On top of the hill the old man and his wife were standing next to the altar they had made, muttering words into the smoke.

Explosive eruptions shook two huge volcanos in Central and South America, forcing thousands to flee their homes and disrupting air traffic as ash drifted over major cities.

Explosive eruptions shook two huge volcanos in Central and South America today, forcing thousands of people to flee their homes and disrupting air traffic as ash drifted over wide regions.