Tuesday, 2 October 2007
North Korea's reclusive leader Kim Jong-il has welcomed South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun to Pyongyang for a historic summit.
Live television footage showed the two men shaking hands ahead of three days of talks in the North Korean capital.
The summit between the two leaders is only the second such meeting in more than 50 years since the Korean war.
President Roh said he was aiming for a "peace settlement together with economic development".
The 1950-53 war between the two sides has never formally ended, but Seoul has promoted hopes for a permanent truce.
It says this summit may pave the way for that historic step.
Historic crossing
President Roh left the South Korean capital, Seoul, in a motorcade along with business leaders, bureaucrats, poets and clerics. 
The convoy stopped at the demilitarized zone to allow the president and his wife, Kwon Yang-sook, to cross into the North on foot - the first time a South Korean leader has ever done this.
They stepped across a yellow plastic tape, printed with the words "peace" and "prosperity".
"I do hope after my crossing that more people will follow suit," said President Roh at the border. "This line will gradually be erased and the wall will fall."
Arriving in Pyongyang, he was greeted by Mr Kim, who was wearing his trademark khaki jumpsuit, in front of crowds who cheered and waved paper flowers.
Mr Roh has now gone to a state guesthouse where he will stay for the course of the summit. He is expected to hold formal talks with Mr Kim on Wednesday.
Economic aid
The two states' only other summit was held in Pyongyang in 2000.
At the time, Kim Jong-il promised to make the return journey to Seoul, but that has never happened.
The first summit led to the former South Korean President Kim Dae-jung winning the Nobel Peace Prize for his "sunshine policy" of rapprochement with the North.
Since then, rail and road links have been built, although there has only been one, symbolic border rail crossing. Families divided between the two countries have also been granted reunions, if only briefly.
But critics say the South's attempts at friendship and large donations of aid have failed to break down the impoverished North's isolationism or improve its human rights record.
Some observers doubt whether Kim Jong-il has any appetite for reconciliation, says the BBC's John Sudworth in Seoul.
They believe he prefers to keep his military threat to coax further economic aid and other concessions from the nervous South, our correspondent says.
The South Korean leader, meanwhile, has been accused of using the summit to boost his popularity.
Mr Roh is approaching the end of his term of office and the conservative opposition are leading in opinion polls ahead of elections in December.
They have warned Mr Roh against making any "naive" economic concessions just for the sake of an agreement.
"They must know that an emotional approach to the North would bring on disasters," spokeswoman Na Kyung-won said.
No official agenda has been announced for the talks, but one item that is not expected to be discussed is North Korea's nuclear weapons programme. That is being left for ongoing multi-party talks, which made significant progress over the weekend.
A joint statement setting out the next step in the denuclearisation progress was agreed, and has been sent for approval to the six governments involved, including the two Koreas.
Korean leaders in historic talks
UN envoy holds key Burmese talks
Tuesday, 2 October 2007
UN special envoy Ibrahim Gambari has met detained Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi for a second time, hours after talks with military rulers.
The meeting took place on Mr Gambari's return from the new capital, Naypyidaw, where he conveyed to General Than Shwe concerns over a violent crackdown.
At least 10 people were killed, possibly many more, when troops ended days of pro-democracy demonstrations.
Rangoon, the main city and centre of unrest, has eased its curfew.
Loudspeakers mounted on trucks were used to announce it would run from 2200 (1430 GMT) to 0400 instead of 0900 to 0500.
Kept waiting
Mr Gambari's meetings suggest he is trying to establish some kind of dialogue between the government and the opposition, BBC South East Asia correspondent Jonathan Head says.
The envoy is now on his way to Singapore. He had waited four days to see Gen Than Shwe before the chairman of Burma's State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) made himself available.
No details have emerged but Mr Gambari was intending to urge the general "to cease the repression of peaceful protest", release detainees and embrace democracy and human rights, a UN spokesman said before the talks.
The US called on the UN envoy to press upon the military the need for a "real and serious political dialogue with all relative parties".
