US officials watching volcano ahead of Obama visit

Indonesia's erupting Mount Merapi Volcano is being watched "very closely", US officials said on Sunday, but there are no plans as yet to cancel President Obama's scheduled visit next week.

Indonesia's erupting Mount Merapi Volcano is being watched "very closely", US officials said on Sunday, but there are no plans as yet to cancel President Obama's scheduled visit next week.

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"We are following the developments very carefully," said Ben Rhodes, deputy national security advisor, on a day when several airlines cancelled flights to the Indonesian capital as a precaution against clouds of ash and fumes that have been blasted into the atmosphere.

Obama is currently in India on the first leg of an Asia tour and is due to visit Indonesia next week, having twice previously postponed trips to the country where he spent part of his childhood.