Volcano eruption rattles Italian island
ROME -- The Stromboli volcano erupted Wednesday, spewing fiery chunks of lava onto the tiny Italian island and alarming residents and tourists.
The National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology said a strong volcanic explosion just after noon Wednesday sent flaming lava rolling down the volcano's slopes to the edge of the sea. An eruption in July on Stromboli killed an Italian hiker.
There were no immediate reports of injuries. Some small fires were reported near one of the Mediterranean island's hamlets.
Stromboli, population 400, is 135 miles southeast of Naples in the Aeolian archipelago and is one of three active Italian volcanoes.
Rumbling almost continuously, Stromboli sends out streams of lava, the red-hot glows of which can be seen from offshore at night.
India's top court seeks Kashmir answers
NEW DELHI -- India's top court on Wednesday took up legal challenges to the government's decision to revoke Indian-controlled Kashmir's special status and asked it to explain its stance to the court.
The Supreme Court ordered the federal government to file its replies to 14 petitions and inform the court about media restrictions imposed in Kashmir. It said five judges will start a regular hearing on the matter in October.
India's government, led by the Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, imposed a security lockdown and communications blackout in Muslim-majority Kashmir to avoid a violent reaction to the Aug. 5 decision to downgrade the region's autonomy. The restrictions have been eased slowly, with some businesses reopening, some landline phone service restored and some grade schools holding classes again, though student and teacher attendance has been sparse.
On Wednesday, the court allowed an Indian opposition leader to visit Kashmir to meet a party colleague who he said was under detention, but told him not use the visit for political purposes.
The court's directive was in response to a petition filed by Sitaram Yechury, general secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), who wanted his party's detained leader in the region to be produced before a court.
Indian authorities have turned back opposition leaders at the airport and not allowed them to visit Srinagar, the main city in Indian-controlled Kashmir, and other parts of the region since they launched a clampdown there on Aug. 5.
The revoked special status has touched off anger in the region, where local police and administrators now work under federal control and where residents fear their culture and demographic identity is under threat.
The Himalayan region is also claimed by India's archrival, Pakistan, and is divided between them. Pakistan shut train service with India, stopped bilateral trade and expelled the Indian ambassador in response to New Delhi's decision.
245 rescued from Filipino ferry fire; 3 die
MANILA, Philippines -- Fishing boats and passing ships rescued 245 people from a ferry that burned overnight in choppy waters in the southern Philippines but at least three people perished, including a child, coast guard officials said Wednesday.
Survivors described how they feared being killed by either the fire or waves while waiting for hours to be rescued as bright-orange flames engulfed much of the vessel, the M/V Lite Ferry 16, off Dapitan city in Zamboanga del Norte province.
The fire apparently started in the engine room, coast guard spokesman Armand Balilo said. Despite the damage, the ferry stayed afloat about 1.8 miles off Dapitan city, where it was heading from Santander in central Cebu province.
The victims were a 1-year-old girl and two male passengers in their 60s, Balilo said.
It was unclear whether any people were missing, but none were reported by relatives. The search would nevertheless continue, Balilo said Wednesday.
Idlib attacks continuing, say activists
BEIRUT -- Syrian government warplanes struck towns and villages Wednesday in the northwestern province of Idlib, including one near a Turkish observation post, opposition activists said.
The intense airstrikes came a day after insurgents launched counterattacks on the edges of Idlib, near areas that were recently captured by government forces.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the airstrikes targeted the town of Maaret al-Numan and villages near it, with one hitting close to one of Turkey's 12 observation posts in Idlib.
The Syrian Civil Defense said another airstrike hit a market in the town of Sarqeb, wounding eight people.
A government offensive that began on April 30 has killed more than 2,000 people and displaced half a million. Many have fled farther north toward the border with Turkey.
Maaret al-Numan and Sarqeb are among the main towns in Idlib that sit on the highway that links the capital of Damascus with the northern city of Aleppo, Syria's largest. Syrian troops captured last week the town of Khan Sheikhoun, which also sits on the highway.
A Section on 08/29/2019