Poor Indonesia

Recent Developments in Indonesia




FROM NEWSDAY
By The Associated Press

May 27, 2006, 3:29 PM EDT

Developments in Indonesia on Saturday:

* A magnitude-6.2 earthquake flattens homes and hotels in central Indonesia as people sleep, killing more than 3,000 and injuring thousands more in the nation's worst disaster since the 2004 tsunami.

* Activity increases at Indonesia's Mount Merapi, one of the world's most active volcanos, following an earthquake about 50 miles away. Opinions are mixed among geologists over whether the earthquake could spark a large volcanic eruption.

* Indonesia confirms three more bird flu deaths, including the sixth member of a family in North Sumatra killed by the H5N1 strain of the virus. The deaths are part of a spike that has prompted the World Health Organization to place the maker of the anti-bird flu drug Tamiflu on alert for the first time after limited human-to-human transmission was suspected in the Sumatra family cluster.

* East Timor, which broke from Indonesian rule in 1999, descends further into chaos as rival gangs attack each other in the capital, and the prime minister says a coup is under way. In response, the United Nations orders families and all nonessential staff out of the country.