Strong winds and rain Wednesday prevented the helicopter rescue of passengers on a Russian ship stuck in ice off Antarctica, Australian authorities said, as those onboard rang in the New Year with a sing-song from the deck.

The Akademik Shokalskiy, carrying 74 passengers and crew, has not moved since it became trapped about 100 nautical miles east of the French base Dumont d'Urville on December 24.

An icebound Russian research vessel prepared to ring in the New Year in Antarctica Tuesday as blizzards delayed a helicopter rescue planned after several icebreaking attempts failed.

The MV Akademik Shokalskiy has been stranded 100 nautical miles east of the French base Dumont d'Urville for a week, hemmed in by impenetrable pack ice that three separate breakers have been unable to breach.

More than 19,000 people have been displaced by a volcano in Indonesia that has been erupting for months and shot lava into the air nine times overnight, an official said Tuesday.

Tanzania has been hit by a sharp upsurge in poaching, with at least 60 elephants killed in the two months since the government was forced to halt a controversial crackdown, a senior official said.

This month Tanzania's President Jakaya Kikwete sacked four top ministers amid accusations that the anti-poaching drive -- codenamed 'Operation Tokomeza', or 'Operation Terminate' -- had led to security forces carrying out a wave of killings as well as torture and rape.

More than 8 million acres of China's farmland is too polluted with heavy metals and other chemicals to use for growing food, a Cabinet official said Monday, highlighting a problem that is causing growing public concern.

The threat from pollution to China's food supply has been overshadowed by public alarm at smog and water contamination but is gaining attention following scandals over tainted rice and other crops. The government triggered complaints in February when it refused to release results of a nationwide survey of soil pollution, declaring them a state secret.

Most passengers and some crew from a scientific expedition ship stranded off Antarctica will be evacuated by helicopter to a Chinese icebreaker if weather conditions improve, Russia said Monday.

Authorities decided to resort to the helicopter evacuation after the Aurora Australis rescue icebreaker was forced to retreat in the face of freezing winds and snow showers 10 nautical miles from the Russian-flagged MV Akademik Shokalskiy, which is stuck in an ice field.

Some 2,000 people were evacuated in eastern El Salvador Sunday when the Chaparrastique volcano belched and spewed a column of ashes high into the sky.

The 2,330 meter high volcano began erupting around 1630 GMT, and authorities suspended scores of flights across parts of the small Central American country. No victims were reported.

Passengers on a Russian research ship trapped in thick Antarctic ice faced an uncertain wait Sunday for one last ice-breaking attempt with no guarantees of success.

The MV Akademik Shokalskiy has been marooned by heavy ice since Tuesday about 100 nautical miles east of the French Antarctic base Dumont d'Urville, with two ice-breaking ships so far failing in attempts to reach it.

A Chinese icebreaker was Friday closing in on the frozen seas where a scientific mission ship is trapped off Antarctica, as those onboard welcomed the easing of blizzard conditions.

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA), which is coordinating the rescue of the Russian passenger ship MV Akademik Shokalskiy, said the boat had experienced very strong winds and limited visibility.

A smoldering islet created by undersea volcanic eruptions off Japan's Pacific coast has melded to a nearby island, the Japanese coastguard said Thursday.

Officials overflying the new landmass said it had merged at two points with Nishino-shima, an uninhabited volcanic island in the Ogasawara (Bonin) chain, some 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) south of Tokyo.