Asia/Ocenia

Rescuers have combed through the rubble of collapsed buildings, in a search for 67 people missing after a strong earthquake that killed at least seven near Taiwan’s popular tourist city of Hualien. The magnitude 6.4 quake, which hit near the coastal city on Wednesday, injured 260 people and caused four buildings to collapse, officials said. Hualien Mayor Fu Kun Chi said the number of people missing was now close to 60. As many as 150 were initially feared missing. Many of the missing were believed to be still trapped inside buildings, some of which tilted precariously after the quake struck about 22km northeast of Hualien on Taiwan’s east coast. A total of 31 foreign nationals, including mainland Chinese, Czechs, Japanese, Singaporeans and South Koreans were among the injured, the foreign ministry said. An Australian man is accused of being part of a global cybercrime organisation that has been shut down by authorities in the US with assistance from the Australian Federal Police. The US Justice department has filed an indictment in the US District Court against Australian Edgar “Guapo” Rojas and 35 others, describing it as one of its largest cyberfraud prosecutions. The accused were members of the transnational group the Infraud Organisation that went by the slogan “In Fraud We Trust” and engaged in criminal activities including identity theft, bank fraud, wire fraud and computer crimes, US authorities say. The Infraud Organisation allegedly reaped US$530 million in losses to US financial institutions, merchants and consumers.