Monday, November 09, 2009 RABA, INDONESIA: A strong earthquake struck Indonesia’s Sumbawa region on Monday morning, according to seismologists.The earthquake happened around 3.42 a.m. local time, about 5 miles from Raba, a small town in the eastern part of Sumbawa Island. The country’s seismological agency reported the earthquake as a 6.7-magnitude, while the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre reported a magnitude of 6.9. Earthquakes of that size are capable of causing serious damage. The earthquake was located about 11 miles deep, making it a shallow earthquake.Both the country’s seismological agency and the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre did not issue a tsunami warning following the earthquake, but warned of local tsunamis. “A destructive widespread tsunami threat does not exist based on historical earthquake and tsunami data,” a statement from the tsunami warning centre read. “However - there is a very small possibility of a local tsunami that could affect coasts located usually no more than a hundred kilometres from the earthquake epicentre. Authorities near the epicentre should be made aware of this possibility.”There was no immediate word on damage or casualties following the earthquake.Strong earthquakes often strike Indonesia, as it is located in the Pacific Ring of Fire. A 7.6-magnitude earthquake near Indonesia’s Sumatra killed more than 1,100 people on September 30.
BEIRUT: Thousands of people converged Saturday on central Beirut to mark the fourth anniversary of the assassination of Lebanese former premier Rafiq Hariri.Waving Lebanese flags and carrying pictures of the slain leader, men, women and children gathered under sunny skies in Martyr's Square where members of the parliamentary majority were to address the crowd. The rally comes as final preparations are underway in The Hague for the launch of the international tribunal set up to bring Hariri's killers to justice. It also comes as the country prepares for legislative elections in June that will pit Western-backed political parties against a Hezbollah-led alliance backed by Syria and Iran.Hariri died in a massive car bombing on February 14, 2005 that also killed 22 others. The assassination was widely blamed on then Lebanese power-broker Syria, which has denied any involvement. The attack on the Beirut seafront was one of the worst acts of political violence to rock Lebanon since t...
Comments