Volcano in Chile may go on for months

ENSENADA, Chile – Mighty blasts from the looming Calbuco volcano have left Ensenada an ash-drowned ghost town, abandoned by its 1,500 residents. And officials warned Friday they might have a long stay away.

The volcano, which had been dormant for more than four decades, erupted Wednesday, spewing a plume of ash about 9 miles high. A second, spectacular outburst came early Thursday, with lightning crackling through a dark sky turned reddish orange by the explosion.

The head of the National Mining and Geology Service said Friday that the volcano’s eruptive process could last weeks and even months.

“What I can say for certain is that this process is not going to end now,” the service’s director, Rodrigo Alvarez, said.

Russia, France mark Armenian massacre

YEREVAN, Armenia – The presidents of Russia and France joined other leaders Friday at ceremonies commemorating the massacre of Armenians a century ago by Ottoman Turks, an event that still stirs bitter feelings as both sides argue over whether to call it genocide.

The annual April 24 commemorations mark the day when some 250 Armenian intellectuals were rounded up in what is regarded as the first step of the massacre. An estimated 1.5 million died in the slaughters, deportations and forced marches that began in 1915 as Ottoman officials worried that the Christian Armenians would side with Russia, its enemy in the World War I.

The event is widely viewed by historians as genocide.

Associated Press