Powerful quake sparks panic in Indonesia

Agencies
January 23, 2018

Jakarta, Jan 23: A strong quake rattled Indonesia on Tuesday, sparking panic in the capital Jakarta and ripping roads apart in the countryside.

Office workers rushed outside as buildings began swaying, while riders were thrown off their motorbikes by the force of the 6.0 magnitude rumble.

Footage broadcast on Indonesian television showed trucks swaying violently from side to side at a port in Banten province on the northwestern tip of Java. Pictures posted to social media showed huge cracks splitting roads and minor damage to vehicles and buildings.

It was not immediately clear if there were any casualties.

"I was sitting when the building suddenly started shaking," said Jakarta department store worker Suji, 35, who like many Indonesians goes by one name.

"I ran outside the building. It was quite strong and I was afraid."

The United States Geological Survey said the 6.0 magnitude quake struck at a depth of 43 kilometres (27 miles).

There was no warning of any tsunami.

The epicentre was off the coast, about 130 kilometres southwest of Jakarta, a sprawling city of more than 10 million people.

"The epicentre is in an area prone to quakes. More aftershocks are very likely," Indonesia's Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics agency chief Dwikorita Karnawati told Metro TV.

"I'm calling on people to be prepared, especially if you are in buildings with a weak structure," he added.

The tremor came as US Defense Secretary James Mattis was in Jakarta for an official visit.

Indonesia sits on the Pacific "Ring of Fire" where tectonic plates meet, causing frequent seismic and volcanic activity.

At least three people were killed following a 6.5-magnitude earthquake just outside the coastal town of Cipatujah on Java island in mid-December.

The tremor was felt across the densely populated island, causing damage to hundreds of houses and other buildings.

An earthquake struck Indonesia's western province of Aceh in December 2016, killing more than 100 people, injuring many more and leaving tens of thousands homeless.

Aceh was one of the areas worst hit by the devastating 2004 tsunami triggered by a magnitude 9.3 undersea earthquake off the coast of Sumatra.

The wall of waves killed 220,000 people in countries around the Indian Ocean, including 168,000 in Indonesia.

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News Network
February 16,2020

New Delhi, Feb 16: Just an hour ahead of the swearing-in ceremony, Arvind Kejriwal invited the people of Delhi again for his oath-taking ceremony at Ramlila Maidan today.

Referring himself as "son of Delhi", the AAP convener today tweeted saying, "Delhiites, your son is going to take oath as Delhi chief minister for the third time. You must come to bless your son".

The AAP national convener will be sworn-in as the Chief Minister of Delhi for the third time in a row.

Arvind Kejriwal is scheduled to take oath along with other ministers at Ramlila Maidan.

On Saturday, Kejriwal, through a tweet, has said that autorickshaw drivers, students, teachers, doctors, labourers, etc will be the "chief guests".

The guest list put out by the AAP includes ''Delhi ke Nirmata''- people who contributed to the development of the city during the last five years.

These include Sumit Nagal, a Delhi government school student and an international Tennis player, Laxman Chaudhry an auto driver, Manu Gulati a teacher and "one of the many architects of Delhi Governance Model", Dalbir Singh a farmer, Ratan Jamshed Batliboi - the architect of the famous Signature Bridge among others.

By winning 62 seats by cashing in on the plank of development, his party nearly repeated its 2015 performance, sweeping the Assembly polls in the face of a high-voltage campaign by the BJP, which had fielded a battery of Union Ministers and Chief Ministers in its electioneering, spearheaded by Home Minister Amit Shah.

The BJP marginally improved its tally, managing just eight seats from its 2015''s tally of three seats. The Congress failed to open its account in the second successive election.

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News Network
January 20,2020

Langkawi, Jan 20: Malaysia will not take retaliatory trade action against India over its boycott of palm oil purchases amid a political row between the two countries, Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said on Monday.

India, the world’s largest edible oil buyer, this month effectively halted imports from its largest supplier and the world’s second-biggest producer in response to comments from Mahathir attacking India’s domestic policies.

“We are too small to take retaliatory action,” Mahathir told reporters in Langkawi, a resort island off the western coast of Malaysia. “We have to find ways and means to overcome that,” he added.

The 94-year-old premier of Muslim-majority Malaysia has criticised New Delhi’s new religion-based citizenship law and also accused India of invading the disputed region of Kashmir.

Mahathir again criticised India’s citizenship law on Monday, saying he believed it was “grossly unfair”.

India has been Malaysia’s largest palm oil market for the past five years, presenting the Southeast Asian country with a major challenge in finding new buyers for its palm oil.

Benchmark Malaysian palm futures fell nearly 10% last week, their biggest weekly decline in more than 11 years.

New Delhi is also unhappy with Malaysia’s refusal to revoke permanent resident status for controversial Indian Islamic preacher Zakir Naik, who has lived in Malaysia for about three years and faces charges of money laundering and hate speech in India.

Mahathir said even if the Indian government guarantees a fair trial, Naik faces the real threat of vigilante action and that Malaysia will only relocate the preacher if it can find a third country where he would be safe.

“If we can find a place for him, we will send him out.”

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News Networkwork
May 14,2020

Bengaluru, May 14: ABB India has posted a profit after tax of Rs 66 crore during the first quarter (January to March) due to lower volumes including service revenue and unfavourable mix.

In Q1 CY19, it had reported a profit after tax of Rs 89 crore. ABB India follows calendar year as its fiscal year.

The company reported a profit including exceptional items and before tax of Rs 87 crore. The resultant under-absorption and mark-to-market impact due to forex volatility were partly offset by refund incomes and a one-time gain on sale of solar business during the quarter.

Revenues for the first quarter stood at Rs 1,522 crore, impacted by lower sales, non-receipt of delivery clearance, lower service revenue in the nationwide lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This impact primarily occurred in March, the company said in a statement.

ABB India said it continues to maintain a stable cash position of Rs 1,464 crore as on March 31 in a market where cash collection continues to be a challenge.

Besides, despite many activities coming to a standstill in March, the quarter was marked by commissioning for a mining major at Raigarh in Chhattisgarh, electrical and automation systems for a cement major and port and electrics, drives and automation for a leading mill in Bangladesh.

Terminal installation and commissioning for LPG, power management electrical control system for a leading refinery and commissioning of two units of a power plant in Kerala are some of the other projects where ABB's involvement ensured continuity and safe operations, it said.

On a global scale, the impact of COVID-19, as well as the fall in oil prices, has significantly impacted the short-term outlook. The global economy is expected to contract in 2020 after a rapid deterioration in outlook driven by the pandemic.

Despite unprecedented stimuli by governments and central banks around the world and initial signs of recovering economic activity in China, macro-indicators point to a global recession of uncertain duration as many countries continue to face restrictions with anticipated long-term economic consequences, said ABB India.

While the company is taking prompt action to adapt its operations and cost base to safeguard profitability, it expects the results in the coming quarter to be impacted due to the loss of volumes.

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