JAKARTA, Indonesia: A strong subsea earthquake late Sunday night caused panic in parts of eastern Indonesian and triggered a tsunami warning that was later lifted. There were no immediate reports of major damage or casualties.
The US Geological Survey said the magnitude 6.9 quake was centered 185 kilometers (115 miles) southeast of Manado in the Molucca Sea at a depth of 24 kilometers (15 miles).
The national disaster agency said the tsunami warning that was in place for North Sulawesi and North Maluku was canceled just after midnight, about two hours after the quake hit.
It said it was still gathering information but was hampered by loss of communications with disaster officials in North Maluku.
A hospital in Manado, the capital of North Sulawesi province, was damaged and patients evacuated, according to a local disaster official.
The quake caused panic in the city of Ternate in the Maluku island chain, where people ran to higher ground, a witness told The Associated Press.
The disaster agency said residents in Manado ran out of their homes in panic. It said residents in North Sulawesi and North Maluku should return to their homes.
Indonesia, a vast archipelago of 260 million people, is frequently struck by earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and tsunamis because of its location on the “Ring of Fire,” an arc of volcanoes and fault lines in the Pacific Basin.
![]()
Strong quake causes panic in eastern Indonesia
Strong quake causes panic in eastern Indonesia
Banner of Donald Trump unfurled at Justice Department headquarters
WASHINGTON: A banner of US President Donald Trump has been unfurled outside the headquarters of the Justice Department in the latest effort to stamp his identity on a Washington institution.
The blue banner unfurled on Thursday between two columns in a corner of the agency’s headquarters includes the slogan: “Make America Safe Again.”
Since returning to the White House last year, Trump has moved aggressively to imprint his image and influence on federal institutions.
He has reshaped cultural and policy bodies by installing loyalists, renamed prominent institutions, and sidelined officials linked to past probes, steps critics say blur the lines between political power and traditionally independent government functions.
Banners bearing Trump’s image were affixed last year to the Department of Labor, the Department of Agriculture and the US Institute for Peace buildings.
A board of directors appointed by the president voted in December to add Trump’s name to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Trump’s name was also affixed last year to the US Institute of Peace building in Washington.
The White House referred questions about the latest banner to the Justice Department, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In a statement cited by NBC News, a DOJ spokesperson said the department was “proud” to celebrate its “historic work to make America safe again at President Trump’s direction.”
In 2023, former Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith secured indictments accusing Trump of illegally retaining classified documents following his first term in office and of plotting to overturn his defeat in the 2020 election.
Trump falsely claimed that he won the 2020 election. His supporters stormed the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, in an unsuccessful attempt to prevent the Congress from certifying the results of that election. After taking office for a second time in January 2025, Trump pardoned the rioters.
Trump denied wrongdoing in the cases against him, calling them politically motivated. Smith dropped both cases against the Republican after Trump won the 2024 election, citing a Justice Department policy against prosecuting a sitting president.
Smith resigned from the Justice Department days before Trump returned to the White House early last year.
The Trump administration’s Justice Department has since targeted and fired many officials involved in probes against the Republican leader.
The blue banner unfurled on Thursday between two columns in a corner of the agency’s headquarters includes the slogan: “Make America Safe Again.”
Since returning to the White House last year, Trump has moved aggressively to imprint his image and influence on federal institutions.
He has reshaped cultural and policy bodies by installing loyalists, renamed prominent institutions, and sidelined officials linked to past probes, steps critics say blur the lines between political power and traditionally independent government functions.
Banners bearing Trump’s image were affixed last year to the Department of Labor, the Department of Agriculture and the US Institute for Peace buildings.
A board of directors appointed by the president voted in December to add Trump’s name to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Trump’s name was also affixed last year to the US Institute of Peace building in Washington.
The White House referred questions about the latest banner to the Justice Department, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In a statement cited by NBC News, a DOJ spokesperson said the department was “proud” to celebrate its “historic work to make America safe again at President Trump’s direction.”
In 2023, former Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith secured indictments accusing Trump of illegally retaining classified documents following his first term in office and of plotting to overturn his defeat in the 2020 election.
Trump falsely claimed that he won the 2020 election. His supporters stormed the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, in an unsuccessful attempt to prevent the Congress from certifying the results of that election. After taking office for a second time in January 2025, Trump pardoned the rioters.
Trump denied wrongdoing in the cases against him, calling them politically motivated. Smith dropped both cases against the Republican after Trump won the 2024 election, citing a Justice Department policy against prosecuting a sitting president.
Smith resigned from the Justice Department days before Trump returned to the White House early last year.
The Trump administration’s Justice Department has since targeted and fired many officials involved in probes against the Republican leader.
Latest updates
© 2026 SAUDI RESEARCH & PUBLISHING COMPANY, All Rights Reserved And subject to Terms of Use Agreement.