Indonesia volcano: Dozens injured as residents flee huge ash cloud from Mt Semeru - BBC News

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At least 13 people have now died and dozens more are injured after a volcano erupted on Indonesia's Java island on Saturday, emergency authorities said.

Residents were filmed fleeing a giant ash cloud from Mt Semeru.

Pictures show entire villages buried in volcanic ash up to rooftops, and locals have described thick smoke blocking the Sun, leaving them in pitch darkness.

Officials said at least 57 people have been injured, with many suffering severe burns.

A spokesperson for Indonesia's disaster mitigation agency (BNPB) said that the injured were being treated at various hospitals and medical facilities.

The eruption has left at least 11 villages in the Lumajang district coated in volcanic ash, submerging houses and forcing some evacuees to seek shelter in mosques and makeshift shelters.

According to BNPB officials, 902 people have been evacuated from the area so far.

But evacuation efforts have been hampered by choking smoke, a power blackout, and rainstorms during the eruption which turned the debris into mud.

Thoriqul Haq, a local official, told Reuters that a road and bridge from the area to the nearby city of Malang had also been severed during the eruption.

"This has been a very pressing, rapid condition since it erupted," he said.

Meanwhile, 10 people that had earlier been trapped in buildings have been rescued, according to BNPB.

Reuters

EPA

The eruption started at about 14:30 local time (07:30 GMT). Local authorities have set up a restricted zone within 5km (3 miles) from the crater.

The Volcanic Ash Advisory Center (VAAC) in Darwin, Australia said the ash appeared to have detached from the summit and was drifting south-west over the Indian Ocean. The VAAC provides advice to the aviation industry about the location and movement of potentially hazardous volcanic ash.

Airlines have been warned of the ash cloud rising up to 15,000m (50,000 ft), which is higher than the cruising altitude for most aircraft, Campbell Biggs, a meteorologist at the VAAC, told the BBC. He added that this would force most airlines in the vicinity to divert their flight paths to avoid the cloud.

Ash that solidifies on cooler parts of plane engines can disrupt airflow, which can lead to engines stalling or failing completely. It also affects visibility for the pilots and can affect air quality in the cabin - making oxygen masks a necessity.

Mt Semeru is in a near permanent state of eruption and regularly spews ash up to about 4,300m, so Saturday's eruption was a "pretty significant increase in intensity", Mr Biggs said.

• What does volcanic ash do to planes?

The ash cloud should slowly dissipate, he said.

Mt Semeru rises 3,676m above sea level and is among Indonesia's almost 130 active volcanoes. The last time it erupted was in December 2020, forcing thousands of residents to take shelter.

Indonesia sits on the Pacific "Ring of Fire" where continental plates meet, causing frequent volcanic and seismic activity.

Videos shared by emergency officials and local media showed residents running away as a giant ash cloud rose behind them.

16.50
BPBD Provinsi Jatim dan BPBD Lumajang telah menuju lokasi untuk melakukan assesment dan evakuasi warga di sekitar Gunung Semeru. Silahkan mention jika ada yang dilokasi@PRB_BNPB pic.twitter.com/DYj8qIW23u

— jogjaupdate.com (@JogjaUpdate) December 4, 2021

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.View original tweet on Twitter

Info saat ini bahwa jembatan Gladak perak putus. Tolong menginfokan kepada masyarakat yang akan melewati lokasi ini untuk berhati-hati pic.twitter.com/Cgap7SZwBz

— PRB Indonesia BNPB (Disaster Risk Reduction) (@PRB_BNPB) December 4, 2021

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.View original tweet on Twitter

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2021-12-05 04:55:45Z
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Biden and Putin to hold call amid Ukraine invasion fears - BBC News

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US President Joe Biden and Russia's Vladimir Putin will speak via video call on Tuesday, the White House says, amid mounting tensions over Ukraine.

It comes after Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the US had evidence that Russia had made plans for a "large scale" attack on Ukraine.

But he added it was unclear if Mr Putin had made a final decision to invade.

Russia has denied any such intention, and accused Ukraine of executing its own troop build-up.

In a statement released on Saturday evening, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said that Mr Biden will "underscore US concerns with Russian military activities on the border with Ukraine and reaffirm the United States' support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine" during his call with the Russian president.

Ukraine says Russia has deployed armoured vehicles, electronic warfare systems and 94,000 troops along their shared border.

It is the largest massing of Russian forces on its borders since it annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014.

Citing intelligence reports, Ukraine's Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov said Moscow could be planning a military offensive at the end of January.

The Russian troop movement has strained already tense relations between Russia and the US.

• EXPLAINER: Why Russia is stoking border tensions with Ukraine

On Friday, Mr Biden warned he would make it "very, very difficult" for Mr Putin to "go ahead and do what people are worried he may do".

