A volcano in southern Japan that appeared in a James Bond film has erupted, shooting smoke and ash thousands of meters (feet) into the sky and grounding dozens of flights to and from a nearby airport.
The Meteorological Agency says the Shinmoedake volcano erupted violently several times Tuesday, shooting up ash and smoke up to 2,300 meters (7,500 feet) in its biggest explosion since 2011. It said some lava was rising from inside a crater at the volcano.
The volcano, seen in the 1967 James Bond film "You Only Live Twice," has had smaller eruptions since last week.
Entry to the 1,421-kilometer (4,660-foot) -high volcano was restricted. About 80 flights in and out of the nearby Kagoshima airport were canceled.
Japan has 110 active volcanoes.
SYDNEY: A 6.7-magnitude earthquake struck Papua New Guinea on Wednesday (Mar 7), US seismologists said, a week after a major quake in the same remote highland region killed at least 67 people.
It was the strongest aftershock yet to hit the Pacific nation's mountainous interior, where a state of emergency has been declared as rescue workers struggle to reach cut-off villages following the 7.5-magnitude quake on Feb 26.
The latest earthquake, recorded just after midnight early on Wednesday (1400 GMT Tuesday), hit at a depth of 33 kilometres, according to the US Geological Survey.
Last week's disaster was described by Australian officials based in the country as the biggest earthquake to hit the highland region in a century.
Thousands remain homeless and without food and clean water in Southern Highlands, Western, Enga and Hela provinces, the Red Cross said, with blocked roads and power outages as well as a series of strong aftershocks hampering rescue efforts.
No official government death toll has been released.
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