00:00:00 |
aljazeera
|
More than 1,000 firefighters battle wildfires in central Portugal
|
More than a thousand firefighters have been deployed to battle a wildfire sweeping across central Portugal. The mobilisation on Sunday was one of the biggest seen in Castelo Branco region, 200 kilometres north of the Portuguese capital, Lisbon, and included 1,100 firefighters and 340 vehicles, according to the rescue services. The biggest effort - 760 firefighters, 230 vehicles and 11 planes and helicopters - battled to douse flames in the municipality of Vila de Rei, which had spread nearly 25km. One seriously injured civilian was evacuated by helicopter to Lisbon, the commander of the civil protection authority for the region, Luis Belo Costa, told a news conference. Four firefighters were also reported injured, and a further three were hurt after their fire engine collided with another. "Given the difficult terrain, we have not succeeded in getting the fire in Vila de Rei under control, but have only contained about 60 percent of it, despite a lull in the wind," Belo Costa said. The army said in a statement it was dispatching 20 soldiers and machinery to open routes "to facilitate access" for the firefighters. In a message, President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa expressed his "solidarity with the hundreds fighting the scourge of the fires". Two other forest fires reported on Saturday have since been brought under control. While a number of small villages were evacuated as a precaution overnight, no additional measures were planned on Sunday. But that could change "if the situation deteriorates," Belo Costa said. Five regions of central and southern Portugal were on maximum fire alert on Sunday because of the dry weather and winds. The centre of Portugal is hilly and covered in dense forest and is regularly ravaged by fires, including the deadliest in the country's history where 114 people died in two separate blazes in June and October 2017. Many of those who died were killed in their cars as they tried to flee the flames. This year, several national highways have been closed to prevent a repeat of 2017 and a number of villages in the region have been evacuated as a precaution, the rescue service said. In recent days, temperatures have soared across the region, with Castelo Branco reaching daytime high temperatures of 38.2 degrees Celsius, six degrees above the average. Temperatures are expected to reach 40 degrees Celcius by Monday. With no sign of rain in the forecast and winds still strong, the fire danger remains high.
| null |
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/07/1000-firefighters-battle-wildfires-central-portugal-190721093337142.html
|
2019-07-21 12:29:53+00:00
| 1,563,726,593 | 1,567,536,246 |
disaster, accident and emergency incident
|
accident and emergency incident
|
14,751 |
aljazeera--2019-07-29--Six-year-old among three killed at California food festival
| 2019-07-29T00:00:00 |
aljazeera
|
Six-year-old among three killed at California food festival
|
A gunman cut through a fence and opened fire on a crowd eating and listening to music at a popular food festival in California, killing three people, including a six-year-old boy, and wounding about 15 others before police quickly shot him dead on Sunday, authorities said. On Monday, California police were searching for a suspected accomplice of the gunman, who authorities identified as 19-year-old Santino William Legan, according to US media. The attacker appeared to randomly target people when fired with a rifle Sunday afternoon, the end of the three-day Gilroy Garlic Festival that attracts more than 100,000 people to the city known as the "Garlic Capital of the World", Gilroy Police Chief Scot Smithee said. Gilroy is located about 48km southeast of the city of San Jose. The gunman sneaked in through a fence that borders a car park next to a creek. Police responded within a minute and killed the suspect, Smithee said. Authorities declined to comment about the reports on the attacker's identity, but said they planned to hold a news conference later on Monday. "My son had his whole life to live and he was only six," said Alberto Romero, the father of Stephen Romero, who was among those killed. "That's all I can say," Romero told San Francisco Bay Area news station KNTV. The boy's grandmother, Maribel Romero, told Los Angeles station KABC-TV that she searched several hospitals before learning he had died. She said he was "always kind, happy and, you know, playful". The other victims included a 13-year-old girl and a man in his 20s, police said on Monday. The wounded were taken to multiple hospitals, and their conditions ranged from fair to critical, with some undergoing surgery. At least five were treated and released. The Gilroy Garlic Festival features food, cooking contests and music. It's a decades-old staple in the agricultural city of 50,000, about 176km southeast of San Francisco. Festivalgoers pass through metal detectors and their bags are searched at the event. The band TinMan was starting an encore Sunday when the shooting started. Singer Jack van Breen said he saw a man wearing a green shirt and grayish handkerchief around his neck fire into the food area with what looked like an assault rifle. He and other members of the band dove under the stage. Van Breen, from nearby Santa Clara, said he heard someone shout: "Why are you doing this?" The reply: "Because I'm really angry." The audience began screaming and running, and the five members of the band and others dove under the stage. Bandmate Vlad Malinovsky said he heard a lot of shots and then it stopped. Later, law enforcement told those hiding to come out with their hands up. Donna Carlson of Reno, Nevada, was helping a friend at a jewellery booth when "all of a sudden it was pop, pop, pop. And I said, 'I sure hope that's fireworks.'" She got on her hands and knees and hid behind a table until police told her it was safe to leave. "We express our deepest sadness and sorrow for the families who lost a precious loved one in the horrific shooting last night in Gilroy, California," Trump said before an event at the White House. In a tweet, California Governor Gavin Newsom called the bloodshed "nothing short of horrific" and said he was grateful for the police response. Legan, the 19-year-old identified in news reports as the gunman, appeared to post a photograph from the festival on his Instagram account shortly before the shooting accompanied by disgruntled captions. The account only appeared to be a few days old, and was deactivated at some point on Monday morning. "Ayyy garlic festival time," he wrote in the caption to the picture of people walking through the festival grounds. "Come get wasted on overpriced s***." Another photograph posted on Sunday showed a sign warning of a high danger of forest fires. Its caption urged people to read "Might is Right", a racist and sexist treatise written by the pseudonymous author Ragnar Redbeard in the late 19th century. "Why overcrowd towns and pave more open space to make room for hordes of mestizos and Silicon Valley white twats?" the caption continued. Video posted to social media showed people running in terror as shots rang out. Evenny Reyes of Gilroy, 13, told the Mercury News in San Jose that she spent the day at the festival with her friends and relatives. "We were just leaving and we saw a guy with a bandanna wrapped around his leg because he got shot. And there were people on the ground, crying," Reyes said. "There was a little kid hurt on the ground. People were throwing tables and cutting fences to get out." Reyes said that she did not run at first because the gunshots sounded like fireworks. "It started going for five minutes, maybe three. It was like the movies - everyone was crying, people were screaming," she said.
| null |
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/07/year-killed-california-food-festival-190729171020178.html
|
2019-07-29 18:43:48+00:00
| 1,564,440,228 | 1,567,535,468 |
disaster, accident and emergency incident
|
accident and emergency incident
|
15,150 |
aljazeera--2019-08-13--Villages evacuated as wildfire rages on Greek island of Evia
| 2019-08-13T00:00:00 |
aljazeera
|
Villages evacuated as wildfire rages on Greek island of Evia
|
A major wildfire on the Greek island of Evia has forced the evacuation of at least two villages and a monastery as smoke from the wind-fanned blaze blanketed the capital, Athens, further south. Authorities on Tuesday evacuated some 500 residents from the villages of Kontodespoti and Makrimalli as the flames neared homes, officials said. The monastery of Panagia Makrymallis was evacuated first as a precaution. "There are flames all around and it's difficult to breathe ... house yards are on fire," Yiorgos Psathas, Dirfys-Messapia mayor, told state broadcaster ERT. "We will order more evacuations if the need arises," he added. More than 200 firefighters were battling the blaze backed by 75 fire trucks, five water-bombing helicopters and six planes. The crews face rugged terrain, hills and poor visibility complicating air operations. "The flames are 20-30 metres high ... you can't even see the sun," Panos Agiannitis, a volunteer firefighter at the scene, told Athens municipal radio. "I feared for my life ... you could feel the heat 250 metres away," he said. "The only way for this fire to be extinguished is when there's nothing left to burn." No fatalities had been reported and the winds were expected to subside in the evening. Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Greece's recently-elected prime minister, returned to Athens after cutting short a vacation on his home island of Crete. The fire on Greece's second-largest island, located some 110km northeast of Athens, started at about 3am local time (00:00 GMT) at the side of a road and was quickly spread by strong winds through the dry vegetation, the semi-official news agency ANA said. The winds blew the smoke from the blazing pine forest north towards the Magnesia region and south to the Attica Peninsula and Athens. ANA said the pine forests on Evia are part of the "Natura 2000" European network of protected areas and habitats. Greece has been hit by a spate of wildfires since the weekend amid gale-force winds and temperatures of 40 degrees Celsius. On Monday, a major forest fire threatening homes in Peania, an eastern suburb of Athens, was brought under control. At least two houses were burned but there were no reports of injuries. On Sunday, a fire on the small island of Elafonissos, in the Peloponnese region, was brought under control after a two-day battle. Two more fires were doused on Saturday in Marathon, close to Mati, the coastal resort where in July last year 102 people died in Greece's worst fire disaster.
| null |
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/08/villages-evacuated-wildfire-rages-greek-island-evia-190813134635689.html
|
2019-08-13 14:11:54+00:00
| 1,565,719,914 | 1,567,534,288 |
disaster, accident and emergency incident
|
accident and emergency incident
|
15,209 |
aljazeera--2019-08-21--Amazon burning Brazil reports record surge in forest fires
| 2019-08-21T00:00:00 |
aljazeera
|
Amazon burning: Brazil reports record surge in forest fires
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Fires raging in Brazil's Amazon rainforest have hit a record high number this year, according to new data from the country's space research agency, as concerns grow over President Jair Bolsonaro's management of the environment. Nearly 73,000 fires were recorded between January and August, compared with 39,759 in all of 2018, the National Institute for Space Research (INPE) said on Monday. The surge marks an 83 percent increase over the same period last year and is the highest since INPE records began in 2013. Satellite images spotted more than 9,500 new forest fires since Thursday alone, mostly in the Amazon basin, home to the world's largest tropical forest and seen as vital to slowing the pace of global warming. Images showed the northernmost state of Roraima covered in dark smoke, while neighbouring Amazonas declared an emergency in the south of the state and in its capital Manaus over the blazes. Acre, on the border with Peru, has been on environmental alert since Friday due to the fires. A daytime blackout on Monday in Sao Paulo caused by smoke brought in by strong winds from forest fires in Amazonas and the state of Rondonia, more than 2,700km away, prompted tens of thousands of people to take to social media and voice their concerns for the welfare of the Amazon rainforest. The hashtag #prayforamazonia subsequently became a global Twitter trend, with some commentators criticising Bolsonaro for not doing enough to protect the environment. The unprecedented surge in fires has occurred since Bolsonaro took office in January vowing to develop the Amazon region for farming and mining, ignoring international concern over increased deforestation. Wildfires often occur in the dry season in Brazil, which ends in late October or early November, but they are also deliberately started in efforts to illegally clear forest for cattle ranching. INPE said the large number of wildfires could not be attributed to the dry season or natural phenomena alone. "There is nothing abnormal about the climate this year or the rainfall in the Amazon region, which is just a little below average," said INPE researcher Alberto Setzer. Asked about the agency's findings, Bolsonaro brushed off widespread concerns, saying it was the time of the year of the "queimada" or burn, when farmers use fire to clear land. "I used to be called Captain Chainsaw. Now I am Nero, setting the Amazon aflame. But it is the season of the queimada," he was quoted by Reuters news agency as saying. Environmental activists, meanwhile, pointed to a recent increase in deforestation as the trigger for the fires. "What we are seeing is a consequence of the increase in deforestation seen in recent figures," said Ricardo Mello of WWF's Amazon Program. Last month, INPE published preliminary data showing deforestation in Brazil's portion of the Amazon rainforest soared more than 88 percent in June compared with the same month a year ago, the second consecutive month of rising forest destruction under Bolsonaro. Bolsonaro fired the director of INPE following the publication of the statistics, saying they were inaccurate and smearing Brazil's reputation abroad. The Brazilian leader has faced mounting domestic criticism over his rhetoric regarding the environment, which activists blame for emboldening loggers, miners and farmers in the Amazon. Bolsonaro has also come under increased pressure from international powers to protect Brazil's environment under the terms of a landmark free trade deal brokered over two decades between the European Union and South American bloc Mercosur - of which Brazil is a member - and agreed to last month. The pact requires the Latin American giant to abide by the Paris climate accord, which Bolsonaro has threatened to pull out of, and also aims to end illegal deforestation, including in the Brazilian Amazon. Amid the rise in deforestation, Norway and Germany halted tens of millions of dollars of Amazon protection subsidies to the Amazon Fund, accusing Brazil of turning its back on the fight against deforestation. The move came after Bolsonaro's administration unilaterally changed the fund's governance structure and closed down the steering committee that selects the projects to back, making no formal proposal for the composition of a new committee. Bolsonaro reacted angrily to the suspension of funding and said Brazil would not take any lessons from the donor countries. "Isn't Norway that country that kills whales up there in the North Pole?" he told reporters. "Take that money and help Angela Merkel reforest Germany," he said.
