
Philippine authorities evacuate thousands as volcano Taal spews mile-high plume
CNN
A small but restive volcano south of the Philippine capital spewed a 1.5 kilometer (0.9 miles) plume on Saturday, prompting authorities to raise an alert level and evacuate more than a thousand residents.
The alert for the Taal volcano, about 70 km (45 miles) south of central Manila, was increased to level 3 from level 2 on the 5-level scale, which the seismology and volcanology agency said meant "there is magmatic intrusion at the main crater that may further drive succeeding eruptions".
"Magma in the shallow part of the crater interacted with water, causing an eruption called phreatomagmatic activity," Renato Solidum, head volcanology agency, told DZMM radio station.

The alleged drug traffickers killed by the US military in a strike on September 2 were heading to link up with another, larger vessel that was bound for Suriname — a small South American country east of Venezuela – the admiral who oversaw the operation told lawmakers on Thursday according to two sources with direct knowledge of his remarks.

The two men killed as they floated holding onto their capsized boat in a secondary strike against a suspected drug vessel in early September did not appear to have radio or other communications devices, the top military official overseeing the strike told lawmakers on Thursday, according to two sources with direct knowledge of his congressional briefings.











