SRINAGAR, India: Militants attacked Indian security forces with a grenade and gunfire in Kashmir on Wednesday, defying a strict security lockdown on the first anniversary of the government’s scrapping of the disputed Himalayan region’s autonomy.
There were no immediate reports of casualties, police said.
Authorities blanketed Kashmir with troops, who laid out barbed wire and set up road blacks to prevent demonstrations a year after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government stripped India’s only Muslim-majority state of its special rights.
The government said the change was necessary to develop the strife-torn region and integrate it with the rest of India but it infuriated many Kashmiris and neighboring Pakistan.
Some critics saw it as part of a pattern by the Hindu-nationalist government aimed at sidelining Muslims. The government denies that.
Kashmir is claimed in full by India and Pakistan, which have gone to war twice over it, and both rule parts of it. Militants have been fighting Indian rule in its part of Kashmir since 1989 in a conflict that has killed at least 50,000 dead, according to official figures.
Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan was due to travel to the Pakistani-controlled part of Kashmir to mark the anniversary later on Wednesday.
He reiterated a long-standing Pakistani appeal for international intervention to help resolve the dispute over Kashmir between the nuclear-armed neighbors that has bedevilled their ties since the end of British colonial rule in 1947.
“It is imperative that the international community steps in immediately and backs its words of condemnation with practical steps that will force India to reverse its present course against the Kashmiri people,” he said in a statement.
India has ruled out any outside mediation over Kashmir.
In Srinagar, a handful of members of Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) gathered at their headquarters to unfurl an Indian flag to mark the occasion. The party had long campaigned for ending Kashmir’s special status.
Party spokesman Altaf Thakur said similar celebrations took place in all district headquarters in the territory. “It is an important and historic day for our party,” Thakur told Reuters.
Elsewhere in Srinagar, police and paramilitary troops enforced the strictest lockdown for several months, stopping public movements, including a proposed meeting of politicians.
“One year later the authorities are still too afraid to allow us to meet, much less carry out any normal political activity. This fear speaks volumes about the true situation on the ground in Kashmir,” former chief minister Omar Abdullah said on Twitter.
Last August’s change in status in Indian Kashmir was accompanied by a communication blackout, widespread restrictions and mass detentions, including of elected leaders.
Most of those measures have been eased, although Internet speeds are still restricted. More recently, many families have been confined indoors because of coronavirus lockdowns. (Additional reporting by Sheree Sardar in ISLAMABAD; Writing by Devjyot Ghoshal Editing by Sanjeev Miglani, Robert Birsel)
Militants attack in Indian Kashmir as it locks down for anniversary
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Militants attack in Indian Kashmir as it locks down for anniversary
- Authorities blanketed Kashmir with troops, who laid out barbed wire and set up road blacks to prevent demonstrations
- Kashmir is claimed in full by India and Pakistan, which have gone to war twice over it
Los Angeles fire deaths at 10 as National Guard called in
- A vast firefighting operation continued into the night, bolstered by water-dropping helicopters thanks to a temporary lull in winds
- With such a huge area scorched by the fires, evacuees feared not enough was being done and some were taking matters into their own hands
LOS ANGELES, United States: Massive wildfires that engulfed whole neighborhoods and displaced thousands in Los Angeles have killed at least 10 people, authorities said, as California’s National Guard soldiers readied to hit the streets to help quell disorder.
News of the growing toll, announced late Thursday by the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner, came as swaths of the United States’ second-largest city lay in ruins.
A vast firefighting operation continued into the night, bolstered by water-dropping helicopters thanks to a temporary lull in winds, even as new fires continued to spring up.
With reports of looting, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said a nighttime curfew was planned, and the state’s National Guard was on hand to patrol affected areas.
Governor Gavin Newsom said the service members were part of a thousands-strong deployment of state personnel.
“We’re throwing everything at our disposal – including our National Guard service members – to protect communities in the days to come,” he said.