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https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/08/amazon-burning-brazil-reports-record-surge-forest-fires-190821052601171.html
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2019-08-21 08:38:58+00:00
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aljazeera--2019-08-22--Brazils Amazon is burning Some families lost everything
| 2019-08-22T00:00:00 |
aljazeera
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Brazil's Amazon is burning: 'Some families lost everything'
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For the past two weeks, Zonalia Santos and her neighbours have spent their days trying to save their houses and crops from the large forest fires in the western Brazilian state of Rondonia. Santos lives in a settlement with 35 other families and although they managed to save their homes, she tells Al Jazeera "the fire touched almost everything else". "We spent the whole day fighting the fire ourselves, but it took pastures, bushes, cacao crops, wood, nuts or acai berries," she says. Santos and her family depend on growing cacao to produce chocolate, from which they make about $100 a month. She says they were lucky that the fire did not get to their crops, but "some families lost everything". "The damage is irreversible. At some point, when we were putting out the fire, we started crying because it is so sad that we protect so much to then see everything destroyed by a fire," she says. Brazil's northern and western regions have experienced an 83 percent increase in the number of fires in the first eight months of 2019 compared with the same time period last year, according to Brazil's space research centre INPE. Its satellite system detected 72,843 fires in the region this year. The states of Amazonas, Rondonia, Acre, Para and Mato Grosso do Sul were some of the most affected, and most of the burning happens inside the Amazon rainforest. In just a week, 9,507 new fires were detected in the world's biggest rainforest, commonly referred to as the "planet's lung". A thick cloud of smoke travelled across the continent, forcing flights to be cancelled and many to be hospitalised due to respiratory problems. In Sao Paulo, residents were surprised when they saw the sky turn dark in the middle of the day, although the city is 2,500km away from the origin of the fires. The state of Amazonas declared an emergency in its capital of Manaus on August 9 and the state of Acre, bordering Peru, also put out an environmental alert on August 16. Online, thousands used #PrayForAmazonia to denounce the fires, which many say are consequences of President Jair Bolsonaro's anti-environmental policies. On Wednesday, Bolsonaro responded to claims he was "setting the Amazon aflame", noting the country is going through its dry season and claiming the fires "could have been set by NGOs" to damage his administration, an accusation environmental groups rejected. A day later, he attempted to clarify his remarks, saying he did not claim non-governmental organisations started the fires, he only suspected it, and that his government lacked the resources to fight the blazes. Ricardo Salles, the minister for the environment said on Twitter that "dry weather, wind and heat caused the increase in fires across the country". Researchers from INPE, however, have rejected the government's claim, saying that this year's dry conditions in the Amazon were not "abnormal" and were not to blame for the enormous fires. "The dry season creates favourable conditions for the use and spread of fire, but starting a fire is the work of humans, either deliberately or by accident," INPE researcher Alberto Setzer told Reuters news agency. Ane Alencar, director of science in the Amazon Environmental Research Institute (IPAM), tells Al Jazeera the record-high number of fires are actually connected with an increase in deforestation. "We are not going to an extreme event of drought at the moment, we are seeing a very normal dry season. So what's different is that we are seeing more deforestation and that causes more fire because the forest is more fragile, fragmented and sensible," she tells Al Jazeera over the phone. According to the Brazilian newspaper Folha do Progresso, the fires started on August 10 when an association of farmers in the state of Para announced a so-called "day of fire". The idea, according to the publication, was to coordinate a number of simultaneous fires to show Bolsonaro "they are ready to work". On that day, 124 new fires were registered by INPE and the next day 203 more were flagged. The Public Prosecutor in the State of Para has opened an investigation into the incident. Bolsonaro has not shied away from marketing his pro-business vision for the Amazon, saying multiple times he supports opening the rainforest for mining and agriculture exploration. He is also outspoken about his anti-indigenous views, having said he would not "demarcate one centimetre more of native reserves" during his presidency. "The situation here is terrible, from fires to invasions of indigenous lands and I blame the government for this," says Ivaneide Bandeira, who is part of the Kaninde Association, which works to protect the environment and native groups in the state of Rondonia. She tells Al Jazeera the "weather is constantly dark", "hospitals are filled with people with respiratory problems" and "all indigenous reserves in the state have been affected". She says she also wakes up in the middle of the night struggling to breathe. "The situations is a thousand times worse than in prior years, you can't even compare it," she says. "The criminals are strengthened by this government's words that they can burn, deforest and destroy the Amazon, while the administration weakens environmental protections and authorities." The Karipuna indigenous reserve is one of the many affected. Adriano Karipuna, who is part of the Karipuna tribe's leadership, tells Al Jazeera that many of his relatives are suffering from "irritated throats, red eyes, cough and even the flu" because of all the smoke. "My village still depends on hunting and fishing, now all the animals are running away and if we continue to lose trees, our river will eventually die," he says. The most recent fires have entered at least 32 natural reserves and 36 indigenous lands, according to INPE. In the last few days, occasional rains gave some rest to the residents in nearby towns but the fear is far from over, says Santos in the state of Rondonia Santos and her neighbours continue to monitor their land for any piece of incandescent wood or flying sparks that could start their nightmare once again. "We can't breath because of the smoke and we can't sleep because we are afraid. Everywhere else is on fire, there is nowhere else to go," Santos says. "It's such a feeling of revolt because we know someone is to blame behind this."
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https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/brazil-amazon-burning-families-lost-190822151948577.html
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2019-08-22 16:44:57+00:00
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aljazeera--2019-08-24--Amazon fires Bolsonaro sends army after EU threat on trade deal
| 2019-08-24T00:00:00 |
aljazeera
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Amazon fires: Bolsonaro sends army after EU threat on trade deal
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Following a global chorus of concern and condemnation, Brazil's far-right President Jair Bolsonaro has pledged to mobilise the army to help combat fires that have been ravaging large parts of the Amazon rainforest, while his administration launched a diplomatic charm offensive to try to mend bridges overseas. The fires in the Brazilian Amazon, which accounts for more than half of the world's largest rainforest, have surged in number by 83 percent this year, according to government data, destroying vast swaths of a vital bulwark against global climate change. "Forest fires happen every year in Brazil, but it was the sheer scale this year that shocked the world. The so-called world's lungs are on fire," Al Jazeera's Daniel Schweimler said from Rondonia, one of the states worst affected by the fires. "Criticism first from within Brazil, and then internationally, forced Bolsonaro to respond," Schweimler said. "He has been accused by many of creating the conditions he is now trying to control." That viewpoint is supported by environmental organisation Greenpeace, which accuses the Brazilian authorities of not doing enough. "At the moment, if you burn the forest, you are backed up by a president and then you do exactly as you want to do because you know nothing will happen to you," Olivier Salge, Greenpeace Amazon campaigner, told Al Jazeera. "We have seen statistically that when there is law enforcement, fires and deforestation go down. When it isn't there, they go up," he said. In an attempt to fight the fires and ease the criticism aimed at him, Bolsonaro, who initially accused non-governmental organisations of setting the forest on fire without providing any evidence, said in a televised address he had authorised the use of troops to fight the fires and stop illegal deforestation in the Amazon. But the former military officer attributed the scale of the fires to drier-than-average weather and insisted on the need for economic development of the Amazon to improve the lives of its 20 million inhabitants. "Forest fires happen all over the world, so this is no reason to impose international sanctions. Brazil will continue to be as it is now a country that is friendly with everyone and is responsible with protection its forest," Bolsonaro said in a televised speech on Friday. Environmentalists have warned that his controversial plans for more agriculture and mining in the region will speed up deforestation. "We have to give the population the opportunity to develop and my government is working for that, with zero tolerance for crime - and that is no different for the environment," Bolsonaro added. Polls show Brazilians overwhelmingly oppose his policy on the environment and as he spoke to the nation, residents in large cities across Brazil banged on pots and pans in a traditional Latin American form of protest. That criticism was echoed by European leaders, who on Friday threatened to tear up a trade deal with South America, reflecting growing international anger at Brazil as the record number of fires in the Amazon rainforest intensified an unfolding environmental crisis. French President Emmanuel Macron called for G7 leaders to discuss the environmental crisis in Brazil at a summit this weekend in the French coastal resort of Biarritz. France and Ireland threatened to oppose an EU trade deal struck in June with the regional Mercosur bloc of countries including Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay, following Brazil's response. Hours ahead of the G7 meeting, Macron said on Twitter "our house is on fire", calling for members of the summit to act. Images of fires raging in the Amazon broadcast around the globe sparked protests outside Brazilian embassies from Mexico City and Lima to London and Paris. In the Cypriot capital Nicosia, a sign tied to the railings of Brazil's diplomatic mission read: "The Amazon belongs to Earth, not to the Brazilian president." US President Donald Trump - whose sceptical views on climate change Bolsonaro shares - called the Brazilian president to offer help, if needed, in dealing with the wildfires. "I told him if the United States can help with the Amazon rainforest fires, we stand ready to assist!" Trump tweeted on Friday. The wildfires will be one of the topics at the summit of G7 leaders in France this weekend, where Macron has called for leaders to sign a charter to protect biodiversity. The French leader said an "ecocide" was taking place in the Amazon that required an international response. Irish leader Leo Varadkar, the first who said the EU trade deal with Brazil should be cancelled over the fires, called Bolsonaro's attempts to blame the fires on environmental groups "Orwellian". "There is no way that Ireland will vote for the EU-Mercosur Free Trade Agreement if Brazil does not honour its environmental commitments," Varadkar said in a statement. The EU-Mercosur deal took 20 years to negotiate, but will not be officially ratified for at least another two years. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson tweeted that the fires were "not only heartbreaking, they are an international crisis," while a spokeswoman said Johnson would use the summit to call for a renewed focus on protecting nature. The French president's office also accused Bolsonaro of lying when he downplayed concerns over climate change at the G20 summit in June. Brazilian business leaders also warned the backlash over Brazil's environmental record could sink its efforts to join the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), a Paris-based club of 36 developed nations whose imprimatur is required by many institutional investors. Stung by the international outcry, Brazil distributed a 12-page circular, seen by Reuters, to foreign embassies, outlining data and statistics defending the government's reputation on the environment. Having first dismissed the fires as natural, then blaming non-governmental organisations without evidence for lighting them, Bolsonaro appeared to adopt a more serious approach on Friday following the international outcry, summoning top cabinet members for an afternoon meeting to tailor a response. Agriculture Minister Tereza Cristina Dias insisted that Brazil was "taking care" of the Amazon, and that international concerns over the fires needed to cool down. "The news is worrying, but I think we have to lower the temperature. The Amazon is important, Brazil knows that, and Brazil is taking care of the Amazon," she told reporters. The Brazilian space agency INPE has registered 72,843 fires this year, the highest number since records began in 2013. More than 9,500 have been spotted by satellites over the past week. Although fires are a regular and natural occurrence during the dry season at this time of year, environmentalists blamed the jump on farmers clearing land for pasture. Bolsonaro has repeatedly said he believed Brazil should open up the Amazon to business interests, allowing mining, agricultural and logging companies to exploit its natural resources. On Thursday, Bolsonaro admitted for the first time that farmers could be behind some of the fires but he responded angrily to what he saw as foreign interference. Some foreign donors - including the biggest, Norway - have slashed their funding to the Amazon Fund, designed to curb deforestation in the region, in protest to changes introduced by Brazil that blocked its operations. "These countries that send money here, they don't send it out of charity ... They send it with the aim of interfering with our sovereignty," Bolsonaro said. Alexandre Antonelli, director of science at Britain's Kew Royal Botanic Gardens, urged that import sanctions be imposed on Brazil because of the fires. "Immediate action is necessary to extinguish the current fires and prevent future ones," the Brazilian scientist said.
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https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/08/brazil-bolsonaro-sends-army-fight-amazon-fires-190823215538767.html
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2019-08-24 10:58:35+00:00
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aljazeera--2019-08-24--New fires in Brazils Amazon as army mobilises to fight blazes
| 2019-08-24T00:00:00 |
aljazeera
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New fires in Brazil's Amazon as army mobilises to fight blazes
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Hundreds of new fires are raging in Brazil's Amazon rainforest, according to official data, as six of the nine states in the region requested military assistance to combat the record blazes. The states of Para, Rondonia, Roraima, Tocantins, Acre and Mato Grosso requested the army's help, Environment Minister Ricardo Salles announced on Saturday, one day after President Jair Bolsonaro authorised the military to step in. Data from Brazil's National Institute for Space Research (INPE) said some 1,663 new fires were ignited between Thursday and Friday. More than 1,200 of those fires were in the Amazon region. Official figures recorded 78,383 forest fires in Brazil this year, an 84 percent rise over last year's figure. More than half of those were in the Amazon region. Environmentalists have said farmers clearing land for pasture were responsible for the uptick in fires. The Amazon is the world's largest tropical rainforest and its protection is seen as vital to the fight against climate change because of the vast amounts of carbon dioxide it absorbs. Some 44,000 troops will be available for "unprecedented" operations to put out the fires, Defence Minister Fernando Azevedo said. He added that the military's first mission will be the deployment of 700 troops to the area around Porto Velho, capital of Rondonia, where the military will use two C-130 Hercules aircraft capable of dumping up to 12,000 litres of water on fires per journey. On Friday, multiple fires were seen were raging across a vast area of Rondonia, billowing huge plumes of smoke into the air, AFP news agency reported. Several residents of Porto Velho said what appeared to be light clouds hanging over the city of half a million people was actually smoke from the blazes. The Brazilian military operations came after widespread criticism of Bolsonaro's handling of the crisis. Azevedo defended the government response, saying that it was "very fast". "It shows the concern of Bolsonaro's government about this issue," he said. The defence minister noted US President Trump's offer, on Twitter, to help Brazil fight the fires but said there had been no further contact on the matter. "Any help is welcome in respect to the fires," he added. Alfredo Sirkis, executive director of think-tank Brazil Climate Center and a founder of Brazil's Green Party, said while he supported military involvement, he doubted that anyone would be able to put out the fires. "Once you have a huge forest fire like that, especially when you don't have all the kind of forest fire-fighting equipment that you have in places like the US or Portugal, it's difficult to extinguish," he told Reuters. "They'll only be extinguished by themselves depending on the weather conditions." Environmental specialists say the fires are coming amid increasing deforestation in the Amazon region, which in July took place at a rate four times that of the same month in 2018, according to data from INPE. Bolsonaro has previously attacked the institute, describing its data as lies and engineering the sacking of its head. The blazes have stirred outrage globally and are a major topic of concern at the G7 meeting in Biarritz, France. The growing crisis also threatens to torpedo a trade deal between the European Union and South American countries, including Brazil, that took 20 years to negotiate. Donald Tusk, president of the European Council, told reporters at the G7 that it was hard to imagine European countries ratifying a trade pact with the Mercosur bloc as long as Brazil fails to curb the fires ravaging the Amazon. French President Emmanuel Macron, who has taken the lead in pressing his Brazilian counterpart over the fires, had earlier accused Bolsonaro of lying to him about Brazil's stance on climate change. In an escalating war of words between the two leaders, Bolsonaro denounced what he calls Macron's "colonialist mentality". "There are forest fires all over the world, and this cannot be used as a pretext for possible international sanctions," Bolsonaro said on Friday. Earlier in the week, he had accused non-governmental organisations of deliberately starting the fires after their funding was cut. Brazil's powerful agriculture sector - which strongly supports Bolsonaro - has expressed concerns over the president's rhetoric, fearing boycotts of their products in key markets. The Folha de S Paulo newspaper, in an editorial on Saturday, the warned that Bolsonaro's "bravado" had worsened the crisis caused by accelerating deforestation. "The damage to [Brazil's] image is done and it could have important trade repercussions," it said, adding: "Nationalistic bravado will not win the game this time."
