Chaparrastique Volcano Spills Smoke And Ash

Authorities in El Salvador have evacuated an area near the Chaparrastique volcano after the mountain fired hot ash and gas three miles into the air.

Civil Defence Director Jorge Melendez said a yellow alert had been issued and investigators had been sent to the area to look for signs of fresh lava.

The Chaparrastique volcano rises some 7,025 feet into the sky

"We have implemented emergency measures to evacuate villages located within three kilometres of the volcano," he said.

Shelters have been set up for the evacuees but some locals have refused to leave their homes.

Assistant Health Minister Eduardo Espinoza said two people had been treated at hospitals for respiratory problems apparently linked to the eruption

There were no reports of serious injuries caused by the eruption

But he said there were no serious cases.

"We are providing assistance to people evacuating, and we are asking them to protect themselves against the gases, which can affect the respiratory tract," he said.

A spokesman for El Salvador's Red Cross, Carlos Lopez Mendoza, described the eruption as a "quite strong explosion".

The volcano, which rises some 7,025 feet into the air, last erupted in 1976. It is about 90 miles east of San Salvador.

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Michael Schumacher 'In Critical Condition'

Former motor racing world champion Michael Schumacher is in a coma following a skiing accident in France.

The 44-year-old German suffered a "serious brain trauma with coma on his arrival, which required an immediate neurosurgical operation," according to the hospital treating Schumacher in the French city of Grenoble.

Schumacher was wearing a helmet when he reportedly hit his head on a rock while skiing in the French Alps.

He was airlifted off the mountain following the accident in the resort of Meribel, in the popular Three Valleys area.

The sports star was skiing with his 14-year-old son and some friends when the accident occurred.

Schumacher's agent, Sabine Kehm, said: ''Michael fell on his head during a private ski trip in the French Alps.

The German Formula One legend skiing in Italy in 2006

"He was hospitalised and is receiving medical care. We ask for your understanding that we cannot give a running commentary on his state of health.

"He was wearing a helmet and was not alone.''

Journalist Carole Bouchard, from the French newspaper L'Equipe, told Sky News that the racing driver's condition had deteriorated during the hours following his hospitalisation.

The French Mountain Gendarmerie had earlier said Schumacher's life was not in danger.

Speaking to Sky News, Chris Chandler, a consultant neurosurgeon at King's College Hospital, said the immediate neurosurgical treatment given to Schumacher shows his injuries are severe.

The accident occurred in the resort of Meribel in France

"He could have suffered a diffuse injury to his brain which can then result in brain swelling," he said.

"He could have sustained some sort of brain haemorrhage and if there was a blood clot within his brain or on the surface of his brain underneath his skull, that might need to be removed.

"Sometimes there is nothing actually to remove but you put in an intra-cranial pressure monitor, which basically is an operation that requires drilling a hole in the skull and putting a fine probe inside."

Former Ferrari team boss Jean Todt and Professor Gerard Saillant, a brain and spine injury expert, are at the Grenoble University Hospital Centre where Schumacher is being treated.

Schumacher made a comeback to Formula One for Mercedes in 2010

Professor Saillant co-ordinated Schumacher's medical care after the driver broke his leg in the 1999 British Grand Prix.

Schumacher, a seven-time world champion, first retired from Formula One in 2006.

He has been hurt seriously once before, in a motorcycling accident in February 2009 when he suffered neck and spine injuries.

Schumacher recovered sufficiently from those injuries to make a comeback to Formula One in 2010.

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Reports: At Least 10 Dead In Russia Bus Blast

At least 10 people have been killed in an explosion on an electric bus in the Russian city of Volgograd, according to reports.

Investigators have described the blast as "an act of terror".

The National Anti-Terrorism Committee said the bus explosion was most likely caused by a bomb, but there were no further details.

It comes just a day after a female suicide bomber was blamed for killing 17 people and leaving dozens more injured at the city's main railway station.

The death toll could rise further

Police identified the bomber as a Dagestan national called Oksana Aslanova - who had been married to two Islamists killed by Russian forces.

She apparently detonated a bomb in front of a metal detector inside the main entrance of the station. Russian television is suggesting there may have been two attackers.

The explosions have put the city on edge and highlighted the terrorist threat that Russia is facing as it prepares to host the Winter Olympics in February.

