AFP - A powerful earthquake struck the Indonesian island of Sumatra on Tuesday, killing at least 70 people, flattening buildings and sparking panic in the streets of Malaysia and Singapore.

Reuters - At least 31 people have died in two earthquakes that hit West Sumatra on Tuesday, the mayor of the provincial capital Padang said, citing reports from some heads of regencies.

Reuters - Nine people have died after strong tremors struck Indonesia's West Sumatra area on Tuesday, El Shinta radio reported.

AP - Authorities evacuated about 100 families from the slopes of a volcano in central Ecuador which began showering villages with flaming rocks and ash last month.

AFP - Indonesia expects to spend more than 350 million dollars tackling a "mud volcano" whose toxic flow has inundated entire villages and displaced 15,000 people in East Java, a minister said Monday.

AFP - Locals on the island of Stromboli received assurances Sunday from Italy's top safety official that they were not in great danger, as the volcano they live on continued to spit lava albeit at a reduced rate.

AFP - A strong 5.9-magnitude earthquake struck Indonesia's Moluccas Saturday, but there were no immediate reports of damage or casualties.

AP - At least a dozen European tourists were kidnapped in remote northeastern Ethiopia, a barren expanse of volcanoes and ancient salt mines where bandits and rebels operate, diplomats and local businessmen said Friday.