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https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/08/fires-brazil-amazon-army-mobilises-fight-blazes-190824185613901.html
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2019-08-24 23:34:53+00:00
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aljazeera--2019-08-24--The Amazon is burning What you need to know
| 2019-08-24T00:00:00 |
aljazeera
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The Amazon is burning: What you need to know
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The Amazon is being shrouded in plumes of smoke as fires rage across parts of the rainforest, imperilling the so-called "lungs of the planet" and the vast array of life to which it is home. Visible from outer space, the smoke billows have prompted international alarm, calls for action and much finger-pointing over what, or who, is responsible for the burning. Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, in particular, has come under intense scrutiny for his controversial stewardship of Brazil's majority share of the rainforest. Al Jazeera answers some of the major questions being asked about the crisis in the Amazon, one of Earth's greatest natural treasures. The fires are burning across a range of states in Brazil's section of the Amazon rainforest. Northerly Roraima down through Amazonas, Acre, Rondonia and Mato Grosso do Sul have all been badly affected. Brazil's National Institute for Space Research (INPE) spotted more than 9,500 new forest fires in Brazil since August 15 alone, while atmospheric monitoring agencies have tracked smoke from the Amazon region drifting thousands of kilometres across the Latin American giant to the Atlantic coast and Sao Paulo, briefly turning daytime in Brazil's biggest city to night on Monday. Amazonas, Brazil's largest state, declared a state of emergency on August 9 while Acre has been on environmental alert since August 16 due to the fires. Several other countries in the Amazon region, including Bolivia and Peru, which both border Brazil, have also seen a surge in fires this year, according to INPE data. The INPE recorded nearly 73,000 fires in Brazil between January and August this year - the highest since INPE records began in 2013 and a more than 80 percent bump on the figure for the same period last year. Most of them were in the Amazon. Meanwhile, as of August 16, a NASA analysis suggested that "total fire activity across the Amazon basin has been close to the average in comparison to the past 15 years". NASA noted that the Amazon spreads across several countries. It also added, "though activity appears to be above average in the states of Amazonas and Rondonia, it has so far appeared below average in Mato Grosso and Para". Fires are a regular and natural occurrence in the Amazon at this time of year, during the dry season. But environmentalists and non-governmental organisations have attributed the record number of fires to farmers setting the forest alight to clear land for pasture and to loggers razing the forest for its wood, with INPE itself ruling out natural phenomena being responsible for the surge. Critics say far-right President Bolsonaro's weakening of Brazil's environmental agency, IBAMA, and push to open up the Amazon region for more farming and mining has emboldened such actors and created a climate of impunity for those felling the forest illegally. Recent evidence appears to bear that out with preliminary data showing deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon is skyrocketing under Bolsonaro's watch. The rate of forest destruction soared more than 278 percent in July compared with the same month a year ago, according to research by the Amazon Environmental Research Institute. Previously, INPE pegged the rate of deforestation in June at 88 percent higher than during the corresponding month in 2018. "These statistics speak to who is in power and what he (Bolsonaro) is doing to undermine environmental protection ... and open the floodgates to illegal and destructive behaviour," said Christian Poirier, Brazil programme director for NGO Amazon Watch. Bolsonaro's government, meanwhile, has offered a range of explanations for the blazes - including increased drought and the president himself making unfounded claims that NGOs had started the fires in an attempt to undermine his administration after it slashed their funding. On Friday, Bolsonaro said he had authorised the use of troops to help contain the blazes and stop illegal deforestation, but he also blamed the weather for the fires. The Amazon is the largest tropical forest in the world, covering more than five million square kilometres across nine countries: Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela. It acts as an enormous carbon sink, storing up to an estimated 100 years worth of carbon emissions produced by humans, and is seen as vital to slowing the pace of global warming. "The Amazon is the most significant climate stabiliser we have, it creates 20 percent of the air we breathe and it also holds 20 percent of the fresh flowing water on the planet," Poirier said. Put simply, he added, preserving the forest is of "critical importance" for both the region it encompasses and the rest of the world. But in the last half-century alone, nearly 20 percent of the forest has disappeared. Scientists have warned that if tree loss in the Amazon were to pass a certain "tipping point", somewhere between 25 and 40 percent, deforestation could start to feed on itself and lead to the demise of the forest within a matter of decades. "One of the cornerstones of climatic stability on our planet is in peril and the consequences of this are almost too large to fathom," Poirier said. "The future of our civilisation depends on its integrity." The Amazon has been inhabited by humans for at least 11,000 years and is home to more than 30 million people - about two-thirds of whom live in cities carved out of the greenery. Among those living in the region are about one million indigenous people who are divided into some 400 tribes., according to indigenous rights group Survival International. Most live in villages, though some remain nomadic, with each tribe possessing its distinct language and culture, both of which are traditionally intimately intertwined with the surrounding environment. Jonathan Mazower, a spokesman for Survival International, said the tribes were "dependent on their forests for everything, and have managed and looked after them for millennia". "[But] many are seeing their lands burned in front of their eyes, and with it their livelihood, source of food, medicines, and their very homes," he added. Poirier agreed, saying the fires pose an "affront" to the "safety and integrity" of their way of life. "Indigenous people are on the frontline of this struggle - the work they do to protect the forest is so vital and their connection to the forest is so important to their cultures," he added. "The potential is here for not just environmental devastation, but also cultural genocide." In addition to the human presence within the Amazon, the forest also houses 10 percent of all known wildlife species, according to the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), with a "new" species of animal or plant discovered in the rainforest every three days on average. The response to the fires is predominantly with a chorus of concern and condemnation of Bolsonaro's environmental stewardship. French President Emmanuel Macron and Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said separately on Friday they would move to veto a landmark European Union trade deal brokered with South American bloc Mercosur unless Brazil takes action to protect the rainforest. The pact requires the Latin American giant to abide by the Paris climate accord, which Bolsonaro has threatened to leave, and also aims to end illegal deforestation, including in the Brazilian Amazon. Macron also called for the fires to be front and centre of the agenda for this weekend's G7 summit, branding the blazes an "international crisis". "Our house is burning. Literally. The Amazon rainforest - the lungs which produce 20 percent of our planet's oxygen - is on fire. It is an international crisis. Members of the G7 Summit, let's discuss this emergency first order in two days!" Macron tweeted on Thursday. This was echoed by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who said the Amazon fires posed an "acute emergency" and belonged on the G7's agenda, despite Brazil not being a member of the group. However, Macron's comments earned a swift rebuke from Bolsonaro, who called the issue an "internal matter" and said the French leader's suggestion evoked "a colonialist mentality that is out of place in the 21st century". The spat came after Norway and Germany earlier this month halted millions of dollars of Amazon protection subsidies to the Amazon Fund, accusing Brazil of turning its back on the fight against deforestation. Meanwhile, social media users around the world have latched on to #PrayForAmazonia and #PrayForAmazon, pushing the topic towards the top of Twitter's global trends earlier this week. Public demonstrations are planned in Brazil's major cities for Friday, mirroring protests held earlier in the day in several cities around the world. "The outpouring of concern, grief and anger is unprecedented - what this is creating is a lasting impression for people that the Amazon is absolutely essential to our future and we all have a responsibility to protect it, contrary to what Bolsonaro may say," Poirier said. "But we can't allow ourselves to fall into despair, there's no other way, we have to act - we have a responsibility to ourselves, to future generations and to other beings on this planet, are of which are suffering today as a result of this chaos."
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https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/08/amazon-burning-190823082046821.html
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2019-08-24 02:36:37+00:00
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aljazeera--2019-08-25--Kashmir border fence forest fires endanger wildlife
| 2019-08-25T00:00:00 |
aljazeera
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Kashmir border fence, forest fires endanger wildlife
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It is not just humans who are suffering in the fight over Kashmir territory. Kashmir's dense forests are home to many species of wild cats, bears, deer, goats, monkeys and birds. But border fencing and forest fires caused by shelling are putting the wildlife in the Himalayan region at risk. Al Jazeera's Osama Bin Javaid reports from the Line of Control (LoC) in Pakistan-administered Kashmir.
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https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/08/kashmir-border-fence-forest-fires-endanger-wildlife-190825155952780.html
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2019-08-25 15:59:52+00:00
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aljazeera--2019-08-26--Macron G7 nations close to agreement on tackling Amazon fires
| 2019-08-26T00:00:00 |
aljazeera
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Macron: G7 nations close to agreement on tackling Amazon fires
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French President Emmanuel Macron has said the leaders of the world's major industrialised nations were close to an agreement on how to help fight the Amazon forest fires and try to repair the devastation. A record number of fires are ravaging the rainforest, many of them in Brazil, drawing international concern because of the Amazon's importance to the global environment. "There's a real convergence to say: 'Let's all agree to help those countries hit by these fires'," he told reporters in Biarritz, which is hosting the annual summit of leaders from the Group of Seven nations, on Sunday. He said the G7 countries - comprising the United States, Japan, Germany, France, Italy, Britain and Canada - were finalising a possible deal on "technical and financial help". Macron shunted the Amazon fires to the top of the summit agenda after declaring them a global emergency and kicked off discussions about the disaster at a welcome dinner for fellow leaders on Saturday. German Chancellor Angela Merkel also said her country and others will talk to Brazil about reforestation in the Amazon once fires there have been extinguished. "Of course [this is] Brazilian territory, but we have a question here of the rainforests that is really a global question," she said. "The lung of our whole Earth is affected, and so we must find common solutions." US President Donald Trump and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson had earlier offered their countries' assistance. Bolivian President Evo Morales said on Sunday he would accept international help to combat wildfires raging in the country's southeast as he suspended his election campaign to deal with the crisis. A European Union official, who declined to be named, said the G7 leaders had agreed to do everything they could to help tackle the fires, giving Macron a mandate to contact all the countries in the Amazon region to see what was needed. "It was the easiest part of the talks," the official said. Last week, Macron accused Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro's government of not doing enough to protect the area and of lying about its environmental commitments. His comments earned a swift rebuke from Bolsonaro, who called it an "internal issue" and said the French leader's suggestion evoked "a colonialist mentality that is out of place in the 21st century". On Sunday, Macron said world powers needed to be ready to help with reforestation but acknowledged there were different views over this aspect, without going into details. "There are several sensitivities which were raised around the table because all of that also depends on the Amazon countries," he said, adding that the world's biggest rainforest was vital to the future of the planet. "While respecting sovereignty, we must have a goal of reforestation and we must help each country to develop economically," he said. On Sunday, Brazil deployed two C-130 Hercules aircraft to douse fires devouring parts of the rainforest. Dozens of firefighters were also deployed to help put out the blaze, while Brazil's Justice Minister Sergio Moro also gave the green light for the deployment of security forces to tackle illegal deforestation in the region. The Amazon is the world's largest tropical rainforest and its protection is seen as vital to the fight against climate change because of the vast amounts of carbon dioxide it absorbs.
| null |
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/08/macron-g7-nations-close-agreement-tackling-amazon-fires-190825200605878.html
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2019-08-26 05:53:06+00:00
| 1,566,813,186 | 1,567,533,373 |
disaster, accident and emergency incident
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accident and emergency incident
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15,975 |
aljazeera--2019-09-19--Malaysia Indonesia shut thousands of schools as haze worsens
| 2019-09-19T00:00:00 |
aljazeera
|
Malaysia, Indonesia shut thousands of schools as haze worsens
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Thousands of schools have been ordered closed across Malaysia and Indonesia on Thursday, affecting at least 1.7 million students, officials said, as toxic haze from rampant forest fires in Indonesia sent air quality plummeting. Nearly 2,500 schools were ordered to suspend classes in Malaysia - including nearly 300 in the smog-hit capital of Kuala Lumpur - over soaring health concerns sparked by toxic haze from out-of-control blazes in Indonesia's Sumatra and Borneo islands. In the Malaysian city of Kuching, on Borneo island, the air pollution index recorded levels of 267 as of 06:00 GMT, earning a grade of "Very Unhealthy" and putting it among the most polluted areas in the world, according to the World Air Quality Index. Malaysia's environment ministry also categorises it as "very unhealthy". In Indonesia, hundreds of schools in hard-hit Riau province on Sumatra island were also set to close on Thursday - with 800 already closed in one district alone - while about 1,300 were closed in its Central Kalimantan province on Borneo. The closures affected at least 1.7 million students in Malaysia. It was not clear how many students were forced to stay home in neighbouring Indonesia. Jakarta is deploying thousands of security forces and water-bombing aircraft to tackle the blazes, mostly started by illegal fires set to clear land for plantations. The fires send smog across Southeast Asia annually, but this year has been the worst since 2015 and has added to concerns about wildfire outbreaks worldwide exacerbating global warming. Thursday's school shutdown marked the first mass closure in Kuala Lumpur as air quality deteriorated to "unhealthy" or "very unhealthy" levels on an official index in many parts of peninsular Malaysia, to the east of Sumatra, with the capital's skyline was shrouded by dense smog. Malaysia's Sarawak state, on Borneo, was also smothered in toxic haze, as the fires hiked diplomatic tensions. Borneo is divided between Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei. A growing number of Malaysians were suffering health problems due to the haze, with authorities saying there had been a sharp increase in outpatients at government hospitals. Air quality was in the "unhealthy" range across Singapore on Thursday morning, according to the National Environment Agency, as the city state's environment minister called it a "major setback" in the fight against climate change. "The forest fires in Indonesia and the resulting haze have affected the health and well-being of people in Indonesia and the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) region," Singapore's environment chief Masagos Zulkifli said on social media. "It is regretful that so many lives and livelihoods have been impacted. "The amount of carbon emissions generated from the fires will present a major setback to the global fight against climate change," he added. The haze crisis comes as Singapore gears up to host a Formula One motor race on Sunday. Poor visibility closed several airports in the Indonesian part of Borneo and scores of flights have already been diverted and cancelled in the region due to the smog. Authorities have tried to induce rain through cloud seeding in a bid to extinguish the fires. But the onset of the rainy season, which usually starts in October, could be the only thing able to douse the blazes.
| null |
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/09/190919064841354.html
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2019-09-19 07:38:32+00:00
| 1,568,893,112 | 1,569,329,855 |
disaster, accident and emergency incident
|
accident and emergency incident
|
16,303 |
aljazeera--2019-10-07--After two-month inferno, rains help douse Bolivian forest fires
| 2019-10-07T00:00:00 |
aljazeera
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After two-month inferno, rains help douse Bolivian forest fires
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Heavy rains over recent days in the Bolivian Amazon have helped put out forest fires that have raged for two months across the land-locked South American nation, charring more than four million hectares (9.8 million acres) of land, local authorities said on Monday. The storms helped Bolivia's military contain blazes in the region of Chiquitania, home to large areas of dry forests and indigenous communities that have lived in them for centuries. "Satellite images no longer detect burning or reactivated fires," said Cinthia Asin, an official for environmental issues for the provincial government of Santa Cruz, a farming province in eastern Bolivia hard-hit by the fires. Indigenous groups have marched through the province, while in the capital city on Friday hundreds of thousands of people protested against what they said had been a slow response to the fires by the national government. The national weather service also told Reuters News Agency that in Chiquitania no fires were registered on Monday. However, it warned that strong sun and high temperatures were expected to return to the region over coming days, raising the risk of fires ahead. Armed forces commander Williams Kaliman said there was no immediate plan to withdraw about 5,000 troops that had been sent to battle the worst fires Bolivia has had over the last two decades. Critics say deforestation, caused by the government's policy of increasing farming, is to blame for the disaster. The government says it has spent more than $20m in its effort to douse the flames. Complaints about the government's handling of the crisis have dented the popularity of Bolivia's leftist president, Evo Morales. In neighbouring Brazil, the number of fires in the Amazon rainforest receded in September amid improved weather conditions and containment efforts by the country's military.
