ONE NEWS

Sunday, October 04, 2009 MANILA: A 6.6-magnitude earthquake struck off the Philippines Sunday, seismologists said, but at 630 kilometres (390 miles) below the seabed it was considered extremely deep and no destructive tsunami was expected.The quake hit in the Moro Gulf, off Mindanao, at 6:58 pm (1058 GMT), but there were no immediate reports of damage or injuries and the Hawaii-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said it did not expect a destructive tsunami.The epicentre was 100 kilometres southwest of Cotabato, in Mindanao, the US Geological Survey said.Asia-Pacific has in the past week been hit by earthquakes, tsunamis and typhoons that have left nearly 2,000 dead.

Wednesday, September 30, 2009 MANAMA: Kuwait is planning to deport 17,000 foreigners guilty of overstaying in the country or of involvement in illegal activities that include forgery, embezzlement and prostitution. The decision was suggested by the interior ministry which does not see any reason for keeping them in Kuwait, especially that most of them are free visa labourers, a daily reported on Sunday, quoting unnamed ministry sources. According to the sources, the list of the people to be deported includes 4,000 Bangladeshis, 3,500 Indians, 1,200 Egyptians, 1,000 Filipinos, 1,000 Indonesians, 1,000 Pakistanis, 1,000 Afghanis, 750 Syrians, 500 Thais, 500 Iranians, 500 Chinese, 500 Nepalese and 500 Ethiopians. The remaining people to be deported are from other countries, but their numbers vary between 50 and 100 for each nationality, the sources said.

Wednesday, September 30, 2009 MANILA: Two US troops and a Filipino soldier have been killed in a landmine explosion on the southern Philippines island of Jolo.The cause of the explosion is thought to have been a landmine, planted by members of the Abu Sayyaf group.US troops have been providing combat and counterterrorism training to Filippino troops battling the Abu Sayyaf.The two dead US soldiers are believed to be the first American casualties in region since they were first deployed in 2002.Lt. Col. Romeo Brawner, a military spokesman, said a joint convoy was on its way to an area in Jolo's Indanan township when the land mine exploded.The convoy was assisting an operation to build two schools and dig wells in the township.