MANILA. Philippine volcano spews ash again, mudslides feared. A volcano south of the Philippine capital spewed ash over wide areas yesterday after its 15th explosion this year, bringing a risk of mudslides. The country?s top vulcanologist said Mount Bulusan, located around 400 km (250 miles) south of Manila, was not a violent volcano but warned that a big explosion was still possible after it belched ash over a 15 km (9 mile) area. ?The most important thing is for the people not to venture into the 4-km (2.5-mile) radius permanent danger zone around the volcano,? Renato Solidum, director of the government volcanology agency, said in a radio interview.

Solidum later told Reuters the ash explosion was accompanied by rumbling sounds and lightning flashes. But he said the volcanology agency was not recommending evacuations and it was maintaining the lowest alert level, 1, over the mountain. . The country, which has 22 volcanoes, is also buffeted by typhoons from May to December. Over 1,000 people were feared killed in neighbouring Albay province last month after flash floods and high winds from Typhoon Durian poured tonnes of debris from Mount Mayon, the country?s most active volcano, onto villages encircling it.

VIETNAM. Bird flu hits poultry, action slow. Vietnam has detected the lethal H5N1 bird flu virus in chickens and ducklings in two Mekong Delta provinces, the country?s first infections since August, the Agriculture Ministry said. The virus was found in more than 6,000 dead chickens and ducklings hatched more than a month ago but not vaccinated against bird flu, the ministry?s Animal Health Department said in the report seen yesterday.

Agriculture Minister Cao Duc Phat has criticised officials in the delta provinces of Ca Mau and Bac Lieu for failing to deal with the outbreaks. Dead poultry were found in water channels early this month but the officials failed to report it to Hanoi. The Animal Health Department said all the poultry found dead had been hatched illegally and tests had confirmed the presence of the H5N1 virus.

?The risk of bird flu widely spreading in the Mekong Delta is extremely high because farmers have thrown dead poultry into water channels for a long time,? it said. In January 2005, bird flu killed a Vietnamese boy in the Mekong Delta after he swam in a channel where people had dumped infected poultry. Temperatures were falling in the southern region incorporating the delta, which would also help the spread of a virus that thrives best in cooler temperatures.

Vietnam has been free of human bird flu cases since late 2005. In August, it found the H5N1 virus on a small duck farm in the delta province of Ben Tre. An H5 subtype avian flu virus resurfaced in Vietnam earlier this year, mainly in ducks and wild storks. Bird flu first arrived in the delta in late 2003 and has since killed 42 of the 93 people infected in the country, a human death toll second only to Indonesia?s 57, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). The global health body says bird flu has killed 154 people out of 258 infected globally since late 2003.

CHILE. MPs urge Pinochet monument . A group of right-wing politicians has proposed erecting three monuments to Chile?s former military leader, General Augusto Pinochet, who died this month. The main monument, for which plans have been put to parliament for approval, would be in the capital, Santiago.

Thousands died during Pinochet?s 17-year rule and he was accused of rights abuses. But his supporters believe he put Chile on to a path of strong economic growth. According to the bill presented by politician Ivan Moreira and others, the principal monument to Gen Pinochet would be built outside Chile?s presidential palace, La Moneda. It would stand in the same square as a monument to Salvador Allende, the elected president overthrown in Gen Pinochet?s 1973 coup.

The other two monuments proposed would be in the northern city of Iquique and in Gen Pinochet?s birthplace, Valparaiso.

Mr Moreira, a Pinochet loyalist, told reporters that if Mr Allende had a monument to him, then so should Pinochet.

MENACE. Islamist Web site warns US over ailing jailed cleric. An Islamist Web site used by militant groups including al Qaeda urged Muslims yesterday to seek the release of a cleric jailed in the United States through ?any form of attempt or pressure?.

Al-Hesbah Network also warned Washington that it would be held responsible for any harm that came to Omar Abdel-Rahman, a blind Muslim cleric imprisoned for conspiring to blow up New York City landmarks.

US law enforcement officials have said Abdel-Rahman was taken to hospital earlier this month, prompting a warning by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation warning that his death could lead to attacks on the United States.

The Web site quoted what it described as the will of Abdel-Rahman as saying: ?If they (US) and they certainly will kill me ... forget not my blood and do not let it be wasted. Seek revenge for me in the strongest and most violent fashion.?

?We promise God to follow the path of the Sheikh?s teachings and we urge our mujahideen brothers in all parts not to forget the case of Sheikh Omar,? it said. ?We urge all Muslims and everyone with mercy for the weak ... to do something for the blind and tortured sheikh, through words, stances or any form of attempt or pressure.? The US officials have said the medical condition of the 68-year-old Abdel-Rahman had subsequently improved, that he had been released from the hospital, that he now is in stable condition and back in a federal prison medical facility. According to the US.bulletin, Abdel-Rahman began to spit up blood on Dec. 6 and was taken from the prison to the emergency room at a hospital in Springfield, Missouri, where doctors discovered a tumour on his liver, the officials said.

CEASEFIRE. Palestinian groups call new truce. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has announced a new ceasefire deal between his Fatah faction and the Hamas group that aims to stop fighting in Gaza. The move comes after a week of escalating violence which has brought the territory to a standstill. News of the breakthrough followed a day of street battles in which at least five people were killed and more hurt.

Schools were closed after five children were among the injured. A truce agreed on Sunday failed within 24 hours. Mr Abbas told reporters in the West Bank city of Ramallah that the latest ceasefire would come into effect at 2300 local time (2100 GMT). ?We hope all will abide by this agreement,? he said.

Mr Abbas and Prime Minister Ismail Haniya, of Hamas, have been invited to Jordan by King Abdullah for talks.