Modi lays wreath at Indonesian martyrs' cemetery
Jakarta, May 30: Starting his official engagements in Indonesia on Wednesday, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid a wreath at the Kalibata Heroes' Cemetery here.
"Lest we forget...Paying homage to martyrs of Indonesian independence struggle! PM @narendramodi laying wreath at the Kalibata National Heroes' Cemetery and signing the Visitor's Book," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted along with pictures.
Over 7,000 people, who are military casualties and veterans from the Indonesian war of independence are buried at the cemetery.
These include many Japanese veterans of the Imperial Japanese Army who stayed in the then Dutch colony after the World War II of their own will and fought for Indonesia's independence.
Modi arrived here on Tuesday on the first leg of his five-day three-nation tour of southeast Asia that will also see him visiting Malaysia and Singapore.
Later in the day, Modi and Indonesian President Joko Widodo will hold a bilateral summit following which a number of agreements, including in the areas of defence and trade, are expected to be signed.
The two leaders will then jointly inaugurate a kite festival being organised by Museum Layang-Layang of Jakarta and Kite Museum of Ahmedabad that will be depicting the common themes of the Indian epics Ramayana and Mahabharata, which are strong cultural and civilizational links that India share with Indonesia.
Modi will also attend an Indian community event at the Jakarta Convention Centre here and take part in an India-Indonesia CEOs Forum.
Indonesia is home to around 100,000 people of Indian origin and 7,000 Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) working as professionals across different sectors.
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Central Myanmar shaken by new quake in one of biggest aftershocks since March 28 temblor
Bangkok, Apr 13 (AP): A magnitude 5.5 earthquake struck on Sunday morning near Meiktila, a small city in central Myanmar, according to the US Geological Survey.
The quake came as Myanmar is engaged in relief efforts following a massive 7.7 magnitude temblor that also hit the country's central region on March 28.
The epicentre of the latest quake was roughly hallway between Mandalay, Myanmar's second-biggest city, which suffered enormous damage and casualties in last month's earthquake, and Naypyitaw, the capital, where several government offices were then damaged.
There were no immediate reports of major damage or casualties caused by the new quake, one of the strongest of hundreds of aftershocks from the March 28 temblor. As of Friday, the death toll from that quake was 3,649, with 5,018 injured, according to Maj Gen Zaw Min Tun, a spokesperson for Myanmar's military government.
Myanmar's Meteorological Department said Sunday's quake occurred in the area of Wundwin township, 97 kilometers (60 miles) south of Mandalay, at a depth of 20 kilometers (12 miles). The U.S. Geological Survey estimated the depth at 7.7 km (4.8 miles).
Two Wundwin residents told The Associated Press by phone the quake was so strong that people rushed out of buildings and that ceilings in some dwellings were damaged. A resident of Naypyitaw also reached by phone said he did not feel the latest quake. Those contacted asked not to be named for fear of angering the military government, which prefers to closely control information.
The United Nations last week warned that damage caused by the March 28 quake will worsen the existing humanitarian crisis in Myanmar, where a civil war had already displaced more than 3 million people.
It said the quake severely disrupted agricultural production and that a health emergency loomed because many medical facilities in the quake zone were damaged or destroyed.
Sunday's quake occurred on the morning of the first day of the country's three-day Thingyan holiday, which celebrates the traditional New Year. Public festivities for the holiday had already been cancelled.
