Not Your Casual News Week 21: An entire village wiped off the map in Papua New Guinea
Plus, tensions ease slightly in New Caledonia, and China encircles Taiwan during military exercises.
An entire village wiped off the map in Papua New Guinea
The death toll from Friday’s devastating landslide in Papua New Guinea has risen dramatically, with the country’s National Disaster Centre now reporting that more than 2,000 people are feared buried under the gravel.
The remote village of Yambali in Enga province was hit early on Friday, with families still sleeping when the landslide buried the village. Initial estimates put the death toll at 670. Rescuers, including military personnel, are relying heavily on helicopters as they have difficulty accessing to the site due to the unstable terrain and the damaged roads. While six bodies have been recovered, recovering others buried under eight metres of rubble remains a tough challenge.
A letter to the UN from an official at the National Disaster Centre, seen by Reuters and the Associated Press, said: “The landslide buried more than 2,000 people alive and caused major destruction to buildings, food gardens and caused major impact on the economic lifeline of the country.”
“Many of the houses are buried under eight metres of dirt so if the land doesn’t stabilise then it has to be done predominantly by hand then that will take a significant amount of time,” Justine McMahon, director of the aid group CARE International Papua New Guinea, told The Guardian.
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Calm slowly returns to New Caledonia after riots
France has lifted the state of emergency in New Caledonia after two weeks of violent protests that left seven people dead. However, a night-time curfew and a ban on alcohol sales remain in place.
The unrest erupted over proposed changes to voting rights in the French territory. While the state of emergency has been lifted to allow for political dialogue, France is sending an additional 480 paramilitary officers to the island to maintain order.
On May 13, 2024, protests erupted, leading to riots, barricades, and clashes with authorities. Indigenous Kanaks, who face significant socio-economic disparities, are at the forefront of the unrest, demanding independence from France.
President Emmanuel Macron, during a brief visit to Noumea, ruled out reversing the amendment, despite criticism that it exacerbates the crisis.
Click here to read my piece about New Caledonia.
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What Else Happened?
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China simulates Taiwan’s invasion during military drills. Tensions have risen as China conducted military drills in the Taiwan Strait on 23 & 24 May, encircling Taiwan to simulate an invasion of the island. Beijing claims the drills, involving warships and fighter jets, are a “strong punishment” for the island’s “separatist acts” after it swore in its new president, Lai Ching-te, who China considers a “dangerous separatist.” Taiwan’s new government condemned the drills, calling them irresponsible and provocative. China views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory and has vowed to ‘reunify’ it with the mainland, by force if necessary. Funnily enough, the Taiwanese seemed unconcerned, describing the drills as China “flexing their muscles.”
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has rolled the dice. British voters will go to the polls on 4 July in a snap general election called by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. With the UK facing a cost of living crisis and a faltering economy, Sunak is hoping to shore up his Conservative Party’s dwindling support and secure a fresh mandate from the people. But the gamble is a risky one. The Labour Party, reinvigorated under the leadership of Keir Starmer, senses an opportunity to capitalise on the Conservatives’ woes. The coming weeks will see a fierce political showdown as both parties battle for the hearts and minds of the British electorate. Polls currently show a tight race with no clear frontrunner.
Documentary blamed for death of Afghan featured on screen. An Afghan contractor who was featured in the Emmy-winning documentary Retrograde has been killed by the Taliban, who allegedly used the film to identify him. The documentary, about United States special forces in Afghanistan before the US withdrawal in 2021, was pulled from National Geographic and Hulu after accusations that it endangered those who appeared in it. The film’s director claims he was unaware of the risks, but several sources say they warned him that the Taliban would target those who helped US forces — a tragic fate shared by all the remaining Afghans associated with the US still living in Afghanistan.
Climate News
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Pakistani town nears record temperatures. The town of Mohenjo Daro in Sindh province hit a scorching 52.2 degrees Celsius (126 degrees Fahrenheit) on 27 May, approaching the country’s all-time high. This intense heat wave, exacerbated by climate change, has affected daily life, with businesses reporting a sharp drop in customers as residents seek refuge indoors or near water. The heatwave is expected to subside in Mohenjo Daro but will continue to affect other areas of Sindh, including Karachi, in the coming days. Pakistan, which is considered highly vulnerable to climate change, experienced its highest ever temperature of 54 degrees Celsius in 2017.
Day Zero in Mexico City could arrive quicker than expected. Experts are warning that Mexico City could run out of drinking water as early as the 26th of June. Years of low rainfall and crumbling infrastructure have pushed the vital Cutzamala water system, which serves millions of people, to a mere 28% capacity. While some neighbourhoods are already facing dry taps, experts warn that even significant rainfall won’t be enough to avert disaster. Long-term solutions are needed if the megacity hopes to avoid a catastrophic water shortage, including costly infrastructure repairs and ambitious water management strategies, but it costs a huge amount of money. As Gabriel Quadri de la Torre, a federal congressman for the Mexico City district of Coyoacán, explained to the Washington Post: “It is very difficult to think that the Mexico City government will have this amount of money to invest in the network.”
Powerful storms devastate central US. A series of powerful storms devastated the central and southern United States over the Memorial Day holiday weekend, resulting in at least 22 dead in the states of Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Kentucky, with extensive damage to homes, businesses, and power infrastructure. Severe weather warnings were extended to the East Coast, with a tornado watch from North Carolina to Maryland. Over 400,000 customers across 12 states experienced power outages, with Kentucky being particularly hard-hit. This year has seen a historically severe tornado season, with a record number of tornadoes in April. Scientists attribute the frequency and intensity of these storms to, you guessed it, climate change, with warm, moist air contributing to the persistent severe weather.
Image of the Week
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Haiti’s capital is in ruins. With over-armed gangs now controlling 80% of Port-au-Prince, and under-staffed police shooting on sight, the city is falling deeper and deeper into chaos. Haitians have to go on with their lives, walking the streets through the sound of constant gunfire.
“We never know where stray bullets will come from,” says a Haitian man to journalists from France 24 as he tries to cross a street to sell his bread — a street looking very much like the one in the picture above. As if to illustrate this bleak reality, the interview is cut short by gunfire erupting around them.
To help the Haitian government to deter the gangs, a multinational force authorised by the UN and led by Kenya, with logistical support from the US, was due to arrive this week but has been delayed until June.
Will the deployment of those 1,000 Kenyans be enough, given that the gangs are actively preparing, destroying public infrastructure and preventing residents from fleeing their homes in order to use them as human shields in the coming battle?