JAKARTA: A volcano on Indonesia’s main island of Java that is popular with tourists erupted on Sunday, injuring 10 people, an official said.
Sileri Crater at Dieng Plateau spewed cold lava, mud and ash as high as 50 meters into the sky when it erupted, said National Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho.
He said the sudden eruption occurred at around 11:30 a.m., when there were about 17 visitors around the crater. Ten people were injured and were being treated at a hospital.
Soldiers and police officers were dispatched to the scene, while local residents and visitors were asked to evacuate the area in case of further eruptions, Nugroho said.
Sileri is the most active and dangerous among some 10 craters at Dieng Plateau. Its most recent eruption was in 2009, when it unleashed volcanic materials up to 200 meters high and triggered the creation of three new craters.
Dieng Plateau, located in the Central Java province district of Banjarnegara, is a popular tourist attraction because of its cool climate and ninth-century Hindu temples. It sits about 2,000 meters above sea level.
Some 142 people were reportedly asphyxiated in 1979 when the volcano spewed gases.
10 injured as volcano erupts on Indonesia’s main Java island
10 injured as volcano erupts on Indonesia’s main Java island
Russia expels German diplomat in tit-for-tat move
- Moscow also rejected Germany’s accusations of espionage as “baseless” and accused Berlin of whipping up “a spirit of spy mania“
- Germany in January summoned Russia’s ambassador and ordered the expulsion of a diplomat
MOSCOW: Russia said Thursday it was expelling a German diplomat after Berlin last month threw out a Russian official it accused of being a spy handler.
The foreign ministry said it had issued a “note declaring a diplomatic employee of the German Embassy in Moscow persona non grata” in what was a “symmetrical response.”
Moscow also rejected Germany’s accusations of espionage as “baseless” and accused Berlin of whipping up “a spirit of spy mania.”
Germany in January summoned Russia’s ambassador and ordered the expulsion of a diplomat suspected of being the handler of a woman arrested on espionage charges.
Russia at the time dismissed the allegations as baseless and vowed a response.
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul on Thursday called the expulsion “completely unacceptable.”
“While our diplomats abide by the law, Russia relies on escalation and espionage under the guise of diplomacy,” Wadephul said during a visit to Brunei.
Wadephul said that “Russia’s latest unfriendly act... merely demonstrates once again that Russia prioritizes unjustified retaliation over diplomacy,” and added that “we reserve the right to take further action.”
The expelled German diplomat is part of the military attaché staff of the German Embassy in Moscow, Wadephul said.
Western states have ejected dozens of alleged Russian spies over the last decade as relations soured even before the war in Ukraine.
The expulsions have typically triggered a tit-for-tat response from Moscow.
