Ship sinks; 44 missing

JAKARTA: At least one person was dead and 44 missing after a passenger ship disappeared in rough seas in eastern Indonesia, a local policeman said on Wednesday. “Fourteen survivors were found today (Wednesday), and one was found dead,” Muhammad Khatam, a policeman in Ambon, where the boat was due to arrive, said. — AFP

Scores flee volcano

JAKARTA: A smouldering Indonesian volcano shot rocks, ash and smoke into the air for the third consecutive day on Wednesday as hundreds more villagers deserted its slopes. Volcanologists warned on Tuesday that an eruption of Mount Gamkonora, located on the northeastern island of Halmahera may be imminent. The smoke column rose up to 2,500 metres from the crater of the 1,635-metre volcano. — AFP

4 killed in Thai south

NARATHIWAT: Suspected separatists shot dead four people, including a government official in Thailand’s restive south, police said on Wednesday. A 33-year-old Muslim village chief was killed on Tuesday in Narathiwat province. In Yala province the same evening, a 48-year-old Buddhist man was shot dead in his car. Early on Wednesday, a 42-year-old Muslim man was shot dead at his rubber plantation in Narathiwat province, while a Buddhist man, also 42, was killed in a drive-by shooting in the same province. — AFP