New Delhi - Indian President Pratibha Patil Monday embarked on a visit to Vietnam and Indonesia that is expected to give a new impetus to India's "Look-East" policy and consolidate ties with these countries, officials said.

"The tour is aimed at giving momentum to India's relations with the economically important countries in the ASEAN (Association of South-East Asian Nations) region," a spokesman of the President's Office said.

Patil is scheduled to hold talks with the top leadership of those countries during her tour that will conclude December 3.

Jakarta - A strong earthquake struck off the western coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra late Saturday. There were no immediate reports of injury and structural damage, seismologists said.

The quake, measuring 6.7 on the Richter scale, jolted Sumatra's Bengkulu province at 11:01 pm (1601 GMT). Its epicentre lay about 142 kilometres south-west, the National Meteorology and Geophysics Agency (BMG) said, about 23 kilometres beneath the seabed in the Indian Ocean.

The US Geological Survey put the quake's magnitude at 6.8 on the Richter scale.

Jakarta - Indonesian authorities have arrested two Chinese nationals and five locals for their involvement in producing crystal methamphetamine in the country, national police chief said Friday.

General Bambang Bendarso Danuri said the seven were arrested by the city police in a raid against a crystal methamphetamine factory at a rented house in western Jakarta suburb of Kebon Jeruk.

Danuri was quoted as saying by the state-run Antara news agency that officers seized 10 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine, locally called "shabu-shabu," as well as confiscated a number of chemicals that were used to produce the banned pills.

Jakarta - The global economic meltdown has forced a number of Indonesian labour-intensive industries to lay off more than 12,000 workers, media reports said Friday.

Businessmen claimed that the global financial crash has started affecting the export sector in November and many exported products were rejected by buyer countries, which could force many more companies to stop production.

Riau Andalan Pulp and Paper (RAPP), announced Thursday that it would dismiss 1,000 workers and temporarily lay off another 1,000, in a move to help stop the company from failing.

Jakart

Jakarta  - The death toll from a powerful earthquake that struck off Indonesia's North Sulawesi province increased to six with nearly 80 people injured, officials said Tuesday.

Of the 77 people injured in Monday's magnitude-7.7 quake, 13 were in serious condition, said Rustam Pakaya, head of the Health Ministry's crisis centre.

Pakaya said three people were killed and 45 injured in the Buol district of Central Sulawesi province while three people died and 32 were injured by falling debris in the northern district of Gorontalo.