White Island volcano: Death toll rises to eight, police say

Two people who were being treated in hospital after the eruption of New Zealand's White Island volcano have died, bringing the official number of victims to eight, police say.

Nine people are still officially missing, presumed dead, and efforts to retrieve bodies from the island were put on hold on Wednesday amid signs of increased seismic activity.

Another 20 people are in intensive care with severe burns.

One has been moved to Australia.

The identities of the two victims were not confirmed. Police said one had been treated at Middlemore Hospital and one at Waikato Hospital.

The volcano, also known as Whakaari, erupted on Monday when dozens of tourists were on the island.

• Who are the White Island victims?
• As it happened: Details emerge of eruption
• Can we predict volcanic eruptions?

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said: "I've spoken to many of those involved in the operation and they are very, very eager to get back there, they want to bring people's loved ones home".

What condition are the injured in?

White Island is a popular tourist destination with frequent day tours and scenic flights available. At least 47 visitors from around the world were on the volcano crater at the time of two explosions in quick succession.

• White Island volcano: Why skin is being imported

Police Minister Stuart Nash explained the injuries to the survivors were so severe that some of them were unable to identify themselves.

"There are a number of people in hospital who cannot communicate, they have significant burns not only to skin but internal organs," he told Radio New Zealand.

"We wish them the best but we're not out of the woods yet, of that there's no doubt."

Dr Peter Watson, chief medical officer at New Zealand's National Burns Unit, said an estimated 1.2m sq cm of replacement skin would be needed for the patients. An order has been placed from the US.

Several patients would be transferred to Australia by the Australian Defence Force using an intensive-care acceptable aircraft, Dr Watson said.

Where does donor skin come from?

Analysis by James Gallagher, BBC health and science correspondent

Donated skin is vital for helping to save the life of a major burns patient. Skin is our largest organ and its main job is keeping dangerous viruses and bacteria out.

The damage caused by severe burns leaves patients at very high risk of infection. Donor skin is a short-term fix.

It comes from dead organ donors - in the same way as hearts, kidneys and corneas - and can be banked for several years.

The donor skin aids healing, cuts the risk of infection and can reduce pain. The immune system is so weak after such an injury that rejection is not an issue.

A single major burns patient needs a lot of donor skin. New Zealand is treating many at the same time and has needed to turn to other countries for help.

What do we know about the victims?

New Zealand's chief coroner on Wednesday declared the eruption a "mass fatality incident".

Officials said they were working with disaster specialists and forensic experts to identify the victims so their bodies could be returned to their families.

New Zealand police have now listed nine people as officially missing - though they say this is a partial list as they have not been able to speak to all the next of kin.

These are:

• Hayden Inman (New Zealand)
• Tipene Maangi (New Zealand)
• Julie Richards (Australia)
• Jessica Richards (Australia)
• Gavin Dallow (Australia)
• Zoe Hosking (Australia)
• Richard Elzer (Australia)
• Karla Matthews (Australia)
• Krystal Browitt (Australia)

At least seven people on the list are believed to be dead or presumed dead, based on relatives talking to media.

Tour guide Hayden Inman was identified as among the dead by his brother on Facebook.

Julie Richards and her daughter Jessica from Brisbane, Australia, were identified as victims by a family spokesperson.

• In pictures: White Island eruption

Adelaide father Gavin Dallow has been named as dead, with his stepdaughter Zoe Hosking presumed dead, according to media reports.

Australian tourist Jason Griffiths, who was travelling with Karla Matthews and Richard Elzer, died in hospital on Wednesday. According to a statement released by their friends, both Karla and Richard are presumed dead.

There is also a definitive list of all victims who are in hospital but police say they cannot release this for privacy reasons.

Why has the recovery been delayed?

On Wednesday morning, geological agency GeoNet said "the level of volcanic tremor has significantly increased at the island".

Scientists view tremors, which result from a release of energy under the Earth's surface, as one sign of a possible eruption.

In a later update, the agency said volcanic tremor, known as seismic activity, was now at the highest level seen since 2016.

"The level of volcanic tremor continues to rise and there is medium likelihood of future eruptive activity in the next 24 hours," the agency said.

At a news conference on Wednesday, volcanologist Graham Leonard said seismic activity on White Island was escalating.

"Yesterday there was a high risk of an eruption," Mr Leonard said. "Today there is an even higher risk of an eruption. And the parameters are worsening at the moment."

Police said the latest seismology update meant recovery teams had no choice but to wait, but they were on constant standby to return to the island as soon as possible.

Police Minister Nash said there were also poisonous gases coming from the volcanic vent and that the island was blanketed in a thick layer of acidic ash.

With measuring equipment on the island still intact, GeoNet can give regular updates on the situation, allowing police to assess the risk of sending recovery teams.

Reconnaissance flights have shown no signs of life on the island and officials believe there are no survivors among the missing.

Police said a drone conducted four fly-overs of the island on Wednesday, and analysis of that footage was ongoing.

Myanmar Rohingya: Suu Kyi rejects genocide claims in UN court

Myanmar's leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been defending her country against allegations of genocide at the UN International Court of Justice (ICJ).

The Nobel Peace Prize laureate is responding to widespread claims that Myanmar (formerly Burma) committed atrocities against Muslim Rohingya.
In her opening remarks, she called the case against Myanmar "incomplete and incorrect".
She said troubles in Rakhine, where many Rohingya lived, go back centuries.
Thousands of Rohingya were killed and more than 700,000 fled to neighbouring Bangladesh during an army crackdown in Buddhist-majority Myanmar in 2017.