The US and its European allies have discussed imposing sanctions on Russia if it takes aggressive action.

While Ukraine is not a Nato member, it has close ties with the bloc and has received Western weapons including US Javelin anti-tank missiles.

Russian officials have denied any plans for an invasion, and say the border troops are there for military exercises.

Moscow has accused Nato of engaging in provocative behaviour by holding drills in the Black Sea, off Crimea. Russia's foreign ministry also said Ukraine has itself sent 125,000 troops to their shared border. Kyiv declined to comment on the claim.

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This week Britain's most senior military officer said "we have to be on our guard" about the potential for conflict in the region.

Gen Sir Nick Carter told the BBC that he "distinctly hoped" there would not be a war with Russia, but added that Nato would have to be ready for that eventuality.

Tensions between Russia and Ukraine are nothing new. In 2014 Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula and soon after started to back a separatist insurgency in Ukraine's east.

More recently, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky has imposed sanctions on a powerful friend of President Putin and banned broadcasts by three pro-Russian TV stations.

Presidents Biden and Putin held their only face-to-face talks in Geneva in June. Reuters reports that their last phone call was on 9 July.

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2021-12-05 00:36:48Z
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Biden and Putin to hold call amid Ukraine invasion fears - BBC News

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US President Joe Biden and Russia's Vladimir Putin will speak via video call on Tuesday, the Kremlin says, amid mounting tensions over Ukraine.

It comes after Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the US had evidence that Russia had made plans for a "large scale" attack on Ukraine.

He said it was unclear if Mr Putin had made a final decision to invade.

Russia has denied any such intention, and accused Ukraine of executing its own troop build-up.

Ukraine says Russia has deployed armoured vehicles, electronic warfare systems and 94,000 troops along their shared border.

It is the largest massing of Russian forces on its borders since it annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014.

Citing intelligence reports, Ukraine's Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov said Moscow could be planning a military offensive at the end of January.

The Russian troop movement has strained already tense relations between Russia and the US.

• Why Russia is stoking border tensions with Ukraine

On Friday, Mr Biden warned he would make it "very, very difficult" for Mr Putin to "go ahead and do what people are worried he may do".

The US and its European allies have discussed imposing sanctions on Russia if it takes aggressive action.

While Ukraine is not a Nato member, it has close ties with the bloc and has received Western weapons including US Javelin anti-tank missiles.

Russian officials have denied any plans for an invasion, and say the border troops are there for military exercises.

Moscow has accused Nato of engaging in provocative behaviour by holding drills in the Black Sea, off Crimea. Russia's foreign ministry also said Ukraine has itself sent 125,000 troops to their shared border. Kyiv declined to comment on the claim.

This video can not be played

To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.

This week Britain's most senior military officer said "we have to be on our guard" about the potential for conflict in the region.

Gen Sir Nick Carter told the BBC that he "distinctly hoped" there would not be a war with Russia, but added that Nato would have to be ready for that eventuality.

Tensions between Russia and Ukraine are nothing new. In 2014 Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula and soon after started to back a separatist insurgency in Ukraine's east.

More recently, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky has imposed sanctions on a powerful friend of President Putin and banned broadcasts by three pro-Russian TV stations.

Presidents Biden and Putin held their only face-to-face talks in Geneva in June. Reuters reports that their last phone call was on 9 July.

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2021-12-04 18:53:39Z
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US warns Russia could invade Ukraine in early 2022 - Financial Times

Vladimir Putin and Joe Biden are set to hold a phone call next week amid heightened military tensions on the border between Russia and Ukraine, with Washington warning that Moscow could launch an invasion in early 2022.

The two presidents will speak on Tuesday, following a meeting this week of top US and Russian diplomats, where warnings were traded about the military situation on the border.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed the phone call would take place, the Interfax news agency reported on Saturday.

The Kremlin has repeatedly denied it has any plans to attack and has called the warnings inflammatory.

The US warned on Friday night that Russia could be planning to invade Ukraine “as soon as early 2022” with an estimated 175,000 troops.

A Biden administration official said that Moscow’s plans “call for a military offensive against Ukraine as soon as early 2022 with a scale of forces twice what we saw this past spring during Russia’s rapid military build-up near Ukraine’s borders”.

This would include “extensive movement of 100 battalion tactical groups with an estimated 175,000 personnel, along with armour, artillery and equipment”.

According to the administration official, half the units were already near Ukraine’s border, having arrived in the past month. Russia had already moved to established a “ready reserve of contract reservists” to prepare for the offensive.

Before heading to the presidential retreat at Camp David on Friday evening, Biden said: “We’ve been aware of Russia’s actions for a long time and my expectation is we’re going to have a long discussion.”

