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More than 5,000 people evacuated from Spain’s La Palma Island as the volcano erupts

Adam Layaan Kurik Riza

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On Sunday afternoon, a volcano on the Spanish Canary Islands’ La Palma Island began erupting, which resulted in the evacuation of 5,000 to 10,000 residents.

Regional authorities reported that evacuations had begun in the aftermath of the Cumbre Viejo volcano eruption, which occurred around 3:12 p.m. local time. The eruption occurred after a week of approximately 20,000 earthquakes on La Palma, the second youngest of the Canary Islands.

A quake of roughly 4 on the Richter Scale signaled the commencement of the eruption, with TV footage showing lava, smoke, and ash erupting from five cracks on the slope, and by 10 p.m., lava was erupting from seven separate apertures.

Although no fatalities have been reported, the lava flow that is progressing towards the sea on the island’s southwest coast has damaged several buildings as well as woodland and grassland.

Authorities began evacuating an estimated 5,000 people from the towns of El Paso, Tazacorte, and Los Llanos de Aridane on Sunday evening, in accordance with measures outlined in the Canary Island Volcano Emergency Plan.

Around 40 people with limited mobility had previously been evacuated, and farm animals had also been relocated, while schools in the region will be closed on Monday, and the lava flow has cut the AP 212 road and affected four others, which have been blocked to traffic.

Meanwhile, inhabitants have been warned to stay indoors, close doors and windows, and exercise caution when washing fruits and vegetables in order to prevent being harmed by volcanic ash. Twelve units from the Tenerife fire department have ferried to the island to assist, while the Canary Islands administration has requested assistance from the Spanish Military Emergency Unit (UME). After canceling a scheduled trip to the United States to attend the United Nations General Assembly, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez arrived on the island at 9 p.m.

La Palma has a land area of somewhat more than 700 square kilometers and a population of nearly 85,000 people. Since records began, it has had seven recorded eruptions. The most recent two eruptions occurred in 1949 and 1971, with the latter lasting 10 days.

Experts expect that the latest explosion will last several days, but might last weeks.

 

Source: Xinhua News Agency

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Russia says NATO preparing for potential conflict in Eastern Europe, Black Sea

FI

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NATO’s activities in Eastern Europe and the Black Sea region are focused on preparing its allies for a potential confrontation with Russia, said the Russian Foreign Ministry on Thursday, citing militarization activities in the region.

The Romanian authorities have previously announced their readiness to invest 2.5 billion euros ($2.7 billion) into modernizing the Mihail Kogalniceanu air base in Constanta County. The base is set to expand into a military town capable of accommodating the families of 10,000 military personnel, with plans to create urban infrastructure, said the ministry.

Construction has begun in the southern part of the future military town, where access roads and a robust power grid are currently being built. The modernization of the air base could make it the largest North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) base in Europe by 2040. The U.S. military has been using this base since 1999, it said.

“The expansion of the Romanian air base is yet another proof that the North Atlantic bloc continues its unrestrained militarization of Eastern Europe and the Black Sea region,” said the Russian Foreign Ministry.

The ministry added that “the forced enhancement of coalition capabilities is also taking place in Poland and the Baltics.”

“Such activity by NATO members is provocative, exacerbates military tension along our borders and creates additional security threats to Russia. All this is aimed at preparing the bloc’s allies for a potential collision with our country,” the ministry said.

“We will monitor the developments in Romania, assess the emerging risks and take them into account during military planning,” the ministry added.

Source(s): CGTN

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Usable reserve will exceed USD 100 million by the end of this month: MMA

FI

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Immigration Controller Mohamed Shamman, on Thursday, revealed over 900 undocumented immigrants have been deported as part of efforts to decrease the number of foreigners living in the Maldives unlawfully.

Speaking at a joint press conference held by Local Governance Ministry, Home Ministry, Maldives Immigration and Department of National Registration on Thursday – Shamman said two to three major operations are conducted every week to identify undocumented immigrants.

“We are removing them based on the capacity available at the detention centre. After their removal – the deportation of such individuals from the Maldives is proceeding at a fast pace,” he said.

Speaking further, Shamman underscored that there is a large number of foreigners involved in black market sale of US dollars in the Maldives – which he detailed is carried out near ATMs and through Viber groups.

Seven foreigners unlawfully selling US dollars in the black market were detained on March 15th in an operation carried out by Immigration’s Risk Intelligence and Legal Affairs and Enforcement and Compliance Division.

Shamman noted that some of these detainees have been deported already. Underscoring that some of the detainees lacked the necessary documentation – he said the documents have been requested from the embassy.

“As soon as the documents are received, they will be deported,” he added.

Source(s): sun.mv

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Over 900 undocumented immigrants deported: Immigration Controller

FI

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Immigration Controller Mohamed Shamman, on Thursday, revealed over 900 undocumented immigrants have been deported as part of efforts to decrease the number of foreigners living in the Maldives unlawfully.

Speaking at a joint press conference held by Local Governance Ministry, Home Ministry, Maldives Immigration and Department of National Registration on Thursday – Shamman said two to three major operations are conducted every week to identify undocumented immigrants.

“We are removing them based on the capacity available at the detention centre. After their removal – the deportation of such individuals from the Maldives is proceeding at a fast pace,” he said.

Speaking further, Shamman underscored that there is a large number of foreigners involved in black market sale of US dollars in the Maldives – which he detailed is carried out near ATMs and through Viber groups.

Seven foreigners unlawfully selling US dollars in the black market were detained on March 15th in an operation carried out by Immigration’s Risk Intelligence and Legal Affairs and Enforcement and Compliance Division.

Shamman noted that some of these detainees have been deported already. Underscoring that some of the detainees lacked the necessary documentation – he said the documents have been requested from the embassy.

“As soon as the documents are received, they will be deported,” he added.

Source(s): sun.mv

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