Ecuador: Volcano closes Quito airport

A volcano outside Ecuador’s capital spewed a cloud of hot ash Sunday, forcing the closure of its airport and a nearby highway and showering Quito in white ash.

No injuries were reported from the eruption of Reventador an 11,775-foot volcano located 59 miles northeast of Quito on the eastern slope of the Andes.

Alexandra Avarado of the Geophysical Institute said the volcano began erupting at 7:30 a.m. (6:30 a.m. CST) with a larger blast at 9 a.m. The latter blast sent clouds of burning ash that reached the Baeza-Lago Agrio highway.

The eruption also threatened the Trans-Ecuadorean oil pipeline that runs close to the area.

Washington, D.C.: Philippines alert heightened

The State Department has heightened its alert to Americans in the Philippines with a warning of a potential for terror bombings during the holiday season.

The U.S. government has information that suggests terror groups may be planning attacks in the Philippines through the New Year holiday, the department said.

The deadly bombing last month in a nightclub in Bali, Indonesia, signals the possibility of similar attacks in the Philippines and other Southeast Asian countries, the department said.

London: Iran officials won’t confirm capture of bin Laden son

Iranian security forces have detained one of Osama bin Laden’s sons among several hundred people suspected of links to the al-Qaida terror network, the Financial Times reports in today’s editions.

Citing an unidentified Iranian official, the newspaper said Iran handed bin Laden’s son over to authorities in either Saudi Arabia or Pakistan.

Bin Laden has at least 23 children by several wives. The son’s identity was not established.

In Iran, vice-president Mohammad Ali Abtahi told The Associated Press Sunday that he was aware of the report, but “wouldn’t confirm it unless credible information is available.”