Mount Marapi: Hundreds search for 12 missing after volcano eruption
This video can not be played
To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.
Hundreds of rescuers are racing to find 12 hikers still missing after a deadly volcano eruption in Indonesia.
The search on Sumatra’s Mount Marapi was halted on Monday due to safety concerns as there were continual eruptions.
Eleven hikers were killed after Marapi erupted over the weekend. Five of their bodies have been brought down.
The volcano spewed a 3km (9,800ft) ash cloud into the air, dimming the sky and blanketing surrounding villages in ash.
Most of the 75 hikers in the area during the eruption were evacuated.
About 200 more people were deployed to help with the search on Tuesday morning, even as officials warned that the volcano is still erupting.
Ahmad Rifandi, an official at Marapi’s monitoring station, told AFP that he observed five eruptions from midnight till 08:00 local time (01:00 GMT) on Tuesday.
“Marapi is still very much active. We can’t see the height of the column because it’s covered by the cloud,” he told the news agency.
Mount Marapi, which means “Mountain of Fire”, is among the most active of Indonesia’s 127 volcanoes and is also popular among hikers. Some trails reopened only last June due to ash eruptions from January to February. Marapi’s deadliest eruption occurred in 1979, when 60 people died.
Three people rescued near the crater on Monday, before the search was suspended, were “weak and had some burns”, said Abdul Malik, head of the Padang Search and Rescue Agency.
Forty-nine climbers were evacuated from the area earlier in the day, many of whom also suffered burns.
Authorities have not disclosed the identities of the hikers yet.
Video footage of Sunday’s eruption showed a huge cloud of volcanic ash spread widely across the sky, and cars and roads covered with ash.
Rescue workers took turns carrying the dead and the injured down the mountain’s arduous terrain and onto waiting ambulances with blaring sirens.
“Some suffered from burns because it was very hot, and they have been taken to the hospital,” said Rudy Rinaldi, head of the West Sumatra Disaster Mitigation Agency.
This video can not be played
To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.
One of the hikers, Zhafirah Zahrim Febrina, appealed to her mother for help in a video message from the volcano. The 19-year-old student, whose nickname is Ife, appeared shocked, her face burnt and her hair matted with thick grey ash.
“Mom, help Ife. This is Ife’s situation right now,” she said.
She was on a hiking trip in Marapi with 18 school friends and is now in hospital receiving treatment.
Her mother, Rani Radelani, told AFP that her daughter underwent “tremendous trauma”.
“She is affected psychologically because she saw her burns, and she also had to endure the pain all night,” she said.
Another hiker moaned in pain and said “God is great” as a rescuer carried her on their back, AFP reported.
Marapi is located on Sumatra, the westernmost and third largest of Indonesia’s 18,000 islands. It stands 2,891m (9,485ft) high.
The Indonesian archipelago sits on the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire, where the meeting of continental plates causes high volcanic and seismic activity.
Additional reporting by Hanna Samosir in Jakarta
Sumatra’s Marapi volcano – a dangerous climb
By Frank Gardner
Sumatra’s “Gunung Marapi” volcano was deserted when we climbed it as teenage students in the 1980s. Foolishly, a university friend and I declined the offer of a guide from the village at the base of the slope and trekked up alone by a narrow path through the jungle.
The leeches soon found us, crawling into our socks and up our legs. We emerged at around 2,500m to find a world of blackened, twisted trees, scorched by a recent eruption. Clouds of sulphurous gases swirled around the crater and fissures opened up in the rock just metres away, revealing molten rock below.
Only then did we realise just how dangerous this volcano was – but by now it was getting dark, a freezing rain was falling and we couldn’t locate the path back down through the jungle, leaving us thrashing through foliage for hours. We sorely regretted not bringing a guide.
Are you personally affected by this story? Share your experiences by emailing [email protected].
Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist. You can also get in touch in the following ways:
- WhatsApp: +44 7756 165803
- Tweet: @BBC_HaveYourSay
- Upload pictures or video
- Please read our terms & conditions and privacy policy
If you are reading this page and can’t see the form you will need to visit the mobile version of the BBC website to submit your question or comment or you can email us at [email protected]. Please include your name, age and location with any submission.
-
-
4 December 2022
-
-
-
21 October
-
As Singapore faces deepfake surge, authorities warn of threats from cybercrime, online scams
According to a Straits Interactive survey, about two in three Entrepreneurs are either using or planning to use the systems to produce texts, files, and videos. This indicates that the use of relational AI is becoming more popular in Singapore’s business group.
For instance, software developer Ambient Singapore increases productivity by almost 50 % by using conceptual AI to create blogs and write client proposals.
