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JAKARTA: Dozens of flights to and from Indonesia’s Bali island were canceled Monday after a volcano belched a colossal ash tower 18 kilometers (11 miles) into the sky, authorities said.
The aviation disruption came just weeks after the same rumbling volcano caused dozens of flight cancelations to and from the popular resort island.
Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki, on the tourist island of Flores, erupted at 11:05 am (0305 GMT), the volcanology agency said.
“An eruption of Lewotobi Laki-Laki Volcano occurred... with the observed ash column height reaching approximately 18,000 m above the summit,” the agency said in a statement.
It forced the cancelation of 24 flights at Bali’s international airport, general manager Ahmad Syaugi Shahab said.
“Several airlines serving the routes to Labuan Bajo (on Flores), Australia, Singapore, and South Korea have confirmed cancelations and delays,” he said in a statement.
He said the airlines included Virgin Australia, Jetstar Airways and AirAsia Indonesia.
Despite some carriers canceling flights, the airport manager said “the spread of volcanic ash has not affected the Bali airspace.”
Australia’s Jetstar said several flights were canceled “due to volcanic ash caused by an eruption of Mount Lewotobi.”

The volcanology agency warned of the possibility of hazardous lahar floods — a type of mud or debris flow of volcanic materials — if heavy rain occurs, particularly for communities near rivers.
There were no immediate reports of damages or casualties.
The activity level at the volcano was “very high, marked by explosive eruptions and continuous tremors,” geology agency head Muhammad Wafid said in a statement.
He also urged residents to stay at least six kilometers (3.7 miles) away from the volcano and to wear face masks to protect themselves from ash.
Last month dozens of flights to and from Bali were canceled after the volcano erupted. Ash rained down on several communities around the volcano and forced the evacuation of at least one village.
Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki erupted multiple times in November, killing nine people and forcing thousands to evacuate, as well as the cancelation of scores of international flights to Bali.
Laki-Laki, which means man in Indonesian, stands at 1,584 meters (5,197 feet) and is twinned with the calmer but taller 1,703-meter volcano named Perempuan, after the Indonesian word for woman.
Indonesia, a vast archipelago nation, experiences frequent seismic and volcanic activity due to its position on the Pacific “Ring of Fire.”

BEIJING: China said on Monday that BRICS, the grouping that also includes Brazil, Russia and India, was not seeking “confrontation” after US President Donald Trump vowed to impose an extra 10 percent tariff on countries aligning with the bloc.

“Regarding the imposition of tariffs, China has repeatedly stated its position that trade and tariff wars have no winners and protectionism offers no way forward,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said.

Trump said he would send the first tariff letters to various countries on Monday, days before his deadline for trading partners to reach a deal expires.

He said on Sunday he would send a first batch of up to 15 letters, warning that US levies on imports would snap back to the high levels he set in April if countries failed to make agreements.

And, in a post on his Truth Social network, he threatened a further 10 percent tariff on countries aligning themselves with the emerging BRICS nations, accusing them of “anti-Americanism” after they slammed his tariffs at a summit in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday.

Conceived two decades ago as a forum for fast-growing economies, BRICS has come to be seen as a Chinese-driven counterbalance to US and western European power.

However, Beijing defended the grouping on Monday as “an important platform for cooperation between emerging markets and developing countries.”

“It advocates openness, inclusivity and win-win cooperation,” Mao said.

“It does not engage in camp confrontation and is not targeted at any country,” she said.