CNN : Major quake hits western Indonesia

(CNN) -- A major earthquake shook western Indonesia on Wednesday afternoon, the U.S. Geological Survey reported.

The magnitude 7.5 quake's epicenter was about 195 miles (315 km), south-southeast of Banda Aceh, on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, the USGS said on its Web site.

A 2004 earthquake near Banda Aceh killed hundreds of thousands of people. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii issued a local tsunami watch for the area -- normal protocol in such instances.

It is up to local governments to issue tsunami warnings. There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage, according to Indonesian national radio.

The December 26, 2004 earthquake registered 9.0 -- the strongest quake in 40 years -- and was centered about 100 miles from Banda Aceh.

The 2004 quake caused a tsunami that affected the entire Indian Ocean, leaving more than 300,000 people dead or still listed as missing, according to accumulated information from government and health officials, compiled by the United Nations.

http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/02/20/indonesia.quake/index.html

Earthquake?!!

There are several users of Chinese Cari Forum from Penang and Selangor said that they can felt the tremor of buildings around 4.20pm today. They suspected earthquake had occurred somewhere.

According to Malaysian Meteorological Department, a weak earthquake has occourced.

REVISION OF EARTHQUAKE INFORMATION
Issued by Malaysian Meteorological Department
Ministry of Science, Technology & Innovation
at 5.40 pm 20/02/2008

This is a revision of the earthquake information issued at 5.35 pm.

A weak earthquake has occurred with these revised parameters:

Time of Occurrence : 5.11 pm on 20 February 2008

Coordinates : 2.9 North 97.8 East

Location : Northern Sumatera,127km southweast of Medan,Indonesia. 383km southweast of B.Lepas.

Magnitude : 4.9 on Richter scale

Assessment

No tsunami threat

Popular Hong Kong entertainer Lydia Shum dies at 60 肥姐沈殿霞逝世,终年60岁

HONG KONG (AFP) — Veteran Hong Kong entertainer Lydia Shum died Tuesday aged 60 after a battle with liver cancer, her employer and local media said.

Shum, known for her bouffant hairstyle and wing-tip frame glasses, was one of Hong Kong's most popular actresses and comediennes with a career spanning more than four decades.

Affectionately nicknamed by her fans "Fei Fei" which means "fat" in Cantonese because of her plump physique, Shum won over audiences not only in Hong Kong but in mainland China and Chinese communities around the world.

Shum had been undergoing medical treatment since being diagnosed with the disease more than a year ago.

But in recent weeks, her health had worsened and she was moved into intensive care at Queen Mary Hospital where she passed away, Hong Kong media reported.

Her 21-year-old daughter Joyce Cheng arrived in the hospital but would not speak to the media.

"We can confirm she has died," said Winnie Ho, a spokeswoman for her employer, local television station TVB.

Leading figures in Hong Hong, including the city's chief executive Donald Tsang, paid tribute to the respected entertainer.

"I feel very sad about her death. Fei Fei is Hong Kong's 'happy fruit'. Hong Kong people have grown up with her laughter and she had brought a lot of happiness to us," Tsang said.

"On behalf of the government and Hong Kong citizens, I would like to pay condolences to her family."

Born in Shanghai in 1947, Shum took up acting as a child in the early 60s and quickly became popular thanks to her high spirit and sense of humour.

She went on to star in more than 70 movies, according to Internet Movie Database, and later hosted numerous variety shows produced by TVB, most notably the popular "Enjoy Yourself Tonight."

The actress is survived by Joyce Cheng and her former husband -- actor and singer Adam Cheng Siu-chow.

From http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5iHgTeK1nTGnb1rwixaPnwss0NpaQ

早传出病危消息的沈殿霞，今天8点38分在玛丽医院病逝，终年60岁。沈殿霞13岁出道，从艺40多年，她因身型丰满，被观众亲切地称为“肥肥”，招牌笑声、猫头鹰式发型及眼镜是她的标记……