Volcanic Eruption

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Geologists monitoring Mount Redoubt for signs of a possible eruption noticed that a hole in the glacier clinging to the north side of the volcano had doubled in size overnight — and now spans the length of two football fields.

Scientists with the Alaska Volcano Observatory on Friday flew close to Drift Glacier and spotted vigorous steam emitted from a hole on the mountain. By Saturday, they had confirmed the area was a fumarole, an opening in the earth that emits gases and steam, that was increasing in size at an alarming rate.

They also saw water streaming down the glacier, indicating heat from magma is reaching higher elevations of the mountain.

"The glacier is sort of falling apart in the upper part," research geologist Kristi Wallace said.

The signs of heat add to concerns that an eruption is near, which could send an ash cloud about 100 miles northeast toward Anchorage, the state's largest city, or onto communities on the Kenai Peninsula, which is even closer to the mountain on the west side of Cook Inlet. It would be the first eruption since 1990.

Particulate released during an eruption has jagged edges and can injure skin, eyes and breathing passages, especially in young children, the elderly and people with respiratory problems.

It can also foul engines. An eruption in December 1989 sent out an ash cloud 150 miles that flamed out the jet engines of a KLM flight carrying 231 passengers on its way to Anchorage. The jet dropped more than two miles before pilots were able to restart the engines and land safely.

A week ago, the observatory detected a sharp increase in earthquake activity below the volcano and upgraded its alert level to orange, the stage just before full eruption. The warning that an eruption was imminent caused a rush on dust masks and car air filters in Anchorage.

Alaska's volcanoes typically start with an explosion that can shoot ash 50,000 feet high and into the jet stream, but there are warning signs because magma causes small earthquakes as it moves.

Geologist Jennifer Adleman said the observatory has been recording quakes up to magnitude 2.1 but not at the frequency that preceded the last two eruptions in 1989 and 1990.

Changing the face of the World

Iceland’s political parties have reached an agreement that will give the country its first female prime minister and the world its first openly gay leader.

Johanna Sigudardottir, 66, will lead the government when it is sworn in at 6 p.m. (1 p.m. Eastern) on Sunday, her political advisor Hrannar Arnarsson told CNN via e-mail.

Iceland has been in political turmoil since October, when its currency, stock market and leading banks collapsed amid the global financial crisis.



TEHRAN, Iran (CNN) — Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal arrived in Tehran on Sunday to meet with Iranian leaders, his first visit to the country since Israel’s recent military offensive on Gaza, according to an Iranian media report.

Meshaal — who lives in exile in Damascus, Syria — is scheduled to meet with Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, according to the semi-official Mehr News Agency.

Meshaal is the head of Hamas, which rules the Palestinian territory of Gaza.



BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) — Nearly 4,000 women are running for office in Iraq’s provincial elections Saturday, and many of them will be guaranteed a seat under an electoral quota system.

Regardless of the votes their candidates receive, parties are required to give every third seat to a female candidate on their list, according to a report this week from the International Crisis Group.

The ultimate share of seats held by women will depend on the distribution of votes among parties, the report said.


(CNN) — Moderate Islamist leader Sheikh Sharif Sheekh Ahmed was sworn in as Somalia’s new president Saturday after he was voted in by the country’s parliament, a Somali journalist told CNN.

Journalist Omar Faruk Osman told CNN that Sheikh Sharif was sworn in at about 11 a.m. (3 a.m. ET) in Djibouti, which lies northwest of Somalia.

The vote and swearing-in took place in Djibouti because the international community wanted to be present to observe the voting process and could not do so in Somalia for safety reasons.

The Djibouti location had been chosen before radical Islamic fighters took over the Somali parliament building and the presidential palace earlier this week.