TODOQUE, Canary Islands: A volcano in Spain’s Canary Islands continued to produce explosions and spew out lava Friday, five days after it erupted, authorities said.
The lava has destroyed almost 400 buildings on La Palma, including many homes, on the western side of the island of 85,000 people, a European Union monitoring program said.
It said the lava stretches over 180 hectares (almost 20,000 square feet) and has blocked 14 kilometers (9 miles) of roads. Islanders make a living mostly from farming and tourism, and some may lose their livelihoods.
The government of La Palma Island said officials had recorded 1,130 quakes in the area over the past week as the Cumbre Vieja volcanic ridge shook with blasts of molten lava.
On a visit to La Palma, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced a package of measures to help get the island back on its feet and “rebuild lives.”
The Spanish government will provide aid for rebuilding homes and public infrastructure, such as roads, irrigation networks and schools, as well as relaunching the island’s tourism industry, Sánchez said. He did not say how much money would be made available, but said a Cabinet meeting next week would provide more details.
The blasts are sending ash up to 4500 meters (almost 15,000 feet) into the air, the Guardia Civil police force said in a tweet. Local authorities advised people to protect themselves from the ash with face masks.
Two rivers of lava continued to slide slowly down the hillside, with experts doubting whether they would cover the remaining 2 kilometers (1.25 miles) to the sea due to their slowing progress.
One of the lava flows has almost ground to a halt and a second one is moving at between 4 and 5 meters an hour, the Guardia Civil said.
Both are at least 10 meters (33 feet) high at their leading edge and are destroying houses, farmland and infrastructure in their path.
Scientists say the lava flows could last for weeks or months.
Authorities haven’t reported any casualties from the eruption. Scientists had been monitoring the volcanic activity and had warned of a possible eruption, allowing almost 7,000 people to be evacuated in time.
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Spanish volcano remains volatile 5 days after eruption
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Spanish volcano remains volatile 5 days after eruption
- The lava has destroyed almost 400 buildings on La Palma
- The Spanish government will provide aid for rebuilding homes and public infrastructure
China is the real threat, Taiwan says in rebuff to Munich speech
- China views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, a view the government in Taipei rejects
TAIPEI: China is the real threat to security and is hypocritically claiming to uphold UN principles of peace, Taiwan Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung said on Sunday in a rebuff to comments by China’s top diplomat at the Munich Security Conference.
China views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, a view the government in Taipei rejects, saying only Taiwan’s people can decide their future.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, addressing the annual security conference on Saturday, warned that some countries were “trying to split Taiwan from China,” blamed Japan for tensions over the island and underscored the importance of upholding the United Nations Charter.
Taiwan’s Lin said in a statement that whether viewed from historical facts, objective reality or under international law, Taiwan’s sovereignty has never belonged to the People’s Republic of China.
Lin said that Wang had “boasted” of upholding the purposes of the UN Charter and had blamed other countries for regional tensions.
“In fact, China has recently engaged in military provocations in surrounding areas and has repeatedly and openly violated UN Charter principles on refraining from the use of force or the threat of force,” Lin said. This “once again exposes a hegemonic mindset that does not match its words with its actions.”
China’s military, which operates daily around Taiwan, staged its latest round of mass war games near Taiwan in December.
Senior Taiwanese officials like Lin are not invited to attend the Munich conference.
China says Taiwan was “returned” to Chinese rule by Japan at the end of World War Two in 1945 and that to challenge that is to challenge the postwar international order and Chinese sovereignty.
The government in Taipei says the island was handed over to the Republic of China, not the People’s Republic, which did not yet exist, and hence Beijing has no right to claim sovereignty.
The republican government fled to Taiwan in 1949 after losing a civil war with Mao Zedong’s communists, and the Republic of China remains the island’s formal name.
China views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, a view the government in Taipei rejects, saying only Taiwan’s people can decide their future.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, addressing the annual security conference on Saturday, warned that some countries were “trying to split Taiwan from China,” blamed Japan for tensions over the island and underscored the importance of upholding the United Nations Charter.
Taiwan’s Lin said in a statement that whether viewed from historical facts, objective reality or under international law, Taiwan’s sovereignty has never belonged to the People’s Republic of China.
Lin said that Wang had “boasted” of upholding the purposes of the UN Charter and had blamed other countries for regional tensions.
“In fact, China has recently engaged in military provocations in surrounding areas and has repeatedly and openly violated UN Charter principles on refraining from the use of force or the threat of force,” Lin said. This “once again exposes a hegemonic mindset that does not match its words with its actions.”
China’s military, which operates daily around Taiwan, staged its latest round of mass war games near Taiwan in December.
Senior Taiwanese officials like Lin are not invited to attend the Munich conference.
China says Taiwan was “returned” to Chinese rule by Japan at the end of World War Two in 1945 and that to challenge that is to challenge the postwar international order and Chinese sovereignty.
The government in Taipei says the island was handed over to the Republic of China, not the People’s Republic, which did not yet exist, and hence Beijing has no right to claim sovereignty.
The republican government fled to Taiwan in 1949 after losing a civil war with Mao Zedong’s communists, and the Republic of China remains the island’s formal name.
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