World

LOS LLANOS DE ARIDANE, Spain — The lives of thousands may have been devastated by the volcano’s eruption on La Palma island, but many are starting to dream of returning home and starting to rebuild.

It has been more than two weeks since La Cumbre Vieja began erupting, forcing more than 6,000 people out of their homes as the lava burnt its way across huge swathes of land on the western side of La Palma in Spain’s Canary Islands.

And there is no legislation that prevents them from going back to their homes in the Aridane valley, a fertile agricultural area that is home to 20,000 people that has borne the brunt of the eruption, with the lava destroying more than 1,000 buildings.

Unlike Italy’s Mount Etna or Mount Fuji in Japan, which have one central vent, the volcano on La Palma makes a new fissure each time it erupts, meaning it isn’t possible to set up a clearly defined exclusion zone.

“It wouldn’t be much help, because these type of volcanos erupt wherever they want,” said Manuel Perera, an architect and head of urban planning in Los Llanos de Aridane, the worst-hit area on the western side of the island.

During the last two eruptions on La Palma in 1949 and 1971, there was very little damage, largely because the population density was much lower.

What is clear is that nobody wants to leave.

“I’m not going anywhere,” insists Pedro Antonio Sanchez, a 60-year-old resident whose banana plantation was damaged in the eruption but who is determined to stay put.

“There are whole populated areas like Todoque and others that have disappeared and many residents, who have roots there, want to stay in the area,” Canary Islands’ regional leader Angel Victor Torres told local newspaper El Diario de Avisos on Monday.

The only regulation regarding the right to rebuild has to do with the cooled lava, which must be respected as “a protected natural space” — meaning no-one can build on it, Perera says.

But the authorities appear to be taking a more flexible approach.

“A draft bill is being prepared that will classify this land as suitable for development in order to allow the orderly reconstruction of areas that have been destroyed,” Torres said.

The Atlantic archipelago, which is located off the northwestern coast of Africa and counts seven islands, has undergone huge changes as a result of volcanic activity over the past 12,000 years.

“This is just what happens in the Canary Islands and many people from the mainland do not really understand. They are not islands facing a volcanic threat, they are volcanic islands,” wrote journalist Alfonso Gonzalez Jerez in Sunday’s El Dia newspaper.

“The Canary Islands are not surviving in spite of the volcanoes: It is the volcanoes that have created the Canaries.”

Although it is scientifically impossible to predict when the eruption will end, some experts have spoken of several weeks based on previous experience.

And it could take the lava six to nine months to cool, Borja Perdomo, regional head of infrastructure, said this week, quoting experts.

Some residents have asked the authorities not to impose any restrictions on the area but experts say it would be impossible to build any houses there in the short term.

“It would be like being on Mars,” explained Perera.

“It’s the worst place on the whole island for reconstruction because it could be months or even years until it cools down.”

So far the lava has covered more than 434 hectares of land, and when it cools, it will have “an irregular surface with steep drops that is very uneven”, he said.

“It’s terrain that is very difficult to work with.”

New fertile land? 

Despite the ongoing eruption, life is carrying on as normal in most of the island, except for the disruption caused by damaged and destroyed roads.

The lava has covered less than 8 per cent of the Aridane Valley and this is where the biggest changes will take place, starting with the rehousing of those who have lost their homes.

The island has also gained another piece of surface area due to the lava pouring off a 500 metre stretch of coastline into the sea, creating a vast delta that will be used at some point in the future.

On the island of El Hierro, a similar deposit has become a tourist attraction for its natural pools, while in the delta created by the 1949 eruption of La Palma’s San Juan de la Plata volcano was used for banana plantations.

At that site, which lies just down the coast from the newly-created lava delta, locals went to work levelling the surface using little more than picks and shovels, with the resulting land one of the most fertile areas for growing bananas.

KABUL — The Daesh group on Monday claimed responsibility for a deadly attack near a Kabul mosque, hours after the Taliban said they had destroyed a Daesh sleeper cell in the Afghan capital.