“And to those who would seek to take advantage of evacuated communities, let me be clear: looting will not be tolerated.”
Luna said his officers were patrolling evacuation zones and would arrest anyone who was not supposed to be there.
But with such a huge area scorched by the fires, evacuees feared not enough was being done and some were taking matters into their own hands.
Nicholas Norman mounted an armed vigil at his home after seeing suspicious characters in the middle of the night.
“I did the classic American thing: I went and got my shotgun and I sat out there, and put a light on so they knew people were there,” he said.
The biggest of the multiple blazes has ripped through almost 20,000 acres (8,800 hectares) of the upscale Pacific Palisades neighborhood, while another fire around Altadena has torched 13,700 acres.
Firefighters said they were starting to get a handle on the Pacific Palisades blaze, with six percent of its perimeter contained – meaning it can’t spread any further in that direction.
But after a lull, winds were returning and new fires continued to erupt.
One flared near Calabasas and the wealthy Hidden Hills enclave, home to celebrities like Kim Kardashian, late Thursday.
The Kenneth Fire exploded to almost 1,000 acres within hours, forcing more people from their homes, with over 180,000 now displaced.
US President Joe Biden told a White House briefing he had pledged extra federal funds and resources to help the state cope with “the most... devastating fire in California’s history.”
Unlike Tuesday when the multi-pronged disaster roared to life and 160-kilometer-an-hour winds grounded all aircraft, firefighters were able to keep up a steady stream of sorties.
But one Super Scooper – an amphibious aircraft that dumps hundreds of gallons of water at a time – was grounded after colliding with a drone.
Although no one was hurt, the Federal Aviation Authority said it was probing the incident, and warned anyone flying drones in fire areas could be jailed for a year.
Some of those forced out of their homes began to return Thursday to find scenes of devastation.
Kalen Astoor, a 36-year-old paralegal, said her mother’s home had been spared by the inferno’s seemingly random and chaotic destruction. But many other homes had not.
“The view now is of death and destruction,” she said. “I don’t know if anyone can come back for a while.”
Meanwhile an AFP overflight of the Pacific Palisades and Malibu – some of the most expensive real estate in the world and home to celebrities like Paris Hilton, Anthony Hopkins and Billy Crystal – revealed desolation.
On highly coveted Malibu oceanfront plots skeletal frames of buildings indicated the lavish scale of what has been destroyed.
Multi-million dollar mansions have vanished entirely, seemingly swept into the Pacific Ocean by the force of the fire.
In the Palisades, grids of roads that were until Tuesday lined with stunning homes now resemble makeshift cemeteries.
For millions of others in the area, life was disrupted: schools were closed, hundreds of thousands were without power and major events were canceled or, in the case of an NFL playoff game between the Los Angeles Rams and the Minnesota Vikings, moved somewhere else.
Meteorologists warn that “critical” windy and dry conditions, though abated, are not over.
A National Weather Service bulletin said “significant fire growth” remained likely “with ongoing or new fires” into Friday.
Wildfires occur naturally, but scientists say human-caused climate change is altering weather and changing the dynamics of the blazes.
Two wet years in Southern California have given way to a very dry one, leaving ample fuel dry and primed to burn.
India readies for mammoth Hindu festival of 400 million pilgrims
- The organizers say the scale of preparations for the Kumbh Mela is akin to setting up a temporary country from scratch
- Festival is rooted in Hindu mythology, a battle between deities and demons for pitcher containing nectar of immortality
NEW DELHI: The world’s largest gathering of humanity begins in India on Monday with the opening of the Kumbh Mela, a six-week Hindu festival organizers expect to attract up to 400 million pilgrims.
Organizers say the scale of preparations for the Kumbh Mela is akin to setting up a temporary country from scratch — in this case, one more populous than the United States and Canada combined.
