A volcano in south-west Iceland erupted on Friday, following thousands of smaller earthquakes in the area in recent weeks.
The eruption occurred near Fagradalsfjall, a mountain on the Reykjanes Peninsula, around 30 kilometres south-west of the capital Reykjavík.
Pictures on local media showed a bright-red night sky. A picture posted on Twitter by the Icelandic Meteorological Office showed smoke rising from glowing lava streams.
"I can see the glowing red sky from my window," said Rannveig Gudmundsdottir, a resident of the town of Grindavik, only 8km from the eruption.
"Everyone here is getting into their cars to drive up there," she said.
The eruption posed no immediate danger to people in Grindavik or to critical infrastructure, the IMO said.
"I think we couldn't hope for anything better than that," IMO volcanic hazards co-ordinator Sara Barsotti said.
Iceland's Department of Emergency Management said it was not anticipating evacuations because the volcano is in a remote valley, about 2.5km from the nearest road.
Police ordered residents living east of the volcano to close their windows and stay indoors due to the risk from volcanic gases carried by the wind, especially sulphur dioxide.
Reykjavik's international Keflavik airport was not closed following the eruption, but each airline had to decide if it wanted to fly or not, IMO said.
Unlike the Eyjafjallajokull volcano eruption in 2010, which halted approximately 900,000 flights and forced hundreds of Icelanders from their homes, this eruption is not expected to spew much ash or smoke into the atmosphere, the IMO said.
The Krysuvik volcanic system is located south of Fagradalsfjall on the Reykjanes peninsula.
Eruptions in the region are known as effusive eruptions, where lava flows steadily out of the ground, as opposed to explosive ones which spew ash clouds high into the sky.
The region has been under increased surveillance for several weeks after a 5.7-magnitude earthquake was registered on February 24 near Mount Keilir on the outskirts of Reykjavik.
That quake was followed by an unusual number of smaller tremors – more than 50,000, the highest number since digital recordings began in 1991.
The seismic activity moved several kilometres south-west since the quake, concentrating around Fagradalsfjall, but had slowed in the past few days.
Iceland is located on top of the Eurasian and the North American tectonic plates, making it a seismic and volcanic hotspot as the two plates move in opposite directions.
Iceland has 32 volcanic systems currently considered active, the highest number in Europe. The country has had an eruption every five years on average.
The Fagradals volcano had been dormant for 6,000 years, and the Reykjanes Peninsula had not seen an eruption in 781 years.
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Gender equality in the workplace still 200 years away
It will take centuries to achieve gender parity in workplaces around the globe, according to a December report from the World Economic Forum.
The WEF study said there had been some improvements in wage equality in 2018 compared to 2017, when the global gender gap widened for the first time in a decade.
But it warned that these were offset by declining representation of women in politics, coupled with greater inequality in their access to health and education.
At current rates, the global gender gap across a range of areas will not close for another 108 years, while it is expected to take 202 years to close the workplace gap, WEF found.
The Geneva-based organisation's annual report tracked disparities between the sexes in 149 countries across four areas: education, health, economic opportunity and political empowerment.
After years of advances in education, health and political representation, women registered setbacks in all three areas this year, WEF said.
Only in the area of economic opportunity did the gender gap narrow somewhat, although there is not much to celebrate, with the global wage gap narrowing to nearly 51 per cent.
And the number of women in leadership roles has risen to 34 per cent globally, WEF said.
At the same time, the report showed there are now proportionately fewer women than men participating in the workforce, suggesting that automation is having a disproportionate impact on jobs traditionally performed by women.
And women are significantly under-represented in growing areas of employment that require science, technology, engineering and mathematics skills, WEF said.
* Agence France Presse
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WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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United States
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China
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UAE
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Japan
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Norway
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Canada
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Singapore
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Australia
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UK-EU trade at a glance
EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years
Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products
Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries
Smoother border management with use of e-gates
Cutting red tape on import and export of food
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Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
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Electric scooters: some rules to remember
- Riders must be 14-years-old or over
- Wear a protective helmet
- Park the electric scooter in designated parking lots (if any)
- Do not leave electric scooter in locations that obstruct traffic or pedestrians
- Solo riders only, no passengers allowed
- Do not drive outside designated lanes
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