Security has been stepped up after the station blast

Volgograd is about 400 miles (650km) northeast of Sochi, where the Games are to be held.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for either of the attacks.

In July, Doku Umarov, leader of an ongoing insurgency in the nearby North Caucasus region, urged militants to use "maximum force" to disrupt the Winter Olympics, a project close to Russian President Vladimir Putin's heart.

Russian authorities have pledged to make the event the "safest ever".

Known in Soviet times as Stalingrad, and previously as Tsaritsyn, Volgograd is a major industrial centre with a population of more than a million people.

Sky's Foreign Affairs Editor Tim Marshall said: "It's 39 or 40 days until the Winter Olympics open, this is the opportunity for the Islamic separatists in the Caucasus region to really put themselves on the world map.

"The more this sort of thing happens, if it is indeed them, the more that cause is going to get on the front pages around the world, spoil Putin's Olympics and, more seriously, the more lives it will take."

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YouTube Videos Add To Missing Doctor Mystery

YouTube videos of a doctor who disappeared three weeks ago talking to an unidentified love interest are being examined by investigators searching for her.

Teleka Patrick, who was serving her residency in Michigan, was last seen on December 5.

After completing a shift, the 30-year-old tried unsuccessfully to rent a hotel room in Kalamazoo before being dropped off by the hotel shuttle driver in the car park of the medical centre where she worked, according to the FBI.

"The shuttle driver said she seemed nervous, even ducking down between vehicles, as if she was afraid of being seen by someone," Carl Clatterbuck, a private investigator hired by the family, said.

"I would say she was agitated, but if she was worried about something or someone, she never told anyone about it."

Later that night, Dr Patrick's car was found about 100 miles away, abandoned in a ditch in Indiana with a possible flat tyre, the FBI said.

Her belongings were in the car, including clothing, a wallet that contained her driver's licence, credit cards, and a small amount of cash.

The YouTube videos, which show Dr Patrick singing and speaking to the unidentified love interest, were uploaded in early November.

In one of them she addresses someone as "baby" and "love" while in the other she shows two plates of breakfast.

But her parents said their emergence created more confusion about the situation. 

"We are aware of the YouTube videos that have surfaced today. However, their relevance to her disappearance remains a mystery," they said.

"These videos have led to more questions than answers. To our knowledge, Teleka was not in a romantic relationship and it is unclear to whom she is making reference in the videos."

Dr Patrick has bought an airline ticket to Florida to visit her parents for Christmas and was supposed to join them on December 23.

Her disappearance is being investigated by police in two states as well as the FBI.

A Facebook page has been created in an attempt to help track her down.

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Canada Ice Storm: Thousands Without Power

Thousands of households have been left without power in Toronto after a severe ice storm blanketed much of Canada.

Power companies have been working around the clock to restore electricity, moving from house to house and clearing broken branches and wires.

Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne said crews from outside Toronto had been called in to help clean up after the storm.

"This has been a very unusual situation," she said.

"I understand there are 250 of the Toronto Hydro and other hydro service bucket trucks out right now working with back-up crews, and as you all know there are crews from other jurisdictions.

Workers restore power to homes in suburban Toronto

"I've met people from Kingston who have come here, people from Manitoba who have come in order to help with the clean-up."

Local media has reported that some 30,000 households in Ontario and New Brunswick remain without electricity, including 18,000 homes in Toronto alone.

There are concerns that warmer temperatures and gusty winds could cause fresh power outages as melting ice and falling branches threaten to snap power lines.

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Israel Fires Shells In Response To Rockets

Israel has fired 20 artillery shells into Lebanon in response to two rockets that were launched in the opposite direction.

The Lebanese rockets landed in a field near the town of Kiryat Shmona, the Israeli military said in a statement, causing no injuries or damage.

Israel responded with artillery fire, with witnesses in southern Lebanon reporting more than 20 shells hitting two towns.

There were no immediate reports of casualties.

An Israeli military spokesman said: "The Israeli artillery responded to rocket attacks from Lebanon against Israel that left no victims, targeting the area where these projectiles were fired from."

The border between the two countries has been relatively quiet since a war between Israel and Lebanon's Hizbollah militant group in 2006.

However, tensions rose this month when an Israeli soldier was shot dead by Lebanese troops while driving near the border on December 16.

Last week, Hizbollah blamed Israel for the assassination of one of its commanders in Beirut, an accusation Israel has denied.

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