Safer homes sought for Filipinos

Dusty view: A man riding a horse past an ash-covered sign advertising volcano tours in Boso Boso, the Philippines. — AFP

TAGAYTAY: Philippine officials say the government will no longer allow villagers to return to a crater-studded island where an erupting volcano lies, warning that living there would be “like having a gun pointed at you”.

Taal volcano has simmered with smaller ash ejections in recent days after erupting on Jan 12 with a gigantic plume of steam and ash that drifted northward and reached Manila, the capital, about 65km away.