JAKARTA: A strong inland and shallow earthquake hit parts of Indonesia’s Sulawesi island late Saturday night, sending people fleeing despite appeals by officials to keep distance to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

BANDA ACEH: Banda Aceh, the capital of Aceh Province, will impose a partial lockdown to prevent the spread of coronavirus or Covid-19, as two of its residents have tested positive for the virus infection.

MANILA: A Japan-bound plane caught fire on takeoff at Manila airport in the Philippines late Sunday, killing all eight people on board, airport authorities said.

JAKARTA: The Indonesian Police said that people who insist on gathering in crowds amid the Covid-19 pandemic could be charged with criminal sanctions.

MANILA: The Department of Agriculture said Saturday the Philippines has rice stocks sufficient for the requirements of the entire country in time for the enhanced community quarantine in Luzon to contain the spread of Covid-19.

JAKARTA: They toil on the fringes, without any job security or set hours or decent wages. And the coronavirus has made their already difficult lives harder, and more hazardous.

MANILA: The Department of Justice (DOJ) changed its tune on the case of Sen. Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel (pic), after it received flak from the public on what appeared to be its soft treatment of the senator who breached Covid-19 quarantine protocols.

ZAMBOANGA CITY: As soldiers battle an unseen enemy in the fight against the new coronavirus disease (Covid-19), their comrades in Mindanao grapple with the virulence of terrorism.

MANILA: The US military has cancelled a large-scale exercise involving thousands of troops in the Philippines because of the coronavirus pandemic.

JAKARTA: Indonesia’s most active volcano Mount Merapi erupted Friday, shooting a column of ash some 5,000 metres (16,000 feet) into the air in its second major eruption this month.