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The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Fri, 10/16/2009 5:42 PM | National Aftershock: Workers gather at the open space outside a high rise building on Jl. Thamrin, Central Jakarta, on Friday after a 6.4-magnitude earthquake jolted the western tip of Java. Antara/Andika Wahyu An earthquake measuring 6.4 on the Richter scale was felt in Jakarta at about 5 p.m. on Friday. This was the second strong temblor in as many months to be felt in the capital. According to data from the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency, the epicenter of the quake was in the Sunda Strait, about 42 kilometers northwest of Ujung Kulon in Banten province, around 185 kilometers southwest of Jakarta, at a depth of 55 kilometers beneath the ocean floor. The tremor was also felt in Tanjung Karang in Lampung, and in Bandung. No immediate tsunami warnings were issued following the quake. The earthquake stirred a panic among people working in Jakarta’s high-rise buildings, who scrambled for fire st...

The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Fri, 10/16/2009 10:42 AM | People Courtesy of Waspada Online The criticism she has received for “misrepresenting” her home province of Aceh has failed to discourage newly crowned Putri Indonesia 2009 Qory Sandioriva. Qory, the first woman representing the strongly Islamic region of Aceh to win the title, made no apology for publicly rejecting the jilbab or Muslim headscarf during the pageant’s final night in Jakarta, playing it down as a “misunderstanding”. “Perhaps it was a mistake to make such a statement, but honestly I have never worn a jilbab all my life,” the 18-year-old French literature student from the University of Indonesia told Waspada Online during a visit to Medan, North Sumatra, a few days after her win. Her responses to the judges’ questions have upset many people, particularly religious leaders in her home province. In the contest’s final stage, she was asked why she was not wearing a headscarf like previous contestan...

The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Fri, 10/16/2009 10:52 PM | National Dozens of houses in the Banten regency of Pandeglang were damaged following a 6.4-magnitude earthquake that rattled the western tip of Java on Friday. “We are still collecting data of houses with moderate and severe damages,” Pandeglang police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Aminuddin told Antara. He said Sumur district was hit hardest by the quake, with a number of houses reportedly develop cracks. Field officers also reported a kitchen in a house in the district collapsed and roof tiles in some houses fell to the ground. Another police officer said two neighboring elementary school buildings and a number of houses in Cibaliung district were slightly damaged by the quake. Aminuddin said there were no reports of fatalities or injuries from the quake, whose epicented was located in Sunda Strait at a depth of 10 kilometers beneath the ocean floor.