Myanmar has always insisted it was tackling an extremist threat in Rakhine state, and Ms Suu Kyi maintained that stance, calling the violence an "internal armed conflict" triggered by Rohingya militant attacks on government security posts.

• The democracy icon who fell from grace
• Is refugee crisis 'textbook ethnic cleansing'?

Conceding that Myanmar's military may have used disproportionate force at times, she said that if soldiers had committed war crimes "they will be prosecuted".
Ms Suu Kyi - once celebrated internationally as a champion of democracy - has been de facto leader of Myanmar since April 2016, before the alleged genocide began. She does not have control over the army but has been accused by the UN investigator of "complicity" in the military clearances.
It marks a remarkable fall from grace for Ms Suu Kyi, who has chosen to stand up for the same army that kept her under house arrest for years.
She told the court her country was committed to the safe repatriation of people displaced from Rakhine, and urged the court to avoid any action that could aggravate the conflict.

Analysis: Defiance in the face of horrific testimony

By Nick Beake, BBC Myanmar Correspondent
The weight of history looked to rest heavily as a nervous-looking Aung San Suu Kyi began her defence. She recalled previous acts of genocide and agreed it was the most heinous of crimes.
But she then embarked on a carefully-rehearsed argument that Myanmar had simply not joined the global list of shame.
She admitted that, for example, military gunships had targeted civilians - but said Myanmar could be trusted to bring perpetrators to justice. How could it be genocide, she asked, when a country is actively investigating such wrongdoing?
Outside court, all this was applauded as a patriotic defence by supporters waving banners who had travelled from Myanmar. It was cheered back home by crowds who'd gathered in the main cities, including Yangon and Mandalay, to follow the hearing on big screens. 

There was, at one very brief point, a contrition I have not heard before. Without mentioning the Rohingya by name, she spoke specifically about the "suffering" of those who'd fled to Bangladesh.
But there was simply no acknowledgment of the three hours of truly horrific testimony of mass murder, rape and arson that the Nobel Peace Prize laureate listened to yesterday.

Why is Myanmar in court now?

The Gambia, a small Muslim-majority west African nation, brought the case to the ICJ on behalf of dozens of other Muslim countries.
"All that The Gambia asks is that you tell Myanmar to stop these senseless killings, to stop these acts of barbarity that continue to shock our collective conscience, to stop this genocide of its own people," The Gambia's Attorney General and Justice Minister, Abubacarr M Tambadou, told the court.
His country acted after he visited a Rohingya refugee camp in Bangladesh and heard of killings, rape and torture, he told the BBC in October.

At the initial three-day hearing, The Gambia is asking the ICJ in The Hague to approve temporary measures to protect the Rohingya. But a final ruling on genocide may be years away.

What are the accusations?

At the start of 2017, there were one million Rohingya in Myanmar, most living in Rakhine state.
But Myanmar, a mainly Buddhist country, considers them illegal immigrants and denies them citizenship.

• Blow by blow: How a 'genocide' was investigated
• Will Omar get justice for his murdered family?

The Rohingya have long complained of persecution, and in 2017 the military - the Tatmadaw - launched a massive military operation in Rakhine.
According to The Gambia's submission to the ICJ, the military stands accused of "widespread and systematic clearance operations" against the Rohingya, beginning in October 2016 and expanding in August 2017.

The Gambia's petition alleges that the clearances were "intended to destroy the Rohingya as a group, in whole or in part", via mass murder, rape and setting fire to their buildings "often with inhabitants locked inside".
A UN fact-finding mission which investigated the allegations found such compelling evidence that it said the Burmese army must be investigated for genocide against Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine.
In August, a report accused Myanmar soldiers of "routinely and systematically employing rape, gang rape and other violent and forced sexual acts against women, girls, boys, men and transgender people".
In May, seven Myanmar soldiers jailed for killing 10 Rohingya men and boys were released early from prison. Myanmar says its military operations targeted Rohingya militants, and the military has previously cleared itself of wrongdoing.

What is the likely outcome of this case?

For now, The Gambia is just asking the court to impose "provisional measures" to protect the Rohingya in Myanmar and elsewhere from further threats or violence. These will be legally binding.
To rule that Myanmar has committed genocide, the court will have to determine that the state acted "with intent to destroy in whole or in part" the Rohingya minority.

Even then the ICJ has no way of enforcing the outcome - and neither Aung San Suu Kyi nor the generals would automatically be arrested and put on trial.
But a guilty ruling could lead to sanctions, and would cause significant reputational and economic damage to Myanmar.

What is the current situation for the Rohingya?

Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya have fled Myanmar since the military operations began.

As of 30 September, there were 915,000 Rohingya refugees in camps in Bangladesh. Almost 80% arrived between August and December 2017, and in March this year, Bangladesh said it would accept no more.
In August, Bangladesh set up a voluntary return scheme - but not a single Rohingya chose to go.
Bangladesh plans to relocate 100,000 refugees to Bhasan Char, a small island in the Bay of Bengal, but some 39 aid agencies and human rights groups have opposed the idea.
In September, the BBC's Jonathan Head reported that police barracks, government buildings and refugee relocation camps had been built on the sites of former Rohingya villages in Myanmar.