Mr Gambari came to the talks after his first meeting with Aung San Suu Kyi on Sunday.
He had also been taken by the Burmese authorities to see a pro-government rally in the town of Lashio.
'Neo-colonialism'
The general's reaction to Mr Gambari's comments is likely to have been the same as that of Foreign Minister Nyan Win to the UN, says the BBC's Chris Hogg in Bangkok, in neighbouring Thailand.
Nyan Win gave his government's version of events in Burma to the UN General Assembly.
Blaming "neo-colonialism" for distorting events in Burma, he said that a small initial protest "against the rise in fuel prices" had been exploited by "political opportunists".
"They also took advantage of protests staged initially by a small group of Buddhist clergy demanding apology for maltreatment of fellow monks by local authorities," he added.
Security forces, he said, had exercised "utmost restraint¿ against an "unruly and provocative" mob and "normalcy" had been restored.
'Disrobed and shackled'
Almost two weeks of sustained popular protest were halted when police and soldiers moved against protesters late last week.
The authorities said 10 people were killed, though diplomats and activists say the number of dead was many times higher.
About 4,000 monks have been rounded up in Rangoon over the past week and are being held at a disused race course and a technical college, the BBC has learned.
Sources from a government-sponsored militia said they would soon be sent to prisons in the far north of the country.
The monks have been disrobed and shackled, the sources told BBC radio's Burmese service. There are reports that the monks are refusing to eat.
In Geneva, the UN Human Rights Council is holding an emergency session which is expected to hear testimonies from witnesses to the violence.
"As the protesters are becoming invisible, our concern only increases for the safety and well-being of the monks, presumably confined to their monasteries if not worse," High Commissioner Louise Arbour said.
The 47-nation council lacks enforcement powers, and is limited to focusing global attention on human rights offenders.
Korean leaders in historic summit
Monday, 1 October 2007
Leaders of the two Koreas are preparing to meet each other in only the second top-level summit between the two sides.
South Korea's President Roh Moo-hyun says forging a permanent peace between the countries will be his top priority when he meets the North's Kim Jong-il.
He plans to cross the heavily fortified border on foot in a symbolic gesture.
The 1950-53 war between the two countries has never formally ended, but the government in Seoul has been building hopes for a permanent truce.
It says this summit may pave the way for that historic step.
"Many issues will be discussed but I will put priority on the establishment of peace on the Korean peninsula," said Mr Roh, before his departure.
Brief reunions
The president will travel in a motorcade along with business leaders, bureaucrats, poets and clerics, to the North's capital Pyongyang.
The states' only other summit was held in the city in 2000.
At the time, Kim Jong-il promised to make the return journey to Seoul, but that has never happened. 
The first summit led to the former South Korean President Kim Dae-jung winning the Nobel Peace Prize for his "sunshine policy" of rapprochement with the North.
Since then, rail and road links have been reconnected and families divided between the two countries have been granted reunions, if only briefly.
But critics say the South's attempts at friendship and large donations of aid have failed to break down the impoverished North's isolationism or improve its human rights record.
Some observers doubt whether Kim Jong-il has any appetite for reconciliation, says the BBC's John Sudworth in Seoul.
They believe he prefers to keep his military threat to coax further economic aid and other concessions from the nervous South, our correspondent says.
Nuclear progress
The conservative opposition in South Korea has warned Mr Roh against making any "naive" economic concessions just for the sake of an agreement.
"They must know that an emotional approach to the North would bring on disasters," spokeswoman Na Kyung-won said.
One item not on the agenda is North Korea's nuclear weapons programme.
That is being left for ongoing multi-party talks, which made significant progress over the weekend.
A joint statement setting out the next step in the denuclearisation progress was agreed, and has been sent for approval to the six governments involved, including the two Koreas.
Burmese monks 'to be sent away'
Monday, 1 October 2007
Thousands of monks detained in Burma's main city of Rangoon will be sent to prisons in the far north of the country, sources have told the BBC.
About 4,000 monks have been rounded up in the past week as the military government has tried to stamp out pro-democracy protests.