According to ChatGPT’s CEO Ivan Chong,” Our junior executives use it to generate proposals ( and ) generate reports for our clients.”
We had to review their work in the past. However, because the language has been taken care of, there is currently much less monitoring. It’s really simple for them once they simply enter the details and the numbers. That also helps us save a lot of time.
Noodle Factory, a teaching assistant with AI capabilities, even depends on the new technologies for its operations by allowing users to input information into the software to create exam questions.
According to its CEO, Yvonne Soh, teachers can create AI tutors without any programming experience and priest their unique articles by simply including the materials.
Students will be able to connect with these AI coaches who already have all the information the instructor has, according to Ms. Soh.
Floods, five killed as southern India braces for Cyclone Michaung
Four people were killed on Monday in neighboring Tamil Nadu state, according to officials, and a 4-year-old son died in the Tirupati city after the wall collapsed, C Nagaraju, executive chairman of the government’s disaster management authority, said. One of India’s busiest airports was shut down until Tuesday morning inContinue Reading
Singapore DPM Lawrence Wong to visit China from Dec 5 to 8, co-chair top-level bilateral meeting
BEIJING: On Tuesday ( Dec 5 ), Singapore’s Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong started a four-day official visit to China, where he will co-chair an important bilateral meeting for the first time.
According to a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office on Tuesday, Mr. Wong may also visit the Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City, which celebrates its 15th anniversary this time, and attend Foreign Premier Li Qiang in Beijing during his visit.
Following a meeting in Beijing in April between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, diplomatic ties between the two countries were strengthened.
Mr. Wong’s most recent trip to China was in May. He then met Premier Li and succeeded Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat as co-chair of the Joint Council for Bilateral Cooperation (JCBC ) andnbsp, the two countries ‘ highest-level annual forum.
The JCBC examines the significant assistance between Singapore and China and plots its course of action.
On December 7, Mr. Wong may co-chair the 19th JCBC meet with Chinese Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang in Tianjin.
Singapore and China signed 19 agreements—the most in current years—covering topics like e-commerce, hospitality exchanges, clean development, and green finance at their most recent JCBC meeting in November 2022.
Additionally, Mr. Wong and Vice Premier Ding will serve as co-chairs of the 24th China-Singapore Suzhou Industrial Park Joint Steering Council ( JSC), the 15th Sino-Somali Tianjin Eco-City JSC, and the 7th Singapore-China ( Chongqing ) Demonstration Initiative on Strategic Cooperation.
These JSCs evaluate the three lineup government-to-government projects ‘ development and talk about potential future collaboration.
Additionally, Mr. Wong and Vice Premier Ding may meet in person.
Death toll from Indonesia’s Marapi eruption rises to 13 as search for 10 missing hikers continues
Six lifeless bodies, including five that had been brought down the mountain for identifying, were still to be evacuated, according to him, and the 12 climbers remained missing as of Tuesday morning. Due to ongoing eruptions and poor presence, the rescuers may try manual evacuations whenever they could, walking toContinue Reading
Indonesian rescuers race to find 12 missing after Marapi eruption
According to him, the 12 climbers were also missing as of Tuesday night, and six bodies, including five that had been brought down the mountain for identifying, also needed to be evacuated. Due to ongoing eruptions and poor visibility, the rescuers may try manual evacuations whenever they could, walking toContinue Reading
Expectations meet reality for Chinaâs Mideast mediation
Since the start of the conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, China has actively pursued politics in an effort to establish itself as a crucial mediator. Expectations for Beijing to offer once more are great given China’s contribution to assisting in the earlier this year in restoring diplomatic ties between Iran and Saudi Arabia.
China’s efforts in Gaza have so far yielded little, which should n’t come as a surprise. So why does Beijing still stand firm in its commitment to dialogue?
China’s ongoing relationship is due to at least three factors. First, Taiwanese officials want the Middle East to perceive them as important. Being absent from efforts to resolve catastrophes, especially of this magnitude, is essentially unimaginable as China develops and solidifies its reputation as a great power and responsible stakeholder.  ,
In particular with Gulf state like Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, China is quickly diversifying its financial ties and enhancing social relations in the area.
China makes an effort to become a security service, though it is not but one like the United States. President Xi Jinping has stated that one of his policy objectives is to strengthen China’s position as a major political force and increase its involvement in regional security and social affairs.
