5.8-magnitude Earthquake Jolts Indonesia's Java Island

A villager looks at damaged houses following a 5.6-magnitude earthquake that killed at least 162 people in West Java in November. — AFP/File
A villager looks at damaged houses following a 5.6-magnitude earthquake that killed at least 162 people in West Java in November. — AFP/File
TT
20

5.8-magnitude Earthquake Jolts Indonesia's Java Island

A villager looks at damaged houses following a 5.6-magnitude earthquake that killed at least 162 people in West Java in November. — AFP/File
A villager looks at damaged houses following a 5.6-magnitude earthquake that killed at least 162 people in West Java in November. — AFP/File

A 5.8-magnitude earthquake hit Indonesia's main island of Java on Thursday with no immediate reports of damage, less than a month after another quake in the same province killed more than 300 people.

The quake struck at 07:50 am local time (0050 GMT) around 15 kilometers from the town of Cianjur, epicenter of November's devastating tremor, the United States Geological Survey said.

It said there was a low likelihood of casualties or damage following the quake, which struck at a depth of 123 kilometers (76 miles), AFP reported.

No damage was immediately reported in Cianjur or Sukabumi, the city nearest the epicenter, local disaster mitigation agency officials said Thursday.

But schools were temporarily evacuated in Sukabumi, according to local TV.

"The epicenter of the earthquake is in Sukabumi, so it was only lightly felt in Cianjur. No reports of damage to houses or casualties," said Wawan Setawan, a disaster agency official in Cianjur told AFP.

"We have yet to receive reports of damage caused by the earthquake", Imran Wardhani, an official in Sukabumi, said soon after the tremor.

Last month, a shallow 5.6-magnitude earthquake hit Cianjur, triggering landslides and collapsing buildings, killing at least 334 people, injuring thousands and leaving tens of thousands more homeless.

Save the Children warned this week that evacuees faced a "ticking time bomb" of disease and infection due to poor living conditions. Thousands of cases of respiratory infections and hundreds of cases of diarrhea have been reported.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo is visiting the area on Thursday to distribute aid to affected residents.

The tremor that struck Cinajur on November 21 was the deadliest in the archipelago nation since a 2018 quake and resulting tsunami killed more than 4,000 people on the island of Sulawesi.

Indonesia experiences frequent seismic and volcanic activity due to its position on the Pacific "Ring of Fire", where tectonic plates collide.



Ukraine’s Parliament Will Vote on Ratifying US Minerals Deal on May 8, Lawmaker Says

In this handout photograph posted on the official Facebook account of Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko late on April 30, 2025, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (L) and Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko (R) attend a ceremony to sign a minerals deal, in Washington DC, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (AFP PHOTO / Facebook account of Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko)
In this handout photograph posted on the official Facebook account of Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko late on April 30, 2025, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (L) and Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko (R) attend a ceremony to sign a minerals deal, in Washington DC, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (AFP PHOTO / Facebook account of Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko)
TT
20

Ukraine’s Parliament Will Vote on Ratifying US Minerals Deal on May 8, Lawmaker Says

In this handout photograph posted on the official Facebook account of Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko late on April 30, 2025, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (L) and Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko (R) attend a ceremony to sign a minerals deal, in Washington DC, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (AFP PHOTO / Facebook account of Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko)
In this handout photograph posted on the official Facebook account of Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko late on April 30, 2025, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (L) and Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko (R) attend a ceremony to sign a minerals deal, in Washington DC, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (AFP PHOTO / Facebook account of Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko)

Ukraine's parliament will hold a vote on May 8 to ratify a minerals deal signed with the United States earlier this week, a lawmaker said on Friday, while the prime minister suggested the agreement will help Kyiv with supplies of air defense systems.

Ukraine and the US signed a deal on Wednesday that will give the United States preferential access to new investments in extraction of Ukraine's natural resources, and fund investment in Ukraine's reconstruction.

According to the deal, new military aid, if provided by Washington to Kyiv, could be scored as the US contribution to the joint fund being set up under the accord.

"This agreement will allow us to better defend our country here and now - to better protect our skies thanks to American air defense systems," Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said at the governmental meeting.

Lawmaker Yaroslav Zheleznyak published the date of the upcoming ratification vote on the Telegram messaging app.

The accord, heavily promoted by US President Donald Trump, is central to Kyiv's efforts to mend ties with the White House, its main military backer in its war against the Russian invasion. The ties had frayed after Trump took office in January.

Zheleznyak also cited Shmyhal as telling parliament on Friday that two of the documents related to the deal covered its implementation and would not need to be ratified by lawmakers.

Ukraine's cabinet registered a bill with parliament to ratify the minerals deal with the US late on Thursday, according to the parliamentary database.

"We want to ratify it as soon as possible. So we plan to do it within the coming weeks," First Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said on Thursday.