JAKARTA: A powerful earthquake struck off the west coast of Indonesia’s Sumatra island early on Monday and was felt strongly in some areas, including the city of Padang, though there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage, officials said.
The magnitude 6.7 quake, which struck at 04:09 local time (21:09 GMT on Sunday), did not have the potential to cause a tsunami, the head of Indonesia’s geophysics agency (BMKG) Dwikorita Karnawati said.
The European Mediterranean Seismological Center (EMSC) had put the strength of the earthquake near Kepulauan Batu at 6.8 magnitude, at a depth of 40 km (24.85 miles).
The Indonesian BMKG agency described the quake as feeling like a “truck passing through” in some areas, and said there had been four aftershocks with the biggest of magnitude 6. Padang is about 1,000 kilometers north west of capital Jakarta.
So far officials had not received any information on damage, but were still assessing the impact in some remote areas including north Sumatra’s Nias Selatan, where communications were difficult, an official said.
Indonesia suffers frequent earthquakes, straddling the so-called “Pacific Ring of Fire,” a seismically active zone where different plates of the earth’s crust meet.
The fault along Sumatra island can be particularly active and dangerous. In 2004, a massive 9.1 magnitude quake and a tsunami off the northern tip of Sumatra killed 226,000 people in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, Thailand and nine other countries.
Last month, a magnitude 6.1 earthquake in the area killed at least 10 people, the local disaster mitigation agency in West Sumatra said.
Strong quake strikes off Indonesia, no tsunami potential seen
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Strong quake strikes off Indonesia, no tsunami potential seen
- The Indonesian Meteorology and Geophysics Agency said the quake was felt in many parts of the province but there was no danger of a tsunami
Massive plume of ash, gas spews from Italy’s Mount Etna
Images showed a massive grey cloud billow forth from the volcano on the island of Sicily, beginning about 11:24 am local time (0924 GMT), according to the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV).
Surveillance cameras showed “a pyroclastic flow probably produced by a collapse of material from the northern flank of the Southeast Crater,” the agency said.
A pyroclastic flow occurs when volcanic rock, ash and hot gasses surge from volcanos. They are extremely dangerous.
The explosive activity “had transitioned to a lava fountain,” INGV said, with the plume of ash expected to dissipate toward the southwest.
A red alert issued for aviation authorities said the height of the volcanic cloud was estimated at 6.5 kilometers (more than four miles).
The nearby Catania airport was still in operation.
Mali army camp in Timbuktu under attack: residents and officials
BAMAKO: An army camp in the Malian city of Timbuktu on Monday was under attack by “terrorists” and heavy gunfire was heard, military and local officials and residents told AFP.
Junta-ruled Mali has been gripped since 2012 by violence from jihadist groups linked to Al-Qaeda and the Daesh group as well as community and criminal groups.
“We are dealing with terrorists attacking Timbuktu. We are fighting back,” a military source said.
“The camp in the city center has been attacked,” the source added.
A local official said: “The terrorists arrived today in Timbuktu with a vehicle packed with explosives. The vehicle exploded near the (military) camp. Shooting is currently continuing.”
UN staff were instructed in a message “to take shelter” and “stay away from windows” due to “shooting in the city of Timbuktu.”
A resident reported having heard “heavy gunfire in the city” which “seems to come from the side of the (military) camp.”
A local journalist speaking by telephone said “the city is under fire.”
“This morning our city was attacked by terrorist groups. Shots were heard near the military camp and the airport. We all returned home,” he said.
The ancient city of Timbuktu, once known as the “city of 333 saints” for the Muslim holy men buried there, was subject to major destruction while under the control of jihadists in 2012 and 2013.
Philippines to set up security, defense dialogue with EU
- Inaugural dialogue meeting set to take place in the last quarter of 2025
- EU foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, meets Philippine officials in Manila
Manila: The Philippines and the EU agreed on Monday to start a security and defense dialogue to address cyberattacks and foreign interference.
Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo made the announcement with the EU’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, during her visit to Manila.
