Indonesia earthquake death toll reaches 105
Tanjung (Indonesia), Aug 7: The death toll in the 6.9 magnitude Indonesia earthquake climbed to 105 on Tuesday while rescue teams continued to search for survivors under the rubble.
The earthquake shook Lombok Island over the weekend. Indonesian National Board for Disaster Management spokesperson Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said that among the dead, 78 were from the northern Lombok regency, 15 from western Lombok, four from Mataram, three from eastern Lombok, two from central Lombok and two from Bali's capital Denpasar.
About 236 people were reported to be injured and 20,000 people displaced by the disaster. Thousands of houses were damaged, CNN reported.
All the 105 people killed were Indonesians, while the injured included seven foreigners -- one each from Denmark, the US, the UK, France, Belgium, Czech Republic and South Korea, according to Efe news.
Sutopo said that the death toll was expected to rise as the search operations continued, mainly in the most affected regions of northern and eastern Lombok.
Thousands of tourists were being gradually evacuated from Lombok on boats or delayed flights taking off from Mataram's international airport where many foreigners spent the night in the terminal and in corridors.
Some 7,000 tourists were evacuated from the popular Gili archipelago -- which includes the islands Air, Meno and Trawangan -- off the coast of northeast Lombok, near the epicentre of the earthquake, which was followed by 250 aftershocks.
Faik Fahmi, director of Angkasa Pura, the company that operates the airport on Lombok, said there were about 1,000 people staying overnight at the airport and that they were going to increase traffic so travellers can reach their destinations, including Bali and Jakarta.
On Monday, many flights to and from the island were cancelled and others delayed. Lombok, dominated by the Rinjani volcano, is located east of Bali, Indonesia's main tourist destination.
Indonesia sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire, an area of intense seismic and volcanic activity that experiences about 7,000 tremors a year, mostly moderate.
The devastation came exactly a week after the region was hit by a 6.4 magnitude quake that left at least 15 people dead and 162 injured.
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UK workers face some of Europe's greatest job stress: Report
London: British workers are facing some of the highest levels of job stress in Europe, with long working hours, tight deadlines, and limited autonomy, without being any more productive, according to a new report. The findings come as the UK's new Labour government prepares to introduce tougher regulations for employers.
The report, produced by the Commission for Healthier Working Lives — a body set up by the Britain's Health Foundation think tank and trade union representation — reveals that three-fifths of the UK workforce experience tight deadlines, and two-fifths had to work at high speed, as cited by Reuters on Monday. These figures are among the largest proportions in Europe. In contrast, only a third of workers have the autonomy to choose the pace of their work.
Jonny Gifford, principal research fellow at the Institute for Employment Studies and one of the report's authors, stressed that long hours, work intensity, and lack of control are problem areas that should be addressed.
The report noted that workers in certain sectors, particularly construction, transport, warehouses, retail, and hospitality, face the most demanding conditions, while professional roles like teaching and nursing also reported particular strain.
The report highlighted that the UK ranks poorly across nearly every measure of workplace demands, control, and job strain in comparison to other European nations. About half of the UK's workforce reported feeling exhausted from work, and stress levels have risen significantly over the past 25 years.
