Molten rock has been spewing spectacularly from fissures in the ground after a volcano erupted in Iceland following weeks of intense earthquake activity.
The Icelandic Meteorological Office said the lava is emerging from a crack in the Reykjanes peninsula, which was around 3.5km (two miles) long and had grown rapidly.
An evacuation had taken place in recent days, moving nearly 4,000 people out of the fishing town of Grindavik in the country’s southwest, as fears grew of an eruption.
The moment the eruption began was caught on grainy video as a flash of light illuminated the sky at 10.17pm local time on Monday.
There have been several eruptions in unpopulated areas in the peninsula in recent years, but authorities said the new one was believed to pose an immediate risk to the town.
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A volcano has erupted in Iceland after weeks of intense earthquake activity.
‘This is a big eruption’
The Icelandic Met Office issued its first alert after the eruption on Monday.
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It said seismic activity and GPS data suggested the magma was moving southwest, and the eruption “may continue in the direction of Grindavik”.
Vidir Reynisson, head of Iceland’s civil protection and emergency management, told the country’s public broadcaster RUV: “The magma flow seems to be at least a hundred cubic meters per second, maybe more.
“So this would be considered a big eruption in this area at least.”
Image: Birds-eye-view of eruption. Pic: Civil Protection in Iceland
Image: Pic: Civil Protection in Iceland
Local police said they had raised their alert level as a result of the eruption.
The country’s civil defence has also warned the public not to approach the area.
The nearby Blue Lagoon geothermal spa has also been closed as a precaution.
Image: Fountains of lava first erupted at around 10pm last night local time. Pic: AP
Image: People watch as eruption continues. Pic: AP/Brynjar Gunnarsson
Image: Pic: AP
Eruption produced ‘a lot of lava’
But Volcanologist Haraldur Sigurdsson told Sky News the lava is unlikely to reach populated areas.
“It certainly is a problem, but fortunately this is in a remote area,” he said.
“This is a type of eruption where you don’t get explosions, these are fountains of magma.
“They are caused by the pressure of the magma moving up and the gasses that are contained.
“It produces a lot of lava, which turns then turns to rock and adds to Iceland.”
Image: The Icelandic Coast Guard fly a helicopter late on Monday night. Pic: Icelandic Coast Guard
Image: Pic: Civil Protection of Iceland/Reuters
British holidaymaker awaits flight news
The nearby international airport in Reykjavik, Iceland’s capital, has remained open.
British holidaymaker Helen Hope was on a plane waiting for her flight back to Manchester to take off.
Image: Cars evacuating on Reykjanesbraut highway. Pic: Public Safety Department of the National Police
She told Sky News: “Most people were intrigued by it.
“People possibly started worrying more as we were delayed longer.
“Some passengers noticed it and then people were scrambling to have a look.
“The pilot has been waiting for the OK from various people in charge of safety to check which way the wind and any ash is blowing.”
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0:57
From November: Volcanic rumbling causes cracks through Icelandic town
Area was on alert for weeks
Iceland was put on high alert for a volcano eruption in November when a state of emergency was declared.
The Reykjanes peninsula, a volcanic and seismic hot-spot around 30 miles southwest of Reykjavik, had been shaken by hundreds of small earthquakes every day for more than two weeks.
Image: The eruption seen from Vatnsleysustrand. Pic: Icelandic Met Office
Image: Pic: AP
Scientists believed the most likely site for magma to break through the surface was a short distance from the town, and it could flow towards houses.
But Almannavarnir, the Icelandic civil defence, said earth walls would be built to divert a river of molten lava away from the town.
Located between the Eurasian and the North American tectonic plates, among the largest on the planet, Iceland is a seismic and volcanic hotspot as the two plates move in opposite directions.
Passengers have been evacuated from Dublin Airport’s Terminal 2 as a “precautionary measure”.
Flights could be “temporarily impacted”, the airport said in a statement.
It did not give any details about the reason for the evacuation but said “the safety and security of our passengers and staff is our absolute priority”.
“We advise passengers to check with their airline for the latest updates,” the airport added, saying further information would be provided as soon as it is available.
This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.
At least 70 people have been killed after a paramilitary drone attack on a mosque in Sudan.
The Sudanese army and aid workers said the paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces (RSF) carried out the attack during Friday prayers in the North Darfur region.
The attack took place in the besieged city of Al Fasher and was said to have completely destroyed the mosque.