| null |
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/10/month-inferno-rains-douse-bolivian-forest-fires-191007172505251.html
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Mon, 07 Oct 2019 20:11:19 GMT
| 1,570,493,479 | 1,570,479,972 |
disaster, accident and emergency incident
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accident and emergency incident
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16,655 |
aljazeera--2019-10-15--Hellish scenes as wildfires engulf Lebanon
| 2019-10-15T00:00:00 |
aljazeera
|
Hellish scenes as wildfires engulf Lebanon
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Beirut, Lebanon - Firefighters in Lebanon on Tuesday battled massive wildfires across the country, before moderate rains in the evening brought them under control in most affected areas. With more than 100 blazes erupting from north to south over the past two days, Raymond Khattar, the director-general of Lebanon's Civil Defence, described the forest fires as the worst to have hit the country in decades. At least one man died from suffocation after battling a fire in the city of Aley for several hours. Lebanese media also reported that a woman had lost her life after being run over by a fire truck in the southern coastal city of Sidon. The Lebanese Red Cross announced that they had treated more than 70 people at a field hospital in Damour, mostly for smoke inhalation, minor burns and other light injuries. The areas most heavily affected were in the Chouf and Metn regions, in the lush Mount Lebanon mountain range. Aided by strong winds and unseasonably high temperatures, the fires ate their way through dense forest near the towns of Meshref and Damour in Chouf and swept into the residential areas overnight on Monday, leading many families to flee their homes. Videos shared on social media showed hellish scenes of fires sweeping along roadways, releasing hails of embers onto onlookers. The Lebanese state's ability to combat the rapidly spreading fires quickly came into question, especially given that three aircraft specialised in fighting blazes remained grounded at the airport of the capital, Beirut, on Tuesday. The three Sikorsky S-70 model helicopters were donated to the Lebanese state in 2009, taking part in firefighting missions for several years before falling into disrepair. They have remained non-operational for at least five years due to the failure of successive governments to fund their maintenance. At the same time, dozens of Civil Defence teams were fighting the fires with little technical capabilities, even enlisting the use of anti-riot vehicles mounted with water cannons. As criticism mounted on social media, Lebanese officials sought international assistance to tackle the fires. Two Cypriot aircraft began helping Lebanese Army helicopters in firefighting operations as of Tuesday morning, while a further two a planes supplied by Jordan arrived at Beirut airport on Tuesday night. Greece also deployed two aircraft that were imminently expected in Beirut. Despite the respite brought by rains on Tuesday evening, there are fears that the blazes will reignite as the weather forecast for Wednesday predicts strong winds up to 45 kilometres (28 miles) an hour and temperatures of up to 35 Celsius (95 Fahrenheit). George Mitri, director of the land and natural resources programme at the University of Balamand, said this meant the already-severe devastation would continue. Before the recent fires, Lebanon had already lost three million trees in 2019 alone from forest fires, equivalent to all trees planted in reforestation initiatives over the last 15 years, Mitri said. That figure equated to about 1,300 hectares (3,212 acres) lost this year, which is already above average. But Lebanon had lost at least another 1,200 hectares (2,965 acres) in just the last three days, Mitri added, meaning that the country had now lost double the yearly average. "We have a new record in the extent of burned areas and the number of trees," he told Al Jazeera. "It's absolutely catastrophic to our national biodiversity."
| null |
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/10/hellish-scenes-wildfires-engulf-lebanon-191015191252866.html
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Tue, 15 Oct 2019 20:22:42 GMT
| 1,571,185,362 | 1,571,179,495 |
disaster, accident and emergency incident
|
accident and emergency incident
|
16,709 |
aljazeera--2019-10-16--Lebanon wildfires: Hellish scenes in mountains south of Beirut
| 2019-10-16T00:00:00 |
aljazeera
|
Lebanon wildfires: Hellish scenes in mountains south of Beirut
|
Beirut, Lebanon - Firefighters in Lebanon on Tuesday battled massive wildfires in several areas in the country, before moderate rains in the evening brought them under control in most affected areas. With more than 100 blazes erupting from north to south over the past two days, Raymond Khattar, the director-general of Lebanon's Civil Defence, described the forest fires as the worst to have hit the country in decades. At least one man died from suffocation after battling a fire in the city of Aley for several hours. Lebanese media also reported that a woman had lost her life after being run over by a fire truck in the southern coastal city of Sidon. The Lebanese Red Cross announced that they had treated more than 70 people at a field hospital in Damour, mostly for smoke inhalation, minor burns and other light injuries. The areas most heavily affected were in the Chouf and Metn regions, in the lush Mount Lebanon mountain range east and southeast of the capital, Beirut. Aided by strong winds and unseasonably high temperatures, the fires ate their way through dense forest near the towns of Meshref and Damour in Chouf and swept into the residential areas overnight on Monday, leading many families to flee their homes. Videos shared on social media showed hellish scenes of fires sweeping along roadways, releasing hails of embers onto onlookers. The Lebanese state's ability to combat the rapidly spreading fires quickly came into question, especially given that three aircraft specialised in fighting blazes remained grounded at the airport of Beirut, on Tuesday. The three Sikorsky S-70 model helicopters were donated to the Lebanese state in 2009, taking part in firefighting missions for several years before falling into disrepair. They have remained non-operational for at least five years due to the failure of successive governments to fund their maintenance. At the same time, dozens of Civil Defence teams were fighting the fires with little technical capabilities, even enlisting the use of anti-riot vehicles mounted with water cannons. As criticism mounted on social media, Lebanese officials sought international assistance to tackle the fires. Two Cypriot aircraft began helping Lebanese Army helicopters in firefighting operations as of Tuesday morning, while a further two planes supplied by Jordan arrived at Beirut airport on Tuesday night. Greece also deployed two aircraft that were imminently expected in Beirut. Despite the respite brought by rains on Tuesday evening, there are fears that the blazes will reignite as the weather forecast for Wednesday predicts strong winds up to 45 kilometres (28 miles) an hour and temperatures of up to 35 Celsius (95 Fahrenheit). George Mitri, director of the land and natural resources programme at the University of Balamand, said this meant the already-severe devastation would continue. Before the recent fires, Lebanon had already lost three million trees in 2019 alone from forest fires, equivalent to all trees planted in reforestation initiatives over the last 15 years, Mitri said. That figure equated to about 1,300 hectares (3,212 acres) lost this year, which is already above average. But Lebanon had lost at least another 1,200 hectares (2,965 acres) in just the last three days, Mitri added, meaning that the country had now lost double the yearly average. "We have a new record in the extent of burned areas and the number of trees," he told Al Jazeera. "It's absolutely catastrophic to our national biodiversity."
| null |
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/10/hellish-scenes-wildfires-engulf-lebanon-191015191252866.html
|
Wed, 16 Oct 2019 06:51:37 GMT
| 1,571,223,097 | 1,571,229,899 |
disaster, accident and emergency incident
|
accident and emergency incident
|
22,662 |
bbc--2019-02-10--New Zealand wildfire Thousands of people evacuated near Nelson
| 2019-02-10T00:00:00 |
bbc
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New Zealand wildfire: Thousands of people evacuated near Nelson
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Thousands of people have been evacuated from a New Zealand town as firefighters battle a wildfire stoked by winds in the country's South Island. The blaze, which began six days ago near the city of Nelson, is now threatening the town of Wakefield. A state of emergency has been declared and about 3,000 people have fled their homes in the district of Tasman. Strong winds were expected, and officials warned that Sunday could be a "critical danger point" for the fire. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said she hoped "the weather plays ball". The blaze is thought to be the worst forest fire in New Zealand since 1955. Nelson MP Nick Smith said the entire region was a "tinderbox" and its 70,000 residents were "on edge." Twenty-three helicopters and two planes have been deployed to tackle the blaze. Rain forecast for the area on Tuesday is expected to miss the fire zone. Fires of this size are unusual for New Zealand, with local media calling it the worst bushfire in 50 years.
| null |
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-47187604
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2019-02-10 08:53:17+00:00
| 1,549,806,797 | 1,567,549,011 |
disaster, accident and emergency incident
|
accident and emergency incident
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25,934 |
bbc--2019-04-17--Italian students BBQ results in 13m fine for forest fire
| 2019-04-17T00:00:00 |
bbc
|
Italian students' BBQ results in €13m fine for forest fire
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Two students blamed for a large forest fire in the Italian region of Como have each been fined €13.5m (£11.7m). The men, both aged 22, were barbecuing at a mountain forest home belonging to one of their grandfathers when the fire broke out on 30 December last year. The huge bill for the two students was calculated by local officials based on a formula used to determine the extent of damage caused by the fire. One of the students told Italian media they were "scapegoats" for the blaze. Speaking to Italy's La Stampa newspaper, one of the university students said he was "deeply sorry" - but said there were multiple sources of the outbreak. "We are the scapegoats of a fire that cannot be explained," he said, adding: "We are the real victims of this story. "[We] immediately alerted the fire brigade and threw ourselves at the flames to try and put them out." Prosecutors, however, traced the path of the fire back to the property and said it had been started by embers from the barbecue, coupled with extremely dry conditions. The two young men were found jointly responsible, along with the owner of the property. The fire lasted for several days, destroying some 1,000 hectares of forest on Monte Berlinghera - the damage caused to some 100 hectares was said to be irreversible. The fine of €13,542,000 was calculated by forest police based on an established formula under local laws. La Stampa reports that the regulation calls for a fine of €118–€593 per square metre. The damage the two men were liable for was calculated at some 6,840 square metres, the newspaper said - resulting in a fine of between €8m and €40m. A lawyer for one of the students told the newspaper that any sentence should be meaningful and have a point. "What is the sense to impose an administrative sanction... already knowing that the two boys, still students, cannot pay it?" she said. However, the prosecutor told local news outlet Il Giorno Como that the fine was "a signal that we need to push people to greater responsibility in protecting the environment". Italian media reports also suggest that the pair could be held liable in separate actions by property owners who were affected by the fire.
| null |
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-47960358
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2019-04-17 10:09:34+00:00
| 1,555,510,174 | 1,567,542,692 |
disaster, accident and emergency incident
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accident and emergency incident
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26,334 |
bbc--2019-04-24--Europe wildfires Norway police evacuate hundreds in Sokndal
| 2019-04-24T00:00:00 |
bbc
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Europe wildfires: Norway police evacuate hundreds in Sokndal
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Hundreds of people have had to leave their homes in Norway as emergency services try to extinguish forest fires raging in the south of the country. Some 148 homes were evacuated around the town of Sokndal, where fires have been burning since Tuesday. Police say the fires are still out of control and warn that heavy winds could help them to spread. April is very early for forest fires in Norway, and experts have warned of a dramatic increase across the continent. This month alone, wildfires have broken out in Sweden, Germany and the UK. Fires in Europe "are way above the average" for this time of year, an official at the EU's European Forest Fire Information System (Effis) told the BBC. "The season is drastically worse than those of the last decade." The official added that a "very dry winter in most of Europe" and persistent drought had contributed to the rise in forest fires, and that the "long term forecast is not promising for an improvement". Police in south-west Norway are still unsure what started the fires, which have burned some 7.5 sq km (2.9 square miles) of land near Sokndal, 100km (62 miles) south-east of the coastal city of Stavanger. As well as evacuating residents, rescue services spent the night soaking land in surrounding areas in an effort to stop the fire from spreading. But they fear that expected winds of nine to 11 metres per second could cause the fire to move into neighbouring districts. "The wind is still a challenge and will become an even greater challenge if it increases. It's still burning heavily, and there is no fire control," said south-west police official Toralf Skarland. Police said there had been no reports of casualties but warned people to avoid the area. The Red Cross, which helped with the evacuation effort, told the BBC the blaze was close to farms, huts and small villages. Fires were also burning around the town of Lyngdal in the neighbouring area, it said. Forest fires have broken out in several parts of northern Europe this month amid hot temperatures. Dozens of people were evacuated from their homes when a blaze broke out in southern Sweden on Tuesday, but by Wednesday morning it was under control. In Germany, crews battled fires over the Easter weekend and Germany's weather service warned Germans on Wednesday to expect a drought this year at least as severe as in 2018 if the current dry weather continued. "The starting conditions for vegetation in 2019 are in many areas of Germany clearly worse than last year," said agriculture meteorologist Udo Busch. A huge wildfire broke out in Moray, Scotland this week, which officials said would "take days" to put out. Two fires also spread across moorland in West Yorkshire. The spate of forest fires in northern Europe contrasts with storms and torrential rain in the south. A woman drowned when the car she was in was swept away by a flood in Tuscany on Tuesday, and a French tourist died in storms off Sardinia earlier this week.
| null |
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-48035682
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2019-04-24 11:56:35+00:00
| 1,556,121,395 | 1,567,541,908 |
disaster, accident and emergency incident
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accident and emergency incident
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26,990 |
bbc--2019-05-15--Mexico City pollution Residents urged to stay indoors
| 2019-05-15T00:00:00 |
bbc
|
Mexico City pollution: Residents urged to stay indoors
|
Officials in Mexico City have declared an environmental emergency after air pollution in the Mexican capital reached levels potentially dangerous to human health. They urged those at particular risk to stay indoors and restricted the number of cars which can be driven in the city on Wednesday. Smoke from nearby forest fires has contributed to the spike in pollution. The city has been wrapped in a smoky haze for days. Mexican photographer Santiago Arau tweeted video taken from a drone showing the extent of the pollution. Particulate matter measuring 2.5 micrometres or less, known as PM2.5, reached 158 micrograms per cubic metre of air at one measuring station on Tuesday morning, more than six times the World Health Organisation daily mean recommended limit. PM2.5 particles are thought to be particularly damaging because they are so small, they can penetrate the deepest parts of the lungs. More than 21 million people live in Mexico City's metropolitan area and it was once infamous for its poor air quality. Air pollution levels dropped in the late 1990s but have again been on the rise in recent years. The city lies in a valley and when there is little wind, the air can quickly become stagnant. Mexico City's environmental commission advised residents to avoid outdoor activities and Mexico's first division football league postponed a match between León and Club América, which was due to be played in the capital on Wednesday. Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum said she would consider cancelling school classes if the pollution got any worse. She said schools were already keeping their pupils indoors at break time.
| null |
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-48279972
|
2019-05-15 09:40:37+00:00
| 1,557,927,637 | 1,567,540,586 |
disaster, accident and emergency incident
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accident and emergency incident
|
27,997 |
bbc--2019-06-24--Germany crash Two Eurofighter jets collide near base
| 2019-06-24T00:00:00 |
bbc
|
Germany crash: Two Eurofighter jets collide near base
|
Two German armed forces Eurofighter jets have collided and crashed in the Müritz area of north-eastern Germany. Both pilots were seen to eject from their planes by a colleague in a third Eurofighter plane. One of the pilots has been found alive and a search is going on for the other. One of the Eurofighters went down in a forest while the other crashed near a village some 10km (6 miles) away, said the interior ministry in the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The German air force said the mid-air collision happened as all three Eurofighter Typhoons were taking part in an air combat exercise. The third pilot reported seeing two parachutes. The two planes were based at Laage near Rostock. Neither plane was carrying weapons. Local media showed footage of the smoke from both planes after they had hit the ground and said the crashes had both started forest fires. One of the pilots was found alive hanging from a tree by rescuers near the village of Nossentiner Hütte, reports said. Police warned that debris from the crash had been strewn over a large area.
| null |
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-48746559
|
2019-06-24 14:12:11+00:00
| 1,561,399,931 | 1,567,538,306 |
disaster, accident and emergency incident
|
accident and emergency incident
|
28,112 |
bbc--2019-06-26--Europe heatwave Why are temperatures on the continent soaring
| 2019-06-26T00:00:00 |
bbc
|
Europe heatwave: Why are temperatures on the continent soaring?
