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More than 90 aftershocks hit quake area

DENVER, Dec. 31 (UPI) -- An earthquake measuring 6.3 on the Richter scale hit the Nicobar Islands area of the Indian Ocean early Friday, U.S. scientists reported.

That quake brings the total number of aftershocks in the area to 97 -- including four later events Friday afternoon and evening -- since last Sunday's massive 9.2 quake wreaked widespread destruction in Indonesia, Thailand, India and Sri Lanka, due to tsunamis triggered by the resulting seismic movement.

The aftershocks have registered from magnitude 4.4, which is equivalent to the release of about 5,000 tons of TNT at the epicenter, to 7.1, or equivalent to the detonation of a 60-megaton nuclear bomb.

According to scientists at the U.S. National Earthquake Data Center, the 7.1 magnitude quake, which occurred less than 24 hours after the main quake, was the seventh strongest seismic event in the world during 2004. The scientists said aftershocks probably will continue to hit the area for at least several more days.

China sends $60m more to disaster victims

BEIJING, Dec. 31 (UPI) -- China will donate an another $60 million to South Asia's tsunami victims, Premier Wen Jiabao said Friday according to the official China Daily.

"The catastrophe not only hit the people in those countries, but also harmed human beings as a whole," Wen told diplomatic envoys from 10 countries surrounding the Indian Ocean and representatives of international organizations.

China would increase its aid for disaster relief by 500 million yuan or $60 million and it was ready to provide further aid, Wen said according to the China Daily report.

Being a victim of frequent natural disasters, China had received the humanitarian aid from friendly nations in the past, Wen said. "Chinese people could sense the same feeling as the people in those countries after the disaster," the China Daily quoted him as saying.

Argentina: Disco fire kills 175

BUENOS AIRES, Dec. 31 (UPI) -- A nightclub blaze in the Argentine capital kiled 175 young people, local officials said Friday.

La Nacion newspaper's online edition said 714 more were injured in a mad rush for the exits during the blaze.

Fire and smoke panicked the concertgoers, resulting in a mad stampede for emergency exits. Television news showed footage of young people lying on the streets outside the burning Republica de la Cromagnon Disco.

The cause of the fire was under investigation Friday. Officials said the doors to the club were locked when the fire broke out.

As many as 4,000 young people were inside the disco when the fire began.

France protests travel block on children

MINSK, Belarus, Dec. 31 (UPI) -- France has urged Belarus not to limit the freedom of Belarussian children to travel abroad, Interfax-West news agency said Friday.

The French ambassador to Belarus, Stefan Szmelevski, told Interfax-West he hoped the new measures limiting Belarussian children's opportunities to travel abroad for recreation would not be implemented.

"Statements to this effect have impressed European civil society and aroused deep misunderstandings," the French diplomat said.

Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko has told parliament that programs to take the nation's children to health resorts abroad should be curtailed.

"Don't you see the change in our children after their return from abroad? How can this way of life benefit us? Here in Belarus, consumerism has infected the younger generation and the whole nation. We don't need this method of raising children," Lukashenko said. "This practice must be done away with once and for all," he said.