Earthquake hits southern Greece

ATHENS—A powerful earthquake measuring 6.5 on the Richter scale hit the Peloponnese region of southern Greece Sunday and was felt throughout the country although there were no reports of casualties or damage. The geodynamics institute of the Athens observatory said the epicentre of the tremor, which struck at 7:14 am (0514 GMT), was near the village of Leonidio in the southeast Peloponnese, around 150 kilometres (90 miles) southwest of Athens. “The tremor occurred at a depth of more than 70 kilometres (45 miles) and that is why there have been no casualties,” observatory spokesman Yannis Drakatos said. The director of the observatory George Stavrakakis said the quake “is only of scientific interest now - the danger has passed.” “People can calm down. Even if the quake was felt all over the country, we are not expecting any strong aftershocks.”—Agencies