Hundreds evacuated as Guatemalan volcano erupts
Published on: Friday, June 06, 2025
Published on: Fri, Jun 06, 2025
By: AFP Text Size: Residents were moved to shelters from communities near the Fuego volcano, located 35 kilometers (22 miles) from the capital Guatemala City. - AFP pic ESCUINTLA: Guatemalan authorities said Thursday they were evacuating more than 500 people after Central America's most active volcano spewed gas and ash. Residents were moved to shelters from communities near the Fuego volcano, located 35 kilometers (22 miles) from the capital Guatemala City.
Advertisement 'We prefer to leave rather than mourn the death of everyone in the village later,' Celsa Perez, 25, told AFP. The government suspended local school activities and closed a road linking the south of the country to the colonial city of Antigua, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, disaster coordination agency Conred reported. There have been several such mass evacuations in recent years because Fuego erupted, including in March of this year. In 2018, 215 people were killed and a similar number left missing when rivers of lava poured down the volcano's slopes, devastating a village. * Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel and Telegram for breaking news alerts and key updates! * Do you have access to the Daily Express e-paper and online exclusive news? Check out subscription plans available.
Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express's Telegram channel. Daily Express Malaysia
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Express
4 hours ago
- Daily Express
Fire guts fishing vessel near Safma Market
Published on: Saturday, June 07, 2025 Published on: Sat, Jun 07, 2025 Text Size: Firefighters at the scene. - Pic by JBPM A fishing vessel was destroyed in a fire early Saturday morning off the waters near the Safma Market in Kota Kinabalu. The Fire and Rescue Department received the emergency call at 3.56am and arrived on the scene within two minutes, located about 2 kilometres from their station. Advertisement Fifteen firefighters, assisted by the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (APMM), police, and members of the public, worked for over six hours to extinguish the flames. The team used seawater, foam, and portable pumps to control the blaze, with the fire declared under control by 9.52am and the operation fully concluded at 10.54am. No injuries were reported in the incident. * Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel and Telegram for breaking news alerts and key updates! * Do you have access to the Daily Express e-paper and online exclusive news? Check out subscription plans available. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express's Telegram channel. Daily Express Malaysia
The Star
4 hours ago
- The Star
Millions sit China's high-stakes university entrance exam
School staff welcome students as they enter a school during China's National College Entrance Examination, known as gaokao, outside a high school in Beijing on June 7, 2025. - AFP BEIJING: Hopeful parents accompanied their teenage children to the gates of a busy Beijing test centre on Saturday (June 7), among millions of high school students across China sitting their first day of the highly competitive university entrance exam. Nationwide, 13.35 million students have registered for the multi-subject "gaokao" series this year, according to the Ministry of Education, down from last year's record-high 13.42 million test takers. Outside the central Beijing secondary school, a proud parent who gave her name as Chen said "12 years of hard work have finally led to this moment" - as she waved a fan in front of her daughter while the student reviewed her notes one last time before the test. "We know our kids have endured so much hardship," Chen told AFP, adding that she was not nervous. "I'm actually quite excited. I think my child is excellent, and I'm sure she will get the best score," she said. China's gaokao requires students to use all their knowledge acquired to this point, testing them on subjects including Chinese, English, mathematics, science and humanities. The exam results are critical for gaining admission to university - and determining whether they will attend a prestigious or more modest institution. While teachers and staff offered students their support, holding up signs of encouragement, some test takers, dressed in school uniforms, appeared panicked, including a girl with tears in her eyes. "There's no need for us parents to add pressure. The children are already under a lot of it," said a woman named Wang, whose son had just entered the exam hall. Like many mothers, she wore a traditional Chinese qipao in hopes of bringing good luck. "I hope my son achieves immediate success and gets his name on the (list of high-scoring candidates)," Wang said with a smile. Higher education has expanded rapidly in China in recent decades as an economic boom pushed up living standards - as well as parents' expectations for their children's careers. But the job market for young graduates remains daunting. As of April, 15.8 per cent of people aged 16 to 24 living in urban areas were unemployed, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. Due to this pressure, many Chinese students prepare for the gaokao from a young age, often with extra lessons after the regular school day. And every year education authorities are on guard against cheating and disruptions during the