“Our relationship reaches another significant milestone with our decision to create a security and defense dialogue. This dialogue will provide a mechanism for the Philippines and the European Union to discuss security and defense-related issues with both depth and regularity,” Manalo said during a joint press conference with Kallas.
“We hope that through the security and defense dialogue we will remain proactive and united in addressing emerging security threats and challenges that transcend borders — cyberattacks and foreign interference and manipulation of information to name a few.”
Kallas said the dialogue would address the “current geopolitical challenges and will foster exchanges and cooperation in security and defense areas, including maritime security.”
The Philippines advanced its defense ties with key EU partners over the weekend at the 22nd Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, where Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro held a series of bilaterals on the sidelines of the event with his French, Swedish and Lithuanian counterparts.
The new dialogue is part of a partnership and cooperation agreement between the Philippines and the EU which came into effect in 2018.
The inaugural meeting is set to take place in the last quarter of 2025.
The Philippines’ top diplomat and the EU’s foreign policy chief also committed to advancing talks on a free trade agreement.
“Noting the firm commitment of both sides in advancing negotiations, I expressed the Philippines’ hope for the continued support of the EU and its member states toward the early conclusion of negotiations of a comprehensive, balanced, and modern FTA,” Manalo said.
EU and Philippine representatives completed FTA negotiation rounds in October last year and February this year, with the next round expected to take place in Brussels in June.
At least 34 dead in India’s northeast after heavy floods
- More than a thousand tourists trapped in the Himalayan state of Sikkim were being evacuated on Monday
- In neighboring Bangladesh, at least four members of a family were killed in a landslide in Sylhet district
BHUBANESWAR/DHAKA: At least 34 people have died in India’s northeastern region after heavy floods caused landslides over the last four days, authorities and media said on Monday, and the weather department predicted more heavy rain.
More than a thousand tourists trapped in the Himalayan state of Sikkim were being evacuated on Monday, a government statement said, and army rescue teams were pressed into service in Meghalaya state to rescue more than 500 people stranded in flooded areas.
In neighboring Bangladesh, at least four members of a family were killed in a landslide in the northeastern district of Sylhet, while hundreds of shelters have been opened across the hilly districts of Rangamati, Bandarban, and Khagrachhari on Sunday.
Authorities have warned of further landslides and flash floods, urging residents in vulnerable areas to remain alert.
India’s northeast and Bangladesh are prone to torrential rains that set off deadly landslides and flash floods, affecting millions of people every year.
Roads and houses in Assam’s Silchar city were flooded, visuals from news agency ANI showed, and fallen trees littered the roads.
“We are facing a lot of challenges. I have a child, their bed is submerged in water. What will we do in such a situation? We keep ourselves awake throughout the night,” Sonu Devi, a resident of Silchar, told ANI.
Bomb blast kills nine at Nigeria bus park in Borno
MAIDUGURI: At least nine people were killed in a blast at a bus park in northeastern Nigeria, blamed on a bomb planted by suspected militants who have stepped up attacks in Borno state, a local lawmaker and residents said.
Borno has been the heartland of an Islamist insurgency for the past 16 years, which has killed thousands of Nigerians and driven tens of thousands from their homes.
Villagers from Mairari village in Borno’s Guzamala district were waiting for transport when a bomb detonated on Saturday, killing at least nine people, said Abdulkarim Lawan, the lawmaker for the area.
Lawan, who is also speaker of Borno state assembly, said Mairari village was now largely deserted due to frequent attacks by Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province, who are also increasingly using improvised explosives.
“Terrorists who have been monitoring their movements planted IEDs at the local bus stop, which exploded while they were waiting to board commercial vehicles back to their destinations,” he said.
Borno state police spokesperson Nahum Kenneth Daso confirmed the incident but said he had no details.
Bunu Bukar, a petty trader at the bus rank said on Monday the IED was tripped when passengers were boarding a mini bus, killing the nine instantly and injuring several others.
Nigeria has witnessed a rise in insurgent attacks since January, with militants targeting civilians and military bases.
