Several small earthquakes have rocked Spain’s Canary Islands as a new fissure emerged in the erupting Cumbre Vieja volcano on Tuesday.
Another 500 people were forced to flee as the vent blew the mountainside open, spewing smoke and fumes into the sky
Experts closely watched the lava’s unstoppable flow towards the sea.
Molten rock has swallowed homes, crops and warehouses on its downhill path to the ocean, after erupting near one of the island’s most fertile regions.
“You have practically your whole life there, then one day the volcano decides to erupt and puts an end to it all,” said Israel Castro Hernandez, whose home was destroyed.
“We keep looking over there and we just can’t believe it: we keep thinking that our house is underneath that volcano,” his wife, Yurena Torres Abreu, said.
Traffic jams packed the winding, narrow roads on La Palma island, where residents and visitors snapped photos of the Cumbre Vieja volcano furiously erupting.
A total of 6,000 people have fled the area. Lava has destroyed 166 buildings and covered 103 hectares of land.
Farmers, mostly growing bananas or grapes, were stunned by the volcano’s violence.
“This is no joke,” said Pedro Jose Alegria, 70. He had returned to La Laguna, on the border of an evacuated area, to feed his donkey.
Matthias and Anette Fuchs moved to La Palma to build their dream home, complete with mosaic floor and swimming pool, as a place to work and throw parties. All of it is now buried by lava.
Mr Fuchs said rebuilding is not an option for him and his wife, now in their mid-sixties. “I will only return to close this chapter,” he said.
Volcanologist Stavros Meletlidis, from Spain’s National Geographic Institute, said the opening of new fissures made the lava flow “somewhat unpredictable”.
“It can accelerate very quickly, especially when the topography changes … or it can stop on a plain for several hours. You have to see how both the main flow and the secondary flow are developing,” he said.
When the lava reaches the sea, experts warn it will generate clouds of toxic gas into the air. They say this will affect the marine environment, and the authorities have set up a no-go zone to head off curious onlookers.
The Canary Islands are in the Atlantic Ocean, and at their nearest point to Africa are about 100 kilometres from Morocco.
Cumbre Vieja had been dormant since 1971, when an eruption continued for slightly more than three weeks.
The last eruption on any of the Canary Islands occurred underwater, off the coast of El Hierro island in 2011. It lasted five months.
if you go
The flights
Emirates flies to Delhi with fares starting from around Dh760 return, while Etihad fares cost about Dh783 return. From Delhi, there are connecting flights to Lucknow.
Where to stay
It is advisable to stay in Lucknow and make a day trip to Kannauj. A stay at the Lebua Lucknow hotel, a traditional Lucknowi mansion, is recommended. Prices start from Dh300 per night (excluding taxes).
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
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Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
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- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
The specs
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Power: Combined output 920hp
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HIJRA
Starring: Lamar Faden, Khairiah Nathmy, Nawaf Al-Dhufairy
Director: Shahad Ameen
Rating: 3/5
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Porsche Taycan Turbo specs
Engine: Two permanent-magnet synchronous AC motors
Transmission: two-speed
Power: 671hp
Torque: 1050Nm
Range: 450km
Price: Dh601,800
On sale: now
GAC GS8 Specs
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Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
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Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
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Thor: Ragnarok
Dir: Taika Waititi
Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Cate Blanchett, Jeff Goldblum, Mark Ruffalo, Tessa Thompson
Four stars
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
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The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
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On sale: Now
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh650,000
25-MAN SQUAD
Goalkeepers: Francis Uzoho, Ikechukwu Ezenwa, Daniel Akpeyi
Defenders: Olaoluwa Aina, Abdullahi Shehu, Chidozie Awaziem, William Ekong, Leon Balogun, Kenneth Omeruo, Jamilu Collins, Semi Ajayi
Midfielders: John Obi Mikel, Wilfred Ndidi, Oghenekaro Etebo, John Ogu
Forwards: Ahmed Musa, Victor Osimhen, Moses Simon, Henry Onyekuru, Odion Ighalo, Alexander Iwobi, Samuel Kalu, Paul Onuachu, Kelechi Iheanacho, Samuel Chukwueze
On Standby: Theophilus Afelokhai, Bryan Idowu, Ikouwem Utin, Mikel Agu, Junior Ajayi, Valentine Ozornwafor
