Japan: Volcano erupts in the south

Shinmoedake woke up in January, after 52 years of silence, and is now erupting again:

A volcano in southwestern Japan erupted Sunday after nearly two weeks of relative silence, sending ash and rocks up to four kilometres (two and a half miles) into the air, a local official says.

It was not immediately clear if the eruption was a direct result of the massive 8.9-magnitude earthquake that rocked northern areas Friday, unleashing a fierce tsunami and sparking fears that more than 10,000 may have been killed.

It’s located on Kyushu, the southernmost large island in the Japanese archipelago, which is also home to large cities including Nagasaki and Fukuoka.