Details of the US assessment of Russia’s plans, first reported by The Washington Post, emerged a few hours after Biden said he was in “constant contact” with European allies and Ukraine about the threat. He warned that he would try to stop Putin from following through with this plans, hinting at punitive measures.

“What I am doing is putting together what I believe . . . will be the most comprehensive and meaningful set of initiatives to make it very, very difficult for Mr Putin to go ahead and do what people are worried he may do,” the US president said. “But that’s in play right now,” Biden added.

The National Security Council said Washington was “deeply concerned by evidence that Russia was stepping up its planning for significant military action against Ukraine” — noting this had been discussed by Antony Blinken, US secretary of state, on a trip to Europe this week.

“The Biden administration has been consistent in our message to Russia: the United States does not seek conflict, and the best way to avert a crisis and a negative spiral in the broader relationship is through diplomacy and de-escalation,” the NSC said.

© US government

The strength of the US intelligence assessment has surprised some European officials, and authorities on both sides of the Atlantic have spent weeks comparing and contrasting their evaluations. The Biden administration is seeking to flag the risks of a Ukraine invasion as part of a diplomatic push to deter Putin from deciding to act.

A US defence official last week told the Financial Times that the Biden administration was considering providing weaponry to Ukraine, but that inter-agency discussions were continuing and no decisions had yet been made.

The official said the US was “mindful of what we are seeing” close to the Ukrainian border, and that if weapons were provided, that would help the Ukrainians defend themselves if attacked.

Earlier on Friday an administration official said: “Since the beginning of this administration we have demonstrated that the United States and our allies are willing to use a number of tools to address harmful Russian actions, and we will not hesitate from making use of those and other tools in the future.”

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2021-12-04 17:01:31Z
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Parents of Michigan school shooting suspect Ethan Crumbley deny charges of involuntary manslaughter - Sky News

The parents of a teenage boy charged with killing four students at his high school in Michigan have pleaded not guilty to four counts of involuntary manslaughter.

The bail bond for James and Jennifer Crumbley, aged 45 and 43, was set at $500,000 each at an arraignment hearing which was held virtually.

The couple were also told they could each face up to 15 years behind bars.

Mrs Crumbley cried as she told judge Julie Nicholson that she understood the charges.

Their son, Ethan Crumbley, 15, is accused of opening fire at Oxford High School on Tuesday in a rampage that killed four people and injured eight others.

Image: Ethan Crumbley, 15, is charged as an adult with murder and terrorism. Pic: AP

Mr and Mrs Crumbley are accused of buying their son the handgun used in the shooting.

They are also accused of ignoring warning signs before their son's rampage, such as a drawing found at his school desk which had the words "blood everywhere".

The pair had gone missing hours after the charges were announced and were eventually found in a commercial building where they "appeared to be hiding".

A later statement from the couple's lawyers denied they were on the run and claimed they were returning to the area after leaving "for their own safety" on the night of the shooting.

Oakland County prosecutor Karen McDonald said the parents have committed "egregious" acts, from buying a gun on Black Friday and making it available to their teenage son, to resisting his removal from school when they were summoned a few hours before the shooting.

Investigators said the gun was purchased legally by Mr Crumbley last week - apparently as a Christmas present - and was "freely available" to the teenager.

Ethan is said to have posted images of the gun used in the shooting on social media, writing: "Just got my new beauty today" and adding a heart emoji, Oakland County prosecutor Karen McDonald said.

Mrs Crumbley posted the next day that they were "testing out his new Christmas present".

School officials had grown concerned after a teacher had previously seen the teenager searching for ammunition on his phone during class, said Ms McDonald.

Yet when Mrs Crumbley was contacted, she told her son in a text message: "Lol. I'm not mad at you. You have to learn not to get caught."

The victims in the shooting are 16-year-old Tate Myre, 14-year-old Hana St Juliana, 17-year-old Madisyn Baldwin and 17-year-old Justin Shilling.

Crumbley's parents were called to the school on the day of the shooting "for behaviour in the classroom that was concerning".

The shooting occurred a few hours later.

Crumbley entered a bathroom with a backpack and came out with a semi-automatic handgun, firing at students while moving down the hallway.

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2021-12-04 15:22:30Z
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Russia planning military offensive in Ukraine, according to US intelligence officials - Sky News

Russia is planning a military offensive against Ukraine, which could begin as soon as early 2022, according to United States intelligence officials.

The finding estimates that Moscow is planning to use 175,000 troops and almost half of them are already deployed along various points near Ukraine's border, according to an anonymous official in Joe Biden's administration.

The official added that plans call for the movement of 100 battalion tactical groups along with armour, artillery and equipment.

