Thousands of people have been evacuated from the slopes of Indonesia’s Mount Merapi as lava flows spread further down the slopes of the volcano on Tuesday, officials said. The volcano alert was put on red on May 13 but residents have been particularly nervous since a deadly earthquake rocked the region 10 days ago.
Officials in Indonesia on Monday revised down the death toll from a strong earthquake in Java to nearly 5 800 as new aid supplies helped survivors move forward on the long road to recovery. The United Nations said distribution of food, medicines and water had greatly improved in devastated areas of central Java island.
Indonesia on Wednesday defended the earthquake relief effort as aid agencies said survivors are still in desperate need of medical care and water four days after the disaster. The scale of the disaster became clearer as the death toll rose to 5 846, the social affairs ministry said on Wednesday.
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/ 31 January 2006
In her heyday she was the most glamorous ship on the seas, plying the transatlantic route and celebrated as the pride of France. But the SS Norway — launched in 1960 as the SS France — now cuts a forlorn figure as she sits off Malaysia’s coast with her name crudely painted over, quietly rusting and likely headed for the scrapyard.