Powerful quake hits Indonesia's Aceh

A powerful quake with a magnitude of 7.0 hit off the eastern Indonesian island of Maluku on Sunday, seismologists said, but no tsunami warning was issued.The quake struck at 07:47 pm local time (1247 GMT) about 132 kilometres (82 miles) southeast of Labuha, North Maluku province, at a depth of 56 kilometres, the Indonesian Meteorology and Geophysics Agency said."There has been no report of casualties so far. There was some shaking felt in several areas but it's not strong," the agency's technical chief Suharjono told AFP.

A strong earthquake hit the Indonesian island of Sulawesi on Monday, seismologists said, but there were no immediate reports of any casualties or damage.The shallow quake hit at a depth of nine kilometres (five miles) at 2307 GMT around 75 kilometres southeast of the nearest main city of Kendari, the US Geological Survey said, putting the size of the tremor at magnitude 6.2.Indonesia's Meteorology and Geophysics Agency measured the quake at magnitude 6.0 and said it hit about 55 kilometres southeast of Kendari at a depth of 18 kilometres.

BEIJING — A powerful earthquake struck the steep hills of China’s southwestern Sichuan province on Saturday, leaving at least 156 people dead and more than 5,500 injured, nearly five years after a devastating quake wreaked widespread damage across the region.

A powerful earthquake rocked southern Iran on Monday, Iranian and US seismologists said, but there was no immediate word on any casualties or damage.The Tehran University Geophysics Department measured the quake at 6.1 on the Richter scale, state television reported. The US Geological Survey put it at 5.7.The quake hit the town of Konar Takhteh in Fars province at 2:52 pm (1122 GMT) and was felt 175 kilometres (110 miles) away in the provincial capital Shiraz, state television and Iranian news agencies said.

A 7.5-magnitude earthquake struck under the Indian Ocean near India's Nicobar and Andaman Islands early Sunday, triggering panic on the archipelago and an initial regional tsunami alert.The quake shook people from their sleep and briefly disrupted power supplies, causing alarm on a string of islands which were hit by the massive 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, but there were no reports of casualties or damage.Tremors were also felt on mainland India, more than 1,000 kilometres (600 miles) from the epicentre near India's most easterly territories.

A powerful earthquake was felt in the Philippine capital Manila on Thursday, causing office workers to rush out of buildings, but authorities said there were no immediate reports of damage.The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said the quake struck in the ocean about 100 kilometres (62 miles) southwest of Manila at 1:29 pm (0529 GMT) with a magnitude of 6.0.The US Geological Survey said the quake had a magnitude of 6.1, with its epicentre located 137 kilometres (85 miles) southwest of Manila and at a depth of 72 kilometres.

At least 19 people were killed and 174 others injured in an earthquake that struck a remote area of southwest China near the border with Myanmar on Thursday, a local official said.The epicentre of the 5.4-magnitude quake, which struck at 12:58 pm (0458 GMT), was located about 225 kilometres (140 miles) west-southwest of Dali in Yunnan province, the US Geological Survey reported.The quake hit at a depth of 34 kilometres, the USGS said, though Chinese seismologists put the depth at just 10 kilometres.

At least 14 people were killed and 135 others injured in an earthquake that struck a remote area of southwest China near the border with Myanmar on Thursday, a local official said.The epicentre of the 5.4-magnitude quake, which struck at 12:58 pm (0458 GMT), was located about 225 kilometres (140 miles) west-southwest of Dali in Yunnan province, the US Geological Survey reported.The quake hit at a depth of 34 kilometres, the USGS said, though Chinese seismologists put the depth at a shallow 10 kilometres.