“Some 350 to 400 million devotees are going to visit the mela, so you can imagine the scale of preparations,” festival spokesman Vivek Chaturvedi said.
Around 150,000 toilets have been built and a network of community kitchens can each feed up to 50,000 people at the same time.
Another 68,000 LED light poles have been erected for a gathering so large that its bright lights can be seen from space.
Authorities and the police have also set up a network of “lost and found” centers and an accompanying phone app to help pilgrims lost in the immense crowd “to reunite with their families.”
India is the world’s most populous nation, with 1.4 billion people, and so is used to large crowds.
The last celebration at the site, the “ardh” or half Kumbh Mela in 2019, attracted 240 million pilgrims, according to India’s government.
That compares to an estimated 1.8 million Muslims who take part in the annual Hajj pilgrimage to Makkah, Saudi Arabia.
The government calls the Kumbh Mela a “vibrant blend of cultures, traditions, and languages, showcasing a ‘mini-India’ where millions come together without formal invitations.”
The Kumbh Mela, or “festival of the sacred pitcher,” is held at the confluence of the Ganges, the Yamuna and the mythical Sarasvati rivers.
Its emblematic ritual is mass bathing in the holy rivers, with the dawn charge often led by naked, ash-smeared holy men, many of whom will have walked for weeks to reach the site.
Hindus believe that those who immerse themselves in the waters cleanse themselves of sin, breaking free from the cycle of rebirth and ultimately attaining salvation.
Many pilgrims embrace a life of simplicity during the festival — vowing non-violence, celibacy and the offering of alms — and focusing on prayer and meditation.
Santosh Mishra, 55, from a village near the holy Hindu city of Varanasi, said he and his neighbors were “super excited” for the fair to begin.
“The whole village will be going,” Mishra told AFP. “It’s a great feeling when everyone takes a plunge in the river together.”
The festival is rooted in Hindu mythology, a battle between deities and demons for control of a pitcher containing the nectar of immortality.
Four drops of nectar were spilt during the battle and one landed at Prayagraj, where the Kumbh Mela is held every 12 years.
The other three fell on the cities of Nashik, Ujjain and Haridwar, where smaller festivals are held in intervening years.
The exact date of each celebration is based on the astrological positions of the Sun, Moon and Jupiter.
Ceremonies include the visually spectacular “aarti,” when vast numbers of priests perform rituals holding flickering lamps.
Devotees also float a sea of twinkling prayer lamps, crafted from baked flour, which glow with burning mustard oil or clarified butter.
Monday marks the start of festivities, coinciding with the full moon, with celebrations culminating on February 26, the final holy bathing day.
The mythic battle that undergirds the Kumbh Mela celebrations is mentioned in the Rig Veda, a sacred Hindu text written more than 3,000 years ago.
The festival was also mentioned by Chinese Buddhist monk and scholar Hiuen Tsang, who attended in the seventh century.
UNESCO lists the Kumbh Mela as part of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
It describes it as “the largest peaceful congregation of pilgrims on earth,” saying it “plays a central spiritual role in the country, exerting a mesmeric influence on ordinary Indians.”
South Korea presidential security chief warns against violent attempt to arrest Yoon Suk Yeol
- Park Chong-jun, head of the Presidential Security Service, is himself under investigation for obstructing official duty
- PSS agents blockaded the presidential compound and thwarted investigators from trying to arrest Yoon last Friday
SEOUL: South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s security chief said on Friday the impeached leader, who faces arrest over a criminal probe into his Dec. 3 martial law bid, has been unfairly treated for a sitting leader and warned bloodshed must be avoided.
Park Chong-jun, head of the Presidential Security Service (PSS), is himself under investigation for obstructing official duty related to a six-hour standoff last week between PSS agents and investigators trying to execute an arrest warrant for Yoon.
Arriving at police headquarters for questioning, Park, who is a former senior police official, said the current attempt to arrest a sitting president is wrong and Yoon deserved treatment “becoming of” the country’s status.
