RUANG: Eruptions at a remote Indonesian volcano forced more than half a dozen airports to close with ash spreading as far as Malaysia, officials said on Wednesday, while authorities rushed to evacuate thousands due to tsunami fears.

Kuala Lumpur: A strong earthquake, with a magnitude of 6.0 on the Richter scale, occurred at 1.19 pm today off the northwest coast of Sumatra, Indonesia, according to the Malaysian Meteorological Department.