Earthquake strikes off Indonesia

Rescuers on Java are still searching for victims of last week's tsunami

A strong undersea earthquake has struck off the Indonesian island of Sulawesi.

The authorities initially advised residents to leave coastal areas as a precaution - but later said there had been no tsunami.

Last Monday a 7.7-magnitude earthquake off the southern coast of Java island triggered a tsunami that killed more than 650 people.

There are no reports of damage so far from the latest quake, which Indonesian officials said had a magnitude of 6.6.

However US seismologists monitoring the area gave it a preliminary magnitude of 6.1.

Marine police and navy boats have been carrying out daily patrols off Java in search of corpses from the tsunami.

However high waves forced teams to abort operations on Sunday, the Associated Press news agency reported.

Towns hardest hit are showing signs of a return to normal, but many people are still too scared to return home.

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has vowed to speed up efforts to build an early warning system planned after the 2004 Asian tsunami.

His government has come under fire over why no warning was given to local people in last week's tsunami.