They are being held at a disused race course and a technical college.
Sources from a government-sponsored militia said they would soon be moved away from Rangoon.
The monks have been disrobed and shackled, the sources told BBC radio's Burmese service. There are reports that the monks are refusing to eat.
The country has seen almost two weeks of sustained popular unrest, in the most serious challenge to the military leadership for more than two decades.
The authorities said 10 people were killed as the protests were dispersed, though diplomats and activists say the number of dead was many times higher.
The banned opposition broadcaster Democratic Voice of Burma has issued a picture which they say shows the body of a monk floating near the mouth of the Rangoon river.
Last week several monasteries were raided, and there were reports of monks being beaten and killed.
With many monks behind bars, the demonstrations have now died down.
On Monday, the centre of Rangoon was almost back to normal, a reporter, who cannot be identified for security reasons, told the BBC.
Most shops and temples have reopened and people appear to be getting on with their lives. But there seemed to be a group of soldiers around every corner, and very few monks about, the reporter said.
This is notable in a city where monks can usually be spotted going in and out of temples, shopping at street stalls and chatting in tea shops. 
The atmosphere in Rangoon is tense, the reporter said. Local people are well aware that the monks have been locked away and are afraid that they will be next.
The crackdown, in which unarmed protesters were beaten, tear-gassed, and shot at, has attracted condemnation from abroad, and even from Burma's neighbours in the Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean).
Envoy still waiting
As well as preventing the demonstrations, the military junta has tried to block news of the unrest filtering out. Troops are stopping young men on the streets and in cars, searching for cameras that may be used to smuggle out images.
Most internet links are still down and mobile phone networks disrupted.
Official media has been warning Burmese people against co-operating with or using foreign news outlets.
A TV message on Monday referred to the BBC, Voice of America and Radio Free Asia as "assassins on air".
UN special envoy Ibrahim Gambari was set to meet Burma's military leader General Than Shwe on Tuesday, officials said.
On Saturday, when Mr Gambari travelled to the new capital Naypidaw, he was allowed to meet only more junior members of the government.
On Sunday, Mr Gambari held talks with detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi in Rangoon - the first foreigner to be permitted to do so for 10 months.
Bush hits out at 'brutal' Burma
Friday, 28 September 2007
US President George W Bush has led international condemnation of Burma after more people were killed in its crackdown on popular protests.
The US imposed sanctions targeting Burma's military leaders and called on China, one of Burma's closest partners, to put more pressure on the country.
Beijing appealed for calm, and Burma's neighbours, in unusually harsh criticism, expressed "revulsion".
Nine people were killed on Thursday, official media reported.
They included eight protesters and a Japanese video journalist.
Hurling abuse
Soldiers and police fired into crowds of demonstrators in Rangoon and gave them 10 minutes to clear the streets or face the consequences, the Reuters news agency reported.
Eleven demonstrators and 31 soldiers were hurt, according to the official account.
Authorities were trying to stamp out the largest uprising in two decades, as it continued for its 10th day.
The popular defiance has been led by Buddhist monks but there were fewer of the saffron-robed devotees on the streets on Thursday following overnight raids on monasteries.
Witnesses say soldiers smashed windows and doors and beat sleeping monks. Some escaped but hundreds were taken away in military trucks.
Nonetheless, tens of thousands of people poured onto the streets on Thursday. The military responded with gunshots - witnesses said it was unclear whether the bullets were aimed at the crowd or above heads.
During talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi at the White House, Mr Bush said: "[The American people] feel admiration and compassion for the monks and peaceful protesters calling for democracy.
"Every civilised nation has a responsibility to stand up for people suffering under a brutal military regime like the one that has ruled Burma for too long." 
He spoke out as the US Treasury announced sanctions to seize any American assets held by 14 top officials in Burma.
China, one of Burma's main allies, has urged all parties to "maintain restraint", but has refused to condemn the junta.
Britain's Foreign Secretary David Miliband sent a message of support to Burma's monks, and urged the government to promote "genuine reconciliation".