|
Countries across Europe are experiencing record-breaking heat and issuing health alerts, urging people to keep cool, as sweltering temperatures are expected to intensify across the continent. The heatwave has already caused flash floods and forest fires, grounded planes and buckled train tracks and led to school closures and warnings over air quality. France has set up temporary water fountains in built-up areas and is allowing public pools to open late into the night. In Germany, people are filling hot water bottles, placing them in freezers and then taking them to bed. As the mercury continues to rise - with potentially deadly consequences - experts tell the BBC what is behind the heatwave. Heatwaves occur across northern Europe when high atmospheric pressure draws up hot air from northern Africa, Portugal and Spain, raising temperatures and increasing humidity. In this instance, the exceptionally hot air has come from the Sahara. Timothy Hewson, who leads a forecasting team at the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), said clear skies meant the strong June sunshine was further increasing temperatures. He said dry soil conditions meant there was less evaporation, which ordinarily cools the ground. Heatwaves are not uncommon, but according to weather experts they are being amplified by a rise in global temperatures and are likely to become more frequent - one of the more predictable impacts of our warming climate. A climate specialist at the UK's Meteorological Office, Grahame Madge, told the BBC that, while weather variations occur naturally, the world was around one degree warmer than pre-industrial levels and, as a result, extreme weather was becoming more likely. "Now when we get a heatwave, it is likely to be a degree or so more," he said. "They are still extreme events, but they are also becoming more frequent." The highest recorded temperature in Europe - 48C (118.4F) - was measured in Athens in July 1977, but on average the 20 warmest years since records began have all been within the past 22 years. The years 2015-2018 make up the top four, according to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). A scientific study into last year's Europe-wide heatwave by the World Weather Attribution group concluded that high temperatures in the region were made more likely by human activities that contributed to climate change. If the current trend were to continue, heatwaves across Europe could occur as often as every other year by the 2040s, with the possibility that temperatures may rise by 3-5C by 2100, the report said. There is no universally accepted definition of a heatwave, due to variations in climate conditions in different world regions. Typically though, they are defined by an unseasonably hot period - usually five degrees or more above the average daily maximum - that lasts at least three days. Other factors considered by analysts, Mr Hewson said, included night-time temperatures, humidity and wind speed. Both humidity and low wind speeds can enhance a heatwave. The effects can be particularly extreme in large cities due to increased human activity and a mass of buildings, concrete and roads. "In terms of the time of year and spatial pattern of warmth, the ongoing event in Europe is quite similar to the 2015 European heatwave," Mr Hewson said. The most severely affected areas during that heatwave were southern and central Europe, but there were also temperature records set in Germany and Switzerland. Higher temperatures can affect anyone, but dehydration, heat exhaustion and heatstroke can have deadly consequences for people who suffer from cardiac, kidney and respiratory diseases as well as the elderly and infants. "Heatwaves can be dangerous because they reduce the capacity of the human body to regulate its own temperature, to keep it at safe levels," Mr Hewson said. Vulnerable people may suffer particularly if overnight temperatures do not drop below 25C, said Mr Madge, the Met Office climate specialist. Health professionals advise that anyone experiencing headaches, dizziness, loss of appetite, nausea, excessive sweating, cramps, fast breathing or intense thirst should try to find a way to cool off. If a person's body temperature rises above 40C (104F), heat stroke can set in, which requires urgent medical help. Danger signs include sweat stopping and breathing difficulties. Heat stroke can lead to loss of consciousness and serious complications, including permanent damage to vital organs or even death. After the 2003 heatwave, about 70,000 additional deaths were recorded compared with previous years, according to a scientific and medical study. Nations with hotter climates, such as Australia and countries in North Africa and across the Middle East - where summer temperatures can often reach 50C - can still struggle with extreme weather. "Their infrastructure might be able to cope with higher temperatures in general, but with anything away from the norm, everywhere struggles," Mr Madge said. When asked how they keep cool in extreme heat, BBC colleagues living in Nigeria, Tanzania, Yemen and Brazil had the following advice for countries with more variable climates:
| null |
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-48756480
|
2019-06-26 23:51:08+00:00
| 1,561,607,468 | 1,567,538,018 |
disaster, accident and emergency incident
|
accident and emergency incident
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28,114 |
bbc--2019-06-26--European countries set new June heat records amid heatwave
| 2019-06-26T00:00:00 |
bbc
|
European countries set new June heat records amid heatwave
|
Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic hit their highest ever recorded June temperatures on Wednesday - with more records anticipated to fall as the heat continues to rise in the coming days. Some nations, including France and Switzerland, are expected to see levels above 40C (104F) on Thursday. Meteorologists say exceptionally hot air blown in from northern Africa is to blame for the European heatwave. French officials have issued stark warnings about the risk to life. On Wednesday, their Minister for Solidarity and Health, Agnès Buzyn, defended the government against claims they are being alarmist about the conditions. France was traumatised by a heatwave in 2003 which was blamed for 15,000 extra deaths. Nearly all of country is now on orange alert - the second-highest warning level after red - with local authorities issuing advice on how to keep cool. Spanish officials have also warned of a "significant risk" of forest fires in some areas. Temperatures have been climbing in recent days - but are expected to get even hotter in places towards the end of the week. On Wednesday, Coschen in Brandenburg peaked at 38.6C - a new German record for June. Radzyn in Poland and Doksany in the Czech Republic also recorded new national highs, with temperatures hitting 38.2C and 38.9C respectively. Parts of France and Switzerland also recorded their local all-time highest temperatures ever. Even in the high-altitude Aps, temperatures topped 30C in places. Meteorologists warn the heatwave's conditions will intensify over the coming days. In parts of northeastern Spain, it may reach 45C on Friday. Because of the unusually warm weather, some French schools have delayed important exams and even closed to pupils altogether. Several cities, including Paris and Lyon, have restricted traffic to try and reduce the effects of pollution during the heatwave. While the UK will avoid the worst heat, parts of the country - including London - are expected to see temperatures top 30C on Saturday. While extreme weather events like heatwaves occur naturally, experts say these will happen more often because of climate change. Records going back to the late 19th Century show that the average temperature of the Earth's surface has increased by about one degree since industrialisation. A climatology institute in Potsdam, Germany, says Europe's five hottest summers since 1500 have all been in the 21st Century. Scientists are concerned that rapid human-induced warming has serious implications for the stability of the planet's climate. What measures are you taking to cope with the heatwave? Share your stories. Email [email protected] Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist. You can also contact us in the following ways:
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https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-48780685
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2019-06-26 21:22:36+00:00
| 1,561,598,556 | 1,567,538,017 |
disaster, accident and emergency incident
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accident and emergency incident
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29,127 |
bbc--2019-07-26--Arctic wildfires Whats caused huge swathes of flames to spread
| 2019-07-26T00:00:00 |
bbc
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Arctic wildfires: What's caused huge swathes of flames to spread?
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Wildfires are ravaging the Arctic, with areas of northern Siberia, northern Scandinavia, Alaska and Greenland engulfed in flames. Lightning frequently triggers fires in the region but this year they have been worsened by summer temperatures that are higher than average because of climate change. Plumes of smoke from the fires can be seen from space. Mark Parrington, a wildfires expert at the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (Cams), described them as "unprecedented". There are hundreds of fires covering mostly uninhabited regions across eastern Russia, northern Scandinavia, Greenland and Alaska. But smoke is affecting wider surrounding areas, engulfing some places completely. Cities in eastern Russia have noted a significant decrease in air quality since the fires started. The smoke has reportedly reached Russia's Tyumen region in western Siberia, six time zones away from the fires on the east coast. In June, the fires released an estimated 50 megatonnes of carbon dioxide - the equivalent of Sweden's annual carbon output, according to Cams. Arctic fires are common between May and October and wildfires are a natural part of an ecosystem, offering some benefits for the environment, according to the Alaska Centers website. But the intensity of these fires, as well as the large area they have taken up, make these unusual. "It is unusual to see fires of this scale and duration at such high latitudes in June," said Mr Parrington. "But temperatures in the Arctic have been increasing at a much faster rate than the global average, and warmer conditions encourage fires to grow and persist once they have been ignited." Extremely dry ground and hotter than average temperatures, combined with heat lightning and strong winds, have caused the fires to spread aggressively. The burning has been sustained by the forest ground, which consists of exposed, thawed, dried peat - a substance with high carbon content. Global satellites are now tracking a swathe of new and ongoing wildfires within the Arctic Circle. The conditions were laid in June, the hottest June for the planet yet observed in the instrumented era. The fires are releasing copious volumes of previously stored carbon dioxide and methane - carbon stocks that have in some cases been held in the ground for thousands of years. Scientists say what we're seeing is evidence of the kind of feedbacks we should expect in a warmer world, where increased concentrations of greenhouse gases drive more warming, which then begets the conditions that release yet more carbon into the atmosphere. A lot of the particulate matter from these fires will eventually come to settle on ice surfaces further north, darkening them and thus accelerating melting. It's all part of a process of amplification. Russian authorities are not tackling the majority of the fires as they argue the cost would be bigger than the damage caused by the flames. "They do not threaten any settlements or the economy," the press service of the Krasnoyarsk Region forestry ministry told a Siberian news website. The hashtags #putouttheSiberianfires and #saveSiberianforests are currently trending on Twitter as Russians complain the government is not doing enough to tackle the crisis. Some argue that the Notre Dame fire in Paris received far more media attention than the forest fires. "Remember how far the news about the Notre Dame fire spread? Now is the time to do the same about the Siberian forest fires," said one tweet. Another said: "Let's not forget that nature is no less important than history. Numerous animals have lost their homes, and many of them are probably dead. Just thinking about this is painful." Alaska Centers agree that "fire-suppression efforts sometimes are more damaging than the wildfire".
| null |
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-49125391
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2019-07-26 15:34:01+00:00
| 1,564,169,641 | 1,567,535,715 |
disaster, accident and emergency incident
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accident and emergency incident
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29,867 |
bbc--2019-08-20--Brazil wildfires prompt prayers for Amazon
| 2019-08-20T00:00:00 |
bbc
|
Brazil wildfires prompt 'prayers' for Amazon
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A daytime blackout in a Brazilian city has prompted thousands of people to voice their concerns for the welfare of the Amazon rainforest. Sao Paulo was blackened for around an hour on Monday after strong winds brought in smoke from forest fires burning in the states of Amazonas and Rondonia, more than 2,700km away. The hashtag #prayforamazonia has now emerged as a global Twitter trend with more than 150,000 references to the fires. Sao Paulo resident Gianvitor Dias told the BBC what it was like in the city during the smoke-filled blackout on Monday afternoon. "It was as if the day had turned into night," he said. "Everyone here commented, because even on rainy days it doesn't usually get that dark. It was very impressive." Some of the most popular tweets online are criticising President Jair Bolsonaro for not taking action. Scientists from Brazil's National Space Research Institute (INPE) say the Amazon has suffered losses at an accelerated rate since Mr Bolsonaro took office in January. The president responded by saying the data "doesn't relate to the reality" and accused them of smearing the country's reputation abroad. You may also be interested in: The president's denial of the data which the Institute says is 95% accurate, is something that is being picked up by social media users. In a tweet that's been liked more than 10,000 times Twitter user Bea says: "Jair Bolsonaro is chipping through the Amazon. People are not talking about it... our greatest natural heritage is being destroyed! We need to wake up and see the reality!" Other people are voicing their concern about damage the fires are doing to the environment and to nature in one of the world's most iconic ecological areas. In a post that's been liked 17,000 times, Twitter user William Barros highlighted how the world had celebrated Brazil's natural environment at the opening ceremony of the Rio Olympic Games, only to see it burning to the ground today. He said: "Three years ago the world saw Brazil celebrating nature and encouraging environmental preservation at the opening of the largest sporting event on the planet. "Today we see the Amazon, our greatest wealth, on fire for over 16 days. Setback? #PrayforAmazonia." The state of Amazonas declared a national emergency earlier this month because of the forest fires, the fourth most affected area in Brazil this summer. NASA satellite images show the extent of smoke coverage across swathes of Brazil, Bolivia and Paraguay. The fires have come at a time when concerns are being raised over the levels of deforestation taking place in the Amazon.
| null |
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-trending-49406519
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2019-08-20 14:55:27+00:00
| 1,566,327,327 | 1,567,533,953 |
disaster, accident and emergency incident
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accident and emergency incident
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29,905 |
bbc--2019-08-21--Amazon fires Record number burning in Brazil rainforest - space agency
| 2019-08-21T00:00:00 |
bbc
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Amazon fires: Record number burning in Brazil rainforest - space agency
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Brazil's Amazon rainforest has seen a record number of fires this year, new space agency data suggests. The National Institute for Space Research (Inpe) said its satellite data showed an 84% increase on the same period in 2018. It comes weeks after President Jair Bolsonaro sacked the head of the agency amid rows over its deforestation data. The largest rainforest in the world, the Amazon is a vital carbon store that slows down the pace of global warming. It is also home to about three million species of plants and animals, and one million indigenous people. Conservationists have blamed Mr Bolsonaro for the Amazon's plight, saying he has encouraged loggers and farmers to clear the land, and scientists say the rainforest has suffered losses at an accelerated rate since he took office in January. Meanwhile, US space agency Nasa said that overall fire activity in the Amazon basin was slightly below average this year. The agency said that while activity had increased in Amazonas and Rondonia, it had decreased in the states of Mato Grosso and Pará. It was earlier reported that a blackout on Monday in the city of São Paulo - more than 2,700km (1,700 miles) away - had been caused by smoke from the Amazon fires. But some meteorologists say the smoke came from major fires burning in Paraguay, which is much closer to the city and not in the Amazon region. Wildfires often occur in the dry season in Brazil but they are also deliberately started in efforts to illegally deforest land for cattle ranching. Inpe said it had detected more than 74,000 fires between January and August - the highest number since records began in 2013. It said it had observed more than 9,500 forest fires since Thursday, mostly in the Amazon region. In comparison, there are slightly more than 40,000 in the same period of 2018, it said. However, the worst recent year was 2016, with more than 68,000 fires in that period. The satellite images showed Brazil's most northern state, Roraima, covered in dark smoke, while neighbouring Amazonas declared an emergency over the fires. Mr Bolsonaro brushed off the latest data, saying it was the "season of the queimada", when farmers use fire to clear land. "I used to be called Captain Chainsaw. Now I am Nero, setting the Amazon aflame," he was quoted by Reuters news agency as saying. Later he appeared to suggest that non-governmental organisations had set fires, as revenge for his government slashing their funding. He presented no evidence and gave no names to support this theory, saying there were "no written records about the suspicions". "So, there could be..., I'm not affirming it, criminal action by these 'NGOers' to call attention against my person, against the government of Brazil. This is the war that we are facing," he said in a Facebook Live on Wednesday. Inpe noted that the number of fires was not in line with those normally reported during the dry season. "There is nothing abnormal about the climate this year or the rainfall in the Amazon region, which is just a little below average," Inpe researcher Alberto Setzer told Reuters. "The dry season creates the favourable conditions for the use and spread of fire, but starting a fire is the work of humans, either deliberately or by accident." Ricardo Mello, head of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Amazon Programme, said the fires were "a consequence of the increase in deforestation seen in recent figures". The reports of a rise in forest fires come amid criticism over Mr Bolsonaro's environmental policies. Scientists say the Amazon has suffered losses at an accelerated rate since the president took office in January, with policies favouring development over conservation. Over the past decade, previous governments had managed to reduce deforestation with action by federal agencies and a system of fines. But Mr Bolsonaro and his ministers have criticised the penalties and overseen a fall in confiscations of timber and convictions for environmental crimes. Last month, the far-right president accused Inpe's director of lying about the scale of deforestation in the Amazon and trying to undermine the government. It came after Inpe published data showing an 88% increase in deforestation there in June compared to the same month a year ago. The director of the agency later announced that he was being sacked amid the row. Inpe has previously insisted that its data is 95% accurate. The agency's reliability has also been defended by several scientific institutions, including the Brazilian Academy of Sciences. Do you have video or pictures of fires in the affected regions? If it is safe to do so email [email protected] Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist. You can also contact us in the following ways:
| null |
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-49415973
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2019-08-21 14:38:12+00:00
| 1,566,412,692 | 1,567,533,849 |
disaster, accident and emergency incident
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accident and emergency incident
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30,829 |
bbc--2019-09-16--Indonesia haze Why do forests keep burning
| 2019-09-16T00:00:00 |
bbc
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Indonesia haze: Why do forests keep burning?
