Volcano activity delays victim recovery
WHAKATANE, New Zealand -- As a New Zealand island volcano vented more steam and mud, authorities delayed plans to recover the bodies of victims from a deadly eruption and announced today that the death toll rose after two people who had been hospitalized died.
Volcanic tremors on White Island were intensifying to a level not seen since an eruption in 2016, the GeoNet seismic monitoring agency said, calculating a 40% to 60% chance of another eruption within 24 hours.
The deaths of the two came after authorities said they had confirmed that six people died and and that the bodies of eight other people are believed to remain on the ash-covered island. Many of those who survived the volcanic blast suffered horrific burns. Another 28 people remain hospitalized, including 23 in critical condition
Meanwhile, Australia was sending a military plane to bring some of the Australians injured in the eruption to Australia for specialist medical care.
GeoNet said in an update that shallow magma within the volcano appeared to be driving the increased activity. It also said there was a low risk to the mainland.
Bougainville vote backs independence
CANBERRA, Australia -- The South Pacific region of Bougainville voted overwhelmingly to become the world's newest nation by gaining independence from Papua New Guinea, results showed Wednesday.
Bougainville Referendum Commission Chairman Bertie Ahern was cheered when he announced that more than 98% of valid ballots favored independence. The other option in the vote was greater autonomy from Papua New Guinea.
The referendum is nonbinding, and independence will need to be negotiated between leaders from Bougainville and Papua New Guinea. The final say would then go to lawmakers in the Papua New Guinea Parliament. The process of becoming a separate nation could take years to achieve.
Around 85% of eligible voters cast more than 181,000 ballots in two weeks of voting.
The referendum is a key part of a 2001 peace agreement that ended a civil war in which at least 15,000 people died in the cluster of islands to the east of the Papua New Guinea mainland.
The violence in Bougainville began in the late 1980s, triggered by conflict over an opencast copper mine at Panguna. The mine was a huge export source for Papua New Guinea, but many in Bougainville felt they received no benefit and resented the pollution and disruption of their traditional way of living.
Pakistani cleric faces terrorism charge
LAHORE, Pakistan -- A Pakistani court on Wednesday indicted a radical cleric wanted by Washington for his role in the 2008 Mumbai attacks and four of his associates on terror financing charges.
Hafiz Saeed and the four other suspects pleaded innocent when a judge read charges against them in a courtroom in the eastern city of Lahore amid tight security.
Saeed is the founder chief of the outlawed Lashkar-e-Taiba group, which was blamed by New Delhi for the Mumbai attacks that killed 166 people in neighboring India. His charity organizations, Jamaat-ud-Dawa and Falah-e-Insaniat, are alleged fronts for Lashkar-e-Taiba.
Washington, which has announced a $10 million bounty for Saeed's arrest, had praised Islamabad when Prime Minister Imran Khan arrested the cleric in July on charges of terror financing.
New Delhi also hailed Saeed's arrest at the time.
Bombing targets Afghan medical facility
KABUL, Afghanistan -- A powerful suicide bombing targeted a medical facility Wednesday near Bagram Air Base, the main American base north of Afghanistan's capital, the U.S. military and Afghan officials said. At least two civilians were killed and more than 70 people wounded.
The Taliban later claimed responsibility for the attack and Afghan officials said all the insurgents were killed. The Bagram airfield was not in danger, said Col. Sonny Leggett.
The facility is being rebuilt to help the Afghan people who live in the area, the U.S. military said.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement that at least four dozen civilians were killed in this attack, but Afghan officials disputed that number.
A Section on 12/12/2019