The Burmese authorities have bowed to international pressure and agreed to let UN special envoy Ibrahim Gambari visit the country.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour has warned Burma's leaders they could face prosecution for the violence.
Meanwhile, Japan said it would make an official protest over the death in Rangoon of Kenji Nagai, a video journalist for Tokyo-based news agency APF News.
Embarrassment
Meeting in New York, foreign ministers from Asean (the Association of South East Asian Nations) took the Burmese representative to task over the violence.
Singaporean Foreign Minister George Yeo said Asean politicians had met and "expressed their revulsion to (Burmese) Foreign Minister Nyan Win over reports that the demonstrations in (Burma) are being suppressed by violent force and that there's been a number of fatalities". 
BBC United Nations correspondent Laura Trevelyan says Asean members do not usually interfere in each other's internal affairs but the group is too embarrassed to ignore the world focus on what is happening on its doorstep.
A curfew is now back in force in Rangoon and apart from sporadic gunfire, the city's streets are said to be quiet after six hours of clashes.
Analysts fear a repeat of the violence in 1988, when troops opened fire on unarmed protesters, killing thousands.
The current protests were triggered when the government doubled the price of fuel last month, hitting people hard in the impoverished nation with a population of 56 million.
US strengthens sanctions on Burma
Friday, 28 September 2007
The US has banned dozens of members of Burma's military government from obtaining US travel visas because of ongoing violence against protesters.
A state department spokesman said more officials would be added to the list if they were judged responsible for human rights abuses.
Reports from Burma say military may have succeeded in limiting the scale of the protests in the main city, Rangoon.
A UN special envoy, Ibrahim Gambari, will arrive in Burma on Saturday.
The White House said Mr Gambari should be allowed to meet "anyone he wants to meet", including military and religious leaders and opposition figurehead Aung San Suu Kyi.
News of the ongoing protests and government fightback in Burma slowed on Friday as the regime appeared to cut off internet and mobile phone communications into and out of the country.
The BBC's South East Asia correspondent, Jonathan Head, says Burma's rulers have turned their backs on the world and the torrent of outrage their actions have provoked.
The first opportunity to communicate that outrage will be when Mr Gambari arrives in the country to persuade the generals to put a stop to the crackdown, he adds.
Human rights abuses
In a statement, the US state department said more than three dozen military and government officials - and their families - would now be ineligible to receive US visas.
On Thursday the US Treasury said would freeze any US assets belonging to 14 Burmese government and military officials.
The new measures mark the latest tightening of a 10-year-old sanctions regime.
Meanwhile, Japan has said it will review its aid programmes after a Japanese journalist was shot dead during the demonstrations in Rangoon.
Video footage of Kenji Nagai apparently being shot by a Burmese soldier was broadcast around the world on Friday.
Warning shots
The violent suppression of anti-government protesters continued for a third day on Friday, with soldiers and police baton-charging crowds who tried to stage marches.
The security presence in the main city was the heaviest yet seen, with all the main roads into central Rangoon blocked. 
Troops sealed off the key religious sites in Rangoon, including the Shwedagon and Sule pagodas - the focal points of some of the larger protests earlier in the week.
Police also surrounded five monasteries to prevent Buddhist monks - who have been spearheading the demonstrations - from taking to the streets.
A witness told the BBC that a number of people were killed in Friday's violence. Burmese officials said nine people were killed on Thursday.
Later, the UK Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, said he believed the loss of life in Burma had been "far greater" than that reported by the authorities.
Mr Brown said he hoped the combined international pressure from the US, China, the EU and UN would "begin to make the regime see this cannot continue".
Internet severed
Information from Burma has become increasingly patchy. Internet access has been cut in Rangoon and is only partially available elsewhere. 
Burmese sources told the BBC that international mobile phone signals have been interrupted and soldiers are searching people for cameras and mobile phones.
Dissidents have been using the internet to get pictures and video of the protests and the military crackdown to international news outlets - who then fed them back into Burma via the internet and satellite TV.