It comes as Mr Biden pledged on Friday to make it "very, very difficult" for Vladimir Putin to take military action in Ukraine.

"We've been aware of Russia's actions for a long time and my expectation is we're gonna have a long discussion with Putin," Mr Biden said.

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"I don't accept anyone's red line."

US intelligence officials have also observed an uptick in Russian propaganda through the use of proxies and media outlets to denigrate Ukraine and NATO ahead of a potential invasion, the White House official said.

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Meanwhile, Ukrainian officials also warned that Russia could invade in the new year.

Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov said on Friday that the number of Russian troops near Ukraine and in Russia-annexed Crimea is estimated at 94,300, warning that a "large-scale escalation" is possible in January.

The Kremlin has previously dismissed accusations from Washington that it is preparing for an invasion, while the US has threatened to hit Russia with the harshest sanctions yet if it takes military action against Ukraine.

Russia has also picked up its demands on Mr Biden to guarantee that Ukraine will not be allowed to join NATO and has warned the US it will respond if Ukraine is drawn into any "geopolitical games".

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2021-12-04 12:59:34Z
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Michigan school shooting: Parents of gunman charged with manslaughter - BBC News

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Prosecutors have charged the parents of a suspect in a deadly Michigan school shooting with involuntary manslaughter.

They allege James and Jennifer Crumbley ignored warning signs and called some of their actions prior to the shooting "egregious".

Ethan Crumbley is accused of using his father's gun during a rampage in Oxford, about 35 miles (60 km) north of Detroit, this week.

He has pleaded not guilty on multiple charges including terrorism.

James and Jennifer Crumbley are facing four counts each.

Authorities in Oakland County have told US media they are currently searching for the pair after the Crumbleys' lawyers were unable to reach them by phone.

But, in a joint statement via text message to the BBC, lawyers Shannon Smith and Mariell Lehman said the Crumbleys "are not fleeing from law enforcement" and had left town on the night of the shooting "for their own safety".

They added the pair would return for their arraignment, which was expected to be take place later on Friday.

Four people were killed and seven injured in the shooting on Tuesday. The victims have been named as Tate Myre, 16, Madisyn Baldwin, 17, Hana St Juliana, 14, and Justin Shilling, 17.

Why have the parents been charged?

On Friday, Oakland County lead prosecutor Karen McDonald acknowledged that charging parents in a child's alleged crime was highly unusual.

According to her office's investigation, the boy was with his father last Friday when Mr Crumbley bought the firearm believed to have been used in the shooting.

A post on his social media later that day showed off his dad's new weapon as "my new beauty", Ms McDonald said.

• America's gun culture in charts
• How a medieval English law affects guns in New York

Just one day before the shooting, a teacher said she saw Ethan searching online for ammunition, which prompted a meeting with school officials, Ms McDonald said. After being informed of the incident, Ms Crumbley texted her son: "LOL I'm not mad at you. You have to learn not to get caught."

And on Tuesday morning - hours before the rampage - Mr and Mrs Crumbley were called into the school for an urgent meeting after teachers found a note by their son, including several drawings of guns and bloodied people alongside captions like "the thoughts won't stop" and "blood everywhere". School officials told the pair they would have to seek counselling for his son.

Ethan's parents did not want their son to be removed from school that day, Ms McDonald said, did not ask him whether he had the gun with him or search the backpack he brought with him to school.

Ms McDonald said the charges are meant to hold the Crumbleys accountable as well as to send a message about responsible gun ownership.

"The notion that a parent could read those words and also know that their son had access to a deadly weapon that they gave him is unconscionable, and it's criminal," she said.

The prosecutor had previously noted that, although the gun had been purchased legally, it "seems to have just been freely available" for the child's use. According to her, the suspect took the gun from an unlocked drawer in his parents' bedroom and brought it to school.

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Neither federal nor state law requires gun owners to keep their weapons locked away from their children.

In a video message posted to YouTube on Thursday, the school's superintendent Tim Throne said that - while the boy and his parents had been called to the office - "no discipline was warranted" at the time.

He added that the school looked like a "war zone" and would not be ready to operate again for weeks.

Ms McDonald alleged on Friday that, when James Crumbley heard about the shooting, he "drove straight to his home to look for his gun" before calling authorities to say he suspected his son was the perpetrator.

"I'm angry as a mother. I'm angry as a prosecutor. I'm angry as a person that lives in this county," she said. "There were a lot of things that could have been so simple to prevent."

On Wednesday, prosecutors charged 15-year-old Ethan as an adult. He now face charges of terrorism and first-degree murder.

Announcing the charges, Ms McDonald said her office had "a mountain of digital evidence" to show the suspect had planned the attack "well before the incident".

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2021-12-03 20:28:08Z
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