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Tsunami fear recedes in India after massive quake hit Indonesia

JAKARTA, INDONESIA: The Indonesian president said on Wednesday there was no immediate threat of a tsunami from an 8.7-magnitude earthquake that struck off Sumatra island.

Indonesia has issued its own tsunami warning and an Indian Ocean-wide alert was also issued after the quake, but President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said there was no immediate threat.

"So far, there is no tsunami threat," he said on national television.

In India, too, the National Disaster Management Authority said there was no likelihood of tsunami being formed anywhere in the Indian Ocean.

Earlier on Wednesday, India issued a tsunami warning for Andaman and Nicobar Islands and the eastern coast after a 8.7 magnitude quake in Indonesia shook major cities, causing panic and sending people fleeing onto the streets.

Hundreds of office workers in the Bangalore left their buildings while the Indian port of Chennai closed down because of the danger of a tsunami, the port said.

Indonesia's disaster management agency said power was down in Aceh province and people were gathering on high ground as sirens warned of the danger.

"The electricity is down, there are traffic jams to access higher ground. Sirens and Koran recitals from mosques are everywhere," said Sutopo, spokesman for the agency.

The Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Service issued a red high-level warning for the islands, and also put out lower alerts for the coasts of Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre issued tsunami watch for 28 countries, including Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka, Australia, Myanmar, Thailand, Maldives, Britain, Malaysia, Mauritius, Syechelles, Pakistan, Somalia, Oman, Madagascar, Iran, UAE, Yemen, Bangladsh, Tanzania, Mozambique, Kenya, South Africa and Singapore.

India's tsunami warning center said waves measuring up to 6 metres were expected along parts of its eastern coast, which was heavily hit by the 2004 tsunami. Smaller waves were expected to hit the remote Andaman and Nicobar islands.

Southeast Asian nations urged people to move to safety away from coastlines. USGS had initially reported it as an 8.9-magnitude quake. Thailand has urged people on the Andaman coast, a popular tourist destination, to move to safety.

A Sri Lanka government statement said waves could hit the island's eastern coast by about 10:40 GMT and urged an orderly evacuation of the coastal strip.

Thailand's National Disaster Warning Centre advised people in the area to move to higher places and stay as far away as possible from the sea. The quake swayed buildings as far away as Thailand's capital Bangkok.

Australian Bonnie Muddle, vacationing in the Thai resort island of Phuket at the time of the quake, said people were being evacuated from popular tourist areas including Krabi and Phang nag bay.

"Everyone is getting a little concerned over here," she told AFP.

The US Geological Survey said the quake was centred 33 kilometres beneath the ocean floor around 495 kilometres from the provincial capital of Banda Aceh.

Said, an official at Indonesia's Meteorology and Geophysics Agency who goes by only one name, said a tsunami warning has been issued.

Indonesia straddles a series of fault lines that makes the vast island nation prone to volcanic and seismic activity.

A giant 9.1-magnitude quake off the country on December 26, 2004, triggered a tsunami in the Indian Ocean that killed 2,30,000 people, nearly three quarter of them in Aceh.

Last year, a 9.0-magnitude earthquake caused a tsunami and nuclear disaster in Japan, killing some 19,000 people. On Wednesday, Japan's Meteorological Agency said there was no risk of a tsunami affecting Japanese coasts.

Geoscience Australia, Canberra's geohazards agency, said there was no risk to Australia from the jolt. Taiwan and New Zealand also said the earthquake posed no threat to the respective countries. — Agencies

Pak rapidly developing its nuclear arsenal: Report

Washington: Estimated to have more nuclear weapons than India, Pakistan is rapidly developing and expanding its atomic arsenal, spending about USD 2.5 billion a year to develop such weapons, a report has said. 

"Pakistan has been rapidly developing and expanding its nuclear arsenal, increasing its capacity to produce plutonium, and testing and deploying a diverse array of nuclear-capable ballistic and cruise missiles," said the report 'Assuring Destruction Forever: Nuclear Modernisation Around the World'. 

"Pakistan is moving from an arsenal based wholly on HEU to greater reliance on lighter and more compact plutonium-based weapons, which is made possible by a rapid expansion in plutonium production capacity," said the 150-page report by Reaching Critical Will of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom. 
"Pakistan is also moving from aircraft-delivered nuclear bombs to nuclear-armed ballistic and cruise missiles and from liquid-fueled to solid-fueled medium-range missile. Pakistan also has a growing nuclear weapons research, development, and production infrastructure," it said. 

According to the report Pakistan is estimated to have 90-110 nuclear weapons. 
"A long-term concern now driving Pakistan's nuclear programme is the US policy of countering the rise of China by cultivating a stronger strategic relationship with India. This may tie the future of Pakistan and India's nuclear weapons to the emerging contest between the United States and China," said the report. 

Delhi BJP worker stabbed to death

New Delhi: A Bharatiya Janta Party worker has been stabbed to death in the national capital allegedly by a sitting party councilor. BJP worker Jai Prakash had an argument with Madhav Prasad, who is the BJP councillor from the North West.

According to TV reports, Jai Prakash was upset and angry with Madhav Prasad over his getting the party ticket again for the MCD polls.Jai Prasad criticised Madhav and the two had a scuffle. Police have detained Madhav Prasad and are questioning him.

Reacting to the murder, BJP leader Vijay Goel said that it was premature to draw conclusions as the police were still investigating the case.

Maoists to ‘democratically’ release Italian

Bhubaneswar: Maoist leader Sabyasachi Panda is reported to have released a new audio tape stating that they are ready to release abducted Italian Paolo Bosusco through ‘democratic means’. 

According to sources, Maoists’ ‘democratic means’ imply the Italian would be first produced before a ‘people’s court’ before being set free. 

Panda reportedly said in the latest tape that they are in possession of the joint statement issued by the Odisha government and mediators. 

The message came a day after a court acquitted Panda's wife Sushashree Panda in a shootout case. 

The Maoists had demanded her release, among other pre-conditions, in exchange for the release of the Italian who was taken hostage last month.

Maoists have also been holding a BJD MLA, Jhina Hikaka as hostage.