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A12 WORLD NEWS
Tuesday 5 November 2019
Brazil reckons with new oil spill mystery: When will it end?

By ANNA JEAN KAISER he said, adding that they
MARCELO SILVA DE SOUSA have seen a decrease in oil
Associated Press arriving onto beaches in re-
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — cent days.
Brazilian authorities said on He called the disaster "un-
Monday that they have no precedented."
way of knowing how much "There is no case in the
more oil will wash ashore world of a large-scale oil
the country's northeastern spill where the origins are
coast, despite President totally unknown. This case
Jair Bolsonaro's ominous has no parallel, we don't
warning during a Sunday know who polluter is," Pun-
night TV interview that "the tel said.
worst is yet to come." Brazil's defense minister,
In the interview, Bolson- Gen. Fernando Azevedo
aro also stuck to the gov- e Silva, also stressed how
ernment's assertion that challenging it is to calcu-
a Greek freighter caused late the spill's scope.
the oil spill scattered across "It is not detectable by sat-
beaches along 1,300 miles ellite. ... It is imperceptible.
(2,100 kilometers) of coast- We do not know how much
line even after the shipown- In this Sept. 25, 2019 file photo released by the Sergipe state government, oil covers the beach in will still come," he said.
er's denial of any leakage Sergipe state, Brazil. David Zee, an oceanogra-
from its vessel. Associated Press pher at the State University
"All signs point to this Greek of Rio de Janeiro, said that
cargo ship. All of them," he fishing and tourism. Authori- coast. still is very difficult to say," the 4,000 tons of collected
told Record TV, adding that ties have described the Some 4,000 tons of oil has Commander Leonardo oil is "just the tip of the ice-
the leak, "by all accounts spill as one of the coun- been collected from north- Puntel of the Brazilian Navy berg," both because the
looks like it was criminal." try's worst environmental eastern beaches thus far, said at a press conference cleanup effort is mostly lim-
Brazil's government has disasters. The crude's den- according to a statement on Monday. "Since the oil is ited to sandy beaches in
been striving to investigate sity renders it invisible from Sunday from the Navy, Bra- underwater, we don't know populated areas and also
the cause of the spill that above, making it hard to zil's environmental regula- if there's still a lot or a little. because a large portion
has hit 321 beaches along track its origin or to have a tor, and the national petro- There is effectively no cor- of spilled oil is likely spread
the northeast coast since clear picture of the amount leum agency. rect and accurate way deep beneath the ocean's
early September, hurting of oil yet to reach Brazil's "To say how much oil there to monitor these oil spots," surface.q

Kenya judiciary complain of budget cuts

"The judiciary has been elections after the opposi- nity," he said. He said let-
treated contemptuously tion boycotted saying the ters are addressed to him
and continues to be treat- composition of the elector- by clerks from government
ed contemptuously," said al commission, which they ministries instead of the
Maraga, speaking at the accused of rigging, had most senior officers. "I shred
entrance to the Supreme not changed. most of those letters," he
Court. His dramatic state- The Supreme Court did not said.
ment was covered live by hear a suit filed by civil soci- Kenyatta last month re-
Kenyan television and ra- ety — to block the repeat fused to appoint 41 judges
dio stations. election — due to a lack picked by the judicial ser-
"We have a huge backlog of quorum, after judges vice commission. Several
of cases which continue to failed to turn up, allegedly experts have opined in lo-
pile up because of lack of because of fear. The pre- cal media that this ham-
funds to even move judg- vious day the police driver pered the judiciary from
es around," Maraga said. of the Deputy Chief Justice clearing the backlog of
In this Monday Nov. 20, 2017 file photo, Kenyan Supreme Court "Some judges are not able Philomena Mwilu was shot cases.
Chief Justice David Maraga presides during the judgement of to get fuel for their cars and seriously wounded. "The judiciary is not inter-
the petitions at Supreme court in Nairobi, Kenya. and we are having to ask Maraga was only member ested and does not inter-
Associated Press them to get money from of the five-judge bench to fere with the affairs of other
their pockets in hopes that turn up. arms of government. Why
By TOM ODULA ed the use of mobile courts we can refund them some On Monday Maraga said are they interested and in-
Associated Press which helped people in day." the Court of Appeal is not terfering with our affairs?"
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Kenya's remote areas get The budget cuts come able to operate due to he asked. "You want me to
Budgets cuts have left justice and also stopped after President Uhuru Ke- lack of funds in Nyeri, Naku- tell you why? They want to
judges without adequate a project to reduce the nyatta called the judiciary ru and Mombasa counties. control the judiciary ... They
fuel to come to work and backlog of hundreds of a bunch of crooks and He blamed the executive want to make the judiciary,
are an attempt to make thousands cases, Chief Jus- promised to "fix" them after for failing to treat him with a puppet." Maraga said.
the judiciary "a puppet" of tice David Maraga, who the Supreme Court nullified dignity, citing state func- He said Kenyatta govern-
other arms of government, is the president of the Su- his election in 2017, citing tions where he is sometime ment was promoting im-
Kenya's chief justice said preme Court, said. He said unconstitutional illegalities not given VIP treatment. punity by not paying hun-
Monday. the judiciary can no longer and irregularities. Kenyatta "Let the office of the chief dreds of millions in damag-
The budget cuts have halt- afford internet Wi-Fi. later won a rerun of the justice be treated with dig- es awarded to plaintiffs.q