Through its propaganda arm Amaq, the group said Sunday's attack that killed at least five people was carried out by a Daesh suicide bomber.

Before the claim, the Taliban's chief spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told AFP initial information suggested Daesh-linked groups were responsible.

After overrunning Kabul seven weeks ago the Taliban have set up an interim Afghan government, but still face attacks from the Daesh regional branch.

Mujahid said Taliban fighters carried out an operation targeting a Daesh cell in the north of Kabul on Sunday evening.

The "Daesh centre was completely destroyed and all the Daesh members in it were killed", Mujahid said on Twitter.

Witnesses and AFP journalists heard blasts and gunfire in the capital at the time of the raid, and images posted to social media showed a large explosion and a fire at the scene.

Kabul resident and government employee Abdul Rahaman told AFP that a "large number" of Taliban special forces attacked at least three houses in his neighbourhood.

"The fighting continued for several hours," he said, adding the sound of weapons kept him awake all night.

"They said they were after Daesh fighters in the area," Rahman said.

"I don't know how many were killed or arrested but the fighting was intense."

At the scene on Monday, AFP saw several Taliban gunmen standing guard, denying people access down the road to the property.

Police pick-up trucks could be seen driving towards the site, one of which came back laden with household items including furniture, a carpet and kitchen appliances.

The operation took place within hours of Sunday's blast, which targeted a prayer ceremony at the Eid Gah mosque in memory of Taliban spokesman Mujahid's mother, who died last week.

A government cultural commission official, who asked not to be named, told AFP five people died and 11 were wounded, adding the casualties included both civilians and Taliban members.

“We have also arrested three people in connection with the blast,” he said.

According to the official, the device was placed at the entrance to the mosque and detonated as mourners were leaving after offering condolences to Mujahid and his family.

A witness at the mosque, who asked not to be identified, told AFP Sunday’s attack at the entrance was carried out by a single suicide bomber.

Just outside the eastern gate, a dark patch was visible on the ground where the explosion took place and bullet holes could be seen in a wall.

The witness said a group of Taliban members — including senior figures — inside the mosque grounds came under fire after the blast, taking two casualties.

He added that two Taliban units mistakenly opened fire on each other in the confusion following the explosion, but interior ministry spokesman Qari Sayed Khosti denied there had been any gunfire.

“A suicide bomber detonated his explosives among the crowd killing three people and wounding a dozen,” he said.

Trails of blood into the mosque, as well as two red pools where the witness said the injured fighters were treated inside, were seen by AFP reporters on Monday.

The Taliban and the Afghanistan branch of Daesh — known as the Islamic State-Khorasan Province, or IS-K — are both hardline Sunni Islamist militant groups.

But they differ on the issues of religion and strategy, which has led to bloody fighting between the two.

The United Nations in Afghanistan condemned Sunday’s mosque attack.

TOKYO — Japan’s new prime minister Fumio Kishida pledged to combat the pandemic with fresh stimulus and fight income inequality after lawmakers voted him leader of the world’s third-largest economy on Monday.

The soft-spoken 64-year-old from a Hiroshima political family made his first speech as premier hours after unveiling his Cabinet, a mix of holdovers and newcomers.

“I’m determined to fulfil my duty with all my strength and all my heart,” he said, calling measures to counter COVID-19 “top priority”.

“I will swiftly take economic measures to support those who have been considerably affected by the new coronavirus.”

He announced a general election on October 31, slightly earlier than expected, in which the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and its coalition party are widely expected to retain power.

However, they could be vulnerable to losing some seats, with the public unhappy about the government’s virus response.

Having beaten popular vaccine chief Taro Kono last week to claim LDP leadership, Kishida easily won Monday’s vote in parliament to confirm him as prime minister thanks to the party’s commanding majority.

The new leader said he wanted to distribute the benefits of growth more evenly in society.

“I aim to create a new capitalism... in order for our country to open the way to the future,” he said.

He also pledged to further digitalise society, partly through investment in green tech and AI, adding that he intends to attend the upcoming G-20 and COP26 summits online.