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Almost every year, a smoky haze blankets the South East Asian region - signalling the return of forest fires in Indonesia. For many in this region, grey skies and a lingering acrid smell are not unfamiliar, but 2019 has already brought with it some of the worst haze levels in years. But what causes these fires - and why do Indonesia's forests burn each year? According to Indonesia's national disaster agency, there were 328,724 hectares of land burnt this year from January to August alone. Among the most affected regions were Central, West and South Kalimantan, Riau, Jambi and South Sumatra. But Indonesia's not the only culprit. There have also been cases of open burning in neighbouring Malaysia, though it pales in comparison to Indonesia. As of 14 September, there were 10 hotspots in the Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak, compared to 627 in Kalimantan, according to the ASEAN specialised meteorological centre. The burning usually peaks from July to October during Indonesia's dry season. Many farmers take advantage of the conditions to clear vegetation for palm oil, pulp and paper plantations using the slash-and-burn method. They often spin out of control and spread into protected forested areas. The problem has accelerated in recent years as more land has been cleared for expanding plantations for the lucrative palm oil trade. The burnt land also becomes drier, which makes it more likely to catch fire the next time there are slash-and-burn clearings. The haze usually measures hundreds of kilometres across. It has spread to Malaysia, Singapore, the south of Thailand and the Philippines, causing a significant deterioration in air quality. In Malaysia, hundreds of schools have been forced to close after the haze reached "very unhealthy levels" of 208 on the Air Pollutants Index (API) in several districts. On 14 September, Pollutants Standards Index (PSI) levels in Singapore went beyond the 100 mark for the first time in three years, though it's yet to reach the hazardous levels of 2015. In 2015, the PSI level in Singapore was at 341 - schools were forced to close and several fast-food chains suspended their delivery services. On both indices, a reading above 100 is classified as unhealthy and anything above 300 is hazardous. But it's in Indonesia where the impact is most felt. In Palangkaraya, the capital of central Kalimantan, the Air Quality Index (AQI) reached 2000 on Sunday, according to Greenpeace Indonesia. Anything between 301-500 is considered hazardous. For many, its a reminder of 2015, the country's last major haze crisis. The 2015 crisis cost the country $16bn (£12bn) and caused more than 500,000 people to suffer from respiratory ailments - a state of emergency was declared. "It's just like 2015," llham, a Palangkaraya resident told BBC Indonesia. "[It caused] my wife's face to turn red... [from skin irritation]. When she was taken to the emergency room, it turned out to be because of the smoke." "I haven't opened the windows and doors for two weeks," said Lilis Alice, another resident. "In the morning, it's dark. If I'm inside the house I have to turn on the lights. It's so dark." Besides irritating the respiratory tract and the eyes, pollutants in the haze can cause serious long-term damage to health. The indices used to measure air quality in the region usually measure particulate matter (PM10), fine particulate matter (PM2.5), sulphur dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide and ozone. PM2.5 is considered the most dangerous as it can enter deeper into the lungs. It has been associated with causing respiratory illnesses and lung damage. The forest fires have destroyed much of the natural habitat of Indonesia's orangutans and released large amounts of carbon into the atmosphere. Kalimantan is home to many of the region's orangutans. The Bornean orangutan, which is native to the island of Borneo, is critically endangered, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Indonesia has been dumping millions of litres of water in affected areas and has sent in the army to help fire fighters. The country has for years promised to step up enforcement. Under President Joko Widodo, it has named 10 corporations as suspects this year, and said it is investigating more than 100 individuals. In September 2015, Mr Widodo told the BBC his country needed at least three years to tackle the haze as it was "not a problem you can solve quickly". Almost four years later, the forests in Indonesia continue to burn. Indonesia has long struggled to police the vast rural expanse in Sumatra and Kalimantan. The slash-and-burn technique employed by many in the region is arguably the easiest way for farmers to clear their land and helps them get rid of any disease that may have affected their crops. But it's not just small-scale farmers at work here. The concern is many of these fires are started by big corporations that want to plant oil palm plantations. Indonesia is the world's biggest producer of palm oil and the demand for the commodity has been rising. This means there is need for extra land for palm oil plantations. But Indonesia and environment rights activists also say the country is not entirely to blame, as some of the big corporations accused of illegal burning have Malaysian and Singaporean investors. Slash-and-burn is illegal in Indonesia but has been allowed to continue for years, with some saying corruption and weak governance have contributed to the situation. Greenpeace International has said some companies in Indonesia appeared "to operate outside the law for years with little sanction". In the meantime Indonesian authorities struggle to put out the fires, many of which have flared up on flammable and dry peat-rich areas. A peat fire is difficult to put out as it can burn underground for months, and requires a lot of water to extinguish. Fires can spread underground and spring up in other places later.
| null |
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-34265922
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2019-09-16 05:55:53+00:00
| 1,568,627,753 | 1,569,330,205 |
disaster, accident and emergency incident
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accident and emergency incident
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31,180 |
bbc--2019-09-27--Alarming extinction threat to Europes trees
| 2019-09-27T00:00:00 |
bbc
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'Alarming' extinction threat to Europe's trees
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The conker tree has been put on the official extinction list. Ravaged by moths and disease, the horse chestnut is now classified as vulnerable to extinction. The tree is among more than 400 native European tree species assessed for their risk of extinction by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). About half face disappearing from the natural landscape. Craig Hilton-Taylor, head of the IUCN Red List unit, described the findings as "alarming". "Trees are essential for life on Earth, and European trees in all their diversity are a source of food and shelter for countless animal species such as birds and squirrels, and play a key economic role," he said. The conservation status of most animals in Europe has already been assessed for the inventory of endangered species known as the Red List. Experts are now turning their attention to plants, with an assessment of all 454 tree species native to the continent. Species highlighted include the horse chestnut, which is declining across Europe, and most of almost 200 trees in the family that includes the rowan and mountain ash. The report identified a wide range of threats, including pests and diseases, competition from invasive plants, deforestation, unsustainable logging, changes in land use and forest fires. Dr Steven Bachman, conservation scientist at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, who was not part of the report, said trees played a critical role in sustaining and enhancing our lives. "This report fills an important knowledge gap on the threat status of European trees, but the results reveal a disturbingly high level of extinction risk that requires urgent and effective conservation action at all levels." A second report found almost half of all Europe's shrub species are threatened with extinction, due to the loss and destruction of Europe's wild areas, as well as agriculture, invasive species and climate change. Luc Bas, director of IUCN's European regional office, said human activities were causing tree population declines across Europe. "This report has shown how dire the situation is for many overlooked, undervalued species that form the backbone of Europe's ecosystems and contribute to a healthy planet." Recommendations included further research into the impact of climate change. Mike Seddon, chief executive of Forestry England said the "climate crisis" was a real threat to woodlands, including the nation's forest they manage, increasing the risk from pests and diseases. "Our efforts to have resilient forests include planting a greater variety of trees, including native species, only grown in the UK," he said.
| null |
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-49838650
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2019-09-27 09:01:50+00:00
| 1,569,589,310 | 1,570,222,091 |
disaster, accident and emergency incident
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accident and emergency incident
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31,579 |
bbc--2019-10-11--Amazon fires: What's the latest in Brazil?
| 2019-10-11T00:00:00 |
bbc
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Amazon fires: What's the latest in Brazil?
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Dark clouds of smoke smothered cities in Brazil as parts of the Amazon burned at a rate not seen in years, and the world responded with outrage. For a few weeks in August, the world's eyes were fixed on Brazil and its government's response. But what is the latest with the fires now, almost two months on? And why might the problem be worse than it first appeared? There are still Amazon fires - though not as many When the burning of the Amazon was at its peak in August, there were thousands of individual fires, almost three times as many that month - 30,901 - compared with the same period last year. What caused this? Forest fires do happen in the Amazon during the dry season between July and October. They can be caused by naturally occurring events, like lightning strikes, but this year most are thought to have been started by farmers and loggers clearing land for crops or grazing. This matters because the Amazon is the largest rainforest in the world and a vital carbon store that slows down the pace of global warming. • Read BBC Brasil's stories on the Amazon in Portuguese • Amazon: The lungs of the planet • How bad were the Amazon fires? The world reacted with fury to the fires - there were protests in dozens of cities, threats of financial penalties, and broad condemnation of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro's environmental policies. In late August, Mr Bolsonaro deployed the army to the Amazon and ordered a 60-day ban on setting fires to clear land there. The measures had an effect - the number of fires in the Amazon dropped by a third between August and September. The pace has slowed even more this month, and is likely to do so even more now that annual rains have started. There are signs, though, that the situation is worse than it appears. This is because the burning of the rainforest isn't the biggest problem - deforestation is. Traditionally, Amazon rainforest is felled, left to dry and then set on fire. By the time the moratorium came in, vast deforestation had already taken place. The only thing the ban prevented was more burning. "They reduced the level of burning, but not the level of deforestation," says Ane Alencar, the science director of the non-profit Amazon Environmental Research Institute (Ipam). "By the end of August, most of the deforestation in the current year had already happened." Statistics gathered by Inpe, Brazil's satellite agency, suggest that at least 7,747 sq km of Brazilian Amazon rainforest have already been cleared so far this year. Ane Alencar believes the true figure is likely to be at least 30% higher, making it the worst year since 2008 for Amazon deforestation in Brazil. A lot of the wood has yet to be burned, she believes, because of the moratorium and the fact annual rains are now starting. "There are a lot of areas that were deforested but were not burned, but they might be burned next year instead," Ms Alencar says. The problem has moved from the Amazon While fires have eased in the Brazilian Amazon, it's been a different story in another fragile region to the south - the Cerrado savannah. The WWF calls it "one of the most endangered ecosystems on the planet" but there were more fires there than in the Amazon last month. The Cerrado is one of the most biodiverse areas in the world - about 40% of the animal and plant species there can't be found anywhere else on the planet, and it is populated by jaguars, anteaters and macaws. But, according to the Amazon Environmental Research Institute (Ipam) about half the forests, wetlands, woods and grasslands there have already been lost - much of it to make way for soy bean farming. Although the Brazilian Amazon is under threat, the vast majority of it remains intact. The Cerrado is about half the size of the Brazilian Amazon, and land is being lost at a much more rapid rate. The savannah's role as a carbon store, and thus in managing the world's climate, is crucial. Ipam estimates that the number of trees lost there in 2016 and 2017 was the equivalent of 440 million more tons of CO2 going into the atmosphere - put simply, that's more than the total CO2 emissions of the UK in one year. The Cerrado was not subject to the same ban on fires enforced on the Brazilian Amazon in late August. And so, between August and September, the number of fires in the savannah increased by 78% to 22,989. "When society was looking at the Amazon, they were thinking [in the Cerrado], it's OK, we can do whatever we want here," Ane Alencar says. There have been almost 1,800 fires in the Cerrado so far in October, but the worst is likely to have passed. By the end of the month, the heavy annual rains will hit the region. Campaigners say more could be done Brazil's environment minister told the BBC the government was doing an "excellent" job in protecting the Amazon, but campaigners say it could be doing more than just stopping fires in one region for 60 days. "The fires in the Amazon might have slowed after Brazil's firefighting response, but this short-term response is not enough," says Christian Poirier, programme director of US-based non-profit group Amazon Watch. "We need a real commitment from Bolsonaro's government to protect Brazil's forests and their indigenous and traditional communities, who are the true guardians of the Amazon. "Bolsonaro has promised 'zero tolerance' for explosive deforestation and subsequent widespread arson; however, his policies and rhetoric have actually encouraged such crimes." There are plenty of fires outside of Brazil Although Brazil's fires have grabbed most of the headlines, it's far from the only South American nation to have suffered fires - or to face controversy over how they started. Paraguay lost many hectares of protected forest from the Pantanal, the world's largest tropical wetlands, endangering its biodiversity. WWF Paraguay say it's a human-made problem, as farmers burn grasslands to improve the quality of cattle pastures, triggering forest fires. Data from Brazil's satellite agency shows more than 18,200 fires in Paraguay in 2019, up 16% from this time last year. In Bolivia, fires - some set deliberately - have destroyed more than four million hectares since May, but heavy rain may now be easing the situation. On Tuesday officials said wildfires in the east had been quelled, and footage showed firefighters in badly-hit Chiquitanía jumping for joy. Bolivia's fires had triggered mass protests against President Evo Morales, who recently passed a decree allowing farmers to clear four times more land for agriculture - a process completed by burning.
| null |
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-49971563
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Fri, 11 Oct 2019 23:30:04 GMT
| 1,570,851,004 | 1,570,882,313 |
disaster, accident and emergency incident
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accident and emergency incident
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140,541 |
disrn--2019-12-16--London church under investigation for reports that young members were pressured to sell blood to rai
| 2019-12-16T00:00:00 |
disrn
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London church under investigation for reports that young members were pressured to sell blood to raise funds
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SPAC Nation, a London church known for its pastors' lavish spending, is under investigation after reports that it encouraged young parishioners to sell their blood in order to raise funds to give to the church. The leadership of SPAC Nation also reportedly told congregants to take out loans in order to finance church operations. The Charity Commission, which regulates charitable endeavors in England and Wales, was undertaking the investigation of the church. Lead pastors in the church were reportedly instructing parishioners to raise £100,000 per week, roughly $130,000. Worship leaders of the denomination have been known to drive around in Rolls-Royce and Lamborghini cars.
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Disrn
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https://disrn.com/news/london-church-under-investigation-over-reports-that-children-were-pressured-to-sell-blood/
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Mon, 16 Dec 2019 15:48:12 -0500
| 1,576,529,292 | 1,576,543,888 |
religion and belief
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religious facilities
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140,564 |
disrn--2019-12-17--Mormon Church has misled members on $100 billion stockpile, whistleblower claims
| 2019-12-17T00:00:00 |
disrn
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Mormon Church has misled members on $100 billion stockpile, whistleblower claims
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A whistleblower complaint filed at the IRS by a Mormon Church member who was a senior portfolio manager at the church's investment division until September alleges that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has amassed $100 billion in investment accounts from members' tithes which were supposed to be used for charitable purposes. The 74-page document filed by David A. Nielsen accuses church leaders of misleading members by stockpiling funds in investment vehicles instead of using them for charitable purposes, and using tax-exempt donations to keep two businesses afloat. The Mormon Church's investment division is a company named Ensign Peak Advisors. Since it is registered as a "supporting organization and integrated auxiliary" of the church, it operates as a religious nonprofit largely exempt from U.S. taxes — provided that it operates exclusively for "religious, educational, or other charitable purposes." The whistleblower complaint alleges that Ensign Peak has given away $0 toward such purposes in its 22-year existence. Nielson also alleges that Ensign Peak used $2 billion over the past decade to bail out a church-run insurance company and a shopping mall in Salt Lake City that was a joint venture between the church and a private real estate company. Internal accounting documents show that Ensign Peak's portfolio has grown from $12 billion in 1997 to about $100 billion today. According to the Washington Post: The Mormon Church regularly collects about $7 billion per year in tithes, according to the document — roughly $6 billion of which is used to cover operating costs, with the remaining $1 billion plowed into investment vehicles. The church also owns real estate worth many billions of dollars. In the complaint, Nielsen castigates the church for owning exorbitant wealth yet demanding tithe money from members who are struggling financially, saying, "Would you pay tithing instead of water, electricity, or feeding your family if you knew that it would sit around by the billions until the Second Coming of Christ?" ? Nielsen's whistleblower complaint provides the most comprehensive look into the secretive finances of the Mormon church — and reveals a fortune that far exceeds prior estimates.
