Indonesia

An earthquake of magnitude 5.6 on the Richter scale has been recorded in the Ceram Sea off the coast of Indonesia, the Euro-Mediterranean Meteorological Center reported.

The earthquake was registered late last night. The epicenter is located 272 kilometers south of Sorong in West Papua and is 30 kilometers deep.

There are no reports of casualties or destruction.

Indonesia's volcano Merapi, one of the world's most active volcanoes, erupted today. Clouds of grey ash reached 2 km height.

Authorities did not raise the rumbling volcano's alert status after the early-morning eruption, but they advised commercial planes to take caution in the area, Darik News reported.

he death toll in China from the novel coronavirus outbreak has climbed to 491, the country's National Health Commission (NHC) said on Feb. 4.

In a statement, the commission said 24,324 confirmed cases have been reported so far and 65 people have died in the last 24 hours.

Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias says Greece is not trying to drum up opposition against Turkey but rather support for what is reasonable and would enable more cooperation in the Mediterranean.

The 2009 crash of a Boeing jetliner operated by Turkish Airlines bears uncanny similarities to the crashes of two Boeing aircraft last year that left 346 people dead and forced the American aerospace titan to ground an entire fleet.

Biologists have discovered one of the largest known specimens of the Rafflesia flower in Indonesia's jungles. Locals call the flower "monster flower".

The photo of the giant plant was posted by Instagram's instigators, and the text shows that its diameter is 120 centimeters. It is the largest flower ever formally registered by the West Sumatra Natural Resources Center.

Two Sumatran Orangutan babies have been put under protection after being rescued from attempted smuggling in Indonesia. (Source: Anadolu Agency)

A 6.2 magnitude earthquake was registered southwest of Indonesia's Aceh Autonomous Region on Sumatra Island, Reuters reported, citing the American Geophysical Institute.

The depth of the earthquake was 20.3 km.

A five-story building partially collapsed today in Jakarta, Indonesia's capital. At least eight people were injured, according to France's press, citing local television.

It is not yet clear whether there are buried people beneath the rubble and whether the partial collapse is linked to the floods that took the lives of more than 60 people in Jakarta last week.

Landslides and floods triggered by torrential downpours have left at least 53 people dead in and around Indonesia's capital, as rescuers struggled to search for people apparently buried under tons of mud, officials said on Jan. 4.

Monsoon rains and rising rivers submerged a dozen districts in the greater Jakarta area and caused landslides that buried at least a dozen people.