Mount Soputan, in Indonesia's North Sulawesi province, erupted Sunday, spewing volcanic ash up to 4 kilometres into the sky, dpa reported. The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) said the volcano erupted at 11:38 am (0338 GMT) and raised its status to standby. "Villagers are banned to enter areas within [a] 6.5-kilometre radius from the crater," BNPB spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said. There was no minor eruption following the 11:38 am activity, but the volcano has been showing signs of increased volcanic activity since Wednesday. Spewed ash was being blown to the south-west Mount Soputan erupted twice on January 6 and has been showing increased activity since then. There were no reports of casualties.
