A volcano in Indonesia's West Sumatra province erupted early yesterday, belching black smoke and volcanic ash on nearby areas, officials and news reports said.
There were no reports of injury from the Mount Talang eruption, officials said.
Volcanologists ordered residents living within a 1km radius of the 2,575m Mount Talang -- about 60km from the provincial capital of Pandang -- to immediately leave their homes.
"We have urged those residents living in the dangerous areas to be evacuated and temporarily sheltered in a safer area on higher ground," said Isa Nurahmadan, an expert at the Bandung Directorate General of Volcanology in West Java.
The state-run Antara news agency said that Mount Talang started spewing volcanic ash on nearby areas at about 3:42am.
Rio, a vulcanology expert at the nearby monitoring office, said he was not sure whether there would be a larger eruption from the volcano, or how long the current eruption would last.
"Mount Talang erupted at about 3:42am this morning, sending volcanic ash onto its slope areas," Rio, who uses only one name, told Antara.
Nurahmadan said the Directorate General of Vulcanology has upgraded the status of Talang volcano to "alert," meaning that residents living in areas classified as dangerous have to be ready to flee their homes "at any time."
"We don't know for sure whether there will be a major eruption from the Talang volcano, but we already deployed a team of experts this morning to West Sumatra for close monitoring," Nurahmadan said.
He said the activity of Mount Talang increased following a series of earthquakes that have jolted Sumatra in recent months.
EUROPEAN FUTURE? Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama says only he could secure EU membership, but challenges remain in dealing with corruption and a brain drain Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama seeks to win an unprecedented fourth term, pledging to finally take the country into the EU and turn it into a hot tourist destination with some help from the Trump family. The artist-turned-politician has been pitching Albania as a trendy coastal destination, which has helped to drive up tourism arrivals to a record 11 million last year. US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, also joined in the rush, pledging to invest US$1.4 billion to turn a largely deserted island into a luxurious getaway. Rama is expected to win another term after yesterday’s vote. The vote would
FRAUD ALLEGED: The leader of an opposition alliance made allegations of electoral irregularities and called for a protest in Tirana as European leaders are to meet Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama’s Socialist Party scored a large victory in parliamentary elections, securing him his fourth term, official results showed late on Tuesday. The Socialist Party won 52.1 percent of the vote on Sunday compared with 34.2 percent for an alliance of opposition parties led by his main rival Sali Berisha, according to results released by the Albanian Central Election Commission. Diaspora votes have yet to be counted, but according to initial results, Rama was also leading there. According to projections, the Socialist Party could have more lawmakers than in 2021 elections. At the time, it won 74 seats in the
CANCER: Jose Mujica earned the moniker ‘world’s poorest president’ for giving away much of his salary and living a simple life on his farm, with his wife and dog Tributes poured in on Tuesday from across Latin America following the death of former Uruguayan president Jose “Pepe” Mujica, an ex-guerrilla fighter revered by the left for his humility and progressive politics. He was 89. Mujica, who spent a dozen years behind bars for revolutionary activity, lost his battle against cancer after announcing in January that the disease had spread and he would stop treatment. “With deep sorrow, we announce the passing of our comrade Pepe Mujica. President, activist, guide and leader. We will miss you greatly, old friend,” Uruguayan President Yamandu Orsi wrote on X. “Pepe, eternal,” a cyclist shouted out minutes later,
Myanmar’s junta chief met Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) for the first time since seizing power, state media reported yesterday, the highest-level meeting with a key ally for the internationally sanctioned military leader. Senior General Min Aung Hlaing led a military coup in 2021, overthrowing Myanmar’s brief experiment with democracy and plunging the nation into civil war. In the four years since, his armed forces have battled dozens of ethnic armed groups and rebel militias — some with close links to China — opposed to its rule. The conflict has seen Min Aung Hlaing draw condemnation from rights groups and pursued by the
RSS