Quake jolts Indonesia

JAKARTA:

An earthquake measuring 4.9 on the Richter scale shook Indonesia’s restive Ambon island on Tuesday but there were no reports of casualties or damage, an official said. The offshore quake was centred in the Banda Sea some 171 km southwest of Ambon, said Rachmat of the National Meteorology and Geophysics office here. The epicentre was 29 km under the sea, a depth considered shallow for a tectonic earthquake, he said. — AFP

Compensation for kin

KHAO LAK:

Thailand will pay for relatives of tsunami victims around the world to attend commemorations on the anniversary of last December’s disaster, Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said on Tuesday. “We will invite the immediate families of those who died or were injured, and will pay for their airfare and accommodation so that they can see we are ready to welcome tourists again,” Thaksin said before a cabinet meeting in Phang Nga province, which suffered the brunt of the deadly waves. — AFP

12 militants killed

KABUL:

Afghan and US-led coalition forces killed 12 suspected militants in raids on their hide-outs in southern Afghanistan, the US military said on Tuesday. The rebels were allegedly plotting to use the camps as staging bases for attacks aimed at disrupting legislative elections this month, the military said in a statement. The raids occurred in Zabul province Monday. Nine suspected insurgents were also detained, it said. — AP

Unscheduled landing

JAKARTA:

An aircraft belonging to national flag carrier Garuda Indonesia made an unscheduled landing on Tuesday after the jet’s fuel gauge indicated a possible problem, a spokesman said. The incident happened the day after an Indonesian jetliner flying the same route crashed just after takeoff, killing 149 people. The Boeing 747-400, which was carrying 90 crew and passengers, was en route to Jakarta from Medan on the island of Sumatra when the pilot decided to land at Pekanbaru after the plane’s fuel gauge indicated a potential problem. — AP