Talca (Chile), February 27
A devastating earthquake struck Chile early today, toppling homes, collapsing bridges and plunging trucks into the fractured earth. A tsunami set off by the magnitude-8.8 quake threatened every nation around the Pacific Ocean - roughly a quarter of the globe.

A huge wave reached a populated area in the Robinson Crusoe Islands, 660 km off the Chilean coast, said President Michele Bachelet. Coastal areas of the island were being evacuated, Bachelet said. President-elect Sebastian Pinera said more than 147 persons had died, but the death toll was rising quickly.

In the town of Talca, just 105 km from the epicentre, AP journalist Roberto Candia said it felt as if a giant had grabbed him and shaken him.

The town’s historic centre, filled with buildings of mud and straw, largely collapsed, though most of those were businesses that were not inhabited when the quake struck around 3.34 am (0634 GMT). Neighbours pulled out at least five persons from the rubble while emergency workers, themselves disoriented, asked for information from reporters.

Many roads were destroyed, and electricity, water and phone lines cut to many areas - meaning there was no word of death or damage from many outlying areas.

In the Chilean capital of Santiago, 325 km northeast of the epicentre, a car dangled from a collapsed overpass, the national fine arts museum was badly damaged and an apartment building’s two-story parking lot pancaked, smashing about 50 cars whose alarms rang incessantly.

Experts warned that a tsunami could strike anywhere in the Pacific, and Hawaii could face its largest waves since 1964 starting at 11.19 am local time, according to Charles McCreery, director of the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre.

Tsunami waves were likely to hit Asian, Australian and New Zealand shores within 24 hours of the earthquake. The US West Coast and Alaska were also threatened.

Waves six-foot above normal hit Talcahuano, near Concepcion, 23 minutes after the quake, and President Michelle Bachelet said a huge wave swept into a populated area in the Robinson Crusoe Islands, 660 km off the Chilean coast, but there were no immediate reports of major damage. — Agencies

Deadliest quakes

Year Location Magnitude

Peshawar, February 27
A suicide bomber rammed his explosives-laden truck into a police station in northwest Pakistan today, killing at least three people and injuring 26 others.

Witnesses said three men drove up to the police station in Karak area near Peshawar in a pick-up truck. After two men got out of the vehicle, the driver rammed the truck packed with explosives into the police station.

District police chief Sajid Mohmand said two policemen and one civilian were killed in the attack. Fourteen policemen were among the 26 injured. The blast, which occurred at the main gate of the police station, also damaged a nearby mosque.

The injured were taken to a nearby hospital and officials said some of them were in a critical condition. They said the number of dead could rise. Security personnel cordoned off the area after the blast and launched a search for the suicide bomber's two accomplices. Authorities also imposed curfew in Karak.

No group claimed responsibility for the attack so far. Though Karak district lies between the militancy-affected areas of Lakki Marwat, Bannu and Kohat, this is the first time a suicide attack was carried out in the area.

Police officials said they had prevented another suicide attack on a police station at Mattani, a suburb of Peshawar, by intercepting the bomber as he tried to enter the building. There were also reports that four suicide attackers had entered Mingora. — PTI 

London, February 27
Britain's leading NRI hotelier Joginder Sangar has been presented the Community Award in recognition of his outstanding philanthropic work in the UK.

At a ceremony held in the House of Commons, Rev Jesse Jackson, well known African American civil rights leader presented the award to Sangar. Accepting the award, Sangar said he was “humbled and honoured”. Sangar, who had started business with a small travel agency in East London in 1965, has managed to build up a number of businesses, including 5 star hotels, properties, travel agencies and Life Insurance Company and is now Chairman of Mast Craft Ltd.

As vice-chairman of the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Sangar is instrumental in raising over a million pounds for building the new building for the Bhavan. He also played a key role in raising funds for constructing the largest Hindu temple in the UK for Lord Venkateswara (Balaji) in Tividale near Birmingham.

Jagdish Chander, Director of the India Tourist Office in London, who worked tirelessly to promote the Incredible India Campaign in the UK, received the Campaign of the Year Award.

Another NRI Rami Ranger was declared as Male Entrepreneur of the Year. NDTV was declared News Channel of the Year while Dhruv Gadhvi, who has launched his own production house DGTV, was given the Asian Broadcaster of the year Award. The awards have been instituted by a bilingual weekly, Asia Voice. — PTI 

Washington, February 27
Though Pakistan fears that a repeat of the Mumbai attacks could be "very dangerous"to it, there isrelatively little shift in its attitude towards India whiich it views as a "threat", a noted US scholar has said.

Dan Markey of the Council on Foreign  Relations, a Washington-based think-tank, was recently in Pakistan, where he met top officials on the country. "We did actually have a chance to meet Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir in Islamabad. And while I can't really characterise those discussions in detail, I can say that, across the board, there is, to my eyes, relatively little shift in Pakistani attitudes about what India represents," Markey, a Senior Fellow for India, Pakistan and South Asia at the Council, said.

But, he said there is "certainly an understanding and a fear, a palpable fear that what happened after Mumbai (attacks) could happen again and would be very, very dangerous for Pakistan. So there's a desire to try to get out of the post-Mumbai rut, but that doesn't reflect some deeper shift in attitudes about, you know, the purported threat that India represents to Pakistan," Markey said. — PTI

BRIEFLY

19 dead in China fireworks explosion
BEIJING: At least 19 people have been killed and 50 injured in an explosion triggered by fireworks in south China's Guangdong province. The explosion occurred when a family set off firecrackers in front of their house on Friday. The flame ignited other fireworks on the ground and caused a huge explosion, Xinhua news agency said. 
— IANS

Newest measure of brain power: Pub Quiz
London: Not good when it comes to IQ? Never mind, an alternative cerebral certificate is being offered for boasting purposes - Pub Quiz (PQ) intelligence. In contrast to IQ (Intelligence Quotient) PQ scores are based on the knowledge of pop culture, topical news, celebrities, soap opera and the latest scandal. A new survey of more than 2,000 adults has found PQ is more effective than IQ when it comes to triumphing in pub contests. — ANI

2 huge icebergs let loose off Antarctica’s coast
SYDNEY: A massive iceberg struck Antarctica, dislodging another giant block of ice from a glacier, Australian and French scientists have said. The two icebergs are drifting together about 100 to 150 km off eastern Antarctica, said Australian Antarctic Division glaciologist Neal Young on Friday. — AP