With bodies still buried under the rubble, the number of deaths is likely to rise, a worker with the local aid group Emergency Response Rooms said.
The worker spoke anonymously, fearing retaliation from the RSF.
Further details of the attack were difficult to ascertain because it took place in an area where many international and charitable organisations have already pulled out because of the violence.
In a statement, Sudan’s army said it was mourning the victims of the attack.
It said: “Targeting civilians unjustly is the motto of this rebel militia, and it continues to do so in full view of the entire world.”
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The Sudan war started in April 2023, when long-simmering tensions between the Sudanese army and the RSF broke out in Khartoum.
The US special envoy to Sudan estimates that 150,000 people have been killed, but the exact figure is unknown. Close to 12 million people have been displaced.
Several mediation attempts have failed to secure a humanitarian access mechanism or any lulls in fighting.
The Resistance Committees in El Fasher, a group of local activists who track abuses, posted a video on Friday claiming to show parts of the mosque reduced to rubble with several scattered bodies.
The Darfur Victims Support Organisation, which monitors abuses against civilians, said the attack happened at a mosque on the Daraga al Oula street at around 5am local time, citing witnesses.
The attack is the latest in a series of heavy clashes in the past week of between the two sides in Al Fasher.
Banned from Eurovision after its invasion of Ukraine, Russia will hold a rival international song contest on Saturday, with an emphasis on “traditional values”.
Instead of camp, think conservative – patriotic pop with a PG-rating.
“Intervision” was launched under the order of Vladimir Putin, with the hope it would serve as an expression of Moscow’s international pulling power.
Image: Intervision decorations in Red Square, Moscow, ahead of the contest
There are contestants from 23 countries, which are a mixture of Russia’s allies old and new, including Belarus, Cuba and Tajikistan as well as China, India and Saudi Arabia.
The odd one out is the United States, who’ll be represented by an artist called “Vassy”. She’s not part of an official delegation, but an American voice is still a coup for the Kremlin, which will seek to use this contest as proof of the West’s failure to isolate Russia on the global stage.
‘War whitewash’
Intervision is not entirely new. It was originally launched in the 1960s as an instrument of Soviet soft power, before largely fading from view in the 1980s.
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According to Moscow, its revival has nothing to do with politics. But Ukraine has condemned it as propaganda, and an attempt to whitewash Russia’s war.
It was a point I put to some contestants after their final press conferences, but it didn’t go down well.
“We don’t think like that, we are here to spread peace,” India’s Rauhan Malik told me, when I asked if his participation was a show of support for Russia’s invasion.
Image: Malik, one of the contestants
“Are you not turning a blind eye to Russia’s aggression?” I countered.
“I have no idea about it,” he said. “I have no idea about the current situation that’s happening. I don’t want to speak about that as well.”
Image: Eurovision legends Abba would almost certainly not make the Russian contest guest list. Pic: AP
Really? He had no idea? But before I could go on, I felt a forceful hand on my shoulder and a minder stepped in.
The intervention was even quicker when it came to speaking to Brazil’s act. As soon as I mentioned the word Ukraine, I was drowned out by shouts of “no, no, no, no” and the duo were ushered away.
Image: Brazilian contestants, duo Luciano Calazans and Thais Nader
Where’s the glitter?
Intervision is not just a reaction to Russia’s recent exclusion from Eurosivion, however, it’s also a reaction to the contest’s values and what it’s come to represent.
Its celebration of sexual diversity and LGBTQ+ rights are seen as a symbol of what the Kremlin calls the West’s moral decline. In contrast, Intervision organisers say their contest will promote “traditional, family values.”
Judging by the costumes on show ahead of last week’s draw, that translates to less glitter, more embroidery, with a thematic emphasis on national heritage.
So what do Russians think of Intervision’s resurrection? Can it replace Eurovision?
“We don’t miss Eurovision,” Galina and Tatiana say, underneath a collection of purple and pink ‘Intervision’ flags near Red Square.
“It was so horrible, especially lately. We didn’t like watching it at all.”
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Why are countries boycotting Eurovision?
Polina agrees, believing Russia’s version will be “more interesting”.
“Many countries that participated in Eurovision want to boycott it, so it’s interesting to see a more peaceful event now,” she says.
Igor is more circumspect. “I’d like to believe that this isn’t a political event,” he says, “but rather an event that unites nations and people.”
Intervision will succeed in uniting some nations. But at the same time, it may only deepen divisions with others – further evidence that Russia and the West are singing very different tunes.