But eyewitnesses managed to contact the BBC on Friday to say that the government was sending bus-loads of vigilantes into the main city to attack the demonstrators.
They said a temporary prison had been set up at an old race course for the hundreds, possibly thousands, of people detained in recent days.
The atmosphere was described as extremely tense, with a palpable sense of fear on the streets.
Taiwanese march to back UN bid
Saturday, 15 September 2007
Tens of thousands of people have marched in Taiwan in support of a government plan to hold a referendum on joining the UN under the name Taiwan.
The UN has rejected previous bids from the island to join the body under its official name, Republic of China.
The bids anger Beijing, which sees Taiwan as a breakaway province. China has vowed to use force if Taiwan took steps towards formal independence.
China's opposition means Taiwan's bids for a UN seat are certain to fail.
The march, in the southern city of Kaohsiung, attracted hundreds of thousands of people according to organisers, while police said 30,000 took part.
Switched recognition
Kaohsiung is a power base for the ruling Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP) presidential candidate Frank Hsieh.
The government intends to time the referendum with the presidential vote next March.
Analysts say the DPP hopes the referendum debate will shore up its support in the elections.
"Give Taiwan a chance to join the UN," Mr Hsieh told a crowd in Kaohsiung before the march.
Independence-leaning President Chen Shui-bian said Taiwan had "every right to be a full UN member, standing on equal footing with other member states".
The opposition Kuomintang (KMT) also favours a referendum on joining the UN, but under the island's official name Republic of China.
The KMT held a separate rally for the central city of Taichung attended by its presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou. The UN switched it recognition from Taiwan to mainland China in 1971.
China's President Hu Jintao has warned that the plan could result in a "possibly dangerous period" for the region.
The United States has also warned that the move is unnecessarily provocative and could heighten tensions in the region.
Most UN members have diplomatic ties with China and would not want to anger Beijing by backing Taiwan's UN application.
China frees NY Times researcher
Saturday, 15 September 2007
A Chinese journalist working for the New York Times has been freed after almost three years in jail in China.
Zhao Yan was arrested in 2004 and later charged with leaking state secrets, prompting condemnation from human rights groups and Western governments.
That charge was dropped but he was then convicted of defrauding an official of $2,500 - a charge he has always denied.
On his release, he was met by friends and relatives including his sister, who said he was in good spirits.
Zhao Yan was released from prison early on Saturday morning, but chose not to make any kind of statement.
Reporting restrictions
Mr Zhao, 45, works as a research assistant for the New York Times in China.
He was detained by state security forces in September 2004 after writing a short note about political rivalries among China's leaders.
Mr Zhao is thought to have originally been detained in connection with a New York Times report about plans by ex-President Jiang Zemin to retire from his top military post.
At the time, Mr Jiang's intention would have been a closely guarded secret, and any leak regarded as a serious offence.
Mr Zhao was eventually sentenced to three years for fraud, and those three years are now up.
The New York Times says that it is delighted Zhao Yan has been released, says the BBC's James Reynolds, in Beijing.
The newspaper says that his only offence seems to have been practising journalism, while human rights organisations say that this case demonstrates how hard it is for Chinese journalists to report what is really going on in the country, he adds.
China is currently detaining more than 80 Chinese journalists and bloggers, according to the rights group Reporters Without Borders.
Japan launches first lunar probe
Friday, 14 September 2007
Japan's space agency has successfully launched its first lunar probe on a mission to explore the Moon.
A rocket carrying the orbiter blasted off from the space centre on the remote southern island of Tanegashima.
Over the course of a year, the orbiter will gather data on the Moon's origin and evolution.
Japanese scientists say it is the most complex lunar mission since Nasa's Apollo programme in the 1960s and 70s, when astronauts walked on the Moon.
"We successfully launched the rocket and released the orbiter from the rocket," said Eriko Sunada, a spokeswoman for the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (Jaxa) said.
Three satellites
The three-tonne probe is called Selene, the Selenological and Engineering Explorer.