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Disrn
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https://disrn.com/news/mormon-church-has-misled-members-on-100-billion-stockpile-whistleblower-claims/
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Tue, 17 Dec 2019 08:37:46 -0500
| 1,576,589,866 | 1,576,630,378 |
religion and belief
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religious facilities
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163,632 |
eveningstandard--2019-02-08--Detectives hunt gang who broke into London church and stole 400-year-old chalice
| 2019-02-08T00:00:00 |
eveningstandard
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Detectives hunt gang who broke into London church and stole 400-year-old chalice
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Detectives are hunting a gang who broke into a historic church and stole items including an chalice used in services for more than 400 years. The thieves smashed through three locked doors at All Saints Church in Chingford to get to a safe, which they then dragged out of a window and down a road. The chalice, estimated to be worth £20,000, has a watermark dating back to 1595 and has been used in the parish since then. Reverand Andy Trenier said: “I can’t fathom how someone can do that to a church. “It’s been used every week in Chingford for 400 years. “It’s more than sentimental, it’s a piece of the parish that has been stolen. It’s totally irreplaceable. It’s quite plain with worn silver and a rose stem pattern.” Another stolen chalice has since been recovered following the burglary between November 21 and 22 last year. But police are seeking to trace the person who sold the other religious pieces, which included the chalice, a chattel and a ciborium. PC Nicole Garcia, said: “These items are of great importance to the church and its congregation. I would urge anyone who has been offered them for sale to contact us. They are quite distinctive and would have stood out. “The idea that someone would break into a place of worship is cause for concern and I would encourage anyone with information to come forward.” Anyone with information is asked to contact officers at the North-East Command Unit via 101 quoting reference 2174/22Nov18. Alternatively, they can call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
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Barney Davis
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https://www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/detectives-hunt-gang-who-broke-into-london-church-and-stole-400yearold-chalice-a4061236.html
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2019-02-08 10:24:01+00:00
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eveningstandard--2019-12-13--Evangelical church in London probed over claims pastors pressured young congregants to sell blood to
| 2019-12-13T00:00:00 |
eveningstandard
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Evangelical church in London probed over claims pastors pressured young congregants to sell blood to raise funds
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A probe has been launched into a church in London over claims that pastors had been pressuring young members of the congregation to sell their blood to raise money. An investigation has been opened by the Charity Commission into SPAC Nation to probe financial and safeguarding concerns. The commission has ordered it to bank all cash while the investigation into the allegations takes place. The church has been described by the commission as a charity set up to "advance Christianity" that works with young people. The news comes after HuffPost UK reported allegations that some members of the church had been taking teenagers to donate blood for medical trials in a practice known as “bleeding for seed”. The church, which denies the claims, has previously been praised by politicians for its work to tackle knife crime and gang violence. The commission said a case had been opened on SPAC Nation in April last year, and in November this year information received from the trustees “raised further concerns about the charity’s financial controls, policy and procedures”. In a statement, it added: “Of immediate concern to the commission is that substantial amounts of charity money are held in cash. “As a protective measure, the commission has issued an order under Section 84 of the Charities Act, requiring the charity to bank its money. “The commission is also concerned about the apparent lack of clarity between the personal, business and charity roles of leaders within the charity.” The commission said it opened the inquiry to “examine matters furthers” after allegations emerged that individuals had been encouraged to give money to the charity by “taking on personal debt”. A Charity Commission spokesman said: “The issues that have been raised related to SPAC Nation in recent weeks are highly concerning, even more so as the allegations are entirely at odds with the expectations about the way that charities will operate. “The opening of this inquiry is an important step that will allow us to examine these concerns further and establish the facts. “We will seek to provide assurance to the public and the community that these matters will be considered fully and, where necessary, resolved.” A report with the commission’s findings is expected to be published once the investigation is concluded. In a statement from its board of trustees, SPAC Nation said the inquiry was “needful to lay to rest some unverified allegations,” adding: “Inquiry is what we have always asked for. “If anything is found wrong we will adjust it, and if not we will keep going strong. “If any pastor or leader is caught pressuring people to donate, such leader will be expelled without delay, not to talk of pressuring to donate blood for money. “We encourage people to donate blood and all they can for the community but we also say not for money ever, that just won’t happen here.” New: Daily podcast from the Evening Standard Subscribe to The Leader on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Acast or your chosen podcast provider. New episodes every weekday from 4pm.
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Katy Clifton
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https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/london-church-charity-commission-a4313381.html
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Fri, 13 Dec 2019 17:51:00 GMT
| 1,576,277,460 | 1,576,284,205 |
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france24--2019-01-27--Deadly bombings target church in southern Philippines
| 2019-01-27T00:00:00 |
france24
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Deadly bombings target church in southern Philippines
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AFP, Armed Forces of the Philippines | A handout photo released by the Philippines military shows debris inside the church where the two bombs exploded. Twin bombings during a church service in the southern Philippines killed at least 20 people and wounded 81, security officials said, days after a referendum on autonomy for the mainly Muslim region returned an overwhelming "yes" vote. The attack was one of the deadliest in recent years in a region long plagued by instability. It came amid hope and excitement about the ratification of a devolution plan that aims to bring development, jobs and peace to one of Asia's poorest and most volatile places. The first explosion went off inside the cathedral on Jolo island, in Sulu province, and was followed by a second blast outside, which was detonated as security forces raced to the scene, officials said. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the bombings, its news agency Amaq said on Sunday. "The enemies of the state have boldly challenged the capability of the government to secure the safety of the citizenry in that region," said Salvador Panelo, spokesman of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte. "The armed forces of the Philippines will rise to the challenge and crush these godless criminals." Pictures distributed by the military of the inside of the Jolo church showed several rows of wooden pews destroyed, with debris strewn across a blackened floor. The attack followed Friday's announcement that the region, a mainly Muslim part of the predominantly Catholic Philippines, had ratified the creation of an autonomous area called Bangsamoro, with 85 percent of voters behind it. Although Sulu was among only a few areas that rejected autonomy, it will still be part of the new entity when it is fully formed in 2022. Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana called the attack a "dastardly act" and urged the local population to cooperate and "deny terrorism any victory". "We will not allow them to spoil the preference of the people for peace," he added. Civilians bore the brunt of the attack, which also killed five soldiers. Police lowered the death toll from 27 to 20, after discovering duplications in initial records. The referendum came amid concerns about the presence of extremists in the Philippines and the possibility that foreign radicals will join those of Indonesia and Malaysia in gravitating to Mindanao to capitalize on porous borders, jungles and mountains, and an abundance of arms. The Philippine military in mid-2017 encountered its biggest and longest battle since World War Two when an alliance of extremists loyal to Islamic State, among them foreigners and children, overran Marawi City and tried to establish a caliphate.
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FRANCE 24
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https://www.france24.com/en/20190127-philippines-church-bombing-jolo-casualties
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2019-01-27 05:50:15+00:00
| 1,548,586,215 | 1,567,550,695 |
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france24--2019-08-28--Police hunt for culprits behind Provencal church bell robberies
| 2019-08-28T00:00:00 |
france24
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Police hunt for culprits behind Provençal church bell robberies
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©SombreSanglier - Wikimedia commons | Church bells were stolen from a Catholic Church in Brue-Auriac (pictured), Provence, in August 2019. French police are hunting for robbers who have stolen bronze bells from the steeples of listed Provencal churches in the dead of night over the past month. Residents of Ginasservis and Brue-Auriac as well as the village of Esparron-de-Pallieres (population 350) have been left dumbfounded by the mysterious disappearance of their churches' chimes. The first to be targeted was Ginasservis, a town of 1,800 souls 80 kilometres northeast of Marseille, where two bronze bells weighing between 50 and 80 kilogrammes each, one dating from 1737 and the other from 1867, were stolen from two different churches on July 21. The robbers had to cross a graveyard to reach one of the chapels, Le Parisien newspaper reported Wednesday. In the process of taking down the bells they damaged the roof of the church. On August 10, they struck again, this time 25 kilometres away in Brue-Auriac, where they made off with a bell from a 12th-century Romanesque church weighing 85 kilos. "The chapel is outside the centre of the village, which is probably why it was targeted," the town's mayor, Andre Rousselet, told AFP. "The bell has already probably been melted down," he said, since the engravings on the bell, including the seal of the bell foundry, would make it difficult to sell on. Last week it was the turn of the nearby hamlet of Esparron-de-Pallieres, where another listed 12th-century Romanesque church, on a hillside among ancient oak trees, was left bereft of its treasured 50-kilogramme bell. The only trace of the robbers' presence was the roof tiles found scattered on the ground. The public prosecutor leading the investigation into the three incidents told AFP it was still unclear if the robberies were linked. "We take this very seriously. Either the bells are being sold on or they are being melted down for the bronze," prosecutor Pierre Arpaia said. Le Parisien cited a source familiar with the traffic of stolen goods as confirming there was a thriving black market for old church bells, which can fetch up to 20,000 euros ($22,200) a piece among collectors of old artworks or religious artefacts. Catholic authorities in the Var diocese, where the churches are located, have told worshippers to be on their guard. "What more can we do?", one priest told Le Parisien, adding that all parishioners could do was "pray".
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NEWS WIRES
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https://www.france24.com/en/20190828-france-police-hunt-robbers-provence-church-bells-var
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2019-08-28 13:57:19+00:00
| 1,567,015,039 | 1,567,543,636 |
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freedombunker--2019-08-12--Man Visiting Lakewood Church Marks Himself Safe From Hearing The Gospel
| 2019-08-12T00:00:00 |
freedombunker
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Man Visiting Lakewood Church Marks Himself Safe From Hearing The Gospel
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HOUSTON, TX—On a business trip to Houston this past weekend, local agnostic man Brett Cole visited Joel Osteen's Lakewood Church, curious about how the Christian message might be able to make him happier and more successful. The post Man Visiting Lakewood Church Marks Himself Safe From Hearing The Gospel appeared first on The Babylon Bee.
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The Babylon Bee
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http://freedombunker.com/2019/08/12/man-visiting-lakewood-church-marks-himself-safe-from-hearing-the-gospel/
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2019-08-12 16:50:30+00:00
| 1,565,643,030 | 1,567,534,322 |
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lifesitenews--2019-12-04--UK bishop allows pagan Hindu festival to be celebrated on Catholic church grounds
| 2019-12-04T00:00:00 |
lifesitenews
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UK bishop allows pagan Hindu festival to be celebrated on Catholic church grounds
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WIMBLEDON, UK, December 4, 2019 (LifeSiteNews) – A London Catholic parish allowed a Hindu group to hold a “Diwali” pagan festival in its parish hall next to the church. The local archbishop defended the decision after a parishioner complained, but has also decided to review policy after LifeSiteNews reached out for comment. On October 12, Sacred Heart Church in Wimbledon hosted the “Diwali Mela” festival which was put on by a group that aims to “promote and encourage” Indian culture. Diwali, called a “festival of lights,” is the most important Hindu religious festival of the year. Key rituals generally include lighting candles and often include worshipping Hindu pagan deities including Lakshmi (goddess of prosperity) and Lord Ganesha (god of intelligence). The Hindu religion holds itself to be the universal religion for the whole world. Promotional material for the festival in the Catholic parish hall included colorful pictures of Hindu deities and children dressed up as Hindu deities to act out Hindu myths. A member of the Catholic parish contacted the archbishop of Southwark, John Wilson, one month prior to the event to express concern about the event. In an email obtained by LifeSiteNews, the parishioner wrote: “Ecumenism, dialogue and hospitality notwithstanding, I can’t see how hosting a pagan festival on Church property is not contrary to the First Commandment.” The first of the Ten Commandments given by God to Moses in the Old Testament states: “I am the Lord thy God. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” The author of Psalms points out that “all the gods of the pagans are demons” (Psalm 95.5). “If we ourselves have not faith in Christ and manifest our indifference to paganism by hosting this festival, then we should expect Mass attendance to decline in our country,” the parishioner added. Archbishop Wilson, responding to the parishioner a week and a half later, indicated that he was satisfied that the event was “cultural” and not “religious” and pointed the parishioner to Church documents about “interreligious dialogue.” In an email obtained by LifeSiteNews, the archbishop stated: “I have contacted the Parish Priest, Canon John Clark, who offered the following response after seeking clarification from the Hall Secretary: ‘The Mela is a purely cultural event open to all who would like to come along. This is the third Mela and all have been held here without any problems. We have approached the organising committee of the Mela and they have confirmed that it is a cultural not a religious event. They have made a summary of the programme for the day and none of it has a religious element. I enclose a copy of their response for your benefit. As far as I know their Mela is not operated by a commercial company. We have a number of contacts with the Hindu community as they often hold their wedding receptions and birthday parties here.’” The archbishop continued: “Canon Clark also forwarded to me the response of the person organising the event: ‘Thank you for the call, I am attaching the poster for the event. It’s open to all and is organised for all. Mainly kids’ activities, food stalls and merchandise stalls. Kids’ activities include but not restricted to face painting, henna, and such. Food stalls for a feast of Indian food and non-alcoholic drinks. Merchandise stalls like decorative things for around the house or clothes. There’s no religious programme or activity intended. Actually an afternoon with family to enjoy with kids having fun and eating good food!’” Archbishop Wilson concluded his letter, stating: “We must always be faithful to Christ and the teaching of His Holy Catholic Church.” He added: “Alongside this, we must also pursue genuine friendship and dialogue with people of other religious traditions, in the service of the common good, as enunciated in the teaching of the Church and by St John Paul II, Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis.” LifeSiteNews reached out to Archbishop Wilson asking if allowing a pagan religious festival on Church property undermines the Church’s claim that she alone offers the true religion and provides the only path to the Kingdom of God by means of her carrying on the work of Jesus. The Church is committed to proclaiming the fullness of the Catholic Faith in Christ as the Saviour of the world. If I didn’t believe this I would not belong to the Church, nor spend my life trying to be a witness to Christ so that others might also know, love and serve Him. This is not mutually exclusive with seeking to sustain good and friendly relationships with people of different cultures and religions. This sense is expressed in the annual messages for Divali [sic] by the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue and the Bishops Conference of India. Indeed, it is often with people of other religious traditions that we find common voice in defending the values of human life and the family. In this particular situation, there appears to be a disagreement between the organisers of the event, who have hired the hall for the past three years without incident, and the person who raised a complaint this year. There also seems to be a difference concerning the understanding of what is cultural and what is solely and explicitly religious. When I sought clarification from the organisers of this event, I was told: “It’s open to all and is organised for all. Mainly kids’ activities, food stalls and merchandise stalls. Kids’ activities include but not restricted to face painting, henna, and such. Food stalls for a fast of Indian food and non-alcoholic drinks Merchandise stalls like decorative things for around the house or clothes. There’s no religious programme or activity intended. Actually an afternoon with family to enjoy with kids having fun and eating good food!” It was explained that it is called a Diwali Mela, a festival in the sense of a ‘fair,’ rather than an explicit religious celebration. The church hall is available for social and community use and there was not, and should not, be any compromise of any Church property consecrated for divine worship. LifeSiteNews then asked how the Archbishop would respond to Catholics in the parish and in his diocese who are scandalized by the decision to allow this pagan festival to take place on Church property. He replied: I have received one formal complaint from a parishioner about the hire of the church hall at Sacred Heart Parish in Wimbledon for a Divali [sic] fair and I am obviously sorry if anyone feels scandalised by this. In this context, the Catholic Church has a profound witness to give in our diverse society. First, to the person of the Lord Jesus Christ and the beauty of the Catholic Faith. Second, secure in our identity and mission, to the importance of interfaith friendship, without compromising any truths of that Faith. I want all the parishes in our Diocese to be evangelising communities. I think we do this by positively proposing the truth we hold dear in a way that is respectful and engaging. As Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI reminded us, the Church grows by ‘attraction,’ ‘just as Christ draws all to himself by the power of his love.’ We are currently reviewing the documentation used for the hire of non-consecrated Church property. The “Diwali Mela” festival, which ran on October 12 as scheduled, is hosted by a group called the “Social Spark Hub.” The group states on its website that it was founded in 2015 to “promote and encourage the Indian Culture” with the primary goal to “help children learn about different customs, religious and cultural beliefs.” This year, the group became part of the “Kailash Narain Mehrotra Foundation,” a registered UK charity. The Foundation states that its charitable object is to “advance religious harmony” specifically by “spreading Sanatan culture and Sanatan religious scriptures” and “encouraging observance and celebration of Hindu festivals.” “Sanatan” is another word for the Hindu belief system. Both "Social Spark Hub" and the “Kailash Narain Mehrotra Foundation” list the same contact phone number on the UK’s Charity Commission website. Advisor to Archbishop: Hindu deities are ‘just manifestations of the divine’ The parishioner went on to respond to the archbishop’s original email, providing evidence from social media posts by “Social Spark Hub” that the group does, in fact, include a religious dimension to the “Diwali” event, including putting on a play at a previous festival in the same location called a “Ramleela", this particular one depicting the Hindu god Ram's life. The parishioner noted that “Ramleelas” are considered by Hindus to be a religious event in the same way that Christians would consider a Nativity or Passion play to be a religious event. The parishioner wrote to the archbishop: “We should love the sinner but hate the sin. Hindus violate the First Commandment with their pagan worship, but they are not culpable, because they do not know Christ. We do know Christ, so we are without excuse. We should of course treat all Hindus with the utmost Christian Charity, but this does not mean allowing them to use the Sacred Heart Parish Hall to celebrate Diwali. It cannot be compared with holding a birthday party in the hall.” The following day, the parishioner unexpectedly received an email from Deacon Jon Dal Din, who appears to have a special role within the archdiocese as advisor on interreligious dialogue. Deacon Dal Din was listed in 2015 as “Director of Westminster’s Interfaith agency.” The email, intended for Archbishop Wilson, appears to have been accidentally sent to the parishioner. The Deacon appears to be responding to the Archbishop’s request for guidance on how to deal with the parishioner’s concerns. In an email obtained by LifeSiteNews, the deacon told the archbishop: “I think you have far more important things to do than waste time responding to these letters.” “My understanding of a [Diwali] Mela is that it is an Indian cultural event and celebration, although there may be a religious element involved, in the same way that many people celebrate Chinese New Year and people of all faiths and cultures celebrate Christmas,” the deacon wrote. “It is interesting how [the parishioner] has highlighted selected texts from the Hindu group and not others. I doubt [the parishioner] read the texts you attached. [The parishioner] quotes Pope Benedict. I fear [the parishioner] has a narrow view of mission, evangelisation, proclamation and dialogue. All must be done in a spirit of Love. Jesus’ new Commandment,” he added. Deacon Dal Din in his email went on to quote at length a talk Pope Francis gave during his September 2019 visit to Africa where he answered questions about evangelisation and proselytism. During his talk, the Pope said he felt “bitterness” when he was introduced to Catholics who had converted from other religions. Deacon Dal Din said, “[The parishioner] continues to call Hindus pagans. Well perhaps they are, from [the parishioner’s] perspective, because they are not Christians. [The parishioner] would probably feel the same if Sacred Heart were to offer Iftar to the Muslim community during Ramadan. [The parishioner] does not realise that Hindus believe in one God. Their deities are just manifestations of the divine, as indeed, all humans and creation itself are manifestations of the divine.” “Allowing Hindus to celebrate Diwali Mela in the Church Hall is part of Dialogue of Life, being a good neighbour. Jesus did not mix only with the virtuous, but with sinners and outcasts. Like Pope Francis he reached out to the poor and those on the peripheries,” he stated later in the email to the archbishop. Archbishop Wilson’s decision to allow the Hindu festival to run on Church property comes at a time when many Church leaders, including Pope Francis, have signaled that the Catholic Church may not contain the fullness of God’s revelation and may not be the only sure path established by God to reach the Kingdom of Heaven. In February of this year, the Pope claimed in a joint statement with a Grand Imam that a “pluralism and diversity” of religions is “willed by God.” Despite backlash from concerned Catholics around the world, which included criticism from priests, bishops, and cardinals, the Pope has not recanted this statement. The Pope also alarmed Catholics around the world when he participated in events surrounding the recently concluded Amazon Synod in Rome that included the worship of the pagan idol "Pachamama."
| null |
https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/uk-bishop-allows-pagan-hindu-festival-to-be-celebrated-on-catholic-church-grounds
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2019-12-04T16:20:00+00:00
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lifesitenews--2019-12-13--Catholics surround Peru church with prayer as feminist mob threatens desecration
| 2019-12-13T00:00:00 |
lifesitenews
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Catholics surround Peru church with prayer as feminist mob threatens desecration
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LIMA, Peru, December 10, 2019 (LifeSiteNews) — A human wall rose up to defend a Catholic church in Peru, offering only prayers and hymns to resist radical feminists who were protesting against violence against women and in favor of abortion. On Saturday, which Catholics recognized as the eve of the feast of the Immaculate Conception, approximately 150 faithful prayed the rosary for several hours outside the Virgen Milagrosa parish church in the Miraflores suburb of the Peruvian capital. There they faced off some 300 radical feminists who assembled at Kennedy Park in front of the church, denouncing what the feminists call the “patriarchal violence to which we women and diverse people have been historically exposed.” The feminists shouted their slogans and epithets from mid-afternoon until just after darkness fell. Circling the park and making several stops, the protesters headed toward the church in the company of police. In front of the church, the feminist protesters began chanting and dancing in unison. Some shouted, “I will abort my Lord!” Police stood in a line between the feminists and Catholics. At the church, faithful Catholics waited for the demonstrators. Praying the rosary, the Catholics, men and women, sang hymns and also shouted, “I’m not a rapist,” “Long live men!,” and “Long live Christ the King!” The third was the rallying cry of Mexican Catholics of nearly one hundred years ago who fought against an anti-Catholic government, as well as Cubans of the 1960s who resisted the Marxist regime of Fidel Castro. The hundreds of feminists, mostly young women, chanted in unison. “A rapist in your way,” is a chant and street performance that has become a worldwide leftist feminist hallmark, which includes the phrase, “You are the rapist” and repudiations of “patriarchy,” the state, and police. Some of the women at the front of the group were topless and wore masks, much like similar feminists in Russia, Europe, and North America. Some wore green kerchiefs around their necks, the symbol used by abortion proponents throughout Latin America. The Peruvian feminists were protesting, ostensibly, against femicide — murder and violence committed by men against women — but also for abortion rights. The feminists shouted at the Catholics defending the place of worship, “Christ doesn’t love you!” For their part, Catholics responded, “This is Peru, not Chile or Argentina!” Protesters claim that police used pepper spray to disperse the crowd, and media outlet La República claims that police lobbed tear gas. The protesters eventually left the area without further incident. The performance protest in Lima has echoed in cities in Latin America, the U.S., France, India, Spain, and Turkey. “A rapist in your way” has been translated into English, French, and Hindi and was originated by a group of young female radicals in Chile on the basis of the writings of feminist anthropologist Rita Segato, an Argentine who has made the study of violence against women her life’s work. The performance involves chanting, gesturing, and dancing in unison by the participants. It first appeared in Santiago, the capital of Chile, on November 25, the International Day of Elimination of Violence against Women. A similar protest was held in Miami on Sunday. In nearby Chile, the Catholic Church has lost much of its prestige in the wake of resignations of bishops accused of countenancing child rapists. In recent weeks, anarchists and leftists have unleashed arson and vandalism against a church in Chile during anti-government protests. There, looters took pews, a crucifix, and statues of saints while setting fire to a historic church in Santiago, the capital. In September, leftist pro-abortion protesters set fires in front of a cathedral in Mexico City, having also destroyed bus stops and sprayed graffitti on the building that houses Mexico’s Chamber of Commerce.
| null |
https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/catholics-surround-peru-church-with-prayer-as-feminist-mob-threatens-desecration
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2019-12-13T22:45:00+00:00
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liveaction--2019-05-25--Pennsylvania Catholic church vandalized with Prochoice graffiti
| 2019-05-25T00:00:00 |
liveaction
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Pennsylvania Catholic church vandalized with ‘#Prochoice’ graffiti
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Parishioners of Notre Dame de Lourdes Catholic Church in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, awoke to an unpleasant shock to discover their church had been vandalized early last Sunday. Just before 9am, a parishioner discovered a message spray painted across the glass doors of Notre Dame de Lourdes parish. The parishioner immediately notified the pastor, Father Joseph Devlin, who immediately alerted the police. The graffiti read, “You do not have the right to decide how others live #Prochoice.” The side of the church was also spray painted with the “Prochoice” hashtag. The message upset parishioners, who were beginning to show up to Sunday Mass. “It was very shocking to come up to the church and see that,” parishioner Jessica Prince told CBS3 Philadelphia. “I’d have to say the first half of mass was me crying the whole time because I was so upset somebody would do that to the church.” Parishioners removed the graffiti by the afternoon. Surveillance video captured the image of the suspect: a white male dressed in dark clothing, spray painting the message around 3:30 that morning. This is not the first act of vandalism or violence towards pro-lifers in 2019. Abortion has remained at the forefront of national news since Justice Kavanagh was confirmed to the Supreme Court and there has been some hope of overturning Roe v. Wade. Last month, a state representative bullied and harassed pro-lifers praying outside of an abortion facility in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and attempted to get the identities of the 13- and 15-year-old minors. Right to Life Michigan was also vandalized last week. These acts occurred following Alabama Governor Kay Ivey’s signing of one of the most pro-life laws in the country, making abortion a felony for any physician committing the procedure in the state. The law, which has been celebrated by those who fight for the rights of preborn humans, has triggered severe criticism and outrage from pro-abortion activists. “Like” Live Action News on Facebook for more pro-life news and commentary!
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Laura Nicole
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https://www.liveaction.org/news/pennsylvania-catholic-church-vandalized-prochoice-graffiti/
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2019-05-25 15:21:30+00:00
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liveaction--2019-11-09--Seventh-Day Adventist Church takes pro-life stance: ‘Abortion out of harmony with God’s plan’
| 2019-11-09T00:00:00 |
liveaction
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Seventh-Day Adventist Church takes pro-life stance: ‘Abortion out of harmony with God’s plan’
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(Human Defense Initiative) In a statement released by its executive committee, the Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) Church took a strong pro-life stance during its Annual Council in Maryland. The four-page document states “human beings are created in the image of God” and “abortion is out of harmony with God’s plan.” No previous statement on the sanctity of preborn life had been written before this, according to the Adventist News Network. The last time guidelines on abortion had been established by the church was in 1992. Adventist World Church President, Ted N.C. Wilson said the 1992 guidelines gave a “far more limited approach in terms of a comprehensive view of the Biblical approach to this precious subject.” The statement released by the SDA Church takes the position that every child should be “loved, valued and nurtured even before birth.” Quoting from the biblical books of Genesis, John, Psalms, and Jeremiah, the statement outlines “life is a gift from God,” sacred and important. It goes on to give biblical proof that God considers the “unborn child as a human life.” The stance also stresses the importance of offering grace and not judgment. “This is a statement,” added Wilson. “It is not part of the Church manual and not intended to be a statement by which church board members will judge others.” It reads “while not condoning abortion, the Church and its members are called to follow the example of Jesus, being full of grace and truth,” even encouraging church members to open their homes to those in need, including single parents, parent-less children, and adopted or foster care children. The Seventh-day Adventist Church is a Protestant Christian denomination comprised of over 25 million members worldwide, operating in over 200 countries. You can view the full statement HERE. Editor’s Note: This article was written by Lisa Duvall, was published at Human Defense Initiative, and is reprinted here with permission. “Like” Live Action News on Facebook for more pro-life news and commentary!
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Guest
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https://www.liveaction.org/news/seventh-day-adventist-pro-life-stance/
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Sat, 09 Nov 2019 19:12:45 +0000
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nationalreview--2019-04-22--International Network of Islamic Extremists Believed Responsible for Sri Lanka Church Bombings
| 2019-04-22T00:00:00 |
nationalreview
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‘International Network’ of Islamic Extremists Believed Responsible for Sri Lanka Church Bombings
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Sri Lankan authorities believe a local Islamist militant group, assisted by an “international network” of sympathizers, carried out the string of church and hotel bombings that left 290 people dead and at least 500 injured on Sunday morning. While they have not yet announced the responsible party, the authorities believe members of a local group known as National Thowheed Jamath carried out a total of eight bombings across the country on Sunday. All of the suicide bombers were Sri Lankan citizens, but they were assisted by foreign sympathizers, officials announced Monday. “We do not believe these attacks were carried out by a group of people who were confined to this country,” cabinet spokesman Rajitha Senaratne said. “There was an international network without which these attacks could not have succeeded.” Suicide bombers detonated improvised explosive devices filled with small metal projectiles inside of three Catholic churches during Easter services. They also detonated bombs in three hotels in the nation’s capital, Colombo. Two additional explosions occurred during police raids on addresses in the capital. Twenty-four people have been arrested in connection with the attacks and 87 detonator devices have been recovered from a local bus stop. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Sunday that several Americans were killed in the bombings. “Attacks on innocent people gathering in a place of worship or enjoying a holiday meal are affronts to the universal values and freedoms that we hold dear, and demonstrate yet again the brutal nature of radical terrorists whose sole aim is to threaten peace and security,” Pompeo said. “We can confirm that several U.S. citizens were among those killed,” he added. “The U.S. Embassy is working tirelessly to provide all possible assistance to the American citizens affected by the attacks and their families.” Government officials said Sunday that they were recently warned by a foreign government that the National Thowheed Jamath posed an imminent threat but failed to take the appropriate precautions. The country is now in a state-of-emergency and social media platforms have been temporarily blocked. The bombings represent a return to the sectarian violence that ravaged the small island nation until 2009 when the government reached a peace deal with the the Tamil Tigers, a Tamil-speaking militant group known for pioneering the use of suicide bombings in the 1990’s.
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Jack Crowe
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https://www.nationalreview.com/news/international-network-of-islamic-extremists-believed-responsible-for-sri-lanka-church-bombings/
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2019-04-22 12:22:35+00:00
| 1,555,950,155 | 1,567,542,118 |
religion and belief
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religious facilities
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