Second, by supporting Palestine, China has a chance to strengthen its position and connection with Arab and Muslim states. This opportunity is presented by the Gaza crisis. Throughout the majority of the Cold War, China maintained this default stance, which continues to win China favor with Egyptian friends.  ,
Third, China proposed a new security architecture in the Middle East long before the Gaza crisis. This proposal was an outgrowth of Xi’s so-called Global Security Initiative ( GSI) and nbsp. The GSI had, in particular, be led by Middle Eastern nations, adhere to the UN Charter and principles, and been put into practice through local security dialogues. It would be based on a new safety concept that is shared, comprehensive, cooperative and green.  ,
The GSI’s core is a different perspective on regional and global protection than the one the West and the US have established. Safety may be based on accommodation, negotiation, and coexistence rather than shared political values and diametrically opposed camps.
This idea of lodging, which is characterized by the two-state solution and shared development, forms the basis of China’s position in relation to Israel and Palestine.  ,
One-upping the United States
Lastly, China’s officials have made it their top priority to succeed where the US has failed. Since the US withdrew in August 2021, for example, China has been battling the Taliban in Afghanistan. Beijing wants to lower the Taliban’s private policy while fostering financial assistance.  ,
China has also been urging the international community to take Iran, Russia, and nbsp’s “legitimate safety issues” into account.
China understands that improving its safety model and its leadership clout may result from following Washington’s failures with success in all three nations.  ,
However, collaborating with America’s adversaries plays to Chinese abilities. It will be much harder to persuade Israelis and Palestinians to participate. China must first target its blatant absence of neutrality if it really wants to resolve the Gaza crisis. Beijing has repeatedly stated that it” flanks with Arab and Muslim countries” in this dispute.  ,
Neutrality is n’t a requirement for effective mediation, but objectivity is. Israel may find it challenging, if not impossible, to join China given its distorted approach.  ,
However, China has a limited amount of sway over Israeli and Palestinian decision-making as well as the capacity to persuade either side to take an stance that could be detrimental to its own interests. China is unlikely to use significant resources to encourage a truce and does not have significant leverage over either side (especially Hamas ).
China has undoubtedly been active since Hamas ‘ assault on Israel on October7. While Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with an Arab-Islamic governmental group last month to confirm China’s support for Arab and Muslim countries, Chinese Special Envoy for Middle East Affairs Zhai Jun has traveled to Qatar, Jordan, Egypt, the UAE, and Bahrain for peace talks.
Despite the flight politics, China’s expectations seem reasonable. Beijing is too invested to remain on the sidelines, but it also does n’t believe it can resolve the crisis on its own.  ,
Unfortunately, that might be sufficient to cause a needle to move. Future options may be more optimistic and successful thanks to realistic expectations and cautious politics.
The Syndication Bureau, which holds rights, provided this article.
At the Stimson Center in Washington, Yun Sun serves as the program’s producer and co-director for the Asia, China, and nbsp programs.
Lawmakers to offer feedback on charter
Landscapes sought regarding the election
Published: December 5, 2023, at 6:55
According to a referendum reading sub-panel, MPs and lawmakers may be asked for their thoughts on how he or she should conduct the referendum on the contract amendment after the congress session reconvenes on December 12.
After legislature reopens on December 12 to discuss a referendum survey that will be answered by Members and lawmakers, Nikorn Chamnong, mind of the sub-panel, announced on Monday andnbsp that he is sending letters to House Speaker Wan Muhamad Noor Matha and Senate Speaker Pornpetch Wichitcholchai.
According to reports, the sub-panel is requesting that the legislators submit their responses to the survey by December 20 and the MPs do the same on December 14.
The sub-panel has gathered ideas from professional and social groups regarding referendums and will incorporate the politicians ‘ type.
Many questions will be asked of the lawmakers in the survey, such as whether they support rewriting the charter or whether a referendum should be held prior to the implementation of any charter amendments.
Additionally, the politicians may be questioned about whether a election needs the support of at least one-third of senators.
The question of whether contract rewriting body members should be fully or partially elected, according to Mr. Nikorn, is crucial.
By the end of the month, before the election results are presented for consideration by the government, the politicians ‘ suggestions and ideas from other teams will be forwarded to the main referendum-design committee headed by Deputy Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai.
Mr. Nikorn stated that he was also attempting to address the difficult “double majority” demands, which stipulate that more than 50 % of eligible citizens must have participated in the election and that the majority of those who cast votes may approve it.
He claimed that this would be challenging to accomplish and suggested that the simple lot law only applies to the requirement of turn-out.
But, Mr. Nikorn claimed that the double-majority matter was being thoroughly investigated.
In the meantime, the House sub-committee on votes, led by MP Parit Wacharasindhu of the Move Forward Party, invited experts and academics to a website where they expressed their opinions on the proposed contract rewriting assembly’s makeup.