It has been nicknamed Kaguya, after a princess in a folk story who ascended to the Moon.
The probe will orbit the Earth before travelling the 380,000km (237,500 miles) to the Moon.
There the main orbiting unit and two smaller satellites will be positioned 100km (60 miles) above the surface of the Moon.
They will collect data on its geology, topography and environment, Japan's space agency said.
The launch is four years behind schedule due to launch failures and technical glitches.
Jaxa has been trying to expand its activities and is aiming to achieve manned space flight.
But its programme suffered a setback in 2003 when it had to scuttle a satellite after a rocket launcher failed to separate properly.
China to reduce death penalty use
Friday, 14 September 2007
China's Supreme Court has ordered judges to be more sparing in the imposition of the death penalty.
An order on its website said execution should be reserved for "an extremely small number of serious offenders".
It said the death penalty should be withheld in certain cases of crimes of passion or economic crimes.
Amnesty International says China carried out two-thirds of the world's executions last year, but China says it expects a 10-year low this year.
Amendment
The Supreme Court said murders triggered by family disputes should not always result in the death penalty.
Crimes of passion should take into account the offender's payment of compensation, it said.
Similarly, those convicted of economic crimes should be treated more leniently if they help to recoup money that was defrauded.
The court suggested greater use of two-year suspensions on death penalties - allowing them to be converted to imprisonment.
However, it continued to back capital punishment as a deterrent.
"We must hand down and carry out immediate capital punishment in regard to heinous cases, with iron-clad evidence that result in serious social damage," its statement said.
The most high-profile execution this year was of the former head of the State Food and Drug Administration, Zheng Xiaoyu, for taking 6.5m yuan ($860,000; £430,000) in bribes and for dereliction of duty.
In 2005, an estimated 1,770 executions were carried out and nearly 4,000 people were sentenced to death, human rights group Amnesty International says.
But China says the number has fallen since an amendment came into force this January requiring the Supreme People's Court to approve all death sentences.
Strong evidence against Soeharto, says AGO
9/14/2007
JAKARTA : The Attorney General's Office (AGO) said Friday it is ready to use "strong evidence" to prove Soeharto illegally channeled funds from his Supersemar Foundation to his family and confidants, instead of giving the money to recipients of the scholarship scheme.
The first court session for the civil case against former president Soeharto and the foundation has been scheduled for September 24.
AGO prosecutors and the former president's lawyers failed to reach any agreements after several mediation meetings held over the last three weeks.
AGO's director for civil and state administrative crimes Yoseph Suardi Sabda said their evidence included documents signed by Soeharto for the disbursement of funds to a number of institutions, as well as other documents concerning the foundation's activities.
Soeharto established the foundation based on a government regulation in 1976 to provide scholarships to needy students using donations collected from businessmen.
In the last mediation meeting on September 4, the former president's lawyers said they were optimistic about winning the case.
They said their client had not violated any regulations during his tenure as the foundation's chairman. (Desy Nurhayati)
Another quake jolts Bengkulu
9/14/2007
JAKARTA : Another quake measuring 6.9 on the Richter scale jolted Bengkulu at 1:01 p.m. on Friday, according to Meteorology and Geophysics Agency.
The quake was centered at 153 kilometers southwest of Lais, Bengkulu, with a depth of 10 kilometers, the agency’s website read.
Death toll in Sumatra earthquakes rises to 14
9/14/2007
JAKARTA : The death toll from the earthquakes in Sumatra had reached 14 as of Friday morning, Elshinta radio reported.
The series of powerful earthquakes had also injured 56 people, particularly in the hardest hit province of Bengkulu.
The initial quake that hit the region on the eve of Ramadhan (Wednesday) damaged thousands of homes, forcing people to seek refuge in tents, the radio station reported.
The station also said although the Meteorology and Geophysics Agency had suggested refugees return to their homes, many continued to remain outside, with some even heading to higher ground amid fears of a possible tsunami.
