Mild quake in West Bengal

October 2nd, 2009 WELLINGTON - Two more large earthquakes -- of magnitude 6.3 and 5.1 -- were recorded in the Pacific Ocean Friday, the US Geological Survey reported. The first quake, which hit at 2.07 pm (0107 GMT) was centred 85 km south-east of Hihifo, Tonga, and 377 km from American Samoa, which was hard hit by tsunamis triggered by a magnitude-8.0 earthquake Tuesday.

September 30th, 2009 No tsunami expected on West Coast from sea earthquake LOS ANGELES — Experts say a magnitude-7.9 quake in the South Pacific is not expected to produce a tsunami along the coasts of California, Oregon, Washington, British Columbia or Alaska. The quake occurred at 10:48 a.m.

September 2nd, 2009 JAKARTA - Indonesia briefly issued a tsunami warning after a 7.6 magnitude earthquake Wednesday afternoon rocked Java Island, including the capital Jakarta, triggering panic among residents. The tsunami alert was cancelled about 45 minutes later, after there were no tidal waves, seismologists said.

August 24th, 2009 Indo-ASIAN NEWS SERVICE KOLKATA - A two-day shutdown called by the Maoists in five states beginning Monday, to demand the release of two of its arrested members, had negligible impact in West Bengal, police said. "The shutdown hardly (had an) impact on the normal life in three West Bengal districts - Bankura, Purulia and West Midnapore - which are considered as Maoist strongholds in the state," Inspector General of Police (Law and Order) Surajit Kar Purakayastha told IANS.

August 18th, 2009 WELLINGTON - An earthquake measuring 5.2 on the Richter scale hit Fiordland, New Zealand's lower South Island, early Tuesday morning. It is the biggest aftershock in some weeks following the 7.6 quake in the region last month, the New Zealand's Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences (GNS) reported.

August 17th, 2009 KOLKATA - The Maoists have called an indefinite shutdown in three tribal-dominated districts of West Bengal from Tuesday, police said here Monday. "An indefinite shutdown has been called by the Maoists in three districts -- Bankura, Purulia and West Midnapore from tomorrow (Tuesday)," West Bengal Inspector General (Law and Order) Surajit Kar Purkayastha told IANS.

August 3rd, 2009 KOLKATA - West Bengal Minister for Transport, Sports and Youth Affairs Subhas Chakraborty passed away at a private hospital in Salt Lake on Monday. Sixty-eight-year-old Chakraborty is survived by his wife and a son.

August 2nd, 2009 JAKARTA - An undersea earthquake measuring 6.4 on the Richter scale Sunday jolted the West Papua province in eastern Indonesia, the Meteorology and Geophysics Agency said. The epicentre of the quake, which occurred at 0854 GMT, was located at 127 km off the coast of Manokwari.

July 19th, 2009 KOLKATA - Union Finance Minister and West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee (WBPCC) President Pranab Mukherjee on Sunday ruled out any possibility of further division of West Bengal. Mukherjee said this while commenting on the indefinite bandh that has been called by Gorkha Janamukti Morcha(GJM) in the Darjeeling Hills, which has been demanding for creation of a separate state of Gorkhaland.

June 20th, 2009 Moderate quake shakes central CaliforniaPASO ROBLES, Calif. — A moderate earthquake has jolted part of central California's San Luis Obispo County.

June 2nd, 2009 AGARTALA - Tripura Tuesday decided to give Rs.5 million to cyclone-hit West Bengal to help in the relief relief efforts. "The people of Tripura are confident that with the resilience of the people and the adequate support of the central government, the West Bengal government would come out of this situation," Chief Minister Manik Sarkar said in a letter to his West Bengal counterpart Bhudhadeb Bhattacharjee.

May 17th, 2009 KOLKATA - West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee is likely to skip the CPI (M) politburo meeting on Monday in Delhi. The reason for the West Bengal Chief Minister skipping the politburo meeting is that he wants to "oversee the law and order situation in the state".

April 14th, 2009 KOLKATA - The Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) faces a tough fight in the Lok Sabha elections but would get a majority of seats in West Bengal, the party's general secretary Prakash Karat said here Tuesday. 'We will have a tough battle in the elections, but we have faced situations in the past when the opposition had virtually come together without an alliance,' Karat told reporters in response to the Congress and Trinamool Congress joining hands in the state.

March 18th, 2009 KOLKATA - Activists of Trinamool Congress and Congress party organised a yagna here for the success of the alliance of these two parties in the ensuing elections to the Lok Sabha. This was consequent to the finalisation of the tie-up and sharing of seats between the two parties in West Bengal.

March 3rd, 2009 KOLKATA - West Bengal's main opposition party Trinamool Congress Monday expressed dissatisfaction with the state's voting schedule announced by the Election Commission. The poll panel Monday declared that the Lok Sabha election in northern Bengal will be held April 30.