Alert after volcano spews smoke

A volcano in Indonesia’s North Sulawesi province has emitted smoke and ash, prompting authorities to raise the alert to the second-highest level, officials said yesterday. Mount Soputan spewed thick smoke 300m above its peak on Monday, said Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, a spokesman for the National Disaster Management Agency. “There has been a significant increase in volcanic activity,” the Geological Agency said on its website, adding that the alert had been increased to one notch below the highest level. The 1,784m volcano erupted several times in last year but there were no casualties.