exam. This week, China's Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang called for a "safe gaokao", stressing the importance of a rigorous campaign against cheating. Areas around exam centres are closely guarded by police, with road lanes closed to traffic and several cities banning motorists from honking their horns so as not to disrupt the concentration of students. In some schools, facial recognition is even used to prevent fraud. While the university admission rate for gaokao test takers has exceeded 80-90 per cent in recent years, many students disappointed with their results choose to repeat the exam. As there is no age limit for the test, some have become notorious for attempting the exam dozens of times, either after failing it or not getting into their top-choice university. One teacher at the Beijing school where parents saw off their children on Saturday estimated that only about ten of the approximately 600 final-year students there would earn a place at one of the capital's top universities. Jiang, a final-year high school student who only gave one name, said he dreamt of attending a Beijing university, and was remaining calm shortly before his Chinese exam. "Even though the pressure is intense, it's actually quite fair," he told AFP. "I feel like all the preparations that needed to be made have been made, so there's really no point in being nervous now, right? "Whatever happens, happens. It's truly not something I can completely control." - AFP
The Sun
4 hours ago
- The Sun
Millions sit China's high-stakes university entrance exam
BEIJING: Hopeful parents accompanied their teenage children to the gates of a busy Beijing test centre on Saturday, among millions of high school students across China sitting their first day of the highly competitive university entrance exam. Nationwide, 13.35 million students have registered for the multi-subject 'gaokao' series this year, according to the Ministry of Education, down from last year's record-high 13.42 million test takers. Outside the central Beijing secondary school, a proud parent who gave her name as Chen said '12 years of hard work have finally led to this moment' -- as she waved a fan in front of her daughter while the student reviewed her notes one last time before the test. 'We know our kids have endured so much hardship,' Chen told AFP, adding that she was not nervous. 'I'm actually quite excited. I think my child is excellent, and I'm sure she will get the best score,' she said. China's gaokao requires students to use all their knowledge acquired to this point, testing them on subjects including Chinese, English, mathematics, science and humanities. The exam results are critical for gaining admission to university -- and determining whether they will attend a prestigious or more modest institution. While teachers and staff offered students their support, holding up signs of encouragement, some test takers, dressed in school uniforms, appeared panicked, including a girl with tears in her eyes. 'There's no need for us parents to add pressure. The children are already under a lot of it,' said a woman named Wang, whose son had just entered the exam hall. Like many mothers, she wore a traditional Chinese qipao in hopes of bringing good luck. 'I hope my son achieves immediate success and gets his name on the (list of high-scoring candidates),' Wang said with a smile. Higher education has expanded rapidly in China in recent decades as an economic boom pushed up living standards -- as well as parents' expectations for their children's careers. But the job market for young graduates remains daunting. As of April, 15.8 percent of people aged 16 to 24 living in urban areas were unemployed, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. Due to this pressure, many Chinese students prepare for the gaokao from a young age, often with extra lessons after the regular school day. - 'Safe gaokao' - And every year education authorities are on guard against cheating and disruptions during the exam. This week, China's Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang called for a 'safe gaokao', stressing the importance of a rigorous campaign against cheating. Areas around exam centres are closely guarded by police, with road lanes closed to traffic and several cities banning motorists from honking their horns so as not to disrupt the concentration of students. In some schools, facial recognition is even used to prevent fraud. While the university admission rate for gaokao test takers has exceeded 80-90 percent in recent years, many students disappointed with their results choose to repeat the exam. As there is no age limit for the test, some have become notorious for attempting the exam dozens of times, either after failing it or not getting into their top-choice university. One teacher at the Beijing school where parents saw off their children on Saturday estimated that only about 10 of the approximately 600 final-year students there would earn a place at one of the capital's top universities. Jiang, a final-year high school student who only gave one name, said he dreamt of attending a Beijing university, and was remaining calm shortly before his Chinese exam. 'Even though the pressure is intense, it's actually quite fair,' he told AFP. 'I feel like all the preparations that needed to be made have been made, so there's really no point in being nervous now, right? 'Whatever happens, happens. It's truly not something I can completely control.'
