S Pacific volcano forms new island

Images have emerged of the island's surface, 45km (28 miles) north-west of Tonga's capital, Nuku'alofa. The island - which is 500m (1,640 feet) long - was formed after an eruption at the Hunga Tonga volcano that started in December, BBC News reports. One scientist said the island was likely to be highly unstable, and dangerous to visitors. The volcano - the full name of which is Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai - erupted for the second time in five years in December. Video captured on a boat hundreds of metres from the volcano showed fast-rising plumes of gas emerging from the sea. Satellite images taken within days of the eruption showed new rock formations, and more sediment in the sea. And next to one of the two islands that previously made up Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai was a large circular crater. A resident of Tonga's main island captured striking images of the new island from its surface. Read more