Indonesia volcano cuts short Obama visit

An Indonesian volcano today forced US President Barack Obama to cut short his visit to the country, and some international airlines were again cancelling flights amid concerns about air safety.

Mount Merapi, hundreds of miles east of Jakarta, has been spewing massive clouds of ash and gas high into the air for more than two weeks, killing at least 153 people and causing travel chaos.

At times, two nearby airports were forced to shut down.

President Obama sliced several hours off his whirlwind 24-hour tour today.

Syaiful Bahri, who oversees operations at Jakarta’s international airport, said concerns about the ash also forced several international carriers to again cancel flights into and out of the capital.

Among them were Cathay Pacific, Value Air, Qantas and Malaysia Air.