jack surfleet, bbc news.sciences at denison university. i asked whether he belived the eruption was truly over. based on what i have read and what they've said in the announcement, it's pretty certain that it is done — at least for the time being — because we don't see any of the earthquakes that were leading up to it before, we don't see the same sorts of gases coming out of the ground and the signs are there is nothing really doing at the moment. and in terms of la palma itself, i mean, how active has it been in the last sort of few decades? is it the case it could remain dormant for another couple of years and then start again? i mean, that's always the trickiest thing because volcanoes are kind of hard to say that they have sort of regular periods where they're gonna be quiet and then start erupting again. it could be that the eruption doesn't — there isn't another eruption for another 50 years or we might be seeing something where it could be a heightened period of activity, but they're just gonna watch

jack surfleet, bbc news.niversity. how certain can we be that the volcano has now stopped erupting? i volcano has now stopped erupting?_ volcano has now stopped erupting? i would say that based on _ erupting? i would say that based on what _ erupting? i would say that based on what i _ erupting? i would say that based on what i have - erupting? i would say that based on what i have readj erupting? i would say that - based on what i have read and what they've said in the announcement, it's pretty certain that it is done, at least for the time being because we don't see any of the earthquakes that were leading up earthquakes that were leading up to it before and we don't see the same gases coming out of the ground and the signs are there is nothing really doing at the moment. in there is nothing really doing at the moment.— there is nothing really doing at the moment. in terms of la palma itself, _ at the moment. in terms of la palma itself, how _ at the moment. in terms of la palma itself, how active - at the

jack surfleet, bbc news. let's get some of the day's other news.six people have been killed by a suicide bomb attack in the eastern city of beni. the mayor narcisse muteba said the bomber had killed himself and five other people. it isn't clear whether any group was behind the attack but security forces are investigating. gunfire. security forces in the sudanese capital khartoum have fired tear gas in an effort to disperse the latest pro—democracy protests. the demonstrators converged on the presidential palace for the second time in a week but were met by a heavy security presence. earlier, the military government restricted phone and internet services and blocked roads leading to the city. cricket, and england's hopes of fighting back in the third ashes test already look to be in trouble. they've lost a couple of early wickets on the first day of the boxing day test in melbourne. a few moments ago, they were at 36/2. australia hold a 2—0 lead in the series. for millions of people around the world, christmas day has drawn to a close but for millio

jack surfleet, bbc news.come: christmas still to come: day is over for millions christmas day is over for millions around the world. we find out how people celebrated during another difficult festive season. the world of music's been paying tribute to george michael, who's died from suspected heart failure at the age of 53. he sold well over 100 million albums in a career spanning more than three decades. the united states' troops have been trying to overthrow the dictatorship of general manuel noriega. the pentagon said it's failed in its principle objective to capture noriega and take him to the united states to face drugs charges. the hammer and sickle| was hastily taken away. m its place. — the russian flag was hoisted over what is now— no longer the soviet union, but the commonwealth of independent states. | day broke slowly over lockerbie, over the cockpit of pan am's maid of the seas, nosedown in the soft earth. you could see what happens when a plane eight storeys high, a football pitch wide falls fro

but the volcano destroyed properties and submerged hundreds of hectares of land, as jack surfleet reportsowing down the mountain, through villages and handing up to 600 metres wide. in its path with 1300 homes, churches and schools. all of which were destroyed. rescue teams have to relocate more than 30,000 people from their homes. many have lost almost everything they own. an exclusion zone was set up around the flow, including in the sea, with the molten rock boiled sea water release poisonous gases and increased the size of the island. there'd been no earth tremors since the 13th of december. the longest period without any activity since the eruption began. authorities were wary of false hope and held off until christmas day to give the message that many had been so desperate for. what i want to say today can be said with just four words. the eruption is over. it is an emotional relief, but i think we can add one more word to the message. the word hope. because we can now focus all of our energy and reconstruction of the island. ~ , ,. , island. the prime minister described it as the b