11 tremblors rattle Sumatra on Friday morning
9/14/2007
JAKARTA : A series of earthquakes rattled Sumatra island Friday morning, following the 7.9 magnitude earthquake that hit Bengkulu on Wednesday.The Meteorology and Geophysics Agency (BMG) reported on its website that at least 11 quakes, with magnitudes ranging from 4.5 to 5.9 on the Ritcher scale, had hit Sumatra on Friday morning up until 11:30 a.m. The strongest tremor occurred at 8:02a.m. and had an epicenter 80 kilometers southwest of Lais, Bengkulu, with a depth of 10 kilometers.BMG warned residents early Thursday of the possibility of quakes and tsunamis along the west coast of Sumatra over the next two weeks.
A look at Indonesia's earthquakes, their magnitudes and death tolls
9/13/2007
A look at some earthquakes in Indonesia since 2000:
- Sept. 13, 2007: A 7.8-magnitude quake rattles Sumatra island, triggering regional tsunami alerts, and damaging scores of buildings.
- Sept. 12, 2007: An 8.4-magnitude earthquake off Sumatra triggers a small nondestructive wave in the coastal city of Padang. The tremor kills at least nine people and injures around 50.
- Aug. 8, 2007: A 7.5-magnitude quake strikes the capital of Jakarta, shaking tall buildings and sending panicked residents fleeing into the streets.
- March 6, 2007: A magnitude-6.3 earthquake strikes Sumatra island, leaving at least 52 people dead and some 250 injured. Two hours later, a 6.1 aftershock rattles the region.
- Jan. 21, 2007: A magnitude-7.3 earthquake in a regional capital on Sulawesi island in northeastern Indonesia leaves four people dead and four injured.
- July 17, 2006: A magnitude-6.1 earthquake triggers a tsunami off of Java island's southern coast, killing at least 600 people.
- May 27, 2006: A magnitude-6.2 quake flattens homes and hotels near the ancient central city of Yogyakarta, killing more than 3,000 and injuring thousands.
- March 28, 2005: A magnitude-8.7 quake strikes Nias and Simeulue islands off the western coast of Sumatra, killing about 900 people and flattening thousands of houses and bridges.
- Dec. 26, 2004: A magnitude-9 earthquake ruptures the sea floor off Sumatra island, triggering a tsunami that hits a dozen countries, including Indonesia, where at least 131,029 are killed and tens of thousands remain missing.
- Nov. 26, 2004: A magnitude-6.4 earthquake rocks Indonesia's West Papua, near Nabire, killing about 30 people and causing dozens of buildings and homes to collapse.
- Nov. 12, 2004: A magnitude-6 quake strikes off the eastern coast of Alor island, about 1,600 kilometers east of Jakarta. At least 27 people are killed and hundreds of buildings are damaged.
- Feb. 6-7, 2004: A magnitude-6.9 quake on Feb. 6 and a magnitude-7.1 aftershock the following day kill 34 and devastate Nabire in remote Papua province.
- Nov. 2, 2002: A magnitude-7.7 earthquake rocks Indonesia's Sumatra island, killing two people and injuring at least 40.
- June 4, 2000: A magnitude-7.9 quake hits Bengkulu province, killing at least 117 people and injuring about 1,900.
- May 4, 2000: A magnitude-7.5 earthquake shakes Sulawesi province, killing at least 35 people and injuring at least 148.
Fresh earthquakes rock Indonesia
Thursday, 13 September 2007
Fresh earthquakes have hit the Indonesian island of Sumatra, a day after the world's strongest tremor so far this year caused extensive damage.
At least nine people are known to have died in the earthquakes. But the full scale of the impact has yet to emerge.
Tsunami warnings were repeatedly issued and lifted, as many people ran inland fearing a repeat of the 2004 tsunami.
The largest tremor, of magnitude 8.4, has been followed by one of 7.8 and another of 6.4.
On Thursday, the authorities issued - and lifted - another tsunami warning following the 6.4-magnitude quake off the northern tip of the island of Sulawesi.
