Indonesia volcano erupts, forces evacuation
Jakarta, May 11: Indonesia's Mount Merapi erupted on Friday spewing 5,500-metre high column of volcanic ash, forcing residents to evacuate.
The volcano situated in the borders of Klaten, Magelang and Boyolali districts erupted at 7.30 a.m., Xinhua news agency quoted national disaster management agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho as saying.
Volcanic ash rain has occurred in Tugu Kaliurang and is forecast to persist in the south of the crater, he said.
To prevent the risks especially, the local officials have distributed masks, Sutopo added.
"Local disaster agency has instructed the villagers living in the radius 5 km from the crater to evacuate immediately," he told Xinhua.
A 3 km no-go zone has been declared by the volcanology agency.
Mount Merapi is an active stratovolcano and has regularly erupted since 1948.
It is located about 28 km north of Yogyakarta city which has a population of 2.4 million and thousands of people live on the flanks of the volcano.
Pyrolastic flow from a large explosion killed 27 people on November 1994, and another large eruption occurred in 2006. Mount Merapi is one of Indonesias 129 active volcanoes.
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India, Italy to boost defence industrial framework for co-production of military hardware
New Delhi (PTI): India and Italy on Thursday resolved to develop a defence industrial framework for co-production of military hardware, a move that came as both nations navigate an evolving security landscape, including the ongoing crisis in West Asia.
The decision to bolster bilateral defence and strategic ties was reached during talks between Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his Italian counterpart Guido Crosetto in New Delhi.
Following the meeting, the two sides unveiled a bilateral military cooperation plan (MCP) 2026-27 regarding military engagements between the armed forces of both the countries.
"We discussed a wide range of regional and global issues including the current situation in West Asia," Singh said on social media.
"We also discussed the avenues to further develop mutually beneficial defence industrial cooperation under India's Atmanirbhar Bharat programme and Italy's defence cooperation initiative," he added.
The defence ministry said Singh and Crosetto reiterated that the India-Italy strategic partnership is based on shared values of peace, stability, freedom, and mutual respect.
"Convergence between both the ancient seafaring nations on various key maritime issues was also highlighted including information exchange through Information Fusion Center-Indian Ocean Region, Gurugram," it said.
Prior to the meeting, the Italian defence minister laid a wreath at the National War Memorial, and paid homage to the bravehearts who made the supreme sacrifice in the service of the nation.
Crosetto also inspected the tri-service Guard of Honour.
Under the broader framework of defence ties, both sides have been looking at boosting cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region with an aim to increase interoperability and cooperation.
The two sides have been exploring avenues for enhanced partnerships and dialogue among public and private stakeholders, focusing on technology collaboration, co-production and co-development of defence platforms and equipment.
