Daily News Roundup

TUESDAY, JUNE 4

Rescue workers struggled in perilous conditions to find bodies under rivers of ash and mud that swept down from Guatemala’s Fuego volcano, as the number of fatalities from an eruption that partially buried buildings rose to 62.

Structures and trees at the base of the Fuego (Spanish for fire) volcano were completely coated in brown and grey, reported ABC news.

The eruption which began on Sunday  was the biggest in more than four decades, forcing the closure of Guatemala’s main international airport and dumping ash on thousands of hectares of coffee farms on the volcano’s slopes.hind him.

Guatemala’s national disaster agency CONRED said the death toll was 62, up from an earlier 25, as more bodies were pulled from the ash around the village of El Rodeo which was hard hit by the eruption.

Local news media reported more bodies had been found, though it was unclear whether more people died in a second eruption on Monday

The task of pulling out bodies was halting, after the new eruption and an apparent landslide on the southern slopes of Fuego triggered fresh evacuations.

“They gave the emergency order to evacuate, and we all went running,” one rescue volunteer said on television.

“We were pulling out bodies. We’re going to wait a half hour before entering  

A witness near the volcano said more people had been evacuated beyond a 8-kilometre perimeter from the site after the latest explosion.

Fuego, one of several active volcanoes out of 34 in the Central American country, is near the colonial city of Antigua, a UNESCO world heritage site that has survived several volcanic eruptions.

The latest activity is mostly on the far side of the volcano, facing the Pacific coast.

About 300 people have been injured since the eruption on the weekend that sent columns of ash and smoke 10 kilometres into the sky, dusting several regions with ash.

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Barnaby Joyce’s colleagues want clarity over his future in the Federal Parliament, with one of them declaring he needs to make a call on it, and soon.

The former deputy prime minister’s “tell-all” television interview about his affair with Vikki Campion has Nationals MPs questioning whether Mr Joyce should even run at the next election.

His Queensland colleague Ken O’Dowd said the party wanted to stop discussing the issue.

“It’s time to put it all behind us because it has been distracting and we’re not elected to think about people’s personal lives. We want to start afresh as of today,” Mr O’Dowd said.

He said Mr Joyce needed to make a “crucial decision” and consider his political future, especially ahead of a federal election due next year.

“I think it’s very important for the people of Tamworth and New England that they know they’ve got someone there who is going to be in there fighting for them, and I think Barnaby would understand that and he’d make that call.

“Over to you, Barnaby, and best of luck with whatever you decide.”

Mr O’Dowd’s advice to Mr Joyce came as The Australian newspaper reported that senior Nationals were involved in a push to get John Anderson, the former Deputy Prime Minister under John Howard, to make a political comeback in Mr Joyce’s seat of New England, fearing the seat could be lost at the next election if Mr Joyce remains.

Some in the Government want a fresh start to be without the former Nationals leader.

He has been endorsed by Tony Abbott, but many in the Coalition believe Mr Joyce has lost his political appeal.

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A priest has shared his witty response to a flirty text sent by mistake which called him “sexy”.

Father Simon Rundell, from Plymouth, Devon, received the late-night message which asked if him he was working tomorrow.

He received the random text on Saturday evening at 11.43pm and was asked: “U OK sexy? You in work tomorrow? X.”

He replied first thing in the morning and told the person he was “saying Mass at 9.30am and 11.15am.”

Father Simon added: “But I’m guessing you didn’t intend to text a priest on this one. Fr. Simon.”

He posted the hilarious exchange on his Twitter page and wrote “I get the *best* wrong number texts”.

It was “liked” almost 2,000 times and many users found his response hilarious.

One person wrote: “Maybe it was meant for you. No reason why someone can’t think you are sexy father.”

Another added: “Maybe you should have told her the time at which you were taking confessions.”

Another person joked: “Apologies. I will check numbers more carefully in future.”