INDONESIA
Hundreds flee eruption
Hundreds of people yesterday were staying in temporary shelters after a volcano on the main island of Java erupted, with officials evacuating about 190 people from its slopes, authorities said. Mount Semeru in eastern Java erupted on Wednesday afternoon, throwing ash and gas more than 13km away and forcing officials to raise the alert status to its highest level. Volcanic activity had largely calmed down, but was still fluctuating yesterday, the Geological Agency said. Nearly 900 people were moved to shelters set up in schools, mosques and village halls after the eruption, disaster agency official Sultan Syafaat said.
Photo: Reuters
UNITED STATES
Trump signs Epstein bill
President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed legislation ordering the Department of Justice to release documents from its long-running investigation into sex offender Jeffrey Epstein — files eagerly sought by both his political opponents and members of Trump’s own base who have pressed for greater transparency in the case. The material could shed more light on the activities of Epstein, who socialized with Trump and other notable figures before his 2008 conviction on charges of soliciting a minor for prostitution. Trump, who had originally urged Republican lawmakers to oppose the measure, celebrated the signing in a social media post, saying it would help expose “the truth about certain Democrats and their associations with Jeffrey Epstein.” Only 20 percent of Americans — including just 44 percent of Republicans — approve of how Trump has handled the Epstein case, a Reuters/Ipsos poll showed.
GREECE
Giant spider web found
Scientists have discovered a giant spider web spanning about half the size of a tennis court and with 111,000 spiders in a cave on the border between Greece and Albania. The web in the “Sulfur Cave” in the Vromoner Gorge covers 106m2, a study published in Subterranean Biology showed. In it are about 69,000 domestic house spiders, in addition to more than 42,000 Prinerigone vagans dwarf weavers, the study said. The researchers from universities and natural history museums in Albania, Romania, Belgium, Germany and Italy called the discovery “the first documented case of colonial web formation” of two species that are normally solitary. Based on its spatial distribution and dimensions, species composition and population density, in addition to the food resources, the spider colony is unique and remarkable, they said. The cave, so called because of its abundance of the chemical, completely straddles the border — its entrance is in Greece, while the deepest sections are under Albanian soil.
VATICAN CITY
Illinois gifts pope beer
Catholics believe in holy water. How about holy beer? Pope Leo on Wednesday received a special gift from Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, a four-pack of mild ale from a Chicago brewery. Pritzker, visiting Leo at the Vatican, handed the beers over to the pope as part of a gift exchange. He suggested that Leo, originally from Chicago and the first US pope, might enjoy a local brew. “We’ll put that in the fridge,” Leo responded, taking the beers and putting them on a table. The beer from Burning Bush Brewery on Chicago’s north side is named “Da Pope,” a play on a famous sketch on the Saturday Night Live television show about the Chicago Bears football team. The Vatican did not offer immediate comment about whether Leo, from Chicago’s south side, planned to sample the beverage.
A feud has broken out between the top leaders of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party on whether to maintain close ties with Russia. The AfD leader Alice Weidel this week slammed planned visits to Russia by some party lawmakers, while coleader Tino Chrupalla voiced a defense of Russian President Vladimir Putin. The unusual split comes at a time when mainstream politicians have accused the anti-immigration AfD of acting as stooges for the Kremlin and even spying for Russia. The row has also erupted in a year in which the AfD is flying high, often polling above the record 20 percent it
Ecuadorans are today to vote on whether to allow the return of foreign military bases and the drafting of a new constitution that could give the country’s president more power. Voters are to decide on the presence of foreign military bases, which have been banned on Ecuadoran soil since 2008. A “yes” vote would likely bring the return of the US military to the Manta air base on the Pacific coast — once a hub for US anti-drug operations. Other questions concern ending public funding for political parties, reducing the number of lawmakers and creating an elected body that would
The latest batch from convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s e-mails illustrates the extraordinary scope of his contacts with powerful people, ranging from a top Trump adviser to Britain’s ex-prince Andrew. The US House of Representatives is expected to vote this week on trying to force release of evidence gathered on Epstein by law enforcement over the years — including the identities of the men suspected of participating in his alleged sex trafficking ring. However, a slew of e-mails released this week have already opened new windows to the extent of Epstein’s network. These include multiple references to US President Donald
CHARGES: The former president, who maintains his innocence, was sentenced to 27 years and three months in prison for a failed coup bid, as well as an assassination plot Far-right former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro is running out of options to avoid prison, after judges on Friday rejected his appeal against a 27-year sentence for a botched coup bid. Bolsonaro lost the 2022 elections and was convicted in September for his efforts to prevent Brazlian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva from taking power after the polls. Prosecutors said the scheme — which included plans to assassinate Lula and a top Brazilian Supreme Court judge — failed only due to a lack of support from military top brass. A panel of Supreme Court judges weighing Bolsonaro’s appeal all voted to uphold
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