Indonesian earthquake

Indonesian earthquake

JAKARTA, Indonesia — Strong earthquakes shook western and eastern Indonesia on Sunday, sending panicked residents fleeing from their homes. There were no immediate reports of injuries. A 6.1-magnitude quake early Sunday was centered 110 miles from Bengkulu, a coastal town on Sumatra island that has been hit by a series of tremors in recent months, the U.S. Geological Survey said. It was followed 13 hours later by a quake with a preliminary strength of 6.7 on Sumbawa island, to the west, the agency said. The morning temblor near Sumatra had a depth of just six miles beneath the ocean floor, the USGS said, but did not trigger a tsunami.

Outrage at invitation

LONDON — The head of Britain’s rights watchdog condemned Oxford’s debating society Sunday for inviting Holocaust denier David Irving to speak at the university. Trevor Phillips, chairman of Britain’s Equality and Human Rights Commission, said Irving — a controversial historian jailed in Austria last year for violating laws against denying the Holocaust — never should have been invited to Oxford’s Free Speech Forum. “I think it is an absolute disgrace. As a former president of the National Union of Students, I’m ashamed that this has happened,” Phillips told British Broadcasting Corp. television. “This is not a question of freedom of speech; this is a juvenile provocation.” Protests are expected today when Irving attends the talks, along with Nick Griffin, leader of Britain’s far-right British National Party.

Plan to save butterflies

CERRO PRIETO, Mexico — President Felipe Calderon unveiled a sweeping plan Sunday to curb logging and protect millions of monarch butterflies that migrate to the mountains of central Mexico each winter, covering trees and bushes and attracting visitors from around the world. The plan will put $4.6 million toward additional equipment and advertising for the existing Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve, covering a 124,000-acre swath of trees and mountains that for thousands of years has served as the winter nesting ground to millions of orange- and black-winged monarch butterflies. Calderon said it would help boost tourism and support the economy in an impoverished area where illegal logging runs rampant. “It is possible to take care of the environment and at the same time promote development,” the president said.

Theater talks resume

NEW YORK — Negotiations resumed Sunday between striking Broadway stagehands and theater producers struggling to find a solution to their thorny, seemingly intractable labor dispute as theaters faced a third week of dark stages and mounting box-office losses. Resumption of the talks — after a week of no negotiating — had been announced the day before by Charlotte St. Martin, executive director of the League of American Theatres and Producers, and were confirmed by the stagehands union. “We are glad they accepted our invitation to negotiate,” said Bruce Cohen, a spokesman for Local 1 of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees. More than two dozen plays and musicals have been closed since Nov. 10, when the stagehands walked off the job. The walkout was particularly felt during the last week, the lucrative Thanksgiving holiday, when most shows and theater-district restaurants do strong business.

Venezuela-Colombia rift

CARACAS, Venezuela — President Hugo Chavez said Sunday he is putting relations with Colombia “in the freezer” after its president ended the Venezuelan leader’s role mediating with leftist rebels in the neighboring country. The announcement drew a strong rebuke from Colombian President Alvaro Uribe, who said Chavez’s actions suggest he wants to see a “terrorist government” run by leftist rebels in Bogota. Uribe also suggested Chavez might be looking to stir up conflict to boost his image ahead of a referendum on constitutional changes next weekend. The spat was the bitterest yet between Chavez and the U.S.-allied Uribe, who have sought to cultivate cordial ties despite deep ideological differences. It could have serious economic consequences. The two countries are major commercial partners, with $4.1 billion in trade last year, about two-thirds of that in Colombian exports to Venezuela.

Nicaragua volcano erupts

MANAGUA, Nicaragua — The Concepcion volcano in Nicaragua sent huge columns of ash into the sky in eruptions that prompted a ripple of small earthquakes, local seismologists said Sunday. The volcano, one of two on an island in Central America’s largest lake, erupted Saturday night and related earthquakes continued to rattle the area Sunday. No one was injured by the blast, Nicaragua’s Institute of Territorial Studies said in a statement.

Associated Press