Strong 6.4-magnitude quake hits off Indonesia
Jakarta, Jan 22 : A strong 6.4-magnitude earthquake struck off the Indonesian island of Sumba on Tuesday, but no tsunami warning was issued and there were no immediate reports of damage.
It followed a pair of offshore quakes in the same area earlier Tuesday, including one that was 6.1 magnitude.
The latest one struck about 85 kilometres (53 miles) south of the town of Kahale, according to the United States Geological Survey. There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties.
"This quake doesn't have any tsunami potential," said Indonesian disaster agency spokesman Hary Tirto Djatmiko.
Indonesia is still reeling from a deadly tsunami at the end of December triggered by an erupting volcano in the middle of the Sunda Strait between the Java and Sumatra islands that killed more than 400 people.
The vast Southeast Asian archipelago is extremely vulnerable to disasters because of its position straddling the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire, where tectonic plates collide.
The tsunami was Indonesia's third major natural disaster in six months, following a series of powerful earthquakes on the island of Lombok in July and August and a quake-tsunami in September that killed around 2,200 people in Palu on Sulawesi island, with thousands more missing and presumed dead.
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Flight services between Kolkata, Dubai resume partially
Kolkata (PTI): Flight services between Kolkata and Dubai resumed partially on Thursday, after a four-day suspension due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, officials said.
A flydubai aircraft from Dubai landed at the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport here at 2:40 am with 130 passengers on board, marking the first arrival from the Middle East after services were halted for over 113 hours, they said.
The Boeing 737 Max aircraft was scheduled to arrive at 12:25 am, Kolkata airport officials said.
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The same aircraft departed for Dubai at 3:59 am with 55 passengers, they said.
The last flight to depart for the Middle East from Kolkata before the suspension was an Emirates aircraft to Dubai on February 28, the officials said.
International services between Kolkata and cities such as Dubai, Doha and Abu Dhabi were disrupted, after airlines temporarily suspended operations amid escalating tensions and airspace restrictions in parts of the Middle East, due to the conflict involving the US, Israel and Iran.
There is no clear indication about when all the Middle East routes will fully reopen, they said.