“I believe there should not be any physical clash or bloodshed under any circumstances,” Park told reporters, adding acting President Choi Sang-mok has not responded to his request for safety assurances for officials involved.
Hundreds of PSS agents blockaded the presidential compound and thwarted investigators from trying to arrest Yoon last Friday. The investigators were pulled back because of the risk of a clash.
Officials of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO), which is leading the investigation, have said PSS agents were carrying firearms during the standoff although no weapons were drawn.
The investigators obtained a new arrest warrant this week after Yoon defied repeated summons to appear for questioning.
On Thursday, lawyers for Yoon said the arrest warrant was illegal and invalid.
Yoon is under a separate Constitutional Court trial reviewing parliament’s impeachment of him on Dec. 14 to decide whether to remove him from office permanently or reinstate him. His lawyers have said Yoon will accept that verdict.
As Yoon awaits his fate, holed up inside his hillside residence, polls released this week showed a revival of support for his ruling People Power Party (PPP) and calls for his permanent removal slipping.
A Gallup Korea survey published on Friday showed 64 percent of respondents back Yoon’s removal from office, compared to 75 percent who favored it soon after the martial law declaration.
The PPP’s approval rating rose to 34 percent, a level similar to the period before Dec. 3, in the poll of 1,004 people this week, from 24 percent about a month ago.
Analysts said the prolonged uncertainty over Yoon’s fate has not only emboldened his supporters but softened some critics concerned that the liberal opposition Democratic Party leader, who is himself on trial on allegations of criminal wrongdoings, may become president.
Last 2 years crossed 1.5°C global warming limit: EU monitor
- Copernicus Climate Change Service confirms that 2024 was the hottest year on record, surpassing 2023
- Extends a streak of extraordinary heat that fueled climate extremes on all continents
PARIS: The last two years exceeded on average a critical warming limit for the first time as global temperatures soar “beyond what modern humans have ever experienced,” an EU agency said Friday.
This does not mean the internationally-agreed 1.5°C warming threshold has been permanently breached, but the Copernicus Climate Change Service said it was drawing dangerously near.
The EU monitor confirmed that 2024 was the hottest year on record, surpassing 2023 and extending a streak of extraordinary heat that fueled climate extremes on all continents.
Another record-breaking year is not anticipated in 2025, as climate skeptic Donald Trump takes office, and a deadline looms for nations to commit to deeper cuts to rising levels of greenhouse gases.
But the UK weather service predicts 2025 will still rank among the top three warmest years in the history books.
This excess heat supercharges extreme weather, and 2024 saw countries from Spain to Kenya, the United States and Nepal hit by disasters that cost more than $300 billion by some estimates.
Los Angeles is battling deadly wildfires that have destroyed thousands of buildings and forced tens of thousands to flee their homes. US President Joe Biden said the fires were the most “devastating” to hit California and were proof that “climate change is real.”
Copernicus said sustained, unprecedented warming made average temperatures over 2023 and 2024 more than 1.5°Celsius hotter than pre-industrial times.
Nearly 200 nations agreed in Paris in 2015 that meeting 1.5°C offered the best chance of preventing the most catastrophic repercussions of climate change.
But the world is nowhere on track to meeting that target.
“We are now teetering on the edge of passing the 1.5°C level,” said Copernicus climate deputy director Samantha Burgess.
Copernicus records go back to 1940 but other sources of climate data, such as ice cores and tree rings, allow scientists to say the Earth today is likely the warmest it has been in tens of thousands of years.
The 1.5°C threshold is measured in decades, not individual years, but Copernicus said reaching this limit even briefly illustrated the unprecedented changes being brought about by humanity.
Scientists say every fraction of a degree above 1.5°C is consequential, and that beyond a certain point the climate could shift in ways that are difficult to anticipate.
At present levels, human-driven climate change is already making droughts, storms, floods and heatwaves more frequent and intense.
