7.6 quake damages buildings in Indonesia, felt in Australia
Jakarta (AP): A powerful deep-sea earthquake damaged village buildings in a lightly populated island chain in eastern Indonesia early Tuesday, and its substantial shaking was widely felt in northern Australia.
Two school buildings and 15 houses were damaged in the Tanimbar islands, with one of the homes heavily damaged and three moderately damaged. Only one injured resident was reported.
"Local residents felt strong tremors for three to five seconds. There was panic when the quake shook so the residents left their houses," Abdul Muhari, spokesperson of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency, said in a statement, citing the local agency.
The epicentre of the magnitude 7.6 temblor was in the Banda Sea, nearest the Tanimbar islands in Maluku province that have about 127,000 residents, according to 2021 data.
Tremors were felt in several regions, including Papua and East Nusa Tenggara provinces, as well as in northern Australia.
Indonesia's Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysical Agency issued a tsunami warning that was lifted three hours later.
"Based on four tide gauge observations around the centre of the earthquake, it did not show any significant anomaly or change in sea level," agency head Dwikorita Karnawati said.
The US Geological Survey said the quake's epicentre was at a depth of 105 kilometres (65 miles) not far from Australia's northern tip. Deeper quakes tend to cause less surface damage than shallow shaking but are more widely felt.
More than 1,000 people in northern Australia, including in the city of Darwin, reported to Geoscience Australia that they felt the quake. The Joint Australian Tsunami Warning Centre said the quake didn't pose a tsunami threat to the mainland or any islands or territories.
Australian singer Vassy wrote on Twitter it was the longest quake she had felt.
"We ran out of the house in the middle of the night I've never experienced earthquake that lasted that long and felt so strong. It was rather scary," Vassy wrote. "Woke us up in the middle of the night."
Indonesia is frequently shaken by earthquakes and lies on the Pacific "Ring of Fire," the arc of seismic faults around the Pacific Ocean where most of the world's earthquakes and volcanic eruptions occur.
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Lok Sabha extends tenure of parliamentary panel on Waqf bill
New Delhi (PTI): The Lok Sabha on Thursday adopted a resolution to extend the tenure of the Joint Committee on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill till the last day of the Budget session of Parliament next year.
Committee Chairman and BJP leader Jagdambika Pal moved the resolution in the Lok Sabha, which approved it with a voice vote.
The parliamentary panel’s meetings have become a virtual battleground between the opposition and the ruling party members, who have been vociferously debating the changes to the Waqf Bill proposed by the government.
On Wednesday, the opposition members of the committee staged a walkout and slammed Pal for asserting that the panel's draft report was ready.
Pal and the BJP members of the committee then reached out to opposition members and indicated their willingness to press for an extension of the committee's deadline of November 29 to submit its report to the Lok Sabha.
The Lok Sabha had constituted the committee on August 8 and asked to submit its report on the last day of the first week of the Winter session, which is on Friday.
Following the last meeting of the committee on November 21, Pal had said its draft report is ready. He indicated that the committee's consultation with stakeholders is over and its members will now discuss the report and suggest changes, if any, before it is adopted.
The opposition members took strong exception to this stand in Wednesday's meeting and soon stormed out. They claimed that Birla had assured them that its tenure would be extended.
Opposition parties have stridently criticised the amendments proposed by the bill in the existing Waqf Act, alleging they violate the religious rights of Muslims.
The ruling BJP has asserted that the amendments will bring transparency in the functioning of the waqf boards and make them accountable.