Previous contract author and Pheu Thai Party chief strategist Pongthep Thepkanchana supported the offer of chairs in the assembly to experts in order to foster creative thought and experience exchange.
The contract redrafting council members should be chosen directly, according to Prinya Thaewanarumitkul, chairman of the Law Center at Thammasat University. He emphasized, however, that important factors should be taken into account when deciding whether the vote of charter editors may follow the general election. He added that the new charter’s material needed to be condensed.
The Election Commission (EC ) estimated that the referendum will cost at least 3 billion baht, an increase from the previous referendum’s 2.7 billion, in which the majority of voters approved the current charter. The EC blames more voters, novel legal requirements, and prices for the higher price.
Groups urge govt to scrap 4am opening
claim that economic gains wo n’t make up for losses
PUBLISHED: December 5, 2023, at 6:42
Officials have not taken the necessary precautions to prevent alcohol-related injuries, according to righteousness organizations and proponents of road safety, who are urging the government to reconsider its decision to permit restaurants, clubs, and other leisure venues to perform until 4 a.m.
The calls were made a week or so after the Interior Ministry announced that bars and clubs in Bangkok, Phuket, Chon Buri, Chiang Mai, and Koh Samui on Surat Thani would empty until 4 am on December 15.
According to Bangkok governor Chadchart Sittipunt, the extended opening hours will be tested in hotels along Silom Road, Royal City Avenue (RCA ), and Ratchadaphisek Road.
” To make sure that no one under the age of 18 is admitted to these spaces, we will collaborate with local government.” To avoid accidents, he said, we may ask the police to set up checkpoints to look for drunk driving and substance use.
Although businesses have praised the legislation, proponents of temperance argue that the government should reconsider its strategy to prevent an increase in traffic fatalities.
Theera Watcharapranee, chairman of the Stop Drinking Network, stated at a meeting called by Pheu Thai MP Khattiya Sawatdipol that the legislation will cause street deaths to ascend rather than boost the economy if enough preparations are made.
At least 2, 118 fatalities were attributed to drunken driving last year, according to Thanapong Jinvong of the Road Safety Academic Centre, who cited injury data from Chiang Mai, Chon Buri, Bangkok, and Phuket. Bangkok was the location of nearly half of the incidents, or 1,004 situations.
” Last year, fatal car accidents resulted in costs of about 6.5 billion baht in just the four counties.” There are costs that the financial benefits from the scheme it n’t offset, he said.
After a study in Norway found that the longer the drinking hours, the higher the number of violent crimes, Udomsak Sae-Ngow of the Centre of Alcohol Studies ( CAS ) expressed concern about the effect of longer operating hours on the incidence of violence.
Drink-driving laws need to be strictly enforced, according to Tairjing Siriphanich of the Do n’t Drive Drunk Foundation ( DDD), as many drivers do not take the laws seriously.
In the meantime, DDD president Jetsada Yaemsawabai urged police to install more checkpoints in congested areas to increase protection for onlookers as the workday lengthens.
This luxury condo development in Singapore showcases an innovative approach to compact apartment living
This is the next addition to SC Global’s Petit Collectibles line that addresses the needs of the smaller-sized apartment market. While rooms with adaptable internal designs are common in Singapore, Cheong emphasized that the Petit Collectibles ‘ level of flexibility is unmatched.  ,
The multi-award-winning Martin No 38 created by Kerry Hill Architects, which was finished in 2012, served as the model for the subsequent properties. It used to be a storehouse and now has one to three bedroom products, the smallest of which is 969 square feet. The smaller units ‘ sliding panel allow for adaptable usage between the lifestyle and sleeping spaces. In addition,  ,
Petit Jervois, the second residence in the Petit Collectibles line, was finished in 2022 and was created by the neighborhood firm RT Q Architects. With 55 one- to three-bedroom products ranging in size from 581 to 1, 044 square feet, and  , the low-rise development delves deeper into the discussion of small apartment life.
Wet solutions are housed in the central core of some units, allowing residents to move freely around the perimeter and enhancing the sense of space and screen viewing surface area. In some regions of some models, like in Martin No 38, big sliding panels in place of traditional doors allow residents to customize their homes in accordance with their desired work, live, and entertainment needs. The following are:  , , SVP, NBP,
Fresh business professionals, bare dwellings, and foreigners looking for a chic, strategically located “pied-a-terre” as their Singapore home are among the consumers and citizens of the Petit Collectible homes, according to Cheong. We have observed that many people are using their homes more frequently for both work and play as a result of changing lifestyles and work routines. The adaptable style gives them flexibility in how they create their workspaces to work from home.