COPENHAGEN: A volcano in southwestern Iceland erupted on Wednesday, live video from the area showed, making it the fifth outbreak since December.
The new outburst happened as another eruption on the Reykjanes peninsula recently ended after spewing fountains of molten rock for almost eight weeks.
Authorities had warned of the risk of renewed volcanic activity in the area just south of the capital Reykjavik as studies showed magma accumulated underground.
The fiery spectacle underlines the challenges the island nation of almost 400,000 people face as scientists have warned eruptions could happen over and over in Reykjanes for decades or even centuries.
The eruption was the eighth on the peninsula, home to some 30,000 people, since 2021 when geological systems that were dormant for some 800 years again became active.
Previous incidents had disrupted district heating, closed key roads and even razed several houses in the Grindavik fishing town, where only a few residents have since returned.
In an attempt to prevent further damage man-made barriers have been built to steer lava away from infrastructure including the Svartsengi geothermal power plant, the Blue Lagoon outdoor spa and Grindavik.
Icelanders often refer to their country as the “Land of Fire and Ice” as a tribute to its otherworldly landscape forged by glaciers and volcanoes which is positioned between the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates, making it a seismic hotbed.
While a 2010 eruption in a different part of Iceland grounded some 100,000 flights internationally due to huge ash clouds, Reykjanes is typically home to fissure outbreaks which do not reach into the stratosphere.
Volcano in Iceland erupts again
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Volcano in Iceland erupts again
- Authorities had warned of the risk of renewed volcanic activity in the area just south of the capital Reykjavik
Chinese visitors to Japan slump as spat rumbles on
TOKYO: Mainland Chinese visitors to Japan tumbled 60.7 percent in January year-on-year, figures showed Wednesday, in the continued fallout from the countries’ diplomatic spat.
“Last year, the lunar new year began in late January, but this year it fell in mid-February,” the Japan National Tourism Organization said as it published the data.
“Additionally, the Chinese government issued a warning advising against travel to Japan. Factors such as reduced flight frequencies also contributed to the number of foreign visitors to Japan falling below the level of the same month last year,” a statement said.
Previously Chinese visitors were the biggest contingent, contributing to a tourism boom in the land of cherry blossom and Mount Fuji that was fueled by a weak yen making shopping cheap.
But in January this year, South Korea was the biggest source with 1.2 million visitors, up 21.6 percent, compared with 385,300 from mainland China, down from 980,520 in January 2025.
Visitors from Hong Kong also tumbled 17.9 percent.
Overall the number of visitors to Japan fell 4.9 percent to 3.597 million in January compared to the same period last year.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi suggested in November that Japan could intervene militarily if Beijing sought to take Taiwan by force.
China, which regards the democratic island as part of its territory and has not ruled out force to annex it, was furious.
Beijing summoned Tokyo’s ambassador and on November 14 warned Chinese citizens against visiting Japan, citing “significant risks to the personal safety and lives of Chinese citizens.”
The number of Chinese visitors to Japan already tumbled 45 percent in December to 330,000.
In December, J-15 jets from China’s Liaoning aircraft carrier twice locked radar on Japanese aircraft in international waters near Okinawa, according to Japan.
China also tightened controls on exports to Japan for items with potential military uses, fueling worries that Beijing may choke supplies of vital rare-earth minerals.
Japan’s last two pandas were even returned to China last month.
Takaichi, 64, was seen as a China hawk before becoming Japan’s first woman prime minister in October.
She won a landslide victory in snap elections on February 8, putting her in a strong position for the next four years to stamp her mark on Japanese domestic and foreign policy.
Takaichi said after her election win that Tokyo would bolster its defenses and “steadfastly protect” its territory.
She also said she was “open to various dialogues with China.”
But China’s foreign ministry said “genuine dialogue should be built on respect for one another.”
“Proclaiming dialogue with one’s mouth while engaging in confrontation — no one will accept this kind of dialogue,” foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian said Tuesday.
Beijing’s top diplomat Wang Yi told the Munich Security Conference on Saturday that forces in Japan were seeking to “revive militarism.”
