A powerful earthquake struck eastern Indonesia on Wednesday,

A powerful earthquake struck eastern Indonesia on Wednesday, meteorological agencies said, and was felt as far off as Australia. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries. The 7.2 magnitude quake struck at 5:42 p.m. Jakarta time and was centered about 330 kilometers southeast of Ambon in the Banda Sea, Japan's Meteorological Agency said. Officials at Indonesia's Meteorology and Geophysics Agency said there were no immediate reports of damage or injuries, perhaps because of the quake's depth -- 190 kilometers under the seabed -- and distance from the mainland. -- AP

U.S. ratchets up pressure on Iran

The United States accused Iran on Wednesday of deceiving UN inspectors over its nuclear arms ambitions, in an attack diplomats said increased pressure on Tehran to accept European demands in key talks this month. The European Union is offering Iran economic and political incentives to scrap for good parts of a program that could be used to make atomic weapons, but Tehran has so far refused. U.S. President George W. Bush has taken a harder line, calling for Iran to face UN sanctions, but hinted last week he might support the EU's approach -- for now, at least. Western diplomats said Bush had not yet made a final decision. -- Reuters