The oceans, a crucial climate regulator which absorb 90 percent of excess heat from greenhouse gases, warmed to record levels in 2024, straining coral reefs and marine life and stirring violent weather.
Warmer seas mean higher evaporation and greater moisture in the atmosphere, causing heavier rainfall, feeding energy into cyclones and bringing sometimes unbearable humidity.
Water vapor in the atmosphere hit fresh highs in 2024 and combined with elevated temperatures caused floods, heatwaves and “misery for millions of people,” Burgess said.
Johan Rockstrom of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research said hitting 1.5°C was a “stark warning sign.”
“We have now experienced the first taste of a 1.5°C world, which has cost people and the global economy unprecedented suffering and economic costs,” he said.
Scientists say the onset of a warming El Nino phenomenon in 2023 contributed to the record heat that followed.
But El Nino ended in early 2024, and scientists have puzzled over why global temperatures have remained at record or near-record levels ever since.
In December, the World Meteorological Organization said if an opposite La Nina event took over in coming months it would be too “weak and short-lived” to have much of a cooling effect.
“The future is in our hands – swift and decisive action can still alter the trajectory of our future climate,” said Copernicus climate director Carlo Buontempo.
Nations agreed to transition away from fossil fuels at a UN summit in 2023 but the latest meeting in November struggled to make any progress around how to make deeper reductions to heat-trapping emissions.
Scientists drill nearly 2 miles down to pull 1.2 million-year-old ice core from Antarctic
- Analysis of the ancient ice is expected to show how Earth’s atmosphere and climate have evolved
An international team of scientists announced Thursday they’ve successfully drilled one of the oldest ice cores yet, penetrating nearly 2 miles (2.8 kilometers) to Antarctic bedrock to reach ice they say is at least 1.2 million years old.
Analysis of the ancient ice is expected to show how Earth’s atmosphere and climate have evolved. That should provide insight into how Ice Age cycles have changed, and may help in understanding how atmospheric carbon changed climate, they said.
“Thanks to the ice core we will understand what has changed in terms of greenhouse gases, chemicals and dusts in the atmosphere,” said Carlo Barbante, an Italian glaciologist and coordinator of Beyond EPICA, the project to obtain the core. Barbante also directs the Polar Science Institute at Italy’s National Research Council.
The same team previously drilled a core about 800,000 years old. The latest drilling went 2.8 kilometers (about 1.7 miles) deep, with a team of 16 scientists and support personnel drilling each summer over four years in average temperatures of about minus-35 Celsius (minus-25.6 Fahrenheit).
Italian researcher Federico Scoto was among the glaciologists and technicians who completed the drilling at the beginning of January at a location called Little Dome C, near Concordia Research Station.
“It was a great a moment for us when we reached the bedrock,” Scoto said. Isotope analysis gave the ice’s age as at least 1.2 million years old, he said.
Both Barbante and Scoto said that thanks to the analysis of the ice core of the previous Epica campaign they have assessed that concentrations of greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide and methane, even during the warmest periods of the last 800,000 years, have never exceeded the levels seen since the Industrial Revolution began.
“Today we are seeing carbon dioxide levels that are 50 percent above the highest levels we’ve had over the last 800,000 years,” Barbante said.
The European Union funded Beyond EPICA (European Project for Ice Coring in Antarctica) with support from nations across the continent. Italy is coordinating the project.
The announcement was exciting to Richard Alley, a climate scientist at Penn State who was not involved with the project and who was recently awarded the National Medal of Science for his career studying ice sheets.
Alley said advancements in studying ice cores are important because they help scientists better understand the climate conditions of the past and inform their understanding of humans’ contributions to climate change in the present. He added that reaching the bedrock holds added promise because scientists may learn more about Earth’s history not directly related to the ice record itself.
“This is truly, truly, amazingly fantastic,” Alley said. “They will learn wonderful things.”