New Cabinet 

Kishida is widely considered a safe pair of hands, who commands support from his own faction within the LDP and is not expected to veer significantly from the government’s existing policies.

His election came after former prime minister Yoshihide Suga announced he would not stand for the LDP leadership after just one year in office.

Kishida’s new cabinet includes more than a dozen fresh faces but holdovers from the Suga government largely populate the most important positions.

Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi, who has taken the lead in negotiating key trade deals, and Defence Minister Nobuo Kishi — brother of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe — both retained their jobs.

The finance portfolio will go to Shunichi Suzuki, who is replacing his own brother-in-law Taro Aso.

The Cabinet includes three women, among them Kishida’s one-time rival for the leadership, Seiko Noda, who was named minister in charge of addressing Japan’s declining birthrate.

“The Kishida Cabinet aims at balance with consideration given to major factions, young lawmakers, and neighbouring countries,” said Junichi Makino, SMBC Nikko Securities chief economist.

“It’s the kind of cabinet formation that reflects Kishida, who works not to make enemies.”

Election looms 

US President Joe Biden offered his congratulations to Kishida, saying the “historic partnership” between the two nations will continue.

As prime minister, Kishida faces a raft of challenges, from the post-pandemic economic recovery to confronting military threats from North Korea and from China, Japan’s biggest trading partner.

“We need to continue our dialogue [with China]. On the other hand, cooperating with our allies and friends, we are going to say firmly what we have to say. That’s an important stance,” he said.

And raising the emotional issue of Japanese people who Tokyo believes were abducted by North Korea, Kishida said he was willing to meet the reclusive country’s leader Kim Jong-un to discuss the issue “without conditions”.

Suga’s government saw its approval ratings slump as it struggled to tackle waves of infection, including a record virus spike over the summer while the Olympics were being held in Tokyo.

Much of Japan has been under virus emergency measures for a large part of the year, with the restrictions finally lifting last week as new infections decline.

More than 60 per cent of the population is now fully vaccinated, but there are concerns that the healthcare system could easily become overwhelmed again in a new virus wave.

KABUL — Taliban supporters and senior figures held their first mass rally near Kabul on Sunday, but the show of strength was overshadowed by a bomb blast targeting mourners inside the Afghan capital.

No foreign government has yet recognised the Islamist former rebels' rule, though their hold on power within the country is becoming stronger, seven weeks after they took Kabul.

But in a sign that the Taliban victory has not brought an end to violence after Afghanistan's 20-year conflict, an explosion killed at least five and wounded several more outside Kabul's Eid Gah Mosque.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid had said on Saturday that a prayer ceremony would be held at the mosque for his mother following her recent death. He made no reference to this on Sunday as he tweeted that the blast had killed several civilians in the area.

People in bloodied clothing were seen by AFP arriving at the nearby Kabul Emergency Hospital.

A cultural commission official, who asked not to be named, told AFP that five people died and 11 were wounded, adding that the casualties included both civilians and Taliban members.

"We have also arrested three people in connection with the blast," he said.

According to the official, the device was placed at the entrance to the mosque and detonated as mourners were leaving after offering condolences to Mujahid and his family.

Taliban fighters arriving at the hospital handed over their weapons and stripped off their body armour to go in to donate blood, and the hospital said on Twitter that four patients were being treated.

'Leave Afghanistan to Afghanistan' 

The blast, which could be heard across the centre of the capital, came shortly after the new Taliban "interim government" staged a rally just outside the capital, from which they were driven out in 2001 in a US-led operation launched after the 9/11 attacks.

A ban on unauthorised demonstrations has meant protests, many led by women, against Afghanistan’s new masters have dwindled.

But Sunday’s pro-Taliban rally in Kohdaman township in the hilly outskirts of Kabul was attended by 1,500 men and boys.

“This is the day we waited for,” said Khalil Haqqani, the new minister for refugees who in 2011 was labelled a terrorist by the United States with a $5 million bounty on his head. He is a prominent leader of the Haqqani militant network founded by his brother Jalaluddin.

“We have achieved our goal, but it requires protection,” he told the gathering, with his rifle leaning against the lectern.