Buildings collapsed
The earlier magnitude-7.8 quake struck Sumatra at 0649 on Thursday (2349 GMT on Wednesday), about 10km (six miles) under the sea, some 185km (115 miles) south-east of the city of Padang, the US Geological Survey says.
It came some 12 hours after the main tremor, about 30km (18 miles) under the sea, 130km (80 miles) south-west of the city of Bengkulu.
At least 40 people have been injured and hundreds of buildings damaged, officials say.
"Many buildings collapsed after this morning's [Thursday's] quake. We're still trying to find out about victims," Padang Mayor Fauzi Bahar told a local radio station.
In one village, 85% of about 1,000 houses were damaged, some badly, the BBC's Lucy Williamson in the area reports.
But no-one appears to have been killed in the village, our correspondent says.
Casualties appear to be lower than first feared, but officials warn that bad communications may be masking the scale of the impact.
Health officials in the capital, Jakarta, say teams carrying food and medicine are travelling to the area, and President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has ordered the army and police to assist.
The United Nations said its teams were also heading for Sumatra.
Fleeing inland
Wednesday's quake sparked warnings across the Indian Ocean, but only a small wave surge of about 1m (3ft) hit Sumatra, causing little damage. 
But about two hours after the quake, Indonesia's meteorology agency said the danger of a serious tsunami had passed. India and Sri Lanka also called off tsunami warnings.
Thousands of people were reported to have spent the night sleeping in the open air in the areas of Bengkulu and Padang after the previous quake left them terrified.
Wednesday's earthquake was one of the most powerful in Indonesia since the tremor that caused the Asian tsunami in 2004.
That measured 8.9 and struck under the sea near the northern Sumatran province of Aceh, triggering a tsunami that killed more than 220,000 people around the rim of the Indian Ocean.
Indonesia, part of the seismically active Pacific "Ring of Fire", is frequently shaken by earth tremors. 
Tsunami warning issued after another strong quake strikes off Sumatra island
9/13/2007
JAKARTA : Indonesia issued a tsunami warning afteranother strong quake struck off Sumatra island on Thursday night.
The quake, which occurred in Bengkulu at 11:09 p.m., was measured 6.8 on the Richter scale.
It was centered 121 kilometers southwest of Lais, Bengkulu at a depth of 10 kilometers.
Activities not yet normal in earthquake-hit cities
9/13/2007
JAKARTA : Activities in several cities in Sumatra affected by a string of earthquakes and aftershocks have yet to return normal, Metro TV reported Thursday.
In Padang, shops were still closed during daytime on Thursday as traders preferred to stay with their families, while some areas in Bengkulu saw power blackout on the same day.
The 7.9-magnitude quake that hit Bengkulu on Wednesday evening has claimed 10 lives, injured dozens and left hundreds of people homeless. A powerful earthquake followed on Thursday morning.
Help, cash start pouring in to Bengkulu
9/13/2007
JAKARTA: The United Nations sent an assessment and humanitarian aid team to Bengkulu from its Aceh base Thursday following Wednesday's earthquake off the southern coast of Sumatra as international aidbegin to pour into the island.
"The earthquake is one of the biggest Sumatra has seen since 2005, and raises old fears in a country that had suffered tremendously from the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami already," undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordination John Holmes said in a statement.
"Mindful of the extensive damage done to parts of Indonesia less than three years ago, the United Nations stand ready to provide any assistance the government may require," he added.
Australia became the first country to announce its commitment to help the victims of the quake with a AUD$50,000 donation to the Indonesian Red Cross on Thursday.
Several other aid agencies have pledged cash andrushed teams to assess damage and help the injured.
U.S.-based Catholic Relief Services said it has committed an initial $50,000 to the earthquake recovery effort.
Meteorology agency lifts tsunami warning in eastern Indonesia
9/13/2007
JAKARTA : Meteorology and Geophysics Agency (BMG)lifted a tsunami warning in North Sulawesi, one hour after an earthquake jolted the province at 4:48 p.m. Jakarta time.
The earthquake was measured 6.4 on the Richter scale.
