Shallow 6.1-magnitude quake hits Thai-Lao border
Bangkok: A shallow 6.1-magnitude earthquake hit northwestern Laos near the Thai border early Thursday, the United States Geological Survey reported.
There were no immediate reports of damage after the quake hit at 6:50 am local time.
But shaking could be felt more than 700 kilometres (435 miles) away in the Thai capital Bangkok, where Pope Francis is currently on a four-day visit.
"The shaking...was the main shock from a quake in Laos at 6:50 am and was felt in northern and northeastern Thailand and Bangkok and suburbs," said Sophon Chaila, an official at the Thai Meteorological Department.
"As of now there is no report of damage," Chaila added. Residents in the Vietnamese capital Hanoi also felt buildings sway.
"The ceiling lights were shaking quite strongly. I felt dizzy and scared," said Hanoi resident Tran Hoa Phuong, who felt the earthquake in her 27-storey apartment building.
It hit about three hours after a 5.7-magnitude earthquake struck the same region of Laos, near the site of the large Xayaburi dam project.
Information is slow to trickle out of the closed communist state, and there were no reports of damage or injuries after the twin quakes early Thursday.
Pope Francis arrived in Bangkok on Wednesday and has a busy agenda Thursday meeting officials and the Thai king before he leads a mass in the evening.
There was no word from his team on whether he felt the quake.
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Annamalai's remarks about Mumbai misconstrued for political gains, says BJP MLA
Mumbai (PTI): BJP MLA R Tamil Selvan on Monday defended party leader K Annamalai's remarks about Mumbai, saying his statements, aimed at highlighting the city's global importance, had been deliberately misconstrued for political gains.
The Shiv Sena (UBT) last week demanded that Annamalai be arrested for his remark that "Bombay is not a Maharashtra city".
While campaigning for the January 15 civic body elections last week, former IPS officer and ex-Tamil Nadu BJP president Annamalai had said, "People want a triple engine government. This is the only metro city in the country where a triple engine is possible. Modi is in Delhi, Fadnavis is the chief minister, and now Mumbai will have a BJP mayor. Mumbai is not a Maharashtra city but an international city."
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Talking to reporters, Selvan, who represents the Sion Koliwada assembly constituency, said, "Our leader Annamalai described Mumbai as a city respected across the world. What he wanted to say was that Mumbai is becoming the world's number one city, mainly because of the blessings of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. Be it the Metro project, road construction or the provision of services, Mumbai has emerged as an important city on the global front. Annamalai was talking in this context."
The BJP leader's words were being distorted for political gains, he said.
"How can anyone separate Mumbai from Maharashtra? Not even a prime minister will be able to do it. Annamalai did not say those words out of disrespect. He was only saying that Mumbai has a global identity," he said.
Responding to Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray's "Rasmalai" jibe at Annamalai, Selvan said, "Raj Thackeray is a senior leader, and many respect him. I still respect him, but he should respect others as well. I am also from Tamil Nadu, but I have won the assembly elections thrice with the support of around 90,000 Marathi voters. They did not see my background."
The BJP gives tickets to people who serve the society, he said.
Selvan claimed that he had worked extensively in Maharashtra, even in rural areas, and invoked icons such as Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar and Lokmanya Tilak in his speeches.
In a dig at his critics, the BJP MLA said, "Now people have seen who uses foul language against our chief minister, who works for the people's welfare. We oppose such use of foul language. CM Fadnavis will take appropriate action against such people."