“My advice to the world is that they leave Afghanistan to Afghanistan.”

Flanked by armed Taliban fighters in combat gear, leading officials and commanders addressed an audience sat in rows of chairs under awnings, celebrating victory over the United States and praising suicide bombers.

One speaker, introduced as Rahmatullah from nearby Mir Bacha Kot, said the Taliban’s victory was “the result of those youths who stood in queues to register for suicide attacks”.

Pakistan’s ‘critical role’ 

The United States, European nations and other powers that were major donors to the former Afghan government before the Taliban takeover have warned they will not recognise the new administration — made up largely of hardliners and no women — unless it becomes more inclusive.

Afghanistan’s neighbour Pakistan has urged the world to engage with the Taliban, while stopping short of itself recognising the new regime.

US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman, who will be in Islamabad next week, has pressed for an inclusive government in Kabul, and said Washington looks to “Pakistan to play a critical role in enabling that outcome”.

But while hundreds turned out for Saturday’s rally, the Taliban have been loath to allow similar gatherings by those opposed to their rule.

Last Thursday, the Taliban violently cracked down on a small women’s rights demonstration in eastern Kabul, firing shots into the air to disperse protesters and pushing the women back

Isolated anti-Taliban rallies, with women at the forefront, were staged in cities around the country after the group seized power, including in the western city of Herat where two people were shot dead.

But protests have dwindled since the government issued an order banning demonstrations that do not have prior authorisation, warning of “severe legal action” for violators.

Separately, the government of Qatar announced that a fifth evacuation flight had taken off from Kabul for Doha, carrying 235 people seeking to leave Afghanistan since the Taliban victory.

LONDON — The British army will begin delivering petrol to fuel stations on Monday after fears over tanker driver shortages led to panic buying and forced the government to offer visa waivers to foreign truckers to plug the shortfall.

"Almost 200 military tanker personnel, 100 of which are drivers, will be deployed from Monday to provide temporary support as part of the government's wider action to further relieve pressure on petrol stations and address the shortage of HGV drivers," the government said in a news release issued Friday.

Motorists queued at fuel pumps across Britain at the beginning of the week, draining tanks and fraying tempers.

"Thanks to the immense efforts of industry over the past week, we are seeing continued signs that the situation at the pumps is slowly improving," said business minister Kwasi Kwarteng.

"It's important to stress there is no national shortage of fuel in the UK, and people should continue to buy fuel as normal. The sooner we return to our normal buying habits, the sooner we can return to normal," he added.

The government says a lack of tanker drivers to deliver fuel and unprecedented demand is behind the crisis.

Demand for fuel has stabilised throughout the week and stations are gradually stocking up again, but some parts of the country still face severe shortages.

The Petrol Retailers Association on Thursday said 27 per cent of stations had run dry, down from earlier in the week, but the same as on Wednesday.

“PRA members are reporting that whilst they are continuing to take further deliveries of fuel, this is running out quicker than usual due to unprecedented demand,” association chief Gordon Balmer said.

The military drivers were put on standby at the beginning of the week, and have since received specialised training.

“The government has taken decisive action to tackle the short term disruption to our supply chains, and in particular the flow of fuel to forecourts,” said Minister Steven Barclay.

“We are now seeing the impact of these interventions with more fuel being delivered to forecourts than sold and, if people continue to revert to their normal buying patterns, we will see smaller queues and prevent petrol stations closing,” he added.

The government has already made a U-turn on tighter post-Brexit immigration policy, offering short-term visa waivers to foreign truckers to help plug the shortfall.

Fuel operators, including Shell, BP and Esso, said there was “plenty of fuel at UK refineries” and expected demand to return to normal soon.

But following a week of queues, drivers in many parts of the country are still unable to get fuel, stoking concern about the effects on the wider economy.

Critics blame government inaction on tackling shortages of lorry drivers after Britain’s departure from the European Union in January and the pandemic, which saw many foreign truckers leave the country.

As well as fuel deliveries, the shortage has led to empty supermarket shelves and raised fears about deliveries of food and toys for Christmas.